Category: chicken dishes

Did I mention we just got back from vacation? We were in sunny Florida and we had access to tasty and tropical food. Today, I am bringing some Florida to my kitchen with coconut and lime for healthy dinner #4 this week. Here’s how I made it.

coconut lime chicken

makes 3-4 servings

• 2 boneless skinless chicken breasts
• Salt & pepper to taste
• 2 teaspoons oil, I used avocado oil
• 1 teaspoon crushed garlic
• 1/2 a small red onion, sliced
• 1/2 a 13.5 ml can of unsweetened coconut milk
• Juice of 1 1/2 limes
• Zest of 1 lime
• 1/2 teaspoon agave
• 1 teaspoon cumin powder
• A pinch of red pepper flake
• Optional: toasted slivered almonds

• In a skillet over medium to high heat, add a teaspoon of oil.
• Season the chicken on both sides with S&P and then add to the skillet.
• Cook the chicken until brown and then set aside. I sliced the chicken but you can leave it whole.
• In the same skillet, add another teaspoon of oil, the garlic, cumin and red pepper. Stir.
• Then add the coconut milk, agave, lime juice and zest. Let the sauce come to a simmer.
• Add the chicken back into the sauce to heat through.
• Serve with rice or quinoa and top with toasted almonds.

Please follow me @aimeesapron on Instagram for more recipe ideas daily! https://www.instagram.com/aimeesapron/

This dinner came together quickly for two main reasons. 1. The meat in this dish was chicken that I prepared in the Instant Pot on Sunday evening. 2. I used a handy kitchen gadget – the toaster oven – which really sped things up without heating up my entire kitchen.

Not only is this dinner on the healthier side, but it also leaves you feeling satisfied, not hungry.

Check out the step-by-step process by looking for Zucchini Boats in my Highlights on my Instagram page: https://www.instagram.com/stories/highlights/18056789197084351/

chicken stuffed zucchini boats

makes 3 servings

• 3 zucchini
• 1 1/2 – 2 cups shredded chicken
• 1/2 a small red onion, diced
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1 teaspoon olive oil
• Salt & pepper to taste
• 1/4 cup BBQ sauce
• 1 cup shredded cheese
• Optional: 2 chipotles in adobo, chopped
• Optional: Ranch dressing to drizzle on top

1. Start by preheating your oven to 350 degrees.
2. Cut the ends off each zucchini and cut in half lengthwise.
3. Using a melonballer or small spoon, scoop the inside of the zucchini out.
4. Place the zucchini boats on a tray and drizzle about 1 teaspoon of olive oil or avocado oil over the boats, and season with salt & pepper.
5. Place the zucchini in the oven for about 10 minutes.
6. In the meantime, add the tablespoon of olive oil to a skillet and saute the red onion.
7. Add the chicken, chipotles and BBQ sauce to the skillet and cook until warmed through.
8. Take the zucchini out of the oven and fill each both with the chicken mixture.
9. Top with shredded cheese and put the zucchini back in the oven for about 5 minutes.
10. Serve with a drizzle of ranch dressing on top.

Please follow me @aimeesapron on Instagram for more recipe ideas daily! https://www.instagram.com/aimeesapron/

Healthy dinner #2 was a total made -up-last-minute meal. Luckily, I can watch my stories back on Instagram to see how I made them. You can see it to here: https://www.instagram.com/stories/aimeesapron/ and look in my highlights for chicken patties.

chicken patties with crema sauce

makes 4-5 patties

• 1 lb ground chicken
• salt & pepper to taste
• 1 1/2 tablespoons feta cheese
• 1/4 diced red onion
• 1/4 teaspoon red pepper flake
• Half of one avocado, mashed
• 1 teaspoon avocado oil
• 1 teaspoon butter
• 2 everything bagels, halved
• 4 slices of provolone cheese
• For the sauce:
• 2 tablespoons sour cream
• The other half of the avocado
• The zest of a whole lime
• The juice of half a lime

1. Add the first 6 ingredients to a mixing bowl and combine to form 4 – 5 patties.
2. Add the butter and oil to a skillet over medium heat.
3. Add the patties and saute until cooked through.
4. In the meantime, add the sour cream, other half of the avocado, lime juice and zest to a blender and blend to make a crema.
5. Also, toast each bagel half in the toaster oven or regular oven with the provolone cheese on top until cheese is melted.
6. Top bagel and cheese with the chicken patty, a dollop of crema sauce.
7. I finished mine with some charred red onion on top. Delish!

roasted taters

• 1 small bag of yukon gold poattoes, cut into quarters
• 1 tablespoon of EVOO, extra virgin olive oil
• 1 teaspoon of lemon pepper
• 1 tablespoon of rosemary, chopped

1. Place the quartered potatoes on a sheet pan and drizzle with EVOO, sprinkle lemon pepper and rosemary on top.
2. Combine with your hands, coating each tater slice.
3. Roast the taters at 350 degrees for 20 minutes in the toaster oven or 25-35 minutes in your oven until cooked through, tender inside and crispy outside.

Please follow me @aimeesapron on Instagram for more recipe ideas daily! https://www.instagram.com/aimeesapron/

Are you zoodling?  You know, where you take fresh zucchini and use that zoodle machine to transform the squash into curly strands?  It’s a lot of fun and I like replacing it with pasta in some dishes.  Tonight I made chicken zoodles in a cream sauce and it’s so satisfying I can’t wait to make it again.

chicken zoodles in a cream sauce

makes 4-6 servings

• A package of boneless skinless chicken tenders. Mine came with 13.
• 2 zucchini
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1/2 cup heavy cream
• 1/4 cup frozen peas
• A few mini bell peppers, sliced
• 1 clove of garlic, crushed
• A head of broccoli florets, cut into pieces
• A handful of fresh spinach
• A handful of grape tomatoes, cut in half
• Salt 7 pepper to taste
• 1 teaspoon of paprika
• Parmesan for sprinkling
• Red pepper flake for sprinkling – optional

1. Season your chicken with salt, pepper and paprika on both sides.
2. Place 1 tablespoon of olive in a pan over medium head and add the chicken.
3. While the chicken is cooking, zoodle your zucchini
4. TIP: Lightly sprinkle salt over the zoodles to draw out any extra moisture and prevent your zoodles from being watery.
5. Let the chicken brown on both sides, then remove and set aside.
6. Add the zoodles and garlic to the seasoned pan that the chicken was in.
7. After a few minutes, add the bell pepper and broccoli, stirring occasionally.
8. Next, add the other fresh veggies: fresh spinach and peas. Stir to combine.
9. Drizzle the heavy cream over the mixture and add the chicken back in, nestling the tenders between the zoodles and veggies.
10. Plate the meal and top with Parmesan cheese and red pepper flake.

You can see how I made this step by step on my Instagram stories here: https://www.instagram.com/stories/highlights/18058876312113689/

Please follow me @aimeesapron on Instagram for more recipe ideas daily! https://www.instagram.com/aimeesapron/

It’s grilling season in Texas and one of my favorites meats to grill is chicken thighs.

Oh how I love chicken thighs. Let me count the ways…

1. They’re an inexpensive cut of meat.
2. You can’t mess them up! There’s no over-cooking. They just become more tender.
3. Being so tender, they are great for grilling over direct heat and still being juicy.
4. They take on the flavors you put on them so well.

To go with my grilled chicken I just new I had to have some fresh summer corn. Grilled corn on its own with globs of butter is heaven. BUT grilled corn with globs of homemade spicy butter? To die for. Let me tell you how I made it!

grilled chicken thighs

makes 4 servings

• 4-6 boneless or bone-in, skinless or skin-on chicken (the only factor that changes is the time it takes to cook them)
• Salt and pepper to taste
• Your favorite BBQ sauce (I like Sweet Baby Ray’s)
• 4 fresh corn on the cob
• 2 tablespoons of your favorite butter, softened (I like Kerrigold)
• 1/2 teaspoon chili powder
• 1/2 teaspoon paprika
• 1/2 teaspoon cumin
• 1 teaspoon fresh cilantro, chopped finely
• Queso fresco or feta cheese for sprinkling

1. Start by preparing your butter. Take 2 tablespoons softened butter and add the chili powder, paprika, cumin and cilantro to it in a small bowl. Stir until combined.
2. If you are in a hurry you can just leave it in the bowl and pop it in the fridge until you’re ready to eat OR you can wrap it in wax paper and roll it up like a cigar and put it in the fridge for an hour or more. This way it will harden and you can slice of pieces of butter.
3. Season your chicken with salt and pepper and place on the grill to cook. Be sure to check on the meat and turn as needed.
4. Place the corn on the cob to grill.
5. When the chicken is almost done, baste the chicken with your BBQ sauce.
6. Once the chicken and corn are cooked through, plate with a side of juicy watermelon and a pinch of Mexican sweet chili powder, and dollop the chili butter along with some queso fresco on your corn.
7. You MUST eat this on your porch or backyard. It’s so good!

Please follow me @aimeesapron on Instagram for more recipe ideas daily! https://www.instagram.com/aimeesapron/

On my Instagram post @aimeesapron, I called this no waste chicken, but really this is a quick Italian inspired way to use up a combination of left overs and items that were soon to go bad.

Believe it or not sometimes, I don’t feel like cooking. I work full-time for an ad agency and then full-time as wife and mother and on those days I feel like I have to give myself a little pep talk. Sometimes, I challenge myself. What can I make in 30 minutes or less and also use up any items I have on-hand?

That night, I has fresh chicken breasts that were only going to last a few more days or would need to be frozen. I had about a half a cup of really good marinara sauce, but definitely not enough for a whole pasta meal and a handful of dry pasta at the bottom of a box. And presto, no waste chicken was born.

no waste chicken

makes 4 servings

• 4-6 boneless skinless chicken breasts
• 1 teaspoon Italian seasoning
• Salt and pepper to taste
• 1 garlic clove, crushed
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• A cup of fresh spinach
• 1/2 cup of marinara sauce
• 4 slices mozzarella cheese
• A handful or so of left over dried pasta (uncooked)
• 1/4 cup frozen peas
• Parmesan cheese to taste

1. Bring two cups of water to a boil and lightly salt the water. Add the dry pasta in, stirring occasionally until cooked al dente.
2. Next, add the frozen peas to the pasta water until they are warmed through. This only takes a few minutes. Why dirty up another pot?
3. Drain the pasta and the peas and set aside.
4. Season both sides of the chicken breasts with salt, pepper and Italian seasoning.
5. Bring a pan to medium-high heat with a tablespoon of olive oil and crushed garlic and add the chicken breasts, browning on both sides. Once cooked, remove the chicken on a plate to rest and set aside.
6. Add the fresh spinach to the same pan with a pinch of salt to take on the flavor of the chicken bits. Yum!
7. Once the spinach is wilted, add the chicken back in and place some spinach leaves over each piece of chicken breast.
8. Next, place a slice of mozzarella cheese over the spinach and chicken.
9. Toss the pasta and peas into the pan with the chicken to warm through.
10. Drizzle the marinara sauce over the chicken and pasta and put the lid on the pan for about 2-3 minutes until the marinara sauce it warmed through and the cheese has melted nicely over the chicken.

Please follow me @aimeesapron on Instagram for more recipe ideas daily! https://www.instagram.com/aimeesapron/

One thing that grows abundant in this hot Texas climate is rosemary. Did you know that rosemary plants also repel those pesky mosquitoes? You can add rosemary to meat dishes like I have, but you can also infuse olive oils with it, add it to a tequila cocktail or even use it to jazz up a beautifully constructed cheese board.

For now, I’ve made this Monday a little less manic by sitting down to a nice homemade meal of rosemary chicken. I’ll tell ya how I made it.

Rosemary Chicken

makes 4 – 6 servings

• 4-6 boneless skinless chicken breasts
• A sprig of fresh rosemary
• 1/2 cup of heavy cream
• 1/2 a lemon, juiced
• 1 teaspoon crushed garlic
• 1 tablespoon butter
• Salt & pepper to taste

1. Chop the rosemary and sprinkle it over the chicken along with salt and pepper.
2. To a pan over a medium-high flame, add a tablespoon of oil and the crushed garlic. Add the chicken and let brown on both sides.
3. Once the chicken is cooked through add the lemon and heavy cream and cook until bubbly.
4. Serve over pasta, rice or in this case quinoa.

Instant Pot owners did you know….you can cook the perfect quinoa in your Instant Pot in 1 minute cooking time? I mean PERFECT. All you do is rinse your dry quinoa to remove any dust or dirt, add it to your Instant Pot with water or broth and set the manual cooking time to 1 minute. It’s that easy!!

Recipe: 1 cup quinoa + 2 cups water or chicken broth = PERFECT 1 minute quinoa

Please follow me @aimeesapron on Instagram for more recipe ideas daily! https://www.instagram.com/aimeesapron/