We all know how I feel about quick and easy. If a recipe doesn't fit that description, it doesn't even make it on my menu. Long, complicated recipes that dirty a million dishes? Ain't nobody got time fo' dat! When I first saw this recipe, it looked WAY too labor-intensive. The original source had you prep all the ingredients and then cook each ingredient one at a time. If I followed their directions exactly it would take forever! Once I looked a little more closely, though, I realized that with a little multitasking I could get almost everything going at once and have this done in 30 minutes. Not bad at all! What you need to do is read the directions all the way through before you start so you can get the chicken, rice, and sauce all cooking at once. If you're really ambitious, you could even could the veggies at the same time, too, but that would take some serious concentration to keep an eye on everything. Maybe if I had my sous chef helping me and I wasn't distracted by that catchy new "Fancy" song I had blaring on my stereo.... Anyways, this had excellent flavor and I love having all the flavors combined into one pot of awesomeness. The final product did end up a little on the salty side, so next time I might reduce some of the salt, but overall it was mighty fine.
Cheesy Chicken, Bacon, Broccoli & Rice
Total time: 30 min
Serves 5
8 slices bacon, diced
12 oz boneless, skinless chicken breasts
Salt and pepper
1 cup long grain white rice
2 cups water
1 teaspoon salt
1 cup diced onion
4 cups broccoli florets, chopped
4 cloves garlic, minced
2 (10 oz) cans Ro-Tel Diced Tomatoes & Green Chiles (This makes the dish a little spicy. Feel free to substitute plain diced tomatoes if you prefer)
2 Tbs butter
2 Tbs flour
1 cup chicken broth
1 cup extra sharp shredded cheddar
1/2 tsp salt and pepper, each
Add the diced bacon to a very large skillet or dutch oven and turn heat to medium high. Cook the bacon until crisp, stirring occasionally, about 5 minutes. Meanwhile, dice the chicken into bite-sized pieces. Season generously on both sides with salt and pepper. When the bacon is crisp, use a slotted spoon to remove to a plate. Add the chicken in a single layer and cook for five minutes, flipping once halfway through. Remove the chicken to the plate with the bacon.
Meanwhile, add the rice, water, and salt to a saucepan and bring to a boil. Cover, reduce heat to low, and simmer for 14 minutes. When done, remove from heat.
Add the onion and broccoli to the skillet where you cooked the bacon and chicken. Cook over medium-high heat, stirring occasionally until broccoli is tender and onions are brown and caramelized, about 10 minutes. Add in minced garlic and cook, stirring constantly until just fragrant, about 30 seconds. Top with tomatoes, rice, chicken and bacon and stir to combine. Reduce heat to low to keep warm.
Meanwhile, melt the butter in a small saucepan and whisk in the flour until just combined. Add in the chicken broth and stir well. Increase heat to high and cook until thickened and bubbly. Remove from heat and add in cheese and salt and pepper. Stir until cheese is melted, then pour in the skillet with the chicken and rice. Stir to combine and serve.
540 calories per serving.
In an attempt to spend quality time together and in an ode to the Surgeon General's minimum daily exercise recommendation, my husband and I try to go for a 30 minute walk every evening that is not too egregiously hot, cold, or busy. Even though my long-legged husband walks a little too fast, and the untrimmed trees along the sidewalk create an eye-gouging obstacle course for us to navigate, and the weather is frequently less than ideal, I really enjoy these walks with my hubby - holding hands and talking about the weird patients I had that day or the cylinder designs he reviewed or the goofy thing our kid did lately.
Once the weather turns warm, our daily walk is almost always perfumed by the scent of grilling meat, sizzling on the barbeque of one neighbor or another. Since we usually go after we've already had dinner, the fragrance is enjoyable, but not too tempting, especially since, in my experience, grilled meat never tastes nearly as delicious as it smells. That all changed tonight, though, when I tried this amazing recipe for marinated grilled chicken.
I can't even begin to explain how great this was! The flavors were fresh and intense and the marinade penetrated all the way to the bone, leaving the chicken juicy and succulent, down to the last bite. I only made three pieces of chicken instead of six, and I seriously regretted not making a full batch. Next time I might even double the recipe, because it wouldn't surprise me if some of my neighbors came wandering in, following the fabulous scent!
Mexican Style Grilled Chicken
Prep time: 5 min (plus 1+ hr marinating)
Grill time: 25 min
Serves 6
6 bone-in chicken thighs (or breasts)
1/2 cup fresh lime juice
1/3 cup olive oil
4 cloves garlic, minced
1 Tbs hot paprika (or regular if preferred)
1/2 tsp dried chile powder
2 tsp kosher salt
3 Tbs chopped cilantro
Place the chicken in a large ziptop bag. In a medium bowl, combine the remaining ingredients. Pour over the chicken and marinate for 1 hour.
Take the chicken out of the refrigerator an hour before cooking. Heat the grill to medium high. Grill chicken about 10 to 12 minutes per side, turning often to avoid burning.
Boil leftover marinade for several minutes and use to baste chicken while grilling, if desired.
410 calories per serving. Click here for more nutritional info and shopping list!
Believe it or not, I have another awesome lasagna recipe for you! I think this makes the third or fourth one I've shared. Is that too much? Is there even such a thing as too much lasagna? I think not. Lasagna is one of my favorite foods, surpassed only by pizza and followed close behind by spaghetti. Noticing a trend? Yeah, I definitely shoulda been Italian.
I've already given you my classic lasagna recipe and an amazing lasagna soup recipe, as well as this great pasta dish that's kinda like lasagna, but this might be even better than all of those. It's quicker, easier, uses more veggies, dirties less dishes, and tastes amazing!
Skillet Lasagna
Total time: 30 min
Serves 5
1/2 lb Italian sausage
1/2 cup diced onion
2 cups spaghetti sauce
1 cup water
2 cups wide egg noodles
1 zucchini, diced
1/2 cup ricotta cheesse
2 Tbs grated Parmesan cheese
1 Tbs fresh parsley, chopped
1/2 cup shredded mozzarella
In a large skillet, brown sausage with onions. Drain and return to pan. Add sauce and water and bring to a boil. Stir in noodles and zucchini. Return to a boil. Reduce heat, cover, and simmer till noodles are tender, about 12 minutes.
Meanwhile, combine ricotta, Parmesan, and parsley. Drop large spoonfuls of cheese mixture on top of noodle mixture then sprinkle each mound with mozzarella. Cover and cook on low till mozzarella is melted, about 4 minutes.
465 calories per serving. Click here for more nutritional info and shopping list!
Last weekend was CrAzY around here! For some insane reason, I decided to host a dinner party on Saturday, so I spent every spare minute of the weekend cleaning, shopping, and cooking in preparation. Don't get me wrong, the party was nice, but boy was that a lot of work! This weekend, I vowed to do absolutely nothing that I didn't have to do. Unfortunately, I'm kind of an overachiever, so it's hard for me to actually follow through on that kind of plan, but so far I'm doing pretty good. Since I had all this spare time on my hands, of course my first thoughts went to the kitchen! Lazy Saturdays always make me want to bake something sinfully delicious for breakfast, but in keeping with my no-work vow, I wanted to make something really quick and easy. Heck, who am I kidding - I ALWAYS want my recipes to be quick and easy! There should be a special word to describe these kinds of fabulous recipes - quick, easy....queasy? Okay, maybe not. But seriously, why make something that takes forever when there are so many great things out there that don't?!
Cinnamon rolls are a perfect example of this. Most recipes call for lots of yeast, kneading, rising, and worst of all, waiting. Who wants to wait hours for breakfast? Definitely not this girl. This recipes going from a counter-full of ingredients to a plateful of gooey cinnamon rolls in less than 40 minutes. Now that's what I'm talking about! Plus, these are chocolate, cuz, why not?!!
Chocolate Cinnamon Rolls
Prep: 20min Bake: 20 min
Serves 9
For the chocolate dough:
2 1/2 cups flour
1/2 cup cocoa powder
2 Tbs sugar
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1 cup buttermilk
1/4 cup sour cream
7 Tbs butter, melted and divided
For the Cinnamon Filling:
3/4 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup sugar
2 tsp cinnamon
1 Tbs butter, melted
1/4 cup mini chocolate chips
For the Frosting:
4 ounces cream cheese, softened
1/2 cup powdered sugar
1 tsp milk, if needed
2 Tbs mini chocolate chips
Preheat oven to 400. Sift together the flour, cocoa powder, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Beat in the buttermilk, sour cream, and 2 tablespoons melted butter until a soft dough forms. Do not over mix.
Place the dough ball on a well floured surface. Knead the dough 4-5 times to get a little flour into it. The dough will be a little sticky. Try not to add to much extra flour, though. Very carefully press the dough evenly into a 10x14 rectangle. Use a little bit of flour to keep it from sticking. Spread 2 tablespoons melted butter on top of the rectangle.
In a small bowl stir together the filling ingredients. Spoon the filling mixture over the butter. Leave about a 1/2 inch around the edge. Carefully roll the dough into a log from the shortest side up. If the dough sticks, use a knife or spatula to gently loosen as you roll it up. Cut the log into 9 even pieces.
Grease an 8x8 baking dish with 1 tablespoon melted butter. Place the 9 rolls in the pan. Drizzle with the last 2 tablespoons melted butter. Bake at 400 degrees for 18 minutes. Remove and let cool slightly.
Whisk together the cream cheese and powdered sugar with a fork. If it is too thick, you can thin it out with a little milk. Spread over the tops of the warm cinnamon rolls and sprinkle with a few mini chocolate chips. Store covered in the refrigerator.
471 calories per serving. Click here for more nutritional info and shopping list!
