7-Layer Burrito

As a former fast food junkie, there are certainly times I miss some of those foods.  One of them in particular is the 7-layer burrito from Taco Bell.  It's got everything you would want all wrapped up in a tortilla.  But...it's also filled with GMO's and conventional produce.  By making it at home, you can use all organic ingredients as well as fresh, homemade salsa and guacamole.  Not to mention it tastes a MILLION times better!  I didn't list quantities of the ingredients below as you can customize it to your tastes.  So the next time you are craving a drive thru burrito, make this version instead.  You won't be disappointed!

Ingredients

flour tortillas

refried beans (make your own!)

rice (any kind, though we use brown)

finely grated cheddar cheese

romaine, thinly sliced

pico de gallo

guacamole

sour cream

Directions

1. Warm the tortillas and load them up to your liking.  Enjoy!

Strawberry Salad with Feta and Raspberry Balsamic Dressing

I enjoy fresh strawberries almost every single day they are available locally grown.  It's one of my favorite times of year.  :)  I usually just enjoy them plain for dessert, but every now and then I like to mix it up.  This salad has such an amazing combination of flavors and textures with the strawberries, feta, toasted almond slivers, and raspberry balsamic dressing.  This is a delicious salad to compliment any meal!  I highly recommend getting a brick of feta in brine and crumbling it yourself instead of using pre-crumbled feta.  I was amazed at how much better it tasted!  

Ingredients (makes enough for 2 large salads or 4 small side salads)

1/2 C slivered almonds
1/2 tsp honey
1/2 tsp Dijon mustard
4 Tbsp raspberry vinegar
1 Tbsp balsamic vinegar
1 Tbsp brown sugar
1/4 C olive oil
1/4 C canola oil
1 large head of lettuce, torn or chopped
1 C fresh strawberries, sliced
4 oz feta cheese, crumbled

Directions

1. Toast the almonds in a small skillet over medium heat until golden.  Set aside.
2. Make the dressing by whisking together the honey, Dijon mustard, raspberry and balsamic vinegar, brown sugar, olive oil, and canola oil in a medium bowl.
3. Serve the salad by placing the lettuce in a large bowl.  Top with the strawberries, toasted almonds, and feta.  Pour dressing to your liking.  Toss and enjoy!

Adapted from MSChef

Mushroom and Walnut Lettuce Wraps

Here is a wonderful and healthier alternative to traditional lettuce wraps.  Using a combination of mushrooms and chopped walnuts makes this vegetarian version hearty, but without the need to cook meat, it comes together in a snap!  I had heard of using walnuts as a meat alternative, but this was my first attempt and I think it worked wonderfully in this application!  Everything but the last five minutes of cooking can be done ahead of time making the dinner rush a breeze.  I can't wait to find other ways to incorporate walnuts into my homemade meat alternatives!  Using them is another great way to cut back on processed fake meats and incorporate healthy whole foods into more meals.  

Ingredients

Filling

3 Tbsp olive oil

8 oz button mushrooms, chopped

1 C walnuts, chopped

1 can sliced water chestnuts, minced

1/2 C onion, chopped

4 cloves garlic, minced

Stir Fry Sauce

3 Tbsp soy sauce

2 Tbsp brown sugar

Special Sauce

1/4 C sugar

1/3 C water

2 Tbsp soy sauce

2 Tbsp rice vinegar

2 Tbsp ketchup

1 Tbsp lemon juice

1/4 tsp sesame oil

1 Tbsp spicy mustard

2 tsp hot water

garlic chili paste, to taste

8 large lettuce leafs (we used red leaf, but iceberg would work well too)

Directions

1. To make the special sauce, begin by dissolving the sugar in the water in a small bowl.  Add the soy sauce, rice vinegar, ketchup, lemon juice, and sesame oil and whisk to combine.  
2. In a separate small bowl whisk together the mustard and hot water.  Add this mixture to the rest of the special sauce.  Chill until ready to use.
3. Make the stir fry sauce by whisking the ingredients together in a small bowl.
4. Heat the oil in a skillet over high heat.  Add the mushrooms, walnuts, water chestnuts, onion, and garlic to the pan.  Stirring frequently, cook for 3 minutes until the mushrooms begin to release their liquid.  Add the stir fry sauce and cook an additional 2 minutes.  
5. To serve, scoop hot filling into a leaf of lettuce and top with the special sauce.  Add as much garlic chili paste as you like.  I like spice, so I added about 2 tsp to each wrap.  Enjoy!

Pecan Crusted Chicken Salad

This is another fantastic entree salad.  I always feel so good having a big salad for dinner, don't you?  This salad is loaded with textures and delicious flavors.  Even better, the chicken is actually served cold, so you can prep everything ahead of time!  You can easily use chicken breasts, but I use Gardein to make it vegetarian, and let me tell you, it's wonderful even for my meat-eating relatives.  This recipe uses a simple yet very flavorful balsamic vinaigrette that is whipped up in your blender in a matter of seconds.  This meal will be in permanent rotation in my house for sure.  I hope it will be for you too!  :)

Ingredients

Pecan Crusted Chicken

4 chicken breasts (pounded to about 1/2" thick) or Gardein Chick'n Scallopini

1/2 C pecans, finely chopped

1/2 C panko

1/2 tsp salt

2 eggs

3/4 C milk

1/2 C flour

1/2 C coconut oil (for frying)

Balsamic Vinaigrette

1/2 C canola oil

1/2 C olive oil

1/3 C balsamic vinegar

2 Tbsp dijon mustard

4 tsp sugar

1/2 tsp salt

3 garlic cloves, crushed

Salad

1 large head romaine, chopped
1/2 C dried cranberries
2 Tbsp brown sugar
1/2 C pecans, finely chopped
1/3 C celery, thinly sliced
4-5 mandarin oranges (or Cuties), peeled and separated
1/4 C blue cheese

Directions

1. Start with the chicken since that is served cold.  Place the flour in a shallow bowl.  Whisk together the eggs and milk in another shallow bowl.  Combine the chopped pecans, panko, and salt in a third shallow bowl.  Heat the coconut oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat.  Dredge the chicken in the flour, then the egg, then coat in the pecan mixture.  Working in batches, if necessary, cook the chicken until golden brown on both sides, about 7 minutes total.  Set aside to cool.
2. While the chicken is cooling, make the dressing.  Combine everything in a blender, except for the garlic.  Blend on a low speed for only a few seconds.  If you blend too long, the dressing will be very thick.  Pour into a small bowl and mix in the garlic.  Chill until ready to serve.  
3. To plate the salad, combine the romaine and celery.  Toss with about 1/3 C dressing.  Transfer to individual plates or bowls for serving.  Sprinkle with cranberries, chopped pecan, and a pinch of brown sugar.  Top with orange slices.  Add the sliced chicken on top and finish with some blue cheese.  

Inspired by TGI Friday's Pecan Crusted Chicken Salad

Chinese Chicken Salad

I love having a big entree salad for dinner, it just feels so clean and healthy.  I try to have a salad dinner several times a month and this salad was a wonderful addition to my line-up.  It has so many textures with the lettuce, cabbage, won ton skins, sugar snap peas, almonds, and chicken.  The dressing was light and the oranges added an extra burst of flavor in every bite.  This will be on permanent rotation in my house from now on.  I hope you try it too!

Ingredients (makes 4 entree salads)

For the salad:

1 large head romaine, chopped into bite sized pieces

1/2 head of cabbage, thinly sliced

1/2 pound sugar snap peas, sliced into 1 inch pieces

1/2 C cilantro, finely chopped

4 -5 C cooked chicken or Gardien Chick'n Scallopini, cut or torn into pieces

1/2 C scallions, thinly sliced

1/2 C sliced almonds

crispy fried won ton skins

toasted sesame seeds

8 mandarin oranges, peeled and separated

For the dressing

1/4 C soy sauce

1/4 C lemon juice

2 Tbsp sugar

1 Tbsp white vinegar

1 tsp salt

1/2 tsp black pepper

1/4 tsp ground ginger

1 Tbsp sesame oil

1 tsp toasted sesame oil

3 Tbsp peanut oil

Directions

1. In a medium bowl, combine all the ingredients for the dressing.  Whisk thoroughly and set aside.
2. In a medium bowl, combine the chicken and scallions.  Pour 1/3 C dressing in with the chicken and scallions.  Toss to combine.
3. In a large bowl, combine the lettuce, cabbage, sugar snap peas, and cilantro.  Add dressing (whisking continuously to prevent separation).  Toss to evenly coat.  Add the chicken mixture and toss.  
4. Serve on individual plates and top with almonds, sesame seeds, won ton skins, and orange slices.    Enjoy!

Chickpea Salad Sandwich

I just love sandwiches.  They are the perfect quick meal.  As soon as I saw a recipe for a creamy chickpea salad sandwich from Becca at Amuse Your Bouche, I knew it was something I had to try.  The filling can be made ahead of time and stored in the fridge so you have lunches ready for days - something important for a mom of 2 young children!  The whole family loved this sandwich...even my 18 month old.  Well, she couldn't eat the actual sandwich, but I set some of the filling aside, made sure it was well-mashed, and she ate it off a fork.  :)  The original recipe is great, but I tweaked it a bit for my tastes.  I hope you try it!

Ingredients (makes 3-4 sandwiches)

15oz chickpeas, rinsed and drained

1 tsp garlic powder

3 green onions, chopped

1/2 bell pepper, diced

2 Tbsp parsley, minced

2-3 Tbsp lemon juice

paprika

salt and pepper to taste

bread slices

lettuce

onion, sliced

spicy brown mustard

Directions

1. Lightly mash the chickpeas using a fork or potato masher.  In a large bowl, combine the chickpeas with the garlic powder, green onion, bell pepper, parsley, and lemon juice.  
2. Build your sandwiches with a layer of brown mustard on the lower piece of bread, a heaping portion of chickpea salad, and a sprinkle of paprika (to taste).  Top it off with the lettuce and sliced onion.  Enjoy!

Adapted from Amuse Your Bouche

Hearty BBQ Chicken Salad

I am always on the lookout for main-dish salads.  We like to try and have one meal a week that is a dinner salad.  It can be challenging to find a salad that not only pleases my meat-eating husband, but also my 3 year old.  This one is a long-time favorite of the whole family!  It is packed with chicken (we use Gardein), black beans, potatoes (you heard me!), tomatoes, and corn.  The BBQ sauce on the chicken combined with the avocado and blue cheese vinaigrettes (that's right, 2 dressings) give this salad so much flavor.  There is truly something in this salad for everyone!

Ingredients (makes 2 large entree salads)

for the avocado vinaigrette

1/3 C olive oil

1/4 C rice vinegar

1 small shallot, chopped

1 1/2 Tbsp peach jam

1/2 ripe avocado

salt and pepper to taste

for the blue cheese vinaigrette

1/3 C olive oil

1/4 C rice vinegar

1 small shallot, chopped

2 garlic cloves, chopped

1 Tbsp peach jam

1/2 C sour cream

1/2 C blue cheese

salt and pepper to taste

for the potatoes

3/4 pound red potatoes, washed

3 Tbsp butter

1 medium shallot, minced

1 small bunch of parsley, finely chopped

for the chicken

1 package Gardein Chick'n Scallopini

your favorite BBQ sauce

for the salad

1 head romaine lettuce, chopped

1 head red leaf lettuce, chopped

1 large tomato, chopped

6 oz black beans

1/2 C fresh or frozen corn

(Don't believe that a 3 year old eats this?  Here is how I serve it to her.  I just cut everything a little smaller and mix the dressings for her.  She LOVES it!)

Directions

1. To make the dressings - place the ingredients into a blender and mix until smooth.  
2. To make the potatoes - boil the potatoes in lightly salted water until fork tender.  Remove the potatoes and cut into large bite-sized pieces.  Drain the water from the pot.  Return the pot to the stove and melt the butter.  Add the shallot, parsley and potatoes.  Stir to coat evenly.  Keep warm until ready to serve.
3. To make the chicken - cook Gardein according to package directions.  Slice into bite-sized pieces.  Place in a bowl and combine with BBQ sauce.
4. To plate the salad - lay out the greens on a plate.  Top with corn, beans, tomatoes, chicken, and potatoes.  Drizzle both dressings on top.  Enjoy!

Adapted from Two Peas and Their Pod

Not-a-Lotta Tostada

I just LOVE tostadas.  The crispy shell.  The fresh veggies.  The spicy salsa.  Mmmm.  Not to mention the edible bowl!  That just makes any soup or salad better, right?  :)  The only problem I have with tostadas is the fact that they are usually very big.  I mean ginormous!  For someone who is trying to manage their portions, it makes it kind of difficult to have because you don't want to waste a bunch of food!  Also, the huge fried tortilla isn't going to help that waistline of yours.  Well, I fixed both of those problems!

These tostadas use soft taco-sized baked tortillas!  You heard me, BAKED!  And it is so easy you won't believe it.  The size is perfect for a light dinner, or it can be a side dish if you prefer a bigger meal.  Once you have the shell, fill it with whatever you like and enjoy!  Below are the ingredients we used, but I didn't list any quantities since it is to your taste.  Just make it up as you go and have fun! 

Ingredients

flour tortillas

spray oil

black beans

lettuce, chopped

tomatoes, chopped

onions, chopped

green onions, chopped

cheese, grated

salsa

guacamole

sour cream

 Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
2. Flip over a standard muffin tin.  Lightly spray both sides of a tortilla and place in the open space between the muffin wells.  Weigh it down with some dried beans or something similar (I used dried chickpeas).  Repeat with the rest of the tortillas.
3. Bake for about 10 minutes until the edged are golden and crisp.
4. Remove from the oven and cool completely on a wire rack.
5. Top with whatever you like and serve!

Autumn Salad with Lemon Poppy Seed Dressing

If you are looking for a fresh and delicious salad that is perfect for fall, look no further.  This is it!  I love how the apples and pears, dried cranberries, and cashews give this salad loads of texture.  The dressing is light and clean and so easy to make.  It is a fresh taste of the season and pairs great with fall staples like soups and casseroles.

This salad is great to take to big gatherings because it is so easy to transport.  Just toss the apples and pears with the dressing and keep in a separate container.  The rest of the salad can be assembled in the serving bowl.  When ready to eat, simply toss the dressing covered fruit with the rest of the ingredients and serve.  That's it!  

Ingredients (serves 6 as a side)

Salad

1 head romaine, chopped

1 head red leaf lettuce, chopped

1/3 C red onion, chopped

1/2 C cashews

1/3 C dried cranberries

1 apple, chopped (I used Gala)

1 pear, chopped

Dressing
1/4 C sugar
1/4 C lemon juice
3/4 tsp dijon mustard
1/4 tsp salt
3 Tbsp canola oil
1 tsp poppy seeds

Directions

1. Combine dressing ingredients in a small bowl and whisk to combine.  Combine the apples and pears and toss in the dressing.
2. Combine the rest of the salad ingredients in a large bowl.  Add the dressing coated apples and toss to evenly coat the salad.  

Adapted from The Fountain Avenue Kitchen

Homemade Crunchwrap for Daiya's Vegan Challenge!

Daiya Foods has given us a cooking challenge.  Daiya was kind enough to allow us to try their product and come up with a great recipe using one of their dairy-free cheeses!  I jumped at the chance to try something new.

I decided to make a Vegan Crunchwrap and it was AMAZING!  It was so easy to make, and by chopping everything ahead of time, dinner took less than 10 minutes to make!  We even enjoyed it again for lunch the next day because my 3 year old said it was her new favorite meal.  We made it completely vegan and it was amazing!  But the best part is that you can customize it to your own tastes.

Ingredients

Burrito Grande flour tortillas

flat crispy tostada crisps

refried beans

hot sauce (I used Tapatillo)

dairy free sour cream

tomatoes, seeded and chopped

onion, chopped

Daiya pepperjack style shreds

lettuce, chopped

Directions

1. Heat a dry non-stick fry pan over medium high heat while you assemble the crunchwrap.
2. Lay the tortilla flat and spread a layer of beans in the middle the diameter of the tostada crisp.  Add hot sauce.
3. Place the tortilla crisp on top of the beans.  Layer the dairy-free sour cream on the tostada crisp.  Top with the tomatoes, onion, Daiya shreds, and lettuce.
4. Carefully begin making several folds into the flour tortilla in order to completely wrap the contents.  If needed, take a piece of scrap tortilla and place it in the center to close any gap.  Quickly place it topside down onto the fry pan.  Allow to cook until it is golden and remains sealed.  Flip and cook the other side until golden.  

Red Robin-Style Chicken Tender Salad

We try to steer clear of restaurants because you just never really know what is in the food they are serving.  Is it loaded with extra salt and sugar?  Is there a disgruntled employee in the kitchen?  Most of the chains do not use organic produce (even the dirty dozen).  But I do have to say that I love Red Robin!  I grew up going to this restaurant and eating their chicken tenders with honey poppy seed dressing.  Yum!  As I got older, I started enjoying that flavor combination in salad form with their Crispy Chicken Tender Salad.  However, since becoming a vegetarian many years ago, the days of getting that salad have ended.  That is, until today!

I am telling you, this salad is the best salad I have had in a very long time.  The entire family loved it - even my 3 year old!  Everything can be prepped ahead of time, except for the chicken, making this a very easy dinner.  You could easily add real chicken if you wanted, but I was beyond thrilled with the Gardein.  This recipe will be reappearing on our weekly menu frequently.  It is just so delicious!!

Ingredients (makes 2 large entree salads)

1 large head of lettuce, torn or cut into pieces (we used red leaf, but green leaf or romaine would easily work)

4 oz coarsely grated cheddar cheese

2 large tomatoes, seeded and chopped

2-3 hardboiled eggs, chopped

honey poppy seed dressing 

1 package of Gardein Crispy Tenders

Directions

1. Bake the Gardein according to package directions.  Allow to cool slightly and cut into thirds.  
2. Place the lettuce into a bowl.  Top with the hardboiled egg, tomatoes, and cheese.  
3. Drizzle desired amount of dressing on top.  
4. Top with chicken.  Enjoy!

Homemade "Olive Garden" Salad

I grew up going to Olive Garden and that restaurant still holds a dear place in my heart.  I will always love their fettuccine alfredo, breadsticks, and most of all, their salad!  It is one of my favorite restaurant salads of all time and I was so excited to find a way to make a very similar version at home.  The real secret to this salad is the dressing.  The veggies in the salad themselves aren't very unique (which makes it easy to make!), but the flavor it great!  I only make this salad with farm fresh romaine lettuce.  I feel that makes a huge difference in all my salads.  My husband doesn't really like the olives or peppers in the restaurant version, so we leave them out.  But feel free to add whatever veggies you want!  

Dressing Ingredients
 - makes enough for 2 salads-

1/2 C mayonnaise
1/3 C white vinegar
1 tsp canola oil
1-2 Tbsp agave nectar
2-3 Tbsp freshly grated Parmesan cheese
2-3 Tbsp freshly grated Romano cheese
1 tsp garlic salt
1 tsp Italian seasoning
1 tsp parsley flakes
1 Tbsp lemon juice

Salad Ingredients
- for 1 salad that serves 4 as a side-

1 very large head of romaine (usually 2 when store bought)
2 tomatoes, sliced
1/2 red onion, sliced into wedges
your favorite croutons

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