At Home Workout

Here is another easy at home workout that uses basic moves. I did use 4 pound dumbbells with each exercise and of course don’t forget to warm up and stretch when you are all finished!

 

Chicken Parm Skillet

Since having two babies to take care of, I’m loving meals that are good tasting, fresh ingredients, easy to cook and clean up. Once I saw this chicken parm skillet meal I knew I had to make it.  I have to admit at first I was super intimated to cook on my  cast iron skillet, but we are becoming better friends.  The key is to cook low and slow on it. You could use any skillet for this meal, you don’t need to have a cast iron skillet. This recipe made a ton, so we had leftovers for a few days and it was just as good!

Ingredients:

1 28 ounce can of tomatoes, either peeled or diced

1 tablespoon of olive oil

6 garlic cloves, mashed

1/4 teaspoon of oregano

1/8 teaspoon of red pepper flakes

Salt and pepper to taste

2 cups of water

1 1/2 cups of chicken broth

12 ounce of pasta, your choice

1 cup grated parmesan cheese

1 cup shredded mozzarella

2 chicken breast, cooked and cut into small pieces

Directions:

1. Pre-heat oven to 475 degrees.
2. Using a food processor, grind the tomatoes until they are ground.
3. Heat your skillet pan for a few minutes, then add the oil, garlic, oregano, red paper flakes and a few shakes of the salt shaker. Cook until fragrant, about one minute. Stir in the tomatoes , water, 1 cup of the broth and the pasta. Bring to a boil, then lower to a simmer and cook for about 20 minutes or until pasta is soft.
4. Stir in 3/4 cup of the parmesan, a shake of the pepper, and the chicken. Stir in the remaining 1/2 cup of broth.  Transfer to a baking dish, or if using a cast iron skillet, you can put this right into the oven, sprinkle with the remaining cheeses, bake 5 to 10 minutes, or until the cheese is melted and bubbly!

Adapted from See Aimee Cook

Enjoy!

Chicken Diablo

This dish is SPICY! Super, super spicy! Chris LOVED it. But pregnancy and heartburn aren’t friends and anything spicy seems to cause heartburn these days for me, so while this dish was flavorful and good, don’t get me wrong! I wouldn’t make it while pregnant if you are having trouble with heartburn!

With that being said, don’t let it steer you away from making it, because it is good, really good. I enjoyed it.  I just didn’t enjoy about 15 minutes after eating it.

Ingredients:

1/2 cup of Franks hot sauce

1 cup of sour cream

1/2 cup of ketchup

1/2 teaspoon of paprika

1 teaspoon of ground cumin

2 chicken breast

1 tablespoon of olive oil

3 cloves of garlic, minced

1/2 cup of scallions

1 cup of cooked rice

Directions:

1. In a bowl combine, hot sauce, sour cream, and ketchup. Whisk together, add paprika and cumin, whisk till mixed.
2. Pour half the mixture over the chicken breast in a shallow dish. Cover and reserve the rest. Allow to marinate for at least 30 minutes.
3. Heat the oil in a skillet over medium high heat. Add the garlic and cook for about 30 seconds. Add the chicken and cooked till no longer pink in the center about 10-15 minutes. Heat the remaining marinade in a small saucepan until it’s simmering.
4. Serve chicken over rice with sauce spooned over top.

Enjoy!

Adapted from Sweet Beginnings 

Chicken with Creamy Chive Sauce

This recipe has been floating around in the food blog world for quite some time and I keep seeing it appear on different blogs, so I decided I would try to make this since everyone seems to rave about it! It was a great dish, full of creamy yummy sauce on top of your chicken. It’s a dish you’d expect to be crazy in calories, but it actually isn’t, if you make it the right way!

Ingredients:

2 boneless chicken breast

1/2  teaspoon of salt

1/8 cup of flour, plus 1 tablespoon divided

1/2 teaspoons of EVOO

1 onion, diced

1/4 cup dry white wine

7 ounces of chicken broth

1/3 cup reduced sour cream

1 tablespoon of Dijon mustard

1/4 cup of chopped chives

Directions:

1. Season both sides of the chicken with salt. Place 1/8 cup of flour in a shallow baking dish and dredge the chicken it. Throw out remaining flour.
2. Heat the 1/4 of the EVOO in a skillet.  Add the chicken and cook until it’s cooked through. About 10 minutes. Transfer to a plate and keep warm.
3. Heat reaming EVOO in the skillet, add onions and cook until golden, about 1 to 2 minutes. Add remaining flour, stir to coat. Add wine, broth and the remaining salt, bring to boil, stir often.
4. Return chicken to the pan, reduce heat to a simmer and cooked till heated through. Stir in sour cream and Dijon mustard until smooth. Turn the chicken to coat it with sauce, stir in chives and serve!

Enjoy!

 

Adapted from Gourmet: Day to Day

BBQ Chicken Pasta

I knew it wouldn’t take me long for me to tell Chris what I was making for dinner and for him to get excited, just because I said the word “BBQ.” He’s a man and anything BBQ he’s down for. I probably could make BBQ pancakes and he’d be ok with that(well, I guess I shouldn’t go THAT far!) But I should try it sometime just to see his reaction.

This was a great dish. Kiley loved it also. It’s all made in one skillet which is even nicer. I could see this on a menu at a BBQ restaurant. It’s full of flavor and is even just as good the next day as leftovers.

Ingredients:

1 tablespoon of EVOO

1 onion, diced

3 cups of water

2 cups low sodium chicken broth

12 ounce pasta(your choice)

1/2 cup BBQ sauce, you could add more depending on if you want more flavor

1/2 cup greek plain yogurt

1/3 cup shredded mozzarella cheese

1/3 cup shredded sharp cheddar cheese

2 boneless chicken breast cut into chunks

Directions:

1. In a large skillet, heat EVOO over medium heat. Add the onion and chicken and cook until chicken is browned and cooked through, about 5-7 minutes. Remove the chicken and onions and place on a separate plate. Keep warm.
2. In the same skillet, add the water, chicken broth, pasta and salt. Bring to a boil and simmer for about 15 minutes until pasta is tender. The sauce should be thick.  Stir in BBQ sauce and greek yogurt. Once incorporated, add the chicken and onion mixture. Add both the shredded cheese. Stir to combine. Then serve!

Enjoy!

 

Adapated from Prevention RD.

Tiramisu For Two

The husband has a new-found love for a desert. Every where we go he orders it. This obsession just started a few months ago. We aren’t where or how it started, maybe it’s a pregnancy craving for him! But, he’s been ordering Tiramisu whenever he can! He’s taking a very hard course for his work and had to study all weekend long instead of playing with Kiley, which I know he missed. I decided to make this recipe for him because I knew he’d like it and really enjoy it after studying so hard for so long!  This recipe is great, because he couldn’t eat a whole tiramisu desert by him self.

Funny story, is the recipe suggest to put into a wine glass, which I did, I made 3 of these, one of those being in favorite wine glass ever. Well, I opened the refrigerator door and bam, it fell on the floor, so we were left with only 2 tiramisu left, so I decided to name this recipe tiramisu for two!

Ingredients:

1 1/2 cups heavy cream

1/2 cup of sugar

8 ounces of mascarpone cheese, at room temperature

1/2 cup Marsala wine

1 1/2 cups of Italian roast coffee or a strong dark flavor

1/4 cup dark rum

Lady Fingers, 1 package

2 ounces of dark chocolate

Unsweetened cocoa powder for dusting

Directions:

1. Whip the heavy cream until it forms a small peak. I suggest using a stand mixer for this, otherwise you’ll be mixing for a long time! Add the sugar and whip a bit longer until the sugar is mixed throughout the cream. Scoop out a cup of the whip cream mixture and set aside for topping the tiramisu when it’s all done.
2. In a separate bowl, whisk the mascarpone cheese and Marsala together until smooth and creamy. Gently fold 1/3 of the whipped cream into mixture, then slowly add rest of whipped cream.
3. Stir espresso and rum together. Dip each ladyfinger into the coffee mixture, very quickly, no more than like 2 seconds or it becomes very soggy. Place two ladyfingers in the bottom of a wine glass. Spoon over some mascarpone cheese, then using a microplane or garlic grater, grate some dark chocolate over the top of the layer. Repeat this two more times. Cover and refrigerate for 3 hours.
4. When ready to serve, add some unsweetened cocoa to the top and some of the reserved whipped cream.

Enjoy!

Adapted from Gourmet: Day to Day

Chicken Chimichangas

Chicken Chimichangas are one of my favorite’s that I order from our local Mexican restaurant. They are so flavorful and I love the mixture of cheese and chicken. I came across a recipe, which I heavily adapted to fit my food allergy, and also the recipe I found was more a crock pot meal, I made it into non crock pot meal. It was a much lighter version of what you would get in a traditional mexican restaurant. It was pretty good!

Ingredients:

2 boneless chicken breast

4 ounces green chilies

1 teaspoon of cumin

1 teaspoon of onion powder

1 teaspoon of garlic powder

4 tortilla shells

1 cup shredded Mexican cheese

8 ounces salsa verde

1 cup sour cream

Directions:

1. Pre-heat oven to 425 degrees.
2. Bring a medium saucepan to a boil, place in chicken breast and boil for about 10 minutes. Once done and cooked through, shred the chicken.
3. Add the cumin, onion powder, garlic, and the chiles to the shredded chicken. Mix well.
4. Add the cheese, mixing well again.
5. Spray a large baking dish with cooking spray.
6. Fill each tortilla with the chicken mixture, roll the tortilla up, tucking in the ends, and place seam side down, repeat for next three tortillas. Spray the tops and sides of the filled tortillas with cooking spray. Bake for 20 minutes.
7. In a small saucepan, combine the salsa verde and sour cream.  Mix well and cook over medium heat until warmed.
8. Serve the chimichanges with the salsa verde mixture over top.

Enjoy!

Adapted from The Cookaholic Wife

Turkey Jambalaya

This dish is flavorful! I actually halved the ingredients to make less and to also  turn down the heat a bit, which I’m glad I did cause it was FULL of flavor, the husband was in love after his first bite! If you like a good jambalaya, this is a much healthier version with only 336 calories per serving. By using turkey you save lots of calories then using other proteins, though you could definitely change this as to what you wanted!

Ingredients:

1 tablespoon of olive oil

1  half of a yellow onion, diced

3 teaspoons of garlic, if you are using already prepared garlic, if not 3 cloves mashed will work

1 half of a green bell pepper, chopped

1  half of a red bell pepper, chopped

1 teaspoon  paprika

1/2 teaspoon of  salt

1/2 teaspoon of oregano

1/2 teaspoon of ground red pepper

1/2 teaspoon of ground red pepper

1/2 tsp black pepper

1 cup uncooked long-grain brown rice

2 cups fat-free, less-sodium chicken broth

1 tomatoes, diced I use a Roma

1 pound of ground turkey, cooked

6 oz turkey andouille sausage, sliced

Directions:

1. Heat oil in a large pot  over medium-high heat. Add onion and garlic; saute 6 minutes or until lightly browned. Stir in bell peppers and next 5 ingredients; saute 1 minute.
2. Add the rice; saute 1 minute. Stir in broth and tomato; bring to a boil. Cover, reduce heat, and simmer 30-40 minutes. Add turkey and sausage; cover and cook 10 minutes.

Adapted from Prevention RD. 

Pumpkin Chocolate Swirl Cheesecake

This post is way late, like almost 2 months late! I made this cheesecake for Thanksgiving this year! It was quite yummy!

Ingredients:

For the crust:

1 box of chocolate wafers crushed

2 tablespoons of sugar

6 tablespoons of butter, melted

For the filling:

1 1/2 pounds of cream cheese, softened

1/2 cup granulated sugar

1/2 cup packed brown sugar

2 tablespoons of cornstarch

1 teaspoon of pumpkin pie spice

1 cup pumpkin pie mix

4 eggs

1 teaspoon of vanilla

1/2 cup milk chocolate baking chips

Directions:

1. Heat oven to 350 degrees. Wrap bottom and sides of spring form pan with cooking spray.
2. To make the curst, mix together cookie crumbs, sugar and butter. Press over bottom and partially up side  of spring form pan. Refrigerate while making filling.
3. For the filling, in a large bowl, beat cream cheese until smooth. Beat in sugars, cornstarch and pumpkin pie spice until well combined. Beat in pie mix and eggs. Add vanilla and beat until smooth. Reserve 1/2 cup batter.
4. Microwave chocolate for 30 seconds, stir and microwave another 15 seconds. Stir again and mix into reserved batter, microwave an additional 15 seconds.
5. Pour batter into prepared pan. Dollop tablespoons of the chocolate mixture  over top of cheesecake, swirl with a small knife or spatula. Place in roasting pan, adding enough hot water to come halfway up side of foil.
6. Bake at 350 for 70 to 80 minutes, until just set. Run a knife along the edge of pan. Cool on rack.  Cover, refrigerate overnight.

Enjoy!

Shop Rite’s Can Can Sale

It’s a tradition, it happens every year. You hear that catchy tune come across the TV and now you have your one year old dancing to it. As soon as she hears it she starts to do a little dance! It’s Shop Rites iconic Can Can Sale! This year’s theme is Cans for Fans!

In 2011, Shop Rite donated 40,000 cans of food to local food banks, this year the goal is 50,000! Help make this possible! It’s so simple. All you have to do is “like” Shop Rite’s page on Facebook.  Once you like their page, they will donate one can per like on their page, hoping to reach the goal of 50,000 cans in 2012!

Also be sure to check out the Shop Rite’s, “Get Can Canned” website here. All you have to do is  upload a personal photo and become a Shop Rite Can Can Dancer. You can email it to family &  friends, share on Facebook or twitter!  Check out Kiley’s video here!

 

The official Can Can sale starts Thursday, January 5th! But if you can’t wait there is a Can’t Can’t Wait Sale going on right now at your local Shop Rite!