Pretty much my most favorite meal... EVAR. (Apricot Chicken Pasta)

This recipe totally tastes like something you'd order at a restaurant and I love it because I can make it at home and it's super easy.  The other awesome part is that it makes only enough for two people, however, I like to double the recipe because I love it leftover.  :)

When I initially made it I had some extra asparagus left and thought that I needed to add something else to the dish.  It came out perfect.

Here's the recipe as it was found on Taste of Home with my additions.

1/4 cup dried apricots, cut into thin strips
4-1/2 tsp of sherry (OR reduced-sodium chicken broth)
1 cup uncooked bow tie pasta
1/4 cup chopped fresh mushrooms
1-1/2 tsp olive oil
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 cup shredded, cooked chicken breast
1/2 cup heavy whipping cream
2-1/4 tsp reduced-sodium soy sauce
1/4 cup crumbled Gorgonzola cheese
1/4 cup slivered almonds, toasted
1 green onion, chopped
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper

OK! So, right away, I boil my chicken... It helps make it so that I can shred it easier or chop it into nice sized pieces which ends up shredding once it's put into the sauce. (Sorry, didn't take a picture of what it looked like chopped.. My bad :-/   )
SECOND, I used sherry, but either will work.
THIRD!  I used Feta cheese because our grocer was out of Gorgonzola.. It worked just fine.
FOURTH!  I didn't put almonds in.  Whoops.
FIFTH!  I didn't add green onion because it's a waste for me to buy a bundle of something I'm going to use and waste the rest of.
SIXTH!!  I grabbed a bunch of asparagus and chopped it into 1 inch pieces.

That is all.

Alrighty.  Here we go.

In a small saucepan, bring the sherry and the apricots to a boil.  Reduce heat and simmer, uncovered, for 3 minutes, or until the apricots are tender again.

I forgot to take a picture of the apricots simmering in the pan.. My bad.

Cook the pasta according to the package directions.  Usually takes 10-12 minutes for bow tie pasta to cook to al dente.

Meanwhile, in a skillet, add the oil and sauté your mushrooms and your 1 inch chunks of asparagus until the mushrooms are tender.

Add the garlic and sauté for 1 more minute.

I'm one of those use minced garlic from the jar kinda gals..

Reduce heat to medium and add the soy sauce, stirring.  Then add the cream, stirring well to incorporate and then add the chicken.  Cook and stir for 5 minutes.

Before the chikkunz...

After chikkunz.. Mmmm!

If your pasta has finished cooking go ahead and strain it and then rinse with cold water so it doesn't stick together.  Set aside to allow it to finish draining.

Continue to stir the chicken mixture.  Add the cheese, onion, salt, pepper, and apricots.  Add the pasta and stir to coat it.

There you have it!  Super easy.. and super tasty.  And as I was digging into my big ol' bowl of deliciousness I said "I'm gonna eat the shit out of these leftovers tomorrow."  And I did.  :)

Pumpkin Granola

Super easy and surprisingly healthy...  By using unsweetened applesauce and pumpkin puree you cut down on the amount of oil and sugar usually used in making granola.

Here's the link for the original recipe :)

What you'll need:

6 cups old fashioned rolled oats
1/2 cup whole wheat flour (or any other kind of grain flour)
1/2 cup corn meal (or other grain flour)
1/2 cup coconut
1 Tbsp ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp ground ginger
1/2 tsp ground nutmeg
1/2 tsp ground cloves
1-15 oz can pumpkin puree (NOT pumpkin pie)
1/2 cup unsweetened applesauce
1/2 cup brown sugar

Preheat your oven to 350˚F and in a large bowl combine the oats, flour, cornmeal, coconut and spices.

In a smaller bowl combine the pumpkin puree, applesauce and brown sugar.

Add the pumpkin mix to the dry ingredients and mix very well.

Place the granola in a non-stick 9x13 pan and cook for 50-60 minutes, stirring every 15-20 minutes, or until it reaches your desired doneness.

Between my 2nd and 3rd 20 minute mark I turned the granola out onto a larger flat pan and placed it in for 20 more minutes (to make baking time 60 minutes).  This helped release some of the moisture and dry out the granola.

Now just enjoy some on your morning cereal or with some yogurt!  Yumm!

Fee Fi Fo Hum-mus

Seriously don't want to toot my own horn, but dammit I made some good hummus!  Of course I got the recipe from Pinterest which then linked me to this site.  I also didn't want to take the time or spend the money to buy tahini paste so I made my own that I found on this site when I googled it.

You won't need much for ingredients


1-14oz can chickpeas (drained, reserving the canning liquid in a small bowl)
3 Tbsp lemon juice
1-2 garlic cloves, finely chopped
3 Tbsp tahini

To make your tahini (I just made enough to use in my hummus) I used 1/4 cup hulled sesame seeds and  some olive oil.

Lay your sesame seeds out on a baking sheet in a thin layer and bake at 350˚F moving them around with a spatula periodically until golden, but don't allow them to get too brown!

Move the seeds to a food processor and start to whirl those babies around.  Begin to add the olive oil down the spout thingy of the processor.  Continue to whirl a few minutes and add enough olive oil so that your tahini is smooth, but not runny.

Place your chickpeas, 3 tablespoons of the canning liquid, the lemon juice and garlic into a food processor.  Whirl it around for a few minutes, stopping once or twice to scrape down the sides.  Add the tahini and keep whizzing around until everything is nice and smooth.

Taste your hummus and season it with salt and pepper (I didn't use pepper) and more lemon juice if necessary.

I love these pretzel crackers with hummus!  MMM-MMMMM!!!!

Keep refrigerated!

Homemade "Boneless" Wings

So I haven't been blogging for a while.. If there's actually anyone out there that looks at this, sorry, otherwise I'll carry on.  

I'm happy to announce that I've lost 45 lbs and I also ran in my first 5k.

Cousin Jenny and I getting to run for Aunt Sue

I ran all of it except for maybe 1/2 a mile or a little more with the help and encouragement of my cousin :)

Anywho, back to the task at hand.  

Boneless wings...

Or chicken nuggets.. Or crunchy chicken tenders..  Or whatever else they're called.

Either way, they're easy, they're healthy(er) and they're versatile.  We had them in buffalo chicken wraps tonight - got some low carb, high fiber wraps, fresh lettuce, green pepper, cucumber, Greek yogurt and some Frank's.  I bought some Green Bags the other day to try them out... I was skeptical at first but I'm sold, now.  I always felt like I was throwing away my produce before I could eat it!  These things are amaaaazing!  You can also make healthy General Tso's Chicken or put them on a salad...

Here's what you'll need to make your delightful little crunchy chicken bites:

Vegetable oil spray
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
3 large egg whites
5 cups (5 ounces) Corn Flakes cereal, finely crushed
1 1/2 pounds boneless, skinless chicken breasts, trimmed of all visible fat, cut into 1-inch pieces 

1. Adjust oven rack to upper-middle position and heat oven to 475 degrees. Line rimmed baking sheet with aluminum foil, top with wire rack, and spray rack with oil spray. Spread flour into shallow dish. Whisk egg whites until foamy in second shallow dish. Spread Corn Flakes crumbs into third shallow dish. Pat chicken dry with paper towels. Working in batches, dredge chicken in flour, dip in egg whites, then coat with Corn Flakes, pressing gently to adhere; lay on prepared wire rack.

(I make sure I flour all of the chicken first, then I wash my hands and use one hand to dip the pieces of chicken into the egg white then the other hand to press the Corn Flake crumbs onto the chicken.  Trust me, if you don't want 3/4 of an inch of good built up to try to scrape off your fingers at the end just do it this way.) 

2. Spray chicken with oil spray. Bake until chicken registers 160 degrees and coating is brown and crisp, 12 to 15 minutes. 

(15 minutes is really all you'll need, they turn out perfectly)

"We Still Miss the Sopranos" Spaghetti

From my "100 Recipes Every Woman Should Know" cookbook.  Seriously, that was one of the best purchases!

I decided to make this one on a night where I didn't have much going on seeing as you hand make the meatballs the sauce is homemade as well!

You'll need:

Meatballs:
1/2 lb hamburger
1/4 cup plain bread crumbs (I used Italian style bread crumbs)
1 large egg, slightly beaten
5 tbsp grated Parmigiano/Reggiano Cheese
1/2 tsp minced garlic
1/2 tsp salt
1/8 tsp black pepper
1 tbsp finely chopped fresh flat leaf parsley
1/4 tsp dried oregano
1 tbsp olive oil

Marinara Sauce:
3 large garlic cloves, thinly sliced (I just used minced garlic)
2 tbsp olive oil
1-28 oz can whole tomatoes, drained and chopped
Salt and Black Pepper
1 tbsp unsalted butter
5 basil leaves, torn into pieces

8 oz spaghetti noodles

Grated Parmigiano/Reggiano cheese for serving


1 - Make the meatballs:  In a large bowl combine all of the ingredients, except the olive oil, mixing with your hands.

2 - Rinse your hands in cold water and shape the meat into balls the size of grapes.

3 - In a large, heavy skillet heat the olive oil over moderately high heat.

4 - Working in batches, arrange the meatballs in the skillet in a single layer and cook, turning a few times, until richly browned on all sides, about 8 minutes total, being careful not to burn them.  Transfer to a plate and set aside.

5 - Make the marinara sauce:  In a large saucepan, cook the garlic in the olive oil over moderate heat until golden, about about 30 seconds.

6 - Turn the heat up to high; add the tomatoes and a large pinch of salt.  Bring to a simmer, then turn heat down to moderately low.  Cook, stirring occasionally, until the sauce is thick, about 15 to 20 minutes.

7 - Add the butter and basil to the saucepan, stirring to melt the butter.  Add salt and pepper to taste.

8 - Add the meatballs to saucepan, stirring to combine.  Simmer until heated through, about 5 minutes longer.

9 - Meanwhile, bring a large pot of salted water to a boil.  Add the spaghetti and cook according to package instructions until al dente.  Drain.

10 - Add the spaghetti to the saucepan with the marinara and meatballs and toss to coat.  Transfer to a large bowl and serve, adding cheese if desired.

Chicken and Biscuit Kick-asserole

So obviously I got this on Pinterest.. That seems to be the only place I've been getting recipes lately. 

This thing is super good and super easy and it came from this gal's site. 

I didn't take pictures, sorry.  I suck, but if it makes you feel better her's are just as good :)

Here's what you'll need:

1 Pillsbury Biscuit tube thingy (Reduced Fat)
1 can Condensed Cream of Chicken Soup (98% Fatt Free)
1/2 cup of Sour Cream (Light)

1/2 stick of butter, melted   (I used 1/4 cup Light Promise spread)

1 can of peas (I just used 1-1/2 cups of frozen mixed veggies)
2 cups cooked chicken, (I boil mine and then shred it)

1 cup mild cheddar cheese

3 Tbsp Milk (I didn't have real milk. I used soymilk and took a ton of Lactaid b/c of all of the dairy.. *sigh*)


I used reduced fat and light ingredients for everything I could and it came out delicious.  Half the fat doesn't mean half the taste, folks!

Mix your soup and sour cream together in a small sauce pan over the stove so it's warmed up.  Mix in your chicken, butter, veggies (I ran mine under water so they thawed and drained them well) and milk.  Smoove that out over the bottom of your baking dish.  Load up some cheese over the top of the mixture and lay your biscuits over the top of everything.

Bake @ 375 degrees F for 35 minutes, or until biscuits are golden brown. 

Makes 8 servings!  HUZZAH!

Homemade Chicken Hot and Sour Soup

After my run-in with Engagement Chicken (it still hasn't worked...)  I had looked through and marked some of the other recipes in the book 100 Recipes Every Woman Should Know (I totally recommend purchasing the book, though I am more of an Amazon girl since I can buy gently used books for a fraction of the price) and the hot and sour soup was one of them.  I was a little nervous at first seeing as last few meals weren't the greatest, but I'd definitely tried.  I thought they were good, but someone else had thought otherwise.  That's what Brent gets for telling me to make the 2-week meal plan, I guess!

Sometimes I find that I mess up recipes because I want to tweek them a little bit and I decided that I should no longer do that until I've made it step-by-step the way it was written, then I can change things after I've decided what the meal needs or doesn't need...  That being said, I didn't add extra ginger like I'd wanted, but I did add extra Sriracha.  :)

My mother would always write little notes in her cookbook about the meals she made..  Whether or not they were good and the date she first made them.  I decided I was going to start doing that.  :)

Here's what you'll need:

6 cups chicken stock or low-sodium broth
1 shallot, minced
2 garlic cloves, minced
                  (I just buy the jar of minced garlic.  Sue me.)
1 teaspoon finely grated ginger
                  (Seeing as I like to make Indian and Thai food frequently I just buy the squeezey tube of
                       grated ginger from the produce section - very convenient.)
1/2 tablespoon Sriracha, or any other hot sauce (I used 1 heaping tablespoon)
1 bunch cilantro, rinsed and retied with string,
          plus 1/4 cup minced fresh cilantro leaves for garnish (optional)
1 boneless, skinless chicken breast
3 tablespoons lime juice (from 1-2 limes)
1/2 cup Chinese snow peas or sugar snap peas, stems removed and chopped into 1-inch pieces
1 small bunch of broccoli (optional)
10 ounces dried egg noodles (optional)
Salt and Freshly ground pepper, to taste

First, I don't know if you've ever boiled chicken, but that's pretty much how I've been cooking it lately and it's kind of weird and gross because the juices and stuff get weird, that being said, I boiled my chicken until it was almost all the way done in a separate pot of water.  I then sliced it into very thin strips and added it to:   the broth, shallot, garlic, ginger, Sriracha and cilantro.

So, I didn't get a shallot so I put a tiiiiiiny bit of minced onion in the mix and I didn't have fresh cilantro because the quality of the produce I was finding left something to be desired, so I shook some dried cilantro in and stirred it around.  It was good and I am not complaining.

Anywho, bring the soup mix to a simmer and add the peas, broccoli, lime juice and noodies.  Once this has started to boil add the meat back to the soup.  Cook for a few more minutes until the chicken is cooked the rest of the way through.

Discard the bunch of cilantro and dish up some bowls adding salt, pepper, more lime juice and more Sriracha to suit your taste buds.  Garnish with some fresh cilantro...

I could seriously eat this soup once a week.  :)

Quinoa Stir Fry

This was really good - I liked it a lot..  My love, on the other hand, did not.  The things he does for me :)  Eats things he doesn't like, sits in a house that smells like stinky sesame oil..  He's a righteous dude.

I found this recipe on Pinterest and it was linked to this gal's website, which might I add, is pretty awesome.  I've found so many different recipes on her page that I've pinned and am going to try.

Here's what you'll need:

1 tablespoon sesame oil
1-1/2 cups cooked quinoa
1 cup bean sprouts (I used about 1-1/2 cup)
2 cups fresh spinach
1 cup chopped mushrooms (optional, but I added it)
2 tablespoons low sodium soy sauce
1 teaspoon chili garlic sauce (I added two while cooking and then added another 1/2 teaspoon while eating)
1 tablespoon sesame seeds

Cook the quinoa according to the package directions.  Heat the sesame oil in a large pan or wok then add the quinoa, bean sprouts and mushrooms.  Cook 1-2 minutes, or until golden brown.

Add the spinach, soy sauce, and chili garlic sauce and stir until the leaves have cooked down and everything is well combined, about another 1-2 minutes.

Divide among two bowls/plates and top with sesame seeds.

Very easy.  Very Tasty.

Chicken Wild Rice Casserole

Another Pinterest recipe and it came from this website originally - it's super easy and super delicious.  I couldn't find pre-cooked wild rice so I bought this box of wild rice/long grain rice mix..  That sucked, there was like 20 pieces of wild rice in my dish!

Here's the ingredients:

3 Tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

1 medium onion, finely diced

3 stalks celery, finely diced

3 carrots, peeled and diced

2 Tablespoons fresh minced garlic

2 Cups shredded, cooked chicken breast

2 Cups steamed white rice

16 oz prepared wild rice

1 teaspoon kosher salt

1/2 teaspoon black pepper

1/4 teaspoon garlic salt

______

Cheese Sauce

4 Tablespoons butter

1/4 Cup all purpose flour

1/4 teaspoon kosher salt

1/4 teaspoon black pepper

2 Cups chicken broth

2 Cups shredded cheddar cheese

Top with 1-1/2 Cups shredded cheddar cheese

 Preheat oven to 350˚F.  Heat oil into a medium dutch oven or pot over medium heat.  Saute onion, celery and carrots until softened, about 10 minutes.  Stir in garlic and cook for 1 minute.  Stir in chicken, both rices, salt, pepper and garlic salt.  Reduce heat to low.

To prepare cheese sauce melt butter into a medium saucepan over medium high heat.  Whisk in flour, salt and pepper then slowly pour in chicken broth whisking continuously.  Whisk until thick and nearly boiling then stir in cheese until melted.  Pour cheese sauce into rice mixture then transfer to a 9×13 inch baking dish. Top with additional cheddar cheese and bake for 25-30 minutes or until cheese is melted through.  Serve.

What did I do differently?  

- I actually half'd the cheese sauce recipe and omitted the salt in that

- In the main recipe part omitted the onion, added a few shakes of dried onion flakes and omitted the garlic salt and only added 1 clove of garlic (it could have used 2).  

- Oh, and instead of white rice I used medium grain brown rice.  

- OH, and I didn't add the extra cheese to the top of the dish.  Hey,  I'm trying to be good, guys!

Brent was really excited about this recipe, so much so that he said he'd be willing to eat this a couple times a month!  Impressive!  :)  I was really happy with this meal and I'm stoked to have leftovers

I totally just ordered Taste of Home's Cooking for Two recipe book.  Looking forward to trying some of those out.  (It's on sale, too... And if you Google Taste of Home coupon code you can get one for free shipping on retailmenot.com) That would be great if either one of us were out of town so we could have dinner the next night, too!  Woo!  

"Million Dollar" Spaghetti

Super good recipe I found on Pinterest which then lead me to this gal's site, however, trying to be as "healthy" as I can be with noodles, hamburger and dairy isn't the easiest.

Every dairy item this recipe called for I used light or fat-free versions and the noodles were whole wheat.  I had to try to be good some how!!

Here are the ingredients:

1 lb hamburger, browned and drained (I even go as far as rinsing my cooked burger in hot water)
1 jar of your favorite spaghetti sauce
8 oz (fat free) cream cheese
1/4 cup (light) sour cream
1/2 lb (8 oz) fat free cottage cheese
whole stick of butter (I used 4 tbsp of light Promise spread)
8 - 10 oz (whole wheat) spaghetti noodles
bag of (reduced fat) sharp cheddar cheese (I only used about 1/3 cup)

Preheat oven to 350˚F - bring water to a boil and add noodles, cooking until al dente.

While your noodles are boiling, mix your dairy products together really well.  I added a few shakes of dried oregano and a few shakes of dried basil (I never measure...  Probably 1/2 tbsp of each).

Brown your burger and drain it really well.  Add your sauce and mix thoroughly.

Take your 9x13 baking dish and add a few knobs of butter (I spread roughly 2 tbsp of the Promise butter on the bottom w/ a spatula) and cover with half of the noodles.  Cover the noodles and spread the  cheesy sauce evenly over on top of the noodles.  Add the other half of the noodles and put a few more knobs of butter over them (the noodles were hot, so I just spread another 2 tbsp of Promise over the noodles, melting it).  Top it all of with your meat sauce.

Bake for 30 minutes, add the cheese and bake for another 15 minutes, or until melted.

This was super yummy...  But it makes a TON.  We'll half it next time.  Brent's been eating leftovers (what a good guy!) since I have since replaced my lunches with a meal replacement shake.  Looks like we'll be eating this for the next couple of nights!!

Oh.. and pictures??  Just click on that link up top for that gal's page.  :)

Sorry!  Lazy tonight!!

Oatmeal and Flaxseed Pancakes

I was laying in bed this morning thinking that I really wanted breakfast food like pancakes or waffles, but being on the kick I've been on I wanted (and NEEDED) to make it healthy.  I found this recipe on Taste of Home while Googling a recipe.  I hopped up out of bed and told Brent, "You can stay in bed! I'm gonna make you breffiss!!"

It was super easy and the best part is it only makes four pancakes, which is absolutely perfect.

Here's what you'll need:

1/3 cup whole wheat flour
3 tablespoons quick cook rolled oats
1 tablespoon ground flaxseed
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/8 teaspoon baking soda
dash of salt
1 egg, separated
1/2 cup buttermilk
1 tablespoon packed brown sugar
1 tablespoon canola or vegetable oil
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

In a large bowl, combine first seven ingredients.  In a small bowl, combine the egg yolk, buttermilk, brown sugar, oil and vanilla extract.  Stir into the dry ingredients until just moistened.

In a separate bowl, beat the egg white on medium until stiff peaks form; fold white into batter.

Pour batter by quarter-cup fulls onto hot griddle sprayed lightly with cooking spray; turn when bubbles form on top and cook until second side is golden brown.

Yield:  4 Pancakes

I didn't have buttermilk as I usually don't keep it on hand, so in that case I always use this method.  It's easy, fast, and Brent always has cow's milk on hand as I drink soy milk.

I served it with some egg whites and it.was.awesome.  The texture is nice, the cinnamon is perfect (I actually added a slightly rounded 1/4 teaspoon).  Brent said he'd eat them again, even.  Impressive because the man is serious about his pannercakes.



Nutritional Facts:

Serving:  2 pancakes
Calories:  273
Fat:  13 g
Saturated Fat:  2 g
Cholesterol:  108 mg
Sodium:  357 mg
Carbohydrates:  31 g
Fiber:  5 g
Protein:  10g