A slight variation from my Lemon Feta Chicken, this chicken dish is a bit more robust in that it incorporates a side dish into the cook-time. It’s truly a one-pot (er, skillet) meal that’s on the table about 35 minutes after you mince your garlic.

One-Pot Chicken, Potatoes and Mushrooms lightly adapted from Food Network

• 3/4 pound small red-skinned potatoes, halved, or quartered if large
• 4-6 skinless, boneless chicken thighs (6 to 8 ounces each) — skin-on, bone-in would work just fine, but I was trying to cut fat and calories by keeping it light
• 10 ounces cremini mushrooms, halved
• Kosher salt
• 1 tablespoon rosemary
• 2 cloves garlic, smashed
• Pinch of red pepper flakes
• Juice of 2 lemons (squeezed halves reserved)
• 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil

Preheat the oven to 450. Cover the potatoes with cold water in a saucepan and salt the water. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat and cook until tender – about 8 minutes. Drain and set aside.

Pile garlic, 2 teaspoons salt and the red pepper flakes on a cutting board, then mince and mash into a paste using a large knife. Transfer the paste to a bowl. Stir in the juice of 1 lemon, the olive oil and rosemary. Add the chicken and turn to coat.

NOTE: IF YOU WANT TO DO THIS PORTION AHEAD, JUST PLACE THE CHICKEN IN A ZIP LOCK BAG OR SEALED CONTAINER TO MARINATE OVERNIGHT AND PICK UP WHERE YOU LEFT OFF THE NEXT DAY

Heat a large cast-iron skillet over medium-high heat. Add the chicken,  cover and cook about 5 minutes. Remove chicken from pan and add the mushrooms and potatoes to the skillet. Return chicken to the skillet (over mushrooms and potatoes) and drizzle with any marinade remaining in the bowl and the juice of the remaining lemon.

Add a dash of rosemary and the squeezed lemon halves to the skillet; transfer to the oven and roast, uncovered, until the chicken is cooked through, 20 to 25 minutes.

When you’re done. you’ll have tender, flavorful chicken AND the perfect side dish, full of the same lip-smacking flavors — roasted potatoes and mushrooms.

Enjoy!

I thought so…

Worry not, I have a simple, delicious dish that will help us all get back on track. It’s a “dump” salad (dump a bunch of stuff in a bowl), that requires little to no effort, but tastes incredible! What’s more is that you can make a huge batch and eat it throughout the week for lunches, snacks, etc., and it won’t get icky!

You’ll need:

Ingredients

•  2 cans (15 ounces) black beans, rinsed and drained
• 3 ears fresh corn, cooked, cooled and kernels cut off the cob -(or two cups of frozen)
• 2 red bell peppers, diced
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 medium shallot, minced
• 2 teaspoons salt
• ¼ teaspoon cayenne pepper
• 9 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
• 6 tablespoons fresh lime juice
• 1/2 tablespoon sugar
• 1 teaspoon lime zest (be sure to zest limes before juicing them)
• ½ cup chopped cilantro – set some aside for garnishing, as well!
• 2 avocados, diced

“Dump” all ingredients except avocados in a large bowl and mix well. Cover and chill for a few hours or overnight. Right before serving, add avocados and mix gently. Careful not to mash! Those avocados should be treated with the utmost care — they are key ingredient, after all ;) Garnish with a a bit of chopped cilantro and serve at room temperature.

I’m making mine tonight, but here’s the general gist:

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Honey Glazed Chicken Thighs with Shallots in Red Wine Vinegar

You’ll need:

• 8 lean chicken thighs, skin removed (you can normally purchase these without the skin on – or make a request to your butcher)
• salt and fresh pepper
• 1/2 cup red wine vinegar
• 1 cup fat free chicken broth
• 1 1/2 tbsp honey
• 1 tbsp tomato paste
• 1 tsp butter
• 1 large shallot, thinly sliced
• 2 cloves garlic, thinly sliced
• 1/2 cup dry white wine
• 2 tbsp parsley

Rinse chicken and remove fat. Season with salt and pepper.

In a medium saucepan, combine vinegar, 3/4 cup chicken broth, honey and tomato paste. Boil until it reduces down to about 3/4 cup (about 5 minutes). Remove from heat and set aside.

In a large skillet, melt butter over medium-low heat and add chicken. Cook on both sides, until brown (about 6-8 minutes). Remove chicken and set aside. Add the shallots and garlic to the skillet and cook on low until soft (about 5 minutes). Pour the honey/broth mixture over the chicken and add the wine and remaining broth (1/4 cup). Season with salt and pepper. Cover and simmer about 20 minutes until tender.

Garnish with parsley.

Serve with crusty bread, roasted potatoes, egg noodles with garlic and olive oil  or brown rice.

But that’s not to say I didn’t have any help. Like this incredibly simple, but oh-so-delicious recipe. One of our favorites this year! The combination of lemon and feta is good, but the oregano really takes it over the top.

And did I mention there’s only 6 ingredients? Enjoy!

Lemon Feta Chicken

• 8 skinless chicken thighs
• juice of 1 lemon
• 2 tsp garlic powder
• 3 tsp oregano
• salt and fresh ground pepper
• 1/3 cup feta cheese, crumbled (or more!)

Preheat oven to 375°.

Trim all fat off chicken. Rinse under water and pat dry. Next, season chicken with salt, pepper, oregano, garlic powder and lemon juice. Place in a roasting pan and bake for about 35 – 40 minutes. Once the chicken is cooked, remove from the oven and sprinkle liberally with feta. Return to the oven for 5 minutes, until cheese has started to melt.

Serve with a fresh salad or some oven roasted asparagus.

You’re just going to have to trust me when I say that this dish is worth making — just doesn’t photograph well. Give it a try for yourself!

The Mister, Bean and I had an incredible weekend — no plans whatsoever, just playing, relaxing and lots of laughing

Yesterday the Mister and I spent a good chunk on the evening going through all our photos over the past 6 months, sorting and archiving them on our big computer. Re-living each little moment made me once again realize just how lucky I am to be living my life. I truly could not ask for anything more and the Mister and I are SO blessed to have each other. Together + bean, we really do form the most perfectest little family I could have ever hoped and prayed for.

After such a blissful weekend, I knew getting back into the swing of things this Moday would be a little challenging. To make things easier for myself, I threw together tonight’s dinner yesterday evening. All I’ll have to do tonight is pop it in the oven and wait

If you are also running on a time-crunched schedule, or simply just want less time in the kitchen after work, I suggest you do the same.

The recipe is super easy.

You’ll need:

• 2 packages of white mushrooms (sliced)
• 3 gloves of garlic, minced
• rosemary
• extra virgin olive oil
• 4-6 chicken thighs (boneless and skin removed) — I’ll use leftovers for lunches
• salt + pepper

Layer mushrooms at the bottom of a roasting pan. Toss with minced garlic, a drizzle of olive oil and a good pinch of rosemary. Next, layer chicken thighs on top of mushrooms and drizzle with olive oil. Top with additional rosemary and some salt + pepper. Cover and stick in the fridge until you are ready to cook.

If cooking immediately, place on the center rack of a 400 degree oven and bake for 45-55 minutes, uncovered.

Hope you are all having a terrific Monday. What are you  back-to-work/Monday cooking tips that help you ease back into the work week with limited time in the kitchen?!

Bean says, whatever you’re cookin, don’t forget your veggies!

I on the other hand? Not so much. Not only are the circles under my eyes darkening, but I went a little too far with the whole “messy bun” look this week as a result of not having washed my hair for 5 days. And I may or may not have worn the same at home loungewear (i.e. leggings and a nursing tank) for those same 5 days. That Mister is a lucky man, people, a lucky man.

Needless to say, I was a sight for sore eyes. Luckily, the Mister still pretends to find me alluring - God bless him. But I knew needed to recapture my mojo and show him that despite appearances, I really do have it all under control. Because who doesn’t want to be superwoman?

So I went to work — washed my face and hair, applied lip gloss and slipped into NEW leggings with a T-shirt that, in my opinion, made my butt look pretty awesome.

I also made a kick-ass dinner. Because we all know people look more beautiful when accompanied by delicious food.

You didn’t know that?

Shame on you.

If you, too, need to reduce those under-eye circles and bring out the sparkle in your eye, serve this dinner. It takes less than 15 minutes and tastes so good even the worst cases will find redemption. And while you’re at it — wash that hair

You’ll need:

• 1/3 cup apricot preserves
• 1 tablespoon hoisin sauce (found with soy sauce and other Chinese cuisine)
• 1 tablespoon reduced-sodium soy sauce
• 1 pound pork tenderloin, cut into 1″ pieces
• salt and ground black pepper
• 2 teaspoons olive oil
• cooked rice (optional, if you’d like to “bulk up” the meal)

First, stir together the apricots, preserves, hoisin sauce, and soy sauce in a small bowl and set aside.

Next. season the pork with salt and pepper and heat the oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add the pork and cook, stirring, until lightly browned, about 5 minutes.

Stir in the apricot mixture. Bring to a boil, reduce the heat to low, cover, and simmer for 10 minutes, or until the pork is cooked through and the sauce is thick. Serve over rice, if using.

I decided to forgo the rice. Don’t worry, though, I recovered the lost carbs by chowing through an entire bag of popcorn — alone. What!? I’m allowed – I am superwoman, after all

Our grocery store was having a sale on shrimp, so I purchased a 2 lb. bag and went to work creating two different recipes.

Today, I’m going to share one of them: Roasted Chickpeas with Garlic Lemon Shrimp

You’ll need (makes two entree-sized servings):

• 1 pound of shrimp, peeled and di-veined (can be cooked or raw) — if you want to make my other recipe this week, purchase a 2 lb. bag and save the other half!
• 1 can of chickpeas
• 1 lemon
• 1 1/2 cloves of garlic, minced (will need zest and juice!)
• 3 tablespoons olive oil
• 1/4 cup fresh parsley

Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Drain the chickpeas and pour into a roasting dish. Toss with one tablespoon of the olive oil and a pinch of salt. Spread into a single layer and bake for 20 minutes.

While the chickpeas are cooking, combine shrimp, the zest of 1/2 lemon, the remaining two tablespoons of olive oil, parsely, minced garlic and 1/2 teaspoon of salt. Set aside.

Once the chickpeas are finished, pour shrimp mixture on top and return to the oven for 5-8 minutes. Serve with lemon wedges.

Fill up a bowl and dig in!

Refreshing. Simple. Completely delicious.

Tomorrow, I’ll share what you can do with your remaining shrimp. If you want to join in the fun, make sure you have a head of broccoli and red onion handy!

If you decided to be a meal-planning rock-star with me this week, you still have some leftover roasted chicken. Lucky you, I have another fast and delicious recipe!

Chicken Taco Salad

You’ll need:

• 2 romaine hearts
• 2 bell peppers, chopped (I used combo of green, yellow and red)
• 1 avocado
• 2 ears of corn, shucked
• 1 cup salsa
• 1 1/2 – 2 cups leftover roasted chicken, chopped
• 1 packet taco seasoning
• 1/2 cup cheddar cheese
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 2 tablespoons chicken stock

First, put a pot of water on the stove to boil — you’ll need it for the fresh corn.

Next, heat oil in a large saute pan. Next, add chopped bell peppers and cook about 3-5 minutes.

Add chicken, stock and taco seasonings. Stir and cook about 5 minutes on low.

While this is cooking, add your corn to the boiling pot. When finished, cut the corn off the cob and set aside.

Now it’s time to build our salad! Add lettuce to a bowl and pile on the chicken and pepper mixture. Top with chopped avocado, cheese and corn. Use salsa as “dressing.”

To add extra crunch, feel free to crumble some tortilla chips on top!

Up next on the meal-planning front: 1 big bag of shrimp (2 lbs.) = two days of DELICIOUS recipes! Buy your shrimp this weekend and stay tuned!

I don’t know about you, but after the long holiday weekend last week, I’m definitely having a case of the “Mondays” this morning. But for those of you who are suffering from similar bran haziness, I’m here to make your life easier for dinner tonight!

Did any of you make the Weekend Roast Chicken? If so, your hard work is over! If not, get cookin in the kitchen tonight and make this recipe tomorrow.

You’ll need:

• About 1 1/2 cups leftover roast chicken — dark meat works best 
• 2 teaspoons peanut oil
• 1/2 chopped vidalia onion
• 1 1/2 garlic cloves – minced
• 1 1/2 teaspoon ginger
• 1 tablespoon soy sauce
• 1/2 cup water chestnuts (drained and chopped)
• 2 tablespoons chicken broth
• 2 tablespoons rice wine vinegar
• small pinch ground black pepper
• 2 scallions, slices
• 4 Bibb lettuce leaves

First, heat the oil in a saute pan on medium/low heat. Add onion and saute about 3 minutes, Reduce heat to low. Next, add ginger and garlic and saute 1 minute. Add water-chestnuts and cook 1 more minute.

Add chicken, broth, soy sauce, vinegar and pepper and stir well. Remove from heat and stir in the shopped scallions.

Almost done!

Divide chicken mixture into lettuce cups (or on top of a bed of lettuce if you “cups” fall apart, like mine did!

Make these soon. They are delicious (the Mister has already requested this dish again), oh-so-easy (less than 15 minutes!) and really help out in the “domestic goddess” department.

Stay tuned for this week’s meal plan. Also in the works — how to travel with a baby — any specific questions you’d like me to address?

I know I’m not.

Luckily, I have a quick and easy recipe for a delicious, go-to dinner!

Italian Sausage with Pepper and Onions. A classic, hearty dish with a healthy spin.

You’ll need:

1 package of Italian Sausage (I chose Al Fresco Italian CHICKEN sausage) – it’s leaner than traditional varieties and cuts a lot of fat and calories

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2 green bell peppers

1 white onion

2 tablespoons butter

4 cloves garlic, minced

1 teaspoon dried basil

1 teaspoon dried oregano

Start by cooking the sausage — place sausage in a large skillet over medium heat, and brown on all sides. Remove from skillet, and slice.

Melt butter in the skillet. Don’t be afraid of butter. Butter is our friend and makes this dish 100x more delicious than tasteless PAM. It’s worth it, I promise. Stir in the onion and garlic, and cook 2 to 3 minutes. Mix in green bell pepper. Season with basil, and oregano. Continue to cook and stir until peppers and onions are tender.

Return sausage slices to skillet with the vegetables. Reduce heat to low, cover, and simmer 10-15 minutes, or until sausage is heated through.

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Serve and enjoy! This dish also makes an excellent hoagie-style sandwich.

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