Slow Cooker Cowboy Butter Chicken Orzo

 

Slow Cooker Cowboy Butter Chicken Orzo

I forgot to get a picture of dinner again, its crazy now that Linc is 1 in a week so I hardly have time to cook, let alone take pictures lol. 

I made this recipe exactly as written, and we loved it. Ethan said I definitely need to make it again. My slow cooker finished cooking the chicken around 2-2.5 hours, it was super fast. Then the orzo took 40 minutes. So good and so flavorful!

Click here for the recipe from The Everyday Cookbook

Parmesan Garlic Chicken with Tortellini and Veggies

 

Parmesan Garlic Chicken with Tortellini and Veggies

This was so good! I did do it a little differently because I was just cooking it on the stove and in the oven, rather then on a griddle like the recipe called for. I made the tortellini using the instructions on the package, and I cooked the veggies in the cast iron skillet after removing the chicken for all that extra flavor. Then I mixed the veggies & tortellini, and instead of Italian vinaigrette, I used some of the Buffalo Wild Wings Parmesan Garlic sauce.

For the chicken I butterflied it then I sprinkled it with salt and pepper. The breadcrumb coating was a mixture of Texas Toast croutons, panko, and grated parmesan. I then browned it on both sides, added a slice of mozzarella and put it in a 400 degree oven for like 6 minutes. The chicken was thin so it was done early. I had forgotten to put the BWW sauce on before the breadcrumbs, so I just drizzled some on before I put it in the oven.

It was delicious, and my son loved it so much he pretty much ate all the chicken himself lol. My husband had a serving, he was it was okay. Like always lol. My son also ate most of the veggies the day after to!

Click here for the recipe from Cooking in the Midwest

The chicken was based on this recipe from Cooking in the Midwest

Weight Watchers Chicken Tikka Masala

 

Weight Watchers Chicken Tikka Masala

Served over brown rice. This was pretty good, it's definitely better with all the full fat milks/yogurts, but it was decent for a low calorie recipe. Not sure if I'd make it again, I might try to find a different one. I did just throw everything in the Instant Pot because the baby isn't wanting to be put down right now, so maybe that's where I went wrong.

Click here for the Weight Watchers Chicken Tikka Masala recipe from Pointed Kitchen

BBQ Chicken Quesadilla's with Cilantro Lime Rice

 

BBQ Chicken Quesadilla's with Cilantro Lime Rice

This was a "use up what I have" dinner. The quesadillas had Monterey Jack cheese, leftover rotisserie chicken, bbq sauce, cilantro and onions. The rice was microwaveable cilantro lime rice. Super easy and I always like using up ingredients we already have. I really should have made some veggies, but I'm exhausted and just wanted to make a quick dinner. 

The baby was already asleep when I made this, but I'm going to see if he likes the rice tomorrow! So far he hasn't been a fan of rice, but he's only tried it twice. 

EveryPlate Crispy Chicken with Honey Dijon Drizzle

 

EveryPlate Crispy Chicken with Honey Dijon Drizzle

The rice wasn't included, it was just some boxed rice pilaf just to stretch the meal. This was pretty good. Everyone liked the brussel sprouts which surprised me! I really like them, but normally my husband doesn't. The chicken was surprisingly bland. I thought I seasoned it enough, I even added garlic and paprika along with the salt & pepper, but I guess I didn't do enough. But with the dijon it helped a lot.

The baby had small pieces of chicken and brussel sprouts, a bit of a chicken + butternut squash puree, and some buttered toast. He really only liked the puree, and he always loves toast. 

EveryPlate Quick Sweet Soy-Glazed Chicken Tacos

 

Quick Sweet Soy-Glazed Chicken Tacos

Terrible quick picture because baby wanted to nurse!

These were really good even though I overcooked the chicken a bit so it was kinda dry. Also I ran out of mayo for the slaw, so I added sour cream. I also ran out of sour cream lol so we used a tbs less then the recipe called for. Honestly next time I'd only use 2 out of the 4 tbs called 4 so it was less creamy and a bit more fresh. It was still really good though and we all liked it. My husband and I added sriracha. I've been really impressed with EveryPlate every time we've tried it, I've been reluctant to go back to Hello Fresh because of how many AI recipes and premium recipes there are.

 

EveryPlate Crispy Buffalo Ranch Chicken

 

EveryPlate Crispy Buffalo Ranch Chicken

EveryPlate had a good coupon so we are trying it for a couple of weeks. This was excellent! I was worried the chicken would be plain but it was coated in ranch dressing then this yummy Frank's Hot panko breadcrumbs. I'd get this one again for sure. This was my teenage sons plate, hence the huge portion of mashed potatoes.

I let my 6 month old try the mashed potatoes, he haaaated them lol. We've been doing a mixture of purees and baby led weaning, and so far he really prefers purees and doesn't like chunky stuff. 

Lemon Parmesan Chicken & Rice

 

Lemon Parmesan Chicken & Rice

Huge portion for my teenager lol. This was really good. It reminded me of the chicken & rice recipe that my son loves. I made it almost as is, the only change I made was that I coated the chicken in the seasoning instead of putting it in the rice. I feel like it flavors the chicken more and there is plenty flavor with the rice. Oh yeah I also only used 1.75 cups of water, I think 3 cups would of been waaay to much since the rice was a smidge mushy even like that. But it was really good! I'd make this again. We served it with a bagged Caesar salad kit. I love lemon flavors and I think it would really be upgraded with a fresh herb like basil or parsley. 

Click here for the Lemon Parmesan Chicken & Rice recipe by The Clean Eating Couple

I gave some to my 6 month old (along with peas and carrots) and he didn't care for it. But to be fair it was too close to bedtime so he didn't want any real food, just to nurse lol.

Chicken and White Bean Curry

 

Chicken and White Bean Curry

It doesn't look too pretty but it's delicious! I used this recipe from Kitchen Sanctuary as a guideline, I just used what I already had. It definitely would of been even better with some cilantro for that pop of freshness. I didn't have any spinach so I added a can of rinsed white beans for some more fiber. I also tossed the chicken in some garam masala and curry powder before cooking, and I only had tomato sauce instead of chopped tomatoes. I was fine with that because I knew it would just be a bit saucier. I served it over basmati rice, my son loved it. I love it but my husband didn't have any.

Click here for the Easy Chicken Curry recipe by Kitchen Sanctuary 

Instant Pot Chicken Noodle Soup

 

Instant Pot Chicken Noodle Soup

Oh geez this is the worst food pic I've ever taken haha. My husband grabbed his bowl and I forgot to take a picture so I quickly snapped it. I guess the lighting was bad and I moved my phone away too quickly......oh well :) 

This was a wonderful recipe! The only thing I did differently was instead of fresh carrots, I threw in a bag of frozen peas & carrots after it was cooked (while the noodles cooked) because I had one already to use. I ended up using 2 chicken breasts and it was perfect. This was great since we had all the ingredients already, and my husband loved it. Definitely rotation worthy.

Click here for the Instant Pot Chicken Noodle Soup recipe by Jo Cooks

Chicken Cobbler

 

Chicken Cobbler

I made the recipe exactly as written, but instead of making the biscuit topping I used a box of Red Lobster cheddar bay biscuits. I liked it, my son loved it and my husband didn't care for it. He said it was too mushroomy. Next time I would halve the amount of mushrooms and add more veggies. But I would make it again!

Click here for the Chicken Cobbler recipe from BudgetBytes

Sheet Pan Parmesan Garlic Chicken Thighs

Sheet Pan Parmesan Garlic Chicken Thighs

I didn't even get a picture of it plated because baby was being fussy. This was super good and it will go in our rotation! I liked how easy it was and everyone loved it. I made it exactly as written using Buffalo Wild Wings Garlic Parm sauce. I bought a bag of already chopped broccoli so the longest thing was quartering potatoes, and I really could just use my veggie chopper for that. 

Click here for the recipe from Cooking in the Midwest

 

Garlic Parm Wings with Mac & Cheese and Green Beans

 

Garlic Parm Wings with Mac & Cheese and Green Beans

This is the first meal I've cooked since Lincoln was born! He's 5 weeks now. Before tonight we had dinners I had prepped while I was pregnant, and some frozen foods. This was, easy fast and yummy.

I just air fried the wings, added pepper and a smidge of cayenne to the mac & cheese, and the green beans were frozen that I mixed with butter/garlic/salt/pepper.

Here's my little guy, he was born on August 30th.

Chicken Tikka Masala with Indian Spiced Masala Zucchini

 

Chicken Tikka Masala with Indian Spiced Masala Zucchini

Don't mind the chip in the plate.....it gives it character. 

I made the Chicken Tikka Masala almost exactly as written. The only difference is that I didn't measure how much chicken thighs I used, I just grabbed a few....and I used jarlic instead of cloves and refrigerated squeeze ginger instead of chopping fresh. Oh and I had to use red onion because I was shockingly out of white/yellow.  It's delicious of course because yum!

The Indian Spiced Masala Zucchini I made because we still have so many tomatoes & zucchini from the garden, so I headed to Pinterest to look up "Indian spiced zucchini". I found this recipe that I had all the ingredients for! Well almost, instead of the cumin seeds I just used dried cumin. I also didn't measure the veggies lol. I used 2 tomatoes, half a red onion because I was out of white, and probably 3 cups of zucchini. It was really good too!

I love these flavors and want to make them more often, but Craig's not the hugest fan.....he likes it but not that often. Some homemade naan would of been good to sop up extra sauce..... if I had the energy! I'm due any day and I'm so excited/nervous :) 

Click here for the Easy Chicken Tikka Masala recipe by Damn Delicious

Click here for the Indian Spiced Masala recipe by Tarladalal

Creamy Salsa Chicken Skillet

Creamy Salsa Chicken Skillet

I'm 9 months pregnant and we've been having all of our flooring replaced so I've hardly cooked lately. But there was no construction today and we had all the ingredients for this so I thought it was the perfect time. It's super easy, the most work is dicing the chicken. I've made this once before exactly as written, but this time I made a few changes to use up ingredients I already have. Instead of beans and corn I added a zucchini from the garden, and I used 2 cups of homemade salsa my husband smoked and made. I didn't have any queso fresco but I did have some shredded Monterey Jack cheese. The rice is also just the microwaveable cilantro lime rice pouch. The green onion is leftover from another recipe, if we didn't have any it still would have been tasty without it. The homemade salsa has so much flavor!

Click here for the Creamy Salsa Chicken Skillet recipe from BudgetBytes

 

Postpartum Meal Prep

 

Postpartum Meal Prep

 I only got a few pictures because I'm exhausted now. Here's what I made:

- Instant Pot Pinto Beans by BudgetBytes. I made bean and cheese burritos with them, and a few of them I filled with a microwaveable Spanish rice packet so they are bean/cheese/rice. 5 cups of beef broth for 49 minutes in the Instant Pot.

- Slow Cooker Sesame Honey Chicken by Skinnytaste. I left out the cornstarch because I read it doesn't freeze well. So I'll just throw it in the crockpot or Instant pot and serve over rice. 

- Mandarin Teriyaki Chicken. This was just using up ingredients of what I had. I had a half bottle of Panda Express Mandarin sauce and a half bottle of Lawry's Pineapple Teriyaki Marinade. So I threw that in a bag with sriracha, sesame seeds and some squeeze ginger with jarlic along with some chicken.

- Freezer breakfast sausage burritos. I cooked up a pound of breakfast sausage along with scrambling 18 eggs with heavy cream (only because I had some, if I didn't I would have just used milk), salt and pepper. Then I made burritos with the sausage, eggs, and cheddar cheese wrapped in a tortilla.

- Freezer breakfast sandwiches recipe by Tastes Better from Scratch

- Slow cooker Pesto Ranch Chicken recipe by She's In Her Apron. I did add some garlic and pepper and I'll probably serve it over mashed potatoes with a side of frozen veggies.

- Veggie & Beef Lentil Chili. This was another clean out the pantry meal. 1 lb ground beef, 1 can lentils, 1 can corn, 1 can white beans, 1 can chili beans, 1 can Rotel. I also added bell peppers, zucchini, celery, onions, garlic, 1 can tomato paste, 2 cups beef broth. Spices I used were (about 1 & 1/2 tsp of each): chili powder (2 tbs), garlic powder, onion powder, cumin, cayenne, salt/pepper, 1 tsp sugar. I just warmed it up on the stove then transferred it into 2 freezer safe Ziploc bags. I could serve it with frozen Texas Toast, cornbread or even like a small quesadilla. I'll see how I feel when the baby is here lol.

- Mini lasagna's. The pans were a little too small, but I didn't want to make a huge 9x13 pan because that's too much. I just grabbed a generic lasagna recipe, I based it off of this one by About A Mom. I used 1lb ground beef & 1lb Italian sausage. I only had 1 container of ricotta so that was kind of lacking, and only 1 & 1/2 24oz jars of marinara, so I also added a bottle of pizza squeeze lol. I also added a zucchini since we have so much from the garden. 

Here's some of the dinners plated that I made post partum!

EveryPlate Sweet Chili Chicken

 

EveryPlate Sweet Chili Chicken

Normally I wouldn't get a chicken dish from a service like this since I cook so much chicken normally anyway, but I forgot to pick my meals lol. This was actually really good! I did do a few things differently though. I added garlic to the chicken, a squeeze of tube ginger to the rice, and the carrots I added a zucchini from the garden plus a bit of garlic/onion/cayenne powder just because. I also cubed the chicken before I cooked it, then I tossed it in the sauce. I was surprised how much I really loved this, the sauce was super good.

EveryPlate Crispy Buffalo Ranch Chicken

 

EveryPlate Crispy Buffalo Ranch Chicken

This was good, the chicken portions were kinda small but there was a lot of veggies and potatoes. I did add a zucchini to the carrots because we have so many from the garden. The only other changes I made were that I used extra seasonings that I had laying around. I added some ranch seasoning to the chicken and carrots, plus some garlic powder to the carrots/chicken/potatoes. I really enjoyed this and I would get it again, the boys haven't tried it yet but I'll update their reactions so I know if this is another recipe to order!

Hello Fresh Chicken Thyme with Zucchini Couscous

 

Hello Fresh Chicken Thyme with Zucchini Couscous

Hello Fresh sent some good coupons and I really needed a break from meal planning so I decided to resubscribe for a week. I know generally meal services like this are super expensive, but when they have good coupons it's 100% worth it. You don't have to find recipes, grocery shop....nothing. They send what you need and you don't have to think lol. Plus it's a good way to try new things you might normally try. We are pretty adventurous but there are recipes I would never normally choose so that's fun.

This was SUPER good! One of my top fav Hello Fresh recipes now. It made a lot of couscous but the chicken portions were kinda small, so I was worried it wouldn't be enough for my husband and teenager. We have a loaf of rosemary sourdough that I toasted with butter, garlic and parm for some garlic bread. It's perfect. The freshness of the lemon with the zucchini is so good. It actually called for way more lemon zest and lemon juice then I added, I thought it was plenty....maybe they gave us big lemons. The sauce/gravy is DELICIOUS, like I need to recreate it even without a subscription. 

Air Fried Chicken Tenders, Hatch Chili Goodles & Sauteed Zucchini with Onions

 

Air Fried Chicken Tenders, Hatch Chili Goodles & Sauteed Zucchini with Onions

Using lightly breaded chicken and high protein pasta really helps make it a bit healthier. It's 100 degrees today and I wasn't turning on the oven, and I didn't feel like cooking too much. I made the Goodles as the directions said, with the butter options. I've tried the regular mac & cheese flavor without the butter option and it was kinda dry and not that great. The hatch chili flavor is reallly good, and even my husband said it's "not bad" which is high praise for a healthier option like this lol.

I followed the directions for the tenders too, I think it was 390 for 10 minutes? It says on the bag. The sauce is just bottled Chick-fil-a sauce because that's always delicious. I was going to make a high protein dipping sauce but like it said, it's hot so I didn't want to spend to much time in the kitchen.

My husband planted some zucchini plants and we didn't even realize we had any growing until we found this giant one buried under some leaves! It's as big as my 40oz cup.

I pretty much followed this recipe by Well Plated, except I did add garlic because garlic good.