1 Chicken…2 Healthy Dinners

A great way to ensure that you and your family have wholesome, healthy meals during the week, especially if you work, is to do a little prep work on Sunday. I work during the summer, and have Wednesdays and Sundays off, so I use these days to prep at least two additional meals.
This past Sunday evening I roasted a chicken. It requires very little time…and tastes delicious!
I have my go-to Rapid Roast Recipe, but lately I have just been coating my bird with olive oil, stuffing a lemon (cut in half) into the cavity, and seasoning with sea salt, fresh cracked pepper and garlic powder (about 1 1/2 teaspoons of each). I bake at 450 degrees for 15 minutes, then turn the heat down to 375 and finish roasting. This 3 1/2 pound organic bird was done 65 minutes after decreasing the heat. When I pulled it out of my oven I tented it with foil and let it set on my butcher block for an additional 15-20 minutes to finish cooking and get all juicy and yummy. After it had cooled a bit, I pulled the lemons out, wrapped it in foil, and stuck it in the fridge. So. Simple.



Last night I tried a new chicken recipe. I got the ideas from a few Pinterest pins (here and here).

Tex/Mex Chicken Quinoa
1 cup cooked quinoa
2 cups cooked, shredded chicken (dark meat, skin off)
2 avocadoes, chopped
1 seeded Roma tomato, chopped
1/4 cup red onion, finely chopped
4 oz. aged cheddar (I used raw, white cheddar from our natural foods market…YUM.)
1/2 cup of ALL NATURAL or Organic BBQ sauce
1/2 cup nonfat plain Greek yogurt


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Always rinse your quinoa with cold water before cooking. It is covered with a bitter coating and will taste AWFUL if it is not rinsed off. (Trust me…I’ve made that mistake!)
I place my quinoa in a saucepan with 1 1/4- 1 1/3 cups of water and 1 teaspoon of sea salt. Bring to a boil over med-high heat, the cover and simmer over low for 15 minutes. I then remove it from the heat and fluff with a fork.  Let it cool while you shred your chicken and chop veggies.



You could also chop everything, but the avocado, beforehand if you want to save time.
Heating the chicken is not required, as the heat from the quinoa with bring everything to a nice, warm, but not too warm (this is not a served hot dish).


Scoop some quinoa into a bowl, top with shredded chicken, pour on your bbq sauce, top with veggies, then finish off with a scoop of Greek yogurt (or sour cream).
Mmmmmm!
It turned out better than I expected…I LOVE it when that happens!

This made 2 adult sized portions, 2 kiddos sized portions, and enough for leftovers for my husband’s lunch.







Meal number 2…
Salad greens with garden fresh veggies, chicken breast, Swiss, and honey mustard vinaigrette…
This is my new FAVORITE salad!
I fell in LOVE with this dressing the first time I tried it…
it is available on numerous websites, so I am not giving credit to one site/person in particular, as I haven’t a clue where it originated.


Honey Mustard Vinaigrette
1/4 cup red wine vinegar
1/4 cup organic Dijon mustard
1/4 cup raw honey
1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
1/4 tsp sea salt
1/4 tso fresh ground pepper
Wisk all ingredients together in a small bowl or measuring glass. Enjoy!

I topped my mixed organic greens with sliced chicken breast, shredded carrots, sliced radishes, copped cucumber, thinly sliced red onion and some shredded Swiss cheese…but you can use whichever veggies you have available. Dried cherries and sliced almond also go well with this salad. Experiment!




I hope I have given you a few more ideas for creating fast, delicious, and most of all HEALTHY, suppers (or lunches)!

Have a WONDERFUL mid-summer week!

I am linking up with Tasty Tuesdays , Mandy's Recipe Box and Sugar Bee Crafts!

Jessie