Sticky Mango Chicken Skewers with Black Bean and Pineapple Brown Rice

We had this last night, and I about made myself sick because I ate so much! SO yummy.

Original recipe found here

Ingredients:
For the Sticky Mango marinade:
1 very ripe mango, peeled and cut from the pit
1/2 jalapeno (seeds removed)
1/4 cup honey
2 tablespoons soy sauce
3 tablespoons vinegar
1 1/2 pounds chicken breast, sliced very thin

For the Pineapple Brown Rice:
2 cups cooked brown rice
1 can black beans, drained
1/2 fresh pineapple, chopped
1/2 red bell pepper, finely diced (I left this out)
1/3 cup scallions, finely diced
1/2 teaspoon garlic salt
Directions:
In a blender, combine all ingredients until smooth. Spread over the thinly sliced chicken, then cover the chicken and refrigerate for 1-8 hours. When ready to cook, thread the chicken onto skewers, then grill or bake in an oven preheated to 500 degrees for 18-20 minutes, or until the chicken is cooked through. Serve over pineapple rice.

For the Pineapple Brown Rice:
Stir the rice, black beans, pineapple, and red bell pepper together in a large skillet. Heat over medium heat until hot. Remove and stir in scallions and garlic salt. Serve with Sticky Mango skewers. 

*The recipe says sticky, but our chicken was not sticky. Maybe because we cooked ours on the grill. Still super yummy, but if you're expecting sticky, maybe try cooking it in the oven.

Pepperoni-Mozzarella Calzone

Okay, this was REALLY yummy. I could eat it again tonight.

Original recipe can be found here

Ingredients
2 large eggs
1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley (I just used dried, and about half that much)
1 teaspoon grated lemon zest
1/4 pound shredded reduced-fat mozzarella cheese
Extra-virgin olive oil, for brushing
1 13.8-ounce tube refrigerated pizza dough
1/4 pound deli-sliced salami, cut into thin strips (I used pepperoni and bacon, crumbled)
1 1/2 cups giardiniera (pickled mixed vegetables), drained (left these out)
1/4 pound sliced provolone cheese
Directions
Place a baking sheet upside down in the oven and preheat to 400 degrees F. Beat the eggs, parsley and lemon zest in a small bowl. Pour half of the egg mixture into a medium bowl and stir in the mozzarella. Reserve the remaining egg mixture for brushing on the crust.

Turn another baking sheet upside down; line with parchment paper and brush with olive oil. Unroll the dough on the parchment paper and pat into a 9-by-12-inch rectangle. Spread the mozzarella mixture over one half of the dough, leaving a 1-inch border along the edge. Top with the salami, followed by the pickled vegetables and provolone. Fold the other half of the dough over to cover the filling. Crimp and roll the edges to seal, then pierce the top of the dough in a few places with a knife.

Slide the calzone with the parchment paper onto the hot baking sheet; bake 15 minutes. Remove from the oven and brush with the remaining egg mixture, then continue to bake until the crust is golden, 5 to 10 more minutes. Let rest 5 minutes, then cut into wedges.

We dipped ours in marinara sauce, and it was super yummy!

Chicken Salad Sandwhiches

This one isn't really new to us, but I don't think I have made it since we've been married. This recipe calls for greek yogurt instead of mayonnaise, but it was too yogurt-y for me. To make it a little more familiar I added about a tablespoon of mayo and it did the trick.

Original recipe found here

Ingredients:

• 1 pound chicken breast (chopped, diced, or shredded)

• 1/2 cup diced red onion (I used a few scallions instead)

• 1/2 cup diced apple

• 2/3 cup grapes, halved

• 1/3 cup NatureBox Dried Cranberries or Zingy Currants (left these out)

• 1/4 cup sliced almonds (left these out)

• 1/2 cup Greek yogurt (+ about a tbsp of mayonnaise)

• 1-1/2 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice

• 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder

• Kosher salt

• Freshly ground black pepper

• Ciabatta bread, toasted, for serving (We used croissants, way better!)

Directions:1. In a large bowl, combine chicken, red onion, apple, grapes, dried cranberries or currants, sliced almonds, Greek yogurt, lemon juice, garlic powder, salt and pepper, to taste. Serve sandwiches on ciabatta bread with chicken salad mixture.

fish tacos with chipotle cream

I've been trying out some new recipes lately, and I've been so lucky! the past 4 nights I've made something new to us, and they have all turned out great, are super easy, and don't make the house too hot (it's already been in the 90's here, so cooking can be miserable in a hot kitchen!)! I'll start with these fish tacos.

The original recipe can be found here on Food Networks website

Fish:

2 tablespoons olive oil

2 tablespoons freshly squeezed lime juice

1/4 teaspoon salt

Freshly ground black pepper

1 pound white flaky fish fillet, like tilapia or halibut

Chipotle cream:

1/2 cup plain nonfat yogurt (I used greek yogurt)

2 tablespoons mayonnaise

2 teaspoons chipotle pepper, in adobo sauce

8 (6-inch) corn tortillas

1 1/2 cups shredded green cabbage or lettuce

1/2 cup corn kernels (thawed if frozen)

1/4 cup fresh cilantro leaves

Lime wedges

Directions

In a small bowl, whisk together the oil, lime juice, salt and pepper. Pour over the fish fillets and let marinate for 20 minutes. Put the yogurt into a strainer lined with apaper towel and place over a bowl to drain and thicken for 20 minutes.

Remove the fish from the marinade and grill on a preheated grill or nonstick grill pan over a medium-high heat until cooked thorough, about 3 minutes per side. Set the fish aside on a plate for 5 minutes.

In a small bowl combine the thickened yogurt, mayonnaise, and chipotle pepper.

Heat the tortillas on the grill or grill pan for 30 seconds on each side.

Flake the fish with a fork. Top each tortilla with 1 tablespoon of the chipotle cream. Top with fish, cabbage, corn and cilantro and serve with lime wedges.

donut brownies

i was craving chocolate so bad last night, so i whipped up some brownies real quick. they were so easy and SO yummy. i literally cannot stop eating them.

this is the "best brownies" recipe from Hershey's

1/2 cup butter melted
1 tsp vanilla
1/2 cup flour
1/4 teaspoon baking powder
1 cup sugar
2 eggs
1/3 cup cocoa powder
1/4 teaspoon salt

heat oven to 350, and grease desired pan. (i used 7''x11'' glass dish)
stir together the butter, sugar and vanilla. add eggs and beat well with a spoon. add flour, cocoa, baking powder and salt. stir until well blended, and spread evenly into pan.

bake for 20-25 minutes, or until brownies begin to pull away from the sides of the pan.

*this is my own addition, i didn't feel like making the frosting that goes along with these, so i did this instead*

chocolate glaze

3/4 cup powdered sugar
2 tbsp cocoa powder
1 1/2 tbsp milk
1 tsp vanilla

stir all ingredients together with a fork until well blended.

when the brownies are done, poke them with a fork a few times

pour the glaze over the hot brownies and tilt pan until the glaze is all even. i poured out the extra glaze so it wouldn't puddle in the middle.

DONE!

these are seriously so yummy and gooey and delicious. they would go great with a bowl of ice cream, but are just as good all by themselves. they remind me of a chocolate cake donut!

Sesame Noodles with Peanut Sauce

I found this recipe here, but I made a few changes. We had it for dinner, and cold for lunch. Millie even loved it!

Sesame Noodles with Peanut Sauce

*Serves 4-6

INGREDIENTS:

1/4 cup chunky peanut butter
2 medium cloves garlic , minced or pressed through garlic press (about 2 teaspoons)
1 tablespoon minced fresh ginger
5 tablespoons soy sauce
2 tablespoons rice vinegar
1 teaspoon hot chili sauce (sriracha sauce)
2 tablespoons packed light brown sugar
Hot water
2 chicken breasts
1 tablespoon salt
12 ounces dried whole wheat spaghetti noodles (any kind really, I used thin spaghetti noodles)
2 tablespoons toasted sesame oil
4 scallions (green onions), sliced thin on diagonal
1 medium carrot, grated
In blender or food processor, peanut butter, garlic, ginger, soy sauce, vinegar, hot sauce, and sugar until smooth, about 30 seconds. With machine running, add hot water 1 tablespoon (for a total of about 5 tablespoons, give or take) at time until sauce has consistency of heavy cream, slightly thickened but purable. Set blender jar or workbowl aside.

DIRECTIONS:

Bring 6 quarts water to boil in stockpot over high heat. Meanwhile, adjust oven rack to 6 inches from broiler element; heat broiler. Spray broiler pan or rimmed baking sheet lined with foil with cooking spray; place chicken breasts on top and broil chicken until lightly browned, 4 to 8 minutes. Using tongs, flip chicken over and continue to broil until thickest part is no longer pink when cut into and registers about 160 degrees on instant-read thermometer, 6 to 8 minutes. Transfer to cutting board and let rest 5 minutes. Using 2 forks, shred chicken into bite-size pieces and set aside. Add salt and noodles to boiling water; boil noodles until tender, about 10 minutes or according to package directions. Drain then toss noodles with sesame oil until evenly coated. Add shredded chicken, scallions, carrot, and sauce; toss to combine. Divide among individual bowls and serve immediately.

*the original recipe called for sesame seeds, but I couldn't find any, so I left them out. I didn't think the dish was missing anything, but it might add something extra if you want to use them!

mexican crepes

well thats what i keep calling them anyway...

first cook a tortilla in some butter

sprinkle with sugar

and a little cinnamon

add some sliced strawberries

roll it up

and enjoy!

we use the Tortilla Land uncooked tortillas (find them at costco) but you could probably used a cooked one too, it would just have to get warm instead of cook! i bet all sorts of fresh fruit would be good in this... just use whatever you have in the fridge!