eb recipe: refreshing salmon wrap

Pretty sure I'm gonna have some new nickname all about how I only eat wraps for dinner soon... but like... SO WHAT! They're delicious and easy and there are unlimited ways to make your mouth orgasm from the goodies of a tortilla.

When I'm in need of something light, refreshing, and otherwise known as "healthy," my go-to is this salmon wrap that I concocted myself. It's typically not fresh salmon [because I ain't got time or money fo' dat], but everything else is fresh produce and straight up diet-abiding. [I think I just made up a word....]

Here's what you need:

• Salmon filet or frozen salmon burger [what I used]
• Tortilla- I recommend spinach or regular flavor
• 1/2 avocado
• 1/2 cucumber
• spoonful of greek yogurt
• lime juice
• chili powder
• dried cilantro
• dried mint [optional]

Here's what to do:
1. Cover salmon in chili powder on both sides and cook accordingly. Seriously, I put a lot of chili powder on that ish.

2. While the salmon is cooking, prepare the cucumber salad mixture- Chop up the cucumber. Mix it with 1 tbs dried cilantro [I might even use more than that], spoonful of greek yogurt, 1/2 tbs lime juice, and just a flick or two of the mint.

3. Slice up the avocado, and arrange on the tortilla.

4. Top that with the cucumber salad, then add the salmon on top.

5. Wrap it up and VOILA!

The best part about this is the cucumber salad stuff. A lot of times I make extra for a side or something... it's just so refreshing! You could totally pair it up with chicken or steak and it would be just as delicious.

Enjoy, you beginning-of-the-year health freaks!

love,
elizabethany

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recipes: jalapeno cheddar and chicken parmesan burgers

Fourth of July means one very important thing: Using your grill! [And alcohol, and dressing up in red, white, and blue... and hopefully being by a pool or a beach....]

I'm no pro on the grill, but I've learned that I'm a lot better than any of the guys I hang out with, so I nominate myself to wo-man the grill.

On the menu this weekend: Chicken burgers, two ways. One for the people who can grow a pair and try new things, and one for the people who like to stick to the flavors they know. To be honest, I didn't really follow the recipes to their direct measurements! I decided to use them as a guide as to what to include, but added some of my own things in, and put the amounts that I wanted.

Here are the ingredients/what to do, and a link to the original recipes.

Cheddar Jalapeno Chicken Burgers:

NEED:

• ground chicken
• shredded cheddar cheese [I actually didn't add this]
• jalapeno
• yellow onion
• cumin
• paprika
• cilantro [I literally put this in/on everything, as a restaurant once told me to do.]
• cumin
• salt and pepper

DO: 

1. Combine the ingredients in a bowl, and form into 1/4 lb patties. [I use wax paper to help with the molding.]
2. Spread olive oil over both sides or on the grill rack.
3. Grill on medium-high heat for 5-7 minutes each side. Don't smush them down! They'll lose the juices. 
4. Put it on a bun and top it with guacamole, onions, and lettuce. 

Chicken Parmesan Burgers [Which I totally made from scratch, but here's some specific help for ya]

NEED:

• ground chicken
• your favorite spaghetti sauce
• diced onion
• Italian seasoned bread crumbs
• minced garlic
• shredded mozzarella cheese
• parsley
• cilantro

DO: 

1. Combine all the ingredients in a bowl, form into 1/4 lb. patties
2. Prepare the grill and cook over medium-high heat, 5-7 minutes each side. 
3. Put on a bun with extra marinara sauce and mozzarella cheese. [You could add extra onions or lettuce, too.]

FYI: BOTH of them are flipping amazing. The jalapeno burgers weren't even hot after using a full, extremely ripe pepper for two burgers. Next time I'll definitely add more. 

Make them. Like tonight. 

love,

elizabethany

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pinspired recipe: cream of chicken spaghetti

Tomatoes: Not my thing.. but for some reason, different recipes with a slight hint of them make my mouth water. They look good, just don't taste fabulous.

A lot of recipes that have been catching my eye have included Rotel tomatoes, which I can handle thanks to their spice, size, and mix with chilie peppers. This angel hair/spaghetti pasta with chicken was one of those recipes.

It said 7 ingredients were needed, but I used even less. A solid five is all you need for a good 6 servings!

• 2 cans of cream of chicken soup [or mix in cream of mushroom/cream of celery/whatever]
• 8 ounces of angel hair pasta 
• 2 cups of chopped, grilled chicken
• 1 can of RoTel tomatoes and green chilies
• 8 ounces of greek yogurt [or sour cream if you're not counting calories]

Easy how-to: 

1. Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees
2. Cook pasta according to package
3. Mix pasta, cans of soup, tomatoes, chicken, and yogurt together, and put in 9x13 baking dish
4. Cover with foil and bake for 30 minutes. 

The original said to add cheese to the top and put back into the oven until melted, but it was so creamy you really don't need to do that. I honestly don't even think it would make it better if you weren't worried about the added calories. 

FYI: The pasta was absolutely delicious. 

Bonus: I love leftover pasta and this was freaking fantastic a couple days later... still just as creamy!

Even if you're not a tomato person like me, the juices from the RoTel add a lot. You can work around the chunks if necessary.

Just make it.

love,
elizabethany

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pinspired recipe: chicken parmesan casserole is to die for

For whatever reason, I totally crave all things spaghetti/pizza/etc on the weekends. I try to feed the cravings with mini english muffin pizzas, but sometimes I need more.

Let me just tell you right now... this Chicken Parmesan Casserole that I found on Pinterest is the freakin' bomb diggity.

Making it is SO EASY. 

You need: 

• 2 tbs olive oil
• 2 cloves of garlic, minced
• some red pepper flakes, depending on how much spice you'd like to add
• 4-6 chicken breasts [to cover the bottom of your baking dish]
• 2-3 cups of marinara sauce, depending on how much sauce you'd like
• 2 cups of low fat mozzarella cheese
• parmesan cheese
• 3.5 oz of garlic or italian seasoned croutons
• basil. I used dried basil, so I just sprinkled a bunch across the whole plate

You DO: 

• Pre-heat the oven to 350 degrees.
• Spread the garlic and red paper flakes and olive oil across the bottom of a 13x9 baking sheet
• Cover the sheet with your chicken, but don't overlap. 
• Put the marinara sauce on top of the chicken, then sprinkle the basil. 
• Put half of your mozzarella cheese on top, then sprinkle some parmesan cheese [I didn't use a whole lot because I'm not a big parmesan fan, but use what you'd like!]
• Put down a layer of croutons
• Throw the rest of the cheese on top, and bake for 40 minutes.

Seriously, the easiest. So easy, that when it came out, I didn't think twice about digging right in. I forgot this was something I was supposed to be showing off.

Yeah, the cheese on top was a little burnt because my oven hates cheesy things, but it was still amazing!

The croutons stayed a little crispy, but also soaked up some of the sauce and cheese which made it the perfect texture. [This may seem weird, but my mouth is super sensitive. Anything hard like croutons or cereal that hasn't been soaked in milk tears my gums up. Not fun.]

Considering most people have a lot of those ingredients on hand on any given day, it's a pretty solid option for a weeknight dinner... and I will absolutely be making it many more times. 

love,
elizabethany

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pinspired recipe: buffalo chicken meatloaf

Most of the time when I think of meatloaf I think of something gross, totally fatty, and not what I want for dinner. I don't totally know why I feel that way. I've always liked eating it...

When I saw different options for ground chicken meatloaf, I knew I had to try one ASAP. Up first, of course, was buffalo chicken style.

It's really very easy to make, and doesn't take very many ingredients [unless I just think that because I eat way too much buffalo chicken food...]. It's also fairly healthy in my standards. 

NEED: 

• 1 tb olive oil
• stalk of celery
• small onion
• 1 egg
• 1 clove garlic
• 1/3 cup bread crumbs
• 4-5 tbs of buffalo wing sauce [depending on how hot you like it
• 3 tbs fat free ranch dressing
• 1/2 cup shredded low-fat mozzarella cheese
• 1 lb ground chicken
• For the glaze:
• 1/2 tb honey
• 1/2 tb ketchup
• 1 tb buffalo sauce

DO: 

1. Pre-heat your oven to 350 degrees.
2. Finely chop the celery and onions and saute them in a pan with the oil. Once soft, add in the garlic and take off the heat.
   
3. Mix the egg, bread crumbs, cheese, ranch dressing, buffalo sauce, and some salt and pepper. Then add in the slightly cooled down vegetables... then the chicken.
   
4. Cover a baking dish with foil, and transfer the mixture to it, forming it into a "loaf shape."
   
5. Mix up the ingredients for the glaze, and spread it to the top.
   
6. Put in the oven. The original recipe said it should only take about 45 minutes, but mine needed an hour-ish. If you have a thermometer, make sure it's 165 degrees.
7. Take it out, cover with foil, and let sit for 15 minutes before slicing and devouring. 

This was my first ever meatloaf, and I guarantee you it won't be my last. It was yum-diddliuptious and I'm already obsessively looking up different ideas for ground turkey and chicken loafs. 

Now if you'll excuse me, I'm going to go indulge in some late night leftovers that I should feel guilty about, but won't.

love,
elizabethany

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