Green Salad with Olives
Serves 6

Ingredients
8 oz salad greens
1/2 cup mixed pitted olives
1/2 bulb fennel, sliced
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
1 tablespoon red wine vinegar

Directions
1. In a salad bowl, place salad greens, olives and fennel.

2. To make the dressing, whisk together 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil and 1 tablespoon red wine vinegar.

3. Pour dressing over salad and mix to dress.

recipe from epicurious

If I’m not making tacos, I’m thinking about tacos. And if I’m thinking tacos aren’t quite the right dinner option, I’ll figure something else out along the same lines: enchiladas, burritos, quesadillas. Last night, quesadillas won!

These quesadillas have a great balance of smoky, spicy, sweet and savory. Plus, there’s extra peach salsa left over to dip chips in. This recipe is a pretty healthy quesadilla if you make sure you purchase part skim mozzarella cheese.

Peach Salsa

Chipotle Chicken and Peach Salsa Quesadilla
Makes 2 quesadillas

Ingredients
Chipotle Chicken
1/2 pound hormone-free, skinless, boneless chicken breasts
1/2 Tablespoon canola oil
1 chipotle pepper in adobo sauce, diced
1 Tablespoon adobo sauce
2 teaspoon ground cumin

Peach Salsa
1 ripe peach, diced
1 medium tomato, diced
1/2 small yellow onion, diced
1/2 jalapeno, minced (remove seeds for less spice)
1 Tablespoon chopped fresh cilantro
juice of half a lemon
salt and pepper to taste

Quesadillas
2 8-inch tortilla shells (flour or spelt)
1/2 cup shredded part skim mozzarella cheese
olive oil cooking spray

Directions
1. Cut 1/2 pound of hormone-free, skinless, boneless chicken breasts into 1/2-inch dice.

2. Heat 1/2 tablespoon canola oil in a medium sized skillet over medium-high heat. When canola oil is shimmering, add diced chicken breast. Cook chicken breasts until cooked through, stirring frequently, about 8 minutes.

3. When chicken is about done, add 1 diced chipotle pepper, 1 tablespoon adobo sauce, and 1 teaspoon cumin to the skillet. Stir to combine and cook an additional minute. Salt and pepper the chicken mixture to taste.

4. While the chicken is cooking, make the salsa. Combine 1 diced peach, 1 diced tomato, 1/2 minced jalapeno, 1 Tablespoon chopped cilantro, juice of half a lemon, and salt and pepper to taste. Combine and let sit to allow flavors to meld. (This is a good opportunity to snack with chips too.)

5. Once the chicken is done cooking with the spices, remove from heat. Heat a medium-sized nonstick skillet over medium heat. Assemble the quesadillas like this:

• Lay tortilla on a flat surface
• Add 1 handful of cheese to half of the tortilla
• Add half of the chicken on top of the cheese
• Add 2-3 tablespoons of salsa on the chicken
• Add 1 handful of cheese over the salsa
• Fold the other half of the tortilla over
• Spray with cooking spray

6. When the nonstick skillet is hot, add one quesadilla to the pan, cooking spray side down. Lightly spray the top of the quesadilla (this is the half without the cooking spray). Cook the quesadilla for about 2-3 minutes per side. Remove from heat and repeat with the second one.

7. Allow the warm quesadilla to sit for a couple of minutes to let the cheese hold everything together. Enjoy!

note: peach salsa recipe inspired by this recipe

I barely had lunch so I’m getting pretty hungry. I’ve made this pizza many times, but I usually use a prepared crust like Boboli. Well, because it’s Sunday I guess I decided to make my own pizza dough. I’ve done that many times.

But this time… many things went wrong. I had to make the dough three times today. Bah! Talk about a comedy of errors.

This is what I learned today when making your own pizza dough:

1. If you’re using a food processor, make sure all the liquid goes in first. If you put it on top of the 5 1/2 cups of flour, it spills everywhere causing you to start over.
2. If you’re using a food processor, don’t blend the ingredients for 2 minutes like I did. It gets sort of soupy and becomes beyond repair. Instead, pulse 2 or 3 times … or until it forms into a ball.
3. Have several dough recipes on hand in case the first or second just doesn’t work out.
4. Have plenty of flour and yeast on hand for times such as today.

But, alas, I finally got it on the third try.

Barbecue Chicken Pizza
makes: 8 slices

Ingredients
1 pizza dough (either purchased or made from scratch – see below for recipe)
1/4 cup of your favorite BBQ sauce (I love love love Kowalski’s brand – a local Twin Cities grocery store)
1/4 small red onion sliced
1/2 pound hormone-free skinless, boneless chicken breasts: cooked & cubed OR you can pull it
1/4 cup sliced pickled peperoncinis
1/2 cup shredded part-skim mozzarella cheese

Directions
1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees F.

2. Put your pizza dough on a baking sheet (stoneware is preferred). If you’re using your own pizza dough or a refrigerated dough, roll it out to the shape you desire (circle, rectangle, etc.)

3. Spread the BBQ sauce evenly over the dough to about 1/2-inch to the end. If you like your pizza saucy, go ahead and add some more.

4. Top the pizza with chicken, onion, peperoncini, and cheese.

5. If you’re using fresh pizza dough, bake pizza for about 18-20 minutes or until the edges of the crust are lightly brown and the cheese is bubbly.

If you’re using store-bought par-baked pizza crust (such as Boboli), bake pizza for 10-13 minutes or until cheese is lightly brown and bubbly.

Serve this with a Greek salad of mixed greens, feta, kalamata olives, cucumber, and lemon/olive oil vinaigrette.

Pizza Dough Recipe
makes enough dough for 1 pizza

Ingredients
1/2 teaspoon dry active yeast
1/4 cup hot water (not boiling)
1 cup all purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon sugar
1 teaspoon olive oil
3 – 4 Tablespoons water

Directions
1. Mix yeast and hot water in a small bowl until the yeast dissolves – about 2 minutes.

2. Combine flour, salt, sugar, and olive oil in a medium bowl. Add yeast mixture and stir the mixture with a wooden spoon. Add additional water by the tablespoon as needed. The dough should be sticky, but it should form into a ball and want to stick to itself (it gets a little grabby).

3. When the dough is completely sticking to itself, put it on a clean dry surface sprinkled with flour. Knead the dough for about 2-3 minutes or until the dough is elastic.

4. Coat a glass bowl with olive oil, put the ball of dough in the bowl and turn it over so all surfaces are covered in oil. Put a kitchen towel over the bowl and let it rise for 1 hour. Punch it down, and your dough is ready to be pizzafied!

We served this alongside Grilled Turkey, Bacon and Blue Cheese Sandwiches.

Lemony Grilled Asparagus with Goat Cheese

makes: 12 servings (6 pieces of asparagus per person)

Grilled Asparagus

3 bundles of asparagus (enough for 6 spears per person)

juice of 1 lemon

3 T olive oil

1 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon freshly ground pepper

Garnishes

1 lemon for zesting

3 oz chevre goat cheese

Directions

1. Prepare the asparagus by bending it from each end to determine the ripe part of the asparagus. Snap off the woody ends – you don’t want to eat these.

2. Whisk together lemon juice, olive oil, salt and pepper. Dress the asparagus and let marinate in a plastic bag for at least 20 minutes.

3. Heat grill to medium high heat. Put asparagus directly onto the grill. Cook for about 8 minutes, turning occasionally to avoid burning.

4. Remove from grill. You can place them on a platter or you can put them on individual plates for serving. Either way, once the asparagus is on a plate, use a microplane grater to zest the lemon over the asparagus. You should use the entire lemon. Then, take the chevre and crumble it on top of the asparagus.

We served this along side the Thai Chicken Lettuce Wraps as part of the first course.

served in ramekins so the juice wouldn't run into the lettuce wraps

Watermelon, Feta and Mint Salad

makes: 12 servings (about 1 cup each)

3 cups 2-inch chunks fresh watermelon

1 cup crumbled feta cheese

1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

1 teaspoon crushed red pepper

2 T chopped fresh mint

Directions

1. Combine all ingredients together in a bowl then serve. It’s that easy.

recipe adapted from epicurious

We served this with the Watermelon Feta and Mint Salad in a little ramekin side bowl.

This is a great summer salad recipe, too. You don’t have to put it in the lettuce wraps – instead, you can just mix it up, leave it in the fridge and have it around for a satisfying and pretty healthy snack.

Thai Chicken Lettuce Wraps

makes: 36 lettuce wraps (plus some leftover salad for later)

Peanut Dressing

8 large garlic cloves

1/2 cup soy sauce

2/3 cup fresh lime juice

4 Tablespoons sugar

2 Tablespoons peanut butter (smooth or chunky – it doesn’t matter)

4 teaspoons chopped peeled fresh ginger root

1 Tablespoon chili garlic sauce

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon pepper

1/2 cup vegetable oil

Salad

9 oz rice stick noodles (vermicelli size – very thin)

2 pounds boneless, skinless hormone-free chicken breasts

3 medium carrots, peeled and julienned (cut into about 3-inch long pieces)

3 medium cucumbers, peeled seeded and julienned (cut into about 3-inch long pieces)

1 cup shelled edamame (soy beans)

1/3 cup coarsely chopped roasted salted peanuts

2 heads Boston or Bibb lettuce, washed

Directions

1. To make the dressing, combine garlic through pepper in a food processor. Process until smooth, then add oil to combine all ingredients. Put half aside for the salad dressing, and use the remaining half to marinate the chicken breasts.

2. Cook rice noodles according to package. When drained, cut the noodles into 3-4 inch pieces using a scissors then add to a large mixing bowl.

3. Cook the chicken. You may grill or roast the chicken. We grilled the chicken since it was such a beautiful day and we didn’t want to heat the house too much before the guests came over.

• To Grill: Heat grill to medium-high heat. Cook chicken for about 10-12 minutes, turning once.
• To Roast: Heat oven to 375 degrees. Place chicken in a roasting pan and roast for about 12-15 minutes.

When chicken is cooked through, move to a cutting board and slice. Add chicken to the noodle bowl.

4. Add carrots, cucumbers and edamame to the noodle and chicken bowl. Toss with the reserved peanut dressing.

5. To assemble, put about 1/2 cup of the noodle salad into one leave of lettuce. Serve with crushed peanuts as a garnish.

recipe adapted from epicurious

I made these for a book club brunch, and they were met with rave reviews. Because these are so lean, you may need to use more breadcrumbs than what I’ve listed here – just work with the consistency until it will form a patty. I know they look somewhat like crab cakes or fish cakes, but there’s nothing fishy about them – just herby savoriness.

Turkey Sausages with Apricot Mustard Sauce

Makes: about 2 dozen 3-inch patties

Time: under 60 minutes

Get the recipe when you

Ingredients

Sausages

3/4 pound ground turkey breast

3/4 pound ground turkey thigh

2 ripe pears, peeled, cored and grated

1/4 cup coarsely chopped flat leaf parsley

2 T finely chopped fresh sage leaves

1/2 t salt

1/2 t pepper

1 egg, slightly beaten

about 1/2 cup breadcrumbs

Apricot Mustard Sauce

1/2 cup apricot preserves

1/4 cup hot Chinese mustard

2 t freshly chopped rosemary

salt & pepper to taste

Directions

1. Combine all of the ingredients up through the egg into a bowl. Combine with your hands until thoroughly mixed. Judging by the consistency, you may need to add breadcrumbs to make the mixture form into patties. (Due to the runniness of the pears, the breadcrumbs will hold it all together.) Form into patties and set on a plate.

2. Heat a nonstick skillet over medium heat. Add a teeny bit of oil in the pan, then add 4 to 5 sausages at a time. Fry on each side until done, about 4 minutes per side. Remove from pan, set aside and cover with foil to keep warm.

3. Meanwhile, heat a small saucepan over medium heat with the apricot preserves. Whisk for about 1 minute or until melted and runny. Add the mustard and continue to whisk until combined (about 30 seconds). Remove from heat, add rosemary, salt and pepper.

4. Serve turkey sausage patties with apricot mustard sauce. Enjoy!

Recipe adapted from this recipe and this recipe both from epicurious.com

Last night I made a new recipe for chicken tacos that were just beyond delicious. These tacos were pretty healthy too – full of vegetables and fruit. Use light sour cream for the chipotle cream and you’ve got a light taco recipe full of flavor.

Spice Rubbed Chicken Tacos with Chipotle Cream and Pineapple Slaw

Serves: 6

Time: under 60 minutes (less if you purchase pre-sliced pineapple)

Get the recipe

Ingredients

Chicken Tacos

1 pound hormone-free, antiobiotic-free skinless boneless chicken breasts or thighs (I used thighs this time)

2 small zucchini, quartered lengthwise

1 red bell pepper, seeded and sliced into 3/4″ slices

1 t canola oil

2 T light brown sugar

1 T smoked paprika (sweet paprika works too if you have that)

2 1/4 t adobo chili powder

1 1/2 t salt

1 1/2 t garlic powder

1 1/2 t onion powder

12 6 inch corn or flour tortillas

Chipotle Cream

1 cup light sour cream

2 chipotles in adobo sauce chopped

Pineapple Slaw

1 fresh pineapple, peeled, cored and diced

1 pound jicama, peeled and shredded

1 jalapeno, diced (remove seeds if you don’t want it spicy)

1 cup coarsely chopped fresh cilantro

3 scallions, thinly sliced

3 T fresh lime juice (I used key limes and it was extra delicious)

salt and pepper to taste

Directions

1. Preheat the broiler on low heat. You can also grill the chicken and vegetables too.

2. Line a baking sheet with foil. Toss the vegetables with the canola oil and sprinkle the spice rub over them. Rub the chicken with the spice rub and put on the same pan. Broil for 10-12 minutes, turn over and broil for another 10 minutes. The brown sugar in the rub makes the chicken nice and crispy.

Spice Rubbed Chicken and Vegetables

3. When you turn the chicken, put the tortillas in the oven for the remaining 10 minutes. Just wrap them in foil and they will be perfectly warm when the chicken is done.

4. Meanwhile, prepare the pineapple slaw. While the chicken and vegetables are cooking, prepare the pineapple, jicama, and herbs. Toss together in a bowl and set aside.

Pineapple Jicama Slaw

5. Make the chipotle cream: mix together the sour cream and the chopped chipotles. Set aside in a serving bowl.

6. When the chicken and vegetables are done, remove them and the tortillas from the oven. Slice the chicken and chop the vegetables in big chunks. Mix together in a bowl and place with the other ingredients.

7. Set out all the fixins and let people assemble tacos: chipotle cream, then chicken and veggies, then pineapple slaw. Enjoy!

This tastes extra good with a Valoma.

This recipe based on Spice Rubbed Chicken and Vegetable Tacos on epicurious

I’ve never cooked pressed chicken before, and I have no idea why because this is a really great way to cook chicken. Often when I cook chicken breasts in a skillet on the stove, it splatters all over the place. This cooking style avoids all of the splatter and it cooks the chicken evenly while adding a nice crust without having skin.

Here’s another healthy and low fat recipe that is full of flavor.

Pressed Chicken Breasts with Squash and Tomatoes

Makes: 6 servings

Time: 35 minutes

Ingredients

6 boneless, skinless hormone-free chicken breasts (about 4-6 ounces each)

2 T olive oil

4 cloves garlic, minced

1 package cherry tomatoes, halved

3 medium yellow squash

zest from half a lemon

3 T chopped fresh marjoram or thyme

Directions

1. Cut out a circle of parchment paper that will cover a large skillet.

2. Heat 1 T oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Sprinkle one side of the chicken breasts with salt and pepper. Add chicken breasts to the pan seasoned side down. Sprinkle the tops of the chicken with salt and pepper. Cover with parchment paper, then top with another heavy skillet (like a cast iron pan), and top with about 2 pounds of weight (broth cans work well).

3. Cook chicken breasts for about 8 minutes on first side, then turn. Place parchment paper, skillet and weights on chicken again. Cook for another 8 minutes or until done.

4. When chicken is fully cooked, remove from the pan and keep warm. You can either put them in a 200 degree F oven, or put them on a plate and cover with foil.

5. Heat the remaining 1 T olive oil in the same pan that you just removed the chicken from. When hot, add garlic, tomatoes, squash, lemon zest, and 2 T marjoram. Saute for about 4 to 5 minutes or until soft. Toss with remaining 1 T marjoram and pour over chicken breasts.

Recipe adapted from Epicurious

Talk about simple food being the best: this recipe has only 4 ingredients and it is packed with flavor. I think this would be pretty good over ice cream too…but I’m just sayin. Plus – it’s a super healthy salad.

Strawberry Citrus Salad

from Bon Appetit May 2009

Makes: enough for a small gathering (8-10 servings or so)

Time: 15 minutes prep + 30 minutes to marinade

Ingredients

2 packages strawberries, washed, cored and quartered

3 large navel oranges, segmented and cut into large chunks

3 T fresh chopped mint

1 T brown sugar

Combine everything together in a bowl, and let it sit for about 30 minutes to marinate and get mascerated goodness. I enjoy this salad by itself or as a simple dessert. In fact, it’s really good after a plate of fried eggs and turkey bacon.

This is a perfect side dish to Garlicky Green Turkey Burgers and Chili Lime Grilled Corn on the Cob for a complete quick and easy grilling meal.