chicken

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As much as I love holiday leftovers, this soup is too good to pass up and I always save the turkey and mashed potatoes for this hearty meal! Oh, and by the way, it's even better the second day! The broth gets thicker and creamier!

Thanksgiving Leftover Turkey Soup

Ingredients:

1 T butter
6 large carrots, sliced
3-4 celery stalks, sliced
1 small yellow onion, diced
2 cloves garlic

3 32 oz cans chicken broth
3 cups mashed potatoes

14.5 oz can stewed or diced tomatoes, undrained
3-4 small red potatoes, diced to ½” cubes
3 c cooked cut-up turkey
¾ - 1 package whole wheat egg noodles
1 t thyme
1 t sage
1 t salt
1 t freshly ground pepper

Instructions:

Slice carrots and celery in a food processor if you have one to speed the prep along! Switch the blade and chop the garlic cloves and onion together.

In a very large pot, over M-H heat, melt the butter. Add the onion, carrot, celery, and garlic and sauté 4-5 min.

Add the broth & mashed potatoes. Stir until mashed potatoes are mostly dissolved & broth is smooth. Add spices, tomatoes, turkey, potatoes, and noodles; bring to simmer. Reduce to M-L heat and cook, stirring occasionally, until potatoes & noodles are soft, about 10 minutes.

You'll feel like you're cheating x2 with this recipe! First of all you can whip it together in about 10 min and it tastes like you slaved away in the kitchen! Secondly, the rich, creamy, delicious flavor comes from Greek yogurt, which is packed with protein! I make enough for two meals and actually put it in two separate, smaller Pyrex baking dishes, so I can bake them individually on the nights we're ready for them! This is also a super handy tip for those of you who are cooking for one person!

Creamy Greek Yogurt Baked Chicken

makes 4 servings

21 Day Fix container fulfillment:

1 RED

1/4 BLUE

Ingredients:

10 boneless, skinless chicken tenderloins (defrost if frozen)
1 cup plain Greek yogurt (Chobani is our fave!)
1/2 cup Parmesan cheese
1 tsp basil
1 tsp onion powder
1 tsp garlic powder
1/2 tsp red pepper flakes
fresh ground black pepper and pink Himalayan salt

Instructions:

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

In a bowl, combine all ingredients except for the chicken breasts.

Place the chicken in a baking dish, coated with Pam with Olive Oil. Spoon the Greek yogurt mixture over the chicken, using it all to make a thick layer.

Bake for 30-45 minutes or until cooked through. The Greek yogurt sauce will be thick and start browning up!

Enjoy!

This meal idea came to me in a moment of panic when we were delayed getting back from vacation and came home to a house devoid of food! No time to meal plan for the week, no grocery store trip planned, exhausted and tired of going out to dinner, I opened the pantry and freezer and hunted up some ingredients to see what I could throw together for dinner for the week. I found a bag of frozen chicken tenderloins, a couple sweet potatoes, and a bottle of clean BBQ sauce. I think we have a winner!

The next morning I tossed the frozen chicken into the crock pot and cooked for 3 hours. Around lunchtime, when the chicken was done, I microwaved the sweet potatoes till they were almost soft, shredded the chicken and added the BBQ sauce, all while my girls were eating their PB&J.

Dinner time came around and I simply cut the sweet potatoes in half, scooped the BBQ chicken on top, and baked till it was all toasty and the flavors had a chance to meld.

Sweet, savory, healthy, delicious comfort food!

Twice Baked BBQ Chicken Sweet Potatoes

makes 4 servings

21 Day Fix container fulfillment for 1 sweet potato boat:

1 YELLOW

1 RED

serve with a side of mini bell peppers (1 GREEN)

Ingredients:

8 frozen boneless, skinless chicken tenderloins
3 large sweet potatoes
natural BBQ sauce, such as Famous Dave's

Instructions:

Toss chicken tenderloins tossed into the crock pot and cover about 1/3 of the way with low sodium chicken broth.
Sprinkle with garlic powder, onion power (powder, not salt!), fresh ground black pepper, and sea salt or pink Himalayan salt.
Cook on HIGH for 3 hours.
Remove, shred, and add BBQ sauce.

Scrub sweet potatoes and stab with a knife all over. Place on a microwave-safe plate and microwave on HIGH for about 15 min.

Cut in half, lengthwise, and fluff up the flesh with a fork.

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

Spray a Pyrex dish with Pam with Olive Oil, and place the sweet potatoes inside.

Spoon the BBQ chicken on top.

Bake for 30-45 min.

Drizzle with BBQ sauce before serving.

TIP: This made enough for two dinners, so I divided the sweet potato boats into two small Pyrex dishes, 3 halves in each, so I could bake them individually on the day I needed them. This made them freshly baked instead of heated back up in the microwave.

Enjoy!

This chicken salad recipe is my go-to for lunches all week long! The creamy texture from the Greek yogurt gives it an extra boost of protein, while the sweetness of the Craisens and the savory seasonings give it a light complexity! Serve on a bed of baby spinach and or roll it up into a whole wheat tortilla!

When I'm making any kind of chicken salad, I have two go-to methods for the cooked chicken:

#1 - CLEAN rotisserie chicken from a health grocery store like Fresh Thyme or Earth Fare. Trust me it matters. Don't believe me? Read more in my chicken story!

#2 - Crock pot method at home. Seriously, this is sometimes faster and easier than driving to the grocery store for a rotisserie!

8 frozen boneless, skinless chicken tenderloins tossed into the crock pot
Cover about 1/3 of the way with low sodium chicken broth
Sprinkle with garlic powder, onion power (powder, not salt!), fresh ground black pepper, and sea salt or pink Himalayan salt.
Cook on HIGH for 3 hours.
Remove and Shred

Once you have the cooked chicken you can mix it up with any ingredients you like, but my fave is the chicken salad recipe above!

Enjoy!

This is one of those recipes I always have time for because the prep is so minimal due to the large size of the chopped veggies and meat! The larger pieces also ensure that the veggies stay crisp instead of turning to mush! And my husband likes that he can pick out the onions easily once it's served up on his plate!

The flavoring comes from my Clean Mexican Seasoning recipe and is out of this world! Of course you can tailor this to your taste specifications, substituting different meats and veggies. Bottom line, it's gonna be fast and easy to make, have a great Mexican flavor and be super healthy for you! The hardest part will be keeping it to one serving!

Oven Baked Chicken Fajitas

makes 4 servings

21 Day Fix container fulfillment for a 1 cup serving:

1 RED (protein)

1 GREEN (veggies)

1 YELLOW (carbs)

1 tsp (oil)

1 BLUE (healthy fat)

Ingredients:

8 chicken tenderloins, fresh or defrosted
3 bell peppers, (1 green & choice of 2 red/orange/yellow)
1 small white onion
2 tomatoes
mild olive oil
corn tortillas
shredded cheddar cheese
guacamole or Greek yogurt

Clean Mexican Seasoning
1 Tablespoon chili powder
1/2 Tablespoon paprika
1 tsp onion powder
1 tsp garlic powder
1/2 tsp cumin
1/4 tsp cayenne pepper
1/2 tsp Himalayan salt
1/2 tsp fresh ground black pepper
1 Tablespoon cornmeal

Instructions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Using large kitchen scissors, cut up the chicken into about 1-1/2" cubes and add to 9x13 Pyrex baking dish.

Slice up your bell peppers into 1-1/2" ribbons, or cut them again into 1-1/2" cubes. Add them to the 9x13 dish.

Quarter the onion and separate layers, sprinkling over the chicken and peppers.

In a small bowl, stir together the seasonings with a fork or small whisk.

Drizzle contents of Pyrex dish with mild olive oil. Sprinkle evenly with Mexican seasoning. Toss to coat.

Add tomatoes and gently toss again to coat evenly.

Place Pyrex in oven and bake uncovered for 20-30 min on 350 degrees.

Serve on corn tortillas and sprinkle with cheese and guacamole!

ENJOY!

You know those little 1 oz packets of Mexican seasoning? The ones loaded with tons of sodium and possibly a few other unwanted ingredients? Well, this recipe will rival anything you can pour out of a packet, but this time you'll know exactly what you're getting - a ton of flavor without all the salt! Whew!

I'm always working to perfect a Mexican soup recipe! To me that means packed with flavor, lots of colorful veggies, not toooo many carbs, and simple to make! (sorry, no beans! I know, I know, but seriously they count as a carb on the macro level, and honestly, I just don't like 'em!) This recipe fits the bill! Nothing needs pre-cooked, which I love! I've also included my simple guacamole dip recipe at the bottom!

Chicken Tortilla Soup

adapted from Beanless Chicken Chili by Shai
adapted from The Pioneer Woman’s Simple, Hearty White Chili

Ingredients

1/2 small onion, diced
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 pablano pepper, diced
6-8 boneless, skinless, chicken tenderloins
1 32 oz can organic chicken broth
1 10oz. can Rotel diced tomatoes and green chilies
2 tsp ground cumin
1 teaspoon Paprika
Salt & Pepper, to taste
1 c uncooked brown rice
1 bell pepper, green or orange (I used ½ and ½)
1/2 c coconut milk
1 T cornmeal
Garnishes: cheddar cheese, cilantro, guac or Greek yogurt

Instructions

If frozen, defrost chicken tenderloins and remove fascia, (don’t skip this step, because it prevents a yucky film from forming on top of your soup!).

Toss onion, garlic, pablano, diced tomatoes and green chilies, and chicken tenderloins into the crock pot. Season with salt, pepper, paprika and cumin. Place lid on crock pot and set to HIGH heat for 3 hrs.

Remove chicken and shred.

Mix coconut milk and cornmeal in a small bowl. Return chicken to crock pot, add bell peppers, rice, and milk/cornmeal mixture. Replace lid on crock pot and set to HIGH for 2 hrs.

Garnish as preferred.

BONUS! For the guacamole dip pictured, I simply mashed 1/2 an avocado, sprinkled in onion powder, garlic powder, crushed red pepper, sea salt and fresh ground black pepper. Then I added a dollop of plain Greek yogurt in about an equal quantity and stirred it all together!

This recipe uses my Humina Humina Hummus and if you've never thought to use it as a sauce in a baked dish, be prepared to have your mind blown! If you LOVE hummus, this meal is for you! The hummus does mellow out a little when baked, so if you just kinda like hummus, give it a taste and I'll bet you'll be surprised! When I bring my Humina Humina Hummus to a party, I make a big batch so I'll have leftovers to make this dish. This is also an amazingly easy dinner to make for one person! When my husband travels and I'm cooking just for myself, there's nothing easier than slathering a chicken breast with hummus and popping it in the oven! Then be prepared for a flavor explosion!

Hummus Crusted Chicken

Ingredients

Humina Humina Hummus

boneless, skinless chicken breasts (or tenderloins!), fresh or defrosted

Instructions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Spray a Pyrex dish with nonstick spray - I use Pam Olive Oil.

Place chicken in dish.

Smother with a thick layer of hummus.

Bake for 20-30 min for 1 chicken breast, or double the time for a larger batch.

Serve with a side of veggies and you're good to go!

Chipotle Chicken Sweet Potato Boats

These sweet potato boats have quickly become a favorite in my household and are frequently requested by my husband! They have a super fun mix of flavors, and are as hearty as they are healthy!

I tend to do my cooking in stages, so I'll start the chicken in the crock pot in the morning, then pop the potatoes in the microwave while my kiddos are having lunch. That way everything is done at the same time! I then assemble the boats, even topping them with the cheese, put a lid over my baking dish, and refrigerate till later in the week when I need an awesome meal after a long day at work.

Serving size: one boat

21 Day Fix container fulfillment:

1 YELLOW (sweet potatoes)

1 RED (chicken)

1/2 BLUE (cheese)

Ingredients

3 large sweet potatoes
6-8 boneless skinless chicken tenderloins
1/4 cups olive oil
2 tablespoon fresh lime juice
2 cloves garlic, minced
3 whole chipotle peppers, minced
1 teaspoon dried oregano
1 teaspoon cumin
2 teaspoons chili powder
sea salt and pepper
5 ounces sharp white cheddar cheese, grated
Greek yogurt, for serving

Instructions

Place frozen chicken tenderloins in your crock-pot, cover 1/2 way with chicken broth, and sprinkle with sea salt, pepper, garlic powder and onion power. Cook on HIGH for 3 hours. Remove and shred with a serrated knife and fork.

Wash your sweet potatoes and prick all over with a knife. Place in the microwave and bake for about 20 minutes. When the sweet potatoes are done cut in half lengthwise.

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees.

In a medium size bowl combine the olive oil, lime juice, garlic, chipotle peppers, oregano, cumin, chili powder, salt and pepper. Set aside.

Scrape the sweet potato out of the peel, leaving a thick layer of flesh inside so that it can stand up on its own and place sweet potato boats in a baking dish.