Before I talk about today’s recipe, I first want to thank every single one of you who took the time to fill out my recent Reader Survey. I read through every response and appreciate all of your comments and feedback. It was a treat to learn more about those of you who come here for my recipes!! Thank you thank you. If you have yet to fill one out and would like to, you can do that right here.

Today’s recipe is a special one. It is from my friend Andie’s new cookbook, Eating in the Middle: A Mostly Wholesome Cookbook and I’m so excited to share it with you. Her blog is a source of healthy recipes as well as wisdom and encouragement to live a balanced life after losing weight. Andie lost 130 lbs years ago and has shared her journey in her touching memoir It Was Me All Along (my review of it here). If you’ve ever struggled with weight, her very personal story about her struggles and relationship with food is one that many can and will relate to. (more…)

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A couple of random, unrelated to food things today. I feel like lately, my eyes are a bit more open than usual. Do you ever experience that?  It’s like something clicks in your brain and the inner dialogue quiets down a bit and you just become more observant and a better listener. I don’t know.

Something I’ve noticed, it’s kind of a mom thing but it could be a people thing too. A friend of mine and I were talking at the gym the other day (gotta love those treadmill talks) and it’s like we both realized that we didn’t have it all together like we thought the other did. Duh, right? I’ve had similar conversations with other friends at the bus stop, in the grocery store, and at birthday parties. Go figure. But don’t you think – and this is not the first time you’ve heard it I’m sure – that with all the social media saturation that we are swimming in right now, it is becoming rarer and rarer to have true heart to heart conversations with friends and people you meet along the way? You have to make a real effort. There’s so much more surface material out there than connection sometimes. Maybe it’s just me. But I’ll say, it’s nice to have real conversations like that where you realize how “normal” you really are. I am thinking most moms can relate to this, we need conversations like this. I can appreciate even more when I meet or connect with someone in the real world, not just “online”. This is where my friend Sandy always inspires me with her way of bringing people together in her home, as a form of hospitality and connecting…and not just “entertaining”. Like I already said, it does take some effort but is always worth it. Food for thought.

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I’m not sure how it happened, but it’s August. Yikes. My kids have informed me they have mixed feelings about going back to school in just a couple of weeks. There’s the excited anticipation of finding out who your teacher is and what friends are in your class, and of course there’s also the dreaded grind of homework that is lurking around the corner. So mixed feelings it is. For me too.

This Orzo with Pesto and Peas dish reminds me a lot of something my mom would make us when we were kids. We always had pasta with peas or even rice with peas for dinner. I think I understand why – it’s quick, inexpensive and is just enough to fill up small children’s bellies. I’ve made this pesto version (because, you know me + pesto = <3 ) quite a few times and it works as a great side dish to grilled chicken or salmon or on it’s own for a light (lazy) dinner. The sun dried tomatoes add a color and flavor that I just love.

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It’s no secret that I all about simple recipes lately. (You know, simple like Slow Cooker Chicken Pesto Melts and Chicken and Vegetable Stir Fry simple).  Life is super busy for most of us and I think the biggest struggle we have is consistently keeping meals interesting and healthy but not overly complicated. That is pretty much my goal when I am trying to plan out our meals each week.

Today I am sharing a delicious simple side dish recipe for Spinach Feta Orzo over at my friend Valerie’s blog, Valerie’s Kitchen. I’ve been reading Valerie’s blog for quite some time now and have really grown to love her simple and flavorful family friendly recipes, especially her one-pot meals. Valerie is a mom of 4 grown boys and I guess you can say I look to her for inspiration and ideas on how to feed a growing family (my older two kids have officially grown out of kiddie portions and are eating like mom and dad now). Recipes like her Maple-Mustard Glazed Chicken and Chicken Parmesan Pasta are ones I just know my family would devour.

Head over to Valerie’s blog today and enjoy this super simple Spinach Feta Orzo recipe. It’s a perfect side to baked fish, chicken or shrimp.

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It’s been almost a month since Thanksgiving, does anyone have any leftover turkey in the freezer? If you do, well this is the perfect recipe for you to use it up! If not, then grab a rotisserie chicken from the grocery store, it will work just fine.

Last month I got hit with back to back illnesses – a sinus infection one week, the next week I came down with the flu. Not fun!! I can’t tell you how horrible I felt, and how helpless I felt as a mom. I haven’t been that sick in a long time and I have to admit having a 1 year old at home all day with me was really hard. All I have to say is thank goodness for moms and good neighbors and friends! My mom came to help me for a few days (seriously – hallelujah!!), which was huge, and my friends helped me out by bringing my kids home from school and driving them to gymnastics, etc. My sweet neighbor brought me over some chicken soup one night and I literally ate it out of the tupperware container while it was still hot hunched over my counter. It was SO good and boy did it hit the spot.

What I loved the most about neighbor’s chicken soup was that it had lemon and orzo in it (my neighbor who cooked this soup and brought over to me is only 16 years old by the way – how thoughtful and awesome is she?). The lemon added such a bright flavor to the soup and I couldn’t wait to make it again. I decided to make it using leftover turkey from Thanksgiving but I would definitely use cooked rotisserie chicken next time.

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I am pretending it’s not 90 degrees out and making soup this week. Guys, I don’t consider myself a very envious person, but this is the time of year where I start to experience major Fall Envy. I’ve lived in Florida most of my life (I was 10 years old when I moved here from NY) so our fall season is not new or shocking to me in any way. I’m pretty used to it whether I like it or not. But over the years, since social media hit the scene, fall in other parts of the country – REAL FALL – is a little more in your (my) face I guess you can say. It’s mid-September and I can’t tell you how many pictures I’ve seen already of apple picking, long sleeves, the start of leaves changing and yes…boots. My legs start to instantly sweat when I even think about wearing boots.

(Apples, Pumpkins and Palm Trees … Fall in Florida)

Like I said. It’s 90 degrees and I have Fall Envy. (has fall even officially started yet???)

I’m half kidding about making soup in hot weather because I actually like soup all year round. Soup in the summer is actually a nice way to enjoy all those colorful veggies that are bursting everywhere you look. Two of my favorite soups to make in the summer months are this Summer Vegetable Soup with Pesto and Summer Chicken Chili Verde. Soup is good food anytime of year if you ask me.

A few weeks ago my sister in law Jamie sent me a pin of this Italian Orzo Soup my friend Ali cooked up. The beautiful image of this soup stuck in my mind and I finally got around to making it this week. I needed a make ahead dinner for one of our nights and soup always fits the bill for evenings where we all may be eating at different times because of our schedules. What made it even better is that I already had all of the ingredients on hand in my pantry, fridge and freezer. (I love it when that happens.)

Enjoy!

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This recipe for Whole Wheat Orzo with Spinach, Chickpea and Lemon is sponsored by Bush’s Beans.

I know a lot of moms try to stock up their freezers right before they have a baby to prepare for those first few weeks of having a newborn. I didn’t. Moving to a new house 3 weeks before Micah was born kind of kept me busy that last month so I really didn’t have the opportunity to make it happen (though, to be honest, I didn’t stock up my freezer before my other babies either…but this time my intentions were really there, I promise!). Thankfully my mom and my grandfather came to the rescue and helped me out by making a ton of meatballs and chicken cutlets to store in my freezer for quickie weeknight meals. My kids could happily eat meatballs several times a week and those chicken cutlets come in extremely handy (great in a salad at lunchtime or as quickie chicken parm for dinner).

Another way we have been enjoying those chicken cutlets for dinner is simply reheated with a squeeze of lemon (truly one of my favorite ways!). When that’s the plan all I need to really worry about at dinnertime is putting together a simple side dish that I know everyone will like. This recipe for Skillet Whole Wheat Orzo with Spinach, Chickpeas and Lemon from Bush’s Beans is my latest simple side dish and I will say it was truly enjoyed by everyone!

I love love love easy side dishes like this one. I made the orzo ahead of time to cut out a little time at dinner prep, and with a few kitchen staples like garbanzo beans, fresh spinach (I always have bags of spinach in the fridge, but you could always use frozen), lemon and feta this dish came together incredibly easy on a busy weeknight. I served it alongside my grandpa’s chicken cutlets, but it would be really great with shrimp, fish or grilled chicken too.

PS…both of my kids finally like chickpeas. You have no idea how happy that makes me. (!!!)

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I’m in love with this salad.  Actually, I started out being in love with Jamie’s Spinach Salad recipe that I found on allrecipes.com, but after making it 3 or 4 times I wanted to turn into something a little more.  The kids and I were heading over to a friend’s house for a playdate with their classmates and their mommies and I wanted to bring over something healthy and yummy for the mommies to munch on for lunch.  I love using orzo in pasta salads, especially whole wheat orzo.  It has a nice punch of protein (7g) and fiber (9g) already in the pasta and turns the salad into more of a meal in itself.

The recipe for the dressing makes a good amount, so I’ve been actually keeping it in the fridge to dress pretty much anything and everything from leftover black beans and quinoa to a Spicy Slaw Salad that I’ll be posting later this week.  Enjoy!

Spinach and Orzo Salad with Cranberries and Almonds

Ingredients:

• 1 cup whole wheat orzo, uncooked
• 3/4 cup toasted sliced almonds
• about 3/4 of a 6 oz bag of baby spinach, thinly sliced
• 3/4 cup dried cranberries
• 4 oz gorgonzola, crumbled
• 2 tablespoons toasted sesame seeds (I toast in a nonstick skillet over med heat for about 5 minutes)
• 1 tablespoon poppy seeds
• 1-2 tablespoons sugar
• 2 teaspoons minced onion
• 1/4 teaspoon paprika
• 1/2 cup cider vinegar
• 1/3 - 1/2 cup oil (I used grapeseed oil, but canola or light olive oil will work)
• salt and pepper to taste

Directions:

1. Cook orzo according to instructions on package, set aside to cool.
2. In bowl, whisk together sesame seeds, poppy seeds, sugar, onion, paprika, vinegar, oil and pinches of salt and pepper.
3. In a large salad bowl combine orzo, almonds, spinach and cranberries. Gently toss ingredients with 1/3-1/2 amount of dressing, add more or less to your liking. I don't like my salad overdressed. Add gorgonzola and gently toss again. Serve immediately at room temperature or slightly chilled.

Recipe adapted from allrecipes.com

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I’ll have to admit, when I first saw this recipe as a pick for our Craving Ellie in my Belly group, I was a little hesitant about making it. As much as I love to cook, I have hangups about cooking certain types of food (for example…roasts and anything with yeast!). Curry is not something I am very familiar with, though I know I’ve had a few curry dishes in the past that I absolutely loved. After a little self talking, I convinced myself that this was another great opportunity to cook out of my comfort zone. I get in my share of cooking ruts and know how important it is to for me keep things interesting in the kitchen.

The ingredient list of this recipe is fairly simple, you can most likely find red curry paste in the Asian aisle of your grocery store or easily find curry powder with the spices. I went for the red curry paste. I also used some frozen mahi-mahi that I had on hand.

What a delight!
This dish was so light and tasty, my husband and I really enjoyed it. The flavor combination was perfect, I’m always happy cooking with cilantro and lime!
I will definitely be making it again…
next time will be trying this recipe with some shrimp and a little extra heat!

A big thank you to Liz over at The Not So Skinny Kitchen for choosing a recipe that I might have normally skipped over. Visit her blog along with the other members of CEimB to see their versions and variations of this great recipe!

Thai-Style Mahi with Coconut-Curry Broth

Ingredients:

• 2 teaspoons vegetable oil
• 4 shallots, finely chopped (about 3/4 cup)
• 2 1/2 teaspoons red curry paste, or 2 teaspoons curry powder
• 2 cups low-sodium chicken broth
• 1/2 cup light coconut milk
• 1/2 teaspoon salt, plus 1/4 teaspoon, plus more for seasoning
• 4 (6-ounce) pieces mahi-mahi
• 1/2 cup coarsely chopped fresh cilantro leaves
• 2 scallions, green part only, thinly sliced
• 2 tablespoons fresh lime juice
• Freshly ground black pepper
• 2 cups cooked whole wheat orzo or brown rice, for serving
• Steamed spinach, for serving

Directions:

1. In a large saute pan, heat the oil over moderate heat. Add the shallots and cook, stirring occasionally, until beginning to brown, 3 to 5 minutes. Add the curry paste and cook, stirring, until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Add the chicken broth, coconut milk, 1/2 teaspoon salt and simmer until reduced to 2 cups, about 5 minutes.
2. Season the mahi with 1/4 teaspoon salt. Arrange the fish in the pan and gently shake the pan so the fish is coated with the sauce. Cover and cook until the fish flakes easily with a fork, about 7 minutes.
3. Arrange a pile of steamed spinach in the bottom of 4 soup plates. Top with the fish fillets. Stir the cilantro, scallions, and lime juice into the sauce and season, to taste, with salt and pepper. Ladle the sauce over the fish and serve with orzo or rice.

Recipe adapted from Ellie Krieger, The Food You Crave or Food Network

Follow AggiesKitchen on Instagram and show us what recipes you are making from the blog! Use the hashtag #aggieskitchen - I'd love to see what you are cooking up!

 

 

Cooking Light week continues! See Day 4 here!

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If you haven’t tried cooking with chicken thighs yet, you should really give them a try. I’ve always stuck to the white meat when it comes to chicken, but after trying chicken thighs out one time I realized what everyone was talking about. The chicken definitely is juicier and has more flavor. I’m not giving up on chicken breasts, but it’s nice to have something different to switch up every now in then.

Enjoy! 

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Chicken with Artichokes

• Author: Aggie's Kitchen
• Category: Chicken
• Method: Stovetop

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Ingredients

• 2–4 TB olive oil
• 8 boneless skinless chicken thighs (about 3 1/2 pounds)
• salt and pepper to taste
• 1/2 pound orzo (I used whole wheat orzo)
• 2 cans artichoke hearts, drained
• 1/3 cup chopped parsley
• 1 large onion, chopped
• 4 cloves garlic, chopped
• 1/2 cup dry white wine
• 1/2 cup chicken broth
• 4 jarred hot cherry peppers, thinly sliced, plus 2 TB of their liquid

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Instructions

1. In a large skillet, heat 2 tablespoons olive oil over medium heat. Season the chicken with salt, place in the skillet skin side down and cook until golden-brown, about 7 minutes on each side; transfer to a plate. Reserve the skillet.
2. Meanwhile, in a medium pot of boiling salted water, cook the orzo until al dente, about 5 minutes. Drain and add the remaining olive oil and 3 tablespoons parsley.
3. In the reserved skillet, cook the onion and garlic in the chicken drippings over medium heat until softened, 7 minutes. Add the artichoke hearts, wine, chicken broth and cherry peppers and boil until reduced by half, about 3 minutes. Add the remaining parsley, fresh ground pepper and hot pepper liquid. Return the chicken to the skillet and simmer until heated through, 1 minute. Transfer the orzo to a platter and top with the chicken and sauce.
4. Serve with sprinkled Parmesan cheese.

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