Stovetop Tomato Basil Chicken

So I'm a big advocate of "using what you have" but realistically,  there will come days where you do not want to eat what's in your freezer! Yesterday was a big example of that for me -- I needed a recipe, and fast. Plus, I was feeling inspired. I needed to pick up Austin from the airport after work, and that only left me an hour to grocery shop, get back to my apartment, and head to Reagan. Wonder Woman? Imagine that.

Leaving work, I started to google healthy recipes that had tomatoes. Personally, I'm not a fan of tomato-heavy recipes (my dad eats them raw and it makes me squirm, even though I know they're an incredible source of lycopene) but I was in the mood for something with Italian flair. Plus, we're on the cusp of tomato season (summer) so I knew tomatoes would be on sale. After googling for a while, I found this incredible recipe for Tomato Basil Chicken from LaaLoosh, a blog that specializes in Weight Watchers recipes (how did I not know about it before -- LaaLoosh, you are now one of my favorites!!!)

I was impressed about the way this dish is a single pot dish (eliminating the complaining mumbles that I usually hear/ignore as Austin loads the dishwasher) and is so easy to put together. It allowed me to be in and out of the grocery store in 15 minutes (and lucky for me, tomatoes on the vine were on sale, so I went with those instead of the grape tomatoes LaaLoosh used.) Besides that, I also made LaaLoosh's recipe my own by adding more basil for punch, as well as a fresh red bell pepper I had on hand. I added the pepper at the very end, so it added a nice fresh crunch! All in all, I highly recommend this next time you want to do a quick, easy, flavorful dinner -- straight from stove to table. Lay a towel down, and let's go.

Servings: 6

What You'll Need:

• 1.5lbs of raw boneless chicken breast (skin removed)
• 1.5lbs is about a 3-breast package
• 4 medium-sized tomatoes, cut into wedges
• LaaLoosh used grape tomatoes, so if you have that, go ahead!
• 1 cup fresh basil chopped (about 10-15 leaves)
• 1 good tbsp light spreadable butter (like I Can't Believe it's Not Butter or Land O' Lakes)
• Salt, Pepper
• Garlic Powder
• Dried Oregano (or Italian Seasoning)
• Cooking Spray

  

  Candlelight dinner, anyone? =)

The Step-by-Step:

1. Carefully rinse and pat dry the chicken breasts with paper towels. Slice each breast in two (long-ways) until you have six portions, and lay the chicken on a plate.
2. Season the chicken with the oregano, garlic powder, salt, and pepper.
3. In a pan coated with cooking spray, cook the chicken over medium heat for about 3 minutes per side. If your pan isn't big enough, you may have to do this in batches. When you are done with the last of the chicken, place all of it in the pan.
4. Add the tomatoes and most of the basil. After about two minutes, give it a good stir to make sure all of the chicken gets the flavor punch! You'll start to notice that the tomato is releasing lots of liquid at this point -- that is good!
5. After about 5 more minutes, turn off the heat, and stir in the butter. Add the remaining touch of fresh basil, and season with a little more salt and pepper until it tastes just right to you.
6. Serve over pasta, brown rice, on it's own, or even over fresh kale (we had it salad style!)

Again, I can't stress enough how much I loved this recipe (Austin raved too!) Not only that, but I want to stress how important it is to be open to other bloggers out there and learn from them -- cooking is not new and there are people out there that can teach you a thing or two -- so thank you LaaLoosh!! Lastly, be humble enough to use what you have (example: I used garlic powder because I forgot to get fresh garlic at the store) when trying something new -- and have the confidence to know that if you put enough love in it, it will taste great!

xoxo n

Recipe Adapted from LaaLoosh

Photos my own

Cowboy Eggs (Huevos Rancheros)

So... I wasn't joking about this Mexican craze I'm on.

In all seriousness, between the corn, avocado, tomato, fresh cilantro -- Mexican people know how to get down with the summertime produce (I wasn't referring to the cheesy/greasy Taco Bell-type enchiladas that many of us think is Mexican food.)

Huevos Rancheros -- or "Cowboy eggs" as I endearingly like to call them -- is a TexMex style dish, kind of like a deconstructed breakfast taco (a Texas staple -- seriously, if you are ever in Houston, visit Soliz Casa de Tacos across the street from my old high school.) The flavors blend together so beautifully, Taco Bell will never again cross your mind. Not to mention, this is so easy to make a boyfriend can do it (no offense to the guys; see picture below.) All in all, this dish is perfect for a weekend breakfast at home complete with a cup of hot coffee in your favorite mug (think of me and sprinkle in some cinnamon to make it Mexican.)

Servings: Two

What you'll need:

• 1 whole egg
• 6 egg whites (you can crack the eggs and remove the yolks yourself, or you can use the liquid egg whites that come in a carton in the dairy aisle -- your choice)
• Salt and pepper
• Fresh cherry tomatoes (I used around 12 and cut them into small pieces -- you can always substitute for salsa if you have any lying around)
• 1 can black beans
• 1/2 an avocado, cut into cubes
• 1/2 an onion, diced into small pieces
• Cooking spray/frying pan/sauce pan/stove
• OPTIONAL: fajita seasoning (not necessary to make this taste great, but if you have it, use it!)
• OPTIONAL: a couple spinach leaves
• OPTIONAL: any seafood leftovers you have in your fridge (I put some scallops and shrimp to good use here.)

Step-by-Step:

1. Heat small saucepan on low heat; pour in black beans.
2. While black beans are heating up, mix eggs, egg whites, salt, pepper, and onion (optional: fajita seasoning) in a small bowl.
3. Heat a small frying pan on medium-high heat and spray with cooking spray. Add the egg mixture (Optional step: if you have any cooked seafood, or even leftover chicken, add this to the pan first and let it sizzle for about 2 min before adding the eggs right on top.)
4. After the egg mixture starts to cook (30 seconds at most,) start to stir with a spatula. The eggs should be half-runny (raw eggs) and half-clumpy (cooked eggs.) Let cook a little longer, then stir again. Repeat until there is no more raw egg moving around in the pan (about 4-5 min total.) Remove the egg mixture and set aside.
5. To serve, spoon half of the black beans neatly in the center of the plate. On top, place half of the egg mixture, following with some avocado chunks and tomatoes. If you have any onion pieces left on your counter, sprinkle them on too. If you have some spinach, slice the leaves into small strips and gently place on top of your haystack (get it? cowboy? no? ok fine.)

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By the way, I'm coming back to Houston for Thanksgiving this year -- Soliz, I'm coming for ya! Do y'all do call-in's two months in advance? I'll take two Darlene's, please -- you know what to do.

xoxo n

Hold on a minute...

Did you know that two whole eggs has about 140 calories, while three egg whites (the clear part of a raw egg) has about 50 calories? Egg whites have less cholesterol, calories, and fat than whole eggs, but in substituting, you miss pretty much 0 flavor. Last time I checked, none of us know what just an egg yolk tastes like versus the rest of the egg. Everything tastes like, well, an egg! There are some things that an egg yolk is good for, and those things are iron, vitamins B12 and D for starters. So for this recipe, I left in one egg yolk and subbed the rest for whites. Great way to have the best of both worlds (and saving your calories for better things -- like chocolate.)

Source: fitsugar