Buffalo Chicken - Clean Eating!

Hello and welcome to my blog!  Thanks for stopping by here!  Today I am so happy to share with you a recipe for Clean Eating Buffalo Chicken!  My husband is such a fan of Buffalo Chicken and I really am as well.  To me, saying that something "tastes like chicken" is NOT a good thing.  I tend to cook my chicken in a way that it does not taste like chicken.  It is just my style.  Side note - I utilize a fair amount of fresh lemon juice around here (although not in today's recipe!) and it totally helps chicken and salmon to taste better to me!  

And why is this buffalo chicken "clean eating"?  Traditional buffalo chicken recipes tend to be very high in fat content, particularly saturated fat.  It contains chemicals and preservatives due to the salad dressing.  Some recipes use canned chicken which (to me!) is just plain creepy and also adds in more sodium and preservatives. Clean eating avoids things like that.  For example - here is a traditional recipe that many people love.  FIRST, is this really going to feed 20 people???  Probably not!  10 people (or less!) could easily consume this dip and just LOOK at what all they would be taking in to their systems.  No thanks!  It may taste good at the time but the after-effects are just not worth it.  I do not want to clop up my arteries or wind up with my jeans too snug!

Relatively speaking, in my world, the recipe featured here in my entry today does have a fair amount of sodium due to the hot sauce.  You can look for a reduced-sodium sauce.  BUT, if you are eating a serving of this buffalo chicken recipe in the midst of a clean eating lifestyle, you are going to do just fine.  The rest of what we eat IS very low in sodium so something like this which is of a moderate level fits in okay here and there.     

For today's recipe, I took some photos to show you exactly how I like to prepare this dish.  You are going to need:

4 Medium Chicken Breasts + butter or oil for browning 

3-4 Tablespoons Hot Sauce (we like Frank's Buffalo Sauce)

3-4 Tablespoons Greek Yogurt 

2 Tablespoons Feta

2 Tablespoons Cubed or Shredded Cheese (Colby or Cheddar or whatever!)

** You can use a bit more or less of the hot sauce/Greek yogurt depending upon the quantity of your chicken breasts and how "saucy" you want your Buffalo Chicken to be!

First, heat oven to 375.  You will need the oven once the cook-top prep is complete!

1) I trim my chicken breasts very closely (personal preference) and I heat a bit of butter in a skillet or small pot.  My cook-top goes from low to 1-9 to high.  I warm the butter at 5 and turn it to 7 just as I am about to add the chicken.  I let that first side brown at 7 for 4-5 minutes and then flip to the other side.  I then allow the other side to brown the same amount of time without disturbing the chicken in the pan.  This sears both sides nicely and helps with flavor/texture.

2) I use my spatula to cut each breast (right in the pan) into 4 or so pieces.  I flip and toss them around a bit and then reduce heat to medium (5).

3) Next I add 3-4 tablespoons of hot sauce on top of the chicken.

4) I mix in that hot sauce and use the spatula again to cut the chicken into smaller pieces.  The burner temp continues to be at medium and I am working with the pot continuously to brown but not dry out/burn the chicken.  I am going to be using this chicken for wraps so I leave it in these medium-sized pieces.  You could continue to make them smaller if wanting to make Buffalo Chicken Dip.

5) I turn the heat down to medium-low (3 on my burner) and I add my Greek yogurt on top.  I mix everything well and grab the feta and cubed cheese.  I add them and stir to combine.  At this point I turn the heat back up to medium (5 for me) and bring the whole pot up to a simmer.  This takes a few minutes and I do return to stir it often.  Once at a simmer, I make sure that the cheese has all melted and is evenly distributed.  

*** If you are wanting to make this into a dip, you could transfer to a slow-cooker at this point rather than into the oven.  Or you can still make it into a dip in the oven if you are going to be serving it right away!

6) Place chicken in the oven at 375.  My pots can go from cook-top to oven but you may need to transfer into a separate dish if this is not the case for you!  Place (uncovered) on a medium rack and bake for 10-12 or even 15 minutes, until everything has browned up just a bit and the color becomes a bit more vibrant.  

7) Serve on a wrap or turn into a dip or whatever you would like!  We enjoy a nice side of fresh veggies and a whole grain wrap.  

I hope that your family likes this one as much as we do!  For more clean-eating, family-friendly recipes, check out the Recipes Page here on my blog!  Happy cooking!

Fixate Chicken Tortilla Soup

Hello!  Welcome to my blog!  Today I am so happy to be able to share with you an EXCELLENT clean eating chicken tortilla soup which we made here for the first time last night.  I really loved this recipe and I have to say that it is my favorite dinner that I have made in the past couple of months!  For real!  You have to give it a try!

This recipe comes from the cookbook called "Fixate".  Fixate is available through Team Beachbody.  After experiencing a significant transformation with my health, I became a Coach with Beachbody.  I would be glad to help you out with how to obtain a copy of Fixate!  This cookbook was created by Autumn Calabrese of the 21 Day Fix.  Even if you are not doing the 21 Day Fix fitness/nutrition program, this cookbook is still an excellent resource with 101 clean eating recipes!

To best suit our day here yesterday, I did a few things a little bit differently with the recipe and I will include those notes below.  I did still use the exact same ingredient list!  I just skipped the blender/food processor part and had all of this simmering for a couple of hours instead.  It was AMAZING!

Mexican Chicken Tortilla Soup

                                        from Fixate

Ingredients:

• 2 teaspoons olive oil
• 8 (6") tortillas, divided use
• 1/2 cup onion, chopped
• 2 cups celery, sliced (about 4 medium stalks)
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• 4 medium tomatoes, chopped
• 6 cups low-sodium organic chicken broth
• 3 cups chopped and/or shredded rotisserie chicken, boneless/skinless
• 1 1/2 cups sliced carrots (about 3 medium)
• 1 teaspoon dried oregano leaves
• 1 teaspoon chili powder
• ½ teaspoon sea salt + more to taste
• ½ teaspoon pepper + more to taste
• optional garnish: chopped avocado, chopped fresh cilantro, crumbled Cotija (or Feta) cheese

Instructions:

1) Preheat oven to 350 F.

  

2) Line large baking sheet with parchment paper.

3) Place tortillas on baking sheet.  Bake for 8-10 minutes, or until toasted and crispy.  Remove from oven.  When cool, break into pieces.  Set aside.  

4) Heat oil in large saucepan over medium heat. Add chopped onion and celery; cook, stirring frequently, for about 5 minutes and until veggies are soft. Add garlic; cook, stirring frequently, for about 1 minute. Add tomatoes; cook, stirring frequently, for about 5 minutes and until tomatoes are soft. Set aside.

5) Add onion mixture, 2 cups broth and half of the toasted tortilla pieces to high-speed blender or food processor and blend until smooth.

6) Transfer blended mixture back to saucepan and add remaining 4 cups broth, chicken, carrots and seasonings. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Reduce heat to medium-low; cook, stirring occasionally, for about 10 minutes, or until carrots are tender.

7) Top each serving with preferred toppings such as avocado, cilantro, feta, and remaining tortilla chips.

Here is what I modified in making this recipe:  Steps 1-4 were exactly the same for me.  I did not place anything in a blender.  Once step 4 was complete I went ahead and added my chicken, carrots and seasonings.  I stirred everything well and then covered the pot.  I placed it in the oven at 275 and it remained there for 2 hours.  I then served the soup topped with the tortilla chips, avocado and feta.  There were no tortilla chips incorporated into the soup itself.  They were just on the top.  The entire thing was just so delicious.  Give it a try!

AND - we made some cookies for dessert last night and also to share with my daughter's teachers plus today's lunches for my husband and kids.  This cookie recipe was "new to me" and was created by a friend of mine.  I will include her blog link below!

 

These cookies are considered "clean eating", minus the M and M's that top some of them!  The cookies themselves do not contain any sugar and use honey as the sweetener.  We always work with raw honey here and it is really just fantastic!  

This kind of cookie would be my weakness!  They are clean eating but do contain a good amount of "healthy fat".  So we made 3/4's of a batch and that produced the 12 nicely-sized cookies that you see here.  The recipe calls for either coconut oil OR butter.  We used about 3/4 coconut oil and 1/4 butter to create our app. 1/3 cup total.  

Get the recipe here at my friend Brittney's blog!  We very much enjoyed these cookies and will for sure be making them again here in my home.  :)

 

Slow Cooker Chicken Noodle

Hello!  Welcome to my kitchen!  This past week I made a double batch of this family favorite recipe!  I was making dinner for the four of us for two days, two lunches for my husband, two dinners to share with friends plus the "bonus dinner" freezer container pictured above!

In today's blog entry I will share this recipe with the way that I make it here.  But you know the beauty of soup, right??  It can be whatever you like it to be!  If you do not love (or have on hand!) the veggies that I typically include in this recipe, feel free to improvise!  It is October and in Erie, PA that means we are entering into "soup season" and I will make this recipe a couple of times each month.  My family really likes it!  It may take a bit of prep time but then you are good to go for a few days!

Slow Cooker Chicken Noodle

- 1 Rotisserie Chicken pulled apart and shredded (or you may use cooked chicken breast)

- 64 Ounces Broth (we love a combo of Wegmans Organic Vegetable and Chicken - just make sure you are working with something that is low-sodium!) 

- 2 Cups Water

- 10 Ounces Shredded Carrots (1 package of Wegmans Organic makes it easy!)

- Butter or Coconut Oil for sauteing Veggies

- 1 Sweet Onion, Minced

- 3 Cups Chopped Celery (we tend to go with a good amount of celery around here and you may prefer a bit less?)

- 1 or 2 Cups Frozen Chopped Spinach (depending on how much you like!)

- 3 Tablespoons Dried Parsley

- 1 Tablespoon Dried Oregano

- Salt and Pepper to taste

- 8-12 Ounces Cooked Pasta of Choice (we go light on the pasta but you may like more?)

Directions:

1)  I will sometimes pull apart my chicken the day before, perhaps after grocery shopping.  Either way, you want to get your chicken shredded and soup-ready.

2) Place chicken in crock-pot and cover with broth and water.

3) Add shredded carrots to crock-pot.

4) Saute chopped celery and minced onions and add to crock-pot.

5) Add frozen spinach, parsley, oregano and salt/pepper to taste.

6) Cover crock-pot and cook on low for 3-8 hours.  This recipe really is flexible!  It is all "cooked" and I have also served it just after two hours in the crock-pot.  But it really does taste incredible after 3-4 hours.

7) Cook pasta and stir into crock-pot 20-30 minutes before serving.  Be CAREFUL to not over-cook your pasta and a good pasta will hold up well for left-overs.  Keep it firm!

I hope that you enjoy this recipe as much as we do!  It is one that I am always happy to share with others.  Don't hesitate to go ahead and work with whatever vegetables you have available!  This one really is flexible with the length of time that it needs to be in the crock-pot.  I personally really like the aroma and texture of sauteed onions and celery but if you are going to have this in the crock-pot for 4+ hours, you could get away with adding them raw if you prefer.  I am inclined to add a "boost" of chopped spinach whenever possible but if you think that this would be a turn-off to your family, just skip that step!  You can also season with any herbs that appeal to you and your household.  Happy soup-making!


 

Fixate Creamy Chicken Salad w/Honey Mustard Dressing

I am having such a good time with my new Fixate cookbook!!  This is a recent release from Team Beachbody and it is an excellent addition to my kitchen!  The recipes are all clean eating and are aligned with the 21 Day Fix nutrition guide.  But even if you are not doing the Fix, this cookbook is still a very handy tool!

Summer has *finally* really arrived here in Erie, PA and we are loving this weather!!  It has been a bit warm for cooking most recent days!  Rotisserie chicken is a go-to for my family.  So when I saw this chicken salad recipe to go with it, I thought, "perfect"!  I have made other clean eating chicken salads and they have been a little bit "too Greek yogurt" based for my taste.  I am happy to report that this one is not that way at all!  It is light and the honey mustard taste is unique and quite delicious!  My family is already requesting it again!

Creamy Chicken Salad w/Honey Mustard Dressing

Serves 4 and you will have plenty of dressing to spare!

 

The color coded portion control container count is 2 green, 1 red, 1/2 purple, 1/2 blue and 1/2 orange.

 Ingredients:

• 3 cups chopped rotisserie chicken breast (boneless / skinless)
• 1/2 cup chopped green apple
• 1/2 cup seedless red grapes, cut in half
• 1/2 cup sliced almonds
• 2 green onions, sliced
• 2 Tbsp chopped fresh tarragon
• 1/4 cup Honey Mustard Dressing (see below)
• 8 cups shredded romaine lettuce

Directions:

1. Combine chicken, apple, grapes, almonds, green onions, tarragon, and Honey Mustard Salad Dressing in a large bowl.  Mix well, cover and refrigerate for 2 hours.
2. Serve 1 1/4 cup Creamy Chicken Salad over 2 cups of romaine lettuce per serving.   

Honey Mustard Dressing:
** Serves 8 with 2 Tbsp per serving
** 1 Orange Container

• 1/2 cup reduced fat plain Greek yogurt
• 3 Tbsp Dijon mustard, gluten-free
• 3 Tbsp raw honey
• 3 Tbsp rice vinegar
• 1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
• Sea Salt to taste (optional) 

Directions: Combine yogurt, mustard, honey, and vinegar in a medium bowl and mix well. Slowly add the oil, whisking constantly until well blended.   

 

*** My family is not fond of green onions and I wasn't so sure about tarragon for them. So we skipped the green onion and just used parsley as our herb.  The kids had selected green grapes at the grocery store so we used them rather than red.  And I always like to toss some baby spinach in with my romaine base.  Other than that, we followed everything else with this recipe and the leftover dressing has been in use as well! 

 

 

Favorite Homemade Dressing and "Stretching" Dinner!

Hello!  Welcome to my blog!  My name is Jeanette and I am a mom of two.  Here are a couple of photos from this past week.  My son is 6 years old and was so happy to be riding a train at the Erie Zoo and Waldameer this past week!  My daughter is age 8 and enjoyed the opportunity to celebrate Father's Day with a family lunch out over the weekend.  We have lived in Erie for 9 years now and definitely enjoy many things about this region.  My husband is originally from CT and I grew up 2.5 hours southeast of Erie, down in rural Elk County.  He and I are opposites in many ways but somehow it all works! 

Over this past week I have been using a new homemade salad dressing recipe that is so, so, SO GOOD!  It is also super-versatile, clean-eating and quite inexpensive.  I will be sharing the recipe below!

I mixed up a batch of this dressing mid-week last week and we have enjoyed it many times since!  The first meal I was serving it was over a kale garden salad that I had made for guests.  That evening we enjoyed it again!  I took that same kale salad base and added some leftover quinoa that I had made over the weekend, some chicken prepared in our favorite marinade, this dressing and a dollop of guacamole that I had made the evening prior.

We have been eating clean since September 2013.  It does not have to be overly-expensive or complex!  In summary, clean eating really is quite simple!  Below is a basic marinade that we use often around here.  I am one who does not like my chicken to "taste like chicken" and this helps a lot with that!  Cooking chicken with this marinade and adding some veggies and at times a grain makes for an easy meal.

I used the homemade dressing a few more times over the past several days.  Tonight we finished it off while tossing it with an unexpected combination.  This is one of those weeks where I seem to have a lot on my mind.  I grabbed some groceries on Sunday but did not have a super-formulated plan!  I knew that I was bringing home workable ingredients and would figure it out as I went.  So tonight I was sauteing some chicken breast with vidalia onion and an orange bell pepper.  I had a cucumber but no more kale, romaine, spinach or whatever.  I also wanted to add a grain of some sort but was short on time and didn't feel like cooking one.  I looked at what I was working with for the dinner protein and thought that if I could stretch it a little bit, I would have enough to place in my husband's lunch for tomorrow.  So I looked for some beans in my cupboard and all that I found was garbanzo.  Beans are going to be one of your higher-quality carbs and also contain some protein.  Done!  No need to decide which bean to use... I just went with what I had and as always, gave them a thorough rinse before incorporating into my recipe.  And guess what??  This random combo turned out to be quite delicious!  And do you know why???  THE DRESSING.  For real.  You can put this one on anything!  The chicken, peppers and onions were warm as I topped the cucumber and beans with them.  I poured the dressing on top and - WOW - it became a delicious combo!

I am a coach with Team Beachbody and my team recently hosted a 5 Day Clean Eating Summer Salads group.  14 of the coaches on my team contributed recipes and credit for this recipe goes to my coach friend Jessica John.  SO MANY PEOPLE are loving this recipe!  It was first shared last Monday and has been a major hit!  

Favorite Homemade Dressing!

3/4 cup olive oil
1 cup red wine vinegar but you can use Apple cider vinegar. Both ways are great!
2 tsp garlic powder
2 tsp oregano
2 tsp basil
1.5 tsp salt
1.5 tsp pepper
1.5 tsp onion powder
2 tsp Dijon mustard 

** Shake all ingredients before serving.  

Dressing may be kept in the fridge 10-14 days while sealed tightly.  

Favorite Chicken!! Technique and Tips!

Hello!  Welcome to my blog!  Okay... so let's just say that putting "favorite" next to "chicken" is veerrrrryyyyyy significant for me.  I do not care for chicken.  Really and truly.  We do eat it often and anything that makes it "not taste like chicken" while keeping it simple and not adding a bunch of stuff to it works for me.  And you know what is amazing?  Avocado.  I do love avocado and I think that it does have redemptive potential for just about any meal!  There is nothing like a perfect avocado. 

For me, enjoying chicken really comes down to the prep and cooking techniques used.  If you take a look at the image above, you will see the steps on how I get my chicken to "look" and taste amazing with using just ONE ingredient and a bit of butter for that saute!  It is mind-boggling to me how simple this is.  No real recipe needed!  This approach uses a favorite marinade, the chicken, a red pepper, plus some romaine and avocado.  And that's it!  This is my family's favorite method as well.  My daughter calls it "the good chicken".  Nice, as opposed to "the bad chicken".  Hmm... there have been times that I really do dry out the chicken too much in my zeal to not have it at all undercooked!  But seriously, with this marinade and this technique, you can't go wrong!  

Give this one a try and let me know what you think!  Happy cooking!!

As our Erie winter continues into this first week of "spring", this is the current view from my kitchen window!  Summers here are truly outstanding!  We keep working on our patience as we count down to those days.