Two Delicious Summer Recipes

I thought I should share these before the end of summer:

Chicken Kebabs with Creamy Pesto (Cooking Light, September 2010)
2 teaspoons grated lemon rind
4 teaspoons fresh lemon juice, divided
2 teaspoons bottled minced garlic
2 teaspoons olive oil
½ teaspoon salt
¼ teaspoon black pepper
Pieces of yellow bell pepper cut into 1-inch pieces
Cherry tomatoes
1 pound skinless, boneless chicken breasts, cut into 1-inch pieces
Red onion, cut into 8 wedges
2 tablespoons plain low-fat yogurt
2 tablespoons reduced fat sour cream
1 tablespoon commercial pesto (I used Classico)

Combine rind, 1 tablespoon juice, garlic, oil, salt and pepper. Toss with bell pepper, tomatoes, chicken, and onion. Thread vegetables and chicken onto four 12” skewers. Place skewers on a broiler pan coated with cooking spray (I did not do this, I grilled mine outdoors). Broil 12 minutes or until chicken is done, turning occasionally. Combine 1 teaspoon juice, yogurt, sour cream, and pesto. Serve sauce with kebabs. Yield: 4 servings (serving size 1 kebab and 1 tablespoon sauce).
Calories: 211, fat: 7.3, Protein: 27.9, Carb: 7,

Chicken Dinner Salad (Cooking Light, September 2010)
6 medium beets
4 skinless, boneless chicken breast halves
½ cup plain 2% Greek-style yogurt
14 cup Sriracha (hot chili sauce, such as Huy Fong)
3 tablespoons olive oil, divided
1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper, divided
½ teaspoon kosher salt, divided
¼ cup white wine vinegar
1 tablespoon honey
1 shallot, minced (I used 1 tablespoon grated onion)
6 ears shucked corn
6 cups packed fresh spinach
4 ounces goat cheese, cut into 6 slices (I used feta)
6 tablespoons chopped toasted pecans

Leave root and 1-inch stem on beets; scrub with a brush. Place beets in a saucepan; cover with water. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat; simmer 1 hour or until tender. Drain. Cool beats slightly. Trim off beet roots and stems; rub off skins. Slice beets.
While beets cook, place each chicken breast between 2 sheets of plastic wrap and pound to ½” thickness using a small heavy skillet. Combine yogurt and chile sauce in a heavy-duty zip-top plastic bag. Add chicken to bag and seal. Marinate in refrigerator 30 minutes, turning occasionally. Remove chicken from bag and discard marinade. Preheat grill to medium-high heat.
Combine 2 tablespoons oil (I omitted), ½ teaspoon pepper, ¼ teaspoon salt and next 3 ingredients in a small bowl; stir with a whisk.
Place chicken on grill rack; grill 6 minutes on each side or until done. Cut chicken into 1” strips.
Brush remaining 1 tablespoon oil over corn and sprinkle with ½ teaspoon pepper and ¼ teaspoon salt. Grill 10 minutes or until lightly charred, turning corn occasionally. Cool. Cut kernals from eats of corn.
Place 1 cup spinach on each of 6 plates. Top each serving with chicken, 1/3 cup beats, 1/3 cup corn, 1 cheese slice and 1 tablespoon pecans. Drizzle 1 tablespoon dressing over each salad.

Cantaloupe Salad with Lime, Mint & Ginger

4-6 servings

1 cantaloupe, halved, seeded, peeled

3 T. fresh lime juice

3 T. chopped fresh mint

2 t. grated lime peel

2 T. sugar

2 1/2 t. grated peeled fresh ginger

2 t. honey

Cut cantaloupe into 3/4 - 1 inch cubes (or ball them) and place in a large bowl. Add lime juice, mint, lime peel; toss to blend. Mix in sugar, ginger, and honey. Refrigerate until ready to serve, stirring occasionally, up to 3 hours.

Spinach & Couscous Salad

This recipe is from Jana Fridfinnsdottir. Such a great combination of fresh ingredients for a salad. Soooo yummy! Thanks Jana!

I marinaded the chicken in pad - thai sauce this time but I just use whatever I have (last time I did Tikka Masala paste and plain yogurt & used turkey cutlets instead of chicken that was really good)

Fresh spinach

red onion

sweet peppers (I prefer red & orange but you can use any color)

mushrooms

strawberries

grapes

cucumber

tomato

cashew nuts

couscous

Feta cheese

chicken

and ranch dressing

So put the spinach in first then the veggies & fruit & nuts

then you put the couscous on top of it and the meat and the feta cheese on top of everything.

Originally the salad was just spinach red onions, feta cheese, couscous & chicken but I prefer to have more fresh stuff in it.

Snicker-Doodle Salad

Ok ladies, here's one that comes out tasting superb but I'll admit it's not the prettiest looking salad you'll ever make (often mistaken for potato salad). Just give it a chance...it will be the BEST sweet salad you'll ever taste, hands down!

5 Medium Granny Smith Apples (cubed)
1/2 Cup Milk
1 Pkg. Large Vanilla Pudding (Instant)
1 Carton Cool Whip
2 King-Size Snickers (or 4 regular)

Cube apples in bowl. Sprinkle pudding over apples and dump milk on top. Add cool whip and stir until all is dissolved. Add chopped snickers and stir. Let salad sit in refrigerator then serve. Mmm! I'll be thanking my sister-in-law Sara for this one for many days to come.

creamy tomatillo dressing-cafe rio knock off

For my own reference. L.H.-I will make this one and you can see which one you like better, since I've never made one. Yours looks great to me but we can compare the two. Wish me luck.

1/3 buttermilk
1 cup mayonnaise
1 cup cilantro
1/4 tsp. crushed jalapeno pepper*
1 Ranch mix packet
2 garlic cloves
3 tomatillos

Add all ingredients in a blender or food processor, blend until smooth. Makes about one quart.

* Recipe author used cushed red pepper flakes instead of the jalapeno ones and said that it tasted similar but a little less spicy.

Cafe Rio taste-alike Recipes

Shredded Pork

• 3-4 pounds pork loin
• 1 cup brown sugar
• 1 bottle red taco sauce
• 1 Tablespoon cumin
• 1 can Coke

- Cook pork on low in crock pot with water covering 1/2 of pork for 6 hours or until able to shred.

- 3 hours before serving, drain liquid off pork and add coke, taco sauce, brown sugar and cumin.

- Continue to cook for approximately 3 more hours.

Rice

• white rice
• chicken broth
• chopped cilantro
• chopped white onions
• lime juice

- You get to experiment on the portion sizes. Cook the rice in chicken broth instead of water with cilantro, onions, and lime juice.

Tomatillo Dressing

• 2/3 cup mayo
• 1/3 cup milk
• 1 T. lime juice
• 1 T. cumin
• 1/2 tsp. salt
• 1 tsp. pepper
• 1 package dry ranch dressing
• 3 tomatillos

- mix all ingredients in a blender and serve over salad.

Salsa

• 6 tomatoes diced
• 1 green pepper diced
• 1 onion chopped
• 1/2 cup chopped cilantro
• 1 T. lime juice
• 1/2 cup brown sugar
• 1 mango diced (can use peaches)

(thanks to my friend Kelli for these great recipes)

Layered Fiesta Salad

• 6 cups torn romaine lettuce
• 1 can black beans
• 3 chicken breasts, cooked and diced
• 1 1/2 cups shredded cheddar cheese
• Ranch dressing
• crushed tortilla chips
• Italian Salsa for Salad, includes: (one 8 oz package zesty Italian dressing(prepare as directed on box), 1 bell pepper chopped, 3 diced tomatoes, 1 can white corn drained, 4 green onions)

- Layer all ingredients to create salad.

- Begin with lettuce, black beans, chicken, cheese, ranch dressing, chips, salsa

(Thanks to my sis-in-law Mindy for this delish recipe!)

spinach salad with pasta and chicken

16 ounces bowtie pasta, cooked al dente

Dressing:
1 cup vegetable oil
2/3 cup Teriyaki sauce (we prefer substituting it for soy sauce)
2/3 cup white wine vinegar
6 tablespoons sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt 1/2 teaspoon pepper

1 (10-ounce) bag fresh spinach
1 (6-ounce bag) craisins
3 (11-ounce) cans mandarin oranges, drained
1/2 cup parsley, chopped
1 bunch green onions, chopped
1/4 cup sesame seeds, toasted
6 ounces slivered almonds, cashews or peanuts
2 cups cooked chicken, cut into small pieces

Blend dressing ingredients together in a blender or food processor.
Combine rest of salad ingredients, pasta and dressing in a large bowl and toss.