Chicken Salad 3 Ways

 I love chicken salad

and I'm not talking about 

canned chicken and mayo

on a boring old piece of bread.

I am talking about 

beautifully poached chicken 

salad with the works! 

Here are three wonderful ways 

to serve up chicken salad:

In a wrap:

On a bun:

Over a bed of lettuce:

To poach your chicken 

You'll need:

Chicken broth

Half an Onion

Seasoning

Boneless, Skinless Chicken Breast

Put ingredients into a stock pot 
and bring to a boil.

Reduce heat to low, 

and simmer for about 20 minutes.

Then let chicken cool.

While the chicken is cooling,

assemble "the works"

Chop fruit, veggies & nuts.

Suggested ingredients:

Green Apples, Red Onions, Celery, 

Carrots, Grapes, Walnuts, Pecans, 

Dried Cranberries, Dried Cherries, Raisins...

Next shred chicken.

Then whip up your dressing.

To cut back on calories use equal parts 

mayo and plain greek yogurt.

*I like to add about a spoonful 

of honey mustard.

Finally mix it all up and

season with dill weed, garlic powder

and fresh ground pepper.

Enjoy!

Let's talk Breakfast

I admit, 

I used to skip breakfast all the time. 

Until I discovered all the benefits
of eating a healthy breakfast.

Then I realized it's actually really easy!

Quick and Easy Breakfast Ideas

Freezing your fruit ahead of time

makes breakfast a breeze!

Get my Purple Kale Smoothie Recipe Here:

http://homemadefoodtastesbetter.blogspot.com/2014/06/purple-kale-smoothie.html

This is my secret weapon for a 

guilt-free protein-packed breakfast:

Breakfast Taco

Caloric Breakdown:

5 Tablespoons of Egg Whites (42 Cal.) 

(Cooked with nonstick olive oil cooking spray)

1 Wheat & Black Bean Tortilla (100 Cal.)

Sprinked with cheddar cheese (approximately 60 Cal.)

Topped with a spoonful of Homemade Salsa (4 Cal.)

Total: 206 Calories

Add a piece of fruit 

and you've got a balanced breakfast!

Enjoy!

Welcome Home Cookies

I bake these cookies

every time my husband returns

 from a business trip.

Sometimes I think he goes on

fakes trips just so that I will make 

these cookies.

So I suppose they don't 

have to be "Welcome Home" cookies.

They could just be, 

"Here have a cookie" cookies

or "Nice shirt, here's a cookie" cookies

or even,

"It's Wednesday, lets eat cookies" cookies

All I'm saying is,

you have GOT to try these cookies!

*Preferably with a big glass of ice cold milk

Here's what you'll need: 

1 cup butter

1/4 cup sugar

3/4 cup brown sugar

1 package of butterscotch instant pudding

2 eggs

1 teaspoon vanilla

1/8 cup cream cheese

2 1/2 cups flour

1 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon salt

2 cups chocolate chips

Step one: Cream together the butter and sugar

Step two: Mix in pudding mix, eggs, vanilla, and cream cheese

Step three: Mix dry ingredients in a medium bowl

Step four: Combine dry ingredients and wet ingredients. 

Step five: Fold in chocolate chips

Step six: Cover and chill in refrigerator for 1 hour 

*or freeze for 15 minutes.

Step seven: Form round cookie dough balls 
and place on baking sheet. 

Step between 7 and 8: Eat cookie dough 

(or not, because it contains raw eggs and raw eggs are bad,

 or do because come on, it's cookie dough

 it's super yummy. Hey, it's your call.)

Step eight: Bake for 12 minutes

Step nine: Cool on baking sheet for 90 seconds

Step ten: Let cool on cooling rack

Enjoy!

Celebrating a birthday? 
Skip the cake!

Make these "Birthday Cookies"

Happy Birthday

Here's a stack of cookies!

Zucchini Meatball Sub

Meatball subs are kind of my weakness. 

 So when my kids begged me 

to make them last night,

I admit I got a little nervous. 

Since I've been pretty "good" lately,

I didn't want to let those

gooey meatballs 

lure me into eating way too much

like those little temptresses always do. 

So I improvised,

skipped the bun, 

and created a zucchini sub instead! 

I have to say, 

I think I actually prefer it this way. 

Here's the recipe:

Homemade Turkey Meatballs

One Pound Ground Turkey

One Egg

1/2 Cup Breadcrumbs

Half an Onion (Diced)

1/4 Cup Fresh Grated Parmesan

Couple shakes of Worcestershire sauce

Splash of milk

Italian Seasonings

Garlic Powder

Red Pepper Flakes

Salt & Pepper

*I don't ever really measure seasoning.

So just be generous 

and you'll end up with tasty meatballs.

Mix everything in a large bowl.

Form your meatballs.

Place them on a baking sheet 

(After lining it with foil 

and spraying it down with nonstick spray.)

Bake in preheated oven at 375 degrees 

for about 25 minutes.

Of course you're welcome to make your own sauce

after all, Homemade is Better.

But I took the easy way out this time

and used a jar of whatever was in the pantry.

Now at this point go ahead 

toast your bun or hoagie

and serve it up old school

OR...

Skip the bun (and the carbs)

Grill up a few slices of zucchini instead.

Trust me, 

You won't even miss the bread!

Top with fresh parmesan. 

Enjoy!

Meatless Monday: Quinoa and Black Bean Tacos

Haven't tried Quinoa? 

What are you waiting for?!

There are so many benefits of eating this  

"supergrain" 

It's affordable, extremely healthy 

can be served hot or cold, 

and is darn tasty too!

 

Quick and easy
 Meatless Monday recipe
with Quinoa:

Ingredients:

Onion

Garlic

Olive Oil

Vegetable Broth, Black Beans, 

Diced Green Chiles, Diced Tomatoes

Quinoa

Cumin, Cayenne Pepper, Black Pepper, 

Frozen Corn, Fresh Cilantro

Directions:

Step one: In a large sauce pan

saute onion and garlic in olive oil.

Step two: Add quinoa and vegetable broth, 

diced tomatoes/green chiles, and seasoning.

Step three: Bring to a boil, reduce heat and cover, 

simmer for 20 minutes.

Step four: Add frozen corn and 

simmer 5 more minutes.

Step five: Stir in black beans and cilantro

Serve with tortillas, 

cheese and sour cream if desired.

Enjoy! 

Greek Pasta Salad

This salad is super easy and super SUPER tasty! 

Here's what you'll need:

1/2 Box Bowtie pasta (cooked)

 1 Cucumber (chopped)

2 Roma tomatoes (chopped)

1/8 cup Banana peppers (chopped)

 1/4 cup Kalamata olives

1 Cup of Italian dressing 

Here's how easy it is: 

Mix everything,

and you're done. 

Enjoy! 

Adapted from Chef in Training

Apple Cinnamon Blueberry Pancakes

These pancakes are egg-free

But that's not stopping them from being DELICIOUS!

You'll need:

1 cup flour

1 tablespoon brown sugar

1 tablespoon baking powder

1 tablespoon vanilla protein powder (optional)

1 teaspoon cinnamon

1/2 cup almond/coconut milk

1/2 cup apple juice

1/2 cup apple sauce

1 teaspoon vanilla

1 pint blueberries

For streusel: 

Crushed graham crackers

butter

FYI: I had some leftover crushed graham crackers from these:Toffee cheescakes 

In a large bowl, 

sift together dry ingredients.

Add milk,

apple juice,

apple sauce, 

and vanilla

Spoon batter onto hot griddle.

Sprinkle with streusel 

and blueberries. 

Cook until bubbles begin to form.

Flip with caution.

Cook for 2 more minutes.

Serve with butter and syrup.

Enjoy!