Monday Meals: Creamy Balsamic Chicken & Brussel Sprouts

Rebecca in the Wisconsin Test Kitchen is back on the Whole 30 for the second time. Spoiler: the second time is more miserable than the first. By day three, she was craving burritos and scowling. A lot. But day 4 and 5 seemed to tame the savage beast. And some delicious, complaint food didn't hurt either. One of our new favorite Whole 30 recipes is this delicious, hearty dish that only tastes indulgent.


Creamy Balsamic Chicken & Brussel Sprouts
Recipe courtesy of: Chocolate Salad

Ingredients
5 oz cooked shredded chicken
1/2 C brussel sprouts
1/2 C baby bella mushrooms
1 T Whole 30 approved mayonaise (we used Tessiemae's)
1 T balsamic vinegar
1/4 t Italian seasoning
1/8 t garlic powder
1/4 t kosher salt or to taste
fresh ground pepper

Instructions
In a medium sized frying pan, saute your brussel sprouts (halved) on medium heat for about 5 minutes. Add in your mushrooms (quartered) and cook for about another 4-5 minutes until mushrooms are cooked through. 

Add in your cooked shredded chicken and toss until hot. Take off the heat.

In a small bowl, whisk together your mayo, vinegar, and the rest of the seasonings until smooth.

Pour out over chicken mixture and toss to coat everything.

Not looking to try Whole 30? That's fine; this chicken dish is so delicious even non-Whole 30 fans will love it. And it's easy enough to throw together for a quick, delicious weeknight dinner. 

Stay Cool,

The Cool Dads Crew

Friday Fun: Crock Pot Ham

One of the thing I wanted in the Arkansas test kitchen this year was an additional crock pot. I mean... can you have too many? 

A Christmas miracle happened this year, and one of my brothers purchased me a new digital Westinghouse Crock Pot. I barely had the crock pot out of the box and was already thinking about new recipes to try. 

The first recipe I chose was Crock Pot Ham. Ham was on sale, and who doesn't enjoy a good ham supper?! It would have been great to get this recipe in time for the holidays, but we made due. And besides, do you ever need an excuse to eat ham? Nope!

Crock Pot Ham

1 3 - 5 lb. bone-in fully cooked ham
3 cups brown sugar
1 12 oz. can pineapple tidbits with juices.

Remove most of the excess fat from the ham.
Score ham in a diamond pattern (just score lightly- do not cut too deeply).

If you purchased a spiral cut ham, ignore this step. 

Place one cup of brown sugar on the bottom of the crock pot.
Place ham on top of the brown sugar.
Pour in pineapple and juices.
Coat ham with remaining brown sugar.
Cook ham on low for 6 - 8 hours.

When finished cooking, the ham will fall off the bone, and you'll have sweet, salty, meaty goodness that you can't go wrong with.

Once you're done with the ham, save the bone for a Split Pea or Bean Soup. This tasty ham recipe is the perfect thing to make during the football playoffs, and you'll have plenty for lunches this week. Win/Win... which may be better than your football team did this season! 

Stay Cool,
The Cool Dads Crew

Monday Meals: Curried Lentil Soup

Not sure about you, but the Wisconsin Test Kitchen has done A LOT of indulging over the holidays. There were lots of cookies, glasses of wine and slices of homemade pizza. Oh, and those nachos we made for the Packers playoffs. Mmm, nachos. 

But we need to get back on track with eating healthier. We pulled out the crock pot and started making an effort to cook healthy dinners every night. Lentil soup was one of the first meals we made in the new year. It was our first time cooking with lentils, and we were impressed with how easy they are to cook with, and how hearty the dish was. Give this soup a try, it might be one of your new favorites!

Curried Lentil Soup
Recipe courtesy of: Gimme Some Oven

4 cloves garlic, peeled and minced
2 large carrots, peeled and diced
1 medium white onion, peeled and diced
6 cups chicken or vegetable stock*
1 1/2 cups uncooked green or brown lentils, rinsed and picked over
1 tablespoon Madras curry powder**
1 teaspoon garam masala
1 teaspoon ground cumin
2 bay leaves
2 cups roughly-chopped baby spinach
3 tablespoons lemon juice, plus extra lemon slices for serving
salt and pepper
chopped fresh cilantro leaves, for topping

DIRECTIONS:

Add the garlic, carrots, onion, stock, lentils, curry powder, cumin, and bay leaves to the bowl of a 4-quart or 6-quart slow cooker, and stir to combine.

Cook on high for 4-5 hours or on low for 6-8 hours, until the lentils are tender.

Stir in the baby spinach and lemon juice until combined.

Taste, and season with salt and pepper to taste. (I used about 1 teaspoon salt and 1/2 teaspoon pepper, but the saltiness of the soup will vary based on your type of stock.)

Serve warm, garnished with lots of chopped cilantro and extra lemon slices, if desired. 

Do you have any go-to recipes to help detox after the holidays? Please leave your recipes in the comments section; we love hearing from our readers!

Stay Cool,
The Cool Dads Crew

Monday Meals: Lemon Chicken Tortellini Soup

It seems like everyone is stricken with the cold or flu right now; there are upper respiratory and sinus infections going around like crazy. And we all know the best remedy for a cold: Chicken Noodle Soup!

The Wisconsin Test Kitchen made a delicious, hearty chicken soup last week that all three members of the test kitchen loved. And I don't think it's a coincidence that since we've enjoyed it, none of us have come down with a cold... #knockonwood

Lemon Chicken Tortellini Soup
Recipe courtesy of: Carlsbad Craving


12 oz. boneless skinless chicken thighs
1 tablespoon olive oil
2 tablespoons butter
1 small onion, chopped
8 oz. sliced mushrooms
1 cup carrots, sliced
4 garlic cloves, minced
2 teaspoons chicken bouillon
1 tsp EACH dried parsley, salt
1/2 tsp EACH dried thyme, dried oregano, ground cumin
1/4 tsp EACH pepper, red pepper flakes
2 bay leaves
9 cups low sodium chicken broth
1 15.25 oz. can sweet corn, rinsed and drained
12 oz. UNCOOKED fresh cheese tortellini
4 cups loosely packed fresh spinach
2 tablespoons lemon juice plus more to taste
freshly grated Parmesan cheese (optional garnish)
lemon zest (optional)

Place all ingredients except tortellini, spinach, lemon juice, Parmesan cheese and lemon zest in the crock pot and cook on low for 6-7 hours, or high for 3-4 hours. 

Remove chicken from the crock pot and shred with two forks. Return to crock pot along with tortellini, spinach and lemon juice (add more to taste). Keep on low for 30 minutes, or until tortellini is soft and spinach is wilted.

Serve with Parmesan cheese and lemon zest. 

So, if the germs are getting you down, whip up a batch of this soup, and invest in some hand sanitizer and disinfectant wipes. And be thankful it's not the stomach flu...

Stay Cool,
The Cool Dads Crew