Clean Eating Bruschetta Chicken

Bruschetta chicken

Serving Size: 5

15-25 cherry tomatoes sliced in half

½ a large white onion diced

1 yellow bell pepper

1 red bell pepper

2 big handfuls of fresh spinach (chopped)

1 -1 1/2 bunches of fresh basil (chopped)

5 – 4 oz chicken breasts

Ms Dash (to season)

Drizzle of Balsamic Vinegar

Preheat oven for 400 Degrees F.

In a baking dish line the bottom of the pan in non-stick foil. Place the chicken breasts seasoned with Ms. Dash on the foil in the pan, set aside.

In a medium bowl. Mix tomatoes, onion, bell peppers, spinach and basil together.

Pour over the prepared chicken (before cooking or after cooked chicken (would be good both ways) I cooked mine)). Bake for 45 min.

Remove from oven and serve with mixed green salad with bruschetta mix on top of chicken. Drizzle with Balsamic Vinegar.

Great Cold or reheated the next day over a bed of spinach or mixed green salad.

**You don't need to cook the bruschetta topping with the chicken, but it adds moisture to the chicken if it's a little dry.

Progress on Biggest Loser

My progress on Biggest loser is slow and steady. The first two weeks I lost a lot, but now I'm at a pretty steady loss of one or two pounds a week. I've currently lost  15 pounds in 5 weeks, and average of 3 pounds a week. I'm trying to make healthier choices. I don't always succeed but I'm working on it. This is definitely a process.

I have created some healthy recipes that are part of my new clean eating habits. I will work on posting those soon. I hope you enjoy them. They are very tasty and full of flavor. I know that is what a lot of people tell me about their diets or habits of eating healthy is that they have no flavor. These recipes are full of flavor and really good for you.

Bruschetta

This beautiful bruschetta has loads of good things for you. Nothing is artificial. Isn't the color just beautiful!

Ingredients:
15-25 cherry tomatoes - sliced in half length wise
1 whole yellow bell pepper, diced
1 whole red bell pepper, diced
1 handful of fresh spinach, chopped
1/4 large white onion, diced
1 bunch of basil, minced
1/2 tsp minced garlic

Add all ingredients to a bowl, mix together. For added zip, add a drizzle of balsamic vinegar.
Add to chicken, pork, seafood, or bread.
Eat and enjoy!

For this particular bruschetta I added it to chicken. It was very tasty and full of flavor.

Biggest Loser Challenge

Hello all! :)

Sorry it's been a while since I've written. I have been gone at my in-laws for Christmas break, and then getting back and starting a new life challenge. A new life challenge if life wasn't challenging enough... yeah I know, remember I'm a gluten for punishment. I started this Biggest Loser challenge through a personal trainer I know. I've been on it for about 10 days and at my first weigh in 3 days ago, I had lost 7 pounds. I am not starving myself. I am eating up to 6 meals a day, and exercising. Eating 6 meals a day is actually a lot harder then I thought it would be. Most of these meals require some type of cooking. So I'm working on trying to get a handle of these meals. however, I'm on a Jumpstart right now through Thursday, Jan. 19th. I am trying to create recipes that are delicious, filling and beautiful. A few have turned out good. Other's not so much. I know not everyone likes everything I'm using, but as long as I do, you can adjust as you'd like.

I will be posting those recipes and tagging them under Biggest Loser challenge, low calorie, and even, what meal it works for. I hope these are helpful. The recipes for the jump start are gluten-free. The only actual dairy are the one's with cottage cheese, but that is fat free cottage cheese, and not many people like that. I've had very low carbs as well, no pasta, no bread which has been really a difficult change for me. I am looking forward to getting off the jumpstart on Thursday so I can start eating healthier breads, and carbs. I hope you enjoy these recipes :)

Hard to believe that it's been a month since i've posted!

I am so sorry it's been so long since i've posted. I've had my in-laws visiting and so we've been out to eat a TON, and I need to get on it quick... I am headed  to Phoenix, AZ this weekend, for my Associates Degree Graduation. So, hopefully when I get back I can focus on more baking and posting. I'm in my bachelor program right now, so I'm still busy. But I still make dinners for my family. Last night we had chicken fried steak. MMM they were tasty. But I already have that recipe on here. I need to start shaking things up! New christmas cookie recipes, and dessert options to come! I LOVE the holdiays! :)

Here's hoping for a quick return and more recipes to come :) Have a GREAT FALL/Holiday Season! :)

Shae

Creamy Pumpkin soup

Today it's cold outside. I have the day off, and I wanted to make some kind of soup with pumpkin. It just sounded so good. Something rich and creamy. Doesn't that just sound so yummy? Well, first I posted in FB that I wanted to make a pumpkin soup and asked if anyone of my friends had a reliable soup recipe using canned pumpkin that was good. I got suggestions to look at a few websites for pumpkin soup recipes. So I looked around and found a few. Most of the recipes had mixed reviews to being too bland, yucky, good, and GREAT all on the same soup recipe. So, I decided to go to the expert pumpkin source lily pumpkin's website. They had a recipe for pumpkin soup. I read it and it sounded good. So, I started making it... then I realized I wasn't following the recipe the way they wrote it, so here's my version of their pumpkin soup. I think it's got a great flavor, but not overpowering the pumpkin flavor. Let me know what you think... :)

Ingredients:

1- large can of puree'd pumpkin
1 can evaporated milk
2 tbsp Pampered chef Thai Peanut sauce
3 packed tbsp brown sugar
1 medium onion chopped
1/2 stick of butter
2 cloves of garlic, minced
2 cans chicken broth
1/2 can water
salt and pepper to taste
2 dashes pumpkin pie spice

Directions:

In a medium sauce pan add the butter, onions, garlic and brown sugar. cook until the onions become translucent. Add the chicken broth, water, and pumpkin. Cook 15 minutes until boiling. Add the salt, pepper, pumpkin pie spice, evaporated milk and Thai Peanut sauce. Stir to incorporate. Let cook another 5 min. Stirring occasionally.  With a submersible mixer or blender blend until smooth or desired consistency. let simmer 5-10 min. and Enjoy!

This has a nice flavor and very tasty. I made this and then set it in my slow cooker on warm, to keep it heated all day. Dinner was done quickly and easily this morning.

Carmel Cinnamon Bread Pudding

Carmel Cinnamon Bread Pudding

This was going to be an afternoon snack for my kids, but I'm thinking of making it dessert instead. I had made some homemade bread last week, and the boys haven't been eating it as fast as they used to. So the bread was a little stale. Which is perfect for bread pudding. I should have done two loaves for a fuller bread pudding, but this works. This bread pudding mix was also originally supposed to be placed in the slow cooker, but I want to use that for the lasagna tonight. So adjusted the recipe for baking. 

Ingredients:

1-2 loaves of bread, stale, and cubed

5 eggs

3/4 cup milk

2 tsp vanilla

1 (14 oz) can sweetened condensed milk

1/2 cup brown sugar

1 cup cinnamon chips

1 bag caramel chips (melted) or caramel sauce - to drizzle on top of finished bread pudding.

Directions:

Preheat oven 350F.

Place the cubed bread in a large bowl. In a separate bowl mix the eggs, milk, vanilla, brown sugar, sweetened condensed milk and cinnamon chips. Pour on top of the cubed bread, toss to coat the bread. Let sit for 1-2 min, then toss again and let sit for another 1-2 minutes, so that the bread soaks up the egg mixture. *The cinnamon chips will not melt completely, but are so yummy.  While the bread is soaking, spray a 13X9 baking dish with non-stick cooking spray. Once the bread has soaked up the majority of the egg mixture, pour into the prepared 13X9 baking dish. Place in a water bath and bake for 1 hour. Then remove and drizzle caramel on top of the baked bread pudding. Enjoy with whipped topping or plain. 

***If you want to prepare in a slow cooker follow the directions above, except cook on high heat setting for 2 1/2 - 3 hours, or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. ***