Buffalo Chicken Quinoa Salad

Buffalo Chicken Quinoa Salad (preventionrd version)

Buffalo Chicken Quinoa Salad (half baked harvest version)

Two versions of this delicious salad before I even give you my version.  It's funny...I saw this on Nicole's blog from preventionrd but went to the original to print it.  I ended up making my version much closer to preventionrd's.  Basically, we both increased the vegetables and decreased the oil just a bit.  I rate this really high and thought it was fabulous.  

I made a batch and took it to work for lunches....I was in a good mood all morning thinking about this...and it didn't disappoint.  It had the great Buffalo chicken flavor but none of the mess of wings and the good health benefits of quinoa and vegetables.  I really think I could sell bowls and bowls of this stuff.  It's just that good.  

Tieghan, from halfbakedharvest, really figured out a good one in this recipe.  I'm excited to look around her blog a bit more since anything even close to this would have to rank pretty high on my list. 

Salad
• 1 cup quinoa (I used red quinoa)
• 2 cups water
• 1 grilled boneless skinless chicken breast, cut into bite size pieces
• 1 cup broccoli florets
• 3/4 cup shredded carrots
• 1 cup shredded cabbage
• 1/2 cup blue cheese crumbles, plus more for garnish
• chives, to tast
Dressing
• 1/4 cup olive oil
• 1/2 cup wing sauce (I recommend Franks)

Instructions

1. In a fine-mesh strainer, rinse quinoa well and drain. In a medium pot, combine quinoa and water. Bring to a boil, then cover and turn heat to low. Cook until all the water is absorbed, about 20 minutes. Remove from the heat, fluff the quinoa with a fork.
2. Heat a medium size skillet over medium high heat Add a drizzle of olive oil and saute the broccoli for about 5 minutes. You want it to just start to soften, but still be crisp. Remove from the pan and set aside. 
3. When the quinoa is ready add the chicken, broccoli, carrots, shredded cabbage and as much of the dressing as desired (I ended up using all of the dressing, but we like things extra saucy) toss well. Add the blue cheese and chives. Toss again and serve warm with extra blue cheese crumbles and green onions.

Chicken Ranch Pizza

Chicken Ranch Pizza from seededatthe table

Paul wasn't too thrilled about this pizza since it didn't have tomato sauce, but I think I won him over on the bacon.  It was a great dinner...and came together fairly quickly since we had grilled two extra chicken breasts on the weekend.  That's my tip for easy meals during the week....the grilled chicken breasts can be used in different ways and it sure cuts down on the cooking time during the week.

I used one chicken breast for the Buffalo chicken quinoa salad recipe which I will post a bit later.  The other one was used for this pizza.

Seededatthetable's author, Nikki, really did a great job with this recipe; however, I had a few adaptations (shocking, I know) which are listed below.  

• pizza dough 
• 1/2 cup ranch dressing (1/4 c sour cream and 1/4 c mayonnaise mixed with 1 t sliced chives, 1 t dillweed, 1/2 t garlic salt)
• 1 cup shredded white cheddar cheese
• 1 grilled chicken breast, cut into bite-sized pieces
• 4 slices bacon, cooked crisp, crumbled
• 1 tomato, seeded and diced small
• 2 T sliced chives

Place pizza stone in the lower third of the oven. Heat the oven and stone to 500 degrees for at least 30 minutes. Shape the pizza crust dough and transfer to a pizza peel or sheet of parchment paper dusted with semolina or cornmeal.

Evenly spread the ranch dressing over the pizza crust, leaving a 1-inch border for the outer crust. Sprinkle with the mozzarella cheese, then layer the chicken, bacon, tomatoes and green onions. Top with the cheddar cheese.

Slide the pizza onto the hot stone. Bake for 10 to 12 minutes.

Main Dish Cole Slaw

Asian Chicken And Cabbage Salad
I love everything about this recipe....lots of healthy vegetables and some Asian flavors.  I liked the description in Bon Appetit....kind of a detox from vacation and heavy eating salad...light flavors work great.  The authors in the magazine call it Redemption salad.  Well, whatever you want to call it, it makes a great quick and healthy dinner.

I made it on on warm spring day and we all loved it.  I made it fairly close to the original recipe; however, I took the shortcut of using already shredded cabbage from the grocery store as a time saver.  Gee, add that and rotisserie chicken and making the dressing in the morning and it was a dinner that came together in just a few minutes.

Recipe:
1 chile, chopped, with some seeds
1/3 c vegetable oil
1/4 c lime juice
2 T soy sauce
2 t brown sugar
1 t fish sauce
1 t grated and peeled ginger
5 c shredded cabbage
2 medium carrots, shredded
handful chives
2 c rotisserie chicken, shredded
1 c baby spinach, thinly sliced
1/3 c chopped fresh cilantro
1/4 c chopped dry roasted peanuts
1 t sesame seeds

Whisk chile, oil, lime juice, soy sauce, brown sugar, fish sauce, and ginger in a bowl.  In a large bowl add cabbage, carrots, chives, chicken, spinach, and cilantro.  Toss with the dressing.  Top with peanuts and sesame seeds. 

Bang Thai Curry

I had this recipe in my file for a number of years but didn't make it.  We like (OK...love) curry dishes; however, there are only so many meals to make and so many times we want curry.  But, I'm not sure why I waited.  This one is going into the rotation of meals at this house since it comes together quickly and is tasty.

The restaurant, Bang Thai, was formerly in a 'burb to the north.  We don't eat out very often...but when the restaurant was around we were really into very few meals out of the house.  And even fewer meals to the north of our house since we tend to want to head more downtown than suburban when the urge to eat out hits us.  Anyway, we knew the owner from the Y, and we are always looking for good Thai food, so we did stop once or twice.

This recipe is a keeper.....glad I kept it this long and will make it more frequently now that it's in my mind.  I did not get a picture of this delightful dish, so next time I make it I hope to remember to do that.

1 T green curry paste
3 T vegetable oil
2 c chicken breast
2 t curry powder
2 c coconut milk (I used lite...and Trader Joe's brand)
1 c water
1 c cubed potatoes
1/2 c cubed white onion
1/2 c cubed tomato (I omitted)
3-4 t fish sauce (I used the brand from the Asian grocery store)
1 t sugar
1/4 c green onion
cilantro

Heat pan and then add curry paste and oil.  mix well stirring 1 min.  Add chicken and curry powder.  Stir well and add coconut milk. Add water, potato, and onion and bring to a boil.  Reduce heat to medium and cook until potato is tender.  Add tomato (if using), fish sauce, and sugar.  Cook 5- 10 minutes.

Top with green onion and cilantro and serve.

Buffalo Chicken Sandwiches

The idea for this gem came from Pinterest.  Something I just seem to be getting the hang of (watch out world, that probably means it's on the way "out") is this whole Pinterest thing.  Anyway, my version wasn't at all like what I saw; it just closely matched what I had on hand.

This is just the thing to use up some leftover chicken breasts (I do like to bake a few extra and throw them in the freezer).  And it really is like eating dip on bread, in a good way.


Buffalo Chicken Sandwiches
3 T cream cheese, softened
2 T mayo
2 T Frank's wing sauce
2 chopped cooked chicken breasts
1/4 c bleu cheese
Mix all of the above together and spread on bread.  Grill on a panini press.

Chicken and Kale Potatoes

I referred to my value package of chicken breasts...probably not very PC since they weren't locally raised with classical music in the background; however, it was worked for the week after a swim meet.  I got this idea off Nicole's blog (www.preventionrd.com).  I mixed up her chicken recipe a bit but was fairly true to the mashed potato and kale recipe substituting oriental kale for the regular ol' green kale she used.  Just because it was available and a tiny bit cheaper.

This meal was great.  So good that it prompted a lunch time text from Eleanor to me telling me that my food this week rocked!  Nothing like that to make a stressful workday seem just a tiny bit better.

Salt and Vinegar Kale Mashed Potatoes from the link above.

2 lbs yukon gold potatoes, cut into 2-inch cubes
2 Tbsp butter, divided
1 bunch kale, ribs removed and torn into small pieces
6 Tbsp white vinegar vinegar
1/4 cup skim milk
1/2 tsp salt

Directions: Bring 2-3 quarts of water to a rolling boil; add potatoes. Boil potatoes for 20-30 minutes or until fork tender.

Meanwhile, in a large skillet, melt 1 tablespoon butter over medium heat. Once hot, add the kale and saute until wilted and tender, about 4-6 minutes, stirring often.

Using a potato masher, mash the potatoes with the vinegar, remaining tablespoon of butter, milk, and salt, until desired consistency is reached. Mix in kale and serve hot.

Chicken:

Flatten chicken breasts.  Dip in beaten egg and then in breadcrumbs seasoned with a bit of salt and pepper.  Saute for a minute or two in 1 T or so of oil.  Place on baking sheet and top with goat cheese mixed with diced apple and bake until the chicken is done.

I didn't measure anything.....ooops.

Crockpot Tacos

How 'bout that picture off my cell phone?  Just trying a few things off my phone and trying to be a bit wiser about the apps.  I'm liking the picture....almost as much as I liked these tacos.  I found the recipe while exploring the skinnytaste blog and these caught my eye.  Ah.....a recipe with tomatoes sounded like the perfect thing to make while Eleanor was swimming at the meet in Oklahoma City.  

After raving about these, Paul admitted that he was s bit skeptical when I mentioned these earlier in the day; however, the three of us in Wisconsin liked these.  They couldn't be easier.  Really. 

Put the following in the slow cooker and stir a bit:

15 oz can black beans, drained

1 chicken breast

10 oz can Rotel

1 1/2 t chili powder

1 t ground cumin

1 t oregano

I put this in the crockpot on low for about 4-5 hours; shredded the chicken and put it back in the crockpot for another hour or so.  That's how it fit into my day.  It was a bit runny but we just drained it from the spoon a bit before stuffing the taco shells. 

2 c shredded red cabbage (I used pre-packaged Dole brand)

1/4 c cilantro

2 t rice vinegar

Stir and let sit about 15 minutes.

Served on crunchy taco shells. with the filling from the crockpot, a bit of cheddar cheese (if desired), some of the cabbage and some salsa.

Yum!  I would make these again, for sure.  Really easy and really good. 

Sunday Dinner

I like a good and hearty meal on a Sunday night (as well as all the laundry done and clean sheets and clean bathroom and stocked refrigerator).  This was a meal that made both girls happy at the end of a weekend.  Sweet potatoes and harvest grains were both from Trader Joe's.  The harvest grain blend is one of our favorite things....and arugula salad...yum.  Seriously, the sweet potatoes were frozen into discs that I cooked.  The chicken was as follows:
Pound chicken breasts into thin and fairly even layers.  Dip in buttermilk.  Then in cornmeal mixed with some Parmesan cheese.  Bake until done.  I was planning on breading the the chicken with breadcrumbs; however, my well-stocked pantry wasn't as well stocked as I had thought it was.  Oops.  But, that gave me the opportunity to make it in a different way. 

The weeks are flying by without too much blogging dedication from me.  We still are eating well, so I am managing a post every now and then.  Some of it is the shift in my work schedule...and some of it is that I need to shuffle my workout times a bit for Eleanor and Luisa's schedules.  And, yea, sometimes I just run out of day. 

Today I was able to take a long lunch and go to a sushi making workshop with a friend.  It was such a nice break to get away from my desk and listen and watch and eat.  Yep, I will need to remember to do that a bit more often since it was decadently fun.  I am planning on making a bit of sushi over the weekend, if I can find a tiny bit of spare time.  We're over the high school swim season (hooray...but that's another story) and back to club swimming, so that is changing a bit of my time.  There are a couple meets coming up in the next few weeks, so that may keep me busy as well.  I think a bit of sushi time will be in order though. 

The crockpot is a lifesaver....as is planning ahead.  I find that I really need to keep things a bit ahead....prepping things for dinner the following night after dinner.  I get it; I want to sit as well and unwind...but I do know that just 20 minutes more of work makes the next night so much better as far as dinner.

Tomorrow night is the high school swim banquet, so dinner is done for tomorrow.  Guess that's why I can type a quick blog post tonight. 

Buffalo Chicken Tacos

Buffalo Chicken Taco
Buffalo Chicken Tacos slightly adapted from How Sweet It Is by preventionrd.com and then by me into the following:

Tacos:
1  lb boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut into small pieces
3 Tbsp cornstarch
1/3 cup whole wheat flour
1/2 tsp garlic powder
large pinch of cayenne peppe
1/3 cup buffalo wing sauce (I used Frank’s Buffalo Wing) + 4 Tbsp, for drizzling
1 Tbsp olive oil
10 6-inch corn tortillas

Toppings:
1 avocado, sliced
4 oz gorgonzola
broccoli slaw
cilantro
lime wedges

Directions:
Heat a skillet over medium-high heat.
In a large bowl, combine cornstarch, flour, cayenne, and garlic powder. Stir in chicken. 

Add 1 tablespoon of olive oil to the skillet and once it gets hot, add chicken and brown on both sides – about 3-4 minutes per side. Once the chicken is done, set it aside in a bowl and toss with 1/3 cup buffalo wing sauce.

Add toppings and serve. 


All three of us (the three of us who are in town and not entertaining Asian employees) really liked this!

Chicken Caesar Pasta Salad

Yes, Nicole does it again with a great quick and healthy recipe.  Have I told you how much I love this woman's blog?  Do you like how I call her Nicole even though I never met her?  I always have to chuckle when people call a television or radio personality by his/her first name even though they have never met.  You know, like "Katie (Couric) said blah blah blah"  or "Brian (Williams) mentioned blah blah blah".  So, here I am mentioning my virtual friend, Nicole!  I do think I want to be her...although maybe I like her because she is the younger version of me...cooking up a storm, climbing the work ladder, and working out a bit.  I'm just the older more tired version of that person!!!!

Enough of the envy, I just really love the recipes and her pictures.  Her blog is my go to place when I'm in the mood to try a new recipe, especially during the week.  They are healthy, quick and have been tasty.  Ah, all the things I need.  This one sounded great....and was a MUST MAKE when the romaine heads arrived in the CSA box last week.  We grilled bratwurst on Sunday (during the Packers victory...hooray) and I threw on 2 chicken breasts in anticipation of this dinner.  We were having it after a high school swim meet and had to have a dinner that could be thrown together quickly when we arrived home.  I made the dressing the night before, so all I had to do was boil the water and cook the pasta!
Chicken Caesar with a Twist from www.preventionrd

Dressing:
1/3 cup light mayonnaise
2 Tbsp red wine vinegar
2 tsp dijon mustard
1 tsp Worcestershire sauce
1 tsp anchovy paste
1 clove garlic, minced
1/8 tsp ground red pepper
Mix all ingredients together.

Salad:
12 oz boneless skinless chicken breasts
4 oz dry rotini
2 tsp olive oil
1 tsp Greek seasoning
1/4 cup shredded Parmesan
2 heads Romaine lettuce, washed and torn into pieces
2 oz Parmesan, shredded

When the pasta is cooked; drain and return to the pot. Toss with olive oil, salt, seasoning, and grated Parmesan.

Toss the lettuce with the dressing and shredded Parmesan. Divide salad among 4 plates and top with 1/4 of the pasta and 1/4 of the chicken. 

I think I'm back!

Kung Pao Tacos...and I'm Back!

Kung Pao Taco

Guess that was a bit longer blog sabbatical than I had planned!  It's a bit of a change at this house with the full time work...and it impacts my prep time for meals.  We have still been eating well; however, I just haven't gotten around to trying too many new recipes.  And we're still getting the CSA box..that takes a bit of fun/work too.

I'm finding that it really is OK working more hours.  Sure, I really really miss the Wednesdays to catch up on things like grocery shopping, laundry, other errands, and the extra workout day.  But, I like the new work I'm doing.  The house is a bit messier on Friday nights now, but I'm finding it doesn't take too long to get it back to a tolerable level of chaos.  Now that Eleanor has her license and can drive places, I can get to body pump (and have been).  I love body pump, and I'm so happy to be back at it. I missed it, and I'm now realizing how string it helps me to be.    And, I find I'm often running with a head lamp rather than daylight.  But, it's all working.  Having a driver is really going to help things also.

I really do love Nicole's blog, preventionrd.com, and often look to her blog for some recipe ideas.  I have been needing some new, healthy, and quick recipes.  That's what I found with this one; it's a good one.  All four of us decided that it's a keeper!  I made it just as the recipe states, but I added green and yellow peppers as well.

Kung Pao Tacos slightly adapted from Cooking Light and from Preventionrd

1 1/4 lb boneless, skinless chicken beasts cut into 1/2-inch pieces
3 Tbsp low-sodium soy sauce, divided
1/4 cup +1 1/2 tsp cornstarch, divided
2 Tbsp canola oil
2 stalks celery, diagonally cut
3 Tbsp dry-roasted peanuts, coarsely chopped
1 1/2 Tbsp honey
1 Tbsp dark sesame oil
2 tsp rice vinegar
1 tsp sambal oelek (chile paste)
8 (6-inch) corn tortillas
2-3 green onions, chopped
1 medium red bell pepper, thinly sliced

Directions:

Place diced chicken in a large zip-top plastic bag. Add 1 tablespoon soy sauce to bag; seal and toss. Add 1/4 cup cornstarch  to the ziplock and shale well to coat chicken pieces.

Heat a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add canola oil to pan; swirl to coat. Add  chicken; sauté for 6 minutes or until done, turning to brown. With 1-2 minutes left to cook, add celery and peanuts.

Meanwhile, combine remaining 1 1/2 teaspoons cornstarch, remaining 2 tablespoons soy sauce, honey, and next 3 ingredients (through sambal oelek) in a microwave-safe bowl, stirring with a whisk until smooth. Microwave on high for 1- 1 1/2 minutes or until slightly thick. Add to skillet and toll with chicken to coat.

Divide chicken mixture evenly among tortillas (2 1/2 ounces per taco). Top each taco with green onions and bell pepper strips.

Lemon Chicken Soup with Orzo

Lemon Chicken Soup with Orzo
The link will take you to the original of this recipe; although my version was pretty close to the original.  This soup was good.  Not great, but perfectly fine for a night that ended up being late due to a swim meet.

Just checking in to see if anyone is missing my more frequent posts.  We still have been eating well...and exercising minus the strength training (plan to remedy that in the next few days though).  It's been a lot to adjust to this new fall schedule this year with an extra person in the house (who is delightful, BTW), and a full time job, and Paul's travel.  All is going well and we are still eating things, but I'm feeling like I have a few other priorities right now.  I'm still cooking, it's just that tried and true recipes are what is needed.
Greek chicken pita
spaghetti carbonara
sandwiches
Keeping it simple works for now.
So, don't mind my sporadic posts while I figure this out.  And check back when you can since I expect my blogging cycle will change again.
See you soon....hoping in the next week or so.

Ingredients:

4 tsp. olive oil
8 oz. boneless skinless chicken breasts, cut into small chunks
salt and freshly ground pepper, to taste
1 medium onion, diced (about 1 1/2 c.)
2 stalks celery, diced (about 1/2 c.)
2 medium carrot, diced (about 1c.)
1/2 tsp. dried thyme (or 1/2 tsp. dried)
6 c. low-sodium chicken broth
1 c. orzo, preferably whole wheat
2 large eggs
3 TBSP fresh lemon juice


Directions:

1. Heat 2 tsp. oil in a soup pot over medium-high heat. Season the chicken with salt and pepper, add it to the pot, and cook. Stir a few times until just cooked through, about five minutes. Transfer the chicken to a dish and set aside.

2. Add the remaining two teaspoons oil to the pot. Add the onion, celery, carrot, and thyme and cook until vegetables are tender, about five minutes.

3. Add five cups of broth and bring to a boil.

4. Add the orzo and let simmer until tender, about eight minutes. Turn the heat down to low to keep the soup hot but not boiling.

5. Warm the remaining one cup broth in a small saucepan until it is hot but not boiling.

6. In a medium bowl, beat the eggs. Gradually whisk in the lemon juice. Temper the egg mixture with warm broth, whisking the whole time.

7. Add egg mixture to the soup pot, stirring well until soup is thickened. Do not let the soup come to a boil.

8. Add the cooked chicken to the soup. 

Chicken Burgers with Spicy Peanut Sauce

Chicken Burgers with Spicy Peanut Sauce

I like the blog where I got this recipe, www.thebittenword.com.  It's a usual stopping point for me when I am looking for a bit of inspiration.  Being a midwestern suburban mom...it's fun to cruise recipes outside my usual swim mom box....and this fits the bill.  I wouldn't say that the authors are that far away from me in terms of what they are making....just a different lifestyle in having a tiny bit more free time to play around with a few more deluxe recipes.  Maybe a bit more like the time I had in a previous life:)

Anyway, I found this one on their blog and thought it seemed like a fun thing to try.  I was a fan; however, it seems like it won't be making a frequent appearance at our house...there are just too many recipes to try to repeat this one.  But no complaints....and the 4th burger made a nice lunch for me at work the next day.  A tiny bit or Srircha Sauce topped the burger.

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Lemon Chicken

Lemon Thyme Chicken was the inspiration for this one.

• 4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts. pounded flat for even grilling
• 1 tablespoon lemon juice
• 1 teaspoon dried thyme
• 1 teaspoon dried basil
• 2 cloves garlic minced

Marinate for about an hour.  Then grill.

Served with broccoli orzo it was a great summer dinner. 

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Greek-ish Beer Can chicken

A quick search of beer can chicken on the web will provide more information than needed.  So, I won't detail the process here.  Basically, the chicken cooks from the inside due to the liquid as well as the outside, so it's a quick way to cook the entire bird on the grill.  The can doesn't need to be a beer can, and a soda can was used on this round.  And the liquid doesn't need to be beer.  This can had some lemon juice, water, rosemary, and garlic in it.

We do have the stand that makes this a bit easier and my advice is to get that.  It prevents a potential burn, so well worth the cost.  In fact, we bought two stands since making two chickens isn't twice as much work.  Although we didn't make two this time it does make sense to have more chicken in the freezer for quick meals.

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Crockpot Buffalo Chicken

I don't know how it is in other parts of the country/world.  But in the midwest...when someone dies or is sick..people bring food (and toilet paper).  When my mother in law died a few months ago, the Fargonians were put into action with keeping us well fed.   We received delicious caramel rolls, and every type of hot dish (this is North Dakota, so it's not a casserole) imaginable, and soup and desserts.  One of the things that was really memorable was this Buffalo chicken in a crockpot.  My in law's neighbors provided dinner one night and came with boxes of food.  What was so impressive about this meal is that they really thought of everyone.  Although one crockpot had this spicy chicken...another just had plain.  There was an egg free dessert for the allergic person along with another dessert for others.  It really was considerate.  Extra considerate.

This chicken was made by a former neighbor.  If you're tracking this, it was made by my husband's sister's former neighbor who is now a current neighbor of our nephew and family.  Just sayin'----that's how things work in North Dakota!

It seemed like it would be more complicated than this.  But it's just...make shredded chicken and add wing sauce. I put a bit of water in the crockpot with the chicken breasts.  Once cooked the meat was drained, shredded, mixed with some wing sauce and frozen celery I found in the bottom of the freezer and put back in the slowcooker.  It was a 2 day event at this house.  The original did not have the celery, but I'm trying to empty the freezer in anticipation of vegetable overload this summer. 

Yum...a bit of bleu cheese and some shredded cabbage really took this to the next level!
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Chicken Satay

 Chicken Satay

Peanut Dipping Sauce.  Hmmm...excellent dipping sauce choice at Cafe Hollander to go with the sweet potatoes frites.  Yep, that was my pick when eating there late last week.  First of all, I would like to say that frying potatoes...whether sweet or regular, calling them frites, and serving them in a paper cone is absolutely brilliant!  I mean, it hardly seems like an unhealthy food if you frame it that way.  That order at Hollander was the inspiration for this meal.

I made the chicken satay fairly close to the recipe in the link above.  The peanut sauce had mixed reviews online, so I started by making it as the recipe stated and thought it needed a bit..um....more.  A tiny bit of tamarind sauce seemed to do the trick.

Sweet potatoes were parboiled until barely tender.  Then cut into wedges and brushed with a lime juice and olive oil mixture.  Sprinkled with chili powder and grilled.  They were fabulous:)

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Cheesy Serrano Stuffed Chicken

Cheesy Jalapeno Stuffed Chicken by skinnytaste.com

This just sounded good to me...and it was.  Maybe it was the grapefruit margaritas...but I think it was this chicken too.  

Cheesy Stuffed Chicken

• 2 slices center cut bacon, cooked and crumbled
• 1 serrano pepper, chopped
• 3 oz  cream cheese, softened
• 1/4 c shredded cheddar jack
• 2 tbsp chopped chives
• 3large chicken breasts pounded to 1/4" thick
• 1/2 cup Italian seasoned whole wheat breadcrumbs
• 1 1/2 juicy limes, juice of
• 1 tbsp olive oil
•  non-stick spray

Place chicken cutlets on a working surface and spread 1/3 of cream cheese mixture on each cutlet. Loosely roll each one, secure the ends with toothpicks to prevent the cheese from oozing out.

Place breadcrumbs in a bowl; in a second bowl combine olive oil, lime juice, salt and pepper.

Dip chicken in lime-oil mixture, then in breadcrumbs and place seam side down on a baking dish. Repeat with the remaining chicken.Place in a lightly sprayed pan and bake at 425 degrees for 25 minutes or so (until the chicken is done).
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Crockpot Sesame Chicken

I'm developing a relationship with preventionrd blogger, but she doesn't know it.  I suppose I should post on her site and let her know how much I enjoy her recipes and pictures; however, I have been in the background for quite some time.  Her photography is beautiful and her recipes are good.  Those are the recipes that are getting me out of my seasonal struggle to make dinner.  This time of year is hard since we don't have much in the way of fresh produce for inspiration in the upper midwest.  It's coming, I know. I turned to that blog for some inspiration this week and found this.

The honey used in this recipe is from Dakota Boys and Girls Ranch, an organization that has people working with at-risk youth.

 Slow Cooker Honey Sesame Chicken
Reluctant is the word I would use to describe my desire to put ketchup and cornstarch in a recipe.  But, I decided (in part due to the beautiful photography), that I would go for it.  The amount of honey in the recipe made me hesitant as well, but I decided to trust prevention rd food blogger on this round.
3 boneless skinless chicken breasts
1/2 cup honey ( I ran out...probably about 1 T or 2 shy of the 1/2 c so I subbed in agave nectar)
2 T low sodium soy sauce
1/2 onion, diced
2 Tbsp ketchup (decreased a slight bit from the original)
1  T extra-virgin olive oil
3 cloves garlic, minced, pressed or grated (omitted since I didn't have it)
1/2 tsp red pepper flakes
2 T cornstarch
Garnish:
2 T sesame seeds
chopped peanuts
cilantro
rooster sauce (this one really balanced the sweetness)
Put chicken into crock pot.
In a small bowl, combine honey, soy sauce, onion, ketchup, oil, garlic and pepper flakes. Pour over chicken.
Cook on low for 3-4 hours or on high 1 1/2 – 2 1/2 hours, or just until chicken is cooked through.
sauce. Remove chicken and shredWhisk cornstarch into liquid in the crock pot. Replace lid and cook sauce on high for ten more minutes or until slightly thickened.  Add the chicken back to the sauce until it's warm.

The timeline on this one is a bit tricky for me.  On Tuesday afternoons we do stop home for 30 minutes or so after school, so that's when I pulled it together and put it in the crockpot to eat after practice.

The roasted broccoli tasted great (as always) and went well with the chicken.  
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Breaded Chicken Cutlet with Arugula

Breaded Chicken Cutlet with Arugula
This woman does it again.  Found this while browsing her blog when I didn't even need a recipe for the week.  Yikes, I found this and rearranged my menu just to eat this sooner rather than later.  I have to admit, at this house we are the hugest arugula fans.  In fact, a perfect garden for me needs to have basil, tomatoes, and arugula.  That's it.  I can get along without anything else in our tiny garden, but I must have these 3 items!  Arugula is just that good.  It's expensive right now, so that is helping prod me to pick up some seeds and get it growing in our tiny plot. 

My parents requested some items from Glorioso's Italian Market, so I was able to include the prosciutto for this recipe in one errand.  Hooray...I sure am a fan of multi-tasking.

I made it fairly close to the recipe linked from above.  I omitted the frying step and cooked the breasts on a grate over a pan.  I think that next time I will do a quick brown in oil in a skillet...just to make it look a bit more appetizing.  That's probably worth a few extra calories; however, we LOVED this.  All three of us loved this, so I will be making it again.

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