Tag Archives: dinner

Chicken and vegetable Cacciatore

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This chicken vegetable cacciatore recipe is my favorite recipes. It falls into my comfort food category and is great on a miserable day (be that cold or raining/snowing). It happens to be a weight watchers recipe from WeightWatchers Momentum Cookbook (page 123) – modified quantities below.

Ingredients (serves 3-4)

  • 1 packet of purdue boneless chicken breasts, diced into about 1 in chucks (pre-packed two 1/2 breasts)
  • 1/ 2 tsp salt
  • 1/4 tsp black pepper
  • 1 tsp olive oil
  • 1 red bell pepper, sliced
  • 1/2 package of cremini mushrooms (~4 ounces), sliced
  • 1 celery stalk, sliced
  • 1 yellow onion, sliced
  • 1 carrot, sliced
  • 2 garlic cloves
  • 1/2 a jar of pasta sauce (or a can of tomatoes+herbs of your choice)

Cut the chicken and sprinkle with salt and black pepper. Heat the oil in a skillet, add the chicken and brown. Transfer the chicken to a bowl and set aside.

Add the vegetables to the skillet – from the bell pepper to garlic cloves, cook and stir the vegetables until slightly softened (about 3 minutes).

Add the chicken back to the skillet with the vegetables. Add the pasta sauce or canned tomatoes + herbs and heat. Once it starts to bubble slightly, reduce heat and simmer covered for about 15-20 minutes.

We serve this with either a 1/2 cup of brown rice pasta or a grain like couscous or quinoa. It usually provides enough for an additional 2 lunch portions – its great reheated. You can also freeze it easily in a sealed container.

Slow-cooked Vegetable Dal

I love Indian food – its one of my favorite food choices. This vegetable dal recipe worked great with my current life style challenge. It has lots of flavor and is loaded with vegetables.

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Ingredients

  • 1-2 cups red lentils
  • 1 can tomatoes
  • 1-2 cup vegetable stock
  • 2 cups spinach
  • 1 yellow onion
  • 1 tsp chili powder
  • 1 tsp cumin
  • 1 tsp turmeric
  • 1 tsp garam masala

Add all the ingredients to the slow-cooker, cook on low for 6-8 hours. Serve either in a bowl by itself or over rice (I use brown rice). Nice and easy 🙂

Meal Plan – Week 2

So, the first week on the plan was a little tough, especially Monday-Wednesday. I craved everything; sugar, cheese, meat and fresh bread. I managed to stay with the plan most of the time, and was happy when I found suitable options that I could eat at my favorite Friday lunch place.

I plan to pre-make some meals this week, especially for breakfast as I find it hard to make the time for it. I prefer to get the extra time in bed :-). Tonight, I am making a vegetable chill in the slow-cooker to have on hand for lunch or dinner, when I change my mind. For lunch, which I normally pick up at work, there were great options in our new cafe. It has a new global section that has a vegan/vegetarian option, it varies from stir fries to indian to mexican; there is also a great salad bar.

I plan on making dessert tonight – found several recipes for date balls which sound great. I am picking things out from several recipes and combining it into something I hope I like 😉

Here’s this weeks menu:

Day Breakfast Dinner
Saturday Vegetarian Omlete Lentil and Kale Soup
Sunday Oatmeal with grated apple + sultanas Steamed Fish and Vegetable Pockets + Quinoa
Monday Oatmeal with Banana+Unsalted Peanut Butter Stir Fry + Brown Rice
Tuesday Fruit Salad with Flax seed Curried Pumpkin Soup
Wednesday Fruit Salad with Flax seed Pizza (using FlatOut Bread instead of Whole Wheat Pita)
Thursday Oatmeal with grated apple + sultanas Vegetable Omlete
Friday Fruit Salad with Flax seed Bean Burgers + Salad