Kale Caesar Chicken Salad with Tater Tot Croutons

Howdy.

So this isn't a recipe, but more of an idea that really works for my family. Maybe it will work for you too, as the summer comes to a close and you still don't want to eat something heavy. I eat salad all the time - honestly like 6 times a week I have a salad for either lunch or dinner. Salad is my friend. It keeps the scale happy and its cold perfect summer food. Getting more veggies into my family hasn't been so easy until I came across this idea. These large juicy chunks of chicken, and crunchy tater tots that my family loves turn this idea into a fun and filling meal. Dipping tater tots into ketchup and ranch is only a stepping stone from having them dipped into a bit of caesar dressing. Its ranch with an attitude :) 

My last sandwich recipe was how to turn a chicken caesar salad into a sub and it was awesome. This time I am playing with the original caesar salad idea, by switching up the greens and croutons. Instead of romaine lettuce and I am using baby organic kale. Instead of crunchy croutons I am using tater tots. Yes tater tots in the salad. It will taste similar to dipping french fries into ranch dressing. Its good I promise. Plus it will get your kids excited about eating more veggies. 

So this isn't a super healthy meal if are looking for non processed stuff. It uses store bought tater tots and salad dressing, but its refreshing, tasty, and great lighter summer meal. Processed foods are a give and take thing my house. Especially when my husband is working nights, I am trying to feed the kids and myself alone, and the little crawling one is crawling and getting into everything, and I am still exhausted from the night before's little one waking up because he wants more milk.... yada yada yada.  #betterthanfastfood #morecoffeeplease

Ingredient list (extremely flexible)

Cooked Chicken, leftovers, store bought, or just crockpot some chicken breasts ( half per person) with some water covering the chicken, salt, pepper, squirt of lemon juice, one smashed garlic clove or a tsp of garlic powder on high for 3-4 hrs or low for 6-8 hours. 

Kale Casear Salad kit from the store  OR  1- 1& 1/2 cups of baby kale per person and some bottled caesar salad dressing- any kind. I just bought a bottle that was on sale. 

3-4 cherry tomatoes per person or omit if you don't care of them. They are good for color and nutrition.

A small or large handful shredded or grated parm cheese or romano if want to go fancy or just a diff taste per person. I used about 1/2 cup I think total. Just buy real cheese not the stuff on the shelf that is loaded with preservatives that doesn't need to be refrigerated. 

Tater tots or potato rounds (whatever you call them where you are)

Directions:

Slice the cherry tomatoes in half

Cook the tater tots until they extra extra crispy ( I do an extra 5 minutes)

Dress the kale with the caesar dressing. Kale is a tougher veg than typical romaine and can hold up to the dressing and won't wilt right away so feel free to do this first and your salad will still be crunchy at the end.

Dice or shred up the chicken

Assemble the plates putting the tater tots on top of the salad

Eat!


Enjoy this simple dinner idea from my Az kitchen. I hope it works for your family and gives your kiddos a new appreciation for salad as a main course or at least gets some kale into those cute little stomaches.

Stephanie

Creamy Roast Beef Grilled Cheese Sandwiches

Lunch time on Saturdays is usually a family event at my house, but totally dependent upon my little hungry one's nap time. Funny how that works. He doesn't even eat lunch with us but yeah. Sometimes its an early lunch at 11am but can be as late as 2pm. Lately we have been eating a bit early because we have 8 am soccer games to go to and by the time noon comes around everyone is hungry. To break up the monotony I grabbed a fun grilled cheese sandwich idea from pintrest. I heart pintrest. 

So lets chat about this creamy smoky grilled cheese sandwich. This hearty sandwich filled with cheese and roast beef is bursting with flavor! I can't remember the last time I put 1/4 lb of deli meat on a sandwich before. After grilling it, it had some serious weight! And my usual one slice of cheese was upgraded to 8 small slices of cheese with this recipe. What a big difference! But it was so good and I was definately full afterwards. Going to keep this sandwich recipe in my back pocket for camping, hiking, and days that create hungry appetites. The thick bread toasted nicely producing that great crunch everyone person wants when biting into a perfect grilled cheese sandwich. While the crunch contrasted the soft creamy cheese, the unexpected earthy sage, smoky cheese, and tender roast beef all worked in harmony together. Despite the strong favors, the sandwich as a whole, was completely balanced. I was amazed. It was like the first time I put cranberries on my turkey sandwich thinking I was going to ruin it but it so increased the depth of flavors.  I made the recipe more family friendly by cutting out the most time consuming ingredient (caramelized onions) from the original recipe making it an easy lunch idea. I hope you enjoy it as much as we did. It creates a memorable lunch! 

The original recipe is from Running to the Kitchen a food blog with great pictures. 

Makes 2 Sandwiches

Cook time approx 5-10 minutes

Ingredients:

4 pieces of good quality whole wheat bread (or your favorite sturdy bread)

butter

a piece of foil

super thinly sliced gouda cheese (4 oz - this was half of a package for me)

1/2 lb of thinly sliced roast beef

1/4 tsp ground sage (divided)

Directions:

1. Heat your pan. I used a indoor cast-iron grill pan. I love the sear marks it gives. 

2. Butter two pieces of bread and lay them butter side down on the warming pan. 

3. Layer the roast beef and cheese on top of both pieces until you have used all the meat and cheese. Make sure the top layer is cheese. 

4. Sprinkle the sage over the top piece of cheese. 

5. Butter the last two pieces of bread and top the sandwiches with them. Butter side up. 

6. Cook for several minutes over medium heat until you see a nice toasted bottom piece of bread. Give it a peek every couple minutes. 

7. Flip and put a heavy pan or plate on top of the sandwiches to finish cooking. This helps the sandwiches to compress and heat all the way through. Sandwiches should be hot and both sides equally toasted. 

Note: Turn down the heat if the bread is getting too dark and use foil if needed in the shape of a tent to capture some of the heat to melt the cheese. 

Serve with raw crunchy veggies, tomato soup, chips, or your favorite lunch time snacks

Easy Peasy Lemon Squeezey

Lunch done. 

I need an easy button

Until next time from my Az Kitchen

The Un-Canned (Childhood) Chicken Noodle Soup

So being pregnant for the first time has me really reminiscing about childhood and missing my mom who lives a zillion miles away, or 1500 miles. And her food. We have driven it a couple times. It feels like a zillion miles away especially with a toddler. Being prego also reminds me a ton of food I used to eat growing up.

Some of those memories have turned into baby food cravings. I call them that because I am craving foods I usually don't eat or haven't eaten in years like cereal, sandwiches, milkshakes, onion rings, potato chips, ect. Thank goodness some of these cravings are short lived! Lol. Although the onion ring one was fun. But, some foods I can't give into like that old comforting can of yellow liquidity chicken noodle soup from my childhood no matter how it beckons me. Those long thing white noodles I used to slurp up with the tiny uniform pieces of chicken... it doesn't make sense to my head but I want to eat it so bad. But I can't knowingly buy it after reading the label. So in effort to please my tongue, taste buds, and this growing little fig inside me I am making my own chicken noodle soup... ahem...  minus the food coloring and other chemical additives that help sustain its canned life on the shelf. Now if I could only stay away from the potato chips ;) 

The Un- Canned Chicken Noodle Soup 

Great meal for people with kids, people without kids, a great way to use up leftover chicken, or anyone that has had a baby or been sick. 

Serves 3-5 people comfortably or 3-4 normal people and 1 prego 

Ingredient list: 
10 cups of water
1 quart of chicken broth (step 1 will create this) 
1 bay leaf
1 1/2 tsp kosher course salt
1/2 tsp course black pepper
1 Tbs dried parsley 
1/2 tsp curry powder
1 chicken breast, trimmed/removed any visible fat  
1 stick/rib of celery, super finely diced 
1 whole carrot, super finely diced
1/4 of an yellow onion, super finely diced
1/4 of a box of whole wheat angel hair pasta 

Directions:

1. Poach the chicken in a large pot to cook the chicken and create a quart of chicken broth. Put one whole chicken breast into 8 cups of water with 1/2 tsp salt, the bay leaf, and all the parsley. Let it come to a boil and simmer it for approx 20- 30 minutes until its completely cooked. 

2. Finely chop veggies and set them aside

3. When chicken is cooked through. Let it cool down in the broth. 

4.  Fish out the chicken with a spoon and strain the broth to get the parsley out and anything else. Should look smooth and liquidity just like the stuff in the can. 

5. If you have time and are making this ahead.... go ahead and throw the broth in the fridge to remove any additional fat. It will rise to the surface in a white solid and you can just scoop it off. No biggie if you can't. I didn't. 

6. Bring the broth back to a simmer and throw the veggies in and let them cook until almost softened 5-7 minutes. Add in the rest of the seasonings, and water (3 cups). Stir to combine. 

7. Bring the entire pot of soup back to a boil before adding your pasta. Cook it to the al dente time as stated on your box. Mine was 3 minutes.  Meanwhile, cut up the chicken into tiny cubes and throw them back into to reheat. 

8. Once the noodles are done the soup is done.  Serve it hot with rolls, biscuits, saltine crackers or just plain. This totally reminded me of the canned soup I grew up. 


My whole family loved it. I hope you like it too. I think I surprised my son by slurping up some noodles with him. Everyone had huge grins on their faces. I need to add a bit more salt to mine, but everything else was spot on. I had forgotten how salty canned soup is. I loved that because I finely chopped the veggies they didn't make the soup chunky. It was a compromise between making the best version of the original canned soup and the nutritional value from a chunkier vegetable chicken noodle soup. 

Stephanie

Smoky Garlic - Chipotle Tomato Soup & Grilled Cheese

It is the end of the year. December has flown by! I have probably said that already a dozen times. Despite the fast pace of life, somehow the beginning of the week always crawls by. I was doing yard work in the front this morning... exhausting. It feels good to have gotten out there with the trimmer and blower/sucker up thingy. As a result though I really needed something good for lunch. Something warm, inviting, comforting, nutritious.... Which is why I am SO thankful for this recipe adapted from Heather at Farmgirl Gourmet. Her food is yummy. Click on over there. To speed things up and make the beginning of the week more fun -  create something memorable with this classic soup + sandwich combo. There is a million ways to make this classic soup, but I must say adding chipotles give it the perfect smoky heat to complement fire roasted tomatoes. 

Note: Go ahead and grab a can of chipotles. Use what you need, and freeze the rest. They freeze beautifully in a freezer plastic bag and are easier to chop and drop into other recipes later without defrosting. 

serves 3 adults

prep + cook time approx 35 minutes

Ingredients:
2 cloves of garlic, chopped
1 1/2 cups of diced onion (half of a large one or 1 small one)
2 - 14.5 oz cans of fire roasted canned tomatoes
1/2 cup of half and half
1 cup of water
1/2 cup of red pasta sauce or tomato sauce 
(click here for a homemade recipe)
2 chipotle chili peppers, chopped
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp olive oil
1 oz cream cheese - although I don't think this added much will omit next time


Directions:
1. Saute the onion and garlic together in a medium saucepan
2. When they are browned and softened (about 4-5 minutes) add in the tomato, tomato sauce, water, and peppers. Bring it to a boil. Cover. Reduce heat and simmer for 25 minutes.
3. Blend it in batches (being careful because its hot). Return it to the original pot and over low heat whisk in the cream cheese and half & half. Let it heat through (about 3-5 minutes - turning the heat up to medium if needed). 
4. Taste it and add the salt if needed or more to taste. 


Enjoy with a yummy cheesy grilled cheese. I did one slice of baby swiss cheese and two slices of Colby jack on whole wheat with my soup. 

From my kitchen to yours

Enjoy the last few days of 2013

Pepper Turkey, Bacon Apple, Grilled Cheese Sandwiches: Fall in a Sandwich

It would be safe to say that my favorite sandwiches are always the ones with either bacon or cheese or both. So when I came across this sandwich with both bacon, cheese with a green crisp apple I knew I wanted it. To me apples are one of signs that fall has arrived. Apple pie = fall, apple desserts = fall, apple picking = fall. It makes sense to me.

Now there is a whole food idea with combining cheese + apples together. This is not a new trend. Some people will go as far as adding cheddar to their apple pie. This baffles me even growing up in the state that's known for apples. Yet after tasting fresh apple in this oozy, gooey cheesy sandwich I think I have a glimmer of what they are talking about.

Does apples really go in a sandwich though? I would yes but not without reservations. For example when my son bit into his lovely sandwich, even though the apple was thinly sliced, the entire apple slice fell out. Things had trouble staying within the bread. The fall flavors tasted so good together so I wouldn't delete the apple despite the logistics of eating falling food. Next time I will try grating the apple onto the sandwich, so every bite can have a bit of apple.  Second the massive ingredient list.... turkey, cheese, apple, bacon - that's a lot of ingredients. Won't it fall apart. Nope. I used a very steady strong sourdough bread. By grilling it or making a grilled cheese the bread toasted and was very useful in holding it together.

There are so many apples but I think granny smith is the right one for this job because effectively breaks up the richness of the bacon and cheese with it's tart fresh taste. Even if you don't like sour things this will be perfectly refreshing. To offset any overwhelming sourness I slipped in a few sweet slices of pear. If you didn't know it was in there you would think it was just another part of the apple. It just adds another depth of flavor.

Trade in the classic grilled cheese for this little fall cousin for lunch or dinner. For my family this was a very nice easy filling dinner served up with some salad, chips, and the remaining pear and apple slices. The original recipe, from a Martha Stewart Living Magazine (Jan 2013) still sounds good. I might have to try it. Or just make another one my way with the peppery turkey, sour apple, bit of sweet pear melted cheese cooked in the bacon drippings as it might be better.

To make two Sandwiches you'll need: 

2- 4 pieces of sourdough bread (depending on the size of loaf)

4 slices of deli pepper turkey

3 slices of pepper bacon
1 green granny smith apple, cut into very thin slices

1 pear (not a typo) cut into very thin slices

4 slices of cheddar, mild (sharp would taste good too), cut into halves

1. Fry up 4 strips of bacon in a large skillet, saving the drippings

2. Once the bacon is cooked to a crisp, pat the bacon down with a paper towel. Remove about half of the drippings form the skillet and turn the heat to low. 

3. Build your sandwiches in this order: bread, half slice of cheese, 1 1/2 slices of bacon, half slice of cheese, 2 slices of pepper turkey, half of slice of cheese, 3 thin slices of pear, 3 thin slices of apple, half of slice of cheese. By cutting the cheese pieces into halves I found that despite the many ingredients when they melted it was easier for the sandwich to hold the layers together than if the cheese was in larger pieces confined to the outer edges of the sandwiches.

4. Put your fall time sandwiches in the same skillet or on a grill the bacon was cooked in.... cook them until the outside is golden brown and the cheese is melted. Approx 5-10 minutes depending the temperature. To insure my grilled cheese melted all the way through I cooked mine with a heavy salad plate and a can of fruit pressing down on the top, flattening the sandwich like an sandwich/panini press.

Serve with salad, fruit, or chips for an easy lunch or dinner

Enjoy fall!

From my kitchen to yours

Bacon Zucchini Chili & Book Review

Bacon is dynamic. It can turn any mundane entree into something spectacular and memorable. Bacon is a popular thing to find on pintrest, and on most blogs including mine. Recently, I read a library book titled Bacon: A love Story by Heather Lauer, . I wanted to share the book with you because it made an impact on me. It's always fun to find a cookbook. But it's a surprise to find a cookbook and good recipes within a book. This is one of those. You can acquire it easily on amazon if you search the author's name. Please note I have never met, nor heard of the author before, and am not receiving anything for reviewing this book. I just love eating bacon, and the book looked interesting. 

Book review: I give it a "B-". It is an easy read, high school reading level, easy font, with minimal illustrations. Lauer's book is 100+ pages, and took me about a week to finish reading at a moderate speed. The pace and feel of the book is slow, perhaps due to the disorganized feel of the chapters, and repetition of similar information. I didn't feel compelled like some novels to not move until it was finished. But neither did I stop reading because I liked the fun facts, and the historical anecdotes that made me laugh. It was a relaxing read, something that didn't require my intent 110% concentration. We all need mini literary vacations. Lauer's book goes into deep insightful descriptions of the pork smoking process with real quotes from smaller family owned operations, and obtains bacon recipes from real hotels, shops, and restaurants from all over the country! Most of the recipes scattered throughout the book looked great, although about 50% seemed inapplicable to me, because of the lack of family friendly-ness. Many recipes seemed a bit too elevated or elegant for my little family and country cooking. I strive for good family recipes in real life and my blog. If you are curious about bacon at all, you should read this! But warning - you may find yourself buying more bacon the next time you go shopping as a result. After reading it I bought peppered bacon for the first time ever. Peppered bacon is so good, I had no idea, and I have this fun book to thank! 

As with most bacon lovers, I don't think bacon can be overdone. My best experiences to date with bacon have been bacon cinnamon rolls with maple frosting from Dorothy at Crazy for Crust, an epic egg topped, maple syrup candied bacon cheeseburger, homemade bacon mayo, and now this super yummy, flavorful, and non spicy bacon zucchini chili. I feel bad for always making my chili rather heated so I really made sure this one was toned down. Turns out that because I toned down the heat, the flavors really came out swinging. This new recipe is now tied with my other favorite chili, the yummy apple chipotle one I did last fall. Chili is such good, fall, cold weather, football food. I need to make that again :) 

Here's what you need to make my Bacon Zucchini Chili 

(inspired by Lauer's book)

serves 6-10 depending on portion sizes

 freezes beautifully

cook + prep = 30-45 minutes

Ingredients:
3 1/2 cups low sodium beef broth
1/2 Tbs chili powder
3 cloves of garlic, minced
1 medium white onions, finely diced
2 cans of organic black beans (15oz each)
2 medium zucchinis diced to size of your personal preference or shredded (mine measured out to be 2 cups worth)
1/4 tsp smoked paprika
1/4 tsp ground cinnamon
5 pieces of pepper bacon (little less than half a package)
1/2 lb of ground beef
2 dried bay leaves
2 cans of fire roasted tomatoes (15oz or approx)
1/2 Tbs Mexican dried oregano
1 orange, scrubbed, and cut in half (adds special touch)
2 cups red veggie sauce (click on title for recipe)
1 Tbs kosher salt
1 1/2 Tbs ground cumin

5 Easy Directions:

Step 1: In a very large pot cook the bacon. Drain half of the fat out. 

Step 2: To the pot add the garlic and onion and saute them in the remaining bacon fat. 

Step 3: When the onions are translucent, add in everything else except the beans. Simmer covered for 30 minutes covered over medium low. I added my red pasta veggie sauce straight from the freezer & freezer bag since there is enough liquid in the recipe help it defrost quickly in the large pot. 

Step 4: Drain the beans and rinse extra salt off. Add them to the pot. Remove the bay leaves and the orange halves. 

Step 5: Taste and adjust seasonings as needed. Serve once the beans are hot. 

Good sides: crackers, corn bread, corn on the cob

Fun chili toppings: oyster crackers, fresh green onion, green peppers, green chilies, diced jalapenos, sour cream, fresh tomatoes, shredded cheddar or pepper jack cheese for a kick

I apologize I don't have more than 1 picture for this recipe. It was so easy and most of it was just dumped into 1 pot thus multiple pictures seemed redundant. 

Hope you enjoy this easy fall/football meal! 

from my kitchen to yours

Whole Wheat Three Cheese Kale & Sausage French Bread Pizza

We have been doing pizza pretty regularly since football started 4 1/2 weeks or so ago. I am hanging in my fantasy football league but beginning to HATE my defensive line/special team. Never EVER picking the Giants again. Sigh. okay. food. Pizza. Please ignore that. It was a tough weekend for me.  

If you, like me have never had kale on pizza before you might be pleasantly surprised. Honestly, my husband tolerated it, but my son and I ate it just fine. Actually, I thought it was amazing. But I eat green veggies all the time so warning to those this may be an acquired taste. Heck though if I could get my family to eat one of these pizzas twice a football season I think I would be feeling really good as a mom. 

This is one of the really approachable recipes because it starts with a store item = french bread. With the three melted cheeses, and crumbled sausage bits, and crunchy bread it might become one of your favorite pizzas too.  Dinner done in 20 minutes isn't a bad way to go either. Recipe was adapted from September 2012 Everyday Rachael Ray magazine. I used a different set of cheeses and made it a bit more family friendly. This is recipe number 13 of my challenge to make 30 Rachael Ray recipes. 

Ingredient list:
1 loaf of whole wheat french bread
1 lb of lean pork sausage
1/2 cup of red sauce (or your favorite pizza sauce)
1 oz thinly sliced or grated parm (about 1 handful)
2 oz of smoked Gouda cheese thinly sliced (about 8 thin slices)
1 cup of shredded mozzarella cheese
4 large kale leaves (stems removed)
2 Tbs chopped fresh thyme
salt & pepper (see below for amounts)
1/2-1 tsp oil 

Step 1:  In a large pot bring water and the kale to a boil. You want the water to be barely touching the kale about half way. Add 1/2 tsp salt. Cook it for 2 minutes on medium with a steady simmer of bubbles. 

Step 2: While kale is cooking. Grab a bowl and fill it with ice and water. You are going to immediately transfer the cooked kale to the bowl with a slotted spoon to stop the cooking process. Blot it with some paper towels or wring it out in paper towels to remove excess water. Set it aside.

Step 3: Preheat your oven to 400. 

Step 4: Cook your sausage with 1/2-1 tsp of oil and 1/2 tsp salt and 1/4 tsp pepper. Should take about 5-6 minutes using a spoon or spatula to crumble it into small pieces. Have a paper towel lined plate to transfer it to, to cool slightly before adding it to the top of the pizza. 

Step 5:  Cut your loaf of bread open and place on a baking sheet. Start layering your ingredients on both sides. Spread the pizza sauce. Sprinkle the grated or sliced parm. Layer the sliced Gouda next approx 4 pieces per loaf. Layer the kale next slightly pulling it apart into pieces for easier eating. When the sausage is done, add that to the top of the kale. The mozzarella cheese & thyme is last but not least. The fresh thyme really is a fall smell for me and brings everything together. 

Step 6. Bake for about 10 minutes until it is golden, bubbly, and delicious looking.  Let it cool slightly before serving. 

Enjoy football and fall :) 

Happy pizza/veggie eating 

from my kitchen to yours

Pumpkin Spinach Quesadillas (Rachael Ray Recipe # 4 of 30)

Hello fall. Its pumpkin time again!! So are you enjoying the fall season so far? I totally am. This is the 2nd pumpkin recipe I have tried! Super excited to eat all things pumpkin again. I have been watching tons of football, starting to not need my a.c. so much, and enjoying being outside at the park again with my kiddo. Yay for cooler weather! Speaking of football I have something perfect for sitting and eating at your next game (or sitting, eating, and yelling at the giants defense). Don't ask it was a rough week in fantasy football land. 

Pumpkin. Spinach. Cheesy Quesadillas. Having a spinach and cheese quesadillas would be healthy or just having a pumpkin quesadilla would be healthy but this combines both powerhouse veggies into one inviting cheesy meal. The diverse textures such as melted cheese, fresh veggies slightly softened to a tender crisp, and a small crunch from the walnuts give your taste buds a change from the ordinary. This is something fun, cheesy, you can eat with your hands. It can't get much better than that, right?

When I say quick I mean like 10-15 minutes and you're eating. This recipe was an emergence from a Rachael Ray recipe from her October 2012 issue Everyday and from the blog Taste For Life. I liked several aspects of both so I came up with this unusually tasty gem. The textures in this dish are so much fun.... cheesy melted cheese, fresh veggies, and a small crunch from the walnuts. 

Makes 2 large Quesadillas - Serves 2-4 depending on appetites - 16 wedges
Cook time: approximately 10 minutes

Ingredients:

1/2 cup canned pumpkin (make sure its only pumpkin not the pie mix)

1/4 cup packed fresh baby spinach

1/4 cup walnuts, toasted in a dry pan for a few minutes over medium

2 oz of low moisture mozzarella cheese, shredded (about 2 handfuls) or more

1 green onion

1/2 tsp Mexican oregano (regular oregano is okay too)

4 large or burrito size tortillas 

1 chicken breast, flattened or use 1 cup of chopped leftover chicken
1/2 tsp ground cumin

Directions:

1. Mix the the pumpkin, oregano, and cumin together in a bowl. 

2. Lay two of the 4 tortillas down and begin to layer the ingredients. First spread out the pumpkin mixture. Second sprinkle half of the shredded cheese on both tortillas. Third layer the sliced green onion, toasted walnuts, and fresh spinach. Note in the picture above I didn't even cut my baby spinach... just washed it and was good to go.

3. If you have leftover chicken shred it and put it on top of each tortilla next. If you don't have any leftovers, poach 1 chicken breast in 1/2-1 cup of water for about 6 minutes each side or use leftover chicken until it is well down. Let it rest for a minute and thinly slice the chicken. Place it over the spinach.

4. Top the chicken with the remaining cheese to act like glue and hold it together. Put the remaining tortilla on top like a sandwich.

5. Use two hands or a spatula to set the fully layered tortillas into a quesadilla maker on a flat skillet. and cook until golden brown and cheese is melted. Flip once if using a skillet. Sometimes even putting a dinner plate & a can of something from the pantry on top of the quesadilla while it cooks on a skillet helps compact the ingredients so the cheese binds things together faster.  

6. Cut into wedges and serve with some chips, salsa, &/or guacamole

Lets get into the fall spirit with a fun easy meal 

everyone will enjoy. 

From my kitchen to yours

The trouble with Cooking and Blogging + Recipe #3 Rosemary Leek & Yellow Squash Soup

I have been cooking and baking a lot lately. Part of it has to do with summer ending and my freezer looking empty, the abundance of pumpkin, squash, & zucchini lookin' so good at the grocery store, or this little contest about cooking/baking 30 Rachael Ray recipes in 30 days. So yes lot of cooking.... 

I am constantly trying new recipes so this isn't a huge change from my family but blogging AND cooking AND trying to keep up with the dishes (yeah some reality there) is a bit more exhausting than I may have previously realized. Although it does seem pairing down my huge stack of cooking magazines in my kitchen with recipes that I keep saying 'I will try someday'. But I am only on day 3 errr recipe 3, and I already see a potential problem.... what if the recipe I make doesn't turn out. How is a person supposed to blog about something that was good or okay. I want to blog about the best bites.... those bites that you can remember days, months, years later. So in other words, I have a new found respect for those amazing cookbook writers that have deadlines and cooking competing each other. 

My plan this morning was to write about the pumpkin bread I made, but only moments after I had sliced the warm pumpkin-y bread I heard my husband ask if the we had any of that "other bread" still. Sigh. He's talking about a delish zucchini coffee cake I made a week ago that didn't even last a whole 24 hrs. (click on the title to see the recipe). I thought the warm, buttered, golden colored pumpkin bread was good, but it created enough doubt to make me rethink my blogging plans. Darn. 

So plan B. Do I have a plan B? Yes by accident. Thanks for asking. I made a new soup recipe for lunch. Fall is the perfect season for soup. This light, creamy, veggie filled, soup is easy, and only 5 ingredients, and is done in less than 15 minutes. I found the original recipe in an August 2007 issue of Everyday, modifying a cold summer soup into a fall soup with a touch more of flavor from dried herbs, warm broth a little less fat than the original. 

Rosemary Leek & Yellow Squash Soup

Serves 4

Ingredients:

3 Tb organic butter, unsalted

1 leek, washed and chopped

1/2 cup of half & half

3 cups homemade or store bought chicken stock/broth

3/4 lb of yellow squash, chopped (2 or 3)

salt & pepper to taste (I started with 1/4 tsp salt, 1/8 tsp pepper)

1 tsp dried rosemary, crushed

Directions:

1. Over medium heat saute the leek and squash pieces in the butter for about 10 minutes until it is tender. 

2. Add in the cream and bring it to a boil 

3. Remove from heat, use an immersion blender or a blender or food processor to puree the mixture. 

4. Return it back to the stove. Add in the seasonings and the chicken broth. 

5. Taste and adjust seasonings. Heat through and serve with crackers or toast. 

Enjoy fall with yummy healthy creamy soup

From my kitchen to yours!

P.S. If you have a good pumpkin bread recipe please a leave a link in the comments below - will be needing one or will be making a lot of zucchini coffee cake in the my future (oh darn)

related soup recipes:
Simple Tomato Soup
Tomato Basil Hidden Veggie Soup
Classic Butternut Squash Soup

30 Rachael Ray Recipes in 30 days: Avocado Tuna Bacon Salad

To celebrate the start of fall this year and to create a new challenge I am going to cook & blog 30 new (to me) Rachael Ray recipes over the next 30 days. I have been a long time fan of Rachael Ray's recipes so I am only going to focus on things I haven't made, fit the lovely fall season, and is football worthy food Trust me when I say I have stacks of her magazines and printed recipes from many different shows that are years old. I promise to find the good ones to share with you. Cooking magazine stacks....... does anyone else know what I am talking about here? 

I picked Racheal Ray, despite many of the good celebrity chefs, because I love her creativity. She does focus a little on meatless meals, cooking with veggies, and makes family friendly stuff. Making family friendly, family approachable meals is so important to me because I am not one of those parents that cooks up frozen kid meals while I make something else for myself. While, I let my hubby and son get away with a few things like commercialized cereal at breakfast, or an occasional handful of sugar covered/yogurt covered pretzels at lunch, in our house, at dinner everyone eats the same thing. Some things are harder than others because of my son's small hands... like a huge open faced sandwich is a difficult maneuver. But its been that way since we adopted our little guy and it works. If you don't cook for your whole family at dinner time, it might be worth considering that this could be a fun new experience for you. Not because it would save you time and money by not having to cook two separate meals, but to create new family experiences together. 

Please come on this fun trip over the next 30 days. Check back everyday and see if you might find something good to eat too. 

Anyways... to start off this fun challenge and if you need another reason to cook bacon here is my version of an avocado tuna bacon salad with homemade bacon mayo. The mayo, which has been adapted to fit into this beautiful tuna salad, originally was a make ahead meal for buttermilk fried chicken coleslaw sandwiches. The sandwich was good. I would probably make it again, but the clear winner of that dinner was this mayo. It was unforgettable!! Please click on the title above to see the original recipe.

Note: anything with bacon should have an explanation point

my salad... forgot to put the bacon before the picture... got distracted by the avocado... ooops! 

When you add this little condiment to your tuna, you are able to create a tuna salad that is so elevated, it lands in another stratosphere. Additionally you can use this condiment on sandwiches with the same results. No more boring tuna and no more boring lunch time sandwiches. 

Ingredients for one salad 
(double as needed): 

2 cups of romaine lettuce, cleaned and chopped
1 roma tomato, sliced
1/2 sliced avocado
1/2- 1 full cucumber chopped (depending how much you like cucumber) 
1 green onion, sliced green & white parts
1 can of tuna, drained
1/4-1/2 cup of mayo
2 Tbs of secret sauce (recipe below)
2 pieces of bacon, pan fried to a crisp and chopped into pieces

Directions for salad:

1. Cut up all washed veggies into a bowl or plate.

2. Combine the tuna, mayo and secret sauce in a small bowl.

3. Taste the tuna and add salt and pepper if needed. 

4. Top the fresh veggies with the tuna for a large adult salad

5. Garnish the salad with the silky buttery avocado and crunchy salty bacon chunks

Ingredients for secret sauce  

(makes approx 1- 1& 1/2 cups)
The sauce is good for 1 week covered and kept cold. 

2 slices of bacon, pan fried in 1 tsp olive oil, drippings kept

1 tsp grainy country dijon mustard

1 Tbs lemon juice

2 egg yolks 

2 tsp rice wine vinegar

1/2 cup olive oil

1/2 tsp salt

1/2 tsp taco seasoning store bought or click here for a recipe

Directions for sauce: 

1. Separate your eggs yolks.

2. Fry up your bacon. Keep the drippings. 

3. Cut the bacon into small pieces after cooled on a paper towel. 

4. Whisk everything together except the oil, bacon, and drippings. 

5. Slowly drizzle in the olive oil while still whisking. Add in the bacon drippings and the bacon chunks. 

6. Set aside covered. It will thicken up within 5-10 minutes. It will be a thick spreadable mayo like sauce after cooling in the fridge.

There it is. Most incredible tuna salad ever! 

Many more recipes to come all inspired by Rachael Ray. 

from my kitchen to yours

Taco Salad with sugar free, flour free, smoky taco seasoning

I recently posted about taco seasoning mix so I figured perhaps I should do a small little thing about taco salad. Taco salad made with chicken or beef is probably one of my top 5 favorite foods ever. One of these days I should do it with fish :)

Growing up we had tacos all the time. Its one of those foods I can't count how many times I have had. It was a staple. I can close my eyes and picture my family eating them. Good times. Each kid was given some sort of taco prep task like chopping up lettuce or shredding the cheese - way before I knew you could buy shredded cheese. There was 4 of us which now makes me wonder if that was to get more help around the house. 

Anyways, as an adult I still love the flavors of tacos but don't really want the carbs that like to come with them. Tacos have like carb groupies... they seem to always be followed by rice and beans. I do like rice and beans but all those carbs spell bad things for my stomach when I eat them together in one meal. So to make it work for my life style I loose the carbs and end up eating it in salad form. Same great taste just different. It helps that the taco seasoning is wheat free, flour free, cornstarch free, sugar free - so I can even eat it while on a diet. It is healthy, easy, and yummy. Since I have no other excuses to explain my behavior I may need to talk to someone about this taco salad addiction. Until then... here's my recipe so you can join me :) 

My favorite way to make a taco salad: 

Beef taco salad:
1.Start cooking 1/4 lb of defrosted, lean, ground beef in a 1/4 cup of water over medium heat. 
2. After 2-3 minutes add in 1/2 chopped onion and half of red or green pepper finely diced. Saute them in the water/fat rendering off the meat. 
3. When the meat is browned, looks light brown (maybe 3-4 mintues later) and the water is evaporated, add in 1 Tbs of oil.  Then add 1-2 Tbs of taco seasoning plus 1/4 cup of water to really get that caramelized, darker color, and yummy crispy texture thick meaty taco sauce. 
4. Stir the seasoning in well. Bring the meat mixture to a boil. Reduce heat to low. Cook 2-3 minutes and its done. 
5. Serve meat hot or cold over fresh crisp salad.


Chicken Taco Salad: 
1. Start cooking up the usually half of a chicken breast flattened a bit for even cooking in 1/2 cup of water over medium heat. Bring it to a boil. 
2. Continoue to poach the chicken until it is completely cooked through. Should be 8-10 minutes depending on its thickness. Half way through boiling time add in 1-2 Tbs of the best taco seasoning in the world. 
3. Internal temp of chicken breast should be 160. Let the chicken rest for a few minutes before slicing. 
4. While the meat is cooking I chop my veggies. The list of veggies for each salad varies based on whats good at the store that week and what I have left after a week of salads... but it usually looks something like this:

• 1-2 cups Fresh baby spinach or romaine lettuce, chopped
• a handful 5-7 cherry or grape tomatoes, halved
• a carrot peeled into the salad for sweetness
• 1 stalk of celery
• l handful of cilantro chopped
• handful of sprouts
• 2-3 radishes, thinly sliced
• half or a whole avocado, sliced (depending on what I had for breakfast) 
• 1/4-1/2 cup of cheddar cheese, shredded (optional)
• occasional extra piece of grilled corn will end up in the salad as well.... not a bad reason for grabbing an extra piece of corn on the cob at the store.

Top the salad with yummy combo of 1/2 cup of mild salsa and 1/4 cup of plain organic Greek yogurt or organic sour cream.

Serve the salad with a very large glass of ice water. Resist the urge to garnish it with yummy leftover chips from Monday night or Thursday night football games. Stay healthy! 

Eat well. Enjoy my favorite food. 

From my kitchen to yours.