Saturday Night Family Dinner

So today was beautiful here in Colorado!!! I can't believe that I actually could wear shorts and not be cold! :)  I would have rather been up skiing in the mountains, but I thought that I would give my neck a little rest after the trauma of last weekend's fall! So with this beautiful day, I went for a nice bike ride, got a pedicure and made dinner for the family.

On tonight's menu: Herb Baked Chicken, Sauteed Zucchini, Squash and Broccoli, alongside a Kale, Red Pepper and Goat Cheese Quinoa Risotto.

All in all, my stomach is very satisfied.

Herb Baked Chicken

2 Chicken Breasts

Handful of dried Italian Herbs (Savory is a great spice shop here in Littleton, so I used their Italian Herb blend)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees

Place chicken on baking sheet, spray with a little olive oil and sprinkle each breast with a generous amount of herbs

Bake chicken at 350 degrees for roughly 30 minutes or until there is no longer any pink. 

(I used a meat thermometer to make sure they were done and baked them until the thickest part of the breast reached 160 degrees)

Kale, Roasted Red Pepper and Goat Cheese Quinoa Risotto

(my adapted version of a recipe I found on livestrong.com that had spinach and sun dried tomato)

1 cup Quinoa, whole grain (dry)

8 oz medium white wine

1 tbsp Olive Oil

 2 cloves Garlic

1  Shallots

4 oz Soft Goat Cheese

4 tbsp grated parmesean cheese (optional)

1/2 cup Roasted Red Peppers

1 bunch fresh Kale

2 cups Organic Vegetable Broth - Low Sodium

Pinch of Nutmeg

1 tbsp Lemon

Sautee garlic and shallots in olive oil over medium high heat until fragrant but not browned.

Add Quinoa and stir until mixed with garlic.

Add white wine and bring to a low boil. Cook until around 1/2 the liquid is gone, 1-2 minutes.

Add vegetable broth and bring to a low simmer. Cook for 10-12 minutes until most of the liquid is absorbed.

Steam kale and roughly chop. 

Chop roasted red pepper.

Add in a pinch of salt, pepper, kale, roasted red pepper, nutmeg, lemon juice, and goat cheese to cooked quinoa and stir.

Top with parmesean and serve.

Start of the sauteed shallots

I had this on hand...tasty!

Sauteed Squash and Broccoli 

1 Zucchini Squash

1 Summer Squash

Head of broccoli

Chop each into bite size pieces.

Sautee in 1 tbsp of olive oil until tender. (I prefer my vegetable to be al dente, not mushy!)

Chopped squash and broccoli alongside the steamed kale for the risotto

Sautee

I hope you enjoy!!