Caesar Chicken Wraps

This is an easy meal I often throw together on those nights we have a lot going on after work and school. It's easy to make and eat quickly, or bring along if we are heading out somewhere. Often I will have a rotisserie chicken that I have deboned in the fridge, or some precooked, chopped chicken that I just throw in. Sometime I also have a Caesar salad kit, that has the dressing, croutons and cheese in it, and it's that much faster and easier. 

Tortillas

1 cup cooked chicken, diced

1/3 cup Caesar Salad dressing

2-3 cups Romaine lettuce, cut

1 cup croutons

2-3 Tb. shredded parmesan cheese

Simply, mix all the salad ingredients together and toss in the dressing. Then spoon the salad onto several tortillas and roll them up. 

Vivint Salad and Dressing

Salad

Romaine lettuce / Spring mix / Spinach

Grilled Chicken

Candied Walnuts

Craisins

Red Onion

Blue Cheese

Balsamic Vinigarette

1 1/4 cup balsamic vinegar
2 cups olive oil
3 Tb. cold water
2 1/2 Tb minced garlic
1/3 bunch fresh basil
1/4 bunch fresh oregano
4 Tb. brown sugar
2 tsp. salt
1 tsp. pepper
2 Tb. dijon mustard

Greek Salad

1 green bell pepper, diced

2-3 small tomatoes, cut

1 small cucumber, sliced

1 small red onion, sliced thinly

1/3 cup kalamata or black olives, sliced

1 cup feta cheese

2-3 Tb. lemon juice

4 Tb. olive oil

Cut up all the vegetables, and toss together with the lemon and olive oil. Sprinkle over the cheese just before serving.

Frog-Eye Salad

This may not be a new recipe for most of you, but someone recently asked me for the recipe so I decided to put it on the blog. Our family loves this stuff!! You know how you can get tired of something if you eat it too often. Well, I don't want to confess how many times I've made this just this past month, so I'll just say A LOT, and I'm still craving more! It's just too good!

· 1/2 cup sugar

  1 TBS Flour

· ¼ tsp Salt

· 1 C. Pineapple Juice

· 1 Egg

Stir these ingredients together in a sauce pan and just bring to a boil, stirring frequently, and remove from heat. Stir in 2 tsp lemon juice. Let cool to room temperature. It will thicken. Cook 8 oz. of acine de pepe pasta (1 1/3 C. Pasta) then let cool. Mix sauce and pasta together and put in fridge.

Then add: (drained)

· 2 Cans of oranges

· 1 Can crushed pineapple

· 1 Can pineapple tidbits

1 Can mixed fruit

· 2 Cups marshmallows

· 18 oz. container of cool whip.

Fresh Mozzarella and Tomato Salad

3 Tbsp. garlic cloves, minced

1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil

4 Tbsp. balsamic vinegar

1 bunch fresh basil

6 vine-ripened heirloom tomatoes, sliced thin*

Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste

1 lb. fresh mozzarella, sliced thin**

*Visit a farmer's market in your area to find a variety of sizes and colors.

**Fresh mozzarella is typically available during the summer months at specialty grocers and cheese shops. For a real treat, try the "mozzarella di buffalo" from your local grocer.

Mix the garlic, olive oil and balsamic vinegar, and set aside. Pluck and stack the basil leaves, and slice into 1*8-inch ribbons. Arrange the sliced tomatoes on a cutting board, and season each slice with salt, pepper and a generous pinch of basil ribbons. Top each tomato with a slice of mozzarella. Move slices to a serving platter. Spoon the balsamic olive oil mixture over the tomatoes and cheese. Serve with thick-cut crusty bread for dipping. Serves six.

California Citrus Salad

Ingredients:

1 lb. boneless skinless chicken breasts
1 Tbsp. sugar
1/2 cup poppy seed dressing
1 lb salad greens
1 avocado
2 pink grapefruits
1 cup mandarin orange sections
2 oz sliced almonds
4 whole strawberries
1 cup poppy seed dressing

Instructions:

Prepare the chicken:
1. Place the chicken breasts on a heated grill and grill them until they are almost done.
2. Mix 1 tbsp of sugar with 1/2 cup of poppy seed dressing and brush it over the chicken breasts.
3. Continue cooking the chicken breasts until they have reached an internal temperature of 165 degrees.
4. Remove them from the grill and allow them to cool. Slice them into thin strips and refrigerate them until needed.

Prepare the salad:
1. Using a sharp knife remove the outer peel of the grapefruits. Separate the flesh of the grapefruits from the membrane by running a sharp knife down and up each section of the grapefruit.
2. Peel and core the avocado. Cut the avocado into 12 slices.
3. Toast the almonds by placing them on a baking sheet and baking them until light brown.

Assemble the salad:
1. In a serving bowl arrange the lettuce.
2. On top of the lettuce arrange the grapefruit sections and mandarin oranges.
3. Arrange the chicken strips over the salad.
4. Add the avocado slices and sprinkle the top of the salad with fresh almonds.
5. Garnish the top of the salad with a fanned strawberry.
6. Serve with poppy seed dressing.

Black Bean Casserole and Salad

Black Bean Casserole
Pre-heat oven to 350

Cook and drain 1 pound ground beef in a skillet
In the same skillet add 1 large can of diced tomatoes
1 can green chilies
1 can black beans drained and rinsed
1 small onion chopped
1 med. bell pepper chopped
3 cloves of garlic
3-4 sprigs of chopped Cilantro
1 jalapeño optional
1Tbls. Cumin
1 small can spicy V8 juice, if you don’t have V8 add water and 1 ½ tsp chili powder.
You can also add a can of drained corn if you want or leftovers from earlier that week.
Let simmer and cook down.
In a 9x13 pan put 6 corn tortillas in pan, spread a layer of pepper jack cheese, then add about half of the sauce mixture and add a little Mexican mix cheese or cheddar. Then add 6 more tortillas the other half of sauce top with cheese and bake for 25-30 min.

Hint- if it looks moist then cook without foil and if more on the dry side then cover with foil.




Black Bean and Spinach Salad
Salad
1 Tbs. oil
1 bag sweet corn
Add the in a pan and blacken, then add
1 diced jalapeño
3 cloves garlic remove from heat and refrigerate, after cool add
1 can black beans drained and rinsed
1 medium red onion
4-6 green onions
8-10 sprigs cilantro
All of the grape tomatoes that you like cut in half

Dressing
¾ C. Italian dressing
2 Tbs. chopped cilantro
2 Tbs. lime juice
1 clove garlic
½ tsp. Cumin

Mix the Salad and Dressing together then just before serving add spinach.

*If there are leftovers add more spinach the next day, these keeps the spinach from going bad.

Roasted Pepper Apple Almond Salad

I attended a cooking class by Chef Brad last week, and really enjoyed it! He made two different summer salads for us that were really good! I want to make them again sometime soon!

The first one is the Roasted Pepper Apple Almond Salad, and the second is a Coconut Mint Fruit Salad. They make a lot, make good leftovers, and they are really healthy!

6 apples, chopped

2 large cucumbers, chopped

4 cups cooked barley and brown rice, cooled

1 cup feta cheese

1 cup slivered almonds

1 - 28 oz. roasted red peppers

8 cups romaine lettuce, chopped

1 cup raisins

1-2 packages fresh mushrooms, sliced

Place all ingredients, except feta cheese, in large bowl and toss with dressing . Garnish with feta cheese.

Dressing

1 cup olive oil

1 cup flax seed

1/3 cup white balsamic vinegar

2 Tablespoons Dijon mustard

Dash salt

1/2 cup jam, raspberry or apricot

Whisk together and toss with salad.

Summer Coconut Mint Salad

Recipe from Chef Brad, serves 16-20

1 large pineapple, peeled, cored, and diced, save the cores

6 Gala apples, chopped

2 cucumbers, peeled and chopped

1 cantaloupe peeled and chopped

2 pints fresh strawberries, cut

2 cups golden raisins

4 cups cooked brown rice or barley, cooled

Toss all ingredients in large bowl with dressing.

Coconut Vinaigrette Dressing

Pineapple core

1 can coconut cream, or milk

1/2 cup honey

1/2 cup coconut oil (found at health food store)

1/2 cup olive oil

1/2 cup white balsamic vinegar

Bundle fresh mint or basil

Place all but mint in blender and blend till smooth. Add mint and pulse lightly. 

Nordstrom Lime Chicken Salad

1/4 cup fresh lime juice
1/4 cup rice wine vinegar
2 tsp minced garlic
1 Tbs chipotle pepper puree'
3 Tbs honey
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 bunch cilantro
3/4 cup canola oil

In a blender, combine lime juice, vinegar, garlic, chipotle, honey, salt, and cilantro. Blend together well. Then slowly add the oil to the blender as it is blending until it is fully emulsified. Remove from the blender and taste for seasoning. Refrigerate until you are ready to serve. Whisk well before tossing with the salad.

Salad Ingredients: romaine lettuce, mixed greens, shredded pepper-jack cheese, roasted red peppers, tomatoes, corn, and roasted pumpkin seeds. I roasted corn and red peppers in a saucepan. Grill chicken tenders basted with dressing; cut into slices. Assemble all ingredients and top with cilantro/lime dressing. Enjoy!

Pork or Chicken Cafe Rio Salad Copycat

I know anyone living in Utah right now may not appreciate this, but since moving away, I've been constantly craving Cafe Rio salads. These recipes can take a long time, but if you assign parts of it out to friends, you can get together for a party (it serves 20 people!) I've seen (and tried) other copycat recipes for this, but this is the only one that tasted just like Cafe Rio. Yum Yum! (ps--try buying the tortillas from a mexican restaurant/cafe so it's more authentic.)

Serve in the following order:
Tortillas
Shredded cheese
Chicken or Pork
Black or Pinto Beans
Lime Rice
Red and Green Leaf Lettuce, shredded
Pico de Gallo
Guacamole
Fresh cilantro
Parmesan cheese
Fresh lime slice
Tomatillo dressing


Chicken
lbs Chicken Brest – boneless, skinless
1 small bottle Zesty Italian Dressing
1 Tbsp Chili Powder
1 Tbsp cumin
3 cloves garlic, minced
Mix all ingredients together in a large crock pot. Cook on high for 5-7 hours. Remove chicken and shred with fork. Reserve a small amount of juice and pour over shredded chicken to keep moist. Keep warm.

Pork
Pork Roast
1 bottle of honey barbeque sauce
1 Tbsp honey
1 liter of Coke
Place all ingredients in large crock pot and cook on low all night. In the morning take the roast out leaving the juice in the crock pot, shred the roast. Then place the shredded roast back in the crock pot and leave it on low.

Lime Rice
In a sauce pan, sauté:
2 Tbsp butter
1 yellow onion, chopped
4 cloves garlic, minced

In a large pot, bring the following to a boil:
6 2/3 cup water
8 tsp chicken bullion
½ bunch cilantro, chopped
2 tsp cumin
2 small cans diced green chilies
1 Tbsp lime juice
½ tsp salt
Add onion and garlic to boiling water. Add 3 cups long grain rice. Reduce heat, cover and simmer for 30 minutes.

Pico de Gallo
4 fresh tomatoes, chopped
1 white onion, chopped
¼ bunch cilantro, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
½ tsp lime juice
1 tsp salt
1 tsp pepper
Combine ingredients together in a medium bowl.

Tomatillo Dressing
1 pkg of Hidden Valley Buttermilk Ranch Dressing dry mix
1 cup buttermilk
1 cup mayonnaise
1-2 tomatillos, peel
½ - 1 clove garlic, minced
½ - 1/3 bunched cilantro, chopped
½ tsp lime juice
½ - 1 small Jalapeno, seeds removed
Blend ingredients together in a blender. Add additional mayonnaise if dressing is too thin. Keep refrigerated.