Ginger Mandarin Salad

This isn't really a meal, but it could be if you added some cooked chicken or thin sliced beef. It's just, butter lettuce, cilantro, carrot, avocado, red bell pepper, and celery with ginger mandarin dressing (I like Brianna's Ginger Mandarin dressing). Very light and yummy :)

Panko Crusted Oven "Fried" Chicken

Normally I would pan fry panko crusted chicken breasts....BUT I am trying to be healthy when I can so I opted to "oven fry" these.  This is a really simple meal.  The prep time was next to nothing which is a big plus.

4 Boneless/skinless thin sliced chicken breasts

2 Cups Panko bread crumbs

1 egg, beaten

2 TBS milk

1 tsp each of chili powder, cumin, garlic powder, poltry seasoning

salt

pepper

2 TBS butter, melted

Preheat oven to 425

Season chicken breasts on both sides with salt and pepper.  In a large zip lock bag mix together panko bread crumbs and seasonings.  In a shallow dish wisk together egg and milk.  Dip the chicken breasts in the egg mixture.  Then place them in the bag with the panko mixture (one at a time) and shake until evenly coated.  Place in a foil lined pan.  Sprinkle with melted butter.  Place in the oven for about 25-30 minutes.

This went great with mashed potatoes, gravy, and corn.  Perfect comfort food :)

Five-Spice Turkey and Lettuce Wraps With Potstickers

I found this recipe on the Food Network's website when I was looking for some new healthy dinner options.  I didn't really make any big changes to the original recipe.  I left out the water chestnuts, but only because I forgot to put them on my grocery list ;)  I don't think that made a big difference flavor wise.

This was great for a nice light meal.  It didn't take long to make it at all.  It has a mild enough flavor that I could give some to my toddler.  If I were just making it for me I might add some red chili flakes or chili paste...just something to make it spicy, but it was really good without any added heat.

I made some pot stickers (just the store bought frozen kind) to go with the lettuce wraps.  Normally I would pan fry the potstickers, but I'm trying to be healthy so I didn't....which made less of a mess and was faster :)

Here's a link to the recipe...
 
http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/eatingwell/five-spice-turkey-and-lettuce-wraps-recipe/index.html

Linda's Easy Mexican Chicken

Place a boneless, skinless chicken breast on tin foil.  Sprinkle lime juice over chicken.  Season with garlic salt and pepper.  Cover with salsa.  Top with black beans (rinsed in advance).  Fold tin foil up around chicken breast and fold over the top / sides to create a packet (leave some room between the chicken and the foil for the air to move around).

Bake at 450 degrees 15-18 minutes on a cookie sheet

Top with mexican cheese, sour cream, avocado, and garnish with cilantro.

THANK YOU LINDA FOR THE YUMMY RECIPE!!!!

Golden Mushroom Chicken, Mashed Potatoes, and Sauteed Spinach With Garlic & Bacon

Golden Mushroom Chicken


2 to 4 chicken breasts
2 cups sliced mushrooms
2 TBS worcstershire sauce (optional)
1 can Campbell's Condensed Golden Mushroom Soup
1/4 can of water
Garlic Salt and pepper to taste

Heat 2 TBS olive oil in a pan over medium high heat. Season the chicken breasts with garlic salt and pepper and brown in the pan (I like to cut the chicken into bite sized pieces before cooking it, but you can leave them whole). Add sliced mushrooms and worcstershire sauce and cook for five minutes. Add Golden Mushroom soup and a quarter can of water and stir. Reduce heat, cover and cook for 10 minutes.

We usually have this with rice or mashed potatoes.  The sauce is thick enough to use as "gravy" for the mashed potatoes :) 
 
 
Mashed Potatoes for Two....and a half
 
I like to use red potatoes, sour cream, butter, and salt for our mashed potatoes.  If I'm feeling really crazy I'll add a little shredded white cheddar too :)
 
 
Sauteed Spinach With Bacon & Garlic
 
We had a bag of baby spinach so I decided to try a little something different.  I cooked two pieces of bacon in a pan big enough for the spinach.  Once the bacon was cooked I removed it from the pan and set it aside.  Then I reduced the heat to low and added two minced garlic cloves.  Then I added the spinach and sauteed it just until it wilted.  I crumbled the cooked bacon and added it to the spinach before serving.  Not too shabby.
 
 
 

Beef and Green Chile Enchilada Bake

I should really call this "All My Husband's Favorites" Enchilada Bake ;)  I pretty much took what he loves about different things that I've made and put it all together into one dish.  I was really happy with how it turned out.   You really could just make the seasoned meat with the green chilies and use it to make tacos, burritos, or tostadas.

Pre-Heat oven to 350 degrees

Ingredients

• 1 lb ground

• 1 medium onion, chopped

• 1 teaspoons chili powder

• 1 teaspoon cumin

• 1 teaspoon basil

• 1 teaspoon oregano

• 1 teaspoon garlic powder

• 1/2 teaspoon pepper

• 1/2 teaspoon salt

• 3/4 cup water

• 7 oz can diced green chilies

• Green enchilada sauce

• 6 corn tortillas

• 2 cups shredded Colby Jack cheese, shredded

• Sliced black olives (optional)

• Sour cream (optional)

• Chives, scallions or cilantro to garnish (optional)

Sauté the ground beef and onion over medium high heat. Once the ground beef has been browned and the onions are translucent drain fat. Reduce the heat to medium low. Add chili powder, cumin, basil, oregano, garlic powder, pepper, and salt. Stir well to mix the seasonings into the meat. Add the water. Cover and simmer for 15 minutes. Add the green chilies, and simmer for five minutes

Place about four tablespoons of enchilada sauce in the bottom of an 8X8 pan. Add a layer of corn tortillas (I cut two in half and leave the third whole. Then put the straight edges of the halves against the sides of the pan and the rounded side towards the middle. I place the uncut tortilla in the middle). Put half of the meat mixture on top of the tortillas, cover with more enchilada sauce, and half of the cheese. Do one more layer of tortillas, enchilada sauce, and cheese. Top with sliced olives (optional) and bake for 30 minutes.

To serve top with sour cream and garnish with cilantro, chives, or scallions.

Here's the recipe for the spanish rice we had with it...

http://allrecipes.com/recipe/best-spanish-rice/Detail.aspx

"Baked" Apple With "Ice Cream"

This is a quick little treat to make if you have a sweet tooth.  I just sliced up half of an apple and put it in a microwave safe bowl.  Then I added a little cinnanon and sugar.  I cooked the apples in the microwave for one minute and fifteen seconds (just enough to soften the apples).  I topped the apples with a small scoop of lactose free ice cream.

It kind of tastes like the inside of an apple pie :)

Garlic Basil Chicken With Zucchini

I decided to use the recipe for the Garlic Basil Shrimp for some boneless/skinless chicken breasts.  I also added zucchini.  It turned out okay, but would have been better over steamed rice or some angel hair pasta (we had it with whole wheat penne).

Shrimp Tacos, Black Beans & Cilantro Lime Rice

I usually make these tacos with chicken and flour tortillas, but I was feeling crazy so I decided to try them with shrimp and corn tortillas instead. They turned out good, but I think I like the chicken version better ;)

1 lb medium shrimp (peeled and deveined)
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 tablespoon lime juice
1 teaspoon Cajon seasoning, chipotle seasoning, or blended chili powder
1/2 teaspoon cumin
1/2 teaspoon pepper
corn tortillas
8 sprigs cilantro, chopped
1 lime cut into wedges
1 avocado diced
1 tomato diced
shredded cheese (optional)
Heat a pan over medium-high heat. Mix the olive oil, lime juice, and seasonings in bowl. Add the shrimp and toss to coat. Cook the shrimp until translucent, about 1 1/2 to 2 minutes on each side.

Fill tortillas with shrimp, diced avocado, diced tomato, cilantro, and cheese.

We had these with some whole black beans (just one can of black beans rinsed with a little garlic salt and pepper) and some yummy cilantro lime rice (http://www.cooking-mexican-recipes.com/cilantro-lime-rice.html).

Super Simple Lemon Thyme Salmon

I think this is one of my favorite ways to have salmon because it's so simple. It takes about five minutes to get it ready to go in the oven, and it cooks so quickly.  If I'm really pressed for time (and I usually am) then I just throw an Uncle Ben's 90 Second Rice pouch in the microwave, steam some veggies and call it a night.

Preheat the oven to 450 degrees F.


12 ounce salmon fillet, cut into 4 pieces

Fresh Thyme
Olive Oil
Coarse-grained salt
Freshly ground black pepper
3 Lemons
Season salmon with salt and pepper. Place salmon, skin side down, on a non-stick baking sheet or in a non-stick pan with an oven-proof handle.  You can also use a baking dish lined with foil and sprayed with cooking spray (just to save some cleaning time).

Brush olive oil on the salmon.  Sprinkle with salt and pepper.  Top with fresh thyme and lemon slices.

Bake until salmon is cooked through, about 12 to 15 minutes.  Remove the thyme and lemon slices.  Serve with lemon wedge for a little extra.

Garlic Basil Shrimp

I found this recipe on the Food Network website while I was searching for some quick, healthy dishes to try. I made a few changes based on what we like and what I had on hand. It turned out really well if I do say so myself. This is the perfect meal to make if you are running short on time (as long as you buy shrimp that is already peeled and de-veined). I would suggest getting everything ready before you start cooking because the shrimp cooks quickly.


This would be a great dish to make if you are entertaining because it's fast but it looks/smells/tastes great. Top it with a little shredded parm and serve it with a salad and some garlic bread and you're set!

Here is a link to the original recipe...

http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/ellie-krieger/garlic-basil-shrimp-recipe/index.html
I substituted chicken broth for the white wine, added an extra garlic clove, and the juice of half a lemon at the very end. It was great served over angel hair pasta, but would be good with rice too. You could even have it on it's own. If you don't like spicy food then I suggest going really easy on the red pepper flakes (or leaving them out all together), and using two garlic cloves instead of three.



Hmmm.... think some day I might try to make this with chicken instead of shrimp.

Tri Tip and Caramelized Onion Panini

A Facebook friend posted about grilling a Tri Tip the other day, and I've been craving it ever since. So when I was planning our meals for the week I decided to make Tri Tip sandwiches. We already had some really good sourdough bread that's great for making Panini, so I thought why not a Tri Tip Panini?

I marinated the Tri Tip overnight in teriyaki marinade and added some crushed garlic for good measure. Then I roasted it in the oven for 45 minutes at 425 degrees.

While the Tri Tip was roasting away I made some caramelized onions. They are super easy, really yummy, and perfect with Tri Tip. Just one onion sliced thin, one teaspoon of butter, one teaspoon of salt, one teaspoon of pepper, and a tiny pinch of sugar. I melted the butter in a pan over medium heat. Then added the onions and gave them a quick stir to coat them in butter. Once the onions started to become translucent I added the salt, pepper, and sugar. Then I just stirred them occasionally for the next 20 to 30 minutes while they turned golden brown.

Once the Tri Tip came out of the oven I covered it in tin foil and let it rest for 10 minutes. After it had a chance to rest I sliced it as thin as I could (against the grain). I put a little mayo and Dijon mustard on sliced sourdough. Then added the Tri Tip, onions, and cheese (for Anthony's....I can't have cheese). Once the sandwich is assembled I used a tiny bit of olive oil on each side of the bread and sprinkled one side with garlic salt. Then I but the whole thing in a Panini press and let it get nice and toasty.

It totally hit the spot. It sounds like a lot of work, but it really wasn’t. Plus we have enough leftovers for lunch tomorrow which is always a plus :)