Recipes: Roasted Whole Chicken with Veggies and Tuscan Chicken Skillet

So - first off, sorry for the mini hiatus. My husband and I moved two weeks ago, and we are just now hooked up to the internet. To be fair - the internet company threatened it would take over 40 days (gotta love the Polish efficiency!), but after harassing them for a few days - they miraculously showed up at our door.

The weird thing is that we are still getting letters that are saying the internet won't be turned on for another month. I think these guys are way confused.

Anyway - that is mainly the reason why I was gone. It's hard to run a blog when you don't have a connection! Plus - between the movie, 4th of July, and just being plain lazy I haven't actually been cooking that much, and what I have been cooking hasn't been earth shattering enough to post about.

But never fear! That is about to change! For starters - I need to lose some weight. I finally weighed myself after a month and a half back in Texas followed by two months of just not giving a shit and found out that I have gained A LOT.

So yeah - I basically need to lose a 3 year old before Christmas (We have a very important ski trip that I need to fit into my ski pants for), and a big part of that will be due to me cooking in a whole lot more than I am now. It also means that I will be posting more scale friendly recipes. Don't worry, I will try my best to not get all preachy, and I also promise you I won't "fad" out. You'll enjoy this trip with me, I promise.


Anyway, lets get to the recipes, shall we?


Roasted Whole Chicken with Veggies

This Recipe  is very basic, but very good. I got it from my sister years ago and it is perfect for Sunday dinner or when you don't want to cook for the next few days. It makes a TON of leftovers if you are a family of two (like my husband and I are).

Ingredients
1 whole chicken
1 can of beer
1 lemon
3 stalks of celery
2 carrots
baby red potatoes
3 cloves of garlic
Salt/Pepper (or Season All seasoning - that is what I use)
Butter

Instructions
Pre-heat your oven to 350 F
Cover the entire chicken in butter - this helps keep the seasoning on and also gives it a nice roast.
Put the chicken in a Roasting pan.
Slice the lemon in half - and shove one half of the lemon in the chicken.
Chop up celery, carrots, potatoes, and garlic. Place around the chicken (you can even shove some up in the chicken - it gives it a really nice flavor).
Pour the beer over the chicken and veggies.
Season chicken and veggies with salt/pepper liberally.
Put in oven and cook uncovered for about 3 hours (or until chicken is cooked through).


Tuscan Chicken Skillet

Credit: The Wonderlust Kitchen

Find the blog post about it here.

Ingredients

• 2 Tbsp. olive oil, divided
• 1 lb. chicken breast tenderloins
• 1 tsp. kosher salt
• 1 tsp. freshly ground black pepper
• 1 tsp. oregano
• ½ tsp. thyme
• ½ yellow onion, diced
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• 12 oz. mushrooms, sliced
• ⅔ c. sundried tomatoes, chopped
• 1 (15 oz) can Cannelini Beans, drained and rinsed
• 2 (15 oz) cans fire roasted diced tomatoes
• 1 Tbsp. sugar
• Salt and pepper, to taste
• Parsley for garnish

Instructions

1. Season the chicken with salt and pepper. Heat 1 tablespoon of olive oil in a large sauté pan or cast iron skillet over medium-high heat, then add the chicken and brown for 3 minutes on each side.
2. Remove chicken and set aside on a plate. Add the remaining tablespoon olive oil to the pan. Add the sliced mushrooms in a single layer and brown, working in batches, a few minutes per side. Remove from the pan and set aside.
3. Add the onion and sauté for 3 minutes. Add the garlic, and sundried tomatoes. Sauté for 2 minutes. Stir in the diced tomatoes, spices, beans, and sugar.
4. Transfer the chicken back to the pan and spoon some of the sauce and vegetables over top of the chicken. Cook, covered, on the stove top until the chicken is cooked through and the sauce is bubbling, about ten minutes. Return the mushrooms to the pan. Taste and add salt and pepper as needed. Serve hot, garnished with parsley.

Cucumber Tomato and Feta Salad

I am not a salad lover by any means.

Every time I go out with my girlfriends and we end up at a salad restaurant my soul just dies a little bit. Don't get me wrong, there is nothing wrong with salads. They are just boring. And please, don't give me the speech that salads aren't boring - because to me they are. Even if  you put a thousand different dressings and fruit combos in them, I'm still not going to be impressed.

I want to like salads. It's almost the same feeling of how I wish I liked science so I could have grown up to be a rich doctor. But facts are facts and I just don't (on both accounts). I like meat. If I were a dinosaur I would definitely be a T-Rex because all I want to do is eat meat. The fattier, the better (although I do try to not JUST eat bad for you fatty foods - it's just what I want).

Okay I lied - I'm totally an Omnomnomnivore

                                            

With that said - a few weeks ago I came across a salad recipe that I didn't hate! It was if the clouds parted, the sun beamed down on me, and God said "Let you eat healthy and like it!"And I did. I SO did.

So without further ado:

Cucumber, Tomato, and Feta Salad 

2 cucumbers - peeled, thinly sliced

1/2 small red onions, thinly sliced

2 cups of cherry tomatoes, halved

1/2 cup of feta cheese

Sweet & Tangy Vinaigrette recipe

1/2 pound of cooked pasta (optional - not pictured)

Combine all ingredients together and toss with vinaigrette.  Best when marinates for 1 hour in the refrigerator before serving, if possible

Classic Sweet & Tangy Vinaigarette

1/2 cup of olive oil
1/2 cup of white wine vinegar
1/4 cup of sugar
1 teaspoon of dried italian seasoning
1 teaspoon of sea salt
1/2 teaspoon of black pepper

Stir all of the ingredients together. Let sit in refrigerator for one hour if possible.