COOK: Asian Chicken Wraps & Salads

These wraps and salads are quick and easy to make, and are great if you meal prep lunches or dinners for the week.  I'm going to share my basic recipe below, and then list some of the different variations I like, I love recipes that can be easily personalized or changed for each person, or meal.

Spicy Peanut Sauce

Last night I wanted to keep things simple, I started by making a batch of my Spicy Peanut Dressing, it's called "spicy" but can be made as mild or as spicy as you want, I was feeling extra spicy yesterday and added about 2 Tablespoons of sriracha in addition to the Chili Garlic Sauce.

Tri-Color Coleslaw Mix

Next I put about 2 cups of coleslaw mix into a bowl.  I took the easy route by buying the premade mix at the store, but you can shred you own veggies if you prefer, I think next time I might try a broccoli slaw.

Chopped Cilantro

I chopped up about 1/3 cup or fresh cilantro to add to my coleslaw mix.  Until I was pregnant with my son cilantro tasted like soap, like it does for a lot of people, after he was born it changed and now I love it, but both the the kiddos can't stand it!  I think cilantro pairs wonderfully with the peanut dressing, but if you don't like it you can leave it out, or substitute parsley.  

I added two heaping spoonfuls of my peanut sauce to my coleslaw cilantro mixture and mixed well, always start with less sauce than you think you need, if you have too much it can get limp and soggy.  If you are meal prepping I suggest keeping your dressing and greens mixture separate until you are ready to eat.

Chicken Breast in Cast Iron

I usually prefer chicken in my salads and wraps, but you can add any protein you prefer, (tofu is great if you are doing salads, but tends to get smushed in wraps).  I kept the chicken simple as well, pounded it until it was uniform in height, seasoned it with salt and pepper and cooked it in my cast iron, then I sliced into into thin strips.

To finish I cut a lime into wedges and set out some chopped peanuts, along with large wrap tortillas.  

The above wraps can also be served as a salad, I had the leftovers as a salad today and it was just as yummy!

Different Variations:

Instead of the Spicy Peanut Sauce we also like to use Simple Truth Sweet Thai Chili Sauce from King Soopers, then I usually add pineapple to my wrap or salad.

Some of the different veggies I"ve used include: sliced radishes, edamame, bell peppers, green onions, and shaved brussel sprouts.

You can swap the coleslaw for spinach, romaine lettuce, or kale.

Let me know how you make your wraps and salads, I'm always looking to try new combinations.

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COOK: Quick and Easy Frittata

I've been working on eating fewer carbs, and more veggies, and while I love veggies, I was looking for new, or different ways to eat them.  One night laying in bed I was scrolling Pinterest looking for inspiration and saw a post about frittatas, as soon as I got up the next morning I was pulling things out of the fridge to see what I could come up with!   I've had lots of fun playing around with different combinations of veggies, meats, and cheeses, I've decided there really isn't a bad combination.

I think one thing that makes me love frittatas is the ability to throw in different of leftovers you have in the fridge; smoked asparagus, random bits of cheese, chopped up chicken from dinner the night before, herbs you forgot you had...  then simply add eggs.  If you want to take it to another level you can add toppings, pickled red onions, sour cream, everything bagel seasoning, have fun and experiment with different combinations and flavors.

Here are a few of my favorites (so far):

• Spinach, Tomato, and Feta
• Red Onion, Bell Pepper, and Cotija (Add salsa to serve)
• Bacon and Asparagus
• Broccoli and Cheddar 

Frittatas can be filling on their own, but if you want to have a fancier breakfast or brunch, they can be served with muffins (like my Strawberry Muffins or Sausage Cheddar Muffins), fresh fruit, crunchy tortilla chips and salsa, and of course coffee, tea, or juice.

Below is my recipe using a 10 inch cast iron skillet, but you can easily adjust it for a different size.  Also if you are adding less extras, you might want to add an extra egg or two so that you frittata isn't too thin and burns.  Also note that meats and veggies measurement is after cooking, this applies mostly to things like spinach that shrink to about 1 millionth of their size when cooked.

Quick & Easy Frittata

Serves 4-8

Ingredients:

6 Eggs 

2 Cups of Cooked Meats and/or Veggies 

1 Cup Cheese

Salt & Pepper

Preparation:

Wash and cut any veggies you are using, then quickly sauté in the same cast iron pan you will be using for your  Frittata.  

Turn oven on to broil, and move rack to center position.

Quickly scramble eggs with salt and pepper to taste, then add in cheese and give it a bit of a mix.

With burner on medium/medium low heat pour egg and cheese mixture over veggies and let cook for about 5-10 minutes until you can set that the edges have set.  Move  into over and let it finish under the broiler until the middle is completely cooked and edges are a bit golden.  Carefully (the handles on the cast iron get very hot, trust me!) remove pan from over, let cool only a minute or two, then cut and serve.  

Leftovers can be kept in the fridge for a few days, but I prefer to eat it fresh.

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COOK: Honey Mustard Slaw

 I'm a big fan of all different kinds of coleslaw, it can take on so many different flavors, you can vary the vegetables and fruits you use, it can be a side dish, or an topping for sandwiches and tacos, and it's a great way to get more servings of veggies and fruits into your diet (or trick kids and hubbys into eating more veggies!) 

I made this slaw as a topping for some barbecue pulled pork tacos we had for dinner, and kept it really simple, it had the perfect amount of tang and sweetness to go with the smoky pork, pickled red onions, and warm corn tortillas.  I used a bag of premade slaw mix (I was being really lazy!) but you can thinly chop your own cabbage and carrots if you prefer, you can even add in other veggies or fruits if you wanted, as long as it totals about 1 cup (or 8 ounces).

Honey Mustard Slaw

Serves about 6

Ingredients:

1 Cup (8 Ounces) Coleslaw Mix 

6 Tablespoons Dijon Mustard

1/3 Cup Mayo (I prefer Olive Oil Mayo)

4 Tablespoons Honey

1/2 teaspoon Black Pepper

Preparation:

In a small bowl mix together mustard, mayo, honey, and black pepper, taste and adjust seasoning if needed.  

Put coleslaw mix into a large bowl and pour dressing over it while gently tossing until it is all covered.  Cover and refrigerate at least 2 hours, mix well before serving.  

Leftovers can be stored in fridge for up to 5 days.

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COOK: Creamy Mustard Sauce

This easy pan sauce is so good on chicken, pork, potatoes, a spoon...

My best advice for any pan sauce, or really any meal, is to get all of your ingredients prepped before you start cooking.  When everything you need is chopped, measured, and ready in bowls and measuring cups right next to your cooking space it's easy to follow any directions, and you don't have to worry about anything overcooking or burning.

Notes: You can use any combination of mustards, just make sure they total 4 Tablespoons.
If you don't have heavy cream you can use half and half, but your sauce won't be as thick.
Chicken or Veggie stock can be used in place of the white wine, we keep Better Than Bullion in the fridge as a staple, it's great for sauces like this.

Creamy Mustard Sauce

Ingredients:

1 Shallot (Chopped)

1/3 Cup Dry White Wine 

2 Tablespoons Dijon Mustard

2 Tablespoons Stone Ground Mustard

1/2 Cup Heavy Cream

2 teaspoons Dried Tarragon

2 teaspoons Dried Parsley

Salt and Pepper

Preparation:

(I have always made this after first cooking meat in the same cast iron pan, if you are just making the sauce add a bit of olive oil to your pan to start.)

In a 10 inch cast iron pan cook shallots over medium heat until slightly translucent, about 2-3 minutes, then add in wine and mustard, using a whisk combine it all together, if you used the pan to cook meat make sure you scape up the yummy brown bits for extra flavor.  

Turn temperature down to low, add in heavy cream, tarragon, and parsley. continue to mix slowly until sauce starts to thicken, add salt and pepper to taste.  

Any leftover sauce can be refrigerated for several days.

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COOK: Carrot Cake Cookies

 I'm going to warn you right away, if you make these cookies you might end up eating the whole batch, they are so good!

I'm not a fan of cake, in fact I only make cake once a year for KC's birthday, since the kiddos were old enough to ask for a birthday dessert they have picked anything but cake!  That said, I do like a good carrot cake, and since March is my birthday month I've had carrot cake on my mind, so when the last Cookie Friday came up I decided to make Carrot Cake Cookies.  

The cookies aren't very sweet by themselves, the frosting isn't super sweet either, but you can leave off the frosting if you want to keep these a bit healthier.  You could also throw in some raisins if you want, or maybe some white chocolate chips, you can leave the nuts out, or add them on top of your frosting, if you make these with any variations leave me a comment and let me know how they turn out!

Carrot Cake Cookies

Makes about 42 cookies

Ingredients:

Cookies:

1 Cup Salted Butter

3/4 Cup Brown Sugar (Packed)

1/3 Cup Sugar

1 1/2 Tablespoon Vanilla Extract

2 Eggs

2 1/2 Cups Flour

1 teaspoon Baking Soda

2 1/2 teaspoons Ground Cinnamon

1 teaspoon Ground Nutmeg

1/2 teaspoon Ground Ginger

2 Cups Shredded Carrots (You can use a box grater, but I used my food processor)

1 Cup Walnuts (Pecans are traditional but I prefer walnuts)

Frosting:

4 Ounces Cream Cheese

1/4 Cup Salted Butter

3/4 Cup Powdered Sugar

1 teaspoon Vanilla Extract

Preparation:

For the cookies:

Set oven to 350 degrees, and line cookie sheets with either parchment paper or a silicone mat (I use these cookie sheets and these silicone mats).

In a large bowl or the bowl of your stand mixer cream butter until fluffy, then add in both sugars and mix on medium/high for about 2 minutes.  Add in vanilla and eggs and mix until combined.

In another bowl whisk together flour, baking soda, cinnamon, nutmeg, and ginger.  

Slowly add dry ingredients into wet mixture while mixer is on low.  Mix until everything is incorporated.  Add in carrots and nuts and mix.

Using a 1 1/2 Tablespoon cookie scoop (or a soup spoon) drop balls onto prepared cookie sheet about 1 1/2 inches apart.  Bake for about 12 minutes, bottoms should be slightly brown.  Let cool about 5 minutes before moving to a cooling rack.

For the frosting:

In a medium bowl ,with a handheld mixer, cream together cream cheese and butter.  On low speed add in vanilla and powdered sugar until incorporated, turn mixer up to medium high and mix another 2 minutes until frosting is smooth.  

When cookies have cooled completely frost using a small spatula, or you can use a piping bag and tip, I used a Wilton #32 Star Tip.

Store cookies in an air tight container up to two days, in the fridge up to a week (if they last that long!)

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COOK: Fajita/Taco Seasoning Recipe

Let's taco-bout quick and easy dinners, and ways to use the leftovers to create a new and different meal the next day.  Did I lose you all at "taco-bout"?   I know that was corny.   (Although corn is a great addition to a lot of these meals.)

I'll add my basic Fajita Seasoning recipe at the end of this post, (if you only want the recipe scroll to the bottom now.) but first I'd like to talk about some of the different ways you can use the seasoning in different ways, and how to transform the leftovers.

This seasoning is great on ground beef, steak, chicken, shrimp, fish, veggies, and even tofu crumbles!  If your kiddos are anything like mine "Taco Tuesday", on any day of the week, is one of their favorites.  Flour tortillas, corn tortillas, or taco shells, maybe even chips for nachos are the norm.  That said, what happens when everyone is bored of the same thing and you have either leftovers to use up, or want a quick meal?

KC taught me about Taco Grilled Cheese, why I had never thought of this, I don't know, I guess I'm lucky I found him.  This one is simple, butter your bread, put butter side down in your skillet or pan, add a slice of American Cheese, (the only reason I buy the cheese singles is for grilled cheese, or burgers in the summer time), add a bit of warmed up taco meat, top with a bit of grated cheddar cheese, add hot sauce if you want, then top with the other slice of bread, butter side up.  Flip until both sides are toasty and cheese is melted.  If you have some left over Green Chile from your Taco Night you can warm that and use as a dipping sauce.

One of my favorite ways to use up leftover fajita meat and veggies is to cook some pasta and make a quick cheese sauce, (If you are low on time, or energy make some boxed Mac and Cheese!) then add the meat and veggies, mix, top with leftover grated cheese, sour cream, or green chile sauce.  You could also do the same with rice, add in a can of black beans and some corn and you have a real feast!

If you want to get extra fancy you can make Enchiladas, my post with  homemade Enchilada Sauce is here, or you can find my recipe for Baked Chimichangas here.  We also like to make Empanadas, they are easy to freeze, and reheat easily in the microwave for lunches, I'll update the post with my Empanada Dough recipe, but you can also use my Flaky Pie Crust Recipe (omit the sugar) found here.

A few last notes, instead of using water with the Fajita/Taco Seasoning my Father-In-Law uses Pineapple Juice, while KC and Dust hate pineapple they like the flavor it adds.  If you are using the seasoning as a marinade try adding some citrus flavored seltzer to your marinade mix.

Fajita/Taco Seasoning

Ingredients:

1 Tablespoon Cornstarch (omit if using for marinade)

2 teaspoons Chili Powder

1 teaspoon Salt

1 teaspoon Paprika

1 teaspoon Onion Powder

1 teaspoon Garlic Powder

1/2 teaspoon Sugar

1/2 teaspoon Cayenne Pepper (add more if you like spice!)

1/2 teaspoon Cumin

This is enough for about 2 pounds of meat, you can save any leftover seasoning in an airtight container.

You can use this as a dry rub (great for fish), mix it with some oil, lime juice, seltzer, or even just water to make a marinade for your meat, or add it to cooked meat and/or veggies and add about 1/4 Cup liquid per pound of meat and mix and let simmer.

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COOK: Spicy Ginger Sesame Sauce

We really like making "stir-fry", it's a great way to use up leftover meat and random veggies from the fridge, and they are usually really quick to throw together.

I've shared my Chinese Firecracker Sauce on the blog before, it's one of KC's favorites, but it's very spicy and I wanted to find something that would work with any kind of meat (or tofu) but not be too spicy for the kiddos.  After looking at a ton of different recipes I made up this "Frankenstein" recipe.

I used pork the first time, and didn't have any veggies but did have a can of water chestnuts in the pantry so I threw those in.  I think this would be really good with tofu and snow peas, or beef and broccoli, or probably any other combination of protein and veggies.  I served it over ramen noodles, but you could serve it with rice, or on it's own with lots of veggies.

This sauce has great flavor with some heat that lingers, if I was making it when the kiddos were here I would probably use half as much sriracha.  

Spicy Ginger Sesame Sauce

Ingredients:

3 Tablespoons Soy Sauce (I always use the low sodium)

3 Tablespoons Rice Wine Vinegar

1 1/2 Tablespoons Honey

1 Tablespoon Sriracha (less if you don't want too much spice)

1 teaspoon Sesame Oil

2 Cloves Garlic (minced, or you can use garlic powder)

1 teaspoon Ground Ginger 

Preparation:

Mix everything together.

You can use it as a marinade for your meat (if using as a marinade on tofu omit the sesame oil, it will keep the tofu from absorbing the marinade.) 

Or use it as a sauce, I cooked cubed pork, then added my water chestnuts, added the sauce and let it simmer for a bit, I wanted a thicker sauce so after it had simmered for about ten minutes I mixed some cornstarch with cold water and added it a bit at a time while stirring until the sauce reached the consistency I wanted.

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COOK: Chicken Asparagus Pasta with Parmesan Sauce

One of my April goals is to try a new recipe each week, I'm also trying to incorporate veggies into our dinners more often, which is hard because KC isn't a fan of many veggies!

Asparagus has been on sale and it's one of my favorite veggies, and although KC has never tried it I told him I would cut it large enough he could pick it out if he didn't like it.  But in my best mom voice I suggested "he  try at least one bite!"

I looked at quite a few recipes and didn't like any of them, so this is another "Frankenstein" recipe.

The first time I served this it was only KC and I so I made "Small Batch Garlic Parmesan Breadsticks" from I Wash, You Dry.  (I skipped the Parmesan since we already had so much in the pasta and added more on top!)  They were delicious and I will be making them again!

Note: I buy a big jar of minced garlic at the grocery store so I always have it on hand, but fresh garlic can also be used, I'll always try to estimate how many cloves.

Chicken Asparagus Pasta with Parmesan Sauce

Ingredients:

1 Pound Chicken Breast

2/3 Pound Asparagus (cut into about 2 inch pieces)  

NOTE: You can use other veggies, I think broccoli would be good, Dustin had some left overs and suggested Snow Peas.

12 Ounces Penne Pasta (or your favorite shape of pasta)

Zest from 1 Lemon

1 1/2 Tablespoons Garlic Cloves (About 2-4 cloves)

1 teaspoon Onion Powder

1 1/2 teaspoons Red Pepper Flakes

1/2 Cup Half & Half

1/4 Chicken Broth (you can use water if you don't have any on hand)

4 Ounces Cream Cheese (cubed into small pieces) 

1 Cup Parmesan Cheese (grated, plus more on top after served.)

Salt and Pepper to Taste

Preparation:

Start your pasta water, we want the pasta to be cooked to just al dente about the same time you have finished the chicken and sauce.  Add your asparagus to the boiling pasta for the last 2-3 minutes.  

Cut your chicken breast into bite sized cubes, (mine are usually about 1/2 inch) and put it into a 12 inch pan with tall sides, to start to brown lightly.  (I always use cast iron and rarely have to add oil/butter, but if you are using a frying pan you might want to add some.)

Once your chicken is just cooked and slightly browned add your minced garlic and lemon zest and give it a good stir.  Turn your burner down to low, add in your onion powder and red pepper flakes, mix again.  Slowly pour in your half & half and broth.  Mix well, add in cream cheese, once melted add in Parmesan and continue to mix until incorporated.

Drain pasta and asparagus and add to your pan, mix well, and let sit on low for about 5 minutes, stirring often.

This recipe makes about 4 servings.

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