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

Kefir

Hello!! Life has been busy choir concerts, birthday celebrations, changes at my work end of the school year, my dear friend J visiting from Seattle.

I guess i have a lot of catching up to do! I want to first start with a little interesting experiment I have been doing at home.
I have been making home made kefir! What is Kefir??

Kefir is a cultured, enzyme-rich food filled with friendly micro-organisms that help balance your “inner ecosystem.” More nutritious and therapeutic than yogurt, it supplies complete protein, essential minerals, and valuable B vitamins.There are many health benefits to drinking Kefir. Here is a link to check out the benefits: www.kefit.net

A woman that I work with was talking about how she makes homemade kefir and loves it. She has made smoothies and cheeses! I looked up the info and it sounded interesting along with many health benefits. She was very generous to give us some kefir grains.
I was a little creeped out at first - this is a live fungus, bacteria that I am growing in my kitchen. Yikes!
I have been very surprised - it's easy to make and the smoothies are tasty! I have lost some weight and actually feel better this is with me drinking it for a few weeks.

Here is a picture of the Kefir grains:



To make kefir you put the grains in a glass and pour about 1/2 c to a 1 cup of skim milk over the grains. Put a little plastic wrap on top of the glass. It can just stay on your counter for a 12 to 24 hours. You can let your kefir sit out longer and it will be thicker consistency. Do not let any metal touch your kefir grains. After the "culturing" process I strain my kefir into a glass bowl. You then rinse the grains with water and start the process over with the milk.
I let the kefir that was made sit in the fridge to get cold and then make a smoothie the next day Each day the grains are producing more kefir so you do not run out. The grains start to get bigger and multiply. That is is weird part! But i can share them with my family or friends if they want to get on the kefir diet!
Kefir is cleansing for your system so you are suppose to drink it for 20 days and then take a rest for 10 days. Start it up again after the 10 days!

I have been making a smoothies out of my kefir and drinking it for breakfast.

I use about a 1/3 c of frozen fruit ( I use strawberries)
1/2 c of kefir
1 tbsp of honey - you will need to adjust the taste based on how sweet you want it
throw it in my magic bullet and i have a homemade kefit smoothie for breakfast!



Enjoy!!

Blueberry Muffins

I have a little someone who LOVES blueberry's! I wanted to make some blueberry muffins for her. Of course i wanted to sneak a few healthy ingredients. I am still trying to learn how to replace some of the "bad" ingredients with "good ingredients when I bake. It seems to be more complicated then when you are cooking a dish and substitute :bad" with "good".
I replaced the milk with nonfat Greek yogurt and added flax seed. I should have added whole wheat flour but did not want to throw off the little lady that much with the taste.
Well. the muffins were a big hit with her and I'll be whipping up a batch again this week!




5 tablespoons unsalted butter ,softened
1/2 cup sugar
1 large egg
3/4 cup Non fat Greek Yogurt
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1/3 cup flax seed
1 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup blueberries organic frozen

Preheat oven to 375°F. Line a muffin tin with 10 paper liners or spray each cup with a nonstick spray. Beat butter and sugar with an electric mixer until light and fluffy. Add egg and beat well, then yogurt and zest. Put flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt into a sifter and sift half of dry ingredients over batter. Mix until combined. Sift remaining dry ingredients into batter and mix just until the flour disappears. Gently fold in your blueberries. The dough will be quite thick (and even thicker, if you used a full-fat Greek-style yogurt), closer to a cookie dough, which is why an ice cream scoop is a great tool to fill your muffin cups. You’re looking for them to be about 3/4 full, nothing more, so you might only need 9 instead of 10 cups. Bake for 25 to 30 minutes, until tops are golden and a tester inserted into the center of muffins comes out clean.

Adapted from: Smitten Kitchen

Easter Sunday

Happy Easter - we had a wonderful day, went to church, dinner at my parents, ate way too much, egg hunt!

Black Bean Salad

Now that the weather is warming up.. or is it they are predicting snow tonight? I have been looking for lighter foods to make including side dishes. Away with the loaded carbs of potatoes, sweet potatoes, etc.
I was looking for something to serve with hamburgers the other night. I normally make turkey burgers but apparently two little people in my house were like can we have "real" burgers?! Really!
I came across this recipe for a black bean salad which reminds me of a Black Bean Salsa that my sister and I make. I was hesitant to make it thinking it would taste like salsa but it didn't!
It was fresh, tasty and super easy to whip up! This will be on the list to make again.


1/3 cup fresh lime juice
1/2 cup olive oil
1 clove garlic, minced
1 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon ground cayenne pepper
2 (15 ounce) cans black beans, rinsed and drained
1 1/2 cups frozen corn kernels
1 avocado - peeled, pitted and diced
1 red bell pepper, chopped
2 tomatoes, chopped
6 green onions, thinly sliced
1/2 cup chopped fresh cilantro (optional)
Directions

Place lime juice, olive oil, garlic, salt, and cayenne pepper in a small jar. Cover with lid, and shake until ingredients are well mixed.
In a salad bowl, combine beans, corn, avocado, bell pepper, tomatoes, green onions, and cilantro. Shake lime dressing, and pour it over the salad. Stir salad to coat vegetables and beans with dressing, and serve.

Source: All Recipes

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

Happy 40th to my sister

My sister's birthday is today and she is turning 40!
It feels as though we were just young girls playing in the backyard, chasing each other, laughing, yelling, arguing, going on a family vacations, borrowing each other clothes.
Now we have our own families, kids, jobs and lives to juggle!
But no matter what we always take the time to pick up the phone to chat, plan a dinner with the family, take vacations together and start traditions together in this period of our lives!
Happy 40th Rachel! You are an amazing woman, sister, wife and mother! Love ya lots!