Archives for October 2019

Broccoli Cheddar Stuffed Chicken

October 11, 2019~ Main, The Platefull Blog

This recipe has been on rotation in our house for years, but I recently started making it in my new air fryer. Air fried or baked, it’s always a crowd pleaser. Serve it with fries or mashed potatoes. My personal fave is mashed sweet potatoes (which, by the way, you can get in the freezer section at Trader Joe’s now if you want a shortcut!), but my kids are not fans of the “orange potato,” so I often make regular mashed potatoes for them. My Roasted Asparagus with Lemon and Feta is also a great side for this meal!

Broccoli Cheddar Stuffed Chicken

Author: Sarah

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Ingredients

Scale

2 chicken breasts

2 oz cream cheese, softened

1/2 cup cooked, chopped broccoli

3/4 cup shredded cheddar cheese

1/2 cup whole wheat bread crumbs

1/2 cup Panko

1 tsp garlic salt

1/2 tsp onion powder

1 egg, lightly beaten

Toothpicks

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Instructions

Heat an air fryer to 375 degrees.

Carefully cut a pocket lengthwise down the side of the chicken breast, being careful not to cut all the way through. This will create the pocket for the broccoli cheese filling. (If your chicken breasts are really thick, pound them out a little before cutting the pocket).

Using a fork, mash together the cream cheese, broccoli, and shredded cheddar cheese until well combined.

In a flat dish, mix together the whole wheat bread crumbs, panko, garlic salt, and onion powder.

In a wide bowl, lightly beat the egg.

Stuff the broccoli cheese mixture into the pocket you cut in the chicken. Use toothpicks to secure if necessary. Dip all sides of the stuffed chicken breast into the egg, then into the breadcrumb mixture.

Place the stuffed and breaded chicken breasts into the air fryer. Cook for 10 minutes, then flip and cook for 7 more minutes, or until the chicken reaches an internal temp of 165 degrees.

Notes

This recipe can also be made in the oven. Place a baking rack on a cookie sheet or sheet pan. Place the chicken on the baking rack and bake at 400 for 30 minutes, or until the internal temperature reaches 165 degrees.

My Morning Routine

October 8, 2019~ Breakfast, Drinks, The Platefull Blog

A few months ago, I really started thinking about how I could start my day in a way that gave me energy and motivated me to get out of bed in the morning. I had fallen into a pattern of hitting snooze so many times that I rolled out of bed right before my kids. One of the pitfalls of working from home is that there’s really no motivation to look presentable each day, thus my rolling out of bed at the last minute and working in sweatpants everyday wasn’t a problem. But, it actually was a problem. You see, I recently finished reading Girl, Stop Apologizing and it was like a huge wake up call to me that I wasn’t making time to work on my goals. I wasn’t making time to take care of myself. I certainly wasn’t making myself a priority. From the second my feet hit the ground in the morning to the second I went to bed at night, I was doing things at full speed, for other people. As I walked through the steps in the book, I began to piece together what an energizing morning routine would look like for me. Here’s how it’s come together:

5:00 Wake up, drink a glass of cold water while I make my coffee. Then I spend the next hour drinking my coffee and working on my one primary goal.

6:00 I belong to The Balanced Life Online, which provides a calendar of Pilates workouts Monday-Friday. MWF workouts are about 15 minutes, while T-Th are more like 30 minutes. At 6 AM, I do my pilates workout for the day.

6:15/6:30 I head to my favorite comfy chair to do 10 minutes of meditation through Headspace. Then I write in my gratitude journal, following the #last90days methodology.

6:45 Pack school lunch for my Kindergartner, set out backpacks, shoes, coats, etc.

7:00 Get my kids up (if they aren’t up already). Get them ready for school.

7:10-7:20/7:30 The boys watch a show and have a glass of milk, while we snuggle. I have thought so many times about doing away with this part of the morning routine, but these morning snuggles start the day off right for all of us and are truly one of the things I’m most grateful for each day!

7:30 My husband takes the boys to school and I get myself dressed and ready for the day, while listening to my favorite playlist or podcast.

8:00 Make my favorite green smoothie and sit down at my desk to check email and begin my work day.

So, that was a really long post to get to the point….which is that this green smoothie is a rock solid part of my morning routine! It’s smooth and delicious, and easy to make thanks to my freezer smoothie packs. Once in a while I get crazy and swap out the smoothie for an oatmeal bowl or acai bowl (look for those recipes soon!), but it’s rare that I don’t start my day with this smoothie! And I haven’t gotten sick of it yet. 🙂

Morning Green Smoothie

Author: Sarah

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Ingredients

Scale

1 cup spinach

1/3 cup avocado

1/2 banana

1/3 cup frozen pineapple cubes

1/3 cup frozen mango chunks

1 tsp matcha powder

1/2 cup coconut water

1/3 cup coconut milk

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Instructions

*Note: For this recipe, I use frozen avocado chunks from Costco. I pre-assemble smoothie packs by combining the frozen avocado, pineapple, and mango, along with half a banana that I have peeled and sliced into individual smoothie portions and freezing. Each morning, I dump a smoothie pack and the remaining ingredients in my Vitamix blender.

To mix the smoothie: Combine all ingredients in a blender. I use a Vitamix and blend on the smoothie setting. If the smoothie looks too thick, I add a little coconut water.

Smoky Pulled Chicken Tacos with Pickled Onions

October 4, 2019~ Main, The Platefull Blog

This meal sounds so fancy, doesn’t it? Well, I can promise you that while it sounds (and tastes!) fancy, it is anything but. The chicken is so simple – done in the Instant Pot, and the pickled onions should be made ahead. They will store in the fridge for 2-3 weeks (I love having them on hand to add to soups, salads, wraps, etc!). Set out the ingredients for a build-your-own taco bar.

Smoky Pulled Chicken Tacos with Pickled Onions

Author: Sarah

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Ingredients

For the Smoky Pulled Chicken:

1 can (14.5 oz) fire-roasted diced tomatoes

5 chipotle peppers in adobo sauce

2 tablespoons brown sugar

1 teaspoon oregano

1 teaspoon cumin

1 teaspoon smoked paprika

1 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon pepper

4 garlic cloves, minced

1 tablespoon fresh lime juice (the juice from 1/2 lime)

3 pounds boneless, skinless chicken breast

For the Pickled Onions:

1 cup warm water

1/2 cup apple cider vinegar

1 Tbsp sugar

1 tsp salt

1 small red onion, cut in half and then sliced

For the tacos:

Tortillas (corn or flour, your preference)

1 avocado

1/2 lime, cut into wedges for serving

Crumbled Feta cheese

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Instructions

For the Pickled Onions:

Combine the warm water, sugar, and salt and stir to dissolve. Add the apple cider vinegar and stir. Halve and slice the red onion and add to a mason jar or bowl with an airtight sealing lid. Pour the liquid over the top, making sure all onions are covered by liquid. Seal the container and store in the fridge for 2-3 weeks.

For the Smoky Pulled Chicken:

In the Instant Pot, combine the can of diced fire roasted tomatoes and 5 chipotle peppers. Use a wooden spoon to mash the peppers and tomatoes. Add the garlic, oregano, cumin, smoked paprika, lime juice, brown sugar, salt, and pepper and stir to combine. Add the chicken breast to the pot, turning to coat them in the sauce. Close the lid and set the valve to sealing.

Using the manual setting, set the instant pot to 20 minutes at high pressure. When the instant pot is finished cooking, carefully release the steam using the steam release valve. (If you have never used an instant pot before, be very careful at this step, as the steam escaping will be very hot).

Transfer the chicken to a cutting board and shred using two forks.

With an immersion blender, puree the remaining sauce in the pot until there are no more chunks of tomato or pepper and the sauce has slightly thickened (It won’t get terribly thick). Add the shredded chicken back to the pot and using tongs, combine well with the sauce.

Serve in tortilla, topped with sliced avocado, pickled onions, feta, and a squeeze of lime juice.

Apple Hand Pies

October 1, 2019~ Dessert, The Platefull Blog

With the cool weather that hit this weekend, I’ve got Fall on my mind! My favorite thing in the Fall is my homemade apple pie. I’m famous for it. Pretty much. It doesn’t matter where we have Thanksgiving, or who it’s with, my made-from-scratch apple pie is always requested. It’s definitely a labor of love, but so worth the effort….once or twice a year. When I got my new air fryer, I thought, “Hmmm, could I make my apple pie in 30 minutes or less?” I’ll probably be regretting the decision to try because I certainly don’t need to be shoving down apple pies all season, but I’m delighted with how this recipe turned out! Apple pies for everyone!

Apple Hand Pies

Author: Sarah

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Ingredients

Scale

For the filling:

1 Granny Smith apple, peeled and diced small

1 Tablespoon cinnamon

3 Tablespoons white sugar

3 Tablespoons brown sugar

1 Tablespoon Water

2 Tablespoons butter (cut into 8 small pieces, for topping your pie)

For the crust:

2 cups flour

1/2 tsp salt

1 Tablespoon sugar

6 Tablespoons butter, softened

6 Tablespoons shortening

2–4 Tablespoons ice water

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Instructions

First, dice the apples. Then combine the sugars, cinnamon, and 1 Tablespoon water. Let stand on the counter while you prepare the dough.

For the dough, mix the four, salt, and sugar together. Add the softened butter, shortening, and 2 Tablespoons ice water. Use a pastry cutter to combine the dough. Add more ice water if the dough is too dry. Turn out onto the counter and lightly knead the dough until it comes together. If dough is too dry, add more ice water, a little at a time. If dough is too sticky, add a little flour at a time.

Now preheat your air fryer to 360 degrees.

Roll out the dough to 1/4″ thickness. Use a 4″ pastry cutter to cut circles in the dough. Place 1 Tablespoon of filling in the center of a dough circle and top with 1 piece of the butter. Gently slightly stretch another dough circle and place on top, letting the edges drape over the filling. Gently stretch and press the top piece of dough to the edges of the bottom piece. Use a fork to crimp the edges.

Spray the tops and bottoms of the pies with cooking spray. Place the pies on the cooking plate and cook in the air fryer for 8-10 minutes, checking carefully as they cook. I am able to fit two pies at a time in my air fryer.

When the pies are cooked, serve plain, or topped with caramel sauce and vanilla ice cream!