Healthy Honey Chicken with Cashews

Today was a VERY LONG day! I had one child home sick and one child home not sick. Lucky me, we all stayed home! By the end of the day, I had washed four loads of laundry, watched way too much Dora the Explorer and Curious George, built a LEGO battle tower, painted rocks, begged my husband to come home early from work, and could not wait to cook dinner. (I am serious, I look forward to cooking!)

As my son’s fever broke (finally), he regained his appetite and asked for chicken! As I started chopping and both kids pushed chairs over to see what I was doing, I felt a sense of calm. They helped mix the sauce and stir the vegetables.

My son devoured two servings, my daughter ate her entire plate, and my husband enjoyed his dinner so much he put both kids to bed! The day turned out okay after all! The night ended with my husband and I watching a Friday Night Lights episode. The perfect ending to the day. Get messy! Have fun! And eat healthy!

Healthy Honey Chicken with Cashews Recipe:

olive oil cooking spray

3 tbsp low sodium soy sauce

3 tbsp honey

3 tbsp sesame oil

1 1/2 lbs chicken breasts- cut into bite size pieces (cooking scissors are easiest)

1 red pepper- chopped

1 broccoli bunch- chopped

1/2 cup cashew- whole or pieces

1.)   Take out one large pan for the vegetables and one medium pan for the chicken. 

2.)   In a small bowl, mix the soy sauce, honey, and sesame oil. 

3.)   On medium high heat, spray large pan with cooking spray and add chopped vegetables and cashews. Pour ½ of sauce on top of veggies and turn heat to medium high. Cook 6 minutes, stirring occasionally.

4.)   Heat the medium pan on medium high heat, spray oil and add chicken pieces. Pour remaining sauce on top of chicken. Sauté chicken for 6-8 minutes or until chicken looks golden in color.

5.)   Once chicken is cooked, transfer to vegetable pan, stir on medium for 1 minute.

*Any vegetables taste great with this healthy dish. Have your family decide what vegetables they want to eat and make it your own! Or, throw in whatever vegetables you happen to have in your refrigerator! This dish pairs perfectly with brown rice, quinoa, or a baked sweet potato.

Baked Whole Wheat Pita Chips and Practicing Shapes

We are going on a boat ride today! For our boat picnic, we were asked to pack a snack. I noticed a package of unopened pita in the corner of my kitchen, which sparked one of my favorite easy healthy snack recipes! Homemade baked pita chips!

I was diligently cutting (use cooking scissors- makes cutting so easy) the pita into triangles, when my son who was waiting patiently to paint on the olive oil, suggested we cut the pita into all different shapes! He would call out the shape and I would cut it. Learning, cooking, and laughing at the same time!

Get creative with shapes!

My son was excited to paint each shape with olive oil and sprinkle on the spices. Best of all, he LOVED our homemade pita chips! He ate so many before we even boarded the boat! The rest of our friends also enjoyed this crunchy, healthy, and delicious snack! Get messy! Have fun! And eat healthy!

5 simple ingredients.

Baked Pita Chips:

1 package whole wheat pita bread- I bought whole wheat high fiber pita from Whole Foods

3 tbsp extra virgin olive oil

1 tbsp sea salt

1 tbsp pepper- freshly grinded

1 tbsp dried oregano

1.)  Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Cut pita into triangles or your child’s favorite shapes. Get creative!

2.)  Lay pita shapes onto a large baking sheet and lightly spread oil over each shape. 

3.)  Sprinkle each pita shape with salt, pepper, and oregano. 

4.)  Bake 10-12 minutes or until pita looks golden in color.

5.)  Serve pita warm alongside hummus or enjoy the delicious crunch by itself!  

Sunshine Muffins with Lemons and Greek Yogurt

This is an easy way to brighten anyone’s day! It was a gloomy day here but these muffins added a little bit of sunshine!

Lemon Poppyseed Muffins with Lemon Glaze. YUM!

My kids had fun baking and eating them, the exterminator was happy to take one to go (My kids also had fun following the Ant Whisperer around this afternoon.), and my husband enjoyed a muffin after our beef fried rice made with quinoa (see older post for recipe)!

These muffins are perfect for entertaining, light enough for a daytime treat, and sweet enough for dessert. Get messy! Have fun! And eat healthy!

Simple Sunshine Muffins:

½ cup canola oil

1 cup sugar

3 eggs

1 tsp vanilla

¾ cup Greek 2% yogurt

1 ½ cup white flour

1 tbsp lemon zest (use zest from one of the lemons you used for the lemon juice)

2 lemons or about ¼ lemon juice- preferably fresh squeezed

½ tsp baking powder

½ tsp baking soda

1 big pinch of sea salt

2 tbsp poppy seeds

Lemon Glaze Recipe:

1 cup powdered sugar

1 lemon or about 2-3 tbsp fresh lemon juice

2 tbsp low fat milk

1.)  Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

2.)  Combine oil, yogurt, sugar, vanilla, eggs, lemon zest, and lemon juice.

3.)  Add flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and poppy seeds. Mix.

Mixing in the poppy seeds.

4.)  Pour batter into paper baking cups, about ¾ full, and bake for 26-30 minutes.

5.)  Once muffins are finished baking, in a saucepan, combine powdered sugar, lemon juice, and milk and simmer. Stir occasionally for 4 minutes or until glaze bubbles.

The glaze is ready!

6.)  Paint glaze on muffins. The glaze is sticky so brush it on immediately. 

Spinach Tomato Basil Quinoa with Parmesan Cheese

Quinoa was not on any menus in Italy. It was only pasta! (I am not complaining!) We ate so much pasta that even I, who could not wait to eat pasta morning, noon, and night had had enough!

Back at home, I was missing the decadent pastas. However, what if I tried my favorite Italian tomato basil and mozzarella cheese combination with quinoa?!  My family loved cooking and eating it! YAY!

My son begged to shred the Parmesan cheese. He utilized his arm muscles and hand eye coordination! My daughter practiced concentration and pulled off the basil stems. The recipe was simple and tasted as good as any Italian pasta except healthier! This dish is satisfying by itself or complements any protein. It also tastes terrific cold or warmed up the next day! Get messy! Have fun! And eat healthy!

Spinach Tomato Basil Quinoa with Parmesan Cheese Recipe:

1 tbsp olive oil

2 cups dry quinoa- cook according to package directions

2 handfuls baby spinach

1 tsp chopped garlic

2 cups marinara sauce

½ cup Parmesan cheese- freshly shredded

2 tbsp fresh basil- shredded

2 thin slices mozzarella cheese- break into pieces

pinch of sea salt

1.)         Cook quinoa according to package directions and set aside.

2.)         In a large pan on medium high heat, drizzle in olive oil.

3.)         In the large pan, add spinach and sauté for 2 minutes or until wilted.

4.)         Add garlic and pinch of salt.Toss.

5.)         In the large pan, add cooked quinoa. Blend with spinach.

6.)         Pour in marinara sauce and basil and stir for 2 minutes.

7.)         Sprinkle in Parmesan cheese. Stir.

8.)         Add mozzarella pieces. Stir until mozzarella starts to melt.

Banana Nutella Crepes

Another day of jet lag awakens me at 4 A.M. I was dreaming of strolling through the City of Lights eating a crepe with fresh banana and Nutella. What a wonderful surprise for my family this morning!

While my husband dashed out the door for an early morning run, I put my children to work! They practiced their sharing skills (surprisingly smoothly) by taking turns whisking the batter.

My children were impressed with their homemade crepe, and I was thrilled with how seamless it is to taste a little slice of Paris in Chicago! A fabulous way to start or end the day! Get messy! Have fun! And eat healthy!

Easy Banana Nutella Crepe Recipe:

1 cup white flour

2 eggs

½ cup low fat milk

½ cup water

pinch of salt

2 tbsp butter- softened or microwave for 30 seconds

cooking spray

Nutella- desired amount

1 banana- sliced

1.)  Whisk flour, eggs, milk, water, salt, and butter until smooth.

2.)  Heat pan on medium high, spray, and pour in a third of batter. (Batter produces about 3 crepes.)

3.)  Lift up pan and spread batter as flat as you can by tilting pan right and left.

4.)  After 2 minutes, check the under side of crepe before flipping with a spatula. Be careful flipping the crepe as it is more delicate than a pancake.

5.)  Once crepe is flipped, spread on Nutella and sliced banana. Cook for 2 minutes or until golden brown.

6.)   Fold crepe in half and roll. I could not wrap my crepe as easily as they did in Paris. My first crepe was sliced quesadilla style. 

On my second attempt, I figured out how to roll the crepe. My kids LOVED eating with their hands!

Savory Pesto Roasted Vegetables and Baked Chicken Pizzola

Buon Giorno! I was off traveling, taking cooking classes, and eating, but I am back and ready to cook!

Today when my son stepped off the camp bus, I was fantasizing about the simple and delicious pesto we were going to cook tonight. I wish I created this recipe. It belongs to the amazing Chef Marcella Ansaldo whose cooking class I attended in Florence. (If you go to Florence, I highly recommend signing up for her class! Marcella put us to work and then we enjoyed the fruits of our labor with a decadent three course meal.)

I had never made pesto before but was pleasantly surprised at how easy it is to prepare (and why it is necessary to own a hand held processor/blender). Guess where I bought one today- TARGET! Love it.  

Fresh picked basil.

 I am going to use Marcella’s pesto recipe to drizzle on roasted vegetables for tonight’s healthy and savory side dish. This pesto also tastes delicious on pasta!

With my jet lag at its peak at 3 A.M. last night, I laid awake thinking about how I could simplify Mama Gina’s Chicken and came up with Baked Chicken Pizzola. My son could not wait to hammer the chicken and my daughter beautifully spread on the marinara sauce. They were so proud of their chicken and gobbled it up! 

My husband and I savored every delicious juicy bite of chicken and flashbacked to Florence until my daughter started crying because of her runny nose and my son started begging us to play with him. Get messy! Have fun! And eat healthy!

Having fun during the cooking class!

Marcella's Easy Pesto Recipe

about 2 cups fresh basil or 60 leaves

¼ cup parmesan cheese- freshly grated

½ cup extra virgin olive oil

1/8 cup pine nuts

2 pinches of salt

optional: 2 garlic cloves

1.)  Wash and pat basil leaves dry.

2.)  In a blender or food processor, mix basil, olive oil, grated cheese, salt, garlic cloves, and pine nuts.

Roasted Vegetable Recipe

3 carrots- sliced lengthwise and then cut in half

1 zucchini- sliced lengthwise into thirds

1 red pepper- sliced

2 tbsp olive oil

salt and pepper to taste

1.)  Preheat oven to 500 degrees.

2.)  On a baking sheet lined with aluminum foil, lay veggies side by side. Try and slice vegetables the same thickness so they roast evenly.

3.)  Drizzle on olive oil and sprinkle with salt and pepper.

4.)  Bake 7-9 minutes, then flip vegetables (tongs make this easiest), bake another 7-9 minutes.

5.)  Place roasted vegetables in a serving dish and pour on desired about of pesto. Toss and serve hot or at room temperature. (If you have remaining pesto, you can store it for up to a week in the refrigerator. Try it on pasta later in the week!)

Baked Chicken Pizzola Recipe

1 lbs chicken breasts- pounded thin (my son was VERY excited to hammer the chicken with a meat hammer)

1 cup marinara sauce

1 tsp oregano

salt

pepper

garlic powder

½ block of mozzarella cheese- sliced thin

Chicken Pizzola right before going into the oven.

1.)  Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

2.)  Pound chicken breasts as thin as your family prefers.

3.)  Spray olive oil cooking spray in baking dish and lay chicken side by side.

4.)  Sprinkle salt, pepper, and garlic powder on side of chicken facing up.

5.)  Pour on marinara sauce. Spread with a spoon.

6.)  Sprinkle on oregano.

7.)  Layer mozzarella slices evenly on top of chicken with a little drizzle of marinara sauce on top of the cheese.

8.)  Bake 28-30 minutes.

Perfecto!