Grilled Chicken & Berry Salad

Oh My Yumminess!!! i made this last night for dinner and I am in L-O-V-E! It was so quick and easy, and lets not forget refreshing and delicious! I got the recipe from Our Best Bites Blog. Here it is and I hope you enjoy it as much as I did. :)

Grilled Chicken & Berry Salad

Posted By Kate @ Our Best Bites On 06.28.2011 @ 12:01 am

Grilled Chicken & Berry SaladRecipe by Our Best Bites, Inspired by the Pigtailed Red-Head of Hamburger Fame
1/2 head Romaine lettuce, washed and chopped into bite-sized pieces (I just bought a bag of pre-mixed romaine and baby spinach)
6-8 oz. baby spinach
12-16 oz. chicken, marinated, grilled, and sliced* ( I used 1 Chicken breast for 2 1/4 eaters)
8 oz. strawberries, sliced
8 oz. blueberries
4 oz. crumbled Feta or shredded fresh Parmesan cheese (I used Feta because I love it on my salads)
1 c. sliced almonds, toasted
Berry Poppy Seed Dressing to taste
For serving a large crowd, toss all the salad ingredients in a large serving bowl and add dressing to taste. For individual servings, arrange ingredients on plates and serve the dressing on the side. Makes about 8 side dish servings and 4 main dish servings.
*For a vegetarian dish, omit the chicken.

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Berry Poppy Seed VinaigretteRecipe by Our Best Bites

1/2 c. white wine vinegar
1/2 c. honey (or sugar)
1-2 cloves garlic
1 tablespoon grated onion
1 tsp. kosher or other coarse salt
About 10 cracks of freshly ground black pepper
1 c. raspberries, blackberries, or strawberries (I used strawberries in mine, but I am sure any berry would be delish)
2/3 c. canola oil
1 1/2 tsp. poppy seeds

Combine the vinegar, honey, garlic, onion, salt, pepper, and berries in the jar of a blender. Blend until smooth and then, with the blender running, add the oil in a steady stream. Turn off the blender and whisk in the poppy seeds. If possible, refrigerate for at least an hour before serving.

Rigatoni

1 pkg rigatoni noodles
1 can italian stewed tomatoes
1 lb ground sausage
1 can tomato sauce (optional)

Cook noodles as instructed (usually about 14 minutes). Brown sausage, add tomato sauce and stewed tomatoes. (I usually use a hand blender to puree the stewed tomatoes first). Put cooked noodles on a platter and top with sauce.

This is one of the easiest recipes and it is both of my kids' favorites.

Gypsy Chicken Stew

Gypsy Chicken Stew

(adapted from the recipe at Allrecipies.com)

Ingredients:

1 pound of boneless, skinless chicken breast

2 1/2 cups dry sherry

1 1/2 cups chicken stock

3 tsp crushed garlic

3 onions, quartered

1 small can diced green chilies

2 14oz cans diced tomatoes

grated cheese

Directions:

1. In a large pot add: chicken stock, onions, garlic, and chicken and 1 1/2 C sherry. Simmer for about 45 minutes.

2. Remove chicken from pot, set aside to cool. Add green chilies and tomatoes to simmering stock.

3. When cool enough to handle, shred or roughly cut chicken and return to pot. Add one last cup of sherry to the pot and simmer for at least another 30 minutes.

Serve with shredded cheese on top, if desired.

I added finely shopped celery with the onions.

The kids preferred it drained from the broth and cut into much smaller pieces.

Chex Muddy Buddies

Ingredients:

9 c Rice Chex cereal
1 c Enjoy Life chocolate chips
1/2 c sunflower seed butter
1/4 spectrum shortening
1 tsp vanilla
1 1/2 c powdered sugar

1. Into large bowl, measure cereal; set aside.

2. In 1 quart microwavable bowl, microwave chocolate chips, sunflower seed butter and shortening uncovered on High 1 minute; stir. Microwave about 30 seconds longer or until mixture can be stirred smooth. Stir in vanilla. Pour mixture over cereal, stirring evenly until coated. Pour into 2 gallon resealable food-storage plastic bag.

3. Add powdered sugar. Seal bag; shake until well coated. Spread on waxed paper to cool. Store in airtight container in refrigerator.

The point of this recipe is to show how easy it is to make things allergy friendly. This recipe is gluten, dairy and nut free. Of course you can substitute any of these ingredients out for a less allergen friendly food. As for using a 2 gallon bag, what a laugh! I don't know anyone with one. What I did and I suggest you do is shake the Muddy Buddies in a gallon ziploc in two batches with 3/4 c powdered sugar each. This is a great lunch box treat, especially if one of your child's classmates has a nut allergy. Enjoy!

Posted by Lia Freeman

Enchilada Suiza Chicken and Rice

Ingredients:

6 pieces chicken
4 cups white rice
2 4oz cans diced green chilies
1 8oz package cream cheese, lite, nonfat or regular (or soy cream cheese)
2 boxes chicken broth
1 onion diced
3 green onions diced
3 cloves minced garlic
salt and pepper

1. Preheat oven to 375

2. Measure rice into largest pan you have, I use a roast pan.

3. Dump in cans of green chilies, onion, green onion, garlic, salt and pepper.

4. Pour chicken broth into a blender until it is half full. Dump in all of cream cheese. Blend until smooth. Pour into roast pan with remainder of chicken broth. Stir everything together.

5. Place chicken on top and push them down into the rice. If you'd rather use the equivalent of chopped chicken be sure to stir afterward. Cover with aluminum foil as tightly as you can.

6. Bake for 1.5-2 hrs. Resist the urge to check for at least 1.5 hrs.

This recipe feeds an army and is awesome to freeze or for leftovers. If you'd like to use a 9X13 you can halve it. The idea for the recipe came to me because I love chicken and rice and I love enchiladas suizas. They're delicious chicken enchiladas with a creamy green chile sauce that is to die for. I was very pleased with this combination and I hope you enjoy it. BTW it's gluten and can be dairy free!

Posted by Lia Freeman

Orange Ginger Chicken

I got this from the Cooking Light recipe book and I love it!

Ingredients:

8 skinless chicken thighs (we use 4 breasts and it works out fine)
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
1/8 teaspoon garlic powder
1 1/2 teaspoons olive oil
1 navel orange
3 Tablespoons honey
1 teaspoon grated peeled fresh ginger
chopped green onions

Directions:
1. Sprinkle chicken with salt, pepper and garlic powder. Heat oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add chicken; cook 3 to 4 minutes on each side or until browned.
2. While chicken cooks, grate 1 teaspoon orange rind and squeeze 1/4 cup orange juice. Add orange rind, juice, honey and ginger to chicken, scraping to loosen browned bits. Bring to a boil; reduce heat, and simmer, uncovered, 7 minutes or until chicken is done and orange mixture is syrupy. Sprinkle with green onions. Yields 4 servings.

I like to cook up broccoli, red and yellow peppers and mix them in at the end with the sauce to bring some vegetables into the meal. I also serve it over brown rice. Yummy!

Enjoy,
Emily Bowman

Herb-Garlic Beef Roast

This is from Better Homes and Gardens magazine, March 2008. It is super easy and super fast and WAY tasty (if you like garlic.)

17-oz. pkg refrigerated cooked beef roast au jus (can be found in the refrigerated meat section, WM has it for just under $5)
1 lb. small red potatoes
3 medium carrots
1 Tbsp Extra Virgin Olive Oil (EVOO)
freshly ground black pepper
3 Tbsp chopped fresh Italian (flat-leaf) parsley (I use dried)
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 Tbsp finely shredded lemon peel

1. In large skillet cook beef roast, covered, over medium heat for 10 minutes. Uncover and simmer for 5 minutes more, until juices are slightly reduced. Meanwhile, quarter potatoes. Peel and diagonally slice carrots into 3/4-inch pieces. Place vegetables in a microwave-safe dish. Drizzle with EVOO and sprinkle with pepper; toss to coat. Tightly cover with lid or plate. Microwave on high for 10 minutes or until tender.
2. For herb-garlic mixture, in a small bowl combine parsley, garlic and lemon peel. To serve, stir vegetables into skillet with beef and juices. Divide among serving dishes. Sprinkle with herb-garlic mixture.

Serves 4.

~Kimberly Pueblo

Favorite Summer Breakfast

In a bowl: scramble a few eggs with fresh ground pepper, onion powder, and freshly cut lemon chives from the garden.

Cook on the stove (with BUTTER of course).

Add a diced, fresh garden tomato to the top.

Yummmmm.

Easy Manicotti

1 pkg manicotti noodles cooked as instructed on pkg
1 lb ground sausage cooked and drained
1 cup grated cheese
1 can italian stewed tomatoes (we use a hand blender to mush ours)
16 oz cottage cheese

Mix sausage, cheese, tomatoes and cottage cheese. Fill each manicotti noodle with mixture and place in baking dish. Warm in microwave for 7 minutes or cook at 350 for 25-30 minutes. I try to do it in the oven, I think it is a little better, but if I am in a hurry microwave works too.

You can use the same recipe for lasagna, just use lasagna noodles instead of manicotti and layer it with the sauce in a baking dish and top with cheese.

Chicken Skewers with Walnuts and Cilantro

2 boneless skinless chicken breast halves, pounded ¼ inch thick

1 c plain yogurt

1 garlic clove, minced

¾ tsp. coarse salt (I use regular sea salt)

½ t. freshly ground pepper

1/3 c. walnut halves

1/3 c. chopped fresh cilantro

2 T extra-virgin olive oil

¼ tsp. red-pepper flakes

rice

1. Cut chicken crosswise into 16 2-inch-thick strips. Transfer to a shallow nonreactive dish. Whisk together yogurt, garlic, ½ tsp of the salt, and the pepper in a small bowl. Pour over chicken and turn to coat. Refrigerate for at least 2 hours or overnight.
2. Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Arrange walnut halves on a baking sheet. Toast until golden and fragrant, about 8-9 minutes. Let cool, and finely chop. Transfer to a small bowl. Add cilantro, oil, red-pepper flakes, and remaining ¼ tsp salt.
3. Preheat broiler with rack in highest position. Remove chicken from marinade and thread onto skewers (if using wooden skewers, first soak them in water for 30 minutes so they don’t burn), discard extra marinade. Transfer to rimmed baking sheet ,and broil until cooked through, 3 to 5 minutes. Let cool slightly.
4. Arrange chicken on a platter. Serve warm or at room temperature, topped with walnut-cilantro mixture.

I BBQ my chicken instead of broil it and I don't use skewers. Also, I add tons of extra nuts and cilantro...just spoon the mixture all over the top of the chicken, and serve the chicken on top of brown rice. It is gorgeous and yummy!

~Kimberly Pueblo

Chicken Enchiladas (Kinda)

I got this recipe from my sister. Jess makes fun of me because there is no enchilada sauce, and they are called Enchiladas, but I’m just handing down the recipe the way it was handed down to me. ;)

2 chicken breasts, cooked and shredded

1 C. sour cream

2 cans Cream of Chicken Soup

3/4 C. salsa

1 pk flour or wheat tortillas

lots of grated cheese

Mix all but the tortillas together

Grease 9"x13" pan

Divide mix up into tortillas, leaving extra mix to put on top

Roll tortillas and put in pan

Spread extra mix on top

Bake at 350 degrees for 20-25 minutes

These go well served with Spanish rice and a green salad.

~Kimberly Pueblo

Butternut Squash Soup

From the kitchen of Stacy Hart

2 slices bacon (this is optional, I often don't do because I try not to have bacon around too much)

1/2 medium onion, chopped finely

1 large leek, chopped finely

1 large garlic glove, minced (I like to use the frozen Trader Joes cubes, just 1)

1 bay leaf

1.25 lbs butternut squash (approx 2) cut into 1" squares

1 medium tart apple

2 cups low sodium chicken broth

1/2 cup water (+/-)

sour cream/bacon bits as topping

Crisp and brumble bacon for topping. Reserve 1/5 tsp of bacon fat and cook leek, onlion, garlic, bay lear, and salt/pepper to taste. Cook until softened. Then add squash, apple (peeled and chopped), water, broth, and simmer 15 minutes. Take bay leaf out. Puree soup in blender or food processor.

Spicy Gooey Phyllo Bites

Ingredients:

1 pkg phyllo cups (in freezer section, usually near cool whip or frozen berries)

1/4 lb Turkey pastrami, thinly cut from deli, sliced and diced into little pieces

1/4 lb pepper jack cheese, thinly sliced and diced, Tillamook is my favorite

grey poupon mustard, to taste- about 1 tsp

2 heaping tablespoons green onions, thinly sliced

Directions:

Preheat oven to pkg directions- either 400 or 425 F

Place phyllo cups on foil lined baking sheet or pan

Mix sliced/diced turkey pastrami, pepper jack cheese and scallions with mustard until lightly coated throughout. Spoon into heaping mound for each phyllo cup.

Bake 6-10 minutes, or until heated and cheese is gooey and melted.

* yummy with cold, green salad.

Angel Chicken Pasta

This is some of my favorite, all time easy comfort foods. The sauce is so rich, and a little salty- but I usually love things that way once and a while.

Ingredients:

--6 skinless, boneless, chicken breast halves

--1/4 C butter

--1 (.7 ounce) pkg dry italian-style dressing mix (sometimes I reduce this to 3/4 of the pkg//only Good Seasons brand)

--1/2 C white cooking wine

--1 (10.75 oz) can condensed golden mushroom soup (I usually use my own homemade mushroom white sauce, which reduces the salt, but for sake of EASY, you can use the canned stuff)

--4 oz cream cheese with chives or any herb flavor you like (set out 20-30 minutes early to soften)

--1 lb angel hair pasta

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 325 F

2. In a large saucepan over medium-low heat melt and blend: butter, dressing, wine, soup and cream cheese. Stir until smooth. Do not boil.

3. Pour a thin layer of sauce into bottom of 9x13 glass baking dish to avoid sticking. Arrange chicken in a single layer. Pour remainder of sauce over the top.

4. Bake for 40-60 minutes or until chicken is cooked throughout (depends on thickness and your oven).

5. Cook pasta per box directions. Serve chicken and sauce over pasta.

* I love to put sliced (long way) carrots and broccoli in the chicken sauce so that it is soft when the chicken is done.

This recipe was originally submitted by Marian Collins on Allrecipies.com

Tropical Chicken Lettuce Wraps

Very light. Great the day after Thanksgiving or any other day you may have (accidentally) over indulged.

Ingredients:

1 1/2 C chicken, cooked, cold and chopped (use a rotisserie chicken or grilled)

1/2 C mango, diced fresh

1/4 C green onion, sliced thin

1/4 C red bell pepper, finely diced

1/4 C macadamia nuts, coarsely chopped (optional, we never add)

1/4 C light lime dressing, or as desired

-- 1/4 C lime juice

-- 2 tsp minced cilantro

-- 1/2 tsp honey or brown sugar (optional)

-- 1 tbsp olive oil

-- 1 tsp balsamic vinegar

6 to 8 small butter lettuce leaves, rinsed

Directions:

Place all ingredients, minus lettuce, in bowl and toss to coat dressing evenly. Chill for at least 30-45 minutes. Spoon onto lettuce leaves.

Favorite Fajita Marinade

Ingredients:

1 bunch fresh cilantro, washed with leaves separated from tough stem (some stem is ok)

1 bunch fresh basil, washed leaves separated from tough stems

1/2 -3/4 C Olive Oil (we use extra virgin because it doesn't smoke as much)

1/2-1 tsp crushed garlic (We use Christopher Ranch from Winco)

3-4 limes, juiced removing seeds (about 1/4-1/3 C juice)

1/2 tsp fresh pepper

Directions for Marinade:

1. Put everything into the blender. Blend. Add more oil and lime juice if it is too thick. It should be thick enough to stay on meat, but thin enough to pour without globs. Make sense? This much usually is enough to split and I freeze half for next time. Freezes well.

Favorite Fajitas: (serves 2 adults and 2 kids for 2 meals)

--1 large or 2 small white or yellow onions

--2 bell peppers, red or orange are my favorite

--1 large chicken breast butterflied or 4-5 tenders, add marinade for at least 3 hours, overnight is best. BBQ or grill chicken until cooked. Rest for 5 minutes then thinly cut or shred.

--1/2 C -1 Cup shredded jack cheese

-- tortillas (we use the flour tortillas from Trader Joe's b/c they are THE BEST)

Sautee stove top (chop veggies well) or BBQ onions and peppers (cut onions into thick circles so they don't fall through grill- then chop after they are cooked//cute bell peppers in half and press onto grill, then chop). Warm tortilla, add cheese until melted and fill with meat and veggies.

We make them flat like quesadillas for the kids, which is a little neater and easier for them to eat.

Veggie and Chicken Rice Pilaf

Prep Time: 20-25 Minutes

Cook Time: 25 Minutes

Servings: Approx. 8 x 1-Cup

Ingredients:

1/2 C Butter (or olive oil would work, I have never tried).

1/4 C orzo (rice looking pasta in the dried pasta section) or broken spaghetti

1 1/4 C rice, uncooked (I use long grain white)

2 1/4 C chicken broth (I use Better Than Bouillon Reduced Sodium organic chicken base from Costco)

1 C brocolli florets, lightly steamed (if desired- depends on how crunchy or soft you like the finished dish)

2/3 C or 2 medium carrots, sliced and lightly steamed, if desired

1/2 red bell pepper, diced

1/2 C almond slices, raw (I use Trader Joe's)

1/2 tsp crushed garlic (I use Christopher Ranch, available @ winco)

1 tsp onion powder (or to taste, fresh diced ok- cook with rice)

1 chicken breast or 3 chicken tenders, grilled and cubed (I use the Montreal Seasoning from Costco or marinade in lime juice)

salt and pepper to taste

Directions:

1. Melt butter in medium sauce pan over medium-low heat. Increase heat to medium and stir in orzo/spaghetti, cooking until coated with melted butter and lightly browned about 2 minutes.

2. Add garlic (and onion if fresh), rice, bell peppers and stir until rice starts to brown lightly about 3-4 minutes.

3. Pour in broth, onion powder, pepper, and remainder veggies.

4. Bring to boil. Add lid and reduce heat to low. Cook for 20 minutes. Remove from heat but keep lid on for an extra 2-4 minutes.

5. Add cubed chicken, almond slices and gently stir and fold together.

* As an alternative, you can keep chicken grilled, whole and serve pilaf as a side dish. Veggies can be rotated with anything as long as you keep in mind it will be simmering for 20+ minutes.