Rosemary Garlic Chicken

I always dry out chicken. To the point where I don't even want to make it anymore and have been making ground turkey our meal staple for 5 months. But, I told myself to try one last attempt at a baked chicken recipe, and it was a hit! The secret is to put some broth in the casserole dish, and enough butter/oil to keep the chicken moist. Here is my recipe for Rosemary Garlic Chicken that is easy to make, could be doubled or tripled to always have on hand, and goes with practically anything! Enjoy!

Rosemary Garlic Chicken

1.5 lbs chicken tenders

2 T grass fed butter or ghee

1/2 T rosemary

2 T lemon juice

1-2 cloves garlic, crushed

Salt and pepper to taste

1/4 - 1/3 cup chicken broth

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.

Make sure your butter is softened. Then, add the rosemary, lemon juice, garlic, salt, and pepper to the butter and mix until it becomes a paste.

Rub the butter mixture onto the chicken tenders and place in a greased casserole dish. Pour the chicken broth into the dish.

Cover with foil and bake for 25-30 minutes or until there is no pink in the chicken.

I've had this chicken with potatoes, atop a fresh salad, and even with some marinara and steamed veggies! It is so versatile and tasty, I hope you enjoy!

Copycat Panera Apple Cinnamon Muffins

If you know me, you know I LOVE Panera. Mostly because of their baked goods. One of my favorite items that they have is their Apple Crunch muffin. It's so delicious and fluffy and tastes like apple pie in a muffin form. I wanted to recreate the recipe in a healthier, gluten-free way, and I think this recipe is SPOT ON to how these muffins taste! My husband tried one this morning and immediately said that I have to blog this recipe because they are THAT good. So here we go! 

Makes 12-15 muffins

1 cup Pamela's Gluten-free all purpose flour

3/4 cup almond meal

1/2 cup oats

3/4 cup sweetener of choice (I used sugar but usually use stevia, but I'm all out!)

1/2 cup applesauce, unsweetened

2 eggs

1 tsp cinnamon

1/2 tsp vanilla extract

1 small apple, chopped 

Preheat the oven to 350. Spray a muffin tin or use lining.

Mix all the ingredients together except for the apple. Then, chop the apple and fold it into the batter. Pour into muffin tins and bake for about 20 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out clean.

Enjoy warm! Store in the fridge for 4-5 days. These taste so good with a cup of coffee in the morning! I hope you all enjoy!

Banana Chocolate Chip Bread

I have been craving baked goods lately, like WHOA. I'm 37 weeks pregnant today and until now sweets weren't really my thing (except for a small bout with brownies in my second trimester). But lately, I've been all about the sweets. I really like baking my own treats and sweets because it's fun for me and I get to control what goes in them. So I decided to whip up some banana chocolate chip bread over the weekend, and it turned out delicious! Super easy ingredients and ready in under an hour!

Makes 1 loaf

4 bananas (the browner the better!)

3/4 cup gluten free pancake and baking mix

3/4 cup almond flour

1 large egg

1 tsp vanilla extract

10-12 packets stevia

1/2 tsp cinnamon

2-3 T chocolate chip morsels 

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees F.

Then, place the bananas in a mixer and blend them up until they are mashed and smooth. Then, add the rest of the ingredients except for the chocolate chips and mix thoroughly. Lastly, fold in the chocolate chips!

Spray or grease a standard loaf pan. Then pour the batter into the pan and bake for about 40-50 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean! 

Enjoy on its own or smeared with some peanut butter! So delicious! 

Tabbouleh & Soujoukh

This meal is one of my all-time favorites, which is why I am so excited to be posting it today! My mom and I made this last night for dinner and it totally hits the spot when you want something delicious, nutritious, and light, yet filling! Let's start with the yummy tabbouleh recipe :) 

Makes about 4-6 servings:

2-3 bunches parsley

1.5 cups diced tomatoes

3 stems green onions, chopped

1/4 cup fine bulgar wheat (or quinoa if you are gluten intolerance...or you can omit the grain all together to make it grain free, paleo, whole30, etc...I've tried this salad all 3 ways and it tastes delicious each time!)

1/4 cup olive oil

1/4-1/3 cup lemon juice

1/2 t salt

1/4 t red pepper

Pinch of black pepper

Pinch of all spice

Chop the parsley and place in food processor. Pulse until the parsley is minced. Place parsley in a bowl along with the chopped green onions and tomatoes. I usually pour the bulgar on top of the tomatoes at this point and let the juice from the tomatoes soften up the bulgar for about 5-10 minutes. While you wait for this to happen, you can season and start cooking the soujoukh (or Armenian sausage).

Makes 15-18 patties

1 lb ground beef (we used 96/4 from Trader Joe's, but make sure that when you use a meat this lean, you add some olive oil to the pan before grilling the sausage patties!)

1/2 t cinnamon

1 t cloves

1 t cumin

1 t all spice

1 t salt

1 t black pepper

1 t red pepper

2-3 cloves garlic

Mix all the seasonings in with the meat and form little sausage patties. Heat a skillet with 1 T olive oil and start grilling! These sausages cook up pretty fast so be sure to watch them!

While the sausages are cooking, you can mix in the seasonings, olive oil, and lemon juice into the tabbouleh salad. You can eat this tabbouleh on its own, with pita bread, or with lettuce leaves, which is how we did it last night!

 nce the sausages are done, your meal is ready to go!

There you have it! One of my favorite dinners EVER. The leftovers taste amazing too! The tabbouleh gets better the next day, and you can always use to leftover sausages in an omelet or rice bowl with some steamed veggies! Hope you all enjoy this meal!

Chicken & Sweet Potato Casserole

My mom used to make this dish at least once a week while I was growing up. I absolutely love the flavors, seasonings, and even the scent of this dish baking in the oven. We made it again a couple of days ago, but this time, I used sweet potatoes instead of our usual white potatoes. Once I discovered sweet potatoes a few years ago, I have rarely turned back to white potatoes! Here is our Chicken & Sweet Potato Casserole recipe that is gluten-free as well as Whole 30 and paleo approved! I am sure you will love it just as much as I do! Makes 6 servings (or enough for a 9x13 inch casserole dish)

3 sweet potatoes, sliced into 1/4 inch disks

1 T olive oil

1.5-2 lbs boneless, skinless chicken breast

2 T tomato paste

3 cloves garlic

1/2 t salt

1/2 t red pepper

2 T olive oil

1/4 cup lemon juice

1 green bell pepper

Preheat the oven on 450 degrees. Heat a skillet over medium heat on the stove with 1 T olive oil. Wash the sweet potatoes and cut them into about 1/4 inch disks. Brown the potatoes on the skillet for 5-10 minutes to start the cooking process. This helps the potatoes cook faster in the oven and helps them stay moist and not dry out.

While the sweet potatoes are cooking, marinate the chicken breasts with the olive oil, tomato paste, salt, pepper, lemon juice, and garlic in a bowl. Leave some of the marinade in the bowl and evenly place the chicken breasts in a 9 x 13 inch casserole dish. Place the semi-cooked sweet potatoes in the rest of the marinade and coat evenly. Place the sweet potatoes disks over the chicken. Lastly, wash and slice the green bell pepper and place these slices over the potatoes.

Cover the dish in foil and bake the casserole in the oven for 45 minutes, or until the potatoes are tender and the chicken is cooked evenly.

And here is the finished product! You can eat this meal on its own, with a side salad, or with some brown rice. This dish goes a long way and also makes the perfect leftovers! Enjoy! :)

Mama's Chili Recipe!

Yesterday evening, I decided to ring in the first rainy day of fall with my family's famous chili recipe! My mom has been making this chili recipe for years and it is a hit every single time. This is a gluten/grain free recipe, and you can easily make it paleo by omitting the kidney beans and adding extra vegetables such as zucchini, squash, or even more bell peppers! This dish tastes great, is healthy, and leaves the house smelling amazing afterwards! Here is my Mama's Chili recipe!  

Makes 4 servings

1 T olive oil

1 medium onion, chopped

1 green bell pepper, chopped

1 lb lean ground beef (we used 96/4 from Trader Joe's)

1 cup kidney beans, canned and rinsed

1 can fire roasted diced tomatoes, or diced tomatoes with green chiles

2 T tomato paste mixed with 1/2 a cup of water

2 t chili powder

1/2 t salt

1 t cumin

Start by heating the olive oil over medium heat in a large pot. Chop up the onion and pepper and saute in the oil for about 5 minutes until they are browned and softened. Add the ground beef and cook thoroughly! Make sure you grind up the beef into as little pieces as possible to ensure it cooks well. Once the meat is cooked, add the tomatoes and beans. These are the brands we used! But you can definitely use whichever ones you love!

Once you add these, make a tomato "sauce" by mixing 2 T tomato paste with about 1/2 a cup of water. Add this to the pot as well.

Add the remaining seasonings (chili powder, salt, and cumin) and mix all the ingredients together. Set the burner on medium-low heat and let the chili simmer for about one hour, stirring occasionally. Add some water if the mixture becomes too thick!

And here is the finished product! This was such a comforting bowl of goodness on our rainy night last night and is definitely on our menu almost weekly during the fall and winter seasons! I hope you all enjoy! Here is the nutrition info in case anyone is wondering :)

Serving size is 1/4 of the pot, or about 1.5 cups: 250 calories, 8g fat (only 2g saturated fat, the rest is from the healthy olive oil!), 17g carbs, 26g protein

Cashew Chicken Fried Rice

This is definitely one of those recipes that I made up as I went along, and it came out incredible! I love Asian foods and have loved using coconut aminos as a substitute to soy sauce since the aminos do not contain gluten. I knew I wanted to make a chicken stir fry, and decided to add the coconut aminos and some toasted cashews to give this dish some Asian flair! At the last minute, I added an egg and some brown rice and turned this dish into a fried rice sort of creation! I used simple ingredients and whatever veggies I had on hand! This dish could easily be made whole30 or paleo by simply omitting the rice! Here is my quick and easy cashew chicken stir fry/fried rice recipe! Makes 2 servings

4 chicken tenders

1/2 T olive oil

1-2 cloves garlic

6-8 baby carrots

1/3 cup sugar snap peas

1-2 sweet bell peppers

2 T coconut aminos (I buy mine at Whole Foods!)

1/2 t Aleppo red pepper OR 1 t cayenne pepper

1 whole egg

2 T cashews

Heat the oil and garlic in a large skillet. Chop the chicken into cubes and add to the heated oil. While the chicken is sizzling, chop the carrots, snap peas, and bell peppers, or whatever veggies you have on hand that you would like to use up. Once the chicken is cooked, add the veggies to the skillet. Once the veggies soften up, add the coconut aminos and red pepper.

Let this mixture cook on the pan on medium-low heat so the sauce can thicken up a bit, which should only take about 5 minutes. Once the chicken and veggies are glazed by the sauce, move the ingredients to one side of the pain. Crack the egg on the other side and scramble the egg until it is cooked. Then, mix the scrambled egg with the rest of the ingredients.

To toast the cashews, simply use a smaller pot over medium heat and put the 2 T of cashews into the pot. Stir the nuts for about 5-7 minutes, or until they are nice and brown! Once they are browned, add the nuts to the chicken, veggie, and egg mixture as well! And that's it!

You can eat this dish on its own or with a side of rice, spaghetti squash, cauliflower rice, or more veggies! I hope you all enjoy this tasty and healthy Asian dish!

Nutrition facts for 1 serving without rice/sides (1/2 the recipe): 240 calories, 10g fat, 11g carbs, 26g protein, and about 50-75% of your daily need of vitamins A and C!

Blueberry Oat Bake

Good morning everyone! I had quite an interesting morning today, as my brain was in about 40 places at once. I have been wanting to bake a Blueberry Oat Bake recipe that I had thought up as a way to use all of the blueberries we have in the house! I brainstormed the recipe this week and finally decided to bake it this morning as a pre-workout snack before heading to the gym! After my morning quiet time, I headed to the kitchen and got to work:

Makes 16 squares (one 8x8 baking dish)

1/2 cup Gluten-free oats

2/3 cup Pamela's Gluten-free Pancake and Baking Mix

1/4 cup almond flour

1/3 cup unsweetened applesauce

1 T olive oil

1 whole egg

1/3 cup liquid egg whites

1/3-1/2 cup blueberries, washed and dried

16-20 packets stevia (optional)

I mixed all of the ingredients, first the dry...then the wet, then folded in the blueberries. In the meantime, I was separating laundry, and starting to make tea for my Mama. I sprayed my 8x8 baking dish, poured the batter into the dish, and stuck it in the oven. Then I changed into my workout clothes, continued separating laundry, and took the tea to my Mama. About 15 minutes later, I went to check on the bake and saw that it wasn't cooking! I was so confused and stared at the oven for about 30 seconds before figuring out that I had forgotten to turn the oven ON! Oh goodness, it was one of those mornings! I was definitely trying to do too many things at once, so it was inevitable that one vital component of baking would get lost in the process! I turned the oven on (350 degrees by the way) and decided to just scramble an egg while I waited for the bake in order to digest my food before my workout:

After 30 minutes, I pulled the bake out of the oven (and turned the oven OFF). I headed to the gym, resolving that I would just taste my bake when I got back. It looked so good, so I was definitely excited!

I can't wait to enjoy these little baked squares with my tea the next few days since we have some cold weather coming!

So, lessons for today: don't try to do too many things at once and always turn the oven ON when you are attempting to bake something. I hope you guys get to try this recipe soon!

Nutrition facts per square: 60 calories, 2g fat, 6g carb, 2.5g protein