Chicken Lettuce Wraps

I made these last week and they were a HIT with the whole family!  I love watching my kids enjoy a meal that is wrapped in lettuce :) I served my coconut-lemongrass rice on the side and it was a great meal!  I've been cooking like crazy the past couple of weeks and my creativity is coming back.
Been trying to hit the farmers markets and make meals with whats in season.  Our garden is booming with zucchini, yellow squash, sugar snap peas, green beans, fresh basil and of course a lot of tomatoes!!
It's been awesome to not have to buy much produce at the store.  I encourage you to go check out your farmers markets and create a meal with whats fresh & local!

Chicken Lettuce Wraps (serves 5-6) recipe adapted from HERE

INGREDIENTS:

• 1 1/2 lbs. boneless/skinless chicken breasts, diced into 1/2 inch pieces (or use ground chicken)
• 1 head Bibb Lettuce or Iceberg Lettuce (look for bibb lettuce at your farmers market)
• 1 small can water chestnuts, diced (optional)
• 1 carrot, julienned 
• 1 small zucchini, small dice
• 1/2 cup green onion, chopped
• 1/2 cup roasted cashews (optional)
• bean thread noodles, fried (optional)

STIR FRY SAUCE:

• 1/4 cup fresh basil, chopped 
• 3 Tbsp. low-sodium soy sauce
• 3 Tbsp. fresh lime juice
• 3 garlic cloves, fined minced
• 1 jalapeño, chopped fine
• 1/2 tsp. sirracha or other hot sauce
• 1 Tbsp. sesame oil
• 2 Tbsp. hoisin sauce (find it in Asian section at grocery store)
• 2 tsp. cornstarch

DIRECTIONS:

In a small bowl, combine all ingredients for the stir fry sauce and set aside.

Heat a Wok or large skillet to medium-high heat.  Add some oil to the pan (I used canola) and cook the chicken with salt and pepper until done.  Remove the chicken from pan and set aside.  Add a little more oil and saute the carrot, zucchini, water chestnuts and green onion for about 4-5 minutes.  Add the chicken back to the pan, pour in the stir fry sauce and cook until bubbly and thickened, about 5 minutes.  Serve on top of lettuce leaves and sprinkle with roasted cashews.  I fried up some Bean Thread Noodles to serve on top as well.  My kids really like those!  If you would like to have a "dipping sauce" for the lettuce wraps, here is a recipe below:

DIPPING SAUCE:

• 2 Tbsp. hoisin sauce
• 2 Tbsp. hot water
• 2 Tbsp. soy sauce
• 1 Tbsp. seasoned rice vinegar
• 1 Tbsp. lemon juice, freshly squeezed
• 1/4 tsp. sesame oil

Grilled Pineapple-Turkey Burgers

It's August already...I seriously can't believe it!  My kids will be heading back to school next week and I'm already anxious to light my Fall candle!  I know, sounds strange that I'm thinking of Fall while it's still 75 degrees and sunny here, but it's inevitable that once school starts, our summer fun will be over :(
Oh well, we had a such a full summer that it will be nice to be back on a routine, which means I'll be doing a lot more cooking.  I'm actually looking forward to it...trying out some new recipes and having the house full of comforting smells when the kids get home from school.
This burger recipe has been on my "have to try" list for a while!  I'm a huge fan of turkey burgers that are seasoned just right, so they don't dry out.  The grilled pineapple definitely makes this burger a top-of-the-line burger (in my opinion).  You could add cheese or some fresh spinach leaves, but I think it's great as is.  Oh, and my new favorite thing to do with the hamburger buns is, lightly mayo the buns then put them on the grill for just a few minutes.  Honestly, I'm not a fan of mayo at all, but it seriously makes for one great grilled bun :)

Grilled Pineapple-Turkey Burgers 
(recipe very slightly adapted from Confections of a foodie Bride )

INGREDIENTS: (Makes 4 burgers *I made 2 large patties and 3 medium to smaller ones for my kids)

• 1 pineapple, sliced into 4 rings
• 1-1/2 lbs. ground turkey (I don't use the super lean turkey)
• 3 Tbsp. Heinz 57 steak sauce or a little more (trust me, this is SO GOOD)
• 1/4 cup red onion, finely chopped
• handful of cilantro, chopped and divided
• salt & freshly ground black pepper
• worcestershire sauce
• hamburger buns

DIRECTIONS:

Heat grill to medium-high.  I used my indoor grill pan this time.  Place pineapple rings on grill and cook about 4-5 minutes per side, or until you get some nice grill marks.  Remove pineapple and set aside on plate.  

In a large bowl, combine turkey, steak sauce, red onion, about 3 Tbsp. chopped cilantro, salt, pepper, and a few dashes of worcestershire.  Mix together well.  *fyi...I left out the cilantro and red onion from my kids burgers.  Place on grill and cook about 5 minutes per side.  After the burgers come off, you can now grill your buns if you like!  Next time I'd also like to grill some red onion rings to place on the burger.  

Serve the burgers on buns with additional steak sauce, grilled pineapple rings, and a little cilantro.  If you have left-over chopped red onion, you can also sprinkle some of that on top if you like, but I left it off.

Chicken Salad Sandwiches

WOW!  I can't believe I'm actually back blogging!  My life has been consumed with kids activities...mainly Baseball.  We entered the All-Star season right before school got out, then finished the last tournament of the season this week!  It's been a SUPER busy summer and actually hasn't felt much like summer at all.  We're home now...no more baseball scrimmages, baseball practice, baseball tournaments, washing and scrubbing baseball pants...until the Fall.  So for now, we will sleep in, enjoy playing in the backyard, peaceful evenings at home, home-made dinners, and maybe I'll get a chance to do some reading.  Simple things that make summer feel like summer.  

This sandwich is one of those things that I enjoy so much!  I love chicken salad, but I'm a little picky when it comes to texture...I'm not a fan of super creamy chicken salad.  This particular recipe was great...not too creamy, nice and chunky, with a lot of different textures.   Make this in the morning and then serve for lunch or even dinner with a pasta salad.  Perfect for the summer months when you don't feel like spending all evening in the kitchen!  

CHICKEN SALAD SANDWICHES  {recipe adapted from Cooking Classy}

INGREDIENTS: {makes about 3-4 sandwiches}

• 3 bone-in chicken breast halves, roasted and cut in chunks {about 3 cups chicken}
• 2-3 celery ribs, diced
• 1/4 cup dried cranberries, roughly chopped {I used dried cherries}
• 1/2 cup toasted pecans, chopped {you could use walnuts or cashews too}
• 1/2 cup mayonaise 
• 1/4 cup plain yogurt
• 1 Tbsp. dijon mustard
• 1 Tbsp. honey
• 2 Tbsp. cider vinegar
• 1/4 tsp. onion powder
• freshly ground black pepper to taste 
• romaine lettuce
• sliced bread or croissants 

DIRECTIONS:

Pre-heat oven to 375 degrees.  Rub chicken breast halves with some olive oil, salt and freshly ground black pepper.  Place in roasting pan and bake for 1 hour.  Turn oven off, cover chicken with foil and leave in oven for another 20 minutes.  Remove pan from oven and let chicken cool before you cut in chunks.  

In a medium bowl, mix together the chicken chunks, celery, cranberries, and toasted pecans.

In a small bowl, whisk the mayonnaise, yogurt, dijon mustard, honey, vinegar, onion powder, and pepper.  Pour the dressing over the chicken mixture and stir to combine.  Cover with plastic and refrigerate for a couple of hours, or until ready to use.

Pile on thick pieces of bread, add your lettuce, and you have a super delicious lunch or an easy dinner!

Lemon Chicken Breasts...Barefoot Contessa

I love making this chicken dish!  It's super easy to prepare and is perfect for company.  Just throw everything in a baking dish, bake, then keep warm in oven until guests arrive.  I like to use the thin-sliced chicken breasts when I can find them, or at least cut large chicken breasts in half.  I almost always double this recipe, because the leftovers are SO good!  I usually serve this with toasted orzo and asparagus wrapped in prosciutto.
Enjoy!

Lemon Chicken Breast {recipe by Barefoot Contessa }


INGREDIENTS: {serves 4}

• 1/4 cup olive oil
• 3 Tbsp. fresh garlic, minced {about 9 cloves}
• 1/3 cup dry white wine {like a chardonnay}
• 1 Tbsp. grated lemon zest {2 lemons}
• 2 Tbsp. freshly squeezed lemon juice
• 1 1/2 tsp. dried oregano
• 1 tsp. fresh thyme, minced
• kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 4 boneless chicken breasts {I buy boneless/skinless}
• 1 lemon

DIRECTIONS:

  Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

In a small saucepan, heat olive oil over medium-low heat.  Add the garlic and cook for just 1 minute, but don't allow the garlic to brown.  Remove from heat and add the white wine, lemon zest, lemon juice, oregano, thyme, and 1 tsp. salt.  Pour the sauce into a 9 by 13 inch baking dish.

Place chicken breasts on top of sauce, brush the chicken breasts with olive oil and sprinkle with salt and pepper.   Cut the lemon into 8 wedges and tuck them among the pieces of chicken.

Bake for 30-40 minutes, depending on the size of the chicken breasts, until the chicken is done and the top is lightly golden.  If you would like the chicken to be more golden on top, then put underneath the broiler for 2 minutes.  Cover the pan tightly with foil and allow to rest for 10 minutes.  Serve chicken with sauce.

Jamie Grace - God Girl (Lyric Video)

My 6 year old daughter introduced me to this song recently.  It's a sweet song, but hearing her sing it makes it even sweeter!  Her knowing how much she's loved and letting the whole world know how she wants to live out her life...that's pretty cool!
"God Girl" by Jamie Grace

Carrot Cake Breakfast Cookies

I feel a little like a slacker with this whole blogging thing!  I'm not sure what happened, but if I let a little more than a couple of weeks pass without blogging, then I almost forget about it altogether!
I've made some fun, yummy recipes in the past few weeks, but have not remembered to snap a pic or jot down the recipe.
Can you believe it's nearing the end of the school year already?  I remember thinking the school year was soooo incredibly long when I was little, and now it's either a holiday, inservice day, or some "day off" every time I turn around!  If I was in charge {which I'm not}, I'd get rid of some of those silly days off and shorten the length of the school year so the kids have more summer!!  My kids can't wait for summer and honestly, I'm looking forward to a change of pace as well.  I'm sure it will be here before I know it!

I usually seem to start out really strong at the beginning of the school year with making breakfast for my kids.  Then around this time of year, I'm throwing out granola bars or cereal in a hurry...no planning whatsoever!  So this morning I decided to make these breakfast cookies.  They have very few ingredients and are really healthy.  I added a little powdered sugar glaze to make my kids feel like they were worth eating :) I got the thumbs up from my pickiest little breakfast eater and from my husband!
Try these...they were delicious!


Carrot Cake Breakfast Cookies {recipe slightly adapted from Perry's Plate }


INGREDIENTS:  {makes about 12 cookies}

• 1 cup flour {I used all-purpose flour}
• 1 cup rolled oats
• 2 tsp. flaxseed
• 1 tsp. baking powder
• 1 tsp. cinnamon
• scant 1/2 tsp. sea salt
• 1/3 cup chopped nuts {I used pecans}
• 1 cup shredded carrots
• 1/4 cup coconut oil, warmed just until melted
• 1/4 cup butter, melted
• 1/4 cup real maple syrup
• 3 Tbsp. brown rice syrup *if you don't have brown rice syrup, just add a few more tbsp. of maple syrup

DIRECTIONS:

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.  Line a baking pan with parchment paper and set aside.  

In a large bowl combine the flour, oats, flaxseed, baking powder, cinnamon, and salt.  Whisk to combine. Add nuts and carrots to dry ingredients.  Mix well.

In a small saucepan, heat coconut oil and butter over low heat just until melted.  Add maple syrup and brown rice syrup to the pan. Pour wet ingredients into the dry and stir until well combined.  

Drop by 2-tablespoonfuls on prepared baking sheets and bake for 10-12 minutes or until the cookies are barely golden brown.  I shaped the cookies a little with my hand to make them nice and tight and round.

**To make the powdered sugar glaze: whisk 1/2 cup powdered sugar and about 2 tsp. of milk until the consistency becomes easy to drizzle.  Use more or less milk to adjust thickness.

Sesame Chicken Pasta Salad

We loved this pasta salad!  It was a fun spin on an asian salad and was great as a main dish, just serve with some french bread.  I think it was the dressing that made this taste so yummy!  It may seem like a lot of dressing, but pour it all on because the pasta will soak up a lot of it.  I added a few extra things to the recipe just to add some crunch.  Next time you head out for a picnic or a potluck, make this!

SESAME CHICKEN PASTA SALAD { recipe adapted from HERE}


INGREDIENTS:

• 1 {16 oz} package bow-tie pasta
• 1/2 cup canola or olive oil
• 1/3 cup seasoned rice vinegar
• 1/3 cup soy sauce
• 1 tsp. sesame oil
• 3 Tbsp. sugar
• 1/2 tsp. ground ginger
• 1/4 tsp. black pepper
• 3 cups cooked chicken, shredded or cut up into chunks
• 1/4 cup green onions, thinly sliced {I added some of the green parts as well}
• 1/4 cup sliced almonds, toasted lightly in a dry pan
• 1/4 cup sesame seeds, toasted lightly in a dry pan
• 1/2 cup red bell pepper, thinly sliced

DIRECTIONS:

  Heat a medium skillet over medium-low heat; add sesame seeds and sliced almonds.  Toast until golden brown and set aside.  Cook pasta according to package directions, drain and rinse with cold water.  Add pasta to large bowl.

In a small bowl, whisk together the olive oil and next 6 ingredients.  

Add sliced green onions, cooked chicken, sliced bell pepper, sesame seeds and almonds to the bowl with the cooled pasta.  Stir to combine.  Pour in the dressing and mix well.  You can serve immediately or refrigerate for later.