Smoked Turkey Brie and Apple Panini

INGREDIENTS

• Artisan, sourdough or french bread, cut into desired slices
• Shaved or sliced smoked turkey
• 4 ounces Brie cheese, wax removed and cut into 1/4-inch slices
• 1 apple, cored and cut into thin slices (I used a Gala apple)
• 1/2 red onion, thinly sliced into half moons

DIRECTIONS

1. In a small saucepan, melt 1 teaspoon oil over medium heat. When hot, add onions and cook, stirring occasionally, until they are browned and beginning to caramelize, 10-12 minutes. Set aside.
2. Place a single layer of brie on one slice of the bread. Top with sliced turkey, apples, caramelized onions and finally with another layer of brie. Place the other slice of bread on top of the sandwich. Preheat a skillet or indoor grill pan to medium heat. Place sandwich in the pan and top with a heavy skillet or panini press (I have a cast iron panini press I use with my indoor grill pan). Grill 2-3 minutes on each side until golden brown and heated through.

Foil Packet Sweet Potato Tacos

Yield: makes 6-8 packets

INGREDIENTS

• 2 pounds ground turkey or beef
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
• 1/2 cup finely chopped onion
• 1/2 tablespoon chili powder
• 1 teaspoon ground cumin
• 2 teaspoons ground coriander
• 16 ounces tomato sauce
• 1 jalapeño, seeded, membranes removed and finely chopped (keep seeds for more heat, if desired)
• 1/3 cup water
• 2 cups chopped fresh spinach
• 2 cans (15-ounces each) beans (black, pinto, white), rinsed and drained
• 4 medium sweet potatoes, peeled and chopped small (1/2-inch pieces)
• Garnishes: shredded cheese, sour cream, avocados or guacamole, salsa, olives, cilantro

DIRECTIONS

1. Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F.
2. In a large 12-inch nonstick skillet over medium heat, add the ground meat, salt, pepper, and onion. Cook, breaking the meat into small pieces, until the meat is cooked through. Drain any excess grease.
3. Add the chili powder, cumin, coriander, tomato sauce and jalapeño (if using). Cook over medium heat for 2-3 minutes, stirring often. Stir in the water, spinach and beans and simmer for 4-5 minutes. Remove from the heat.
4. Lightly grease the center of 6-8 foil pieces, each about 12-inches long.
5. Place about 1 cup of sweet potato chunks in the center of each piece of foil arranging them into somewhat of a single layer; sprinkle with salt and pepper (don't skip this step!). Add a heaping 1/2 cup or so of the meat mixture on top. Bring the long sides of foil together over the filling and fold tightly down. Fold and crimp each edge until tightly sealed and a little packet is formed. Repeat with all the pieces of foil and ingredients.
6. Place the foil packets in a single layer on a large, rimmed baking sheet and bake for 20-25 minutes until the potatoes are tender.
7. Carefully open the foil packets and serve with taco toppings and garnishes of your choice.

Egg Muffins with Sausage, Spinach, and Cheese

Yield: Serves 6

Prep Time: 10 minutes

Cook Time: 20 minutes

Total Time: 30 minutes

ingredients:

3 lean breakfast turkey sausage links
5 egg whites
2 whole eggs
1/4 cup skim milk
Salt and pepper, to taste
1/4 cup fresh chopped spinach
1/4 cup shredded sharp Cheddar cheese

directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. In a medium skillet, brown the turkey sausage links on medium-high heat. Cook until sausage is brown all the way through. Cut sausage into 1/2 inch pieces. Set aside.

2. In a large mixing bowl, whisk together egg whites and eggs. Whisk in skim milk and season with salt and pepper, to taste. Stir in the chopped spinach.

3. Grease 6 muffin tin cups with cooking spray or line cups with paper liners. Pour egg mixture evenly into the muffin cups.

4. Distribute cheese and sausage equally between each muffin cup.

5. Bake egg muffins for 20 minutes, or until the muffins are firm in the center. Remove from oven and gently go round each egg with a butter knife. Serve warm.

Note-you can store the egg muffins in the fridge for 3-4 days and reheat them in the microwave.

Peach & Oat Breakfast Smoothie

Total Time: 3 minutes

Yield: 2 servings

Ingredients

• 1 1/2 cups peeled and diced, frozen peaches
• 1 cup almond coconut milk blend or original almond milk
• 1 (5.3 oz) greek yogurt - mango, peach, strawberry or coconut
• 1 very ripe banana, peeled and frozen
• 1/2 cup oats (old fashioned or quick, either are fine)
• 1/2 cup cold water

Directions

• Add all ingredients to a blender and process until well pureed. Serve immediately.

Cuban Street Tacos

Serves: 8

INGREDIENTS

Shredded Pork:
• 4-pound boneless pork butt or boneless pork top loin roast, cut into 2-inch chunks
• 1 tablespoon kosher salt
• 1 tablespoon canola or vegetable oil
• 1 cup water
• 1 cup chicken broth or stock
• 1/2 teaspoon pepper
• 1 teaspoon ground cumin
• 1 teaspoon chili powder
• 1 teaspoon dried oregano
• 2 bay leaves
• 3 large garlic cloves, minced
• 1 jalapeño, minced
• 1 onion, peeled and halved
• juice of 1 lime
• 1 medium orange, halved and juice, rinds reserved
Tortillas & Garnishes:
• 8 small corn or flour tortillas
• 1 small red onion, thinly sliced
• 1/2 cup chopped cilantro
• Sour cream/avocados, if desired
• 1 cup Monterey Jack cheese
• 2 limes, cut into wedges

DIRECTIONS

1. Rub the pieces of pork all over with salt. Refrigerate for at least 1 hour.
2. Heat oil in a Dutch oven or heavy-bottomed pot over medium heat, until the oil is shimmering and hot. Add the pork and sear each piece on all sides, working in batches, if needed. Once browned, remove the pork to the slow cooker. Into the same pot used to sear the pork, pour in the water and chicken stock, scraping the bottom of the pan with a flat-edged spatula or wooden spoon to get up all the delicious brown bits from the bottom. Add pepper, cumin, chili powder, oregano, bay leaves, garlic, jalapenos, onion, lime juice, orange juice and orange rinds and bring to a simmer. Pour the mixture over the pork in the slow cooker and cook on low for 6-8 hours, until the pork is very tender.
3. Remove the bay leaves, onion and orange rinds from the pot and discard. Remove the pork and place in a bowl and set aside. Pour the liquid from the slow cooker into a pot on the stove and over high heat, bring the mixture to a boil. Let the mixture boil until it reduces to about 1 cup and is thickened slightly, about 10 -15 minutes.
4. Shred the pork and place on a large patter. Spoon the sauce over the pork. Serve in tortillas garnished with onions, cilantro, cheese, sour cream, avocado and additional lime wedges, if desired.

Fruit Salad with Honey-Lime Dressing

Ingredients

• 1 lb fresh strawberries, diced
• 1 lb fresh pineapple, diced
• 12 oz fresh blueberries
• 12 oz red grapes, diced into halves
• 4 kiwis, peeled and diced
• 1 (15 oz) can mandarin oranges in juice, drained well and sliced into halves
• 2 ripe bananas, diced*
Honey Lime Dressing
• 1/4 cup honey
• 2 tsp lime zest (zest of 2 medium limes)
• 1 Tbsp fresh lime juice

Directions

• Add all fruit to a large mixing bowl. In a small mixing bowl, whisk together they honey, lime zest and lime juice. Pour over fruit just before serving and toss to evenly coat (as it sits for a few minutes the juices will gather at the bottom, so toss again before plating).
• *The bananas aren't pictured. I decided to add them later on because I love the sweet flavor they add.
• 
  

Cajun Chicken Pasta on the Lighter Side

Made 7.22.15 Kevin once a month

Servings: 5 • Serving Size: 1 1/2 cups • Old Points: 6 pts • Points+: 8 pts
Calories: 323.8 • Fat: 6.2 g • Protein: 25.9 g • Carb: 44.1 g • Fiber: 6.3 g • Sugar:3.2 g
Sodium: 126.5 mg (without salt)  Makes 7 1/2 cups.


Ingredients:

• 8 ounces uncooked linguine (I used Dreamfields)
• 1 pound chicken breast strips
• 1-2 tsp Cajun seasoning (or to taste)
• 1 tbsp olive oil
• 1 medium red bell pepper, thinly sliced
• 1 medium yellow bell pepper, thinly sliced
• 8 oz fresh mushrooms, sliced
• 1/2 red onion, sliced
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• 2 medium tomatoes, diced
• 1 cup fat free low sodium chicken broth
• 1/3 cup skim milk
• 1 tbsp flour
• 3 tbsp light cream cheese
• fresh cracked pepper
• 2 scallions, chopped
• salt to taste
• Smart Balance cooking spray

Directions:

Prep all your vegetables. In a small blender make a slurry by combining milk, flour and cream cheese. Set aside. Season chicken generously with Cajun seasoning, garlic powder and salt.
Prepare pasta in salted water according to package directions.
Heat a large heavy nonstick skillet over medium-high heat; spray with cooking spray and add half of the chicken. Sauté 5 to 6 minutes or until done, set aside on a plate and repeat with the remaining chicken. Set aside.
Add olive oil to the skillet and reduce to medium; add bell peppers, onions, and garlic to skillet, sauté 3-4 minutes. 
Add mushrooms and tomatoes and sauté 3-4 more minutes or until vegetables are tender. Season with 1/4 tsp salt, garlic powder and fresh cracked pepper to taste.
Reduce heat to medium-low; add chicken broth and pour in slurry stirring about 2 minutes.
Return chicken to skillet; adjust salt and Cajun seasoning to taste, cook another minute or two until hot, then add linguine; toss well to coat. Top with chopped scallions and enjoy!

COCONUT CRUSTED CHICKEN WITH MANGO SALSA

 

Serves: 4 (small)

Ingredients:

MANGO SALSA

• 2 fresh mangos diced
• 1 jalapeño finely diced
• 1/4 cup cilantro chopped
• 1/4 cup red onion diced
• juice from half a lime (about 1 tablespoon)
• sprinkle of salt

CHICKEN

• 2 chicken breasts, split horizontally to make four thin filets, total
• 1/4 cup flour mixed with 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 egg plus 1 tablespoons milk
• 1 cup sweetened coconut flakes plus 1/2 cup all purpose flour
• 2-3 tablespoons butter

Directions:

MANGO SALSA

1. Toss the mango, jalapeño, cilantro, and red onion together in a small bowl. Squeeze lime juice over the top and sprinkle with salt. Stir to combine, and cover until ready to serve. I like to serve it at room temperature. Refrigerate leftovers.

CHICKEN

1. Place flour and salt in one shallow bowl, the egg and milk in another bowl, and the coconut and flour into yet another shallow bowl.
2. One by one, dip the pieces of chicken into the flour, then egg, then coconut. Press the coconut to the chicken to get as much to stick as you can.
3. In a large nonstick or cast iron skillet on medium heat, melt 2 tablespoons of butter and spread around the pan. When the pan is hot, place the chicken into the pan and cook for about 5 minutes on each side, or until the coconut is golden and the inside of the chicken is cooked through. The exact time will depend on the thickness of your chicken. Add a little more butter when turning the chicken if your pan is dry.
4. Plate the chicken and top with mango salsa.

CASHEW COCONUT CRUSTED CHICKEN TENDERS WITH MANGO HONEY DIP

 

PREP TIME

15 mins

COOK TIME

25 mins

TOTAL TIME

40 mins

 

Serves: 4-6

INGREDIENTS

• Cashew Coconut Chicken Tenders
• 12 chicken tenders (just over 2 pounds)
• 2 eggs
• 1 tablespoon lime juice
• 3/4 cup flour
• 1 cup toasted cashews
• ½ cup sweetened coconut flakes
• 1 cup panko bread crumbs
• 1 tablespoon brown sugar
• 1 ½ teaspoons garlic powder
• 1 teaspoon onion powder
• 1 teaspoon ground cumin powder
• 1 teaspoon salt
• ½ teaspoon pepper
• ¼ - ½ teaspoon cayenne pepper
• 
  Mango Honey Dip
• 2 mangos, peeled and roughly chopped
• 1/4 cup honey
• 2 tablespoons lime juice
• 1-2 tablespoons cider vinegar*
• ½ teaspoon cumin powder
• 3 cloves garlic, peeled
• 3 green onions, roughly chopped
• 1-2 teaspoons red chili flakes

INSTRUCTIONS

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Add cashews and coconut flakes to blender or food processor and process until cashews are about the size of the panko crumbs, scraping the sides of the blender as needed. Add cashews/coconut, panko, chicken tender spices and brown sugar to a shallow dish and mix until evenly distributed.
2. Place the flour in another shallow dish. Whisk the egg with the lime juice in another shallow dish. Working with one chicken tender at a time, dredge in flour and then dip in egg, and then finally coat in the coconut/cashew/panko mixture, pressing mixture into chicken with your fingers to make sure the coating sticks.
3. Place chicken tenders on a foil-lined baking sheet (for easy clean up!) with a baking rack on top that has been sprayed with non-stick cooking spray. Lightly spray chicken with non-stick cooking spray for extra crispiness (optional). Bake for approximately 25 minutes or until juices run clear. Broil until coconut is nicely golden, and panko crisp, but still light in color.
4. To make the Mango Honey Dip, place all the ingredients in a blender, starting with just 1 teaspoon red pepper flakes and process until smooth. Taste and add additional red pepper flakes as desired.

NOTES

*Use 2 tablespoons for more "tang" which is how I like it :)