Healthy Shrimp Tacos

Made shrimp tacos tonight using cilantro and red chilli peppers. Garnished with broccoli slaw, a fire roasted salsa, and served on a whole wheat tortilla. Served with a cajun spiced couscous.

Watermelon Feta Salad

Crazy simple stupid easy...

1. Buy watermelon, a block of firm feta cheese, and some fresh mint.
2. Chop into small pieces
3. Toss pieces in bowl - mix together
4. Eat

Told you - crazy, stupid easy stuff to beat the heat.

Chicken Salad Stuffed Tomato

An 8 point Weight Watchers Lunch (per stuffed tomato)

Irony - I love to cook, I hate to grocery shop. Came home from the adventures of running errands and shopping for the week to decide that I wanted a quick cool lunch.  This time of year, here in Phoenix, it is all about not turning on the stove in the middle of the day.

Here is what you will need;

• Large tomato - I like a beefsteak or slicing one.
• Canned chicken - you can use all white meat but, a mix of white and dark will give you more flavor.
• Light mayo or Miracle Whip.
• Celery stalk
• Shredded Cheese
• Seasoning - I opted for my old standby, Cavenders.

Open and drain the chicken completely.  I even go so far to blot dry the meat after draining. Empty into a mixing bowl.  Add the mayo/Miracle Whip and seasoning into the bowl. Dice the celery into fine pieces and add to the bowl.  Mix thoroughly until all ingredients are integrated. Carefully slice the top off the tomato and core out the inside. Personal preference if you decide add the cored tomato guts to the bowl with the chicken or discard. Spoon the chicken salad into the tomato shell and sprinkle with the cheese.

This will take maybe five minutes but, it is worth it...

Texas Barbecue Chicken with Couscous Stuffed Red Peppers and Basil Garlic Crostinis

A colleague that I assigned to an implementation in Ennis, Texas brought me back some really nice sauce that we decided to try tonight. The finished product was pretty awesome - if I say so myself.


Texas Barbecue Chicken - what you need...

• Boneless skinless chicken breast
• Bottle of barbecue sauce. This was from Texas  so I dropped that in the name but, really you can use any dang sauce you like.
• Ziploc bag

Place chicken breast in Ziploc bag and pour sauce into it. Place sealed bag in fridge for a few hours (I did this early in the morning and let it marinate the whole day). I skipped a step this morning and didn't flatten the chicken breasts - so I strongly suggest that you do this before bagging and tagging (doing this helps the chicken cook evenly).

Image Courtesy of seriouseats.com

When ready preheat grill and place marinated chicken breasts on the upper grill grate.  It only takes a few minutes per side, so keep an eye on it or you will wind up with dry chicken. Cook to an internal temperature of 165 degrees. Give it a couple of minutes to rest before plating.

Couscous Stuffed Red Peppers

Swung by the local fresh & easy and grabbed a prepackaged offering that comes in a ready to use grilling pan.  Unwrap and put on the grill - that is it, nothing complicated.  If you are in a time crunch but, want a filling side dish then this is the way to go.  While there is some great layering of flavor in this, I have to believe that if you spent a few more minutes you can get a customized result that blends the flavors your want (garlic, basil, parmesan, feta, whatever).  Next time I am going to give fixing this myself a whirl and I will let you know how it goes.

Basil Garlic Crostinis - what you need...

• Fresh baguette
• Butter
• Garlic
• Basil
• Seasoning of Choice - mine is Cavender's

The method that I am sharing works for me.  I like the texture of the finished result but, crostini snobs out there will tell you that this isn't a "true crostini. Personally, I am not wanting something that will disintegrate the first time you bite into it (plus, this is my blog). You have been warned - read on if you want a soft crispy product. If not, then there are a zillion other recipes out there for you.  I will leave you to decide now...

Thanks for sticking with me - it really means a lot that you have bought into my vision.  Move oven rack to near the top of the oven and pre-heat broiler to 275 degrees. Melt butter over medium heat in sauce pan. Add garlic and basil to taste.  Once all ingredients are combined/melted, add seasoning to taste.  While the butter is melting, slice the baguette into 1/4" portions. Place on ceramic baking sheet. Brush/spoon/pour melted butter mix over the baguette slices.  Place on top rack of oven and cook for five minutes. If yours isn't a light golden brown, then leave it there for another minute but, keep an eye on it. There is a fine line between yummy bread product and burnt toast.

 

Marinated Chicken Breast with Garlic Basil Parmesan Couscous and Peas (+ bonus tip)

It all started because I found an unopened bottle of salad dressing that was going to expire in the next couple of weeks.  That pesky bottle of red wine balsamic dressing became the genesis of a marinade that resulted in one of the most succulent pieces of poultry I have ever enjoyed.

Just place your boneless, skinless chicken breast in a large Ziploc bag and pour the entire bottle of dressing into the bag.  Seal and place in the fridge for about six hours. When you go to grill it, you will find that the chicken has absorbed about 3/4 of the liquid in the bag.  Grill as you normally would - be sure to cook to 165 degrees.

Couscous is simple and a completely different texture from rice (I like it better).  Just bring 1-1/4 cups of water, 2 teaspoons of olive oil, 2 Dorot cubes of basil, 2 Dorot cubes of garlic, and the packet of spices to a boil. Once boiling, slowly stir in the couscous, cover and remove from the heat.  Allow to sit five minutes - fluffing with a fork before serving.  Peas are steam simple - I won't insult your intelligence by pretending I did anything special to these.

I promised you a bonus tip and I don't want to disappoint.  To keep your leafy greens and sliced veggies fresher, longer - place into a Ziploc bag with folded paper towel. You can also place into a bowl with a paper towel caught between the lip of the bowl and lid. Store in the fridge upside down for up to five days.  Be sure to replace the paper towel anytime you take product from the container.

Simple, Healthy Summer Lunch

With the mercury now routinely climbing over 105 here in Phoenix we cooked a simple lunch that didn't drag anymore heat into the house.

While I was grilling off four chicken breasts (for our lunch salads this week), I threw a couple seasoned Jennie-O turkey breasts on the upper deck of the grill.  While the first side was grilling, I sliced a beefsteak tomato and seasoned with Cavender's (If you have no other spice in your home - then have salt, pepper, and this. I cannot tell you enough about how amazing this stuff is).  After flipping, I cleaned some celery hearts and spread some soft cream cheese in them.

It was just that simple - no heat added to make the A/C work harder and a heck of a lot healthier than was you can get at burger doodle.

Product Review | Wild Oats - Smoked Bacon Spinach Salad

My workday started from home but, shifted to needing to be in the office for a couple of meetings. I dashed out of the house before packing a lunch for myself so a stop to fresh and easy was in order.

If you haven't been in a while, then the evolution you will see in the store might be a bit jarring.  Personally, I find it handy for quick pit stops like I had this morning (even though I think the beverage cooler at the back of the store makes me think I am in a liquor store).  The grab and go stuff is all upfront, right by the register (exactly where it belongs) and there are a few new additions that you will want to pay attention to.  You will notice several organic offerings branded as "Wild Oats", you can only get the sandwiches, salads, and eggs (product review coming later this month) at your local fresh and easy store.  Each of these offerings is made to be sold within 24 hours. For example, the salad I had today, was made yesterday, delivered last night, and placed on the shelf this morning.  There is a limited supply, so swinging by the store during your morning drive time is perfect.  Right off the bat you will see a couple of differences between the Wild Oats products and the standard sandwiches/salads; the "eco-friendly packages and the slightly higher price. This morning, I picked the Smoked Bacon Spinach Salad for the brown bag lunch meeting I needed to be onsite for.  I will say, this was definitely fresh and and on par with what I would fix for myself at home. Contents were exactly as advertised and I was actually filled by the eight ounces of food.  Was it worth the extra money - in this instance yes. If I was on a restricted diet, had an urge to have organic food, and needed it in a grab and go format (which I have not seen anywhere else); then the slight up-charge is well worth it.

While I am on a product review rant, I am going to get on my soap box and complain about something I did see in the store at Kyrene and Baseline.  Back when the chain launched, they had a "clearance" cooler. You got used to walking in the store and checking the cooler before you started shopping. It was okay, but horribly inefficient for traffic flow.  After the Yucaipa buyout, these stores had switched to keeping clearance items in their original locations and doing away with the separate location.  So, if you were buying steak, you would see the marked down trays in with ones that weren't discounted - and could decide what worked well for you.  Clearly this store didn't get (or care about) that memo and are using a section that is clearly designed for something else (just look at the signage in the photo).  Since this is the store that is the easiest for me to swing into on my way home from the office, I hope it is something they correct in the short term future (especially since this looks like a section that is supposed to help me put together a complete meal quickly).