Thai Chopped Chicken Salad (for Kristin)

Prep Time: 20 minutes

Cook Time: 40 minutes

Total Time: 1 hour

Yield: 4 servings

A simple chopped chicken salad with lots of Thai flavors.

INGREDIENTS

Chicken
• 1/4 cup vegetable oil
• 2 tablespoons rice vinegar
• 1 Tbsp sugar
• 1 clove garlic, chopped
• juice of 1 lime
• dash of salt
• 1 medium boneless, skinless chicken breast (6-8 oz)
Salad
• 4 cups chopped romaine
• 2 cups chopped napa cabbage
• 2 cups chopped red cabbage
• 1 cup diced cucumber
• 1 cup edamame, cooked
• 1 cup shredded carrots
• 1 cup chopped red bell pepper
• 1/4 cup chopped green onions
• 1 cup cilantro, chopped
• peanuts, for topping
Dressing
• 4 tablespoons rice vinegar
• 4 tablespoons Thai sweet red chili sauce
• 1 teaspoon sesame oil
• 1/2 teaspoon sugar
• salt and pepper, to taste

Marinate the chicken for at least 30 min and cook as desired.  Toss it all together and chow!  I skipped the red cabbage, and didn't have edamame or peanuts.  It was still delicious.  I especially love the dressing!  If you want to simplify it, I'm sure you could use any leftover chicken or rotisserie.  It would even be tasty without chicken.

Best Ever Black Bean Soup

Ingredients:
2 cans black beans, drained not rinsed
2 cans chicken broth
1 Tbsp olive oil
1 c diced onion
2 cloves minced garlic
2 tsp chili powder
1 tsp cumin
1/2 tsp salt
fresh pepper (to taste)
White rice
cotija, cilantro, and avocado for garnish

Saute onion and garlic in olive oil.  Add spices, cooking until fragrant.  Pour in chicken broth and beans, bring to simmer.  Use an immersion blender to slightly puree the soup.  Serve over rice and top with cheese, cilantro, and diced avocado.  I have to double this recipe for my family.

Lemon Chicken Orzo Soup

1 rotisserie chicken, skinned and shredded
6 cups chicken broth
1 c carrots, diced
1 onion, diced
1 rib celery, diced
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 Tbsp olive oil
1 bay leaf
1 tsp fresh or ground thyme
1 Tbsp dried parsley flakes
1 Tbsp lemon zest
1/4 c lemon juice (juice of 1 large lemon)
heaping 1/2 tsp salt
8-12 oz. orzo, cooked
parmesan cheese, for serving

Saute carrots, onion, celery and garlic in olive oil, until onion is translucent.  Stir in parsley and thyme, cook for 1 minute.  Add chicken broth, bay leaf, lemon zest, lemon juice, and salt.  Stir to combine, then add shredded chicken.  I let mine sit on low heat for an hour, because I had to go to soccer practice but I think you could serve it as soon as it's heated through.  We added the orzo while serving, so Emma could use gluten free orzo, but if you don't have to do that just stir in the orzo with the shredded chicken.  Garnish with lots of grated parmesan.  Serves about 6

Click here for instructions to make this soup in the crock pot!

Gluten Free Chocolate Chip Cookie Recipe

8 T butter, room temperature but not melted!
1/4 c. light brown sugar
1/4 c. white sugar

1 egg
1 tsp. vanilla (or 2)
1 1/2 cup baking mix (NOT a flour blend!  I think Pamela's Baking and Pancake Mix  is the best for this recipe, hands down).
1/2 large packet vanilla instant pudding
1 1/2 cup chocolate chips (semi sweet or milk)
Cream butter and sugars together. Add egg and vanilla.  Slowly add baking mix and the pudding.  Toss those chocolate chips and mix it up.  Now, chill the dough for at least 45 minutes. Begin preheating oven to 350. You'll of course need to sneak the occasional taste just to make sure that it's chilling to the right temp.  Make sure the oven is screaming hot 350 before you start putting the dough on the baking sheet. Roll into walnut sized balls (I like using a cookie scoop for even bake time).  Bake for 8 -10 minutes, and then take a look to make sure they are cooking to your liking.  It just depends on your oven.  Do NOT overcook.  Put the cookie dough back in the fridge between batches so the dough stays cold. Enjoy! Makes about 24 cookies.

This was initially based off of Pamela's mix with a few years worth of fine tuning to get it where I was happy.  And you will be too. Got milk?

Black Bean Burgers

 Black Bean Burger Recipe

         1 (16 ounce) can black beans, drained and rinsed  ( I used black beans I prepared on my own and I used 1 3/4 cups) 
1/2 green bell pepper, cut into 2 inch pieces ( I didn't have a green pepper so I used a red one)
1/2 onion, cut into wedges
  3 cloves garlic, peeled
1 egg (I used 2 because I wanted the texture to be more firm/ less crumbly)
1 tablespoon chili powder
1 tablespoon cumin
1 teaspoon Thai chili sauce or hot sauce (I omitted this because I didn't have any)
1/2 cup bread crumbs
 (I used a little over 1/2 cup of whole roled oats instead.  I would use even more next time) 

Directions
If grilling, preheat an outdoor grill for high heat, and lightly oil a sheet of aluminum foil. If baking, preheat oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C), and lightly oil a baking sheet.
In a medium bowl, mash black beans with a fork until thick and pasty.
In a food processor, finely chop bell pepper, onion, and garlic. Then stir into mashed beans.
In a small bowl, stir together egg, chili powder, cumin, and chili sauce.
Stir the egg mixture into the mashed beans. Mix in bread crumbs until the mixture is sticky and holds together. Divide mixture into four patties. At this point, I chilled the patties in the fridge for about an hour.  I would have chilled them longer but I ran out of time.  Next time, I think I'll chill it BEFORE forming the patties.  Mine poured out like thick muffin batter and I think I could have formed it into prettier looking burgers. 
If grilling, place patties on foil, and grill about 8 minutes on each side. If baking, place patties on baking sheet, and bake about 10 minutes on each side. I baked for like 15 minutes on the top and then flipped it and baked for another 8 minutes or so.  The last 2 minutes I put cheese on it.

ALSO, you can probably tell from the recipe that it has a distinctively Mexican flavor to it.  Obviously it's no trouble at all to just eliminate the cumin and chili powder but I'm pretty sure I was born south of the border in another life because I simply can not get enough Mexican flavor.  Ole! :)

Put that baby on a bun and serve it like a regular burger.  Pretend like there's no funny business going on so that your kids don't suspect anything. 

Oven Tacos

1 lb ground beef (or turkey/chicken)
1/2 small onion diced
1 small can diced green chilies
1 recipe for Homemade taco seasoning (below)
1/2 cup tomato sauce
1/2 can fat free refried beans
1 cup shredded Colby-jack cheese
hard taco shells

Optional Condiments-
Lettuce (shredded)
Tomato (diced)
Salsa
Guacamole
Sour Cream
Olives, sliced 

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. 

In a large skillet brown ground beef and onion over medium-high heat. Drain off any excess liquid. Return to pan, add chilies, refried beans, tomato sauce, and taco seasoning. Mix well and cook for a few minutes if mixture seems runny.

Spoon the taco meat mixture into the taco shells and place into a 9 x 13 inch baking dish, standing up. Sprinkle cheese over the top of the taco meat in each shell. Place into the oven and bake at 400 degrees for 10-12 minutes or until the cheese has melted and the tacos are heated through.
Remove from the oven and top with any optional condiments for serving.

Canadian Bacon and Sausage Stuffed French Bread

This recipe comes from when my mom worked at a frozen dinner place that shall not be named.  It is a staple in my house.  The best part is that you can make it, wrap it in foil and freeze so it's ready whenever.  Best freezer meal ever!

• 1 loaf of French Bread
• 1 stick (1/2 cup) of butter or spread, softened
• 1 stick (1/2 cup) of low-fat cream cheese
• 1 Tbsp onion flakes
• 1 Tbsp. poppy seeds
• 4 slices Swiss or Provolone cheese, cut into 8 triangles
• 8 pieces Canadian bacon or deli ham
• 1 – 1½ cup pre-cooked sausage crumbles

1. Preheat oven to 400F
2. Place a 3 foot long piece of aluminum foil on the counter.
3. Cut the loaf of French bread length-wise, horizontally so you have a top half and bottom half.
4. In a bowl, combine the softened butter, cream cheese, onion flakes, and poppy seeds until smooth.
5. Spread the mixture on the top and bottom halves of the bread. There might be extra.
6.  Put the sausage crumbles on the bottom and press into the spread.
7. Layer the Canadian bacon/ham, then cheese.
8. Put the top of the bread on and wrap in foil.
9. Freeze (if desired) or bake 20 minutes covered and then 10 minutes uncovered.