it's what's cookin

Pork Tenderloin with Pan Sauce

2013-03-12T21:37:00.000-07:00

Ok, I'm not a huge pork fan. I think it's a texture thing. But I'm trying to eat healthier and there is only so much chicken and ground turkey you can eat and I really don't like cooking fish at home. I found this recipe on pintrest from Chef Mommy blog. I copied recipe as is and it was seriously SO good!! I got excited for it as soon as I mixed the marinade together. It smelt amazing!! You have to marinate it for at LEAST 4 hours. I marinated mine overnight and it was perfect! I reserved a little more than it called for (around 1/4 cup) and I'm glad I did because I put that sauce over my smashed fingerling potatoes as well. I also made roasted asparagus and acorn squash. The kids, my husband and I ate it all!!

Ingredients:
1⁄2 cups olive oil
1⁄3 cup soy sauce
1⁄4 cup red wine vinegar
Juice of 1 lemon
1-2 tbsp Worcestershire sauce
1-2 tbsp fresh flat leaf parsley, finely chopped
2 tsp dry mustard
Freshly cracked black pepper, to taste
4 cloves garlic, peeled and minced
1 lb. pork tenderloin (silver skin removed)

Directions:
1. Combine all marinade ingredients and reserve 2-3 Tbsp. (I did a little more). Place the pork tenderloin and marinade in a Ziplock bag and let marinate for at least 3-4 hours. (I marinated around 20 hours).
2. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a hot skillet over medium-high heat, sear each side of tenderloin for 2-3 minutes. Place in the oven and cook for 30-40 minutes or until the meat has reached 160 degrees. Let rest for at least 5 minutes before slicing. (I used one pan for everything... my dutch oven. I seared roast over stove top in the dutch oven (discard all of the marinade). Then place dutch oven into oven till the pork reaches 150-155 (It will continue to cook while resting so don't over cook.)

Pan Sauce:
Pan scrapings from pork tenderloin
1/2 cup of chicken broth
2-3 tbsp of reserved marinade (thoroughly mixed)
1-2 tsp butter

Meanwhile, place the skillet back on the stove over medium heat. Add the chicken broth and scrape up all the browned pieces from the bottom of the pan. Add the marinade and let it boil down for 2-3 minutes. Add the butter and remove from heat stirring until butter has melted. Pour over the pork tenderloin.

Pork resting after cooked

Making the Pan sauce in same dutch oven I cooked pork in

ready to slice...

Slice and put back into pan sauce. Spoon sauce over top and serve with extra sauce on top. ENJOY!

Southwestern Loaded Baked Sweet Potato

2013-02-04T21:11:00.001-08:00

This meal was surprisingly a HUGE hit in my family. Blew me away! I thought I was going to have to bribe and force my family to eat this. We will definitely make this again and again! I love Gina's Skinnytaste Blog. Here is the link to her recipe and below is what I did:) It's not a pretty dish (at least when I made it it wasn't) but it was very tasty! The original recipe is made to be vegetarian. You can keep it that way or add your favorite meat. I added pork from my southwestern green chili shredded pork but I think even shredded rotisserie chicken would be good in this too!

Ingredients:

4 medium sized sweet potatoes
1/2 cup fat free Greek yogurt
1 tsp taco seasoning (I make this recipe in large quantity and used 1 tsp of this)
1 tsp olive or canola oil
1 medium zucchini, cut into half moons 1 inch thick
1 small green chili- diced
1/2 sweet onion cut into rings
1 tsp chili powder
1/2 tsp paprika or smoked paprika
1/2 tsp cumin
a pinch of salt
1/2 can low sodium black beans, rinsed and drained
1/2 cup mild or spicy salsa
1/2 cup reduced fat Mexican cheese blend (I used shredded cheddar since I had it on hand)
1/4 cup chopped scallions or cilantro (I chopped up 2 green onions)
1 cup of any cooked meat you have (pork, chicken- shredded) OPTIONAL

Directions:

Poke holes in the potato with a fork, cook on your microwave’s potato setting until potatoes are soft and cooked through (about 8-10 minutes on high for 4 potatoes). If you don't have a microwave, bake about 45 minutes at 400°F.

Combine yogurt and taco seasoning in a small bowl, mix well. (I just added the taco seasoning right to the cup of yogurt, shown below, and stirred in well.

Heat oil in a medium pot over medium heat. Add peppers, onions, zucchini, chili powder, paprika, cumin and salt; cook until the onions have caramelized slightly, about 5 minutes. Add black beans, stir to combine and heat through (about another 3 minutes). Add your cooked shredded meat. Cook till heated through. (I put a lid on this and cooked on low till I had everything else ready to go)

USE a fork to pierce the top in an oval shape, then remove the top of each potato. Top with 2 tbsp shredded cheese, 1/3 cup of black bean mixture, 2 tbsp Greek yogurt mixture and 2 tbsp salsa of salsa. Sprinkle any green onions or cilantro over the top. Enjoy!

Greek Yogurt with taco seasoning mixed in (SO much better than sour cream!!)

Cut open top, add cheese and veggie/meat/black bean mixture...

Top with the yogurt and sprinkle on any other toppings. Dig in while hot!!

Southwest Green Chili Shredded Pork

2013-02-04T20:10:00.001-08:00

This is one of the simplest and best meals I made while on our 24 Advocare Challenge (diet). This makes a ton so it's best if you are making for a crowd or plan this meal as is for day one and use the left overs on top of nacho's, in a quesadilla or on top a loaded southwest sweet potato!

You will need a crockpot and the following ingredients:

*3-4lb Pork shoulder, trimmed of fat
*2 T Extra virgin Olive Oil
*small sweet onion, cut into half rings
*1 14.5 oz can diced tomatoes, no salt added
*1 4 oz can diced green cili's
*1 can of your favorite flavor Rotel (I use the green chili and tomato)
*1-2 whole anaheim green chilies, sliced into strips (Or another large can of green chilies-drained)
*2 tsp ground cumin
*salt and pepper

Optional ingredients for making into tacos:
*Corn tortillas
*Salsa verde
*sliced avocado
*Low fat sour cream

Optional toppings if making a carb free meal as I did in these pictures
*lime slices
*salsa of any kind
*sliced avocado
*cilantro

Directions:
1. Heat oil in skillet over medium-high heat. Add pork and season with salt and pepper. Cook on all sides till browned (about 8-10 mins total)
2. Place pork in slow cooker. Add onion, tomatoes, green chilies, rotel and cumin. Add 1/2 cup- 1 cup water (I didn't do this, but I added the tomatoes and rotel with the juices)
3. Cook on low for 8-10 hours until fork tender. You can use two forks to shred pork right in the crock pot and mix will all the sauteed onions and peppers. YUM.

Serve either as is, in tacos, as quesadilla, nachos, or on a potato! Enjoy and invite some friends over to share! :) Sorry, no pictures below of this served in taco's... they were eaten WAY too quickly to snap a photo!

On top of fully loaded nachos!

On a loaded sweet potato! HUGE hit in my house!

Roasted Fingerling Potatoes & Asparagus with Rosemary Olive Oil

2012-11-14T10:29:00.000-08:00

I was making ribeye's for dinner so I wanted to get some asparagus and some potatoes for the sides. I found this cool looking bag of Restaurant Style Baby Fingerling Potatoes... they were tri-colored (golden, red and purple). So i got home and I was trying to think of how to make these and it just so happens there was a recipe using both the potatoes and the asparagus on the front of the bag!! BAM! That was easy!! Here is a picture of the bag...

So, luckily I had fresh rosemary in my garden and I followed the recipe exactly... it was amazing!! I highly recommend!! If you can't find these cool tri-colored potatoes at your store, just do a mixture of golden and red fingerling potatoes... it just won't be as pretty as mine! :)

INGREDIENTS:
*2 T fresh Rosemary- minced
*1/4 cup Extra Virgin Olive Oil
*1 lb fresh Asparagus- trimmed
*1/2 lb Pacific Gold fingerling potatoes (I used half of the 1.5lb bag) Cleaned and cut in half vertically
*1/4 tsp sea salt
*fresh ground black pepper to taste
*lemon wedges (I used 1 lemon cut into 6 wedges)

1. Preheat oven to 400.
2. Toss potatoes with 2 T olive oil. Roast in oven for 20-30 mins on a roasting pan (or cookie sheet) until potatoes are slightly browned. Remove from oven.
3. Toss asparagus with remaining olive oil. Add them to the roasting pan with the potatoes. Place back in oven for 15-20 mins, turning frequently, until potatoes are fork tender.
4. Arrange potatoes and asparagus on a platter. Drizzle some lemon juice over the top and sprinkle with the fresh rosemary, salt and pepper. (I used the juice of 3-4 wedges and used other 2 as garnish on the platter.
5. Serve and enjoy!!

Thank you Progressiverecipes.com for an amazing recipe that I will make again and again!

Cheesy Potato Soup

2012-10-07T20:23:00.001-07:00

This is a perfect soup for the cooler days that are coming up. I love making a big batch of this on Football Sunday and eating it for lunch and dinner. I make mine vegetarian, but it'd also be good with some ham or bacon in it!! GO PACK GO!!

Ingredients:
* 2 T Butter
* 2 T Olive Oil
* 1 small sweet onion- chopped
* 2 leeks- cut in 1/2 rounds only using white and light green parts
* 3 large carrots- diced
* 2-3 fresh garlic cloves- minced (Or garlic powder would do too)
* Seasonings (Kosher salt, Black pepper, nature seasonings)
* 10 potatoes (around 5-6 lbs) I used half red potatoes and half golden-Take most skin off. Diced
* 32 oz box of chicken STOCK (I used Kitchen Basic brand)
* 1 bouillon cute (I have the granules so I used 1 T)
* 1/2-1 cup water (enough so all potatoes are covered with liquid)
* 2-4 oz velveeta cheese- diced (more or less depending on how cheesy you like it)
* 1-2 cups of half n half

Other Optional ingredients:
*1 T flour plus 1 T melted butter if needs thickening
*Crusty bread (Sour dough round cut into chunks)
*Shredded cheddar cheese for topping soup
*green onion diced for topping
*any other toppings you like on a baked potato would go good!

Use a large stock pot. Put the oil and butter in the bottom of pan on medium heat. Add onions, carrots and leeks. Cook on medium till onions are translucent (around 10-15 minutes).
Add some seasonings (I used lots of pepper and nature seasonings and a little salt.. you can always add more later). And add your garlic or garlic powder. Stir well.
Add diced potatoes, chicken stock, bouillon and stir well. Add your water till it covers the potatoes completely. Cook on medium uncovered for about 20 minutes. Stir well and cover and continue simmering for another 20-30 minutes until potatoes are fork tender (not mushy).
Take half the soup (veggies and broth) out and put in blender. (Or if you have a hand blender like me, i just put half the soup into a bowl and use my hand blender to mix well.). Blend well and pour the blended mixture back into the soup. Mix well.
If you like your soup a little thicker you can melt some butter and mix with flour. Add a little at a time of this mixture until it reaches the consistency you want. (I only used 1/2 of the mixture I made)
Add your diced up velveeta cheese and mix. Cook on medium stirring every so often until cheese has completely melted and mixed into the soup.
Add your cream. The amount you use depends on how creamy you like your soup. I used about a cups worth.
Serve in a bowl (or a bread bowl would be yummy!). Top with shredded cheese and any other toppings that sound good to you! Enjoy!

Not a great picture, but here I'm sauteing all my veggies.

Adding my diced potatoes

I didn't get great pictures on making it this time around. Here is after I added the blended portion back to soup and just added the velveeta.

Add your favorite toppings and serve with some crusty bread. DeLISH!

Tuna Salad with NO MAYO

2012-10-04T15:14:00.002-07:00

I am trying to eat healthier and I love tuna salad, but let's face it... mayo just isn't on most diet plans! Here is a great way to eat your tuna. You can eat this plain with a fork if you are trying to stay low carb, or you can put it on multi grain crackers or bread! This actually is better if you make it and let it sit in the fridge a couple hours before eating it. I sometimes add extra lemon/lime because I LOVE citrus.

Ingredients:
*1 lg can albacore chunk white tuna in water- drain well
*1 large celery stalk- diced small
* 1/2 small green bell pepper- chopped into small pieces
* 1/3 cup fresh cilantro
* 2 limes juiced
* 1 lemon juiced
* pepper (and I added nature seasonings)

Mix all together in bowl. Eat right away or let marinate in fridge a few hours before eating. Enjoy and feel good eating it too!

Crockpot Honey Sesame Chicken (Bourbon Chicken)

2012-08-01T23:15:00.001-07:00

Here is another crockpot meal I did during my 5-1 meal day. (This is where I make 5 meals at once and put them in gallon size zip lock bags and put in the freezer. When ready to cook I just take out and put right in the crock pot. Great for weekday meals!) I got this recipe from Table for Two blog.

My house smelt JUST like walking past the Chinese Restaurant that hands out samples on a toothpick in the mall's food court! That place always tempts me to eat there! And when I do, i always feel like crap after eating it. This tastes better and I know what's all in it!!

The only thing I will change about the recipe is next time I will use more chicken (It makes enough marinade). While I was cutting it up, the kids and I kept nibbling on it. So once we got it to the table for dinner there was barely enough for all of us, and definitely not enough for left overs! I served this over sticky rice and sauteed broccoli, green beans, carrots and water chestnuts. I will be making this again soon!

Here is the recipe off the blog. If you want to make this into a freezer meal, just put all the ingredients except the cornstarch and sesame seeds in a zip lock freezer bag and put in your freezer. On the day you want to make it, just take it right from freezer and place in your crockpot. (I cooked mine this way on the lowest setting for just under 5 hours.)

INGREDIENTS:

1 lb. boneless, skinless chicken thighs, about 5

Salt and pepper

1 cup of honey

1/2 cup of low sodium soy sauce

1/4 cup ketchup

2 tbsp. vegetable oil

2 cloves of garlic, minced

1/2 cup diced onion

1/4 tsp. red pepper flakes

Cornstarch

Sesame seeds

INSTRUCTIONS:

Place the chicken thighs in the crockpot and sprinkle salt and pepper on both sides.
In a medium sized bowl, combine honey, soy sauce, ketchup, oil, garlic, onion, and red pepper flakes. Stir to combine well. Pour over the chicken in the crockpot.
Cook on low for 3-4 hours or high for 1 1/2-2 1/2 hours.
When done, remove chicken from pot and cut into chunks. Prior to putting the chicken back in the stockpot, combine some cornstarch in water and whisk it into the crockpot to thicken up the sauce a bit. Throw the chicken back in and stir around to recoat the chicken in the sauce.
Serve hot over a bed of white rice (optional) and sprinkle some sesame seeds on top.

Once Chicken is done, take out and cut into chunks

Crock Pot Beef Burritos

2012-08-01T10:18:00.003-07:00

School is about to start and my days are getting busier. I like anything that make my weekday meals a little more simple, but still tasty! I found this blog on Pinterest that shows you how to spend 1-2 hours in the kitchen one day and make 5 different meals to freeze and just throw in the crock pot when ready to make it. It really is a great idea and I love the days I can just wake up and turn my crock pot on and dinner is ready at night! Here is the recipe for the first one I made. Check out Saving You Dinero's Blog for tips on 5-1 Freezer meals! (Make sure it freezes in a size/shape that will fit in your crock pot!)

I really liked these burrito's. We used the meat to make Chipotle style burrito's. I made a side of cilantro lime rice and heated up a can of pinto beans. We all liked this a lot and will definitely make it again!!

Here are all the ingredients that went into this bag. On the bag itself I write:
1. What the meal is called
2. The date I assembled
3. Cooking Directions
4. What to do (if anything) after it's done cooking to prepare the dinner
5. I also list any other ingredients I need during the day I will be serving (ex: tortillas and cheese for burritos)

Ingredients:

1 London Broil or top round roast (about 2 lbs)
1 diced onion
4 garlic cloves, minced
2 tablespoons whole peppercorns
2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
2 (8 oz) cans tomato sauce
1 chipotle pepper in adobo sauce – Use just 1 pepper!! (It’s in a can.)
1 ½ teaspoon chili powder (you can adjust this according to your taste)

Ingredients to use on the day you make this- Large Flour Tortillas, shredded cheese, lettuce, tomato, sour cream, pico or diced tomato, and cilantro lime rice (white sticky rice mixed with cilantro, lime juice and a little salt). Also, warm up a can of pinto or black beans.

Add all the above ingredients into a freezer bag. Put in freezer till ready to make.

When you are ready to cook the meal, dump the contents of the bag into the crock pot and cook on high for 4-5 hours or low for 6-7 hours.

When the meat is cooked, you will need to strain the juices and add the juice back to the slow cooker. (You want to remove the peppercorns and onions.) Shred the meat and add back to the juice in the slow cooker for about 30 minutes. Add the meat, some of the rice and come of the beans and toppings of your choice into the tortilla and roll into a burrito. Enjoy!! I always serve with a variety of hot sauces too!! This is one of our favorite recipes. My kids eat it as long as we have leftovers.

Gallon size freezer bag... write on it before you fill it

Once everything is in bag, seal and freeze. (Make sure it doesn't freeze in a shape that is too big to fit in your crock pot)

Half way done

Remove all juices. Take meat and shred back in crock pot

Strain juices removing the whole peppercorns and onions, just letting the juices back in with the meat.

Place all your ingredients in middle of large tortilla

Roll

Enjoy!

Thai Chicken and Pineapple Stirfry

2012-07-31T16:52:00.001-07:00

I found this recipe off Skinny Taste. Her recipe calls for Thai Kitchen Pineapple and Chili Dipping Sauce. My store didn't have this so I used Thai Kitchen Sweet Red Chili Sauce. (Mae Ploy also makes a really good Sweet Chili Sauce). I really liked this dish, it was really simple and flavorful and I really liked the way the cilantro tasted with it! It's a tad spicy, but my son ate it and seemed to enjoy it!

Here is the recipe I got right from the Skinny Taste Site (the only thing i changed was the sauce and I added the water chestnuts and shredded carrots. Next time I may try adding some chopped celery as well)

Ingredients:

1 lb boneless skinless chicken breast, cut into 1-inch cubes
1 tbsp Thai Kitchen fish sauce
2 tbsp cornstarch
1 tbsp oil, divided
1 tsp minced garlic
1 tsp minced ginger
2 cups cubed assorted colors bell peppers (1/2-inch cubes)
1 red chili pepper, chopped (optional or to taste)- I didn't use this since kids were eating
1/2 cup shredded carrots
1 jar sliced water chestnuts
1 cup fresh pineapple chunks
1/2 cup Thai Kitchen Pineapple & Chili dipping sauce
cilantro leaves (for garnish)

Directions:

Mix chicken and fish sauce in medium bowl. Add cornstarch; toss to evenly coat. Set aside.

Heat 1/2 tablespoon of the oil in large nonstick skillet on medium-high heat. Add garlic and
ginger; stir fry 30 seconds. Add bell peppers, shredded carrots, chili pepper if using, water chestnuts, and pineapple; stir fry 3 to 5 minutes or until peppers are tender-crisp. Add sauce; cook and stir until heated through. Remove from skillet.

Heat remaining oil in the skillet. Add chicken; stir fry 5 minutes or until cooked through. Return bell pepper mixture to skillet; stir fry until well blended. Garnish with cilantro.

Serve over rice.

Chicken Tortellini Soup with Kale

2012-07-27T15:45:00.000-07:00

My friend was always talking about this tortellini soup she would make. I always wanted to try it, but I'm just not a huge soup person. I'll eat it for a day but I tend to throw out leftovers. I decided to try her recipe anyway, changing a few things and adding Kale to it. I served it for dinner along side crusty bread and the whole family really loved it and we even ate the leftovers along side sandwiches the next day for lunch!!

Ingredients:

*1 T Extra Virgin Olive Oil
*1.5 cups diced carrot
*1 cup diced celery
*1 cup diced sweet onion
*2 garlic cloves minced
*32 oz low sodium chicken broth
*1 cup water
*2 cups cooked shredded chicken (I use Rotisserie Chicken)
*Package of Buitoni Brand Mixed Cheese Tortellini (I get the one that has both white and green noodles)
*Bunch Kale Shredded
*Salt and Pepper to taste

Directions:

1. In large sauce pan (6 quart), heat up your olive oil and add your garlic, onion, carrots and celery. Saute on medium heat for 5 minutes, stirring well. Add seasonings.

2. Add chicken broth, water, and shredded chicken. Bring to a boil. Cover, turn down heat to low, and simmer for 15 minutes.

3. Uncover and turn heat back up to medium. Add your kale and tortellini and cook for another 5 minutes, or until all the tortellini float to the top and are cooked through.

4. Season more if needed. Feel free to grate some fresh parmesan cheese over the top:)

Asian Turkey Wrap- Under 200 calories

2012-07-27T14:03:00.001-07:00

I was getting sick of eating so many salads everyday for lunch and I wanted to try to create a healthy sandwich or wrap. I already had most of this stuff on hand so off I went to find a somewhat healthy tortilla and dressing to make a wrap with.

These LaTortilla Factory, multigrain tortillas are only 100 calories per tortilla. They have 15 grams of fiber and 9 grams of protein!

This dressing only has 35 calories per 2T! I only use around 1 T of it.

Ingredients:

*1 Tortilla (I like the LaTortilla Factory, Multi grain with EVOO. (See picture below)

*1-2 T of Newman's Own Lite Low Fat Sesame Ginger Dressing

*shredded red cabbage

*shredded carrots

*julienne cucumber

*small handful of fresh spinach or field greens

*2 slices of low sodium oven roasted deli turkey

In small bowl, mix the veggies with the dressing till well coated. Spread out the veggies in the middle of the tortilla. Place two slices of deli turkey on the tortilla. Roll the tortilla tight (I use two tooth picks to hold it together) and cut it in half and serve. Great summer wrap!

Veggie Breakfast Pizza

2012-07-23T14:19:00.000-07:00

This is great to make for breakfast or snack. Great way to get veggies in in the am. I would cut this into fourths and each piece would count as one meal (snack). So you can use whatever veggies and herbs you like really, (I didn't add an ingredient list because it's really up to you what you want in and on it) but here is what i did...

Use a oven safe skillet/fry pan with edges that are at least 1 inch up.
spray with Pam

I added about 1tsp of olive oil and sauteed garlic and chopped sweet onion (you could also add raw bell peppers and mushrooms at this step). Saute until onions are soft.

I then added some chopped red pepper that I had roasted on the grill the night before. And I added a handful of chopped fresh spinach. Distribute all veggies evenly.

In separate bowl, I put in 3 organic brown eggs and about 4 egg whites (from carton). Wisk well with some black pepper. Pour this in skillet over all the veggies.

DON'T STIR EGGS. You will just let this cook till edges are done and you can run spatula around edges. Middle will still not be done. Once edges are done, add any herbs to top

I added fresh basil and oregano chopped from my garden. I also chopped half a tomato and sprinkled those on top. Place whole skillet under broiler in oven until middle is cooked through and slightly golden brown on top.

Serve. YUM

Next time I'm going to use zucchini and asparagus and saute with the onions and do everything else the same.

Yummy Chicken on the Grill

2012-06-08T18:11:00.003-07:00

Ok, so not a very creative name... maybe I'll rename it one day, but I was giving this recipe by a friend who served it at her daughters bday party. I had to leave before they served it, but someone must have asked for the recipe so she emailed it out. It's SO easy, especially since I had everything already, and it's so good! The kids LOVED it too!! I've made it twice this week!! You can make it and serve it along side veggies and rice, or you can make it into a chicken sandwich. Or even cut it up on top of a salad!

Marinade 3-4 chicken breasts in the following ingredients for at least 4 hours. I recommend more if you can. Then just grill it! So easy! I only changed/added a few things... here is the original recipe sent by my friend Melissa...

8/15/12- I made this SO much now that I buy the big bags of chicken breasts from costco and box of freezer gallon size zip lock bags. I triple the marinade recipe and pour it into 3-4 different bags. Then in each bag I place 3-4 chicken breasts in. I put them in the freezer with the date on them. Whenever I know I'm going to make this (typically whenever I don't have another meal planned), I put a bag in my fridge, either the night before or that am, and it marinades while it defrosts. Then I just grill or bake the chicken!! I always eat it the first night over rice with a veggie and any left overs I slice up and serve on my salad for lunch the next day. I can't tell you how much I love this chicken... and I know you will too!!

Ingredients:

* 2 Tbsp vegetable oil (I used olive oil because I didn't have veg oil)

* 1/4 cup honey

* 3 Tbsp red wine vinegar

* 1/4 cup low sodium soy sauce

* 2 Tbsp chopped fresh parsley (I did cilantro once on accident... still great!)

* 1 tsp ginger (I grated fresh ginger or I buy the already minced ginger that comes in a tube usually sold by fresh herbs in your salad area of the store)

* 1/2 tsp black pepper (I also added some nature seasonings and a dash of garlic powder)

Chicken Gyros

2012-04-17T22:18:00.001-07:00

Found this recipe on pinterest and it was pretty good and fairly easy to make! It seems like a long list of ingredients but a lot of it I already had on hand and it wasn't as difficult as it looks:) I will definitely make this again!

Ingredients:

Tzatziki Sauce:
1 cup plain Yoplait® Greek yogurt
1 cucumber, peeled and seeded
1 teaspoon minced garlic
1 teaspoon white wine vinegar (I didn't have so I used red wine vinegar)
salt and pepper
drizzle of olive oil
squeeze of lemon
For the chicken marinade:
2 teaspoons minced garlic
juice of one lemon (2-3 Tablespoons)
2 teaspoons red wine vinegar
2 Tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
2 heaping Tablespoons Yoplait® Greek yogurt
1 Tablespoon dried oregano
salt and pepper
1 1/4 pounds skinless, chicken breasts
For the gyros:
2 tomatoes, seeded and diced
1/2 cup red onion, diced
6 pitas or flatbread
Directions:

1) Chop the cucumber in a food processor or shred. About 1/4-1/2 cup. Wrap in a towel and squeeze to remove as much water as possible. Mix together the yogurt, shredded cucumber, garlic, white wine vinegar, salt and pepper to taste, and lemon juice. Drizzle lightly with olive oil. Refrigerate for at least 30 minutes before serving so the flavors can meld.

2) To prepare the chicken marinade, combine the garlic, lemon juice, red wine vinegar, olive oil, yogurt, oregano, and salt and pepper to taste in a medium bowl. Whisk together until mixed well. Add the chicken pieces to the bowl and mix well to coat. Cover and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes. The flavors will infuse the chicken the longer it marinates. Discard marinade after use.

3) Cook chicken in a skillet on medium heat for 5-7 minutes or until done. Once the chicken is cooked, tranfer to a plate and let rest for 5 minutes. Cut into small strips.

4)Warm pitas in the microwave. Top with chicken, tzatziki sauce, diced tomatoes and onions. Serve immediately

Marinade Chicken

Tzatziki Sauce

Thank you to http://www.tablespoon.com/featured/girlwhoateeverything/#?userid=106458&sort=recent&page=1&filtertype=articles for this great recipe!!

Prosciutto, Brie and Fig Panini

2012-03-28T21:43:00.001-07:00

So, I LOVE panini's. Pair that with three of my favorite things and OMG. There really is no recipe for this except take some fig spread, prosciutto and slices of brie cheese and place them on a crusty french roll (baquette) and place in a panini maker (Or press down on hot skillet) till it's gooey. Made these for my mom and a friend and I will definitely be making these again!!

Brie and Apple Tarts

2012-03-14T10:51:00.001-07:00

I found this recipe on pinterest from a blog called bloghungry. I made them and brought them to a girls night pot luck. We all loved them! I cut them in half after baking to make more smaller pieces. These were fairly simple to make but looked impressive:)

Ingredients:

1 box (2 sheets) of puff pastry, thawed
1 green apple- thinly sliced
1 Tbsp brown sugar, divided
1 Tbsp butter, divided
1/4 tsp cinnamon, divided
1 medium wedge of brie- cut into slices
1 egg
flour (for rolling)

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Line a sheet pan with parchment paper.

Unfold 1 sheet of puff pastry onto a lightly floured board and roll it slightly with a floured rolling pin until it's a 10 by 10-inch square. Cut the sheet into quarters with a sharp knife. Place a good-sized slice of brie and 3 or 4 this slices of apple the middle of each of the 4 squares. Sprinkle apples with cinnamon and brown sugar and top with a pat of butter. Brush the border of each pastry with egg wash and fold 2 opposite corners to the center, brushing and overlapping the corners of each pastry so they firmly stick together. Brush the top of the pastries with egg wash. Place the pastries on the prepared sheet pan. Repeat with the second sheet of puff pastry.

Bake the pastries for about 20 minutes, rotating the pan once during baking, until puffed and brown. Serve warm.

Rice and Noodle Casserole

2012-03-01T22:22:00.001-08:00

This was one of my favorite meals my mom used to make me growing up. It reminds me of an asian style rice a roni. I LOVE it! I made it so much in college that I couldn't even look at it for years. So after not eating it for 10 years, my mom made me it last night:) It's a great side dish to serve with any main meat. Great with chicken, fish, steak... we served ours with sauteed shrimp in a lemony garlic-butter sauce. It makes a ton, but is great as leftovers too!

Ingredients
*2 cups minute rice
*1/2 lb fine egg noodles (We got our bag in the asian section at the grocery store)
*1 can sliced water chestnuts (I then cut all the chestnuts in half)
*2 cans Campbell's french onion soup
*2 cans chicken broth/stock
*1/2 cup butter
*1 cup water
*1 T soy sauce

Preheat oven to 350

First melt butter in a ban and brown the noodles. Then add the rest of your ingredients. Stir well and heat up.

Spray a 9x13 pan with Pam. Pour in mixture and make sure you even out the noodles/rice throughout the pan.

Cover with tinfoil and bake for 45 mins. Take tinfoil off and fluff/stir with a fork. If all the liquid isn't gone, put back in the oven uncovered until all liquid is absorbed.

Serve alone or along side favorite protein and veggie!

Browned noodles and then started adding ingredients (here i've added french onion soup)

Pour in your pan and make sure rice/noodles are dispersed evenly

Bake till liquid is fully absorbed

We added sauteed shrimp and steamed Mukimame.

Italian Meatballs... Great for freezing

2012-02-22T20:10:00.001-08:00

This recipe makes a huge batch. I halved the recipe and had enough to feed 4 adults and 2 kids and also had enough to freeze for another meal. I found this recipe on pinterest and they originated from the blog The Yummy Life. I made the meatballs during the day and put them in the fridge till later that night. I made a homemade sauce (you can use any sauce you prefer) and I simmered the meatballs in the sauce for 20 minutes until fully warm. I served over thin spaghetti and shredded fresh parmesan cheese over the top. The meatballs were moist and flavorful. I will definitely make these again, maybe next time I'll make a whole batch to freeze more for later use! These are great over pasta or on italian rolls as a sub!

Ingredients

4 eggs, slightly beaten
1/4 cup water
1 cup buttermilk
1-1/2 cup unseasoned bread crumbs (I use whole wheat)
4 teaspoons minced garlic
1 medium onion, finely minced or grated
1 cup fresh Italian parsley, chopped
1 cup grated Parmesan cheese
1 tablespoon dried leaf oregano
2 teaspoons kosher salt
1 tablespoon ground black pepper
1-1/2 lbs. ground pork
3 lbs. ground beef

Directions

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Combine eggs, water, buttermilk, and breadcrumbs in a bowl; let rest for 10 minutes. The mixture will thicken as the bread crumbs absorb the liquid. To this thickened mixture, add garlic, onion, parsley, cheese, oregano, salt, and pepper; stir until combined. In separate large bowl, combine ground pork and beef. Mix meats with fingers or a large fork using a light touch until 2 meats are combined throughout. Add bread crumb mixture to meats. Mix these together, again using a light touch with fingers or large fork. Combine ingredients well, but do not overmix. Form meatballs with hands, or use a scoop. For larger meatballs, use 1/4 cup meat per meatball or use a generous 2" scoop. For mini meatballs, use 1 to 1-1/2 tablespoons per meatball or a generous 1-1/4" scoop. Place meatballs on baking sheets. Bake large meatballs for 30 minutes and mini meatballs for 15 minutes, until no longer pink in center.

Mixture of beaten eggs, water, buttermilk and breadcrumbs

I used cheese grater on onion and minced garlic

Chopped parsley

Add all to bread crumb mixture

Combine beef and pork

Add breadcrumb mixture to the meat and mix with hands well.

Form into meatballs. I made some bigger ones and some smaller ones. Key is to put all the same size on the same cookie sheet. So I did one sheet of big and one sheet of small. They cook for different amounts of time.

A little liquid will come out of them while they bake, especially if you use a fattier meat. If you go leaner on your beef you won't see as much of this.

Let cool a bit before putting them in zip lock bags (in a single layer) to freeze.

Tender and flavorful!

Simmered in sauce. Topped with cheese.

ENJOY!

Chicken Tortilla Soup

2012-02-22T13:06:00.000-08:00

This is a two part meal. I first make Shredded Chicken Tacos. Then, within the next few days, I use the remaining chicken for this soup. If you don't want to make the shredded chicken in the crock pot, you can probably still use this recipe by shredding a rotisserie chicken or cooked chicken breasts and season with taco seasonings on the stove top as well as the rotel before adding the other ingredients. I haven't tried it this way so I can't confirm taste.

I didn't get great pictures of it... It tasted much better than it looked:)

Ingredients:

* Aprox 1 1/2 cups of chicken mixture (Use left over chicken from the Shredded Chicken Tacos)

* 32 oz box low sodium chicken broth

* 1 can of corn

* 1 can of rotel (I like the original or the cilantro lime flavor best)

* juice from half a lime

* spices (whatever you have on hand... black pepper, pinch of garlic powder...) I add a little and taste every 10-15 minutes and keep adding more spices little by little till I get it to my liking)

* handful of chopped fresh cilantro

* 1 avocado, diced

* tortilla strips (I thinly sliced some corn tortillas I had and pan fried them till crispy in a little canola oil)

* optional toppings (shredded mexican cheese, lime slices, extra cilantro...)

1. In a pot, combine chicken broth, shredded chicken, corn, rotel (juices and all), juice from lime and any spices. Bring to a boil and simmer for 20+ minutes. (I think i did mine for about 45 minutes.)

2. 10 minutes before serving, add your fresh cilantro to the pan. Continue to simmer

3. Ladle out soup into bowls. Add small handful of diced avocado to bowl and top with your favorite toppings.

Here is the chicken I made in the crock pot the day before.

This is after simmering for around 35 minutes. I've just added cilantro and put back on to simmer another 10 minutes. I also added a bunch more black pepper here.

Served with avocado and cheese

Here i've also topped with my homemade tortilla strips.

Crock Pot Shredded Chicken Tacos

2012-02-20T20:31:00.000-08:00

This is a super easy recipe. Only 3 ingredients go in to the crock pot and then add any fixing you wish. My favorite part about this recipe is you can do SO much with it! We made it tonight and made tacos and quesadillas with the chicken. With the left overs, I am going to make Chicken Tortilla Soup and Sour Cream Chicken Enchilada's with Green Chilies (using this chicken as the filling and not adding extra rotel or onions). I would love to hear any additional recipes you may come up with using this chicken! It makes a ton. I'm sure you could freeze for future use as well!

I have another recipe on this blog that is extremely similar. It's the same 3 ingredients but you also add black beans and corn to the crock pot. We like that a lot too, this is just simplified and I feel can be used in more recipes with the leftovers since I necessarily wouldn't want corn in my enchiladas.

Ingredients:

*4-5 skinless boneless chicken breasts
*1 packet of taco seasoning
*1 lg jar of salsa (I like using a chuncky salsa. Aprox 25-30 oz)
*Any additional toppings (toppings we used included: Tortillas, shredded cheese, shredded lettuce, cilantro, sour cream, hot sauce, jalapenos, avocado, pico and lime slices!)

Cook in crock pot on low for 6-7 hours or on high for 4-5 hours. Once done, shred chicken with two forks right in crock pot mixing with all the juices from the salsa.

YUM!

Shred chicken in Crock Pot

The chicken is very tender and flavorful!

Ju[i]cy Lucy Burger

2012-02-18T09:09:00.000-08:00

Another recipe I found on pinterest... These were pretty good, alought I like my patties thinner and with a tad more flavoring. I think next time I make them I will use less meat per ball (making 5 smaller bugers instead of 4 large burgers) and I will use some extra seasonings... maybe montreal steak seasonings and extra Worcestershire sauce. I will also top mine with freshly diced jalapenos:) The hubby and kids really liked them so I'll make them again like this. We served with baked beans, sauteed onions for topping the burger, and sweet potato fries.

Here is the link of where the recipe came from. They have great step by step pictures of assembling the burgers to look at.

Ingredients (makes 4 LARGE burgers) (1/2 burger was enough for the kids when served with sides.)

2 pounds Ground Beef (80% preferred), chilled
3 oz Frozen Spinach, frozen and crumbled
1 tbsp. Worcestershire Sauce
2 tsp. Garlic Powder
4 oz. Cheese (American or Fontina, or whatever you like), cut to roughly 1″ squares.
Kosher Salt
Ground Black Pepper
Your favorite burger toppings
1 onion (sweet or red) Saute in a little butter on the stove top (optional)

1. Preheat grill to high

2. Thoroughly combine beef, spinach, Worcestershire, salt and pepper. If the meat starts to warm up (from your hands) put it back in the fridge, you need to keep it chilled. Measure out 4 oz balls of beef mixture.

3. Roll into a ball then flatten into a thin patty on top of wax paper, about 1/4″ high and roughly 5″ in diameter. On half of the patties place 1 oz of cheese.

4. On to each cheese-topped patty, flip a second patty to cover the cheese. Pinch the edges together forming a swell in the middle. Re-cover with wax paper and refrigerate at least 10 minutes.

5. Grill chilled patties five minutes on first side, then flip, grill another two minutes. Serve on your favorite bun with sauteed onions and your favorite fixings (I used ketchup, mustard, sauteed onion and pickles.)

This was 4 oz of meat, flattened out

Top with cheese

Top with another flattened 4 oz patty

Grill. Make sure you wait till edges start cooking through before you flip so they don't fall apart. For some reason I had a bit extra meat so I made a single smaller patty with no cheese in the middle as well.

Had to add a Blue Moon so I could add an orange and make this a well rounded meal:)

Served with ketchup, mustard, sauteed onions and pickles on a bun. Sweet potato fries and baked beans on the side.

Parmigiano-Reggiano Crusted Chicken Piccata

2012-02-11T13:19:00.001-08:00

This is a Rachael Ray recipe that I found pinned on Pinterest. I LOVE anything lemony and made with Parmigiano-Reggiano so I wanted to give it a try. I followed the recipe exactly, by only adding italian seasoning, and I really liked it. I think the key is really getting the chicken thin. I used 2 big breasts and butterflied them and pounded them even more to make them as thin as possible. My husband said it was a tad too lemony, but I LOVE lemon so I didn't think there was enough:) Kids ate it and liked it as well so I will definitely make it again! We made this with Ina-Garten's Sauteed Broccolini recipe.

Ingredients:
1/4 cup flour
1 tsp Italian Seasonings2 eggs
1 1/4 cups grated Parmigiano Reggiano cheese, divided
4 skinless, boneless chicken breast halves, pounded 1/4-inch thick
Salt
1/2 pound angel hair pasta
3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil (EVOO), divided
Juice of 1 lemon, plus 1 sliced lemon
2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
1/4 cup capers, drained and patted dry, or 12 caper berries, sliced
1/2 cup dry white wine (eyeball it)
1/4 cup flat leaf parsley leaves, chopped
1/2 cup chicken stock
2 tablespoons butter, chilled and cut into small pieces
One package baby spinach (5 ounces)
Pepper

1. Place the flour and italian seasonings on a plate (mixed together). In a shallow bowl, beat the eggs; place 1 cup cheese on another plate. Working with one cutlet at a time, coat the chicken with the flour, then egg and then cheese, pressing to adhere. I also added pepper to each side of the chicken. Transfer to a plate.

2. Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Salt it, add the pasta and cook to al dente, 3 minutes. Drain, reserving a ladleful of water.

3. In a large nonstick skillet, heat 2 tablespoons EVOO, two turns of the pan, over medium heat. Add the chicken and cook, turning once, until deeply golden, 10 minutes. Transfer to a platter and cover with foil. Add the remaining 1 tablespoon EVOO, one turn of the pan, to the skillet. Add the sliced lemon, garlic and capers and cook for 2 minutes. Stir in the wine and parsley and cook until reduced, 1 minute. Lower the heat and bring to a simmer.

4. Stir the chicken stock into the sauce for 1 minute. Stir in the butter until melted, then stir in the lemon juice. Spoon a little sauce over the chicken. Add the spinach to the remaining sauce in the skillet and cook until wilted. Add the reserved pasta cooking water. Stir in the pasta and toss to coat; season with salt and pepper. Add the remaining cheese and toss. Serve the pasta with the chicken.

Butterflied chicken breast and then pounded even thinner

flour on a plate (mix with italian seasoning

Fresh grated Parmigiano-Reggiano

Dip Chicken first in flour, then egg wash, then coat in cheese.

I add fresh ground pepper as well to each side of chicken

Rest of ingredients, Lemon juice, chopped flat leaf parsley, chopped garlic, chicken stock (broth), wine, capers.

Pan fry chicken in olive oil

Flip after 5-7 minutes and cook till cooked through

Add your lemon slice, capers and garlic

Add parsley and wine. Then add chicken broth, butter and lemon juice. Spoon some sauce over chicken. To the rest of the sauce, add the spinach and saute.

Once spinach is wilted add reserved pasta water and noodles. Stir and then add remaining cheese and pepper.

I put noodles down first, then chicken on top. Served with side of broccolini. YUM

Chicken, Mushroom, Broccoli and Rice Casserole

2012-02-10T21:35:00.000-08:00

This is another recipe I can thank Pinterest for... Originating from For the Love of Cooking. I followed the recipe almost exactly, except I added shredded cheddar cheese to the top before baking. This is a great, easy recipe for a weekday meal. Great for pot lucks. Kids and husbands love it too! It's a whole meal all in one! I will say, this dish tastes much better than it looks!

Ingredients:

1 tbsp olive oil

1/2 onion- chopped

1 lb mushrooms quartered

1 stalk of celery diced (I love celery so I used 2 stalks)

1 box of Farmhouse Long Grain & Wild Rice (or your favorite brand), prepared per instructions (I used a 6oz box of Near East Long Grain and Wild Rice- Original)

2 cooked chicken breasts, cubed (You can use left over chicken, rotisserie chicken or what I did was I put 2 chicken breasts in a Fry pan with olive oil and Montreal Chicken Seasonings. Seared both sides and then placed chicken in 400 degree oven until just done. Then I shredded with two forks. I prefer shredded chicken over diced)

1 6-8 oz can of sliced water chestnuts, diced

1 cup of broccoli florets

1 10 3/4 oz can of Cream of Chicken soup

1 10 3/4 oz can of Cream of Celery soup

1/4 cup light mayonnaise (I used Kraft Mayo with Olive Oil)

Salt and pepper to taste

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Prepare rice per instructions. In a heated pan add 1/2 tbsp oil and cook mushrooms until golden brown – remove from pan. Add the other 1/2 tbsp of oil to the pan and cook onions and celery until soft. Using a steamer, steam broccoli until just fork tender, then cool. (I added fresh broccoli florets to a big bowl with 1T of water. Placed paper towel over bowl and microwaved for 3 minutes. In a large bowl, combine all ingredients and mix well.

Put into a baking dish and cover with cheese. Bake uncovered for 30 minutes. Let cool for a few minutes prior to serving. Enjoy.

I seared and then baked chicken I seasoned well and then shredded it.

Steamed broccoli, chopped onion, diced celery, can of sliced water chestnuts (that I diced), and quartered mushrooms

Brown mushrooms in some olive oil

Make rice per package instructions

Saute onion and celery in olive oil

Diced water chestnuts

Put all ingredients into a big bowl

Mix well

Put mixture into casserole/baking dish (either a 9x13 or I did two smaller casserole dishes and made one for a party and put the other in the fridge to make for dinner tomorrow night. I could probably freeze it too, but I'm looking forward to it again:)

I added cheese to the top. Cheese makes EVERYTHING better!

Bake at 350 for 30 mins

Monster Juice Smoothies

2012-02-08T13:16:00.000-08:00

I saw this recipe posted on pinterest as a Green Smoothie for weight loss. My son and husband are obsessed with smoothies and I thought it be a good quick breakfast for those mornings with little time. Plus I just loved the green color and since my kids have seen Shrek lately, I told them it was Shrek Monster juice and they loved it! Here is the link the recipe came from. All you need is a blender and the following...

Ingredients:
* 1-2 fresh bananas
* 1/2 cup frozen peaches
* 1/2 cup frozen mango
* handful of fresh spinach (the kids won't even taste this in it and it makes it the vibrant green color + adding all the extra vitamins to your smoothie!)
* water
* Ice (if desired)

You can always add fat free yogurt or change up the fruit according to what your family likes.

Sweet and Savory Flank Steak with Cilantro-Lime rice with Pineapple

2012-02-06T19:35:00.000-08:00

Again... found this recipe off pinterest... I know, I'm obsessed! But it hasn't steered me wrong yet! This may be my new favorite recipe. Well, the marinade is anyway. I will definitely use this marinade for tri-tip, chicken and shrimp in the future as well.

This is actually two different recipes, but they go SO well together I didn't want to post them as two different recipes. Both recipes originally came from this blog, "Our Best Bites". I recommend clicking on it to see her pictures and description as well!

My family loved the flavor of this steak... it was a great combination of sweet and salty. I wanted to lick my plate when I was done. Don't worry, I refrained:) The rice was awesome and I loved the steak served right on top of the rice. I recommend serving with broccoli, green beans or an artichoke!

Ingredients for steak:
* 1/2 C brown sugar

* 1/2 C olive oil
* 1/2 C soy sauce
* 1 C pineapple juice (I sqeezed out the juice from a can of crushed pineapple, set pineapple aside to use in rice)
* 1 T freshly grated giner
* 4-5 garlic cloves, finely minced

* up to 2 lbs flank steak (I think the one I used was a little over a pound... I wish I would have done a bigger one. NO left overs:(

1. Combine first 6 ingredients in a bowl and mix well. Remove 1/4 cup and set aside. Place rest of the marinade in a gallon size zip lock bag.

2. Score flank steak with a knife diagonally on both sides. This just means to run a sharp knife through it in the pattern below. You don’t want to actually cut through the steak, just lightly score- like 1/8 inch- into it. This will help tenderize the meat.3. Place the steak in the ziplock containing the marinade. Refrigerate 8 hours or overnight.

4. Take out of fridge 30 minutes before grilling. Place steak on grill and cook for 5-10 minutes per side, depending on the size.

5. When the steak is almost done, use the 1/4 C marinade you set aside to brush over steak. Flank steak should still be pink in the middle when done.

6. Remove from grill and let stand for 5 minutes before cutting so the juices can redistribute. Always cut flank steak against the grain, in thin slices to serve. (If you’re not sure what it means to cut against the grain, google it:)

*If you don’t have a grill, you could also broil on top rack of oven. I haven't tried this.

Ingredients for Rice:

* 1 cup dry white rice cooked in 2 cups water (I just used 1 1/2 cups jasmine rice that I cooked in my rice cooker)

* 2 T real butter
* Juice from 1 medium lime (more or less to taste)
* 1 small can crushed pineapple, drained. I use the pineapple leftover from the marinade above with the steak.
* ½ – ¾ C chopped fresh cilantro
* Salt and pepper to taste (I like using course Kosher salt)

1. Cook rice. Once done, toss in the butter and stir to melt.

2. Just before serving, add your lime juice, pineapple, and cilantro. Stir well and season with salt and pepper.

ENJOY!!!

cut steak on diagonal

Then throw in marinade for at least 8 hours

grill, I did about 10 minutes on first side and around 7 minutes on second side

Let rest 5 minutes or so before cutting

By this time your rice should be cooked

Cut the steak against grain

Put your ingredients in your rice

Mix well and season

I would serve steak right on top of the rice

AWESOME!!!