Grilled Chicken Peach Caprese

Perfect For Peach Season 

This was the absolute best time of year to be making this dish. We love peach season in our house and I love getting creative with how we will use it. I have been a caprese junkie this summer with tomatoes but wanted to change it up with peaches instead.

This was extremely easy to make and one of my new favorite dinner ideas. We served it over brown rice but you could pick any side to make with it in addition.

Ingredients

4 boneless skinless chicken breasts

8oz of fresh mozzarella

Olive oil

Salt & pepper to taste

3 ripe peaches

Fresh basil chopped - I like to cut mine making it into "ribbons"

Balsamic vinaigrette

Directions

Trim fat from the chicken breasts and cut breast in half

Drizzle with olive oil and season with salt and pepper. Cook on the grill until golden brown.

While grilling warm 1/2 cup of balsamic vinegar in a small pot on the stove

Once chicken is finished grilling melt the mozzarella cheese over the chicken while still on the grill.

Remove chicken from the grill

Top with sliced peaches (I tried to do two pieces per chicken breast.)

Finally drizzle balsamic over the chicken and top with the basil ribbons.

Enjoy! It will easily become a family favorite.

Thai Peanut Pasta

Rice Noodles For The Win... This Dinner Is Awesome!

We have been on a quest to change things up in our dinners since I began my journey with going gluten free. We have a meal plan chalked full with new recipes this week. This one was too great not to share. I loved how sweet it was. My husband was not a huge fan but it was a hit with my little one. He was surprised that pasta could taste like peanut butter ;) This one is very filling. You could include chicken with it but I left it out this time. 

Here is what you will need:

Ingredients

• 1 package of rice noodles
• 2 tablespoons chopped green onion, or regular onion
• 1 tablespoon of organic butter
• 1 teaspoon sesame oil 
• 2 tablespoons of organic chicken broth (or water), plus additional 1-2 tablespoons if needed (if the sauce is too thick).
• 3 tablespoons of crunchy organic peanut butter
• 1 tablespoon liquid aminos 
• 1 teaspoon organic apple cider vinegar (BRAGGS is a great brand) 
• 2 teaspoons organic pure maple syrup
• 1-2 teaspoons Sriracha if you would like it to have a spicy flavor. I left it out for mine. 
• Use peanuts on top for a garnish 

Directions 
******Cook rice noodles according to package while working on sauce**********

1. In a saucepan over medium-high heat sauté the onions in the butter until soft.  Reduce heat to medium-low and add the remaining ingredients- water, peanut butter,liquid aminos, apple cider vinegar, maple syrup and Sriracha.
   
2. Remove from heat and stir in sesame oil, then add your noodles and stir to coat, top peanuts.
   
3. Enjoy! 

Naked Tacos

No Boring Clean Eating Meals Here 

Okay the name makes it sound way more fun than it really is. Naked Tacos... how much does that make you want to whip these up?  For some reason it just seems more fun than something like low carb tacos or clean tacos. You feel me on that? Anyways I wanted to share this recipe with you. I was amazed how quickly I put it together and man it really turned out awesome. 

Here is what you are going to need: 

Ingredients

1 lb of organic ground meat 

Black pepper 

Himalayan pink salt 

Fresh garlic (3 cloves) minced 

1 bag of frozen organic sweet corn 

1 container of fresh salsa

1 can of organic black beans 

1 tablespoon of ground cumin (this is what gives it the "taco taste") 

Mexican taco cheese 

1 yellow onion (diced) 

1 ripe avocado 

Directions 

Brown ground meat in a skillet 

Drain grease 

Add in diced onions, garlic and the salsa 

Steam corn in microwave then add into the pan after cooked 

Drain beans then add them into the mixture 

Season the mixture with your salt, pepper and cumin 

Allow to simmer for 10 minutes 

Add in the cheese I only used about 2 cups if that 

Allow it to melt - mix it up 

Serve and garnish with freshly diced avocados and maybe more cheese if you want. 

Hope you love it! 

Clean Chicken Fried Rice

No Need For Take Out Anymore - Make This One At Home 

We love chicken friend rice but what I don't love is all of the awful chemicals that tend to be used when you buy it from a take out place. This weekend when we were snowed in, I decided to try making it myself instead. Not to brag but I kind of knocked this one out of the park. It was a huge hit!! My only complaint was that the left overs the next day were a tiny bit dry so plan to eat this one all up on the day you make it! 

Ingredients 
1 bag of frozen mixed veggies (I went with organic but you could use either)
Brown Rice
3 organic brown eggs (again any egg would work)
1 onion diced
3 boneless skinless chicken breasts cut up
Olive oil for sautéing the chicken
3 cloves of garlic
Braggs liquid aminos( You can find this in the organic/ health food section of most grocery stores)
Pink Himalayan salt
Black Pepper
Organic raw honey
3 small pads of unsalted organic butter

Directions 
Cut up chicken into bite size pieces. Use about a tablespoon of olive oil to sauté the chicken.
After the chicken is cooked season with the garlic cloves, pink Himalayan salt, pepper and a drizzle of honey
Add in the chopped up onions and allow them to cook until clear
While onions are sautéing cook the mixed veggies according to package
Also cook rice according to package. I used enough rice for 4 servings.
Once you add in the mixed veggies drizzle the Braggs Liquid aminos over the mixture. I didn't really measure exact amount just made sure I was covering everything. I would assume I used 3 - 4 tablespoons
Then move your mixture to one side of the pan. Crack your three eggs into the pan and quickly move them around until they look like scrambled eggs. Combine that with your chicken and veggie mixture.
Lastly add in the cooked rice. Mix well. I then added in a bit more salt, pepper and braggs. Followed by three small pads of organic butter. I let it sit for 5 minutes then served it!

Enjoy!

Greek Lemon Chicken Soup

Greek Lemon Chicken Soup 

I was skeptical about this recipe when I put this one together. I was not so sure how great lemon would taste in a chicken noodle kind of soup. I love all things greek though, so I figured I better give it a try. The results were mind blowing. I LOVED IT! The best part- so did my little man and my hubby. It was a tiny bit spicy for the little one but he didn't really complain. That's one thing about my parenting style that I am really proud of, he eats whatever we eat for dinner. He hates mac and cheese and never gets any "special kid meal" made for him. It's a great feeling watching him eat so many healthy things. His diet has lots of variety in it.

The prep for this meal was pretty simple too. I even made this one on a weeknight after a long day of work. Take a look below at the recipe and gather the ingredients. Let me know if you end up trying this one!

Ingredients 

• 10 cups chicken broth
• 3 tablespoon olive oil
• 8 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 sweet onion
• 1 large lemon zested 
• 2 boneless skinless chicken breasts
• 1 cup israeli (pearl) couscous
• 1/2 teaspoons crushed red pepper
• 2 ounces crumbled feta
• 1/3 cup chopped chive
• Salt and pepper

Directions 

1. Place the olive oil in a large 6-8 quart sauce pot over medium-low heat. Peel the onion. Then quarter it and slice into thin strips. Once the oil is hot, saute the onion and minced garlic for 3-4 minutes to soften.

1. Add the chicken stock, chicken breasts, lemon zest, and crushed red pepper to the pot. Raise the heat to high, cover, and bring to a boil. Once boiling, reduce the heat to medium, then simmer for 5 minutes.

1. Stir in the couscous, 1 teaspoon salt, and black pepper to taste. Simmer another 5 minutes. Then turn the heat off.

1. Using tongs, remove the two chicken breasts from the pot. Use a fork and the tongs to shred the chicken. Then place it back in the pot. Stir in the crumbled feta cheese and chopped chive. Taste and salt and pepper as needed. Serve warm.

It takes about 30 minutes from start to finish to make and will produce 6 - 8 one cup servings. ENJOY! 

Mediterranean Rice Noodle Dinner

Mediterranean Rice Noodle Dinner 

This past summer I had bought the Clean Eats cookbook in effort to find some new clean eating recipes. Most of the time all of our dinner ideas come from Pinterest but I was wanting to change things up this week so I reached for my cookbook. I rarely make dinners without a protein but as we gear up for lent this one seemed to be perfect. It only took about 30 minutes from start to finish to make. This will serve 4. 

Ingredients

1 package of rice noodles

1 lb of vegetable spaghetti - I bought mind at Wegmans but you could shred your own

3 tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil

1pint of cherry tomatoes 

10 fresh basil leaves 

Zest and juice from 1 lemon 

3 cloves of garlic 

1/2 cup of kalamata olives

1 - 2 teaspoons of sea salt

1/4 teaspoon of ground pepper

2 tablespoons of unsalted butter

Parmesan cheese for topping 

Some of the ingredients you will need! 

Directions 

Cook rice noodles in a separate pot while you begin to cook the main dish 

In a large skillet warm the olive oil and toss in the vegetable spaghetti 

Add in garlic and tomatoes and cover for about 10 minutes so that the vegetables can soften

Stir occasionally 

Add in the lemon juice, olives and basil 

Once noodles are finished toss them into the mixture. 

Add in salt and pepper as well as the butter 

Portion out and sprinkle with parmesan cheese 

Enjoy! 

Garlic Chicken Parmesan with Spinich and Bow Tie Pasta

Healthy & Delicious Easy Dinner 

As part of a nutrition habit challenge I am participating in my family and I are striving to include veggies in all of our dinners for the month of February. I have been trying to find new ways to add things in without too many complaints from my boys. This past week I added in spinch with our pasta and it totally worked. Nobody complained and my little one actually loved this meal. He was a huge fan of the bow ties ;) Hope your family loves it as much as ours did! 

Ingredients

• 3 tbsp. butter
• 6 cloves minced garlic
• 2 chicken breasts-chopped into bite size pieces
• Sea salt
• ¼-1/2 cups parm cheese
• 2 cups spinach
• 1 box of bow tie pasta 

( I also sprinkeled Herb de Provence in it as well while cooking the chicken) 

Instructions

1. Saute garlic in butter for a minute or two
2. Add chicken pieces, salt, and cook until no longer pink in the middle.
3. Make sure to stir chicken to coat with butter and garlic
4. Add parm cheese and stir until the chicken is coated.
5. Add spinach and cook until wilted
6. Mix in cooked bow tie pasta and toss all together 
7. Top with a hint more of parmesan cheese

Mediterranean Chicken

Mediterranean Chicken 

The recipe that I am sharing with all of you today was actually given to me many years ago from my best friend Brandy. Before I give you her recipe, I want to share with you how blessed I am to have her in my life. She is the kind of best friend who most would kill to have. Shes my number one fan in life and we have truly shared SO many moments of our life together. Shes a gem and if you have her in your life you know exactally what I mean. Shes got the biggest heart I have ever seen. Anyways.. the year I got married and was just getting started learning how to cook she would send me recipe cards ALL the time with yummy dinners to try making for my husband. I still have them all to this day and love looking back and making them occasionally. This past weekend I dug this one out and forgot how fantastic it was. I am an olive lover so the kalamata olives and capers are totally my cup of tea. My husband HATES olives so I made him his own without the olives. He complimented me on how good the flavor was. Decided to include her sweet handwritten notecards instead of typing out the recipe. I can only hope for your sake you have someone as special as her in your own lives!

Clean Chili Mac

My husband was getting grumpy about all of my clean healthy meals so I decided I needed to set out to find something that he would approve of. I tricked him into loving this clean version of Chili Mac and Cheese.  We absolutely loved it and enjoyed it as leftovers the second day! 

(Makes 9 servings)

INGREDIENTS:

• 1 1/2 pounds lean ground meat 
• 2 teaspoons coconut oil
• 1 large onion, chopped fine)
•  8 fresh cloves, minced
• 1 tablespoon chili powder
• 1 tablespoon cumin
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1 teaspoon coriander
• 1 (15 ounce) can tomato sauce, no sugar added, low sodium is best
• 1 cup water
• Whole grain macaroni, cooked to package directions (as much as you like)
• Salt to taste
• Parmesan cheese for garnish
  DIRECTIONS:

1. In a medium to large soup pot, cook the meat in the oil.
2. When the meat is about half way cooked, stir in all the spices.
3. When the meat is finished cooking, stir in the pasta and remaining ingredients.
4. Served topped with parmesan cheese.

Chicken Pineapple Salsa Stir Fry

Chicken Pineapple Salsa Stir Fry 

Ingredients

2 large boneless skinless chicken breasts – fat trimmed

3 garlic cloves minced

12 oz of fresh medium salsa

1 can of diced pineapples drained (fresh would be great too but I was low on time when I made this recipe and had some canned pineapple on hand. Typically I would always pick fresh over canned but in a pinch this was easier).

Brown rice

Salt

Pepper

Directions

Cut chicken into bite size pieces and place into a large skillet to brown

After chicken begins to turn white add in minced garlic and salt and pepper to taste. In a separate pan cook brown rice according to package, I made 2 servings of the rice for this recipe.

After chicken has cooked the whole way thru then add in diced pineapple and the 12 oz of fresh salsa

Cover and let this simmer together for 5 – 8 minutes.

Next add in the cooked rice – mix ingredients together and allow it to “marinate” for a few minutes before serving.

Serves 3 – 4 depending on portion size