Green Leafy Lettuce Salad with Avocado and Parmesan

I'd never before tried green leafy lettuce so figured it was about time that I did. After buying it I thought about what might go well with this gorgeous head of red and green lettuce, and the following recipe is what I came up with.

Salad Before Dressing Added

Ingredients

• 1/2 head of green leafy lettuce washed dried and ripped into bite size pieces
• 1 avocado peeled, pitted, and cut into chunks
• lemon juice
• garlic powder
• 2 Tbs. of roasted red peppers
• 4 thinly sliced red onion slices
• Baby Parmesan cheese thinly sliced (as little or as much as you like)
• 1/8 cup of sunflower seeds
• Salad dressing (I used Renee's Sweet Onion Vinaigrette) 

 Instructions 

Tear up your lettuce

Prepare the avocado

Toss and coat with lemon juice and garlic powder

Add avocado to the lettuce and gently toss

Add the roasted red peppers and gently toss

Add the sliced red onions

I use a vegetable peeler for my parmesan 

Add the parmesan cheese and toss gently

Just before you're ready to eat add your salad dressing and sunflower seeds.
Serve and ENJOY!

Hearty Minestrone Soup

Hearty Minestrone Soup

A very hearty and fulfilling minestrone soup. My family went back for seconds and thirds. Serve this with an Italian bread or buns and make it a meal.

Ingredients

• 2 Tbs of olive oil
• 1 large carrot sliced thin
• 2 ribs of celery chopped
• 1 large onion diced
• 4 garlic cloves minced
• 8 cups of vegetable broth (2 boxes)
• 1 can of stewed tomatoes
• 4 Tbs. of tomato paste
• 3 cups of water
• 1 tsp. of basil 
• 1 tsp. of oregano
• 1 tsp of thyme 
• fresh ground pepper
• 2 medium potatoes washed and cubed
• 1 can of kidney beans rinsed and drained
• 2 cups of shredded cabbage
• 1 cup of uncooked elbow macaroni (or pasta of your choice)

Instructions 

1. In a large stock pot heat the olive oil over medium heat.
2. Add the carrots, celery, onions, and garlic to the pot and stir fry until onions are opaque. 
3. Next you want to add the vegetable broth, stewed tomatoes, tomato paste and water.
4. For the spices you can add more to your own taste.
5. Stir and bring to a boil.
6. Next add the potatoes, kidney beans and shredded cabbage.
7. Turn the heat down to medium - low and continue to cook until cabbage and potatoes are cooked.
8. While the soup is cooking boil the uncooked pasta until it is almost cooked.
9. Drain and add the pasta to the soup.
10. Let everything simmer for twenty minutes or more.
11. Serve when ready and ENJOY!

Baked Salmon Fillets in a Creamy Garlic Sauce

An easy to follow recipe using a garlic mayonnaise sauce that will delight your taste buds.

I'm always looking for new ways to prepare fish in a way that my family will enjoy it. Because we are all huge fans of garlic I wanted to make a sauce that would compliment the salmon and satisfy everyone's pallet.

To serve along side the salmon I made two salads; potato and a spring mix.

Baked Salmon Fillets In A Creamy Garlic Sauce

Photo by Susan Zutautas

Ingredients for four servings but will serve six

• 3 12 ounce salmon fillets
• 3 garlic cloves
• 2 Tbs. of lemon juice
• 2 Tbs. of Dijon mustard
• 1/2 cup of mayonnaise
• 1 tsp. of dried tarragon leaves

Preparing the Garlic Sauce

1. Either peel and press or grate the garlic into a small bowl.
2. Add the lemon juice, mustard, mayo, tarragon whisking all together.  

Preparing the Salmon Fillets

1. Preheat your oven to 375 F setting the rack in the center of the oven.
2. Cover the bottom of a shallow pan with aluminum foil and place the salmon skin down onto the pan.
3. Spoon the garlic sauce over the salmon covering the fish as best as you can.
4. Place into the oven and cook for 18 min. or until the salmon is light pink and you can flake it with a fork.
5. Serve and ENJOY!

Chicken Chipotle Hot Sauce Fajitas

My family couldn't get enough of these delicious fajitas I made for dinner. The thing I did differently than ever before was to marinate the boneless chicken breast meat in a lemon, olive oil, and chipotle hot sauce before cooking it. It gave the chicken just the right spicy kick I was looking for.

Chicken Chipotle Fajitas served with a side of rice.

Ingredients for Marinade

• 5 skinless boneless chicken breasts
• ground cumin
• cilantro flakes  
• 1/8 cup of lemon juice
• 1/4 cup of extra virgin olive oil
• 1/4 cup of chipotle hot sauce

Instructions

• Slice the chicken breasts into strips and set in a dish for marinating. 
• Season the chicken with cumin and cilantro flakes coating well.
• Add the lemon juice and olive oil and gently toss.
• Coat the chicken with the chipotle hot sauce (you can use less or more depending on your taste) Cover and set in the fridge for at least 2 hours.

While the chicken is marinating I like to get all of my other ingredients ready to go.

Ingredients

Guacamole & Fajita Fixings

• 1 large green pepper sliced
• 1/2 of a very large sweet white onion sliced thick
• 2 tomatoes chopped
• 1/4 head of iceberg or romaine lettuce chopped 
• 2 cups of cheddar cheese grated
• 10 large flour tortillas  

Guacamole 

For the guacamole I mashed 1 large avocado with 1/4 cup of sweet red onion together with lemon juice, cilantro, and ground cumin.

  

Instruction for cooking the chicken

Chicken, onions and green peppers

• When you're ready to cook heat a wok or large frying pan and add the chicken with all the marinade and stir fry until cooked. 
• Push the chicken up the side of the wok and add the onion slices. Cook for 3 minutes and then add the green pepper slices. Cook for 3 min or more if you like your green peppers cooked longer. 

Construct your fajitas or have everyone make their own. Serve with a side of sour cream, more hot sauce and or salsa. ENJOY!

Bufalo chilpotle

Pork Chops Baked With Apples and Sweet Potatoes

I found a recipe today while looking for a new way to cook pork chops. I adapted it slightly but wanted to share it here as my family devoured the entire thing. The original recipe can be found at "All Recipes"

Serve on a Platter or Dish up Separately 

The following recipe will feed six but fed 2 hungry men and myself.
Prep Time: 20 minutes
Cooking Time: 50 minutes
Total Time: 1 hour and 10 minutes

Ingredients

• 6 boneless pork loin chops
• Garlic powder to taste
• Fresh ground pepper
• Dried Rosemary (optional)
• 1 large yellow onion sliced thick
• 1 large sweet potato sliced thick
• 3 medium apples (I used MackIntosh) peeled, cored and sliced
• 3 good heaping tablespoons of light brown sugar

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F 
2. Lay out your pork chops in the bottom of a large casserole dish or baking pan.
3. Season with garlic, fresh ground pepper, and dried rosemary to suit your taste.
4. Top with onion slices, sweet potato, apple slices, and sprinkle all over with the brown sugar.
5. Cover and place into the oven for 50 minutes or until done depending on your oven.
6. Remove from the oven, serve and ENJOY!

For side dishes I made steamed fresh brussels and a side garden salad.

Garden Salad with Avocado 

How to Make a Taco Salad Bowl

Making your own edible taco salad bowls are very easy to make out of large tortilla shells. All you need to do this is an oven safe bowl. I use stainless steel bowls and find that they work perfectly. 

Instructions:

1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees F placing an oven rack in the center of the oven.
2. Place your bowl upside down and center the tortilla on the bowl.
3. Going around the bowl fold and apply pressure to each fold.
4. Place the bowl upside down directly on the oven rack and cook until the shell is a light colored brown. This should take approximately 10 to 15 minutes.
5. Remove from the oven and let the shell cool before removing from the bowl.
6. Fill with your taco salad, serve and ENJOY!  

Cabbage Stir Fry

I had some leftover cabbage from a soup I'd made and wanted to use it up in a stir fry dish I was making for dinner. I added cooked shrimp at the very end of the cooking time, but you could add any type of meat or leave as is.

Ingredients

• Oil to coat your wok or pan
• 3 ribs of celery chopped
• 1 large onion cut in 1/8th's (or chop the way you prefer)
• 1/4 cup of chicken broth
• 1/2 bag of frozen Italian vegetables or California mix (optional)
• 2 large garlic cloves sliced and chopped
• 1/4 of a large head of cabbage chopped 
• 2 red bell peppers cut and sliced
• pinch of salt (optional)
• cooked shrimp (optional)

Instructions 

1. Coat and heat oil in your wok or pan.
2. Add the celery and stir fry for 3 minutes.
3. Next add the onion for a few minutes and stir.
4. Add the chicken broth, frozen veggies, and sprinkle with the chopped garlic.
5. Stir and add the cabbage letting this all cook for 5 minutes. 
6. Add the red bell pepper along with the pinch of salt and let cook until everything is done the way you like it. Make sure to keep stirring the entire dish. 
7. If adding shrimp or other cooked meat, add at the same time as the peppers. 
8. Serve and ENJOY!

Chicken Fried Rice

I served this dish with chicken fried rice, but it could be eaten just by itself.