Chicken Pot Pie Soup

Chicken Pot Pie Soup 

lightly adapted from thecleaneatingcouple.com

Ingredients

• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 lb cooked and cubed boneless skinless chicken breasts about 2 large breasts (using a rotisserie chicken saves time)
• 1 cup celery diced
• 1 cup matchstick carrots
• 1 cup onion finely chopped
• 1/2 tablespoon garlic finely minced
• 2 cups golden potatoes cut into 1 inch pieces
• 1 cup golden potatoes cut into quarters so that you can remove them at the end
• 1/4 teaspoon pepper
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon dried parsley
• 3 cups chicken broth or bone broth- low sodium!
• 1/4 teaspoon dried basil
• 1/4 teaspoon dried rosemary
• 1 tablespoon fresh parsley for garnish (optional)
• 1/2 cup milk of choice almond milk, whole milk, any milk will work

Instructions

Stovetop Instructions

• Heat olive oil in a large pot on the stove. Add in the celery, carrot, onion, garlic, salt and pepper, parsley, basil and rosemary.  Sauté for 2 minutes or until slightly translucent.
• Add chicken, potatoes and chicken broth in the pot. Bring to a boil. Once boiling, lower heat to a simmer and cook on medium heat for 20 minutes.
• Once cooked, remove the large potato pieces.
• Place large potato quarters, milk + 1/2 cup of broth *from the pot* (a few ladles full!) into a blender and blend until smooth. Add back into the pot.
• Stir everything together until combined and smooth. If desired, garnish with parsley and serve.

Chicken Zucchini Pasta

Chicken Zucchini Pasta

1 package of linguine noodles (gluten free if needed)

1 45oz jar of Prego Traditional spaghetti sauce

2 chicken breasts, cut into small pieces

1/2 sweet onion, chopped

1 tsp chopped garlic

1 zucchini, quartered and sliced

1. Chop the chicken, onion and zucchini.

2. Heat a skillet with a little olive oil. Cook the chicken until no longer pink in the middle. Remove the chicken from the pan, draining any liquid. 

3. Add a 1/2 tbsp olive oil to the skillet over medium heat. Add the onions, zucchini and garlic. Stir frequently until the onion is translucent and the zucchini has softened. Put the chicken in this pan. Pour the jar of spaghetti sauce into the pan as well. Stir. Cover pan. Cook over medium low heat, stirring occasionally, until the noodles are ready. 

4. Fill a pot with water. Turn on the heat. Once the water is boiling, add 1 tsp of salt to the water. Add the noodles. Drain once cooked through. 

5. Fill a plate with noodles and top them with the sauce. Enjoy! 

Husband Rating: 4 stars

Boys say: thumbs up

Seasoned Rice

 

from africanbites.com, lightly adapted

Ingredients

• 2 cups (277.5 g) uncooked long grain white rice
• 1 tablespoon (14 g) onion powder
• 1 tablespoon (14 g) garlic powder
• 1 teaspoon (2 g) paprika
• ½ teaspoon dried thyme
• 1 teaspoon (5 g) salt
• ½ teaspoon (1 g) freshly ground black pepper
• 2 teaspoons (4 g) bouillon
• 1 tablespoon (4 g) dried parsley
• 4 tablespoons (56 g) butter or coconut oil
• 4 cups chicken broth, plus 4 tbsp water

Instructions

• In a large pan (that has a lid), combine the rice, onion & garlic powder, paprika, dried thyme, salt, bouillon, ground black pepper, dried parsley, butter or coconut oil, and chicken broth/water. Stir to combine.
• Place on the stove and bring to a boil over high heat.
• As soon as it starts to bubble, cover and reduce to low heat.
• Simmer for about 20 minutes.
• Turn off the heat. Do no lift the lid! Let rice rest for 10 minutes. 
• Stir and serve.

Notes

1. Do not open the lid while simmering the rice because the rice will not cook through.
2. The 10 minutes rest time is essential. The rice will stick to the bottom of the pan if you don't follow the 10 minutes resting time.
3. Use a different container when storing the rice. Do not use the one where you let it cool.

Honey Garlic Chicken

Honey Garlic Chicken

from: therecipecritic.com

Ingredients:

• 6-7 Boneless Chicken Thighs
• 3/4 cup Honey
• 3/4 cup soy sauce (or coconut aminos for a gluten free recipe)
• 2 tbsp hoisen sauce 
• 2 cloves garlic crushed I used 1 1/2 tsp minced garlic
• 1 tbsp fresh ginger root I used 1 tsp dry ginger
• 1 tsp seseame oil
• 2 tbsp cornstarch
• 1/4 cup water

Instructions:

• In a 5 quart slow cooker add the chicken thighs. In a small bowl, whisk together the honey, soy sauce, hoisen sauce, garlic, ginger, and sesame oil. Cook on low for 4-6 hours or high for 3-4 hours.
• Remove the chicken from the slow cooker and shred. Whisk together the cornstarch and water in a small bowl. Whisk it into the sauce in the slow cooker. Return the shredded chicken back to the slow cooker and let cook for another 15 minutes to let the sauce thicken. Serve over rice with roasted broccoli or cooked green beans for a healthy, easy and inexpensive meal. 

Boys say: thumbs up

Husband rating: 4.5 stars

Grilled Salmon with Avocado Salsa

lightly adapted from thecookierookie.com

Ingredients:

2-3 lbs salmon (cut into portions if you're going to grill)

1 tbsp olive oil

1 tsp salt

1 tsp ground cumin

1 tsp paprika

1 tsp onion powder

1/2 tsp chili powder

1 tsp black pepper

Avocado Salsa:

2 avocados, cubed

1/3-1/2 red onion, diced (depending on your raw onion tolerance)

2 limes, juiced

1 tbsp fresh cilantro, chopped

Instructions:

1. Mix the salt, chili powder, cumin, paprika, onion and black pepper together. Rub the salmon with olive oil and this seasoning mix.

2. Refrigerate the salmon for at least 30 minutes. If you're going to bake the salmon, preheat the oven to 400 degrees.

3. Chop the avocado, onion, cilantro and juice the limes. Chill until serving time.

4. Pre-heat the grill or stove top grill pan. Grill the salmon to desired doneness. Or, bake the salmon for about 20 minutes (until it flakes easily with a fork). 

5. Top with avocado salsa and enjoy!

We like putting this in small flour tortillas. The boys requested I add mango next time to the salsa. Sounds like a great idea to me. 

This recipe is easy, fresh and healthy. I hope you love it as much as we do. 

Boys: thumbs up

Pumpkin Muffins

 

adapted from cookieandkate.com recipe

muffin ingredients:

1/3 c melted coconut oil

1/2 c maple syrup

2 eggs, room temperature

1 c pumpkin puree

1/4 c almond milk

2 tsp pumpkin spice blend

1 tsp baking soda

1 tsp vanilla extract

1/2 tsp salt

1 3/4 c gluten free flour (or whole wheat flour if you're okay with gluten)

1/3 c old-fashioned oats

topping ingredients:

2 tsp turbinado (raw) sugar

2 tsp finely chopped pecans

2 tsp oats

Instructions:

1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Put parchment paper cups in muffin tin.

2. In a large bowl beat the oil and maple syrup. Add the eggs and beat well. Add the pumpkin puree, milk, pumpkin spice blend, baking soda, vanilla extract and salt. Stir.

3. Mix in the flour and oats, just until combined.

4. Divide the batter evenly between the muffin cups. Sprinkle the tops of the muffins with topping mix. Bake for 22-25 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into a muffin comes out clean.

5. Place the muffin tin on a cooling rack to cool. These muffins are delicate until they cool down. 

Muffins keep at room temperature for up to 2 days or in the refrigerator for up to 4 days. In a freezer-safe bag in the freezer you can keep these for up to 3 months.

Boys say: thumbs up

Special Stuffing

 

adapted from Costco Connection

Stuffing is not bland or too mushy with this recipe! We loved this flavorful twist on a classic dish.

3 c fresh butternut squash, chopped
2 tbsp olive oil, divided
1 tsp salt, or to taste
1/2 tsp pepper, or to taste
1 lb Italian sausage
1 yellow onion, diced
3 celery sticks, chopped
3 garlic cloves, minced
1 (12 oz) package herb-seasoned cubed stuffing
1 1/2 cups pecans, finely chopped
2 c low-sodium chicken broth

Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Place a piece of foil on a cookie sheet and spray with cooking spray. Toss squash with 1 tbsp oil and a little salt. Place squash on cookie sheet and bake for 30 minutes or until tender.

In a large skillet, brown Italian sausage, breaking into crumbles. Drain sausage, if needed. Remove sausage from pan and set aside. In the pan, heat 1 tbsp olive oil over medium heat. Add onion, celery and garlic. Sauté for 2-3 minutes, until soft and onion is translucent. 

Spray a 9x13 baking dish with cooking spray. Put the sausage, onion mixture, stuffing cubes, roasted squash and pecans in dish. Mix. Pour chicken broth over mixture. Cover with foil and bake for 30 minutes.

Makes 10 servings

Boys say: 2 thumbs up