Tag Archives: chicken tenderloins

Chicken and Summer Vegetable Coconut Curry Over Whole Grain Quinoa

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Curry…. I honestly never thought I liked curry. It’s not always the prettiest dish honestly. I also always thought that it had to be spicy… I never knew that it could be quite mild! This is now my 3rd posted curry recipe on my blog! I have found that I just love it! (Mainly when I can control the spiciness that is!) I even will put turmeric in my veggies for lunch sometimes… it adds that pretty yellow color and just the right amount of taste!

This dish cooked up quite quickly! Like usual, I used my rice cooker to make my quinoa… so if you don’t have one yet… you know you want one! 🙂

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This will make 4 medium sized servings

INGREDIENTS

1/4 cup chopped onion
3 tsp curry powder
1/8 tsp turmeric
1/2 tsp minced garlic
1/4 tsp smoked paprika
2 carrots, peeled and diced
1 large yukon gold potato peeled and cubed into bite size pieces
2 medium zucchini squash, diced
1 small yellow summer squash
Small handful of green beans chopped into bite size pieces
1 15oz can of unsweetened premium coconut milk (NOT Light!!!)
3/4 cup chicken broth
1 large bunch of kale (or spinach) rinsed and chopped (remove center vein from the kale)
Salt and pepper to taste
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 TB butter

Quinoa:

1 cup quinoa
2 cups water
1 TB olive oil
dash of salt

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INSTRUCTIONS:

Start by starting the quinoa. RINSE your quinoa in a metal mesh colander, or SOMEHOW. But definitely rinse it. Then, either measure and place into a rice cooker and press “cook”, or follow directions on the package and cook in a small sauce pan with a lid.

Then, cook your chicken. I used 3 chicken tenderloins so that the dish would vegetable heavy with a hint of chicken… not the other way around! I placed butter in the bottom of the skillet, and turned it onto medium to melt the butter. Then, I put my chicken tenderloins into the skillet onto the melted butter. I added the 1/2 of the onion and 1 tsp of the curry powder and salt and pepper. While it’s cooking, I took the spatula and cut the chicken into bite sized pieces. (I cook my chicken from frozen, so if you cook from raw, feel free to cut into bit sized pieces first.) Once the chicken is cooked through, remove the chicken from the skillet and place in a bowl and set aside. Add the olive oil into the still warm skillet still at medium heat. Add the potatoes and carrots first with the chicken broth. Add the rest of the curry powder, paprika, minced garlic and turmeric. Once they have cooked for 5-7 minutes and veggies start to soften (as well as the chicken broth cooking down and reducing a bit) add the zucchini, summer squash, green beans. Shake the can of coconut milk well to mix. Open the can and stir coconut milk in slowly to the vegetable mixture. I only ended up using 3/4 of the can of coconut milk, but you may want to use all of it. Just depends on how you like it. Add the chicken back into the mixture and stir to incorporate it. Let it simmer a couple of minutes. Add salt and pepper to taste. Just before you are ready to serve it, add the rinsed and chopped kale. Stir, combine, and SERVE over the cooked quinoa. DELICIOUS!!!

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Even the leftovers of this dish was AMAZING! If you like curry, try it! You can even add a bit more spice if you’d like, throw a bit of cayenne powder for a bit more spice! 🙂

And now, for the quote of the day:

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Chicken and Veggie Parmesan Skillet

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I can’t believe I forgot to post this last night! This one was so fresh… and the veggies added a nice crunch! We did eat a bit later last night though.
This one took me about 20 minutes. It’s quick, easy, low carb (unless you have bread as a side like I did… haha) fresh and summery! Perfect quick dish on a weeknight!
My mom had my daughter last night, so I had just my son when I was making dinner. Isn’t it strange how when you go from 2 kids (or however many you have) to 1 less… the world suddenly seems so easy? Everything is simple all of a sudden . Butterflies are everywhere, birds are chirping, you can smell the roses… lol. But seriously. I sat and talked with him and had time to give him my full attention… and he LOVED IT! I’ve gotta do that more. Have focused one on one time with each of them. They just BLOOM (only term that seemed to properly describe it) in that time. I learn new stuff about them, they talk and just snuggle into me. I cherished it. 🙂
Ok, back to food.

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INGREDIENTS:

1/2 tsp garlic, minced
2 TB olive oil
1/4 cup fresh lemon juice
Zest of 1 lemon (about 1 TB)
6 chicken tenderloins (or 3 chicken breasts)
Salt and pepper to taste
1/2 tsp dried oregano
Dash cayenne pepper powder
1/4 cup white wine (or chicken broth)
2 TB butter
1/4 cup chopped onion
3 sweet mini peppers chopped
1/2 cup frozen broccoli florets
1 cup frozen veggies: carrots, green beans, etc. Your choice
3 tbsp grated Parmesan cheese

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DIRECTIONS:

1. Cook garlic, carrots and onions in a large skillet over medium heat for 1 to 2 minutes. Add chicken, salt and pepper, oregano, cayenne powder and lemon juice and the black pepper; cook 4 to 5 minutes on each side or until chicken is done (165º F.).

2. Add in the vegetables and white wine (or chicken broth) and butter; cook 2 to 3 minutes or until heated through, stirring occasionally.

3. Sprinkle generously with the Parmesan cheese.

Serve! This makes 3 – 4 servings depending on the size of serving you take. I served it with a couple of slices of bread. You can do quinoa, pasta, or some fruit! Totally up to you! This one was amazing!

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And now, for the quote of the day:

 

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Dill Chicken and Potato Skillet

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Doggone it…

Yeah. That’s how my Tuesday went! We have a large dog. Well, I guess technically he is in the medium to large sized dog family. He is around 80 pounds…. and he’s part bloodhound. The part about him being a bloodhound mix is quite important because he can literally smell a crumb under the kids bed from last week. He’s quite persistent too. During quiet time today, both of my kids were in 1 room playing together and having a snack, and my son decided to open the door. Four times. Guess what happened each time. Yep, Duke got in, ran straight for the snacks and tried to gobble it up as quickly as he could and tried to shove himself under my daughters bed to get all of the extra crumbs. I had to run from my room where I had a pile of laundry in my lap, each time, and pull the 80 pound dog off of the snacks and drag him out of the room. I’m going to get some serious Madonna arms!!! HA! It’s like, son, can you not see that if you open the door, your NATURAL CONSEQUENCE is: the dog will eat your food. And of course my son looks at me with a blank stare and says “Duke eat my food!”. Um. Yes, yes he did. Wow.

So, this is what happens every night when I make dinner:

duker

After he gets in trouble around 10 to 15 times for trying to stick his nose in dinner, he will finally sit down on that rug, completely in my way, and lay there while I make dinner. 🙂 He likes to smell it I assume.

Last night I was craving beets and potatoes. Weird craving? Not sure! But it sure sounded good!

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Ingredients:

4 large yukon gold potatoes
10-12 organic baby carrots cut in half
3 frozen chicken tenderloins (for 2 people… I use 1.5 per person.)
1 small bunch fresh flat leaf parsley
2 TB olive oil
1 TB unsalted butter
3/4 cup FF low sodium free range chicken broth
1/4 sweet onion diced
1 small piece of bacon chopped
Optional: Can of beets… YUM! 🙂

Dill Seasoning: (Mix together in a small bowl and set aside)
2 tablespoons Italian seasoning
2 teaspoons dried dill
2½ teaspoons garlic powder
2¼ teaspoons kosher Himalayan sea salt
2 teaspoons onion powder
1 teaspoon granulated sugar
½ teaspoon ground black pepper
½ teaspoon paprika
¼ teaspoon cayenne pepper

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Directions:

Partially peel the potatoes… I peel just the “eyes” out of the potatoes, and then dice. Drizzle the olive oil into a large skillet, and heat up at med. high. Place the potatoes, bacon and carrots into the skillet and place lid on. After about 5 minutes, when the potatoes might start sticking to the bottom of the pan, add the diced onions and chicken broth and stir around to “unstick” all of the ingredients, and sprinkle 1/3 of the above seasoning (that you mixed and set aside) over the potatoes and replace the lid. In a separate skillet, place 1 TB olive oil and the 3 (or more) chicken tenderloins and 1/3 of the dill seasoning sprinkled generously over both sides of the tenderloins. Cook on medium to medium high for approximately 8-10 min. per side until there is no pink left in the middle. (This is from frozen). While the chicken is cooking, sporadically stir the potatoes and carrots, adding more seasoning as desired. When the carrots are mostly soft with a bit of crunch, they are done (about 20 minutes)! Add 1 TB butter, melt in, stir around and serve with the chicken, and some slices of beets if so desired! Garnish with fresh chopped parsley and ENJOY!

Quote of the Day:

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Chicken Fajitas!!

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fajitas

Yeah yeah yeah… sensing a theme here?? We LOVE Mexican food!! Tex-Mex especially. I’m gonna try to get better at cooking it to!!

This one was quick and easy… start to finish: 20 minutes! Easy right??

Fajitas Ingredients:

Seasoning:

1 TB chili powder
1 tsp. ground cumin
1 tsp. garlic powder
1/8 tsp. cayenne pepper powder
1/4 tsp. onion powder

(mix in a small ramekin or bowl)

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Other ingredients:

4 chicken tenderloins (I cooked for 2 people, add to this as needed)
2 Bell peppers (or 5 mini sweet peppers)
1/2 onion
4 small taco size tortillas

Heat your grill pan (or grill??) and salt. While the pan is heating up, take chicken (or other meat… doesn’t really matter) and drizzle w/light amount of oil. I used olive oil… it’s my favorite.. but you can use canola also. Then, cover with 3/4 of the seasoning, until thoroughly covered each piece of chicken. Put onto grill pan, cook for approximately 6-8 minutes per side, until when you cut it open, there is no pink. Should still be tender and juicy.

While the chicken is cooking, cut up your onion and peppers into thick slices and put into skillet w/1 TB of oil. Sautee. When almost done, sprinkle with the remaining fajita seasoning. Sautee until the peppers start to soften, and the onions are translucent. (If needed, put about 1 TB water into skillet, and cover for 3 min.)

Serve! I served it with leftover rice and corn (from Copy Cat Chipotle bowls made over the weekend) and some sour cream… YUM!

Crispy Pan Fried “Mexican” Chicken

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Adapted from this original recipe: http://recipes.sparkpeople.com/recipe-detail.asp?recipe=838597

1 pound boneless, skinless frozen chicken tenderloins
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup panko bread crumbs
1 cup low-sodium salsa
1 cup coconut milk (or buttermilk)

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. 

Combine the panko, taco seasoning. cumin and salt in a shallow dish.
Soak the chicken in a bag w/the buttermilk or coconut milk for 30 minutes in the fridge. Then, coat in the seasoned bread crumbs. The original recipe called for you to then place on a sprayed baking sheet, and bake the chicken: Bake for 20 minutes or until the meat reaches 165 degrees. I personally thought it didn’t get crispy enough. I, therefore, heated 2 TB of olive oil in a skillet and pan fried the chicken for approximately 5 minutes per side. Serve with salsa. I also made a salad and corn to go with it. The salad dressing is my recipe as listed in a previous post.

Each serving: 3 ounces chicken and 1/4 cup salsa

#cookinghealthy #500caloriesorless #quickcooking

Hawaiian BBQ Burritos

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Adapted from this original recipe: http://mixandmatchmama.blogspot.com/2014/05/dinner-tonight-hawaiian-bbq-chicken.html

Ingredients:
5 Frozen Chicken Tenderloins
1 cup of your favorite BBQ sauce
1/4 cup of salsa (or use 1 seeded jalapeno)
1/2 (4 oz used) can of crushed pineapple
2 green onions (scallions) chopped
3 burrito sized tortillas
Shredded Cheese

(This recipe makes 3-4 burritos, you can add more chicken to make more. I usually cook for 2 people and have 1 person leftovers)

Put 1 TB of olive oil in the bottom of your skillet. Place the chicken tenderloins (still frozen) into your skillet, and top w/half of the BBQ sauce, and place lid. Cook on medium-medium high heat. It will take 15-20 min. to cook through. Then, take 2 forks and shred the meat. Then, add the remaining BBQ sauce, salsa and pineapple. Cover again, and just before serving, top with scallions.

Serve on burrito tortilla w/shredded cheese.

Light Chicken Parmesan with Wilted Spinach

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Lightchickenparm

Original Recipe Credit: http://recipes.sparkpeople.com/recipe-detail.asp?recipe=10972
All things that I changed, I have added in parenthesis or with an asterisk

12 ounces white meat chicken (one double breast) (I used 6 frozen, boneless skinless chicken tenderloins)
1 tbsp grated Parmesan cheese
1/4 cup Italian-style bread crumbs (I used plain panko crumbs)
1 tsp garlic powder 
1 tbsp onions, dried (I used onion powder)
Crushed red peppers if desired (I omitted these entirely… I’m not into spicy in my Italian food..)
1 -2 tbsp olive oil
Approximately 1 cup marinara or spaghetti sauce (as much as you’d prefer)
Mozzarella cheese (grated)

I soaked my chicken tenderloins in coconut milk for 30 minutes in the refrigerator in a baggie while I was cutting the strawberries, prepping the breading and taking the stems off of the spinach.

Mix panko bread crumbs, parmesan cheese, garlic powder, onion powder, and a little bit of oregano in a small bowl. Set aside.

In a large skillet, but 2 TB of olive oil, and heat on med to med-high heat. When hot, a drop of water will sizzle.Take the chicken out of the bag of coconut milk (you can also use buttermilk) and dip into the breading mix. Coat well on both sides. Place onto hot skillet. Try to fit all 6 tenderloins into pan. Cook for about 3 minutes per side, until brown. I used tongs to flip. 

While the chicken is cooking, prep a cookie sheet with tin foil (or not, if you don’t mind scrubbing baked cheese off of a cookie sheet). Place all 6 pieces of chicken onto baking sheet. Top with marinara/spaghetti sauce. Then top with mozzarella and a little bit of parmesan cheese.Put into oven on Broil (LOW) for 5 minutes.

While the chicken is broiling to melt the cheese, and finish the cooking of the chicken, place the spinach in a small skillet with 1 – 2 TB of olive oil and salt. Toss for about 2 minutes until wilted, but still bright green.Remove the chicken and make sure FULLY cooked. If needed, cut one in half. Make sure that there is NO pink left.

 ENJOY!

Grown-ups Mac&Cheese

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Myversionmac&cheese

I’m going to call this MY version of grown-ups mac&cheese. Because truly, this is what I would pick over baked Mac&Cheese, or anything similar. This is my comfort food. YUM!

original recipe credit: http://www.lifeasastrawberry.com/parmesan-spinach-orzo/

(Anything that I Change or Add, I will put afterwards with a parenthesis or an asterisk *)

  • 2 and 1/2 cups whole wheat orzo (*I used high-fiber orzo)
  • 2 Tbsp. Extra Virgin Olive Oil
  • 2 green onions, chopped (* I used a sweet onion)
  • 1 clove garlic, minced
  • salt and pepper to taste
  • 2 tsp. flour
  • 1 cup milk (I used skim!) (I used unsweetened coconut milk)
  • 2/3 cups spinach, chopped
  • 1/2 cup parmesan cheese, shredded, plus extra for garnish

I then cooked 2 pieces of pre-cooked Trader Joe’s uncured bacon in the microwave until extra crispy, and set it aside. (approximately 40 seconds)

Take 4-6 frozen Trader Joe’s boneless chicken tenderloins and put into skillet w/2-3 turns of extra virgin olive oil. (They do not need to be thawed). Put salt&pepper, garlic powder and a little bit of Mrs. Dash to each side of the tenderloin, and simmer on medium to low heat for 10-15 minutes, or until firm. Then remove from heat and set aside.

Directions:

  1. Cook orzo according to package directions. Set aside.
  2. Heat olive oil in a medium-sized pot over medium heat. Add onions, garlic, salt and pepper and saute for 1 minute or until onions are translucent. Add flour to form a roux and cook for an additional minute.
  3. Add about 1/4 cup of the milk to the pot and whisk to work out any lumps from the roux. When lumps are worked out, add the remaining milk and whisk to combine. Bring to a simmer and cook until sauce has thickened, about 8 minutes.
  4. Add chopped spinach to sauce and cook an additional 2 minutes or until spinach has cooked down. Remove sauce from heat.
  5. Stir parmesan cheese into sauce. When cheese has melted, add cooked orzo to sauce and toss to coat. Garnish with extra parmesan cheese and *crumbled bacon and add *chicken to top or chop the chicken into bite size pieces, and serve immediately.

Orangey Chicken

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orangychicken
Original Recipe: http://recipes.sparkpeople.com/recipe-detail.asp?recipe=871143

1 tbsp olive oil
1/2 tsp dried thyme (MY recipe, I used fresh mint)
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp white or black pepper
1 pound boneless, skinless chicken breasts (**I used 6 TJ frozen boneless  /skinless chicken tenderloins)
2 small to medium oranges (I used California naval oranges)
3 tbsp rice-wine vinegar  (**I had Rice vinegar, and white wine vinegar… I did half of each, and it tasted great!)
2 tbsp honey ( **I recommend to use local, raw honey)1. In a glass dish, mix together the oil, thyme (**or fresh mint),
salt, and pepper for a quick marinade.
2. Place the chicken flat on a cutting board, remove
any fat, and slice each breast into quarters
so that you have 1- to 1-1/2-inch thick strips. Add
the meat to the marinade and toss to coat. Cover
and place in the fridge for at least 15 minutes. (**OR, put the frozen chicken tenderloins directly into marinade, the fat already removed and they do NOT need to be thawed.)
(You can also do this in the morning.)
3. Zest the orange by using a grater to remove
just the orange part of the peel (not the white
pith). Using a sharp knife, cut away the remaining
peel and pith, then, holding the fruit over a
bowl to catch the juice, cut sections from the
orange, working in a V fashion to cut away any
membrane. Reserve the fruit and juice for the
sauce. (**I did this directly over a juicer to catch everything, but filter out the seeds and pith)
4. Preheat a nonstick skillet to moderate heat.
Spray with nonstick cooking spray (**Or use 2 turns of olive oil), then add
the chicken once the pan is hot. Discard the
marinade. Cook the chicken until firm and no
longer pink, about 5 minutes.
5. While the meat is cooking, place the vinegar
and honey in a small saucepan and bring to a
boil. Lower the heat and simmer until the mixture
is reduced by half. Add the orange, juice,
and the zest to the sauce, stir, and remove from
the heat. Divide the chicken onto 4 plates and
pour the sauce over the meat.I served this with white rice and Trader Joe’s green beans that I had sauteed in a skillet with olive oil, garlic and salt and pepper until done. Whole meal under 500 calories! (not including my wine… 🙂  )