Baked Balsamic Vinegar Chicken

Well it sure has been awhile since my last post! Don't worry, that doesn't mean I haven't been cooking and creating new good eats- I have just been distracted with school, especially with finals coming up.

This recipe is a great quick and easy meal without sacrificing taste or nutrition. I was able to throw it together in between studying, and it was a nice study break as well.

With that said, here are the few ingredients it takes to put it together. This recipe also just makes 1, so if you're planning on feeding more than that, I would suggest doubling, tripling, or whatever-ing your ingredient amounts.

Ingredients:
- 1 boneless, skinless, chicken breast
- 1 garlic clove
- 1 scallion stalk
- 1/8 sweet onion
- Garlic powder
- Rosemary
- Lemon pepper
- Balsamic Vinegar

Directions:
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees
- Place the defrosted chicken breast in a medium mixing bowl
- Lightly cover both sides of the chicken with garlic powder, rosemary, and lemon pepper all to your own taste
- Once the chicken breast is coated, place on a baking sheet (place foil down first and lightly spray with cooking spray)
- Chop the garlic clove and scallion and sprinkle over the chicken
- Thinly slice the sweet onion and also sprinkle over the chicken
- Lastly, drizzle balsamic vinegar over the chicken
- Place in the oven for 30 minutes, or until fully cooked

I paired the chicken with a baked sweet potato (with cinnamon sprinkled on top) and steamed vegetables (cauliflower, broccoli, and brussel sprouts)

Chicken breast in a medium mixing bowl coated with garlic powder, lemon pepper, and rosemary

Chicken placed a baking sheet with chopped garlic, scallions, thinly sliced onion, and balsamic vinegar drizzled on top

Final product!

Cheers!

Blueberry Peach Pizza

I finally have a kitchen at school! My best friend and I got an apartment together and the most exciting part about it is that I finally have a kitchen of my own to use every. single. day. I have been trying to find time however to actually experiment with new recipe ideas, which is hard to do between school, working, and also having a social life.

Tonight, however, I finally had time to make a nice meal for my Little (I'm in the sorority Pi Beta Phi, and we have "little sisters") and I. I haven't had time to see her since school started again, so we had much to catch up on! Plus I thought it would be the perfect time to attempt a recipe I've been holding onto for awhile.

My Little is like me in that she loves to eat good, healthy food. Therefore, I thought this was the perfect meal! It was filling, and had the perfect amount of sweetness that we also both love. Another great thing about it is that it was easy to put together and cooked quickly.

Ingredients: (this makes two)
- Whole wheat pita bread
- Grilled chicken
- Mozzarella cheese (shredded)
- Fresh basil leaves (about 10)
- Half of a sweet onion
- 2 garlic chives
- About 10 blueberries
- Half a peach
- Olive oil (enough to brush each pita bread)
- Cinnamon

Directions:
- Preheat the oven to 375 degrees
- Thinly slice the onion and heat over a skillet sprayed with cooking spray so as to caramelize them
- Sprinkle cinnamon on top of the onions (instead of using brown sugar)
- Thinly slice the chicken and add to the onion pan
- At the same time, brush each pita bread with olive oil and sprinkle cheese on top
- Once the onions and chicken are done, evenly add on top of the cheese
- Each pita pizza gets about 5 blackberries, so cut each blackberry in half and evenly spread on top
- Thinly slice the peach half and add the peach slices next
- Chop the fresh basil and evenly sprinkle on top next
- Lastyly, add more cheese and place in the oven for 20-25 minutes or until it is as cooked as you desire

Cheers!

Quinoa Chicken Salad... With mint!

Quinoa is one of the most versitile grains out there. It can be mixed and matched with any and all food, making it extremely easy to use when cooking.

For this dish, I wanted to play around with fresh mint. I've never used it before so I wanted to keep all the ingredients simple so as to not have too many different flavors going on. The ending result was delicious, fresh, filling, oh yeah- and healthy!

I made it at night so that I wouldn't have to worry about making lunch before heading to work. With that being the case, I ate it cold. It was good cold, and I'm sure it will taste just as good hot, it's up to you!

Ingredients:
-1/2 cup quinoa cooked (directions on cooking are on the box)
- Chicken (I used precooked chicken from Trader Joes)
- 1/2 cup arugula
- 1/4 sweet onion
- 5 mini tomatoes
- 1/4 cup finely chopped mint
- 1 garlic clove
- Garlic powder to taste
- Cooking spray

Directions:
- Finely chop the garlic clove and place on a pan that has been sprayed with cooking spray (this saves calories instead of using olive oil)
- Chop the onion and place in the foil as well and let brown with the cloves for about 5 minutes
- Add the tomatoes and chicken to the pan, as well as the mint
- Sprinkle garlic powder on top and cook all the ingredients together until you see fit
- Have the quinoa cooking at the same time
- Mix the arugula in after both are done cooking
- When both are done you can either enjoy it then or save it for lunch the next day at work like I did :)

Cheers!

Mean Green Smoothie

Ever had that feeling that you've been eating too much junk food and are feeling rather sluggish? That's been me ever since coming to Chicago... Therefore, now that I have two weeks left before going back to school for my SENIOR year, I've decided that I need to buckle down- NO MORE DEEP DISH PIZZA! 

All day at work today I was craving something cold and light to eat for dinner, and after searching through Pinterest, I adapted a way to make my own "mean green smoothie!"

The ingredients may come off a little crazy and odd, but they all worked well together, and kept me full and satisfied, as well as gave me a lot of energy for my workout.

Ingredients:

- Cup of green tea at room temp (this is the liquid I chose to use because of it's health benefits, however water or skim/soy milk would also work)

- Handful of kale

- Cup of yogurt (Greek or Iclandic are your best bets)

- Cinnamon 

- Large scoop of peanut or almond butter

- Banana

- Ice

Directions: 

- Blend all ingredients together! It's as simple as that

Cheers!

Quinoa Salad in a Jar

I've been bringing my lunch and or dinner to work lately in order to save money and also so that I am not tempted to eat the food at work (which is mostly fried and greasy food). However, the usual sadal with veggies and a protein is getting a little too mundane for me. It wasn't until I was in Peoria, IL that I discovered a little something called a quinoa salad in a jar! It was tasty, healthy, easy to transport, and oh so filling. I've been coming up with my own variations since, and enjoy the extra protein kick that quinoa offers!

Listed below is one of MANY different variations that are possible. Basically, I suggest sticking to the good carbs/protein from the quinoa, veggies, healthy fat either from avocado and or olive oil as a dressing, and a little more protein either from beans and or meats like chicken!

Ingredients:
- 1/3 cup cooked quinoa
- spinach
- beets (I used red and yellow)
- 1/2 cup garbonzo beans
- 1/2 cut cucumber
- shaved carrott
- side of dressing (I used balsamic and olive oil)

Directions:
- Layer each ingredient in a large, tall glass jar and that's it
- When you're ready to eat it, pour the dressing on top, close the lid, shake, and enjoy!

Some Other Combination Ideas:
- "Greek Salad" with quinoa, feta, garbonzo beans, spinach, red pepper and olives with a balsamic and olive oil dressing
- "Protein Salad" with qunioa, kidney beans, red beans, garbonzo beans, peas, corn, cucumber, and any dressing (can also add a meat or egg)
- "Southwest Salad" with quinoa, black beans, corn, tomatoes, avocado, onion

Cheers!

Overnight Oats

As many of you might have figured out, I LOVE oats. Not only are they a power food (they are packed with protein and fiber, as well as fight fat) but they are filling and also easy to add to any recipe.

However, due to the Chicago summer heat, eating a hot bowl of oatmeal with a hot cup of coffee has been getting harder and harder to enjoy. Therefore, I gave overnight oats a try and don't see myself going back to "regular" oats until winter!

Listed below is the basic recipe for getting started with overnight oats. I ate it at this "level," however, you could add peanut butter, dried or fresh fruit, nuts, honey, etc. to them the next morning. I just added a dash of cinnamon the night beore and again the next morning when I took them out and ate it like that!

Ingredients for Overnight Oats:
- 1/2 cup of rolled oats NOT quick oats though
- 2/3 cup of skim or soy milk
- 1/2 cup of plain (or flavored) Greek yogurt
- 1 tablespoon of Chia seeds - these little things are AMAZING. In just 1 serving (1 tablespoon) they have 6g of fiber, and 3g of protein, as well as the right amount of healthy Omega-3 fats your body craves.
*Dash of cinnamon is optional. I always say you can never have too much though

Directions:
- Mix all of the ingredients together in a jar or plastic container. Just make sure that there is a lid because this baby has to be covered.
- Store in the fridge overnight and take out the next morning when you're ready for breakfast! It's as simple as that

As stated before, this is the BASIC or FOUNDATION for overnight oats. You can get as creative as you want, or be somewhat bland like me.

The AMAZING Chia seeds. I found mine at Trader Joes, along with the Rolled Oats NOT quick oats

Finished Product!

Cheers!

Citrus Salmon with Grilled Peaches

Hi there! Sorry it's been ages since my last post... I've been living and interning in Chicago the past two months and have been busy getting familiar with the area (not to mention the delicious foods here). I've been a bad girl and indulging a little too much lately. With that said, this meal was the perfect way to get back on the right and healthy track.

As we all know, I am a huge salmon lover. I've been making the pistachio crusted salmon a little too much, and felt like I needed to branch out and try something new however. This new marinade is easy to make, very refreshing (so perfect for the summer) and healthy! I paired it with grilled peaches, and all in all, it was one VERY filling meal.

For the Citrus Salmon:

- Salmon

- 1 orange

- 1/2 Lemon

- 1 teaspoon oil

- 2 teaspoon agave nectar

- 2 pinches both pepper and crushed red pepper

- 2 stalks scallions 

Direcions:

- In a bowl, mix all of the ingredients together (minus the salmon) and taste to make sure it has the right flavor. Also, make sure to finely chop the scallions!

- Place the salmon in a bowl or container and marinade for 20 minutes

- Move the salmon to a sprayed pan and bake at 350 for 20 minutes, or until it's cooked to your liking

*You could also grill the salmon, which is what I did

For the Grilled Peaches:

- 1 peach

- Cinnamon

- Cooking spray

Direction:

-Cut the peach in half

- Take the middle seed out and spray both insides with cooking spray very lightly

- Sprinkle as much or as little cinnamon on top

- Grill till it's cooked to your liking

*Can also drizzle honey or agave nectar on top

Cheers!