Smoky Stovetop Baked Beans
You know what stores in the fridge really well for days, and heats up beautifully in the same pot you made it in? Beans! Don’t disregard the magic of cooking a big pot of smoky, bacony beans, and eating it for days. Not only are you getting your daily dose of fiber, you’re eating a dish that gets better with time.
Stovetop Cheesy Chicken & Vegetables
What You’ll Need: 2 cloves minced garlic, Italian dressing, Italian-style frozen vegetable blend, skinless chicken breasts, shredded parmesan cheese
To make this cheesy one-pot wonder, heat garlic and dressing in a large frying pan over medium heat for one minute, and then add the chicken. Once the chicken is nearly cooked through, add the vegetable blend and cover the pan with a lid, stirring occasionally. Before taking it off the stove to eat it, sprinkle it with cheese. The resulting dish is one that’s packed with muscle-building protein, bone-strengthening calcium, and loads of antioxidants.
Chicken & Veggie Tacos
What You’ll Need: Sliced grilled chicken, soft corn tortillas, chopped tomatoes, chopped onions, chopped peppers, black beans, your favorite taco toppings
If you haven’t already made Taco Tuesday part of your weekly meal routine, now’s a great time to jump on board. Throw all of the above ingredients in serving bowls, set the table, and dinner is served. Your family will love piecing together their own customized tacos.
Eat This! Tip:
If you’re a vegetarian, swap in sliced and sautéed sweet potatoes for the chicken. Season ’em up with olive oil, cayenne pepper, and sea salt for an addictively delicious taste.
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Chicken Israeli Salad Over Greens
What You’ll Need: Cubed chicken breasts, chickpeas, diced onion, diced tomato, diced cucumber, diced red bell pepper, ground pepper, dry parsley, red wine vinegar, olive oil, your favorite salad green
This refreshing Middle Eastern salad is beyond tasty and takes less than 20 minutes to make. Start your culinary adventure by tossing the chicken on a hot skillet and seasoning it with your favorite spices. While it’s cooking, drain and rinse a can of chickpeas and combine them with the vegetables. Once the chicken is cooked and cooled, add it to the bean and vegetable mixture, and sprinkle everything with pepper, parsley, vinegar, and oil, and serve over a bed of your favorite greens.
Eat This! Tip:
Use the leftover mixture to make a pita for the next day’s lunch.
Copycat Carrabba’s Blackberry Sangria
The menu may be plentiful at Carrabba’s Italian Grill, yet there are a few signature dishesand cocktailsthat customers love to order. Some are obsessed with their Chicken Bryan, and others can’t help but order a glass of the famous Carrabba’s blackberry sangria. Customers can’t seem to get enough of it, so we made our own version of it.
Get our recipe for Copycat Carrabba’s Blackberry Sangria.
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What If We Told You You Could Get Smooth Creamy Custard Pudding Or Anything That Requires Tempering Egg Yolks Without Actually Tempering Them Here’s The Secret
Simply Recipes / Elana Lepkowski
Nothing sends chills down a cooks spine than reading temper the egg yolks in a recipe.
It is an unspoken sign of a cooks skill get it right and you have a creamy, silky dessert that melts in your mouth. Get it wrong, however, and you get a lumpy batter, or worse, scrambled eggs instead of custard.
But what if I told you that you can get the same smooth, creamy custard, or pudding, or anything that requires tempering egg yolks without actually tempering them?
While I have not tested every single recipe out there, Ive discoveredfrom many ice creams, puddings, custards, crème anglaise, and crème pats that tempering eggs is not necessary.
Thats right, the nail-biting exercise of pouring scalded milk into egg yolks, anxiously whisking, and then preparing to drain the mixture back into the larger pot of hot liquid, all while you fervently hope your eggs dont cook and curdle and become a congealed mess instead of a silky custard? Totally unnecessary.
Simply Recipes / Elana Lepkowski
Sesame Noodles With Chicken
Italians might cringe in horror to hear it, but the noodle originally comes from Asia. The point is, sometimes a box of fettuccine is just as appropriate for an Asian-inspired meal as it is for an Italian dish. Think of this as a salad, with the noodles sitting in for lettuce. Add some protein and as many or as few vegetables as you like, and toss the whole package with a light but powerful dressing. It’s the culmination of four millennia of noodle knowledge.
Get our recipe for Sesame Noodles with Chicken.
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Copycat Domino’s Deluxe Pizza
While our version of sausage pizza is slightly different, we have a feeling you’ll love this homemade pizza as much as you love the Domino’s version. Domino’s Deluxe Pizza includes pepperoni, Italian sausage, peppers, onions, mushrooms, and onions. Our pizza still has Italian sausage and peppers, but we lighten it up on the meat by skipping on the pepperoni and add spinach instead.
Get our recipe for Sausage and Pepper Pizza.
Sheet Pan Chicken Fajitas
Sheet pan dinners are an excellent idea when you want a hot, home-cooked meal but don’t feel like going through the trouble of washing multiple pots and pans. Use one chicken breast and one bell pepper if you’re only cooking for today, or make the full recipe if you’d like to have some leftovers .
Get our recipe for Sheet Pan Chicken Fajitas.
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Copycat Cracker Barrel Pancakes
While a bag of salty fries with a fizzy soda is a great road trip snack, there’s nothing like taking a road trip break at Cracker Barrel. Early in the morning or late at night, Cracker Barrel beams a glimmer of hope after a dreary few hours driving in the car. So what better way to relax at Cracker Barrel than by eating none other than their famous flapjacks?
Essential Healthy Recipes That Are Also Great For Meal Prep
Reality TV shows like Chopped have turned cooking into a competitive sport, but it doesnt have to be quite so high stakes. Getting a handle on a few healthy recipes can go a long way. It also takes some of the guesswork out of weeknight meals, because it means you have several easy dinners to fall back on when you dont feel like ordering in or getting creative.
The best part is that simple, healthy meals are often the easiest to throw together. Sometimes its a matter of combining a few easy staplesroasted chicken alongside some simple roasted vegetables, or a perfect hard-boiled egg atop a bowl of greens and grains. Other times, it means throwing a bunch of ingredients into a single cooking vessel and stepping away to let the magic happen, as in the case of healthy crockpot recipes.
Some people love day-long cooking projectsthats awesome, and if you have friends like that, you should definitely get yourself invited to dinner every once in a while. But if youre more of a bare-essentials type of cook, theres zero shame in that. While not everyone has the patience for sourdough or the technical skills for pâté en croûte, most adults can perfect, say, a few healthy chicken recipes in several ways.
Whether your cooking skills are starting from zero or youre just looking to simplify your kitchen routine, here are the essential, healthy recipes that you should add to your list.
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Breakfast Loaded Sweet Potato
Sweet potatoes are one of the healthiest foods out there, so this recipe is the perfect way to start the day off on the right foot. It’s loaded with other healthy ingredients including granola, vanilla yogurt, and blueberries.6254a4d1642c605c54bf1cab17d50f1e
Get our recipe for a Breakfast Loaded Sweet Potato.
Caprese Entree Salad With Whole
What You’ll Need: Spinach, chopped tomatoes, cubed fresh mozzarella, balsamic vinegar, olive oil, salt, ground pepper, shredded basil, toasted whole-grain pita
If you’re a fan of Insalata Caprese apps from Italian restaurants, you’ll be a fan of this entree-sized bed of greens, too. To make this stress-free recipe at home, toss spinach or your favorite green into a large bowl, and top with ingredients two through eight. Serve with a toasted whole-grain pita for a complete and filling meal.
Skeptical that this dish will be enough to sate your appetite? Add your favorite source of protein. Grilled chicken and steak both make for appetizing additions. And if you’re looking to put a fun twist on this classic dish, add some sliced fresh peaches. It may seem like an odd combination, but we promise you that it tastes divine.
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Chicken Recipes For Weight Loss You’ll Love To Cook
Chicken is so versatile to cook with, but we get that basic chicken can get old fast. Here, we’ve gathered 73 best chicken recipes for weight loss for full flavor in every bite. You’ll never go back to bland chicken again!
And if you love cooking, check out our list of 100 Easiest Recipes You Can Make.
Turkey Burgers Sweet Potato Fries & Roasted Asparagus
What You’ll Need: Pre-formed raw turkey burgers, dry rosemary, garlic powder, ground pepper, sliced sweet potatoes, paprika, asparagus, extra virgin olive oil, your favorite salad green, sliced tomato
To make this better-for-you “cookout,” throw the turkey burgers on a grill pan and season with rosemary, garlic powder, and ground pepperthis should all be happening while your oven is pre-heating to 450 degrees Fahrenheit. Next, chop the sweet potatoes and snap the ends off the asparagus. Lay each veggie on their own bake pan and drizzle both with some olive oil and pepper, and give the spuds a dusting of paprika.
Instead of serving your burger on a bun, enjoy it with some lettuce and tomatoyou know, the stuff you typically find snuggled up with your burgerin between the bread. Your body doesn’t need the additional carbs when it’s already getting a potent punch of the nutrient from the taters.
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Healthy Spring Vegetable Frittata
Fresh dill, feta cheese, and leeks give this spring vegetable frittata a unique and fresh taste that, as the name suggests, tastes distinctively spring-y. As a bonus, once you make this frittata, you’ll know how to wilt spinach, which means you’ll know how to wilt any leafy green for one of the easiest vegetable side dishes ever.
Get our recipe for a Healthy Spring Vegetable Frittata.
Red Chile Chicken Enchiladas
When you’re in the mood for some Mexican, it’s always a good idea to make beloved dishes right at home. That way, you’re in control and can make them much healthier than any version you would be served at a restaurant, and that’s exactly what this red chile chicken enchilada recipe does.
Get our recipe for Red Chile Chicken Enchiladas.
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Copycat Panda Express Orange Chicken
How can you resist the fried Orange Chicken at Panda Express? Why not stay away from the restaurant altogether and make your own healthier version of it instead? Made with all kinds of delicious vegetables and hearty brown rice, you’ll feel great after indulging in this meal.
Get our recipe for Orange Chicken.
Copycat Cheesecake Factory Cheesecake
Now if you’re at all familiar with Cheesecake Factory cheesecake, you know the slices are pretty thick. While we could have made our cheesecake the same way, we decided to slice the calories in half and make the cheesecake a bit thinner than usual. However, if you would rather have a slice of cheesecake a mile highjust like the Cheesecake Factory cheesecakethen you simply double the cheesecake recipe, but make the same crust.
Get our recipe for Copycat Cheesecake Factory Cheesecake.
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Sweet And Sour Onions
Because our recipe for sweet and sour onions calls for pearl onions, there’s no knife-work involved here at all. That makes for one very easy onion dish that would be good as a side dish or a condiment, and which I’m planning on using instead of raw onions the next time I make a Chicago-style hot dog, as we mentioned before.
Get our recipe for Sweet and Sour Onions.
Instant Pot Lemon Chicken
Cooked in chicken broth with a touch of fresh lemon juice, this Instant Pot lemon chicken recipe is an easy and flavorful protein to add to your dinner plate. Pair it with some easy sides like roasted broccoli or Brussels sprouts for a well-rounded meal.
Get our recipe for Instant Pot Lemon Chicken.
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To Cook Or Not To Cook
Its a common question for people who love foodshould I scrap my current career and go to culinary school? Before you plunk down money and buy a white coat, hear what the pros have to say.
We all know themburnt out IT professionals, jaded ad execs, people who love food and think it would be great to make it their career. I love throwing dinner parties, they say. Wouldnt it be fun to do that every night?
But restaurant work is different, and culinary school is not cheap. Two chefs who also blogDavid Lebovitz and Shuna Lydonhave tried to give a serious and realistic answer for people tempted by culinary school and the lure of the restaurant business.
According to David:
If youre thinking about becoming a professional cook, whether or not to go to shool may be the ultimate question for you to ponder. There are some very good culinary schools, but in general, I think its worth getting some experience either in a restaurant kitchen or bakery before you decide to invest a lot of money in education. Perhaps the work is far more challenging than expected or the pay is going to be far lower than what youre making as, say, an anesthesiologist.
Shunas ideas on culinary school run in a similar vein:
As Kate, at Accidental Hedonist, asks, Do the students and graduates of these schools know what they are getting into?
Middle Eastern Chicken Burgers
Were you planning on grilling burgers tonight, only to look out the window and see the worst thunderstorm raging outside your window? We feel that struggle, which is why we often opt to make these Middle Eastern Chicken Burgers when the going gets tough. Cooked stovetop, these burgers are a great alternative to the grilled patty and, not to mention, theyre a lot healthier than most burgers. This lean chicken burger incorporates flavors of pomegranate molasses, parsley, cinnamon, coriander and red pepper flakes, establishing a complexity on the palate.
Get the Recipe: Sweet and Tangy Chicken Burgers
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Arugula And Prosciutto Pizza
Now, you may think we’re suggesting you make a whole pizza from scratch, just for yourself. And you’re right! You know you want it, you know it’s great leftovers, and you know you’d be OK with eating this delicious version two days in a row. If you’ve never had peppery arugula on a pizza before, you’re missing out!
Get our recipe for Arugula and Prosciutto Pizza.
Tips For Getting Started
Dont think that have to make every meal at home. Cooking at home just a few times a week to begin with can reap rewards. The more you prepare your own meals, the better youll get at it. Eventually, you may find that eating out or ordering in becomes an occasional treat rather than the norm. Here are some tips to get you started:
Start with fresh, healthy ingredients. Baking sugary treats such as brownies, cakes, and cookies wont help your health or your waistline. Similarly, adding too much sugar or salt can transform a healthy home-cooked meal into an unhealthy one. To ensure your meals are good for you as well as being tasty, start with healthy ingredients and flavor with spices rather than sugar or salt.
Keep it simple. Steam or sauté some veggies, grill some fish or chicken, add some herbs, spices, or a healthy sauce. Simple cooking can be tasty and quick.
Cook enough for leftovers. Its great to have leftovers that can be used for a quick and easy lunch or dinner the next day. When making things like rice or pasta, cook at least double the amount you need and store it in the fridge to use with other meals. Freezing leftovers can also ensure you have a home-cooked meal on hand whenever you dont feel like cooking.
Give yourself some leeway. Its okay to burn the rice or over-cook the veggies. After a few tries it will get easier, quicker, and tastier!
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Grilled Chicken Avocado Salad
Soâ¦remember that time you learned to cut avocados for our easy guacamole recipe? We bet you do, and here’s another opportunity to practice. Like avocado, these other salad fixin’s are super-easy to prepare . And the payoff is refreshing and delish. And now, because you’re ready, here are five moreeasy chicken recipes.
Get our recipe for Grilled Chicken Avocado Salad.
How Can You Tell When Raw Chicken Has Gone Bad
Head chef of HelloFresh, Claudia Sidoti, had previously told us in a different article that there are three main signs that indicate raw chicken has gone bad.
“Fresh, raw chicken should have a pink, fleshy color. As it starts to go bad, the color fades to a shade of gray. If the color starts to look duller, you should use it immediately,” she said. Once that meat turns gray, toss it!
Another way is to smell it. If emits a potent, sour smell remove it from the fridge and throw away outside immediately.
Thirdly, the chef instructed us to touch the meat, “Raw chicken naturally has a glossy, slimy texture. However, if the slime remains after rinsing underwater, it likely went bad.”
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