Chicken butternut squash & white bean soup - 1 point on WW

I am going to be very sad when winter is over! I am not a summer soup eater but soups are so easy to meal prep for low point options on Weight Watchers! Meal prep is key to staying on track :-)

This soups has only 4 points in the whole pot! The majority of these points come from using a little but of olive oil to sauté the onions. You can reduce the points by using cooking spray instead but I personally don't think it cooks the same way. You need a little bit more grease to get the onion cooking nicely.

I used pre-cut butternut squash for this recipe because I just hate cutting it up so much! We have to take short cuts where we can right? Many of the other ingredients I chopped up while the onions and chicken were cooking to save time.

Ingredients:
Cooking spray

2 tsp of olive oil

1/3 of a white onion, diced
1 large chicken breast (around 10 oz), cut into small cubes of about 1/2 an inch

3 cloves of garlic

2 tsp of cumin
1 tsp chili powder

1 tsp of salt

fresh ground pepper to taste

8 oz of butternut squash, cut into 1/2 inch cubes

2 ribs of celery, diced

15 oz can of cannellini beans, drained and rinsed

6 oz of frozen peas (I buy a 12 oz bag and use half)

4-5 cups of water

2 cubes of low sodium chicken bouillon

Cooking equipment: 6 quart Dutch oven and garlic press

Directions:
Spray a 6 quart Dutch oven with cooking spray this allows you to use less olive oil. Add diced onion and olive oil to the pot and sauté on med-high heat until the onions are translucent, about 5-6 minutes. While the onions are cooking, I cut my chicken into cubes. Add chicken to the pot and using a garlic press, add the garlic. Add the cumin, chili powder, salt and pepper to the pot and cook until the chicken is mostly cooked, about 5-7 minutes and then add the squash cubes. While the chicken and squash are cooking, I dice my celery. Add the celery, beans and peas to the pot. Cover the contents with water, about 4-5 cups and add the bouillon cubes. Cover the pot with a lid and simmer on medium heat for 15 minutes.

The recipe makes about 6 bowl-sized servings which the recipe builder calculates at 1 point each. There are only 4 points in the whole pot, 3 from olive oil and 1 from the bouillon cubes.

This blog is not affiliated with Weight Watchers in any way. This post may contain affiliate links, if you make a purchase using one of these links this blog may receive a small commission. Thank you for your support.

Mediterranean chicken salad – 2 points on Weight Watchers

Easy lunch alert! When you are trying to plan your meals, can you have too many easy lunch ideas? I don’t think so!

This chicken salad was inspired by a local Mediterranean deli that makes the best chicken salad ever.
I seriously didn’t even like chicken salad until I had theirs. I’m not really a mayo fan but they use an olive oil mayo and magic, which makes their chicken salad fantastic.

So I set out to recreate it and recreate it in a way that was Weight Watchers (or I guess now it’s Wellness Works!) friendly. First the recipe and then I’ll give you some ideas on low-point pairings!

Ingredients:

12.5 oz can of 98% fat free chicken breast (must be breast! And at least 98% FF or it has points!)

2 tbsp of olive oil mayo or reduced fat mayo

1 cup of fat free, plain, Greek yogurt (approximately, see directions)

Juice of half a lemon

15-20 grapes cut in half

1 rib of celery diced

1 tsp salt

1 clove of fresh minced garlic or 1 tsp of garlic powder

½ tsp of celery seed

½ tsp cumin

½ tsp of ground pepper

Directions:

In a medium bowl with a lid, put chicken breast, mayo, grapes, celery and all spices. Add about half of the yogurt (or a big spoonful)  and the juice from the lemon. I suggest squeezing the lemon juice directly into the bowl using a small strainer to catch seeds. Stir until all ingredients incorporated, shredding the chunk chicken and adding more yogurt until it reaches desired consistency, approximately 1 cup.

The recipe makes two servings of a little more than 1 cup each, each serving is 2 points on Weight Watchers Freestyle program. Or the whole recipe is 3 points. If you use regular mayo instead of the suggested olive oil/reduced fat, each serving is 3 points.

So what are you gonna eat it with? Here are some ideas!

• Pretzel slims (3pts/oz)
• In a low point wrap (I like Aldi fit & active wraps for 2pts)
• On low point bread (1-2pts/slice depending on the bread)
• On top of a salad
• With baby carrots (0 pts)
• With celery sticks (0 pts)
• On top of sliced cucumbers (0 pts)

Do you have any other ideas on what to eat it with? Leave them in the comments! 

This blog is not affiliated with Weight Watchers in any way. This post may contain affiliate links, if you make a purchase using one of these links this blog may receive a small commission. Thank you for your support.

Chicken Shawarma - grill or Instant Pot

This recipe came about because after doing Weight Watchers for a while, I was bored with all the ways I normally make chicken. My go-to chicken marinade has been a balsamic & soy sauce concoction that my husband turned me on to but after months of eating so much chicken we were bored with it and needed to try something new.

With that in mind, I decided to try chicken shawarma and making a homemade tzatziki sauce.

I hadn't made tzatziki before but all of the store-bought tzatziki I had tried was disgusting. It was nothing like the delicious yogurt sauce our amazing local Mediterranean Deli had! So I thought I would give it a try and it was surprisingly easy and delicious. I see a lot of tzatziki sauce in my future.

To get a good flavor, I suggest to marinate the chicken at least 4 hours but you can do overnight or 24 hours if you have the time. The longer you marinate, the better the flavor!

Ingredients
3 large chicken breasts (about 2.5 lbs)
1 cup of fat free chicken broth (for Instant Pot only)

Marinade
3 Tb olive oil
Juice of one lemon, freshly squeezed
3 cloves of garlic, peeled
2 tsp table salt
1 tsp ground cumin
1 tsp paprika, smoked or Hungarian recomended
1/2 tsp chili powder
fresh ground pepper to taste
2 pinches of ground cinnamon

Tzatziki sauce
1 cup of plain, fat free Greek yogurt
1 Persian cucumber or 1/3 of a regular cucumber
Juice of half a lemon, freshly squeezed
1/2 tsp table salt
freshly ground pepper to taste
2 cloves of garlic
1/4 tsp of dill weed (or to taste)

Directions:
Slice the chicken breasts into long strips, I got approximately 10-11 strips from the 3 breasts. Place the strips of chicken a Tupperware container or gallon sized Ziploc bag. Using a garlic press, mince the fresh garlic and add to the chicken. Add the remaining marinade ingredients to the container, toss the chicken to coat thoroughly and allow the chicken to marinate for at least 4 hours. Overnight or 24 hours is recommended.

For the Instant Pot:
Place 1 cup of fat free chicken broth in the bottom of the IP. Place the trivet in the bottom of the pot and place the chicken strips on top of the trivet. Lock the lid in place and close the vent. Set the IP to high pressure, 10 minutes. When the cooking cycle completes, quick release the pressure and serve.

For the grill:

Mixed tzatziki, yum!

On a heated grill, grill the chicken strips until the internal temperature reaches a minimum of 165 degrees, approximately 10 minutes per side and serve.

For the Tzatziki sauce:
Finely dice or grate the cucumber and add to a small bowl. Add all of the remaining ingredients and stir thoroughly.


I like 1/4 tsp of dill to 1 cup of tzatziki but you might need to experiment a little to see how much you like. Dill has a strong flavor, so tread lightly! My husband happens to love dill and he always adds more to his sauce, you might like more too!

The grilled version had a nice char on it and was very crispy but I when it was reheated it was little drier also. The IP version was more moist and juicy. If you wanted it to have the char, you could broil it for a few minutes or sear it after it's cooked but it's really good straight from the Instant Pot!

For Weight Watchers, I count 1 point for each strip of chicken for the olive oil in the marinade. The Tzatziki is zero points!

This blog is not affiliated with Weight Watchers in any way. Points were calculated in July 2018 on the Weight Watchers Freestyle program. This post main contain affiliate links, if you make a purchase using one of these links this blog may receive a small commission. Thank you for your support.

Cheesy crock-pot chicken - 3 pts on WW

My husband and I absolutely love crock-pot chicken made with cream cheese. It's really simple to throw in a crock pot in the morning and it's a versatile filling, we eat it:

• over rice (this was more common pre-Weight Watchers, but it's also the best!)
• over cauliflower rice
• over egg noodles
• as a taco/burrito filling
• in a wrap
• with black beans

This dish is so cheesy and decadent I did not even check the points on it when I first joined Weight Watchers, thinking they would be way too high. However with a few simple swaps I was shocked that it was only 3 points a serving! That is dividing the recipe into 4 servings, which is a very large serving.

To make this magic happen for 3 points, you need to use fat free cream cheese. While I try to avoid the fat free products that have fillers, I make an exception for this meal because sometimes I just need something quick and easy. If you change to light cream cheese, the recipe is 7pts/serving. 

This recipe is even easier because you can use frozen chicken without thawing it first. I have also left it for up to 9 hours and it was fine but it does burn on the sides a little bit. I spray it with cooking spray really good or use a crock-pot liner. 

Ingredients:

3 boneless skinless chicken breast (about 2.5lbs, fresh or frozen)

8oz fat free cream cheese

1 can of light cream of chicken soup (I use the Aldi fit & active brand)

1 packet Italian dressing seasoning mix

cooking spray

Cooking equipment:

5 or 6 quart crock-pot or slow cooker

Directions:

Spray sides of crock-pot with cooking spray and put chicken in the bottom of the crock-pot. Sprinkle full packet of Italian dressing seasoning on top of the chicken and add the cream of chicken soup and block of cream cheese.

Cook on low for 8 hours. Shred the chicken and mix with the cheesy sauce and serve as desired.

Crock-pot chicken over cauliflower rice (3pt) with some chips on the side (4pt)

This post contains affiliate links. If you make a purchase from one of these links this blog may receive a small commission, thank you for your support. This blog is not affiliated with Weight Watchers in any way. Points were calculated in June 2018 using the WW freestyle program. 

Parmesan crusted chicken - a Weight Watchers sheet pan meal

I have been really into sheet pan meals lately. It is a great way to cook a vegetable and protein really fast after work and it can be done with very little oil, so it's Weight Watchers friendly.

This meal relies on a lot of zero point foods with a few extra carbs and cheese to spice things up! The chicken is 3 points a serving and you can have 4+ ounces of potatoes for 4pts (4 7/8 ounces to be precise...not that I checked 😊). I also track 1 point for the olive oil I use on the green beans for a total of 8 points.

True story, the first night I made this I was still in the kitchen weighing my potatoes and tracking my food and my husband said "Damn baby, this is good." So it's not only Weight Watchers friendly, it's husband approved. Win, win.

Ingredients - Chicken

3-4 chicken breasts (approx. 6-8 ounces each)

2 eggs

Juice of half a lemon (I recommend fresh, or you can use 2 Tbsp of refrigerated)

1 tsp garlic powder

1 tsp Italian seasoning

1/2 cup Seasoned bread crumbs

1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese (I used freshly grated but you don't have to)

ground pepper to taste

I used 3 potatoes this size.

Ingredients - Potatoes

3 large potatoes (I used red)

1 generous sprinkle of garlic powder

1 generous sprinkle of onion powder

1 generous sprinkle of Italian seasoning

2 tsp of olive oil

Ingredients - Green beans
16oz fresh green beans, cleaned and trimmed
2 tsp of olive oil
1 generous sprinkle of garlic salt

Equipment
2 cookie sheet pans
Parchment paper (preferred) or aluminum foil
Small mesh strainer if you use fresh lemon juice

Directions
Preheat oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit.

Put eggs, lemon juice, garlic powder and Italian seasoning in a medium sized bowl. If you are using fresh lemon juice, squeeze it through a mesh strainer to keep the seeds out. Lightly beat the eggs with a fork until the ingredients are well mixed. Add the chicken to the bowl and stir to coat the chicken.

Line one cookie sheet with parchment paper. Take 3 large potatoes and cut them into 1/2 inch cubes. Pile potatoes into the middle of the cookie sheet and pour on the olive oil garlic, onion and Italian seasoning and toss gently. You can also do this in a mixing bowl but I like to save a dish where possible. Spread the potatoes across the pan in a single layer and put them in the oven.

The potatoes need an approximately 5-minute head-start on the chicken & green beans. While they are cooking you can get your chicken ready.

Line your second cookie sheet with parchment paper (my photos show foil because I ran out of parchment paper, but parchment is still my preference). Mix the seasoned bread crumbs and Parmesan cheese together. Take each chicken breast from the egg mixture and coat in the bread crumb mixture and lay it on the cookie sheet. Grind fresh black pepper on top of each chicken breast to taste.

If you have chicken breasts that are 6-8 oz you can do 4. I had two that size and one really big 10 oz one, so I only made 3 but cut the big one in half after it was cooked to make 4 servings. I suggest smaller 6-8 oz breasts because larger ones have to be cooked longer.

Toss your green beans in 2 tsp of olive oil, either in a  bowl or on the cookie sheet. You do not need to spread the green beans out.

Oven ready!

Put your second cookie sheet with your chicken and green beans in the oven for 18-22 minutes. If your chicken breasts are smaller, they will cook in 18 minutes but if they are larger, you will need 22 minutes. If you have larger pieces of chicken, take care to watch your green beans and potatoes do not burn.

I recommend using a digital thermometer to temp the chicken at it's thickest point and ensure that it is as least 165 degrees F. I had to put my one larger breast back in for an additional few minutes because it wasn't quite to temp yet.

As shown this was 9 points, I topped it with cheese!

You can top with additional grated Parmesan cheese for an additional point for 1 Tb.
Chicken divided into 4 servings is 3 points each serving. To track this you will need to add the ingredients to the recipe builder. For the potatoes, I track an entry on WW called "roasted potatoes with 1 tsp of olive oil" and weigh the number of ounces I have with my food scale (4 7/8 ounces is 4pts). I also track 1pt for olive oil on the green beans and any additional cheese I add on top, Parmesan is 1pt for 1Tb.

This post contains affiliate links. If you make a purchase from one of these links this blog may receive a small commission, thank you for your support. This blog is not affiliated with Weight Watchers in any way. Points were calculated in May 2018 using the WW freestyle program. 

Instant Pot Chicken and Couscous soup - 3 points on Weight Watchers

Sometimes you just can't eat any more zero point taco soup, am I right?!? This chicken and couscous soup may be your salvation. Yes it's 3 points instead of zero but it's a big serving and a different flavor for when you just need a break!

Soups are an excellent item for meal prepping for success on Weight Watchers. They make a big batch, are easy to keep low in points and store well. I always feel like I do better on my points when I have a soup ready to go.

Ingredients:
1 cup Israeli couscous (also called Pearl couscous)
1 zucchini, diced
1 can of corn
3 ribs of celery, diced
1 cup diced green beans
juice of half a lemon (optional - I love it with lemon but my husband less so, you can suit your taste)
6 cups of water
2 tsp of Better than bullion chicken base (or you can use FF chicken broth iinstead of the water + bouillon)
1 tsp celery seed
1 tsp garlic powder
1 tsp onion powder
1 tsp salt
fresh ground pepper to taste
2-3 chicken breasts (depending on size)

Place all ingredients in a 6 quart Instant Pot with the chicken breasts on top. Ensure there is enough water to fully cover all of the ingredients. Cook on manual, high pressure for 10 minutes.

When the time goes off, allow to naturally release a few minutes (to avoid soup spraying out) and then quick release the pressure. After you open the pot, take the chicken breasts out and shred them using two forks and add the shredded chicken back to the pot of soup and stir.

It's steaming!

The recipe makes 5 servings, 3 points each. Please note that it will take some time to come up to pressure because the pot is really full. When being extra healthy, my husband and I take a walk while it's coming to pressure and cooking.

I make variations of this soup a lot, using different zero point vegetables. You can also make this recipe using chicken thighs, because they are smaller you probably need 3 thighs. If you are doing WW, using thighs will be higher in points.

This blog is not affiliated with Weight Watchers in any way. Point values were checked in April 2018 under the Freestyle program. This post may contain affiliate links, if you make a purchase from one of these links this blog may receive a small commission. Thank you for your support.

6 minute fajitas with the Instant Pot

I really love oven fajitas except that they take 40 minutes in the oven. That means I normally only make them on the weekends when I am home to start them. Otherwise we'd be eating dinner at 7pm and I'd be all hangry.

This recipe actually came about because I came home from work one day, had everything I needed to make fajitas except time and they sounded so good. I was a hungry woman, so this recipe is as easy as possible.

I'm also doing weight watchers and I wasn't in a great point situation....cake happens. Sometimes, the same week that baklava happened.

This led me to think....why can't I make fajitas in my Instant Pot???? Well, turns out, I can.

Making fajitas in the instant pot is quicker than making them in the oven and also healthier because you don't need to use any oil.

Now, I will say that I slightly prefer the taste of my oven fajitas and I expect I will continue to make them. However, on work nights, I will definitely look to my Instant Pot for my fajita needs, as I do for so many other things.

Ingredients:

• 1 1/2lbs chicken breasts cut into 1 inch strips (you can also use thighs or tenderloins)
• 3 bell peppers, cut into strips
• 1 onion sliced (I don't like onions, so I skip this but I listed it as I realize most people do :))
• 1 package of taco season (I use reduced sodium)
• 1 cup water

You'll also want shells, lettuce, shredded cheese, sour cream and anything else you like on your fajitas!

Directions:

Pour 1 cup of water in the bottom of your Instant Pot. Place your sliced vegetables in the pot and sprinkle with half of the taco seasoning.

Place your sliced chicken on top of the vegetables and sprinkle with remaining taco seasoning. Place your lid on your Instant Pot and set to sealing. Cook on manual, high pressure for 6 minutes.

When the cooking cycle has ended quick release the pressure.

There is a fair amount of cooking liquid remaining in the pot at the end (water, juices from the chicken) so I recommend using either tongs or a slotted spoon to remove the meat and vegetables make your fajitas.

I made these in my 6 quart Instant Pot Duo. You could easily make a larger batch in the 8 quart and this might be small enough to make in a mini - if you try it let me know!

This recipe is zero points on Weight Watchers! The only points are from the shells, cheese and other accompaniments. I had mine with La Bandarita low carb shells (1pt each), reduced fat cheese (3pts for 1/4 cup) and light sour cream (2pts) for a total of 7 points for 2 very filling and large fajitas.

This post contains affiliate links. If you make a purchase from one of these links this blog will receive a small commission, thank you for your support. This blog is not affiliated with Weight Watchers in any way.

Instant Pot lemon garlic chicken & rice - 4 WW freestyle points

This satisfying chicken and rice dish is a great weeknight meal and quickly cooks up in the 6 quart Instant Pot or other electric pressure cooker.

When made with chicken breasts, it's also only 4 points on the Weight Watchers Freestyle program! The recipe makes 6 servings.

You can also substitute chicken thighs, if you don't care about the points or prefer the taste of thighs. You do not need to adjust the cooking time if you use thighs.

Ingredients:
1 Tbsp olive oil
2 Tbsp minced garlic
2 cups water
2 tsp of better than bouillon garlic base
1 1/2 pounds of boneless, skinless chicken breasts
1 cup jasmine rice
1 Tbsp dried basil
1 lemon, juiced
salt to taste

Cut chicken breasts into 1 inch cubes. Turn Instant Pot on saute, high and add olive oil. After the pot has heated up, saute the garlic for 2-3 minutes until it's slightly brown.

Pour in the water and add the garlic base. Stir the base in until it's well combined. Add the chicken, rice, basil and the juice of one lemon to the pot. Press cancel to turn off the saute function on the pot.

All the basil was at the top!

Put the lid on the Instant Pot and turn the vent to "sealing." Set the Instant Pot to manual, high pressure for 10 minutes. At the end of the cooking cycle, quick release the pressure.

If there is any residual water in the pot at the end of the cooking cycle, turn the saute function back on and allow the water to cook off before serving. I suggest tasting it and then adding a little salt if needed.

I served it with some bell pepper strips, I was planning to make edamame as a side but I wasn't in the kitchen since my IP was doing all the work and time got away from me!

We had plenty for dinner (I had two servings...) for the two of us and also for good sized lunch portions the next day.

This blog is not affiliated with Weight Watchers in any way. Points were calculated using the official Weight Watchers recipe builder in March 2017. This post contains some affiliate links, if you make a purchase via one of these links this blog will receive a small commission. Thank you for your support.

Best newbie recipes for the instant pot

While I really love my instant pot (IP) it was a little overwhelming when I first got it. It is so weird not to be able to see my food cooking! I'm used to taking a peak to see how it looks while it's cooking!

If you're new to the IP or thinking about buying one (the holiday sales are here!) you can read all about why I love mine here. If you already have yours but aren't sure what to do, check out my suggestions for easy recipes for new IP owners!

1. Basic pulled pork
This was quickest and easiest pulled pork I've every made. The IP really shines when cooking meat that is normally prepared "low and slow."

Put a 4lb pork butt or shoulder on top of your trivet, pour on a cup of water and a cup of barbecue sauce (I use Sweet Baby Ray's Honey BBQ) and set the IP on manual, high pressure for 1 hour and 30 minutes. Natural pressure release (NPR) for 10-20 minutes and then quick release (QR). Overall cook and prep time is less than 2 hours, quite a bit less.

2. Butternut squash
Much easier and faster than roasting it in the oven. It's a game changer. Directions are here.

3. Baked potatoes
I love baked potatoes (especially to take to work for lunch) but they take a really long time in the oven. I ain't got time for that. Now I make them in my instant pot in half an hour. Here is a recipe I like from Aunt Bees Recipes. If your potatoes are really big, you might need to add a couple of extra minutes. The first time I did this I had really big potatoes and they were a little under-done. Like cooking in the oven or on the stove, you'll get a feel for that an know when to add 1-2 extra minutes over time.

4. Chicken black bean rice burrito bowls
This is my go-to instant pot whole meal. I love it and it's somewhat healthy, until I cover it in sour cream. Then it's delicious. Here is the recipe from Cook Fast Eat Well. I made this every other week when I first got my IP. It makes a great dinner for 2 with leftovers for another 2 meals for each of us.

5. Mac and cheese
I love making mac and cheese in the IP, I might never buy boxed mac again. I started with this recipe from Dad Cooks Dinner but I even found his to be more complicated than necessary. I don't add the butter, mustard or hot pepper sauce and I use whatever cheese mix I have on hand, usually about 50% cheddar. Sometimes I toss in a few drops of liquid smoke when mixing in the cheese to give a smokier flavor. If I'm being fancy I will toast the bread crumbs on top but a lot of times I will skip that too.

Still a little unsure of where to start? Check out my 6 tips for new IP owners and the most useful accessories to go with your new IP!

Feta stuffed chicken

I had a little dinner party in the new place and all my friends had to give themselves "the tour" because I was too busy cooking to show anyone around when they arrived. Oops.

What was on the menu? Lots of yummy things. And wine, lots of wine. The main event was feta stuffed chicken (recipe notes below), broiled stuffed tomatoes, roasted lemon broccoli, a very nice pear-walnut salad brought by a friend and apple cake, also brought by a friend.

I had made the cheese stuffed chicken one other time, over a year ago but this time I shook it up a little.
The original recipe is here but instead of butterflying the chicken breasts, I bought thinner chicken cutlets and pounded/rolled them ever flatter (like when making chicken Kiev), put my cheese in the middle and rolled them up, securing with a toothpick. Also instead of stuffing with cheddar & cream cheese, I stuffed it with feta and cream cheese. Feta is always a good idea but I think you do need the cream cheese to get a nice melty center. I also did not put Romano cheese in with my breadcrumbs because I feel that most of the cheese gets wasted that way, instead I sprinkled it on top of the already breadcrumb-ed chicken and I actually used Parmesan and not Romano.

If I make them again, I might skip the butter-garlic-lemon topping. I'm just not sure it adds much to a dish already full of flavors. And fat, did I mention fat? Do I really need to pour butter on top of my cheese stuffed chicken? Probably not. It also makes at least 1 extra dish to wash, the real nail in the coffin. The first time I made this dish, I actually served it with pasta and Alfredo sauce, can you say heavy? Lesson learned. And this time around, went for vegetable focused sides.

The chicken seemed quite popular, though wine was the real attraction of the evening.

Chicken fried rice with cumin

I enjoy a tasty bowl of rice but am something of a rice failure in the cooking department. My friend Diana, in Grad school, made the best rice dishes you can imagine, out of I-have-no-idea-what. Just whatever, happened to be in her refrigerator at the time, or so it seemed.

I am a fan of Uncle Ben's ready rice, it's quick and usually tastes pretty good. However, I'm also committed to advancing my rice repertoire! With that in mind, over the last few days I've whipped up a few rice dishes, most were pretty basic, white rice with some kind of stir-fry-esk vegetables on top. Last night I got fancy and made chicken fried rice.

Ingredients

1 chicken breast
2 cups rice - prepared (instructions below)
1-2 cups frozen pepper strips
2 carrots, chopped (or maybe 1/2 cup of baby carrots)
2 eggs
cumin ~1/4 Tb
turmeric ~1/4 Tb
pepper
salt
olive oil

To prepare rice:

Cook rice according to package directions, making approximately 2 cups. Instead of boiling rice in water, boil in chicken broth. (I highly recommend making a big pot of rice to use for a few days, if you are on a rice eating fest. I made about 6 cups in chicken broth and used it for 2-3 recipes.)

To prepare chicken fried rice:

Chop chicken into bite sized pieces, sprinkle with cumin, pepper and salt and cook in large skillet with a small amount of olive oil. All the other ingredients will be added to this same pan, so make sure you have enough space. When chicken is about 1/2 cooked, add pepper strips and all additional spices. When chicken is finished cooking add rice, egg and carrots. I pushed all the rice-chicken mixture to one side of the pan to let the eggs cook on the other side and then scrambled them in when they were done.

This was a pretty tasty rice dish, though, next time around I will probably add more turmeric and cumin to give it a little more zest.

Cost: B+
Waste: A+
Taste: B (more spices needed)

Broiled chicken tomato toppers

You may recall my dissatisfaction with a recipe called Feta topped chicken. I was especially disappointed because I felt that it was a good concept but just not working functionally. Too bad because I love my feta.

So now that I've had some time, I've reworked it. This is what I've come up with:

Broiled chicken tomato toppers

4 chicken breasts
6-8 slices of tomato
2 slices provolone cheese
2 TB prepared pesto sauce (or 8 fresh basil leaves)

Set oven to broil and allow to preheat. Lay chicken breasts on lightly greased broiling pan and broil (on top rack) for 5-6 minutes. Remove chicken and flip over. Spread pesto on chicken and top with tomato slices. Place provolone cheese on the top and place back in oven. Broil an additional 4-5 minutes until chicken is fully cooked, taking care not to burn the cheese. If need be, you can move the chicken to a lower rack.


This was really tasty. I served the chicken with some pasta and marinara sauce to make it a meal, though veggies would be a good route too. I used provolone because I had it on hand but I think mozzarella would be equally good.

Taste: B+
Waste: A
Cost: A

Feta topped chicken

I read recipes online all the time, I bookmark lots of them but how many do I actually try? Very few. However, this looked so yum-tastic that I made it just a few days after I saw it.

I found the recipe in question, for Feta Topped Chicken, on the Mixing Bowl. The Mixing Bowl is a good recipe site because they have various communities that you can join or follow based on what kind of recipes you're interested in - brown bag lunches, quick dinners, ect. There are drawbacks also, personally, I think they send me too many emails about comments and updates, which I frankly have no interest in.

I had high hopes for this recipe and it was something I could see myself just whipping up when there wasn't much to eat around the house but I was really disappointed. I found it to be lacking in flavor, which seems almost impossible given the ingredients! You can find the recipe here, you'll notice in the comments that I'm the only person who did not love it!

Aside from finding it lacking in flavor, the cheese did not melt! It just started turning brown and I basically ended up with chicken that had a tomato slice on the top and feta that kept falling off. Look at how sad it looks in the photo! I might try this again with some fresh basil (or pesto because my basil shows no signs of wanting to grow) a tomato slice and a slice of provolone or mozzarella both of which would melt better than the feta. Too bad because I like my feta!

I will say that broiling the chicken was really quick and easy, so with a few changes this might be a possibility.