A Week Full of Yummy (and healthy)

The vegetable bin in my fridge... the place where good intentions go to die. Especially in the summer, when a trip to the farmer's market holds endless temptations. But life gets busy, and after work, a trip to the gym and errands here and there, too many days I come home and cooking dinner is the last thing I want to do. 

So this afternoon, I've had a cooking bonanza, and made a few healthy things that I can take to work for weekday lunches or eat on the quick in the evening.  These are some of my tried-and-true recent favorites that I hope you'll enjoy... I know I will.

Sheet Pan Tikka Masala
Smitten Kitchen is one of my favorite foodie websites, and this one from Deb doesn't disappoint. One thing I like about her recipes is that there is usually a lot of room to improvise and substitute with what you have on hand.  For this dish, I used chicken breast tenderloins cut into chunks instead of thighs, and since I had some Penzey's vindaloo spice blend, I added a 1/2 tsp of that. I marinated the chicken, potatoes and cauliflower in the spice-yogurt mix (fat-free yogurt to keep the calories down), then added some sliced red onion before cooking. This is so good, you don't really even need the chicken. I could just eat a plateful of the veggies - the cauliflower is to die for!

Greek Chicken Poppers
These chicken meatballs come together quickly, and the zucchini keeps the chicken from drying out in the oven. I grate about 1/4 cup of onion into the mix instead of the chopped green onions, leave out the cilantro (I'm one of those people with a genetic disposition to hate the stuff) and add 2 tsp of Penzey's greek seasoning. They don't look all that pretty, but with some tzatziki on top, they taste great!(this one from Skinnytaste is fat-free and delicious)

Kielbasa and Cabbage Skillet
This is a really easy, flavorful dish. I usually cut the recipe in half, and use turkey kielbasa to make it healthier -- you may need to up the olive oil a bit if you find the cabbage sticking to the pan, as the turkey sausage adds flavor, but doesn't render as much fat as the regular kind (which is good thing in the end). Also, you can use any light vinegar if you don't have rice wine vinegar - maybe reduce the amount a little bit though.