Utilizing the ol' Microwave

Although microwaves are pretty popular, I rarely use mine. Maybe once a month or so... possibly because I have it on the bottom of a cart in my kitchen out of the way, or possibly because I love my gas range... who knows. Either way, it never occurs to me to use it and I almost took the stove top route when making this dish, but decided to give the microwave a try and follow the instructions. It came out great, and I had time to watch some TiVo'd stuff while it cooked.

Microwave Green Chile-Chicken Risotto

2 Tbs butter
1/2 cup chopped red onion
1 cup arborio rice
1 (14 oz.) fat free low sodium chicken broth
1 1/2 cup water (divided)
1 (4.5 oz.) can green chilies, drained
1 1/2 cup chopped roasted chicken
1 cup shredded reduced-fat shredded cheddar cheese
2 Tbs water
1/4 tsp. salt
1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro

Combine the butter, onion, rice, brother and 3/4 cup water in a 2-quart microwavable dish. Cover with plastic wrap, and vent.

Microwave on high for 15 min. Stir in remaining 3/4 cup water, cover and microwave on high for 5 minutes.

Stir green chiles and chicken into rice and let stand for 5 min. Uncover and stir in cheese, 2 TBS water, salt and cilantro.

Source: Cooking Light

Keep your baking soda handy!!!

So tonight I was preparing these yummy Chicken-Pepper Tostadas for dinner. Everything was going just swimmingly. Veggies and chicken were sauteed and I was toasting the corn tortillas under the broiler as directed... and then bam! The tostadas caught on fire...guess my broiler was set a little to high! Luckily I have baking soda handy, and after tossing a handful at the flames, my tortillas were extinguished. However, they were not salvageable. So I tossed a few more in the toaster, and voila! Crunchy little tortillas, flame-free!

Chicken-Pepper Tostadas

4 6 in. corn tortillas
cooking spray
12 oz. frozen pepper stir-fry
12 oz. chicken breast tenders, chopped
2 1/2 tsp. Mexican seasoning
1/2 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. crushed red pepper
1 cup shredded reduced fat sharp cheddar cheese

Preheat broiler. Place tortillas on baking sheet; lightly coat each tortilla with cooking spray. Broil 4 to 5 minutes or until crisp (or in my case, until your oven catches fire).

Place pepper stir-fry in a colander and rinse under cold water until thawed. Drain and pat dry.
Coat a large skilled with cooking spray; place over medium-high heat. Add peppers and saute for 4 min. Add chicken and seasonings and saute until done.

Top each tortilla with 1/2 cup of chicken mixture and 1/4 cup cheese. Broil for 1 minute or until cheese melts. (or microwave for a few seconds if your oven is now covered in baking soda.)

Source: Cooking Light

Faster than delivery!

This past Sunday, my friend Sara and I made plans to watch the MTV Movie Awards. We could basically care less about the awards, we were watching just to see the teaser trailer of the next movie in the Twilight saga, called New Moon. The trailer, complete with vampires, werewolves, and hot steamy kisses was awesome! Now we just have to wait until November to see the movie...

So for dinner I tried out another Cooking Light Superfast Supper recipe, and it was delish!

Chicken-Pesto Pizza

1 10oz. can refrigerated pizza dough (I used thin crust)

1 lb. chicken breast tenderloins, chopped

1 tsp. Italian seasoning

3 Tbs. Commercial pesto

2 Cups shredded skim mozzarella cheese

Preheat oven to 400. Unroll dough onto a greased cookie sheet and bake for 9 minutes.

Sprinkle chicken with Italian seasoning and saute in a skillet over medium-high heat until done.

Spread pesto over baked crust, top with cooked chicken, and sprinkle with cheese. Bake for an additional 5 minutes, or until cheese is melted and bubbly.

No-Cook Fast Supper

My new favorite cook book is the Cooking Light Super Fast Suppers cookbook. I'm sure you will soon come to find a lot of recipes from this cookbook on my blog, as everything is fast, healthy, and looks delicious.

The first recipe I tried came out great, and will be a staple for summer time eating in our house.

Crunchy Picante Salad

6 cups preshredded lettuce
5 cups baked tortilla chips (broken in to bite-sized pizza)
1 cup pincante sauce
1/2 cup shredded low fat cheddar cheese
1 (15 oz.) can pinto beans, rinsed and drained
1 (2.25 oz.) can sliced ripe olives, drained
1 ripe avocado, peeled and chopped
1 large lime, quartered
1/2 cup reduced fat sour cream
1/2 cup chopped fresh cilantro

Place 1.5 cups of lettuce on each of 4 plates; top evenly with chips. Spoon picante sauce evenly over chips; top evenly with cheese, beans, olives, and avocado. Squeeze lime quarter over each salad. Top each salad with 2 tablespoons of sour cream and cilantro.

Source: Cooking Light

Back in the day...

Back in the day of wonderful college years... I spent a summer waitressing at a wonderful little Mexican restaurant called Tortilla Flat. Unfortunately, the restaurant is no longer there, but the delicious food lives on! My favorite dish on the menu was Chipotle Chicken with Spinach in Cream Sauce served over rice. While this recipe isn't exactly how it was made at the restaurant, it tastes almost identical! It is also much faster to make this way, and is a quick and healthy dinner.

1 (7 ounce) can chipotle peppers in adobo sauce
2 tablespoons reduced-fat sour cream
4 skinless, boneless chicken breasts 1 cup reduced-fat sour cream
10 ounces baby spinach, rinsed
1/2 cup chicken broth
salt to taste

Combine chopped chile peppers with 2 tablespoons sour cream. Mix together and spread mixture over chicken breasts. Sprinkle lightly with salt to taste, cover and marinate in refrigerator for at least 2 hours.

Place marinated chicken in an ungreased 9x13 inch baking dish and broil for about 5 minutes (rack should be about 6 inches from the top.) Pour 1 cup sour cream around edges of chicken and turn over chicken breasts. Broil for an additional 5 minutes. Sour cream should be lightly brown on the edges. Move breasts into a separate dish and cover to keep warm. Set aside.

Pour leftover broiled sour cream into a medium saucepan over high heat. Add spinach, broth and salt to taste. Boil for about 1 minute until all melted and mixed together. Pour mixture over chicken breasts and serve.

Serve over Spanish rice if desired.

Source: Allrecipes.com

Tag!!! I'm it!!!

I was recently tagged by Allie of Zimmerman Shenanigans to complete this fun little questionarrie....

8 Things I'm Looking Forward To:

1. Dancing at my wedding
2. Going on another cruise with the girls
3. Summer flowers blooming in my yard
4. Hanging out at the Five Seasons pool w/ my new membership
5. Having a fun long weekend when Andrea comes to visit in June
6. Making strawberry shortcakes with the 7 lbs of strawberries I picked today w/Ali and Lisa
7. Posting my pile of recipes and photos I have save up, but have been slacking!
8. All of the fun summer movies, concerts, and events that Indy has to offer

8 Things I Did Yesterday:

1. Went to Work
2. Had our weekly Friday lunch at El Rodeo w/ my coworker Beth
3. Got a phone call that something was available that hadn't been before, and it made my day!
4. Drank a lot of delicious German beer. (Spaten Lager)
5. Had some brat n' kraut balls in the bier garten at the Rathskeller
6. Listened to the zee most beee-U-tee-ful music in dee vurld (aka Polka Boy)
7. Saw some very daring fashion choices.
8. Spent what felt like hours driving around looking for parking downtown.

8 Things I Would Like to Do:

1. Repaint the house
2. Fisnish the basement (very doubtful)
3. Take a cruise around the Greek Isles
4. Spend more time in Europe and Great Britain
5. Buy a boat
6. Buy a lakehouse for my boat
7. Put a pool in at the lakehouse
8. Build a swim up tiki bar in my pool

8 Shows I watch:

1. Brothers & Sisters
2. Desperate Housewives
3. 90210
4. One Tree Hill
5. Grey's Anatomy
6. Private Practice
7. How I Met Your Mother
8. Medium

Now I tag the following people:

1. Sara Burns http://kringlebertfishtibuns.blogspot.com/
2. Julie Albert http://the-albert-family.blogspot.com/?zx=4c367dbcde059311
3. Becca Carpenter http://awkward-turtles.blogspot.com/
4. Jen Saxe http://littlesttreehugger.blogspot.com/
5. Michelle Shorter http://adamandmichelleshorter.blogspot.com/

Dos baked potatoes!

I love twice baked potatoes, but they aren't always the healthiest. This recipe provides just enough cheesy creaminess, but also throws in some healthier ingredients. These were a great side dish to baked fish.

Twice Baked Mexican Potatoes

3 medium baked potatoes
1/2 cup canned black beans
1 tsp taco seasoning mix
3 TBS fat-free creamer
1/4 cup low fat sour cream
1/4 cup 2% shredded cheddar cheese
1/2 cup diced tomato
1/4 cup diced onion
salt & pepper to taste

Bake potatoes (whatever method you prefer). Scoop out inside of potatoes into a large bowl. Mash with a fork to break up potatoes. Add all other ingredients and mix to combine. Scoop mixture back into potato skins and bake at 375 degrees for 15 minutes.

Source: adapted from Hungry Girl