Chicken and Wild Rice Soup

Ingredients

• 1 Cup uncooked wild rice
• 1 lb boneless, skinless chicken breast
• 1 cup onions, chopped
• 3/4 cup celery, chopped
• 3/4 cup carrots, chopped
• 4-5 cloves garlic, minced
• 6 cups low sodium chicken broth
• 2 cups of water
• 2 tbsp salt free poultry seasoning
• 3 tbsp butter
• 2 tbsp olive oil
• 1/2 cup all purpose flour
• 2 cups milk
• salt and pepper to taste

Directions

• Rinse wild rice under running water. Place the uncooked rice, chicken breast, onions, celery, carrots, garlic, chicken broth, water, and poultry seasoning in a slow cooker. Cover and cook on the high setting for 3-4 hours or on low for 7-8 hours. In the last 1/2 hour of cooking, remove the chicken from the slow cooker. Allow to cool slightly before shredding using forks
• When the rice is done cooking, add the shredded chicken back into the slow cooker. Melt the butter and oil in a saucepan. Add the flour and let the mixture cook for 1 minute. Whisk the mixture slowly while adding in the milk. Continue to whisk until all lumps have dissolved. Allow the mixture to thicken and become creamy.
• Add this creamy mixture to the slow cooker. Stir to combine. Add additional water or milk to your preference if the consistency is too thick. Season with salt and pepper to taste.

Herbed Red Potatoes and Sprouts

Ingredients

• 3/4 pound of small red potatoes
• 1/2 pound of brussels sprouts
• 1/3 cup of oil
• 1/2 tsp of salt
• 1/4 tsp of paprika
• 1 tbsp of chopped rosemary
• 1/4 tsp pepper
• 2 cloves of garlic, minced

Directions

• Preheat oven to 375 degrees
• In a casserole dish - 9x13 place oil and garlic
• Quarter each potato and half each sprout - place in oil
• Coat the vegetables in a layer of oil
• Season the vegetables with salt, paprika, rosemary and pepper
• Bake for 15 minutes
• Flip vegetables and cook for 15 more minutes

Pecan Crusted Chicken Tenders

Ingredients

• 16 whole wheat saltine crackers, finely crushed
• 1/4 cup pecans, ground
• 2 tsp paprika
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp pepper
• 1 egg white
• Cooking spray
• 1.5 lbs chicken tenders
• 1/4 cup whole wheat flower

Directions

• Preheat over to 425 degrees. Stir together crushed crackers and next 4 ingredients.
• Whisk egg white just until foamy
• Lightly coat cooking pan.
• Drench chicken tenders in flour; dip in egg white, and drench in saltine mixture. Lightly coat chicken on each side with cooking spray; arrange chicken not touching on cooking pan
• Bake at 425 degrees for 18-20 minutes or until golden brown, turning once after 12 minutes.

Crockpot Pulled Pork

Ingredients

• 14 oz can tomato sauce
• 3/4 can applesauce, unsweetened
• 3 Tbsp maple syrup or honey
• 1 Tbsp garlic powder
• 1/2 Tsp chili powder
• 1/2 tsp smoked paprika
• 1/4 tsp red pepper flakes
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp freshly ground black pepper
• 1 tsp liquid smoke
• 3 Tbsp whole wheat flour
• 2 -2.5 lb pork loin roast

Directions

• In a large crockpot, add all ingredients except pork and flour, and whisk to combine.
• Place pork roast in a slow cooker and spoon sauce over it. The meat won't be covered completely. Cover and cook on high for 3.5 - 4 hourse or on low for 5 -6 hours.
• Remove meat from slow cooker and shred with 2 forks.
• Add flour to the slow cooker and whisk to combine. Return meat to slow cooker. Stir to combine. Cover and cook for another 15-20 minutes.
• Serve warm, on a whole wheat bun with your favorite toppings or on a bed of brown rice/quinoa. 

Honey Ginger Chicken

Ingredients

• 4 Chicken Breasts (About 4.5 Oz. Each), Cut into bite size pieces!
• 1/2 C. Honey
• 3 Tbsp. Reduced Sodium Soy Sauce
• 1 Inch Fresh Ginger Root, Grated
• 2 Tbsp. Lime Juice
• 2 Tsp. Sesame Oil
• 1 Tsp. Rice Wine Vinegar
• 4 Garlic Cloves, Smashed
• 1 Medium Yellow Onion, Diced
• Salt & Pepper to Taste
• 1 Tbsp. Cornstarch
• 1 Tbsp. Water

Directions

• You may  want to line or lightly spray the inside of your slow cooker.
• Toss everything into a crock pot, except the cornstarch and water. Give it all a stir.
• Secure the lid and cook on low for at least 6-8 hours or high for 4-6 hours.
• About 30 minutes prior to serving, mix together the corn starch and water. Pour into the crock pot, stir, and allow to cook for about 30 minutes or until thickened to your liking.
• Once done, remove the lid and stir
• Serve warm over rice, noodles, or steamed veggies!

 
 

 
 

Bang Bang Shrimp and Rice

Ingredients

• 1 lb shrimp (about 50 shrimp), cooked or uncooked. shelled or deveined.
• 10 skewer sticks (optional)
• 3 T chobani plain greek yogurt
• 3 T chopped green onion, plus more for garnish
• 1½ T sweet chili sauce
• ½-3/4 T sriracha sauce
• 1 Cup Brown or Wild Rice
• 2 Cups of water

Directions

•  Cook rice first using the instructions on the package.
• (If you're grilling the shrimp on a grill, be sure to soak wooded skewers a couple minutes in water to avoid burning)
• Combine yogurt, onion, sweet chili sauce, and sriracha in a bowl and stir well. set aside.
• Place 5 shrimp on each skewer
• If shrimp are raw: Grill on each side for 5-8 minutes, until opaque and cooked through
• If shrimp are pre-cooked: Place shrimp skewers on a baking sheet and bake at 350 for 5-10 minutes
• Brush each hot skewer liberally with the sauce, on both sides
• Serve immediately over rice

Tomato Basil Pasta

I found this awesome recipe for pasta on Pinterest - added by Menu Musings. Not only does it taste GREAT, it was cheap to make. It only cost about $13.00 to purchase what I needed. This recipe made 4 servings...I'm sure it would make more if my husband's servings weren't so massive! Oh, and it only took me about 30 minutes to make. :) I hope you enjoy. This one is at the top of my favs list!

Ingredients

• 2 chicken breasts 
• kosher salt and black pepper
• 2 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil
• 2 cups chopped fresh tomatoes
• 2 tsp minced fresh garlic
• 4 Tbsp cold butter
• 1/2 cup fresh basil, chopped
• freshly grated Parmigiano reggiano cheese, for garnish (I used an Italian Blend for the cheese)
• Garlic and Herb seasoning

Directions

• Season chicken breasts with kosher salt,fresh cracked black pepper, and garlic and herb seasoning.   
• While waiting for the oil to heat up, go ahead and get your water going for the pasta.  If you don't do it early, you'll have to sit and wait on the pasta to be done at the end.
• When the oil is HOT, add the chicken breasts.  If the oil does not start sizzling immediately, then its not hot enough!  Adding meat to cold/cool oil will give you greasy meat!
• After about 4-5 minutes, the chicken breasts should be ready to turn. You'll want to cook them on the second side another 4-5 minutes, or until the juices run clear when you pierce them with a small sharp knife.  You don't want to OVER cook them, or they will be dry and tough.  If you pounded yours out thinner, they will cook faster than this.
• After the second side has been cooking for about 4 minutes, go ahead and add in the fresh tomatoes that you have chopped up.   There will be lots of steam, spitting, and sputtering! Next, add the fresh basil that you have chopped into ribbons, cold butter, and finally minced garlic.
• You will probably want to add some more kosher salt and black pepper to season the sauce.
• Stir all together in order to mix the spices. When your chicken is "done," turn the sauce down on the lowest setting to keep it all warm until the pasta is cooked, which should be any minute now.  At this point, if still waiting for the pasta, you can remove the cooked chicken to a cutting board, and after resting just a couple of minutes, cut the chicken into slices.
•  Divide the pasta among individual bowls, and top each with half of a chicken breast, sliced into pieces, and equal portions of the tomato basil sauce.  Top with more fresh basil and freshly grated Parmigiana reggiano cheese.