Hasselback Chicken Casserole

Things I love: garlic, onion, creaminess, tons of flavor, and crazy easy.

This has it all. 

I kept seeing this recipe for hasselback chicken. Which is essentially a chicken breast that you slit and then stuff. But, I am a casserole girl. I just like them. So I took all the flavors and did just that!

Gather up:

• 2 pounds boneless, skinless chicken breasts
• 3 tsp olive oil
• 15 oz part-skim ricotta cheese
• 3 cups frozen spinach (I used frozen leaf spinach)
• 3 tsp garlic powder
• 3 tsp onion powder
• 3 tsp paprika
• 1.5 tsp sea salt
• 1.5 cups shredded white cheddar cheese

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees
2. Place chicken breasts in a stock pot or dutch oven and fill with water until water just cover the chicken. Boil the chicken until done. About 35-45 minutes.
3. Once chicken is done, let slightly cool enough to touch and then shred your chicken using 2 forks.
4. Meanwhile heat 3 tsp of olive oil in a large skillet and add spinach. Cook until heated through and thawed.
5. Add entire tub of ricotta cheese, garlic powder, onion powder paprika and salt and stir. Continue to stir often until the ricotta is melted and creamy and everything is thoroughly mixed.
6. Add shredded chicken to skillet and mix well with the ricotta and spinach mixture.
7. Transfer your chicken mixture to a 9X13 baking dish.
8. Cover chicken mixture with shredded cheese and then bake at 350 for 45 minutes

Great as leftovers, too!

Do you follow my portion control system? This counts roughly as 1 red, 1/2 green, 1/2 blue

Cucumber (no-pasta) Salad

You are probably wondering why I'm calling this Cucumber (No Pasta) Salad instead of just "cucumber salad". Reason being--it STARTED as my very, very favorite pasta salad recipe and turned into this! 

Here is the thing: pasta isn't bad for you (whole wheat, quinoa or brown rice please!) in moderation. However, pasta is a trigger food for me. So in my weight loss/get-abs journey I steer clear. It is so hard, but I know when noodles hit my lips it is a fast and scary downward spiral for me. I know it, so I plan for it by just avoiding it except for very rare occasions.

This pasta salad was actually my mom's recipe. Yall, I would make it with an entire box and it would be gone in a day and a half (see--downward spiral). I would eat a big bowl for lunch, snack, and dinner. Now that I have my super awesome portion control containers and realize what a serving SHOULD have been I look back and realize I was eating about a week's or more worth of carbs in a day. Yikes. No WONDER I wasn't seeing any give in my clothes! So, yes you could make this with pasta and measure it properly, but now that I make it this way I realized I don't think I was after the pasta, I was after the cheese, onion and ranch. ha!

Gather Up:

• 1/2 cup homemade ranch dressing
• 4 cucumbers- peeled and diced (seeds removed!)
• 1 cup sharp cheddar cheese, cubed
• 1/2 red onion, diced small

1. Dump it all in a bowl and stir. Serve chilled!

If you follow my portion control system, measure a serving in your green container. Count as: 1 green, 1 blue, 1 orange

If you want to know more about this portion control system and how you can join my next accountability group (we start the first Monday of each month!) shoot me an email. I promise I am a super fun and sweet person. I don't bite ;) BrittanyLerbakken@gmail.com

Homemade Ranch Dressing

Ever made your own ranch? It's really easy!! It is a hell of a lot better than the store bought stuff with all those nasty chemicals and completely unnecessary ingredients. This is way too easy to make to not do it yourself and then you know exactly what you are putting in your body! #important

Ready for the easiest thing ever? Let's go!

Gather Up:

• 1 wide mouth mason jar (or deep bowl)
• immersion blender
• 1 egg
• 1.5 cups of light olive oil (NOT extra virgin olive oil--it gives way too strong of an olive taste!)
• tablespoon lemon juice
• 1 tsp dijon mustard
• 1 clove garlic
• 1/2 tsp onion powder
• 1 tsp dill

1. Crack the egg into the wide mouth jar and add the lemon and dijon mustard then put the immersion blender into the jar and press it into the bottom
2. While the blender is on, sloooowly pour a steady stream of the oil into the jar. Continue to pour the oil and you will notice it will start to get thick!  *NOTE** If you stop here--you have homemade mayo!!!
3. The make the ranch. Add garlic, and blend one more time quickly! Stir in the onion powder and dill...and that is literally it! Your dressing expires when your egg does!

Use this ranch to dip veggies, add to veggie salads, etc!

If you are following my portion control system, this is 1 orange when measured in your orange container!

Enjoy! xoxo

Brittany

Marinated Kale Salad

My husband will tell you that he hates kale. I admit that I have served it to him in some not so tasty ways, but that was before I really got to know kale. So you are in luck and you get to benefit from my mistakes and only eat it in the most scrumptious ways. Even Dave will eat this recipe!

Gather Up:

• 2 bunches of kale. Ribs removes and ripped into small pieces.  
• 1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil
• 1/4 cup lemon juice
• 3 garlic cloves, mashed
• 1/2 tsp sea salt
• pinch of red pepper flakes
• 1/2 cup grated Parmesan (and extra for garnish) 

1. Mix olive oil, lemon juice, garlic, salt, and red pepper flakes in a small bowl.  
2. Pour mixture onto kale and toss and massage with your hands. Let this sit at room temperature for 15-20 minutes.  
3. Next, dump your Parmesan into the kale and toss. Serve with a few extra large shavings of parm as garnish!

**Kale is not like other lettuce. It is hearty and will keep in the fridge, without getting soggy, for several days!**

If you follow my portion control system, I would measure this in your green container and count it as: 1 green, 1/2 blue, and 1 tsp. 

Venison and Pork Apple Breakfast Sausage

Oh man, I am really sorry this post is coming up so late! Today is my birthday (whoo!) and I actually took the day off, so you would think that this would have gone up with my morning coffee. However, I went out with friends last night and lets just say that 29 year olds don't bounce back like 21 year olds. Damn. I had to go eat some BBQ ribs to get me back up and going!

Ok, on to the food...this sausage totally hits the spot! So, I used venison AND pork as you will see. I was given some venison and I am not usually one to enjoy the gamey taste, but I am good at masking it! Venison is such a lean meat that I am learning to love more. I am trying to get experimental with it. If you have favorite ways to use venison (steaks or ground) please post in the comments! And before I get the question...yes, you can make this with exclusively pork too :) 

Gather up:

• 1/2 lb pork sausage
• 1/2 lb ground venison
• 1/2 apple, diced
• 2 tablespoons maple syrup
• 1 clove garlic
• 1/2 onion minced
• 1 teaspoon paprika
• 1 teaspoon sea salt
• 1/2 teaspoon sage
• 1/2 teaspoon rosemary
• 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
• butter, ghee, or coconut oil for pan

1. Add everything except the butter/ghee/coconut oil to a large bowl and mix really well. I just dive right in with my hands
2. Divide sausage into about 8 equal balls and flatten with your hands
3. Heat a cast iron skillet over low heat and add your cooking fat. Add patties and let cook until browned on both sides and cooked through. I let mine cook for about 6-8 minutes on each side. I don't wanna eat raw pork...mmmmkay? Cooking on low will let you cook them for longer without burning them!

If you follow my portion control system, you can use your red container to measure out your patty size! You may need to make 1 red into 2 patties though :) Once you figure that out I would roughly count this as: 1 red, 1 tsp. Technically pork sausage is not on the 21 Day Fix approved list, but once we know our bodies we can wiggle a little (if you need assistance with this, email me! brittanylerbakken@gmail.com)