I honestly wasn't very into cooking before I met Aaron. It always felt like it took so long, cost more than it should, and never turned out quite like the picture. It wasn't very long into dating, though, that our favorite date night meals became the ones I made in my kitchen! (I actually still have the very first recipe I ever made for him framed in my office-- a slow-cooked pork taco recipe I found in Real Simple!) Three and a half years later, I love sitting down with my cookbooks and computer on a Sunday afternoon and planning out the week's meals. They still don't always look like the picture, but I try not to let that bother me 🙂 Here is a little peak at what I have been cooking up around here... would love to know what has been brewing in your kitchens!
1. Tomato Soup with Whole Wheat & Brie Grilled Cheese
Aaron flew to Vegas on Sunday for the ACM awards so I thought I would have something delicious and warm waiting for him when he got home... Such a great comfort food recipe.
2. Mozzerella-Stuffed Chicken Meatballs
I used the recipe below for these, but added a small pinch of buffalo mozzerella to each meatball. The result? Ooey, gooey cheese with every bite! YUM!
3. Sauteed Citrus Herb Salmon
4. Skinny Taste Chicken Enchiladas
I don't know how I will ever repay my friend Beth for sharing this recipe with me. I have probably made it a dozen times and it has yet to disappoint!
5. Barbeque Chicken Salad with Skinny Buttermilk BBQ Ranch
We had not one, not two, but three different types of greens in our CSA box this week so I decided to chop them all up into an easy weeknight salad. Super simple, relatively healthy, and quite yummy!
photos and recipe by yours truly here 🙂
For Salad:
1- Package of organic Chicken Breast Tenders (about 1lb)
1 c. barbeque sauce
1 head of green leaf lettuce chopped (romaine would also work)
1 c. chopped radiccio
1 c. chopped green chard
black pepper
½ c. shredded monterrey jack cheese
For Dressing:
½ c. light sour cream
½ c. plain or greek yougurt
½ c. 1 % buttermilk
1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
2 tablespoons barbeque sauce
1 tablespoon chopped parsley
1 teaspoon chipotle chili pepper
1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Cover a cookie sheet with aluminum foil to reduce mess and avoid sticking. Lay washed and dried chicken tenders on cookie sheet and brush generously with barbeque sauce. Top with fresh ground pepper. Bake at 375 for 10 minutes. Remove from oven and flip tenders. Now brush the othersid generously with barbeque sauce and return to the oven for 15-18 minutes depending on the thickness of your tenders. I like to let them sit for 5-10 minutes after baking so that the heat doesn't wilt the greens.
Combine all of the dressing ingredients in a bowl and stir together until liquid is smooth and of the right consistency.
Combine all of the greens in a salad bowl with cheese and dressing. Toss and top with the baked chicken.
Anda says
Hello Effortless Chick. I'm glad you liked my recipe but it's really not nice to copy pictures from someone's website and publish them on yours without asking first. On the bottom of the main page of my website it is stated clearly: "© 2011-2012 La Spelonca Vegetariana All materials and photography by Anda Pleniceanu. No portion of this website may be duplicated, copied, published or rewritten without prior consent. All Rights Reserved". So I will give you the benefit of the doubt and conclude that you did not see and did not know the copyright rules. Now, you have two choices:1) you take the picture off your website or 2) you give proper credit (like you could clearly state the name of my website in your post, say a few words about it and link to it). Thank you!
Becky at Vintage Mixer says
Sounds like a delicious week to me!!