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Southwestern Chicken Salad in Avocado Bowls

If you love avocados, this one is for you.
Lots of other salad variations in Tastes & Treasures cookbook.

Southwestern Chicken Salad in Avocado Bowls
Ingredients:
2 cups cooked chicken, shredded
2⁄3 cup sour cream
3 tablespoons chunky salsa
1 tablespoon fresh chopped cilantro
1 teaspoon lime juice
2 avocados

Directions:
1. Fold chicken, sour cream, salsa, cilantro, and lime juice together in a large bowl, shredding chicken with a fork until your desired consistency is reached.

2. Cover and refrigerate chicken salad for 30 minutes for the ingredients and flavors to mingle, or skip to the next step to serve immediately.

3. When you are ready to serve, slice the avocados in half lengthwise and remove the pit. Use each half as a serving bowl for 1 person, stuffing chicken salad into the empty pit cavity and then mounding heaping spoonfuls over top of the entire surface of the avocado half. Serve garnished with fresh cilantro.

Hints:
When shopping, look for a chunky salsa without any added sugar or corn syrup in the ingredients list. Pace’s Chunky Salsa does not add sugar and they should be readily available in any grocery store.
Give the salad more texture by adding 2 tablespoons of diced red or yellow bell pepper or a few teaspoons of diced jalapeño pepper, if you like spice. You can also serve topped with shredded Cheddar jack cheese and chopped bacon for even more great flavors!

calories:395 | fat: 15g |protein: 55g| fiber:3g |net carbs:3g
Serves 4

From George Stella's "Real Food Real Easy" Cookbook

Asian Lettuce Wraps



Always liked lettuce wraps but didn't know how to make them.

Asian Lettuce Wraps

Ingredients:

1 tbsp. reduced-sodium/lite soy sauce 

1 tsp. granulated sugar

1 tsp. chopped garlic 

1/2 tsp. ground ginger

1 cup chopped shiitake mushrooms 

3 oz. cooked and chopped skinless chicken breast 

3 oz. chopped ready-to-eat shrimp 

1/2 cup canned sliced water chestnuts, drained and chopped 

1/2 tsp. sesame oil

1/4 cup chopped scallions 

5 medium iceberg lettuce leaves



Directions: 
In a medium bowl, thoroughly mix soy sauce, sugar, garlic, and ginger. 

Bring a skillet sprayed with nonstick spray to medium-high heat. Cook and stir mushrooms until softened, about 4 minutes. 

Add chicken, shrimp, water chestnuts, and sauce mixture. Cook and stir until mixture is hot, about 2 minutes. 

Remove from heat, and stir in sesame oil and scallions. 

Let cool slightly, and then distribute among lettuce leaves!



MAKES 1 SERVING
Serving Size: entire recipe 
Calories: 316
Fat: 5g 
Sodium: 925mg 
Carbs: 21.5g 
Fiber: 3.5g 
Sugars: 8g 
Protein: 46g 

Thanks to Hungry Girl for the recipe.

Coconut Cookie Butter Bars

Found this luscious, yummy dessert on the internet. Sounds wonderful and can't wait to try it. We found some great desserts in Tastes & Treasures cookbook also including a favorite, Chocolate Peanut Treats on page 162.

Coconut Cookie Butter Bars
Ingredients:
Sugar Cookie Layer:
2 1/2 cups whole wheat flour OR gluten-free all purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon xantham gum (only if using GF flour)
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 cups organic sugar (we used coconut sugar, which is why our batter is slightly browner than usual)
1 cup coconut oil or vegan butter
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
2 mashed, ripe bananas (medium sized)
1/2 cup shredded coconut

Cookie Butter Layer:
1/2 cup coconut oil or vegan butter
1 cup cookie butter

Chocolate Layer:
1/2 cup coconut oil or vegan butter
1 cup chocolate chips or chopped bar chocolate

Directions:
Sugar Cookie Layer:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a medium sized mixing bowl, combine flour, xantham (if using), baking powder and salt. Set aside. In a stand mixer, beat together sugar and coconut oil (or butter) until whipped, about 1 full minute on high speed. Add in vanilla and bananas, and continue to mix until combined. Add in dry ingredients and mix again, until a batter forms. Toss in shredded coconut and mix one last time to distribute it throughout the batter. Pour batter into a greased or lined 8x8 glass baking dish (for thinner bars, feel free to use a 9x13 inch pan), and bake for 30 minutes, or until an inserted toothpick comes clean. When finished, let cool on the counter for at least an hour (but up to overnight), or in the fridge for at least 30 minutes to set. While cooling, make cookie butter mixture.

Cookie Butter Layer:
In a small saucepan, combine the coconut oil or vegan butter and cookie butter over low heat. Stir frequently, until mixture melts together, then promptly remove from heat and let cool and thicken. Once thickened to the consistency of slightly thinned cookie butter, pour/ spread mixture over cooled cookie base. Immediately store in the fridge or freezer, to set cookie butter layer, for about 30 minutes. While setting, begin chocolate layer.

Chocolate Layer:
In a small saucepan, combine chocolate and coconut oil or vegan butter over low heat, stirring frequently until mixture melts together. Remove from heat and pour chocolate mixture over chilled cookie butter layer, immediately placing bars back into the fridge or freezer for about 30 more minutes to set completely.

Once the entire cake has set, remove from fridge or freezer, and cut. If frozen, allow cake to warm slightly to room temperature so the chocolate doesn't crack. Cut into 12 (or more) squares, and serve. Saves well in a covered container in the fridge for about a week, or in the freezer indefinitely. Enjoy!

Some helpful hints:
1. This recipe is a little time consuming, with all the refrigeration. To make it easier on yourself, cook the base the night before, and prep the rest in the morning when the cake has had all night to set.
2. This is a seriously decadent dessert. It makes 12 large squares, but they can be cut into smaller squares.

Tex Mex Crock Pot Chicken

We like Black Bean and Salsa Soup from page 81 in Tastes & Treasures cookbook, compliments of El Chorro Lodge.  Here's another tasty soup. Nothing like hearty, zesty, comfort-food goodness. . .

Tex Mex Crock Pot Chicken



Ingredients:

1 1/2 lbs. raw boneless skinless chicken breasts, halved 

1 tsp. ground cumin 

1 tsp. chili powder 

1/2 tsp. garlic powder 

1/2 tsp. onion powder

One 15-oz. can black beans, drained and rinsed 

One 14.5-oz. can diced tomatoes, drained 

One 7-oz. can diced green chiles, drained 

1 cup frozen sweet corn kernels 

1 cup chopped onion 

1 cup chopped bell pepper 

1 tsp. chopped garlic 

1/8 tsp. cayenne pepper 

4 cups reduced-sodium chicken broth 

1/2 cup light sour cream 

1/2 cup shredded reduced-fat Mexican-blend cheese 

 1/2 cup chopped cilantro 

Optional seasonings: salt and black pepper



Directions: 
Season chicken with cumin, chili powder, garlic powder, and onion powder. 

Place chicken in a crock pot. Add all remaining ingredients except broth, sour cream, cheese, and cilantro. Top with broth, and stir well. Cover and cook on high for 3 - 4 hours or on low for 7 - 8 hours, until chicken is fully cooked. 

Transfer chicken to a large bowl. Shred with two forks -- one to hold the chicken in place and the other to scrape across and shred it. Return shredded chicken to the crock pot, and stir well. 

Top each serving with 1 tbsp. each sour cream, cheese, and cilantro. Enjoy!


MAKES 8 SERVINGS
1/8th of recipe (about 1 1/4 cups): 234 calories, 4g fat, 713mg sodium, 21g carbs, 4.5g fiber, 6g sugars, 27.5g protein
Thanks to Hungry Girl for recipe 



Garlic Rubbed Roasted Cabbage Steaks

If you love cabbage, this recipe is for you. If you don't like cabbage . . . try it anyway, you might like it.

Garlic Rubbed Roasted Cabbage Steaks
Ingredients
:
1 (approx 2 lb) head of organic green cabbage, cut into 1″ thick slices

1.5 tablespoons olive oil
2 to 3 large garlic cloves, smashed

kosher salt

freshly ground black pepper

spray olive oil OR non-stick cooking spray

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 400F and spray a baking sheet with non-stick cooking spray. Pull outer leaf off cabbage (it’s usually dirty and nasty looking), cut cabbage from top to bottom (bottom being root) into 1″ thick slices.
2. Rub both sides of cabbage with smashed garlic.
3. Use a pastry brush to evenly spread the olive oil over both sides of the cabbage slices.
4. Finally, sprinkle each side with a bit of kosher salt and freshly cracked black pepper.
5. Roast on the middle rack for 30 minutes. Carefully flip the cabbage steaks and roast for an additional 30 minutes until edges are brown and crispy. Serve hot.

Chopped Chicken Fiesta Salad

Nothing like a delicious salad on a hot summer day. More salad recipes in Tastes & Treasures cookbook.

Chopped Chicken Fiesta Salad

Ingredients Dressing:

3 tbsp. fat-free plain yogurt 

1 tbsp. finely chopped and seeded jalapeño pepper
1 tbsp. finely chopped red onion

1 1/2 tsp. seasoned rice vinegar 

1/2 tsp. finely chopped cilantro 

1/4 tsp. granulated white sugar 



Ingredients Salad:

4 cups chopped romaine lettuce 

1/4 cup chopped red onion 

2 tbsp. chopped red bell pepper 

2 tbsp. black bean and corn salsa 

2 tbsp. shredded reduced-fat cheddar cheese 

5 baked tortilla chips, broken into bite-sized pieces

3 oz. cooked and chopped skinless chicken breast 

1 tbsp. finely chopped parsley 

1 tbsp. finely chopped cilantro

1/8 tsp. garlic powder 



Directions: 

In a small bowl, combine dressing ingredients. Add 1 1/2 tsp. water, and mix well.

 To make the salad, place lettuce in a large bowl (or on a large plate). Top with onion, bell pepper, salsa, cheese, and broken tortilla chips. 

Toss chicken with parsley, cilantro, and garlic powder. Add to salad, and serve with dressing. 


Makes 1 serving.

Thanks to Hungry Girl for this recipe.