I love one dish dinners. They look fancy, they're so easy to make, and less dishes for me to wash!
This one was a big hit with my boys. They love anything chicken or bacon, and this has both!
The best part was that I only needed about 5 minutes of prep before I had the whole dish finished and stuck in the oven, but the boys still thought it looked fancy and impressive.
I don't have a million photos of this like some other dishes, but I'm probably going to make it again pretty soon, and I'll add more photos then, okay? :)
Garlic Rosemary Chicken Bake
serves 3
Ingredients:
3 whole chicken breasts (I used frozen ones, no thawing needed!)
3 russet potatoes
1/4 Cup garlic cloves, peeled
3 branches rosemary
3 strips bacon
2 teaspoons olive oil
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
Directions:
Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F. Drizzle 1 teaspoon olive oil onto the bottom of a 9x13 inch casserole dish.
Slice the potatoes into medallions and lay them flat in the dish. Lay the chicken breasts on top of the potatoes. Slice the bacon into 1" pieces and lay the pieces on top of the chicken and potatoes. Sprinkle the garlic cloves over the bacon, and lay the rosemary branches down as well. Season with the remaining 1 teaspoon olive oil, salt, pepper, and garlic powder and slide into the oven.
Bake for 60 minutes, or until the bacon and chicken are fully cooked.
Okay, so this isn't much of a recipe because its so simple. I guess its more of a public service announcement? Because garlic is awesome, especially when its roasted, so everyone should eat more of it because its delicious and I don't want to be the only one with crazy garlic breath.
I go through a ton of garlic, and I hate spending all my time peeling it so lately I've been buying the huge pre-peeled bag of it at Costco. Its so worth it.
This garlic spread is super yummy when served with good bread. I like using it with the best bread.
This spread is great for an appetizer, or I also like serving this with a big hearty bowl of black bean soup.
Roasted Garlic
Ingredients:
peeled garlic
olive oil
salt
black pepper
basil
oregano
cayenne
Directions:
Use whatever amounts you want of each ingredient and dump them all into a small oven safe container. Quickly stir them up a bit to evenly mix the flavors together.
Bake at 325 degrees F for 60-75 minutes with your container loosely covered in foil. The garlic is done when it is very tender and not too brown or firm.
Spread onto bread and enjoy! It should spread like warm butter.
We don't eat fast food very often. It's usually a special treat, or a "well, we're already out of the house, starving, and have no food at home". Of course you wouldn't know it by talking to Liam. He acts like we go all the time, and will point out every "Donald's" location he sees.
I'm not really a fan of fried foods, and I try to make everyone happy with their food, so I thought I'd make some healthy versions of fast food instead. I came up with
baked chicken nuggets
baked fries
chocolate covered strawberry shake (smoothie)
I used sweet potatoes for this recipe, they're just what I had on hand. Russet potatoes or yams could be used instead. Whatever you prefer.
Peel the potatoes and slice them up. I like mine like steak fries. Bonus if you cut them like steak fries because they take the same cooking time as the chicken so you can bake them for the same time.
Once the potatoes have been cut stick them into a freezer bag and season. This makes the seasoning distribution so much more even.
I always let the kids shake the bag. Next time I might have to video it. They get really into it!
Classic breading station for the chicken. Get a bowl each for flour, beaten egg, and seasoned breadcrumbs. Work left to right covering fresh defrosted chicken pieces one at a time in the contents of each bowl. Try to keep your fingers out of the contents as much as possible or you'll end up with "monster hands". Liam thinks that part is hilarious. Place the chicken pieces on a parchment covered baking sheet when they are ready.
Once the potatoes and chicken are prepped, bake together at 375 degrees for 30 minutes. If you want to you can broil them for 2 minutes at the end for extra crispiness.
This is one of Liam's favorite ways to have chicken. I only make it this way occasionally. I don't want him to get too used to the idea of "fast food style". :)
You know how people say that a great way to get kids to eat healthy is for them to cook their own food? Liam's hands down favorite chicken is when I give him carte blanche of my spice drawer and let him season a whole chicken breast for himself. My little string bean will inhale the whole thing that way! Crazy.
This meal all came about from a few days ago when we had NO groceries at home, we were doing a million errands around town, and Liam was being an angel (I know, right?). I promised him I'd split a milkshake with him on our way home, but the closet McDonald's milkshake machine was broken. Liam was devastated, so I told him I'd make him one at home. He had his heart set on strawberry, and I figured that would be the easiest flavor to make healthy anyway...
baked fries
ingredients:
4 medium potatoes (russets, yams, or sweet potatoes)
1 tbsp olive oil
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp black pepper
1/4 tsp garlic powder
1/4 tsp oregano
directions:
Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Peel potatoes and slice steak fry style
place potatoes slices in freezer bag with oil and seasonings. Shake well.
Place on a parchment lined baking sheet. Bake 30 minutes.
(optional) broil for 2 extra minutes for crispiness.
baked chicken nuggets
ingredients:
3 defrosted chicken breasts, cut into pieces
1 1/2 cups AP flour
2 eggs, well whisked
1 1/2 cups seasoned breadcrumbs (I like Italian seasonings)
2 tbsp parmesan
2 tbsp olive oil
garlic, salt, pepper, basil, chili powder to taste
directions:
Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Set out 3 bowls in a row. Left to right fill with flour, whisked eggs, and breadcrumbs with seasonings and olive oil.
Have a parchment covered baking sheet set out in easy reach of the bowls.
Quickly dredge chicken in the bowl contents left to right, keeping your fingers as clean as possible. Place finished chicken on baking sheet.
Bake for 30 minutes. Outside should be golden.
chocolate covered strawberry "shake"
ingredients:
12 oz. strawberry Greek yogurt
3 tbsp unsweetened cocoa powder
2 cups frozen strawberries
1 cup milk
1 tbsp honey (optional)
directions:
Place all ingredients in blender and blend! Pour and drink. Depending on the sweetness of the strawberries, honey may or may not be utilized.
This dish is comfort food to the max. And by comfort food I mean completely delicious while being heart attack inducing. This dish contains bacon, potatoes, cream, wine, and cheese. Basically, this dish gets tons of compliments, but its a good idea to not mention the ingredients before serving. Jeff couldn't get enough and ate two huge portions for dinner before he realized what he was eating! I see this as a great intro to french food for people who think french food is all snooty (ridiculous).
I don't make this dish very often because I usually cook pretty healthy meals, but Jeff loves it, and it makes the whole house smell SO good! Plus, Liam was pretty darn cute stalking me around the kitchen hinting oh so sly saying, "Mommy, I LOVE bacon!"
Start out by dicing up half a medium sized yellow onion and adding it to a hot pan with olive oil on medium heat. Stir occasionally and let soften.
Slice up six strips of bacon and add them to the pot.
Cook the onion and bacon for about 5 minutes.
Stir in the moscato and allow it to cook down mostly, about ten minutes. Surprised about the moscato? It was on a lark that I used it instead of something drier, but the sweetness really works, and it smells so good! Jeff even commented that each bite was full of flavor. He kept waiting for the ball to drop, thinking he just got one really saturated bite, but he said every bite was just as good.
Cut up six medium yukon gold potatoes and mix them in. Cook stirring occasionally until the potatoes have begun to soften.
Stir in half a cup of heavy cream. At this point also add a teaspoon of thyme.
Shred the Gruyere and stir it into the pot. I like to use my le crusuet pot so I don't have to transfer, but if you don't have a pot that can go on the stove AND in the oven, switch containers now and pot into the oven on the middle rack for 30-40 minutes, until golden, bubbly, and beautiful. I like to bake mine for 32 minutes and then broil for 2 minutes.
Remove from the oven and let sit out for five minutes to set.
Just look at this. The perfect cold night comfort food meal.
Serve with some good bread to soak everything up. Enjoy!
Heat the olive oil in the glazed cast iron pot on medium heat and toss in the diced onion. Once it becomes fragrant stir in the bacon. Stir them occasionally for about 10 minutes. Stir in the moscato and cook until mostly evaporated. Add the potatoes and cook for ten more minutes. At this point preheat the oven for 350 degrees F. Pour the cream into the mixture and stir for a minute or two. Add in the thyme. Fold in the shredded Gruyere evenly. If you do not have a le crusuet style pot and have been using a regular pot, now dump the food into an oven safe dish and put into the oven for 30-40 minutes. Remove from heat and allow to set on the counter for 5 minutes before serving.
Note: The bake time can differ depending on the size your potatoes are cut (mostly). I like to bake my dish for about 32 minutes, then broil for 2 minutes, just to get a nice golden crispy top.
This is a great easy breakfast option. You bake the eggs in individual mason jars and can eat them right out of the oven (well, after you allow them to cool a bit...), or seal them up and eat them up to a week later.
Even better, these can be customized to everyone's liking. I made these for Jeff so of course these contain bacon and cheese, but the mix-in options are endless.
Don't worry if the jars look very full directly out of the oven, the eggs loose the puffiness when they cool, and they sink down a bit. After they cool there is plenty of room to seal them and store them in the fridge.
Start by prepping your mix-ins, in this case bacon. Cook two strips of bacon and set aside.
I like using large measuring cups because they pour easily. Beat in the eggs, then add the remaining ingredients, and pour evenly into 3-4 mason jars depending on size. Sprinkle a bit of salt and pepper over top and they are ready to bake. It is so easy.
This is a good height to fill the jars.
Bake the jars on the oven rack for about 30 minutes, or until an inserted toothpick comes out clean. Don't be concerned if the jar contents have puffed up.
Warm and fluffy.
See, they shrink down to easily seal. Don't worry, there's still plenty egg-y goodness in each cup to fill you up. Just take the lid off and microwave for about a minute when you plan on eating them. So quick and easy. Great for busy morning breakfast on the go.
Easy Egg Bake:
Ingredients:
4 eggs
1/2 C milk
1/4 C shredded cheese
2 strips bacon, cooked
salt and pepper to taste
Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Cut the bacon into matchsticks and cook. Set aside.
2. Whisk the eggs well, add the milk, cheese, and bacon.
3. Pour the egg mixture evenly into 3-4 mason jars and sprinkle over top with salt and pepper.
4. Bake for about 30 minutes, until an inserted toothpick comes out clean.
5. Let cool slightly before eating. Otherwise, let cool completely, then seal and refrigerate for up to a week. Microwave with lid removed for about a minute or until warm.
I wasn't very familiar with spaghetti squash until recently. I had seen the occasional recipe using it on Pinterest, but that was about it. Last week we got one in our produce box and I was pretty excited to try it.
Random tangent: We get a produce box delivered to us every other week and it is my favorite thing ever! It is fresh, local, and has a good mix of basics (carrots and celery) and new or more exciting items (spaghetti squash and pomegranates). I'd been wanting to try spaghetti squash in particular for a while, but I probably would have taken longer to remember to get one if one wasn't literally dropped at my doorstep.
First step is to cut the spaghetti squash in half long wise and scrap out in seeds and gunk in the middle. Season lightly with olive oil, salt and pepper. Pop them in the oven at 350 degrees F for 45 minutes. For ease of cleanup place them on a lipped baking pan lined with parchment paper.
Remove from the oven when the squash is fork tender.
Note: I only used half of the squash for this recipe because it was a huge one. A single half still ended up being enough for four large servings. I roasted and scraped both halves, but put half in a freezer bag in the freezer (duh) for later use.
In the meantime start the marinara. Frankly, if you are in a rush or short on ingredients you can use store bought marinara, but I like this version better. I wanted marinara that was loaded with garlic, something that wouldn't be too thick and chunky to overpower the squash.
Dice the garlic and saute it in a bit of olive oil for a few minutes. Add 3 cups (fresh or canned) of diced tomato, and season to taste with basil, oregano, salt, pepper, and a dash of chili powder. Cook on medium heat until the tomato juice has cooked down a bit and thickened. If the sauce is done before the squash has finished cooking take it off heat and set it to the side.
When the squash is done take it out and let it cool to the touch. Then grab a fork and gently scrape out the squash. It should be very easy. All that should be left is the hard outer edge. Add the squash into the sauce and heat until warm. Mix well to incorporate the sauce.
Sprinkle with parmesan cheese if desired. I recommend having some crusty bread with this too. Use it to soak up sauce. So good!
As much as I love this recipe I would never lie and say that this tastes EXACTLY like pasta. It is totally different but still amazing. I feel like I had to say that because of my experience with tofu. I might have liked tofu but I was told it tasted JUST like vanilla ice cream, so of course I took a huge bite of it and have hated it ever since. So here it is again. Spaghetti squash does not taste or feel like pasta, but still goes well with marinara and is delicious.
This dish also reheats really well. You'd never know it was reheated in the microwave by the taste.
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basic spaghetti squash with marinara
by Liesl October-27-2014
like spaghetti but with way less calories
Ingredients
1/2 large spaghetti squash (or 1 whole small squash)
1 tbsp olive oil, divided
pinch salt and pepper to taste
4 cloves garlic, diced
3 cups tomatoes, diced (canned or fresh)
2 tsp basil
1 tsp oregano
pinch chili powder
1 tsp sugar (optional)
Instructions
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Cut squash in half length wise. Drizzle each half with 1 tsp olive oil, and sprinkle lightly with salt and pepper. Place on parchment paper on a lipped baking pan. Roast for 45 minutes or until fork tender. 2. While the squash is roasting start the sauce. Heat the diced garlic in a pan with the remaining 1 tsp olive oil. Cook on medium heat for several minutes until fragrant. Add the diced tomatoes and seasonings. If the sauce needs it, add the optional 1 tsp of sugar. Keep on medium heat, stirring occasionally until the liquid begins to evaporate and the sauce thickens. If the sauce is ready before the squash take it off heat and set to the side. 3. When the squash is done take it out of the oven and let it sit for a few minutes until it is cool enough to touch. If the squash is small use the whole thing, if it is large, set half aside to use later. Using a fork scrape the inside of the squash until all that is left is the hard outer part. The scraped squash should resemble spaghetti. Add this part in with the sauce and mix together well. When this is mixed well and heated to your liking, remove from heat and serve. Pairs well with parmesan and crusty bread. 4. If you are only using half the squash for the recipe scrape the other half into a freezer bag and store in the freezer to use later.
Details
Prep time: Cook time: Total time: Yield: 4 large servings
This is my all time favorite snack. I takes a while to make, bu most of that is idle oven time. These roasted garbanzo beans are crunchy, chewy, and salty. I love this dish for many reasons.
tastes delicious
healthy
doesn't require many ingredients
so easy
easy to eat
great source of protein (okay, a bit repetitive, but important!)
Start with two standard 15.5 oz cans of garbanzo beans. Drain, rinse them, and try to get out as much extra water as possible.
If you see typos, I've tried to find them all. I had A LOT. Many of my letters stick. That's what happens I guess when you have a really old laptop, and you find things like peanut butter stuck to the keys... Ah, the perks of having kids(?).
Dump the garbanzo beans into a freezer bag along with 2 tablespoons of red wine vinegar, one tablespoon each of olive oil and dijon mustard, and a teaspoon of sea salt. Remove any excess air and seal it shut.
This is Liam's favorite part. I asked him if he wanted to help me shake it all up to combine everything well. Well, as you can probably tell from he crazy blurry picture, he's doing a bang up job. Although, he's always a blur anyway.
Then he thought it would be awesome if I had to chase him to get he bag back...
Yup, looks good.
Empty the bag out onto a lipped baking sheet lined with parchment paper and shake gently. Strive for a single layer, if your pan is too small for this, that's okay.
Strangely I took a picture of the garbanzo beans before I shook them instead of after. Aim for them to be spread out more than this.
Stick them in the oven at 400 degrees F for 30 minutes. Then stir with a wooden spoon and rotate the pan. Set a timer for another 30 minutes, then remove.
The garbanzo beans should be crunchy, chewy, salty, and delicious. They shouldn't be hard or burned. They can be enjoyed warm or room temperature.
I recommend eating them the same day they are roasted, or the next day at the latest. They will technically last for at least a week in an airtight container on the counter, but they quickly loose the crunch (my favorite part).
I pour the garbanzo beans straight into a bowl and eat them like popcorn. They make such a yummy, easy, and protein rich healthy snack!
These don't last very long at our house. There are so many flavor combinations possible when roasting these. This one is my favorite, but Jeff is pushing for a BBQ variety. I'll try to work out the kinks and post that one.
If you want, toss another small pinch of sea salt on top after they come out of the oven.
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roasted garbanzo beans
by Liesl October-15-2014
crunchy, chewy, salty, and delicious
Ingredients
2 15.5 oz cans garbanzo beans, drained and rinsed
2 tbsp red wine vinegar
1 tbsp dijon mustard
1 tbsp olive oil
1 tsp sea salt
Instructions
1. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Place the drained and rinsed garbanzo beans in a freezer bag along with the red wine vinegar, olive oil, dijon mustard, and sea salt. Remove excess air and seal closed. Shake vigorously to mix. Dump the freezer bag contents out onto a lipped baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Try to spread the garbanzo beans out in a single layer. If your sheet is not quite big enough for that, no problem. 2. Slide the baking sheet onto the middle oven rack and set a timer for 30 minutes. When the timer goes off gently stir the garbanzo beans around with a wooden spoon and rotate the pan. Set the timer for another 30 minutes. When the timer goes off remove the pan from the oven. Pour he garbanzo beans out into a bowl and enjoy! I like them both warm and room temperature. I recommend eating them the same day they are roasted, or the next day a the latest. After that they lose the crunch and are just chewy (which is good too).
Details
Prep time: Cook time: Total time: Yield: a cereal bowlful
