Tricky's EASY Ultimate Chicken Fingers

Ingredients:

2/3 cup Original Bisquick® mix

½ cup grated Parmesan cheese 

½ teaspoon salt or Garlic salt 

½ teaspoon paprika 

3 boneless skinless chicken breast halves, cut crosswise into 1/2-inch strips 

1 egg, slightly beaten 

3 tablespoons butter or margarine, melted

Directions:

1.             Heat oven to 450ºF. Line cookie sheet with foil; spray with cooking spray.

2.             Mix Bisquick mix, cheese, salt and paprika in 1-gallon resealable plastic food-storage bag. Dip half the chicken strips into egg; place in bag of Bisquick mixture. Seal bag; shake to coat. Place chicken on cookie sheet. Repeat with remaining chicken. Drizzle butter over chicken.

3.             Bake 12 to 14 minutes, turning after 6 minutes with pancake turner, until no longer pink in center.

*www.bettycrocker.com

Healthy Mexican Sweet Potato Skins

um, uhhhhhh-mazeballs.  for reals.

 

Ingredients:

• 3 medium sweet potatoes
• 1 can corn, rinsed and patted dry
• 1 can black beans, rinsed and drained
• 1 tablespoon butter
• 1/2 yellow onion, chopped
• 2-4 canned chipotle peppers in adobo sauce, minced or pureed
• 1 ounce light cream cheese
• 1/4 cup light sour cream
• 1 teaspoon salt (+ more to taste)
• 1/2 cup cilantro, roughly chopped
• 6 tablespoons shredded cheese (Pepperjack, Cheddar, Colby Jack… anything will work)

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Bake the sweet potatoes for 45-60 minutes.
2. While sweet potatoes are baking, place corn in a heavy cast-iron skillet over medium-high heat with no butter or oil. Sprinkle with salt and other Mexican seasoning (as much as you want). Do not stir! Let corn roast for several minutes before stirring. Let it roast for a few more minutes before stirring again. Continue this for about 10 minutes, until corn is browned and roasted on the outside. Set aside in a small bowl with the black beans.
3. Saute the onion in the butter over medium heat until soft and translucent. Set aside.
4. Remove sweet potatoes from the oven when fork-tender. Let cool for 5-10 minutes. Cut the sweet potatoes in half. Scrape the flesh of the sweet potatoes out, leaving the skins intact. Sometimes leaving a thin layer of potato inside of the skins helps them hold together better.
5. Mix the flesh of the sweet potatoes with the cream cheese, sour cream, chipotle peppers, and salt. You can use a mixer or just a spoon, depending on how soft the potatoes are. When well-mixed, gently stir in the black beans, roasted corn, sauteed onions, and cilantro.
6. Scoop the filling into the skins and top each with 1 tablespoon shredded cheese. Broil for about 5 minutes or until cheese is melted.

*www.pinchofyum.com

Creamy Avocado Yogurt Dip

The perfect St. Patty's Day appetizer! 
Delish!

Ingredients:

1/2 cup plain fat-free Greek yogurt (I use Chobani.)
2 ripe avocados, peeled and seeded
1 clove garlic, minced
3 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro
1 tablespoon finely chopped seeded jalapeño pepper
2 tablespoons fresh lime juice
1/4 teaspoon ground cumin
Salt and ground black pepper, to taste
Pita chips, tortilla chips, cut up veggies-for serving

Directions:

1. Place the yogurt, avocados, garlic, cilantro, jalapeño, lime juice, and cumin in a blender or food processor. Mix until smooth. Season with salt and pepper, to taste.
2. Scrape dip into a serving bowl and serve with pita chips, tortilla chips, or cut up veggies.

*www.twopeasandtheirpod.com

Rice, Cheddar, and Spinach Pie

Ingredients:

• 3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil

• 1 small onion, finely chopped

• 3 cloves garlic, minced

• 1 10-oz. package frozen, chopped spinach, thawed and squeezed dry

• 3 cups cooked instant or quick-cooking brown rice (I cooked regular Basmati brown rice.  One uncooked cup makes roughly 3 cups cooked rice.)

• 1 cup diced extra-sharp Cheddar cheese (I used a Colby/Monterey Jack mix.)

• 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground pepper

• 1/4 teaspoon salt

• 4 large eggs

• 1/4 cup nonfat milk

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 425°F. Generously coat a 9-inch pie pan with cooking spray.
2. Heat oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add onion and cook, stirring frequently, until beginning to brown, about 5 minutes. Add garlic and spinach; cook, stirring, 1 minute more. Transfer to a large bowl. Add rice, cheese, pepper and salt to the bowl and stir to combine.
3. Whisk eggs and milk in a medium bowl. Stir into the spinach-rice mixture. Transfer to the prepared pan and smooth the top with a spatula. (I topped the pie with a little sprinkle of cheese.)
4. Bake the pie until lightly browned in spots, about 25 minutes. Let stand for 5 minutes before cutting into wedges.

*Eating Well Magazine, March/April 2012

Smoky White Bean Chicken Chili

Ingredients:

            4 slices bacon, chopped

            1 whole large onion, diced

            3 cloves garlic, chopped

            1 whole rotisserie chicken, shredded or diced

            1 teaspoon smoky paprika

            1 teaspoon ground cumin

            1 teaspoon onion powder or granulated onion

            ½ teaspoons garlic powder or granulated garlic

            ½ teaspoons chipotle chile powder, or to taste

            6 cups chicken stock or broth

            1 can (28-ounce size) roasted, diced tomatoes

            4 cans (14.5 ounce size) white beans, cannelini or great northern

            2 cans (4 ounce size) diced green chiles

            salt and pepper, to taste

            ½ cups grated cotija cheese, optional for topping

            ¼ cups chopped fresh cilantro, optional for topping

Directions:

In a hot Dutch oven, cook bacon for about 3 minutes.

Add the onion and garlic to the bacon. Lower the heat to medium low and cover pot. Cook, stirring as needed until the onions are translucent and just starting to caramelize. This takes about 30 minutes.

Add the chicken, smoky paprika, ground cumin, onion powder, garlic powder, and chipotle to the pot and continue to cook for an additional 10 minutes (covered) so that the chicken gets infused with the aromatics and the spices.

Stir in the chicken stock, diced tomatoes, white beans, and green chiles. Add salt and pepper to taste. Bring to a slow boil and cook, uncovered, stirring as needed until the liquid has reduced to your level of preference.

For serving, pass the cotija cheese (or any cheese of choice) and chopped cilantro for topping as desired.

This is great with cornbread or a crusty bread and a salad.

Note: a can of the white beans can be reserved, pureed or well mashed, and then added to chili for thickening at the same time as the other beans are added to the chili. (I did this, and I would recommend it.)

*www.howsweeteats.com

Guinness Chocolate Cake

Oh yah, oh yah, oh yah.
Perfect for St. Patty's Day!

Ingredients:

• 1 cup Guinness (dark beer)
• 1/2 cup butter, cubed
• 2 cups sugar
• 3/4 cup baking cocoa
• 2 eggs, beaten
• 2/3 cup sour cream
• 3 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1-1/2 teaspoons baking soda

TOPPING:

• 1 package (8 ounces) cream cheese, softened
• 1-1/2 cups confectioners' sugar
• 1/2 cup heavy whipping cream

Directions:

• Grease a 9-in. springform pan and line the bottom with parchment paper; set aside.
• In a medium saucepan, heat beer and butter until butter is melted. Remove from the heat; whisk in sugar and cocoa until blended. Combine the eggs, sour cream and vanilla; whisk into beer mixture. Combine flour and baking soda; whisk into beer mixture until smooth. Pour batter into prepared pan.
• Bake at 350° for 45-50 minutes or until a toothpick inserted near the center comes out clean. Cool completely in pan on a wire rack. Remove sides of pan.
• In a large bowl, beat cream cheese until fluffy. Add confectioners’ sugar and cream; beat until smooth (do not over-beat). Remove cake from the pan and place on a platter or cake stand. Ice top of cake so that it resembles a frothy pint of beer. Refrigerate leftovers.   Yield: 12 servings.

*www.tasteofhome.com

Get 'Em

Ok, so this has absolutely nothing to do with a making a simple  
dinner/appetizer/dessert/veggie/smörgåsbord per say, but I promise you, these items surely need to be on your next Costco run shopping list.  Swear.  And let's be honest, Costco is kinda sorta always bratty about discontinuing things that you really really start to love without warning, so it is in your best interest to go and get these yummy treats.  Soon.

Um, yum.

...and yum.

K? K.

Panera's Mac and Cheese

Ingredients:
1 (16-ounce) package of rigati pasta (or other small pasta shells)
¼ cup butter
½ cup all-purpose flour
2½ cups 2% reduced fat milk (or cream) (I used milk.)
6 slices white American cheese, chopped
1 cup (8 ounces) shredded extra-sharp white Vermont cheddar
1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
1 teaspoon kosher salt
¼ teaspoon hot sauce

(I also used black pepper, to taste.)

Directions :
1. Prepare pasta according to package directions.

2. Melt butter over low heat. Whisk in flour and cook 1 minute, whisking constantly.

3. Gradually whisk in milk (or cream); cook over medium heat, whisking until mixture thickens and bubbles. Remove from heat.

4. Add cheeses, mustard, salt, and hot sauce, stirring until cheese melts and sauce is smooth.

5. Stir in pasta and cook over medium heat for 1 minute (or until thoroughly heated).

6. As an added direction, (completely your choice) I finished my mac and cheese off by baking it in the oven (covered) at 350 for about 20-25 minutes.  This step, however, is not necessary.

Serves 4 to 6 

*www.panerabread.com

Grilled Avocado (with salsa)

Ingredients:

Avocado
Lime juice
Olive oil
Salt


Directions:

Cut the avocado in half, remove the seed, and brush it with some lime juice and olive oil.  Place it flesh-side down on a medium-high grill for about 5 to 7 minutes.

Remove it from the grill and sprinkle with a little lime juice and salt.  To take it a step further, fill the hole with your favorite salsa (see recipe below) and top that with a little sour cream. 

Sprinkle the salsa with some chopped cilantro, a good sprinkling of kosher salt, and another drizzle of lime juice if desired.

Quick and Easy Salsa



Ingredients:
1 can fire-roasted tomatoes

1/8 to 1/4 cup diced onion

3 cloves garlic

1 tablespoon white wine vinegar (or lime juice)

¼ teaspoon cayenne or crushed red pepper (you can also throw in a jalapeno if desired)

½ tsp salt

3 or 4 sprigs of cilantro

Directions:
Put all ingredients in a blender and process until well blended.

Taste and add more salt, cayenne, or cilantro if needed.

*http://circle-b-kitchen.squarespace.com

Zesty Brussel Sprouts

 

 Fab.

Ingredients:

For the balsamic vinaigrette:

• 3 tablespoons EVOO
• 1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
• 1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
• ½ teaspoon agave syrup
• 1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce

For the Brussels sprouts:

• 2 tablespoons EVOO
• 1 pound brussels sprouts
• 2 tablespoons parsley, chopped (optional)

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 400ºF.

In a small bowl, whisk together 3 tablespoons olive oil, Dijon mustard, balsamic vinegar, agave, and Worcestershire sauce until thickened and creamy. Set aside.

In a large bowl, toss the halved Brussels sprouts with the remaining 2 tablespoons olive oil and season with salt and pepper. 

Arrange the sprouts in a single layer on a sheet pan and roast 25-30 minutes, stirring occasionally until browned and crispy. 

Toss with the reserved vinaigrette (to your liking; you don't need to use all!!!) and fold in the parsley before serving.

*www.spontaneoushausfrau.com