Tag Archives: avocado

Chicken Wrap

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I had a meal plan. That plan went out the window tonight. Do you ever do that? Just don’t feel like cooking/doing/eating whatever you planned? Not sure if it was my dog barking at random noises, my son whining at my feet, or my daughter asking to go down to the lake nature trail for the 50th time in 5 minutes, but my energy was suddenly drained. I quickly made the tiny minions , that I made, and adore… their dinner and sat down to figure out what on earth actually sounded good. When I made my meal plan it was cold and rainy outside. I have 2 weeks worth of meals to choose from and they all look “bleh”… so what’s a girl gonna do? My husband was on his way home from work. Granted it takes him 45 minutes to get home… but still!
I hop on pinterest, duh, and find out all about this new Mediterranean Diet. Which of course leads me to travel ideas, which leads me to beach pictures, which leads me to memes and funny pictures of cats. Suddenly my husband’s home, and I haven’t cooked a thing! Darn endless scroll on pinterest! Hehe! So, chicken wraps it was! And you know what? They were good! 🙂

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Ingredients

This is for 2 servings

4 chicken tenderloins
1 TB butter
1 TB olive oil
1/2 tsp garlic powder
1/2 tsp oregano
Salt and pepper
1/2 tsp dried thyme
1/4 cup vinegarette  (I used my leftovers from a previous recipe… you can use any Italian dressing or vinegarette)
1/2 cup baby spinach
2 TB parmesan
Tortillas (flour or whole wheat )
Toppings:
Greek yogurt, sour cream, avocado slices, spinach or lettuce, hummus, Lindsay Naturals Black Ripe Pitted Olives
, tomatoes and or mustard.

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Sautee the chicken in a skillet with the oil, and or butter and seasonings until almost done. Add half of the salad dressing and let simmer. 5-8 min until no pink is left and shred it with 2 forks. Top with either shredded cheese or parmesan and then place onto the tortillas. Top as you’d like!

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And now, for the quote of the day: saw this random picture… yes, on pinterest, and had to post it!

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Quick Shrimp and Avocado Salad

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I needed a quick dinner… something using fresh foods, and low in carbs. Something yummy but also filling, and this salad definitely did the trick! I LOVED it! The natural fats in the avocado and the high protein in the shrimp were exactly what I needed! So fresh and yummy! If you want a nice salad to go with dinner, a quick lunch with leftover shrimp, or even something to put on a hoagie roll, this is it! Try this salad out!

This is for the dressing and the salad.
Also… I usually use this cute little wish when I’m making salad dressing:

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Cute huh? It fits easily into bowls and measuring cups, or whatever I need to fit it into to mix something. Perfect size for little jobs. 🙂

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INGREDIENTS

1 lb. Baked shrimp, peeled and deveined
1 avocado, cut into large pieces
1/2 sweet onion chopped
1/2 cup sweet white corn (thawed frozen or fresh)
1/2 to 1 English cucumber sliced and quartered
Optional handful of grape tomatoes

For the Dressing

¼ cup extra virgin olive oil
¼ cup fresh squeezed lemon juice
1 tsp lemon zest
Dash white balsamic vinegar
½ teaspoon garlic powder
1 teaspoon parsley, chopped
1 teaspoon spicy brown mustard
salt and pepper, to taste
Dash hot sauce

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INSTRUCTIONS

Bake shrimp for 12 min at 350 with a drizzle of olive oil and salt and pepper. Remove, set aside. After cooled (10 min), either leave whole, or chop into bite size pieces.
Add shrimp, avocado, and onion, corn, cucumber and tomatoes to a large bowl.
In a 2-cup measuring cup, mix together ingredients for the dressing. Whisk until well-combined.
Add dressing to shrimp avocado salad until it has the amount you desire. Top with a bit of parmesan cheese if you’d like!
Serve additional dressing on the side. I put leftover dressings in washed glass jelly jars and save it for up to a week in the fridge.
And now, for the quote of the day:

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Whole Grain Southwest Quinoa Bowl with a Fried Egg!

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So I feel like I’ve been putting on here that I’m TIRED a lot lately.  Guess what?! Today, I’m NOT! Woohoo! We actually had a great day! I would attribute it to spending a majority of our day outside. We did school EARLY and then just spent the rest of the time outside (except for during naptime). We even had some dog training for our dog Duke, outside! It was quite marvelous! It’s so nice that it’s not yet a sauna outside, so we can still enjoy it! And, I straightened my curly hair for one possible last hurrah! Because, once it turns to a sauna outside, my curly hair returns within minutes of stepping outside! HA!

A couple of things about today’s recipe.

1. I use sweet mini-peppers a lot. I use them because I like the different colors in 1 bag. I also like that I don’t have to cut open a full bell pepper and then try to save it and hope that it doesn’t dry out. So, I like the sweet mini peppers as snacks, and the fact that I can grab a few to put in my dishes without worrying about part of them drying out! They stay fresh for a long time too!
2. When I only use 1/2 an onion, I DO NOT put the other half back in the fridge. I was recently informed that they absorb sickness and germs and bad things… and can actually make you sick if you do that! I RARELY use an entire onion when I cook something. I like onions, but I don’t want an overload. So, I slice the rest of them, put them in a freezer baggie and put them in the freezer. That way, they stay fresh and I can grab just the amount that I want to put in each dish and they stay FRESH!!!!
3. I almost always use the rice cooker for quinoa and rice. It’s sooo much easier! Very “mindless” which is perfect when I’m doing so much other stuff to prep, etc. Set it and forget it!

And now, the recipe!

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Ingredients
for 3-4 servings:
  • 1/2 cup of quinoa
  • 1 cups of water
  • 1 tsp flax meal (if you have and so desire)
  • 2 tablespoons of olive oil
  • 1 teaspoon of salt
  • ½ teaspoon of cracked pepper
  • 1 zucchini, diced
  • 1 yellow squash, diced
  • 3-4 mini sweet peppers diced
  • 1 1/2 cups whole kernel sweet corn (frozen, fresh or canned)
  • ½ yellow onion, diced (about 1/2 cup)
  • handful of grape tomatoes
  • 1/2 tsp chili powder
  • dash cayenne powder
  • 1/4 tsp cumin
  • ½ teaspoon of smoked paprika
  • 1/2 tsp oregano
  • 1/2 cup fire roasted diced tomatoes with green chilis (like rotel) from the can
  • 1 tablespoon of fresh lime juice
  • 4 eggs, fried/over easy (1 egg per serving)
  • 2 avocado, sliced
  • fresh cilantro (garnish)
  • fresh lime zest and juice of 1 lime to top
  • sour cream or shredded cheddar if desired for topping

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Instructions
  1. Put olive oil in a non-stick skillet
  2. Start quinoa in the rice cooker, or on stove top – following directions on bag (RINSE QUINOA)
  3. Cut up vegetables
  4. Place squash, zucchini, minni peppers, onion, tomatoes, corn, salt, and pepper into the skillet. Toss to coat.
  5. Season with the dry spices (paprika, cayenne, chili powder, cumin, oregano and lime zest). Add the 1/2 cup of Rotel or similar.
  6. Sautee veggies in sauce pan until the zucchini is tender, but still firm. Squeeze lime juice over vegetables just before you server.
  7. Fluff quinoa with a fork and serve with the vegetables.
  8. Pan fry four eggs
  9. Serve egg on top of quinoa with avocado slices and fresh cilantro. Also, try shredded cheese or sour cream!

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This one was filling, healthy, and one that you don’t feel guilty after eating! You got your protein, your whole grains AND your veggies! Definitely give this one a try!

And now, for the quote of the day: 🙂

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Lemony Bacon Avocado Pasta

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Do you ever look in your fridge and see all these separate components and wonder how in the world you’re going to make dinner out of them?? This is one of those. Bacon? Avocado? Lemon? Parmesan? Spinach? Basil? Peppers? Doesn’t that just SOUND like a winning combination?

When I’m having a cruddy day, I always crave pasta. Today was actually a pretty GOOD day. But, really, when does a good day stop you from wanting pasta with bacon? I mean, really.

I’m actually quite picky about my bacon though. As my previous post states, my son has a lot of food allergies and sensitivities. I found out that he is QUITE sensitive to a lot of preservatives. It can range from a rash to hives! So, when we buy bacon, we buy uncured and nitrite/nitrate free. Strangely, a LOT of ham and bacon has that in it. I CAN find it, but it’s hard and expensive. Trader Joes does have a good option that isn’t too expensive. Our favorite is this: TraderJoesFullyCookedAppleSmokedUncuredBacon-Package

When I cook it in the microwave, or in a pan on the stove top, it ALWAYS comes out yummy and crispy. Unless, of course, I’m at my sister’s house who has a monster of a microwave that burns it after 30 seconds and I always forget how powerful her’s is. HA! So… watch your wattage. I am NOT going to tell you how long to cook it for, because it seems my microwave may be weaker than other peoples… lol.

So, here’s another craving for you…

baconavocadopasta

You’re welcome world. That’s right. This dish has Bacon. Avocado. Cheese. Pasta.

And… it’s delicious. 🙂

My recipe is inspired by: http://damndelicious.net/2014/06/28/bacon-avocado-pasta/

I changed a few things, so the recipe below is my own, but if you’d like to see the original, check out the link above.

INGREDIENTS

  • 12 ounces tri-color rotini pasta (or your favorite pasta)
  • 4 slices nitrite and nitrate free bacon, chopped
  • 1 avocados, halved, seeded, peeled and diced
  • 1/3 cup diced sweet onion
  • 1/4 cup basil leaves chopped
  • 1/4 cup baby spinach leaves chopped
  • 1/4 cup shredded Parmesan cheese
  • 1/4 cup olive oil
  • 1/4 cup diced red pepper
  • 2 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice, or more, to taste
  • 1 tablespoon lemon zest
  • Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste

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INSTRUCTIONS

  • In a large pot of boiling salted water, cook pasta according to package instructions; drain well.
  • Heat a large skillet over medium high heat. Add bacon and onion cook until bacon is brown and crispy, about 6-8 minutes. Transfer to a paper towel-lined plate.
  • In a large bowl, combine pasta, bacon, avocado, peppers, onion, spinach and basil. Stir in Parmesan, olive oil, lemon juice, lemon zest, salt and pepper, to taste.
  • Serve hot or cold, garnished with Parmesan, if desired.

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ENJOY!

And now, for the quote of the day:

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Kids Smoothie: Get some fruits and veggies in those picky eaters!!!

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So, sadly, I have picky eaters. I don’t know how. I know the technical answer is me…. but I don’t know where it started. When my oldest started eating table food, she would eat ANYTHING and EVERYTHING I put in front of her. Her first Thanksgiving? Literally ate and LOVED everything at the table. Meats, veggies, fruits, and everything in between, she’d eat and love it all. Now? She hates chicken, and most other meat unless it’s in a taco or a VERY thin hamburger. She gags on certain foods I “force” her to try (our kids have to take a no thank you serving of each food prepared). She gagged on this one dish I made, and she LOVES each of the items in the dish individually, but I guess it’s GROSS when you mix them together?!

My son is a whole other story. When he was about 2 1/2 months old, he had a persistent full body rash. I was nursing him and was advised to cut certain things out of my diet. Well, that worked! We found out he has a LOT of food allergies. Some so serious that we have to carry epi-pens every where we go. We have come close to using them on 2 separate occasions, but we are blessed that we haven’t had to so far. When you have a child with VERY severe food allergies, you become hyper vigilant. If there’s even a POSSIBILITY of cross-contamination with that allergen, you don’t chance it. It’s not because you’re crazy, it’s because your child could literally die or end up in the hospital. It’s just not worth it. So, because of that, he does not have a very big list of foods he can eat, much less like. When I get creative in the kitchen and figure out a new dish that he can eat, it takes MANY tries, and little samples before he will start to eat more than 1 lick of it. Currently his list of foods include: Perdue Simply Chicken Nuggets, ONLY the chunks that are LIGHTLY breaded, and they MUST be crunchy, otherwise they are “yucky” and will be thrown to the dog. 2: Hummus. Oh, he ADORES hummus. He can eat about 1/2 cup of it for a snack! I like to stir in some flax meal for a bit of extra protein and omega-3’s. He’ll eat it with his favorite veggies straws, pretzels, tortilla chips, crackers.. heck, he’ll even eat it with his fingers! 3: Mommy’s homemade meatballs. Now, I am being specific here. He USED to also like the ones at Jason’s Deli (he can actually eat them!), but he’s changed his mind. Now they are gross. Also, if he eats mommy’s meatballs too many days in a row, they also become gross. 4: Cereal. He especially loves cheerios, but he really loves cereal with milk. 4: toast with bacon. This is the staple of our mornings. If we do not have Trader Joe’s organic oatmeal bread… it’s a horrible tragedy. It’s a REQUIREMENT for our mornings. We also have TJ no nitrites or nitrates added (these 2 ingredients give him hives… lovely right?) pre-cooked bacon. EVERY SINGLE MORNING. When we went to Disney, we did not get a meal plan with breakfast. It wasn’t needed, I knew all they’d want was toast and bacon. Even if pancakes and waffles were an option, NOPE, just toast and bacon. 5: Sunflower seed butter and Jelly sandwich. A friend of mine clued me in on this wonderful thing called Sunflower Seed butter. It’s literally the only “nut/seed” butter that my son can have, and he really loves it! Thank goodness! I buy mine at Publix or Trader Joes, and it’s a great alternative to PB that we can keep in the house. Of course it does have to go on a very lightly toasted bread. If it is too toasted, it does not taste good as a sandwich, it is toast, and shouldn’t have sunflower seed butter on it. If it isn’t toasted enough it sticks to the roof of his mouth and is also declared “yucky”. 6: Mommy’s baked goods. Mommy  knows these are safe, and tries to make some frequently. Especially banana bread and pumpkin bread. FAVORITES! 7: Waffles. Yup, Trader Joes has some that are acceptable, otherwise Mommy has a great batter that’s safe. 8: We’re working on others. Not a large list, but I’m really trying to get him to try new things. We’re working on daddy’s favorite, tacos, but…. we’re only to 3 small bites and then a “All Done”. So… we’ll get there.

Because of these 2 paragraphs, I have to try really hard to get veggies and fruits in them. It’s insane. I can get them to each take their no thank you bites of their fruits and veggies, and eat their vitamins and probiotics… but I know they need MORE. So, I try to make a smoothie for them! They’ve had one that they really like the past 2 days, so here’s the recipe:

1 ripe banana (mine was frozen. When mine get over ripe, I peel them and place them in a baggie in my freezer for banana bread or smoothies.)
1/4 avocado – also frozen- leftover avocado sliced and frozen for smoothies
10 leaves baby spinach
1/4 apple cored with PEEL ON
1/4 cup unsweetened applesauce
1/4 cup sorbet of your choice (I used raspberry)
2 baby carrots
1/2 cup water added (or apple juice, up to you)

I blend mine in my Nutri-bullet because it gets really smooth. You don’t want it chunky for your little ones… they won’t like the texture. But when I make this… they LOVE it! They each drank everything I gave them along with their dinner!

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The kids with their smoothies 🙂 (Yes, that is a helmet on the table outside the window! lol) And my son is wearing a fake fur hat… it’s adorable!

And now, for the quote of the day:

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Cheesy Mexican Rice Skillet DIsh

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This dish was requested by my husband… and once you see the ingredients, you will see why! 🙂 Once again, taco/mexican/salsa etc. ingredients. He’s so funny, I love that he’s predictable in his likes for food. He’s very easy to please and will really eat anything I put in front of him… but he LOVES anything with this specific theme.

So, here is the “skillet” meal:

INGREDIENTS
  • 1 – 1.5 lbs lean ground beef
  • 1/4 sweet onion, diced
  • 1 tablespoon olive oil, plus an extra drizzle for cooking the onions
  • 2-3  cups cooked white rice (or leftover frozen rice… I cooked mine in my rice cooker)
  • 1 teaspoon cumin
  • ½ teaspoon salt
  • 1 tsp minced garlic
  • ½ teaspoon garlic powder
  • 1 teaspoon chili powder
  • 1 cup medium salsa (I use Trader Joes)
  • 1 cup Rotel (or similar)
  • 1 cup frozen corn kernels
  • 1 cup canned black beans, drained and rinsed
  • 3 small sweet yellow peppers diced (or 1 small bell pepper)
  • ¾ cup shredded mozzarella cheese (why mozzarella? Because that’s what I had… )
  • 1 avocado, peeled and diced
  • 2 green onions (scallions) diced
  • Fresh cilantro, to taste

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DIRECTIONS
  1. Start the rice in the rice cooker according to package.
  2. Add oil to a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add in the ground beef (or chicken, turkey, etc.) and break it up a bit with a wooden spoon. Add the diced onion and minced garlic, and cook until the chicken has browned and the onion is translucent.
  3. Stir in the spices, chicken broth, salsa, rotel, peppers, corn, and black beans. Bring the liquids to a simmer and then reduce the heat to low.
  4. Once the rice is done, spoon into the meat mixture and stir to combine. Sprinkle the cheese, and avocado over the rice and then cover once more until the cheese melts, about 2 minutes. Then sprinkle with green onion and cilantro and serve!

Filling!! And, if you are so inclined, would be great inside of a burrito shell, I am sure! Great great meal, and quite tasty and filling!!!! YUM!

Enjoy!

And now, for the quote of the day:

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Taco Quinoa Skillet Meal (Meat Free!)

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This is made all in one skillet, ONE PAN!!! Seriously, this made my night SOOO much easier. Mix, simmer, top, serve! Whew! And… gotta say, serve this with chips, and it was really filling! YUM! So, easy, filling, tasty, goes well with chips… winner!

Ingredients:

1 cup organic white quinoa (Rinse well, just as you would rice!!!)
1 TB olive oil
1 can black beans (also rinse!)
1 clove garlic – minced
1 cup low sodium chicken broth (or vegetable broth)
1/2 cup Pace Salsa (Med.)
1/2 cup salsa verde (I used Trader Joes)
1/4 onion diced
dash cayenne pepper
1 tsp chili powder
3 tsp. ground cumin (orig. recipe called for 1/2 tsp… I was putting it in, and a BUNCH fell in… oops! Turned out great though!)
1 cup frozen corn
Zest and Juice of 1 lime
1 avocado (sliced and diced)
2 TB cilantro chopped
salt and pepper to taste

OPTIONAL: I topped mine with a bit of greek yogurt and shredded cheese… just to add a bit of “protein”. 🙂

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Directions:

  • Heat olive oil in a large skillet over medium high heat. Add garlic and onion, and cook, stirring frequently, until fragrant, about 1 minute.
  • Stir in quinoa, chicken broth, beans, salsas, corn, chili powder and seasonings; season with salt and pepper, to taste. Bring to a boil; cover, reduce heat and simmer until quinoa is cooked through, about 20 minutes.
  • Remove from  heat when quinoa is close to being clear… no longer specks of white.
  • Stir in avocado, lime juice and cilantro.
  • Serve immediately

So easy, and delicious! We will be having this one again!!

And, for the quote of the day:

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Proverbs 14;15

Taco Salad with a Creamy Dressing

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What’s for lunch??? Can’t figure it out? Have a bunch of left over hodge podge foods in your fridge and freezer??? I did! So, I made Taco Salad!!!

First, I made the dressing:

Dressing Ingredients:

3 TB FF Greek Yogurt PLAIN
3 TB restaurant style salsa
1 tsp chopped dill
1 TB chopped cilantro
1/8 tsp fresh minced garlic
salt and pepper to taste

Stir up all of the above ingredients for the dressing in a 2 cup glass liquid measuring cup, and set aside.

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Salad

1/2 cucumber cut up
grape tomatoes
1/2 an avocado
1 TB cheese
Leftover taco meat (that had corn and black beans in it)
Butter Lettuce

 

Cut up all of the salad ingredients. Place into bowl, and top with taco meat. Then, drizzle with dressing and sprinkle with cheese. For a little extra, add some crushed tortilla chips (like me, I used all those chip crumbs from the bottom of a chip bag that was still for some reason in our pantry still…).

 

Enjoy!!!

And, the quote of the day:

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Summer Fruit Salad with a Honey, Lime, Cilantro Dressing!

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Salad Ingredients:

-1 Avocado sliced and cut into 1-2 inch pieces
-about 15-20 strawberries washed and sliced
-3/4 of a pint of blueberries washed and tossed into bowl
-handfull of spinach chopped roughly

 

Dressing:

  • 1/4 cup cilantro
  • 3 tbsp. canola oil (or other light oil)
  • 2 large TB. honey
  • juice of 1/2 of a lime
  • dash of dried oregano
  • 1/4 tsp minced garlic
  • about 1/4 tsp Mrs. Dash or similar

Whir in a magic bullet, food processor or blender for about 10 seconds

Pour dressing over salad and toss. ENJOY!!!!!

 

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Grown Ups Grilled Cheese with a Quick Corn Chowder

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This was a quick dinner, in total took me about 25 minutes start to finish. Not too shabby since I had no clue what I was going to make when I walked into the kitchen!! I was going to make a type of sandwich and doctor up some soup I had from Trader Joes… but I found out it was expired. OOPS!! So, here’s what I came up with!

Chowder

Ingredients:

1 strip of bacon chopped into small pieces
4 small yukon gold potatoes diced into 1/2 inch pieces
1 1/2 cups of milk (I used organic PLAIN coconut milk)
1 TB PLAIN (not vanilla!!) yogurt
1/2 tsp minced garlic
1/4 onion chopped
1/4 cup water
salt and pepper to taste
dash of hot sauce (to desired spiciness)
3/4 cup of corn (I used frozen)
Parmesan Cheese as garnish

Directions:

In a large pot (soup size) place the bacon pieces and start cooking to sizzling. Once starting to brown, add the onion and potatoes. Once the onions have started to brown, turn down the heat to 2 (simmer… med/low). Slowly add the milk, not allowing it to boil and then add the water. Cover with a lid and let simmer on low until the potatoes start to soften. Then, add the garlic and the remaining milk and whisk in the yogurt. Add the hot sauce, corn and the salt and pepper to taste. Let simmer on low. When serving, add shredded parmesan cheese as garnish on top to add a salty-peppery cheesiness.

Grown up Grilled Cheese

2 slices of sourdough
1 slice aged swiss
1 slice gouda cheese
tomato
Fresh Basil
thinly sliced avocado
(butter on the undersides of the bread for in the skillet).

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I put the buttered side down, and then added the cheese. When the cheese was melted, I added the toppings, melted a bit more and made sure the bread was sufficiently toasted, and then made into a sandwich and plated. YUM!

Enjoy!!

 

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