grilled chicken breast tostadas

 

I love nothing more than a tasty yet healthy meal, and this one did the trick! I thoroughly enjoyed this recipe and will be added to our weekly menu....at least until the snow hits and we can't grill anymore! :) Tony and I each had 2 tostadas and were full, the rest will be left overs for lunch tomorrow!

The differences I made from this recipe is instead of marinating my chicken I just rubbed a smashed clove of garlic on them and sprinkled the lime juice over top. You could add any other seasoning you like to it as well (I used a honey-lime seasoning I have) if you don't feel like taking time to marinate. I left out the cilantro in the pico de gallo and the green chiles in the guacamole. You don't put green chiles in guac!

Grilled Chicken Breast Tostadas

• 2 limes
• 3 Tbsp. extra virgin olive oil
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• 3 boneless skinless chicken breast (about 1 1/2 p0unds)
• kosher salt
• fresh ground pepper
• 1 cup sour cream (You could sub plain greek yogurt)
• 6 (6 inch) corn tortillas (I used white corn tortillas)
• additional olive oil
• easy guacamole
• pico de gallo

1. In a gallon sized ziploc bag, combine juice from 1 lime, olive oil, and garlic.  Season with salt and pepper.  Add chicken and marinate for 1 hour. (I skipped this step)
2. While chicken marinates, mix 1 cup sour cream with 1 tsp. lime zest and 1-2 Tbsp. lime juice (from remaining lime) to make a lime crema.  Store in refrigerator until ready to serve.
3. Preheat grill to high.  Grill chicken for about 4-6 minutes per side until juices run clear and chicken is cooked.
4. Brush tortillas with olive oil and toast on grill for about 30 seconds per side or until nice and crisp.  Remove from grill and sprinkle with salt. (I just sprayed with spray oil)
5. Slice cooked chicken breasts into slices and build tostadas.  To build: Spread tortilla with guacamole then top with chicken slices, pico de gallo, followed by lime crema.  Serve with Bush’s Texas Ranchero Grillin’ Beans on the side.  Makes 6 tostadas.

cookies 'n' cream ice cream

This stuff is amazing. 'Nuff said.


If you don't have an ice cream maker yet...you should go buy one.


Right now...

Prep Time: 8 minutes
Ice Cream Maker Time: Approximately 20-25 minutes
Makes: 1 1/2 quarts
Servings: Ten 1/2 cup servings

Ingredients:

1 cup milk
1/2 cup granulated sugar
2 cups heavy whipping cream
1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
3/4 cup crushed Oreo cookies*

*Place Oreo cookies in a Ziploc bag. Seal bag. Crush cookies using the heel of your hand or a kitchen mallet.

Directions: 

Using a wire whisk or hand mixer, mix milk and sugar until the sugar dissolves (about 1 -2 minutes).

Stir in heavy cream and vanilla extract.

Pour into ice cream maker.

Churn about 20 minutes or according to manufacturer's instructions.

Add crushed Oreo cookies to ice cream.

Churn for 5 additional minutes.

May need to freeze for several hours or overnight, mixture will be of milkshake consistency.

baked sweet potato fries

These things are delicious!! I think I might even like them better than regular fries. I love the sweet I get from the potato and the salty I get from the ranch (because everyone knows how much I love ranch right? lol) Ketchup just wouldn't do. It MUST be ranch. MmmMm. Tony loves these things too, he's always asking me to make them. 
Every time I see photos of these recipes though, their fries are always orange...I can't tell if they just have different sweet potatoes or if they are using yams instead. I just stick to the one that's labeled "sweet potato" at the grocery store :)

Ingredients:

- 1 sweet potato, (about 5" long) peeled and cut into 1/4" fries

- 2 tsp olive oil

- about 1/2 a dry packet of Zesty Italian dressing, or to your taste preference

- few shakes of garlic powder 

Directions:

-Preheat oven to 425 degrees.

-In a medium bowl, toss sweet potatoes with olive oil, italian dressing powder and garlic powder. 

-Spread potatoes on a baking sheet or on top of a cooling rack. Avoid crowding so potatoes get crisp. Bake 15 minutes. Turn and bake an additional 10-15 minutes. Ovens may vary so keep an eye on them and be sure to cut all the potatoes the same size to ensure even cooking. 

healthy tortellini soup

This soup turned out WAY better than Tony and I had expected. A super easy and quick meal that left us both full. I accompanied it with a slice of garlic bread... yum! A must try for a cool day.

Tortellini Soup
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Yield: 3-4 servings
Ingredients:
1 tbsp. olive oil
½ cup onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
½ tsp. dried oregano
1 (15 oz.) can diced tomatoes, with juices (I used roasted garlic flavor)
4 cups low-sodium vegetable broth (they didn't have low-sodium so I used regular)

9 oz. whole wheat tortellini, any variety

3 cups fresh baby spinach, loosely packed
Grated Parmesan, for serving

Directions:
In a large pot or Dutch oven, heat the olive oil over medium-high heat.  Add the onions to the pan and cook until beginning to soften, about 5 minutes.  Add in the garlic and cook, stirring frequently, just until fragrant, about 1 minute.  Mix in the oregano and diced tomatoes.  Add the broth to the pot.  Bring the mixture to a boil.  Add the tortellini to the pot and cook according to the package directions.  One minute before the tortellini is fully cooked, stir in the spinach.  Remove from the heat.  Season with salt and pepper if needed.  Serve warm with grated Parmesan as desired.

turkey chili taco soup

I made this to take for lunch a few weeks ago, and it turned out really good! I accompanied it with a few multi-grain saltines since I didn't have any baked tortilla chips on hand. Not exactly a 'summery' recipe, but it rarely gets above 60 degrees here so anything goes! :) Very filling and it's only 200 calories for 1-1/4 cups!

• 1.3 lbs 99% lean ground turkey
• 1 medium onion, chopped
• 1 bell pepper, chopped
• 10 oz can rotel tomatoes with green chilies
• 15 oz canned or frozen corn, drained
• 15 oz kidney beans, drained
• 8 oz tomato sauce
• 16 oz fat free refried beans (makes it thick and creamy, you can't taste them)
• 1 packet taco seasoning (you can use 40% less sodium)
• 2 1/2 cups fat free low sodium chicken broth

Directions:
In a large pot, brown turkey on medium heat, breaking up with a wooden spoon as it cooks. When cooked through, add onions and pepper and cook 2-3 minutes. Add tomatoes, corn, beans, tomato sauce, refried beans, taco seasoning and chicken broth. Bring to a boil and simmer about 10-15 minutes.

Serve with a few baked tortilla chips and your favorite toppings such as low fat sour cream, jalapeños, reduced fat cheese, chopped scallions,  onions, or chopped fresh cilantro. Freeze leftovers in individual portions for future meals.

oreo truffles

These things are amazing and I don't even like oreos! My first attempt at making any kind of cake balls/truffles. A must try!


Ingredients:
1 package Oreo cookies
1 8oz. package cream cheese, softened (I use low-fat or fat-free)
Your choice of melting chocolate (I used 2 boxes of Baker's white chocolate)
1 box of dark/milk chocolate for drizzle, optional (I used Bakers dark choc)


Directions:
Finely crush package of oreos in a large food processor or place them in a ziploc bag and crush into a fine consistency.

Stir in softened cream cheese. I found it's easiest to just mix it with clean hands.


Use a small melon baller or cookie scoop and roll into small balls.


Put them in the freezer for about 20-30 minutes to keep the balls from falling apart.


Melt chocolate as directed on package (I microwave it inside of a large glass measuring cup) and then dip one at a time into chocolate (I use 2 spoons to mix ball around and cover completely, and then pick it up with one of the spoons), tap off the extra chocolate and then slide them onto wax/parchment paper to dry.

(Optional) Dip a fork into melted dark colored chocolate, then drizzle onto each cake ball.


Keep refrigerated IF you have any leftovers ;)

Variations- Using Mint Oreos and dark chocolate Bakers melting chocolate. Drizzle with green colored chocolate!  :)

marinated grilled asparagus

I had grilled asparagus a while back at one of the restaurants here in town and it was to die for. I decided to buy some asparagus for the first time and try grilling it myself. I've been trying to incorporate different kinds of veggies in my diet, and asparagus is loaded with vitamins. If only it didn't make your pee smell funny. lol! This marinade turned out really good.

Ingredients

• 1 pound asparagus
• 3 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
• 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice (I omitted just because I forgot lol)
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1 tablespoon low-sodium soy sauce
• 1/8 teaspoon black pepper
• 3 cloves garlic, minced 
• Cooking spray

Preparation

• Prepare grill.
• Snap off tough ends of asparagus. Combine all ingredients except cooking spray in a large zip-top plastic bag; seal and marinate for 30 minutes. Remove asparagus from bag, and discard marinade. Place asparagus on grill rack coated with cooking spray; grill 5 minutes on each side or until asparagus is done.

Just a tip for grilling: Instead of placing each individual asparagus on the grill rack, thread them onto bamboo (or metal) skewers to keep them from falling in between the holes. Some people recommend putting a skewer through the top and bottom, but when I tried this mine started to snap in half so I just threaded it through the bottom of each one. Should look like a little fence when you're done :) Or you could use a grill pan, I've resorted to this method the past few times, much easier.