Chipotle Corn Salsa

This recipe from Skinnytaste is great plain with chips or as we had it, on top of their Barbacoa Beef.

Ingredients:
4 cups (20 oz) cooked sweet yellow corn, cut
2 vine ripe tomatoes, diced
1/2 red onion, diced
1 scallion, diced
1-2 jalapeños, diced (remove seeds unless you like it really spicy)
2 tbsp chopped cilantro
1 1/2 limes, juice of
chipotle chili powder, to taste
salt and fresh pepper to taste

Directions:
Combine all the ingredients and refrigerate for about an hour. Makes about 6 cups.

Halloween Chex Mix

This was definitely a big hit...even amongst the candy corn haters (like myself :-). Easy and festive and yummy! I'm sure we'll be making another batch before Halloween arrives.

Ingredients:
8 oz. white chocolate baking bars, coarsely chopped
4 cups Corn or Rice Chex cereal (we used corn)
2 cups bite-size pretzel twists (we used gluten-free pretzel sticks)
1/2 cup raisins (optional, we left out because they didn't seem to go in the mix)
1 cup candy corn
1/4 cup Betty Crocker orange and black candy decors (I KNEW I had these in the house, but couldn't find them so we used some Halloween sprinkles instead)

Directions:
*In large microwavable bowl, microwave chopped baking vars uncovered on high 1-2 minutes, stirring every 30 seconds until melted and smooth. (I melted out chocolate in a pan on the stovetop)
*Gently stir in cereal, pretzels and raisins until evenly coated. Stir in candy corn and decors.
*Spread on waxed paper or foil to cool and let chocolate set. Break into chunks.

Easy Cheesy Alfredo

I really, really love pasta in creamy sauces. I thought this was a great lower fat option with tons of flavor (plus I could use gluten free noodles for me!). And like I mentioned before, that Rosemary Ranch Chicken that The Recipe Club suggested putting on top was seriuosly divine. I mixed steamed broccoli in with it all and LOVED it!

Ingredients:
1- 8 oz. package cream cheese (I used 1/3 fat kind)
1 cup grated parmesan cheese, divided
1/2 cup margarine (I used 4 T)
1/2 cup milk (I used 1% and added some extra to thin out the sauce a bit at the end)
8 oz. fettuccini noodles, cooked & drained (I used gluten-free spaghetti noodles)
fresh parsley for garnish

Directions:
In a large sauce pan stir together cream cheese, 3/4 cup parmesan cheese, margarine & milk over medium heat until smooth. Pour over noodles & top with the rest of the parmesan cheese
**Top with Rosemary Ranch Chicken!!!**

Beef, Potato and Quinoa Soup

picture and recipe from Skinny Taste

This soup was deliciously different and healthy too. It was filling and super easy to make. Definitely a keeper!!! (my picture did not do it justice and I didn't want it to deter people from trying it!)

Ingredients:
2 tsp olive oil
6-7 scallions, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 tomato, diced
1 tsp cumin
1/2 tsp Badia Sazon with Annato (I used some paprika and chili powder)
1/2 lb beef, cubed into small bite size pieces (I used beef tenderloin)
5 cups water
beef bullion
1 carrot, peeled and sliced
2 tbsp yellow bell pepper, diced
2 medium potatoes, peeled and cubed
1 cup cooked quinoa
6 tbsp fresh chopped cilantro
salt and pepper to taste

Directions:
Saute oil in a large pot, add scallions and garlic and sauté until soft over medium heat, about 3 minutes. Add tomato, cumin, sazon with achiote, 1/4 cup cilantro and cook another 2 minutes. Add beef, water, bullion, carrot, bell pepper, salt and bring to a boil. Cover and simmer on low about 1-1/2 hours, until meat is tender.
Add potato and cooked quinoa and cook an additional 25 minutes. Add remaining chopped cilantro and serve.

Rosemary Ranch Chicken

I made this chicken to go with the alfredo we had last night, but the chicken itself was sooo good I thought it deserved it's own post because we will definitely be making this on its own in the future. I found it on The Recipe Club and we all absolutely loved the unique flavor of the marinade...seriously delicious!!!

Ingredients:
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1/2 cup good ranch dressing
3 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
1 tablespoon minced fresh rosemary
2 teaspoons salt
1 teaspoon lemon juice
1 teaspoon rice wine vinegar
1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper, or to taste
1 tablespoon white sugar
4-6 skinless, boneless chicken breasts

Directions:
Mix all top ingredients in a medium bowl. Stir until sugar is disolved. Place chicken in a gallon size Ziplock bag. Pour marinade over chicken. Squish bag around until all chicken in coated. Refrigerate until ready to use at least 30 minutes, preferably a few hours or overnight (I only had time to let it marinade 1 hour). Grill on the BBQ or in the oven on broil. (I used a grill pan)

Noodle & Co.'s Thai Peanut Saute

I love peanut sauce! This recipe from Favorite Family Recipes is a replication of a Noodle & Co dish and although I don't know how it compares to the original, I really loved this version. I only wish I had added more broccoli, so add more than you think you'll want to be safe. The bean sprouts were my favorite part, adding a nice crunch!

Ingredients:
1-2 Lbs. chicken, cut into thin strips
vegetable oil (to saute)
1 Tbsp Sriracha chili sauce
juice of 1 lime
3 cloves garlic, pressed
1 Tbsp. fresh ginger, minced
3-4 shakes soy sauce
salt & pepper (to taste)
16 oz. (1 pkg.) linguine noodles (I used gluten-free spaghetti noodles)
**peanut sauce (see below)
peanuts
2-3 limes, sliced
The following are all to taste, add as much or little as you want
-shoestring carrots (I just used the packaged kind)
-broccoli florets, chopped (I wish I would have put more, be generous with it!)
-green onion
-peanuts (chopped)
-bean sprouts

Directions:
In a large skillet, saute chicken in oil, Sriracha, lime, garlic, ginger, soy sauce, salt & pepper. While chicken is cooking, prepare the linguine (to al dente) and make the peanut sauce. After the chicken is cooked, remove from the skillet and wrap in foil to keep warm. Re-oil the skillet, add vegetables and saute (except for the bean sprouts, add those a few minutes before serving so they are still nice and crunchy and don't get overcooked). Add the chicken and bean sprouts to the skillet, cover, and reduce heat. Drain noodles and toss with a little olive oil (to keep the noodles from drying out and sticking together). Now there are 2 ways you can finish the dish: 1. mix the sauce with the noodles and TOP with veggies & chicken OR 2. you can add the noodles and sauce to the skillet with the vegetables and toss until everything is well coated with sauce. Garnish with peanuts and limes. (I did option 2, which wasn't as pretty for pictures, but delicious)

**SAUCE:
1 c. chicken broth
6 Tbsp. (heaping) creamy peanut butter
2-4 tsp. Sriracha chili sauce -- more or less depending on hot hot you like it
3 Tbsp. honey
6 Tbsp. soy sauce
3 Tbsp. fresh minced ginger
4-5 cloves garlic, pressed or minced

Combine chicken broth, peanut butter, chili sauce, honey, soy sauce, ginger, and garlic in a small saucepan over medium-low heat until sauce becomes smooth and well blended

Easy "Healthy" Pumpkin Cupcakes

 

So, these little cupcakes from The Daily Dish, really are pretty healthy for you! And with only 2 ingredients in the actual cupcakes themselves, they couldn't be any easier either! I'm going to use a little less pumpkin next time to see if it makes them a little fluffier, but overall these were great and a great kick off to our pumpkin treats! (we made these cookies this weekend...LOVE!)

Ingredients:
- 1 box of spice cake mix
- 2 (15 oz) cans of pumpkin (I'm just going to use 1 1/2 cans next time)
- 1 container of cream cheese frosting, for topping
- Pumpkin pie spice, for topping (optional)
**don't add the eggs/oil suggested on the back of the cake mix box**

Directions:
1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
2. Mix together your spice cake mix and cans of pumpkin.
3. Bake in the oven for about 15 minutes (or follow the instructions on the back of your box).
4. Once a fork comes out clean, remove the cupcakes from the oven and let cool for at least 10 minutes before frosting.
5. Frost the cupcakes with the cream cheese frosting, and top with a sprinkle of pumpkin pie spice on each one. Grab a plate, and enjoy!

Tomatillo Chicken Soup

YUUUM!!! This is my new favorite! I recently re-organized my recipe binder (which was full of recipes ripped out of magazines) and added this one, from the Nov 2010 Better Homes and Gardens magazine) to our menu this week. Now when I went to make it at 5pm I realized it was a crock pot recipe, woops. I just sauteed the peppers, celery and onion in a large pot first and used a can of chicken. I let it all simmer about 20 minutes and it was still delicious, so I can only imagine it's even better in the crock pot. It was tangy with a little heat and sooo delicious! I was planning to eat out for lunch today but was so excited about these leftovers that I didn't...it's that good!

Ingredients:
* 6 medium tomatillos, husks removed and rinsed
* 1-1/2 lb. skinless, boneless chicken breast halves
* 1 32-oz. box chicken broth (I used low-sodium)
* 1 medium green sweet pepper, chopped
* 1/2 cup chopped red onion
* 1 stalk celery, chopped
* 1 4-oz. can diced green chiles
* 2 Tbsp. snipped fresh cilantro
* 1 fresh jalapeño pepper, seeded and minced*
* 1 Tbsp. ground cumin
* 1 Tbsp. lime juice
* 2 tsp. chili powder
* 2 cloves garlic, minced
* 1 tsp. salt
* 1 tsp. ground black pepper
* Dairy sour cream, chopped green onion, chopped red sweet pepper, sliced jalapeño peppers, snipped fresh cilantro, and/or tortilla chips (we topped with monterrey jack cheese and tortilla strips)

Directions:
1. Chop three tomatillos. Place remaining tomatillos in blender. Cover; blend until smooth. In a 3-1/2- or 4-quart slow cooker combine pureed and chopped tomatillos, chicken, broth, sweet pepper, onion, celery, chiles, cilantro, jalapeño, cumin, lime juice, chili powder, garlic, and 1 tsp. each salt and pepper.
2. Cover; cook on low for 6 to 7 hours or high for 3 to 3-1/2 hours. Remove chicken; let stand until cool enough to handle. Shred chicken; return to soup. If desired, top with sour cream, additional chopped red sweet pepper or jalapeño peppers, snipped cilantro, and/or tortilla chips. Makes 4 to 6 servings.

Servings Per Recipe 4, Calories 247, Protein 42g, Carbohydrate 10g, Fat total 4g, Cholesterol 101mg, Saturated fat 1g, Dietary Fiber, total 3g, Sugar total 4g

Tex-Mex Buttermilk Chicken Tenders

After a few nights of more adventurous dinners I often try and throw in a more classic meal that I know the whole family will love. Most of the time it will be one of our tried and true favorites, but this week I tried these chicken tenders from Rachael Ray's magazine. Dipping the tenders twice really gave them a great coating of batter and they turned out pretty AND tasty. I loved the spice mix! I didn't make the corn on the cob this time, but included it in the recipe below because I do want to give it a try the next time we make the chicken.

Ingredients:
4 cups vegetable oil, for frying
2 tablespoons chili powder
1 tablespoon sweet smoked paprika
1 tablespoon garlic powder
1 tablespoon onion powder
1 tablespoon poultry seasoning (I used smoky sweet pepper seasoning)
Juice of 2 limes and 2 teaspoons grated peel, plus wedges for serving
2 cups buttermilk
2 1/2 cups flour
2 pounds chicken tenders
Salt and pepper
4 ears corn
Hot pepper sauce, for passing at the table

Directions:1.In a large, heavy skillet, heat the oil over medium-high heat. In a bowl, combine the chili powder, paprika, garlic powder, onion powder, poultry seasoning and lime peel. In a shallow bowl, combine the buttermilk and half of the spice mixture. In another shallow bowl, combine the flour and the remaining spice mixture. Season the chicken tenders with salt and pepper.
2.Bring a large pot of water to a boil, add the corn and cook until crisp-tender, about 2 minutes. Drain, then dress with the lime juice.
3.While the corn is working, using tongs, dip the chicken fingers in the buttermilk, then coat with the flour; repeat for a second coating. Working in batches, add the chicken fingers to the skillet and cook until golden, 6 to 8 minutes. Drain on a rack.

4.Pass the hot sauce at the table for drizzling on the corn. Serve with the chicken fingers and extra lime wedges.

Cheesy Zucchini Enchiladas

This is another recipe from Skinnytaste and it was another delicious one! I will admit that though I was initially really excited about these (zucchini + enchiladas was a fun new combo to me), as I started preparing them I got a little nervous. They are really simple when it comes to ingredients and I was worried that they were going to be bland and no one would like them, including me. Luckily I was wrong. They were full of flavor and absolutely delicious, especially with fresh avocado on top!

Ingredients:
* cooking spray
* 1 tsp olive oil
* 2 cloves garlic, crushed
* 2 medium scallions, chopped
* 1/4 cup cilantro, chopped
* 2 medium zucchinis, grated
* kosher salt and fresh ground pepper
* 1 1/2 cups grated reduced fat mexican blend cheese
* 4 Large La Tortilla Factory Low Carb tortillas (I just used 6 plain corn tortillas)
* chopped scallions
* chopped cilantro
Enchilada sauce:
* 1 garlic cloves, minced
* 1 tbsp chipotle chilis in adobo sauce, optional for more heat (I used 1 T of the liquid in jar, but not the actual peppers)
* 1 cups tomato sauce
* 1/4 tsp chipotle chili powder
* 1/4 tsp ground cumin
* 1/2 cup fat free vegetable broth (I used chicken broth)
* kosher salt and fresh pepper to taste

Directions:
For the enchilada sauce: in a medium saucepan, spray oil and sauté garlic. Add chipotle chile, chili powder, cumin, broth, tomato sauce, salt and pepper. Bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to low and simmer for 5-10 minutes. Set aside until ready to use.

Spray a baking dish with nonstick spray. Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
In a medium nonstick skillet, sauté garlic and scallions in olive oil over medium heat for about 3 minutes; add zucchini, salt and pepper to taste and cook about 4-5 minutes.
Remove from heat and add 1/2 cup cheese; mix well.
Divide zucchini between in each tortilla, roll and place seam side down in baking dish.
Top with enchilada sauce (you might not use all) and remaining cheese and bake until hot and the cheese is melted, about 20 minutes.
Serve with chopped cilantro, scallions, and reduced fat sour cream if you wish. Enjoy!!

Tuscan Tomato Soup

I personally loved this soup! I just wish I had a good blender to get things to a nice, smooth consistency because the rest of the family was a little put off by the texture. The flavors were amazing though and it was super simple to put together! (recipe from The Recipe Club) Now if our weather would just cool down so we could really enjoy more soups!

Ingredients:
3 tablespoons olive oil
2 large onions, chopped
5 cups diced and seeded tomatoes (or you can use 3 14 oz. cans drained diced tomatoes)
2 cups chicken stock
1 1/2 cups whipping cream
1 cup basil pesto
salt and pepper, to taste

Directions:
Heat oil in a medium large soup pot.
Add onions and cook over medium-low heat until completely translucent.
Add tomatoes and bring to a simmer.
Add chicken stock. Bring to a simmer and allow to simmer for 15 minutes.
Add whipping cream. Add pesto.
Blend to desired consistency with hand blender, food processor or blender.
Adjust seasoning with salt and pepper.
*Garnish with shaved Parmesan cheese and homemade sour dough croutons!
** recipe makes 1 gallon of soup

Basil Chicken w/ Coconut Curry Sauce

This is another great recipe from Mel's Kitchen Cafe. She said there had been mixed reviews of this recipe but that she still really liked it, so I was curious to see what we thought of it and Mike and I both LOVED it! Just be warned that you'll want to open some windows in your kitchen to air it out after you make it :-).

Ingredients:
3 skinless, boneless chicken breast halves
2 teaspoons curry powder
1 teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon pepper
¼ teaspoon chili powder
1 medium red onion, chopped
5 cloves garlic, minced
2 jalapeno peppers, seeded and finely chopped
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 14-ounce can light coconut milk
1 tablespoon cornstarch
1 tablespoon dried basil
1 teaspoon grated fresh ginger
3 cups hot cooked rice (I used jasmine)

Directions:
Cut chicken into 1-inch pieces. Place in medium bowl. Stir together curry, 1/2 teaspoon salt, pepper and chili powder. Sprinkle over chicken, tossing to coat evenly. Cover and chill for 1 to 2 hours.
In a large nonstick frying pan, stir onion, basil, garlic and peppers in hot oil over medium-high heat for 3-4 minutes, until onion is translucent. Add chicken and remaining 1/2 teaspoon salt and cook for 5-6 minutes until no longer pink.
Combine coconut milk and cornstarch and whisk well to combine. Carefully add to skillet, whisking vigorously. Cook and stir until slightly thickened and bubbly. Stir in ginger. Cook and stir for another minute. Serve over hot rice.

Crock Pot Sausage Pasta Sauce

Hooray for another crock meal! I found this recipe on Gina's Skinny Taste, which I found out about from The Daily Dish...I love the new discovery of awesome recipe blogs! This recipe had a lot of things going for it...the crock pot, 4 ingredients, kid friendly, and of course yummy too. We had this on Sunday and it was such a perfect meal because it was super fast to throw in the crock pot before church and then was already to eat when we got home. I ate mine over gluten-free penne pasta and the rest of the family had it over spaghetti noodles.


Ingredients:
* 1 lb lean chicken Italian sausage, casings removed (I couldn't find these so I just used Italian turkey sausage)
* 1 tsp extra virgin olive oil
* 5 cloves garlic, smashed
* 28 oz tuttorosso crushed tomatoes (my store didn't have this brand, so I used the store brand)
* fresh cracked pepper

Directions:
Brown the sausage in a large skillet, breaking up any large pieces with a wooden spoon. When sausage is browned, drain if needed and add to crock pot.
Clean skillet with a paper towel and set flame to high; when hot add oil. Add garlic and cook until golden but do not burn; add tomatoes and garlic to crock pot along with fresh cracked pepper. Cover and cook on low for 6-8 hours.
If you wish, take an immersion blender and blend the sauce a 2-3 seconds to break the sausage up into smaller pieces to combine with the sauce.

French Dip Sandwiches

I've been trying to have at least one crock pot meal planned for the week because our Tuesdays and Wednesdays can get pretty crazy and it really helps our evenings go more smoothly. After seeing a recipe on Melissa's Bargains for French Dip Sandwiches recently they were on my mind already and then as I was searching blogs for crock pot meals I saw this recipe on Our Best Bites and added it to our menu for the week. It was probably one of the easiest meals I have ever made and it was one of the most well received too. EVERYONE ate it and loved it! 

Ingredients:

1 2.5-3 lb. beef roast

2 Tbsp. olive oil

salt and pepper

2 1-ounce packages dry onion soup mix

2 c. water

2 cans beef broth

6-8 large buns (I say more like 12-15 if you want enough for all the meat)

Swiss, provolone, or mozzarella cheese, shredded or sliced. (we used provolone)

Directions:

Heat oil in a large pot over medium-high heat and rub roast with salt and pepper.

When very hot, carefully place roast in pan and sear on all sides. You're not cooking the meat, you're just browning it quickly on all sides to add flavor and seal in the juices.

Place in crockpot and sprinkle with onion soup mixes. Pour water and beef broth over roast.

Cook 8-10 hours on low or cook 4-5 hours on high and another 3-4 hours on low. It's hard to screw this part up; basically, the longer it cooks, the more tender it will be. But you know it's done when you pop a fork in it and the meat just falls apart. When meat is ready, shred with a fork.

Place meat in crusty rolls. Top with cheese and broil open-faced in the oven or toaster oven for a few minutes, until bread is golden and cheese is melted.

Ladle juices into small cups for dipping and enjoy!

Funfetti Cake Mix Cookies

I was looking for a fun, easy treat to make with the kids and saw these on Our Recipe Box. They were seriously THE easiest cookies ever! The kids loved helping me roll the dough into balls and of course really loved eating them. I want to try this trick with some other cake mix flavors!

Ingredients:
1 box Funfetti Cake Mix (18 oz)
1/3 c. oil
2 eggs

Directions:
Preheat oven to 375 degrees. In large bowl, combine cake mix, oil and eggs. Stir until thoroughly moistened. Shape dough into 1-inch balls; place 2 inches apart on ungreased cookie sheet. With the bottom of a glass dipped in sugar, flatten balls to 1/4 inch thickness.
Bake for 6-8 minutes until edges are light golden brown. Cool one minute then move to cooking rack.