Honey Dijon Chicken Thighs

 

I hate cooking chicken.

Don't get me wrong, I don't mind eating it.

I just hate touching it when it's raw.

or chopping it or really even looking at it.

This is really one of the main reasons 

I cook so much chicken in my slow cooker.

I dump it in there and don't have to touch it again 

until its ready to eat.

If you have been following along with me 

you know I was pregnant until recently

and now I need to be extra diligent

with my diet to try and get my waist back.

 

Mr. Jones and I are starting a new round of 

Beach Body 21 Day Fix and trying to get

back to a full on clean eating diet

(yes...we slipped up the past few weeks...)

So we have a menu and our meals planned

for the week. It includes lots of chicken

less carbs than my cravings would like

and lots of veggies.

Here is one of my new chicken recipes

for you to try:

Honey Dijon Chicken Thighs

(but you can totally do it with breast also, 

my grocery budget just preferred the thighs this month)

What you need:

1 pound chicken (thighs or breast)

1/4 cup honey

1/4 cup Spicy brown mustard

1 Tbsp EVOO

1 Onion chopped

2 cloves of garlic minced 

Salt 

Black pepper

Thyme

Rosemary

 

In a small bowl mix together the oil

mustard and honey.

Add a generous sprinkle of Rosemary and Thyme.

 

Chop the onion and place 

the onion and garlic in the bottom of your slow cooker.

Salt and pepper both sides of the chicken and 

then place it on top of the onions

in your slow cooker.

Pour the sauce evenly over the top of the chicken.

 

Close it up,

Plug it in and

turn it on low 6-8 hours or until the 

temp of the thigh reaches 175 degrees.

Pull that yumminess out and serve 

We like ours over brown rice or 

alongside some quinoa or 

mashed cauliflower.

 

I hope your family digs this as much as mine does!

~eat well, be well

Patty

Valentine's Breakfast

I know you have all seen the hundreds of variations of Valentine's day pancakes.

Heart shaped pancakes.

red velvet pancakes,

pancakes covered in whipped cream and strawberries,

cute animals holding hearts shaped pancakes.

And then there are the muffins-

Man, who knew there were so many varieties of

red berry filled muffins?!?!

Not a morning person?

Don't want to wake up an hour early 

just so your spouse or kids don't feel deprived 

of a pinterest worthy breakfast?

Have I got a cheat meal for you!

Best part- it takes about 5 minutes!

 

First, put a piece of toast

in the toaster.

Next,

Grab a plate and a plastic cookie cutter

put a few drops of olive oil on a paper towel and 

rub it on the inside of the cutter

and on a microwave safe plate.

Put the cookie cutter in the center of the plate,

Break the egg into the cutter

(if you like the yolk whole be careful here

but if you prefer scrambled 

just take a fork to it and carefully

mix it up inside the cutter)

pour just enough water on top of the egg

to slightly cover it,

place it in the microwave for about 45 seconds

(longer or shorter depending on how you like your yolk

I did 45 and the yolk was cooked through)

If a bit of egg has seeped under the edge of the cutter just scrape it away

Now your toast should have popped up.

Use the same cutter or a different one

to cut it into a valentine worthy  shape,

then put a touch of red preserves on it for a pop of color.

Slide a knife under the egg

(the oil should make this easy)

and place on a plate with your 

super fancy toast cut out

and serve.

It's a total cheat but it 

tastes great and is a super fast easy and healthy way 

to tell that special someone how much you care

without having to lose any precious sleep or make a zillion extra dishes....

Happy Valentine's Day.

~Eat well, be well

Patty

Digging out of my Hole

I was looking back at my posts since this blog started

and I am a bit disappointed with myself.

My intent was to be super structured about posting 2 -3 times per week 

and with those posts include 1 to 2 recipes per week.

What I was not banking on was finding out I was pregnant at the end of June

and being super sick all summer

and having cravings for all things sweet and full of carbs.

I'm not joking here, the smell of lettuce made 

me physically sick until at LEAST late October!

Now if that did not throw enough of a wrench in 

my plans I had placenta previa, limiting my physical exercise

and then an abdominal hernia so I was really just

trying to stay afoot with my job at the gym and 

my two little rugrats and this crazy puking that would not quit.

But life happens right?!?

I kept telling myself after the baby came I would jump right back in full swing.

What I was absolutely NOT prepared for 

was for this baby not to come.

Three weeks ago about 33 weeks into my pregnancy

I went to the OB and said that I was concerned that 

fetal movements were slowing down.

I was not totally freaking out because I was still feeling large movements 

just not the constant crazy kicks and punches

you expect in the third trimester.

They hooked me up to check on my sweet Morgan and 

could not find a heartbeat.

At that moment I felt as though time stopped.

She must have been mistaken.

Didn't she know she was supposed to tell me 

I was just being a worry wart and everything was fine?

I don't think I will ever forget the look on the doctors face

when I asked her to please tell me what was wrong.

The next few days are a bit of a blur of wretched and painful emotions.

I had to undergo a c-section and then my husband and I were blessed to have a few special

moments with our little angel. But it was not enough. 

I am happy I got to hold her in my arms but there is so much more 

that I will never get, so many things about her I will never know.

There really are no words to describe the hurt and sadness of it.

I do not want to go too far into this as I am still struggling to find my way

through the grief but now I find myself home,

healing from the surgery, loving on my two other children,

walking blindly through this tragedy with my husband 

and trying to grab onto things that I can control and pull myself

back into reality and start focusing on looking forward.

Easier said than done of course.

But I still have baby weight to lose, 

I still want to be healthy and 

I still want help my kids learn to be healthy.

So even though most days I feel like burying myself in a vat of ice cream,

I am battling back. 

My husband and I are recommitting to our healthy eating habits,

focusing on keeping artificial ingredients and flavors out of the house and 

meal planning our menus, loading the fridge and pantry with real food ingredients and

paying more attention to portion sizes and protein/veggie/carb ratio's.

So while I recommit to this I am really going to try and diligently be honest with 

all of you. Sharing both the things we do right and the mistakes we make.

So join us in our journey to a healthy family and a healthy kitchen!

 

 

 

Slow cooker chicken Divan

 

When I was little my favorite meal was Turkey Divan.

My mom made it by layering thick cuts of turkey

with a heavy white cream sauce, broccoli and provolone cheese.

A few more layers like that and it ended up

like a delicious creamy meat and cheese lasagna.

The thought of it still makes me hungry 

but I decided to try out a healthier version

of it and so here we have

Chicken Divan casserole.

It's not exactly the same but it was yummy and 

my kids ate it up with no issue.

For this recipe I used added rice straight into the slow cooker

but I think the next time I make it I may leave

the rice separate and simply serve the

chicken mixture on top.

Here is what you need:

2 TBS extra virgin olive oil

2 onions, chopped

4 garlic cloves, minced

1 tsp dried thyme

3 TBS whole wheat flour

1 Cup organic chicken broth

1/2 cup skim milk

1 TBS brown mustard or 1 tsp dry mustard

1-2 pounds boneless skinless chicken

1 Cup shredded cheddar cheese

1/2 Cup grated Parmesan

2 Cups instant brown rice* (if adding to the slow cooker) or

2 Cups regular brown rice if cooking separate

4 Cups chopped broccoli

*I don't usually encourage the use of instant rice however 

I read that when adding rice into a slow cooker recipe the

instant rice maintains it's flavor and texture better than either

uncooked regular rice or pre-cooked rice which tends to get mushy.

This is why I made the recipe this way, and I agree it worked better than 

other recipes I have tried to make with rice mixed in however my family

prefers the taste and texture of regular long grain brown rice and this is why

next time I say I would probably leave the rice out of the recipe and simply serve the 

rest of the mixture on top of a bit of regular brown rice cooked separately.

Directions

Heat the olive oil in a skillet and add the onion, garlic and thyme.

cook about 8-10 minutes until soft

 and then add in the flour and coat everything evenly.

Once the onions are well coated slowly add in the chicken broth, using it to 

de-glaze the pan and get all the browned bits up and mixed in (yum!)

 

(see how the bottom of the pan looks clean now as you stir- that's what you want.)

Doesn't this look yummy?!? It is I promise

 

Pour the onion mixture into the slow cooker and add the milk and mustard

Place the chicken in the liquid, coating both sides and then turn the cooker on low for 4-6 hours.

Once the chicken is cooked through use a spoon or fork and shred it

then stir in the rice*, cheddar and Parmesan cheese and salt and pepper to taste

let cook about 30 minutes or until the rice is cooked through.

 

During the last half hour chop the broccoli florets into small even sized pieces and 

steam or microwave it to heat through.

 

Add the broccoli to the chicken mixture and cook for another 5 minutes or so, serve and enjoy.

 

So this is definitely not My Mama's recipe....

but it is easy, yummy and a healthier version of it.

Remember, you don't have to eliminate everything you love to eat when you

are trying to get healthier, just play with your recipes.

I replaced heavy cream sauce with the broth and skim milk and mustard

and made a huge difference in calorie and fat levels and by adding

in the rice instead of serving it with thick mashed potatoes I

cut that down even more.

Now if you are just starting out attempting a clean eating diet you

may wonder about the cheese. Some people do not include

cheese regularly as part of a clean eating plan however my family loves cheese

so instead of cutting it out we opt to use real cheese with no added ingredients.

Buy Block cheese and shred or slice it for any of your needs.

All the loving goodness of cheese without any of the crazy added ingredients in the bagged stuff!

~eat well, be well

Patty

Slow Cooker Shredded Buffalo Chicken

Shredded Buffalo Chicken in the slow cooker

brings a touch of summer to the cold winter days.

It doesn't take many ingredients- and only a few minutes to throw together in the morning.

Ingredients:

3-4 pounds Chicken (thigh or breast)

1 medium onion, chopped

1 cup chicken stock

3 TBS minced garlic

Red Hot Sauce (to taste)

2 TBS Butter

Place all the ingredients except the butter and hot sauce into your slow cooker.

I forgot to pull out my chicken to defrost so I threw it in frozen

along with my frozen chicken stock-

If your chicken is not frozen that's fine, it will just cook faster.

Melt the butter and stir into about a 1/4 cup of hot sauce.

Coat the chicken with hot sauce butter mixture

(you can adjust this amount depending on how spicy you like your food)

 

Turn your slow cooker on low for 7-8 hours

(8-10 if frozen)

Here is what it looks like after that rock hard chicken starts to thaw and separate

 

If your chicken had bones in it,

pull it out about an hour before the end of cook time to pull out the bones

and then shred the remaining meat.

Serve on a bun with addition sauce if desired,

over rice, as a salad topper 

or place on a roll and melt a bit of cheese on top.

No matter how you eat it...enjoy it!

~eat well, be well

Patty

Cranberry Spread

 

This year on Thanksgiving I was just

dying for some cranberries.

My husband and father in law don't like turkey so I always make ham

and cranberry sauce just doesn't ever seem to fit into the menu.

As a kid though, it was one of my favorite things

about thanksgiving and I don't want my kids to miss out

so I decided to do cranberries- just a little different.

 

No need to boil your cranberries down for hours or buy that

canned gelatinous stuff. a Few fresh ingredients and a blender or food processor

and you can have this ready in about 30 minutes.

 

1 Bag fresh Cranberries

1/4 Cup water

1/4 Cup raw cane sugar

1 apple peeled and chopped

1 orange, peeled 

1/4 cup pecans or walnuts

Place cranberries, water and sugar in a saucepan and bring to a boil

Peel and chop the apple and orange and then add to the boiling cranberries.

Let heat for 5-10 minutes to soften the apple and merge flavors.

Pour hot mixture into your blender or food processor, add nuts

and blend to desired consistency.

Pour into a glass jar, seal and refrigerate.

 

Done. That's it.

I could not help but try some while it was still hot and it was delicious!

I put it in the fridge while we made some homemade waffles though and let it

solidify a bit and used it as a new and AWESOME waffle topping.

My son likes to just eat it with a spoon straight off his plate but I have been

using it regularly as a jelly replacement on toast and it's my new favorite thing.

Plus it tastes so much more like December than strawberry jelly.

Look at it though, it's so bright and happy that just looking at it makes me smile

every time I pull out the jar.

 

 

So go grab some cranberries and try it out!

It would make a great neighbor gift also.

 

~eat well, be well

Patty

 

Sorry for the Busy Month!

  Sorry I have been a little absent lately. 

We have been busy painting kids rooms and rearranging things to

make room for baby #3 and we had a few birthdays to celebrate,

a fun family run 

(my 2 year old ran a mile and my barely 7 year old did her 5K in under 42 minutes!)

teaching lots of classes at the gym the last few months,

family in town all last week,

Thanksgiving to prepare for and enjoy,

family friends visiting this weekend and then our annual

Christmas Tree decorating day yesterday and well...

our meals have been a little boring in the middle of all of that

so I have not had anything super exciting to share.

And I admit that after a super early trip to the airport Saturday morning 

my sweet husband brought home Dunkin Donuts. 

It was our sons first exposure and I am pretty sure he is a fan

but I definitely enjoyed our little naughty family donut moment together!!

But It's Monday and the beginning of December.

I know I will be making some treats for neighbors and baking with my little's 

so I need to make great choices everywhere I can. 

That mean hello shakeology for breakfast!

Super delicious and incredibly healthy.

Seriously, last year when we started drinking it I thought I would hate it.

I had tried all sorts of protein drinks or meal replacements and hated them all except slim fast...

but lets be honest, slim fast does not slim you fast.... 

and it's not even that good of a nutritious meal replacement-

but I digress, the first few days of shakeology I did not like it but 

now I do and my body feels great when I am consistent with it!

So this morning I whipped myself up one with some milk, ice and peppermint extract 

and headed to the basement for a date with Denise Austin.

That's right, no gym for me today.

I have Placenta Previa and my abs have started to split

(leaving me with a crazy triangular baby belly at times!)

Anyway, all of that means if I want to keep teaching my Spinning classes I need to 

back off some of my other workouts so back to basics

and some second trimester toning with my annoying but old friend

Denise (seriously...her voice is crazy- some weird mix of calming, sweet and uber annoying

if you have never had the pleasure of hearing it yourself.)

So, forgive my absence I will try and be much much better this month-

Remember to make good choices and always listen to your body.

~eat well, be well

Patty