Nod to Cesar, That's a Wrap!

Doing salad bars for dinner is fun and it pleases everyone since they get to pick what they like. Tonight we went for Chicken Cesar wraps, with homemade dressing. This is lactose-free, fat free, and has a lot of tang, but I was pleasantly surprised to see both of my boys gobble it up.

Homemade Cesar Dressing
1 clove garlic, finely chopped
1 tsp Worcestershire sauce
1 tsp mustard (I used a honey dijon)
1/4 tsp pepper
1/2 c. apple sauce
1/2 tsp sugar
3 Tbs lemon juice (I think I might reduce this the next time to 2 and taste it)
1/4 c. fat-free mayo

Combine all ingredients and mix well until there is an even, creamy consistency.

Helpful hint: Make the dressing in the morning allowing it to sit and chill in fridge for most of the day for the flavors to really blend.

Use dressing sparingly since it has plenty of kick. For our wraps we used black beans, carrots, Romaine lettuce, green onions, tomato, shredded chicken, parmesan cheese, and croutons, but you can use whatever would be most enjoyable for your family.

chipotle's basmati rice

I LOVE Chipotle's... especially their rice in my burrito bowl! I went online looking for an awesome recipe that would compare to Chipotle's. Imagine my surprise when I found the ACTUAL recipe from Chipotle's executive itself! Enjoy!

Ingredients
1 teaspoon vegetable oil or butter

2 tsp. fresh cilantro

2/3 cup white basmati rice

1 cup water

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 lime

In a 2-quart heavy saucepan, heat oil or butter over low heat, stirring occasionally until melted. Add rice and lime juice, stir for 1 minute. Add water and salt, bring to a full rolling boil. At boiling, cover, turn down to simmer over low heat until rice is tender and the water is absorbed, about 25 minutes. Fluff rice with a fork.

Add cilantro after fluffing rice.

Amy's Notes: The first time I tried this recipe, I didn't have basmati rice. It turned out good ... but not as good as basmati when I finally did buy it! Also, watch the time as usually my rice didn't need a full 25 minutes! The basic recipe above makes a small portion. You might need to double or triple for a regular sized family!

Cilantro Lime Chicken Salad Sandwiches

I hate mayo. I always have, and therefore tend to steer clear of classic summer "salad recipes" that consist of some yummy food smothered in the stuff. But with this Chicken Salad the mayo is altered so drastically that Josh and I both were singing its praises. This is definitely a recipe that will stick, especially in the hot months ahead.

Cilantro Lime Chicken Salad Sandwiches
2 cooked and shredded chicken breasts
1 sweet onion, cut into half rings
1.3 c fat free mayonnaise
1/4 c. roughly chopped cashews
1 heaping Tbs fresh chopped cilantro
1 Tbs. lime juice
1/4 tsp. garlic powder
toasted bread or buns and other sandwich toppings including tomatoes, spinach leaves, and cucumbers.

In a frying pan over med heat cook the onion slices with only a little cooking spray, adding water if needed to keep onions slightly moist. Allow to cook about 10 minutes or until the onions have a caramelized color. If you really want them "caramel-y" add a little sugar near the end of the cooking time, I did and it was pretty tasty. While the onions cook combine mayo, cilantro, lime juice, and garlic powder. In a large mixing bowl combine chicken, cashews, and the cooked onion. Add the dressing mixture and stir until all is well combined and lightly coated.

Serve chicken salad on toasted buns or sourdough bread (I used a multi-grain bun which was tasty and really filling) topping with spinach, tomatoes, cucumbers, or whatever you like.

Happy Cooking!

Crock Pot Banana Upside Down Cake

(from Lauren S.)

Bananas:
5 T butter, cut in small pieces, plus more for crock pot
¾ c brown sugar
1 T molasses
2 T pineapple juice
6 ripe, medium bananas, peeled & halved lengthwise

Butter inside of crock pot, line completely with foil, & then butter foil. Turn crock pot onto high. Sprinkle butter, brown sugar, & mixture of molasses & pineapple juice over bottom of crock pot. Cover with banana halves, cut side down, slightly overlapping, & press them into the sugar.

Cake:
¾ c flour
¾ t baking powder
½ t cinnamon
¼ t nutmeg
¼ t salt
4 T butter, softened
2/3 c sugar
1 egg, at room temp
1 egg yolk, at room temp
2 T milk, at room temp

Combine flour, baking powder, cinnamon, nutmeg, & salt in bowl. In another bowl, beat butter & sugar on high, til light & fluffy (about 10 mins). Beat in egg. Beat in egg yolk. Turn mixer to low, & mix in 1/3 part flour mixture. Mix in 1 T milk. Mix in 1/3 part flour mixture. Mix in 1 T milk. Mix in last of flour mixture. Briefly mix batter on medium to smooth it out. Pour batter over bananas, & even out with spatula.

Lay doubled length of paper towels from end to end over top of crock pot, to line lid & create tighter seal. Put lid on crock pot, & continue cooking on high, til cake begins to slightly brown on sides, & springs back when touched in middle (about 3 ½ hrs).

Turn off crock pot, & let cake sit 20 mins more. Lift cake from crock pot using the foil, & set on counter to cool 30 mins. Fold back foil, & carefully invert cake onto platter so you can see bananas. Serve with ice cream, if desired.

slow cooked pulled pork

(from Valerie C.)

Ingredients:

1 med onion, chopped
½ c ketchup
½ c cider vinegar
¼ c brown sugar
¼ c tomato paste
2 T sweet paprika
2 T Worcestershire sauce
2 T mustard
1 ½ t salt
1 ¼ t pepper
4 lbs boneless pork shoulder blade roast (fresh pork butt), cut into 4 pieces
12 soft sandwich buns or ciabatta rolls, warmed
Hot sauce, opt
Dill pickles, opt
Potato chips, opt

In 4 ½ - 6 quart crock pot, stir onion, ketchup, vinegar, brown sugar, tomato paste, paprika, Worcestershire, mustard, salt, & pepper til combined. Add pork & turn to coat well with sauce.

Cover crock pot with lid & cook on low 8-10 hrs, or til pork is very tender.

With tongs, transfer pork to large bowl. Turn crock pot to high, & cover & heat sauce to boiling to thicken & slightly reduce. While sauce boils, use 2 forks to pull pork into shreds. Return shredded pork to crock pot & mix into sauce. Cover crock pot & heat through, on high setting if necessary.

Serve pulled pork with sandwich buns, & hot sauce, pickles, & chips, if you like.

Chicken Tortellini Bake

Josh has always been a fan of a dish I make that is similar to this one, so I just had to try this version to see how it compared. We both liked it a lot, but next time I'm going to make it even more like mine and add some sun dried tomatoes.

Chicken Tortellini
Bake 19 ounce package of cheese tortellini (fresh or frozen)
2 chicken breasts, trimmed of fat and cut into bite size pieces
2 green onions finely chopped (white and green parts)
2 garlic cloves, finely chopped
2 tablespoons flour
1 1/8 c. low-sodium chicken broth
1 carrot, coin sliced
2 broccoli heads, cut into bite size pieces (about 1.5-2 cups)
3/4 cup sour cream (I used non-fat which turned out great)
1 c. shredded cheese (I used a combo of mozzarella and parmesan)

Bring a large pot of water to boil and cook tortellini according to package directions. Drain spread out in a sprayed 9x13 baking dish.

In a skillet, saute the chicken with the green onion and garlic until chicken is done. While the chicken is cooking microwave the broccoli and carrots for about 1-2 minutes until colors become vibrant and they are slightly steamed. Add veggies to chicken and coat all with the flour. Add chicken broth and stir until thickened. Mix in sour cream until mixture is creamy and slightly thickened.

Sprinkle about of half the cheese over the tortellini then pour the chicken/sauce mixture on top and sprinkle with the remaining cheese over the top. Bake at 350 for 20-30 minutes until bubbly and golden brown around the edges.

Kim's note: the recipe I followed called for a much longer baking time resulting in slightly chewy pasta on the bottom. I'd suggest keeping an eye on it and only baking it as long as needed.

chocolate covered bananas

My grandma made this for me when I was a kid... and I.LOVED.IT!


I think she dipped hers in chocolate chips that were melted. Then sometimes she rolled the banana in nuts.

My mom made some too, but she used Magic Shell, and those were so yummy too!

Peel & cut your bananas in half, and stick a popsicle stick in the middle of each one. Place on a tray and put in freezer for 3 hours.

Maddie brought home some Heath Magic Shell from a leftover ice cream party. I put it in the fridge.

Apparently it is the WRONG thing to do, because it was hard. There was a little section on the back (in tiny letters, I have to add!) that says "DO NOT REFRIGERATE!" Oops! So, I ran under hot water for a few minutes until I had some that poured out. The Magic Shell will harden almost immediately, so you will not be able to roll in nuts, M&M's or anything fun.

If you wish to use melted chocolate chips, don't freeze your banana first.... chop your banana in half, then roll in chocolate, then you can easily roll in a bowl full of nuts, chopped M&M's, etc. Just place in freezer for a few hours.

Ta-da! You'll have a very happy kid eating a frozen treat that is semi-good for you!

I'm on a scone making kick, and I found this recipe online (joyofbaking.com), and just HAD to try it out! When blueberries finally went on sale, I bought a pint and went to work!

Ingredients

2 c flour
1/4 c sugar
2 tsp baking powder
1/8 tsp salt
6 tbsp chilled butter
1 c fresh blueberries
1 egg, lightly beaten
1 tsp vanilla
1/2 c cream or milk

Streusel Topping
1/4 c brown sugar
1/4 c flour
1/2 tsp cinnamon
2 tbsp chilled butter

For the scones: In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, sugar, baking powder & salt. Cut the butter into small pieces & blend into the flour mixture with a pastry blender or two knives. The mixture should look like coarse crumbs. Gently fold in the blueberries. In a small measuring cup combine the cream, beaten egg & vanilla. Add this mixture to the flour mixture and stir just until the dough comes together. Do not over mix the dough or the scones will be tough.

Transfer the dough to a lightly floured surface and knead the dough gently for or five times and then pat the dough into a circle that is about 7 inches round and about 1 1/2 inches thick. Cut the circle in half, then cut each half into four pie-shaped wedges (triangles). Place the scones on the baking sheet. Brush the tops of the scones with a little cream or milk.

For the streusel topping: in a small bowl whisk together the sugar, flour, and cinnamon. With a pastry blender (or fork), cut in the butter until crumbly. Top each scone with a teaspoon or two of the streusel mixture.

Bake the scones until nicely browned @ 425 degrees, about 15-20 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center of a scone comes out clean. Transfer to a wire rack to cool slightly. These are best eaten the day they are made, but can be covered and stored for a few days!

Amy's Notes: I used buttermilk instead of milk or cream, just because I've been using buttermilk with all my other scone recipes. If you use frozen blueberries, do not thaw first! Also, the recipe calls for unsalted butter, which I never have on hand. I used both salt & salted butter, and it tasted fine. You could just omit the salt if using salted butter. I also make sure all the items I bake is on parchment paper!!

Minestrone Soup

Oh my gosh, my house smells so delicious with Minestrone Soup on the stove! Here's the simple recipe:

2 cans of beans, drained (kidney, garbanzo, pinto, navy, whatever)

8 c chicken broth

1 16 oz can diced tomatoes

Baby carrots chopped in half length wise

2 stalks celery, chopped fine

2 medium or 1 large onion chopped fine

2 cloves of garlic

1 c whole wheat macaroni, uncooked

2 Tb parsley

2 tsp salt

1 tsp dried basil leaves

¼ tsp pepper

1 bay leaf

1 ½ c or 1 can of cut green beans, drained

2 zucchini, cut small

Grated parmesan cheese

Add all ingredients except green beans and zuchinni. Simmer until tender, then add remaining two vegetables and cook until tender. Remove bay leaf, then serve with cheese on top.

Pass the Plate: Crock Pot Lasagna

Hi Sisters! Thanks to everyone who came to Pass the Plate last night, and to those that couldn't make it, we missed you! Our theme for the night was crock pots, and since I wanted to show that there's more to crock pots than merely pot roast, I made crock pot lasagna. This is a super easy way to get real lasagna without the heat from an oven, or big pots of boiling water.

Crock Pot Lasagna
1 lb lean ground beef
1 jar favorite spaghetti sauce
2 c. cottage cheese
2 c. mozzarella cheese
1/2 c. parmesan cheese
6 regular lasagna noodles - UNCOOKED
1/4 c. water

In frying pan, brown ground beef and drain fat. Add water and pasta sauce, reserving a small amount of sauce to line bottom of crock pot. Stir until well blended. Line crock pot with very thin layer of sauce, then top with 2-3 uncooked lasagna noodles that are broken to fit shape (some overlap is fine). Cover noodles with half the cottage cheese, mozzarella cheese, and parmesan cheese, then top cheeses with half of the meat mixture. Repeat layers with the other half of the ingredients. Cook on low for 4 hours.

Kim's Special Note: If you noticed the plastic lining in the pictures, that is a Reynold's crock pot liner. You cook your meal in it just like normal, but then after serving the bag removes for virtually no clean up. If you want to try them, they are at the grocery store near the foils. I'm addicted to these things!

Happy Cooking!

Orange Chicken (from your cupboard)

I love to make ordinary things into something special, and this is one of my all-time favs. This recipe takes Chicken Rice-a-Roni and turns it into a yummy Asian treat that Josh and I both love.

Orange Chicken
1 pound cubed chicken breast
1 package chicken flavored Rice a Roni
1 c. orange juice
1 1/2 c. hot water
1 1/2 c. frozen carrots, thawed
1/4 tsp ground ginger
1/4 tsp garlic powder
1 tsp butter or margarine

Saute chicken in frying pan until fully cooked, then set aside. In same frying pan melt butter. Add rice from package and cook for a few minutes until lightly browned. Add ginger and garlic powders, Rice a Roni flavor packet, water and orange juice. Bring to a boil, reduce heat to med-low, and simmer covered for 10 minutes. After simmering, add carrots and chicken to the rice mixture and simmer covered for an additional 5-10 minutes, or until heated through and water is absorbed.

Happy Cooking!