Healthy Sesame Chicken Skillet

Pic courtesy How Sweet Eats

This was SOOOOO yummy and SOOOO easy. And, I'd be willing to bet that you have all the ingredients already in you pantry! Everyone in my family loves this meal- from baby Eloise up to Christian. So, if you don't know what you want to make for dinner tonight...

Healthy Sesame Chicken Skillet
from How Sweet Eats 

Ingredients:

2 pounds boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut into pieces
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoons pepper
3 tablespoons flour
2 tablespoons toasted sesame oil
1 tablespoon olive oil
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 tablespoon low-sodium soy sauce
1 tablespoon brown sugar
1 tablespoon white vinegar
1/2 cup low-sodium chicken stock
2-3 tablespoons toasted sesame seeds
brown rice and vegetables for serving

Directions:

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. In a bowl, whisk together chicken stock, brown sugar, 1 tablespoon sesame oil, garlic cloves, soy sauce and vinegar. Set aside.
Heat a large oven-proof skillet over medium-high heat. Toss chicken with salt, pepper and flour. Add olive oil and 1 tablespoon sesame oil to skillet, and once hot, add chicken in a single layer. Cook until seared and golden on one side, then flip and cook until golden again, about 2-3 minutes. Pour chicken stock mixture over top and toss to coat, then turn off heat. Place skillet in oven and bake for 20 minutes. Remove and cover with sesame seeds. Serve with veggie of your choice and brown rice.

 

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Chicken Taco Rice

This is such a yummy meal and a different turn on taco night. I don't have a pic, but you'll get the idea, I think. You can prepare this so many ways and eat it so many ways- it really is very versatile. For example, tonight I made it with black beans instead of corn but you could easily sub the black beans for chicken. I also only use regular brown rice and cook it almost all of the way and then add it in. So yummy.

Chicken Taco Rice
adapted from Blogging: It's what's for Dinner

1 lb. chicken (about 2 chicken breasts)
2 Tb. oil
1 can chicken broth
1- 8 oz. can tomato sauce
1 pkg. mild taco seasoning
1- 12 oz. can drained corn
1 med. red pepper sliced in strips
1 1/2 cup minute rice (or mostly cooked regular rice)
1 cup shredded cheese
1 bag tortilla chips
some sour cream
Some guacamole

Cut chicken in to bite size pieces and saute in oil in a big skillet (big enough to hold all of these ingredients). When chicken is done, add broth, tomato sauce, and seasoning. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat, cover, simmer for 5 minutes. Add drained corn and sliced pepper. Bring to a full boil. Stir in uncooked rice. Cover and remove from heat. Let stand for 5 minutes. Fluff with a fork. Sprinkle with cheese. Cover again and let stand for just a little while. Serve with chips, sour cream and guacamole. This is even better hours after you make it so you can make it one night have it the next day or make it in the morning and have it that night.

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Baked Penne with Chicken, Broccoli and Smoked Mozzarella

We just ate this and here I am- already posting it. It's really, really good and a surprisingly fast meal to prepare. I halved the recipe for our family of 5 and it was perfect with one serving of leftovers. I made a few changes from the the original recipe on Mel's Kitchen Cafe .

Baked Penne with Chicken, Broccoli and Smoked Mozzarella

adapted from Mel's Kitchen Cafe 

*Note: See the asterisk below the recipe for make-ahead directions.

*Serves 6-8

INGREDIENTS:
Topping:
3/4 cup bread crumbs (store-bought or make your own)
2 tablespoons butter, melted
Filling:
1 bunch broccoli (about 1 ½ pounds), stalks cut off, florets trimmed into 1-inch pieces
12 ounces penne pasta
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 medium onion, minced
6 medium garlic cloves, finely minced or pressed through a garlic press
1 teaspoon dried thyme
¼ cup all-purpose flour
2 cups low-sodium chicken broth
1 cup heavy cream
1 teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon pepper
1 ½ pounds boneless skinless chicken breasts (about 3), trimmed and cut into bite-size pieces
3 ounces smoked mozzarella, shredded (I used regular mozzarella b/c smoked is pricey)
8 ounce jar roasted red peppers, chopped (Mel used sun-dried tomatoes but I don't really like them)
DIRECTIONS:
In a small bowl, combine the bread crumbs and butter and set aside. Lightly grease a 9X13-inch baking dish and set aside.
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees and make sure the oven rack is placed in the middle of the oven. In a large pot, bring the water for the pasta to a boil. Stir in one tablespoon salt and the broccoli. The broccoli cooks quickly so stay close! Cook the broccoli for 1 minute, until it is bright green. Quickly remove the broccoli with a slotted spoon to a plate. Return the water to a boil and add the pasta and cook until al dente, about 1-2 minutes less than how you would eat it normally (it will cook a bit more in the oven while baking). Drain the pasta in a colander and toss with 1 tablespoon olive oil. Leave it in the colander and set it aside.
Wipe the pot dry. Add the remaining 1 tablespoon oil and return to medium heat until shimmering. Add the onion and cook until softened and beginning to brown, about 5 minutes. Stir in the garlic and thyme; cook until fragrant, about 30 seconds, stirring constantly. Add the flour, salt and pepper, and cook, stirring constantly, until golden, about 1 minute. Slowly whisk in the broth and cream; bring to a simmer, whisking often. Add the chicken and cook, stirring occasionally, until cooked through, about 6-7 minutes. Stir in the roasted red peppers and (smoked) mozzarella.
Add the cooked pasta and broccoli to the sauce; stir to combine. Transfer the pasta mixture to the prepared baking dish and sprinkle with the bread crumb topping. Bake until the casserole is bubbling and the crumbs are lightly browned, about 15 minutes. Serve immediately.
*The casserole can be prepared in advance with the following steps: after the broccoli is removed from the boiling water, plunge it into a bowl of ice water and cool completely. Assemble the casserole following the directions in the recipe. After the casserole is spread in the prepared baking pan, let it cool for 5-10 minutes before covering with plastic wrap and refrigerating for up to 8 hours. To bake, preheat the oven to 375 and bake uncovered for 30 minutes.

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Brown Butter Parmesan Chicken Linguine

Pic courtesy of How Sweet It Is

I'm still sitting at the dinner table as I write this. It was THAT good. There are some meals in life that are better than dessert. This is one of them. My kids had seconds. That never happens. It was seriously one of the best meals I've had in a long time. I could seriously go on, but just go make it and see for yourself.

Brown Butter Parmesan Chicken Linguine

adapted from How Sweet It Is

serves 4

1.5 pounds boneless, skinless chicken breasts (about 2 large breasts), cut into pieces

1 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon pepper

1/2 teaspoon smoked paprika

1 1/2 tablespoons canola oil

5 tablespoons unsalted butter

1 medium sweet onion, sliced

4 garlic cloves, minced or pressed

3/4 cup dry white wine

1/2 to 3/4 pound whole wheat pasta (preferably noodles)

2/3 cup freshly grated parmesan cheese + more for topping

fresh chopped parsley for topping

Heat a large skillet oven medium-high heat and add canola oil. Pat chicken dry with a paper towel then toss with salt, pepper and paprika. Add to the skillet and brown on all sides, cooking for about 8-10 minutes total. Remove and set aside in a bowl. Turn heat down to low and add 1/2 tablespoon butter. Add sliced onions with a pinch of salt and stirring occasionally, cook until caramelized – about 15 minutes.

While onions are caramelizing, heat a small saucepan over low heat and add 5 tablespoons of butter. Whisk constantly until butter has brown bits on the bottom, then immediately remove from heat. I usually whisk for about 30 seconds more just to make sure the bits don’t burn. Set aside. At this time also prepare the water for your pasta and cook according to the directions.

After onions have caramelized, add garlic and cook for 30 seconds until fragrant. Increase the heat to medium and add wine. Let the wine bubble and cook for 2-3 minutes. Add chicken and pasta both to the skillet, tossing multiple times to coat. Turn off heat and stir in grated cheese. Drizzle brown butter (make sure you get the brown bits!) over top, tossing to coat a few more times. Serve with additional cheese and chopped parsley.

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