Pesto Chicken Quinoa Bowl (and how to make braised chicken)

I've been on a huge quinoa kick lately. It's so easy to make a huge batch at the beginning of the week and use it to throw together healthy dinner bowls or lunch salads. Plus it's a protein and fiber packed seed that is filling, healthy, gluten-free, and approved for dinner on the Tone It Up nutrition plan I follow. The secret to making successful quinoa is to rinse it thoroughly in a fine mesh strainer, then boil it in 2 parts liquid to 1 part quinoa--one cup of dried quinoa will make enough for at least four meals.

The other night I made this pesto chicken quinoa bowl inspired by a similar dish I've had from a healthy restaurant here in Chicago called Protein Bar. I made it with pasta for Ben and we were both obsessed!

In addition to a big batch of quinoa, I've also started cooking a large pot of braised chicken breasts on Sunday or Monday to use for lunch salads and fast weeknight dinners. I've always struggled with cooking chicken because I'm paranoid of getting food poisoning so it usually ends up overcooked and dry. If you have similar troubles allow me to introduce you to my new favorite way to make perfect chicken every single time: braising!

How to Braise: You just heat a tablespoon or so of olive oil in a cast iron pot or Dutch oven, brown the seasoned chicken on both sides for 3-4 minutes per side, add some sort of liquid (e.g. broth) until the chicken is almost covered, cover the pot, and bake it in the oven at 350* for 30 minutes. Bam.

Not the most attractive picture, but this is what the chicken looks like pre-baking. The center should still be pink before you stick it in the oven. I usually use salt, pepper, and Italian seasonings and fill the pot with enough chicken broth to come at least halfway up the meat. You could also use canned tomatoes as the liquid, or add veggies to the pot. Cooking the chicken slowly in liquid results in extremely juicy finished product, and is basically a fast version of a Crock Pot.

Here's the final "recipe." It's super easy to throw together but ends up being restaurant quality, and you can add any veggies or toppings you want! I'm thinking different cheeses, olives, avocado….

Pesto Chicken Quinoa (or Pasta) Bowls
Serves 2, can be easily doubled
Ingredients:
-2 servings worth of cooked chicken, chopped
-4 cups mixed greens
-2 cups cooked pasta or quinoa
-2 T prepared pesto, or more to taste (I found some delicious jarred pesto at Aldi for $1.50!)
-1/4 cup shredded parmesan or romano cheese
-2 T sundried tomatoes, chopped

Cook the chicken and quinoa or pasta. Mix the chicken, greens, quinoa/pasta, and pesto in a large bowl, or assemble in individual bowls. Top with cheese and sundried tomatoes and enjoy with a glass of wine!

Told you it was easy! Let me know if you give it a try. I'm planning to start posting more healthy recipes on a regular basis, so stay tuned!

what do to during a Cold Day (or four)

It's no secret that the Midwest has been suffering through some ridiculously cold and snowy weather this winter thanks to the high pressure system that's giving the west coast a horrible drought and shoving the arctic "polar vortex" too far down the continent. Thanks to extreme cold, Ben and I have had four bonus days to stay home from work this month. Hooray! Ben is going to be teaching until late June at this rate, but I've enjoyed the extra time to relax and recover from the horrible headcold I've been dealing with for the past several days. Plus, I actually love being stuck at home, since I have too many hobbies and my funemployment period trained me well in the art of filling time.

Here's our typical "Cold Day" routine:

Step One: Sleep in a little later than usual, obviously.

Step Two: Make a luxuriously fancy breakfast. Don't worry, I'm planning on sharing more recipe posts again!!

Step Three: Crank up the space heater and get some actual work done, because you are a responsible adult. (And your supervisor might read your blog…)

Step Four: Work up a sweat and burn off some cabin fever by bundling up and hiking to the gym (for the super dedicated only), or find a workout you can do in front of the space heater. I've curated quite the collection of at-home workout ideas on Pinterest! Find me at amv201, or search for Anna Locke.

 (frozen strawberries blended with coconut water)

 (vegan tuna salad via Oh She Glows)

 (fancy salad for vitamins)

 (pureeing coconut flakes is magical)

Step Five: Make an ambitious gourmet lunch and/or have a kitchen adventure.

Step Six: Snuggle up on the couch with some tea or wine and knit an enormous scarf to keep yourself warm.

And repeat!

How have you been surviving the cold? And how many days left until spring???

you are enough

2014 so far has been a whirl of endless snow, dark mornings and evenings, fleece lined leggings, wine nights with girlfriends, dinners on the couch, waffles for breakfast, lots of sewing and cutting lace. 

The other day Jenni from Story of My Life wrote a post about running your own small business, workaholism, and balance that hit home because it pretty much summed up my life right now. With the start of a new year comes a clean slate, a fresh start, and a load of pressure to make THIS YEAR the BEST ONE EVER, to complete all the projects and achieve all the goals. I am an achiever and a perfectionist, I am driven by an unrelenting inner fire to be successful at every single thing I do. And I do a lot of things. My main goal for 2014 is to continue to grow my Etsy shop, and I have so many visions and plans about how that is going to happen. But the reality is that I also have a full time job, which means I have to work nights and weekends to sew and list items and promote myself, which turns a fun creative outlet into a legitimate second job that starts affecting my relationships, my mood, and my energy. I think the crux of the whole thing is that I know my success is directly dependent on  how hard I work, that the work is never going to be done, and the more "successful" I am, the more work there is, so I guess I really need to re-think what success means to me. Last night I decided to stop thinking and stressing out, and just relax on the couch with Ben. I read an actual book. We went to bed early. I felt like a normal person and it was amazing. 

I guess what I'm fully realizing is that life has no deadlines. There's only so much you can accomplish in a day, and that is ok. What really matters is your actual life, the small victories each day, and being joyful and content within yourself so can then be a light to others. I'm learning that balance doesn't mean feeling like you spent enough time on every single role you play, but instead finding peace in the chaos and going to bed with satisfaction that the work you did was good, and that the people you care about know that they are loved.