Monthly Archives: June 2014

Holy Yum Chicken!

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holyyumchicken

Holy Yum Chicken!!

Ok…. #1, this picture does NOT do this justice. Not at all. My plate is too big. That’s 1 1/2 chicken thighs… seriously. But this chicken… oh man. The name fits it perfectly! I did not change anything in this recipe. I cannot claim it as my own. So… if you want to experience this AMAZING chicken (you MUST like mustard to like this)…. go to this website for the recipe. You’ll be glad you did. Holy Yum chicken… mmmmmm!!!!!

http://www.tablefortwoblog.com/holy-yum-chicken/

AMAZING!!!!!

Creamy Dill White-fish

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CreamyDillFish

Adapted from this recipe: http://recipes.sparkpeople.com/recipe-detail.asp?recipe=2673535

Minutes to Prepare: 5
Minutes to Cook: 20
Number of Servings: 6

Ingredients

1.5 cup 2% low-fat cottage cheese
1 teaspoon fresh chopped parsley
1/2 teaspoon dried (or fresh) dill
1/8 teaspoon cracked black pepper
6 (3-ounce) fresh tilapia fillets (I actually used Dover Sole. I prefer wild caught fish, and tilapia only had farm raised available.)
1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons toasted panko (Japanese breadcrumbs)1/2 tsp garlic powder
3 TB grated parmesan cheeseCombine the cottage cheese with parsley, dill, garlic, salt, parmesan cheese and pepper in a small bowl. Arrange tilapia fillets on a foil covered sheet pan. Evenly spread the cottage cheese mixture over each filet. Sprinkle each with 1 tablespoon of panko breadcrumbs. Bake at 350 degrees for 15 minutes. Then, at the end, broil on LOW for 3-5 minutes until crispy.

Serving Size: 6 servings; 1 piece of fish per serving

Crispy Pan Fried “Mexican” Chicken

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DSC_0644

Adapted from this original recipe: http://recipes.sparkpeople.com/recipe-detail.asp?recipe=838597

1 pound boneless, skinless frozen chicken tenderloins
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup panko bread crumbs
1 cup low-sodium salsa
1 cup coconut milk (or buttermilk)

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. 

Combine the panko, taco seasoning. cumin and salt in a shallow dish.
Soak the chicken in a bag w/the buttermilk or coconut milk for 30 minutes in the fridge. Then, coat in the seasoned bread crumbs. The original recipe called for you to then place on a sprayed baking sheet, and bake the chicken: Bake for 20 minutes or until the meat reaches 165 degrees. I personally thought it didn’t get crispy enough. I, therefore, heated 2 TB of olive oil in a skillet and pan fried the chicken for approximately 5 minutes per side. Serve with salsa. I also made a salad and corn to go with it. The salad dressing is my recipe as listed in a previous post.

Each serving: 3 ounces chicken and 1/4 cup salsa

#cookinghealthy #500caloriesorless #quickcooking

Hawaiian BBQ Burritos

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DSC_0659

Adapted from this original recipe: http://mixandmatchmama.blogspot.com/2014/05/dinner-tonight-hawaiian-bbq-chicken.html

Ingredients:
5 Frozen Chicken Tenderloins
1 cup of your favorite BBQ sauce
1/4 cup of salsa (or use 1 seeded jalapeno)
1/2 (4 oz used) can of crushed pineapple
2 green onions (scallions) chopped
3 burrito sized tortillas
Shredded Cheese

(This recipe makes 3-4 burritos, you can add more chicken to make more. I usually cook for 2 people and have 1 person leftovers)

Put 1 TB of olive oil in the bottom of your skillet. Place the chicken tenderloins (still frozen) into your skillet, and top w/half of the BBQ sauce, and place lid. Cook on medium-medium high heat. It will take 15-20 min. to cook through. Then, take 2 forks and shred the meat. Then, add the remaining BBQ sauce, salsa and pineapple. Cover again, and just before serving, top with scallions.

Serve on burrito tortilla w/shredded cheese.

30-minute Southwest Chili

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DSC_0693

My recipe is adapted from this original recipe: http://www.realsimple.com/food-recipes/browse-all-recipes/southwestern-beef-chili-corn-00000000006977/index.html

Ingredients

Directions

  1. Heat the oil in a large saucepan over medium-high heat. Add the carrots, onion, garlic and bell pepper and 1/4 cup rotel and cook, stirring, for 3 minutes.
  2. Add the beef and cook, breaking it up with a spoon, until no longer pink, 3 to 5 minutes.
  3. Add the tomato paste and cook, stirring, until it is slightly darkened, 1 minute.
  4. Stir in the beans, chili powder, 3 cups water, ½ teaspoon salt, and ¼ teaspoon pepper. Then add the corn. (I used 1/2 cup of frozen sweet white corn)
  5. Simmer over medium heat until the vegetables are tender, 8 to 10 minutes. Stir in the corn.
  6. Divide the chili among bowls and top with the Cheddar and scallions.

Curried Rice with Shrimp

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curriedshrimp

Original Recipe Credit: http://www.realsimple.com/food-recipes/browse-all-recipes/curried-rice-shrimp-00000000006830/index.html

I have adapted my recipe from the recipe listed above.

I used brown rice in my recipe… I’d actually recommend white rice, I just didn’t have any left, so I used what I had.

Step 1: Put 1 cup of rice into the rice cooker, and fill it with water until the water reaches the first crease on my pointer finger. That’s how my mom measured… so that’s how I measure it. Don’t even know how much water that turns out to be, but it works! Then, I add 1 tsp. of minced garlic and 2 tsp. of curry powder. I close the rice cooker, and press cook. (If you do NOT have a rice cooker, I recommend you following the original recipe link above.)

Step 2: Peel and cut 4 carrots. I cut the carrots into about 1 1/2 in to 2 inch pieces. Then, I chopped up 1/4 of an onion. I put the carrot and onion into a skillet w/1/4 cup of water and 1 TB olive oil and 1/2 tsp minced garlic and a dash of curry powder. I put the lid on and simmered on med-low heat. (15-20 min).

Step 3: While the carrots and onions are simmering, I put the shrimp, still frozen, on a tin-foil lined cookie sheet and drizzled olive oil over top. (2 TB?). I then sprinkled with salt, pepper, garlic powder and just a touch of curry powder (to continue with the theme). I baked them at 375 for 15 minutes.

Step 4: Assemble. All things should get done right around the same time. Carrots should be firm, but tender. Shrimp should not be translucent at all, and cooked through. Rice should be sticky and a nice curry-yellow. Put rice in bowl, then carrots and onions, toss, and add shrimp to top. Garnish with basil as desired.

Enjoy!

Changing Skin, Changing Lives

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R&F

Rodan and Fields…. changing skin, changing lives. And it’s SOO true. I can enjoy cooking because I am a consultant for Rodan and Fields. I can be home because of this company. I know, you’ve heard it before. These products speak for themselves though. Go to www.rcain.myrandf.com and check out the amazing testimonials and then email me with questions. You won’t regret it!

Lemon Curd Blueberry Trifle

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No picture with this one…

So, I made a Trifle the other night, and it actually turned out SOO good! I combined a couple of different recipes and ideas, and really liked it. I, of course, didn’t take any pictures of it, but I’m putting the recipe on here so that I won’t forget.

Step 1: Make Angel Food Cake (Pound cake may also be good!)
I used a boxed Angel Food Cake. All I had to do was add water, mix in my mixer, and bake! 35 minutes later, you flip it over (in the angel food cake pan) and let it cool. EASY!

Step 2: Buy or make lemon curd. I bought a jar of it because I was a bit busy. BUT, you can pretty easily make it. It’s basically eggs, sugar, lemon and butter. So, if you have all of that, just make it!!! (http://www.chefscatalog.com/blog/gift-from-the-kitchen)

Step 3: Blueberries!! Blueberries are just starting to be in season here right now and are DELICIOUS!!!! I had 2 small containers. I washed them and drained them and set them to the side to dry.

Step 4: Make mousse! I got the recipe for the mousse here: http://www.pinterest.com/pin/96616354480891681/
I made the recipe exactly the same, but then instead of Basil, i used mint, and refrigerated the mousse in 1 large glass bowl instead of separate dishes. http://recipes.sparkpeople.com/recipe-detail.asp?recipe=2736718

Step 5: Assemble!
Use scissors or a serrated knife to cut the angel food cake into approx. 2-inch squares. Then, you layer. Start using 1/3 of the angel food cake pieces, and layer in the bottom of a trifle dish, or large punch bowl. Then layer in the lemon curd, blueberries and mouse. I just dolloped bits of everything in there until the layer was nicely covered, and then topped it with lemon zest. I then repeated 2 additional times until there were 3 layers, and then topped it with chopped mint.

Easy Peasy lemon squeezy!!! HAHA! 🙂

Tex-Mex Calzones

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texmexcalzone

Ok… not the best picture… but seriously… these are AMAZING! I had to get this off of my phone. Better pictures in the future. PROMISE!

Original recipe credit: http://recipes.sparkpeople.com/recipe-detail.asp?recipe=653363

All things that I added or changed will be marked by parenthesis or an asterisk.

1 pound ground turkey, extra lean  (I used 85/15 Ground beef)
1/2 c onion, chopped fine (I never use as much onion, probably 1/4 cup)
2 garlic cloves, minced ( used 1 tsp pre-minced garlic)
3/4 t ground cumin
1 1/2 t dark chili powder
1/2 c red bell pepper, chopped fine
3/4 c salsa verde, fire roasted ( I used regular salsa)
1 (11 oz) can pizza dough, refrigerated, thin crust (I used Publix pre-made bagged dough. They have whole wheat if you prefer. In the bakery section of most grocery stores, or refrigerated sections.)
1 c Mexican blend cheese, shredded
1 egg white, beaten (I used olive oil)Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Adjust oven rack to upper third of the oven.
Heat a large skillet over medium high heat. Add ground turkey (or ground beef) and cook 5 minutes, stirring to crumble. Add onion and garlic; continue to cook for an additional 4-5 minutes or until onions are translucent.
Add spices and cook for 1 minute to bring out the flavors in the spices. Add chopped pepper; continue to cook 1 minute.
Remove mixture from heat and stir in salsa.
Unroll dough and divide into 4 equal portions. Working with one rectangle at a time place, 1/2 cup of turkey mixture on half of the dough then top with 2 tablespoons of cheese.
Using a pastry brush or fingers, brush the egg mixture (or olive oil) on the border of the dough. Fold dough over turkey mixture and press with a fork to seal. If you prefer a crisp crust, brush some additional egg wash (or olive oil w/some sea salt and oregano) over the top of the calzone.
Bake 10-12 minutes or until golden brown.*** I then had about a TB of sour cream (or you can use PLAIN greek yogurt) and dipped these into it.

HEAVENLY!!!

ENJOY!

Light Chicken Parmesan with Wilted Spinach

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Lightchickenparm

Original Recipe Credit: http://recipes.sparkpeople.com/recipe-detail.asp?recipe=10972
All things that I changed, I have added in parenthesis or with an asterisk

12 ounces white meat chicken (one double breast) (I used 6 frozen, boneless skinless chicken tenderloins)
1 tbsp grated Parmesan cheese
1/4 cup Italian-style bread crumbs (I used plain panko crumbs)
1 tsp garlic powder 
1 tbsp onions, dried (I used onion powder)
Crushed red peppers if desired (I omitted these entirely… I’m not into spicy in my Italian food..)
1 -2 tbsp olive oil
Approximately 1 cup marinara or spaghetti sauce (as much as you’d prefer)
Mozzarella cheese (grated)

I soaked my chicken tenderloins in coconut milk for 30 minutes in the refrigerator in a baggie while I was cutting the strawberries, prepping the breading and taking the stems off of the spinach.

Mix panko bread crumbs, parmesan cheese, garlic powder, onion powder, and a little bit of oregano in a small bowl. Set aside.

In a large skillet, but 2 TB of olive oil, and heat on med to med-high heat. When hot, a drop of water will sizzle.Take the chicken out of the bag of coconut milk (you can also use buttermilk) and dip into the breading mix. Coat well on both sides. Place onto hot skillet. Try to fit all 6 tenderloins into pan. Cook for about 3 minutes per side, until brown. I used tongs to flip. 

While the chicken is cooking, prep a cookie sheet with tin foil (or not, if you don’t mind scrubbing baked cheese off of a cookie sheet). Place all 6 pieces of chicken onto baking sheet. Top with marinara/spaghetti sauce. Then top with mozzarella and a little bit of parmesan cheese.Put into oven on Broil (LOW) for 5 minutes.

While the chicken is broiling to melt the cheese, and finish the cooking of the chicken, place the spinach in a small skillet with 1 – 2 TB of olive oil and salt. Toss for about 2 minutes until wilted, but still bright green.Remove the chicken and make sure FULLY cooked. If needed, cut one in half. Make sure that there is NO pink left.

 ENJOY!