Granola and Fresh Fruit Topped Greek Yogurt

 

This is a great breakfast or perfect as a snack. I've never been a fan of yogurt, but I am a fan of Greek Yogurt. I use the non-fat, and it's packed with protein, and it's so healthy.

1/2 cup Greek style Yogurt
1 Tablespoon honey
Granola
Fresh Fruit

Mix yogurt and honey, mix well. Top with Granola and fresh fruit of your choice.

Rotisserie Chicken Enchiladas

 

This same recipe also works for making Toquitos, just roll about 2 Tablespoons onto a corn tortilla, spread a little olive oil across them all, and sprinkle with some Kosher Salt and bake them at 425 for 20-25 minutes. Fantastic either way!

Rotisserie Chicken Enchiladas
2 cups shredded rotisserie chicken meat
1 28 oz can green enchilada sauce(red works too, we just prefer the green)
1 1/2 cups shredded pepper jack cheese or any other cheese you like here
1/2 cup non fat Greek yogurt(my favorite is FAGE Total 0% from Costco)
Juice from 1 lime
12 white corn tortillas
1/2 cup chopped green onions
1 large white onion, sliced
1 Tablespoon cumin
1 teaspoon olive oil
Olive oil cooking spray

Directions
In a medium bowl add shredded chicken, half the cheese, yogurt, lime juice, and set aside.
In a pan, heat the olive oil and add sliced white onion and cumin. Cook until tender. Add to shredded chicken mix, and mix well.

In a 9 x 13" baking dish, spread 1/2 cup green enchilada sauce evenly.

To keep the tortillas flexible, heat and fill one at a time. Heat a non-stick pan over medium-high heat. Spray both sides of tortilla with Olive oil cooking spray and heat in pan about 1 minutes each side.

Spread 1 teaspoon enchilada sauce down center of tortilla, and add 1 Tablespoon chicken mix down the center as well. Roll, and place seam side down in the baking dish. Repeat with each additional tortilla.

Using the remaining enchilada sauce, ladle over all the tortillas getting it covered as well as you can. Sprinkle with remaining cheese and green onions.

Bake at 350 degrees for 40 minutes. Serve with Sour Cream, Guacamole, Spanish Rice, or whatever you like.

Banana Cream Pie

 

 

This couldn't be easier to make, the hardest part is waiting an hour before you can devour it!

Banana Cream Pie

Ingredients
4 cups heavy cream, divided
1 3.5oz box instant banana pudding
1 3.4 oz box instant vanilla pudding
3 bananas sliced
1 9-inch Graham Cracker Crust, baked(recipe follows)

Directions
In the bowl of an electric mixer, whip 3 cups heavy cream till it starts to thicken. With the mixer still mixing, add banana and vanilla pudding and mix until thoroughly mixed and completely thickened.

Layer, Graham Cracker Crust, banana slices, half the cream mixture, bananas and the other half of the cream mixture.

Whip 1 cup cream till stiff peaks form. Spread or pipe onto top of pie, covering completely. Refrigerate 1 hour before serving. Can sprinkle with Graham Cracker crumbs and add banana slices just before serving.

Graham Cracker Crust
1 1/2 cups Graham Cracker crumbs
1/3 cup butter, melted
3 Tablespoons sugar

Mix in a small bowl till mixed well, and press firmly into the bottom and sides of a 9" pie plate. Bake for 10 minutes in a 350 degree oven.

Whole Wheat Cheese Crackers

 

These are very similar in taste to the Goldfish Crackers that you can buy from the store. To get that cracker crunchiness to them, they have to be rolled very thin. Either Sharp or Extra Sharp Cheddar works best with these.
My kids love and miss the packaged gold fish crackers. I refuse to buy them because of their ingredients, and so they were THRILLED that I made these. I chose to make them into triangles as you can see, but no matter the shape, they will taste the same. This recipe makes a little over 100 triangles. This was a fun treat for my kids, and next time I make them, I'll double the batch and keep them in an airtight container.

Whole Wheat Cheese Crackers
Yield: About 100 crackers

6 ounces (1 1/2 cups coarsely grated) sharp cheddar
4 tablespoons butter
1/2 cup whole wheat flour
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
1/8 teaspoon onion powder
1/8 teaspoon salt

Preheat oven to 350°F. Combine all ingredients in a food processor, and whir until the dough forms into a ball, about two minutes.

Roll out dough on a lightly floured surface(parchment works great), with a lightly floured rolling pin until very thin(this will help them crisp). Transfer dough to an ungreased baking sheet, and score, using a pizza cutter or any tool you may have. If using a small cookie cutter, cut the shapes and then place on baking dish, re-roll dough and repeat. Bake 12-15 minutes or until slightly browned on the edges. Place baking dish on wire rack to cool. Once cooled, carefully break apart the crackers, if scored.



On a lightly floured surface, using a lightly floured rolling pin, roll the dough out 1/8-inch thick. Form shapes with a cookie cutter, dipping it in flour from time to time to ensure a clean cut. Gently transfer crackers to an ungreased (though mine were parchment-lined, because they are in despicable shape) cookie sheet with a 1/2 inch between them. Bake the crackers on the middle rack for 12 to 15 minutes, or until they are barely browned at the edges. Remove from the oven and set the cookie sheet on a rack to cool. Store in airtight container.

Homemade Chicken Nuggets(Baked)

 

I don't know about your kids, but my kids LOVE Chicken Nuggets. Not only do they taste MUCH better than the pre-packaged ones, they are healthier and have that awesome crispiness to them. This is a recipe I've been meaning to post forever, but never got around to it. Gwen, you're keeping me going here, thanks. It is a recipe that is very versatile. In place of Crispy Rice cereal, I've used bread crumbs or Panko Bread Crumbs, and I always change the seasonings each time I make them. I've added Parmesan Cheese, Italian Seasoning, Garlic Powder, Cajun Seasoning, Montreal Chicken Seasoning and some of the same seasonings I use to flavor ground beef for burgers, and of course just plain.

Homemade Chicken Nuggets
3/4 cups all-purpose flour(sometimes I use whole wheat)
coarse salt and ground pepper
3 large eggs, lightly beaten
4 cups crispy rice cereal (bread and Panko crumbs work also, or a combination)
2 Tablespoons olive oil
1 1/2 pound chicken, cut into small pieces for nuggets (I always use thighs)

Defrost your chicken, cut into small pieces for nuggets. You will need three bowls(I use pie plates) and a cookie sheet(prepare with non-stick spray). Put the crispy rice cereal, olive oil and any seasonings if you like(Parmesan Cheese, Italian Seasoning, Garlic Powder, Cajun Seasoning, Montreal Chicken Seasoning or some of the same seasonings you use to flavor ground beef for burgers, or just leave them plain), in a blender, blend till it's crushed into very small pieces. Pour into one bowl. Put your beaten eggs in another bowl and flour with salt and pepper into another bowl. Do this assembly-line-style. Start by dipping your chicken into the flour till it's coated all over, then into the egg making sure it covers the entire chicken, then into the crispy rice mix, then onto your pan. I don't like my hands to get too thick and gooey, so I use one hand for the wet and the other for the dry ingredients. Bake at 400 degrees for 30-35 minutes.

Dip into whatever dips you like(my kids like ketchup, but I like BBQ sauce, or honey mustard too. I like to serve cut up fresh carrots, cucumbers, sugar snap peas, green beans, or other fresh veggies as well with this meal. Enjoy.

Baked Creamy Chicken Toquitos

My sister, Julie made these Baked Creamy Chicken Toquitos, and I knew I had to serve these to my family. So, finally, after a few weeks I was able to get around to making these. I used the flour tortillas like my sister did, the first time, and then I used the corn tortillas the second time. When Julie made them, she used Cream Cheese like the recipe said, but I used Greek Yogurt as a substitute when I made them. I was pretty worried and ready to make a run to the store for some cream cheese if it didn't work. I didn't have to worry.

Baked Creamy Chicken Taquitos

1/3 C (3 oz) cream cheese(or Greek Yogurt, plain)
1/4 C green salsa
1T fresh lime juice
1/2 t cumin
1 t chili powder
1/2 t onion powder
1/4 t granulated garlic, or garlic powder
3 T chopped cilantro
2 T sliced green onions
2 C shredded cooked chicken
1 C grated pepperjack cheese

small corn tortillas (and actually, flour ones are really good as well)
kosher salt
cooking spray

Heat oven to 425. Line a baking sheet with foil and lightly coat with cooking spray.

Heat cream cheese in the microwave for about 20-30 seconds so it’s soft and easy to stir. Add green salsa, lime juice, cumin, chili powder, onion powder and granulated garlic. Stir to combine and then add cilantro and green onions. Add chicken and cheese and combine well.

You can prepare up to this step ahead of time. Just keep the mixture in the fridge.

Work with a few tortillas at a time and heat in the microwave until they are soft enough to roll without cracking. It helps to place them between damp paper towels. Usually 20-30 seconds will do it. If you find yours are cracking when you roll them or are coming unrolled right away, just try heating them longer and try the paper towel thing.

Place 2-3 T of chicken mixture on the lower third of a tortilla, keeping it about 1/2 inch from the edges.


Then roll it up as tight as you can.


Place seam side down on the baking sheet. Lay all of the taquitos on the baking sheet and make sure they are not touching each other. Spray the tops lightly with cooking spray or an oil mister and sprinkle some kosher salt on top.


Place pan in oven and bake for 15-20 minutes or until crisp and the ends start to get golden brown.

The ones pictured below are actually flour tortillas- which I found out I like just as well (maybe even better!) than corn ones.


Dip ‘em in salsa, sour cream, guacamole, dressing.

Makes 12-16