Peruvian Chicken Soup

Boil 4 quarts of chicken broth and two chicken breasts until cooked- remove and shred and set aside.  Add half a cup of uncooked white rice and three cubed potatoes and boil until cooked. Then add in puréed combination of cilantro (entire bunch- stems and all), white onion and 4 cloves of garlic. Cook an additional 5 to 10 minutes & top with avocado. Soooo simple & so delish!!!

Pollo Rosa Maria

 

Ingredients listed below but summary is: butterfly chicken breasts adding prosciutto and cheese- fold back closed-sprinkle with grill seasoning & grill until cooked. In separate pan melt butter mushrooms onions and garlic and add in white wine. I added in a little flour mixed with water to thicken sauce but that was a personal choice recipe didn't call for that.

Sauce ingredients:

2 tbsp of chopped onion

2 minced garlic cloves

1/4 cup of white wine ( I used 1/2)

3 tbsp of lemon juice (approx 1 whole lemon)

Chicken ingredients: 

1 tbsp of butter 

10 oz of mushrooms sliced 

4 boneless chicken breast 

4 slices of prosciutto 

4 slices of Gruyere cheese 

2 tbsp EVOO

grill seasoning: equal parts of salt, garlic, onion, oregano and double black pepper

Prime Rib Soup

This recipe is originally from Closet Cooking but he used a pot roast and I used leftover prime rib and in my opinion waaaaay better!!

2 cups of chopped prime rib

2 cloves of garlic 

8 ounces of mushrooms 

1 tbsp of fresh parsley 

1 tbsp of fresh thyme

4 cups of beef broth 

1/4 cup of flour

3 tbsp of butter

Melt butter add onions and mushrooms and cook until moisture evaporated (about 15 minutes) add garlic and thyme cook about one minute - mix in flour and cook additional three minutes - add wine and de-glaze the pan add the broth and beef and boil -reduce heat and simmer 15 minutes. Add parsley and serve!

Cajun Pasta Salad

In an attempt to copy a pasta salad recipe from my favorite local diner I came up with this and i love it! Tastes pretty similar and you could adjust amount of cajun seasoning depending on if you like salty and spicy. 

Box of pasta

5-6 tsp Emiril's cajun seasoning

1/2 tub fat free feta (put in blender to            

      make super fine)

5 diced and seeded tomatoes

I container fresh diced chives

1/2 cup EVOO

couple splashes red wine vinegar

Barefoot Contessa's 1770 House Meatloaf

We already have a house favorite meatloaf recipe from America's Test Kitchen but I decided to switch it up and try a new recipe I found on Pinterest originally stemming from my one of favorite cooks Barefoot Contessa & boy am I glad i did! It was truly so delicious and I'm not even a fan of meatloaf but the boys in the house are so it tends to get made alot! I took my own pictures but somehow they got deleted from my cell phone so unfortunately this is not an original picture...but I swear I made it and it was so good. FYI - I used only ground beef and ground pork not veal. 

1 pound of ground veal

1 pound of ground pork 

1 pound of ground beef 

1 tablespoon of chopped chives +1 teaspoon for the sauce 

1 tablespoon chopped fresh thyme leaves +1 teaspoon for the sauce

1 tablespoon of chopped Italian parsley +1 teaspoon for the sauce

3 large eggs 

1 1/3 of a cup of  Panko 

2/3 cup of a cup of whole milk 

1 tablespoon of salt 

1 1/2 teaspoons of ground pepper

EVOO

2 stalks of diced celery 

1 large diced onion 

2 cups of chicken stock

8 to 10 cloves of garlic chopped minced smashed ;)

3 tablespoons of butter

Sauté celery and onion in olive oil let cool- then add to bowl of meat, chives, thyme,parsley, eggs, Panko,milk, S&P and mix. Place in greased baking pan or on wire rack bake in 350° oven for 40 to 50 minutes or until internal temperature is 155 to 160°. Remove from oven and let rest 10 minutes. Meanwhile, for sauce combine broth garlic and butter over medium high heat and simmer 15 minutes until thickened. Add 1 teaspoon of the thyme,chives and parsley the sauce will eventually thicken and butter will eventually slightly brown. Enjoy!!

"Flank Steak O'Bryan" aka Carraba's Copycat

Above is what a more experienced cook's (or maybe just one with better photography skills as I just used my phone and the flash seemed to take over) dish would look like and below is mine. Might not be as pretty but it sure did taste just as good as if we were eating at our favorite chain ever... Carraba's!!

Take your flank steak and butterfly it. Cut it into more manageable portions as you will need to pan fry it to brown all sides, unless you have a really large saute pan.  Pound steak thin on both sides with both sides of the utensil (tenderizing side and the flattening side). Season both sides with S & P. In separate bowl combine goat cheese, drained chopped sun-dried tomatoes and chopped basil. Spread over steak and roll up. Secure with cooking twine. Pan fry in EVOO to quickly brown all sides. Keep in same pan (I used cast iron) and put in 400 degree oven for 12 minutes. Super easy & SUPER DELISH! My husband was SHOCKED it was flank steak because it was so tender!!

1.5 - 2 lb flank steak

6 oz goat cheese

1/2 cup drained chopped sun dried tomatoes

S & P

3 tbsp EVOO

Artichoke Chicken and Mushroom Bake

This recipe originated from the Chew cooking show but can be found all over Pinterest and on various blogs. I made this last night for my family and we loved it- so it's a winner and going on my blog which I use primarily to save recipes that I like future reference. Here she is...

4 pounds of chicken thighs with skin left on 

1 cup of artichoke hearts 

1 medium onion sliced 

1 pound of white button mushrooms 

2 tablespoons of Grey Poupon Dijon mustard 

3 cloves of minced garlic

1/4 cup of EVOO

1/4 cup of red wine vinegar 

1/4 cup of white wine 

1/4 tsp basil 

1/4 tsp of thyme 

1/4 tsp tarragon 

S & P

bake at 375 for one hour

Protein Powder Banana Breads

My main focus in the morning is ingesting as much caffeine as I possible can as quickly as I can so I can get the household up and running, lunches packed and kids out the door to school. Like many other moms I don't have much time left over to eat breakfast myself. This was never a problem before I started weight training and adding protein to my diet. I LOATHE most protein shakes due to their chalky texture and horrible smell, so I am always looking for other options to get as much as I can without causing myself to gag. I went out in search of banana bread recipes with protein powder added to the mix. Below is two tried and true recipes...both being good. One is obviously healthier being there is only oat flour(ground up rolled oats) and no flour. It also called for 6 packets of Stevia but I would rather eat something natural rather than chemicals so I substituted 1/2 a cup of sugar. It was really good.. texture was a bit gooey but I kinda like my baked goods like that. The other recipe with flour was more "breadlike" and drier but also good. Both great options for a pre-gym snack!

RECIPE 1 (on right /flour free) bake 375 @ 1 hr (depending on type of pan used )

2 mashed bananas

1 cup oat flour (ground oats in blender)

2 scoops protein powder (vanilla, banana or cake flavored)

1 cup nonfat greek yogurt

3 large egg whites (or 1/2 cup egg beaters)

1/4 cup unsweetened applesauce

6-8 packets stevia (or 1/2 cup sugar)

2 tsp vanilla extract

1 tsp baking soda

1 pinch salt

1/2 cup chopped walnuts

RECIPE 2 (on left/with flour) -  bake 1 hour & 15 minutes @ 350

3/4 cup sugar

1/2 cup applesauce

2 eggs

3 mashed bananas

1/2 cup milk

1tsp vanilla

2 cups flour

2 scoops protein powder (vanilla, banana or cake flavored)

1 tsp baking soda

1 tsp salt

1 cup chopped walnuts

All Natural Margarita Mix

Recently after a visit to the medieval fair we purchased a industrial sized lemon juicer so my son could have old fashioned lemonade at home. I love to find ways to have great treats that are as natural as possible. A great treat for me is a nice stiff margarita!!  I fumbled around with a few sour mix recipes I found online and settled on my own measurements (aka one with ALOT less sugar!!) You might want one sweeter but to me this mix is just right as the Grand Marnier sweetens things up anyways. this makes approx 6 margaritas at 96.7 calories each (pre-liquor of course). Enjoy!

1 cup fresh squeezed lime juice

1 cup fresh squeezed lemon juice 

3 cups water (1 cup separated & heated to dissolve the sugar into)

3/4 cup sugar