Sheet pan chicken and broccoli

My go-to dinner for when I'm busy, tired, worn out, cranky, etc = a sheet pan lined with foil + meat + veggies. 

This version had:

chicken thighs + ground thyme, paprika, garlic, salt, and pepper

frozen broccoli + a spray of olive oil, salt, and pepper

Baked at 350 for 30 minutes. Or until the chicken is 165.

The broccoli cooks in the chicken juices and also gets a little charred on top... so good.

Stuffed acorn squash

This dish was so good.

You need:

1 acorn squash
1 chicken breast
1 tsp olive oil
1/4 chopped onion
1 stalk of celery, chopped
1/2 c. chopped kale
1/4 c. cranberries, fresh or dried
1/4 c. cooked brown rice
1/4 c. chopped mushrooms
2 Tbsp slivered almonds
1/2 tsp sage
1/2 tsp ground thyme
dash of cinnamon
salt and pepper

Cut the acorn squash in half and scoop out the seeds. Bake at 400 degrees, cut side up, for 40 minutes.

Chop the chicken breast up into small pieces and sautee in olive oil with the onion and celery until cooked through. Add in the rest of the ingredients and cook until the kale is wilted and everything smells nice.

Spoon the mixture into the squash and bake at 375 for another 15 minutes.

Tuscan chicken

Adapted from this recipe, here's my dairy-free take on Tuscan chicken.

What you need:

olive oil

3 boneless skinless chicken thighs, cut into cubes

1 tsp dried oregano

salt and pepper

3 cloves of garlic, minced

1 bag of sundried tomatoes

2 c. chopped spinach

1 c. chopped kale

1 c. almond milk

1/2 lemon, juiced

1/4 c. chopped fresh parsley

Heat the oil, chicken, seasonings, and tomatoes until the chicken is browned and cooked. Add the spinach and kale and cooked until it's wilted. Stir in the almond milk and let it simmer until the sauciness is to your liking. Top with lemon juice and parsley.

Serve with your favorite GF pasta. 

Chicken pot pie

I love me some chicken pot pie. It's just so good. Savory filling with lots of veggies, a flavorful crust... yum.

I like putting seasonings into the crust for that extra layer of flavor, and I like being able to customize the filling so that everything I like is in there. Plus, unlike previous versions of this recipe, this one does not contain dairy. It also doesn't use leftover chicken, because I didn't have any.

The only thing I would change for this recipe is to use a smaller diameter pan, so that the pie is deeper and has a higher filling-to-crust ratio. I used a standard 9-inch pie plate but would use a 7-inch round cake pan next time.

Chicken pot pie

Filling:

1 chicken thigh

1/4 onion, chopped

1 carrot, chopped into small pieces

olive oil

1 big handful of frozen broccoli, thawed in the microwave and chopped into smaller pieces

1/2 c. frozen peas

salt and pepper

1/2 tsp ground thyme

1 sprig of fresh rosemary, finely chopped

Put a pan over medium heat and add in the chicken, onion, and carrot. Drizzle in some olive oil and stir. Let cook, stirring every few minutes and flipping the chicken, until the veggies have gotten soft and the chicken is cooked. 

Remove the chicken, cut it into small pieces, and add back into the pan. Add in the broccoli and peas.

Splash about 1/2 c. water in the pan and gently scrape the browned bits from the bottom. 

Whisk 1 Tbsp GF flour into 1/2 c. cold almond milk. Pour it into to the pan and mix well. As it comes to a boil, the mixture will start to thicken. Reduce the heat to a simmer and let it cook until the consistency is right.

In the meantime, prepare the biscuit crust:

1 c. GF flour

1 tsp baking powder

1/4 tsp salt

1/4 tsp ground thyme

1/8 tsp garlic powder

1/8 tsp pepper

3 T. vegan I can't believe it's not butter

1/4 c. cold almond milk

Mix the dry ingredients together and use a pastry blender to cut in the "butter" until the mixture looks like little pea-sized balls. Stir in the almond milk to make a soft dough.
Split the dough in half and press one half into the bottom of a greased pie plate. Pour the filling into the pan. Gently roll out the other half of the dough on a piece of wax paper and place it biscuit-side down on top of the filling. Slowly peel off the wax paper to leave the dough perfectly placed on top. I used a fork to roughly seal the edges together and poke holes.

Bake at 350 for 25 minutes. Makes about 4 servings.

Chicken and veggies

Y'all know I'm so happy to have a kitchenette in my hotel room. It's lightly equipped, so meals have to be simple, but simple is good!

Tonight I cooked chicken and veggies. I planned ahead and brought the seasonings from home, then today after work I went to the store and bought some chicken thighs and frozen broccoli.

I'm not used to cooking on an electric stovetop, so I tend to get the pan too hot and have to quickly turn it down to avoid setting off the smoke alarms.

Chicken and veggies

Turn the pan to MEDIUM heat. Add in 2 chicken thighs, 1 clove of chopped garlic, and 1/2 of a chopped green pepper. Sprinkle with 1 tsp ground thyme, 1/2 tsp smoked paprika, and salt and pepper. Let that cook for a minute before adding in frozen broccoli, straight from the bag, and then throw in some torn kale from the fridge (because there's a huge bunch in there).

Let that all cook merrily for a while. If it starts to look too dry, add in a little bit of water and cover. Again, I'm paranoid I'm going to set off the hotel smoke alarms.

When the chicken is cooked through, shred it into smallish pieces with a fork, and let the veggies get a tiny bit of char on them. I'd let them get more charred at home, but, again, smoke alarms.

There ya go, a simple meal on a Tuesday.

Travel meal: baked sweet potato with bbq chicken and broccoli

This is one of the most successful hotel meals I've made. It was so, so good and I have enough leftovers for another meal.

I was initially going to make this meal in the crock pot, but I didn't want to lug it in my suitcase. My plan was to make it using rotisserie chicken, but after I looked at the ingredients on the rotisserie chicken, I reconsidered that plan.
(WHY are labels still allowed to claim "natural flavor" without specifying?? No, thanks.)

I looked around the grocery store and found these frozen chicken tenders that did the trick. They were expensive, $6.99 for 7 tenders but at least I know they're gluten free.

To make dinner, I washed a big, round sweet potato and poked holes in it with a fork. I microwaved it for about 4 "baked potato" settings.

Then, I microwaved the chicken tenders according to the package directions.

When they were done, I microwaved one of those broccoli "steam in bag" things.

I cut the sweet potato in half and smooshed it up a bit, then added the chopped up chicken tenders and drizzled with bbq sauce. Topped it all with a little bit of kale, because I bought a huge bunch and I'm trying to use it before it gets sad.

Served with a side of broccoli.

Now my belly is full and I'm happy.

chicken stew

Hey, it's 57 degrees here! I've got all my doors and windows open and am loving this cool, fresh air. Hello, welcome cool weather, I hope you stay.

I had originally taken some chicken out of the freezer for chicken soup, but I wanted a different flavor profile today. Since I already had the oven turned on for muffins, and I ran out of crock pot liners, I decided to make some stew in the oven.

Chicken stew

Place in a small casserole dish:
1 boneless, skinless chicken thigh
1/4 onion, chopped
1 bay leaf
1 tsp ground thyme
1/2 potato, cubed
1 carrot, sliced
a few fresh parsley leaves
1 sprig of fresh rosemary
salt and pepper
1/4 c. water

Place the covered dish in a 350 degree oven for 1 hour. It will come out smelling like heaven.

I shredded the chicken a little and placed it back into the oven while it cooled, so the potatoes absorbed a lot of the herby broth.

So tasty.

Travel meal: Crock Pot Chicken Tacos

On the road again.

This week I was unable to book a hotel with a kitchen, so I booked a room with a nice big wet bar, and brought my crock pot with me.

Which is why I am now sitting in my hotel room enjoying tacos for dinner.

Hotel Crock Pot Chicken Tacos

Put the ingredients into crock pot in this order:

crock pot liner
1 clove of peeled garlic, snapped in half if you can manage it
2 chicken thighs
1 stalk of torn up kale
1 package of GF taco seasoning
1 can of black beans, undrained*

Set it on low when you leave in the morning and put your do not disturb sign up. (I have no idea if crock pots are allowed in this hotel... I am normally a rule-follower but I don't care. I'm a hungry rebel.)

When you finally leave the lab and head back to the hotel, you'll be greeted by a nice hot dinner. Serve the lovely chicken-y, bean-y feast in a corn tortilla with the cutest little bowl of rice and avocado. Yum.

I know I'm not the only person out there who habitually overstuffs their tacos. Every. Time.

*The can of beans with the pull top was crucial because I do not routinely travel with a can opener, but I have ordered one to add to my travel kit.

I will easily get 2 other meals from this, and as usual, I'm thrilled to have a safe, gluten free meal that isn't a salad while I'm traveling.

hotel room chicken and veggies

I'm back on the road again.

I try to book a hotel room with a full kitchen, and Homewood Suites is my top choice. There was a Hampton Inn 2 miles from where I was working today, but I'll drive 20 minutes to a full kitchen. Absolutely worth it.

I stopped at the grocery store on the way to the hotel, and picked up:

For breakfast:
-eggs
-plums
-blackberries
-a cucumber
-carrots
-prunes (regularity is key, man. these help.)

For snacks:
-almonds
-pecan nut thins and sunbutter- I brought some with me
-fruit/veggies leftover from breakfast

For dinner:
-boneless skinless chicken thighs
-frozen broccoli
-Green Giant riced veggies that I happened to see in the frozen veggie section.
[Contains mostly riced cauliflower, a few green peas, yellow onions, a tiny bit of carrots, and green onions]
-an $8 pinot noir

Anyway. Dinner.

I got "home," traded pants for shorts, and took off my bra so fast you didn't even see it.

I always wash the hotel dishes before using them; you never know what kind of gluten was there before you and how well things were cleaned.

I poured myself a juice glass full of wine, pushed play on my Spotify playlist, and fired up the electric stovetop. Armed with my handy travel kit, I tossed into a hot pan two chicken thighs seasoned with salt, pepper, and olive oil.

Danced around a bit to some happy reggae music.
Stretched a bit on my travel yoga mat while I talked to my cute man on the phone.

When the chicken was done, I shredded it with two forks.

(The pan was warped and wasn't heating evenly, so I adapted and transferred the half-cooked chicken to the pot that was in the kitchen... Guess I'll be having a poached egg tomorrow morning, yay!)

Add in the veggies, and cook until they're warmed.

The riced veggies were really great. I usually try to bring a little garlic in my travel kit but I forgot, and the onions in this mix really gave this dish some great flavor. There is also a little ziplock seal which was great because I only used half of the bag. I will definitely consider this again for future travel meals.

Since the pot was more crowded than the pan would have been, I kinda mixed everything up into a casserole of sorts.

Dinner was so tasty, and so SAFE. Not a single gluten worry here.
Plus I had leftovers so lunch will also be tasty and safe. Woo!

*makes a note to ask the front desk about a new pan

one pan chicken and veggies

Tonight for dinner, I give you another one-pan masterpiece.

Well, the term "masterpiece" is subjective.

It doesn't look like much, but there's nothing I love more than when dinner is simple to cook AND clean up.

The basic formula:
1. Line a sheet pan with foil and spray it with cooking spray.
2. Add meat and veggies
3. Spray with more cooking spray, season with salt and pepper and whatever else.
4. Bake at 400 degrees for 15-20 minutes (depending on when the meat is done) while you relax and enjoy a glass of wine.

That's it.

Tonight's pan contained boneless chicken thighs seasoned with thyme, smoked paprika, and salt/ pepper. Plus cabbage and sweet potatoes.

Pretty much every vegetable tastes good roasted, and roasted cabbage is particularly good when it's this crispy and delicious. If you cut the sweet potato into small cubes, it cooks fast so it's all done at the same time.

I put this all on top of some greens with a drizzle of olive oil and a squeeze of lime for a very non-boring salad.

Olive chicken with Almonds

I didn't plan on posting this recipe, but DAMN it turned out good.

Over the years I've noticed that I dislike following recipes. I DO love taking neat ideas and creating my own thing based on what I've got on hand. It usually turns out great. I credit that to my mother. Thank goodness I've inherited that trait.

This dish was inspired by this recipe from Good Housekeeping. Love that magazine. It involves chicken, olives, and almonds. What a neat combination.

But did I go searching for pitted Castelvetrano olives? Hell, no.
And did I use up a sad zucchini and wrinkly grape tomatoes? You bet I did.
And it was a delicious, tangy dish that totally jived.

Olive Chicken with Almonds

Heat oven to 400 degrees.

Toss into an oven safe dish:

1 clove of chopped garlic
1 stalk of chopped chive
1/4 c. olives (regular old olives with the pimento inside)
1/2 c. slightly smashed almonds

Top with:

2 chicken thighs
1 shredded zucchini (put on top of the chicken to keep it moist)
a drizzle of olive oil
a few halved grape tomatoes
salt and pepper

Bake, covered, for about 30 minutes or until the meat thermometer reads 175. (I love the meat thermometer.)

Serve over GF noodles with green beans.

Creamy Bacon Thyme Chicken

Hey, this is a good dish. Bacony, oniony, creamy... what more could you want? I was inspired by this recipe.

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
Heat a cast iron skillet over medium-high heat. Sautee:

A few strips of chopped bacon (I used turkey bacon. Full disclosure, it's not as good as real bacon but it's not terrible in this recipe)
1/2 red onion, chopped

After the bacon is browned and the onions are translucent, push the bacony onion mixture to the edges of the pan and add 2 chicken breasts. Brown on each side for a few minutes. Sprinkle with ground thyme. Add a small amount of water to the pan (about 1/3 cup) so the chicken doesn't get dry. Put it in the oven for 15 minutes, then flip the chicken breasts and cook for another 15 minutes.

Remove the chicken breasts from the pan once they're done and wrap in foil. Put them in the (turned off) oven to keep warm.

At this point, put a pot of water on to boil, if you're pairing this with pasta.

Put the skillet back over medium high heat and add about 5 chopped mushrooms. Cook those down until they look happy with the bacon and onion.

Sprinkle on 1/3 c. freshly grated parmesan cheese. Stir in 1/3 c. plain greek yogurt and a splash of milk. Add in some frozen peas, if you so desire. The end result should be a nice, creamy sauce.

Nestle the chicken into the saucy goodness, and serve over GF pasta.

Chicken Sweet Potato Kabobs

Ok so I tried this recipe on a whim because I'm tired of the same old chicken. And it was really good!

The spice rub is spot on and the glaze complements it perfectly. It caramelized a little bit on the sweet potatoes and made them taste like candied yams. It's got a bit of a spicy kick, which worked really well. I'd use the spice rub again, and I'd make this recipe again. Even for company.

 

I did modify the recipe a bit, so I re-posted it with my changes.

Chicken Sweet Potato Kabobs

The basics:

2 large sweet potatoes
2 boneless, skinless, chicken breasts, cut into 2-inch pieces
1/2 medium red onion, cut into 1½-inch chunks and layers separated
8 (12-inch) bamboo skewers

Spice Rub:

2 t. garlic salt
2 t. chili powder
1 t. salt
1 t. pepper
1 t. cumin
1 t. paprika
¼ t. crushed red pepper

Glaze:
1/3 c. honey
2 t. balsamic vinegar

Instructions

Soak the bamboo skewers in water.

Clean the sweet potatoes and pierce with a fork. Microwave on the baked potato setting.

Mix the spice rub in a bowl. Mix the glaze in a separate bowl. Set aside.

When the potatoes are done, let them cool for a minute while you chop the onion.

Peel the potatoes and cut into cubes. Season with salt and pepper.

Pour a bit of olive oil in a medium bowl. Throw the chicken chunks in the bowl and top with the spice rub. Mix with your hands. You're going to have to get your hands all chickeny anyway when you make the skewer.

Make kabobs by alternating chicken, sweet potato, and onion. Place on a cookie sheet and pour the glaze on top.

I don't know how to work the grill. So I set my oven to 350-400ish* and cooked for appx 30 minutes until the chicken read >165 degrees with the meat thermometer. Served with broccoli and cauliflower.

*My oven is 30 years old and doesn't maintain temperature, so that's the best I can do. I'm literally ordering a new oven tomorrow.

Chicken, ham, swiss rollups

Ready for noms that look impressive but are really easy?

I loosely followed this recipe for Chicken, ham, and swiss roll ups from Cooking Light, but obviously omitted the bread crumbs and used chopped pecans instead.

Served with roasted cabbage.

P.S. This might make a fun appetizer; wrapping the ham and cheese around chicken strips or nuggets.

Easy crock pot chicken

This is the easiest crock pot chicken recipe. I almost feel silly calling it a recipe.

I make it when I'm stumped for dinner ideas because of two reasons:

1. I always have the three ingredients around.
2. It turns out surprisingly great every time. So good that I'd make it for company. Really. I think I even made this for a special homecoming dinner for hubby once.

Toss into the crock pot (with a life-changing liner):

• Chicken (boneless breasts or thighs)
• Rosemary (FRESH!)
• A can of *Progresso creamy mushroom soup

Cook on low until you come home from work. Serve over rice with the vegetable of your choice.

*A note about the soup: It didn't always used to be gluten free, and some of the non-gf cans are still around. Find a can that says GLUTEN FREE right on it. Then buy 5 to have in the pantry.

You're welcome for this super easy wonderful crock pot chicken recipe.

Balsamic Apricot Walnut Chicken

My inspiration for this involved the combination of apricot and walnut and chicken. So the ingredients gathered:

2 strips of bacon
chopped onion
2 chicken breasts, cut into strips
1 c. walnuts, chopped
1/2 c. dried apricots, chopped
3 T. balsamic vinegar
water
2 green onions, chopped
kale
salt and pepper

Heat the pan with the bacon and onions, until the bacon is cooked and the onions are browned. Add in the chicken and brown the strips. Add in the rest of the ingredients, except kale.

Add enough water to keep the chicken from drying out. Cover and simmer until the chicken is cooked. Stir in the kale right before serving.

Serve with quinoa and mixed vegetables, because those steam-in-bag things are so great.

The chicken is good, but it's the little nubbly bits of apricot and walnut clinging to it that really makes it great. Quinoa is a perfect neutral, slightly nutty background for the dark sauce. Yum.

 

Buffalo Chicken pizza

Pizza hack: Put buffalo chicken onto a GF pizza crust. (Mix in some broccoli to boost the veggie rating)

Place in the bowl of your kitchen aid mixer:

1/2 c. pain greek yogurt
1/2 block of gluten-free cream cheese, cut into chunks
1/2 cup gluten-free hot sauce
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
1 cup shredded Cheddar cheese
2 cooked and still hot chicken breasts
1 c. cooked and still hot broccoli

Mix into sort of a paste and spread over a GF pizza crust. I used a store-bought one because I wasn't in the mood to make one from scratch. Bake at 450 for 10-15 minutes until everything's heated up and the bottom of the crust is browned.

Chicken Spaghetti

I am fully aware that these photos suck. They look like messy chicken slop. But let me tell you, this is DELICIOUS messy chicken slop. AKA Chicken Spaghetti.

As with most of my chicken recipes, this involves leftovers. Yeah!
I looked up Chicken spaghetti recipes online, and most included Velveeta and Cream of Mushroom Soup. Ugck. No thanks. Here's one without all that gluteny plasticy mess.

Chicken Spaghetti

leftover chicken, chopped
1 block of cream cheese, softened
1 c. shredded cheddar cheese
1/4 c. milk
onion, chopped
sweet red peppers, chopped
salt, pepper, garlic powder to taste
fresh parsley, to garnish
Cooked GF spaghetti noodles

Get the water boiling for the noodles.

In the Kitchen Aid mixer, mix the cream cheese, milk, and cheddar cheese until blended.

Heat the onion and peppers in a pot with some olive oil until softened. Add in the chicken and let it warm up.

Stir the cream cheese mixture into the pot, and heat through. Season to taste with the salt, pepper, and garlic powder.

Mix in the cooked noodles.

Enjoy your chicken slop! Err, chicken spaghetti.

Now, Hubs commented that his grandma would transfer chicken spaghetti to a baking dish and broil with some extra cheese and breadcrumbs on top. I honestly thought about it, but I wasn't interested in dirtying up another dish. I you want to, go for it.

Buffalo Chicken Pasta

Inspired by Betty Crocker's GF Buffalo Chicken Casserole.

Disclaimer: I realize the last several posts have featured chicken. We eat more than chicken around here. I swear.

Now, I am a huge fan of chips and brownies and wine for dinner, but I couldn't bring myself to serve what is basically a party dip with chips crumbled on top as a nutritious wholesome meal.

So, I tweaked it a bit. It turned out like a glorified mac n cheese. Which totally counts as nutritious.

Buffalo Chicken Pasta

Boil some gluten-free penne pasta.
Cook 2 chicken breasts (or thighs, or whatevs). I boiled mine.

While the chicken is cooking, place in the bowl of your kitchen aid mixer: (OMG I LOVE THIS THING):

1/2 c. pain greek yogurt
1/2 block of gluten-free cream cheese, cut into chunks
1/2 cup gluten-free hot sauce
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
1 cup shredded Cheddar cheese

These ingredients should come to room temperature while the chicken and noodles cook.

Add the hot cooked chicken and mix on the lowest setting to combine.
Stir in the noodles.

Holy moly it's good. Like go back and pick at the leftovers a couple of times before you put it away good.

Serve with broccoli. For your conscience's sake.

Clever leftovers: Chicken Salad

We always have a lot of leftover chicken around here. I simply can't seem to cook a normal amount of chicken. It's always got to be a ton. It's kind of like spaghetti.

Which is why I have another edition of Clever Leftovers, Featuring: Chicken!

This particular leftover chicken was some chicken breasts + rosemary + garlic in a crock pot with a bit of water. Served with carrots and potatoes for dinner yesterday.

The cold leftover chicken (and a few of the carrots) got tossed into a bowl, with:

• 1/2 sad zucchini, shredded
• pickle relish
• halved cherry tomatoes
• mayo
• salt and pepper
• celery

Stir together and serve. My original plan was to serve with lettuce inception-style (chicken salad salad), but the lettuce I bought Saturday was already slimy by today. The never-ending frustration with fresh produce. Sometimes salad greens last for weeks, sometimes they last for 3 days.

So, I ate it with some GF organic Tostito's scoops. In fact, we're going to a BYOSnack neighborhood night out party this weekend and I think I'm going to bring [a fresh batch of] chicken salad scooped into those. Fancy.