4 Ingredient General Tso Noodle Bowl

It's getting towards the end of the week and you may have some leftovers you're trying to use up or you may just be looking for something super simple but still nutritious and easy. Say hello to my 4 ingredient General Tso Bowl!  This was a recipe born out of my desire to use up some random leftovers in the fridge.  It was a week night and I was looking in the fridge for something quick and easy to make.  Then I spotted the following four ingredients, leftover and sitting in my fridge...all cooked up and ready to go, just waiting for me to give them new life:

• Whole wheat spaghetti
• Roasted broccoli
• Baked chicken
• Half a jar of General Tso sauce

Boom...dinner plan done!

I simply took the following quick steps and had dinner on the table for us in about five minutes.

• Heat a skillet over medium/medium high on the stove top, with a drizzle of olive oil.
• Chop baked chicken into bite sized pieces.
• Add the chicken, broccoli and spaghetti to the pan to heat through, a couple of minutes.
• Add the General Tso sauce and stir to combine and heat through, about three minutes.
• Serve and enjoy!

Bonus Ingredient: Sesame seeds!  I had black ones in the pantry so I sprinkled those on top for fun, but that's totally optional.

Simple food makes for a happy life. 

Chili Two Ways

Last week we had some unusual winter weather in Florida, with lows in the 40's overnight, which was perfect weather to enjoy some chili.  I love making a big batch of chili to start the week off.  Even though I'm only cooking for my husband and myself, I'll still make a huge pot of chili and it's enough for multiple lunches and meals throughout the week.  It makes a busy work week so much easier in terms of getting something healthy and delicious on the table.  I also usually freeze a portion of it for an easy meal weeks later.

Chili is also one of the best ways I know how to get a big punch of vegetables in one easy bowl.  I never make the same exact batch of chili every time but my chili does tend to follow some basics.  It always includes the following:

• Some sort of protein (usually chicken, ground turkey or beans)
• Vegetables (whatever I have to use up around the house or whatever is on sale/in season...this version had mushrooms, bell peppers, zucchini, onions, corn and serrano peppers)
• Liquids (I always add some tomato sauce, chicken stock and/or water and fire roasted tomatoes)
• Spices (cumin, coriander, cayenne, chili powder, paprika and sometimes even some cajun seasoning)
• Fun toppings (freshly shredded sharp cheddar cheese, avocado, sour cream, crunchy bits of tortilla chips, scallions, Greek yogurt)

I enjoyed several meals from this batch of chili, and it's delicious each time, but it's nice to make it feel "different" if I'm eating it several times in a week, whether that means I mix up my toppings or how I serve it.  The top picture was a beautiful bowl of chili that I topped with cheese, sour cream, avocado and crushed tortilla chips.  The picture below was a new idea I had to serve it over a baked sweet potato.  Yum!

You can use this as inspiration for your own favorite chili recipe.  Mix up the basics I listed above and see what combination you find that you enjoy.  After all, variety is the spice of life!

Roasted Vegetables with Ricotta

It's Sunday night and we lost an hour to the day so we're keeping things real simple tonight, even though I do love this time of year and the longer days. :)

Food doesn't need to be complicated, expensive or fancy.  It just needs to taste good. Bonus points if you're getting some good nutrition in as well!  Tonight's dinner is a perfect example of that.  Toss some roasted vegetables into a bowl and garnish with a couple dollops of ricotta cheese...done!  I have some healthy fat, protein and vegetables all in one bowl.  Prep is easy, cooking is easy and clean up is easy!

There's barely a "recipe" to this but the basic process is below.

Ingredients:

• Whole milk ricotta cheese (Just do it...the whole fat stuff is more satisfying than low fat which means you don't need to eat as much!)
• Vegetables - whichever combination you prefer.  For tonight I did asparagus, onion, zucchini and cherry tomatoes.
• EVOO
• Seasonings (whatever blend you like...I kept it simple and just used salt, pepper and garlic salt for this)

Instructions:

• Preheat oven to 425 degrees.
• For easy cleanup, line a baking sheet with aluminum foil or parchment paper.
• Prep any veggies that may need slicing/dicing/etc.  
• I put the cherry tomatoes and asparagus on the baking sheet whole.
• Peel and slice the onion.
• Peel (or wash the skin and leave it on) the zucchini and slice into half moons or discs or whatever shape you like.
• Season veggies with EVOO and your choice of seasonings.
• Roast in oven until done...I like mine a little soft but not mushy, with some good brown color on them.  Takes about 15-20 minutes depending on how you like your veggies and how small or large you chopped the pieces.
• Serve in a bowl alongside a couple small scoops of the ricotta cheese.
• Enjoy!