Month: May 2017

Peg’s Sautéed Chicken with Mushrooms in White Wine Sauce and Roasted Broccoli with Rice (a fast fix, no really. I’m not kidding. :)

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Ahhhhhh what should I make for dinner tonight?  Isn’t that the question of the day some times?  You may be very organized and do not have this problem and if you are props to you, Sista!!🙌🏻 I like to have a menu planned (plantoeat.com #lifesavor) and do most weeks, but this weekend was a pretty busy weekend for this bunch, so a menu for the week was not planned.  I thought I would do a little something more adventurous tonight. You know those cooking shows where the chefs have to make something out of the ingredients the host places before them?  Well, tonight I decided to do my own version of that, except I would use only the ingredients that I had on hand, which are the following:   

First thing I did was start the sticky rice in my rice cooker.  I like using the Nishiki brand (white or brown is delish). 

The next step is to start the roasted broccoli.  Here is the recipe:

1/2 Package of broccoli (I like Costco:)

Sprinkle with olive oil and kosher salt and pepper. 


Place aluminum foil on a cookie sheet, spread broccoli on foil  (try not to overlap), and slices of red onion (optional).  Sprinkle with olive oil, salt and pepper. Preheat oven to 425 degrees and place broccoli in oven for 7 min. Take out, stir and put back in oven for another 5 min or until your liking. 


Make sure you set the timer on your broccoli!  I’ve had to learn the hard way haha. 

While the broccoli is cooking, prepare the chicken:

4 Chicken breasts, sliced lengthwise 

1 c. Flour or cornstarch, if you have celiacs 

2 Eggs, whisked together with kosher salt and pepper

2 T. Butter

2 T. Olive oil

For the sauce:

1 Clove Garlic (not shown in pic. 😂Okay, you got me. I cheated a little😝)

1 Pkg Shiitake mushrooms

2 T. Flour or cornstarch 

1/3 c. White wine

1 c. Chicken broth

1 c. Parmesan cheese

Lemon, just a drizzle though. You don’t want this to over power your sauce. Add at the very end of cooking. 

Directions for chicken:

Lightly dredge chicken in egg mixture and then in flour, set aside. 

Tip:  Do not stack the chicken breasts on the plate or the coating will come off. 

Heat large pan on medium-high heat and melt the 2 T. Butter and olive oil together. Place chicken in pan once the oil/butter mixture is hot. Let cook for about 5 min or until it is nice and brown looking and don’t worry if some of the coating comes off. It’s okay. Turn and cook the other side about 5-7 min, depending on how thick your chicken breasts are. I like to cut into one of the thicker ones just slightly to make sure there is no pink. Remove from pan and place on platter. Cover with aluminum foil. 

Now–don’t forget about that broccoli in the oven. It should be done by now or close to it :).  When it’s done, tent with foil to keep warm. 

Directions for the mushroom sauce:


Drizzle olive oil in pan (you can use the same pan as you cooked your chicken in. Just scrape off the flour that came off the chicken while cooking and discard) on med-high heat. Add garlic and cook until fragrant then add mushrooms. Sauté until mushrooms are done–around 5-10 min. Add 2 T. flour or cornstarch, stir.


Now it’s time to add the white wine.  Cook about 2-3 min until alcohol burns off and then slowly add the 1 c. chicken broth. Cook for a couple of minutes or until thickened.  If it is too thick add a bit of water to thin.  


Add the chicken to the mushroom sauce.


Sprinkle with 3/4 c. Parmesan cheese and drizzle with fresh lemon, not too much.  I didn’t even use a quarter of a wedge for mine.  I topped this with the remaining parm cheese and chopped tomatoes.  Sooooo good!  Enjoy!!

FRIEND FRIDAY GUEST POST– ASPEN BOREN

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This week I have an awesome guest post from our darling daughter-in-law, Aspen Boren! Aspen was born in Salt Lake City and spent most of her childhood there.  She and our son met at Southern Utah University and were married in 2013.  They have two adorable children–Eli Boyd (almost 2) and Oaklynn Rose (1 month).  Recently, she graduated with her bachelors from Southern Utah University in Family Life and Human Development–Family Services. She accomplished this all while having her little family, which is so amazing to me.  She is a stay-at-home mom and loves rock climbing, dancing, yoga, arts and crafts and spending time with family.  She is an amazing wife and mother and is really, really good at it 🙂 AND she is also great at making freezer meals.  Aspen is sharing one of her favorites with us today.  Thanks so much Aspen for sharing. Love you!!! Okay, I have to share just one more adorable pic :). 


CROCK-POT CHICKEN TORTILLA SOUP–FREEZER MEAL 

(adapted from peasandcrayons.com)

Prep: 15 mins   Cook: 6 hours   Total: 6 hours, 15 mins

Yield: 6

Ingredients:

6 cups of low-sodium vegetable broth [or chicken broth!]

1 cup canned crushed tomatoes

1/4-1/2 cup tomatillo salsa verde

3 TBSP tomato paste

2 TBSP olive oil

3 cups black beans [cooked or *canned]

1-2 cups pinto beans [cooked or canned]

3 boneless, skinless chicken breasts

4 small corn tortillas, torn into small pieces

2 small onions [approx 2 cups]

2 jalapenos [seeds and veins removed]

1 large bell pepper

juice of 1/2 a fresh lime

2-4 TBSP fresh cilantro

1 tsp chili powder

1 tsp garlic powder

1 tsp cumin

1/2 tsp cayenne pepper

salt, to taste [amount added will vary on sodium content of broth + tomatoes/beans]

shredded mexican cheese blend

crunchy tortilla chips

…plus add your favorites from the list below:

TASTY TOPPINGS:
greek yogurt or sour cream [I add lime zest to mine for extra oomph!]
tortilla strips

chopped red onion

chopped green onion

fresh cilantro

sliced jalapenos [for fire and flair]

fresh pico de gallo

fresh guacamole 

sliced avocado

For a brothier soup, keep a bit of extra vegetable or chicken broth on hand to add towards the end.

*If using canned beans, simply drain and rinse and you’re ready to go!
TO FREEZE:


Literally, toss everything into the freezer bag EXCEPT the corn tortilla’s.  Zip tight making sure most of the air is out. Place in the freezer. When ready to eat, thaw in the refrigerator over night. 
Dump into the crockpot and break apart the corn tortilla’s and toss them in. If you want more of a thick soup add a few more strips of the corn tortilla’s. If you like your soup more on the thin side, add more vegetable or chicken broth. Cook on high 4-6 hours. Shred the chicken around the 4 hour mark. Let simmer for another 2 hours.

Add your favorite toppings and ENJOY!!

I like to do mine a bit more thick and eat it “salsa style” — YUM!!!


This is making my mouth water!! Can’t wait to try!

Meatless Monday–Pan-Seared Pressed Tofu with Soy Sauce

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Tofu has been one of my favs as far as meatless meat haha. This recipe comes from a recipe book called, “Oh She Glows” and is a winner!! It really does taste so good. Trust me. You’ll be glad you tried it :).  AND it’s soooo fast to cook after you have pressed it. 


Remove the extra-firm tofu from package and rinse with cold water. Place on clean towel. 


Fold towel over tofu and place some heavy books on top. By doing this, you are pressing the liquid out of the tofu to make it be a more meaty tofu. Leave the books on the tofu for at least 30 min to 1 hour. I pressed mine for about 4 hours and it was great. 



Cut tofu into squares and sprinkle on garlic powder, kosher salt, and pepper to both sides. 


Place 1 T. of coconut oil in a heavy pan on medium-high heat and let oil get nice and hot.  Place tofu squares in hot pan and drizzle soy sauce over all of tofu–not a lot but just a drizzle. Cook for approximately 3 minutes or until nice and brown. 


Turn over and cook other side for another 3 min.  And that’s it!! Serve with brown rice and roasted broccoli. Delish!

Friend Friday Guest Post–Emily Mathews

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I’m so excited to introduce my guest post for this Friday–EMILY MATHEWS!!! I first met Emily in a sewing class I took at Dixie State University many years ago, and she is one talented seamstress. I was always so impressed with her talent and with her smiling face :)–always happy. Such an example to all of us!


Emily Mathews is a native of Springville, Utah, but she and her husband have been married for nearly 11 years and have called Southern Utah home for just as long. They live in Little Valley where they are raising their family of three beautiful children. Her family describes her as adventurous, fun, loving, selfless and unsatisfied. 🙂 She is always seeking to better herself, learn something new or do something more for others in need. She is a wife, mother, cosmetologist and amateur baker/cook. She loves to make yummy food and her family loves to help her eat it! She has always enjoyed trying new recipes but also has her tried and true favorites that never disappoint. One such recipe is this Glazed Lemon Blueberry Coffee (bundt) Cake!

Glazed Lemon Blueberry Coffee (bundt) Cake

FOR THE CAKE

Nonstick cooking spray

1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature

2 cups granulated sugar

4 large eggs, room temperature

2 1/2 tablespoons freshly grated lemon zest (from 4 large lemons)

2 1/2 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice (from 2 lemons)

3 cups plus 1 tablespoon all-purpose flour

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon coarse salt

1 cup buttermilk

1 1/2 cups fresh blueberries (9 ounces)

FOR THE GLAZE:

1/2 cup confectioners’ sugar

1/2 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice (from 4 lemons)

2 teaspoons freshly grated lemon zest (from 1 lemon)


Preheat oven to 325 degrees with rack in center of oven. Generously spray a nonstick 10-inch (14-cup) Bundt pan with nonstick cooking spray; set aside. 


In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream butter and sugar on medium speed until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition, and scraping down sides of bowl. Stir in lemon zest and juice. Whisk together 3 cups flour, baking soda, and salt in a medium bowl. 


Add flour mixture to the butter mixture in 3 additions, alternating with the buttermilk, beginning and ending with the dry ingredients. Toss blueberries with remaining tablespoon flour to coat. Gently fold blueberries into batter.

Transfer batter to prepared pan, smoothing top with a rubber spatula.  


Bake until a tester or wooden skewer inserted into the center comes out clean, and the cake has begun to pull away from the sides of the pan, about 1 1/4 hours.  Transfer pan to a wire rack to cool for 45 minutes.  Meanwhile, prepare glaze. In a small bowl, whisk together sugar, lemon juice, and zest until smooth; set aside.

Invert the cake onto a rack. Prick the surface all over with a wooden skewer. 


Brush the glaze over the surface of the cake and let cool completely. Store wrapped well in plastic wrap for up to 2 days at room temperature.

Enjoy!! I can’t wait to try this!!

Raspberry Chipotle Salmon with Zoodles

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Salmon is definitely one of my favs and a quick fix when you’re in a hurry and hungry needing to get dinner on, not to mention the health benefits of this rich Omega-3 food :).

Ingredients:

2 Summer Squash, spiralized

2 Zucchini, spiralized (I LOVE this spiralizer from Williams Sonoma)


Salmon (I like to get mine at Costco either the frozen or I cut up the fresh into cutlets)

Trader Joe’s Raspberry Chipotle Sauce

Slivered Almonds, toasted

Kosher Salt

Pepper

1/2-1 C. Parmesan Cheese

2 T Salted Butter

2 T. Butter

2 Cloves Garlic, minced

Directions:

Sprinkle kosher salt and pepper on salmon and let sit while you spiralize the squash and grate the Parmesan cheese. 


Put butter, olive oil or garlic in pan on medium high heat. 


Once butter is melted and garlic is fragrant, put spiralized noodles in the pan. 


Cook squash 7-10 min or until done to your liking. Add Parmesan cheese and toss. Set aside.

Sprinkle more olive oil and butter in another pan on medium high heat. Melt butter and once pan is hot, place salmon in pan and cook covered for 4 min or until cooked side is nice and crisp looking. Turn and cook other side for 3 min until crisp looking. Remove salmon from pan and plate. Drizzle Raspberry Chipotle Sauce on top and sprinkle toasted slivered almonds. 


Enjoy! And FYI my hubby gave this one a TEN!! Wahoo!

Friend Friday Guest Post–Courtney Wallace!!

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Look at this BEAUTIFUL family!!! This week my guest post is from my dear friend, Courtney!! She is a gem through and through. I first met Courtney many years ago through running, and I have loved her ever since. She is a good friend to all and loved by many.  I’m so grateful for her example and her love of food and running :). Court is sharing her Southwest Kale Quinoa Bowl and I can’t wait to try it!! Thanks so much for sharing with us today Court!! Love you!!

Southwest Kale Quinoa Bowl 🙂


Prepare quinoa according to package (I make mine in the InstaPot for 10 minutes, 2 cups quinoa & 4 cups chicken broth)

Cook thawed chicken in InstaPot 1 lb for 20 min.  Add seasonings of 2tbsp cumin, 1/2 tsp onion powder, 1tbsp Trader Joe’s Chili Lime salt, dash of cayenne.  
**shortcut–buy Costco rotisserie chicken (they even sell it off the bone which is really awesome if it grosses you out to shred a dead chicken 😉 & use a pre-made packet of taco seasoning.

Dice kale/peppers/tomatoes/avocado

Shred carrots

Quarter lime

Drain black beans

Layer & garnish bowl:

Quinoa on the bottom

Add diced up kale 

**Now put this in your microwave for 1 min to soften up the kale :). Doesn’t hurt that it makes the kale a bright lovely green….I feel healthier if it looks pretty 😉

Pile on the veggies & chicken.

Garnish with splash of lime & big scoop of salsa.

**My kids like to add a little cheese & a dollop of sour cream 😉

Super filling and yummy!!!

Meatless Monday–Dutch Oven Southwest Potato and Egg Bake

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Last weekend we were in Portland to see our oldest daughter and her family. She has twin boys that are so ADORBS!! I know, I know, I’ve been spending so much time being grandma lately and I seriously need two of myself. LOL. My daughter is a dietician and I’m so excited to have her as a guest for a blog post soon.  I would love to have a question and answer session, so if you have a dietetics question, please email it to itsapegslife.com and she’s our gal to answer!! I love learning about the body and nutrition and I would love your input for this segment. 

Are they adorable or what?!!! They eat mostly vegetarian, and love it when I cook meatless meals for them, so this is what I came up with after looking at the ingredients that she had on hand. I went with a Mexican flare because of the whole Cinco de Mayo thing haha.

The inspiration for this recipe goes all the way back to the 90’s when we lived in Omaha, NE and my hubby was going to dental school at Creighton University.  We loved this restaurant called “The Garden Cafe.” They had the most delicious potato casseroles, but I decided to name my recipe a “bake” instead of a “casserole.”  I don’t know why but casserole does not sound too appetizing lol, but they were so amazing and the menu had such a variety to choose from that it turned out to be one of our favs! So here it is…..

Mexican Potato and Egg Bake

Ingredients:

3 large green onions including tops, sliced (separate bright green tops from the rest)

Just look at these local beauties!! They were so huge!! Loved using local ingredients!

2 T. butter

1 clove garlic

4 med white potatoes

8 large eggs, whisked together

1 can chopped green chilies 

1 can vegetarian refried beans or black beans or pinto

1 tea. cumin

1 tea. chili powder

1/2 tea. red pepper flakes

Salt and pepper

2 c. cheddar cheese

Sour cream

Salsa

Flour tortillas (optional)

Preheat oven to 350. 

Thinly slice potatoes and green onion. 

Mix eggs, salt and pepper, and can of green chiles, set aside. 
In a Dutch oven or heavy pan, sauté onions, garlic and potatoes in butter. Salt and pepper to your liking.  Cook for 10 min on medium high until outer edges of potatoes are slightly done. Cooked bacon would be delicious in this too, just sayin’ :). 

Add beans, cumin, chili powder, and chili flakes. Mix it in well and keep on heat until mixed (around 5 min). 

Remove from heat and pour egg mixture on top of potatoes and then sprinkle with the green part of the onion.  Bake with lid for 20 min then remove lid and cook 10-12 min. more or until egg is not runny but don’t bake too long because you will have dry eggs and that’s not good either. I like to check it after 30 min and then increase 5 min at a time. 

Add cheese and cover with lid. Let cool. 

I always love to serve some greens with a meal. These greens were also Portland fresh and were seriously the best!


These two were not into the meal so the thought occurred to me, “Why not wrap it up in a tortilla?” It was a hit!! I loved it that way too!! I hope you enjoy it too! Hugs to all!

Meatless Monday–One-Pan Mediterranean Eggs

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This week has been one of those weeks that life just kicks you in the stomach, but as my mother would say, “And this too shall pass.” And it’s so true. IT DOES!! I’m starting the week off right with a meatless dish that I got from My Fitness Pal’s blog. It’s delicious! 

Serves 4

INGREDIENTS:

1 1⁄2 tablespoons cooking oil 

3 cloves garlic minced

1 medium onion diced

3 jalapenos seeds removed and diced

1 can (28 ounces) low-sodium diced tomatoes (I LOVE the Cento brand)

1⁄2 teaspoon cumin 

1⁄2 teaspoon paprika 

1⁄2 teaspoon chili powder 

1⁄2 teaspoon salt 

4 large eggs 

1⁄4 bunch parsley chopped

6 ounces baby carrots 

8 ounces store-bought hummus 

1 medium bell pepper sliced

1 medium cucumber sliced into sticks

Heat up a skillet or saute pan that you have a lid for over medium-high heat. Add cooking oil to pan; add garlic, onions and jalapenos to heated oil with a dash of salt. Saute for about 6 minutes, until softened.


Add in diced tomatoes with cumin, paprika, chili powder and salt. Mix everything through. Saute for about 4 minutes.


Crack eggs directly into tomatoes. Lower heat to medium, cover, and cook for about 5 minutes, or until eggs are done to your liking.



Garnish with parsley. Arrange your Mediterranean platter of pita or flat bread, baby carrots, peppers, cucumbers and hummus. If you have Greek yogurt, you can also serve that up with the eggs. Use pita to scoop up egg and hummus. The veggies can be dipped into hummus and yogurt (optional).


If you would like toasted pita, heat oven or toaster oven to 350 degrees F (about 177 degrees C). Toast pita for 5 to 7 minutes when oven has warmed up. Serve with the eggs.

Enjoy!!

Nutrition Information

Serves: 4 | Serving Size: 1/4 of dish

Per serving: Calories: 304; Total Fat: 16g; Saturated Fat: 3g; Monounsaturated Fat: 5g; Cholesterol: 212mg; Sodium: 721mg; Carbohydrate: 28g; Dietary Fiber: 7g; Sugar: 11g; Protein: 12g

Nutrition Bonus: Potassium: 828mg; Iron: 17%; Vitamin A: 144%; Vitamin C: 75%; Calcium: 11%