Spicy Cranberry Salsa with Cream Cheese

This is such a great Christmas app - super easy, crowd pleaser, and delicious!!

Ingredients

·         1 (12-ounce) bag cranberries, fresh

·         1/2 - 3/4 cup white sugar

·         1 cup cilantro, chopped

·         4 green onions, chopped

·         1 jalapeno pepper, seeded and minced

·         1 lime, juiced

·         1 pinch salt

·         1 block cream cheese (for serving)

Instructions

1.      Place cranberries in bowl of a food processor and pulse until finely chopped.

2.      Add sugar and stir to combine.

3.      Add cilantro, green onions, jalapeño, salt and the juice of one lime.

4.      Place in glass dish and refrigerate at least 4 hours or overnight.

5.      Place cream cheese on a plate and use a slotted spoon to mound the cranberry salsa on top.

6.      Serve with crackers or bread.

Shrimp Pesto Arugula Pasta

This was yummy and the boys KILLED it!  Wasn't sure if they were going to like the pesto but they inhaled this and asked for more -- huge hit!!

Serves 4

Ingredients

1 pound linguine noodles
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 garlic cloves (optional)
1 pound shrimp, peeled and deveined
4 cups baby arugula
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon black pepper
1 jar store bought pesto

Bring a large pot of cold water to a boil. Once boiled, season with salt and add in the linguine. Cook according to package directions, until tender. Drain and set off to the side.

Heat a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add in 1 tablespoon olive oil and minced garlic, if using. Add the shrimp and cook, stirring often, until the shrimp is pink and no longer opaque, about 5 to 7 minutes.

Transfer the shrimp to a plate and set aside. Return skillet to heat and add remaining 1 tablespoon olive oil. Add in the arugula, a handful at a time, and cook until wilted, about 5 minutes. Season with a bit of salt and pepper. Add back in the shrimp and stir in the pesto sauce. Cook for a few minutes to warm through. Taste and adjust seasoning accordingly.

Toss the shrimp and pesto with the cooked linguine noodles and cook for a few minutes to heat through. Serve and enjoy!

Tortilla Pie

This was super yummy and an easy meal to eat during the week!!  The whole fam liked it (I'm not a fan of tortillas so I just scraped out the insides :))

Serves 6

Ingredients

4 medium flour tortillas (about 10-inches)

1 tablespoon olive oil

1 pound ground sirloin

1 small brown onion, diced

2 garlic cloves, chopped

1 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon black pepper

1/2 teaspoon garlic powder

1/2 teaspoon ground cumin

1/2 teaspoon chili powder

3 cups fresh baby spinach leaves, chopped

1 1/2 cups frozen (or fresh) corn kernels

2 tablespoons tomato paste

2 cups cheddar-jack cheese, shredded

fresh cilantro, for garnish

sour cream, for garnish

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease a 9-inch pie dish or springform pan, set aside

Heat a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add the oil and cook the ground beef until browned. Add the chopped onion, garlic and seasonings and cook for about 5 minutes or until they have softened. Add in the chopped spinach and corn and cook until the spinach has wilted. Stir in the tomato paste. Cook for 1 to 2 minutes longer. Remove from heat.

Place one flour tortilla in the prepared dish. Spoon some of the ground beef mixture, spreading it out evenly. Top with cheese, and repeat with another flour tortilla, more ground beef and cheese. Continue in this manner with the remaining two layers. Finish with a flour tortilla on top and a sprinkling of cheese.

Bake for about 20 to 25 minutes or until golden brown around the edges and the cheese has melted on top. Cut into wedges and serve with a garnish of sour cream and fresh cilantro. Enjoy!

Cowboy Quesadillas

This was super yummy!!  I don't always like tortillas but this was tasty AND the filling is good on it's own too -- WIN/WIN!!

Recipe by Our Best Bites

1/2 C white rice
1/3 C black beans
1 cup diced cooked chicken
1/3 C fresh frozen corn kernels (no need to thaw)
2/3 C diced tomato
3 Tbs sliced green onion
1 1/2 C shredded cheese (any type or combo you like)
1/4 C bbq sauce
6 small tortillas (fajita size, about 6″)

Dipping Sauce
equal parts bbq sauce and ranch dressing

Combine rice, beans, chicken, corn, tomato, green onion and shredded cheese.  Add bbq sauce and stir to combine.  Place about 1/3 C of mixture on half of each tortilla and fold over to close.

Heat a skillet to medium heat on the stove top.  When hot, spray lightly with cooking spray, or drizzle with canola or olive oil.  Place quesadillas in pan and cook for 2-4 minutes or until golden brown and slightly crisp.  Flip and repeat on opposite side.  Cool for a few minutes and then serve with BBQ-Ranch dipping sauce.

Instant Pot One-Pot Spaghetti with Meat Sauce

Insta-what?!  Not sure if this one was any quicker than just boiling noodles but it was good!!

Yield: 5 servings

Ingredients

• 1 lb 93% ground turkey
• 3/4 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1/4 cup diced onion
• 1 clove minced garlic
• 1 jar, 25.25 ounces Delallo Tomato Basil Pomodoro Sauce
• 2 cups water
• 8 ounces whole wheat or gluten-free spaghetti, I used Delallo
• Grated parmesan cheese, optional for serving

Instructions

1.                 Press saute on the Instant Pot. When hot add the turkey and salt and cook, breaking up about 3 minutes.

2.                 Add the onions, and garlic and cook until softened, 3 to 4 minutes.

3.                 Add the Pomodoro sauce, water and spaghetti (broken in half), making sure the liquid covers everything without stirring.

4.                 Cover and cook on high pressure 9 minutes.

5.                 Quick release so the pasta doesn’t continue cooking, and serve topped with grated cheese if desired!

Pesto Zucchini Orzo

This was REALLY yummy -- I probably wouldn't make it as the entire meal but it would be awesome for a side dish to some meat!!

Serves 4

Ingredients:
8oz orzo

1 tablespoon olive oil

¼ cup white wine vinegar

Salt and pepper

2 small zucchini (about 4oz each). Very thinly sliced

2 small yellow squash (about 4oz each), very thinly sliced

½ cup pesto

¼ cup toasted almonds, chopped

Cook orzo per package directions – drain well, then transfer to large bowl, toss with oil.

In another bowl, whisk together vinegar and ¼ teaspoon salt and pepper. Add zucchini and squash and toss to combine.

With slotted spoon, transfer veggies to bowl with orzo, leaving vinegar in bowl and toss to combine.

Whisk pesto into vinegar, and drizzle over orzo and sprinkle with almonds.

Lemon-Dill Tuna Salad Lettuce Cups

Skipped the lettuce cups portion but this was delicious twist to tuna salad!!

Recipe by Our Best Bites – serves 1 

Ingredients:

2.6-ounce pouch chunk white tuna
2 green onions, chopped
1 teaspoon chopped fresh dill (reduce to 1/2 teaspoon if using dry dill)
1 clove garlic, minced
Zest of 1 lemon
2 tablespoons light mayonnaise
1/2 teaspoon white wine vinegar
Salt and pepper to taste
3 mild, foldable lettuce leaves (like butter or Boston bibb lettuce)
1/2 cup cucumber, peeled and sliced (baby cucumbers don’t have to be peeled unless you want to)
1 tablespoon sliced almonds

Instructions:

Combine the tuna, green onions, dill, garlic, and lemon zest in a small bowl. Add the mayonnaise, white wine vinegar, and salt and pepper to taste. Divide evenly among the lettuce leaves, then top with cucumbers, sliced almonds, and additional thinly sliced green onion tops (if desired).

Grilled Bourbon Chicken

Since Rossy likes to grill so much, I'm always looking for new chicken marinade recipes -- this was delicious!!  The boys killed it too :)

Yield: 4 Servings

Ingredients:

2 pounds 4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
1/2 cup low sodium or gluten-free soy sauce
1/2 cup unsweetened apple sauce
1/2 cup finely chopped yellow onion
2 teaspoon grated ginger
4 garlic cloves, minced
1 tablespoon canola oil
1/4 cup bourbon
1/4 cup BBQ sauce
2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar, I like Bragg’s
2 tablespoons brown sugar
Pinch red pepper flakes
1/2 cup low sodium chicken broth
sliced scallions, for garnish

 Place the chicken breasts, 1 at a time, in a Ziploc bag. Pound the chicken breast to an even thickness, being careful not to puncture the bag. Put breasts in the bag.

In a medium bowl, combine the soy sauce, apple sauce, onion, ginger, garlic, oil, bourbon, BBQ sauce, vinegar, brown sugar and red pepper flakes. Reserve and refrigerate 1/3 cup of the marinade and transfer the remainder to the Ziploc bag with the chicken. Refrigerate and marinate for at least 30 minutes or as long as overnight (the longer the better!! I marinated mine 12 hours).

Preheat outdoor grill over medium high heat. Discard the marinade in the bag and grill the chicken for 4 minutes per side, or until chicken is cooked through. Transfer chicken to a plate, tent with foil and allow to rest while you make the sauce.

Put reserved 1/3 cup marinade in a small sauce pan. Add chicken broth and bring to a boil over medium high heat. Once boiling, reduced heat to medium-low until sauce has thickened slightly, 5 to 6 minutes.

Slice chicken breast, top with sauce, scallions and serve.

Zoodles, Tomatoes, Mushrooms Dish

I threw this all together and it was YUMMY!!!  Rossy even loved it too!!

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Ingredients:

Zucchini (make zoodles)

Cherry Tomatoes

Pinenuts

Mushrooms

Feta / parmesan cheese

Cheesy Chicken Hobo Pack

Looking for new recipes with all the camper fun we are going to have this summer, so tried this out at the cabin with the fam and it was delicious!!!

Ingredients:
1 box chicken flavored stuffing
1 1/4 cups water
4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
2 cups chopped broccoli
1 cup shredded cheddar cheese
4 slices cooked bacon, crumbled
4 tablespoons ranch dressing

Preheat oven to 400.  (We just put these on the grill and it worked great!)

Spray 4 large sheets of foil with oil - set aside.

Mix stuffing and water together in mixing bowl.  Spoon 1/4 of mixture onto each piece of foil and set a chicken breast on top of each (we cut our chicken into bite size pieces and had just mixed in with everything - that worked great too).Top with 1/2 cup broccoli - sprinkle with 1/4 cup cheese, 1/4 of bacon, and drizzle of ranch dressing

Fold the sides of foil to make a packet.

Place the packs on baking sheet and bake 20-25 minutes depending on thickness of chicken.

Let stand 5 minutes before serving

21 DAY FIX INSTANT POT MAPLE BBQ CHICKEN

Ha!  Pic doesn't do it justice but this was YUMMY :)  Quick way to make chicken breast too!!

SERVES 4

• 1 to 1.5 pounds of boneless, skinless chicken thighs
• 1/2 cup tomato paste

·         1/3 cup water

·         1/4 cup of coconut aminos (or sub low sodium soy sauce if not gluten-free)

·         3 Tbsp pure maple syrup

·         2 Tbsp apple cider vinegar

·         1/4 tsp garlic powder

·         1/4 tsp onion powder

·         sprinkle of sea or Himalayan salt and black pepper

·         optional – thickener of your choice (arrowroot, tapioca, cornstarch, etc)

1.     Place chicken thighs in Instant Pot.

2.     Mix together the remaining ingredients (besides thickener). Pour sauce over chicken.

3.     Set to manual for 10 minutes. After cook time, switch to quick release. Open the lid carefully once it is unlocked. Remove chicken thighs with slotted spoon and set aside.

4.     To thicken the BBQ sauce, set Instant Pot to saute. Stir as it simmers. If you need to thicken it more, add in your choice of thickener, one tsp at a time until desired thickness. Taste and adjust seasonings and add a touch more maple syrup for a sweeter sauce. Cover chicken with sauce and enjoy!

5.     For the slow cooker: Place thighs and ingredients for BBQ sauce in crock pot. Cook on low for 4 hours. After cook time is through, simmer sauce in a small saucepan over medium low heat until desired thickness. Enjoy!

Slow Cooker Crack Chicken

I mean - the title has the word crack in it....this was the most delicious thing on this earth :)  So good!!  My whole family inhaled and then wanted more!!

Serves 8 – 1 cup is 554 calories

Ingredients

3 lbs boneless chicken breasts

2 (8 oz) blocks cream cheese

2 (1 oz) packets dry Ranch seasoning

8 oz bacon, cooked crisply and crumbled

In a slow cooker combine place chicken, cream cheese, and Ranch seasoning.

Cook on low for 6-8 hours or on high for 4 hours, until chicken shreds easily.

Once chicken shreds stir with a large fork or spoon, so the chicken shreds and all the ingredients combine.

Add in crumbled bacon and stir to incorporate.  Serve warm.

Easter Egg Fruit Pizza

Hosted Easter and this was super cute AND delicious!!!  It was a fav with the whole fam!!

Serves 12 – 144 calories

Ingredients

1 lb 1.5 oz sugar cookie mix (Pillsbury purely simple sugar cookie pouch)

1/2 cup unsalted butter melted & cooled

1 egg

4 oz cream cheese softened

1 Tablespoon powdered sugar

1/4 teaspoon vanilla

1/2 cup strawberries chopped

3 cups fruit (strawberries, raspberries, blueberries, blackberries) sliced

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees and grease a 13″ pizza pan and set aside.

In a medium bowl, add the cookie mix, melted butter, and egg and mix with a spoon until a soft dough forms.

Press the dough evenly onto the pan.

Bake for 10-15 minutes or until golden brown. Let it cool completely, about 45 minutes. Cut into an egg shape (I just used a butter knife).

In a food processor or blender, add the softened cream cheese, ½ cup chopped strawberries, powdered sugar, and vanilla and pulse until fully combined and smooth.

Spread the cream cheese mixture onto the cooled cookie.

Decorate with the cut up fruit.  Slice with a pizza cutter & serve.

Italian Ravioli with Spinach, Artichokes, Capers, Sun-Dried Tomatoes

This was a great and yummy meal for a busy week night!!  It was super quick and tasted like it took forever!!!  We all loved it!!

Serves 4 – 384 calories

Ingredients

8 oz ravioli (cheese ravioli, or pesto ravioli)

2 tablespoons olive oil

1/4 cup sun-dried tomatoes , chopped

1 cup artichoke hearts , chopped

3 tablespoons capers , drained

1/2 teaspoon Italian seasoning

2 cups spinach , fresh

1 tablespoon olive oil , and more (if desired)

1/4 cup Parmesan cheese , shredded

Cook ravioli until al dente.  Drain.

In a large skillet, heat 2 tablespoons olive oil on medium heat.  Add chopped sun-dried tomatoes, chopped artichokes, capers, Italian seasoning and cook for 2 minutes. Add fresh spinach, and continue cooking and stirring until the spinach wilts.  

To the skillet with sautéed vegetables, on medium-low heat, add cooked ravioli, 1 tablespoon of olive oil, and stir.  The dish should be salty enough from capers.   If it's not, add more salt (or capers), if needed.

When serving, top with shredded Parmesan cheese.

Balsamic Glazed Chicken

Love myself some chicken and finding new ways to make it taste delicious :)

Ingredients:

¼ cup balsamic vinegar

1T raw honey

1T whole grain mustard

2 cloves garlic, minced

1tsp finely chopped fresh rosemary

4 (4oz) chicken breasts

½ tsp sea salt

½ tsp ground pepper

2 tssp ghee

Comine vinegar, honey, mustard, garlic, and rosemary in a bowl; whisk to blend.  Set aside.

Sprinkle each side hicken breast with S&P – set aside.

Melt ghee in large skillet over high heat.

Add chicken, cook for 2 minutes on each side or until brown – reduce heat to medium

Add vinegar mixture; cook turning chicken every few minutes for 4-5 minutes or until chicken is cooked through and sauce is reduced to thick glaze

Beef Stroganoff - keto style

This was so delicious!!  Like it didn't even matter that there were zoodles instead of noodles under there -- the whole crew just inhaled and had seconds even !!!

Ingredients

• 1 tsp butter
• 6 small mushrooms , sliced
• 1 # ground beef-grassfed if available
• 2/3 cup chopped onion
• 1/4 cup lower sodium beef broth
• 1 Tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
• 1 tsp lemon juice
• 1/2 tsp paprika
• 1/2 cup sour cream add extra as desired
• salt and pepper , as desired

1. Melt butter in skillet over medium heat then add mushrooms and cook for 5-10 minutes or until tender and browned.
2. Remove mushrooms from pan then add ground beef and onions to skillet along with broth and Worcestershire sauce. Cook until beef is browned and fully cooked.
3. Add lemon juice, paprika and cooked mushrooms to ground beef in skillet and stir to combine.  Heat to a simmer then remove pan from heat.
4. Stir in sour cream then adjust seasoning with salt and pepper if needed and serve.
5. May be served in bowls or over toasted ultra-thin bread slices.