Chopped Pasta Salad

If you recall, I hosted Rhode Island's Food Blogger Bake Sale back in April at The Pizza Place Restaurant. Not only are the people at the restaurant top notch but their Chopped Pasta Salad is a Legend in these parts.

In fact, the simple addition of Ditalini makes it a salad that my son is crazy about and he does not voluntarily eat mushroom and tomatoes. Now the recipe usually calls for Gorgonzola cheese but I use Feta. Scrumptious!

The photo was shot before I added the turkey bacon.

Organic Romaine Lettuce

Red Onion, sliced thinly

Tomato, chopped

Baby Bella Mushrooms, chopped

Feta, chopped

Chicken, cooked and diced

Bacon, crispy and chopped

Ditalini pasta, cooked

Prepare all ingredients, toss well with balsamic dressing of your choice.

EatingWell Wednesday - Spring Chicken & Barley Soup

Do you often find yourself with some leftover chicken and with one of the following scenarios:
1. Not enough for everyone?
2. You do not want the chicken as is?

Well, here is a great way to use up that leftover chicken (or non-leftover) called Spring Chicken & Barley Soup from EatingWell magazine. I honestly think the best thing about this recipe is the garnishes. The orange and basil make this soup stand out. I strongly recommend you add a good amount of it to the entire pot at the end. Feel free to put some fresh when you serve it.

Balsamic Chicken Kabobs

One reader recently asked via Twitter, 'How can I make chicken more interesting for a picky family?' Well, in my opinion, one way is to change up the presentation and make it more fun. Even in the dead of winter, I will make a more 'summer-like' meals and presentation using an indoor grill.

Oh, and forget to vote for your favorite foodie (hint) for the Hot Bloggers Calendar.

Ingredients:
6 wooden skewers
1 lb. boneless, skinless chicken breasts cut into chunks
1 red pepper, chopped into large pieces
1 20oz. can of Pineapples slices, drained and cut into large chunks
¼ & ¼ cup Newman’s Own Balsamic Vinaigrette Dressing
2 teaspoons fresh parsley, chopped

Yields: 6 servings (1 kabob per person)



Instructions:
1. Immerse skewers into water and set aside for 30 minutes. Chop the chicken breasts into large chunks and marinate in the first ¼ cup of dressing for 30 minutes.

2. Meanwhile, chop the peppers and pineapple.

3. Heat the outdoor or indoor grill to medium.

4. Alternate placing the chicken, peppers and pineapple on the skewers.

4. Pour the remaining ¼ cup dressing onto the skewers and place them on the grill for approximately 3 minutes, flip and cook another 3 minutes. You may need to cook them longer, depending on the size of the chicken pieces.

5. Place the skewers on a bed of rice or couscous and garnish with the parsley.

Here is a fantastic indoor grill that you would find useful year round.

'Spice Drawer' Roast Chicken

When you have company coming there is nothing as basic and fulfilling as a whole Roast Chicken. I decided to simply open the spice drawer and grab what was appealing.

The kids helped by first mixing all the spices together as a dry mixture and then mixing with the oil. They also enjoyed and giggled while the oil mixture was brushed all over the chicken. They stopped laughing when the smoke alarm went off during the second basting. Good to know we have a sensitive alarm.

Ingredients:

1/2 tsp. rubbed sage

1/2 tsp. dried thyme

1/4 tsp. paprika

1/4 tsp. rosemary leaves, roughly chopped

1/4 tsp. ground coriander Seed

1/2 tsp. Kosher salt

1/8 tsp. ground black pepper

4 cloves of garlic, chopped

6 tablespoons olive oil

4.5 lb. Organic whole chicken

Directions (adapted from Mark Bittman, How to cook Everything, 1998)

1. Preheat oven to 500 degrees

2. Remove giblets, rinse and pat chicken dry. Place the chicken on rack in roasting pan, breast side down and begin roasting.

3. Mix all dry ingredients (first 7) in a bowl. The add garlic and oil and mix again. Rub/Brush the mixture on and place chicken into oven.

4. After 22 minutes, I brushed some of the herb/oil mixture over the chicken and then turned the chicken breast side up. and baste some more.

5. Roast the chicken another 9 minutes, turned the heat down to 325 degrees and basted again.
6. Roast until thermometer says 160-165. Remove and allow to sit at least 5 minutes before cutting.

Organic Grass Fed NY Strip Steak & Organic Chicken Breast Salad featuring POM Juice

I feel it is a great opportunity when you are making your meal, recipe, snack, baked good, etc. to try to up the nutritional value. With that said, we love drinking POM in its’ raw state right out the bottle (try to grab it away from my son) so when POM wrote me asking if I would try using it in some recipes, I thought, ‘man, why haven’t I thought of that?’

Also, while attending Blogher, I was approached by a blogger who asked me if I have ever tried Greensbury Market Organic Steaks & Chicken. I had not and was willing to accept some product to give them a try. I was not asked to do anything but enjoy them and enjoy them we did.

So, time to put on my kitchen thinking cap and get to work. For the chicken, I made a Pomegrante dressing and the salad below.

Pomegranate Dressing:
1/3 cup POM pomegranate juice
1/3 cup red wine vinegar
¼ cup extra virgin olive oil

¾ teaspoon Dijon mustard
Salt and pepper to taste

Organic Grilled Chicken over Baby Spinach Salad
Organic Baby Spinach
Toasted Pine Nuts
Dried Sweetened Cranberries
Red Onion, slivers

Organic Chicken Breasts-marinated in dressing , grilled and sliced
Pomegranate dressing

I grilled the chicken when grilling the steak, prepared the salad (first 4 ingredients) and then topped with the chicken and dressing

Organic Grass Fed NY Strip Steak
1/3 cup red wine vinegar
½ shallot, chopped
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
½ teaspoon fresh thyme, chopped
3/4 teaspoon dry mustard
½ teaspoon sea salt
¼ teaspoon black pepper

Mix the ingredients well and toss with steak.


pre-grilling

I marinated the steaks for about 30 minutes and then grilled them to medium. I let them rest about 10 minutes and then we devoured them. Now, we do not eat NY strip often so I can not say whether these we much better than conventional steaks, but I will say, these melted in our mouths and tasted clean. Does that make sense to you? Granted, we can not afford to eat organic grass fed meat or chicken at every meal however, the food we consume is very important to use and quality over quantity reigns when possible.


post-grilling

Check out my Whrrl story featuring POM and, foodies will recognize the dreaded photo in slide#9

Fast & Frugal Friday: Pretzel Crusted Baked Chicken Tenders

The family can not get enough of Mom playing around with different coatings on chicken tenders so this time I bring you a recipe with organic oat pretzels. Many of you can go grab these pretzels at your local Stop & Shop as part of their Nature's Promise line.

This is definitely frugal because you use the boneless, skinless breasts you bought on sale and cut them into strips yourself. Then use the bag of pretzels you have been stashing to make a tasty dinner. I tossed some chopped olives on the side along with some sauteed sugar snap peas and the chow down commenced.

Baked Tenders:
1 lb. chicken cut into strips (I found organic chicken at BJ's wholesale)
~2 cups of organic oat pretzels, roughly crushed (do not make too tiny or will not be crispy)
1/2 cup whole wheat flour
1 organic egg
2 tablespoons 1% organic milk
salt & pepper

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

2. Place a cooling rock onto a baking sheet. This is key to a crispy crust.

3. Mix egg and milk in one bowl and combine. Place flour on a plate and season well. Place lightly crushed pretzels on a separate plate and season well. Create an assemble line from left to right as follows: flour, egg mixture, pretzel, cooling rack.

4. Dip chicken strip in flour and shake excess. Dip into egg, then cover with cereal and place on rack.

5. Bake approx. 15 minutes

Serve with Jen's mustard dipping sauce.

Did you see that I am giving away a ticket to the TypeAMom Conference?

Turkey Cranberry Pesto Sandwich

While my mom was visiting, I took advantage of the chance to do some blogging and tweeting (@savorthethyme) sans kids and went to the local Starbucks. While I as there, I decided to peruse the food selection and latched onto a Turkey Cranberry Pesto Sandwich. I consumed and knew I could make an even better version at home (sorry but my pesto kicks starbucks).

Once I arrived home, I made a lively pesto with the basil from a friends garden and used, well heck, I will share the pesto recipe in another post. To make the sandwich, here is what you need:



Sliced Turkey Meat (nitrate free deli slices)
Lettuce (farmer's market)
Dried Cranberries (Nature's Prmosie)
Pesto (homemade)
Fresh Bread

Assemble and consume.

Fast & Frugal Friday: Balsamic Marinade for Roasted Chicken and Vegetables

BlogHer was upon us and this mommy had tons to do so I needed a super quick and all in one kind of dinner. I relied on the old family favorite: some sort of marinade with balsamic vinegar. I have great balsamic raspberry recipe but I did not even want to stand at the stove so I threw this marinade together and let the chicken and vegetables sit while the oven warmed.



1 lb. boneless, skinless chicken breast
8 oz. Portabella Mushrooms
1 Zucchini

Marinade:
1/3 cup balsamic vinegar
1/3 cup Extra Virgin Olive Oil
2 tablespoons fresh parsley, minced
2 tablespoons fresh thyme, chopped
2 large cloves garlic, chopped
1/4 teaspoon pepper
1/8 teaspoon sea salt

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Butterfly chicken breasts, place in a baking dish and drizzle with 1/2 of the marinade, toss to coat and set aside.

2. Cut the zucchini in half length wise and then cut at an angle into 1 inch pieces. I bought the mushrooms already sliced so I placed the vegetables in a dish, added remaining marinade and tossed.

3. I wandered off to fold some laundry and when I came back, the oven was ready and the food has been marinating about 10 minutes. I then placed the 2 baking dishes into the oven for 20 minutes, tossed and allowed to bake another 10 minutes or so.

4. Enjoy. Heads up: the chicken gets stained dark from the vinegar so be ready to see the reaction in the kids faces. We simply explained it was vinegar and they were fine.

EatingWell Wednesday: Lime & Agave Nectar Chicken

Another crazy hump day and all I had done as far as dinner plans was to make sure I had some chicken breasts. So I went to my trusted resource: EatingWell magazine. I typed in chicken breasts and up popped Lime & Honey Chicken. Although I thought I had honey, I found that I did not so I made the quick decision to use organic agave nectar. I also deviated by using boneless, skinless breasts and I only marinated half of the chicken with red pepper flakes so that I could spare myself the complaints from little ones with a pepper flake stuck in their molars-yikes!

This as super fast and easy to make so give it a try. If you are super short on time, do not make the glaze.

I asked the kids to give a thumbs up if they liked it and here was the response.

I think sticking (no pun intended) with honey is best as it is a bit thicker than the nectar.

Pork Loin with Mandarin Orange Salsa, Roasted Eggplant over Penne & Chicken with Poultry Seasoning

Sick. Sick. Sick. My entire chest was sick. Luckily, two thing came to my rescue: my husband and the packets that Amazing Taste sent. It all began Friday as I began to feel bad and steadily got worse and the meals went from some energy to no energy. I had already taken out the pork loin to thaw and so it was waiting for TLC. I went to work quickly before things got worse. But before I give you my recipes, I first want to thank Amazing Taste for their generous samples and for making a nice product to enhance foods with. My favorite so far is the poultry. For the chicken, I used it as a marinade as suggested on the packet. I can tell that the fajita (used on the eggplant!) has lots of cumin (which I love) and the spices in the pork seasoning are nicely balanced although some of the salt could be removed and I think it would be perfect. Give some a try yourself and let me know what you think. There are also some great recipes featured on their site. Please note that I only express my honest opinions on product reviews.

Marinated Pork Tenderloin with Mandarin Orange Salsa

1 lb. pork tenderloin

2 Tablespoons Amazing Taste Poultry Seasoning

Marinade:

1/4 cup pear juice from the can of mandarin oranges

2 Tablespoons lime juice

1 clove garlic, chopped

Salsa:

1/4 cup red onion, minced

1/4 cup cilantro, chopped

Mandarin oranges from 11 oz. can, drained, juice reserved

1 Tablespoon lime juice

1 Tablespoon pear juice

Directions:

1. Whisk marinade ingredients until well combined. Place marinade and seasoned pork into a plastic bag and place in refrigerator for 30 minutes.

2. Preheat oven to 425 degrees and prepare the salsa.

3. Cook pork until temperature reaches 160 degrees (took us 40 minutes). Let stand 5 minutes. Slice and serve with salsa.

Roasted Eggplant

1/2 lb. Eggplant

1 Tablespoon Amazing Taste Fajita Seasoning*

2 Tablespoons olive oil

1/2 jar (25 oz) organic marinara sauce

1/4 teaspoon fajita seasoning

Box whole wheat organic penne

First of all, this idea was on my mind to try due to a post that Rebecca of Chow and Chatter did last week. So, thank you Rebecca!

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

2. Chop up eggplant into 1-1 1/2 inch pieces and mix them in a bowl with the seasoning and olive oil. Place onto baking pan and bake for approx. 20 minutes or until tender.

3. Boil penne per box instructions. Place sauce in a pan, add seasoning, mix and heat thoroughly.

4. Place some penne, eggplant and sauce in a bowl, mix and enjoy.

*Are you wondering why I would use a fajita seasoning mix on eggplant and in the sauce? I wanted to add some flavor as the sauce was quite bland and since I am a cumin lover, I went for it and was glad I experimented.

Chicken with Poultry Seasoning

1 lb. boneless, skinless chicken breasts

4 Tablespoons Amazing Taste Poultry Seasoning

1/4 cup water

1 Tablespoon

Directions:

1. Combine seasoning, water and oil and mix well. Place marinade and chicken into a plastic bag and place in refrigerator for 15 minutes.

2. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

3. Bake chicken for approx. 30 minutes or until cooked through.

Monday night: Still in bed and have no idea what the hubby made for the kids. I ate carrots with hummus and some of my favorite organic cereal.

Fast & Frugal Friday: Year Round Thankgiving Dinner

Raise your hands if you love having all your favorite components of Thanksgiving dinner on more than one day a year? Now, raise your hands if you love all the time, money and energy to make all of it more than one day a year? I hear crickets.....I have a solution. As many of you know from yesterday's post, I entered a StoveTop challenge however you do not know the criteria and how I came up with the recipe so I thought I would fill you in. Here were the criteria:
a.) Cost-saving
b.) One-dish using STOVE TOP
c.) Feed 4 under $10
d.) Provide an essay (in 100 words or less) that explains why you and your family enjoy the recipe.

Additional challenges for myself: Quick, Unique, Use items that anyone can get year round and a Complete meal. How did I do?

Also, I only found this contest the day before the deadline and spent the first day emailing questions to BlogHer/StoveTop and coming up with different ideas and pricing them out. I figured most people would go for chicken and beef so I thought fish and turkey. I then thought about some of our favorite meals during holidays and bam, Thanksgiving popped into my mind. Here is an excerpt from my essay:

"This recipe encompasses all of our favorite Thanksgiving foods: Turkey, Stuffing, Green Beans, Cranberries and Gravy and can be made under 30 minutes. A benefit of using Stove Top Stuffing is that all the seasonings we need are already in the mix. We also consider this recipe quite family friendly as kids love fun looking food so we made this meal into a roll-up. "

TIPS:
a.) If you have the time and money, round out this T-day meal, with a salad and some mashed potatoes.

b.) To save even more money, buy split turkey breasts and have the butcher debone it. With the money you save, you can buy fresh beans, potatoes and salad fixings.

Can you believe that I made this meal for 4 for $6.25!!!

For the recipe and to vote for Recipe #5, please follow this link. You can vote until 11:59 tonight!

Fast & Frugal Friday: Chicken with Grilled Tomatillo Salsa

Do you have your heart set on a main dish for Cinco de Mayo yet? I hope not as I made something fantastic, seriously. My hubby and I made a tomatillo salsa last spring and we were not crazy about it however, since Tuesday was almost 90, I was in the mood to grill and thought that grilling some ingredients would offer a whole new flavor profile so went for it as I did with my 'Roasted Yellow Tomato Soup'. You will also know by now that my favorite store to find unique food items (unique to this tiny state) is at Sandy's Fine Food Emporium. So, what are tomatillos and how do they relate to Mexico? Tomatillos are a relative of the tomato family and provide that tart flavor in a host of Mexican green sauces. In Mexico the fruit is called tomates verdes, tomates de cascara as well as fresadillas. They have no fat but plenty of Vitamin C so load up and get creative.

Ingredients:

2 Tomatillos
2 thick slices of sweet onion (about 1/2 inch each)
2 cloves of garlic, skin intact

¼ cumin

2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts, butterflied
1 tablespoon canned green chili's
2 teaspoons lime juice
1 tablespoon rice vinegar
1 tablespoon fresh cilantro, chopped

1. Heat gas grill on medium heat. Remove the husk, rinse and chop tomatillos in half from top to bottom. Cut two thick slices of onion and grab two cloves of garlic but leave the skin on them.

2. Sprinkle cumin on both sides of chicken breasts and place on grill. Also place tomatillos, onion and garlic on grill. Flip everything after 5 minutes. Cook another 3 minutes or so and remove all.

3. Place tomatillos, onion, garlic, chilis, lime juice, vinegar and cilantro into food processor and pulse a few times. Serve over chicken. Note: I did not forget to add salt, I did not need it with all these fabulous flavors.

Fast & Frugal Friday: Jerk Chicken with Pineapple Salsa

Maybe I should call this the 2 tablespoon special? Maybe 2 by 2? No matter what you call it, you will have a cheap and quick dinner on the table in no time. I served this with some sugar snaps peas (recipe next week) and rice.

Ingredients:
2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts, butterflied
2 teaspoons Mccormick Caribbean Jerk Chicken Seasoning
4 pineapples rings, chopped from a 20 oz can in juice.
2 Tablespoons pineapple juice (from can)
2 Tablespoons lime juice

2 Tablespoons english cucumber, chopped
2 Tablespoons red onion, minced
2 Tablespoons red pepper, chopped
2 Tablespoons cilantro, chopped

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Butterfly the breasts, sprinkle with seasoning and bake for 20 minutes.

2. Prepare the remaining ingredients, mix and serve over cooked chicken.

Frozen Assets: Light & Healthy Turkey Meatballs

1. Notice my subtle homage to a snowman below (I actually had 'him' standing but could not get a good shot.) 2. The 'background' is snow. Alrighty then, I thought I would begin a feature called "Frozen Assets" referring to recipes that are great to make ahead and freeze until you are ready to cook/bake them.

Ingredients (Makes approx. 30 meatballs):
3 slices whole-wheat sandwich bread
2 teaspoons flax seed
1/4 cup 1% milk
1.3 lb. ground turkey, 93 percent lean
½ cup sweet onion, finely chopped
2 small cloves garlic, minced
1 tablespoon chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
1/8 teaspoon ground thyme
1 large egg
3/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 pepper
Coarse salt and ground pepper

Directions
1. Place bread and flax seed in food processor and pulse until fine crumbs form. Then mix the breadcrumbs/seeds with milk and set aside, at least 5 minutes.

2. In a large bowl, combine turkey, onions, garlic, parsley, thyme, egg, salt, pepper, and breadcrumb mixture. Now get your clean hands in there and mix gently.

3. Using the now mushy hands, form the mixture into balls (each about 1.5 tablespoons); arrange in a single layer on a rimmed baking sheet/pan lined with parchment paper.

4. Transfer the baking sheet to freezer for 1 hour. Place frozen meatballs to an airtight container or resealable plastic bag, and freeze for up to 3 months.

5. When you are ready to bake: Take the meatballs out in the morning to thaw. Later in the day, preheat oven to 350 degrees, place meatballs onto a rimmed baking sheet and bake for 25-30 minutes.

Orange Marmalade Chicken

I usually make a marmalade chicken in a skillet with a bit of oil to cook the chicken and then do a sauce with shallot in the pan. However, since I was going to be baking some sweet potato fries I decided to change things up a bit and make them even 'lighter' by not using any oil at all. I hope you find this to become a staple in your home as it is so quick and easy. By the way, I failed to scoop some of the juice/sauce onto it so believe me when I say it there is plenty in the baking dish for you.

Ingredients:
3 tablespoons cider vinegar

2 tablespoons orange marmalade
1 tablespoon orange juice
1 teaspoon cornstarch
½ teaspoon chopped dried rosemary (I use mortar and pestle to crush as you could put an eye out cutting it)
¼ teaspoon dry mustard

1 pound chicken breasts, butterflied and cut lengthwise

¼ teaspoon kosher salt

¼ teaspoon freshly ground pepper

1. Preheat oven to 400°F. Coat a roasting pan/dish with cooking spray.
2. Whisk the first 6 ingredients in a medium bowl.

3. Butterfly breasts, cut them lengthwise, season chicken on both sides with salt and pepper and place, in the prepared pan. Sprinkle with the rosemary.

4. Bake the chicken for 10 minutes.

5. Turn the chicken pieces over and top with the marmalade mixture and continue baking until the chicken is no longer pink in the center, approx. 10 to 15 minutes more. Serve immediately, spooning the sauce over the chicken.

Frugal Friday: Mango-Tomato Chicken with Quinoa

This past Tuesday, my daughter asked 'Mom, have I tried mango?'. I told her she had but I would make her something with mango on Thursday, so here it is: your dinner for tomorrow. Light, tangy and to me, a taste of spring.

Ingredients:
1 lb. chicken breast (cut in half lengthwise so you have 4 cutlets and faster cooking)
1.5 tablespoons olive oil
1 medium vine-riped tomato, chopped
1/2 mango (eat the rest while preparing the meal-yum), diced
1 clove garlic, chopped
2 tablespoons lime juice
2 tablespoons cilantro, minced
2 tablespoons toasted sesame seeds (no time to toast-use untoasted)
salt & pepper

Directions:
1. Prepare quinoa as directed here or make it the night before.
2. Heat oil over medium/medium high heat. Sprinkle each breast with a salt and pepper on both sides and add to pan.
3. Saute each side 3-4 minutes. Remove from pan.
4. Turn pan to low and allow to cool slightly. Add mango, tomatoes, and lime juice and saute 2 minutes.
5. Add garlic, cilantro and sesame seeds. Saute another 4 minutes.
6. Plate quinoa, chicken and top with mango-tomato chutney.

Fast & Frugal Friday: Turkey & Zucchini with infused Olive Oil

Yes, I know it is Thursday. I am giving you a heads up so you can make the oil tonight so that the garlic and thyme can really infuse the oil.

Ingredients:
4 boneless, skinless turkey cutlets
1 zucchini
3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
1 large clove garlic, chopped
4 springs fresh thyme, leaves removed or 1.4 teaspoon ground thyme
salt & pepper

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees
2. Place olive oil, garlic and thyme into a bowl-mix well and set aside.
3. Cut zucchini on half lengthwise and then chop at an angle into 1/2 inch by 1/2 pieces and place into a separate bowl.
4. Place turkey breasts side by side in a baking dish
5. Toss zucchini with 1.5-2 tablespoons olive oil mixture and season with salt and pepper.
6. Season turkey breast, brush olive oil mixture on, flip over and repeat.
7. Bake both 25 minutes. Once you place into the oven, start making some brown rice. Dinner ready!

Alphabet Flax Seed Chicken Soup

I know I have already posted about a chicken soup but this is worth sharing for a few reasons: I utilized leftovers from a rotisseries chicken (yes, the same one I used in my pepitas salad), I added ground flax seed (ah-ha children) and I was thrilled to use the Nature's Promise Vegetable Stock that Stop & Shop now carries. Oh, and the kids loved this much more than that
well known kids canned soup-yuk. Go Mommy!

Ingredients:

1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil

1 carrot, diced

1 celery, diced

1/8 teaspoon each salt & pepper

1 large cloves garlic (note: go 2 next time)

1/2 sweet onion

3 tablespoon baby spinach, finely chopped

2 cups Organic vegetable stock

4 cups water

1 cup alphabet pasta

2 teaspoons ground organic flax seeds

1.5 cups chopped cooked chicken

1. Heat oil over medium-high heat and add carrots and celery, add salt and pepper and saute for 2 minutes.

2. Add garlic and onions saute 4-5 minutes, stirring frequently

3. Add baby spinach and stir about 30 seconds

4. Turn heat to high and add stock, water, and pasta and boil or 9 minutes.

5. Add flax seed and chicken, cook 1 minute. Season to your liking with salt & pepper

6. Serve

Baked Chicken Tenders / Fingers

This is not just for your kids, this is great for you too. I bet this would rock with this dip. We ate these the other night and I was waiting for my feisty 2 year old to say 'this yucky' (his favorite saying) , but he ate them all in silence. THAT is worth a million bucks.

Ingredients:
1 lb. of boneless, skinless chicken breasts
1/3 cup rice milk
1 egg white
1/3 cup sliced almonds (for even better flavor, toast them first)
1/4 cup old fashioned oats
1/2 cup whole wheat bread crumbs
1/2 teaspoon salt & a dash
1/4 teaspoon pepper

1. Toast two pieces of whole wheat bread into the toasted on the medium setting and toast. Remove and allow to cool.
2. Preheat oven to 375 degrees and prepare baking sheet by placing cooling rack on top of it.
3. Combine egg white and rice milk in a bowl and mix well. Add a dash of salt.
4. Cut chicken into tenders/strips
5. Chop toast into small squares and place into food processor with the almonds and oats. Pulse to combine, pour into a bowl and season with salt and pepper.
6. In assembly line fashion, dip chicken into milk/egg mixture, then dredge into breading, coating evenly and placing onto cooling rack.
7. Bake for 15 minutes.

Raspberry Balsamic Chicken Breasts

Raspberry balsamic chicken is one of my staples and I sometimes switch it up with apricot preserves. This is also a healthy and frugal recipe as you are only using 2 breasts, halving each one, therefore, resulting in 4 servings. It is a great way to trick yourself into only eating half a breast (and not stuffing in the entire one) and you can stretch the budget. Trust me, you will not miss the extra chicken.

1 tablespoon canola oil
¾ cup red onion

2 cloves garlic, chopped
2 teaspoons fresh thyme or ¾ teaspoon dried
½ teaspoon salt, divided
¼ teaspoon pepper, divided

2 (8-ounce) boneless, skinless chicken breasts, halved

3 tablespoons balsamic vinegar

1/3 cup seedless raspberry preserves

Heat oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add the onion and saute for 4 minutes. Then turn to heat to medium and add garlic and saute for 2 minutes. In the meantime, season chicken with salt and pepper. Push the onion/garlic mixture to the side and add the chicken to pan, sprinkle with half of the thyme and cook for 4 minutes. Flip the chicken over, season with remaining salt, pepper and thyme and cook for 4 minutes. Check for doneness and remove from pan once cooked. Add preserves and vinegar to pan, stirring constantly until the preservers are melted. Taste for seasoning, adjust if necessary and then spoon sauce over chicken and serve.