Easy Caprese Chicken

Hello and welcome to one of the few meat-centered meals on my blog! 

Today's recipe was inspired by pinterest, my distaste for steak and fish, and my friend Alec's request to cook dinner together at his place :) 

                                   

Alec insisted that we improvise, but as he once messed up ramen, I was a bit more into the recipe. That said, the original plan was to grill, but sadly Atlanta decided it was the right day to rain. We tried to start the coals, but it didn't work out too well. The state of the kitchen was rather expected from a house of men, but it was great that they had a panini press. Once we cleaned it, we set to work... 

The Recipe: Easy Caprese Chicken (Recipe per serving)

• 1 Chicken Breast
• 1-2 slices of Mozzarella Cheese 
• 1-2 slices of Tomato
• 1 tablespoon Balsamic Vinegar
• 1 small slice Butter (about 1/2 tsp)
• Sprinkle of shredded Basil 
• Salt/Pepper
• 1 tsp Olive Oil

The Process: 

1. Heat the panini pan. 
2. Wash the chicken breast. **Raw meats must be handled very carefully!! 
3. Rub salt, pepper, and olive oil into the chicken breast. 
4. Place chicken breast in panini press. 
5. Wash hands! 
6. Heat pan on the stove. 
7. Make balsamic reduction in the pan by mixing butter and balsamic vinegar. 
8. Wash and slice tomato. 
9. Once chicken is nearly finished, place cheese on top and allow to melt. 
10. Remove chicken from panini pan with a spatula and plate. 
11. Place tomato slices on top, drizzle with balsamic reduction, and sprinkle with basil. 
12. Enjoy! 

The Calories: 

Chicken: 250 calories

Cheese: 78 calories

Tomato: 5 calories

Butter: 10 calories

Balsamic: 26 calories

Basil/Salt/Pepper: Negligible

Olive Oil: 40 calories

__________________________________

TOTAL: 409 calories

What went right: 

         The dish worked well together as a whole and we had fun cooking together! 

What went wrong: 

         Personally, I thought the chicken was a little dry which meant we either over-pressed it slightly or needed to prep it more. It was still very good considering our college kitchen. 

What I would do next time: 

         Marinate the chicken and either bake it or plan to be able to grill it rather than panini pressing it. 

Overall, the dish was a success and a great evening of kitchen experimentation and catching up with an old friend :) 

Fridge Cleaning Pasta Salad

Hello and welcome! 

Today's dish was inspired yet again by having lots of leftovers in the fridge that all look great on their own, but may or may not have worked well in anything else...

The Recipe:Fridge Cleaning Pasta Salad

• 1 cup Pasta (previously cooked)
• 1/4 grilled Chicken Breast (previously cooked)
• 1 cup halved Strawberries
• 1/8 Cucumber, sliced and chopped
• 1 cup Romaine Lettuce, chopped

The Process:

• Wrap the chicken in a paper towel
• Use a microwave to reheat the chicken. It should take 1-2 minutes on high. Be careful taking the chicken out of the microwave. 
• Put the pasta in a microwave-safe bowl with a paper towel over it.
• Use a microwave to reheat the pasta. It should take 1-2 minutes on high. Be careful taking the pasta out of the microwave.
• Toss all ingredients together. 
• Enjoy!

The Calories:

Pasta: 100 calories (depending on brand and type)

Chicken: 60 calories (depending on how it was marinated)

Strawberries: 49 calories

Cucumber: 8 calories

Lettuce: 16 calories

_____________________________

TOTAL: 241 calories

What went right:

          This was a very filling and well-rounded meal, especially considering the final calorie count!

What went wrong:

          While everything tasted good on its own, combining a very summery salad with a pollo pasta this way wasn't the best choice. It was good, but would have been better in separate courses. 

What I would do next time:

         As previously mentioned, I would make two separate dishes: one, a salad, with lettuce, cucumber, and strawberries. The other, pasta, chicken, and maybe some alfredo or marinara if I had some on hand. 

Would I make this in college?:

        Yeah, for a late night leftovers meal, this turned out pretty great! Definitely the kind of thing for a college student menu. 

Overall, I ended up with an easy, low-calorie meal that just needed to become two separate plates. I'd call that a successful fridge cleaning experiment :) 

   

What would you make if you were cleaning out your fridge?

Fridge Dump Lettuce Wraps

Welcome welcome! 

You know that feeling when you get home late from a long day and just want something easy that doesn't make you feel gross, but you only have leftovers in the fridge?

That was me right before I decided to make this dish. I hesitate to say "create", because Lettuce Wraps have existed long before my birth, but I don't know that anyone has tried this combination. 

We also had tortillas, so at first, I wanted to make tortilla wraps. However, if you've ever read the nutrition facts on the back of a tortilla package, you'll see that they contain a shocking amount of carbs and calories! (More on that later...). 

At first, with the lettuce, I considered making a salad with just the lettuce, chicken, and maybe some corn. But with the addition of exhaustion at 10:00pm, that small meal just screamed 'large bowl of ice cream for dessert'.

Hungry and tired, I was very close to resigning to my bed sans dinner. But then, I remembered a meal I was too picky to try at a friend's house about 10 years ago. We ordered in; I ate plain jasmine rice and miso soup while she and the rest of her family ate various exotic mixes wrapped in lettuce...or maybe it was cabbage? Either way, that blurry image of delicious wrapped in crunchy, healthy, low calorie, green boats sounded lovely and filling. 

So, 10 years later.....

The Recipe: Fridge Dump Lettuce Wraps

• Four leaves of Romaine lettuce
• One cup of cooked Jasmine Rice
• Half an ear of cooked yellow sweet corn
• One cup of steamed green beans
• Half a breast of cooked chicken

The Process: 

• Put the rice in a plastic container
• Arrange the rice so that there is a column of space in the center
• Fill the column halfway with water
• Press a balled paper towel sheet on top of the rice cup
• Use sensor reheat on a microwave to heat the rice
• Put rice in a bowl
• Wrap the half ear of corn in a paper towel sheet
• Use sensor reheat on a microwave to heat the corn
• Use a steak knife to cut the corn off the cob and add it to the bowl of rice
• Wrap the half chicken breast in a paper towel sheet
• Slice it into smaller pieces and add it to the rice and corn
• Use sensor reheat on a microwave to heat the corn
• Place the green beans in a Magic Bullet cup with the steamer lid and a small amount of water
• Microwave for one minute
• Remove and loosen the lid slightly
• Microwave for one more minute
• Add the green beans to the rice, corn, and chicken
• Mix the green beans, rice, corn, and chicken
• Spoon the mixture into lettuce as desired
• Wrap lettuce around the mixture
• Enjoy!

The Calories:

Lettuce: 19 calories

Rice: 205 calories

Green Beans: 34 calories

Chicken: 123 calories

________________________

TOTAL: 381 calories 

For 381 calories, this is a lot of food, and a very well-balanced meal! I'm so glad I used lettuce instead of tortillas because it allowed me to have more of the mixture and still end up with a low calorie count. Each tortilla would be about 150 calories, and I made four lettuce wraps, so would have used four tortillas. That would add about 600 calories to the total, making the meal 981 calories.

What went right:

         I successfully used quite a few leftovers in the fridge and they actually tasted very good together. The meal was light and healthy, but filling. 

What went wrong: 

         Nothing, really. It would have been nice to have made it with fresh ingredients I suppose.

Were I to use fresh ingredients rather than leftovers, this would be the new Process:

• Boil 1-1.5 cups of water in a small pot.
• Put a small amount of water in the large Magic Bullet cup with the steamer top.
• Boil 3-4 cups of water in a large pot.
• Light a grill, or heat up a Panini/grill pan on the stove.
• In the small pot, cook your rice on low-medium heat until it is saturated and sticky.
• In the Magic Bullet cup, put desired amount of green beans.
• In the large pot, boil an ear of corn for about 10 minutes.
• On the grill or Panini/grill pan, cook your chicken. Time for each will differ based on your product.
• Follow leftover recipe from this point forward.

What would I do next time?: 

         I would try using some other ingredients...avocado would be awesome, and possibly some tomatoes or pico de gallo. It might also be fun to experiment with different rices and seasonal veggies. I know a lot of people would add sauces or dressings to this, and I suppose it would keep the mix together as more of a dip, but it would also add unnecessary calories and sodium. With sauteed vegetables or fried rice and tofu, I might try it with soy sauce, peanut sauce, or teriyaki sauce...but only a little bit!

Would I make this in college?:

         This is probably going to happen at some point in college. For some reason "fridge dump" feels like a very college event. 

Overall, a very satisfying meal and I can't wait to try more versions!

Easy Chicken Wings

Hey chicken fans!

When making dinner for four, it's tough to find something everyone likes. This recipe was one of three dishes made on my Mushroom Risotto night, specifically to feed my younger brother. 

The Recipe: Easy Chicken Wings

• 8 raw chicken wings
• 1 package of Shake N Bake 

The Process: 

• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees
• Clean the raw chicken, being careful to not let it touch too many surfaces, as they will all need to be cleaned. 
• Place the chicken into a large grocery bag.
• Pour the Shake N Bake breading on top of the chicken.
• Shake the bag over the sink until all chicken wings are covered. 
• Lay the chicken on a baking pan.
• Bake for about 2 hours, or until the chicken has browned and caramelized.
• Allow to cool briefly before serving. 

The Calories:

Chicken: 92 calories per wing

Shake N Bake: 40 calories (5 per wing)

_______________________

TOTAL: 97 calories per wing

This looks like a healthy recipe, but Shake N Bake is almost all chemicals, which makes it very unhealthy. 

What went right:

          With the guidance of my father, who can probably make these one handed with his eyes closed by now, I got it all right. It's really a no-brainer to be honest, so that was nice. Kirby enjoyed them and finished them, so that was a major plus. I don't really know what they tasted like, since I didn't have any. 

What went wrong: 

          The cleanup for these is obnoxious and they have a very long baking time. Otherwise, I have no issues with them. 

What I would do next time: 

           It would be nice to learn how to make my own breading for the chicken. I know there are many ways to cook without breading and I have done this before, but it would be healthier and cheaper to learn to make the breading on my own for when I do want to cook this way. It might even be possible to crumble my Garlic Sesame Croutons and add some extra spices to it as a breading...

Would I do this in college?: 

           Personally, I prefer thighs and legs to wings and it would be cheaper and healthier to make my own breading. Otherwise, yes, I think it is a great process to know and I will definitely be using it in the future.

Lean Salad Sandwich

 Hey food fans!

This is somewhat of a late night leftover sandwich, as we had chicken a few nights prior, only a few slices of ham left, and part of a loaf of french bread. Simple, no cooking needed, and delicious :)

The Recipe: Lean Salad Sandwich

• 2 oz low sodium Ham
• 1/4 grilled chicken breast
• 3 slices of tomato
• 5 slices of cucumber
• 4 leaves of Romaine lettuce, chopped
• 6 inches of french bread

The Process:

• Slice your french bread in half
• Lay down the ham across both sides
• Slice the chicken and lay it across one side
• Lay cucumber across the non-chicken side
• Slice the tomato and lay it across the chicken side
• Wash and chop the lettuce and toss it on the cucumber side
• Close your sandwich, and enjoy!

The Calories:

French Bread: 200 calories

Ham: 60 calories

Chicken: 100 calories

Tomato: 11 calories

Cucumber: 6 calories

Lettuce: 8 calories

________________________

TOTAL: 385 calories

That's awesome for a very filling sandwich, with rich bread and fresh, all natural ingredients. This recipe works well because it has a strong balance of crunch, meat, vegetable, juicy, and dry ingredients. It is most notably healthy because it does not have mayo, mustard, dressing, or any other kind of high-sodium, low nutrient value condiments. It is these additions and other chemical additives that make what could be a healthy sandwich into a problem. 

What went right:

          Everything...it's kinda hard to screw up...

What went wrong: 

          Nothing :)

What would I do next time: 

          To make this more salad-like, I might try hollowing out the bread; making croutons from the insides; loading it with lettuce first and then chopped tomato, cucumber, and chicken; using ham cubes or bacon pieces; and finally adding the croutons on "top", closing the sandwich, and eating it that way. It would become somewhat of an inverted sandwich, with all the meat at the center, surrounded by lettuce. This might also make the sandwich easier to close and eat. 

Will I do this in college:

        I think a late night leftover sandwich sounds like a very collegiate thing to do, don't you agree?

You may be asking,  'Who really needs a recipe to make a sandwich?' I don't, necessarily, when I'm tired and have nothing else that needs my immediate attention. But in college, at 2am, when I have papers to write and about zero brain cells left to focus on what I want to eat? I'd rather be able to scroll through my blog, see a nice and easy healthy sandwich, and make that than turn to whatever other snacking I can get my hands on in the same amount of time.