Southwest Chicken Salad Wraps

We had this last week for dinner and it was delish! I made a few changes to the recipe for the kids. I did not serve them the wraps but instead gave them BBQ chicken. We really loved this salad - it was full of flavor and so tasty! Perfect for a summer meal! You really need to make it soon!

Grilled chicken breast with homemade bbq sauce
Frozen Corn, about a cup
Grape Tomatoes, 1 cup, halved
Green Onions, 1 bunch
Cilantro, 1/3 cup, snipped
Jalapeno or Serrano Peppers, 2
Fat Free Greek Yogurt 1 cup
Cumin, 1 teaspoon
Oregano, 1
Salt, 1 teaspoon or to taste
Whole Wheat tortillas shells

The original recipe was to poach your chicken. I grilled my chicken and made a homemade BBQ sauce. I substituted Greek yogurt for sour cream in the original recipe.
While your chicken is grilling. Cut up the tomatoes, green onions, cilantro and jalapeno. Toss in the corn, yogurt and seasoning. Let the chicken cool, once cool chop up and add to the rest of the ingredients and toss gently.
Spoon some of the salad into a whole wheat tortilla wrap. Enjoy!

Cajun Chicken Pasta

We do not eat a lot of pasta. I wish we did because I LOVE it!!! It's not the healthiest and my kids are not pasta eaters. If I make it there is a lot of complaining, whining not happy people in my house. Tyler will eat spaghetti with just sauce and Mira wants meatballs.

Since I like pasta and decided to look for a recipe that we would all enjoy! And enjoy we did!

I made this recipe a few weeks ago when it was still cold in these parts, when we were not sure if we were going to have a spring. It's a great hearty meal on a cooler day, serve with a salad and yummy crusty bread! I'm craving it again!

It had the right about of spice and everything else you can think of. It was a bit time consuming but worth the effort. I made it on a Friday evening so I had more time to spend in the kitchen. The whole family loved it!



Ingredients
3 whole Boneless, Skinless Chicken Breasts, Cut Into Cubes
3 teaspoons Cajun Spice Mix, More To Taste
1 pound Fettuccine ( I used whole wheat)
2 Tablespoons Olive Oil
2 Tablespoons Butter
1 whole Green Bell Pepper, Seeded And Sliced
1 whole Red Bell Pepper, Seeded And Sliced
½ whole Large Red Onion, Sliced
3 cloves Garlic, Minced
4 whole Roma Tomatoes, Diced
2 cups Low Sodium Chicken Broth
½ cups White Wine
1 cup Heavy Cream ( I used skim milk)
Cayenne Pepper To Taste
Freshly Ground Black Pepper, To Taste
Salt To Taste
Chopped Fresh Parsley, To Taste
Preparation Instructions
Cook pasta according to package directions. Drain when pasta is still al dente; do not overcook!
Sprinkle 1 1/2 teaspoons Cajun spice over chicken pieces. Toss around to coat. Heat 1 tablespoon oil and 1 tablespoon butter in a heavy skillet over high heat. Add half the chicken in a single layer; do not stir. Allow chicken to brown on one side, about 1 minute. Flip to the other side and cook an additional minute. Remove with a slotted spoon and place on a clean plate.
Repeat with remaining chicken. Remove chicken, leaving pan on high heat.
Add remaining olive oil and butter. When heated, add peppers, onions, and garlic. Sprinkle on remaining Cajun spice, and add salt if needed. Cook over very high heat for 1 minute, stirring gently and trying to get the vegetables as dark/black as possible. Add tomatoes and cook for an additional 30 seconds. Remove all vegetables from the pan.
With the pan over high heat, pour in the wine and chicken broth. Cook on high for 3 to 5 minutes, scraping the bottom of the pan to deglaze. Reduce heat to medium-low and pour in cream, stirring/whisking constantly. Cook sauce over medium-low heat for a few minutes, until cream starts to thicken the mixture. Taste and add freshly ground black pepper, cayenne pepper, and/or salt to taste. Sauce should be spicy!
Finally, add chicken and vegetables to sauce, making sure to include all the juices that have drained onto the plate. Stir and cook for 1 to 2 minutes, until mixture is bubbly and hot. Add drained fettuccine and toss to combine.
Top with chopped fresh parsley and chow down!

Source; Pioneer Woman

Fajitas!

We love mexican food! We could eat it almost every night! I love the flavors of cumin, cilantro, lime! Ohhh.. and i love a good margarita!

I have made this recipe before and sort of forgot about it. I whipped it up the other night - tasty! It is packed with flavor for sure! And on the healthier side too!





Ingredients
1 cup packed cilantro leaves, plus extra for serving
1/4 cup lime juice, about 2 limes
1/4 cup low-sodium chicken broth
3 scallions, cut into 1-inch pieces
2 cloves garlic
1 jalapeno, seeded if desired
1 tablespoon honey
Kosher salt
1 1/2-pounds boneless skinless chicken breasts
1 red onion, sliced into 1/2-inch thick rounds
2 orange and/or yellow bell peppers, quartered, seeds removed
1 ripe avocado, halved, seeded and peeled
1 1/2 teaspoons olive oil
1/8 teaspoon ground cumin
1/8 teaspoon ground coriander
1/4 cup fat-free Greek Yogurt
12 corn tortillas
1. Put the cilantro, lime juice, broth, scallions, garlic, jalapeno, honey, and salt in a blender, puree until smooth. Reserve 2 tablespoons; do not wash out the blender.

Put chicken breasts in a medium bowl and the peppers and onions in another. Divide the remaining cilantro puree evenly between the chicken and the peppers and onions. Toss well to coat the chicken and vegetables and let stand, at room temperature, for 30 minutes.

2. Add the avocado, 1/2 cup water, and the reserved 2 tablespoons cilantro sauce to the blender. Puree until smooth and season with salt. Set aside.

3. Heat the oil in a small skillet set over medium heat until hot. Add the cumin and coriander and continue to cook until fragrant, about 30 seconds to 1 minute. Pour the spices over the yogurt and set aside for the flavors to blend. Stir before serving.

4. Preheat a grill for medium-high/direct heat cooking. Oil the grill grates. Grill the chicken and vegetables, turning, until the vegetables are tender and the chicken reaches an internal temperature of 160 degrees F, about 5 to 8 minutes for the vegetables and 12 to 15 minutes for the chicken. Let chicken rest 5 minutes. Place the tortillas on the grill until just warmed through, about 30 seconds.

5. To assemble the fajitas: slice the onions and peppers into thin strips and then slice the chicken. Place some peppers, onions, chicken and cilantro in a tortilla topped with the spiced yogurt and the avocado sauce.

Source: Food Network

PIZZA PIZZA

We love pizza, my kids could eat it every night if I let them. Even though we love pizza we don't eat that often or we try not too. I decided to change things up with our pizza and move away from frozen or take out.
I bought some naan from our local store and fresh ingredients. This is what we had and it was tasty! The kids were like this is the BEST pizza we ever had.
For the kids pizza I used turkey pepperoni and we had a caprese pizza with fresh mozzarella, basil, pesto and tomatoes - yummmmm! I did use a canned pizza sauce. As summer arrives and I will try to make a home made pizza sauce.
It was a quick, inexpensive and a fairly healthy dinner!