Broccoli and Rice Casserole

This yummy mixture is the chicken, pepper, onions, garlic, and rosemary. 

Be sure to chop up the broccoli so there are not a lot of huge pieces. 

I really wanted to make a casserole that was easy to make and that we could eat on for a few days. This casserole did not disappoint. I used fajita chicken that was already precooked. You can find it in any grocery store these days. 

1/2 lb. Chicken

1 can cream of chicken

1 can cream of mushroom

2 c. frozen broccoli (defrosted)

1 c. shredded cheddar cheese

1/4 c. bread crumbs (I smashed up some seasoned croutons)

2 c. cooked rice

1/2-1 c. heavy cream

1 tbsp. rosemary (I used fresh)

1/4 c. onion (I used a purple onion)

1/4 c. red, green, or orange pepper

1 tbsp. garlic (minced)

1 tbsp. olive oil

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Cook rice. In large skillet saute peppers, onion, rosemary, and garlic. Add chicken and saute together until chicken is hot and cooked through. Chop up broccoli and add to skillet. Add can of mushroom and chicken. Stir to combine all ingredients. It will be a little thick. Add rice and stir together. Now you want to add the heavy cream. Stir the mixture together until it is all creamy and delicious looking. It should not be difficult to stir or clumpy. If it is add more heavy cream to thin it out. Add salt and pepper or any seasonings you would like. I added a little dash of Tabasco for some kick. Be sure to taste it before you do the next step. You want to make sure you added enough seasoning. Put mixture in a casserole dish and top with shredded cheese and bread crumbs. Bake uncovered for 30 minutes or until cheese is fully melted and bread crumbs have begun to brown. Let rest for 10 minutes before you dig in.  

Salsa Chicken

This chicken is so flavorful and there are only 2 ingredients, chicken and salsa! (and maybe a little olive oil) My friend P-diddy told me about this and I really wanted to try it. She said she only tried it using the Trader Joe's brand salsa, and since I love that salsa SOOOO MUCH I knew I needed to make this. 

I used 3 defrosted chicken breasts. Put in a pan with a little olive oil and saute on both sides for 3-4 minutes only to brown. Add 3/4 of the salsa jar to the pan, put on med-low heat, cover, and simmer until chicken is fully cooked through. Once cooked, take chicken out and shred with a fork. Put the chicken back in the pan with all of the salsa juices and add the rest of the salsa from the jar to the pan. Mix completely and let simmer for 10 min. on low. That's it! 

This is so easy! Once the chicken was done I put it in a stand and stuff taco shell, added some cheese on top for the hubby, and baked in the oven for 8 minutes on 400 degrees. He devoured three of them. 

I am sure you could probably use another jar of your favorite salsa if you can't get a hold of the Trader Joe's brand. I haven't tried it with anything else but I am sure it would probably be good.  

Turkey Parmigiana

I has some turkey cutlets in the freezer and could not figure out how I wanted to cook them. I knew I wanted something saucy or grilled. I just didn't want to go the stuffed, Thanksgivingy (is that a word?) route. My husband is not a turkey lover at all. We always have to make a ham for him for Thanksgiving or Christmas. He is such a picky eater that I find myself "disguising" food quite often so that he will eat it. This recipe is a great disguise. You cannot tell that these are turkey cutlets. You could totally use chicken, veal, or any other meat. If you are in a bind and only have turkey, then this would be a great meal!

I added some roasted asparagus (which the hubby would NEVER touch) and it was a perfect meal! 

Turkey Parmigiana

4 turkey cutlets
1 jar marinara sauce (I used Trader Joe's brand)
3 tbsp. oil
3 tbsp. butter
3 tbsp. flour
1 tsp. salt
1 tsp. pepper
1/4 c. shredded mozzarella cheese
*pasta of any kind

Season cutlets with salt and pepper. Melt butter and oil in large skillet on med. high heat. Dust cutlets in flour and shake off excess. Place in heated skillet and cook for 5-6 minutes on each side until sides are golden brown. Once turkey is cooked through, take out of pan and place on plate to the side. Put entire jar of marinara sauce in pan. Stir and scrape up any bits on the bottom of the pan to mix in the marinara. *if you burned the turkey then use a new pan. Place the turkey in the sauce being sure to cover it completely within the sauce. Cover the pan with a lid, place on low and let simmer for 15-20 minutes. During this time you can boil your noodles if you want to put the parmigiana over it.

Sprinkle the mozzarella cheese over each of the cutlets in the pan and put the lid back on. Once the cheese melts, it is time to serve up!


*roasted asparagus

Heat oven to 425. Wash and dry asparagus. If you don't dry them they will steam in the oven instead of roasting. Place on a baking sheet and sprinkle with salt, pepper, and olive oil. Roast for 15-20 minutes.

Fish Tacos

These fish tacos are great for the summer. I love to put any kind of fish I have on the grill, add a little seasoning, and put it in a burrito.

The day I wanted to make this it was raining outside. I had to improvise because this was on my menu, so I heated up the old non-stick skillet and got to work. For this recipe I used Tilapia. I wanted a lighter fish that would cook pretty fast. Flounder, Perch, Sea Bass or any type of thinner white fish would work as well.

Yes my friends, I added cheese (lots of cheese!), sour cream, cilantro, and a little salsa. Trust me the fish is in there. It's on the bottom of this deliciousness.

Fish Tacos

4 Tilapia Filets 

4 tbsp. all-purpose flour

1/2 tsp. kosher salt

1/2 tsp. pepper

1 tsp. cajun seasoning

2-4 tbsp. extra-virgin olive oil

Heat a non-stick skillet over medium-high heat. Add 1-2  tbsp. oil; swirl to coat. Place flour in a shallow dish. Add salt and pepper to flour and stir to combine. Wash fillets and pat dry with paper towel to remove excess water. Sprinkle fillets evenly with cajun seasoning and rub to ensure seasoning is incorporated all over each fish. Dredge fillets in flour. Shake to remove any excess. You just want a nice dusting not a coating of the flour. Add 2 fillets to pan; cook 2 minutes on each side or until desired degree of doneness. Remove fish from pan. Repeat procedure with remaining 1-2 tbsp. oil and 2 fillets. 

Break the fish up into bite-sized pieces and add to tortillas with your favorite taco add-ins. 

Rice Bowl (Mock Chipotle)

I made this super easy, super yummy rice bowl today. It's really simple to put together you just need the ingredients. Think Chipotle Restaurant but this time you can add as much meat as you want, because we all know they skimp on the meat sometimes. Love you Chipotle but y'all be trippin'!

I found this amazing rice at Target in the frozen vegetables section. I always get peppers, onions, and corn in my bowl so I was super excited when I saw this:

Pop this baby in the microwave for 5 minutes and you have yummy rice. 

Next comes the meat. I also bought this fajita meat to make the other night for another dish and I had some left over. 

Put meat in a skillet with a little olive oil to brown up a bit. Super easy! 

I added some cheese, lettuce, salsa, cilantro, and sour cream and voila, instant rice bowl. It was sooooo good. It is perfect for a lunch or dinner. Feel free to add whatever type of meat you want. Next time I am going to add shrimp. I bet that will be so tasty. ENJOY! 

Rice Bowl

Cilantro Lime Rice (Archer Farms from Target is what I used)

Beef Fajita (Use whatever kind of meat you want)

Cheese (I used shredded cheddar)

Sour Cream (Pile on as much as you want)

Salsa (I used Trader Joe's brand because it's my favorite)

Lettuce (I used mixed greens)

Cilantro (dice up and sprinkle on top once complete) 

Pile it all in a bowl and enjoy. 

Pork Tenderloin with Preserves and Red Potatoes

These two herbs do wonders for pork. 

 Rosemary and Thyme

These herbs combined with a little salt, pepper, and olive oil are amazing! 

Summer is here and that means no work for me. School is out and I can focus on my other passion, cooking. I have been a terrible cook this past school year. Nothing came out right. Everything was too salty, overcooked, or just plain gross. My poor husband had to deal with it, though he often suggested we eat out. We spent WAY too much money doing that so I was sure that once school was out I would begin to focus on cooking much better, healthier meals. 

Pork Tenderloin Recipe

1-2 lb. Pork Tenderloin (all natural)

1 tsp. Kosher salt

1tsp. Crushed black pepper

2-3 tbsp. chopped, fresh rosemary

2 tbsp. chopped, fresh thyme

1 tbsp. Herbs de Provence

1 tbsp. Olive Oil

I started today with a yummy pork tenderloin. I just picked up a little all natural pork tenderloin (organic) from the grocery store. This tenderloin does not have any additives or flavoring in it, which is what you want since you will be adding all of your flavoring yourself. 

Rinse the tenderloin off and pat dry with a paper towel. Place in a gallon sized plastic bag. Add salt, pepper, rosemary, thyme, and olive oil. Mix all around making sure to cover the meat with all of the seasonings. Get all of the air out of the bag and seal it shut. Put it in the fridge and let it marinate 4-6 hrs. I turned it over after 3 hrs just to make sure all of the juices were flowing.

Take tenderloin out of bag and place on roasting rack (I covered my roasting rack with foil for easy clean up). You want to bring the meat to rest outside of the fridge for a bit. Cold meat doesn't do well straight out of the fridge and into a hot oven.  Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Cook for 30-40 minutes, depending on your oven. Meat should no longer be pink and juices running clear. Take out of the oven and let rest for 10-15 min. Slice thin or thick. 

Preserves

1/4 c. Fig preserves

1/4 c. Apricot preserves

1/3 c. water

1 tsp. vinegar

Combine all ingredients in sauce pan and bring to a boil, stirring to mix. Let boil for 5 minutes or until it starts to thicken. Take off of heat, stir, and let stand for 5 min.

Red Potatoes*

1/2 lb. red potatoes

1 tbsp. diced garlic

1 tbsp. chopped rosemary

2 tbsp. olive oil

1 tsp. kosher salt. 

Slice red potatoes in half and place in water. Bring to a boil until potatoes are soft. Strain. Heat a large skillet with olive oil. Sautee garlic and rosemary in the oil. Place the potatoes, cut side down into the skillet with olive oil, rosemary and garlic. Once the cut side is crisp, take out and sprinkle with kosher salt.

*I have to credit my dear friend at work for the potato recipe. Thanks LAB!

Thai Lettuce Wraps

I made these amazing Thai Lettuce Wraps for lunch this week. They are a mix between a little spice and a lot of Thai flavor. The combination of herbs and seasonings also provide the perfect taste to a delicious mid-day lunch or dinner. It is light and refreshing, so you won't have that weighed down feeling after eating. 

Thai Lettuce Wraps

1 lb. ground chicken

1 tbsp. canola oil (to cook the chicken)

2 garlic cloves, minced

Juice of 1 lime

1 tbsp. chili powder

2 tbsp. fish sauce

1 jalapeno, seeded and chopped

1/4 c. red onion, sliced thin

1/2 c. mint, finely chopped

1/2 c. basil, finely chopped

1/2 c. cilantro, finely chopped

3 green onion sprigs, chopped

1 head of bib lettuce

Heat oil in large skillet over medium heat. Place chicken in skillet and cook for a few minutes. While meat is still a little pink add the juice of the lime, minced garlic cloves, chili powder, jalapeno, and fish sauce. Stir to combine and continue until cooked through. Let cool off of burner for 5-7 minutes. Add onion, mint, basil, cilantro, and green onion. Stir to combine. Spoon mixture into individually washed and patted dry bib lettuce leaves. Makes 10-15 leaves (depending on how much you want to eat). Enjoy!