How many healthy vegetables can you add to a pot of chili? Six! Celery, carrots, bell peppers, zucchini, tomatoes, and fresh spinach. If you count the onions and garlic, you have eight! That’s a lot of vitamins right there. Vegetables are a lifeline to good health so this meatless chili is a good way to get a variety of veggies in one delicious meal. Then there are two kinds of beans for plenty of protein and fiber. Whip out a couple of my no knead crusty rolls and dig in!! ????
We don’t like spicy food and I cannot find a mild chili powder so I make my own mixture and it’s not spicy at all. My chili powder recipe uses paprika, cumin, oregano, garlic & onion powder, allspice, and cloves.
I don’t use cayenne at all but you can add a little if you like. Click here for my chili powder recipe.
A couple of notes on this chili: This is a fast recipe so the veggies must be cut small so they cook through nice and soft. Cut them all in 1/4-inch pieces. To save time, prep only the onion, garlic, carrots, and celery to start. Prep the rest while the chili cooks. You may have to adjust the amount of chili powder to your taste. Chili is a good meal to make in advance because it’s even better the next day. Click here for the recipe. – Jenny Jones
Why boil and drain pasta when you can cook it right in your sauce? In fact, everything here, the chicken, all these healthy vegetables, the creamy sauce, they all cook in one pot. And get this… 1) easy cleanup… 2) four vegetables in every serving… 3) start-to-finish : 30 minutes!
It’s vital to eat vegetables every day and this easy dinner has broccoli, carrots, peppers, and peas. There are probably more veggies than pasta in this fast and easy dinner but that’s a good thing. The creamy sauce it made with whole milk and a little flour and the result is an awesome healthy dinner that tastes much richer than it is.
My husband calls it Chicken Pot Pie Pasta because it reminds him of my chicken pot pie. I find myself looking for even faster and even healthier meals to cook and this one is going on the top of my list. To make this fast and healthy chicken veggie pasta, click here for the recipe. – Jenny Jones
A frittata for dinner? Made with spaghetti? In 30 minutes? This is my kind of dinner!
Frittatas are usually associated with breakfast because they’re made with eggs, but when you throw in some spaghetti and then add health-building spinach, a little parmesan… that’s a mighty fine dinner right there. It cooks in 6 minutes on the stove top but you do have to flip it over after 3 minutes. Here’s how I do it:
First, you need to use a fry pan with sloped sides. I slide the frittata from the pan onto a dinner plate, cover that plate with another dinner plate, flip the plates over and then slide the uncooked side back onto the pan. It’s easy, but remember to swirl a little olive oil in the pan before cooking the 2nd side.
I’m trying to eat more vegetarian meals and when it’s an easy one pan meal like this, that’s a bonus. Some recipes use different pasta shapes but I prefer angel hair spaghetti for this recipe, and I like to serve it right away… after a salad of course. Click here for the recipe. – Jenny Jones
I just found a better and simpler way to make pasta with vegetables. Everything cooks in one pot and you don’t even have to drain the pasta. With a small amount of water the pasta and vegetables all cook in the same pot. I love it.
I make it with two of the most important vegetables for health: broccoli and spinach but it also works with just broccoli. This super fast vegetarian meal takes just 15 minutes and here a couple of tips:
Be sure to keep the water boiling (not too high or too much water will boil away).
If too much water boils away, you can add a little more water as needed.
A timer is really helpful so you can set it for the pasta cooking time and then keep an eye to know when to add the veggies.
When you add the broccoli, just open the lid briefly, toss the broccoli on top, and quickly close the lid. The broccoli will steam right on top.
Add more or less parmesan. I like it with three tablespoons.
This can be a side dish or main dish. I plan to try it next with whole wheat pasta and will share my results. Click here for the recipe. – Jenny Jones
Here’s a new addition to my 30 Minutes or Less dinner category. It’s lean white meat chicken, bow tie pasta and asparagus in a creamy, low fat Alfredo sauce. It’s super easy, quick, and yummy. The whole meal takes just 25 minutes to make and it also works with broccoli.
The only difference if you use broccoli is you add a little pasta water to the broccoli when you saute it. This recipe was in my cookbook but that version used butter. My new way does not use butter and it’s much easier to make. In fact, almost any recipe I made ten years ago is not the same today. I’m always finding ways to make things simpler, easier, and faster.
The creamy sauce is my version of alfredo sauce. Did you know they call fettucini alfredo a “heart attack on a plate?” That’s because alfredo sauce is traditionally made with all cream and butter. I will never do that. Mine uses no cream or butter. I use 1% milk and I get a creamy, satisfying comfort meal that I can feel good about eating. Click here for the recipe. – Jenny Jones
It never fails. It always impresses. And it’s quick and easy. This is my go-to chicken dinner for weeknights and also for company because it feels like something from a fancy restaurant but wait until you see how quick and easy it is. It’s basically chicken in a creamy mushroom sauce that only tastes rich but it’s made with low-fat milk and no butter. I like this because it cooks in 15 minutes with only three main ingredients: chicken, mushrooms, and green onions. I normally serve it over rice but it’s also good with noodles.
Mushrooms have many health benefits including immune support, that hard-to-get vitamin D, many vitamins, minerals, and antioxidants like selenium for disease prevention. But here’s my problem with mushrooms: They’re squishy when you cook ’em. I love the smell and the taste but can’t bring myself to chew a squishy mushroom. Solution: I chop them up really tiny and there’s no problem. I left them sliced for the photo but I normally make this recipe with tiny bits of mushroom so I can enjoy this delicious meal.
No meal is complete for me without vegetables and I usually serve my chicken & mushrooms with steamed broccoli. If you like that idea, here’s an easy way to do it. I put my rice on to cook in a pot on the stove and about five minutes before it’s done, I quickly lift off the lid, toss the broccoli on top of the rice, lid back on, and finish the rice. Uncle Ben’s converted rice cooks in 20 minutes and then you let it stand for a few more and that’s just enough time to steam the broccoli with no extra dishes or pots. I love it!
Try my quick and easy chicken & mushrooms. It has never failed me and everyone loves it. Click here for the recipe. – Jenny Jones
How many healthy vegetables can you add to a pot of chili? Six! Celery, carrots, bell peppers, zucchini, tomatoes, and fresh spinach. If you count the onions and garlic, you have eight! That’s a lot of vitamins right there. Vegetables are a lifeline to good health so this meatless chili is a good way to get a variety of veggies in one delicious meal. Then there are two kinds of beans for plenty of protein and fiber. Whip out a couple of my no knead crusty rolls and dig in!! ????
I don’t use cayenne at all but you can add a little if you like. Click here for my chili powder recipe.
