10/11/2025
Anyone else cook by 'method' instead of recipes?
I know when I post my colorful, delicious meals, many will ask for the recipe. And I get it!
But here's the thing, many of the meals I make aren't really "recipes" - they are SIMPLE foods - often the same general foods! - put together in various ways.
YOU CAN DO THIS, TOO!
When you choose whole foods to build meals with, it's pretty simple to just swap them in and out.
A few nights ago, I made smothered chicken with roasted veggies. I do a LOT of roasted veggies because they are delicious, hands-off, and free up my time to do other food prep or cooking. Plus - they are easy and you can roast most veggies and get good results. Here, roasted green beans and sweet potatoes.
For the smothered chicken, I show our toppings on the cutting board. I kept the cheese pretty light (as people could add more if they wanted), I did crumble the bacon after this pic, and yep.... I used a store bought sugar-free BBQ sauce. Did NOT want to hassle with making something homemade for just a tbsp per chicken breast.... but you certainly could make a scratch sauce if you prefer. :)
You can EASILY make the chicken an Italian or Mediterranean style by swapping out the bbq sauce for pizza sauce or pesto and the colby jack cheese for mozzarella.
I cooked the chicken FIRST, then smothered with the toppings and broiled in the oven for just a few minutes. EASY, y'all! YOU CAN DO THIS and it looks so impressive - great for company!
For my peeps who are being mindful of starchy/sugary carbs and/or working on lowering insulin resistance and/or food noise --- here's how I handled the sweeties:
1. First off, I've personally learned that baby golden potatoes work BEST for ME if I'm going to have potatoes... so sweet potatoes are a rarity for me AND I need to be extra-careful with them if I don't want my food noise and cravings to go cRaZy.
2. So, I had about half a cup of them, not a half plate! ;)
3. And... I had them *after* eating my green beans and most of my chicken.
