Tag: fit recipes

Vegetable & Chicken Stuffed Zucchini Boats

Healthy, delicious, quick and easy meals do exist! Often the easy part of the recipe involves planning ahead, having the ingredients on hand, or in this case, using up what’s in the fridge!

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Chop up left over vegetables to create the filling for the scooped out zucchini boats. Use what you have – I did! Carrots, celery, mushrooms, spinach would all be delicious too. The chicken can easily be left out to create a vegetarian version of the dish.

Here is the recipe…
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Vegetable & Chicken Stuffed Zucchini
(Makes 2 boats)

Ingredients:
1 medium zucchini, cut in half and scoop out half of zucchini
1/2 small red onion
1/2 bell pepper, sliced or chopped
3/4 cup broccoli florets
1/4 cup sun dried tomatoes
1 cloves garlic, finely chopped
1 small chicken breast, diced
2 tbsp. olive oil
salt/pepper to taste
fresh gated Locatelli Romano

Directions:
Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees.
Add olive oil, scooped out zucchini, and garlic to a hot pan.
Sauté onion, pepper, broccoli, tomatoes, and chicken.
Salt/ pepper.
When vegetables are cooked but still crisp, spoon mixture into zucchini boats.
Bake 350 degrees for 20-25 minutes until zucchini softens.
Remove from oven and top with grated Locatelli Romano.

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Enjoy!
Ciao!

Summer Zucchini Salad with Honey Lemon Vinaigrette!

Do you have zucchini coming out of your ears? I definitely do! It is that time of year when I have had enough- totally zucchini breads, zucchini boats, and zucchini breakfast-ed out! What else can you make? There is always the chocolate-zucchini craze of hiding the veggie in chocolate cake, muffins, cookies or brownies. Chocolate is always a great idea, but how about a salad sans lettuce and a smooth and summery homemade vinaigrette? Now that sounds perfectly summer!

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Summer Zucchini Salad
(Serves 4)
Ingredients:
2 medium zucchini
2 vine ripe tomatoes
1/2 cup crumbled goat cheese
1 lemon
salt/peper to taste

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Honey Lemon Vinaigrette
Ingredients:
1 tsp. garlic powder
1 tsp. dijon mustard
6 lemons- squeezed for juice approx. 1/4 cup lemon juice
2 tbsp. honey
1/2 cup olive oil
1/4 cup grapeseed oil or canola oil

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Directions:
Peel zucchini with a vegetable peeler in long strips and place into serving bowl or platter.(I roll-up some of the strips for easy eating and because it adds to the beauty of the dish.)

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Cut tomatoes into wedges and add to the salad.

Sprinkle with 2-3 tbsp. crumbled goat cheese.

For dressing:
Whisk all ingredients except oils.

 

Add oils, lid, and shake vigorously until well mixed.

Top salads with 2 tbsp. of dressing and squeeze a halved lemon over salads.

Add salt and pepper to taste.

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Enjoy!
Ciao!

Honey Garlic Jalapeño Chicken!

Fall-off-the-bone, juicy, flavorful chicken thighs are the absolute best! Since most of the time we don’t meal plan one day ahead, a long marination process can seem impossible. By using a robust marinade, you can easily create a depth of flavor without the 8 hour marination process. By robust, of course I mean garlic, a hint of jalapeño, and honey for sweetness. A quick coating is all it takes!

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I suggest grilling the thighs. If you live in Pittsburgh it’s impossible because it rains everyday! You can brown them in a pan like I did. The great thing is the thighs get completely smothered in gooey deliciousness and finished off in the oven, so either works. The marinade actually reduces to a thick sticky coating in the pan, totally ideal for chicken thighs.

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I utilized the left over pan goo to pan sear the corn on the cob…this was genius.

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Robust garlic and honey flavors with a hint of jalapeño is perfection on corn!!!

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All I added was a coating of butter, a shake of paprika, and some finely chopped parsley for a fancy finish.

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Garlic Honey Jalapeño Chicken
(makes 6-8 chicken thighs)

Ingredients:
1/3 cup honey
6 cloves of garlic, finely chopped
1 large jalapeño pepper, finely chopped
3 tbsp. olive oil- 2 tbsp. marinade/ 1 tbsp. for pan
2 tbsp. balsamic vinegar
Handful of chopped parsley or cilantro
salt/pepper
6-8 chicken thighs, skin on or off and rinsed

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Directions:
Mix all ingredient together in a mixing bowl.

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Coat chicken thighs in a ziploc bag or 9X13 pan to marinate.

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Heat oven 350 degrees.
(Overnight or all day is best …if you have time! This marinade is strong so it is not absolutely necessary.)

Heat 1 tbsp. olive oil in a large pan.

Remove thighs from marinade and add to the pan. Keep excess marinade!

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Brown thighs on each side 3-4 minutes per side.

Remove thighs from pan and add to a 9X13 baking dish.

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Pour excess marinade over thighs.

Cover with foil and bake 35-45 minutes, make sure juices run clear. Chicken will be “fall off the bone” yum!

Especially if skin-on, crisp the thighs under the broiler for 5-7 minutes until desired crispness.

Let stand 5-10 minutes and serve!

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I serve these delicious thighs with Pan Seared Corn on the Cob!(See directions above in intro.)
These two dishes are delicious! Both stars of the meal!

Enjoy!
Ciao!