Chicken & Bell Pepper Saute with Lemony Kale Quinoa

I can't really express how much I love cooking, especially when it comes to doing so for my family. There's just something about making a delicious, healthy dinner for my loved ones that makes me really happy.

More often than not, my husband will go out for eat for lunch during the work week; while there's nothing wrong with that (when I worked full-time, I needed that hour out of the office just to maintain my sanity, not even gonna lie about that), it's even more motivation for me to ensure that he has a home-cooked meal for dinner.

Tonight I'm giving you not one but two recipes, and I'm doing that because these two go SO darn well together. You certainly don't have to serve them that way, but I know you'll be happy if you do. We actually had this meal for dinner tonight, and I'm proud to tell you that, much like the Italian Turkey Orzo Soup I posted the other day, Zoey gobbled hers right up! She was a particularly big fan of the quinoa. That girl surprises me every day! 

These recipes both came from Cooking Light, though I've done a bit more "adapting" than normal just to suit our tastes. I hope you enjoy!

Chicken & Bell Pepper Saute

Adapted from Cooking Light, August 2014

 

1 tbs olive oil

1 lb chicken breasts, cut into bite size pieces

1/2 teaspoon black pepper

1/4 tsp kosher salt

1 cup sliced orange bell pepper

4 cloves garlic, minced

1/2 tsp dried oregano

1/4 cup low sodium chicken stock

1/4 cup pitted kalamata olives, sliced

1/4 cup crumbled feta cheese

 

Heat a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add oil and swirl to coat. Season chicken with salt and pepper and add to skillet. Cook until done, about 7 minutes. Remove chicken from pan and add bell pepper, oregano and garlic. Saute for 2 minutes. Add chicken and stock and cook for 1 minute. Remove from heat and add olives. Stir. Transfer to serving bowl or onto plates and sprinkle with feta cheese.

 

 

Lemony Kale Quinoa

Adapted from Cooking Light, August 2014

 

1 cup of quinoa, rinsed and drained

1 1/4 cups water

2 tsp butter

1/4 tsp kosher salt

1 cup stemmed, chopped kale

2 tsp lemon juice

 

Add quinoa, water, butter and salt to a medium saucepan and bring to a boil. Cover and cook for 10 minutes or until liquid is absorbed and quinoa is tender. Combine quinoa, kale, and lemon juice in a medium bowl and toss to coat.

 

Until next time...

 

Cheers!

 



Root Beer Sloppy Joes

When I first saw today's recipe in the September 2014 edition of Cooking Light, I immediately knew I had to try it. For one, I'm a huge fan of root beer. People are typically shocked when they learn this little tidbit about me - I don't like to eat sweets, yet my favorite soda is, well, pretty darn sugary. I'm not sure why I can do sweet drinks but not sweet food, but that's no matter. On top of loving root beer, I also love sloppy joes. Yes, they're typically considered a "kid's" food, aren't exactly something you'd find on a gourmet restaurant's menu and are really quite messy (hence the name), but there's just something comforting and nostalgic about them. Come on, admit it: you like them, too. And I can assure you, you'll LOVE this recipe. It's super easy, done in less than 20 minutes and YUMMY. Can't beat that! I paired it with some store-bought sweet potato chips (I purchased SimpleTruth brand). Fabulous.

"Root Beer" Sloppy Joes

Cooking Light, September 2014

2 tsp canola oil

3/4 cup chopped onion

1 lb 90% lean ground sirloin

1/2 cup tomato sauce

1/4 cup bottled chili sauce (like Heinz)

1/4 cup root beer (I used Barq's)

1 tbs Worcestershire sauce

2 tsp minced garlic

1 tsp dry mustard

1 tsp chili powder

1 tsp tomato paste

4 hamburger buns, toasted

Heat a large nonstick skillet over medium heat. Add oil and swirl to coat. Add chopped onion and cook for 3 minutes before adding beef. Cook beef approximately 5 minutes, or until browned. Stir in tomato sauce, chili sauce, root beer, Worcestershire sauce, minced garlic, dry mustard, chili powder and tomato paste. Bring to a simmer and cook for 5 minutes or until mixture thickens slightly, stirring occasionally. Divide sloppy joe mix evenly among 4 hamburger buns and serve with sweet potato chips or whatever side you prefer.

Until next time...

Cheers!

Spicy Shrimp & Mango Stir Fry

Happy Saturday, friends! To be really honest, I'm not a huge fan of shrimp. My husband, on the other hand, loves it, so every now and again I'll make it at home. This recipe is from the April 2014 edition of Cooking Light (my favorite publication for great recipes!). I have to say, I loved all of the flavors in this dish - I even liked the shrimp! Don't leave out the basil in this one - it's a must.

Spicy Shrimp & Mango Stir Fry

5 ounces uncooked rice noodles

3 tbs water

4 tsp lime juice

2 tsp brown sugar

2 tsp fish sauce

1/2 tsp cornstarch

1/2 tsp crushed red pepper

1/4 tsp black pepper

10 ounces medium shrimp, peeled & deveined

1 tbs canola oil

1/2 cup sliced Vidalia onion

1 sliced red bell pepper

1 tbs ginger paste

1 cubed, peeled mango

1/4 cup torn basil leaves

 

Cook noodles according to package directions and drain. Set aside.

 

Combine water, lime juice, brown sugar, fish sauce and cornstarch and stir together. Set aside.

 

Combine crushed red pepper, black pepper and shrimp in a medium bowl and toss to mix. Heat a large skillet over medium heat and add 1 1/2 tsp oil to the pan, swirling to coat. Add shrimp and cook 3 minutes or until almost done, turning once while cooking. Remove from the pan.

 

Add remaining oil to the pan and add onion, bell pepper and ginger. Cook for 2 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add shrimp, juice mixture and mango to the pan. Cook 1 minute or until shrimp are done.

 

Sprinkle with basil leaves and serve over cooked rice noodles.

 

Until next time...

 

Cheers!