Southwestern Cobb Salad

from Cooking Light

Ingredients
Vinaigrette:
3 tablespoons white wine vinegar (I used red since that was what I had on hand)
1 teaspoon honey
3/4 teaspoon ground cumin
1/2 teaspoon smoked paprika
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
1/4 teaspoon ground red pepper
2 tablespoons canola oil
Salad:
3 slices center-cut bacon
Cooking spray
8 ounces skinless, boneless turkey breast, cut into 1/2-inch pieces (I used chicken breast)
1/4 teaspoon salt
8 cups torn romaine lettuce
1/2 cup refrigerated fresh pico de gallo
1/2 cup diced avocado
1/2 cup (2 ounces) crumbled queso fresco
1/4 cup chopped green onions
1 (15-ounce) can low-sodium black beans, rinsed and drained

Directions:
1. To prepare vinaigrette, combine first 6 ingredients in a medium bowl, stirring with a whisk. Gradually add oil, stirring constantly with a whisk; set aside.
2. To prepare salad, cook bacon in a nonstick skillet over medium heat until crisp. Remove bacon from pan; crumble. Wipe pan clean with paper towels. Increase heat to medium-high. Coat pan with cooking spray. Sprinkle turkey with salt. Add turkey to pan; sauté 4 minutes or until done.
3. Arrange 2 cups lettuce on each of 4 plates. Top each serving with about 2 teaspoons bacon, 5 tablespoons turkey, 2 tablespoons pico de gallo, 2 tablespoons avocado, 2 tablespoons queso fresco, 1 tablespoon onions, and about 1/3 cup beans. Drizzle vinaigrette evenly over salads.

Southwest Burger

by OurBestBites


Burgers:
1 1/2 lbs ground chuck or ground sirloin (turkey burger is good too)
1 1/2 chipotle peppers canned in adobo sauce, cut up
1 1/2 T adobo sauce (from the chipotle chili can)
1/4 cup grated onion (I just minced mine with my food chopper)
1 tsp garlic powder
1/2 tsp cumin
1 1/2 tsp kosher salt
1/4 tsp pepper

Chipotle-lime Mayo:
1/2 cup mayonnaise
2 tsp lime juice
1 1/2 tsp adobo sauce (from the canned chipotle chilis)
2 T chopped fresh cilantro

4-6 good quality buns
1 tomato, sliced
1-2 avocados, sliced
lettuce

optional: jack, cotija, or queso fresco cheese

To make the mayo, just put ingredients in a small bowl and mix together. Place in the fridge until ready to use. You can also make this ahead of time.

Gently crumble meat into a bowl. Add the other ingredients and gently work together. They give a great tip that if you overwork it, the meat gets a gross texture, so just mix until it is worked through.

Then divide into 4 patties (or 6 small patties) and place on your preferred cooking surface, be it grill, indoor grill, or skillet.

In the last few minutes of grilling, add your cheese. When done, remove from grill and let cool for about 5 minutes. Meanwhile, toast your buns and lather the prepared mayo on both sides. Then place burger on bun, add avocado, tomato, and lettuce and eat away into bliss!

Stephen’s Pasta

found on Southern plate

2 boxes tri color rotini (or whatever you prefer)
Olive oil
1 red pepper
1 orange pepper
1 yellow pepper
3 green peppers
3 zucchini
4 cloves garlic (crushed or garlic powder)
1 onion (or onion powder)
Salt and Pepper to taste
Large pinch of crushed red pepper
Large pinch of Basil
Cut all veggies (do not peel). In large skillet (we used a wok because it was the largest pot we had) add olive oil. when olive oil starts to shimmer add garlic, onion then cut veggies. Keep stirring and add crushed red pepper and basil. Boil water and add pasta while veggies are cooking.
Add a little olive oil as needed to keep veggies coated while cooking.
Add a few ladles of pasta water to veggies. Drain pasta, toss with veggies….serve with Parmesan cheese and crusty seeded Italian bread.

This recipe can be made with any vegetables you like. All seasonings are to taste.

mall orange chicken

Hmm.... have I alreading posted this?
from real mom kitchen


Chicken-
2 lbs boneless skinless chicken breasts (cut into 1-1/2” cubes)
1 ½ C all purpose flour
1 eggs (beaten)
¼ tsp salt
¼ tsp pepper
Oil (for frying)
Orange Sauce-
1 ½ C water
2 Tbsps orange juice
¼ C lemon juice
1/3 C rice vinegar
2 ½ Tbsp soy sauce
1 Tbsp orange zest (grated)
1 C packed brown sugar
½ tsp ginger root (minced)
½ tsp garlic (minced)
2 Tbsp green onion (chopped)
¼ tsp red pepper flakes
3 Tbsp cornstarch
2 Tbsp water

Combine flour, salt, and pepper. Dip chicken in egg mixture and shake in flour mixture to coat. Deep fry chicken in batches at 375 degrees in a deep fryer (or use a wok) until completely cooked.

Meanwhile, in a large saucepan combine 1 ½ cups water, lemon juice, orange juice, rice vinegar, and soy sauce. Blend well over medium heat for a few minutes. Stir in brown sugar, orange zest, ginger garlic, and onion. Bring to a boil.
Combine 3 tablespoons of cornstarch with 1/4 cup of water and mix thoroughly. Slowly stir cornstarch mixture into sauce until it thickens. Pour sauce over breaded chicken, and if desired add red pepper flakes and garnish with green onions

Shrimp Stir Fry with Snow Peas and Coconut Curry Sauce

found on my sisters kitchen
The Best 30-Minute Recipe

1 recipe Coconut-Curry sauce (below)
1 pound shrimp, peeled and deveined
2 teaspoons soy sauce
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 bell pepper, cored, seeded, and sliced (any type will do)
8 ounces snow peas, strings removed
1 cup bean sprouts
3 garlic cloves, minced
1 tablespoon grated fresh ginger

Prepare the sauce and set it aside . Toss shrimp with soy sauce. Heat 2 teaspoons of oil in a 12-inch nonstick skillet over medium heat until just smoking. Add shrimp and cook, stirring occasionally and breaking up any clumps, until curled and lightly browned, about 1 1/2 minutes. Transfer the shrimp to a clean bowl.

Add 1 more tablespoon of oil to the pan and return to medium heat until shimmering. Add bell pepper and cook, stirring occasionally, until crisp-tender, about 2 minutes. Stir in snow peas and bean sprouts and cook for one more minute.


Clear the center of the pan and add remaining 1 teaspoon oil, garlic and ginger. Cook, mashing garlic mixture into the pan with the back of a spatula, until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Stir in cooked shrimp. Whisk sauce to recombine and add to pan, bringing to a simmer. Cook until the sauce thickens, 1 to 2 minutes. Serve immediately.


Coconut Curry Sauce (double if you like a lot of sauce)
1 cup coconut milk (I used light coconut milk with great results)
1 tablespoon fish sauce
1-2 teaspoons red curry paste (I used 2 teaspoons )
1 teaspoon light brown sugar
1 teaspoon cornstarch

Combine ingredients in medium bowl and use as directed.

Cinnamon Crescent Rolls

from thegirlwhoateeverything.blogspot.com
adapted slightly from For The Love Of Cooking


1 package of refrigerated crescent roll dough
Butter
2 tbsp cinnamon
1/2 cup sugar

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Combine the cinnamon and sugar together and mix well. Place the unrolled crescent rolls onto an ungreased cookie sheet. Spread a layer of butter on each triangle; top with cinnamon and sugar mixture. Roll from the bottom of the triangle to the point.


Place in the oven and bake for 8-10 minutes or until golden brown. Remove from the oven and serve while hot. Enjoy.

split pea soup

2 cups Green Split Peas
10 cups Water
6 carrots, cut
2 onions, diced
Celery, chopped very fine
1 teaspoon Dried Marjoram
1 teaspoon Dried Basil
1 Tablespoon Fresh Parsley, Chopped
2 teaspoons Salt
¼ teaspoons Ground Black Pepper

What to do:

I cooked mine in the crock pot. You can use a crock pot or a good sized pot.

1. Take you ham bone and plop it into the pot.
2. Wash your split peas and then toss them into the pot.
3. Dice up your carrots, onions, and celery. And, you guessed it...toss them into the pot.
4. Add TEN cups of water into the pot.
5. Add your spices. Really, you do need these. Try not to skimp on them.

Now, if you are cooking this in a pot on the stove let it come to a boil. Once it is boiling you can turn the stove down and simmer it on low heat for at least an hour. If it is too thick just add a bit more water and stir until it reaches the consitency that you like. If you are crock potting this meal, then let it cook on low for most of the day.

Before you serve this meal remove the ham bone and take any leftover ham off of it. It should just melt right off. This can be added back into the soup for an extra kick.

Enjoy!