Chicken with Peanut Sauce & Sweet Potatoes

What's better than a fast meal? The CLEAN UP! I love tinfoil dinners. 

 They are so easy to clean up, I think...why should I NOT cook like this more? 

We were reading in a magazine called, "CLEAN EATING" and found this recipe.
~Chicken with Peanut Sauce and Sweet Potatoes~

Ingredients:

1/4 cup unsalted natural peanut butter (use almond or sunflower nut butter if you are strict Paleo)

1/4 cup light coconut milk

2 tbsp. rice vinegar

2 tbsp. chopped fresh cilantro leaves, plus additional for garnish

1 tbsp. raw honey

1 tbsp. fresh lime juice

1 tbsp. minced ginger

1 tsp. Braggs liquid aminos

1/2 tsp. red pepper flakes

1 clove garlic (I actually use 3 in mine, but it's because I LOVE garlic)

Olive oil cooking spray

12 oz. green beans, trimmed

2 sweet potatoes, peeled and diced into 1/2" cubes (NOTE: make sure to dice potatoes as directed so that it will cook at the same rate as the chicken)

1 red onion

1 lb. boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut into 1" pieces

SERVES: 4

HANDS-ON time: 20 min

TOTAL TIME: 45 min

• Preheat grill to medium-high or preheat oven to 450 degrees.
• Combine first 10 ingredients in a bowl and set aside
• Trim green beans and then dice the remaining ingredients.
• Make sure to season the chicken with a little salt and pepper
• Cut 4 (12x16 in.) pieces of large tin foil and mist with cooking spray
• Put all veggies and chicken in the center and divide the peanut mixture among all four piles of veggies/chicken.

Bring short edges of the foil together, then fold inward a few times along each long edge to seal.
Seal up the sides and place foil packets directly on the grill or on a large rimmed baking sheet in the oven.
Grill or bake for 25-30 min. 

Transfer contents of packets to serving bowls and garnish with additional cilantro.
1 serving (packet) contains 335 calories, Total: Fat: 10g  Carbs: 30g and Protein: 33g

This is like a "packet full of happiness" because it's just ANOTHER
creative way to eat the almighty chicken and sweet potatoes.

Source: www.cleaneatingmag.com

Veggie baked Mac-n-Cheese

I've been on the hunt for a good veggie filled "Healthier" homemade mac-n-cheese recipe, and I finally found one that I really like.  I switched up the recipe a little bit and added in different veggies, then I BAKED it to give it that yummy crispy casserole crust.

Ingredients:

• 8 ounces shell noodles, (2 cups)
• 1 half cauliflower finely chopped (you can use broccoli too)
• 3 cups baby spinach or baby kale chopped
• 2-3 cloves fresh garlic, minced
• 1 3/4 cups whole milk (divided; set 1/4 c milk aside)
• 3 tablespoons flour
• 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
• 1 cup shredded extra-sharp Cheddar cheese
• 1/4 cup shredded Parmesan cheese
• 1/2 teaspoon Dijon mustard 
• 1/4 cup Panko Bread crumbs
• Optional: 1/8-1/4 tsp crushed red pepper (to give it some kick!) 

Preheat oven to 350.  Boil up the shell noodles as directed.

In a separate pan, saute cauliflower and fresh garlic in a little bit of olive oil.  Once the cauliflower is soft, add in the spinach and saute til it wilts.

In a small bowl, mix flour, garlic powder, salt, and pepper, then whisk in 1/4 cup milk, mix well and set aside.

In a pot, slowly simmer 1.5 cups of milk on medium heat.  Once it starts to boil whisk in the flour/milk mixture and stir for 2-3 minutes or until milk mixture has thickened up.  Add in cheese and Dijon mustard.  Once cheese is melted, add in cauliflower mixture and add in shell noodles.  Mix well.

Pour mixture into a 9x13 baking pan. Sprinkle Panko bread crumbs on top.  Bake in the oven for 10 min. then broil it for 3-5 min. or until the bread crumbs are golden brown. 

Take it out, let it cool for 7-10 minutes.  Serve it up and ENJOY!

*recipe courtesy of "The Picky Eater Blog"

**For lower fat - substitute whole milk for 1% or non-fat and use low fat cheese

Butternut Squash Soup

Okay, okay.... Don't laugh. I was reading "RedBook" magazine 

and I stumbled upon the recipe section within the magazine. 

I quickly skimmed through the ingredients of "Kelly's Butternut Squash Soup"

and realized just HOW easy this soup could be. 

I also noticed the base was a vegetable stock and coconut milk. 

Even better!

Ingredients:

4 tbsp Olive Oil

4 garlic cloves, minced

2 medium onions, diced small

2 large butternut quash (2 lb), peeled, seeded and cut into 1-inch cubes

4 medium carrots, peeled and chopped

2 small yukon gold or russet potatoes, cut into 1-inch cubes (I used 4 small yukon)

8 cups vegetable stock or water (I actually used chicken stock)

2 cups canned coconut milk (I used lite)

salt and pepper to taste

This recipe makes 12 servings. Each (1 cup serving): ~210 cal.

Heat oil in a large stock-pot over medium-low heat.
Add garlic, onion and a pinch of salt, stirring until translucent, 3 to 5 min.

Add squash.

Add carrots and potatoes.

Add stock.
Bring to a BOIL.
Lower heat to a simmer and cook 25-30 min,
or until vegetables can be easily pierced with a fork.
Remove from heat and add coconut milk.

Puree soup with a blender. 

Season with salt and pepper.

I garnished my bowl of soup with 4 oz. grilled chicken.
This is a great soup.
Easy. Simple and very delicious!

Recipe courtesy of: Redbook Magazine p.24; Kelly Osbourne, "Kelly's Butternut Squash Soup"

Rainbow Coleslaw

This is an amazingly crunchy 

coleslaw that has a tangy, sweet bite to it!

First off, I've never been a fan of Coleslaw. Coleslaw reminds me of watered-down, mayonnaise covered goo that sinks down into a runny-sauced cabbage.

THIS IS TOTALLY DIFFERENT!

Ingredients:
1 small cabbage, shredded (1 1/2 pounds shredded)
1 medium onion (I use a yellow, or white)
1 Carrot, shredded
1 small green bell pepper, chopped
1 small sweet red bell pepper, chopped
1 small sweet yellow bell pepper, chopped
1 C. Sugar
2/3 C. white vinegar
1/2 C. vegetable oil
1 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. ground black pepper
1 tsp. Celery seeds
1/4 tsp. ground mustard

Combine first 6 ingredients in a bowl, STIR.
In a saucepan, combine sugar and remaining 6 ingredients. Bring to a boil, stirring until sugar dissolves.

Pour vinegar/sugar mixture over cabbage mixture; TOSS.

Cover and Chill at least 2 hours. (preferably overnight)

Enjoy with a BBQ dinner, or just as a healthy side-dish.
Serves 8-- Calories--140/serving

Recipe Courtesy of Jennifer Cooper

Easy String Beans and Onions

I'm a HUGE fan of green beans. I love them. I grew up having green beans as a side dish a lot. My mom used canned beans, then fresh....whatever she had. 

I prefer fresh now, because you can make it taste like anything you want it to taste.

Ingredients:

2 TBSP olive oil

1/2 Cup white or yellow onion, halved and sliced

salt and freshly ground black pepper

1 clove garlic, grated (on a rasp)

1 1/2lbs. fresh string beans, sliced into thirds

1 C. chicken stock

Lemon wedge for spritzing

Prepare your veggies first.
Cut off the stems.

Rinse and wash.

Cut onions, halved and sliced

In a Saute pan, with straight sides or a medium pot, add the olive oil and raise the heat to Medium high.
Add the onions and season with a pinch of salt and a grind or 2 of black pepper.

Cook the onions, stirring and moving around, until tender and translucent, about 4 minutes.
Add the garlic and LOWER the heat. Continue cooking for about 2 min.
ADD the string beans and season with salt and pepper. Stir to Coat.

Then, add the chicken stock. 

Raise the heat to a simmer and cover.
Cook until the green beans are very tender, about 25 minutes.

Spritz with Lemon just before serving.
My hubby makes the best ribs and we decided to pair it along BBQ basted chipotle rubbed ribs! YUM!

Enjoy! This is a simple staple and we enjoy it a lot!

Recipe courtesy of Sunny Anderson, foodnetwork.com "Easy String Beans and Onions"