Jalapeno Popper Chicken

Taken From add a pinch

Ingredients
6 skinless, boneless chicken breast

For the jalapeno popper topping:
3 slices bacon, diced (I substituted with Turkey Bacon)
2 jalapenos, deveined, deseeded and diced
¼ cup diced onion
1 (8-ounce) package cream cheese, softened
½ cup mayonnaise or Greek yogurt
1 cup shredded cheddar cheese
½ cup shredded Parmesan cheese

For the topping:
½ cup crushed butter crackers (I used the whole wheat ritz crackers)
½ cup Parmesan cheese
4 tablespoons butter, melted

Instructions
Preheat oven to 425º F. Place chicken breasts in a small casserole dish and bake until juices run clear when pricked, about 45 minutes.
While chicken is baking, prepare jalapeno popper topping for chicken. Add bacon, jalapenos, and onions to a small skillet and fry until bacon is crispy and jalapenos and onions are tender. Remove from heat and add to a small mixing bowl. Add cream cheese, mayonnaise or yogurt, and cheeses to mixing bowl and cream together with bacon mixture until well-combined.
Remove chicken from oven and reduce oven heat to 350º F. Spread jalapeno popper topping on top of chicken until well-covered.
For the topping, mix together crushed crackers, cheese, and melted butter. Sprinkle on top of jalapeno popper topped chicken. Bake until crackers are lightly browned, about 15 minutes.
Serve warm.

Pumpkin Zucchini Bread

Taken From Six Sisters Stuff

3 eggs, lightly beaten

1 cup sugar
1 cup brown sugar
1 cup canned pumpkin
1 cup butter, melted (or 1 cup oil or 1/2 cup oil and 1/2 cup applesauce)
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
3 cups all-purpose flour (I substituted whole wheat flour)
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
1-2 cups shredded zucchini
1 cup chopped walnuts (optional)


Directions
In a bowl, combine eggs and sugar. Add pumpkin, butter (or oil/applesauce) and vanilla. Combine dry ingredients; gradually add to pumpkin mixture and mix well. Stir in zucchini and nuts. Pour into two greased and floured 9-in. x 5-in. loaf pans. Bake at 350° for 45-55 minutes or until breads test done. Cool in pans 10 minutes. Remove to a wire rack. Yield: 2 loaves.

Whole Wheat Pumpkin Muffins

Taken From eat 2 gather

1 cup Oatmeal
1 cup Buttermilk
1 Egg
1/2 cup Brown Sugar
1/2 cup Vegetable Oil (or I substitute for applesauce)
1 cup canned Pumpkin Puree
1 1/2 cups White Whole Wheat Flour
1 teaspoon Baking Powder
1/2 teaspoon Baking Soda
1/2 teaspoon Salt

Streusel Topping
1/4 cup White Whole Wheat Flour
1/4 cup Brown Sugar
1/4 cup Oatmeal
1/2 stick butter
1/2 teaspoon Cinnamon
dash of Salt

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Muffin Batter: Mix Oatmeal and buttermilk together in bowl and let set for 10 minutes. In large bowl whisk together, flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Back to the oatmeal buttermilk mixture, add in one egg, vegetable oil, and brown sugar, blend well. Combine flour mixture, pumpkin, and oatmeal mixture with a spatula.

Streusel Topping: Combine flour, brown sugar, oatmeal, cinnamon, and cut stick of butter into dry ingredients until you get a consistent crumble topping. A pastry cutter or a fork work good for this, or if you like you can use your food processor for a real speedy job!
Spoon muffin batter into paper lined muffin tins, cover top of batter with streusel topping, be generous. Bake at 350 degrees for 18-22 minutes.

Southwest Quinoa Bites

INGREDIENTS*yields 12 regular muffin sized bites

2 cups cooked Quinoa

1 cup shredded, cooked chicken

1/2 cup bread crumbs

1 cup cheddar cheese

1/2 cup pepper jack cheese

1 tablespoon olive oil

1/2 cup black beans

1/2 cup canned corn

1 medium red pepper, chopped

2 garlic cloves, minced

3-4 scallions, chopped small

1 tablespoon cumin

1 tablespoon chili powder

3 eggs, lightly beaten

salt & pepper to taste

ranch dressing for dipping

1) Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

2) Place your Quinoa, bread crumbs, cooked chicken and cheeses in a large mixing bowl and set aside.

3) Heat your olive oil in a medium saucepan over medium heat.  Once the oil is heated, add your black beans, corn, red pepper, garlic, scallions, cumin and chili powder and saute for 3-5 minutes.  The goal here isn’t to cook the vegetables through, but simply allow the flavor of everything to combine a bit before adding it to the rest of the mixture.

4) Add the veggie/spice mixture to the quinoa/chicken/bread crumbs/cheese and allow it to cool for a few minutes before adding the eggs (about 5 minutes).  You can then add the beaten eggs and combine the mixture.  Season with salt and pepper to taste.

5) Take a regular sized muffin tin (12 muffins) and spray with non-stick cooking spray.  Add about 1/3 cup of the mixture to each muffin slot.

4) Bake in your preheated oven for 30 minutes.  Serve with a side of Ranch dressing for dipping!

Since this was dinner, I decided to use a regular sized muffin tin vs. the mini-muffin tin, but these would certainly be great bite sized as well!  Served with a nice side salad, it was a perfect, healthy and scrumptious dinner.  If you wanted to add a little kick to these, you could always toss some crushed red pepper flakes in with the cumin and chili powder! 

We had this for dinner tonight and loved it! Well, Gary and I did. The kids didn't seem to care for it, strangely enough. I actually never made or ate quinoa before this week, but this week we've had it 3 times. I LOVE it!! It's a great alternative to brown rice, which I don't care for and this cooks ten times faster! Yea for healthy eating!

Recipe from And They Cooked Happily Ever After

We ate this with a yummy Fiesta Bean Salad found here. We served it on top of spinach because it seemed like it needed a little something else. Both delicious recipes, but probably a little excessive on the beans all in one meal!!!

Chicken Taco Soup

6 cups water
6 chicken bullion cubes
4 chicken breasts, cooked and cubed
1 teaspoon cumin
1 or 2 tablespoons chili powder
1 (29 ounce) can crushed tomatoes
1 tablespoon sugar
1/2 cup rice (brown rice doesn't cook enough in an hour)
1 (15 ounce) can garbanzo beans, undrained

Corn chips
Cheese, grated
Cilantro, chopped
Sour cream
2 limes, quartered

In a large pot, bring water to a boil; dissolve bullion cubes. Reduce heat to low. Stir in cubed chicken, cumin, chili powder, tomatoes, sugar, rice, and garbanzo beans. Simmer for about 1 hour. When ready to serve, add remaining ingredients as toppings to individual servings. Makes about 8 servings.

*Dustin and I love this soup and think the lime is a must have.

CAJUN CHICKEN PASTA

This recipe is from my friend's recipe blog,  Leesh & Lu's Recipe Box 

Ingredients:

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For the blackened chicken:
4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
1 teaspoon paprika
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
1/4 teaspoon ground white pepper
1/4 teaspoon onion powder

For the sauce:
1- 14.5 ounce can crushed tomatoes
2-3 teaspoons cajun/creole seasoning (some brands are spicier than others, so season gradually and taste as you go)
1- 15 ounce jar alfredo sauce (or make your own- This is a good recipe to make, but you only need about 1/2 of it for this particular recipe....I used the rest for my kids since they don't do spicy. Also, I found it to be a little salty, so I suggest adding a little salt at a time, to taste)

1/2 pound linguini, or other pasta, cooked and drained (we like whole wheat or the vegetable pasta)

Directions:

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Preheat oven to 350. Heat a cast iron skillet or grill pan over high heat for 5 minutes until it is smoking hot.
Mix together the paprika, salt, cayenne, cumin, thyme, white pepper, and onion powder. Oil the chicken breasts with cooking spray on both sides, then coat the chicken breasts evenly with the spice mixture.

Place the chicken in the hot pan, and cook for 1 minute. Turn, and cook 1 minute on other side.  Transfer skillet to oven and bake in the preheated oven until no longer pink in the center and the juices run clear, about 5-10 minutes depending on the thickness.  When the internal temperature of the chicken reaches 165, remove chicken breasts from skillet and allow to rest for 5-10 minutes before slicing.  While chicken is resting, cook your pasta and prepare sauce.  

* I'm lazy, so I actually just cubed my chicken and cooked it in a frying pan with a little bit of EVOO and added my spices to it

In a medium saucepan, combine crushed tomatoes, alfredo sauce, and cajun/creole seasoning. Heat over med-low, until hot and bubbly.  Slice chicken and serve with sauce over hot pasta.  .  

Notes:

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The chicken is a bit spicy, if you want to reduce the spiciness, cut back on the cayenne pepper.
This is also really yummy using shrimp instead of chicken.  
If you have leftover chicken and sauce--use them on a pizza! :)

Banana Bread

This recipe is from my favorite banana bread recipe. Since we are trying to make eating healthier a lifestyle change I am trying to make changes to some of our favorite foods.

Ingredients

• 1 (8 ounce) package reduced fat cream cheese, softened
• 1 1/4 cups white sugar
• 2 eggs
• 1/2 cup unsweetened applesauce
• 1 cup mashed bananas
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 2 cups whole wheat flour
• 1/8 cup wheat germ
• 1/8 cup ground flaxseed
• 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 3/4 cup chopped pecans
• 2 tablespoons brown sugar
• 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon

Directions

1. Beat the cream cheese. Gradually add the white sugar, and continue beating until light and fluffy. Add eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition. Stir in the applesauce,  mashed bananas and vanilla. Add flour, wheat germ, ground flaxseed, baking powder, and soda; mix until batter is just moist.
2. In a small bowl, mix together chopped pecans, 2 tablespoons brown sugar, and cinnamon. (I often omit this step altogether or sometimes just add a bit of cinnamon to the ingredients)
3. Divide 1/2 batter into two greased and floured 8x4 inch loaf pans. Sprinkle pecan mixture over batter in pans, and top with remaining batter.
4. Bake at 350 degrees F (175 degrees C) for 45 minutes, or until an inserted toothpick comes out clean.

When I first told Gary about how I made the banana bread he said, "So, it's gonna taste gross?!" But guess what? He REALLY liked it! I have not tried it yet, but I imagine you could substitute the sugar with something like agave or pure maple syrup....I just can't vouch for such fantastic results if you do. You can also cut back on the amount of sugar you use.