
Honey Mustard Chicken with a pickle & tomato topping in lettuce wraps were a quick dinner after a lot of pool time. Continue reading
Honey Mustard Chicken with a pickle & tomato topping in lettuce wraps were a quick dinner after a lot of pool time. Continue reading
{originally published in 2015 and updated in 2023}When I originally made this, I breaded the chicken and this time around I wanted to update it with grilled chicken. I served it over pasta (these kids love love love pasta) and … Continue reading
Chicken, bacon, ranch loaded fries are practically perfect in every way. Just like Mary P. Continue reading
We took our fav flavor combo of chicken, bacon, ranch, cheese and put it on a sandwich. Continue reading
I make a lot of lasagnas. A lot. Most often they’re for Lasagna Love so I regularly see convos about alternatives. This time they’re getting a twist and only wanted a few portions for these chicken and broccoli lasagna, all … Continue reading
Chicken goes IN the waffle for nicely uniform bites of crisp and soft waffles with juicy chicken bits and maple aioli and arugula. Continue reading
Pasta is a weekly must-have at our house and most often we rotate between a few basics like tomato sauce, pesto, alfredo, meatballs and we change up noodles, tortellini, or the occasional lasagna. This was a bit different and I did a shrimp or chicken topping option (I’m the only one who likes shrimp at the moment).
The tomatoes burst and provide some sauce and the touch of cream and olive oil made it quick and light! Swap the protein for scallops or bacon or sausage or whatever you like!
Pasta with Blistered Tomatoes & Shrimp or Chicken
Ingredients: (for 5-6 servings)
1 pound linguine pasta
1 pint cherry or grape tomatoes
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
3 tablespoons heavy cream
2 tablespoons butter
shrimp (pealed, deveined large shrimp) and/or roasted chicken (pealed, chopped)
1 tablespoon mixed herb seasoning (Todd’s Dirt is our fav, or Italian Seasoning, or Oregano + Garlic Powder)
Directions:
Bring salted water to boil and cook the pasta.
In a skillet over medium heat, cook the tomatoes in a drizzle of olive oil and salt. Give them a shake every few minutes – it will take ~5 minutes to pop and release some juice.
When the pasta is mostly cooked (~2 minutes less than the package instructs), drain it reserving a little pasta water and return the pasta to the pot. Add the butter, and cream in, plus a splash of pasta water (start with a few tablespoons) and toss together, then add the tomatoes in and continue to cook over low heat. Add more pasta water if needed.
In the skillet used for the tomatoes, add another drizzle of olive oil in and bring to medium-low heat. Add the shrimp in the pan and sprinkle with herbs. Cook for just a minute or two on each side to turn pink but remain a C shape not an O shape. Remove from the heat promptly to avoid overcooking. (I did some chicken and some shrimp.)
Serve the pasta with chicken or shrimp on top and one last drizzle of olive oil.
Enjoy!
I always need a bit more sauce than I think so keep that pasta water or a splash of broth or more cream. The kids wouldn’t necessarily request this one, but everyone ate enough and I got to have shrimp so, win-win!
Love a rice bowl – this inspiration was perfect for winter when we want something warmer than salad! Rice bowls are also filling and great to use leftovers! I subscribe to the goal of:
grain + protein + veg + drizzle = grain bowl
Cobb Salad Rice Bowls
Ingredients: (serves 4)
1 1/2 cup rice/grain
4 breaded chicken tenders
4 hard boiled eggs
2 cups greens (I used arugula)
~3 tomatoes
~6 oz cheese
1/4 cup salad dressing
Directions:
Cook the rice and the chicken and hard boil the eggs. (My rice was in the pressure cooker for 10 minutes and my chicken went into the air fryer.)
While the rice, chicken, and eggs cook, chop the cheese, tomatoes, and greens.
Assemble as you like and drizzle with dressing.
Enjoy!
Bacon, avocado, and pickles would all be great additions too but my avo decided a few days prior to this meal ‘it was now or nothing’.
The kiddos had cukes versus greens, and they like theirs separate and to dip into dressing. I stirred some bacon bits into the rice when I made it the first time!
There’s a whole category (over to the right under “rice/grain bowls”). I pack them for lunch all the time too – I just scoop out the raw things and warm the rest and dump back on and drizzle. Voila!
These little turnovers had a few flavors we love, in an easy format, plus the kiddos helped and liked them. We used puff pastry, hummus, roasted chicken, salad dressing, and tomatoes.
Anything in crescent dough is good in my book but the hummus in here was great! They would be perfect as an app or we had them with some orzo and some salad.
Greek Chicken Turnovers
Ingredients: (for 8 turnovers, serves ~4 as a meal or 8 for apps)
1 tube crescent rolls (or crescent dough as a roll would make double sized ones)
1 cup roasted chicken (~1 chicken breast from a rotisserie chicken)
1-2 tablespoons creamy caesar dressing
1/2 teaspoon dried oregano or fresh chopped oregano
1/4 cup hummus
1-2 small tomatoes
Directions:
Preheat the oven to 350-degrees (or as the package directs).
Chop and mix the chicken, the dressing, and oregano.
Unroll the crescents and lay each triangle flat, then spread hummus onto each triangle. Add chicken onto the wide part of the triangle and top with tomato slices and salt & pepper.
Carefully roll the wide end of the triangle and roll over onto itself towards the point.
Place onto a baking sheet.
Bake for ~10 minutes (according to your crescent rolls) until golden brown.
Enjoy!
We had these with orzo and some tomato/cucumber/feta salad in Italian dressing. They were so fun! The hummus is really subtle but adds some substance and keeps them from being too liquid-y and dripping.
Each kid ate one. They’re not always excited about foods all together but these are flavors we like and they were a hit. They’re very, very into feta in salad.
They reheat well too – especially if you undercook a bit (maybe 8 min versus 10) and reheat in the oven or toaster oven. They don’t need to be served hot – room temp is good too!
Need an alternate along the same lines?
Cheeseburger turnovers
Broccoli & Cheese Pinwheels
Chicken, Bacon, Ranch turnovers
Plan now – these Thanksgiving inspired nachos are perfect for leftovers, or if you’re not the host and want to whip up something with Thanksgiving vibes leading up to the holiday!
Thanksgiving Nachos
Ingredients: (serves ~4 as a meal, or ~6 as an app)
1 package waffle fries
2/3 cup jellied cranberry sauce
2 tablespoons sour cream
2 tablespoons mayo
1 cup shredded white cheddar cheese
~1 cup turkey (I used roasted chicken as it was before Thanksgiving)
~1 cup turkey gravy
6 sage leaves, chopped
Directions:
Preheat the oven to 400-degrees (or as waffle fry package directs).
Bake the fries (or air fry, but like nachos, there will be toppings and continue to cook).
Blend together cranberry sauce, sour cream, and mayo. This can be prepped in advance and refrigerated.
Chop or tear the turkey into bite-size pieces and warm.
Mix or warm the gravy.
When the fries are cooked, top half with the cheese, half the chicken, and a drizzle of gravy. Then place the remaining fries on top with remaining cheese, and another gravy drizzle. Return to the oven for ~3-5 minutes to melt the cheese.
Remove from the oven and top with sage and a drizzle of cranberry sauce.
Enjoy and serve remaining cranberry sauce and gravy on the side.
We had it for dinner with some green beans on the side. It was so fun! The 1st grader ate it all – and took care of the remaining cranberry sauce. The pre-schooler ate the cranberry aoli-sauce by the spoonful and only took a few bites of the rest.
I loved the bites with everything together! They are kind of a fork-nacho but these would be fun with sweet potato fries too! They could be party friendly as mini “stacks” and maybe a toothpick to hold together to serve a portion. The subtle cranberry was really good and would be great on a sandwich or wrap for leftovers or on a turkey burger!
Add this to your leftovers – or make this if you’re not having a turkey dinner!