Mexicana Style Green Salad

This is a wonderful summer salad. Crisp cold iceberg lettuce, fragrant cilantro and green onions with mixed in sliced cherry tomatoes, black beans. I use a yogurt based ranch, Bolt House farms, what else... and topped with a  1/2 avocado. This is super healthy, crispy, crunchy and awesome. 

 

Ingredients for 2 portions:

1/2 large head iceberg lettuce

1/2 bunch cilantro

4 -5 green onions

12 cherry tomatoes

1/4 cup black beans

1 medium avocado

 

Preparation:

Take your head of lettuce and cut in half, then in quarters. Thinly slice the lettuce so you basically have shredded lettuce and place into a large salad bowl. Dice the green onions, rough chop the cilantro and add to the lettuce.

 

At this point I like to plate the salad. Put half of the lettuce on each plate and top with cherry tomatoes. Add about 2 tablespoons ranch salad dressing and top with 1/2 sliced avocado. Give a grind of pepper and you're done. 

Roasted Chicken Breast with White Beans, Cherry Tomatoes & Bay Leaf

This chicken dish has just a few ingredients and tastes so wonderful. The key to this dish is the bay leaf which adds a very rustic tone to the white beans and tomatoes.

 

Ingredients:

Chicken breast

1 can Great Northern White Beans

1 cup cherry tomatoes

4 garlic cloves1 1/2 bay leafs

1 tablespoon olive oil

 

Preparation:

Heat an 10" sauté pan to medium heat. Add the olive oil,  rough chopped garlic, cherry tomatoes sliced in half and white beans. Let this simmer for 20 minutes stirring occasionally.

 

Heat the oven to 325 degrees. Place your chicken breasts on a baking sheet and brush on some olive oil and a grind of salt and pepper. Bake the chicken for about 20 minutes. As always the chicken is done when the juices run clear.

 

To serve, place a portion of the white beans and tomatoes on a plate. Place a chicken breast on top of the white beans and tomatoes. Garnish the dish with a drizzle of olive oil and a sprinkle of chopped Italian parsley.

Brussels Sprouts with Pistachios, Lemon and Parmesan

I love Brussels sprouts and am always looking for another way to prepare them. I saw this method on a Bobby Flay cooking show and thought I'd give it a try. Fantastic...

 

Ingredients:

1 pound Brussels sprouts
1 lemon
1/8 cup shelled pistachios
Parmesan cheese
Salt and pepper
2 tablespoons olive oil

Preparation:

Heat a 12" sauté pan to medium high heat. Take the Brussels sprouts and cut them in half. Add  the olive oil to the sauté pan and place the Brussels sprouts flat side down. Give the Brussels sprouts a grind of salt and pepper. Cover the sauté pan and let the Brussels sprouts sauté until they have a nice deep golden brown char on the one side. This should take about 20 minutes over medium to medium high heat. Check the sprouts often to ensure they're not burning. Adjust the heat accordingly, a little higher if they're not browning and a little lower if they're browning up too fast.

 

When the Brussels sprouts are finished cooking, add the juice from 1 lemon and pistachios and you're done.

 

To serve, place the Brussels sprouts on a plate and top with a drizzle of olive oil, grated parmesan cheese and a grind of salt and pepper.

Roasted Fingerling Potatoes with Whole Roasted Garlic Cloves

Fingerling potatoes are very interesting because they have a tough skin like a russet, but have a soft creamy texture like a new potato. Preparation is about as easy as it gets and it amazing how good these little suckers are..

 

Ingredients:

1/2 pound fingerling potatoes

10 -12 garlic cloves

1 tablespoon olive oil

Salt and pepper

Preparation:

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Wash the fingerling potatoes and cut them in half. Place the potatoes in a large bowl and add the olive oil and a grind of salt and pepper. Place the potatoes in a baking pan and cook for 20 minutes stirring occasionally.

After 20 minutes add the garlic cloves to the pan. If you were to add them in the beginning they would over cook and burn. Cook another 20 minutes and you're done.

Ground Chicken Tostada

I could seriously eat this 4 nights a week...Being able to make your own healthy tostada bowl is really fun and makes you feel like your eating out at a restaurant.

 

Ingredients:

Trader Joes Flour tortillas

1 pound ground chicken

1 packet Trader Joes taco seasoning

1/2 head shredded ice burg lettuce

1 cup shredded cheddar cheese

1/2 cup diced tomato

1/2 cup dice yellow onions

6 diced green onions

1/2 bunch chopped cilantro

Sliced black olive 

1 avocado

Lite sour cream

Lime wedges

 

Preparation:

First prepare the tostada bowls. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. I've used a lot of different tortilla's

and highly recommend Trader Joes. They're healthy, meaning no trans fat and taste great.

 

Place the tortilla's into the metal mold and bake at 400 degrees for 6 - 7 minutes. At this point, the tostada bowls are almost finished. Take the tostada bowls out of the oven and turn off the oven. 

 

Remove the tostada bowls from the metal mold and place them back into the oven directly on the wire rack and cook for another 10 minutes. At this point you will have a wonderful crispy crunchy tostada bowl.

 

Next prepare the taco meat, in this case ground chicken. Add the ground chicken to a 12" sauté pan and cook the meat breaking up into small pieces. Add the Trader Joes taco seasoning mix and cook until done, about 10 minutes.

 

Shred the lettuce and set a side. Dice the tomato, yellow inion, green onion, cilantro, black olives and avocado and set a side.

 

To serve, place your tostada bowl on a plate. Add some shredded lettuce to the bowl. Next, add the ground chicken taco meat. Next, add a tablespoon of the diced the tomato, yellow onion, green onion, cilantro, black olives and shredded cheddar cheese. Top with diced avocado and sour cream. Squeeze on a little lime and your ready for an awesome meal.

Sesame Noodles

I've made a number of different version of this dish, whether it be just plain sesame noodles like this or with chicken, beef or tofu and I have to say this is becoming one of my all time favorites. The key to this dish is the noodles. I've tried many different brands and this is the one: Welpack Japanese Udon Noodles.

Ingredients:
1 package Welpack udon noodles
1 teaspoon canola oil
1 tablespoon sesame oil
1 tablespoon lite soy sauce
4 green onions
1/4 yellow onion
1/4 red onion
1/4 red bell pepper
4 cloves garlic
1/2 bunch cilantro
crushed nuts

Preparation:

Cook the udon noodles according to the package which is to boil for 4 -5 minutes. When cooked, strain in cold water and set a side.

Heat a 12" sauté pan to medium. Add the canola oil, diced yellow onion, diced red onion, diced red bell pepper, chopped garlic and sauté for a few of minutes until the onions start to turn translucent.

Next, add the udon noodles to the sauté pan and toss. Once the noodles start to heat up, add the sesame oil, soy sauce, green onions and cilantro. Continue to heat and toss to incorporate the flavors. When steaming hot, place a potion on a serving plate. Finish the dish by topping with more chopped cilantro and crushed nuts.