Chicken Burrito Bowls

I am always looking for something to grab quick in the morning to take for lunch. If I don’t take something with me, I tend to go to the cafeteria and make bad choices or even worse hit a fast food place on my travels between hospitals.

I am really trying to eat more healthy and cut down on breads and eat more veggies.  Jordan found this recipe and wanted me to try it.  These were easy to make.  I was able to make 6 individual dinners out of one batch.  (they were plenty big).  The link that Jordan sent me had so many different kinds.  I am going to try a new one each week.

I keep these in the freezer and just grab one when I leave.  It is ready to pop in the microwave by lunch.  Delicious!!!!!!

Chicken Burrito Bowls

2-3 boneless, skinless chicken breasts

3 bell peppers ( I used one of each color), sliced

1 large red onion, sliced

2 TB olive oil

1 TB taco seasoning

1 jar salsa

3 cups cooked brown rice

1 can of black beans

1 can of corn

1 1/2 cups shredded cheese  ( used a pizza blend and it was great)

2 limes, cut into wedges

cilantro

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Line a baking sheet with tin foil. Place the chicken, peppers and onions on the sheet pan.  Drizzle with oil. Sprinkle the taco seasoning over the chicken breast, making sure to season each side.  Season with salt and pepper.  Place a large scoop of salsa on each chicken breast.

Bake for 25 minutes.  I found that it took longer than this and my chicken was done before my peppers and onions.  I like my peppers and onions done quite well with the edges taking on a nice brown color.  I think next time I will cook my chicken separately so I don’t overcook and dry out the chicken.

Now for the fun part.  At least it was for me, but then again I like to make felt food.

In individual containers layer:

Rice

Beans and Corn

Salsa

Peppers and Onions

Chicken

Cheese

A little more salsa

Cilantro and Lime wedges

Eat immediately or keep in the freezer for a quick go to lunch.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Super Bowl Menu cont. Nutella-Hazelnut Bars

 

If you like Nutella, you will love these bars. The only bad part about these is that you need to have Nutella in the house.  That is not a good thing for me as I cannot resist that little jar of gooey, wonderful, happiness traveling down to my belly (that is in memory of my father in law).  Of course when I was shopping for the ingredients, I had to buy the largest jar because “I didn’t really know how much the recipe would call for”.  I tried to hide it up on the top shelf, but seriously how hard is it to get the ladder out of the garage.

When baking these make sure you do not over bake them.  I baked them a little too long and they were too crunchy for my liking.  I like these kind of bars soft and chewy.

Ingredients

1 1/2 cups flour

1/2 tsp sea salt

1/4 tsp baking powder

1/2 cup butter, at room temperature

1/2 cup packed brown sugar

1/4 cup sugar

1 large egg

1 tsp vanilla

3/4 cups nutella

1/2 cup chopped roasted hazelnuts

Preheat oven to 350.  Grease an 8 inch square baking pan.  In a medium bowl, whisk flour, salt and baking powder. Set aside.  In a mixer, cream butter and sugars on high speed until light and fluffy, about 2-3 minutes.  Add the egg and vanilla. Mix well.  With the mixer on slow speed, slowly add the flour until combines  Gently press half of the dough into the bottom of the pan. Evenly spread the Nutella over the dough.  Gently press the remaining dough on top of the Nutella.  Sprinkle the hazelnuts on top, gently pressing again.  You may sprinkle with a little more of the sea salt if desired

Bake for 25 to 30 minutes.  Cut into bars.  ( I like to cover the bottom of my pan with parchment so I can lift the bars out to cut.)

 

 

 

 

 

Super Bowl Party

I love, love, love the Super Bowl.  I love the game, the commercials and just the fun of having everyone over.  My favorite thing is to set out food and let everyone just graze  the entire game.  I usually make breakfast food but this year I decided to cook regular football food.

I now it is hard to imagine, but I kind of overdid the food.  As I was looking for recipes and ideas all week, I kept finding new things that I had to try.  By the time I put everything out on Sunday, it looked somewhat like Grand America’s buffet.

The Menu:

Crab legs, BBQ bacon wrapped shrimp, cocktail meatballs, pot stickers, Asian chicken wings, prosciutto wrapped asparagus, cranberry brie bites, cranberry pistachio cheese log, vegetables and dip.  For dessert there was chocolate fondue and nutella hazelnut bars.  For drinks, there was an Italian soda bar.  Told you I overdid.  And to top it off, there was only 6 of us and a baby!!

I am going to share the recipes over the next few days of the ones that were my favorites.

I am starting with the BBQ bacon wrapped shrimp, which was my favorite.

BBQ Bacon Wrapped Shrimp
Ingredients:

24 Jumbo shrimp, peeled and de-veined

12 Strips Bacon

Rinse and pat dry the shrimp. Cut bacon in half and wrap the 24 slices around the shrimp and secure with a toothpick.

The Sauce:

1 ½ cups BBQ sauce

¼ cups apple sauce

¼ cups honey

2 TB balsamic vinegar

Mix together the BBQ sauce ingredients and brush over the shrimp. Bake in a 425 oven until bacon is cooked through. This took about 20 minutes, but watch closely.

I then put these in a crock pot to keep warm. These were delicious. I could have eaten all 24 myself. Make sure that you use the jumbo shrimp. The original recipe called for maple syrup, but I used honey as I am not a fan of maple syrup in recipes.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Caprese Lasagna Rolls

 

I really like lasagna but sometimes it is a bit heavy for me.  I was browsing through some recipes I had clipped and saved and thought these sounded so good.  I was late coming home from work and they were so fast and easy to put together.

This had the taste of lasagna, but the addition of the fresh tomatoes and basil gave it a much lighter and fresher taste.  Dave loved it.  He had several servings, even after saying, “I’m not hungry”.  I don’t know how many times I have heard that, only to want some of mine.

Caprese Lasagna Rolls

 Ingredients:
8 lasagna noodles, uncooked
3 1/2 cups shredded, fresh mozzarella cheese, divided
3/4 cup ricotta cheese
1 large egg white
1/3 cup shredded, fresh Parmesan cheese
freshly ground black pepper
3-4 medium Roma tomatoes, thinly sliced
1/4 cup chopped fresh basil, plus more for garnish
2 cup marinara sauce (fresh/homemade is the best, but bottled works too)

Directions:

Cook lasagna noodles according to package directions. Drain pasta and align noodles in a single layer on a large sheet of parchment paper.
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
For the filling:
In a large mixing bowl, whisk together ricotta cheese and egg white until well blended. Stir in fresh Parmesan cheese. Mix about 3 cups of the Mozzarella cheese and season with freshly ground black pepper to taste.
Spread a thin layer of the cheese mixture over each lasagna noodle, covering it completely from one end to the other. Lay about 4 thin tomato slices over the cheese mixture and then sprinkle fresh basil over top. Snugly roll lasagna noodles to opposite end. Spread a thin layer of marinara sauce in the bottom of a 11×7” baking dish. Place lasagna rolls seam side down in dish and top each roll with a heaping spoonful or pasta sauce. Make sure to cover the edges of the pasta so they don’t dry out while baking. Sprinkle remaining shredded Mozzarella on top. Bake at 350 degrees F for 30 minutes. Remove from oven and garnish with more fresh basil ribbons. Enjoy!

(cooking classy)

 

 

 

 

 

 

A Girl and Her Pony

Emmaline got her very own pony for Christmas.  He is he cutest thing ever and she loves him.  She goes out every day to see him and always has to give him a kisses on his nose.

This is a daily event!!  I can’t stand it, it is so precious.