The other day I was scrolling through my Fitness & Feta facebook page‘s news feed, when a link from Self Magazine caught my eye: “A SELF facebook fan asked us to suggest some healthy chicken recipes. Here are some of our favorites!” Self then shared this link.
Tim and I decided to give one of these recipes a go for a post-bootcamp dinner last night. Naturally, I wanted to try the Feta Chicken with Vegetables. While we were preparing dinner, I enjoyed a glass of Black Swan Riesling. Much needed after my busy week! And I “accidentally” ate half of an apple cider donut, whoops. Tim had a Shipyard Pumpkin and sampled one of Slesh’s margaritas, the next drink she plans on writing about in A Twist and a Shake.
But back to the feta chicken.
Ingredients
- 1 bunch asparagus, trimmed and peeled <–I’m not really sure what peeling asparagus entails? Can anyone tell me? We just trimmed them like we normally do
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 2 whole bone-in, skinless chicken breasts (about 12 oz each), split crosswise
- 1 medium Spanish onion, thinly sliced
- 3 cloves garlic, finely chopped
- 8 plum tomatoes, quartered <— We substituted regular tomatoes
- 1 medium eggplant, cut into 1-inch pieces
- 2 cups fresh spinach
- 1/4 cup crumbled lowfat feta
- 2 tablespoons chopped fresh oregano
- 4 whole-wheat pitas, warmed
- Heat oven to 375°.
- Blanch asparagus in a large pot of boiling salted water until crisp-tender, 2 to 3 minutes. Drain stalks and plunge in a bowl of ice water. Drain again and pat dry; set aside.
- Heat oil in a 6 to 8 qt heavy-bottomed ovenproof pot over medium-high heat.
- Season chicken with salt and pepper and add to pot. Cover and cook, turning once, until slightly brown, 5 to 8 minutes.
- Stir in onion and garlic; replace lid and cook until soft, 4 minutes.
- Stir in tomatoes and eggplant. Replace lid, place pot in oven and cook until eggplant is tender, about 18 minutes.
- Remove pot from oven and stir in asparagus and spinach; sprinkle with feta. Replace lid and let rest 15 minutes.
- Stir in oregano and season with salt and pepper. Serve with pitas.
Fitness & Feta 
Take a look at what you’ve made in the past and write down the ingredients that always seem to pop up in every recipe, ie: onions, peppers, chicken, whatever….and for those ingredients that hold up well (everything I just listed does) you can stock up on at the beginning of the week. I’m sure, as you do all these different recipes, your “spices/oils/etc” cupboard has become quite comprehensive. You can even grow a few fresh herbs at home, which will save big bucks! (Parsley, basil, and rosemary do well indoors) Lastly, start to experiment- challenge yourself to create a dinner with what you’ve got on hand, I have no doubt you’ll come up with more than one great meal without having to make any extra trips to the store!
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“peeling” asparagus means to peel the end of the asparagus like you would peel a potato. cutting the ends of does pretty much the same thing, though:) looks like a yummy meal! I always make huge meals so that I can have healthy leftovers throughout the week because when I get home from work and the gym and shower, it’s usually after 8 and by that point I’m too tired to cook:)
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