Category: Dinner

Everything Bagel Chicken

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I LOVE Trader Joe’s Everything but the Bagel seasoning. I eat it with eggs, avocado toast and most recently, chicken! The flavors pair so perfectly and mixing it with the panko gives the chicken a wonderful crispy texture. I cooked these in the air fryer but have also made them in the oven and they turned out great. These were made with chicken tenders but you can also use breasts, just increase the cooking time.

Ingredients

  • 1 package chicken tenders
  • 1-2 eggs
  • 1/2 cup panko breadcrumbs
  • 2 tablespoons everything but the bagel seasoning
  • 1/2 tablespoon garlic powder
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • Few grounds of pepper

Directions

  1. If using an oven, preheat to 425
  2. Remove chicken from package
  3. Whisk the egg(s) in a bowl
  4. In a separate bowl, combine remaining ingredients
  5. One tender at a time, coat first in whisked egg and then in panko mix (I like to use tongs but feel free to use a fork or just your hands). Place on baking sheet covered with parchment paper
  6. If using an air fryer, spray both sides of chicken with olive oil and bake at 400 for 5-6 minutes per side
  7. If using an oven, bake on baking sheet for 20-25 minutes

I love these on top of a salad but they are also great with air fryer sweet potato fries!

Fall Harvest Salad

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My go-to order at Sweetgreen is their Harvest Bowl. The combination of kale, wild rice, apples, sweet potatoes, chicken, goat cheese and almonds is perfectly hearty and satisfying. I’ve attempted to recreate this bowl at home a few times and I think I have it figured out! I modified the ingredients a bit but the result is pretty close to perfect. If you have leftover quinoa and/or butternut squash, this recipe comes together in under 10 minutes. If you have to cook those, it takes a little longer but still worth it!

Feel free to play around with the ingredients! I didn’t add chicken but the Sweetgreen salad does. I also subbed butternut squash for sweet potatoes but either would be great. And I used pecans but walnuts, almonds, etc would also work. The Sweetgreen salad uses a balsamic vinaigrette but I made a quick lemon dijon dressing and it was perfect.

Ingredients

  • 1-1.5 cups baby kale
  • 1/3 cup quinoa (or rice)
  • 1/2 cup roasted butternut squash (or sweet potatoes)
  • 1/2 apple, cubed (I used honeycrisp)
  • 2 tbsp chopped pecans (or almonds)
  • 1 tbsp goat cheese, crumbled

For the dressing

  • 2 tablespoons olive oil
  • 1/2 tsp dijon
  • Juice from 1/2 lemon
  • Salt & pepper to taste

Ingredients

  1. Layer the ingredients! I usually start with the kale and quinoa, add the squash and apples and then top with the pecans and goat cheese
  2. Drizzle the dressing and enjoy!

Macadamia Cashew Chicken Wraps

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Before I start, this recipe requires a bit more prep time than the ones I usually post. You have to dice up the chicken into bite-size pieces which took me ~10 minutes to do and, if you’re anything like me, handling raw chicken for that long isn’t very appealing. BUT, this recipe is worth it. Trust me, I don’t mess with raw chicken for just anything.

The flavors and textures of the macadamia nuts, cashews, chicken, and vegetables combine into perfect bites. The amount of sauce is just right for the lettuce wraps (coats it well but no sauce squeezing out and causing a mess) but if you choose to serve this over rice instead, I would suggest making a little extra sauce.

I used romaine leaves because that’s what I had on hand but iceberg or butter lettuce may make it slightly easier to eat.

Ingredients

  • 1 lb chicken breasts
  • 3 tablespoons corn starch
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 1/2 teaspoon pepper
  • 2 tablespoons sesame oil
  • 1 tablespoon olive oil
  • 2 cups broccoli florets
  • 1 cup diced red bell pepper
  • 1/2 cup diced onion
  • 1/2 cup roasted macadamia nuts
  • 1/2 cup roasted cashews
  • 3 tablespoons soy sauce
  • 1 tablespoon rice wine vinegar
  • 1 tablespoon Sriracha
  • 1 tablespoon maple syrup
  • 2 garlic cloves, minced
  • 8 large romaine leaves

Directions

  1. Dice chicken breasts into bite-size pieces
  2. Transfer into a large ziplock and add cornstarch, salt and pepper. Seal and toss until coated
  3. In a large skillet, heat sesame oil and olive oil. Add chicken and cook until no longer pink
  4. Once chicken is mostly cooked, add broccoli, onion and peppers and cook for additional 5 minutes
  5. While the vegetables are cooking, roughly chop cashews and macadamia nuts and add to skillet
  6. Combine soy sauce, rice wine vinegar, sriracha, maple syrup and garlic in a small bowl and pour into skillet
  7. Cook in sauce for additional 2-3 minutes
  8. Prepare the romaine leaves — cut off stem, wash and dry
  9. Evenly distribute chicken mixture into romaine leaves
  10. Serve warm!

Baked Spaghetti Squash

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This baked spaghetti squash is one of my favorite recipes to make. It’s healthy but doesn’t taste too healthy which, in my opinion, is the perfect recipe. I like to include onion and broccoli but this would also be great with peppers, zucchini or any other vegetables you have at home. The Italian sausage gives it a ton of flavor and slight spice but you can easily sub in ground turkey or ground beef. The egg provides it a little extra protein while binding everything together and the melted mozzarella gives it a great crunchy top! I made this recipe to be half dairy-free so one side had dairy-free mozzarella which you can clearly see from the photos– turns out, it doesn’t melt quite the same!

This recipe would be great for dinner parties or to serve a crowd because it has to bake for an hour. You can prep any sides you’re serving with it or spend time with your guests and all you do is pull it out, let it rest for a few minutes and serve it warm! It also makes great leftovers! I made this to share with one other person and am stoked to have leftovers for lunch for the next few days.

Left- non-dairy mozzarella. Right- regular mozzarella

Total Time Required: 2 hours

Prep Time: 30 minutes

Yields: 6-8 servings

Ingredients

  • 1 spaghetti squash
  • 1 lb (4 links) Italian sausage, removed from casing (I used pre-cooked)
  • 1 cup onion, diced
  • 1 cup broccoli florets
  • 1 cup pizza sauce
  • 1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
  • 3 eggs, whisked
  • 1 cup shredded mozzarella
  • Salt & pepper

Directions

  1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees
  2. Carefully cut spaghetti squash in half long-ways (I first make small slices along the line I want to cut- makes it much easier!)
  3. Add olive oil, salt and pepper to cut-side of both halves
  4. Place spaghetti squash cut-side down on a greased cookie sheet and bake for 20 minutes (lower oven temperature to 350 when the squash comes out)
  5. Heat olive oil in a large pan and add onion and broccoli
  6. Once onion and broccoli have browned slightly, add Italian sausage and cook for 3-5 minutes (if not pre-cooked, cook until no pink remains)
  7. Add pizza sauce, thyme, salt and pepper and allow to simmer for a few minutes
  8. Once the spaghetti squash is cool enough, use a fork to remove strands and place in a greased 9×12 baking dish
  9. Pour pizza sauce mixture over spaghetti squash and mix together
  10. Add in whisked eggs and combine thoroughly
  11. Sprinkle mozzarella cheese on top
  12. Bake for an hour at 350
  13. Allow to rest for a few minutes before slicing and enjoy!

Grilled Turkey Burgers & Kale Chips

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Turkey burgers and kale chips are a great healthy alternative to the traditional burger and fries. Both recipes are simple to make and come together in under 45 minutes. It is a perfect meal for a summer evening!

Grilled Turkey Burgers

Prep Time: 10 minutes

Total Time Required: 40 minutes

Yields: 4 burgers

Ingredients

  • 1.5 lb ground turkey
  • 1/2 sweet onion, diced (we caramelized the other half and used as a topping!)
  • 2 tablespoons pesto
  • 1 egg
  • 1/2 cup panko bread crumbs
  • 4 hamburger buns
  • 4 slices cheddar cheese

Directions

  1. Turn grill onto medium heat
  2. Combine all ingredients in a bowl
  3. Form into 4 patties
  4. Grease grill and add patties, cooking for 6-10 minutes per side or until a meat thermometer reads 165 degrees
  5. Add buns to grill face down until they are lightly charred
  6. Add cheese, caramelized onions or any other toppings you like on your burger!

Kale Chips

Prep time: 5 minutes

Total Time Required: 20 minutes

Yields: 4 servings

Ingredients

  • 1 head of Kale
  • 2 tablespoons olive oil
  • 1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
  • Salt & pepper to taste

Directions

  1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees
  2. Wash and dry kale well
  3. Cut leaves from stem and cut into 2-4 inch pieces
  4. Place kale pieces in a bowl, drizzle with olive oil, add garlic powder, salt & pepper and toss thoroughly
  5. Cover a baking sheet with aluminum foil and add kale
  6. Bake for 10-15 minutes until kale is crispy but not yet browned