Pretty Little Apron

adobo seasoning

Roasted Poblano and Cheddar Mac

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poblanomac

My husband brought home a poblano pepper that I didn’t use in chili, so I challenged myself to coming up with a new recipe to use the pepper in. My kids request mac n cheese every time I ask them what they want for dinner, so I combined the two and it turned out to be a great twist on mac n cheese. It was really delicious with just a hint of spice. This side could easily be turned into a main dish by adding some extra veggies and seasoned black beans. If you are tired of the same old mac n cheese, I would highly recommend trying this recipe!


Sweet and Spicy Chili

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If you have seen any of my other posts you may have noticed I do serve sweet potatoes often! My kids love to eat them as fries, and I like to put them into many dishes. The hint of sweetness they provide compliment many other ingredients. I started putting sweet potatoes in my chili after my husband bought a butternut squash that I needed to use before it went bad. It worked so well I moved right on to sweet potatoes and now I rarely make chili without them. This is a staple recipe in my kitchen and I hope you enjoy it as much as we do!

I also serve this with whole wheat cornbread, and you can find that recipe here. I followed this recipe but instead of using cream I used milk and it came out perfect.

Also, here is a link to the tomato product I use. We do stay away from canned tomatoes because of the possibility of chemical leaching into the product.

Stuffed Pepper Skillet

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peppers6 Making an entire meal in one pan has one huge benefit…. less dishes! Any dinner with easy clean up is on the top of my “to make” list and this Stuffed Pepper Skillet did not disappoint. My father-in-law picked up some beautiful peppers for us at the Gratz auction and when I was thinking about what to make for dinner stuffed peppers seemed like the obvious choice. The last time I made stuffed peppers I noticed that both my husband and I didn’t finish our entire pepper because there is too much bulk at the bottom with no stuffing. I hate to see food go to waste so I decided this time around I’d go the skillet meal route.  I can confidently say we will be sticking to the skillet version because it was so much more delicious! In this recipe I do use a strained tomato product in a glass jar. I am very untrusting of canned foods with the whole leaching aspect,  so when I found these tomatoes at the grocery store I was happy to have an alternative to canned. They also do not contain any added salt which I appreciate because then I can control the sodium content of my meals. Here is a link to the tomatoes. I also bake off two bone in chicken breasts at the beginning of each week to use in meals and in place of lunchmeat for my 1st grader’s lunch. For this reason I did not include cooking the chicken in the directions, however I simply season them with salt, pepper, and olive oil and bake at 350 degrees for about an hour. When they cool I pull the meat from the bones and store in the refrigerator until I need the chicken. It is so simple and saves me time throughout the week. If you want to use boneless chicken breasts, you can cut them into small chunks and sauté with the diced peppers and garlic. Alternatively, a half pound of ground beef or a can of black beans would be great in this recipe as well. stuffed pepper skillet


Homemade Chicken Tenders

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Whole Grain Chicken Tenders

Whole Grain Chicken Tenders


For some reason people classify chicken nuggets and tenders as food for kids. What irritates me about this is the fact that chicken nuggets are made from scraps and other parts of chickens that was otherwise unable to be used.  Basically we are saying “Let’s feed our kids all the scraps” instead of saying “Let’s feed our kids the most nutritious food we can.”  See how this doesn’t really make sense? If your wondering about chicken nuggets here is a great video to set the record straight about what is really in them. Chances are you have seen the “pink slime” but it is a great reminder to me of why my family stays away from this stuff!

The good news is you can make your own chicken tenders (or nuggets) with whole ingredients. I do have a few secrets when it comes to my chicken tenders and I’m going to share them with you today! The most important factors to making your own are seasoning them correctly and pounding your chicken.  I use chicken tenderloins and pound them until they are thin. Thin chicken gives you the nice crunch kids love. Here is an example of how I do this. I simply place a plastic baggy over the chicken and pound lightly to flatten.

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If you are not sure of the tool you would need to do this it is just a simple meat hammer or tenderizer. Here is the link to one.

For this recipe, you will also need my whole grain bread crumbs. To learn how to make them click here.