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 :)