Tag: veggies

Chicken with Tomato and Veggie Orzo

Chicken, One pot meal, Pasta, Side dishes...veggies

Hey all! I hope everyone had a great weekend with family and friends celebrating the beginning of Spring, special holidays, and the fact that it is SPRING BREAK!!!! Woohoo! We had lots of fun gardening, playing at the park, and enjoying the amazing Spring weather.

We had a picnic at the park for lunch today. It was glorious to see the girls play and get to eat yummy ham sandwiches and pasta salad. Oh, and my mom makes the best deviled eggs. I think I made them once on the blog. I will have to check it out and make sure I add the recipe if it is not already here. Plus, we had Lay’s chips. Plain. The go to chip in our house. Yes, we love our Cheetos, Cool Ranch Doritos, etc… but there is nothing like a bag of salty crunchy Lay’s. Although those commercials with Mr. and Mrs. Potato Head eating the chips is a bit disturbing…

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So with a late lunch and a lazy day, I decided to wing it in the kitchen. I had taken out some chicken thighs from the freezer. I know. Chicken. Again. But it is always a yummy go-to that everyone LOVES. My family loves them some dark meat. When any chicken is on sale, I load up. Luckily, last week, it was thighs. I also had a few random mushrooms, a few carrots and celery, and one onion in the fridge. I also found a large can of diced tomatoes and 1 can of green chilies.
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Chicken with Tomato and Veggie Orzo

Ingredients
3 -4 chicken Thighs
10 mushrooms, sliced
2 carrots, chopped
3 celery stalks, chopped
1 small onion, chopped
1 large can diced tomatoes
1 can chopped green chilies
2 tablespoons tomato paste
1/2 cup cooked orzo- I used my leftovers from this…https://funfoodiefamily.com/2015/04/03/1-pot-veggie-orzo/
1/2 container of broth (I had veggie, but chicken would be perfect.)
1 turn of white wine- acidity is the key to any dish =) use lemon/lime juice, white/red wine vinegar, or red wine…

Directions

Salt and pepper both sides of your chicken liberally.
Brown both sides in a screaming hot cast iron pan or dutch oven- about 6 minutes per side.
Take the chicken out and add in your chopped veggies. Cook down for about 6 minutes. Add in your tomato paste and stir, about 3 minutes. The aroma of smokey tomato should hit your nose. YUM! Add in your wine. Cook for a couple more minutes and add in your canned tomatoes and chilies. Add your broth and your cooked orzo. Stir well and add in your chicken. Simmer until cooked through. Add crusty bread for dipping. DELISH!

Full disclosure- Everyone was STARVING, so I took the chicken out to serve. It was still under cooked, so I cooked it longer and then took it off the bone and added it back in the orzo. Turned out even better than I thought!!!!! Better to be under cooked and cook longer than over cooked and dry as a bone.

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Paired Perfectly with this…
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One Pot Veggie Orzo

One pot meal, Pasta, Vegetarian

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Veggie Orzo

Ingredients

3 tablespoons of olive oil
2 carrots, chopped
3 stalks of celery, chopped
2 handful of mushrooms, sliced
1 small onion, diced
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 container of cherry tomatoes, cut in half
3/4 quart of veggie stock
1/2 cup orzo
2/3 cup Parmesan Cheese
salt and pepper to taste

Directions

Heat pan on med heat and add olive oil.
Add the veggies and cook down until soft, about 6 minutes.
Add seasoning, orzo, and broth. Bring the broth to a boil and add the orzo.
Cook until orzo according to package time.
Add cheese.
Stir well. Add more seasoning and cheese of needed.

Crockpot Balsamic Chicken with Yellow Rice

Chicken, Crockpot /Make Ahead Meals

Evening guys! Super busy week! I started coaching a girls’ running program called Girls on The Run a couple of nights a week. I basically get to spend the afternoon with 15 amazing middle school girls and other awesome coaches, have some girl talk, and help the girls get ready for a 5K in the spring! We do fun activities, run/walk, do yoga, and build each other’s self esteem. Girl Power!

So last night after practice, I prepared this in the crockpot. I turned it on this am before I left for work.

Crockpot Balsamic Chicken with Yellow Rice

5 Chicken Thighs
2 sweet peppers, sliced (mix of red, yellow, green, and orange leftover from Monday)
1 onion, chopped or sliced
1/2 cup balsamic vinegar
1/2 cup broth/water
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 teaspoon each of garlic powder, and Italian seasoning
ground black pepper, salt, and red pepper flakes to taste
1 package yellow rice

Directions

Pour the olive oil on the bottom of the crockpot and add the chicken. Add peppers, onion, and top with in vinegar and herbs.
Cook on high for 4 hours or low for 8 hours.
Stir and add on top of cooked yellow rice (or any grain of your choosing)

Best looking Crockpot meal yet!

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Chicken and Veggie Stir Fry with Chinese Noodles

Asian, Chicken

Evening guys! This dinner was pretty yummy! I hope you give it a try!

Chicken and Veggie Stir Fry with Chinese Noodles

Ingredients

2 tablespoons peanut oil
Combo of what you have on hand; sesame oil, fish sauce, oyster sauce, teriyaki sauce, soy sauce, or any other Asian flavor you like…
4 boneless and skinless chicken thighs, cut in bite sized cubes
1/2 yellow pepper, 1/2 orange pepper, thinly sliced (use a combo of red and green if you like, all sweet pepper colors are yummy)
1/2 stalk of broccoli florets
1 handful of snap peas
1 can Chinese mushrooms (or add sliced raw mushrooms earlier to the mix)
1 can water chestnuts
1 can bamboo shoots
1 can baby corn

Directions

Heat 2 tablespoons of peanut oil- cook your chicken (with a bit of salt and pepper added, not too much, since your sauces will have a lot already) almost all the way through, about 8 minutes.
Add your raw veggies- peppers, broccoli, snap peas, (mushrooms) Cook 5 minutes.Start adding your combo of what you have on hand; sesame oil, fish sauce, oyster sauce, teriyaki sauce, soy sauce, or any other Asian flavor you like
Add your canned veggies- water chestnuts, bamboo shoots, baby corn, mushrooms, Cook 3 minutes.
Meanwhile, boil some salted water and par boil your Chinese noodles, about 6 minutes. Taste- add more flavors here if you think you need them.
Add your noodles to your chicken and veggie mix. Stir all together.

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Chicken Pot Pie using leftovers…

Chicken, Crockpot /Make Ahead Meals, Leftovers/ Freezer Meals

It has been a bit since I have posted. Lots of repeat dinners and friends giving yummy food to our family. Recently we have gotten a KFC feast. Fried chicken and all the fixings? Can’t complain!!! Apparently everyone thinks we are a family of 12 instead of 5… no worries! Just gotta find something to do with the leftovers. Chicken Pot Pie to the rescue! Here is my crazy recipe…

Dice up and cook an onion, along with 2 diced carrots,celery,and 1 container of sliced mushrooms in 3 tablespoons of butter.
Stir the veggies around and cook them for 3 to 4 minutes, until they just start to soften.
Then throw in cooked KFC green beans, mashed potatoes, and 1/2 the gravy, and the chicken. I like to have a mix of white and dark meat shredded or cut into big chunks. I took the meat off the bone and took the skin off. If a little skin stays on, it will not hurt the mixture =) Sprinkle a little flour (2 tablespoons) all over the top. Then pour in 1/2 cup or so white wine…chicken broth if you are all out of wine… add 1 teaspoon of salt and pepper, turmeric… a bit of dried thyme and fresh chopped parsley (optional)
Add a splash of half-and-half or cream for a little creamy richness.
Finally, just let the mixture bubble up until it’s nice and thick; add in frozen peas and cook for 2 minutes. Then set it aside for a sec. (If it gets too thick, just splash in a little more wine or broth.)
Move mixture to a casserole/oven safe dish. Soak biscuits with remaining gravy then crumble on top. Cook at 350 for 20 minutes.
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