A Real Meal

I’ve been kinda off my game as far as meal planning for dinners goes.  Funny enough, I do better at planning when FH is away than I do when he’s home.  Probably because it’s easier to plan just for myself than it is to plan for two!  It’s tough because I get all used to eating salad for dinner every night and experimenting with tofu or fish or some other random protein, but FH is a meat and potatoes guy.  This is a whole ‘nother definition of embracing balance!

So, today I took the time to really think about something that would be light and healthy for me, but still tasty and meat based for him.  (I have a real thing about making two meals…I refuse to do it…although apparently I’m going a little soft because I did make two different side dishes).  Seems a common issue in blogland…his and hers meals abound!

Anyway…so today I finally got some boneless skinless chicken breasts at a reasonable price (they’ve been CRAZY expensive lately)…and I had some leftover diced tomatoes to be used up.  Conveniently I also saved a recipe yesterday that included these two ingredients.  :)

Chicken Cacciatore Biggest Loser Style by Curtis Stone.

I was missing some ingredients and took some liberties so I’ll outline my recipe here.

Serves 2

Ingredients:

2 teaspoons olive oil

2 x boneless, skinless chicken breast

1 small onion, sliced thin

1 clove garlic, grated or minced

few strips yellow pepper (use whatever pepper color you like), diced

5-6 mushrooms, cleaned and sliced

1/8 cup balsamic vinegar

1/4 cup chicken stock (or water will do in a pinch)

1 cup canned diced seasoned tomatoes (sodium free)

big sprinkle of thyme

big sprinkle of dried oregano

salt & pepper

couple sprinkles of fresh parmesan

 

Directions:

Heat large non-stick skillet over medium high heat and add 1 teaspoon of oil to the pan. Season the chicken with s&p and sear for 2 to 3 minutes on each side or until golden brown. Remove the chicken to a plate and add the remaining oil to the pan.

Saute the onions for 3 minutes stirring constantly, then add the garlic and bell peppers. Cook the garlic and peppers for 2 minutes and add the mushrooms. Cook the mushrooms for 4 minutes stirring often. (If it gets dry at any point, just add a splash of stock or water.) Add the balsamic and 1/4 cup stock, stir and allow to reduce until almost dry. Add the tomatoes to the pot and stir well. Add the thyme and oregano. Bring to the simmer and reduce heat to low.

Add the chicken back to the sauce and simmer gently for 8 to 10 minutes or until the chicken is cooked through and the sauce has thickened slightly. Taste and season with s&p if desired.

Serve and sprinkle with parmesan.

Winner Winner Chicken Dinner!

Served with steamed asparagus and his and hers sides.  I roasted some potato slices for FH, and dished up some couscous for myself.

Verdict = yum!  Healthy win!

(FYI: I only ate half of my chicken…I was so full!)

For dessert…a chopped up Gala apple and a tangerine that has seen better days…

Note to self:  chopping up fruit while prepping dinner is a good idea!  Having it all ready makes it more tempting to eat!

And just in case anyone cares to rewind to lunch…to see today’s entire meal repertoire…there was the last of the leftover turkey chili. 

With the last of the smashed up Riceworks on top.

Tomorrow morning I’m squeezing in an extra cardio day.  Usually FH drives himself on Fridays but due to an all night duty shift I’m going to drive him so I can keep the car…and since I’ll be up at the asscrack of dawn I’ll hit the gym and break an extra sweat. 

Don’t forget the noon draw for the Amazing Grass giveaway!