The holiday season is in full swing and it sure is busy! Our friend Megan, @mamaofwholelittles shares her new favorite meal prep recipe with us that’s perfect for a busy schedule. This Cloud 9® Chicken Bacon Ranch Sheet Pan Meal is the perfect way to get dinner on the table when your to-do list is long! Whether you want to kick off your new year goals, save money on eating out, or have easy option to grab for lunch or dinner, you’ll want to keep this recipe handy. By using greenhouse grown vegetables, available year-round in your weekly meal prep you can have plenty of healthy meals to fuel your busy days.
Usually, around this time of year, I find myself in a rut of making the same meal prep recipes because it’s so easy to fall back on familiar foods when schedules are full. This is typically when I google “healthy family meals for picky eaters” to find inspiration, or in this case, I come up with a new recipe! I try to ensure that any new dish can be easily made in one pan & makes a few portions so that there are plenty of leftovers! Well, you’re in luck that you’re here because I have a sheet pan supper recipe that’s made easy with some pre-chopped vegetables from the store, and steps that you can do ahead of time, making supper time or lunch time easier. This Cloud 9® Chicken Ranch is perfect for busy nights because not only is it delicious, you can throw all of the ingredients on a sheet pan & have enough for dinner and lunch the next day.
Packed with flavor and husband-approved, this Cloud 9® Chicken Bacon Ranch Sheet Pan recipe is sure to make your new “go-to” list this season. The Cloud 9® Bite-Sized Fruity Tomatoes are the star of this recipe because they are my favorite product to get creative in the kitchen with and since they are greenhouse grown, they are available year-round! Not only are they extremely flavorful, but I love that they are always in season, that way I can still create fresh recipes with them any time of the year.
ADDING FRESH VEGGIES TO A CLASSIC –
The name “Chicken Bacon Ranch” may seem a little obvious to you as far as our ingredients list goes, but if you’ve read my recipes before, you know I love putting in veggies anywhere that I can! The same goes for this recipe – I had to take the opportunity to add in some unexpected vegetables to a classic supper dish.
We have the chicken, bacon, and ranch seasoning (it’s homemade so that we can skip all the extra not-so-good-for-you ingredients in the packaged ranch seasoning) but I’ve also added in hearty baby potatoes, shaved Brussels sprouts, and of course, the delicious Pure Flavor® Cloud 9® Bite-Sized Fruity Tomatoes. Adding in these ingredients not only gives a huge nutritional boost but will keep you satisfied longer. It even makes meal prep easier because instead of measuring out several different sides, you’ve got them all together on a sheet pan!
START WITH A SHEET PAN-
Now onto what you’ve been waiting for – the how-to! First, you need a large sheet pan lined with parchment paper and an oven preheated to 400. Before moving on, I have a small tip for you: a life changer if you cook with chicken a lot! When I first started trying to make sheet pan suppers with chicken, I was frustrated because my chicken never seemed to be cooked through. I have since learned that boneless skinless chicken breasts need to be tenderized with a meat hammer. This makes all the difference in an even cook time. I put mine between two sheets of parchment paper to ensure raw chicken isn’t splattering all over my counters and hit it a few times to get it thinned out. This will ensure even chicken breasts that cook all the way through every time!
Once your chicken is tender, place it in the middle of your sheet pan. After chopping, lay out your potatoes on one side and Brussels sprouts on the other. Next, lay your sliced Pure Flavor® Cloud 9® Bite-Sized Tomatoes on top of both the Brussels & potatoes, and then drizzle the whole pan with olive oil and your homemade ranch seasoning. Lastly, lay your bacon out flat over the vegetables. Bake for 30 minutes, and you’re done!
MEAL PREP FOR THE WEEK –
This Cloud 9® Chicken Bacon Ranch Sheet Pan recipe is great for prepping ahead of time so that all you have to do is set the oven and let it cook while you set the table or help with homework. And the bonus is that it’s made on one pan, because who has time to worry about extra dishes right now? This recipe is perfect for a family dinner, to put into meal prep containers for a grab-and-go lunch option, or an easy meal to take to a potluck event (which I did and it was all eaten! Everyone loved it!)
If you want to stay on track of your busy schedule, make sure you always have fresh, healthy ingredients ready to make this in a jiffy, like greenhouse grown vegetables! This time of year it’s important to fuel our bodies with nutrient-dense food to ensure we are at our best and full of energy. This definitely was a fresh take on some classic flavors that everyone on our table was happy to dive into. Don’t be afraid to get creative and try something new even on those busy nights.
~ Megan
