Meal planning is back, Jack!

Love summer. Love. It. But! There's something about fall that cools our jets, and that's a good thing. I'm back in the routine of making a meal plan on the weekend and grabbing all of the ingredients Sunday. It just makes dinnertime so mindless and easy.

I take recipes from any- and everywhere, and probably my favorite source is Cooking Light. Thanks to some grand instruction from my mom, however, I can lighten up just about any recipe. I make a serious effort to use the healthiest ingredients, too, and I am so thankful stores like TJ's and Whole Foods exist because they make it so simple for shoppers.  

Here's our Monday and Tuesday...please excuse the poor recipe formatting. It's just so much quicker to cut and paste. :)

Monday: Chicken Cordon Bleu 

Here's the recipe from the Hungry Girl, along with my "let's make this quicker" tweaks:

Ingredients:

One 5-oz. raw boneless skinless lean chicken breast cutlet 

1 wedge The Laughing Cow Light Creamy Swiss cheese, room temperature

1 oz. (about 3 slices) 97 - 98% fat-free ham slices (*I use Trader Joe's rosemary harm slices)

salt and black pepper, to taste

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. 

Put chicken in a large sealable plastic bag, squeeze out as much air as you can, and seal. Using a meat tenderizer or a can, carefully pound chicken through the bag until it is about 1/4-inch thick. Remove chicken from the bag, and season to taste with salt and pepper on both sides. (*I just cut the chicken in half. I don't bother pounding it down.)

Lay the chicken flat and spread the cheese wedge over it. Evenly layer the ham slices on top of the cheese. Starting with one of the longer sides (or any side, if it's square), tightly roll up the chicken breast cutlet, and secure with toothpicks. (*The first time I made this, I pounded the chicken and rolled it up, but since then, I've just sealed the chicken breast closed with toothpicks without worrying about rolling it up. If I were making this for a crowd, however, I might roll it up for that WOW! factor.)

Place chicken roll in a baking dish lined with foil and/or sprayed with nonstick spray, and then cover the baking dish with foil. 

Bake in the oven for 20 minutes. Carefully remove the foil covering the dish. Continue to bake (uncovered) for an additional 15 minutes, or until chicken is cooked through. Enjoy! 

Tuesday: Lighter Chicken Pot Pie 

And, the recipe from Martha Stewart. For some reason, every time I make this one, I have way more filling than just one pie plate, so I typically make two--one for dinner and the other for leftovers. Mmm.

Ingredients

• 2 bone-in, skin-on chicken breast halves (12 to 14 ounces each) (*I use two cans of chicken packed in water)
• Coarse salt and ground pepper
• 3 tablespoons olive oil
• 4 carrots, sliced 1/4 inch thick
• 1 medium onion, finely chopped
• 1/4 teaspoon dried thyme leaves
• 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
• 2 1/2 cups low-fat (1%) milk
• 1 package (10 ounces) frozen peas, thawed
• 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
• 6 phyllo sheets (each 12 by 17 inches), thawed

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Place chicken on a rimmed baking sheet; season with salt and pepper. Roast until an instant-read thermometer inserted into thickest part of breast (avoiding bone) registers 165 degrees, 25 to 30 minutes. Let cool slightly; discard skin and bones. Shred meat, and set aside.
2. While chicken is roasting, heat 2 tablespoons oil in a large saucepan over medium. Add carrots, onion, and thyme; season with salt and pepper, and cook until carrots are crisp-tender, 8 to 10 minutes. Add flour, and cook, stirring, 1 minute. Gradually add milk, stirring until smooth. Cook, stirring occasionally, until mixture comes to a simmer and thickens. (*I usually forget to thaw the peas, so I throw them in during this stage, too.)
3. Remove from heat; stir in peas, lemon juice, and chicken, and season with salt and pepper. Pour filling into a 9-inch deep-dish pie plate.
4. Stack phyllo on a work surface. Using a paring knife, cut out an 11-inch circle from the stack; discard trimmings. Stack 2 circles on work surface, and brush gently with 1 teaspoon oil; repeat with remaining circles and oil. Place phyllo stack over filling, and press down about 1/2 inch from the edge so phyllo fits inside rim of pie plate. Bake until golden and bubbling, 20 to 25 minutes. Let potpie cool 15 minutes before serving.

Happy cooking, y'all!