As we come to a close of the month of May and hit the roads for summer fun, remember to head on over to my page review of eating out and picking healthy choices! You can still remain on a healthy eating lifestyle while dining out!! To see the page and the review of my choices, click here.
Southwest Cilantro Lime Salad
This comes from Get In My Belly and looks so delicious I just had to make it and loved it so much I had to share it with you all as well!! I am a veggie lover, so YES, this would be a meal for me, but you can always add some leftover chicken or BBQ steak from another meal to add some meat for all you meat lovers. Then you may just want to fire up that BBQ, hey, it’s summertime right? BBQ a steak, some sausage or chicken and enjoy!
Ingredients:
- Large head of romaine
- 15 oz. can organic black beans, rinsed and drained
- 1 large orange bell pepper
- 1 pint cherry tomatoes
- 2 cups frozen organic corn, thawed
- 5 green onions
- Cilantro Lime Dressing:
- 1 cup loosely packed cilantro, stems removed and roughly chopped
- 1/2 Avocado
- Juice of 1 lime
- 2 Garlic cloves
- 1/4 cup olive oil
- 1 1/2 tsp. white wine vinegar
- 1/8 tsp. salt
- 2 tsp organic local honey
Directions:
1. Puree all dressing ingredients in a food processor/blender until smooth.
2. Taste and adjust seasonings if necessary.
3. Finely chop romaine, bell pepper, tomatoes, and green onions.
4. Place all ingredients in a large bowl and stir to combine.
5. Toss with homemade cilantro-lime dressing
Spinach & Chicken Pasta
INGREDIENTS
- 1 onion, chopped
- 1 tbsp. olive oil
- Rigatoni pasta, cooked
- 2 cups chicken, diced
- 10 oz. frozen spinach, thawed
- 14.5 oz. can diced tomatoes
- ½ tsp. salt
- ½ tsp. pepper
- 8 oz. cream cheese
- 8 oz. mozzarella cheese
DIRECTIONS:
First, pour 1 tablespoon of olive oil into a pan. Then, add in your chopped onion, spreading it around the pan so that it creates a single layer. Bake this at 375 degrees Fahrenheit for 15 minutes.
While that bakes, you can work on the topping. Add rigatoni pasta to a bowl, and then pour the diced chicken over it. Next, add the thawed spinach and diced tomatoes, and stir everything together. Then, add in the salt and pepper, and stir again.
Add the cream cheese to the bowl, spreading it out over the other ingredients. Then, pour the mozzarella cheese on top of everything. Mix everything together, and you’re all done with that part! Take the baked onion out of the oven and pour the pasta topping over it. Add extra cheese on top if you’d like. Bake this at 375 degrees Fahrenheit for 30 minutes.
When you remove your pasta bake from the oven, the top should be nice and golden brown. After you’ve taken it out of the oven, it’s ready to serve. Dish it out, garnish with some cilantro, and enjoy!
Greek Yogurt Chicken Salad
On those hot summer days when you don’t want to stand over a hot stove or fire up the oven or BBQ, try this delicious filling salad. Put it between some sourdough and OH, MY!!
INGREDIENTS:
1 head leafy romaine
1 lb cooked and shredded chicken
1/2 cup red onion, diced
1/2 Cup chopped apple
1/3 Cup dried cranberries
1/4 Cup slivered almonds
2/3 Cup grapes, halved
1/2 Cup greek yogurt
1/2 tsp garlic powder
salt & pepper to taste
1 lemon halved
Optional: Sliced sourdough
DIRECTIONS:
Mix all ingredients except lemon and romaine, in a bowl and squeeze fresh juice of half lemon over it and stir together. Put a couple of leafy romaine leaves on a slice of sourdough, add a large scoop of the mix and there you have it!!
Old Fashioned Saucy Topped Meatloaf
Ingredients:
1½ lbs ground beef
¾ cup quick oatmeal
¾ cup milk
1 egg
½ cup onion, finely diced
1¼ tsp sea or himalayan salt
¼ tsp fresh ground black pepper
⅓ cup ketchup
2 tbsp coconut palm sugar
1 tbsp yellow mustard
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees
- Combine ground beef, oatmeal, milk, egg, onion, salt and pepper in a medium sized mixing bowl. Using your hand, incorporate everything into the meat.
- Transfer meat into a large loaf pan and press it down evenly into the pan.
- Mix ketchup, sugar, and mustard in a small bowl. Pour over meatloaf.
- Bake at 350 degrees for 1 hour and 20 minutes
- Remove from oven and drain off excess grease. Let stand for 5 minutes before serving.
Spaghetti Salad
This is a great summer dish to take to a gathering, BBQ or pot luck. It’s easy and simple to put together and will become a crowd favorite. It comes from one of my very best church friends Beverly Williams from California
- 1 pound thin spaghetti, broke into 3-4″ pieces
- 3 Roma tomatoes, diced
- 1 medium zucchini, diced
- 1 medium yellow zucchini squash, diced
- 1 green pepper, diced
- 1 red pepper, diced
- 1 red onion, diced
- 1 cucumber, diced
- 2 (2.25 oz) cans sliced olives, drained
- 8 oz cheddar cheese, cut into small cubes
- OPTION: 1 lb steak or chicken, cooked and diced
- 1 (16 oz) bottle Italian dressing, for some reason Wishbone is the best with this dish
- ¼ cup grated Parmesan cheese
- 1 teaspoon paprika
- ¼ teaspoon garlic powder
- 1 teaspoon McCormick Salad Supreme seasoning
- Cook spaghetti according to package directions, then rinse in cold water and drain. Set aside and let cool.
- Place tomatoes, zucchini, squash, peppers, onion, cucumber, olives, and cheese in a large bowl. Add cooled spaghetti noodles and mix well.
- In a small bowl, mix together dressing, Parmesan cheese, paprika, garlic powder. Pour on top of the spaghetti and vegetables and mix until completely combined. Sprinkle the top with Salad Supreme and diced meat if desired.
- Let sit in the fridge for at least 2 hours before serving (this salad gets better with time, as the flavors meld together).
Lemon Pepper Chicken
I’m going to leave you this week with a video from Cooking with Caleb. Click here to go to his Youtube channel for all of his exciting, quick and easy recipes. He’s a young man I know from up in San Angelo and he loves to cook!!!
Ingredients:
5 Tbl of lemon pepper
1-2 LBS chicken
1 Tsp lemon juice
1/2 C crumbs
1 Stick butter
Some olive oil
Watch his video to see how easy it is to make!!