Tag Archives: chicken

Hearty & Healthy | Ranch Panzanella Salad with Roasted Chicken

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jennifer fisher litehouse panzanella plated

Winter is almost here and big salad for dinner might sound a bit out of season. However,  I’ve tossed together a fabulous entrée salad for Litehouse Foods that will have you crawling out of hibernation during the calendar’s cooler months. My Ranch Winter Panzanella with Chicken is inspired by bread salad renowned in the Tuscan region of Italy that most often features sun-ripened tomatoes, lettuce and basil drizzled with a vinaigrette. However, my sweater-weather version of this signature seasonal course includes chicken breast along with roasted winter vegetables caramelized to sweet, earthy perfection — and finished with a creamy Greek yogurt ranch dressing. Baby Brussels sprouts, butternut squash, red onions and spinach are all in the mix, but swap out or add to the robust medley with any favorite ingredient — most root vegetable will win raves.

jennifer fisher litehouse panzanella platter 1

Roasting vegetables is super easy. Coarsely chop up potatoes, squash, onions, Brussels sprouts, carrots or whatever hearty veggies you love and top with a drizzle of olive oil and a sprinkling of sea salt. Roast for 30 minutes in a 400 F degree oven, stirring halfway through.

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Mmm, you don’t want to miss the full recipe for this salad. Visit the blog at Litehouse Foods for all the delicious details.

 

Ranch Winter Panzanella with Chicken

Ingredients

  • ½ loaf (about 8 ounces) day-old French or Sourdough or Rustic bread (cut into 1” cubes)*
  • 4 Tbsp olive oil (divided)
  • 4 Tbsp dried Italian Herb Blend (divided)
  • 2 teaspoons coarse sea salt (divided)
  • 1 10-oz package frozen cubed butternut squash
  • 1 lb fresh baby Brussels sprouts (halved)
  • 1 large red onion (peeled and cut into 1” chunks)
  • 1 lb pre-cooked chicken breast (cut into large chunks)
  • 1 cup packed fresh spinach leaves
  • ½ cup Greek-yogurt based or light Ranch Dressing

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 400 F.

2. Add bread cubes to large bowl. Drizzle with 2 tablespoons of the olive oil and sprinkle with 2 tablespoons of the Italian Herb Blend and 1 teaspoon of the salt.

3. Toss together to coat bread. Spread out on rimmed baking sheet and bake uncovered for 10 minutes, stirring once halfway through. Remove from oven to cool on paper towel. Keep oven heated.

4. In large bowl, add cubed squash (okay if still frozen), Brussels sprouts, and onion. Drizzle with remaining 2 tablespoons of olive oil and sprinkle with remaining 2 tablespoons Italian Herb Blend and remaining 1 teaspoon salt. Dust off crumbs from crouton baking sheet and spread out vegetable mixture in single layer. Roast uncovered in 400 F degree oven for 30 minutes, stirring gently halfway for even cooking.

5. Remove vegetables from oven and let cool down for approximately 15 minutes. Add prepared bread croutons, cubed chicken and spinach to pan; toss together. Transfer to serving platter and drizzle with Ranch Dressing or serve on the side. Best served warm or at room temperature.

*tip: frozen French bread is very easy to cube

 

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Noodle Power! Three Healthy Pasta Recipes

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Holy macaroni, October is National Pasta Month! That makes me want to turn cartwheels for saucy wagon wheels and do extra kettle bells for stuffed shells!  Even though statistics from the National Pasta Association show that, on average, American families eat pasta seven times a month, athletes and folks watching their weight often avoid pasta in all shapes and sizes, shamed by the bad carb rap it sometimes gets. True, pasta made with highly-processed, refined white flour isn’t the best thing for your body. The outer shell of the grain is stripped, removing important fiber minerals and vitamins. In addition, many people can’t tolerate wheat and gluten foods at all. The good news is that you can still celebrate Pasta Month thanks to a cornucopia of healthier pastas and pasta alternatives.

Turning cartwheels for healthy pasta!

Turning cartwheels for healthy pasta!

Since we don’t have any food allergies or intolerances in my family, whole grain pasta is a go-to choice for my recipes – it has lots of fiber and vitamin B. These days it seems like you can get nearly every pasta type from bow tie to ziti in a whole grain option.  Rice noodles and bean-based noodles are good substitutes for folks on a gluten-free diet as are buckwheat noodles (aka Soba noodles) which actually aren’t wheat at all – technically buckwheat is the fruit of a plant called Fagopyrum esculentum. Other ideas for alternative pasta includes spaghetti squash, zucchini ribbons, shredded cabbage and the famous yet strange shirataki pasta noodles made from a soluble fiber called “glucomannan.”  These three recipes use whole-grain pasta, but feel free to use what works best in your diet.

jennifer fisher thefitfork.com taco bake med

Lightened Beef Taco Pasta Bake

  • 1 lb. 93% lean ground beef
  • 1 ¼ oz packet reduced-sodium taco seasoning
  • 1 15-oz can tomato sauce
  • 1 cup frozen or fresh corn kernals
  • 3 cups uncooked whole grain elbow macaroni
  • 2/3 cup reduced-fat Ranch dip
  • ½ cup salsa
  • 1 cup shredded 2% cheddar cheese
  • 1/2 cup crushed tortilla chips
  • 1 tablespoon chopped cilantro
  • Garnish: grape tomatoes

Preheat oven to 350 F degree oven.

Brown beef in skillet over medium heat; drain. Stir in taco seasoning, tomato sauce and corn. Bring mixture to a boil; remove from heat.

Meanwhile, cook pasta according to manufacturer’s directions. Drain. In large bowl, mix together cooked pasta, ranch dip, salsa, and ½ cup of cheese.

Spoon macaroni mixture into a 9”x13” baking dish. Top with beef mixture and sprinkle with remaining cheese.  Sprinkle on tortilla ships and cilantro.

Bake at 350 F degrees uncovered for 30 minutes, or until hot and bubbling. Garnish with grape tomatoes.

Serves 6.

 

Lemon Citrus Shrimp & Spaghetti Recipe

Lemon Citrus Shrimp & Spaghetti was a huge hit with my husband. Tart but not too sour, this healthy pasta recipe is the perfect way add some light, fresh flavors to your fall menu. If you don’t want to go outside to grill the shrimp, they are easy to roast in the oven. Or, why complicate things? Just buy them pre-cooked at the chef-prepared fresh-food counter at your market.

jennifer fisher - thefitfork.com - lemon citrus spaghetti shrimp

 

Thai Chicken Peanut Pasta Recipe

This Thai Chicken Peanut Pasta Recipe is a go-to recipe when I’m in a hurry to make a weeknight dinner. Ground chicken breast cooks up in a snap and for convenience I use packaged matchstick carrots unless I already have a stash prepped earlier in the week for salads. The sauce is simple to make and includes peanut butter and Sriracha. We never have leftovers!

jennifer fisher thefitfork thai chicken peanut pasta

 

 

Paleo Countdown Spice Rub & 4-3-2-1 Workout

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Editor’s Note: Updated 10/2/2019

There is something satisfying (and easy to remember) about rattling off numbers backward in a countdown. In fact, this ritual is even so important in some professions that it’s become part of popular culture – just think of NASA and their huge countdown clock.  As a kid, I counted down the days until Halloween, Christmas and the end of the school year.

As an adult, I count down the number of weeks until my next marathon and, admittedly, have even used a countdowns to threaten motivate my kids to accomplish tasks. Today I have a 4-3-2-1 Countdown Spice Rub recipe that is so simple, you don’t even have to write it down. Read on to get the paleo recipe: Continue reading →

Camping Kaboom | Buffalo Chicken & Blue Cheese Onion Bombs

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Forget about roasting hotdogs and warming up beans from a can on your next outdoor adventure; that is just so  . . .  uh, terribly untasty. I created a simple recipe that creates a complex, crazy explosion of flavor that will appeal to even the most discriminating of culinary-centric campers.  Check out this recipe for Buffalo Chicken and Blue Cheese Onion Bombs at Living Litehouse, the blog of a fabulously fresh food company that has been supporting my love for creating tasty, healthy dishes for a variety of occasions – today, camping!

jennifer fisher camp onion dinner single

These “bombs” are made from lean ground chicken breast that has been stuffed with blue cheese, kicked up with hot pepper sauce and then “wrapped” inside two cross-sectioned onion halves. You could call them stuffed meatballs in onions or even inside out mini-meatloaves – but they are totally the BOMB because they are dangerously delicious and wrapped up in foil like little grenades.  Toss these bad boys on the grill or nestle in an open campfire to cook up quick as a short-fused firework. For you that don’t like to leave the comforts of your kitchen, I’m not going to stop you from just baking them in the oven.  From mess kit to mouth, your every sense is going to be blowing up! Just as you would Buffalo Chicken Wings, balance these spicy bombs with the tangy coolness of blue cheese dressing. Oh, and don’t forget the celery!

jennifer fisher litehouse camp stuffing blue cheese

Check out the whole recipe and see lots of other yummy pictures at Living Litehouse.

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All Hail to the Hatch | Hatch Green Chile & Chicken Cheesecake with Avocado Drizzle Recipe

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Holy hot peppers, the mother of all Hatch green chile festivals is about to hit town right here in the ATX (that’s Austin for you non-locals). Delivered straight from the fertile farms of New Mexico to greedy grocery shoppers like myself, Hatch season is a much anticipated event that only comes around once a year. The best way to prepare the peppers is by fire-roasting; it lends a yummy smoky flavor. Central Market and some other stores take care of this step for you, roasting them in a huge tumbler and then packaging them up read to go. While it’s not as convenient, it’s definitely well worth the time and trouble to roast them on the grill at home.  This precious pepper is a versatile addition to nearly every food imaginable, from classic quesadillas and rellenos to unexpected sweet dishes like ice creams and quick breads – seriously!

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How would I know such a thing? Well, I’ve seen all sorts of eye-popping, taste bud-blasting Hatch creations as I battled it off time and time again at the Central Market Hatch Green Chile Festival Cook-Off. In the last four years, I’ve taken 3rd place, 2nd place and 1st place – and then last year my recipe made the finals but I had to bow out due to the Hood to Coast Relay with Nuun Hydration.  Right now, my creative juices are flowing, trying to figure out just exactly how I’m going to use the signature punch of Hatch peppers in my next recipe creation. Good thing I still have a good portion of a past prize, about 75 pounds of fire-roasted peppers, processed and packaged up in the freezer.

jennifer fisher - thefitfork.com - hatch cheesecakeI’m sharing one of my past winning recipes and hopefully the rest of the recipes if time permits this month. Hatch Green Chile & Chicken Cheesecake with Avocado Drizzle isn’t exactly the most low-calorie recipe in town, but I did make some low-fat substitutions to bring it down a notch. Also, if you’re in a time crunch, I’ve found a great fresh product by Litehouse Foods (Avocado Dip) that can be substituted for the Avocado Drizzle portion of the recipe.

jennifer fisher hatch green chile cheesecake thefitfork

Hatch Green Chile & Chicken Cheesecake with Avocado Drizzle

For Cheesecake:

  • 1 1/3 cup crushed Central Market Hatch Green Chile tortilla chips (or plain)
  • ¼ cup butter, melted
  • 3 (8-ounce) packages reduced-fat cream cheese, softened
  • 4 large eggs
  • 1 tablespoon chili powder
  • 1 teaspoon cumin
  • 1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
  • ¼ teaspoon salt
  • 3 tablespoons minced green onions
  • 1 ½ cup finely shredded cooked chicken (white meat)
  • ½ pound fire-roasted Hatch green peppers, skinned, seeded and chopped*
  • 1 ½ cups shredded pepper jack cheese
  • 8 ounces light sour cream
  • 1 teaspoon seasoned salt
  • Garnish: hatch green chile tortilla chips

Avocado Drizzle:

  •  2 large Hass avocados (approx 8 ounce each), seeded, peeled and diced ½”
  • ½ cup chicken broth
  • ¼ cup fire-roasted Hatch green peppers, skinned, seeded and chopped
  • 1 tablespoon of jalapeño pepper; seeded and diced (more to taste if you like hot-hot)
  • 2 cloves roasted garlic
  • 1 teaspoon lime juice
  • Salt and pepper to taste

In medium bowl, combine the tortilla chips and melted butter. Press mixture onto the bottom and 1-inch up the sides of a 9-inch springform pan. Set aside

In large work bowl of electric mixer, beat the cream cheese at high speed until light and fluffy. Add the eggs, one at a time, beating well after each. By hand, stir in the chili powder, cumin, Worcestershire sauce, salt and minced green onions.

Pour half of the cream cheese mixture into the prepared pan. Layer with chicken, Hatch peppers and pepper jack cheese.  Pour remaining cream cheese mixture on top.

Bake at 350 F for 10 minutes; then reduce the heat to 300 F and bake for an additional 1 hour or until set in the center. Remove from oven and cool completely on a wire rack.

Combine the sour cream and seasoned salt and spread evenly over the top of the cheesecake. Cover and chill for at least 8 hours.

While chilling prepare sauce by adding avocado, chicken broth, roasted hatch peppers, jalapeño, garlic and lime juice until pureed. Add salt and pepper to taste. If coulis seems too thick, blend in a tiny bit of water a time until desired consistency.

To serve, remove sides of springform pan; slice into 8 servings. Place each slice on a serving plate and pour a share of the hatch-avocado coulis on top. Garnish each slice with a tortilla chip wedge artfully sticking out of the top.

*If you can’t get your hands on fresh peppers, you can substitute the canned variety. The recipe will still be great, but it just won’t have the same unexplainable effect of a true Hatch pepper.