I'm pleased that I was able to find so many healthy recipes for this week's menu, including a beautiful fruit salad for breakfast.  

Also, Zoe and I are unabashedly grooving to a summer pop playlist  in my kitchen!

Ingredients:
1 cup fresh orange juice
1 1/2 Tbsp sugar
1 1/2 Tbsp champagne or apple cider vinegar
1 T extra-virgin olive oil
Dash of salt 
1 lb. fresh strawberries, halved
2 large nectarines, cut into wedges
1/4 cup fresh basil leaves

Instructions:
Combine orange juice, sugar and vinegar in a small saucepan over medium heat and bring to a boil.  Cook for 15 minutes until reduced to about a half cup.  Whisk in olive oil and salt and let stand for 2 minutes.
 
Combine strawberries and nectarine slices in a large bowl.  Add vinaigrette about 20 minutes before serving so that fruit is able to marinate.  Garnish with fresh basil leaves and enjoy!

Servings: 4
Serving Size: 1 1/4 cups 
WW Points+: 4 pts

Sweet Kate, my best friend.  I have made this pizza kit for you. Xoxo

Ingredients:
1 Whole Foods pizza crust
Mozzarella cheese
Caramelized onions
Spinach
2 T. Alfredo sauce
2 Slices of bacon, crumbled
½ cup of cooked, cubed chicken 

Instructions: Assemble all, mozzarella last.  Cook directly on oven rack for 12 minutes. 

To make this chicken, which you should absolutely do immediately, preheat your oven to 450ºF. Then, mix together 1/2 cup of Dijon mustard, 1/4 cup  of maple syrup, and 1 T of red wine vinegar. 

Put a 1 1/2 pound package of chicken thighs into a foil-lined, oven-proof baking dish. I used boneless, skinless thighs. Six came in my package, which made enough to serve 3 people. Then, salt and pepper the thighs.  Pour your maple mustard mixture over them, turning the thighs in the mixture so they are fully coated. 

Put the chicken thighs into the oven, and let them bake for 40 minutes or until a meat thermometer reads 165ºF. Baste the tops of the chicken with more sauce half way through. Let the chicken rest for 5 minutes before serving. Plate the chicken, making sure to spoon some extra sauce over the top. Sprinkle over some fresh rosemary or thyme.

Wow was this good!  I found the idea orginally on Pinterest, which linked to the
recipe here.

My version is pictured at below. 

To celebrate my best friend's move into her summer digs, we decided to cook together and challenge ourselves to use whatever we found in the just-unpacked pantry and refrigerator.  We found:  eggs, chicken breasts, cashews, chicken stock, dried herbs, frozen vegetables, and rice.  We had fun collaborating on this
lighter version of cashew chicken, and it came out GREAT!  So light and fresh for summer!

Ingredients:
2 egg whites  (see ideas for the extra egg yolks here!)
1/4 cup chicken stock 
1 tsp celery powder
1 ½ tsp powdered ginger
1 skinless, boneless whole chicken breast (2 breast portions), cut into small strips for stir-frying 
1 c. cashews, chopped
Olive oil
1 bag frozen vegetables
Salt and pepper to taste
2 cups cooked rice

Instructions:

Mix the egg whites and chicken stock together until well-combined, add the celery and ginger powders, and then marinate the chicken in the mixture while you cook the cashews.

Heat olive oil over medium heat, and gently toast the cashews.  They should not turn very brown– just enough to bring out the best of them.  Drain on paper towel.

Prepare vegetables as directed.

Heat wok over high heat with 1 T. olive oil.  When a drop of water sizzles and pops in the oil, you know you’re ready to stir-fry. Add the chicken and marinade to the wok, and stir-fry for about 2 minutes, just until the chicken is done, and then add in the vegetables and cashews.  Cook another 30 seconds or so, and salt and pepper to taste.  Serve with rice.  

I was quite fortunate to receive a beautiful butternut squash from my best friend, Kate the Great, this week.  I've always wanted to try butternut squash pie, and so I gave it a go.  Yummo -- it's like a lighter version of a pumpkin pie.  You'll love it, I promise. 

I took the best of several recipes to make it my own, and so my version is reflected below. 

Enjoy!

Ingredients:

FOR THE CRUST

Prepared pie crust -- I always use David Letterman's mother's recipe

FOR THE FILLING

1 butternut squash, about 1 1/2 pounds (will yield 6 cups of cubed squash after peeling and de-seeding)
3 large eggs plus 2 large egg yolks  (see ideas for the extra egg whites here.)
1 cup heavy cream
1/2 cup packed brown sugar (I used light, but don't think it matters)
2 T applesauce (original recipe called for 2 T brandy, but I don't have that sitting around...)
2 tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
Salt and pepper
Lightly sweetened freshly whipped cream, for serving

NOTE:  Most of the pumpkin pie recipes I looked at had the traditional combination of cinnamon, allspice, nutmeg, and cloves.  I just don't happen to enjoy the flavors of allspice and cloves, but feel free to remain traditional in your baking of this pie!


Instructions:

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Make the crust:  Roll out the pie crust to a 1/8-inch thickness on a lightly floured surface. Fit dough into a 9-inch pie plate, and trim crust to a 1-inch overhang. Fold edges under, and crimp as desired. Freeze until firm, about 30 minutes.  Bake until edges of crust begin to turn golden, about 20 minutes. Let cool on a wire rack.

For the filling, peel and de-seed the butternut squash, and then cut into small cubes.  Cook the squash by your favorite method; I use my electric steamer, but you can boil, roast, microwave, etc.

Put cooked squash in your food processor or mixer, and process until smooth and light. 

Reduce oven temperature to 325 degrees. Whisk squash puree, eggs, egg yolks, heavy cream, sugar, applesauce, cinnamon, nutmeg, 3/4 teaspoon salt, and a pinch of pepper in a bowl.

Pour filling into pie shell, and bake until just set but still slightly wobbly in the center, about 1   hour (filling will continue to set as it cools). Let cool on a wire rack. Serve slightly with whipped cream.