Whole wheat chicken salad wrap

Got the recipe for this chicken salad off allrecipes.com and put it inside these awesome whole wheat wraps I've been buying at Walmart; they're called "Extreme Wellness Whole Wheat Tortilla Wrap" and they are soo good!

I didn't follow the measurements exactly on the ingredients below--I kind of eyeballed it and adjusted to the amount of chicken I had and according to our taste, but it's an easy recipe to throw together.

Ingredients:

2 1/2 C diced cooked chicken (I used white meat canned chicken)

4 bacon strips, cooked & crumbled

1/2 C thinly sliced celery

1 C halved green grapes (I used red)

3/4 C mayo or salad dressing

1 TBS dried parsley flakes

2 tsp finely minced onion (I used red onion)

1 tsp lemon juice

1 dash of Worcestershire sauce

S&P to taste

I also added in some chopped pecans

Directions:

Combine all ingredients in a large bowl--mix it up & serve it inside the whole wheat wraps. Slice diagonally in half & serve; goes well with string cheese & grapes.

Chicken, Black Bean & Rice Bowl

Made this tonight-it was easy and yummy; here's what I did:

Made Lisa F's spanish rice (posted on here earlier)...although I will say that I upped the salt & cumin to 1 tsp instead of the half that was on the original to give it more flavor and that is the way to go! Anyway, made this rice & let it simmer while cooking the rest.

Ingredients:

boneless, skinless chicken breast, diced

taco seasoning packet

onion, diced

bell pepper, diced (I used red & yellow because I had it on hand, but any would work)

1 can black beans, drained & rinsed

chopped cilantro

In a large skillet I sautéed in olive oil the onion, bell pepper & diced up chicken. I sprinkled half of the packet of taco seasoning over this, stirring frequently & let it cook until the chicken was no longer pink and onions/bell pepper were soft. Then I added in the black beans & cilantro and mixed it all together, serving it over the spanish rice. Yumm-o!

Jalapeno Steak Salad

I got the idea for this dish from a place I recently discovered in SoLake called "My Fit Foods." I had their chicken wrap for lunch the other day (it was great) and I picked up one of their menus to look over. Everything on their menu sounds good and gave me lots of new cooking ideas! Anyway, they had a steak salad entree listed and I decided to try and recreate it. We had it tonight and thought it was superb--so I wanted to post how I made it.

Ingredients:

Prime tenderloin (or any kind of steak that will easily cut into strips)

salad mixture-whatever kind you prefer

4-5 jalapenos

red onion

avocado

roasted corn

roma tomato

Newman's Own Light Lime salad dressing

cilantro

Directions:

• Marinate & grill a steak, then cut it into strips, cover & set aside. You can throw the corn on the grill with the steak, inside the husk & cook it at the same time.
• De-seed the jalapenos and cut them into very thin strips (I always wear gloves when doing this & am very cautious with disposing of seeds). Dice up half of a red onion & saute it along with the jalapeno strips in a little bit of olive oil on medium-high heat until they are softened.
• Put salad mixture in the bowl (I used romaine, spinach & a little iceberg)
• Toss all ingredients (the steak, sliced tomatoes, avocados & sauted jalapeno/onions...you can slice the corn off the cob & toss it in too--we were lazy & just ate the corn on the cob) in with the salad and top with the dressing*.

*the menu said they used a cilantro lime dressing--I could not find this exact dressing in the store, but I did find Paul Newman's Light Lime Dressing, so I poured that in a bowl & added diced cilantro to it--it was soo yummy.

This salad had such a great combination of flavors and was really healthy; I'll definitely make it again!

Baked Oven Fries

Baked Oven Fries

Ingredients:

3 russet potatoes (about 24 oz. total), peeled and cut lengthwise into even sized wedges
5 tbsp. vegetable, canola or peanut oil, divided (olive oil would work too)
¾ tsp. kosher salt, plus more to taste
¼ tsp. freshly ground black pepper, plus more to taste

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 475˚ F. Place the potato wedges in a large mixing bowl. Cover with hot water; soak for 10-30 minutes. Put 4 tablespoons of the oil onto a heavy, rimmed baking sheet. Tilt the sheet side to side to evenly coat the pan with oil (a pastry brush can also help with this). Sprinkle the pan evenly with the salt and pepper. Set aside.

Drain the potatoes. Spread the wedges out on layers of paper towels or on clean kitchen towels. Pat dry with additional towels. Wipe out the now empty bowl so it is dry. Return the potatoes to the bowl and toss with the remaining 1 tablespoon of oil. Arrange the potato wedges on the prepared baking sheet (I cooked in one of Pampered Chef stone baking sheets and it worked great) in a single layer. Cover tightly with foil and bake for 5 minutes.

Remove the foil and continue to bake until the bottoms of the potatoes are spotty golden brown, 15-20 minutes, rotating the baking sheet after 10 minutes. Using a metal spatula and tongs, flip each potato wedge keeping them in a single layer. Continue baking until the fries are golden and crisp, 5 -15 minutes. Rotate the pan as needed to ensure even browning.

When the fries are finished baking, transfer to a paper-towel lined plate to drain some of the grease. Season with additional salt and pepper to taste. Serve warm.

Crispy Baked Chicken Fingers

Easy recipe that I found online...everyone ate it! So a successful evening. I served it with the potatoes I posted as well since they can cook at the same time at the same temperature.

Crispy Baked Chicken Fingers

Ingredients:
2 cups panko breadcrumbs
2 tbsp. canola oil
½ cup all-purpose flour
1 tsp. garlic powder
½ tsp. salt
¼ tsp. cayenne pepper
3 large egg whites
1 tbsp. water
1 tbsp. Dijon mustard
1 tsp. minced fresh thyme or ¼ tsp. dried
Cooking spray
1½ lbs. boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut into ¾-inch wide strips (I used tenders)


Directions:

Preheat the oven to 475˚ F. In a large skillet, toss the panko with the oil. Toast over medium-high heat, stirring occasionally, until golden brown, about 8-10 minutes. Transfer the toasted crumbs to a shallow dish or pie plate.

In a second shallow dish, whisk together the flour, garlic powder, salt, and cayenne pepper. In a bowl, whisk together the egg whites, water, mustard and thyme.

Spray a wire rack lightly with cooking spray and place over a rimmed baking sheet. Working in batches, dredge a few pieces of the chicken in the flour, then the egg whites, and finally the breadcrumbs to coat, shaking off the excess between each step. Lay the coated pieces on the prepared wire rack and repeat with the remaining chicken.

Spray the tops of the chicken pieces lightly with the cooking spray. Bake until the chicken is cooked through, 10-12 minutes. Serve warm.