Recipe Week – Day 7 – Chicken Ranch Skewers

It is the last day of my first ever Recipe Week! I think I will bring this back every few months so that I can compile a bunch of recipes at one time, while blogging about school-related topics on a more regular basis. Today’s recipe was made earlier this summer and it was so yummy. Marinating the chicken in the ranch mixture the day before worked well, too! The recipe came from this blog.

Chicken Ranch Skewers
yields 6 skewers

Ingredients:
1/2 cup Hidden Valley Organic Ranch (I just used the ranch dry seasoning mixed with mayonnaise and milk instead of the dressing from the bottle!)
​2 TBSP extra virgin olive oil
1 TBSP fresh parsley, finley chopped
1 TBSP fresh chives, finely chopped
salt and pepper, to taste
4 chicken breast, boneless and skinless

Directions:
First soak 8-10 skewers for at least 15 minutes. I always soak a couple of extra skewers in case a few split or break.
Then slice four boneless, skinless chicken breast.
In a medium size bowl add the sliced chicken breast, 1/2 cup of Hidden Valley Organic Ranch, 2 TBPS extra virgin olive oil, 1 TBSP of fresh parsley finely chopped, 1 TBPS fresh chives finely, and salt and pepper to taste.
Let all those flavors marinade while you are preheating the grill. Now you are ready to put the chicken on the soaked skewers.
Add 2-3 slices of chicken on each skewer. Don’t forget to oil your grates before placing your skewers on to cook.
Cook on medium to medium high heat until the internal temperature of the chicken reaches 165 degrees ( about 20 minutes). Turn the chicken occasionally with tongs to evenly brown both sides.

*This recipe was straight from her blog. I didn’t make them on the grill, instead I baked them in the oven at 350 degrees for about 20 minutes.

Recipe Week – Day 6 – Crockpot Pork Chops

This next recipe is something I made up while using items I had in my fridge and pantry! It is super simple and quick to make. You can alter the veggies used, but here is what I use:

Ingredients:

Boneless pork chops (about 6-8, depends on how many people you’re serving), thawed if they had been frozen
Large can of green beans
Large can of whole potatoes
Large can of diced tomatoes (or can use whole)
Salt and pepper to taste

The amounts are not specific because sometimes I use more potatoes, or less green beans , it really depends on what is in the pantry. The recipe will be very juicy with the juice from the tomatoes. It is yummy to use a piece of bread to get all of the juices off your plate!

Directions:
Place pork chops in bottom of crock pot. Salt and pepper them.
Drain potatoes and add to the pot.
Drain green beans and add to the pot.
Do not drain tomatoes — put the whole can in the pot, undrained.
Cover and cook for 3 hours on high or 6 hours on low. Times are approximate; if you are cooking for less time, just be sure to check the inside of the pork chops and there is no pink. This is a great recipe to make in the morning and come home to after work! Enjoy.

Recipe Week – Day 5 – Turkey Spinach Sliders

Sorry for forgetting to post the Day 5 recipe yesterday! I was super busy with the kids I nanny for and we went to a cupcake place to decorate our own cupcakes! They loved it. I need to review the shop in Yelp!

I made these turkey burgers about a week ago or so. They were so delicious! The recipe made 8 mini burgers for us, so we ate leftovers all week. The burgers are sliders, so keep in mind they are meant to be smaller than an actual burger. It took a while to cook each one, too, even though they are small, because I made them thick. The recipe says it makes 12. We enjoyed them with a little red onion on a bun, but lettuce would be good too. I don’t care for pickles. I even used fresh garlic for the first time while making this recipe! It wasn’t as tough as I thought, Kayla would be proud of me!

Turkey Spinach Sliders
Bon Appétit | July 2013
by Sue Li

yield: Makes 4 servings
active time: 30 minutes
total time: 30 minutes

Ingredients:

1/2 bunch flat-leaf spinach, thick stems removed, leaves chopped (about 4 cups)
4 scallions, thinly sliced
1 garlic clove, finely chopped
1 pound ground turkey
3/4 teaspoon ground cumin
Kosher salt, freshly ground pepper
3 tablespoons olive oil
12 slider buns or small dinner rolls, split, lightly toasted (for serving)
Mayonnaise, sliced red onion, and pickle slices (for serving)
preparation

Combine spinach, scallions, garlic, turkey, and cumin in a medium bowl; season with salt and pepper. Using a fork, mix gently just to combine. Form turkey mixture into twelve 1/2″-thick patties.

Heat oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Working in 2 batches, cook patties until golden brown and cooked through (resist the temptation to press down on patties with your spatula while cooking), about 5 minutes per side. Transfer to a plate.

Serve turkey-spinach patties on buns with mayonnaise, onion, and pickles.

DO AHEAD: Patties can be formed 1 day ahead. Cover and chill. Bring to room temperature before cooking.

Recipe Week – Day 4 – Raspberry Vanilla Pops

Here is a delicious and easy recipe for making raspberry-vanilla popsicles! The recipe was found through the Epicurious app.
*Source Information
From Perfect Pops: The 50 Best Classic & Cool Treats by Charity Ferreira. Text copyright © 2011 by Charity Ferreira

Ingredients:
1 1/2 cups frozen raspberries, plus 4 raspberries, halved (optional)
5 tablespoons sugar
1 1/2 cups vanilla low-fat or whole-milk yogurt

Directions:
In a blender, purée the 1 1/2 cups raspberries, the sugar, and 1/2 cup yogurt until smooth and thick.

Divide about half of the raspberry mixture equally among ice pop molds. Divide the remaining 1 cup yogurt among the molds. Slide in the halved raspberries (if using). Follow with the remaining raspberry mixture and insert sticks. Freeze until firm, at least 6 hours or up to 1 week.

To unmold the pops, run hot water over the outsides of the molds for a few seconds, then gently pull the sticks.

I used the recipe loosely – I used Greek vanilla yogurt instead and added some blueberries with the raspberries. I completely forgot to add the sugar when I blended them with the yogurt, so that was omitted from my recipe! Oops! Oh well, it made for less calories in the end (one of my pops was about 50 calories). I personally do not think there was enough puree mixture for 8 pops (I was only making 6 and I had to add a lot of yogurt to fill up the molds), so I would suggest making a larger recipe of the popsicle “batter” and play around with the amounts for your popsicle molds. My photos do not match the ones on Epicurious, and I also did not use the halved raspberries to make the pops look fancy in the middle layer, but it was still fun to make them! 🍦

Recipe Week – Day 3 – Chicken and Cheese Sliders

Chicken and Cheese Sliders
Makes 4 servings

Ingredients:
Vegetable oil cooking spray
1 green bell pepper, chopped
1/2 medium red onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, chopped
1 bone-in skinless chicken breast (about 6 ounces)
1/2 cup store-bought barbecue sauce
1/4 can (7 ounces) chipotle peppers in adobo sauce
8 small whole-wheat buns (such as Pepperidge Farm Wheat Sliders)
1/2 cup grated aged cheddar
8 cherry tomatoes, sliced
2 cups sprouts (such as arugula or broccoli)

Directions:
Coat a medium saucepan with cooking spray. Cook bell pepper, onion and garlic in pan over medium heat, stirring, 3 minutes. Add chicken, barbecue sauce, chipotles and 1/4 cup water; cover and simmer until chicken reaches an internal temperature of 165°F, 25 to 30 minutes. Remove chicken from sauce; place on a plate to cool for 5 minutes. Use a fork to pull meat off bone and shred; return meat to pan and toss to coat with sauce. Heat oven to 400°F. Open buns and set on a baking sheet covered with foil. Distribute chicken evenly among bottom half of each bun (about 2 tablespoons per bun); top each with 2 tablespoons cheese. Bake until cheese melts and bubbles, 4 to 5 minutes. Top with tomatoes, sprouts and bun cap; serve immediately.

Today’s recipe is from Epicurious.com again! I have made this recipe three times and each time it tastes better and better. It is a true crowd pleaser – would be great for parties and dinners! The only things I did differently today were I used raw chicken tenders instead of breasts (cook time is faster and meat is easier to shred) and sliced yellow American cheese instead of shredded cheddar. Feel free to make the recipe your own for your tastes. You can add the tomatoes and sprouts if you wish, I tend to just use lettuce, or today I used spinach and arugula that was in the fridge. Also, watch out for the chipotle peppers – they are spicy! Enjoy!

Recipe Week – Day 2 – Raspberry Nectarine Crisp

Nectarine-Raspberry Crisp with Spiced-Oatmeal Crumb Topping

Here is the link to today’s Recipe Week recipe! It is from an app called Epicurious, and if you love to cook, you should download it for free!

Here is the recipe from the Epicurious app:

This vibrantly colored crisp is the perfect combination of sweet, tart, and spicy flavors.

Topping:
3/4 cup all purpose flour
3/4 cup quick-cooking oats
1/4 cup sugar
1/4 cup dark brown sugar
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/8 cardamom ground cardamom
6 tablespoons unsalted butter

Fruit Mixture:
2 lbs (about 5 cups) nectarines, halved, pitted, and sliced into small pieces
1 and one half pint container fresh raspberries
1/4 cup sugar
2 tablespoons cornstarch

Vanilla ice cream, if desired

Directions:
Mix flour, oats, sugar, brown sugar, cinnamon, salt, and cardamom in medium bowl. Add melted butter and rub in with fingertips until mixture comes together in small clumps. DO AHEAD: Can be made 1 day ahead. Cover and refrigerate.

Position rack in center of oven and preheat to 375°F. Butter 11x7x2-inch glass baking dish. Combine nectarines, raspberries, sugar, and cornstarch in large bowl; toss to blend. Transfer mixture to prepared baking dish. Sprinkle topping evenly over fruit. Bake until fruit mixture is bubbling thickly and topping is golden brown, about 50 minutes. Cool 20 minutes. Serve warm with vanilla ice cream.

See attached photo for the delicious dish… And be prepared to go to the store or farmer’s market for nectarines asap because you will want to make it! The only change I made was using light instead of dark brown sugar because it’s what I had in the pantry. I also don’t measure the fruit, I just cut four large nectarines for the recipe and use a large box of raspberries from the store. You could probably substitute peaches for the nectarines if you like, and I have also added blueberries in the past.

Recipe Week – Day 1 – Corn Salsa

I have decided that this will be Recipe Week on my blog!!! *cue theme song* 🎶 I will post 7 recipes that I have made recently, whether for the first time or just an old favorite of mine. Most of the time I will have photos, but sometimes my hands are messy and I just can’t get good before and after photos – well, for the “after” photos, sometimes the food is so good it disappears quickly!

For our Monday recipe of Recipe Week, I will be sharing a corn salsa recipe. It is great for summer parties, and although I have made it only once so far, everyone asked for the recipe, it was so tasty! So if you were at that party and are reading this…. Sorry I am giving you the recipe two months later! I need to thank my good friend Hannah for giving me the recipe after she brought it to my Memorial Day cookout. Thanks Hannah!

Ingredients:
1 can drained corn kernels
1 can drained diced tomatos (or one fresh diced tomato)
1 can drained and rinsed black beans
1/2 diced red onion
2-3 tbsps chopped fresh cilantro
1 tbsp lime juice (or 1/2 a fresh squeezed lime)
2 tsps of cumin
1/2 tsp chili powder
1/8 tsp cayenne pepper
salt and pepper to taste

Directions:
Throw the vegetable and cilantro in first, stir, the add spices, stir, then lime juice last and stir one more time.

This recipe was so fast and easy, and I barely had to buy anything at the store since I had most of it at home! I love cooking with cumin and cayenne pepper, and my vegetarian chili recipe from my Super Bowl post on the blog uses similar spices. In the corn salsa, I opted for the diced tomatoes and the fresh lime. As for the cilantro, I used fresh but I did not measure it. I just chopped a bunch and threw it in, adding more as needed.

Enjoy, and let me know how you like the corn salsa! 🌽🍅