Siracha-Lime Chicken Kabobs

Finally, back to cooking and blogging! We are going low-carb for the next couple weeks (besides Thanksgiving Day). We always eat a ton of chicken but I've been looking for new fun recipes! 

Ingredients

You would think this is an ad for Trader Joe's!

1 pound skinless, boneless chicken breasts
3 tablespoons of soy sauce
2 tablespoons honey
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
 juice of 1 lime
 2 cloves garlic, minced
 1 teaspoon Siracha
2 tablespoons cilantro
red pepper flakes to taste

Instructions

1. Soak wooden skewers in bowl of water for 10 minutes.

2. Combine siracha, soy sauce, oil, lime juice, garlic, honey, and cilantro and mix thoroughly.

3. Rinse and cut up chicken breasts into one inch cubes and place into a one gallon freezer Ziplock bag.
4. Coat chicken with marinade and allow to marinate for one hour.

5. Grill on medium-high heat for 6-8 minutes each side, until juices run clear.

Enjoy! 

Baked Sweet and Sour Chicken

This recipe is borrowed from a girlfriend of mine, Lauren. She made this for us this past week and it was so much better and healthier than ordering Chinese Food! 

Ingredients: 

Chicken:

3-4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts

1 1/2 cup cornstarch

3 eggs, beaten

1/4 cup canola oil

Sweet and sour sauce:

1 cup granulated sugar

4 tablespoons of ketchup

1/4 cup white vinegar

1/4 cup apple cider vinegar

1 tablespoon low sodium soy sauce

1 teaspoon garlic salt

For veggies, sautee chopped carrots, mushrooms, and greenbeans in the sweet and sour sauce. 

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees.

2. Cut chicken breasts into bite-sized pieces and season with salt and pepper.

3. Place cornstarch and beaten eggs in separate bowls.

4. Dip chicken into cornstarch and then coat in egg mixture.

5. Heat canola oil in a large skiller over medium-high heat and cook chicken until browned.

6. Place browned chicken in a 9 x 13 greased baking dish. 

7. In a medium sized mixing bowl, whisk together sugar, ketchup, vinegars, soy sauce, and garlic salt. 

8. Poor sauce over mixture chicken and bake for 45-60 minutes. 

9. While the chicken is baking, cook brown rice and sautee the veggies. Once the chicken is done, mixed everything together!

10. Enjoy! 

Bacon Wrapped Jalapeno Poppers

YUMMMMMMMMM! 

Ingredients: 

8-10 Jalapeno Peppers

1 Package of Chives

1 8 oz package of plain cream cheese

8-10 pieces of bacon 

Directions:

1. Hollow out the jalapeno peppers. 

2. Mix the cream cheese and chives together. Stuff jalapenos with cream cheese mixture.

3. Wrap uncooked bacon around the jalapenos. 

4. Bake jalapeno poppers for 20-24 minutes at 400 degrees. Remove when bacon is crispy and cooked.

5. Enjoy! 

Baked Chicken Tacos

Here's the original blog I got this recipe from! I modified it a tad so now you have TWO ways to make Baked Chicken Tacos!

http://mommyimhungry.blogspot.com/2012/11/oven-tacos.html

Here's my version: 

Ingredients:

12 Hard Taco Shells

1 packet of Taco Seasoning

2 lbs Chicken

1 Onion

2 cups Pepper Jack Cheese

Additional toppings:

Salsa

Lettuce

Sour Cream

Guacamole

Cilantro

Salt and Pepper 

Directions:

1. Chop raw chicken and onion.

2. Sautee chicken, sliced onions, and taco seasoning in 2 tsp Extra Virgin Olive Oil for 7-8 minutes. 

 3. Line the pan with taco shells. Yes they will fall all over the place until you put the chicken in. 

4. 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.  

Holy-Moly Homemade Guacamole!

This is by far my favorite guacamole recipe I've ever had and it's not only because my boyfriend makes it! It's so simple and delicious!

Ingredients:

2 Limes

3 Avocados

1/2 Red Onion

12 Cherry Tomatos

Cilantro

3 Jalapenos 

3 Garlic Cloves 

Salt and Pepper

1. Fine chop all ingredients. Depending on desired spice level - remove all jalapeno seeds or leave some! It's up to you! 

2. Mix ingredients together in a bowl.

3. Cut avocado's in half and spoon into the bowl. Here's the key: use a fork to mix everything together so you have chunks of avocado in the guacamole. Add salt and pepper to taste!

4. Enjoy! 

Sweet and Spicy Brussel Sprouts

                                 

                                                           Ingredients: 


                          1 lb fresh Brussel sprouts, ends trimmed and  sliced in quarters

1 Tablespoon light cooking oil    

    (canola or vegetable is fine)

2-3 Tablespoons soy sauce (or Soyaki from Trader Joe's)

A few red pepper flakes

1/4 cup honey

Directions: 

Combine ingredients in a bowl. Cut off the brown ends of the Brussels sprouts and pull off any yellow outer leaves.

Toss brussel sprouts in mixture and make sure they are coated! 

Spread a single layer on a baking pan.

Bake for 30-35 minutes at 400 degrees F. 

Honey-Lime Shrimp

Finally....the warm weather is here!!! Bring on the delicious summer salads!!

 

 

 

I wanted to try a new shrimp recipe so I went with this one because I already had all the ingredients!

 

Ingredients:

 

 1 pound large shrimp, peeled and deveined
1/4 cup olive oil
 3 T honey
juice of one small lime, or half a large lime (2-3 T)
 1/2 tsp garlic salt
 1/2 tsp kosher salt
1/4 tsp black pepper

 

Additions to add:
1/4 tsp red pepper flakes (if you want it spicy)

2 cloves garlic, smashed (instead of the garlic salt)

 

Directions:

 

1.) In a large ziploc bag, combine all the marinade ingredients. When everything is well-combined, add the shrimp, squeeze as much air as possible out of the bag, and close it up. Place it in the fridge.

 

2.) Let the shrimp marinate for 30-60 minutes, flipping the bag around once or twice during that time, so that all the shrimp stay evenly covered in the marinade.

 

3.) When you’re ready to cook, take the shrimp out of the fridge and let them sit at room temperature for about 10 minutes. Heat a large skillet over medium-high heat; there is no need to add any oil or butter to the pan, as the marinade has enough oil in it to keep the shrimp from sticking to the pan. (If you would prefer to use the grill for these, you can thread them onto skewers and toss them on the grill at this point.)

 

4.) Add your shrimp to the pan in a single layer, making sure they are not too crowded; you can always cook them in more than one batch. Let them cook on one side for about a minute, until they curl up and start to turn pink. Flip them over, and cook for another 30 seconds or so, until the shrimp are opaque. Remove from the pan, and serve immediately over rice, salad, or by themselves!

Cilantro-Lime Chicken Salad

Two of my passions are cooking and blogging but my new obsession is substituting Greek yogurt for mayonnaise in recipes! Here's the first one that I've actually tried and I am a big fan!!

Cilantro-Lime Chicken Salad on top of lettuce 

Cilantro-Lime Chicken Salad on an avocado (not my picture but I plan to do this next time I eat it) 

Ingredients

1 - 1.5lbs chicken, cooked and cut into small pieces 

1/4 cup chives, sliced 

6 tsp lime juice 

1/4 cup cilantro, roughly chopped

1 sweet onion, diced 

2 pinches each: garlic powder, cumin, sea salt 

1-   6 oz. Low-Fat Greek Yogurt (plain)

1/5 cup fresh salsa 

Directions 

For the chicken, I used the white meat from a rotisserie chicken. 

Finely chop chicken, cilantro, chives, and onions. 

Combine chicken, scallions, lime juice, cilantro, onions, and salsa in a large bowl. Season with garlic powder, cumin, and salt.  Stir in Greek Yogurt until chicken salad is the desired consistency.  

Season to taste with salt and pepper and serve on lettuce, avocado, or pita. 

No-Bake Protein Bites

Okay...this recipe is amazing and I will definitely be making these every week from now on to have as snacks when I'm on campus all day.

Power Protein Bites

Ingredients

I have to give Trader Joe's a shoutout! Everything came from there! 

1 cup oats

1/2 cup natural peanut butter 

1/3 cup honey

1 cup coconut flakes ( I didn't use these this time but I will be using them next time)

1/2 cup flax seeds

1/2 cup chocolate chips

1 tsp vanilla 

Directions

Super easy...ready....MIX EVERYTHING TOGETHER! 

Then...roll into balls! I didn't roll them in the coconut flakes but I will next time. The coconut adds extra flavor and makes them less sticky! 

Refrigerate. 

Healthy Portobello Pizza

Recipe #10 of 2013! 

Ingredients:

4 medium tomatoes
                                                  4 large portobello mushrooms
4 cloves of garlic
1 tbs lemon juice
1 leek
1 medium onion

 fresh basil leaves 
Goat cheese 
fresh parsley (about 7 sprigs fresh, or 1-2 tbs dry)
2 tbs olive oil 
pinch of salt

Directions

Heat up the olive oil in a non-stick frying pan.

Chop up the onion into small pieces, then add it to the pan and stir until it's slightly brown. 

Dice up the tomatoes, garlic cloves, and leek, and add them to the pan with the onions. Saute until the ingredients are soft. 

Add a pinch of salt to the mixture and stir. Add the lemon juice and stir. 

Begin preheating the oven at 400 degrees. Chiffon the basil leaves (chop them up) and add to the pan. Stir.

Spray olive oil on a baking sheet and place the portobello mushrooms on the sheet, bottom side up with stems removed. 

Add the mixed ingredients form the sauce pan into each mushroom and top with the goat cheese. 

Place the baking sheet into the oven and bake for 12 minutes at 400 degrees. Sprinkle the pizzas with the fresh (or dry) parsley. 

Simple Salmon Recipe

Recipe #9 of 2013

Simple Salmon Recipe 

Ingredients:

6-8 oz piece of salmon

8-10oz of Unsweetened Almond Milk

2 Lemons

Oregano

Ground Pepper

Salt 

Simply pour almond milk and lemon juice mixture over salmon. Rub salmon with oregano, salt, and pepper. Top with slices of lemon. Bake at 350 degrees for 20-25 minutes. 

Enjoy by itself or ontop of a salad! :) 

Roasted Red Pepper Crab Soup

Recipe #8 of 2013

My favorite recipe yet!!

Ingredients:

1 pound of lump crab meat

1 stalk of celery

1 container of Organic Trader Joe's Tomato and Roasted Red Pepper Soup

1 package of basil

1 12 oz. jar of Piquillo Peppers

1 Lemon

Fresh Ground Pepper

Garlic salt 

This recipe is so easy and took 5 minutes to make!!

Finely chop peppers, basil, and celery. Toss in pot with 1 tsp of olive oil. Sautee for 3-4 minutes. 

Pour in soup mixture. Let simmer for 5 minutes. Finally, dump in crab meat and let simmer for 10-15 more minutes and ENJOY! 

Season to taste with fresh ground pepper. 

Chicken Lettuce Wraps

Recipe #7 

Ingredients: 

• 3 Tbs. extra-virgin olive oil
• 1 pound chicken breast
• 1/2 cup freshly chopped cilantro
• 1 lime
• 1/2 red bell pepper, diced
• 1/2 yellow bell pepper, diced
• 1/2 green pepper, diced
• 1/2 onion, diced 
• 1 can black beans
• 1 can garbonzo beans 
•  3 scallions, thinly sliced
• 1 head butter lettuce, rinsed and leaves separated
•  coarse salt and freshly ground pepper
• Cayenne pepper

First, marinate the chicken in extra-virgin olive oil, cayenne pepper, salt, and pepper. Make sure to rub the marinade into the chicken (makes it juicier). 

You can cook your chicken on the stove, broil it in the oven, or on a grill. I use my Cuisinart Griddler and it takes about 8-9 minutes for the chicken to cook.

While the chicken is cooking, get to choppin'! 

Red, green, yellow peppers and onions 

Once the peppers, onions, and cilantro are all diced (making sure to set aside cilantro for the final garnish). Place them in a pan with the black beans and garbonzo beans. Squeeze the lime juice in the pan. 

Once your chicken is cooked, remove and chop the chicken into small pieces. 

Once all your ingredients are cooked, combine all together and place in your lettuce. Top with scallions and cilantro and ejoy! :)