Avocado Chicken Melt

My husband decided to invite some family over for dinner last minute so I quickly changed what was for dinner. With little time to prepare this was my solution and it was a hit! With just a few ingredients it makes for a great quick meal! Win in my book!

Avocado Chicken Melt
4 SERVINGS 
PREP: 15 minutes           COOK: 40 minutes            READY IN: 55 minutes

SIMPLE	HEALTHY	YUM

INGREDIENTS

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• 4 boneless skinless chicken breast thawed
• 1 egg white
• 1 cup breadcrumbs 
• 1 tablespoon italian seasoning 
• 1 teaspoon red pepper flakes (optional) 
• 1 avocado, sliced
• 4 pieces provolone cheese

DIRECTIONS

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1. Preheat oven to 400º. Salt and pepper your chicken. 
2. Place egg in separate bowl and breadcrumbs in another. 
3. Dip chicken in egg and then cover with breadcrumbs and place in a 9x13 pan. Repeat with remaining chicken. 
4. Sprinkle Italian seasoning and red pepper flakes over tops of chicken breast. Bake uncovered for 30 minutes. 
5. Once chicken is done, place a few slices of avocado over each chicken breast and then top with cheese. 
6. Place back in oven for 5 minutes or until cheese is melted.

NUTRITION FACTS

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  1 chicken breast serving   370 calories  16g fat  16g carbs   43g protein   1g sugar   

Enjoy!

Italian Crockpot Chicken

You know those pins that have just  been sitting in your "recipe" board for months or even years? There they stay, looking delicious, but you still haven't tried them. Poor things.

I periodically feel bad for those poor lonely pins. So I'll scroll through my board and pick out the ones I haven't tried yet. This Italian Crock pot Chicken is one of those. I've had it for years and always look at it and think "Man, that looks good!" but never do anything about it. The other day I did something about it.

And boy am I glad! This crock pot recipe is perfectly simple and as yummy as it looks. It's a good way to spice up your chicken recipes - because if you're anything like me, you have only a few that get put on repeat. When I cooked this one I used frozen chicken, but if you get home from work and are in a hurry to make dinner - I'm sure thawed would work just fine as well.

Italian Crockpot Chicken
6 SERVINGS 
PREP: 20 minutes           COOK: 6-8 hours minutes            READY IN: 6-8 hours 20 minutes

SIMPLE	HEALTHY	YUM

INGREDIENTS

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• 4 chicken breasts, frozen (for faster cooking, use thawed chicken breast.)
• 16 oz. light Italian dressing
• 1/2 cup Parmesan cheese
• 1 tablespoon Italian Seasoning
• 4-6 potatoes, scrubbed and cut into 1 inch pieces
• 1 pound baby carrots

DIRECTIONS

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1. Place chicken in bottom of crockpot. Pour half of the Italian dressing over chicken.
2. Add Parmesan and seasoning.
3. Pour potatoes and carrots on top. Add remaining Italian dressing.
4. Cook on low for 6-8 hours. (Time adjusted for thawed chicken is usually 3-4 hours)

NUTRITION FACTS

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    1 serving    557 calories   26.5 g fat   36 g carbs    43.4 g protein    8.9 g sugar   

Enjoy!
Recipe adapted from Crock-a-doodle-do

Steak Roll-Ups

Have you ever been told not to play with your food?

Have you said that to your children?

Well this tasty dish allows just that and they are best eaten with your hands! Cooking is always more fun with you can get creative with your food. I wanted to show off my skills to my husband so I decided to use my fancy mandolin to slice my vegetables. I apparently got too cocky and sliced my finger. ouch. It wouldn't stop bleeding, so he had to finish cooking as I gave him instructions (so its not TOO hard). I admit, it's not the best way to get your husband to cook for you, but hey I'll take it!

I'm not a huge fan of balsamic vinegar, but the glaze was pretty tasty so I'd recommend giving it a try. I might serve it just with steak sauce next time. Thanks to my sister-in-law, Kaitlyn, she introduced me to Sweet Baby Rays sauce. I could drink the bottle. It makes everything better.

Steak Roll-Ups

2 SERVINGS (makes about 5 rolls) 

PREP: 30 minutes           COOK:10 minutes            READY IN: 40 minutes

SIMPLE	HEALTHY	YUM

INGREDIENTS

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• 1 lb skirt steak or thinly sliced sirloin
• Steak Seasoning of your choice (I just used seasoning salt)
• 1 carrot
• 1 red bell pepper
• 1/2 zucchini
• 2 cloves garlic
• 1 tsp Italian seasoning 

Balsalmic Glaze (optional)

• 2 tablespoons butter
• 2 tablespoons shallots, finely chopped
• 1/4 cup balsamic vinegar
• 2 tablespoons brown sugar
• 1/4 cup beef broth

DIRECTIONS

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1. Trim your meat and pound it with a meat tenderizer. Cut meat into 2-3 inch strips (going along the length of the meat). Sprinkle both sides with salt, pepper, and steak seasoning of your choice. Set aside in fridge for 30minutes. 
2. Cut vegetables into thin strips, I just used my simple slicer mandolin to do this, but a knife works too. Make the length of your vegetables a little wider than your steak strips. 
3. Peal and finely chop your garlic. 
4. Saute vegetables and garlic in a pan with a little olive oil for about 2-3 minutes. Sprinkle with italian seasoning and set aside.
5. Meanwhile, in a separate pan, start making your glaze. Melt the butter. Add in shallots, vinegar, sugar and beef broth. Cook until shallots are transparent and then set aside. 
6. Now the fun part. Take your steak and place in a good amount of the vegetables. Roll the steak and secure with a toothpick. Repeat step for remaining steak strips. 
7. On medium heat add a little oil, just enough to coat the pan. Add in your rolls. Cook each side until brown, or your desired doneness for steak. 
8. Serve with balsamic sauce spooned over the top. Don't forget to remove the toothpick before digging in!

NUTRITION FACTS

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    1 roll w/o glaze    130 calories   6g fat   3g carbs    14g protein    2g sugar   

Enjoy!
Recipe adapted from http://picturetherecipe.com

Cauliflower Waffles

The name might throw you off, but I have never eaten these for breakfast. You could, and it would probably be awesome, but I use these more as a side dish. Think of them like fritters, and you could make them look like fritters too if you don't have a waffle maker. They are incredibly light and the kids think they're getting something special. Little do they know, I'm just really good at tricking them. Muah-hahahahaha!

Cauliflower Waffles
4 SERVINGS  (1 full waffle)
PREP: 15 minutes           COOK: 5 minutes            READY IN: 20 minutes

SIMPLE	HEALTHY	YUM

INGREDIENTS

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• 1 cup raw grated cauliflower
• 1/2 cup cheese (I used colby jack)
• 2 eggs
• 1 teaspoon Italian seasoning

DIRECTIONS

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1. In a medium bowl, mix together all the ingredients. 
2. Pour into waffle maker and cook until it says it's ready! (I noticed mine took a little longer to cook than a normal waffle).
3. Serve!

NUTRITION FACTS

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    1/4 waffle    152 calories   11.6g fat   2.6g carbs    9.3g protein    0.9g sugar   

Enjoy!
Inspiration from Joy the Baker.