Chicken Soft Tacos

Here is a quick and yummy dinner for those busy weeknights that your family will love. Fresh and healthy Tex-Mex is very popular, and this recipe can be added to with other ingredient possibilities that suits your family.

Ingredients

3 cups of shredded rotisserie chicken

Taco sauce, liquid

Iceberg lettuce, chopped

1 cup of sharp cheddar cheese, grated

1 red tomato, chopped

2 ripe avocados, cut into chunks

Low fat sour cream

Corn tortillas

Directions

Debone your rotisserie chicken, then shred. In a bowl toss your chicken with the taco sauce. I use hot Ortega Taco Sauce, and I use the whole bottle. Set your chicken aside and prepare your other ingredients. Chop your lettuce, grate your cheese, chop your tomato, and avocados. In a non stick pan on medium high heat. Heat up your corn tortillas, flipping both sides. Place your corn tortillas in the microwave to keep them warm. Then add your chicken to the pan and cook just to heat up the chicken. Assemble your tacos and serve.

Enjoy!

Food & Review • Denver 10

Cru House Salad: mixed greens, gorgonzola & lemon vinaigrette

Fried Brie: honey and black peppercorns

Pear & Gorgonzola Pizza: comice pears, caramelized onions, honey, parmesan & basil

Recently I had the privilege to have a girls wine night with a good friend. We decided to go to a new local wine bar called Cru' A Wine Bar. The bar was warm, inviting, and pleasantly casual. The wine was wonderful and the food even better! I enjoyed the Sexy Red Flight, a collection of three different wines to sample, and my friend Kim enjoyed the Magnificent Merlots. What a fun way to sample a bunch of wines without being tied down to only one huge glass of wine.

Kim and I then picked a few dishes to share off their Sharing Menu. We indulged in the Cru' House Salad, the Fried Brie, and the Pear and Gorgonzola Pizza. All three were divine. My favorite was the pizza, the pears and caramelized onions were the perfection and the gorgonzola gave it that perfect savory kick, YUM! I can't wait to go back and sample some more exotic wines accompanied by simply delicious food.

Enjoy!

French Quiche

This recipe is simple and scrumptious. I often double the recipe and freeze the other quiche for a later date. Serve this with a big fresh green salad and your meal is complete. Or this could be served for breakfast.

Ingredients

2 cups of heavy cream

2 cups of swiss cheese, grated

4 eggs, beaten

1 cup of chopped Boars Head Honey Ham

(we do not eat pork so I use cooked turkey bacon)

salt and pepper to taste

1 pre-made Pillsbury pie shell

Directions

Combine all your ingredients into a large bowl starting with the cream and eggs first. Mix all together. Roll out your pie crust into a pie plate and shape the edges so they are pretty. Pour mixture into pie shell. Bake at 375˙ until golden brown. Let your quiche rest for 30 minutes before serving.

Enjoy!

Fettucini Alfredo

Cream sauce is good for you right? I wish it was. This Alfredo sauce is bursting with flavor, creamy, sinful and oh so satisfying for that comfort food crave. It's worth every bite.

Ingredients

5 cloves of garlic, chopped

3 Tbs. butter

2 cups heavy cream

3 cups parmesan cheese, freshly grated

1 pound of fettucini noodles

Salt and pepper

Directions

Cook your pasta, rinse with warm water and set aside.

In a heavy sauce pan melt your butter over medium low heat, add your chopped garlic allow to sweat but do not let your garlic brown. Cook for 3 to 5 minutes. Add your heavy cream, turn your heat up a little bit and add your grated cheese stir all together and cook for 10 minutes to let sauce thicken up. Add salt and pepper to taste. Pour sauce over noodles and serve.

Enjoy!

Caramel Sauce

Happy Heart Day! Here is an easy recipe to serve over vanilla ice cream for your sweethearts. An extra bonus is to melt some chocolate chips in your microwave and spoon chocolate hearts on parchment paper. Just let your hearts cool, and they will lift right off your paper giving your caramel sundae a little extra love.

Ingredients

1 cup of heavy cream

5 Tbs. unsalted butter, cut into small pieces

1 tsp. kosher salt

1 1/2 cups of sugar

1/4 cup light corn syrup

1/4 cup water

Directions

Bring cream, butter, and salt to a boil in a small saucepan, then remove from heat and set aside. Boil sugar, corn syrup, and water in a 3 to 4 quart heavy sauce pan, stirring until sugar dissolves. Gently swirl pan, until mixture is a light golden brown. Stir in cream mixture (mixture will bubble up) and simmer, stirring frequently, until caramel registers 248˙ on your candy thermometer 10 to 15 minutes. Pour into a mason jar, keep refrigerated. Serve hot over ice cream.

Enjoy!

Spaghetti & Meatballs

Since Valentine's Day is right around the corner a perfect romantic meal in my mind is homemade spaghetti and meatballs. It reminds me of the Disney movie Lady and the Tramp where the two love pups share a plate of spaghetti. Your sweetie will not be disappointed with this dish. A big fresh green salad, crusty french bread and a glass of red wine will make the perfect combination.

Meatballs Ingredients

2 pound of ground turkey

1 cup of Italian seasoned bread crumbs

2 Tbs. of fresh parsley

1 cup of grated fresh Parmesan cheese

2 tsp. kosher salt

1/2 tsp. fresh black pepper

1/4 tsp. ground nutmeg

1 large egg, beaten

Olive oil

1 pound of spaghetti noodles

Directions

Mix all of your ingredients in a large bowl. Roll your mixture into small balls. You will have a lot of meatballs. I always freeze half for a later date. In a large non stick skillet on medium high heat up olive oil. Place your meatballs in your skillet in a single layer and cook until golden brown and cook through. Take your meatballs out of your pan and set aside.

Red Sauce Ingredients

1 Tbs. olive oil

1 cup of yellow onion, chopped

4 cloves of garlic, chopped

1/2 cup of good wine, Chianti

12 to 15 plum tomatoes, chopped then pureed

salt and pepper to taste

Directions

In the same skillet you cooked your meatballs in add your onions and garlic and cook until tender, 5 to 10 minutes. Add your wine and cook on high heat scrapping all the brown bits in the pan. Cook until all the liquid is almost evaporated. Stir in your pureed tomatoes add salt and pepper. Cook on high for 5 to 10 minutes. Add your meatballs to the sauce cover and simmer on low until your pasta is cooked. Serve hot on cooked spaghetti, top with lots of parmesan cheese.

Enjoy!

Spicy Chicken Sausage with Pasta & White Beans

This dish was inspired by Ellie Krieger from the Food Network. With a couple of tweaks I came up with this recipe. It's a simple, healthy and very tasty dish. The secret ingredient... Sage!

Ingredients

3/4 pound whole-wheat bowtie (or other shape) pasta
1 tablespoon olive oil
1/2 medium onion, chopped, about 1 cup
3 cloves garlic, minced
6 ounces lowfat Italian-style chicken sausage, casings removed, crumbled (I use spicy Italian chicken from Whole Foods)
1 medium bag of fresh spinach
2 (14-ounce) can low-sodium cannellini beans, drained and rinsed
1 1/2 cups low-sodium chicken broth
1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes
1 tablespoon chopped fresh sage leaves
Salt
Freshly ground black pepper
1 cup grated Parmesan

Directions

Cook the pasta according to the directions on the package.

Heat the oil over a medium heat in a large, deep saute pan or 8-quart stockpot. Saute the onion until soft and translucent, about 5 minutes. Add the garlic and cook an additional 1 minute. Stir in the sausage and cook until heated through and browned, about 4 minutes. Add the spinach and cook until wilted, about 3 to 4 minutes. Add the beans, 1 cup of chicken stock, sage and red pepper flakes and simmer until the mixture is heated through and liquid is slightly reduced. Add the sausage-bean mixture to pasta and toss well, loosening with the additional 1/2 cup chicken stock if necessary. Season with freshly ground pepper and salt, to taste. Divide among 4 pasta bowls and top with parmesan cheese.

Enjoy!

Shrimp Etouffe

Happy Super Bowl Sunday, Geaux Saints! today is also my 16th wedding anniversary. This morning we woke up to snow so I think today will be spent snuggling, eating, and watching the game. In honor of the great state of Louisiana I thought I would share a savory, and spicy authentic southern dish, Shrimp Etouffe.

Ingredients

2 lb. uncooked shrimp, peeled

1 cup onion, finely chopped

1/2 cup celery, finely chopped

1/2 cup green bel pepper, finely chopped

4 cloves garlic, minced

1 stick of butter

1 Tbs. cornstarch

1 1/2 cup of cold water

1/2 tsp. salt

1/4 tsp. pepper

1/2 tsp. cayenne pepper

White Rice

Directions

Cook your rice and set aside. Rinse shrimp. Season with salt, black pepper, and cayenne pepper. In a heavy non stick skillet melt butter over medium heat add onions, bell pepper, celery, and garlic saute until tender. Add seasoned shrimp and continue cooking until your shrimp turns pink. Dissolve cornstarch in water and add to your shrimp mixture, simmer over medium heat just until the sauce gets thick. Serve over rice.

Enjoy!

Zucchini Bread

Whenever I make this quick bread my family always asks without fail "what in the heck are you making??" I respond, "zucchini bread?" "EWWWWW, bread with zucchini in it!" is always their comeback. It's almost like they are struck with a temporary amnesia and have never had zucchini bread before! The story always ends with this delicious bread completely gone 20 minutes after taking it out of the oven! My daughter even asked me the other day, what ever happened to that bread I was making? I giggled and told her, she ate it! This bread is so good your family will never know a vegetable is in it.

Ingredients

3 eggs, beaten

1 cup of butter, softened

1 cup of brown sugar

1 cup of white sugar

3 tsp. vanilla

3 cups of grated zucchini

3 cups of flour

1 tsp. soda

2 tsp. cinnamon

1/2 tsp. baking powder

1/2 tsp. baking soda

Directions

Sift in a large bowl, flour, cinnamon, salt,baking soda, and baking powder; set aside. In a mixer mix eggs, sugars, butter, and vanilla. Slowly add in flour mixture, mix until just incorporated. Stir in grated zucchini. Pour into greased and lightly floured loaf pans. Bake at 325 for 60 to 70 minutes.

Enjoy!

Chicken Enchilada Casserole

I love Mexican food, and although this dish is no where near authentic it fixes that crave. This dish is again easy and very tasty with it's tangy green enchilada sauce and yummy melted cheeses. I like to serve this meal with fresh limes and a big green salad.

Ingredients

1 whole rotisserie chicken, deboned and chopped

1 white onion, chopped

2 4 oz cans of diced green chilies

2 Tbs. canola oil

1 12 oz can of green mild enchilada sauce

1 cup of chicken broth

1 cup of half and half

2 cups of Monterey Jack cheese, grated

3 cups of sharp Cheddar cheese

18 soft corn tortillas (1 whole package)

pinch of salt

Directions

Chop and saute onion in a non stick skillet with oil until translucent and caramelized, add green chilies. Add cream, broth monterey jack cheese and enchilada sauce and stir until all the cheese is melted. Add the chicken to the mixture and a pinch of salt. Put a layer of corn tortillas in the bottom of a lightly greased 3 quart casserole dish. Spoon some of the liquid mixture over tortillas and sprinkle with cheddar cheese. Continue layering your tortillas, sauce mixture, and cheese. Make sure your last layer is cheddar cheese on top. Bake uncovered at 300˙until heated through and bubbly. About 45 minutes. Serve hot.

Enjoy!

Chicken Fried Rice

This dinner is tasty and easy for those hectic nights. You can really save time and make your rice ahead of time and refrigerate it. I always add a few more bean sprouts on top for extra crunchiness!

Ingredients

1 1/2 cup of long grain white rice

1 lb. chicken cut into small chunks

1 cup of low sodium soy sauce

3 Tbs. brown sugar

2 Tbs. rice wine vinegar

1 Tbs. grated fresh ginger

1 Tbs. canola oil

2 carrots, cut into matchstick size strips

2 cups snow peas, cut into thirds

2 cups bean sprouts

4 scallions, thinly sliced

4 large eggs, beaten

Directions

Cook the rice and set aside. In a small bowl combine the soy sauce, sugar, vinegar and ginger. Cut up your chicken into small chunks and put into your sauce marinade. Let chicken marinade for at least 30 minutes. Heat the oil in a large nonstick pan over med high heat. Add the carrots and cook, stirring for 2 minutes. Add the snow peas, bean sprouts. Cook stirring until vegetables are slightly tender. Transfer to a bowl. With tongs fish out your chicken chunks leaving the sauce behind. Cook the chicken on high heat so that the meat caramelizes on the outside. Leaving your chicken in the skillet turn down the heat on your skillet to medium. Add the cooked rice, scallions and the chicken marinade. Cook until heated through. Push the rice to the edges of the pan. Pour the egg mixture into the center and scramble, until set. Stir the eggs into the rice and add your vegetables, cook for 2 minutes and serve.

Enjoy!