Cheesy Green Chile-Chicken Chimichangas

Chimichangas are the second most popular thing I order when I go to a Mexican restaurant. I have to find out if they're covered in sauce first. If no, then I order them. If yes, I pass. I don't like the sauce on them cuz it makes them soft. I like crunchy ones. 

This was a delicious recipe. I did make a few modifications, but they were all for good reasons. 

First, I baked chicken breasts in homemade taco seasonings instead of getting a rotisserie. I had the chicken in the freezer and wanted to use it up. Baked it at 425F for 30 minutes, then shredded it. 

Second, I added diced onion to the chicken mixture. It just felt right. 

Finally, I added refried beans to the chimichanga. I had the can and wanted to use it up. 

The end result...Lord. It was delicious.

Oh I also did the lazy way with the pico and bought it premade at the store. IMMEDIATELY regretted it. Fresh pico is always better.

I made two, but ate one. The other will be lunch tomorrow. I also froze the remaining chicken mixture in individual serving sizes to make for easy lunches later. 

Cheesy Green Chile-Chicken Chimichangas

Recipe from SkinnyTaste

Serves 4

For The Pico de Gallo

• 1/2 cup diced tomato
• 3 tablespoons chopped onion
• 1 tablespoon chopped fresh cilantro, plus more for garnish
• 1 teaspoon fresh lime juice
• 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
• Freshly ground black pepper

For The Chimichangas

• 12 ounces shredded leftover or rotisserie chicken breast
• Juice of 1/2 navel orange
• Juice of 1/2 lime
• 1 large garlic clove, minced
• 1 teaspoon ground cumin [JW note: I used a tsp of the taco seasoning I made instead]
• 1 can (4 oz) mild diced green chiles, drained
• 4 low-carb whole wheat tortillas
• 1/2 cup shredded pepper Jack cheese, 2 oz total
• Olive oil spray
• 3 cups shredded lettuce
• 4 tablespoons sour cream
• 4 ounces avocado, from 1 small Hass, diced

For the pico de gallo: In a small bowl, combine the tomato, onion, cilantro, lime juice, salt, and pepper to taste.

For the chimichangas: In a large bowl, combine the chicken, orange juice, lime juice, garlic, cumin, and drained chilis. Mix well to incorporate.

On a work surface, working with one at a time, place one-quarter of the chicken mixture towards the bottom third of a tortilla. Sprinkle each with 2 tablespoons cheese. Lift the edge nearest you and wrap it around the filling. Fold the left and right sides in toward the center and continue to roll into a tight cylinder. Set aside, seam side down, and repeat with the remaining tortillas and filling.

Preheat the air fryer to 400°F.

Lightly spray all sides of the chimichangas with oil. Place 2 of the chimichangas seam side down in the air fryer basket. (Make sure each chimichanga is tightly wrapped and seam side down in the basket or it will open during cooking.) Cook for 7 to 8 minutes, flipping halfway, until golden and crisp. (For a toaster oven–style air fryer, cook at 350°F; the timing remains the same.) Repeat with the remaining chimichangas.

To serve: Place 3/4 cup shredded lettuce on each plate. Place a chimichanga on top, along with 2 tablespoons pico de gallo, 1 tablespoon sour cream, and 1 ounce avocado. Garnish with cilantro. Serve immediately.

Baked Method

To bake in the oven, bake in a preheated oven 400F 18 to 20 minutes.

Bluegrass BBQ Chicken

Photo from Plain Chicken

This meal you gotta plan for. I didn't and so it had to wait for later in the week. 

The marinade has to cook and then cool completely before you marinade the chicken for 8 hours. Which means you kinda have to start the night before. 

Over all, I was underwhelmed with this recipe. It has a lot of good components, but it really didn't seem like it had as much flavor as I expected 8 hours of marinating to have

Bluegrass BBQ Chicken

Recipe from Plain Chicken

Serves 4

• ¾ c Worcestershire sauce
• ½ c water
• ½ c cider vinegar
• 1 T sugar
• 1 tsp chili powder
• ½ c butter
• ½ c Horseradish mustard
• 2 tsp salt, or to taste
• 6 boneless skinless chicken breasts, pounded to an even thickness

Combine Worcestershire, water, vinegar, sugar, chili powder, butter, mustard and salt in a medium saucepan. Bring to a boil, stirring occasionally. Remove from heat and cool.

Place chicken in a ziplock bag, pour cooled marinade over chicken and refrigerate for 8 hours.

Remove chicken from marinade. Grill chicken for about 8 minutes per side, or until done.

Steak and Potatoes

Photo from
I heart Naptime

Last night was another virtual dinner with friends Paul and Suzanna (and Puck their Golden puppy made an appearance). When we have these dinners I like to make sure I cook something that has somewhat adjustable time. We say we're going to me at 5:45 and sometimes my planning doesn't turn out so well, so I make it easy. 

This recipe sounded delicious. And it was, with my modifications. You saw that coming right?

I added Sugar free BBQ sauce to it. Just the meat and potatoes was boring to me. So I jazzed it up with BBQ sauce. Delicious. 

I did not put in the Italian Seasoning. I - well - I forgot and it wouldn't have gone with BBQ sauce. 

Steak and Potatoes

Recipe from I Heart Nap Time

Serves 4

• 1 Tablespoon olive oil
• 2-3 Tablespoons butter
• 1 pound Yukon gold potatoes (quartered, about 3.5 cups)
• 1 teaspoon Italian seasoning (more to taste)
• salt and pepper (to taste)
• 2-3 cloves garlic (minced)
• 1 pound sirloin steak
• 2 teaspoons steak rub (or sub for salt and pepper)

Prepare potatoes and steak. Rub the steak rub (or salt and pepper) over the meat and let rest for 10-15 minutes while you cook the potatoes. Then cut into 1 inch cubes.

Heat cast iron skillet over medium heat. Add the olive oil and 1-2 Tablespoons butter. Once butter has melted, add the potatoes into the skillet. Cook for a minute and then sprinkle Italian seasoning, salt and pepper over top. Cook for 10-12 more minutes (or until fork tender), stirring frequently to prevent burning. Set aside on a plate once cooked.

Turn the heat to medium high heat and add in another Tablespoons of butter with the steak cubes and garlic. Place evenly on the pan and let sear for 1 minute and then flip with a fork or spatula to the other side. Cook an additional 1-2 minutes or until golden brown and no longer pink. Be careful to not over cook.

Add the potatoes back into the skillet and remove from the heat. Top with fresh herbs if desired. Serve while warm.

All-Star Grilled Chicken Marinade

Photo from South Your Mouth

I've said it before, and I'll say it again...if you're gonna call a recipe "the best", or in this case "all-star" then you had better bring it. 

This was a good recipe. Not very different from many of the others I've tried. A lot of the same ingredients. I marinated this for 6 hours. It definitely had the flavor.

All-Star Grilled Chicken Marinade

Recipe from South Your Mouth

Serves 8

Chicken & Marinade

• 8-10 boneless, skinless chicken thighs
• 1/2 c soy sauce
• 1/2 c Worcestershire sauce
• 1/2 c Dijon mustard
• 1/4 c brown sugar
• 3 T vegetable oil
• 1 tsp black pepper
• 1/2 tsp garlic powder (or more to taste)
• 1/2 tsp salt

Cajun White Barbeque Sauce

• 1 1/2 c mayonnaise
• 3 T apple cider vinegar
• 1 T dijon mustard
• 1 tsp Cajun seasoning
• 1/2 tsp black pepper

Chicken & Marinade

Trim any excess fat from chicken then add to a gallon-sized zip-top back or lidded container. Combine remaining ingredients and mix well to make a marinade. Pour marinade over chicken. Seal bag then refrigerate 6-8 hours or overnight.

Drain marinade and discard. Grill chicken over medium heat for 15-20 minutes or until cooked through.

Serve as-is or on buns with Cajun White Barbeque Sauce.

Cajun White Barbeque Sauce

Combine all ingredients and refrigerate until ready to serve. Use as a condiment, fry sauce or basting sauce.

Asparagus with Dijon Vinaigrette

Photo from 
The-girl-who-ate-everything.com

When asparagus is in season I eat a lot of it. Lately it's been in the produce area at a reasonable price so I'm still buying it to cook. 

Eating so much asparagus you get I get bored with my same sauté with seasoning. Boring. So when I saw this recipe I thought it might be good. 

And I was right. I'd actually blend this next time to emulsify it better. I think it will stick to the asparagus better.

Asparagus with Dijon Vinaigrette

Recipe from The-girl-who-ate-everything.com

Serves 4

• 2 tsp Dijon Mustard
• 2 T red wine vinegar
• 1 T extra virgin olive oil
• kosher salt and pepper to taste
• 1 pound asparagus ends trimmed off

In a medium bowl, whisk mustard, vinegar and 1 tbsp oil. Season with salt and pepper. Set aside.

In a large skillet, sauté asparagus in a tiny bit of olive oil, salt, and pepper for 5-6 minutes or until tender. Transfer asparagus to a serving dish and drizzle with the vinaigrette. Can be served warm or chilled.

Cajun Chicken Carbonara

I suspect any recipe like this probable isn't a staple in the actual Cajun region of this country. I mean, maybe, but I doubt it. 

I can almost claim that I made this recipe. It calls for eggs and, well, I didn't have any. By the time I figured it out I was already cooking. So I used heavy cream and half and half for this recipe. So it was more like a Cajun Chicken Alfredo.

And it was AWESOME!!! I must admit I might like it more than the carbonara. 

Cajun Chicken Carbonara

Recipe from Closet Cooking

Serves 4

• 8 ounces pasta 
• 4 ounces bacon cut into 1 inch pieces (or 4 ounces pancetta, diced)
• 1 pound boneless and skinless chicken breasts (or thighs)
• 1 tsp Cajun seasoning
• 1 clove garlic, chopped (optional)
• 2 eggs
• 1/2 c (2 ounces) Parmigiano Reggiano (parmesan), grated
• 1 tsp Cajun seasoning
• plenty of fresh cracked black pepper

Start cooking the pasta as directed on the package.

Meanwhile, cook the bacon in a large pan until crispy and set aside.

Season the chicken with the Cajun seasoning, and cook in the bacon grease in the pan until golden brown on both sides and cooked through, about 3-5 minutes per side, before setting aside and draining off all but 1 tablespoon of the bacon grease.

Add the garlic and turn off the heat.

Mix the egg, cheese, cajun seasoning, pepper, salt and parsley in a bowl.

Drain the cooked pasta reserving some of the water.

Mix the pasta, the egg mixture and bacon in the pan with the garlic, adding reserved pasta water as needed to form a nice sauce.

Serve topped with the cajun chicken, optionally sliced.

Tip: Chicken cooks faster when it’s thin, about 1/2-1 inch thick; pound thicker chicken thin or cut it in half to make it thinner.

Option: Garnish with chopped parsley and/or cilantro.

Option: Replace the chicken with shrimp or use a combination of chicken and shrimp!

Option: Add extra meat and/or veggies such as sliced andouille sausage, bell peppers, collard greens, kale, swiss chard, green beans, etc.

Grilled Chicken Salad with Strawberries and Feta

I struggle with calling a salad recipe a "new recipe" but I'm doing it. My blog. My rules. 

First off, I did not use white balsamic vinegar. I couldn't find it at my store so I figured I'd just go with regular balsamic. 

Secondly, I added blueberries and forgot the red onion. I chopped it. Just forgot to put it in.

Third, not a fan of arugula. Used baby Romain instead. 

So now I'm wondering if I made this recipe at all. Ah well, I'm counting it. 

Grilled Chicken Salad with Strawberries and Feta

Recipe from My Recipes

Serves 4

3 T extra-virgin olive oil, divided

3 T white balsamic vinegar, divided

4 (6-ounce) skinless, boneless chicken breast halves

1/2 tsp kosher salt, divided

1/2 tsp freshly ground black pepper, divided

Cooking spray

1/8 tsp sugar

2 c halved strawberries

4 c baby arugula

1/2 small red onion, very thinly sliced

1.5 ounces feta cheese, crumbled (about 1/3 cup)

Combine 2 tablespoons oil and 2 tablespoons vinegar in a large zip-top plastic bag. Add chicken to bag; seal. Let stand 10 minutes, turning occasionally.

Heat a grill pan over medium-high heat. Remove chicken from marinade; discard marinade. Sprinkle chicken with 1/4 teaspoon salt and 1/4 teaspoon pepper. Coat pan with cooking spray. Add chicken to pan; grill 5 minutes on each side or until done. Cut into slices.

Combine remaining 1 tablespoon oil, remaining 1 tablespoon vinegar, remaining 1/4 teaspoon salt, remaining 1/4 teaspoon pepper, and sugar in a large bowl, stirring with a whisk. Add strawberries; toss to coat. Add arugula and onion to strawberry mixture; toss gently to combine. Sprinkle feta over salad. Divide salad among 4 plates; top evenly with sliced chicken.

Chili Lime Chicken Lettuce Wraps

When I have lettuce wraps they are usually more Asian inspired, like PF Changs. And those are among my favorites. 

THIS recipe has blown all those away. The limey-ness of this recipe was so spot on. Sometimes I don't feel like you get all the lime flavor in a marinade. You sure do in this one. 

The aioli added just a little more lime and cilantro kick to it. 

I also grilled my chicken instead of sauteing it. I just feel like grilling gets a much better flavor (and less mess). 

I did only marinade this for 2 hours. With that much lime you need to be careful you don't over marinate and "cook" the chicken (think ceviche).

All in all, this one's getting added to my favorites. I'd make this again and again. 

Chili Lime Chicken Lettuce Wraps

Recipe from Ruled.me

Serves 3

For the marinade:

• 2 T olive oil
• 1 T white wine vinegar
• Zest from two limes
• 2 T lime juice
• 1 clove of garlic, pressed
• ½ tsp chili powder
• ¼ tsp salt
• 1/8 tsp red chili pepper flakes
• ½ tsp paprika
• ¼ tsp granulated stevia erythritol blend
• 1 T finely chopped cilantro

For the chicken:

• 1 ½ T butter
• ½ pound chicken breast, cut into small bite-sized pieces

For the aioli:

• 3 T mayonnaise
• Zest from one lime
• 1 tsp lime juice
• ½ tsp finely chopped cilantro
• 1 clove garlic, pressed

3 large lettuce leaves

For the marinade:

In a small bowl, combine all marinade ingredients and mix until they are evenly incorporated.

Transfer pieces of chicken breast into a dish for marinating.

Pour the prepared marinade over the chicken and then stir to ensure that all sides of the chicken are coated.

Cover the dish and then place in fridge to marinate for 1-2 hours.

For the chicken:

In a large saucepan, melt butter over low heat. Once the butter has melted, increase heat to medium-high.

Add marinated chicken, leaving space in between each piece. If needed, the chicken can be cooked in several batches. Allow the chicken pieces to brown before turning.

Once the chicken has browned on all sides, transfer meat to a plate lined with a paper towel to soak up excess oil.

For the aioli:

In a small bowl, add all ingredients and stir until combined.

For the lettuce wraps:

To assemble the lettuce wraps, evenly distribute the sautéed chili lime chicken onto each of the lettuce leaves. Next, spoon on the desired amount of aioli onto each lettuce wrap and serve.

Asian Steak Skewers

Photo from This Silly Girl's
Kitchen

This was a surprisingly good marinade. I really wasn't sure since it had white wine AND BBQ sauce in it. I let it marinade for bout 6 hours and I cut the chicken in cubes. It allows more marinade to hit the chicken. 

It was an easy grill and turned out quite flavorful. I'd do this one again if I didn't have so many others to try. 

Asian Steak Skewers

Recipe from Thissillygirlskitchen.com

Serves 4

• 3 T hoisin sauce
• 3 T white wine
• 1/4 c soy sauce
• 1 tsp barbeque sauce
• 2 green onions chopped
• 2 cloves garlic minced
• 1 T minced fresh ginger root
• 1 1/2 pounds flank steak

Cut steak on the bias super thin. Place in a ziplock bag. Mix the remaining ingredients together and pour over steak. Marinate for at least 2 hours. Place on skewers. Grill over high heat (charcoal preferred) for 3 minutes on each side or until desired doneness. Serve and enjoy!

Korean Bulgogi

Photo from Tastes Better
From Scratch

I'm slowly becoming a big fan of bulgogi. It started by my friend Paul giving me this recipe to try and I was hooked. It's still, by the way, the best recipe I've tried for Bulgogi. 

This was a good recipe over all. It didn't seem like bulgogi to me though. I used beef for this and I let it marinade for about 4 hours. It didn't have that sweet flavor I got from Paul's recipe from the pear. Still it was a good recipe, just not one I'd repeat since I have the other.

Korean Bulgogi

Recipe from Tastes Better From Scratch

Serves 4

• 1 pound pork tenderloin , or beef flank steak
• ¼ cup low-sodium soy sauce
• 1 Tablespoon sesame oil
• 1 Tablespoon light brown sugar
• 3 cloves garlic , minced
• 1 Tablespoon freshly grated ginger , or 2 tsp dry ground ginger
• 2-3 teaspoons Korean chili paste (gochujang) , or substitute Thai red chili sauce, sriracha, or crushed red pepper flakes, to taste
• 2 green onions , chopped, divided
• 2 Tablespoons oil (vegetable or canola) , for cooking meat

Slice the pork tenderloin into very thin slices and place the meat in a large ziplock bag. Set aside.

In a bowl whisk together the soy sauce, sesame oil, brown sugar, garlic, ginger, red pepper flakes and one chopped green onion (reserve the remaining chopped green onion for garnish on the bowls).

Pour the marinade into the bag with the pork and allow to marinate in the fridge for at least 30 minutes, or overnight.

When ready to cook the pork, add 1 tablespoon of the vegetable oil to a large wok or skillet over medium high heat.

Once hot, add half of the meat, placing it in a single layer in the pan. Allow it to brown for a few minutes, without touching it.

Flip each piece of meat to the other side and allow to brown for another 2 minutes or so, until cooked through, but not overcooked. Remove to a plate.

Add remaining oil to the pan. Once hot, add remaining pork and cook in the same manner. Remove to a plate.

Chicken Yakitori

Sherrie was over for dinner tonight. Usually we order out, but I was feeling more like grilling. I threw this together in no time and was glad I did. 

I let this bad boy marinade for 8 hours and it was worth it. So much flavor in the chicken! I'll make this one again for sure. 

What I didn't do, though, was boil down the marinade after the chicken had been in it and use said marinade to baste the chicken. Blech. I know. I know. Cooking "kills" the chicken goobers, but I'm not that trusting of a person. 

Besides, it really didn't need it anyhow. 

Chicken Yakitori

Recipe from Carlsbad Cravings

Serves 8

• 2 pounds boneless chicken thighs chopped into 1 1/2-2” pieces**
• 3 T olive oil
• YAKITORI SAUCE/MARINADE
• 1/2 c reduced sodium soy sauce
• 1/4 c granulated sugar
• 1/4 c Asian sweet chili sauce (like Mae Ploy)
• 1/4 c water
• 2 T sweet Japanese rice wine (mirin)
• 2 T apple cider vinegar
• 2 tsp cornstarch
• 1 tsp garlic powder
• 3/4 tsp ground ginger
• 1/4 tsp pepper

GARNISH (OPTIONAL)

green onions

sesame seeds

Asian chili sauce/Sriracha

Whisk together all of the Marinade/Sauce ingredients in a small bowl. Remove ⅓ cup sauce and add to a large bowl or freezer bag and whisk in olive oil. Add chicken and marinate 30 minutes at room temperature or up to overnight in the refrigerator (the longer the better). Refrigerate remaining sauce separately.

When ready to cook, thread chicken onto skewers, folding thin pieces almost in half so you skewer through both the top and bottom.

Add reserved Yakitori Sauce to a small saucepan. Bring to a boil then reduce to a simmer over medium heat, whisking constantly. Simmer and whisk until thickened but not too thick (consistency of BBQ sauce), about 3 minutes.

Baste chicken with some of the Yakitori sauce the last minute of cooking on each side (the outside of the chicken should be cooked/opaque at this point so it won’t cross contaminate the sauce). Actual cooking time will depend on thickness of chicken and temperature of grill.

Brush cooked chicken once more with sauce.

Caprese Pasta Salad

Photo from Just a Pinch

Last night was Sunday dinner. But not just any Sunday dinner. It was the Low Country Boil Sunday dinner. It was beautiful weather and we had almost all the Sunday Dinner usual suspects. We even had two former Sunday Dinner attendees who moved to Idaho. Of course, they brought the big pot we needed to cook this whole thing it. 

I made this Caprese Pasta salad because I didn't want a salad with mayo in it because it was hot. I'd make this again by the way. It was yummy. 

I cheated though. I bought Balsamic reduction and made a vinaigrette with it.

Caprese Pasta Salad

Recipe from Just a Pinch

Serves 6

• 1/2 c balsamic vinegar
• 1 lb Farfalle (bow-tie) pasta), cooked al dente or pasta of your choice
• 8 oz fresh mozzarella, cut into small cubes or mozzarella balls cut in quarters
• 8 oz cherry tomatoes, halved
• 1 c basil leaves, roughly cut
• 2 clove garlic, minced
• 12 - 15 lg black olives, halved
• 1/4 c extra virgin olive oil, divided
• Kosher salt, to taste
• Freshly ground black pepper, to taste

Add balsamic vinegar to a small saucepan. Simmer until the liquid reduces to half; about 10 minutes. Remove from heat to cool.

In a large bowl, combine pasta, mozzarella, tomatoes, basil, garlic, and black olives.

Drizzle balsamic reduction. Drizzle 2 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil. Gently toss until thoroughly combined.

Season with salt and pepper. Refrigerate until ready to serve.

Before serving toss with the remaining extra virgin olive oil.

General Tso's Chicken

General Tso's is one of my favorite Chinese food that I order all the time. I've never made a version that I've liked, but this one, I gotta say, was pretty damn tasty. 

I actually followed the recipe. The 3/4 tsp of red pepper flakes is SPICY! So keep that in mind if you're not a spicy person. 

This chicken is usually deep fried and that's kinda a pain in the butt for me, so I liked that this one was sautéing the chicken instead. The cornstarch makes it crunchy.

General Tso's Chicken

Recipe from Delish.com

Serves 4

• 4 boneless skinless chicken thighs, cut into 1" pieces
• 1/4 c. plus 1 T cornstarch, divided
• Kosher salt
• Freshly ground black pepper
• 3 T vegetable oil, divided
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 3/4 tsp crushed red pepper flakes
• 3/4 c low-sodium chicken broth
• 2 T hoisin sauce
• 2 T honey
• 1/4 c low-sodium soy sauce
• Juice of 1/2 lime
• 1 head broccoli, cut into florets (about 4 c.)
• Sesame seeds, for garnish

In a large resealable plastic bag, add chicken and ¼ cup cornstarch. Season with salt and pepper and shake to coat.

In a large pot over medium-high heat, add 2 tablespoons oil. Shake off excess cornstarch and add chicken to oil. Cook, in batches, until golden, about 7 minutes. Drain on a paper towel-lined plate.

Add remaining 1 tablespoon oil to skillet. Add garlic and red pepper flakes cook until fragrant, 30 seconds. Add chicken broth, making sure to scrape up any brown bits with a wooden spoon.

In a medium bowl, whisk hoisin sauce, honey, soy sauce, and lime juice with remaining 1 tablespoon cornstarch until combined. Add to skillet and simmer until slightly thickened, 1 minute.

To sauce, add broccoli and cook until tender, 5 minutes. Return chicken to skillet and stir to coat. Simmer for 1 more minute.

Garnish with sesame seeds and serve over rice.

The Best Chicken Marinade

The beautiful photo is from
Thecountrycook.net

It's officially hot. It's 85 today and was about 80 yesterday. In fact, the entire week is going to be HOT. I don't usually want to cook when it's hot, so I used Saturday as a prep day and got a lot ready to be pulled together this week. A lot of salads are headed this way, I think. I get pretty bored of salads pretty quickly. We'll see. 

I made this chicken to have for the week. It's a good marinade. The Dijon added a nice kick to it. I think it needed a bit more, so I'll add a little more next time. 

Do yourself a favor when it's got...grill! 

The Best Chicken Marinade

Recipe from The Country Cook

Serves 6

• 1  c olive oil
• ¾ c soy sauce
• ¼ c lemon juice
• ¼ c mustard (Dijon or yellow)
• ¼ c Worcestershire sauce
• 2 tsp minced garlic
• 1-½ tsp freshly ground black pepper
• 2 pounds chicken tenderloins

Combine all marinade ingredients and whisk together well.

Put chicken tenders into a lidded container or tiptop bag and pour marinade over top of chicken.

Make sure all the chicken is coated, then snap on the lid or zip the top closed.

Pop it into the refrigerator for at least 4 hours or overnight.

When chicken is ready, soak the wooden skewers in water for at least a half an hour (so they don’t burn on the grill). Obviously you can skip this step if using metal skewers.

Once skewers have soaked, begin threading chicken onto skewers.

Preheat grill to medium high heat (about 350F). Place skewers on clean grill.

Cook for about 5-6 minutes per side (until internal temp. is 165F degrees).

It's really important that you flip the chicken using tongs and you handle it by the meat portion of the skewer. Don't try flipping using the skewer itself.

Allow to cool for a couple of minutes before serving.

Cashew Chicken

I like cashew chicken, but most Chinese restaurants put bell peppers in it. Blech. When I make cashew chicken at home, 9 times out of 10 I forget to put in the cashews. And only when I'm taking my empty plate to the kitchen do I see them sitting on the cutting board. 

But not tonight. Tonight I remembered them! The star of the show, in my opinion. 

I made one small modification to this recipe. I added about a Tablespoon of soy sauce (low sodium of course). The hoisin was just too sweet. 

Oh wait, I made two small modification. I also added about a tsp of ginger (from a tube). That really made this meal delicious. 

Cashew Chicken

Recipe from Momontimeout.com

Serves 4

• 3 T hoisin sauce
• ½ tsp chili garlic sauce
• 3 T chicken broth or water
• 1 ½ pounds boneless skinless, chicken thighs , cut into 1-inch pieces
• salt and pepper
• 1 T cornstarch
• 1 ½ T vegetable oil
• 1 small onion cut into 1-inch pieces
• 4 garlic cloves minced
• 2 T rice vinegar
• 6 green onions diced
• ¾ c unsalted roasted cashews
• cooked white rice for serving

Whisk together hoisin sauce, chili garlic sauce, and chicken broth in a small bowl. Set aside.

Transfer chicken to a medium bowl and season with salt and pepper.

Sprinkle corn starch on top of chicken and toss to coat.

In a large non stick pan, or wok, heat the oil over medium-high heat. Sauté the chicken, stirring often, until golden brown and cooked through, about 8 to 10 minutes.

Add the onion and cook for another 3 or 5 minutes, stirring often, until the onion is soft and translucent.

Add garlic and cook for another minute or so.

Add rice vinegar and stir. Cook for another minute.

Reduce heat to medium-low and add the hoisin mixture. Stir to combine and cook for another few minutes to warm through. Remove from heat.

Stir in cashews and green onions. Season with more salt and pepper if needed.

Serve over cooked white rice.

Cucumber Hummus Bites

Another month. Another book club. My course to provide was appetizers this time. Kathy was hosting which meant Rowland would be there. And since he too had the big D and we're both trying to eat low carb, low Glycemic, low everything, I thought an appetizer that was on the healthier side would be better. 

I "tested" this appetizer earlier in the week and OH...My... GAWD! I've found myself a new snack. I think I might survive without my chips. 

These little discs of goodness are best served as cold as possible on a hot day, which was what we kinda had. The little bite size treat is a delicious combination of crisp cucs, creamy hummus (I use Boarshead), salty kalamata olives, fresh tomatoes and finishing with feta.

This week I also used Persian cucs. Sliced them lengthwise. Carve out the center seeds. Fill that trough with hummus, then sprinkle the olives, tomatoes and feta. Then eat them like a pickle. So good. 

Cucumber Hummus Bites

Recipe from Noshingwiththenolands.com

Serves 4

• 1 English cucumber sliced
• ½ c hummus  
• Kalamata olives (I added this to the recipe)
• 9 cherry tomatoes cut in half
• ¼ c feta cheese crumbled
• Fresh parsley to Taste
• Salt and pepper to taste

Wash and dry the cucumber and tomatoes.

Slice the cucumber lengthwise. Scoop out the pulp.

Dice the kalamata olives and tomatoes in small dice. 

Spread hummus on the cucumber boats. Sprinkle with tomatoes, Kalamata, parsley and feta.

Beef Mushroom Stir Fry

Photo from Jo Cooks

It's been "one of those" days. It started with me waking up on time, but thinking a call started at 5:30 but in fact started at 5am. Ugh. I was 10 mins late and I hate that. 

So when I went to cook this recipe I wasn't surprised that I was missing, and/or forgot, some ingredients. I will make this recipe again because I think with the right ingredients it will be good. 

First, I didn't have corn starch. Corn starch is one of those things that you have forever, until you don't. 

Second, I didn't put the ginger in. THAT would have made this entire meal that much better. It was kinda bland and a little salty. Ginger will help with the bland. Using half soy and half water for the soy amount will help with the salty. And yes, I use low sodium soy. 

Then, while I chopped the green onions, I did not put them on the meal at all. Gah! It's the same thing I do with parsley all ... they... time.

I really think if you make this and follow the recipe this would be a good stir fry. 

Beef Mushroom Stir Fry

Recipe from Jo Cooks

Serves 4

Beef

1 large rib eye steak (thinly sliced)

1 tsp baking soda

1 T cornstarch

2 T soy sauce

Stir Fry Sauce

3 T oyster sauce

2 T soy sauce (low sodium)

1 tsp dark soy sauce

2 tsp sugar

2 tsp rice vinegar

1 tsp sesame oil

Stir Fry

2 t olive oil

3 cloves garlic (minced)

1 large onion (sliced)

2 inch ginger piece (julienned)

8 ounce mushrooms (quartered)

3 green onions (sliced)

Prep Beef: Add the beef, baking soda, cornstarch and 2 tbsp of soy sauce to a bowl. Toss everything together and set aside.

Combine Stir Fry Ingredients: Combine all the stir fry sauce ingredients together in a bowl and set aside.

Cook: Heat the olive oil in a large skillet or wok over high heat. Add the beef and spread it out. Don't touch it for 2 minutes, allowing it to sear. Toss it around a bit, then add the garlic, onion, ginger and cook for 1 minute. Stir in the mushrooms and cook for an additional 2 minutes, just until they start to brown a bit. Pour the sauce over everything and toss until well combined.

Garnish & Serve: Garnish with green onions and serve.