Grilled Tuscan Chicken Tacos

Wow, the flavors of this taco shocked me. I loved the taste of the grilled chicken strips and the artichoke hearts were not something I am used to seeing in a taco but they fit perfectly with the other seasonings. The only thing we hated about this meal was the flour tortillas. They tasted disgusting but that had nothing to do with the recipe itself just the brand of shell we chose.

This meal is also great because of the amount of time it takes to prepare. I love making meals that are true to the 30 minutes or less. This meal took no time at all which made it another keeper in my book because after working all day sometimes I just want a fast and easy meal for dinner.


Recipe

2 large skinless, boneless chicken breast halves (about 12 ounces total)
2 tablespoons olive oil
½ teaspoon lemon-pepper seasoning
1 (8 ounce) package sliced fresh button mushrooms
1 (14 ounce) can artichoke hearts, drained and quartered
2 tablespoons snipped dried tomatoes (not-oil packed)
1 teaspoon dried Italian seasoning, crushed
½ teaspoon salt
¼ teaspoon ground black pepper
¼ cup dry white wine
3 to 4 tablespoons bottled Caesar salad dressing
8 (7 to 8 inch) flour tortillas
1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese

1) Brush chicken with 1 tablespoon of the olive oil; sprinkle with lemon-pepper seasoning. For a charcoal grill, grill chicken on the rack of an uncovered grill directly over medium coals for 12 to 15 minutes or until chicken is no longer pink (170°F), turning once halfway through grilling. (For a gas grill, preheat grill. Reduce heat to medium. Place chicken on grill rack over heat. Cover; grill as above.) Cut chicken into thin strips. Cover; keep warm.

2) Meanwhile, in a large skillet heat remaining 1 tablespoon oil over medium heat. Add mushrooms, artichoke hearts, tomatoes, Italian seasoning, salt, and pepper; cook about 5 minutes or until mushrooms are tender, stirring occasionally. Carefully add wine. Bring to boiling; reduce heat. Simmer, uncovered, for 5 to 8 minutes or until most of the liquid has evaporated.

3) Spread salad dressing over half of each tortilla. Top with chicken strips and mushroom mixture. Sprinkle with cheese. Fold other tortilla half over filling.

Prep Time: 15 minutes | Cook Time: 15 minutes | Total Time: 30 minutes | Yields: 8 tacos

Source: BHG

More Failures

3 more meals that just didn't make it to my cookbook, because honestly we just didn't like them.

1st meal was a slow cooker meal Asian Chicken and Rice (sorry can't find the recipe online). It was very bland and underwhelming. Sad to admit this but I think I made this 2 or 3 weeks ago and the left-overs are still in my fridge. Gross! Now that it is on my mind, I'll throw it in the garbage now. :)

2nd dish was a dessert, Fresh Pear and Cranberry Pie. Not really sure what happened to this pie. I cooked it for an extra 15 to 20 minutes and it still looked like a sloppy liquid mess. It tasted ok, but this was more like a pear and cranberry soup than a pie. Will not try this again.

Last one was a meal I made last night, Chicken with Cherry-Ginger Chutney. The chicken tasted great and even the cherries and walnuts but the apples, heck no. 3 tablespoons of vinegar was added to the sauce which only needed to be cooked with the cherries, walnuts, and apples for 1 minute. My apples had such a STRONG vinegar taste that it almost made me sick. It seemed as if the apples soaked the sauce right up and it was just so overwhelming. If you decide to try this recipe maybe cut down the amount of vinegar you use. I will not try this again though, even though the online recipe calls for cider vinegar and my book just says vinegar. Maybe that would make a difference.

Harvest Ravioli

I was pleasantly surprised with how light and delicious this dish was. It definitely reminded me of something you would eat in the fall after a day at the pumpkin patch. The only thing that I would like to try differently with this meal is, instead of using chicken broth I would like to add vegetable broth so that this meal could be enjoyed by my vegetarian friends as well.

Recipe:

1 cup onion, chopped
4 cloves garlic, minced
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 (1 pound) butternut squash, halved, seeded, peeled, and cut into 1-inch cubes (about 3 cups)
1 (14.5 ounce) can chicken broth
1 tablespoon snipped fresh sage or 1 teaspoon dried sage, crushed
½ cup apple cider or apple juice
1 tablespoon cornstarch
3 medium Granny Smith apples, cored and cut into thin wedges
1 (20 to 24 ounce) package frozen cheese-filled ravioli
½ cup walnuts, toasted and chopped
2 tablespoons grated Parmesan cheese
¼ teaspoon cracked black pepper
Snipped fresh sage (optional)

1) In a very large skillet cook onion and garlic in hot oil over medium heat for 5 minutes or until tender, stirring occasionally. Add squash, broth, and dried sage (if using). Bring to boiling; reduce heat. Simmer, covered, for 10 minutes.

2) Combine apple cider and cornstarch; add to skillet along with apple wedges and fresh sage (if using). Cook, stirring gently, until thickened and bubbly. Cook, uncovered, 2 minutes more.

3) Meanwhile, cook ravioli according to package directions. Drain. Add ravioli to hot apple mixture; toss gently to combine. To serve, top with walnuts, Parmesan cheese, pepper, and if desired, additional fresh sage.

Prep Time: 15 minutes | Cook Time: 20 minutes | Total Time: 35 minutes | Yields: 6 servings

Source: BHG

Lemon Chicken with Capers

I loved how this was so simple and fast. My husband loved this recipe, but I thought it was very lemony - I guess that is why this recipe is called lemon chicken. So if you are not a huge lemon fan, I would not recommend this meal to you.

Recipe:

4 skinless, boneless chicken breast halves (about 1-½ lb.)
1 tablespoon Dijon-style mustard
¼ cup seasoned fine dry bread crumbs
8 ounce green beans, trimmed
2 lemons, 1 sliced and 1 juiced
1 tablespoon capers

1) Place one chicken breast half between sheets of plastic wrap. Lightly pound with flat side of meat mallet to even thickness. Repeat. Brush chicken with mustard; sprinkle evenly with salt, pepper, and bread crumbs to coat.

2) Heat 2 tablespoons olive oil in skillet over medium heat. Add chicken. Cook 4 minutes per side or until no pink remains (170°F). Transfer to plates. Add 2 tablespoons olive oil to skillet. Cook green beans in oil 4 minutes or until crisp-tender; add lemon slices the last minute. Transfer to plates. Add juice and capers to skillet; heat through. Drizzle on chicken.

Prep Time: 15 minutes | Cook Time: 15 minutes | Total Time: 30 minutes | Yields: 4 servings

Source: BHG

Summer Strawberry Salad

This salad was right up my alley. I absolutely love fruit and the homemade dressing was sweet but not too sweet - this was very light and refreshing and would be perfect on a hot summer day. This recipe originally said to toss the salad with the dressing, but I found this to be a huge mistake. It made everything messy looking, soggy and it was just WAY too much. I revised it to drizzle the dressing over your salad when you are ready to eat, this way you aren't limiting the amount of time you have to eat this salad and it won't be a soggy mess for you and your guests.

Recipe:

8 cups chopped romaine lettuce
3 cups fresh strawberries, sliced
2 cups fresh pineapple, cubed
1 banana, sliced
1/4 cup water
1/4 cup cream of coconut
2 tablespoons lemon juice
1 tablespoon yellow mustard
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
1/4 cup sliced almonds, toasted (optional)

1) In a 5-quart bowl toss together romaine, strawberries, pineapple, and banana. (If desired, salad may be assembled and refrigerated, tightly covered, for up to 1 hour.)

2) For dressing, in a small bowl whisk together the water, cream of coconut, lemon juice, mustard, and ginger. Cover and refrigerate.

3) To serve, place salad mixture on plates and drizzle with desired amount of dressing. If desired, sprinkle with almonds.

Note: Make sure you mix the cream of coconut before using.

Prep Time: 20 minutes | Total Time: 20 minutes | Yields: 6 servings

Source: BHG

Slow Cooker Curried Chicken

This slow cooker meal made my house smell so GOOD and it tasted amazing. I made this for 3 people and we almost devoured the entire meal ourselves.

Recipe:

2½ pounds skinless, boneless chicken breast halves, cut into 2-inch strips
2 red sweet peppers, chopped
2 yellow sweet peppers, chopped
2 small onions, sliced
2 fresh jalapeno chile peppers, seeded and finely chopped
8 cloves garlic, minced
2 cups reduced-sodium chicken broth
1 cup golden raisins
1 cup shredded coconut
6 tablespoons curry powder
2 teaspoons salt
½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
¼ teaspoon cayenne pepper (optional)
1 cup unsweetened coconut milk
2 tablespoons cornstarch
Hot cooked rice
¾ cup coarsely chopped lightly salted cashews

1) In a 7-quart slow cooker place chicken, sweet peppers, onions, jalapenos, garlic, broth, raisins, coconut, curry powder, salt, cinnamon, and, if desired, cayenne. Cover; cook on low-heat setting for 8½ to 9 hours or on high-heat setting for 4 to 4½ hours.

2) Whisk together coconut milk and cornstarch until smooth. Stir into chicken mixture. If cooking on low-heat setting, adjust to high-heat setting. Cover; cook for 15 to 20 minutes more or until slightly thickened. Serve over rice. Sprinkle with cashews.

Note: Because hot chile peppers, such as jalapenos, contain volatile oils that can burn your skin and eyes, avoid direct contact with chiles as much as possible. If your bare hands do touch the chile peppers, wash your hands well with soap and water.

Prep Time: 30 minutes | Cook Time: 8½ hours (low) or 4 hours (high) + 15 minutes | Total Time: 9 hours (low) or 4½ hours (high) | Yields: 8 servings

Source: BHG

Salmon, Apples and Fennel

This recipe surprised me. I thought that it was going to be a very sweet dish and it honestly wasn't. The apples and fennel complimented the salmon perfectly.

Recipe:

¼ cup all-purpose flour
¼ teaspoon salt
¼ teaspoon ground black pepper
2 eggs
1 tablespoon water
⅔ cup fine dry bread crumbs
4 (4 to 5 ounce) skinless salmon fillets, ½ to ¾ inch thick
¼ cup butter
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 medium fennel bulbs, trimmed, cored, and cut into thin wedges
4 medium cooking apples, cored and cut into thin wedges
¼ cup honey
Snipped fresh parsley

1) In a shallow dish combine flour, salt, and pepper. In another shallow dish whisk together eggs and water. In a third shallow dish place bread crumbs. Rinse salmon; pat dry. Dip salmon into flour mixture, then egg mixture, then into bread crumbs to coat; set aside.

2) In a very large skillet heat 2 tablespoons of the butter and the oil over medium heat until butter melts. Add fennel. Cook and stir for 4 minutes. Add apple wedges. Cook and stir for 3 to 4 minutes more or until apples and fennel are tender. Stir in honey. Transfer the mixture to a bowl; set aside.

3) In the same skillet heat remaining 2 tablespoons butter over medium heat. Add salmon. Cook for 8 to 10 minutes or until fish flakes easily when tested with a fork, turning once (if fish browns too quickly, reduce heat to medium-low). Transfer fish and apple mixture to serving plates. Garnish with parsley.

Prep Time: 10 minutes | Cook Time: 18 minutes | Total Time: 30 minutes | Yields: 4 servings

Source: BHG