Mexican Chicken

This dish is really awesome because it's pretty much a "one-pot wonder..." it's fairly quick to make and is packed with loads of flavor, vitamins and protein. You can also eat over top of whole-grain rice or just by itself. Your choice. :-) I love choices!

Ingredients:

- 1-2 chicken breasts, (depending on how large) cubed

- 1 can kidney beans, drained

- 1 can black beans, drained

- 1 small onion, chopped (large chunks)

- 1 green pepper, diced

- 1 cup petite diced tomatoes with juice

- 1 cup water

- chopped fresh cilantro

- 1/2 cup olive oil

- oregano

- crushed red pepper

- paprika

- garlic powder

- salt

- pepper

- Plain yogurt or sour cream to top

To Make:

In a deep and large saute pan, heat the olive oil and add in the chicken... cook for about 5 minutes to get a nice sear on medium heat. Season with salt and pepper.

Add in the onions and peppers, mix together and season with salt, pepper, and 1 tsp. of garlic powder.

Cook another 5 minutes until the veggies are slightly tender and the chicken is cooked almost through. Next, add the tomatoes with juice, kidney beans and black beans and mix together. Season with salt and pepper and 1 tsp. of garlic powder, paprika, oregano and 1/2 tsp of crushed red pepper.

Mix together. Cook for another 10-15 minutes covered on medium low heat. Add in a cup of water and mix in for a juicier constancy.

Top with sour cream or plain yogurt and fresh cilantro.

Serve over rice or alone, enjoy!



Grilled Eggplant with Fresh Basil

I love grilling fresh vegetables in the summertime, it's easy and fun too. This took no time at all and I topped this grilled eggplant with fresh basil, it was to die for!

Ingredients:
- 1 eggplant, sliced thin
- olive oil
- garlic powder
- salt
- pepper
- handful of freshly chopped basil

To Make:
Heat a grill pan on the stove (or the grill outside) If your grilling inside, drizzle olive oil liberally in the bottom before heating the pan, that way the eggplant won't stick.

Lay the eggplant in the grill pan once the pan is semi-hot. Drizzle liberally with salt and season with black pepper and garlic powder. Drizzle olive oil overtop of the eggplant as well. Allow this to grill on medium heat for about 10 minutes. Keep checking to make sure it's not burning or cooking too quickly, if so, reduce the heat.

You can also cover the grill pan also. Check after 6-7 minutes. If the color looks good, flip them.

Remove once the eggplant is very tender (to taste).

Finish with one last drizzle of olive oil and top with fresh basil.

Sun-Dried Tomato & Basil Pesto Pasta with Shrimp

I made this meal for my family a few nights ago and they RAVED. Realistically I'm not sure when they haven't raved, but this dish really stole the show for a while. The flavors are super intense and a crowd pleaser for sure. Try it out, modify for your tastes and let me know what you think!

Ingredients:
- 1 pound linguini or pasta of your choice
- 2 pounds fresh shrimp
- 25 fresh basil leaves
- 1 jar sun-dried tomatoes packed in olive oil
- Parmesan cheese
- 1/2 onion, diced
- 4 garlic cloves, minced
- 1/2 red bell pepper, diced
- salt / pepper
-oregano and garlic powder
- crushed red pepper
- olive oil


To Make:

Begin by boiling a pot of water for the pasta. Make sure you salt the water. Cook the pasta for 7-9 minutes depending on which type and until it's AL-DENTE!

In the meantime, begin sauteing in olive the onions, garlic and red bell pepper on medium low heat until almost tender. Remove the tails from the shrimp (if you prefer) and add into the peppers and onions. Season with salt, pepper, crushed red pepper, garlic powder and oregano. Cook until the shrimp are done, about 4 minutes.


While that is cooking on the stove and the pasta is boiling away, in a food processor, add in the container of sun-dried tomatoes with olive oil, 20 basil leaves and 2 tablespoons of Parmesan cheese. Add in a pinch of salt, pepper and garlic powder. Pulse together until it's smooth. Set aside.

Once the pasta is done, in a large bowl, pour the sun-dried tomato basil mixture over top the pasta and mix together. Slowly mix in the shrimp and pepper. Top with additional fresh basil leaves and Parmesan cheese. Add crushed red pepper to taste. ENJOY!

Sweet Potato Hash Browns

This is off the charts. I was super pleased with the turnout of this side dish creation. I threw in some extra color and nutrition by adding in frozen peas, carrots and red bell peppers. Try this and you'll agree that this healthy side dish is FULL FLAVOR and totally superb!

Ingredients:

- 1 large sweet potato
- 1/4 red bell pepper, diced
- 1/4 onion, diced
- 1/4 cup peas&carrots (frozen)
- 2 tablespoon Parmesan Cheese
- olive oil
- garlic powder
- crushed red pepper
- salt
- pepper

To Make:

Start by dicing up the sweet potato into cubes. In a large skillet, drizzle some olive oil and add in the sweet potato. Season with salt and pepper and set to medium low heat. Cover and let cook for 5-6 minutes  until sweet potato starts to get soft.

Next, add in the onions and bell pepper. Add a bit more olive oil, mix together. Cook for another 5 minutes until veggies are tender. Increase heat to medium heat. Cover again.

Add garlic powder, crushed red pepper, salt and pepper to taste. Last, add in the frozen peas and carrots. Mix together, season a bit with salt and pepper and add in the Parmesan Cheese.

Cook until the veggies are tender. Serve with meat, fish or chicken. ENJOY!

Full Flavor Sandwich Special

Quick, fun and easy lunch sandwich... make it your own!

Ingredients:

- Favorite Veggie burger variety
- Sub Roll
- onion, diced
- red bell pepper, diced
- olive oil
- fresh basil

To Make:

 Heat up the onions, bell pepper and veggie burger in a skillet on medium heat. Cook for about 5-6 minutes until tender.
In the meantime, toast the roll. Slice the veggie burger down the middle and arrange onto roll. Top with sauteed veggies. Drizzle olive oil over top. Arrange fresh basil. Slice down the middle and enjoy.

Chickpea, Red Pepper & Peas Side Dish

Colorful and summer-ready, this side dish will blow your mind and your mouth away. If your eyes aren't dancing with delight when you see this dish then you need glasses. Taste and enjoy. Let me know what you think.

Ingredients:

- 1 can chickpeas'
- 1/2 red bell pepper, diced
- 1/4 onion, diced
- 1 lemon
- handful of fresh basil, chopped
- 1/4 cup Parmesan cheese
- 1/2 cup frozen peas
- salt
- pepper
- crushed red pepper
- olive oil

To Make:

In a pan, drizzle olive oil and saute the onions and bell pepper for 3-5 minutes. Season with salt and pepper. Drain the chickpeas. Add into the mix. Season with salt.

Cook on medium heat for 2 minutes, then add in frozen peas. Cook until peas are no longer frozen. Season with crushed red pepper, more salt and pepper. Mix together.

Slice open the lemon and squeeze all of the juice over top the mixture. Then zest, to taste, the lemon over top the dish.

Place on a medium serving platter. Top with Parmesan cheese and freshly chopped basil.

Serve and enjoy!

July 4th Side Dishes

This 4th of July was amazing. We ordered some delicious crabs and I made some fantastic side dishes that are traditional, yet gourmet to go along. To say the least, it was amazing and everything complimented each other so well.

First thing on the menu:

Sweet Corn & Roasted Pepper Salad

Ingredients:

- 1.5 ears of fresh sweet corn
- 3 green peppers
- 6 fresh basil leaves
- 1/2 cup olive oil
- 1/2 tsp balsamic vinegar
- 1 tsp white vinegar
- salt
- pepper




To Make:

On the grill, roast the bell peppers until they are tender, then when they are cool enough to touch, peel off the skin. Remove stem and seeds, slice and add into bowl.

Boil the corn until tender. When cool, slice down the sides of the corn and add directly into the bowl.

In a side dish, combine diced fresh basil, olive oil, balsamic vinegar, white vinegar, salt and pepper. Whisk together and pour over the corn and peppers. Mix together and serve with the meal. Can be cold or room temperature.


Liz's Savory Red Potatoes

 Ingredients:

- 6 medium red potatoes, washed
- 1/2 onion, diced
- 1/2 cup olive oil
- 1 tsp dried parsley
- 1/2 tsp Old Bay Seasoning
- 1 tsp garlic powder
- 1 tsp black pepper
- 1 tsp salt
- 1 tsp oregano



To Make:

Dice potatoes into cubes and place in large pot. Dice the onions and add in pot. Add olive oil and cook on medium heat. Add the spices in order. Mix together. Cover and cook on medium low heat for about 30 minutes or until fork tender. Serve with the meal.


Take look at this table... awesome right?