Salsa Verde Chicken Enchiladas

I came across this picture while cleaning up some folders on my computer this morning. I completely forgot about this recipe! I'm not sure how that happened - it's really good. I made it in the summer, and we really enjoyed it. Thinking about it reminds me of warm weather...something I wish I was enjoying right now. Instead, I'm watching huge snowflakes cover the ground outside. I shouldn't complain, though - it's really pretty. Back to the recipe: it's yummy and healthy...a wonderful combination! I pulled this from the Cooking Light Complete Cookbook (huge thanks to my sister). This is a great variation of the normal "rolled" enchiladas - enjoy!

Ingredients:

1/2 teaspoon extra virgin olive oil

1 cup chopped onion

2 garlic cloves, minced

1 cup shredded cooked chicken breast

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon pepper

2 cups salsa verde

cooking spray

6 (6-inch) corn tortillas

1/4 crumbled feta cheese (feel free to be generous!)

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

2. Heat oil in a nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add onion, saute' 4 minutes or until tender. Add garlic; saute' 1 minute. Combine onion mixture, chicken, salt & pepper.

3. Spread 1/4 cup salsa verde in an 11x7-inch baking dish coated with cooking spray. Arrange 2 tortillas over the sauce; top evenly with half of chicken mixture and 1/2 cup salsa verde. Repeat layers ending with tortillas. Spread remaining salsa over tortillas. Sprinkle with cheese.

4. Bake at 350 degrees for 20 minutes or until thoroughly heated. Cut each tortillas stack in half. Makes 4 servings.

Nutritional Information (per serving):

*227 calories

*5.3 g. fat

*18.4 g. protein

*4.7 g. fiber

Roasted Parmesan Asparagus

This is probably one of my favorite ways to eat vegetables. I absolutely love asparagus, and so does my husband - it just works out perfectly! This is super easy, but it looks and tastes like it's gourmet (my favorite!). I serve this with pretty much any main main dish - chicken, turkey, fish - it's all good. And let's be honest, what isn't good with a heaping handful of parmesan cheese?

*Pictured above with The Best Turkey Burger.

Ingredients:

1 bunch of asparagus

olive oil

salt & pepper

garlic powder

1/2 cup parmesan cheese (I use shredded, not grated) - be generous!

Directions:

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Line a baking sheet with foil - this makes clean up a breeze! Trim the bottoms off the asparagus and place on baking sheet. Drizzle oil over the asparagus - toss to coat. Line them up in a single layer on the pan. Sprinkle salt, pepper, garlic powder, and parmesan cheese over the asparagus. Bake for 12-15 minutes. Mmm.

Starbucks Coffee Giveaway

Ok, so every now and then I enter blog contests - many of which require you to help promote the blog and contest. I just entered a contest for a great Starbucks gift from Pennies on a Platter. Check it out and enter to win! Good luck!

*Photo courtesy of Pennies on a Platter.

Honey-Glazed Chicken

So I do have a picture for this - I swear, I really do! But it is not good. I promise to take a better picture next time I make this...and there will be a next time! This recipe was super easy. I put it together over my lunch hour, and when I got home from work at 5:00 the apartment smelled fantastic! I served it with roasted cauliflower and brown rice. A wonderful, well-balanced meal!

Source: Crockpot Honey-Glazed Chicken from Stephanie Cooks

Ingredients:

1/4 cup butter, melted
1/8 cup low sodium soy sauce
1/2 cup honey
1/4 cup BBQ sauce

4 chicken breasts
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
pepper and salt, as desired

Directions:

Place chicken in crock pot. Mix together remaining ingredients in a bowl. Pour over chicken. Cook on low for 6-8 hours, or on high for 4-6 hours. Enjoy!

Pretzel-Chocolate Chip Cookies

I am a fan of the salty/sweet combo, and this cookie delivers just that! The contrast is perfect - not overwhelming at all. Beantown Baker posted her blog update with this recipe on The Nest, and it inspired a lot of people to try this out, including me! I will definitely make these again. Peanut butter might be a nice addition next time - oh, I can't wait!

NOTE: This is the original recipe - I cut it in half when I made them.

Source: Pretzel Chocolate Chip Cookies from Beantown Baker

Ingredients:

2 1/3 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
3/4 teaspoon salt
12 tablespoons unsalted butter, slightly softened
1 cup packed dark brown sugar
1/2 cup granulated sugar
2 large eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla
2 cups coarsely crushed pretzel sticks
2 cups bittersweet chocolate chips

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a small bowl, sift together flour, baking soda & salt. In a large mixing bowl, beat together butter and sugars until creamy. Beat in eggs, one at a time, mixing until combined after each. Mix in vanilla. Gradually add dry ingredients into the butter mixture and beat just until incorporated. Fold in pretzels and chocolate chips.

Drop dough using two tablespoons (or a cookies scoop) onto parchment-lined baking sheets. Bake cookies until they are lightly golden around the edges, about 9 to 13 minutes. Remove from the oven and let cookies cool for 2-3 minutes on the sheets - then transfer to wire rack to cool completely. *Makes 4 dozen

Balsamic Garlic Green Beans

I needed a quick side dish, and I had just bought a bottle of balsamic vinegar. I LOVE balsamic vinegar and believe that any vegetable tastes amazing with it. I broke into a package of frozen green beans - and ta da! - a yummy side dish.

Ingredients:

1 small package frozen green beans

2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar

2 cloves garlic, minced

Directions:

Cook green beans according to package - I placed them in a skillet with a little bit of water, brought it to a boil, cooked for 5 minutes, then drained the water. Add to the skillet the balsamic vinegar and garlic - cook over low heat for 2-3 minutes. Enjoy!

Parmesan Orzo

I found this recipe over on Stephanie Cooks - she claims it's her favorite side dish of all time. I love her blog and thought I'd give this dish a try. I've never made anything with orzo before, so I was very excited. It was divine - so easy to make and so easy to enjoy!

Original recipe: Stephanie Cooks' Parmesan Orzo

Ingredients:

1 tablespoon butter
1 cup orzo
1 1/4 cups chicken broth (I used low sodium)
A few shakes of parsley
A few shakes of garlic powder
1/2 cup of freshly shredded parmesan cheese (more or less depending on your taste)

Directions:

1. In a medium skillet, heat butter and dry orzo over medium/high heat until pasta toasted (just some of it).
2. Pour in the broth and seasonings. Cook on medium heat. The orzo will absorb the broth. Once most of the broth is absorbed, remove from the heat.
3. Mix in the parmesan cheese and stir until smooth and creamy.
4. Sprinkle with additional cheese when serving if you like.

Chicken Cacciatore

A very nice lady over on The Nest sent me a huge Microsoft Word document full of healthy crock pot recipes. As a New Year's resolution, I decided to start using my crock pot at least once a week. So far, so good! It's so nice to come home from work and have dinner ready. Last week I made Chicken Cacciatore, and it was delicious. This is week is Salsa Chicken - and it is cooking as I type this!

Ingredients:

4 chicken breasts

1 jar spaghetti sauce (I used 26 oz.)

2 green bell peppers, seeded and cubed

8 oz. fresh mushrooms, sliced

1 onion, finely diced

2 tablespoons minced garlic

Directions:

Place chicken in crock pot. Top with spaghetti sauce, peppers, mushrooms, onion and garlic. Cook on low for 7-9 hours. Serve with pasta or rice.

Guacamole

I love Trader Joe's - that's no secret. I've noticed this "guacamole kit" for the past couple of months, and for some reason or another, just never bought it. Well, that's the past. I bought it for the first time on Sunday and will continue to buy it on every trip to Joe's. It's in the produce section, and it contains 2 avocados, 2 roma tomatoes, 1 small onion, 1 garlic clove and 1 lime. It's absolutely perfect - and for $2.99, pretty darn cheap!

Ingredients:

2 avocados

2 roma tomatoes

1 small onion

1 garlic clove

1 lime

Directions:

1. Cut the avocados down the center and remove the giant seed. With a spoon, scoop out the avocado "meat" and place into a medium bowl. Mash with a fork.

2. Cube the roma tomatoes and mix with avocados. Dice the onion - add this also.

3. Mince the garlic clove and add to mixture.

4. Cut the lime in half and squeeze the juice from both halves into the mixture. Stir well.

5. Serve with tortilla chips and enjoy!

Banana-Walnut Mini Muffins

Before my husband and I left for vacation back in December, I put some over ripe bananas in the freezer. I decided to bust them out last night and whip up some banana muffins - mini muffins, that is (thanks for the pan, Mom!). I found a recipe on allrecipes.com (how could I not?!), so I made some changes and voila: yummy banana-walnut mini muffins. So good...they're almost gone.

Inspiration: Banana Muffins II

Ingredients:

1 1/2 cup flour

1 teaspoon baking powder

1 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon cinnamon

3/4 cup sugar

1 egg

1/3 cup butter, melted

1 teaspoon vanilla

1/4 cup walnuts

Directions:

Heat oven to 350 degrees. Combine flour, baking powder, baking powder, salt and cinnamon in a bowl. Set aside. Beat together sugar, egg, melted butter, and vanilla. Fold the flour mixture into the sugar mixture with a wooden spoon or spatula. Do NOT over-stir - just enough so it is mixed. Stir in walnuts. Scoop into mini muffin pans and bake for 10 minutes. Makes 36 mini muffins.

 

Butternut Squash Casserole

I use the word "casserole" lightly - I don't think this is necessarily a casserole, but it's the best way to describe it! My husband and I always have a vegetable side dish with every meal - this has forced me to become creative. I found some great butternut squash at our local Trader Joe's (pre-cut) - and wanted to spice it up a bit. After searching around online, I found a few recipes that looked yummy....so I combined them all. This is super easy, so enjoy!

Ingredients:

1 lb. butternut squash (peeled and cubed)

1/2 cup white onion, finely chopped

1/2 teaspoon salt (I used Hawaiian Red Sea Salt)

1/4 teaspoon pepper

1 tablespoon butter, melted

1 egg

1/3 cup milk

1/2 cup shredded cheese (I used an Italian 4-cheese blend)

Directions:

Set oven to 425. Mix together squash, onion, salt, pepper and melted butter - place into 9x9 baking dish. Bake for 20 minutes. Meanwhile, whisk together the egg, milk and cheese. Pour over mixture. Bake for another 20 minutes.