Mexican Street Corn Salad

I had this salad at a friend's house and had to have the recipe!  The flavors are so fresh and yummy, with a touch of sweetness from the honey in the dressing.  Enjoy it with chips or alone, as a side dish!

Enjoy!

Kirsten

MEXICAN STREET CORN SALAD

Dressing

1/2 cup plain nonfat yogurt

1 tablespoon lime juice

1 teaspoon honey

1/2 teaspoon paprika

1/4 teaspoon cumin

Salad

Splash of oil

4 ears of corn (about 3 cups), shucked, raw, and kernels removed

1 clove garlic, minced

2 tablespoons lime juice

1/4 teaspoon kosher salt

1 cup canned black beans, drained & rinsed

1 red bell pepper, seeded and chopped

1/2 cup chopped red onion

1/2 cup packed fresh cilantro, chopped

1/2 cup cotija cheese, crumbled (can sub feta)

1) Mix all dressing ingredients and set aside.

2) Heat oil over medium/high heat in a large saute pan.  Add garlic and corn.  Cook about 15 minutes, flipping frequently, until corn begins to char a bit.  Gentry toss with lime juice and salt.

3) In a large bowl, combine corn mix, black beans, pepper, onion, cilantro and cheese.  Drizzle dressing over and serve either warm or cold.  Perfect over tacos, as a chip dip or by itself as a side dish!

NOTES:

~I used Greek yogurt from Aldi and I didn't need to add any milk.

~Fresh lime juice all the way!

~I used avocado oil, but canola or regular veggie oil would be just fine too.

~Cotija cheese is the best, but if you have a hard time finding it, feta works too and is delish!

Slow Cooker Chicken Tortilla Soup

I tried this recipe in January for the first time and we all LOVED it!!  It's so quick and easy to prepare!  Just toss everything into the slow cooker and walk away!  The tortilla strips are optional, but they make it that much better!

Enjoy!

Kirsten

SLOW COOKER CHICKEN TORTILLA SOUP

1 1/2 pounds boneless skinless chicken breasts or thighs

1 small yellow onion, diced

1 - 15 oz can black beans, drained and rinsed

1 1/2 cups fresh or frozen defrosted corn kernels

1 - 15 oz can diced fire roasted tomatoes with green chilis (like Rotel)

1 teaspoon ground cumin

1 teaspoon garlic powder

1 teaspoon smoked paprika

1/2 teaspoon chili powder

1 teaspoon kosher salt

3 cups chicken broth

2 tablespoons fresh lime juice

Crispy Tortilla Strips

4 corn tortillas cut into thin strips

1 tablespoon avocado oil or other neutral flavored oil

1 pinch of salt

1) To a 6 quart slow cooker, add the chicken, onion, beans, corn, diced tomatoes, fire roasted tomatoes, spices, salt and broth.  Stir to combine.

2) Cover and cook on high for 4-5 hours or 6-7 hours on low, until chicken is cooked through and shreds easily with a fork.  Do not uncover during cooking time.

3) While the soup is cooking, make the tortilla strips by preheating the oven to 400F.  Add the tortilla strips to a rimmed baking dish, along with the oil and a pinch of salt, tossing to combine.  Bake until the strips are golden and begin to crisp, about 8-10 minutes, tossing half way through.  Transfer to a paper towel lined plate and allow to cool.

4) When the soup is ready, uncover and remove the chicken to a cutting board.  Shred with a fork or cut into chunks.

5) Add back to the slow cooker along with the lime juice, stirring to combine.  Taste and add additional sale or lime juice if desired.

6) Serve with the tortilla strips and any other toppings you like (shredded cheese, cilantro or sour cream).

NOTES:

~I used 3 nice sized chicken breasts.

~I like to use Vidalia onions, but regular yellow onions are just fine.

~I use frozen sweet corn and I do not defrost it.

~I use a 10 oz can of Rotel.

~I do use avocado oil, but if you don't have that on hand, canola or regular vegetable oil would be fine.

Baked Greek Chicken

Tried this recipe the other night and it was so delish!  It was also super easy and fast to whip up!  You can tweak the ingredients to make it your own.  It's pretty healthy as an added bonus!

Enjoy!
Kirsten

BAKED GREEK CHICKEN

2-4 large boneless skinless chicken breasts

Salt & Pepper

1/2 cup Greek salad dressing (see notes)

2-3 tablespoons olive oil

1/3 cup dry white wine (see notes)

3 cloves garlic, minced

2 Tablespoons butter

1/3 cup Greek salad dressing

1/3 cup chicken broth

2 Tablespoons honey

1/2 teaspoon ground mustard

1/2 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce

1/3-1/2 cup Feta cheese, crumbled

1 cup cherry tomatoes

1/2 cup kalamata olives, pitted

1) Preheat oven to 425F

2) Slice the chicken in half lengthwise if it's super thick to create thinner slices.  Use the textured side of a meat tenderizer to pound each breast to 1/2" thick.  Pat completely dry.

3) Sprinkle lightly with salt and pepper.  Place 1/2 cup of the Greek dressing in a gallon Ziploc bag and then add the chicken.  Marinate at room temperature for about 20 minutes.

4) Heat olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat.  Sear the chicken in batches for 3-4 minutes per side or until a golden crust has formed.  Set chicken aside on a plate.

5) Add the wine to the skillet over medium heat and use a heat safe utensil to scrape the bottom and sides of the skillet.  Stir slowly and let the liquid reduce by half, for 3-4 minutes.

6) Add the garlic and butter and stir until the butter is melted, cook for 2 minutes.

7) Add 1/3 cup Greek dressing, chicken broth, honey, mustard powder and Worcestershire.  Stir to combine and bring to a gentle boil.  Let it simmer and reduce for 5-8 minutes.  Remove from heat.

8) Transfer the sauce to a 9 x 13-inch baking dish.  Add the chicken to the sauce, along with any juices from the plate.  Spoon some sauce over the chicken and sprinkle each piece with Feta cheese.

9) Arrange the cherry tomatoes and olives around the chicken.

10) Bake for 12 minutes

NOTES:

~My chicken breasts weren't too thick, so I used 4 and didn't cut them, I just pounded them to the 1/2" thickness.  If yours are super thick, you could use two breasts and cut them in half to make 4 pieces.

~Sauvignon Blanc is the best wine to use, but you could also use Chardonnay or Pinot Grigio (use chicken broth if you don't want to use wine).

~I used Ken's Steak House Simply Vinaigrette Greek Dressing.

~You could also add quartered red onions to the baking dish.

~Spoon some sauce over the chicken when you serve it.

The Best Banana Muffins

I had a couple of super over ripe bananas sitting on the counter today, so instead of tossing them, I decided to try this amazing banana muffin recipe!  I did NOT disappoint!  You're gonna love these!!

Enjoy!
Kirsten

THE BEST BANANA MUFFINS

1 1/2 cups mashed ripe bananas

1/4 cup canola oil

1/4 cup melted unsalted butter (cooled 5 min)

1/2 cup sugar

1/2 cup light brown sugar, tightly packed

2 large eggs (room temp is best)

1/4 cup buttermilk (room temp is best)

1 Tablespoon vanilla extract

2 cups measure for measure gluten free flour

1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon salt

STREUSEL (optional, but worth the effort)

1/2 cup measure for measure gluten free flour

1/2 cup packed brown sugar

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/4 cup unsalted butter, cold

1) Preheat oven to 425F and line a muffin tin with paper liners.

2) Place peeled bananas in a large bowl and use a fork to mash them.

3) Add oil and melted butter and stir well.

4) Stir in sugars until well combined.

5) Add eggs, buttermilk and vanilla and stir well.  Set aside.

6) In a separate bowl, whisk together your dry ingredients - flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt.

7) Add dry ingredients to your wet batter and gently fold in until ingredients are just combined (don't over mix).

8) Portion batter into prepared muffin tin, filling each liner 3/4 full. Set aside and prepare your Streusel topping.

For Streusel Topping (optional)

1) Combine flour, brown sugar and salt in a medium bowl and use a fork to stir together.

2) Using a pastry blender, cut in your cold butter until the butter is well worked in and your mixture resembles coarse crumbs.

3) Sprinkle streusel topping evenly over each muffin.

4) Bake muffins at 425F for 8 minutes and then reduce the oven temp to 350F (do not open the oven door or remove the muffins, just leave them in and reduce the temp) and bake another 7-8 minutes.  A toothpick inserted in the center of the largest muffin should come out clean or with a few moist crumbs (no wet batter).

5) Allow muffins to cool for 10 minutes or so before removing from pan to a rack for complete cooling.

NOTES:

~I did not measure the banana.  I only had two large bananas and it turned out great.  If you have 3, I would use 3, but it worked out fine with 2 and I don't see a need to measure them.

~I didn't have any buttermilk, so I made my own.  To make your own, simply put 1 Tablespoon of white vinegar in a 1 cup liquid measure, then add milk until it reaches 1 cup.  Stir and let sit for about 10-15 minutes.

~For the measure for measure flour, my favorite is King Arthur, but last time I went shopping, they were out of it and I got the Krusteaz brand and it was just as good!

~I used most of the streusel topping, but maybe since I was short a banana, it only made 14 muffins and they were so full of the topping that I didn't end up using all of it.

~You can easily add nuts or chocolate chips to this recipe, just fold them in at the end, before filling the muffin cups.

Creamy Tuscan Garlic Chicken

My sister-in-law gave me this recipe a couple of years ago, but I just got around to making it finally!  I had it at her house and I absolutely loved it!  It's super easy, but so delicious and elegant looking if you want to impress dinner guests!  You might want to adjust it for your kiddos, I doubt they will like the green stuff floating in the sauce (spinach) or the sun-dried tomatoes!!  But I guarantee they will love the creamy cheesy sauce over some noodles!

Enjoy!

Kirsten

CREAMY TUSCAN GARLIC CHICKEN

1 1/2 lbs. boneless, skinless chicken breasts, thinly sliced

2 tablespoons olive oil

1 cup heavy cream

1/2 cup chicken broth

1 teaspoon garlic powder or 1-2 cloves fresh

1 teaspoon Italian seasoning

1/2 cup grated parmesan cheese

1 cup spinach, chopped

1/2 cup sun dried tomatoes

1) In a large skillet, add olive oil and cook chicken on medium high heat 3-5 minutes per side or until lightly browned.   Remove from pan and set aside.

2) Add heavy cream, broth, garlic, Italian seasoning and parmesan to the same pan.  Whisk over medium high heat until it starts to bubble and thicken.

3) Add the spinach and tomatoes and let simmer until the spinach starts to wilt.

4) Add the chicken back to the pan and cook until warm, just a few minutes.

5) Serve over gluten-free pasta

NOTES:

~I do heat the olive oil a bit before adding the chicken, but don't heat it too long at too high of heat or it will splatter like crazy when you add the chicken!

~I recommend using fresh garlic, and I used 3 cloves.

~For the parm, I like to use the grated kind in the green can, but you could certainly use shredded.

~I love Barilla's gluten-free pasta!  I prefer to serve this dish over spaghetti or fettucine, but you can choose your favorite noodle of course.

~I didn't chop the spinach, I just removed the stems and threw the leaves in whole.  This is personal preference, and I just didn't think the extra step was necessary!

~I did add some salt and pepper to the meat as it was cooking, and also to the sauce while it was simmering.

~If you really want to go all out, serve it with some gluten-free garlic bread! Yum!

Easy Peasy Chicken Tacos

This is probably the easiest recipe you'll ever make, but it's SO yummy!  Only two ingredients and dinner is ready!

Enjoy!

Kirsten

EASY PEASY CHICKEN TACOS

1 Rotisserie Chicken

1 jar of your favorite salsa

1)  Take the chicken off the chicken in bite sized pieces and place in a frying pan.

2)  Dump one jar of salsa over the chicken.

3)  Heat over low-medium heat until hot and bubbly.

4)  Serve in your favorite tortillas with your favorite toppings.

NOTES:  

~This is delicious served with my Mexican Rice recipe!

~Bigger family?  Use two chickens and two jars of salsa!

~To keep this gluten free, be sure to use corn tortillas!

Huge Chewy Chocolate Chip Cookies

My son actually found this recipe online and I just replaced the flour with a gluten free flour blend.  They are hands down THE BEST chocolate chip cookies I've ever had!  Big, soft, and yes, they stay soft!!  The only bad thing is it only makes 12 cookies, so you might want to double it!  You are going to love these!

Enjoy!

Kirsten

HUGE CHEWY CHOCOLATE CHIP COOKIES

8 tablespoons salted butter

1/2 cup granulated sugar

1/4 cup light brown sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla

1 egg

1 1/2 cups King Arthur Measure for Measure Gluten Free Flour

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1/4 teaspoon salt

3/4 cups chocolate chips

1)  Preheat oven to 350F.

2)  Microwave butter 40 seconds, so it's mostly melted.

3)  Beat butter and sugars until creamy.

4)  Add vanilla and egg, beat on low until blended, don't over beat

5)  Add the flour, baking soda and salt.  Mix just until blended in.

6)  Add chocolate chips and mix in with a spoon or spatula.

7)  Make 12 large balls and place on ungreased cookie sheet.

8)  Bake until puffy and dry looking, but barely brown.

NOTES:

~I always use King Arthur's Measure for Measure Gluten Free Flour for all of my gluten free baking.

~Try to make all of your cookies about the same size so they cook evenly.

~You can make them smaller if you want more cookies from one batch, or just double the recipe for more giant cookies!

~Make sure you let them sit on the cookie sheet for a few minutes before moving them to a cooling rack!  When you do move them, be careful, they will be super crumbly until they cool completely!

~They don't spread hardly at all, so you can place them close together on the cookie sheet if need be.

~Do not over bake them, they should just have a tinge of brown, or be barely brown on the edges or top!