Category Archives: 30 minute meals or less

Bagel Supreme

Posted by Delightfully Doable on 24 May, 2014 None comments

I used to frequent a coffee shop while in college. We would drop in multiple times a week if not sometimes daily. While studying and writing papers I would get a fatty bagel with the choice of unlimited toppings. They made their own bagels which makes everything taste better.

This brings back such memories every time I make it at home realizing I used to be a naive college gal just drinking coffee and gaining the freshman 15. Although, it wasn’t just my freshman year to gain weight, it did get less as the years progressed. :) I realized through staying up late your metabolism kicks in overtime asking for more food and with little sleep your body simply can’t process all the calories without gaining weight. Double edge sword. You think you are invincible in college and come to find out, the only invincible part to college was your classes; no way around them.

So, with those college days in mind, here is a great recipe for breakfast, lunch or dinner.

Ingredients:

Serves 2

2 Bagels
Cream Cheese
2 Avocados
2 Tomatoes, sliced

Optional Toppings:

Sprouts
Cucumbers
Bacon

Toast your bagel and in a small bowl mix cream cheese and avocado together. Spread on top of bagel.

May leave sandwich open faced or closed. I prefer open faced as this is how they served them at the coffee shop.

Top with tomatoes and basil or any remaining toppings you prefer.

Jumbo Grilled Cheese Sandwich

Posted by Delightfully Doable on 21 May, 2014 None comments

These are maniac sandwiches. They are piled high of many toppings leaving your mouth fulfilled with delicious flavor.

Ingredients:

4 ciabatta rolls
½ lb bacon
4 pickles
4 slices of pepper jack cheese (or Colby)
2 avocados, sliced
16 slices of turkey

Cook bacon until desired crispness.

Meanwhile, slice pickles, avocado and cheese. Set aside.

In a small fry pan lay turkey and crisp it up a little bit leaving you with warm, fried turkey.

Toast ciabatta rolls and assemble with toppings. Use Mayo if desired!

Serve with a fresh pasta salad.

Gorgonzola Grilled Chicken

Posted by Delightfully Doable on 18 May, 2014 None comments

I decided since my husband was outside doing yard work and Cooper was playing in the dirt and watering flowers that I should learn to BBQ. I love this easy recipe and really wanted to grill the chicken as we have been in a heat wave lately that starting the oven was last on my ‘to do’ list.

I grilled two chicken breasts and three jalapeño sausages. This was a great way to learn how to grill. I got the chicken extremely moist and was so proud of myself. Cooper at chicken and sausage which made the night even better.

I have been making this recipe for years and have really enjoyed how refreshing it is but this was the first time I have made it will grilled chicken and to be honest, this was probably the best way. :)

Ingredients:

3 chicken breasts
1 large tomato
½ red onion, diced
1- 8oz container of gorgonzola cheese crumbles
EVOO

Grill the chicken and while the chicken is cooking chop onion

And chop tomato

Add about 2 tbsp. of EVOO and toss with gorgonzola crumbles.

Spoon on top of chicken and serve with grilled fresh green beans, mushrooms and red onion (recipe here).

Chicken Casserole

Posted by Delightfully Doable on 16 May, 2014 None comments

Chicken Casserole in less than 30 minutes. From mixing to baking you can serve your family incredibly quick and with delicious flavor the WHOLE family will love!

I made this in one of my rushed evenings lately and was thoroughly happy with the outcome. My whole family loved it and we all enjoyed the leftovers as well!

Ingredients:

2 cans of Pillsbury Biscuits
2 cans Chicken (or 2 chicken breasts)
1 can cream of chicken soup
1 cup mayo
2 tsp garlic salt
1 tsp salt
2 tsp black pepper
1 cup milk
1 can diced olives
1 cup shredded cheese

Preheat oven to 375 and split biscuits in half as shown below.

In a greased 9×13 baking pan, lay the biscuits close together, covering the entire bottom of dish. (reserve left overs)

Meanwhile, mix together all remaining ingredients and lay on top of the biscuits.

Top casserole with the reserve biscuits and bake at 375 degrees for 20-25 minutes or until biscuits are fully cooked.

Since this recipe is comfort food, I choose to steam some vegetables and get some yummy nutrients that way. :) It is actually an incredible recipe, my husband and I ate as usual, almost half the pan. Cooper, being the picky eater that he is, also loved this recipe. He usually hates his food mixed together and prefers plain food without cream sauce but tonight, he was loving this recipe and made his mama proud!

Don’t judge by the look of it, it has amazing flavor and is a really easy recipe to conquer!

Ham & Cheese Bake

Posted by Delightfully Doable on 4 May, 2014 None comments

I enjoy making a quick “fancy” breakfast to send with my husband to work to make it seem like he’s eating a decadent meal while he drinks his coffee and sits at his desk. :) This quick meal is easy and great to send throughout the week with one preparation. This meal is also great for breakfast for dinner!

Ingredients:

10 eggs
1 cup milk
¼ cup green onions, chopped
¾ cup sliced mushrooms
½ ham, diced
½ cup grated cheese
1 tsp paprika
1 tsp garlic salt
½ tsp salt
½ tsp black pepper
½ tsp cumin

In a mixing bowl combine eggs and milk. Whisk well!

In a greased pie plate, sprinkle mushrooms.

In whisked egg mixture, add onions, ham, cheese and seasonings. Mix well.

Pour on top of mushrooms. And bake at 400 for 25-30 minutes or until fully set. Jiggle the plate to make sure the middle doesn’t wiggle.

Serve warm!

Spaghetti Pizza Bagels

Posted by Delightfully Doable on 27 April, 2014 None comments

Yes, this is incredible and yes it is mind blowing. Spaghetti and pizza all in one meal served on top of amazing bagels with pepper jack cheese. I made spaghetti a couple nights ago and decided to use the leftovers for something meant for a Friday Night meal while watching the NBA Playoffs! Pizza and sports always go well together, but what about spaghetti pizza bagels and sports? I think so!

We always enjoy watching sports in our household but now that the Blazers have won 2 out of 2 in the beginning of the playoffs we can’t peel our eyes from the screen.

Ingredients:

3 bagels
6 slices of pepper jack cheese
Spaghetti Sauce (recipe here: http://bit.ly/1gASUMw)
8 oz pepperoni slices

On a foil lined broiler pan open bagels

Top with Spaghetti sauce

Layer with pepper jack cheese

And top with pepperoni slices

bake at 400 for 4 minutes and broil another 1-2 (baking helps crisp the who bagel rather than only the top)

Serve with a fresh green salad to provide healthy roughage in the midst of the unhealthy. :)

Bacon, Sausage and Beans

Posted by Delightfully Doable on 25 April, 2014 None comments

Deliciously seasoned bacon with Kielbasa sausage and beans. What more can you ask for? Protein, protein and more tasty protein!

I made the bacon from an incredible breakfast place my husband and I attended while on vacation. We thrive off of new breakfast places as this has been our favorite meal of the day. This place in particular had bacon called Millionaires Bacon and have been on the Food Network for this alone. It was cooked with brown sugar, paprika and chili flakes. I wanted something with those flavors and ended up with this meal. Their bacon is so thick that you only got 5 slices from 1 pound of bacon. It was also $6.50 for two slices. But let me say, it was actually the best bacon ever and definitely deserved the title of Millionaires Bacon.

So taking this idea from them, I decided to prep our bacon a somewhat similar to the millionaires bacon but not taking the full amount of time since I have had three little munchkins running around the hours since I’ve returned home…. (more on that later)

Ingredients:

½ lb bacon
1 lb kielbasa sausage
4 tbsp brown sugar, divided
¼ tsp red pepper chili flakes
½ tsp paprika, divided
1 can kidney beans

On a foil lined pan, lay bacon and top with 2 tbsp. brown sugar and 1/4 tsp paprika and chili flakes. Broil bacon until desired crispness. (I did 5 minutes) Set aside.

Meanwhile, in a large skillet, cut kielbasa sausage into small chunks and sprinkle with remaining brown sugar (2 tbsp.) and paprika (1/4 tsp) and add kidney beans.

Cook on med-low heat until brown sugar is melted and sausage is heated through.

Chop bacon and add to skillet.

I served this with sautéed kale and quinoa. It was a well flavored and my son absolutely loved every bite. :)

Shrimp and Chicken Fajitas

Posted by Delightfully Doable on 24 April, 2014 None comments

I made these for dinner in a pinch not really wanting to make dinner as I have been thoroughly exhausted lately. So much so, that I honestly hate to even mention it. It’s pretty ridiculous how tired I’ve been and how long it’s lasted. I know emotionally and physically I am worn out, but when pushes comes to shove and I have to have coffee all day long and that still doesn’t accomplish my tired soul, I’m not sure what to do. We went on vacation for three days to San Francisco and returning home was a quick reality check on how quickly vacation is over. Once you return home, vacation has left 100%.

Paying for the fact that I left my son at home without us for three days brought him to be cranky with me for the entire day. Thinking he would be so excited to see us, he was thankful we were home and than instantly gave me an attitude that would make me never want to leave him behind again if this is what happens. It was a rude awakening to wake up yesterday morning with no downtime before he woke up. My husband rushed to retrieve him from his crib as he wanted to see him before work. Not thinking this through and the reality that I would be left with this earlier riser was clearly not a priority to my husband.

My gracious parents were here tending to his every need while we were gone. Thankful for them and their amazing help, they took off pretty quickly to return home. In the meantime I had volunteered to help out a gal with her two kids three days a week and today was the official start day; the day I got home from vacation. Oh how quickly my vacation was taken from me. My cranky child along with two more little rug rats kept me from accomplishing ANYTHING all day long. Children are exhausting and if anyone tells you otherwise, than they don’t have any.

In the midst of the chaos dinner quickly approached but with nothing to serve… I literally wracked my brain for anything and everything. After traveling I did not want something unhealthy as eating out three meals a day becomes tiring very quickly so I resorted to Fajitas.

Ingredients:

2 chicken breasts, cooked
½ lb shrimp, tail off
1 large red pepper
1 medium onion, chopped
1 garlic clove, minced
1/4 tsp cumin
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp paprika
2 tbsp. fresh chopped cilantro
1/4 cup lime juice
2 tbsp. evoo
blue cheese dressing, for topping (optional)
Sriracha sauce, for topping (optional)
4 flour tortillas

Cook chicken to desired taste. In a large sauce pan add EVOO, peppers, onions and garlic. Begin to sauté for 3-4 minutes on medium heat.

Add cumin, salt, paprika, and lime juice. Mix well and add raw shrimp. Cook until shrimp is fully pink.

Add cooked chicken and cilantro. Heat through!

Scoop into a flour tortilla and eat as is, or add dressing, sour cream and/or hot sauce. :)

Enjoy!

30 Minute Chicken

Posted by Delightfully Doable on 16 April, 2014 None comments

In the midst of the chaos life still goes on. I knew my family needed to be fed tonight even though I simply don’t want to. Making dinner is the last thing on my exciting “to do” list. So, since we have been eating very little lately and not the greatest food, I decided I would make a 30 minute meal of delicious chicken and lots of veggies.

Our fridge has been packed full of food but since we haven’t been home and haven’t felt like eating, it will go to waste if it isn’t used. We have my parents coming in to town as well and they need to have some meal options and even though I don’t want to prepare anything, I know I need to. Life goes on.

Tonight’s easy meal is Gorgonzola breaded chicken.

Ingredients:

4 chicken breasts
¾ cup mayo
1 tbsp minced garlic
1 tsp paprika
½ tsp celery salt
1 tsp Italian Seasoning
1 cup crumbled crackers (Ritz, Saltines, or Trader Joes Gorgonzola crackers)

In a small bowl mix together mayo and seasonings. Set aside.

In a greased pyrex pan, place the thawed chicken.

Top with Mayo spread.

Crumble crackers on top and drizzle with EVOO to keep moist. This helps them not burn while the chicken cooks.

Bake at 400 degrees for 30 minutes.

Serve with baked asparagus and Caesar salad.

Open Face Southwest Sandwich

Posted by Delightfully Doable on 11 April, 2014 None comments

One afternoon I simply decided to make these sandwiches without really knowing what I was doing. I was probably in high school at the time. They were so good I called it my “secret sauce” as I didn’t want anyone to know how to make them but to keep coming back asking for more.

I forgot about these as I never really wrote down the recipe except in my brain. I bought warm French bread from the store yesterday because it was $1; can’t beat that. I thought I could use it for delicious French toast but as dinner was approaching I wasn’t in the mood for breakfast and I remembered these glorious sandwiches. They were perfect as it was beyond warm outside and our first 72 degree day of the year! They also were great for a quick dinner as we have been hospital bound the past week and a half to visit my mother-in-law.

Ingredients: