Thursday, April 14, 2011

Portable Taco or Chili Salad

Chili Salad:
Individual bag of frito corn chips (frito corn chips or doritos)
chili and cheese and any other toppings you want

Taco Salad:
Individual bag of chips- frito corn chips or doritos
taco meat
beans
rice
lettuce
tomatoes
sour cream
salsa (or ketchup if you are me)

Directions:
Crush the chips then add ingredients. Close bag and shake it up then serve with a fork. Yum!

Wednesday, April 13, 2011

Sweet Potato Wedges

4 sweet potatoes, cut into wedges
2 tsp italian seasoning
salt to taste
olive oil
optional lemon pepper and black pepper

Heat oven to 400 degrees. Put wedges on cookie sheet (to make it even easier, put down tinfoil first) and then put some olive oil on top and other seasonings. Mix together with hands. Bake for approximately 35 minutes or until desired softness and crispness.

Saturday, April 9, 2011

Candied Pecan Salad

Baby Spinach
strawberries, diced or craisins
pears, diced
feta cheese, crumbled
1/2 cup slightly chopped pecans
1/4 cup sugar
poppy seed dressing

Combine pecans and sugar in medium skillet over medium heat. Stir constantly with a wooden spoon (so it doesn't melt!). After a few minutes, the sugar will liquify. Pay close attention. At this point stir to cover walnuts with the sugar coating. The syrup will begin to darken and will coat the nuts. When they reach a golden brown color, remove from heat and continue to stir for a couple minutes as they cool a bit. Spread candied nuts onto a piece of parchment or wax paper or a cookie sheet. Cool completely.

Combine all ingredients together and enjoy!

Thursday, April 7, 2011

Garlic Chicken Stir Fry with Quinoa, Peppers and Basil

Ingredients:
1 cup quinoa
1 1/2 cups chicken broth or 1 1/2 cups water with 1 bouillon cube/1 tsp powder
1 1/2 lbs chicken breast
4 Tbs olive oil
1 small onion, thinly sliced
1 red bell pepper, seeded and thinly sliced
1 yellow bell pepper, seeded and thinly sliced
5 cloves garlic, thinly sliced
20 leaves fresh sweet basil, julienne (I used dried basil)
Grated Parmesan Cheese (a must)
salt and pepper to taste

Directions:
Soak quinoa for 15 minutes in a medium size pot. Rinse several times. Add broth (or water and bouillon) to pot. Bring to full boil. Cover and let boil 1 minutes. Turn down heat very low and let cook 15 minutes. Remove from heat and allow to sit 5 minutes with lid on. Fluff with fork. Set aside.
Cut chicken into one-inch pieces. Heat large nonstick skillet over high heat and add the oil. Add chicken and saute for 5 minutes or until golden brown. Add onions and bell peppers; saute for 1-2 minutes; add garlic and saute until peppers become slightly limp, but still bright, about 1-2 minutes. Season with salt and pepper. Remove the pan from heat; add basil and quinoa. Toss until basil wilts; garnish with Parmesan Cheese

(You can use brown rice in place of the quinoa and it all still goes together well.)