Low-fat chicken salad

I'm finally back in Tallahassee, and plan to get back to regular posting. However, I thought I'd start with a simple, easy post to get things going. My Aunt Nan made this delicious chicken salad for my shower. This comes together really quickly and is great for lunches.

Ingredients:
-2 boneless chicken breasts (about 1.5 lbs)
-1 8oz container of plain yogurt (Greek yogurt would also probably be good)
~2 big handfuls seedless red grapes, cut in half
~6 stalks of celery, chopped into small pieces
~1 handful of chopped pecans (or walnuts)
-salt and pepper to taste
-whatever bread you prefer

Steps:
1. Cook your chicken breasts (I usually season mine and then grill on my Foreman) and cut up into bit size pieces.
2. Combine with remaining ingredients.
3. Chill in refrigerator before serving.

Traveling in Europe...

...through Munich, Salzburg, Lucerne, Zurich. Will be back in a week, and will get back to regular posting!

Jalapeño Poppers

This is just one of the many tasty recipes made by a member of my family while I was traveling in Austin and Nebraska City (my mom gets credit for this one). These were incredibly flavorful and delicious, and even though we made a ton of them they all got eaten. They were a little spicy, but the cream cheese really helped mellow them out...and if you don't like spice you can soak the peppers in water to reduce their spiciness. I plan to post even more recipes from my amazing, beautiful shower that my wonderful aunts threw for me, so stay tuned.

Ingredients
~20 medium sized jalapeño peppers
-1 package of cream cheese (get the full fat kind and allow to sit at room temp to soften)
-1 package good quality bacon
-toothpicks (soak these guys in water for about 30 minutes so they don't fry in the oven)

Steps
(Preheat oven to 350)
1. Cut peppers in half and scoop out the seeds. Toss peppers in a bowl of water for about 30 minutes (more if you don't want them to be very spicy).

 Note: You might want to wear gloves while doing this so you don't accidentally rub your eyes later and find that your fingers still have jalapeño juice on them.

2. Dry peppers off and scoop about a tablespoon of cream cheese into each pepper half.

 3. Cut bacon slices in half with a sharp knife or scissors.

4. Wrap a half slice of bacon around pepper and secure with a toothpick.

5. Cook for about 45 minutes or until bacon is crispy.

In Austin...

...doing wedding planning for about the next 10 days, so I likely won't be posting much. However, I'm sure I'll be cooking some with my mom, who is the lady who taught me everything I know, so I'll be sure and try to post any of the recipes we make. Additionally, I'll try to keep people updated with the tasty Austin restaurants we hit.

Green and Blue Salad

First, I have to thank my labmate, Erin, for this awesome recipe. To me, this is the quintessential summer salad. Super light, and the homemade dressing is zingy and refreshing.

Ingredients
Salad Ingredients
-1/2 head of Romaine lettuce, torn into bite size pieces
-3/4 Granny Smith apple, chopped into bite size pieces
-1 head of green onions, diced
-1 cucumber, diced
-1 green bell pepper, diced
-4 stalks of celery, diced
-1 large handful of golden raisins
~5 oz crumbled blue cheese
-2 Morningstar Farms Chik Patties Original (optional)

Dressing ingredients
-1/2 C lemonade
-1T fresh lemon juice
-1T apple cider vinegar
-1T EVOO
-2T honey
-1tsp Tabasco (or more if you like it spicy)
-salt and pepper

1. Chop all salad ingredients and toss in a large bowl.
2. Whisk dressing ingredients.
3. Heat chik patties for 15 minutes in a toaster oven.
4. Drizzle dressing on salad and serve with chopped up chik patties.
Note: I recommend keeping the dressing separate and storing in a Tupperware and just adding it as you go...that way the salad keeps for several days.

Baked Polenta with Sausage and Tomato-Pepper Sauce

I know a recipe is a hit with my fiance when he takes one bite and says, "This is a repeater," meaning that he thinks this is a recipe we should add into our regular rotation. Well, according to him, this recipe is a "repeater" and I would have to agree. Also, it was super easy to make.

Ingredients
-2 tubes (16 or 17oz) polenta
-1 lb chicken sausage, removed from casing (I recommend spicy Italian flavor)
-1 28 oz can crushed tomatoes
-1 medium red onion, julienned
-1 red pepper, julienned
-2 tsp minced garlic
~1.5 C shredded mozzarella
-1 T oregano
~2 T basil (optional)
-1 T balsamic vinegar
-1.5 T brown sugar
-salt, pepper, red pepper flakes
~4T EVOO

Steps
(Preheat broiler to hight)
1. Let tomatoes simmer on low-medium with 1 T EVOO, oregano, and some salt and pepper, balsamic vinegar, and brown sugar.
2. Heat large frying pan on medium, add 1 T EVOO and saute onion and pepper for about 5 minutes.
3. Add chicken sausage, breaking up into small pieces with the back of a wooden spoon.
4. Add garlic, red pepper flakes and some salt and pepper and continue cooking until sausage is done.

5. Add tomato sauce to frying pan and simmer for 10 minutes.
6. While sauce is simmering, add 1.5 T EVOO to a 9X13 baking pan and tilt to coat bottom. Add polenta slices to pan and turn to coat with oil. Next, arrange slices lengthwise in 4 slightly overlapping rows. Broil polenta about 4 in from heating element in oven until golden brown and crispy, about 10-15 minutes.

7. Pour sauce over broiled polenta and top with mozzarella. Broil until cheese is melted and beginning to brown, about 2-3 minutes.
8. Top with fresh basil, and let cool a bit before serving.

Traveling...

...most of last week and this week, so I won't be able to post until next week. Hope you check back then!

Mom's Fried Chicken

I only make this a couple of times a year because it's not the healthiest recipe in the world, but it is A.M.A.Z.I.N.G. Over the years my mom has perfected this recipe...I'm still working on it...but I'd like to think that my version is at least now in the same class as hers.

Ingredients
-4 chicken breasts
-2 C flour
-2 eggs
-1 C milk
-2 T cayenne pepper
-1 tsp salt and pepper
~1/4 C Canola oil
-1/2 tsp garlic salt
(you can add additional spices if you like, like season salt or poultry seasoning to the flour mixture)
(Note about the oil: The amount you use is going to depend on the size of your pan...you really don't need a lot. You want the height of the oil to be about half a centimeter. In other words, you don't want your chicken breasts to be submersed in oil, you just want the oil to reach half-way up the sides so that you're just browning one side at a time.)

Steps
1. In a small bowl, whisk milk, eggs, 1 tsp cayenne pepper, and 1/2 tsp pepper.
2. In a medium sized bowl, combine flour, 1.5 T cayenne pepper, 1/2 tsp salt, garlic salt, and 1/2 tsp pepper.

3. Heat oil in large skillet at medium-hot.
4. Once oil is very hot (you can test it by tossing a little mixture into the oil) you can batter your chicken and add to frying pan. To batter your chicken, dunk in the milk mixture then dredge thoroughly through the flour mixture. I actually press the flour mixture into the chicken to make sure it gets well coated.
5. Once chicken is battered, carefully add it to the pan. Cook for about 6 minutes, or until golden brown, then turn carefully (I recommend tongs) and cook another 6 minutes. Turn heat down to medium, flip chicken again and cook for 3 minutes; flip again and cook for 3 minutes (the point of this is to get the batter a darker golden brown and nice and crispy).

6. Once chicken is done, sprinkle salt on both sides and pat with paper towels. We served it with slaw (click link for recipe).

Greek Salad and Tzatziki Sauce

First, I have to thank my good friend, Jess, for making the Tzatziki sauce. It was really delicious, healthy (Greek yogurt packs some serious protein!), and has become my new favorite veggie dipping sauce. I'll list the ingredients we used to make the Greek salad below, but really you can use whatever sounds good to you.

Salad Ingredients
-1 head of Romaine lettuce, chopped
-1/4 (or less) of a red onion, thinly sliced
-8 oz crumbled reduced-fat feta
-1 cucumber, chopped and de-seeded
-handful of cherry tomatoes
-handful of Greek olives
Dressing (whisk the following together):
-3 T fresh lemon juice
-3 T red wine vigegar
-2 T EVOO
-pepper

Tzatziki Ingredients
-8 oz Greek yogurt
-the juice from 1/2 a squeezed lemon
-3-4 T chopped, fresh dill
-3 garlic cloves, chopped
-2 T EVOO
(serve with sliced cucumber, or other veggies)

Steps
These are both pretty simple recipes where you literally just mix-up the ingredients and enjoy!

Tostadas

Being from Texas I love Mexican food...and in particular I love TexMex. TexMex can mean different things to different people, but to me, some of the characteristics of TexMex are guacamole and queso. These tostadas don't have queso, but they do have guacamole, so I'll let you decide whether they're TexMex, Mexican, or something else entirely. Regardless, these guys are super easy to make.

Ingredients
~8 corn tostadas
-1 can refried beans
-1 small red onion, diced
~6 leaves of lettuce, diced
-1 C shredded Mexican cheese
~6 T low-fat sour cream
-1 T EVOO
Guacamole
-2 ripe avocados, mashed
-2 T lime juice
-1/4 C salsa
-garlic salt and pepper, to taste

Steps
(preheat oven to 350)
1. Make your guacamole. See this link for directions.
2. Saute you onion with EVOO for about 5 minutes.
3. Stir in refried beans and heat for about 3-4 minutes.

4. Spread about 2 T of bean mixture onto each tostada, then top with about 2 T shredded cheese. Heat in the oven for about 4 minutes, or until cheese is melted.

 5. Top tostadas with guacamole, lettuce, salsa, and sour cream.

(Aye-yai-yai!)

Been sick and

crazy busy, but will be posting a recipe for a Mexi-favorite and staple of mine tomorrow!

Tempeh Ruben Sandwich

It's funny because I've always loved the idea of a Ruben, well at least everything except the corned beef part. I was so into the idea that I started craving a Ruben, but was at a loss as to how to get one without the beef. Then I came across the Tempeh Ruben at New Leaf. This quickly became my favorite thing to order there, and since it seemed easy enough to make I decided to try it out myself. I'm happy to report, these are super easy to make, and I think just as good as the ones at New Leaf. Also, tempeh is another one of those super-protein-packed wonder foods that actually tastes pretty good (at least with enough cheese and other fixins:).

Ingredients (for 4 sandwiches)
-8 pieces of Rye bread
~1/4 C fat-free Thousand Island dressing
-6 pieces of Swiss (I put 1.5 slices on a sandwich)
-1.5 packets of tempeh (I got mine from New Leaf; it looks like this)
~1 C sauerkraut, refrigerated kind
-2 T margarine
-2 T soy sauce (optional)
-some cooking spray

Steps
1. Slice your tempeh lengthwise in half.
2. Heat a skillet and add some cooking spay and a little soy. Fry your tempeh for about 3 minutes per side.

3. While tempeh is cooking, butter one side of each piece of bread.
4. Once tempeh is warmed, remove from pan, and build sandwiches in pan (I had to do 2 at a time).
5. To build sandwich, place one piece of bread butter-side down on pan, then top with tempeh, sauerkraut, dressing, cheese, and bread butter-side up.

6. (Carefully) flip sandwich after about 3 minutes to grill both sides.
(Note: These were kind of messy to eat with your hands, so we opted for a fork and knife.)

German Potato Salad

In theory, I like potato salad; however, I HATE mayonnaise, so I almost never eat it. I found this sans-mayo recipe, and thought it was really tasty. It's supposed to be served warm, but I served mine room temp, and have been eating the leftovers cold.
 
Ingredients
-3 lbs red potatoes, diced into bite sized pieces
~8 slices turkey bacon
-1 sweet onion, diced
-1 bunch green onion, chopped
-3/4 C apple cider vinegar
-1/4 C canola oil
-salt & pepper

Steps
1. Boil your diced potatoes in salted water until tender (about 15 minutes). Once potatoes are done cooking, strain and put in a large bowl.
2. Cook bacon. Once done cooking crumble bacon.
3. Cook diced onion in bacon drippings (I had to add a tad bit of EVOO) for about 3 minutes. Whisk in cider and oil and cook for 2 minutes.
4. Pour vinaigrette over potatoes. Fold in bacon and green onion and mix. Add salt and pepper to taste.

Bacon, Blue, and Butternut Pasta

This was my first time cooking butternut squash this way (thanks for the tip, Kelly) and it turned out yummy. This was also a first in terms of putting all of the following on pasta: bacon, blue cheese, and squash...I am usually not very experimental when it comes to pasta. I had never tried heating blue cheese, but it got nice and melty and added great flavor...however, I LOVE blue cheese.

 Ingredients

-10  oz  uncooked fettuccine
~6  turkey bacon slices (you could easily omit this to make it vegetarian)
-2  T EVOO
~3  cups  (1/2-inch) cubed peeled butternut squash
-2  garlic cloves, minced
~1/2  C  crumbled blue cheese
-1 bunch sliced green onions (I forgot to add this, but think it would be nice)
-salt, to taste

Steps
1. Peel and dice your butternut squash. This takes a bit of time. I recommend cutting the squash into workable pieces, then carefully slicing off the skin with a sharp knife.

2. Cook your pasta al dente in salted water; reserve about 1/3 C cooking liquid. Set pasta aside, but maybe toss with a little EVOO so noodles don't stick together.
3. Cook your turkey bacon until crisp. Remove bacon from pan, crumble, set aside.
4. Use your same bacon-ed up pan, and add 2 T EVOO and then saute your butternut squash for about 10 minutes or until tender. (I put a lid over my pan while cooking to help steam the squash.)
5. Add garlic; cook 1 minute stirring constantly.

6. Stir in pasta, cooking liquid, cheese, and some salt; cook 2 minutes, stirring frequently.
7. Top with crumbled bacon and green onion.

Coconut Shrimp with Fiery Mango Sauce

This was a total blog win! Unfortunately, the main picture's not that great...I probably should've gotten one without the mango sauce, or with the mango sauce more artfully dribbled on. In any case, the shrimp turned out great and the sauce was awesome. We ended up pouring it all over the ho-hum rice we made to go with it.
I made this recipe with medium sized shrimp, but I'd recommend using the larger kind so that you don't have to do as much battering and frying. Also, this make a ton of sauce...like 1.5 cups...so just be ready. Like I said, the sauce was awesome, and probably would be good on pork or chicken if you save it.

Ingredients
~1/2 pound of shrimp, peeled and deveined, but leave tails on (or just buy the frozen kind like I did that comes peeled and deveined)
-2/3 C shredded, flaked coconut
-2/3 C panko
-1/3 C cornstarch
-3 egg whites
-2.5 T canola oil
-1 T EVOO
Sauce
-1 can mango nectar
-2/3 red onion, diced
-2 cloves garlic, diced
-2 T fresh ginger, diced
-2 T diced jalepenos (less if you don't like spicy)
-2 T fresh lime juice

Steps
(The recipe called for you to pulse your coconut and panko in a food processor...I didn't do this, but you can if you want)
1. Saute your onion, garlic, and ginger with EVOO in a medium sized sauce pan.
2. Add mango nectar and pepper, bring to a boil. To reduce, let boil uncovered for about 12 minutes.
3. Remove sauce from heat, let sit for 10 minutes. Then blend sauce in a blender or food processor, stir in lime, set aside.

4. Mix coconut and panko in a shallow bowl. Also put cornstarch in a small, shallow bowl, and do the same for egg whites. (I've pasted a pic of my "working station set-up" below.)

5. Working with one shrimp at a time, dip the shrimp in the cornstarch, then egg whites, then coconut mixture. Once you've battered all your shrimp you can fry them up.
6. To fry: heat a large skillet (I used a wok) to medium with 2 T canola oil. Add as many shrimp as you can to pan (I did two batches), and cook for about 2.5 minutes or until browned on one side. While shrimp are cooking, spritz the tops with cooking spray. Carefully flip shrimp over (I highly recommend using tongs), and cook for another 2.5 minutes.

7. Transfer shrimp to a plate covered with paper towels, and repeat with remaining shrimp.
8. Serve shrimp with sauce on top or on the side.