Try This at Home Tuesday: Shredded Brussel Sprout Salad

Greetings and happy Tuesday!  Here we are in the final week of January which means I have one last salad recipe to share with you. It's been fun to focus on salads for this past month. I've learned a couple of things along the way but the biggest lesson I learned was that I should never buy salad dressings again because they are cheap and easy to make and taste WAY better than the processed ones I used to buy.

For my final week of salads-for-lunch, I made a  Shredded Brussel Sprout Salad. I had made this as a side dish for Thanksgiving but it's hearty enough to stand on it's own as an entree salad. I did make some modifications, though, such as substituting roasted butternut squash for the pear and toasting the almonds. I also added some chicken for protein and celery for extra crunch.

The balsamic maple dressing for this salad is sooooo good and very easy to make.  I doubled it so I'd have enough for 4-5 salads:

2 T. balsamic vinegar
2 T. EVOO
1 T. pure maple syrup
1 t. dijon mustard
salt & pepper to taste

Shredded brussel sprouts are such a great substitution for greens as they area  bit more hearty and will be more filling than lettuce, I think. 

It's been fun to focus on salads for the last month. That said, I'm looking forward to switching back to warm and savory dishes, especially since I crave warm things during this time of year. But this challenge showed me that salads can be filling and enjoyable on their own. 

What are you planning to eat for lunches this week?

Try This at Home Tuesday: Petite Crust-less Quiches

Greetings and happy Tuesday!  I'm shifting the focus of this week's post from salads to breakfast, mostly because the salad I prepped this week was a Greek salad, which is such a basic, easy salad. I picked it as it isn't labor-intensive, which is good since my hands are still stiff/tender from my RA flare so I'm trying to not overuse them.  I did make a good, refreshing dressing that I wanted to share, though, as I know some of you have been enjoying the salad dressing recipes.  So here are the ingredients for the Greek vinaigrette I made.  I doubled it so that it would yield a little over 1 cup of dressing. Similar to other dressing recipes I've made, I only had to buy 1 ingredient (lemon) so it was low cost:

- 1/4 c. EVOO
- 2 T. red wine vingear
- 1/2 of a lemon, juiced (recipe calls for 1 lemon but I found it to be a bit too lemony)
- 2 cloves of garlic, minced
- 1 t. dried oregano leaves
- 3 pinches of salt
- 10-15 grinds of black pepper

This week I wanted to share the new breakfast that I've been eating this month. For the last 3+ years, I have been eating GF oatmeal with a banana for breakfast nearly every day of the week. What can I say - I am truly a creature of habit! However, lately I was feeling a need for a change but it needed to be something that is as quick and easy as oatmeal. Then I saw this recipe for Petite Crust-less Quiche on Skinny Taste's most popular recipes of 2015 post.  I tried them for the first week of January and they were excellent so this is my new go-to breakfast at least for the time being.

What I like about this recipe is:
- they refrigerate/freeze well and taste great when re-heated.
- they are versatile. The recipe calls for onions and green peppers, but you could substitute whatever vegetable you would prefer or have on hand. Some things I'll be trying in the future will be broccoli and asparagus.
- they are very filling. It helps that they are packed with protein (18 g). I eat them with a little salsa on top and have been able to push back how early I have my mid-morning snack of yogurt and granola, so these are definitely more filling than the oatmeal + banana I was eating.

If you make these, one tip I have is to buy liquid egg whites instead of separating eggs yourself. The recipe calls for 4 egg whites and I think it's hard to find a use for 4 egg yolks (at least for me). So it's much less wasteful if you just buy liquid egg whites, which can be found near the egg beaters in the grocery store. According to my carton, 3/4 c. of eggs whites = 4 large egg whites.

Do you have a breakfast regimen or do you change up what you eat each day/week? For me, I value something that is fast, easy and healthy versus full of variety. But I'm all about making it easy to eat healthy.

Try This at Home Tuesday: Chopped Asian Salad

Happy Tuesday!  I'm back with salad idea #2 of the month. Last week's salad will be tough to beat but the Asian Chopped Salad I made to bring for lunches this week will give it a run for its money.

The star of this week's salad is the combination of toppings which have different textures and flavors and a whole lot of crunch. Toppings include:

- shredded rotisserie chicken
- edamame
- sliced radishes
- snow peas
- green onions
- celery
- cilantro
- red and green peppers

The base of the salad is a mixture of shredded carrots and red and green cabbage. I tried to buy pre-shredded cabbage but the bagged stuff looked so unappetizing so I opted to chop my own, which obviously added to the time spent chopping and slicing and dicing but I think it was worth the effort as I'll enjoy the salads way more.

Soooo much chopping!

For the dressing, I made this asian citrus dressing that I found on Iowa Girl Eats. Here are the ingredients:

- 2 1/2 T. rice wine vinegar
- 2 T. orange juice
- 1 T. lime juice
- 1 T. tamari (or soy sauce if you can have gluten)
- 2 t. honey
- 1 t. freshly grated ginger
- 1/2 t. sesame oil
- 1 clove garlic, minced

I had all but one ingredient on hand (lime juice) so it was easy/inexpensive to throw this dressing together. I ended up doubling the recipe as I'll need enough for 5 salads and the recipe only yields about 2 servings.

One big salad ready to go for the week!

This week I was curious about the cost per portion so I kept my receipt and added up all the ingredients. I definitely have more than 5 servings worth of cabbage, so I will need to figure out another use for that, but if I assume I will get 5 meals out of all the ingredients I bought, it totals to $29.39 or $5.88/salad, which is pretty inexpensive for a healthy, filling salad made with fresh ingredients. And chances are I will probably get 6+ servings out of it since I have so many toppings and cabbage.

This was a pretty labor-intensive salad as it requires a lot of chopping but luckily that's something I enjoy and find soothing, and it gave me an opportunity to get caught up on some podcasts in my queue. Plus I'd rather put in a couple of solid hours in the kitchen on the weekend versus doing meal prep during the week.

How do you handle meal prep? Do you tend to consolidate your meal prep into a block of time over the week or do you do meal prep every evening?

Weekend Prep

Greetings and happy Monday!  I hope everyone had a great weekend.  Mine was fun as it included some time at the driving range with Phil (I am terrible at golf but it was a fun date activity) followed by dinner + gelato + a House of Cards episode (we finished season 1 on Friday), a long run with my running club, a coffee + macaron date with Marisa, and attending a BBQ at a friend of Phil's (we brought guacamole which was a hit).

Friday night and Saturday were mostly about fun things, but Sunday was mostly about preparation for the week.  Living a healthy lifestyle is important to me, but it's not something that just happens.  I think it's important to emphasize that as I think at times we can look at others and think that it's effortless for them to eat healthy or fit in workouts.  But really, it's not effortless - at least not for most of us.  In my case, it takes planning, preparation, and spending a good amount of time in the kitchen on Sunday.

Everyone's lifestyle is very different, but for me, if I'm not teed up (see how I threw in a golf reference there?) for a week of healthy eating, it's not going to happen.  My week nights feel short as I work longish days and use my precious free hours in the evening to workout and spend time with Phil.  So Sundays are my day to get myself ready for a week.  Here's how I spent mine.

First up, I made Peanut Butter Runner's Mexican Quinoa recipe which was incredibly easy.  I'll warm this up and eat it on top of baby spinach with some salsa for 2 lunches and 2 dinners during the week.

Those containers look huge but each portion is about 1 cup.

Next up, I cut up a watermelon.  I love watermelon so much and am so glad it's watermelon season because this one of my favorite snacks.  I timed myself and it took me exactly 20 minutes to cut up the watermelon, which was surprising because I thought it would take way longer.  I can always find 20 minutes no matter how busy each weekend is so I will aim to buy a watermelon every weekend this summer!

After scanning my fridge, I realized I had some leftover kale.  I had already bought spinach for my salads for the week so I decided to make kale chips with the leftover kale.  I think kale chips are soo good!  And they are so easy to make - you just toss the kale with olive oil and sprinkle it with salt (I used a fun seasoned salt from Penzeys) and bake them for ~15 minutes on 350F.

Lastly, I made a big pot of (GF) pasta e fagioli soup.  Yes, I eat soup in the summer.  I had a bowl for dinner last night, and will have leftovers for 2 lunches and 2 dinner and will freeze some. 

So there you have it!  All in all, I probably spent about 3.5 hours in the kitchen yesterday (plus time on Saturday meal planning + grocery shopping).  Luckily cooking is something I enjoy so those 3.5 hours were fun for me, and they allow me to start the week with a fridge full of healthy eats!

What is your trick to healthy eating?  Do you tend to make meals throughout the week, or are you like me and prefer to do most of your cooking on the weekends?

Meatless Monday Dishes

Happy Monday everyone, I hope you all had a great weekend.  As I mentioned in my post on Friday, I've been gravitating towards meatless dishes these days.  It seems like many of us start off the New Year with an intention to eat healthier and/or try new recipes, so I thought I'd share some of the meatless dishes I've been making lately!  Plus I haven't done a recipe post in ages so I figured I was due for one!
 

First up, here is a new idea for an appetizer.  It's a Greek layered dip which is really easy to make and was a hit when I brought it to a get-together earlier this month.  Here are the layers:

6 oz. container of plain Greek yogurt
1 container of hummus (I used roasted red pepper)
1/4 - 1/2 a cup of sliced kalamata olives
1 tomato, diced
1/2 cucumber, diced
1-2 T. chopped parsley
Feta

I served it with carrots, sliced cucumbers, and gluten free crackers

 Next up, 2-bean vegetarian chili.

Ingredients:
1 T. olive oil
1 onion, diced
2 jalapenos, seeded (I don't seed mine as I like it spicy!)
2 carrots, diced
1 green pepper, diced
3 garlic cloves, diced
1 28 oz. can crushed tomatoes
1 14.5 oz. can diced tomatoes
1 14.5 oz. can black beans, drained and rinsed
1 14.5 oz. can kidney beans, drained and rinsed
1 T. chili powder
1 t. oregano
1 t. cumin

1.  Heat olive oil over medium heat.  Add onion, jalapenos, carrots, green pepper, and garlic.  Saute for 5 minutes.

2.  Add tomatoes, black beans, kidney beans, chili powder, oregano, and cumin.  Bring to boil and then let simmer for about 20 minutes or until chili thickens (longer is better for more flavor).

Lastly, another favorite of mine is Rogan Josh, which is a recipe from the Penzey catalog that my aunt shared with me which I have adapted a bit. You could serve it over rice but I actually eat mine plain and find it filling enough without a carb. Rogan Josh is a spice that can be found at specialty spice markets, but if you can't find it, you could substitute curry powder.

1 c. lentils, rinsed
1 bay leaf
4 c. water
1/2 onion, chopped
2 garlic cloves, chopped
1 T. vegetable oil
1 T. Rogan Josh
1 14.5 oz. can diced tomatoes
1 c. frozen peas (optional)
1 t. salt
1-2 T. lemon juice

1.  In a 2-quart pot, combine the lentils, bay leaf and water.  Boil the lentils until tender (about 30 minutes).

2.  Heat oil over medium heat.  Saute onions and garlic until soft, about 3-5 minutes. Add Rogan Josh and let cook until fragrant (15-20 seconds). Add the tomatoes and saute for 1-2 minutes.  Stir in the cooked lentils and bay leaf.  Ad the peas (optional), salt, and lemon juice.  Cook and stir for 5-10 minutes.  Remove bay leaf before serving.

So there you have it - 3 easy meatless dishes!

Have you made any new recipes lately?

4th Annual Julia Child Night!

Greetings and Happy Monday!  I had an absolutely FABULOUS weekend.  As you all know, Julia Child Night is something I look forward to for MONTHS, and this year's event did not disappoint. 

I went over to my aunt & uncle's on Friday night to help make the ratatouille and coq au vin.  Man, Julia does NOT cut any corners.  These recipes have many steps, but all of the hard work and attention to detail really does pay off as every recipe I've made of hers is fan-freaking-tastic.  And really, is there a better way to spend a Friday night than at the stove with 2 of my favorite people, with a glass of wine in hand?  I don't think so. 

Now I will let the pictures do the talking - and yes, there are MANY pictures!  I'll start with some 'night before pictures' and then move into pictures from the big day!

Julia Child Night - Part Un

We spent most of Friday night at the stove, sauteeing up a storm!  I love how my aunt and I have the exact same apron in different colors!!

The ratatouille, simmering away!

We had to Flambe some bourbon for the Coq au Vin!

 Julia Child Night - Part Deux

The appetizer spread:  French cheese, GF crackers, assorted olives, and Tapenade (super easy recipe for the tapenade can be found here)

2 of my nephews were there and had a blast playing with the cool toys my aunt and uncle keep around for the kiddos

Stripes!  Berets!  Aprons!

The first course was an amouse bouche of ratatouille

Matthew LOVED the ratatouille - so much so that he licked his spoon clean.  I was impressed he ate it all as it had eggplant, zucchini, onion, and peppers in it.  The kids were sort of familiar with the dish having seen the Pixar film.

Each courses required an assembly line approach for plating! 

The 2nd course was a potato leek soup, garnished with some sour cream and parsley

The 3rd course was a grated carrot salad with currants, walnuts, and parsley.  I twas a unique salad, but was a hit with everyone!

Next up was the main course of Coq au Vin, mashed potatoes, and peas, served by my cousin's girlfriend, Ellen

Last, but not least, was dessert. My sister-in-law made homemade vanilla ice cream, my mom made chocolate meringue cookies, and I purchased some salted caramel macarons from a local sweet shop!  All delicious - all gluten free (everything we served was gluten free).

Of course the night would not be complete without a photo of all the ladies in their aprons!

So there you have it!  Another successful Julia Child Night.  It was so fun to be surrounded by family, friends, and good food.  I went home with a full belly - but more importantly, a full heart.  I am so thankful that my aunt and uncle open up their home and put so much work into this fantastic evening - and I am happy to be their faithful sous chef!  We are already brainstorming a menu for next year!

Make These!

Happy Thursday - it's almost the weekend!  Yea!

One thing I love about summer is all the fresh produce that is in season.  There is a farmer's market downtown on Thursdays during the day and a small one by my condo on Saturday, so it is easy for me to stock up on fresh produce on a regular basis.

One vegetable I have really fallen in love with as an adult is zucchini.  I don't have many memories of having this as a child - I am sure my mom served it, but I just don't remember it.  So it's been fun to discover recipes and ways to use it as an adult.

If you like zucchini, you HAVE to make these:

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Sausage-stuffed Zucchini boats.  I made them last week when I had some girlfriends over to help me hang pictures on my walls (FINALLY!), and they were a hit.  Yes, they have dairy as they are topped in cheese, so it was my dairy splurge for the week.  You could easily make them vegetarian by either skipping the sausage or using vegan sausage (which I've heard is actually good!).  A serving = 1 half of a boat, unless you have the appetite of someone training for a marathon - then you'll eat 2 halves.

Gina, the author of the Skinny Taste blog (which is an awesome blog for healthy, delicious recipes), also posted a Chicken Enchilada Stuff Zucchini Boat recipe last week and I think I will be giving that a try!!

What is the best new recipe that you've made lately?  Or are there any recipes you are looking forward to trying soon?  I think I am going to make this Mexican Red Lentil Stew recipe when I am home next weekend.  I love lentils so am sure I'll love it!

2012 Vacation Park IV - Vancouver + The Sunshine Coast

First things first - thank you for the congratulatory comments on my last post!  I feel so blessed to have so many people in my life that care about me!  I was completely spoiled on Tuesday - from steak sandwiches at lunch to macaroons in the afternoon to flowers from my parents to a flourless chocolate torte at happy hour to dinner with my aunt and uncle!  The day was full of celebration!!  Now I fully intend to enjoy the next 5 months of my life (I'll start studying for level III on December 26th, but I am blocking that out of my mind for now!).

Back to the vacation recap!  When I last left off, we had just finished up brunch in Vancouver, and went our separate ways.  We didn't get much accomplished after brunch as traffic was so bad and it was taking forever to get anywhere, so we headed back to the hotel to meet up with the rest of the bridal party.

Amber had made manicure and pedicure appointments for the bridal party.  I rarely get manicures or pedicures, so this was quite a treat.  Plus, she found a place that allowed us to bring in our own alcohol, so we brought a couple of bottles of wine to really aid in the relaxation process. 

I got to sit next to Amber :)  It was incredibly relaxing to sip on wine while someone dealt with my poor feet which are totally beat up thanks to my high arches + marathon training.

After the pampering, we headed back to the hotel to get ready for dinner. The brother of Amber's hair dresser is a personal chef in Vancouver and he was gracious enough to host us for dinner on Saturday!

Amber and I on his rooftop patio.  He has the most amazing views of Vancouver. It was a beautiful night, so we ate dinner up on the patio.  It was heavenly!

Dinner was AH-MAZING.  The chef took into account my gluten intolerance so he made me my own special salad (the others had a panzanella salad). That cheese on top of the salad was flown in from Italy (I usually avoid dairy but couldn't skip a specially flown in cheese!)!  He also served tenderloin, salmon, and a corn dish.  The corn dish might have been my favorite part of the meal - it had truffle oil and a hint of jalapeno.  It was to die for!

It was wonderful to watch the sun set over the city of Vancouver.  

I was sad to see my time in Vancouver end, but of course I was excited to head to the Sunshine Coast for Amber's wedding!!  We were up bright and early on Sunday morning.  I went to mass at a beautiful cathedral in downtown Vancouver, and then I met up with Amber and Kelly for coffee before we left Vancouver for the Sunshine Coast!  We had a short drive to the ferry terminal, and then we were off.

The views from the ferry were SO beautiful and were very similar to the views from my ferry ride to Victoria last fall.  This part of the country is simply stunning - I highly recommend it as a vacation destination!!

After a short ferry ride, we arrived on the Sunshine Coast.  We stopped for lunch in a town called Sechelt.

The views from the deck of the restaurant were so beautiful!

After 20 minutes of driving on some winding, curvy roads (which left both Amber and I rather sick to our stomachs) we arrived at the resort.  Which really felt like paradise for me!

This was the view from our room.  Of course the picture does not do it justice.

I had some downtime before the rehearsal, so spent some time reading on the deck. I didn't get much reading done as the beautiful views were too distracting.

We had the rehearsal and welcome dinner that evening, but I was not so great about taking photos so have none to share.  The rehearsal went really, really smoothly, and the dinner was delicious.  Amber and I shared a room that night so I had the honor of spending the last night with her as a single lady!  She was cool, calm, and so excited for the next day - as was I!  Oh how I love wedding weekends!

I'll be back tomorrow with my 5th and final installment of this vacation recap series - Amber's wedding!

Have you ever been on a ferry before?  Besides taking ferries to Victoria and the Sunshine Coast, I also took a ferry between the north and south islands of New Zealand - but that was a HORRIBLE experience.  Unbeknownst to us, that stretch of water is known for being choppy.  So many people got sick on that ferry. I was kind of afraid of them since that experience, but it's a very calm, easy ride on the waters around the BC area (at least in my experience).

2012 Vacation Part II - Seattle

When I last left off, I had just returned from the lake and was preparing to leave for Seattle.  I arrived home the morning of the day I flew out for Seattle.  It was a bit hectic, but I wanted to soak up as much time with family as I possibly could.  I am really proud of the fact that I a) was packed within an hour of arriving home, and b) I fit everything for my week vacation in a carry on.  Score!  Ever since my luggage got lost on a trip to New York, I have avoided checking bags if at all possible!

I arrived in Seattle on Thursday evening and got into downtown around 6 pm.  I made the most of those short few hours that I had in Seattle!  Once again, I will let the photos do the talking!!

The first sight I encounter?  Blue trees.  Strange, but sort of beautiful!  I've never seen a city paint their trees!

It was the end of the day, so the market was closing down, but some of the stalls were still open so I meandered through on my way down to the water!  You can see how blue the skies were that day.  There was not a cloud in sight and it was so sunny!  I love the weather in the Pacific NW.

If I had more time, I would have checked out that giant ferris wheel!  I am afraid of heights, but I am sure the views from the top would have been amazing.  I guess I will have to tackle that on my next trip!

I continued to walk around, taking in the beautiful blue, cloudless skies and savoring THE LACK OF HUMIDITY.  I came from 95F+ temps and high humidity, so 75 and no humidity felt AMAZING.

I worked up an appetite walking around, so my next mission was finding a restaurant with a good gluten free menu.  Luckily, I have found that the Pacific NW is VERY good about having gluten free options.  The hotel had suggested a Thai place and when I saw that it had a good gluten free menu, I was sold!

I started off with some chicken satay.  The sauce was SO good, and I loved the pickled vegetables and rice ball (err, square).

Next up was my main course:  mussels in a coconut curry sauce.  The waiter recommended it to me and described the sauce as liquid crack.  He was spot on!!  The mussels were so fresh as they were caught locally.  Besides the mussels, there were bits of pineapple, and it was garnished with bean sprouts and cilantro.  Yum!!

That is all I fit into those few short hours!  I headed back to the hotel early as I knew I had some big days ahead of me.  I went to bed so excited as I knew I'd be seeing Kelly and her husband Eric the next morning!

Have you ever been to Seattle?  Do you like mussels?  Mussels are probably one of my most favorite foods!!

Superfood Sunday

Greetings and happy Tuesday.  4 days until my vacation starts!  :)  Woo hip!  With a vacation in sight, there isn't anything that can bring me down!  Add in the fact that I am going to see "Roman Holiday" on Thursday with The Running Historian, and well, this week is shaping up to be awesome!

You know what else is awesome?  Some of the foods I've been eating lately - especially this past Sunday.  I find that the more active I am, the more my body craves foods that are good for me.  That was definitely the case this past weekend.

Between my gluten intolerance and the fact that I try to avoid dairy most days (I have it about once a week), people often ask, "what DO you eat?"  So I thought I'd share some of what I ate this past Sunday.


1.  Morning Snack:  I used my new magic bullet (purchased with a gift card I've been hoarding for 18 months) to make a smoothie with fresh strawberries, blueberries, banana, OJ, and ice.

2.  Post-yoga snack: A diced avocado with salt and pepper.  This is one of my favorite snacks. Yes, avocados are a higher calorie/fat snack, but I feel justified in snacking on these given the number of calories I am burning!  Plus, it's a 'good' fat that your body needs!
 

3.  Late Lunch:  I grilled salmon for the first time and it turned out great!  I rubbed it with a little olive oil, and added salt and pepper, capers, fresh lemon juice, and a couple of lemon slices, wrapped it in foil, and grilled it on each side for about 3-5 minutes.  It turned out perfect!

The filet was a generous portion so I saved half of it for a dinner later in the week, and pair the salmon with some grilled zucchini.  

In addition to the food shown above, I also had toast with peanut butter, coffee, chips & guacamole, and a lot of pickles!!

So there you have it - some great gluten free + dairy free foods that are healthy and satisfying! 

Do you tend to eat more healthy foods when you are more active?  Have you made any new, healthy recipes lately?  I am hoping to try a few new recipes when I am at my parents' lake home over the 4th!

Dairy Free Friday

Happy Friday!  I hope you all had a wonderful week!

Today I'm sharing my favorite recipe that I've made so far in 2012 - which happens to be both gluten and dairy free!  I found it on the blog, For the Love of Cooking.  It's my new go-to blog as she posts easy, healthy recipes.  This recipe is called Tuscan Chicken with White Beans and Spinach.  I like it because it requires very few ingredients (most of which you will have on hand), it's made in one pot, and it's a quick recipe (takes about 30 minutes from start to finish).

Ingredients:

• 4 slices of lean bacon, cooked and chopped
• 2 tsp olive oil (divided)
• 5 boneless, skinless chicken thighs, trimmed of any fat
• Sea salt and freshly cracked pepper, to taste
• Garlic powder, to taste
• Dried basil, to taste
• 1/2 sweet yellow onion, diced
• 3 cloves of garlic, minced
• 1 15 oz can of diced tomatoes, drained
• 1 15 oz can of white beans, rinsed & drained
• 2 cups of baby spinach

My modifications:

• I omitted the bacon because I knew I'd never use up a whole package of bacon. Leaving it out didn't impact the dish, in my opinion
  
• I liked the bean/tomato part of the dish so much, I doubled the onion, tomatoes, and white beans so there would be more of the bean mixture.  

Here is the recipe in pictures!

Season the chicken with salt, pepper, garlic powder, and dried basil.  Brown the chicken thighs on medium high in 1 T of Olive Oil.  If you are vegetarian, I think it would work well to sub in your 'fake sausage' or whatever that stuff is called!

Once the chicken is brown, remove from pan, set aside, and cover with foil.  Reduce heat to medium, add additional T of Olive Oil.  Saute the onions for 4-5 minutes, until softened.  Then add the garlic and saute for another minute.

Add the tomatoes, white beans, dried basil, garlic powder, salt and pepper.  Cook for 4-5 minutes until mixture is hot.

Add the spinach, heat until it cooked down, about 1-2 minutes.

Return chicken/juices to pan. 

It's so easy and SO good.  And relatively healthy (especially if you made it with chicken breasts instead of thighs). 

Have you made any good, new recipes lately?

Dairy Free Friday: Chicken, sausage, and Rice Skillet

Phew, after the heavy, soul-baring post from yesterday, I think it's time for something a little lighter!  It's been a long time since I've done a dairy free Friday post, so I think I'm due to share a great recipe with you. 

I will start by saying it is not gourmet.  Heck, most of the stuff coming out my kitchen isn't.  I need easy, comfort food that yields great leftovers as I only cook once a week.  I stumbled up on this recipe in my local newspaper and decided to give this one-pot-wonder a whirl!

For starters, here are the ingredients:

• 6 skinless chicken thighs
• 1/2 tsp. salt, divided
• Freshly ground black pepper to taste
• 2 tsp. olive oil
• 12 oz. turkey or turkey-kielbasa sausage, cut into 1/2 -in. slices (I used turkey kielbasa)
• 1 small onion, chopped
• 1 red bell pepper, chopped
• 2 garlic cloves chopped
• 2 c. medium-grain rice
• 1/2 tsp. dried thyme
• 4 c. low-sodium chicken broth
• 1 medium tomato, chopped
•1/2 c. frozen peas

Preheat over to 400F.  Heat oil in large, over-proof skillet.  Salt and pepper the chicken, and brown chicken on medium high ~4 min on each side - you could use chicken breasts to make it lower-fat.

Remove chicken and brown sausage.

Remove sausage, reduce heat to low, and saute onion, red pepper, and garlic.

Add rice, thyme, and 1/4 teaspoon salt.  Stir to combine.

Add chicken broth and tomatoes, bring to boil.  Add chicken and sausage. Place in over and bake for 15 minutes.

Remove from oven, add peas (I had a hard time stirring the peas in as my skillet was so full!).  Bake for another 10 minutes.

And voila!  A huge meal that makes awesome, delicious leftovers.

 So there you have it!  A simple, but good meal!

Have you made any new recipes lately that you've been happy with?