Meal # 16 ~ Chicken with Peas & Quinoa + Carrot and Zucchini Bars

Chicken with Peas & Quinoa

Ingredients
1 tablespoon of olive oil
1 lb boneless, skinless chicken breasts
1 t paprika
1 c uncooked quinoa
1 1/2 c chicken broth
24 oz tomato pasta sauce
10 oz frozen peas, thawed

1. Heat olive oil in a pan over med-high heat. Add chicken and cook until well browned on both sides. Remove chicken from skillet and keep warm.

2. Add paprika & quinoa to pan and stir to coat.

3. Stir in chicken broth and sauce and heat over med-high heat to bring to a boil. Reduce heat to medium & cook for 15 min until quinoa is tender

I missed the 'add sauce' part of this step and didn't add it until the next step.

4. Stir in peas (and sauce if you mess up like I did! Ha ha).

5. Add chicken and cook until cooked through.

The verdict: This was good, but I had an "off" night and was distracted and I over cooked it. I'll make it again for sure. I may even make it without the chicken as a side dish. It was great for leftovers today & Connor gobbled it up!

Link to Chicken with Peas & Quinoa recipe

Carrot & Zucchini Bars with Lemon Cream Cheese Frosting

Ingredients
2 eggs, slightly beaten
3/4 c packed brown sugar
1/2 c canola oil
1/4 c honey
1 t vanilla
1 1/2 c shredded carrots
1 c shredded zucchini
1/2 c chopped walnuts (I left this out)
1 1/2 c flour
1 t baking powder
1/2 t ground ginger
1/4 t baking soda

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a large bowl, whisk together eggs, brown sugar, oil, honey and vanilla.

2. Fold in zucchini and carrots (and walnuts).

3. In another bowl, combine flour, baking powder, ginger, and baking soda. Mix well.

4. Add flour to wet mixture and stir until just combined. Spread batter into a greased 9x13 baking pan.

5. Bake about 25 min or until toothpick comes out clean. Cool completely.

 

** While bars a cooling, you can make the frosting. I only made half the amount of frosting and put it on the bars as I want it because we actually prefer the bars plain. Plus, I give them to Connor without the frosting because it is a lot of sugar and a huge mess!!

Lemon Cream Cheese Frosting

Ingredients

8 oz cream cheese

1 c powdered sugar

1 1/2 t lemon zest (I left this out..we aren't lemon fans)

 

1. Combine all ingredients in a bowl and beat frosting until well combined. Spread on cooled bars.

The verdict: So delicious! I've made these multiple times and we eat them for breakfast, a snack, and dessert! I messed them up when I made them last night (for the same reasons I messed up the quinoa recipe..distracted!!) and I switched the baking powder and baking soda amounts. They turned out too gooey! I think I may re-do them tonight since I have a zucchini left over!

Link to Carrot & Zucchini Bars recipe