Mango Salsa

this is fun to make, delicious, and makes a TON!

2 not-overly ripe mangoes
1 big red bell pepper
1/2 red onion
1 and 1/2 jalepeno
1/8 cup of rice vinegar

chop all the ingredients up and put them into a medium sized bowl. add the rice vinegar and toss. much better the next day!

(as a side note, this salsa is very pretty!)

Lentil Tacos

This is a healthy alternative to the ground beef or ground turkey tacos. In case you've never looked for Lentils, they're in the dried beans section. I usually just eyeball my cooking, and don't measure much, but these measurements are pretty close to what you should be using, I think.

1.5 cups vegetable broth (or beef, chicken, your choice)
1 cup dry lentils
1 cup salsa
1/2 tsp cumin
1/2 tsp chili powder
1/2 tsp onion powder
1/4 tsp oregano

Boil the broth and add lentils. Let boil, covered, for about 25 minutes. Mash the lentils. Add in salsa, and spices. Simmer for additional 5 minutes. Put on hard shell or soft tacos and dress to your liking. I have a friend who highly recommends putting cucumbers and sour cream on them.

As far as the spices go, I always just spice to my taste. I recommend you do the same, and just use these measurements as a starting point. Enjoy! With similar spicing as regular tacos, the only difference between lentils and beef is the amount of grease you'll miss out on with lentils!

Spicy chicken pasta

I just saw this recipe in Everyday Food (magazine). The recipe was published as 1 serving, but I modified the quantities and will post the amounts I used. I had enough for 2 servings + seconds for John + a small amount for me to have as left overs.

coarse salt
1 1/2 c. penne pasta (I used whole wheat)
~3/4 lb. chicken breast tender strips (not the cooked kind) cut in ~1" cubes
2 plum tomatoes seeded and diced
~5 T. tomato paste
3 cloves garlic - minced
~ 1 T. olive oil
1/2 t. red pepper flakes (plus more for sprinkling on top if you like the heat)
4 c. loose packed baby spinach
lemon juice (squeezed 1/2 a lemon)

bring salted water to a boil

cook pasta, adding chicken to the boiling water for the last 2-3 minutes. Make sure chicken gets cooked through during the boil. Reserve 1/2 c. pasta water.

Drain pasta and chicken.

In a large sauce pan (I used the wok) cook the garlic with the olive oil for 1-2 mins. Add the tomato paste, red pepper flakes and diced tomatoes.

Add pasta and chicken. Add lemon juice and enough water to form a thin sauce that coats pasta.
Add spinach, toss until spinach is barely wilted.

Serve immediately.

I call this Monterrey Chicken

This one is so easy, I'm almost embarrased to post it.

Ingredients
4 boneless chicken breasts
2 cans of Mexican Ro-Tel
(or any brand of mixed diced tomatoes w/ green chiles) well-drained
1 small can of sliced (not chopped) black olives-drained
4 slices pepper jack cheese (or whatever cheese you want)
whatever spices you want (I use salt, black pepper, onion powder, garlic powder)

Directions
Preheat oven to 350 degrees
Put chicken in 9X13 oven safe pan
Sprinkle your spices on both sides of chicken
Cook for about 8 minutes
Take out of oven and pour Ro-Tel around chicken breasts, making sure a good amount is on top of the breasts.
Add black olives in the same fashion.
Cover each chicken breast mixture with slice of cheese.
Return to oven for another 8 minutes or until juices run clear.
(I'm a risky cooker. I don't use a thermometer!)

This is great with Mexican rice. I also sometimes make a pico de gallo and add it to the top of the cheese before serving.
Pico de Gallo=chopped jalapeno, diced tomato, chopped onion, and chopped cilantro mixture.

Cucumber, Tomato, and Onion Salad

i LOVE this salad... making it tomorrow for memorial day picnic, in fact. :)

this salad is best if enjoyed the same day you make it, or at most, the next day.

Ingredients:
2 cucumbers, peeled, seeded and thinly sliced (or one long seedless cucumber)
4 Roma tomatoes, halved lengthwise and thinly sliced
½ small red onion, thinly sliced
¼ cup light olive oil
2 Tbsp red wine vinegar
1 tsp salt
1 tsp black pepper
1 tsp white sugar
2 tsp dried oregano

mix all ingredients together in a bowl and let marinate for at least an hour at room temperature.

Quick Margherita Pizza

This is a super fast, decently healthy recipe. It doesn't make a lot of mess, either! I use a pizza stone instead of a baking sheet.

Ingredients

1 (10-ounce) can refrigerated pizza crust dough
Cooking spray
1 teaspoon extra-virgin olive oil, divided
1 garlic clove, halved
5 plum tomatoes, thinly sliced (about 3/4 pound)
1 cup (4 ounces) shredded fresh mozzarella cheese
1 teaspoon balsamic vinegar
1/2 cup thinly sliced fresh basil
1/8 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon black pepper


Preparation

Preheat oven to 400°.
Unroll crust dough onto a baking sheet coated with cooking spray; pat into a 13 x 11-inch rectangle.
Bake at 400° for 8 minutes.
Remove crust from oven, and brush with 1/2 teaspoon oil. Rub crust with cut sides of garlic.
Arrange tomato slices on crust, leaving a 1/2-inch border; sprinkle evenly with cheese.
Bake at 400° for 12 minutes or until cheese melts and crust is golden.
Combine 1/2 teaspoon oil and vinegar, stirring with a whisk.
Sprinkle pizza evenly with sliced basil, salt, and pepper. Drizzle the vinegar mixture evenly over the pizza.
Cut pizza into 8 pieces.


Yield

4 servings (serving size: 2 pieces)

Nutritional Information

CALORIES 298(30% from fat); FAT 10g (sat 4.6g,mono 3.5g,poly 1.4g); PROTEIN 12.2g; CHOLESTEROL 22mg; CALCIUM 175mg; SODIUM 595mg; FIBER 2.1g; IRON 2.6mg; CARBOHYDRATE 38.6g

bbq sloppy joes

this recipe is so simple and easy I'm kind of embarrassed to post. But now you know what kind of things we eat on busy weeknights :-) I like to serve it with a salad - especially fruit salad heavy on the pineapple.

***not sure if you WANT to see a picture of this.... it gets messy***

1 package of ground turkey (I prefer the super low fat kind) probably could use ground beef too
1/2 bottle of bbq sauce (pick your favorite kind to ensure you like the outcome)
whole wheat buns or pita pockets, or whatever buns/bread you have.

optional...
1/2 green pepper cut into pieces OR about 1/2 cup onions cut into pieces

brown turkey with onions and/or peppers, add bbq sauce until meat is well coated. Spoon a generous helping of meat mixture on toasted buns.

healthy, quick "pizza"

I keep the flat bread on hand in the freezer, along with canned tomatoes and will top with whatever I have on hand, but these toppings are my favorites. Serve with salad for a complete meal.



Ingredients:



4 pieces of flatbread (or pita bread)

1-2 cans of petite diced tomatoes (drained)

1-2 t. crushed red pepper flakes

~1/4-1/2 c. feta and/or shredded mozzarella cheese

1/4 c. sliced and pitted klamata olives

fresh basil leafs torn in chunks - optional.

(everything looks better on china)

Preheat oven to 400. Spray a cookie sheet or pizza stone with non-stick spray. Spoon tomatoes over bread, sprinkle with red pepper to taste (I like very little, John likes generous) and top with cheese and olives.