Chicken Cassoulet

This is a great crock pot recipe that I got from my Beachbody coach's blog, and can be used year round.  I usually make this on Sunday (my plan and prep day for the week) and then I have lunch for up to 4 days taken care of.  The great thing about this recipe is that the longer it sits in the fridge, the thicker and more flavorful it becomes. 

 

 

Ingredients:

• 1x 15 oz can navy beans, pinto beans or black-eyed peas, rinsed and well drained.
• 4 boneless skinnless chicken breasts or turkey breast.
• Sea salt and fresh ground black pepper.
• 2 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil
• 1 2/3 cups low-sodium chicken stock
• 1 medium onion.
• 4 celery stalks, trimmed and chopped.
• 4 garlic cloves passed through a garlic press
• 1/4 cup sundried tomatoes, not packed in oil.
• 3 large carrots, peeled and cut into chunks.
• 1/4 cup fresh basil, chopped fine.
• 1 tsp thyme
• 2 tbsp fresh minced parsley

Preparation:

• Spread half of the beans in the bottom of your crock pot.
• Season poultry with pepper and sea salt. Heat olive oil over medium high heat in a skillet. Brown the poultry on both sides in the skillet for about 5 minutes each side. Place the browned chicken on top of the beans in crock pot. Top with remaining beans and the chicken stock. Use water if you don't have chicken stock.

• Saute the onions, celery, garlic, sundried tomatoes, carrots, and herbs using the same skillet. Spread this mixture over the ingredients in the crock pot. Cover and put on low heat for several hours.  I usually cook this for about 6 hours.  The chicken will break apart easily when done.



Rosemary, Spinach, and Brown Rice Casserole

I was hunting around for something healthy to take to our Thanksgiving Potluck at work and came across this recipe from Clean Cuisine.  This was super easy to make and turned out well.  The feedback from my co-workers was good overall, with some saying the recipe could use more salt.  I rarely add salt to anything and even while making it I thought "wow, that seems like a lot of salt".  Apparently it wasn't!  Also, my son said it tasted like nothing..... not sure how to take that.  I personally thought it was pretty good and am considering adding it to the family Thanksgiving meal as a side dish alternative for those wanting to keep their meal a little bit healthier. 

Serves: 6

■3 eggs (the original recipe called for organic eggs, I just used regular eggs)

■1 box (10 ounces) frozen chopped spinach, thawed and thoroughly patted dry with paper towels

■3 cups cooked short-grain brown rice (I have no idea what this means as I could not find "short-grain" brown rice in the grocery, so I just used the store brand brown minute rice - it didn't say "long grain" on the box like some of the other rice did so maybe it was short grain??)

■1/3 cup plus 1/3 cup raw pecans, divided

■1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce

■1 tablespoon chopped fresh rosemary

■1/2 teaspoon unrefined sea salt

■1/4 teaspoon pepper

1.Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Lightly coat the bottom and sides of an 8 x 8-inch casserole with extra virgin olive oil.

2.Place 1/3 cup pecans and ½ cup water in a high-speed blender or food processor. Process until smooth and creamy. Set “pecan milk” aside. Finely chop the remaining 1/3 cup pecans and set aside.

3.Add the eggs to a large mixing bowl; whisk briefly. Add the spinach. Stir in the rice, pecan “milk”, rosemary, salt and pepper. Mix until well combined.

4.Transfer spinach and rice mixture to the prepared casserole. Bake for 25 minutes. Remove the casserole from the oven and sprinkle on the chopped pecans. Bake for another 10 minutes. Remove casserole from the oven, cool on a wire-rack 10-15 minutes before serving. Serve warm.

 

In the original recipe it doesn't tell you when/where to add the Worcestershire sauce, so I just mixed it in when I put in the pecan "milk".  I baked this the night before our potluck and then reheated it in the microwave before serving.  Most likely it would best be served immediately after baking as it seemed to dry out a little after microwaving.   

October Recap

Wow, October was a whirlwind!  We had 5 birthdays (yes 5!), the end of 2 sports seasons and the beginning of one, games, a party, a play, and a fundraiser!  Busy would be an understatement. 

Let's start with the birthdays.... Jp turned 20 which just seems crazy to me.  We don't get to see him as much as we would like so it was great to have him home (I assume it was the lure of dinner and cake that got him there).  We grilled out and had a good time together as a family. Unfortunately, one of the things that happens when you move out of the house is that you may not get a fresh cake.... Sorry JP, leftover soccer banquet cake was on the menu this time.  In our defense, it was made by our favorite cake lady and was almost an entire cake!

We also celebrated my sister's birthday,

my brother's birthday,






 and my mom's birthday in October. 

Talk about a rough month on the waistline!  The good thing about it all was they were spread out enough that we were able to fit in the extra cakes and eating out to our weekly "cheat meals".  That and a steady stream of T25 Gamma and 5K training allowed me to come out of the month weighing less than when I went in.

 Oh, and I got my FREE t-shirt for completing T25 too! I have moved on to Pure Gamma, a review will be coming soon for that.

We finished up the soccer and football seasons with the last few games and a banquet for each.  Both Josh and Jacob had great seasons.  Josh scored several goals this season and Jacob ended up the year as a kicker and made most of his extra point kicks! 









In the middle of all this, wrestling season started.  The boys had to finish up their current sport season but as soon as that was over they were out on the mat for the start of the wrestling season.  This will last until the middle of February.  Never a dull moment!  As part of any sport, fundraising is a necessity in order for the kids to be able to make it to tournaments, have the gear they need, and pay for entry fees among other things.  In order to make that possible, we participated in a "clean up" fundraiser at Keeneland Race Track. 
We found out after the fact that it was the highest attended day in the course's history. 
Talk about some messy people!!









The final weekend of Aladdin Jr. was also performed in October.  This was a great show and the kids really enjoyed themselves.  Almost every show was sold out!  We will have a little break until the plays start up again with Sweeney Todd in February and Shrek in March.

Last but not least, I finished the 5K training program and completed the PTA 5K.  I actually ran the whole thing which was my goal.  Rick did it too, but he runs like its his job, and he came in 3rd in his age group!  He likes to wear his medal around the house.....






How was your October?