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.

Microwave Mandarin Chicken

Found this recipe on all recipes--I was surprised that they recommended cooking it in a microwave, but thought I'd give it a try. It turned out great! This was good and everyone ate it--definitely a keeper!

Ingredients:

4 boneless, skinless, chicken breast halves

2 TBS brown sugar

2 TBS cornstarch

1/2 C teriyaki sauce

1/4 C apple juice

1 TBS vegetable oil

1 garlic clove, minced

1 (15 oz) can mandarin oranges

Hot cooked rice (I used jasmine)

2 green onions, sliced (optional)

Directions:

1. Pound the chicken to 1/4" thickness & place in a greased 2 qt microwave safe dish.

2. In a bowl, combine brown sugar & cornstarch, stir in the teriyaki sauce, apple juice, oil & garlic

3. Drain the oranges, reserving the juice--set oranges aside. Add the juice to the teriyaki mixture. Pour over the chicken.

4. Cover and microwave on high for 8 minutes.

5. Baste the chicken with the sauce--cover and cook for 3-5 min longer or until the sauce is thickened.

6. Serve over rice, garnish with the oranges & onions.

(side notes for future: add a little s&p/garlic salt to chicken breasts before pouring teriyaki mixture over them)

**serve with steamed veggie, fresh broccoli or asparagus

Homemade Spanish rice

Also from Lisa...

Ingredients:

1 C rice (not minute)

1/4 C oil

8oz can tomato sauce (& 3 cans of water)

1 tsp salt

1 tsp cumin

1 tsp garlic powder

Directions:

1. mix the 3 seasonings together in a small bowl, set aside.
2. in a skillet, saute the rice in the oil until it is lightly browned

3. when the rice has browned, add your water & tomato sauce to the skillet

4. toss your seasonings in, stir & bring to a boil--reduce to a simmer, cover your skillet & cook for approximately 20 minutes

This goes great with those enchiladas! Soo much better than a boxed version!

Chicken, Black Bean & Bacon Enchiladas

These are sooo yummy! I have to thank Lisa F. for this recipe and the Spanish rice that goes great with it (I'll include on a separate post)!

Ingredients:

3 boneless, skinless chicken breast halves, cut in small cubes

3 slices bacon, cooked crisp & crumbled (this is actually step #2 below)

2 cloves garlic, minced

1 1/2 C picante sauce, divided

1 (16oz) can of black beans, drained & rinsed

1 red bell pepper, chopped

1 tsp ground cumin

1/4 tsp salt

1/2 C sliced green onions

8-12 flour tortillas

1 1/2 C shredded monterey jack cheese

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 & lightly grease a 9x13 pan

2. *cook crisp the 3 slices of bacon, remove bacon to paper towel to cool, then crumble it

3. stir fry chicken & garlic in the fat left over from cooking the bacon (until chicken is no longer pink / may also drain off some of the bacon fat if there is too much)

4. stir in 1/2 cup picante sauce, 1/4 C water, beans, red pepper, cumin & salt. Simmer over low heat for approx 10 min, stir in green onions & crumbled bacon.

5. Spoon 1/4 C mixture down center of each tortilla, top with the cheese, roll up & place seam side down in the baking dish. Spoon remaining picante sauce evenly over enchiladas.

6. Bake at 350 for 15 min--then top with the remaining cheese & bake for 5 more minutes.

7. Serve & top as desired (i.e. shredded lettuce, chopped tomatoes, black olives, sour cream)

*(side note for myself: the bacon boosts the flavor, but if wanting the bacon flavor to stand out more, may try increasing the amount of crumbled bacon from 3 slices to 5??)

The Birthday Cupcakes & Frosting

This is the best cupcake recipe I have ever found...it is easy because it is just a doctored up cake mix. You can freeze them and alter them using different flavors cake mixes too.

We call them The Birthday Cupcakes at my house because everyone in my family always request them to be made for their birthdays. Enjoy!

The Birthday Cupcakes
24 paper liners for cupcake pan
1 package plain butter recipe golden cake mix
1 package cream cheese, at room temp
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup water
1/2 cup oil
4 large eggs
1 Tablespoon vanilla

Place the cake mix, cream cheese, sugar, water, oil, eggs, and vanilla in a large mixing bowl. Blend on low speed with a mixer for 30 seconds or until the ingredients are well blended. Stop machine and scrap sides.

Increase mixer speed to medium and beat for 1 1/2 - 2 minutes more scraping down sides, if needed (VERY IMPORTANT STEP to make sure to do it at least this amount of time!). The batter should be smooth and thickened. Spoon/scoop 1/4 cup batter into each lined cupcake cup, filling it 2/3 of the way full.

Bake cupcakes until they are golden and spring back when lightly pressed to your finger (I go by the box directions on baking time). Place on wire racks to cool for 5 minutes.

Birthday Cupcakes Buttercream Frosting

1 cup unsalted butter, room temp
6-8 cups powdered sugar
1/2 cup milk
1 teaspoon vanilla

Cream butter until smooth and creamy (2-3 minutes). With mixer on low speed, add 6 cups sugar, milk, and vanilla. Mix until light and fluffy. If necessary, add remaining 2 cups of sugar until you reach desired consistency.