The other day I was scrolling through my Fitness & Feta facebook page‘s news feed, when a link from Self Magazine caught my eye: “A SELF facebook fan asked us to suggest some healthy chicken recipes. Here are some of our favorites!” Self then shared this link.
Tim and I decided to give one of these recipes a go for a post-bootcamp dinner last night. Naturally, I wanted to try the Feta Chicken with Vegetables. While we were preparing dinner, I enjoyed a glass of Black Swan Riesling. Much needed after my busy week! And I “accidentally” ate half of an apple cider donut, whoops. Tim had a Shipyard Pumpkin and sampled one of Slesh’s margaritas, the next drink she plans on writing about in A Twist and a Shake.
But back to the feta chicken.
Ingredients
- 1 bunch asparagus, trimmed and peeled <–I’m not really sure what peeling asparagus entails? Can anyone tell me? We just trimmed them like we normally do
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 2 whole bone-in, skinless chicken breasts (about 12 oz each), split crosswise
- 1 medium Spanish onion, thinly sliced
- 3 cloves garlic, finely chopped
- 8 plum tomatoes, quartered <— We substituted regular tomatoes
- 1 medium eggplant, cut into 1-inch pieces
- 2 cups fresh spinach
- 1/4 cup crumbled lowfat feta
- 2 tablespoons chopped fresh oregano
- 4 whole-wheat pitas, warmed
- Heat oven to 375°.
- Blanch asparagus in a large pot of boiling salted water until crisp-tender, 2 to 3 minutes. Drain stalks and plunge in a bowl of ice water. Drain again and pat dry; set aside.
- Heat oil in a 6 to 8 qt heavy-bottomed ovenproof pot over medium-high heat.
- Season chicken with salt and pepper and add to pot. Cover and cook, turning once, until slightly brown, 5 to 8 minutes.
- Stir in onion and garlic; replace lid and cook until soft, 4 minutes.
- Stir in tomatoes and eggplant. Replace lid, place pot in oven and cook until eggplant is tender, about 18 minutes.
- Remove pot from oven and stir in asparagus and spinach; sprinkle with feta. Replace lid and let rest 15 minutes.
- Stir in oregano and season with salt and pepper. Serve with pitas.
Take a look at what you’ve made in the past and write down the ingredients that always seem to pop up in every recipe, ie: onions, peppers, chicken, whatever….and for those ingredients that hold up well (everything I just listed does) you can stock up on at the beginning of the week. I’m sure, as you do all these different recipes, your “spices/oils/etc” cupboard has become quite comprehensive. You can even grow a few fresh herbs at home, which will save big bucks! (Parsley, basil, and rosemary do well indoors) Lastly, start to experiment- challenge yourself to create a dinner with what you’ve got on hand, I have no doubt you’ll come up with more than one great meal without having to make any extra trips to the store!
“peeling” asparagus means to peel the end of the asparagus like you would peel a potato. cutting the ends of does pretty much the same thing, though:) looks like a yummy meal! I always make huge meals so that I can have healthy leftovers throughout the week because when I get home from work and the gym and shower, it’s usually after 8 and by that point I’m too tired to cook:)