Back in Business, Chicken Picasso, and VITAMIX!

Well, last weekend was a whirlwind. Ryan has been studying for his PE exam and there was lots of football to watch. Our house was very happy at the end of the night because Auburn won and Florida couldn't lose because we were on a bi-week! However, this week started with me getting a stomach bug and I am just now recovering. I had lots of ideas for food to cook this week but clearly that got put on the back burner. I will share a recipe from last week though that Ryan loved.

Chicken Picasso

(Recipe from Kayotic Kitchen)

4 chicken breasts

1 onion - diced

3 bell peppers (choose red, yellow, green) - sliced thinly into rings

3 garlic cloves, diced

1 - 14 oz can organic diced tomatoes

1 vegetable bouillon cube

1 TBS Italian Herbs (we used Tuscan Sunset from Penzeys)

1/2 cup water

1/2 cup cream

1 TBS EVOO

1 TBS butter

pinch of nutmeg

pepper and salt to taste

couple of shakes of red pepper flakes

1/2 to 1 cup grated cheese (Mozzarella, cheddar, any cheese that melts well!)

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

Combine oil and butter in a pan on medium-high heat. Add the chicken. Just lightly brown on each side. Then transfer the chicken to an oven safe dish. Add onion to skillet (no need to use more oil - use the juice from the chicken). Cook the onions until they are transparent then add to the oven dish - be sure to put some onions on the bottom and top of the chicken breasts. Now add the bell peppers to the dish - cook until becoming tender and then add to the chicken/onion mixture once again on the top and bottom of chicken breasts. Now add the garlic to the skillet and cook for about 30 seconds, until the "garlic speaks". Add the water and diced tomatoes. Stir. Now add the herbs, bouillon, salt, pepper, red pepper flakes, and nutmeg. Now pour in the cream and stir stir stir! Simmer the sauce on low heat for 5 minutes, then pour it on top of the chicken mixture.

Cover with aluminum foil and place in heated oven at 400 degrees for 30 minutes.

After 30 minutes, sprinkle cheese on top and place back in oven for 15 minutes until the cheese is melted and bubbly!

This is good by itself, served with a nice salad. If you want to it would be good on top of rice or pasta! ENJOY

On another note.... I GOT A VITAMIX for my BIRTHDAY (THANKS MOM)! I LOVE LOVE LOVE this machine. It does everything from puree fruits and veggies into juice to making peanut butter, cooking soups, making ice cream, grinding coffee....etc. The list goes on and on. So far, I have experimented with Smoothies mostly. This week was going to be my juicing vegetables week but that turned inside out when the stomach bug came about. Here is a pic of a strawberry, orange, banana, grape, and pear smoothie. Such a delicious and wholesome snack and perfectly blended....

So far I love the VITAMIX. I cannot wait to continue to try new things in it. It is really a dream machine... I will continue to share recipes for the vitamix as I try them out. Ryan can't wait for his kale and apple drink....