Spicy Chicken Roll-Ups

I made these for a party recently.  They are super easy and very tasty!  Feel free to play around with the ingredients too.

Spicy Chicken Roll-Ups

2 chicken breasts
1 can diced tomatoes with green chiles
12 oz cream cheese, softened
1 c shredded Mexican blend cheese
1 clove garlic, minced
3 tsp chili powder
1 tsp cumin
1/2 tsp cayenne pepper
1/2 tsp garlic salt
1/4 c fresh cilantro, chopped
1/4 c green onion, chopped
6 flour tortillas (I used sundried tomato)
Boil chicken until done.  Shred into fine pieces.  Whisk softened cream cheese until smooth.  Add dry seasonings and garlic, mix well.  Stir in shredded cheese, diced tomatoes, cilantro, and green onion.  Finally, stir in chicken until mixed well.  Spread mixture over 6 tortillas leaving about 1/2 inch around the edges.  Roll up tortillas tightly.  Cut with a serrated knife into bize-size roll-ups.

Honey Chipotle Turkey Meatballs

I have never used ground turkey before, and although others had told me that it really wasn't that bad, I was still a little scared of it.  This recipe turned out to be great though.  It has a really spicy sauce that keeps the meatballs really moist.  Hope you enjoy!

Honey Chipotle Turkey Meatballs

1 1/2 lbs ground turkey

1 small onion, diced very small

2 garlic cloves, minced

1/2 tsp salt

1/4 tsp black pepper

4 tbsp honey

2-4 tbsp chipotle chiles in adobo sauce, chopped (depending on how hot you want it)

4 tsp apple cider vinegar

1 tbsp olive oil

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.  In a mixing bowl, stir the onion, garlic, salt, and pepper together.  Add the ground turkey and use your hands to mix until combined (do not overhandle the meat).  Form into meatballs about the size of a golfball (made about 16-17 meatballs).  In a small bowl, stir together the honey, chopped chipotle chiles, and vinegar.

Put a greased cast-iron skillet in the oven to preheat.  Heat oil in another large skillet over medium heat.  Once it is shimmering, add the meatballs.  Cook until browned, flipping meatballs onto all sides to brown evenly (about 10 minutes).  Pour the meatballs and the drippings into a preheated cast-iron skillet and place in oven.  Bake for 5 minutes.  Remove pan from oven (it will be hot!) and pour sauce over meatballs.  Bake for another 5-7 minutes, swirling the pan once or twice while cooking).  When the meatballs are cooked through, serve with pasta or rice.  (I did not have an oven proof skillet that could be used on my glass cooktop, so I used the method above.  If you have a skillet that you can move from your stove to the oven, then you can use one less pan!)

Adapted from http://traceysculinaryadventures.blogspot.com/

Snickerdoodle Bread

This bread is SO good!  If you like snickerdoodle cookies, you'll love this bread.  It's full of cinnamon and I think it would be great with a little cream cheese on top.  Enjoy!  (The original recipe called for a package of cinnamon chips, but I could not find these and have heard that they are seasonal.  I modified the amount of cinnamon in the recipe to make up for this.) Try serving this with spreadable cream cheese.

Snickerdoodle Bread

2 1/2 c flour
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
5 tsp cinnamon
1 c butter, softened
2 c sugar
3 eggs
1 tsp vanilla
3/4 c sour cream
3 tbsp sugar
3 tsp cinnamon
Cream softened butter, sugar, salt, and 3 tsp cinnamon until creamy.  Add eggs and mix well.  Add vanilla and sour cream and mix well.  Mix flour, baking powder, and 2 tsp cinnamon in a separate bowl.  Add to wet ingredients and mix until all combined.  Grease 2 regular loaf pans or 4 mini loaf pans with cooking spray.  Pour batter into pans until about 2/3 full.  Mix 3 tbsp sugar and 3 tsp cinnamon.  Sprinkle over top of batter until covered (you will probably not use all of the cinnamon sugar, put the rest in a ziploc bag and save it for later).  Bake at 350 for 35-40 minutes for 2 regular loaf pans or 30-35 minutes for 4 mini loaf pans or until a toothpick comes out almost clean.  You may have to adjust cooking time based on your oven.  Cool completely before removing from pan.
Adapted from http://lilluna.com/



Strawberry Banana Bread

This is a moist bread that could be served as breakfast or dessert.  The sliced fruit on top makes it look so nice!

Strawberry Banana Bread

1 1/4 c flour
1/2 c white sugar
1/4 c light brown sugar, packed
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/4 c canola oil
1 egg white, beaten
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 cup diced strawberries
2-3 strawberries, thinly sliced
1 banana
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Spray a regular loaf pan with cooking spray.  In a large mixing bowl, combine flour, sugar, brown sugar, baking soda, and cinnamon.  Stir to combine.  Mash 1/2 of the banana and add to the dry ingredients.  Thinly slice the remaining 1/2 banana.  Add the oil, beaten egg white, and vanilla, stir until just combined.  Gently fold in 1 cup diced strawberries.  Thinly slice a few more remaining strawberries for topping.  Pour batter into prepared loaf pan and top with thinly sliced bananas and strawberries.  Press them gently into the surface of the batter.  Bake for 40-45 minutes or until toothpick comes out almost clean (cook time can vary depending on moisture of fruit and different ovens).  Allow bread to cool completely before removing from pan.
Adapted from http://www.loveveggiesandyoga.com/

"Orange" You Glad I Didn't Say Flaxseed... Smoothie

Brent and I have been trying to eat healthier and drop a few pounds lately.  We have committed to working out at least 30 minutes every single day (except for our day off on Fridays).  We also have made some changes in our diet, including changing our Sunday pizza nights into Sunday smoothie nights!  We have been experimenting with some smoothie recipes and this one was a hit!  Brent came up with the name since this was the first time we'd added flaxseed!  If you haven't tried flaxseed before, it really doesn't add any taste, but the health benefits are worth it.  So, give it a try!

"Orange" You Glad I Didn't Say Flaxseed... Smoothie

2 1/2 c frozen peach slices
3/4 c frozen raspberries
1/3 c nonfat vanilla yogurt (I use Dannon light & fit)
1 c 100% carrot juice (no sugar added)
1 c 100% tangerine juice (no sugar added)
2 tbsp ground flaxseed
Blend all ingredients until smooth.  Makes 2 large smoothies.

Oreo Pudding Poke Cake

This is such a light and refreshing cake.  I made this for my mom on Mother's Day and it was a hit!  It would be a great cake to take to a cookout while it's hot this summer...just keep it in a cooler until it's time to serve it.  I've also read other recipes using this same "poke cake" idea.  I'll be trying some out soon!

Oreo Pudding Poke Cake

1 box chocolate fudge cake mix
2 boxes (4oz) Oreo instant pudding
Oreos (I used 1 1/2 rows from a normal package)
3 eggs
water
oil
Bake cake in a 9x13 pan according to package directions.  When cake is finished, sit on counter while mixing pudding.  Sit pudding aside while you use the end of a wooden spoon to poke holes in the cake, about 1 inch apart.  Poke holes so that you do not go all the way down to the bottom of the pan.

Immediately after poking holes, pour pudding mixture over top of cake.  Spread out so that pudding goes down into the holes and covers the top of the cake.  Allow cake to sit on counter about 5 more minutes to cool, then place in the refrigerator for at least 1 hour to set (I made mine the day before I was serving it).

When ready to serve, remove cake from refrigerator and crumble Oreos over top of the cake.  Serve while still cold.
Adapted from www.thecountrycook.net

Grilled Teriyaki Chicken Sandwiches

These sandwiches are super easy and really good!  The pineapple really adds a good touch to the flavor of this meal.  It's a great summer go to meal for the grill.

Grilled Teriyaki Chicken Sandwiches

2 chicken breasts
1/2 bottle teriyaki marinade (I used Mrs. Dash Spicy Teriyaki with no salt added & no MSG)
2 slices of pineapple (cored and peeled)
2 slices swiss cheese
2 crispy hamburger style buns (a crispy bun works better, too soft and the bread gets mushy)
2 tbsp butter
Using a meat pounder, flatten chicken breasts to preferred thickness.  Place chicken and marinade in large ziploc bag, allow to marinade in refrigerator at least 1 hour.  Grill chicken until no longer pink, about 10-15 minutes.  Brush pineapple slices with melted butter.  Grill pineapple about 5 minutes, until nice grill marks show.  Top each chicken breast with a slice of cheese and allow cheese to melt.  Toast bun then spread with a little more teriyaki sauce.  Layer chicken then pineapple on bun.  Serve with grilled veggies.
Adapted from http://livinglight58.blogspot.com/

Baked Parmesan Garlic Chicken Wings

I have always wanted to experiment with wings.  This baked chicken wings recipe turned out much better than I thought it would, although I would make some changes to it next time around.  We ended up liking the dry rub better than the sauce we made, but I am going to go ahead and give both recipes.  Feel free to try this out and play around with the ingredients.  Comment and let me know what you change!

Baked Parmesan Garlic Chicken Wings

1 tbsp dried oregano
1 tbsp dried rosemary
1/2 tbsp ground cumin
1 tbsp sea salt
2 lbs chicken wings
1 tsp olive oil
2 tbsp hot sauce
2 tbsp basil
2 garlic cloves, minced
1/4 c grated parmesan cheese
1/2 tsp seasoning salt
Place wings on non-stick baking pan.  Mix first 4 ingredients, sprinkle over both sides of chicken wings.  Bake at 425 for 15 minutes, flip chicken wings.  Continue to cook for 10 more minutes.  While cooking, mix the olive oil, hot sauce, basil, garlic, parmesan, and seasoning salt in medium bowl.  When wings are done, dip each wing into the sauce.  Serve with ranch dressing.  (Again, we really liked the dry rub, so try some wings with just the first 4 ingredients and feel free to experiment with the sauce!)