Crispy Baked Chicken Parmesan

When I think of my favorite comfort foods, there seems to be a few reoccurring themes. Evidently I really like cheese and fried goodness. This recipe for my Crispy Baked Chicken Parmesan skips right over the bad fried part and goes straight to the melty, cheesy goodness. I love this meal because I can get it to the dinner table in about a 1/2 hour and I feel like I'm getting a really indulgent meal with out a lot of effort in the kitchen or miles to run afterward.

Here is what you'll need for chicken:
1/2c Plain or whole wheat bread crumbs
1 tbsp dry parsley
1/4 tsp garlic powder
Salt and pepper to taste
1/4c Egg substitute or 1 egg, well beaten
1c pasta sauce. I like Wild Oats Organic Sauces
1c Part-skim Mozzarella cheese
1lb Chicken breast strips or thin sliced chicken breasts

For Salad:
6 c Shredded Iceberg Lettuce
1tsp olive oil
1tsp apple cider vinegar
1tsp stone ground mustard
2tbsp fresh lemon juice
1/2 tsp minced garlic
Salt to taste
Black Pepper to taste

For zucchini:
3 medium zucchini
1tbsp olive oil
1 tsp finely minced garlic (I like Spice World Minced "squeeze" garlic)
Salt and pepper to taste

Here's how to make the recipe:
1. Pre-heat oven to 375 degrees. Set up your breading station: Line a pan with parchment paper or foil. Next, place the beaten egg or egg substitute in one bowl and the bread crumbs in another. Add garlic, parsley and 1/4tsp salt and 1/4tsp pepper to the bread crumbs and mix.

2. Dip each piece of chicken or breast strip in to the egg and let excess drip off. Next dip into bread crumbs, lightly pressing to help crumbs stick. Place on baking sheet.

3. Place the baking sheet in the oven. For these strips, the cooking time is approximately 20 minutes. For a larger breast, allow upwards of 30 minutes.

4. While the chicken cooks you'll want to prep your side dishes. For the zucchini:
Rough chop the zucchini while you heat olive oil in a saute pan. Add zucchini, garlic and salt and pepper to the pan and toss to coat with the olive oil. Cook until tender, 5-7 minutes, stirring occasionally.

5. For the salad: Add lettuce to a large bowl with a tight lid. In a small bowl, mix oil, vinegar, lemon juice and seasonings and mix well. Add salad dressing to the bowl and place lid on the container. Shake to distribute the dressing. Immediately divide into serving bowls and top with black pepper.

6. After your chicken is fully cooked, remove from oven and set oven to broil. For these strips I grouped 3 strips together and topped each serving with about 1/4c of mozzarella.

7. Return the chicken to the oven and broil for 2-3 minutes until cheese is melted and begins to brown.

8. Heat sauce in a small sauce pan or microwave. Move each portion to a plate and top with 1/4 of the warmed sauce.

I hope you enjoy this recipe as much as our family does. Feel free to leave comments and suggestions!

Meal Prep Lunch: Chicken Salad Two Ways

And, wow! It has been entirely too long since I posted. It's been an interesting last year or so since I sat down to write. I became a Barre3 instructor, accepted and quit a job, sent a child to kindergarten and cooked about 1,ooo healthy meals, many of which should have ended up here...and hopefully still will in the not too distant future.

I have been getting quite a few questions lately about meal prepping,mainly from followers of my Instagram account. For me, like I've told so many folks, meal planning and prepping is essential for me. Not only does it keep me sane when our schedule seems so hectic, but it also saves our family money. Going to the store with a plan keeps me from throwing extra food into the cart that we will inevitably toss in the trash. I mean, who among us has not pulled that wilted bag of yellowing and slimy bagged lettuce out of your veggie drawer and thought Dang! I totally forgot I bought that or Man! We should have eaten out one less time this week. It hurts even worse when the "bag of lettuce" is actually an $8 package of out-of-date chicken breasts.

Planning our meals out for the week takes a little effort over the weekend, but because I've made so many meal plans over the past couple of years, we've settled into a comfortable rotation of favorites that work for our family. I like to throw something new in here and there to keep it form getting totally monotonous, but we definitely have meals that just always seem to work. Some newbies make the cut and a whole lot don't. Don't beat yourself up when a meal goes wrong. Two weeks ago I made what was most definitely the nastiest textured chili to ever come out of a crock pot. I can't really even say what went wrong...think chili flavored baby food. Or don't. You probably shouldn't. It was that gross.

But back to why you're here--a meal prep recipe. In the spirit of keeping life simple, here are two of my favorite lunch meal preps. These are my go-to chicken salads. Simple, fresh, healthy and delicious---prep one of these recipes tonight and you'll have lunch for the next week ready and waiting in the fridge. I suggest portioning the salad out into individual containers to keep serving size in-check and ensure that your prep lasts you through the week. Plus, portioning out your servings eliminates excuses. You have a last minute meeting...forgot that dentist appointment? There is no reason to hit the drive thru when you can borrow your kid's lunchbox from last year (the one that obviously will not work for him this year, you know, because it already kept his food cold for an entire school year) throw in an ice pack and take that meal with you. Both of these salads taste great at your kitchen table or in the DMV parking lot.

Hope you enjoy! I'd love to hear your comments and suggestions!

Cran-Apple Chicken Salad:

16 oz of cooked, shredded chicken breast
3/4c plain Greek yogurt (add an additional 1/4c of yogurt if you prefer a creamier salad)
1 tbsp grain mustard or Dijon Mustard (optional)
1 med apple, diced (I prefer Fuji or Honeycrisp)
1 rib of celery, diced
2 tbsp dried cranberries (I prefer Ocean Spray 50% less sugar cranberries)
1oz toasted walnuts, rough chopped
1/4 tsp garlic powder
salt and pepper to taste
Combine all ingredients in a large mixing bowl and mix well. Taste and season with additional salt and pepper, if needed. Serves 4-5.

Sante Fe Chicken Salad:

16oz of cooked, shredded chicken breast
1/4c plain greek yogurt
1/4c light or regular sour cream
1/3c mild chunky salsa
1/2c sweet corn kernels
1/2c black beans
1/2c reduced fat or regular shredded cheddar cheese
1 tsp cumin
1/4 tbsp garlic powder
1/4 tbsp red pepper flakes
1 rib of celery, chopped
a handful of fresh cilantro, de-stemmed and rough chopped
Juice of 1/2 a lime
salt and pepper to taste
Combine all ingredients in a large mixing bowl and mix well. Taste and season with additional salt and pepper, if needed. Serves 4-5.

I like these salads best on a Joseph's pita bread or toasted Ezekiel bread. I find the pitas at Wal-Mart in the deli section. I'm hoping more retailers will begin to carry Joseph's products, but for now its the only place I can find them. Either salad is also great on its own or on a bed of romaine. Enjoy!

Just roll with it...Shredded Chicken Enchiladas

A few weeks ago I ventured  back into the world of "let's make something bad for you not so bad for you." I had avoided that style of cooking for a while, opting to try to make some new recipes and try out some dishes I hadn't made before. For my first effort back into healthier comfort food I decided to make baked egg rolls and guess what...you won't be finding that recipe on this blog.

They were a bust...literally. The worst part was that I had told my in-laws I'd make dinner that night. The trouble started when I decided to assemble them at home and bake them at their house. The egg roll wrappers all stuck together and everyone of them tore to some degree when I pulled them off the plate but I decided to try and bake them anyway. I had to feed these people, right?

It was a failure all around. They were too salty, never got crispy, plus they stuck to the foil and busted open even more...what is an open-face egg roll? Well, that night...it was dinner. Everyone humored me and ate them, but I was once again reminded that feeding friends and family is not the ideal time to try a new recipe, much less a recipe that in no way resembles food that you eat on a daily basis.

So, that brings me to today. I was really craving Mexican food. I decided Southwestern Egg Rolls a la Chili's sounded great. Um yea...let's whip out those leftover egg roll wrappers and give them another shot. Yes! Brilliant idea!

I started by prepping the filling. I tried to remember what is in Chili's egg rolls and then decide what would work to keep these as healthy as they could be. I settled on black beans, fire roasted tomatoes, diced green chiles, corn, onion, and shredded chicken seasoned with red pepper flakes, garlic and cumin.

Earlier in the day I had started a crock pot of chicken breasts. I love the way shredded chicken comes out when I cook it that way. Usually I put the chicken breasts in the bottom of the crock pot and cover it with whatever dried herbs sound good and then pour 100% natural chicken broth over the top until it just covers the meat and then cook on low for 5-6 hours. By the time the timer goes off, you can easily shred the chicken with a fork. This is a great way to meal prep. In fact, this week we will be having three dishes that incorporate this batch of shredded chicken. That may sound boring but it's just a matter of using it in different ways. We are having a Mexican meal, BBQ and Pizza. **note: drain all but approximately 1/4 cup of the broth before you shred the chicken**

Back to the Southwestern egg rolls. The filling was tasting really good so I went to the fridge and pulled out the leftover wrappers. Funny...I didn't remember the little black specs on the wrappers. Yea, evidently they aren't supposed to be there. Only at this moment did I take a better look at the package to see it said in bold letters "PERISHABLE- USE WITHIN 2 DAYS of OPENING." These guys were at least 2 weeks old and they looked it. Dang it.

I did what any woman who really wants her egg roll would do. I loaded up both kids (one of which had been playing in my make-up all afternoon and looked a fool) and headed to the grocery store. I headed straight to the refrigerator section where I was quite sure I bought the first package of wrappers. Guess what? Not there. I circled 3 or 4 times while my blue-eye-liner-clad pre-schooler made sure to yell how hungry she was at the top of her lungs every time another shopper passed by us.

Around that time I decided that my Southwestern Egg Rolls were now enchiladas. I headed to the register with my sad little can of enchilada sauce. I was ready to pay and go, but surely the barely-teenage girl who was running the register would know if they had egg roll wrappers, right? No. No, she didn't but she knew who to call. She pointed me toward a manager that looked to be all of four days older than she was and said he knew what I wanted.

I mustered up my last bit of hope, hoisted the baby back up onto my hip and dragged my starving kid back to the refrigerator section. I was hopeful for a minute as he seemed pretty sure of where he was heading, but sorry, no. I'm not looking for frozen pre-made egg rolls. He then took me to the the section I'd been circling earlier. You guess it...still not there.

I think the lesson is clear here. The universe wants me to give up this crazy baked egg roll dream...Southwestern or otherwise.

So, for dinner ended up with some pretty tasty enchiladas, green beans sauted in olive oil and garlic and watermelon. Bellies full, mission accomplished. Sort of.

Here is how I made them:

Start by sauteing a medium onion in 1tsp of olive oil over medium heat. Once the onion has softened add the garlic and continue cooking for about 4-5 minutes.

Now add to the pan your rinsed black beans, corn, chopped green chilies, drained fire roasted tomatoes, and seasoning.

Stir your vegetable mix together well and add 2-3 shredded chicken breasts. I only wanted to make one meal, without a lot of leftovers, so I removed about 1/3 of the veg mix before adding the chicken. It will be part of my lunch this week. Since I had less vegetables, I only added 2 chicken breasts.

Let that all cook together, stirring often, for a few minutes then get out a baking dish and pour about 1/3 of the can of enchilada sauce in the bottom of the pan. Next fill and roll your tortillas and place them seam-side down in the baking dish. I made five. You could definitely make a lot more than that with this much filling, but I make these really big. Like I said, I've already meal-prepped my lunches this week so I didn't want a lot of leftovers.

These are the tortillas I prefer to use. They are not "clean" but they are low-carb and fairly low-calorie. Also they have a texture very similar to a regular flour tortilla. I can't handle the "healthy" tortillas that turn slimy and fall apart when you try to use them.

Lastly pour the remaining sauce over your rolled enchiladas and top with 1/4 cup of reduced fat cheddar cheese and bake for 20 minutes at 375 degrees.

This isn't a beautiful picture of my plate, but I was starving and ready to dig in.

Recipe:
Carb Balance Tortillas
1 14 oz can of enchilada sauce
1 med onion, chopped
2-3 cloves of garlic, minced
1 tsp olive oil
1 can black beans, drained
1 14.5 oz can organic fire roasted tomatoes, drained
1 4oz can chopped green chilies
1 small bag of frozen corn or the kernels off 3 ears of corn 
1/2 tsp (or more) cumin
1/2 tsp dried red chili flakes (or less if you don't want a lot of spice)
2-3 cooked chicken breasts, shredded
Salt and pepper to taste
1/4 c reduced fat cheddar cheese as topping

Assemble and bake for 20 minutes at 375 degrees

Use Those Leftovers: Roasted Chicken and Sweet Potato Sandwiches

I hate throwing perfectly good food away but there are some nights that eating the leftovers is about as appealing as that fourth set of jump squats. As in, I'm not going to do it. That's when you have to take a second look at what's in the fridge and give it a makeover.

Not every meal has to look pretty on the plate and this one isn't going to win any beauty pageants, but it does taste great and will totally fill you up. Serve it with a side of fresh fruit and you're good to go.

Here's what you need:
- 2 slices of Ezekiel Bread or Whole Wheat Bread, toasted
- 2-3oz cooked chicken breast, sliced
- 1/2c cooked sweet potatoes, mashed
- 1tbsp dried cranberries

It couldn't be more simple. While your bread is toasting, warm your sliced chicken and sweet potatoes. Spread the sweet potatoes on your toast and sprinkle with dried cranberries. Then layer the chicken and enjoy!

Oven Baked "Cookie" Chicken

I'm guessing the name of this recipe has you wondering...oh gross, she breaded that chicken in crushed cookies, but come on. Would I do that? Now that I think about it...maybe. But not today. I called it "cookie" chicken because the most amazing thing happened when I baked it. My house smelled just like chocolate chip cookies. And I don't mean the flaxseed, avocado chocolate chip cookies my house smells like all the time. I mean full on Toll House goodness. When my husband got home from work he gave me this weird look and then got really excited that I was baking "real" cookies. I had to let him down that it was our dinner, but once we sat down to eat he was over the disappointment. This chicken is so good. Our daughter even asked if we could have it again tomorrow which is about the highest compliment she gives when it comes to food. She even chose to eat the chicken over the fruit on her plate. That's big stuff in our house.

The secret ingredient in this recipe is...Fiber One Honey Squares.

Start by crushing 1cup of Fiber One Honey Squares in a ziploc bag. I used my rolling pin. You want it pretty finely crushed, but not pulverized. Next line a baking sheet with foil and spray with non-stick cooking spray.

Now set up your breading station. You will need two bowls, one for your egg whites and one for the crushed Fiber One. I added a few twists of the black pepper grinder and a few twists of the sea salt grinder to the egg whites before I dipped the chicken. 

The cereal needs a little help sticking but not a ton. I think it works best to dip the chicken in the egg whites on both sides and then hold it over the bowl for a few seconds and let the excess drip off. Then lay it into crushed cereal and press gently. Flip the chicken over and repeat with all your chicken. I had a very tiny amount of cereal left so I just sprinkled it on the chicken anywhere it needed a little more. Don't waste the sweet stuff.

If you let a lot the excess egg drip into your dry cereal it will glob up, get soggy and not stick to your chicken, which is sad.

The main problem I have with most chicken recipes that claim to be both baked and crunchy is that they never actually get crunchy. That is just the nature of the beast. If you want real crunch, you have to fry. If you fry all the time your pants get too small. Bake people, bake. I wanted to get this as crispy as I could. I decided to experiment. I was trying to figure out how to get some caramelization on the top of the chicken. A tiny drizzle of agave nectar did the trick. It only takes a tiny bit. I have the recipe calling for 1 tbsp, but I didn't use quite all of it. Close, but not all.

 

As you can see, it's just a very slight drizzle of agave

Lastly, pop it in a 400 degree oven for 35 minutes. You may need to adjust cooking time if the chicken breasts you are using are really thick. 40 minutes is usually sufficient for most packaged fresh chicken. If you choose to use chicken tenders you'll want to reduce the time to between 20-30 minutes.

My whole family loved this recipe, plus it's super easy so I'm sure it will become part of our rotation. I can totally see the leftover chicken on top of a spinach salad with strawberries and goat cheese for lunch this weekend. Yum!

Enjoy guys. This is a good one.

Pre-heat oven to 400 degrees

Oven Baked "Cookie" Chicken:
1lb chicken breasts (worked perfectly with 4 smaller breasts)
1/4c egg whites
1c Fiber One Honey Squares, Crushed
1tbsp Agave Nectar
salt and pepper to taste

So really, what do you eat?

I've gotten quite a few questions about what it is that I actually eat day in and day out. I'll (hopefully) be giving you lots of good dinner options, but in reality my breakfasts and lunches are pretty set. I've found a line up that works for me. They are my go-to meals that keep me full, give me the energy to keep a strong workout schedule, chase my kiddos and still taste good.

For breakfast, I'm a huge fan of overnight oats. This is the single easiest breakfast I can think of short of hitting the Starbucks drive-thru. Not that my car doesn't occasionally find it's way to a drive-thru window, but what I usually find is that after the joy of that sweet, syurp-flavored sausage goodness is gone I kinda feel like crap. Not like "whoa wish I hadn't eaten something so bad for me," but literally do not feel well.

These on-the-go oats take a maximum of five minutes to prep before bed and are ready when you wake up. The options are limitless... I'm giving you the recipe for the photo below, but you could add anything by starting with a base of oats and the milk of your choice. I think Greek yogurt is a necessary part of the base oat mix, but I realize not everyone likes it as much as I do. Some great options are any flavor of extract, nuts, almond butter, PB2, 100% pumpkin and pumpkin pie-spice, apples, granola, coconut--the options are endless.

Put all the ingredients in a container...now the tough part...stir it up! Then put an lid on it and refrigerate it overnight.

Cinnamon Maple Overnight Oats with Fresh Berries
1/4 c Old Fashioned Oats
1/2 c Unsweetened Vanilla Almond Milk or Milk of choice
1/4 c Plain Greek Yogurt
1/4 tsp Maple Extract or 1 tsp Real Maple Syrup
1 tbsp chia seeds
2-3 dashes of Cinnamon
1 packet Stevia
Topping- can be added in the morning or the night before
1/4 c strawberries
1/4 c blueberries

My other go-to breakfast is a Spinach Protein Smoothie. I pretty much always start with 8oz of almond milk, a huge handful of baby spinach, ice and then either a scoop of whey protein powder or a 1/2c of Greek yogurt....both if I'm just feeling crazy. From here, again, it is really up to your personal preference. Any nut butter (or PB2) is an easy and high-protein choice. To keep the calories and fat down I often opt for frozen (no sugar added/ unsweetened) frozen peaches, strawberries or mixed berries. Fresh fruit is a perfect choice. If it's in season...throw it in there! These are filling and I think when mixed with the protein powder, they really taste more like a milk shake than a smoothie. And let's face it, I'm all for anything that tastes like dessert no matter what time of day it is. As a bonus, I can even get my four year old to drink these. She calls them "monster smoothies." She is a picky eater so whatever she wants to call it, I'm just excited she's drinking it.

Spinach Protein Smoothie
8oz Unsweetened Vanilla Almond Milk or Milk of your choice
1/2 c Greek yogurt or 1 scoop vanilla or chocolate protein powder
1 huge handful of baby spinach
1/2 c ice
1/2 c frozen peaches
1/2 c frozen strawberries 


On days when we have plenty of time in the morning I love a good scramble. This is one of my favorites. It's a simple mix of eggs (or egg whites), cheddar cheese, zucchini, a little salt and pepper and a side of salsa. On the morning I took this picture I had made some zucchini chips. They weren't so good, but I'm not one to throw my experiments out, so on the plate they went.  I suggest sauteing your zucchini in the pan for a few minutes to soften it up a little before adding the eggs and cheese.

Lastly, I'm a big fan of pancakes and waffles on the weekends. When I was much more serious about limiting my carb intake these were a huge treat for me. I can't take credit for this recipe, but I do think its a good one as evident by the fact that I couldn't control myself long enough to take a proper picture before I dug in. Anyhow, this batter can be used to make either pancakes or waffles and it's pretty tasty. Throw a little fresh fruit on top and you've got a really good breakfast.

I feel it only right to warn you...these pancakes are not the inch-thick, light as air, from a mix pancakes we all know and love. They will be more dense, but they are good and eating healthy feels good so feel good about eating these waffles and ignore the denseness! See the recipe here. You'll notice the recipe says you can use cottage cheese or tofu. I've made it both ways. My personal preference is totally the cottage cheese. I also think they are better without the nutmeg. If you like your pancakes and waffles pretty sweet, add in a packet or two of Stevia and enjoy.

When it comes to lunch, you'll pretty much always see the same thing on my plate: protein, complex carbs, and veggies. I prep all my lunches for the week on Sunday night. It sounds like a tall order, especially when the kids need a bath or the laundry isn't washing itself, but taking these few minutes is what keeps me on track during the week. If I get the chicken in the oven right before I start the kid's bath the timing is just about perfect...kids in bed just about the time the chicken is done.

Before I got serious about preparing my meals for the week, I was having a rough time. By the time I worked out, got the kids home and made them lunch, then put the baby down for a nap---I would realize I was starving but couldn't find anything I wanted to eat---I was "hangry." You know, angry as a result of being hungry. Prepping my lunches keeps me from reaching that point and from reaching for the closest thing, be it Chick-fil-a or the bag of goldfish. Plus, it lets me sit down with the girls and enjoy a meal with them, which I love.

My usual protein of choice is chicken for a few reasons. 1) It's super easy to make and 2) You can make it taste different just by choosing different seasonings. Right now I'm loving a drizzle of olive oil and McCormicks "Perfect Pinch" Vegetable flavor. For a regular package of 2-3 chicken breasts, I find 40 minutes at 400 degrees is perfect. I also always line my pans with foil. It keeps clean up simple.

My carb choices are pretty standard as well. It is usually 1/2 a baked sweet potato, 1/2c  brown rice, or 1/2c quinoa. This week I had some little cheesy sausage quinoa muffins leftover from dinner so that will be my carb a few days this week. I'll share that recipe later this week. Remember: your  carbs don't have to be boring. Spice them up, use chicken stock instead of water to give them more flavor, add diced veggies or a little Parmesan cheese...

For vegetables I usually opt for broccoli, green beans, or a veggie blend of zucchini and squash. We're all busy and if something saves you a few minutes, all the better. That is why I often eat steam in the bag vegetables for lunch. I think they are better if you reduce the cooking time by 1-2 minutes when you initially cook them. It helps them not be mush by the time you re-heat your meal. Here is what my lunches look like this week.

Lastly, I'll just put it out there. As weird as I felt doing it the first time, I have taken my own food into several fast food restaurants. Occasionally a play date comes up for my daughter and I am left deciding if people are going to think I am a complete weirdo for showing up with my little Thermos of chicken, but you know what? I've decided I don't really care. This is a priority for me. Weirdo, table for one!

Got questions? Comments? Let me know. I'd love to hear from you!