Sweet Love and Ginger

Quick & Easy

12 Quick & Easy Meals for the Holiday Season

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12 Quick & Easy Meals for the Holiday Season

This is the time of year when we are all busy running to and from holiday parties, baking, decorating, gift buying and everything else. I thought it might be a good time to share a collection of quick, easy and hearty meals to help you get through this crazy season. Enjoy!

One Pot Chicken Broccoli Alfredo

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This is the time of year when one pot meals are like the
best thing ever. It’s because we are all running around like chickens, with no
heads, on no sleep, and with all the stress of the holidays (the fun too).
These meals are lifesavers. It’s especially great when it feed 4 or more. I mean 4
people out of one pan! Yeah it’s a pretty big pan, and it’s a pretty wonderful
pan. I probably should also mention that it takes about 30 minutes from start
to finish.
Do I sound a bit crazy? It’s probably because I am. That
whole book writing frenzy set me a bit behind on the holidays so I’m trying desperately
to catch up now. Eeekgatz!
Anyway you’re here for the recipe so I’ll just get on with
it.

One Pot Chicken Broccoli Alfredo (Serves 4)
4 cloves of garlic, minced
2 tbsp olive oil
1 lb of chicken, cut into strips
1 lb of pasta
3 cups of water
2 small heads of broccoli (or 1 large), cut into florets
1 cup of cream
½ cup grated Parmesan cheese

In a large pan or Dutch oven heat oil over medium high heat
and sauté the garlic for 1 to 2 minutes or until it begins to brown. Add the chicken
and cook until it becomes opaque on all sides, 3 to 5 minutes. Add pasta and
water and bring to a simmer. Cover and cook for 10 minutes. Add the broccoli
and cream and cook for another 5 to 10 minutes. The pasta should be aldente,
and the broccoli tender. Stir in the Parmesan cheese and serve.

15 Minute Lo Mein

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So I’ve been really into Asian food lately.

It seems like I go through ethnic spurts every few months. This time last year it was all things German (evidenced here, here, and here). Over the summer it was Mediterranean food (note here, here, here, and here), then Indian food (this is the only one that made it to the blog, I have a lot to learn with Indian spices).
So lately I have been learning how to make homemade wonton soup, ramen, and sticky chicken. Some things may be showing up here in the near future, be prepared.
Today I want to talk about easy lo mein. This is one of those recipes that have been my go to lately since Chuck has been away for work for whole weeks at a time. I like it because I can add, chicken, shrimp, beef or whatever else I feel like and have a totally different flavor profile. I usually make the lo mein and serve it to myself with a side of steamed veggies. This way I can get to meals out of this recipe, who doesn’t want an awesome hot lunch the next day?
So the cooking time on this is actually way less than 15 minutes, however I’m calling it 15 minutes because I’m counting the time it takes to cut the vegetables. If you wanted to make this entire thing in say, 5-10 minutes you could opt for frozen stir fry mix. I’ve totally done this, more than once.

 

15 minute Lo Mein (Serves 1)
1 tbsp low sodium soy sauce
1 tsp sesame oil
1 clove of garlic, crushed
½ tsp ground ginger
Pinch of sugar
½ tbsp canola oil
½ cup shredded cabbage
½ cup bean sprouts
1 small carrot, julienned
½ a small red pepper, julienned
½ cup sliced mushrooms
½ cup snow peas
1 scallion. Julienned
3 oz lo mein noodles
1 cup broth
Toasted sesame seeds for garnish (optional)
 

In a small bowl whisk together soy sauce, sesame oil, crushed garlic, ginger, and sugar. Set aside. Heat oil in a large skillet over medium high heat. Add in all vegetables, except the dark green parts of the scallion, and the snow peas. Turn the heat to high and cook for one minute while tossing the vegetables. Stir in the broth and noodles then cover and cook for 3-4 minutes. Add the snow peas. Stir in sauce mixture and toss. Cook until the liquid has evaporated and all of the veggies and noodles are coated, about 1-2 minutes. Remove from heat and top with dark green parts of scallion, sesame seeds and serve. 


PS: Tomorrow is Thanksgiving and around here things are busy, what with the NaNoWriMo Challange and all, so I have opted to take the next few days off. I will be back on Dec. 1 with the usual Recently Post. Have a good weekend!

Maple Chipotle Turkey Chili

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Maple Chipotle Turkey Chili

Thanksgiving is on its way and of course I’m already thinking about what I can do with the leftovers. My priorities are on point.

Lately I have been in a love triangle with chipotle and maple.
What is it about maple in the fall? We typically make this stuff by the gallons in the spring, but I’m all jazzed up to use it in the fall. I don’t know what the deal is with that, but the combination of maple and chipotle is seriously holding the reins around here.
I’m putting it in everything, even my tea. Ok that was a lie, but you see where my obsession is going here. It’s an awesome combination that I think you should try soon and preferably with this recipe or this one. There may be more similar recipes coming soon, I know you’re as excited as I am.
This recipe is a pretty simple recipe you can make for a different twist on leftover turkey. Don’t get me wrong I love a good, hot turkey sandwich, pot pie or soup, but sometimes you just need a little something different.
Maple Chipotle Turkey Chili

 

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25 minute Broccoli Cheddar Soup w/ Rice & Chicken

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Broccoli Cheddar Soup w/ Rice & Chicken
Quick, easy, healthy, and delicious. These are the keys to the perfect one pan meal, especially when you are a single person. Let be real here no one wants to spend hours in the kitchen for themselves, though this doesn’t mean they want to eat ramen noodles every night either. We single eaters want real food. The kind we can sink our teeth into, and look back on with fond memories. We want satisfying food that also happens to be fairly easy to prepare. We should probably mention easy clean up, inexpensive, quick, uncomplicated, you know because it’s only for one person, why make it hard?
Yeah we are asking a lot, but I think we deserve it.
I also think that his meal has all of those qualities. It is a super hearty soup that you can whip up easily, and has the added benefit of being cheesy. Everyone likes cheese right? Well everyone without a dairy allergy likes cheese right? Moving on.
Are you ready for this? There are 8 ingredients; even including oil, salt & pepper which are usually considered freebies. Oh and it only requires one pot. If you really want to you could probably skip the bowls and eat right out of the pot. I mean its fewer dishes to wash so technically you are saving the environment.
Woah. We are doing big things with this recipe over here.
Broccoli Cheddar Soup w/ Rice & Chicken
25 minute Broccoli Cheddar Soup w/ Rice & Chicken
Author: JC
Prep time:
Cook time:
Total time:
Serves: 1 serving
Ingredients
  • 1 small boneless skinless chicken breast, cut into bite size
  • pieces
  • Salt & pepper to taste
  • 1 tbsp olive oil
  • ¼ cup rice
  • ¾ cup chicken broth
  • 1 cup broccoli cut into bite size pieces
  • ½ cup shredded cheddar cheese (plus more for garnish)
Instructions
  1. Season chicken with salt and pepper to taste and sauté with oil over medium high heat for 1-2 minutes or until it becomes opaque, and browned.
  2. Add rice, broth and broccoli and bring to a boil. Once boiling reduce to a simmer, cover and cook until the rice is tender (about 20 minutes).
  3. There should be some liquid left in the pan, but add more if needed.
  4. Stir in cheese and adjust seasoning.
  5. Serve warm.

For more one the health benefits of broccoli check out this post from Well Being Secrets.