Grilled Chicken Bruschetta

This is our absolute favorite meal right now.  So easy, and perfect for summer!


GRILLED CHICKEN BRUSCHETTA

via

Sundried Tomato Vinaigrette salad dressing (we used Kraft brand)
8 boneless skinless chicken breast halves
4 medium tomatoes, finely chopped
2 c. shredded mozzarella cheese
1 small pkg. fresh basil, chopped

Marinate chicken in sundried tomato dressing ahead of time. Place large sheet of heavy-duty foil over half of grill grate; preheat grill to medium heat. Grill chicken on uncovered side of grill about 6 minutes. Meanwhile, combine tomatoes, cheese, basil and dressing (as much as you desire; we did about 1/2 cup). Back to the grill – Turn chicken over; place on the foil-covered part of the grill, cooked-side up. Top evenly with tomato mixture. Close lid. Grill an additional 8 minutes or until chicken is cooked through.

I usually serve with sliced toasted sourdough baguette and we warm up the extra tomato mixture to eat with it.  

Good stuff.

Mango Shrimp Salsa and Mango Shrimp Tacos

Ingredients

• 2 mangos - peeled, seeded and diced
• 1 ripe avocado - peeled, pitted, and diced
• 2 tomatoes, diced
• 1/2 cup chopped fresh cilantro
• 1/4 cup chopped red onion
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 2 tablespoons lime juice
• 1 pound salad shrimp
• 1-2 T butter
• tortilla chips
• corn tortillas
• shredded cabbage

Tacos

1. Melt the butter in a skillet over medium-high heat. Add the shrimp; cook and stir until pink and opaque, 2 to 3 minutes add mangos.
2. To serve, place a few shrimp onto a warm tortilla, top with mango salsa and fold up. Repeat with remaining ingredients. I also added shredded cabbage to my taco.

Salsa

1. Toss the mango, avocado, tomatoes, cilantro, onion, garlic, salt, and lime juice together in a bowl. Cover and refrigerate for 30 minutes. 
2. Serve on tacos or eat with chips.

Aloha Chicken Kebabs

I have the cookbook Deceptively Delicious by Jessica Seinfeld.  All the recipes have hidden veggies or fruit in the form of purees mixed in.  All the recipes that we have tried have been pretty good.  My kids eat fruits and veggies so I am not too concerned about food that has hidden veggies in them, but it does make some of these recipes taste really good!  This is one of our favorites. 

1 cup whole-wheat breadcrumbs
1/4 flaxseed meal
1/2 cup sweet potato puree (I steamed a sweet potato and then blended it)
1/4 cup pineapple puree (I blended canned pineapple)
1 T soy sauce
1 large egg white, lightly beaten
1/4 cup shredded coconut
1 pound boneless, skinless chicken breasts or sicken tenders, rinsed and dried, and cut into "fingers"
1/4 tsp salt
2 T all-purpose or whole wheat flour
Nonstick cooking spray
1 T olive oil
10-12 short wooden skewers.

1.  In a bowl, mix the breadcrumbs with the flaxseed meal.  Ste aside.

2.  In a second wide, shallow bowl, combine the sweet potato and pineapple purees, soy sauce, egg white, and coconut, and mix with a fork; set next to the bread crumbs.

3.  Thread the chicken fingers lengthwise onto skewers, using one skewer per chicken finger.  Sprinkle both sides of the chicken skewers with salt ant hen with flour.  Dip the chicken into the egg-white mixture and then roll it in the breadcrumbs until completely coated.

4.  Coat a large nonstick skillet with cooking spray and set it over med-high heat.  When the pan is hot, add the oil.

5.  Add the chicken in a single layer and brown for 3-4 minutes on one side, until the breadcrumb coating is crisp and golden.(Turn down the heat if the coating browns too quickly-coconut burns easily.)  Turn the skewers and cook 4-5 minutes longer, until the chicken is cooked through and browned all over.

**My variations:  I did not skewer my chicken.  I just did chicken strips.  I also did not cook it this way. I cooked it like the Baked Fried Chicken with melted butter in a dish in the oven.  It was just easier for me at the time to just throw it in the oven instead of standing at the stove watching it.
I bagged extra puree in the amount needed for this recipe and froze it to use another time.

Herbed Shrimp and Pasta

This recipe is super not healthy, but it was delicious.  I won't add this into my regular rotation, but it will be a every once in awhile meal.  You could do this with chicken if you are not a shrimp fan.
1 Package angel hair
1 cup butter (I used 1/2 cup and would probably not do that much next time.  Seriously, that is a lot of butter!)
1 1/2 pounds peeled, medium-sized shrimp (I used half this amount and it was plenty)
4 cloves garlic, minced
2 cups half-and-half (I used fat free half-and-half.)
1/2 cup chopped fresh parsley
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper
2 tsp chopped fresh dillweed or 3/4 tsp dried dillweed (optional)

Cook pasta according to package directions.  Drain; set aside, and keep warm. 

Meanwhile, melt butter in a large heavy skillet over medium-high heat; add shrimp and garlic.  Cook, stirring constantly, 3-5 minutes or until shrimp turn pink.  Remove shrimp, and set aside, reserving garlic and butter in skillet.

Add half-and-half to skillet; bring to a boil, stirring gently.  Reduce heat, and simmer 15 minutes or until thickened, stirring occasionally.  Adde shrimp, parsley, salt, pepper, and , if desired, chopped dillweed; stir until blended.  Serve over pasta.

 Recipe from Southern Living cookbook 

Quick Carbonara

1 Package of spaghetti (I like thin)
8 slices bacon
2/3 chopped green onions
1 (4-ounce) can sliced mushrooms, drained
3 egg yolks, lightly beaten
1 to 1 1/2 cups finely shredded cheddar cheese
dash of pepper

Cook pasta according to package directions.  Meanwhile, cook bacon in a large skillet until crispy: remove bacon, reserving 3 Tablespoons drippings in skillet.  Coarsely crumble bacon, and set aside.

Cook green onions, and mushrooms in drippings in skillet over medium heat 2 minutes.  Drain Pasta, and place in a serving bowl.  Stir egg yolks into hot pasta immediately after draining it. Stir in bacon, green onions and mushrooms, cheese, and pepper: toss.  Serve immediately.

recipe from southern living cookbook

Asian Pasta Salad (Dipping Chicken take III)

Very rarely do I make just the plain Dipping Chicken anymore.  It is yummy plain, but I feel a little more healthy when I make a rice bowl with veggies(steamed carrots, broccoli, squash, whatever.)  My new favorite version is the Asian Pasta Salad.  I actually found a recipe for an actual Asian Pasta Salad, and it was pretty much the same as the Dipping Chicken.  It had a few variations, but I knew we liked the Dipping Chicken so I pretty much stuck with that recipe.  I have linked to the Dipping Chicken if you want that recipe, but here is the Pasta Salad version:

Dipping Chicken

Asian Pasta Salad Version

Ingredients:

8 Chicken legs, bone in(I usually do not use legs.  I either use thighs or chicken breast.  Those are just what I usually have.)

1/3 cup soy sauce

Brown sugar

2 T dark sesame oil (This gives it more of an Asian taste. I really like it!)

Garlic salt

Black pepper

2T sesame seeds

sliced Veggies: broccoli, carrots, cherry tomato halves, zucchini

linguine (I use a whole wheat version and the whole box)

bowl.

Directions:

1.      Pull skin of chicken legs (less greasy)

2.      Pour 1/3 soy sauce in glass measuring cup.

3.      Add brown sugar to soy sauce until cup reads 2/3 cup.  Then add the sesame oil.

4.      Put chicken in pan and sprinkle with garlic salt and black pepper.

5.      Pour brown sugar/soy sauce over chicken

6.      Cook at 350° for 1 hour uncovered.  Rotate chicken legs every 15 minutes.

7.      After my chicken is all cooked I usually pour it and the sauce over the veggies in a pan and let the veggies cook until softened while the pasta is cooking.  If you used chicken with bones take the chicken off the bone. 

8.  Cook pasta, drain.

9.  Place pasta in a large bowl. Pour chicken and veggie mixture over pasta. Add sesame seeds.  Toss gently.