Yummy. Healthy. Easy.: May 2012

Thursday, May 31, 2012

Creamy Yogurt Fruit Dip

There are so many fruit dip recipes out there but I've never found one like this! My Mom made this all the time growing up and it was always one of my favorites. I love it so much because you can make it as sweet (or not sweet) as you like and you only need a couple of ingredients to make it!

Creamy Yogurt Fruit Dip:

(recipe from my Mom)

Ingredients:

1 container Cool Whip
1 (6oz) Strawberry Yogurt cup, any brand
sprinkles of DRY strawberry Jello, to taste
sprinkles of powdered sugar, optional, if you want it sweeter

Directions:

In a small bowl, mix together Cool Whip and yogurt. Add sprinkles of dry powdered strawberry Jello, stirring and tasting until it's sweetened to your liking. The Jello adds color and sweetens it up. If you want it a little sweeter, sprinkle some powdered sugar into it. Viola! Goes great with any fruit!

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Tuesday, May 29, 2012

Mom's Chicken Squares

My Mom is staying with me for the week!! I love it when she comes because she makes my life sooooooo much easier! She lives in Mesa, Arizona and I live in Redondo Beach, California. It's only a 6 hour drive, 1 hour plane ride from there to here so she finds any excuse to make the drive or fly over.

My 4 boys ADORE her. They probably drive her up the wall with the "Grandma will you play a game with us?" "Grandma, watch me!" and my personal favorite, "Grandma will you buy me the new XBox game my Mom won't buy me?" Bahahaha! But in all seriousness, she is such a wonderful Grandmother and she takes such good care me while she's here. One thing that's a tradition when she comes to visit is that she always makes chicken squares. This is without a doubt, my boys' favorite dinner. And it's probably the easiest!

I know there are a million recipes similar to this but this is how my Mom has always made it and how I've always made it for my boys. Here's what you need for the recipe:

CHICKEN SQUARES (recipe from my Mom):

Makes 8 Servings

Ingredients:

2 (8oz) cans Crescent rolls
1 large can chicken breasts chunks (in water), partly drained
4 oz cream cheese
About 1 Tbsp dried, chopped onion
Salt & Pepper, to taste

Directions:
Preheat your oven to 375 degrees. Open your can of chicken and drain about half of the water out. In a medium-sized mixing bowl with a fork, mix the cream cheese, onions, salt & pepper and the half-drained can of chicken. When the mixture is creamy and the cream cheese is equally incorporated, get your crescent rolls out and start making your squares!

Step 1:
Open your crescent roll packages. Tear the perforations to make the dough into 4 squares. (Each roll package contains 8 crescent rolls, which makes 4 squares) Using your fingertips, smooth out the perforation line that goes from the top corner to the bottom corner.

Step 2:
Now fill the center of the dough with 1/8th of the cream cheese/chicken mixture.

Step 3:
Take the 2 opposite corners and pinch them together at the top.

Step 4:
Now add a third side and pinch at the top.

Step 5:
Pinch the edges of the sides together to enclose the filling while still pinching the top.

Step 6:

Now pull the last piece of crescent dough up to the top.

Step 7:

Now pinch the last two sides together while pinching the top. Make sure all four sides are as sealed as you can get them. A little gap here or there won't matter. ;)

Step 8:

Place this cute little pillow on a sprayed cookie sheet and repeat with the other 7 crescent squares!

Step 9:
When all the chicken squares are completed and on the cookie sheet, put them into your pre-heated oven and cook for approximately 12 minutes. Watch for them to brown up and the dough to cook through. Sometimes it takes a little longer if they're extra full of filling or if I use the reduced-fat crescent dough. It just totally depends. Once you start smelling them, (YUMMM!) keep checking them.

Thanks Mom for the yummiest recipes! I love recipes that remind me of home and when I was a kid! What's your favorite recipe while you were growing up? Did your Mom make one similar to my Mom's Chicken Squares?

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Friday, May 25, 2012

The Best Burger Recipe Ever!!!

I don't make everything by scratch. Sometimes I break down and buy pre-made frozen lasagna, pizzas, or those frozen garlic bread thingys. It's just easier, right?! But one thing I refuse to buy pre-made, are burger patties! PLEASE don't get those pre-made, cardboard-tasting, grisly burgers in the frozen section!!! Instead, take 5 minutes to make these babies!! This is seriously the most delicious, moist burger I have ever tasted. It's so super simple too! You only need a few ingredients and VIOLA! The yummiest grilled burger ever!

THE BEST BURGER RECIPE: recipe adapted from Little Miss Momma (makes 4 patties)
Ingredients:

1 pound ground sirloin (I get the Angus 80/20, or 85/15 - don't get the leanest sirloin! You need a little extra fat to make the burgers yummy! I promise!)
1/2 cup grated Monterey Jack cheese
1/4 cup BBQ sauce (I use Sweet Baby Ray's!)
Lawry's (or similar) season salt, to taste
1/4 tsp. black pepper
1/2 tsp. onion powder
your favorite hamburger buns

Directions:
1) Mix the first 6 ingredients together with your hands and form into 4 patties. I do a little indention in the middle of each patty so the middle doesn't puff up while grilling.
2) Preheat your grill on high and then lower to medium when you put your patties on. Grill until your burger reaches your level of preferred doneness. You can also use an indoor grill pan or even a skillet! This burger is super moist from the barbecue sauce and cheese inside the patty. YUM!
3) I like to heat up about 1/2 Tbsp butter in a skillet on medium heat, and put the inside of my hamburger buns in the butter to get nice and toasted. This gives it such a good flavor and a little crunch!
4) Serve your butter-toasted buns with your yummy moist burger plus whatever fixings you like. We like avocado, tomato and lettuce! ENJOY!!

DROOLING!!

LINKING THIS RECIPE TO THESE FUN PARTIES:
Strut Your Stuff Saturdays, Frugal Fridays, Spotlight Saturday, CraftOManiac Monday Link Party, Spicy Link Up, Show Me What Ya Got, Tell Me Tuesday, Tips & Tricks Tuesdays, Tutorial Tuesday, Handmade Tuesday, Too Cute Tuesday, Anti-Procrastination Tuesday, Create and Share, We Did It! Wednesday, Your Whims Wednesday, Uncommonly Yours, Frugal Food Thursdays, Catch a Glimpse Thursday, Hookin' Up with HoH, Link Party Thursday with Somewhat Simple, Friday Fun Party, I Made This, Fantabulous Friday,

Thursday, May 24, 2012

Avocado and Mango Sandwiches with Cilantro-Lime Mayo

I love when it's almost summertime and the produce in the supermarkets get stocked with my favorite fruits and veggies! Sometimes I buy a whole bunch of produce and I have no idea what to do with it all. This is when I start to get creative and inventive!

This sandwich is divine. Who needs meat in a sandwich, right?! The pairing of avocado and mango is not something I would automatically think of but they go so well together! The avocado is creamy and rich while the mango is sweet and juicy. The mayo infused with lime and cilantro is the perfect marinade for the toasted bread and adds a salty, creaminess to the sandwich. Seriously, make this sandwich today. Whether it's for breakfast, lunch or dinner. Or all three. You will thank me later. :)

AVOCADO & MANGO SANDWICHES WITH CILANTRO-LIME MAYO: (Serves 4) (recipe adapted from Everyday Food)
Ingredients:

1/3 cup light mayonnaise
1/4 cup fresh cilantro leaves, coarsely chopped
1 Tbsp. fresh lime juice
salt & pepper
8 slices of your favorite bread, toasted
a couple leaves of romaine or Bibb lettuce
1 mango, peeled, pitted and thinly sliced
1 avocado, pitted and thinly sliced

Directions:
1) In a small bowl, combine mayo, cilantro and lime juice; season with salt and pepper.
2) Spread toast with mayo mixture. Load up your toast with the lettuce, mango and avocado. Squeeze bread back together and enjoy your yummy sandwich! :)

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Tuesday, May 22, 2012

Easy Vegetable Pad Thai

I'm kind of a Thai food freak. I have a place down the street that I go to every Friday night and they know exactly what I'm going to order without me even having to say it. Pretty sad, I know. But I'm off "kitchen duty" Friday nights. I cook every other day of the week, so Friday is take-out night. My boys rotate around to the various fast food chains but I always choose Thai food. My favorites are: Yellow Chicken Curry and Pad Thai. For one order of either of my favorites, it costs about $10. So when I heard through the grapevine that a really easy, yummy Pad Thai recipe existed over at Brownies for Dinner and that the average per-serving cost was only $1.50 - I was sold!!! I knew I had to try it!

The whole recipe serves 4, and was enough for myself and my two older boys (unfortunately for my husband, he had to work late and I ended up eating his plate. Sorry Honey! :) I love how this recipe doesn't have any weird ingredients like fish sauce, weird pastes, or a million other things I've never heard of. It's just very simple, inexpensive ingredients that you can find at any grocery store. And the best part is this dish will be done in 30 minutes or less! Now, that's a Friday dinner I might be okay with staying home for. ;)

Easy Pad Thai: (recipe from Brownies for Dinner)
Ingredients:

8 ounces dried, wide and flat rice noodles (I found them in the Asian-foods section)
2 Tbsp. brown sugar
2 Tbsp. fresh lime juice (about 1 lime)
3 Tbsp. soy sauce
1 squirt (about 1/8 teaspoon) Sriracha chili sauce (optional, you can find this in the Asian-foods section. You can add more if you like things super spicy)
2 tsp. vegetable oil
3 green onions, white and green parts separated and thinly sliced
1 garlic clove, minced
2 large eggs, lightly beaten
1/2 cup fresh cilantro
1/4 cup chopped roasted, salted peanuts

Directions:

Soak noodles according to package directions.
In a small bowl, whisk together: brown sugar, lime juice, soy sauce and Sriracha.
In a large non-stick skillet (or wok), heat oil over medium-high heat.
Add whites of green onions and garlic and cook, stirring constantly, until fragrant (about 30 seconds). Add eggs and cook, scraping skillet with spatula until eggs are almost set (about 30 seconds). Transfer eggs to a plate.
Add noodles, green parts of the green onions and sauce to skillet. Cook, tossing constantly until noodles are soft (about 1 minute). Add egg mixture and toss to coat, breaking eggs up gently.
Serve noodles topped with chopped peanuts and cilantro.
ENJOY!!

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Friday, May 18, 2012

Decadent {Low Fat} Diet Coke Cake!!!!

Oh. Wow. Never would I have thought that a Diet Soda + Cake Mix = a decadent, yet low fat CAKE! Consider my mind blown. Just by nixing the eggs and oil, you deduct many calories from the cake. But who would have thought that adding a can of my favorite diet soda to it instead of the eggs and oil would make such a divine, diet-friendly dessert! Not me!!!!! Gotta be honest. I was truly skeptical. I decided I would give it a go but not have high expectations. And honestly, it was really delicious!

I decided to make it while my older boys were at baseball practice (so they wouldn't see what I was making) and then give them a piece after dinner and get their feedback. They. Loved. It. When I told them it had a can of Diet Coke in it, their jaws hit the floor! You can use any kind of diet soda and any cake mix too - I'm already thinking of the yummy combos! Strawberry cake mix + orange soda, funfetti cake + lemon-lime soda, I mean seriously the list goes on and on! I'm a chocolate freak and currently trying to maintain a healthier diet, so this really hit the spot!

Here are your ingredients:

Plus I added 2 egg whites to make it a little fluffier.
Ingredients:

1 dry box cake mix, any flavor
10 oz. diet soda, any flavor
2 egg whites
cooking spray

Directions:
Preheat oven according to box directions. Spray 9x13 pan with cooking spray.

Beat cake mix, diet soda and egg whites in a large bowl for 2 minutes. Pour mixture into pan.

Decrease cooking time by 5 minutes from what the box says. A toothpick inserted in the middle of the cake will come out clean when it is finished. Let cool before cutting into squares. Serve with fat free whipped cream if desired! Yum!

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Wednesday, May 16, 2012

Healthy Meat-Free Creamy Shells & Black Beans

I've always been a really healthy eater. Except lately. For some reason I've gone a little crazy and I think it took the pictures of me from Mother's Day (aka pudgy gut) to give me a quick reminder that I need to get back on track! So this week, I have been trying to:

#1) Eat healthy
#2) No (or 1 small low-calorie :) desserts
#3) Go to bed early so I can get up early and exercise
#4) Quit eating so dang late at night! STOP! Put that cookie down!! ;D

So in order to put #1 into effect, I've been pulling out old recipes and searching new ones to find a yummy solution to a healthy family dinner. I found this recipe over at The Way The Cookie Crumbles (LOVE that blog name!) and I adapted it a little to fit what I had in my pantry and what I know my family likes. It was acutally pretty dang tasty! It's meat-free, which is a nice change from the ordinary. Nobody even noticed there was no turkey or chicken in it - although you could definitely add some if you wanted! The recipe contains whole grain pasta, which is high in fiber, and Greek yogurt, which is high in protein. Go figure! It filled my kids up so fast, I was amazed!

HEALTHY MEAT-FREE CREAMY SHELLS & BLACK BEANS (adapted from The Way The Cookie Crumbles):
Ingredients:

1 Tbsp. olive oil
1 medium onion, chopped small
1 red pepper, chopped small
1/2 tsp. salt + more for taste
3 medium cloves garlic, chopped small
1 Tbsp. ground chili powder
1 tsp. ground cumin
1/8 tsp. ground cayenne (more if you like heat)
1 box dry whole grain pasta (I used Barilla 13.25 oz box of whole grain shells)
1 (28 oz) can petite-diced tomatoes
2 1/2 cups water
1 (30 oz) can black beans, rinsed and drained
1 (6 oz) container Greek yogurt
chopped cilantro, for serving
1 avocado, diced for serving

Directions:
Heat the oil in a large non-stick skillet over medium heat. When warm, add the onion, red pepper, and 1/2 tsp. salt and cook until the onion begins to soften, about 5 minutes. Stir in the garlic, chili powder, cumin and cayenne and cook until fragrant, about 30 seconds.

Add the pasta, petite diced tomatoes with juices, water and black beans. Cover and bring to a simmer. Reduce heat to medium-low and continue simmering, stirring occasionally until the pasta is tender - about 20 minutes. Salt and pepper to taste.

Now, in a small bowl, pour out your Greek yogurt and stir in about half of the simmering pasta mixture into it. Now stir this tempered yogurt mixture into the rest of the skillet. Cover and simmer over low heat until heated though, 2-3 minutes.

Serve in bowls and sprinkle with cilantro and avocado. ENJOY!!

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Tuesday, May 15, 2012

Healthy & Light Spaghetti with Sauteed Chicken and Grape Tomatoes

I had a lovely Mother's Day weekend and I hope you did too! I ate W-A-Y too much delicious food and my pants are fitting a little more snug than I like now (ha!). So I decided to be more dedicated this week to healthier eating. After all, I do have a blog with the word HEALTHY in the title, right?! Anyway, I found this simple recipe over on Skinnytaste which is seriously an amazing low fat recipe blog (check it out if you haven't yet!). When I saw it, I knew I had to try it! I loved how light and fresh this spaghetti is! I used high fiber pasta and fresh from my garden basil. It has a light olive oil and garlic dressing and the tomatoes give it a fresh juicy crunch. Even my boys liked it! Shocker! :)

HEALTHY & LIGHT SPAGHETTI WITH SAUTEED CHICKEN AND TOMATOES (Recipe from Skinnytaste):

Ingredients:

2 boneless/skinless chicken breasts, diced into 1 inch cubes
cooking spray
1/2 tsp. dried oregano
1/2 tsp. dried basil
salt & pepper
8 oz. spaghetti (high fiber or low carb) I used Ronzoni Smart Taste
2 cups grape tomatoes, halved
6 cloves garlic, smashed and coarsely chopped
4 tsp. extra virgin olive oil
4 Tbsp. chopped fresh basil

Directions:
Bring a large pot of water to a boil.

Season chicken generously with salt and pepper, then sprinkle on the dried oregano and basil. Heat a large skillet on high . When hot, spray with cooking spray and add chicken. Cook about 3-4 minutes, until no longer pink. Remove chicken and set aside.

Add pasta to boiling water and cook per directions on package. Reserve about 1/2 cup pasta water before draining.

While the pasta is cooking, add olive oil to skillet on high heat (I used the same skillet as before but just gave it a good wipe with a wet paper towel). Add garlic and saute until golden brown, making sure not to burn it! Add tomatoes. Season with salt and pepper and reduce heat to medium-low. Saute about 4-5 minutes.

When pasta is drained, add pasta to tomatoes and toss well. If pasta seems to dry, add some of the reserved pasta water. Add fresh basil and chicken and toss well. Top with grated parmesan cheese. ENJOY!!

LINKING TO THESE FUN PARTIES:

Slightly Indulgent Tuesdays, Tasty Tuesdays, Tip Me Tuesday, Totally Tasty Tuesdays, Tips & Tricks, What's Cooking Wednesday, What I Whipped Up Wednesday, Spicy Link Up, Look What I Made, Full Plate Thursday, Cooking Thursday, Link Party Thursday, Pennywise Platter, Show Off Your Stuff, Flaunt it Friday, Friday Fun Party, It's a Hodgepodge Friday, Frugal Friday, Latest and Greatest Friday, Simply Link Party, Tickled Pink Fridays, Pity Party, Fantabulous Friday, Friday Flair, Foodie Friday, Strut Your Stuff Saturday, Spotlight Saturday, Beautify it Monday, Tell Me Tuesdays, Spicy Link Up, Hookin' Up with HoH,

Thursday, May 10, 2012

Easy "Homemade" Chicken Noodle Soup!

I had a bad chicken noodle experience a few years back. ;) My husband's grandmother gave me her famous chicken noodle soup recipe in which she makes her very own homemade noodles. Let's just say, I butchered the noodles - they came out thick, doughy and tasted nothing like Grandma's. Plus it took me hours to make! I haven't tried making homemade noodles ever since. I know what you're thinking. There are millions of recipes out there to try! Don't worry, I'm taking baby steps. :)

So I was rifling through my awesome family cookbook and came across my Sister-in-Law's Mom's recipe for chicken noodle soup. When I saw that you add packaged pasta or rice right into the broth, I knew I had to try it! It didn't disappoint! Super easy, flavorful, and my family loved it!

EASY CHICKEN NOODLE SOUP (recipe from my Sister-in-Law, Tina Mecham):

-1 large soup pot filled with water near top (can add chicken broth if you prefer)
-4 chicken breasts
-3 large carrots, sliced into rings
-1 1/2 c. pasta or rice (any kind of pasta noodle you like, longer varieties broken up - I used linguine)
-2 large celery stalks, sliced
-1 medium onion, diced
-1/2 c. soy sauce
-2/3 c. fresh parsley, chopped
-1 tsp. garlic powder
-1/2 tsp. thyme
-salt & pepper, to taste

Place your (raw) chicken breasts inside your soup pot and fill with water (2" from the top). Heat until the water begins to boil. Turn the heat down slightly so the broth will not overflow. Let boil approx. 20 minutes. While boiling, saute the celery, onion and carrots in a little olive oil/butter for about 10 minutes to soften them up and bring out the flavors.

When your chicken is cooked through, after approximately 20 minutes, remove from broth and place on cutting board to cool. Now add your sauteed vegetables, noodles and soy sauce to the broth.

While the soup is simmering, cut the chicken into cubes and shred with your fingertips. Return the chicken to the soup. TASTE THE BROTH. Add salt and pepper if needed and add the remaining ingredients: chopped parsley, garlic powder and thyme. Cook only about 10 more minutes.

And there you have it! A simple chicken noodle soup without the pain of homemade noodles! A delicious meal any day of the week! What do you think??

LINKING THIS RECIPE TO THESE FUN PARTIES:

Friday Fun Party, Flaunt it Friday, Slightly Indulgent Tuesdays, Tasty Tuesdays, Tip Me Tuesday, Totally Tasty Tuesdays, Tips & Tricks, What's Cooking Wednesday, What I Whipped Up Wednesday, Spicy Link Up, Look What I Made, Show Off Your Stuff, Strut Your Stuff Saturday, Spotlight Saturday,

Tuesday, May 8, 2012

Mom's Mandarin Orange Salad

Whenever I'm asked to bring a green salad to a get-together THIS is the one I bring!! It is sooooo delicious! And after it's been devoured, I always get asked for the recipe. You might have a similar recipe with the almonds & mandarin oranges BUT the thing that's different about this salad is the DRESSING! We grew up eating this salad a lot and I never realized the difference between this dressing and other similar salad dressings. The dressing is unlike any other I've tried and it is so unbelievably E-A-S-Y!! I love how light and fresh it is. This salad takes few ingredients and requires only a few minutes of preparation time. Perfect addition to a Sunday meal or to bring along to a party!

Mandarin Salad (recipe from my Mom, Vicki Mecham):

-1/2 c. sliced almonds
-2 Tbsp. sugar
-1 c. celery, diced
-1 (11 oz.) can mandarin oranges, drained
-1/2 head iceberg lettuce, chopped
-1/2 head romaine lettuce, chopped
-2 whole green onions, diced

Dressing:

-1/2 tsp. salt
-1/4 c. oil
-2 Tbsp. sugar
-dash of pepper
-2 Tbsp. vinegar
-dash of Tabasco sauce

In a small pan over medium heat, heat almonds and sugar, stirring constantly until almonds are coated and sugar is dissolved. Watch carefully!! They will burn easily!