Cheesy Baked Chicken with Portobello Mushrooms, by Cheryl

This was so easy to make and delicious... what more could you want?! I made a couple of substitutions - an onion for the shallot and shredded cheddar cheese instead of sliced mozzarella. The chicken came out super tender and the mushroom/onion mix under the cheese was super yummy. It didn't come with a sauce and I thought it needed something so dipped it in some specialty BBQ sauces that Jon has been trying out, while the kids had it with ketchup, as per usual. I'm definitely making this again. Yum!

Ingredients (recipe from here)

2 boneless chicken breasts
1/4 cup seasoned bread crumbs
1/4 cup Parmesan cheese, finely grated
1 egg beaten
1 small shallot, chopped
1 tbsp olive oil
2 portobello mushrooms, sliced
1 tbsp parsley, chopped
1/4 tsp black pepper
4 slices mozzarella cheese

Directions:

1) Preheat oven to 425.

2) Mix together bread crumbs and Parmesan cheese in a shallow dish.

3) Dip chicken in the beaten egg and then the bread mixture.

4) Place chicken in baking dish that's been sprayed with cooking spray.

5) Meanwhile, heat olive oil over medium high in pan. Add shallot and saute until soft.

6) Add mushrooms, parsley, and pepper, cooking about 5 minutes.

7) Top chicken with mushroom mixture evenly over each piece. Place mozzarella slice over each piece.

8) Bake at 425 for 20 minutes or until juices run clear.

Whole30 Chocolate Covered Strawberries, by Diane

This week I got a fruit mix that contained strawberries, which I don’t like by themselves. But there was a bunch of them sitting in the bottom of the container and I couldn’t let them go to waste, so I created a chocolate coating for them that was whole 30 compliant. These are delicious!


Ingredients:

12 Strawberries
3 tbsp Cocoa powder
1 tbsp Coconut oil
1 tbsp Date syrup


Directions:

1. In a small bowl, melt 1 tbsp of coconut oil.

2. Mix in cocoa powder and date syrup and stir until smooth.

3. Using a fork, dip the strawberries in one by one and coat twice, leaving a few seconds for the first coat to congeal before dipping again.

4. Place the strawberries gently on a parchment paper lined plate. Once hardened, transfer to a container and freeze.

Beef and Broccoli Meatballs, by Diane

I got this recipe from @justjessieb and thought it sounded like a cool spin on my fave Chinese takeout dish. It fit the bill for a protein packed Whole30 lunch for the week, but unfortunately when it all combined together it was a little lackluster. I wanted to follow the recipe but should have stuck to my instincts because the meatballs were lacking flavor and a little dry, the broccoli was overcooked, and the sauce needed a bit of oomph (I ultimately fixed this last one!). But when combined, the delicious sauce got lost and didn't really flavor the dish like I had hoped.


Ingredients:

2 lb ground beef
1 egg
2 tsp toasted sesame oil
1/2 cup almond flour
1/2 tsp each ground ginger, salt, pepper, garlic powder
2/3 cup coconut aminos
1/4 cup balsamic vinegar
2 tbsp. toasted sesame oil
2 tsp minced garlic
1/2 tbsp. Dijon mustard
1 tsp ground ginger
Pinch red pepper flakes
4 crowns fresh broccoli, cut into florets


Directions:

1. Bring a large pot of water to boil and preheat the oven to 400.

2. Combine beef through garlic powder, form into meatballs, and place on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Bake for 15-20 minutes.

3. Toss the broccoli in the boiling water and cook until fork tender.

4. Combine the remaining ingredients over medium high heat and cook until it reduces by 1/3. I used arrowroot powder to thicken the sauce.

5. Toss the cooked meatballs in the sauce, and pour over the broccoli.

Chocolate Sea Salt Dates with Almond Butter, by Diane

This was a FREAKING HIT. I needed a Whole 30 snack and I was craving something sweet, so I whipped this up. Holy moly this was a great combo. The sea salt was a last minute addition that changed the whole flavor in the best way possible! I suggest eating these far away from the kitchen because they are so easy to make and so delicious that you will be tempted to run back in and make 25 more. :)


Ingredients:

4 dates
4 tsp almond butter
2 tsp cocoa or cacao powder (I recommend the cacao, as it tastes deeper in flavor and pairs well)
Coarse sea salt


Directions:

1. Slice into the dates lengthwise, being careful not to cut all the way through.

2. Stuff a tsp. of almond butter into the dates and squeeze shut.

3. Sprinkle with cocoa/cacao powder and sea salt.

4. DEVOUR.

Herb Roasted Radishes, by Diane

I had a bunch of leftover radishes from Passover, and thought it might be nice to try roasting them. They were a bit of a disappointment as the roasting process took away the sweetness of the raw radishes and instead they were more watery on the inside. I had to use a lot of extra seasoning to compensate.


Ingredients:

Radishes, quartered
EVOO
1 clove garlic, minced
Parsley
Sea Salt
Thyme


Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 400.

2. Toss radishes along with remaining ingredients, and pour onto a well-greased baking sheet.

3. Bake until golden, adjust seasoning by adding salt if needed.

Belgian Waffles, by Cheryl

On March 25 it was National Waffle Day. How do I know this? Well, my kindergartener's principal sends a lovely one minute video message to all of the students everyday and he has a different day for every date! It's pretty informative actually, haha. Anyway, I didn't have the energy to cook waffles right then and there, but we made them the next morning with this recipe. They were so fluffy and different than other waffle recipes I've tried before. I had to beat the egg whites until they fluffed up into stiff peaks and the fold it into the batter.. I think this really made the difference! I'll be making them again. Yum!

Ingredients:

2.25 cups all purpose flour
1 tbsp baking powder
3 tbsp sugar
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp cinnamon
2 large eggs, separated
1/2 cup vegetable oil
2 cups milk
1 tsp vanilla extract

Directions:

1) In a large bowl whisk together the flour, baking powder, sugar, salt, and cinnamon.

2) In a medium bowl beat the egg whites until they form stiff peaks. Set aside.

3) In another bowl mix the egg yolks, vegetable oil, milk, and vanilla extract.

4) Add the egg yolk mixture to the dry ingredients and mix well.

5) Fold in the egg whites.

6) Heat up your waffle iron and spray it with oil.

7) Pour the batter into the waffle iron (I used half a cup) and cook according to its directions.

8) Serve immediately with optional toppings such as butter, whipped cream, fruit, etc.