Easy Baked Pesto Chicken

I love pesto but seem to always forget about it when I am searching for recipes. This one jumped out at me and was so easy and flavorful. The whole family loved it. Went great with a side of steamed broccoli.

Ingredients: 
4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
salt and fresh ground black pepper for seasoning chicken
1/2 cup basil pesto 
2 oz. (1/2 cup) grated low-fat mozzarella cheese (we, of course, used way more :)

Instructions: 

Preheat oven to 375F. Trim all visible fat and tendons from chicken pieces, then cut each chicken breast lengthwise into 2 or 3 pieces. 

Spray a 9" x 13" baking dish with non-stick spray, then spread 1/4 cup basil pesto over the bottom of the dish. Lay chicken strips over the pesto, then spread 1/4 cup more basil pesto over the chicken. 

Cover the baking dish with aluminum foil and bake the chicken for 25-30 minutes, just until chicken is barely firm and cooked through. (Don't cook too much at this point, or the chicken will be overcooked by the time the cheese is melted and browned.)

When chicken is barely cooked through, remove foil and sprinkle chicken with 1/2 cup grated mozzarella cheese. Put dish back into the oven without foil and cook 5 minutes more, just until cheese is melted. (If your broiler is separate from the oven, start preheating it when you take the chicken out.) After I melted the cheese for 5 minutes I switched my oven to broil and broiled for 5 minutes more, just long enough to get the cheese lightly browned.

Recipe: http://www.kalynskitchen.com/

One Pan Roasted Peppers, Onions, and Sausages

This was another quick, simple meal that was delicious! Cheers all around the table :)

Ingredients 
2 large onions 
3-4 yellow, orange, or red bell peppers 
2-3 tablespoons olive oil 
2 garlic cloves, minced 
2 teaspoons Italian seasoning 
Salt & Pepper, to taste 
4 Aidell’s Chicken & Apple Sausages, chopped into bite-size pieces 

Instructions 
1. Heat oven to 450 degrees. Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper. 
2. Chop the onions and peppers in even, bite-sized chunks. Drizzle with olive oil and toss to coat, then add garlic, salt & pepper, and sprinkle with seasoning. Toss again to coat everything evenly, then spread around the cookie sheet in an even layer. 
3. Roast the onions & peppers for 15 minutes in the oven, then remove and add the pre-cooked Aidell’s sausage chunks around the pan. Return the pan to the oven for an additional 15 minutes, or until the vegetables begin to look roasted and caramelized around the edges. 
4. Serve with zucchini noodles or pasta and your favorite marinara sauce. 

Recipe: http://houseofnasheats.com/one-pan-roasted-peppers-onions-sausages/

Sheet Pan Fajitas

This is such a simple idea, but just so delicious! I love roasted veggies and this meal nailed the flavor and texture perfectly.

Ingredients:

• 1 pound chicken breasts - sliced thinly
• 1 red pepper - sliced
• 1 green pepper - sliced
• 1 yellow pepper - sliced
• 1 onion - halved and cut in slices
• ¼ cup olive oil
• 2 teaspoons chili powder
• 1 teaspoon cumin
• ½ teaspoon garlic powder
• Pinch of chili flakes
• 1 teaspoon salt
• ½ teaspoon ground pepper

1. Preheat oven to 400
2. In small bowl combine oil, chili powder, cumin, chili flakes, garlic, salt and pepper.
3. Toss chicken, veggies and oil mixture together on a large sheet pan with one inch edge.
4. Spread out evenly.
5. Bake for 25-30 minutes until chicken is cooked and the veggies are soft with a crispy edge.
6. Serve with tortillas, sour cream, avocado and all your favorite fajita fixins!

Recipe: http://laughingspatula.com/sheet-pan-fajitas/

One Pot Cheesy Taco Skillet

Tacos are a weekly staple around here, but this was a great way of adding in tons of veggies and topping it off with cheese :) The kids were able to eat it with tortilla chips and Justin and I over lettuce (don't get me wrong here...I wanted those chips!). But it was another easy recipe to incorporate low carb for our whole family.

Ingredients:

• 1 lb. lean ground beef
• 1 large yellow onion, diced
• 2 bell peppers, diced
• 1 can diced tomatoes with green chilies
• 1-2 large zucchinis, diced (we used one)
• taco seasoning
• 3 cups baby kale/spinach mixture (this sounds like a lot- it cooks down to a small amount), optional
• 1 1/2 cups shredded cheddar and jack cheese
• green onions, to garnish

1. In a large pan, lightly brown ground beef and crumble well.
2. Drain excess fat.
3. Add onions, zucchini, and peppers, and cook until browned.
4. Add canned tomatoes, taco seasoning, and any water needed for taco seasoning to evenly coat mixture (up to 1 tbsp- the liquid from the tomatoes will help)
5. Add greens and let fully wilt.
6. Mix well.
7. Cover with shredded cheese and let cheese melt.
8. When cheese is melted, serve over a bed of lettuce, rice, or in a taco or burrito!

Nutrition:

Calories: 330 Fat: 14.2 Sat. Fat: 7.6 Trans Fat:0 Carbs: 12.9 Sugar: 5.8 Fiber: 3.5 Protein: 36.8

Recipe: http://sweetcsdesigns.com

Chicken Alfredo Spaghetti Squash

This was a huge hit with the kids. And, it's very easy to sub in pasta for the non- low carb eaters :). We doubled the original recipe and I had run out of sage so we omitted it. It was very tasty!

Ingredients

• 4 tbsp butter
• 4 tsp garlic, minced (4 cloves)
• 2 tsp sage
• 4 tbsp flour
• 2 cups chicken broth
• 1 cup half & half
• 8 oz cream cheese, cubed
• 1 cup Parmesan cheese, shredded
• 1 cup chicken, cooked & shredded
• 5 cups spaghetti squash, cooked
• salt, pepper, and parsley, to taste

1. Melt butter in a skillet over medium heat.
2. Add garlic and sage and cook for about one minute.
3. Stir in the flour and cook for about one minute, stirring constantly.
4. Whisk in the chicken broth and then the half & half.
5. Stir in the cream cheese and Parmesan cheese until smooth.
6. Add the cooked spaghetti squash and the cooked, shredded chicken. Cook until heated through.
7. Taste the chicken alfredo spaghetti squash. Then, season with salt, pepper and parsley.

Recipe: www.thegunnysack.com

Low Carb Pepper Jack Stuffed Zucchini Meat Loaf

As is custom for January around here, we go Low Carb to try to shed some of the holiday "love" :). I'm hoping to try enough flavorful family recipes to keep this going year-round. Now that we are nearing our 40's, the "love" is getting harder to shed! 

This was a great meatloaf recipe. Tons of flavor with all of the spices, and the addition of the pepper jack cheese was perfect. Prep time was fairly short too (15 mins. or so), which is always a plus. The only modifications I made (or would suggest) is that we used our venison/beef mix instead of ground turkey that the recipe called for. And, since Lily doesn't care for spicy food much, I would suggest either omitting or cutting down the cayenne pepper. The rest of us loved it, but it does add quite a bit of heat to the recipe.

INGREDIENTS

• 1 pound ground beef (or turkey, as the original recipe calls for)
• 1 cup finely diced white onion
• 1 cup shredded zucchini, squeezed of excess moisture with a paper towel
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 egg, slightly beaten
• 1/2 cup italian style panko breadcrumbs* (may use GF breadcrumbs)
• 2 tablespoons organic ketchup
• 1 teaspoon cumin
• 1 teaspoon dried oregano
• 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper (if you like heat)
• 1 teaspoon dijon mustard
• 1/2 teaspoon fresh cracked black pepper
• 1/2 teaspoon sea salt
• 4 oz sliced pepper jack cheese
• For the topping:
• 1/2 cup tomato sauce
• 1 1/2 teaspoons apple cider vinegar
• 1/2 tablespoon honey
• 1 tablespoon mustard
• dash of soy sauce (gluten free, if desired)
• dash of hot sauce

INSTRUCTIONS

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Line large baking sheet with foil and spray with nonstick cooking spray.
2. In a large bowl combine turkey, onion, zucchini, garlic, egg, breadcrumbs, spices, mustard and salt and pepper. Use your hands or a large spoon to mix until well combined. I find that it's much easier to combine the ingredients if you use your hands.
3. Place half of meat mixture on foil-lined pan and shape into a 10x4 inch rectangle. Top with pepper jack evenly, leaving about an 1/2 inch of room on the sides. Top with the remaining meat mixture, enclosing the cheese completely and sealing the side together.
4. In a small bowl, whisk together tomato sauce, apple cider vinegar, honey, mustard, soy sauce and hot sauce if desired. Spread half of the awesome sauce on top of the meat loaf, reserve other half for when meatloaf is finished baking.
5. Bake meatloaf for 45 minutes to 1 hour or until meat thermometer reads 160 degrees F. Top with remaining sauce and allow to cool for 10 minutes before cutting into 6 slices.

Recipe: http://www.ambitiouskitchen.com

Nutrition Information

• Serves: 4 servings

• Serving size: 1/4th of recipe
• Calories: 262

• Fat: 13.2g
• Carbohydrates: 13g
• Sugar: 4.5g
• Fiber: 2.3g
• Protein: 22.9g