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The Easiest Way to Cook Delicious Chicken

By on February 26, 2016 in Main Dishes

Everyone has that one thing they can’t cook. That thing that no matter how simple it is, no matter how closely you follow directions, you always fail. Right? Or is it just me? So I admit, there are actually two seemilgly simple things I just can’t make. One is rice. I truly feel like the laws of physics defy themselves when I try to make rice. Luckily, I solved that problem with a rice cooker. Done.

Cooking fail number two: a whole chicken. I can make turkey with no problem, but no matter how long I keep a whole chicken in the oven, it comes out raw in the middle. I don’t get it. Luckily, I found a solution to this problem too: the slow cooker. Not only does cooking it in the slow cooker ensure I can actually cook said chicken, but it always comes out moist and is so easy to put together. And I can come home to the smell of dinner and a warm, hearty meal. I will never try to cook a chicken in the oven again.

 

2016-01-10 10.58.03They are all generally around the same size, but I always try to buy the biggest chicken I can. This way I know I’ll have healthy leftovers during the week for salads. I would tell you how best to slice this chicken, but slicing is not an option. It basically just falls off the bone when you try to pull it out.

 

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Slow Cooker Pesto Chicken

By on January 22, 2016 in Main Dishes

Every year we try to grow basil. I have dreams of jars and jars of homemade pesto and Caprese salad. I plan to spend the summer sprinkling basil on everything. I’ll look like the cover of a magazine, smiling as I harvest my basil surrounded by my perfectly dressed children who never fight and always obey me.  Sadly, I generally kill everything I plant. Luckily, jarred pesto is getting healthier and tastier than it once was.

I love to use pesto for salad dressing, veggie dip, mixed with mayonnaise for a spread and a topping for chicken. This pesto chicken is one of my favorite uses for pesto. And it comes together in the slow cooker, which just makes life better in general.

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Just drizzles avocado oil in the bottom of your slow cooker, top with chicken breasts and top each breast with jarred pesto and cook on low 4-6 hours. It’s hard to think of a recipe that’s easier.

The oil keeps the chicken moist and cooking it slowly allows the pesto to really penetrate into the chicken and give it lots of flavor. Maybe one day I’ll make this with my pesto made with home-grown basil. Then when I serve it to company and they “ooh” and “aah,” I can tell them I grew the basil myself and act like it’s no big deal. Yeah. I want to be that person.

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Healthy Slow Cooker Chuck Roast

By on January 15, 2016 in Main Dishes

Few things are as comforting on a busy day as coming home to the smell of a roast in the crock pot. Throw some whole wheat bread in the bread maker as well and the comforting smells are right up there with world peace. Plus, using a slow cooker always makes me feel like someone else made me dinner. Life doesn’t get much better.

In my opinion, the best roast for a slow cooker is a chuck roast. They’re not as thick as other roasts so they cook more evenly.

The secret to cooking tender beef is to brown the meat before putting it in a slow cooker and to cook it low and slow.

2015-10-08 09.37.41Before you brown your meat, rub it down with a spice mixture.

Then place the browned meat on a bed of root vegetables. I use carrots and sweet potatoes. If you don’t like sweet potatoes, russet potatoes are fine. I just like the flavor and health benefits that come from sweet potatoes.

Then top the meat with sliced onions and a can of diced tomatoes and cook the whole thing in a flavorful broth for eight hours.

Cooking it this way makes the meat just fall apart. This is perfect on a cold night. Or a warm night. Or a Tuesday. Whatever. There’s no reason not to make this for dinner.2015-10-08 18.01.39

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Creamy Cauliflower Soup

By on November 13, 2015 in Main Dishes

I love to trick my family by adding healthy things to their food. I add beans to their brownies, avocado to their frosting and now cauliflower to their cheese soup. I gave them the soup, listened to them “ooh” and “aah” and never said a word about what was in it. Mwa ha ha! I love the small victories.

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Start by steaming the cauliflower. I got this lovely steaming basket at Ikea years ago. It’s one of my favorite kitchen tools because it fits in any pan and is dishwasher safe.

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While the cauliflower steams, cook the onion and garlic in the butter and avocado oil. Do this right in your soup pot. Add the salt, pepper, almond milk and chicken broth and heat this all together.

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Add the steamed cauliflower and puree with an immersion blender. I love my immersion blender for the same reason I love my veggie steamer. It’s extremely versatile and dishwasher safe.

Add the cheese and continue to cook the soup until the cheese melts.

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Top each serving with green onion, turkey bacon and more cheese.

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Ten Healthy Changes You Can Make Today

By on September 22, 2015 in healthy tips

“A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step.” You don’t have to go from krispy kreme to kale overnight. Here are some small, simple steps to get you started on your own personal health journey. Adopt all 10 or start with one at a time. No matter what, any healthy change you […]

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Healthy Mulligatawny

By on September 18, 2015 in Main Dishes

Whenever my daughter and I are having one of those rough days where we butt heads and can’t agree on anything, we need something to help us unwind and have fun together. For us, that’s an episode of Pioneer Woman on the Food Network. It doesn’t always stop the fighting, but for half an hour, we agree on something. Sometimes, that’s priceless.

A few weeks ago, we watched her make Mulligatawny soup. It looked amazing, but had a few ingredients I’m not okay with including in a week night dinner. I came up with a healthy variation which our whole family loves.

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The entire dish comes together in one pan which is my kind of meal. It cooks really fast but is packed full of flavor.

Start by cooking the chicken. Then add the onion and garlic and cook it all together.

Add the curry, broth and coconut milk and cook just to heat it up. Then add the chopped apple and cook for another five minutes. This will cook the apple but keep it from getting mushy.

Top each serving with some chopped peanuts. This adds more great flavor and crunch.

I love this dish because it’s a great,warm soup for winter but the freshness from the apple makes it great for any time of year.

 

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Grilled Round Steak

By on September 4, 2015 in Main Dishes

When I was 8-years-old, I submitted my picture to a children’s Christian magazine along with interesting facts about me. Many of the other kids included facts like “I love to go camping with my family,” or “I won the third-grade science fair.” My interesting fact was, “My favorite food is steak.” Needless to say, my profile wasn’t as interesting a read as the others, but I still hold to what I said. I love steak! And this is my favorite way to make it. Plus, it’s extremely easy and healthy.

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Start by making a simple marinade. Because I don’t want to dirty more dishes than necessary, I mix the marinade in a gallon-size Ziploc bag. In the bag, combine the coconut aminos, Worcestershire sauce, balsamic vinegar, orange zest and garlic. If you haven’t tried coconut aminos yet, you should. It’s basically a healthier version of soy sauce.

Add the round steak to the bag and marinate for at least four hours.

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Now cook it on the grill. We cook it for about 5 minutes on one side and six minutes on the other for rare. I personally don’t know any way to eat steak other than rare.

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Let the steak rest for about eight minutes and then slice diagonally. This is a fabulous recipe because you don’t need to add any kind of steak sauce. The marinade makes it perfect just as it is.

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