Chicken Pineapple Kebabs with Agave Pineapple Marinade

My mom and I have been trying to make different and healthier recipes, and I have been really sticking to it.  I love grilled chicken and have been looking for recipes for grilled chicken.  I was not sure how I felt about mixing fruit with meat, but this mixture is DELICIOUS.  We served the kebabs over brown rice.  These were really filling, and super easy to make.

Prep time: 10 minutes
Cook time: 10 minutes
Total time: 2-8.5 hours (depends how long you marinade everything for)

Ingredients

• 2 pounds of chicken cut into large chunks
• 1/2 fresh pineapple cut into chunks
• 1 green bell pepper (cut into 8 large pieces)
• 1 red bell pepper (cut into 8 large pieces)
• 1 red onion (cut into large pieces)
• 1/2 cup of agave sweetener
• 6 oz. pineapple juice
• 1/4 cup of soy sauce
• 1/4 cup of teriyaki sauce
• 1 tablespoon of apple cider vinegar
• 3 cloves of mince garlic
• 1 scallion (chopped very small)
• 1 teaspoon of cornstarch

Directions

1. In a large bowl add you agave, pineapple juice,  soy sauce, teriyaki sauce, vinegar, garlic and scallion....Mix well.
2. In a large container place your chicken, pineapple and vegetables, place half of your marinade over vegetable and place the other half in the fridge.
3.  Marinate for at least 2 hours ( I marinaded for about 8 hours)
4.  Place your chicken, vegetables and pineapples on skewers alternating ingredients
5. Grill over medium heat for 6-8 minutes on each side.
6. While the kebabs are grilling, in a small pot add the rest of your marinade and cornstarch, whisk and bring to a boil (this will be your extra sauce)
7. Once boiling reduce heat and let simmer for 5 minutes, and remove from heat.
8. Serve kebabs over rice, and use your sauce for topping.

Final Product

Quinoa Salad with Basil and Red Bell Peppers

I know I am  falling behind with my blog and I am trying to get better at posting on a more regular basis, I have tons of recipes to post I just have to find the time.  I am going to be in two weddings by October, so I have really been trying to eat healthy, and of course use my fresh vegetables and herbs from my garden.  My mom found this recipe and we decided to make it for dinner, and make some extra for lunch.  This was very filling, and an awesome summer night meal.
Prep time: 15 minutes
Cook time:15 minutes
Things I would do differently: I would use less lemon juice
 Serving Size- 3-4 cups (I doubled the recipe so my mom and I had enough to take to work for lunch)

Ingredients

• 1 cup of fresh basil (I really would not use dried basil it would really take away the taste)
• 2 tablespoons of feta cheese (or Parmesan)
• 2 tablespoons of lemon juice (I would use 1 tablespoon to start and if you need more add more)
• 2 tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil
• 2 cups of cooked quinoa 
• 1 cup of chopped red bell pepper
• 1/2 cup of chopped green onions
• 1/4 cup pine nuts for topping

Directions

1. In a small pot cook quinoa  (2/3 cup of dried quinoa and 1 1/3 cups of water) add your quinoa and water, and once boiling reduce heat and let sit for 15 minutes
2. In another small pot add 2 cups of water and bring to boil.  While water is boiling add ice to cold water and sit aside.  Once boiling add your basil stir once, remove right away and place in a bowl filled with ice.
3. Drain your basil and add to food processor.  Add your cheese, lemon juice, olive oil and garlic.  Process until smooth.
4. In a large bowl add your cooked quinoa, chopped red peppers, green onions and basil mixture and mix well.
5. Refrigerate for at least an hour and serve with pine nuts on top.

Final product

Creamy Fajita Pasta

If you love fajitas and pasta... this recipe is definitely for you.  I love fajitas but I don't always want to spend the money on getting everything for fajitas, especially the chicken.  The other night I was really craving a creamy pasta and I remembered seeing a recipe online for fajita pasta.  I thought I would give it a try... and I am sure glad I did.  This is so much cheaper then making fajitas but you still get the delicious taste.

Serving size- 4-6 people
Recipe Adapted from: Picky Palate
Prep time: 5 minutes
Cook time: 40-50 minutes
Total time: 40-55 minutes


Ingredients

• 1 box of  pasta ( I used spiral noodles  but you can use your favorite pasta, I probably would not use spaghetti )
• 2 cups non-fat milk
• 1 packet of fajita seasoning
• 6 ounces of cream cheese (soft enough to mix)
• 2 tablespoons of oil
• 2 garlic gloves minced
• 1 16 oz bag of frozen peppers and onions
• 1 pound of chicken ( cut into bite size pieces)
• 2 cups of shredded Mexican cheese
• 1 14.5 oz can of black beans (drained)

Directions

1. In a large pan add your oil, garlic, vegetables and chicken and cook till chicken is heated through.
2. While chicken is cooking, cook your pasta according to directions.
3. Once pasta is cooked drain and add to a large bowl. 
4. Add your chicken mixture to the pasta.
5. Add black beans to your pasta and mix.
6. In the same pan you cooked your chicken add your cream cheese and milk.  Whisk until smooth.
7. Add your Mexican cheese and stir till cheese is melted and your mixture has thickened.
8. Add to your pasta and mix well.
9. Enjoy!

Final Product

Homemade Empandadas

I have to start this off with saying how proud I was that I accomplished making these.  I am a HUGE Spanish food fan, but I have never made Spanish food because I never had it growing up, or saw anybody make it.  There is a little Spanish restaurant close to where I live that me and my boyfriend go to and I loved empandas the first time I had them.  My boyfriend was always asking me to make them but I never tried because I did not want to screw them up.  The other day I had some ground beef and had no idea what to make, and then my boyfriend said lets go to the store and get what we need to make empanadas.  I decided why not, if he knows how and he is going to help I should give it a try.  These are SO MUCH EASIER then I though they would be, they tasted just like ones I would get at restaurants and they were cheap.  My boyfriend was very pleased with the outcome and we will be making them again very soon.

Serving size: 1 pack of discos makes 10 empanadas
Prep time: 20-30 minutes
Cook time: 20 minutes
Total time: 40-50 minutes


Ingredients

•  1 pound of ground beef
• 1 small onion chopped
• 1/4 cup of tomato sauce
• 2 tablespoons of Sazon (if you are using the boxed Sazon use 1 packet)
• 3 garlic cloves minced
• 1/2 teaspoon of oregano
• 1 package of GOYA Discos thawed (I used the orange ones but you can use whichever you prefer, make sure there are no broken discs and they are located in the fridge by where the international food section is at your grocery store)
• 1.5 cups of Mexican cheese
• 1/2 cup of vegetable oil for frying

Directions

1. In a large pan add your ground beef and onions and cook until meat is browned.
2. Drain any fat from pan.
3. Once meat is browned  and drained add your tomato sauce, Sazon, Garlic and oregano and let simmer for 15 minutes.
4. Place oil in pan and let warm.
5.  On a flat surface, cover with flour and place your discos on the floured surface.
6. Add about 1 tablespoon of meat mixture to each discos, and top with 1 tablespoon of cheese.

1. Dip finger into water and moisten  the edge on half of the discos.
2. Fold the discos in half and seal with fork.

1. Add discos to oil and cook for about 3-5 minutes on each side until they are bubbly and brown.

1. Serve with Spanish rice and enjoy =)

Final Product

Chili Stuffed Baked Potatoes

The other day I realized I had a couple of russet potatoes that I needed to use, and ground beef.  I really did not want to just make baked potatoes and meatloaf so I tried to think of something different.  My boyfriend suggested chili... and that is when I thought of baked potatoes with chili filling.  These were SO good, they were filling, easy and really cheap to make.

Serving size: This recipe served three people
Prep time: 10 Minutes
Cook time: 1 hour 15 minutes
Total time: 1 hour 25 minutes

Ingredients.

FOR POTATOES

• 3 russet potatoes
• 1.5 cups shredded Mexican Cheese
• 1/4 cup of butter
• 2 tablespoons of Season all salt
• 1/4 cup of olive oil

FOR CHILI

•  3/4- 1 pound of ground beef
• 1 tablespoon of olive oil
• 1 small onion (chopped)
• 6 garlic cloves (minced)
• 1 tablespoon of chili powder
• 1 tablespoon of cumin
• 1 tablespoon of oregano
• 1 10 oz can of tomato paste
• 2 14.5 oz can of kidney beans (drained)

Directions

1.  Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F.
2. In a bowl add your olive oil and season all
3. Add your potatoes to bowl and coat potatoes
4. Stick Potatoes on a cooking tray and place in oven for 1 hour (until fork can easily go inside)
5. While potatoes are cooking place your oil, ground beef, onion and garlic in a pot over medium high heat and continue to cook till meat is browned.
6. Add your seasonings, tomato paste and beans, and mix well.  Let mixture simmer till potatoes are done cooking
7. Once potatoes are done, place them in fridge for about 10 minutes (or until cool enough to cut.)
8. Cut potatoes lengthwise, and remove the insides of potato and place in a large bowl.
9. Add 1/2 a cup of cheese, and your butter to the potatoes and mash until smooth.
10. Sprinkle cheese into the skins, and then top with your potato mixture.
11. Divide your chili evenly between potatoes, and top with remaining cheese
12. Bake for another 10-12 minutes or until cheese is completely melted
13. Enjoy!!

Final Product

Taco Flat Breads

Here is another AWESOME twist to tacos.  I saw this recipe and I thought it sounded really good, but I thought there was no way that it would taste like tacos, and I did not think it would be that filling.  Let me say I was STUFFED, I could barely finish my flat-bread.  They also tasted just like tacos.  I was really surprised how fast and easy these were, also they are a lot cheaper then making normal tacos.  I would definitely make this again instead of regular tacos.

Prep time:15 minutes
Cook time: 7 minutes
Total time:23-25 minutes
Recipe adapted from: Skinny Mom

Ingredients

• 1 Pack of flat-breads (most come in pack of fives)
• 1 Pound of ground beef
• 1 Small onion diced
• 1 Package of taco seasoning
• 1 Jalapeno diced and seeded
• 1 14.5 oz can of re-fried beans
• 2 Cups of shredded Mexican cheese
• 1 Cup shredded lettuce
• Sour cream for topping
• Salsa for topping

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. In a large pan add your ground beef, onions, and jalapenos and cook until browned.
3. Add onion, green chilies, and jalapenos and brown for 2-3 minutes.
4. Add taco seasoning to your ground beef, and cook till water is almost all gone.
5. Divide your re-fried beans evenly out on flat-breads, and spread covering flat-bread.
6. Divide your ground beef evenly on flat-breads.
7. Sprinkle cheese on top of ground beef.
8. Place flat-breads  on a greased baking sheet
9. Cook for 5-7 minutes until the cheese is melted
10. Top flat-breads with desired topics.
11. Enjoy!!

Final Product

Tortilla Casserole

Tacos is definitely a staple in my house, everyone loves them and it is a super quick and easy meal.  I do sometimes get sick of them and look for new ways to spice it up.  The other week our grocery store had a sale on Zatarains rice mixtures (their Jambalaya mix is AWESOME) they had a new one called red beans and rice so I picked it up to try.  I found this recipe on their site, made a few changes and really enjoyed it.  This was just as easy as making tacos, but had a very different taste.  This meal is super cheap, easy and delicious and perfect for dinner if you are in a hurry.

Prep time: 15 minutes
Cook time: 15 minutes
Total time: 30 minutes
Recipe adapted from: Zatarains
Serving size: This makes about 6 servings

Ingredients

• 1 box of Zatarains Red Beans and Rice mix
• 3 tortillas
• 1 pound ground beef
• 2 cups of shredded Mexican cheese
• Sour cream for topping

Directions

1. Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees
2. Prepare rice as directed on package.
3. While rice is cooking, brown your ground beef and drain.
4.  In a well greased casserole dish spread half of your rice mixture on the bottom of the pan.
5. Top rice mixture with tortillas
6. Top with 3 of the tortillas.
7. Top tortillas with meat mixture.
8. Top meat mixture with the rest of your rice.
9. Top with Mexican Cheese.
10.  Bake for 15 minutes (until cheese is melted)
11. Let stand for 5 minutes,
12. Serve and enjoy!

Final Product