Lemon Grilled Chicken and Perfect Asparagus

I'm always on the hunt for easy, healthy recipes that my family will like, and these are both definite winners!  I found this first one on the Better Homes and Gardens site, and adapted it a bit.  I  used chicken tenders instead of the chicken breasts, marinated it for two hours, and then cooked them on our little George Foreman grill.  So super easy!

Lemon Grilled Chicken

photo from Better Homes and Gardens 

4 chicken breasts

1/2 fat-free, low-sodium chicken broth

1/4 c lemon juice

1 tbsp lemon zest

1 tbsp finely snipped fresh thyme (or 1/2 tsp dried thyme)

1/4 tsp black pepper

For marinade, combine broth, zest, juice, thyme and pepper.  Trim the fat from the chicken, and place it in a  freezer bag.  Pour the marinade over the chicken, seal the bag, and place it in the refrigerator.  Marinate for 1-2 hours, turning occasionally.

Drain the chicken, but save the marinade.  Our George Foreman is one of the older, simpler ones, so there are no settings to adjust; you just plug it in, and it heats up.  If yours is adjustable, I'd say to set it to medium, let it warm up, and throw your chicken on there.  We only had to cook ours for a few minutes, because our pieces were so small, but we had a lot of them.  If you'd like, brush some of the marinade on the chicken when it's about half way done, flip it over, and brush it on the other side as well.  We skipped this step on ours, and they were still super moist, tender, and lemony-delicious.  

While Brandon tended to grilling the chicken, I took care of the asparagus.  I found this recipe for "perfect" asparagus" here, and I'm telling you, it is aptly named.  That asparagus was delicious.  I'd never tried blanching my veggies before, but I will definitely be doing so again.

Perfect Asparagus, with Lemon

photo from the original post at afamilyfeast.com

fresh asparagus

fresh lemon

1/2 tbsp butter

Wash your asparagus, then snap off the hard ends and discard (compost!) them.  Prepare your ice bath: basically, you just need to have a big bowl full of iced water handy by the stove.  Boil water in a large pot.  Once it's come to a boil, add the asparagus and allow it to return to a boil.  Set a timer, and boil the asparagus for about two minutes.  Skinny asparagus will finish faster, thicker ones may take a little longer, but don't let them go for more than three minutes!  They will be a bright, vibrant green when they're ready.  At this point, use a pair of tongs to move the asparagus to the water bath, and leave it there for about two minutes.  Use the tongs again to remove it and set it aside.  I just placed mine in a strainer in the sink, until the chicken was just about done.  

When he put the last two pieces of chicken on the grill, I melted my butter in a non-stick skillet over  medium heat, added the asparagus, squeezed the juice from about half a lemon over it, and sauteed it for only a minute or two and then served it immediately.  

I'm trying to focus on meat and veggies at dinner, to avoid over-doing on the carbs, so that was our entire dinner: chicken and asparagus. We each took healthy helpings of both, especially the asparagus.  And man, oh man, was it good.  All of it.  Strangely, neither of the girls was the least bit interested in any of it--I can usually count on Kaylie to eat hers, but not this time.  Still, there was not a bit of asparagus left by the end of the meal, and there were only 3 little pieces of chicken.

I think that next time I do this asparagus, I'll try doing a balsamic glaze instead of the lemon, and maybe pair it with a Mediterranean chicken?  Oh, this is making me hungry!

Crock Pot Chicken: A Fail, and then A Win

I found 2 similar crock-pot chicken recipes on Pinterest, and wanted to try them both.  I got to this one first.  It was just as easy as the recipe says, and the chicken was tender, but I didn't like the flavor at all.  My husband liked it more than I did, but he wasn't wowed by it either.  If you're a fan of canned cream of chicken soup, the you will like this.  I, apparently, am not a fan.

A week or so later, I tried this recipe.  I almost skipped it, since it also calls for cream of chicken soup, but this recipe only needs one can and it calls for cream cheese.  I decided to give it a chance, and I'm so glad that I did!  This chicken was creamy and tender and flavorful.  My only complaint was that it was a bit on the salty side, probably from the Italian dressing mix.  Next time I'll just make my own, and I'll be able to control how much salt goes into it.  I think I'll also take the mushrooms from the first recipe and add them to the second. 

photo from original post on Once A Month Mom

Cream Cheese Crock-Pot Chicken

2lbs boneless, skinless chicken breasts

1 can cream of chicken soup

8oz cream cheese

1 packet dry Italian dressing mix

Place chicken, soup, cream cheese, and seasoning mix in slow cooker. Cook on high 4-5 hours or low 8-9 hours, or until chicken is cooked through. (I used less chicken, and it took only 6 ours on low.) Serve over hot cooked rice, mashed potatoes, or pasta, if desired.

Mediterranean White Pizza

Brandon has fallen in love with the Alexander the Greek pizza from Chanello's, a local pizza chain here in Virginia.  It's a Mediterranean style white pizza with, among other things, calamata olives and feta cheese.  It's delicious.  This time, instead of ordering out, I decided to make my own.

You will need: 

fresh pizza dough (1 ball = 1 pizza)

olive oil

minced garlic (I got a jar of it, rather than mincing my own)

fresh basil

 fresh spinach

shredded mozzarella

chopped roma tomatoes (1 per pizza)

chopped calamata olives

chopped white onion

feta cheese, crumbled

I didn't measure anything out, I just kind of gauged by what looked right. If any of these ingredients don't sound good to you, don't put it on the pizza!  I skipped the onion, though it was more by accident than by design.  Just remember, the more ingredients you have to put on it, the less of each you will need.

Preheat oven to 375°F and get your pizza dough thinned out and spread on your pan.  (I wasn't sure whether to oil my pan or not, so I did one with and one with out.  The pizza came easily off of the un-oiled pan, but stuck to the oiled one.)  Mix olive oil, basil, and garlic in a small dish and use your fingers to spread it out on the prepared pizza dough as the "sauce".  Grab a handful of the spinach, break it up a bit, and sprinkle it on.  Add the mozzarella, tomatoes, olives, onion and feta.  (Brandon had me add more mozzarella on top, after that photo was taken.)  Bake at 375°F for 25 or 30 minutes, or until cheese just begins to brown and the crust is golden.  (I let my first one over-brown, and then I took the second one out a bit too soon.)

Let it cool a bit after you take it out, and enjoy!

Deliciously Healthy Taco Salad

 

1 lb lean ground beef

1 can navy beans, drained and rinsed

½ tsp chili powder

¼ tsp salt

1/8 tsp pepper

½ c salsa, divided

1 tbsp lime juice

1½ c shredded lettuce

1 lg avocado, chopped

1 sm chopped tomato

¼ c red onion strips

baked tortilla strips

In a large skillet, brown the ground beef over medium heat.  Drain well and return to pan.  Mix in salsa, lime juice, beans, chili powder, salt, and pepper; heat through.  Divide lettuce among serving bowls.  Add meat mixture, and top with avocado, tomato, onion, and tortilla strips.  Serves 4.

Adrienne's helpful hint: Use a pizza cutter to cut tortillas into strips, and use the broiler setting on your oven to crisp them quickly.