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! :) 

Chicken Thighs Wrapped in Prosciutto w/ Basil

Recipe #6

Chicken Thighs Wrapped in Prosciutto w/ Basil (adapted from Rachael Ray):

Ingredients:

1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil, plus more for drizzling
2 large cloves garlic, peeled and very thinly sliced
1 package or bundle fresh basil

1 bundle fresh green onions
6 pieces good quality boneless, skinless chicken thighs, trimmed of fat
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
6 thin slices prosciutto di Parma
4 lemons cut in half

Directions: 

Preheat oven to 400F

Combine about 1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil and fresh squeezed lemon juice from the 4 lemons into a shallow dish.

Finely chop garlic cloves, basil leaves, and green onions and set aside.

Season the chicken pieces with salt and pepper to taste and dip chicken in the olive oil and lemon mixture. Turn to coat (I used my hands for this).

Spray your pan or tin foil. Once chicken is coated, lay the chicken open on the pan. Put basil, garlic, and green onions inside the chicken. 

Wrap the chicken pieces in prosciutto, placing green onions on top to garnish. Drizzle the chicken with more oil and grill for 12-15 minutes, turning occasionally.

I turned them after 10 minutes and they were ready after 15 minutes. Since the thighs are smaller, they don't take as long to cook.

We had roasted potatoes, zucchini, and squash with our chicken and topped our meal off with a bottle of Pinot Noir! 

Absolutely delish!

Enjoy!!!

Layered Greek Dip

Recipe #5 
This recipe was a HUGE hit at our Super Bowl Party! 

Layered Greek Dip

Ingredients:

2 large cucumbers

2 cans of sliced olives

2 packages of feta cheese

2 tubs of Tzatziki Cucumber Dill Yogurt Dip

1 package of cherry tomatoes 

2 containers of pita chips 

Directions: 

1. Cut cherry tomatoes in half, slice cucumbers, and drain olives.

2. First layer Yogurt Dip along the bottom of the bowl or dish you are using for the dip. 

3. Layer feta cheese ontop of yogurt dip. 

4. Ontop of yogurt and feta, layer cucumbers, tomatoes, and olives. 

5. Repeat until you have used all of the yogurt dip, feta, olives, cucumbers, and tomatoes.

6. Now it's ready to eat or be refridgerated for later! 

Enjoy with pita chips, carrots, or celery! 

Crescent Pepperoni Pizza Rolls

Recipe #4

One of my Super Bowl treats I made...

Crescent Pizza Rolls!!

Ingredients: 

1 can refrigerated crescent rolls

40 slices turkey pepperoni

4 pieces of low-fat mozzarella string cheese, cut in half

garlic powder

pizza sauce

This is the first time I made these and next time I will be adding tons of veggies and maybe some goat cheese! 

Directions:

Preheat oven to 375.

Unroll crescent rolls and separate into 8 triangles. 

 Place 5 slices of turkey pepperoni on each crescent roll.  

Top pepperoni with string cheese half and roll up.  

Sprinkle crescent rolls with garlic powder. 

 Place rolls on baking sheet and bake for 12-15 minutes, or until golden brown.  

Serve with a side of warm pizza sauce.

and...ENJOY! 

Kale Chips

Recipe #3

I don't know why I waited so long to make them...they are SUPER easy!

Ingredients:

1 Bunch of Fresh Kale

Extra Virgin Olive Oil

Balsamic Vinegar

Garlic Salt or Seasoning Salt

Directions:

1. Preheat  oven to 350 degrees F 
2. With a knife or kitchen shears carefully remove the leaves from the thick stems and tear into bite size pieces. Wash and thoroughly dry kale with a salad spinner or paper towel.
3.  Drizzle kale with olive oil, balsamic vinegar, and sprinkle with seasoning salt or garlic salt.
4. Bake until the edges brown but are not burnt, 7-9 minutes. 

Loaded Veggie Soup

Recipe # 2 of 2013...

Loaded Veggie Soup!

A perk of my job has been getting to know many of the families I work with on a personal basis. We often share recipes and this is one I had to share! It's the best veggie soup recipe I have ever tasted!

Ingredients:

1 Onion

3-4 Ribs of Celery

3 large Carrots 

2 Tsp Olive Oil

Italian Seasoning

1/3 Head of Cabbage

1 Zucchini

1 Squash

1 can of Chick Peas

Kale Greens

2 cans Diced Tomatos 

1 bottle of Low Sodium V8 Regular

1/2 bottle of V8 Spicy 

First: chop up the onion, celery, carrots, zucchini, and squash. Slice the cabbage and kale in thin strips. 

Second: saute all the veggies in 2 tbsp of olive oil until cooked through. 

Third: Once the veggies are cooked, pour the tomatoes and chick peas into the crock pot. Then add squash, zucchini, kale, cabbage, celery, carrots, and onion. 

Finally, pour in V8 juice, italian seasoning, and pepper to season. I only put half of the spicy V8 because I am not a fan of anything spicy.  If you are a fan of spicy, I would definitely suggest putting more in than just half the bottle. 

And....ENJOY!! 

Baked Eggplant Stacks

For my New Years resolution, I have found 52 new recipes to try throughout 2013.

Here's #1.....

Baked Eggplant Stacks

4-5 Servings

1 large eggplant
3 or 4 large tomatoes, to match the diameter of the eggplant
Crumbled feta OR goat cheese (Thanks Sam) 
1/2 cup fresh basil leaves
Juice of half lemon
2 garlic cloves
Extra-virgin olive oil
Kosher salt
Freshly ground black pepper to taste

Cut of the eggplant crosswise into ½” thick rounds. Lightly season them with salt and leave them for 30 minutes on a side to let water to come out of the eggplant.

Once ready drizzle olive oil on top of each slice and grill them on a lightly oiled baking pan for 3 minutes on each side. 

Blend the basil leaves with 4 tablespoons olive oil, 2 garlic cloves, lemon juice and 1 teaspoon salt in an immersion blender or food processor until smooth.

Cut the tomatoes crosswise to 1/4” thick rounds.

Lightly oil the baking pan. 

Arrange 4 eggplant rounds side by side. 

Spread 1/2 tablespoon of the basil-garlic mixture on top of each one, then generously sprinkle feta crumbs. 

Top each with tomato rings. Add another layer of eggplant, basil spread, feta and tomato rounds and top with the rest of the crumbled feta.

Tip:  I used feta for my recipe; HOWEVER, courtesy of the suggestion from Sam, I would highly suggest using goat cheese instead. The feta cheese didn't melt as much as the goat cheese would have. 

Preheat the oven to 400F.

Drizzle some olive oil or balsamic vinegar on top of each stack and bake for 15 minutes and enjoy!!