So Mondays are night class days for me this semester, which basically means I have all day to catch up on tv shows, read, cook, bake, workout, etc. I started the day watching the weight loss episode of Rachel Ray. Then watched some of The View, while deciding to marinate chicken tenders for a spinach, egg, almond, and chicken salad.
Marinade for Chicken:
1/4 c evoo
1/2 c dijon mustard
1 c apple cider vinegar
2 Tbsp honey
2 Tbsp lemon juice
whisk everything together in a bowl, baking dish, or tupperware big enough to hold your chicken breast or tenders. I usually either cut 2 chicken breasts into 8 tenders or just use a pre-cut and trimmed pack. After you mix the chicken in with the marinade, season with salt and pepper and refrigerate for 15 minutes to an hour.
then I usually bake the chicken at 350 degrees for 45 minutes to an hour.
for the salad I chopped one hard boiled egg and one baked chicken tender then mixed it with spinach and about 1/4 of raw almonds and topped it with 2 Tbsp mustard vinaigrette.
About half an hour after I finished reading two chapters of Rococo by Adriana Trigiana and eating lunch we got a visitor on our window sill. My cat Winston was so exited he pulled the curtains down twice. Hopefully the squirrel isn't too petrified and will someday make it back over to the tree.
Later in the afternoon I had a craving for mac n cheese, but the traditional comfort food doesn't quite fit into my diet right now (cruise is in about a month!), so I tried Weight Watcher's recipe with a few modifications.
My grocery store as a pretty good selection of whole grain and whole wheat pastas, but sadly no macaroni. I used a whole wheat penne instead. Then I followed the recipe for Weight Watcher's Stove Top Macaroni and Cheese until the end. I really like my mom's macaroni and cheese recipe that has crispy, creamy, crunchy, bread crumbs and cheese on top, so I popped the dutch oven into the oven at 350 degrees for about 30 minutes to get a delicious crust on top et voila dinner is served! With a side of lemony green beans of course.
