This is a simple and quick sheet pan dinner with a nice, light taste for nights when you *want* some super unhealthy Japanese takeout, but don’t want a bunch of grease – or to wait for delivery.
gluten-free
Sheet Pan Miso Bowl
1.5 Tbsp. miso
1.5 Tbsp. brown sugar
1.5 Tbsp. date molasses (or a smaller amount of honey or other sugar)
3 Tbsp. soy sauce, tamari or coconut aminos
3 Tbsp. sesame oil
1 bell pepper
2 – 3 carrots
2 – 3 chicken breasts or other protein
Preheat your oven to 200C/375F and prepare a baking sheet.
Combine all the wet ingredients together, mashing the miso with the back of a spoon to break it up better. Set aside.
Chop the chicken, carrots and pepper into bite-sized pieces, placing all onto the prepared baking sheet.
Pour 2/3 of the sauce over top and toss well to combine.
Spread the chicken & veggies out in a single layer over the baking sheet. Bake 20 minutes or until cooked through.
Take the last third of the sauce, zap it in the microwave about 20 seconds to ensure the sugar is melted. Add a Tablespoon of water to thin the sauce a bit. Stir well to combine and toss with the cooked chicken & veggies before serving.
This recipe came out of missing the goodness that is Trader Joe’s grab-n-go food. DH stumbled upon a roundup of the top go-tos for nutritionists somewhere on the Internets, and thought a few of the dishes sounded great – too bad we don’t have a Trader Joe’s nearby.
I was sure I could create something that tasted at least good from the description. Probably isn’t what their version tastes like, but good nonetheless. We also didn’t know at the time, but we have been sorely missing Cuban food. Semi-passable Mexican is hard enough to find here; Cuban is impossible.
This recipe also uses cocktails in place of the bitter or sour orange featured heavily in Cuban meat marinades – I think it worked out pretty well, but were I to make this again, I’d maybe slip a teaspoon or two in after cooking to add a little bitter punch to the dish. I don’t think it would taste *quite* the same, but it will at least give that element that’s present in my favorite Cuban dishes. If you have access to mojo sauce, that would also be fantastic sprinkled over top.
gluten-free, can easily be made paleo with substitutions
Cuban Style Citrus Garlic Bowl
For the chicken:
1 roasting or stewing chicken
4-6 cloves garlic, chopped
1 small white onion, chopped
1 bell pepper – any color, chopped
4 ounce can puréed tomatoes
2 teaspoons salt
Generous sprinkle black pepper
3-4 bay leaves
1 Tablespoon ground cumin
2 teaspoons dried oregano
Juice & zest of 1 orange
1 Tablespoon orange cocktail bitters + more if desired
1.5 cups nice broth
1.5 cups water
1.5 teaspoons your favorite stock starter powder (you want about 3 cups of liquid – I had some nice mixed meats bone broth and use chicken-free chicken bouillon starter powder to make my quick-n-dirty stocks)
For the bowl base:
1 cup long grain rice (or cauli rice if you’re paleo)
1 cup reserved stock from the (cooked) chicken
1 cup water
Generous pinch salt
1 Tablespoon ghee or butter
Bowl accents:
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 small white onion, diced (reserve 2 Tablespoons)
1 bell pepper of any color, diced (reserve 2 Tablespoons)
Your favorite hot sauce (ours came from the Hot Ones sampler pack we got for Christmas – Hot Ones, if you’ve never heard of it is not only a hilarious YouTube channel filled with celebrities eating ridiculously hot wings, but is also a fun way to play wing roulette at home )
First, dump all the chicken ingredients in your electric cooker or stew pot. I cooked mine for 1 hour on the “meat” setting of my electric cooker. Your mileage may vary.
When the chicken is cooked through and falling off the bone, remove from the cooker and set to cool.
Add the rice ingredients to your cooker (swiping a cup of that yummy chicken liquid you just emptied out of the pot). Set your rice to cook. I left mine in the pot on the warming setting for awhile (half an hour-ish) after it finished, and the bottom browned and crisped a bit – y-u-m.
While the rice is cooking, sauté your diced pepper and onion in 1 teaspoon neutral oil. Season with cumin, chicken bouillon, salt and pepper. Remove when softened and starting to brown. Wipe the pan.
To your wiped pan, add enough neutral oil to cover the bottom. Set over medium-high. Quickly slice the plantains into half inch thick rounds while the oil heats to shimmering.
Add the plantains one at a time (carefully so you don’t splatter oil on yourself) so they are flat and not crowded in the pan (I did mine in two batches). Once they are all nestled in the pan, flip, starting with the first. Let brown and remove to a few paper towels folded in on themselves a few times. Sprinkle immediately with coarse salt.
Repeat with your second batch, remove and salt.
Heat your black beans if using.
To serve, use the rice (or rice analog) as a base, add the chicken and accents and sprinkle with the toppers. Add some hot sauce if desired.
Serves 4 (the rice and accents) and more (the chicken)
Yep, it’s the middle of January, and yep, I’m craving green things. This recipe is quick to put together, can be dressed up in a bunch of different ways, and keeps like a champ for leftovers.
gluten-free, paleo, vegetarian
Mushroom Pea Pasta
4 servings of your favorite pasta (I used a standard penne, but my favorite rice fusilli would be great here and chickpea or paleo pastas would also be great – shiritaki would even work, if you’re keto or low carb)
8-12 ounces portobello mushrooms, chopped into 1/2 inch pieces
Neutral oil
Butter
2 Tbsp. fresh dill, chopped
2 Tbsp. fresh mint, chopped
1/4 c. fresh parsley, chopped
1 Avocado
1/2 c. frozen peas
1 c. frozen spinach
500g. protein of choice
Garlic powder
Onion powder
Nutmeg
Salt & pepper
Nutritional yeast (optional but adds a bit of a cheesy taste)
Set your pasta water (generously salted) to boil. Add the pasta and cook according to directions. Drain and set aside in a large bowl if ready before the rest of your ingredients.
While the pasta is working, brown your protein in a bit of neutral oil – season with salt and pepper and set aside in the large bowl.
To the pan, add your chopped mushrooms, 2 tsp. neutral oil and 2 tsp. butter. Sauté until the mushrooms are cooked through and a bit browned. Season with 1 Tbsp. garlic powder, 1 Tbsp. onion powder, salt & pepper.
While the mushrooms are going, defrost your peas & spinach.
Chop your herbs and avocado – chuck into the big bowl.
When the mushrooms are ready, add to the big bowl.
Add the peas & 1 tsp. neutral oil to the pan. Sauté until just beginning to brown. Add the spinach. Season with 1 Tbsp. garlic powder, 1 Tbsp. onion powder, 1/4 tsp. nutmeg, salt & pepper. Sauté until the spinach is cooked through and the water has evaporated.
Add the green veg to the bowl.
Brown 2 Tbsp. butter in the pan and pour over the top of the pasta and veggies. Toss with 2 Tbsp. nutritional yeast.
Serve topped with more nutritional yeast if desired.
I know … Vegemite (and it’s British cousin, Marmite, are weird.
But … they’re good. Especially when paired with a little fat. I’ve had a little smeared on toast with some butter (sometimes with a little apple butter), on a burger with some bacon (freakin delicious), on toast with cheddar cheese (also yum), and now tossed with chicken – surprisingly good.
I’m curious to taste it with apple pie and macaroni & cheese. Stay tuned for that one; I have plans to revamp one of my old Mac & cheese recipes to include it. I have a feeling it will be fantastic. EDIT: Happy to report that in a test run of both that beloved recipe + a dash of Vegemite was fantastic. Still needs either a dollop more, or more salt …
This dish is really good. It doesn’t scream Vegemite – more like really good chicken. Not sure exactly how to describe the taste. Vegemite tastes salty, kinda yeasty, and kinda like miso. This chicken doesn’t really taste like that – but the chicken ness feels somehow elevated(?)
I don’t know. You tell me. If you try this dish, let me know in the comments what you think it tastes like. I’m curious to see!
gluten-free (check your labels – a gluten free variety of Vegemite is available, made with bakers instead of brewers yeast, paleo if you go for the GF Vegemite
Vegemite Chicken & Rice
1 lb. chicken thighs
1 egg white
1 Tbsp. chili powder
2 tsp. honey
2 tsp. Vegemite (or Marmite, if you lean toward that continent)
1 Tbsp. coconut aminos, soy sauce or tamari
2 tsp. baking soda
1/4 c. cornstarch or arrowroot powder
1/2 tsp. white pepper
2 Tbsp. neutral oil
1 Tbsp. sesame oil
Broccolini, cut into bite-sized pieces
Sushi rice
Neutral oil
Salt & pepper
Preheat your oven to 200C/375F. Prepare a baking sheet with a silicone mat or tinfoil.
In a large bowl, whisk together the chili powder, honey, Vegemite, soy sauce, egg white, neutral oil and sesame oil.
In a shallow dish, combine the baking soda, cornstarch or arrowroot powder and pepper.
Cut the chicken thighs into bite-sized pieces and add to the bowl with the wet ingredients. Toss to combine.
Take small batches of the sauced chicken and coat with the dry batter. Lay on the prepared baking sheet in a single layer.
Bake for 10 minutes, add the broccolini drizzled with a little neutral oil and sprinkled with salt & pepper. Bake an additional 10 minutes.
It seems our Lockdown staple of ramen noodles isn’t going anywhere any time soon. DH and I are both still craving comfort, and I’m still on the war path when it comes to wasting ingredients and clearing the pantry – so we are having some mish-mashed meals as of late.
Which is all fine, provided I can continue to find ways to add at least a little nutritional value to dinner. Some sort of vegetable.
This dish elevates some pantry staples admirably, adding two sources of protein (if you add meat), and a veggie that can also serve as a freezer cleaner.
A note on ramen: I used pot noodles (aka cup o’ noodles) for this recipe. We are loving the Korean brand Budok lately – the base flavoring I went with was chicken cheese, but this would be great with pretty much any base flavor. Mushroom, chicken, chili chicken, shrimp, curry – all would be delicious.
vegetarian and vegan if you don’t add meat, gluten-free with substitutions
Peanutty Fancy-Ish Ramen
1 pot instant ramen per person (any flavor will do, or sub rice noodles for gluten free – a little chicken or veggie bouillon would add some nice flavor if you are not using the flavor packet that comes with the noodles)
2 Tbsp. peanut butter (I used a low sugar variety)
1/4 c. soy sauce, tamari or coconut aminos
1 Tbsp. sambal olek (chili garlic sauce)
2 tsp. sesame oil
1 tsp. honey (sub agave for vegan)
2 small scallions, sliced thinly
Frozen spinach
Optional: leftover ground chicken or beef, soft boiled egg, fish cakes, leftover fried tofu, or other additional protein source
Sesame seeds for garnish
Combine the peanut butter, soy sauce, sambal, sesame oil and honey in a small pot over low heat. Simmer, stirring, until well combined and beginning to thicken. If your heat is too high and this mixture dries out too much like mine did, add a Tablespoon or two of water, stir quickly to combine, and move off the heat for a second or so to cool down a bit.
While the sauce is working, add frozen spinach to the noodle pots and fill with boiling water. Let sit 3 minutes and drain.
Add the noodles to the pot with the sauce, along with scallions, any additional protein sources, and the seasoning packet. Stir well to combine and garnish with sesame seeds.
This is a healthy little snack or light main that’s high in nutrients and can really help to stretch a pound of ground meat further. A win-win in my book.
gluten-free, paleo, Whole30
Sweet Potato Chicken Meatballs
1 lb. ground chicken
1.5 cups grated sweet potato
2 Tbsp. flour (as a binder – potato starch or tapioca flour would work well)
2 scallions, minced
1 Tbsp. chili powder
1 Tbsp. onion powder
2 tsp. soy sauce or coconut aminos
1 Tbsp. garlic powder
2 Tbsp. light oil – I used turmeric olive oil; coconut or nut oil would be fine
2 Tbsp. cornstarch (arrowroot powder is fine)
2 tsp. ground cumin
Combine all ingredients and mix until incorporated. Parcel out into golf ball sized meatballs and bake at 200C/375F 10 minutes; flip, bake an additional 10 minutes.
This is a nice little dairy-free use of enchilada sauce. Would work well in a burrito.
A couple notes: I was wanting a little more fat with mine – the addition of a little butter before baking would work, and if you eat cheese – that would work as well.
Also watch your chicken. Mine turned out a touch rubbery – I may go for pre-sliced chicken strips next time.
Enchilada Chicken & Rice Bake
Gluten-free
1 small onion
1 Tbsp. neutral oil
1 cup long grain brown rice
1 tsp. cumin
2 tsp. garlic powder
2 bell peppers
1 jar enchilada sauce (375g)
3-4 chicken thighs
Optional: Avocado, cilantro, scallions, cheese
Slice the onion thinly and add to a large pan with 1 Tbsp. neutral oil over medium/medium-high heat. Sautée until beginning to soften.
Add the rice and toss until coated. Sautee until the rice smells nutty and is beginning to pop and brown a bit. Add to the bowl of a rice cooker or pot with 2 cups water, some salt and the spices. Cook how you cook brown rice.
While the rice is cooking, preheat the oven to 200C/375F and very lightly grease a casserole dish.
When the rice is done, add to the casserole. Thinly slice the peppers and arrange on top of the rice. Nestle the chicken on top. Top with enchilada sauce. Add a jar of water.
Cover tightly with tinfoil and bake 30 – 35 mins or until the chicken is cooked through.
This recipe sounds simple but omfg it’s like comfort in a bowl. If you’re thinking about skipping out on the browning stage for your chicken because you’re lazy: don’t. I often do (see previous excuse) and I’m beyond glad I didn’t for this recipe. It absolutely made the rice.
gluten-free, FODMAP friendly
Ginger Scallion Chicken
4 boneless chicken thighs
2 inches ginger, peeled
1 cup rice (I used sushi rice because that’s my family’s favorite)
2 cups water
2 Tbsp. soy sauce or coconut aminos
1/4 cup + 1 Tbsp. rice vinegar, divided
1 tsp. salt + sprinkling salt
2 tsp. sugar
1/4 – 1/2 tsp. red pepper flakes
6 scallions
Black pepper
Fat of choice
Note: Other versions of this recipe call for onion and garlic; if you’re not FODMAPping, these would be lovely additions, I’m sure
Sprinkle your chicken with salt & pepper. Chuck into a pan over medium-high with a little fat (I used garlic oil) and cook until browned on both sides.
While the chicken is working, add the rice (wash if you wash rice; I can never be bothered and really liked the way it was kind of pasty in this dish – reminded me of a casserole), water, 1 tsp. salt, 1 Tbsp. rice vinegar, soy sauce, and the chunk of ginger.
Place the chicken and any pan drippings on top of the rice, hit the rice button and cook until done. If you’re not using a slow cooker with a rice function, cook rice however you cook rice with the chicken on top – the little bits of chicken fat and the juices from the meat run into the rice creating yummy goodness.
While the chicken and rice are going, chop the green onions (if you’re FODMAPping, green parts only) and add to a small bowl with the 1/4 cup of rice vinegar, sugar and red pepper flakes. Mash as best you can with a spoon – or, if you have one, mash in a mortar with a pestle. That would be great. Mine didn’t mush up as much as I wanted with a spoon but the onion still broke up enough to release some good flavor. Taste yours and if you want another tiny bit of sugar add that in. I was on the fence about adding more sugar to mine, but left it out because I like a nice acerbic bite.
To serve, fish the ginger chunk out of the chicken & rice and top with the scallion dressing. I mixed mine together for leftovers and that worked even better for subsequent meals.
