Salsa Chicken

Beyond “chicken” I didn’t have a clue what I was going to make for dinner tonight. We enjoy chicken for dinner, but grilling it tends to get a bit boring. I was in a “tex-mex” kind of mood tonight, and came up with this creation. I didn’t do a lot of measuring when I made it. You can season the salsa to your taste.

Ingredients:

4 boneless skinless chicken breasts, rinsed and patted dry
1 onion, chopped
1 bunch cilantro, chopped
2 cans diced tomatoes
1 garlic clove, minced

Olive Oil
Chili Powder
Salt and Pepper
Cayenne Pepper

Directions:

Heat a large non-stick skillet that has a lid; drizzle some olive oil into the pan.

Sprinkle some chili powder on one side of the chicken breasts. Place the breasts in the skillet seasoned side down. Sprinkle chili powder on the other side. Cook the chicken breasts for about 4 minutes on each side. Remove from pan and set aside.

Add the onion and garlic to the pan. Add a little more olive oil if needed. When onion is translucent, add cilantro and the two cans of tomatoes. Sprinkle a little cayenne into the salsa to taste. Bring to boil, return the chicken breasts to the pan and cover. Cook for another five minutes, until chicken breasts are cooked through.

Serve chicken breasts with some of the salsa on top. Salt and Pepper to taste.

Mushroom Barley Side Dish

This is a 24-hour fitness recipe. I haven’t adjusted it at all. It’s perfect, just the way it is. I like to enjoy it as a side dish to whatever meat we are having for dinner. It’s also quite good for lunch, paired with a salad.

Ingredients:

1 small leek, remove outer leaves and rinse well. Finely chop
1 tsp olive oil
1 pound fresh mushrooms, sliced
1 clove garlic, minced
¾ cup pearl barley
1 2/3 cup vegetable or beef broth
1/3 cup dry white wine

Grated Parmesan for garnish, Salt & Pepper to taste.

Directions:

Add oil to large nonstick skillet (that has a lid) and heat over medium heat until hot. Add chopped leek, mushrooms and garlic. Sauté until mushrooms are tender.

Add uncooked barley, broth, and wine; bring to a boil. Cover and reduce heat; simmer 15 to 18 minutes or until barley is tender and most of the liquid is absorbed.

Remove from heat and let stand for 5 – 10 minutes. Sprinkle with cheese and salt and pepper to taste.

Strawberry Spinach Salad

I got this recipe from a friend. It is SO incredibly easy, and quick, to prepare. It is full of flavor and the perfect salad to serve before a wonderful meal, especially as summer approaches!

Dressing -
1/3 cup sugar
1 ½ tsp paprika
¼ tsp Worcestershire
½ cup vegetable oil (I use extra virgin olive oil)
2 – 3 Tbls apple cider vinegar
2 Tbls sesame seeds
1 Tbls poppy seeds

Salad –
1 package spinach leaves
1 pint strawberries, sliced

Mix the dressing ingredients together. Just before serving toss the spinach and strawberries with the dressing. Enjoy immediately. This salad will not keep.

Rosemary Pork Tenderloin with Olives and Onions

Another treat from the FlatBelly diet cookbook. This was dinner last Sunday night - and all three of us enjoyed it with a salad and some broccoli. Very tasty!

Ingredients:

1 pork tenderloin
Medium red onion, cut into eights
2 tsp olive oil
1 Tbls fresh rosemary, minced
½ tsp salt
¼ tsp black pepper
1 can of black olives, pitted

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 375. Cover a baking sheet (with edges) with foil. Place the tenderloin on the baking sheet. Drizzle olive oil on the tenderloin; rub to evenly distribute the oil.

Mince the rosemary and combine with salt and pepper in a small bowl or dish. Rub the mixture all over the tenderloin. Add onions around tenderloin; place in oven and bake for 20 minutes.

Remove from oven; scatter olives over the onions, and toss to combine. Return to oven and roast for an additional 15 minutes. Let stand for 10 -15 minutes before slicing.

Mediterranean BLT

The idea and name came from the FlatBelly Diet cookbook, but I’ve seriously changed the recipe. In fact it isn’t really a BLT anymore. It’s a BST (the “S” is for spinach).

Ingredients:

1 Whole Wheat English Muffin, sliced and toasted
2 slices of bacon, I used turkey bacon
Several spinach leaves
2 large slices of tomato
2 Tbls of Olive Tapenade, recipe link HERE
A little salt and pepper if desired, however the saltiness of the olive tapenade and bacon will probably be sufficient for most.

Directions:

Cut the bacon in half, so that the slices will fit nicely on the English Muffin. Cook the bacon to your desired doneness.

Slice and toast the English Muffin.

Spread olive tapenade on each side of the English Muffin; top with spinach leaves. Add the bacon and top with tomato slice. I serve the sandwich “open faced”, sprinkle salt and pepper on top – if desired.

Olive Tapenade

I use this tapenade in the Mediterranean BLT above. It is also very good on crostini or crackers - and it's super easy to make. Enjoy!

20 Kalamata Olives
12 small green olives stuffed with pimiento
2 tsp capers
2 tsp olive oil
½ tsp oregano

Pulse together in a mini food chopper. My “Bullet” food chopper is perfect for this job.

Cuban Flank Steak with Avocado and Tomato Salad

This was dinner last night. It was very savory and filling. The recipe is from the Flat Belly Diet cookbook, and I have adjusted it slightly. It was very easy to prepare. I marinated the flank steak all day in the mojo sauce. It made the steak absolutely delicious, and the avocado and tomato salad was an excellent accompaniment.

Ingredients:

For the Mojo Sauce -
¼ cup olive oil
¼ cup fresh lime juice2 Tbls orange juice
4 garlic cloves
2 Tbls water
½ tsp cumin
½ tsp salt
½ tsp black pepper
½ tsp dried oregano
Hand full of fresh cilantro

1 flank steak
1 avocado, chopped
1 tomato, chopped
4 Tbls finely chopped red onion

Directions:

Place all of the Mojo Sauce ingredients in a small food processor, or blender. I have a “Bullet” which I love and is perfect for making the mojo sauce.

Place the flank steak in a zip lock bag or shallow dish. Add the sauce; l let marinate in refrigerator for 2 hour to overnight.

Remove the flank steak from the marinade; place remaining marinade in saucepan. Let steak stand at room temperature for 30 minutes.

Grill the flank steak to your desired doneness. As you can see from the picture, we like ours on the rare side. Let the cooked steak stand for 10 minutes before thinly slicing across the grain.

Bring the marinade in the saucepan to a boil. Let it cook for several minutes; it will begin to thicken.

Place the avocado, tomato and onion into a bowl. Add the heated mojo sauce to the salad. Serve on the side of the steak, or on top. Your preference.

Fresh Salsa

Our family really enjoys Mexican food. We love salsa, and prefer fresh to bottled. My son eats salsa a lot. He would rather have chips and salsa after school - than cookies and milk. So, here is my recipe for "fresh" salsa. I say "fresh" with quotations around it, because I use a few cans in here. But, it tastes fresh and using the cans allows for a quick treat.

Ingredients:

1 - 15 oz can diced tomatoes
½ white onion finely chopped
1 can Herdez green salsa
Handful of chopped fresh cilantro
2 garlic cloves, finely minced
½ of a fresh jalapeno – depending upon how spicy you like the salsa – remove the seeds if you like it less spicy, use even less of the jalapeno (or none) if you don’t like spicy
1 tsp cumin
½ tsp salt
2 tsp lemon juice

Directions:

I usually use my small food processor to make this salsa. It really cuts down on the chopping and the amount of work involved in making the salsa.

In food processor put peeled garlic, cilantro, jalapeno and rough chopped onion. Pulse off and on until everything is chopped to your liking. Remove and place in bowl.

Put tomatoes in the food processor and blend. I like to completely blend my tomatoes, but if you prefer to have chunks of tomatoes – pulse the processor off and on until the consistency is to your liking. Add to bowl.

Add the Herdez, lemon juice, cumin and salt. Stir to combine. Let salsa sit for several hours to overnight for flavors to blend. Serve with chips and enjoy. An added margarita would even be better!