gluten free pizza crust recipe

Several months ago, I returned to this gluten free pizza crust recipe, hoping to improve it even more. It was pretty decent already, as compared to other gluten free pizza crusts I have tried.

I have made a few variations recently, and am happy with this recipe.

As part of our Oscar festivities yesterday, we made pizza. This one in the photos is half mushroom artichoke, half mushroom jalapeno. The whole pie is covered in my basil marinara and melty dairy free cheddar.

SPICY FISH TACO BOWLS

Bob Harper wants me to eat more fish.

But Bob has not been to the fish market on my street, and something tells me that eating fish from the market would do something scary to my weakling Western digestive system.

I want to be a really savvy person who lives in the Philippines and shops for fish at her local market, but you guys. I am Type A and I have an irrational fear of the fish eyeballs staring at me and the big knives covered with fish scales. I think I’ll hold off on the fish market just yet.

So I bought familiar-looking fish filets from the grocery store. No eyes or anything. Then I cooked them, put them a bowl with all my favorite things and devoured it in .4 seconds.

Bob is on to something here.

This is like a Chipotle burrito bol, but it’s made with spicy fish and you can put as many pieces of avocado on as you want without paying two dollars extra. It’s what my Mexican food dreams are made of: avocado, brown rice, garlic, roasted corn and peppers, black beans, avocado, cilantro, cheese, avocado, and spicy fish. And avocado. With a little avocado on top.

Besides eating 100 of these bowls, the only thing that would be a better use of my time is melting in the arms of a four year old girl.

INGREDIENTS :
1 tablespoon chili powder
1 tablespoon cumin
½ teaspoon cayenne pepper
3-4 tilapia filets (or other fish filet of your choice)
1-2 cloves minced garlic
1 cup fresh sweet corn kernels (sliced off the cob is the best)
1 red onion, diced
1 red pepper, diced
1 can black beans
cooked brown rice (I used about 2 cups)
fresh cilantro, avocado, shredded cheese, sour cream, or pico de gallo for topping

INSTRUCTIONS :
1. Mix the spices together in a small bowl and sprinkle evenly over both sides of the fish filets. (I like to season my fish a LOT, but just sprinkle on however much looks good to you.) Add salt and pepper to taste.

2. In a large nonstick skillet over medium high heat, heat a drizzle of olive oil. Add the garlic and saute for 1-2 minutes. Add the fish filets to the pan. Grill the fish on each side for several minutes, checking the middle for doneness (fish should be completely white and flake apart easily). Remove fish filets and set aside.

3. Add corn, red peppers, and onions to the pan with no additional oil. Heat over high heat for several minutes WITHOUT stirring to get a brown/black roasted look on the outside. Repeat for several minutes (stir, wait, stir, wait) until the peppers and onions are tender-crisp. Add the black beans and heat through.

4. Layer rice, corn/pepper mixture, and fish in a bowl – or mix everything together in the skillet. Top with any of the toppings listed above!

Bruschetta with basil pesto

When I need a quick lunch, I find myself coming back to Bruschetta time and time again. There’s something about the charred, garlicky bread that just works so incredibly well with almost any topping you choose to use. I’ve made it with everything from simple sliced tomatoes to more extravagant parma ham and melon.

This way of doing it showcases the wonderful Mediterranean Delicacies Basil Pesto to it’s full potential by pairing it with creamy and delicious Fior Di Latte (a cow’s milk mozzarella) and a squeeze of fresh lemon juice. It is the absolute best thing to serve as a quick summer lunch or as a snack with drinks (you could make mini-versions for a cocktail party).

I suggest you try to find Fior Di Latte which is now available in Woolworths, as it  is very mild but creamier (in my opinion) than buffalo mozzarella. It’s also much cheaper than Buffalo Mozzarella. I also suggest you leave it at room temperature for 20 minutes before slicing as the flavour mellows out and it becomes (if possible) even creamier. Just delicious. I would also suggest you thin out the MD Basil Pesto with olive oil before liberally spreading it over the toasted bruschetta. For me, bruschetta is best made with Sourdough, but feel free to use any, good quality, crusty bread for this.

4 slices sourdough bread, drizzled with olive oil, grilled and then rubbed with half a garlic clove
3 tbsp MD Basil Pesto (thinned out with 2-4tbsp olive oil)
150g Fior Di Latte/Mozzarella
juice of 1 lemon
olive oil for drizzling
salt & pepper to taste
fresh basil leaves, to serve

Top the sourdough bruschetta with a generous amount of basil pesto.
Top with thinly sliced Fior Di Latte.
Drizzle over lemon juice, olive oil and season to taste.
Serve immediately.

pepperoni stuffed chicken

It’s true, I usually am not a fan of chicken. I find the flavor and texture to be rather boring. BUT doctor it up just right and it can be the perfect protein-packed vehicle for lots of flavor! I stuffed these chicken breasts full of pepperoni and mozzarella, which can be a little heavy, so I went for a smaller serving size. I plan to pair it with a heaping side of pasta salad to round out the meal. In reality, the serving size isn’t that small (4 oz. of chicken plus the pepperoni and cheese) but most people are used to a full chicken breast as one serving. My chicken breasts were about a half pound each and I cut them in half to make four 1/4 pound pieces. It looks small because we’re used to over-sized portions but when you add your vegetable and grain side dishes, 4 oz. is plenty. If you still want a whole chicken breast to yourself, this recipe will still only be $1.83 per serving!

Ingredients :
1 lb. boneless, skinless chicken breasts
2 oz. mozzarella cheese
1¼ oz. (approx. 16 slices) pepperoni
1 large egg $0.15
½ cup all purpose flour
½ cup bread crumbs
6 Tbsp vegetable oil
to taste salt and pepper

Instructions :
1. Trim the chicken breasts of any large clumps of fat that may be still attached. Slice each breast in half diagonally to create two diamond-like shaped pieces. Using a small, sharp knife, cut a pocket into the side of each breast piece. This can be slightly tricky on thinner pieces so be careful. Be sure not to cut all the way through the meat but rather just into one side so that the fillings will stay in. See photos below.

2. Stuff each piece of chicken with ½ oz. of cheese and about 4 slices of pepperoni. Lightly season each piece with salt and pepper. Set the stuffed chicken aside.

3. Preheat your oven to 350 degrees and line a baking sheet with aluminum foil. Begin to heat a large skillet with 6 Tbsp of vegetable oil over medium/high heat. Collect three shallow dishes and put the flour in one, the egg in another and the bread crumbs in the third. Beat the egg until it is an even consistency (adding a ½ tsp of water helps break it up).

4. One by one, coat each piece of chicken in the flour, then the egg then the bread crumbs. Use your hands so that you can keep the open side of the pocket pinched closed and keep the fillings in. The flour helps the egg adhere and the egg keeps the bread crumbs in place. This is a basic bread coating.

5. Test the oil in the skillet to see if it is hot enough by dropping a small pinch of bread crumbs in. The bread crumbs should sizzle and dance A LOT. It is very important that the oil is hot enough or else the breading will soak up a lot of oil and you’ll end up with some really greasy chicken!. Place all four pieces of chicken in the skillet and cook until it is golden brown and crispy on each side. This should take no more than 2-3 minutes.

6. When you remove the chicken pieces from the skillet, transfer them to the baking sheet and place it in the oven. Finish baking the chicken (to cook the inside) for about 25 minutes (longer if you have larger pieces). Remove from the oven (check to make sure the chicken is cooked through) and serve immediately!

TWICE BAKED POTATOES

How do you like your potatoes? Fried, baked, mashed, au gratin? Everyone in my family likes them different. Everytime I my husband to the grocery store with a list he comes home with the everything on the list plus at least one bag of chips. He can kill a bag of chips in a sitting. I, on the other hand, can take or leave chips. I don’t HAVE to have them. French fries baby…that’s my downfall. Whether it’s Chick-Fil-A’s waffle fries or McDonald’s thin crispy fries…they find a way in my mouth. The ironic thing is that I’ll never order them because I know how bad they are for you but somehow they disappear from my kid’s Happy meals.

Our friends the Clarks have brought these over for dinner a couple of times and they are always a hit. These are actually a batch that they made. I wish this computer had a scratch ‘n sniff button because these smelled incredible as I was taking the pictures. This is coming from someone who is not a huge fan of baked potatoes! I’ve since made them several times and love them.

Ingredients :
4 large baking potatoes
8 slices beef
1 cup sour cream
1/4 to 1/2 cup milk
4 tablespoons butter
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon pepper
1 cup shredded Cheddar cheese, divided
8 green onions, sliced, divided

Instructions :
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Bake potatoes in preheated oven for 1 hour. You can just microwave the potatoes instead because it is way faster and they taste just as good. About three minutes per potato, just check for tenderness. So if you are cooking 4 potatoes in the microwave you will need to cook them for at least 12 minutes. Make sure to poke holes in the potatoes with a fork before microwaving so that they don't explode.
Meanwhile, place bacon in a large, deep skillet. Cook over medium high heat until evenly brown. Drain, crumble and set aside.
When potatoes are done allow them to cool for 10 minutes. Slice potatoes in half lengthwise and scoop the flesh into a large bowl leaving about 1/4 inch of flesh so the potato maintains it's shape; save skins. To the potato flesh add sour cream, butter, salt, pepper, 1/2 cup cheese, 1/2 the green onions, and milk (start adding 1/2 cup of milk but you may not need to add it all depending on the consistency you want. You don't want them too runny). Mix with a hand mixer until well blended and creamy. Spoon the mixture into the potato skins. Top each with remaining cheese, green onions and bacon.
Bake for another 15 minutes at 350 degrees.

Caprese Chicken

I am in major big time whoa love with this dish. A few weeks ago Jorge and I happened to find ourselves in one of those chain Italian restaurants like Olive Garden or Macaroni Grill. I honestly can’t remember which, but I do know I ordered something called Bruschetta Chicken. It was good, but could use some improvements.

For starters, I wanted to make it with cherry tomatoes and add some fresh buffalo mozzarella. Then to finish it off, drizzle on a little bit of my favorite balsamic vinegar. Obviously it would no longer be a Bruschetta Chicken anymore, with the additions it would now have to be called a Caprese Chicken. Either way, who doesn’t love more cheese and balsamic vinegar??

I kept thinking about this recipe idea…but then I used the cherry tomatoes I bought for the crostini with whipped goat cheese. Despite having had this idea in the back of my head, it took me two months to actually make it. That was the dumbest move on my part, because Jorge and I really enjoyed this! Delicious healthy dinner in under 30 minutes? Count me in!

The recipe is easily divided and can be made just for two…and as long as you watch your cheese and olive oil — it’s also ‘ass friendly‘. My favorite side dishes for this are some buttery noodles (with a squeeze of lemon) and possibly some garlic bread if we are feeling extra carby. Of course – the garlic bread makes it much less healthy…but who cares. It’s delicious.

ingredients:
4 skinless chicken breasts
kosher salt & freshly ground black pepper
2 tablespoons olive oil, divided
3 large garlic cloves, minced
2 pints cherry tomatoes, halved
10 large basil leaves, finely chopped
8 oz fresh buffalo mozzarella, sliced in 1/2 inch thick slices
balsamic vinegar, to taste

directions:
Salt and pepper both sides of the chicken breasts and set aside.

In a large sauté pan over medium-high heat, warm 1 tablespoon olive oil. Add chicken, cover pan, and cook for about 10 minutes. Flip chicken breasts and continue cooking until the chicken is cooked thoroughly (or has reached an internal temp of 165°F).

While chicken is cooking, in a medium sauté pan over medium-high heat, warm remaining 1 tablespoon olive oil. Add garlic and cook for about 1 minute, or until fragrant. Add tomatoes and continue sautéing until tomatoes skin starts to soften/wrinkle, about 5 minutes. Remove from heat and stir in basil. Set aside.

Once chicken has reached desired doneness, top the tops of each chicken breast with 2 slices of mozzarella. Pour tomato mixture on top. Cover pan with lid once more and let the mozzarella melt, about 1-2 minutes.

Lastly, drizzle with a splash of balsamic vinegar and serve immediately.

Taco Quesadilla Pizzas

Ingredients :
As many of you know, I like to 'play with my food', experimenting and changing things up! It is always fun to combine two different dishes that are both great by themselves and to make something new and even better like using a taco ingredients as a pizza topping! When I recently came across the idea of combining not just two dishes but three, all very tasty in their own right, into one dish I knew right away that I would have to try making the taco, quesadilla pizzas and soon.

The basic idea behind this recipe is that a taco quesadilla is topped in a pizza like fashion and baked until the cheese on the top has melted. For the taco quesadillas I went with a filling of seasoned ground beef, refried beans, salsa and of course plenty of cheese and I grilled them in a pan until the tortillas were golden brown and crispy. These taco quesadillas are great all by themselves but I continued with the pizza toppings going with a simple salsa and a few more taco filling ingredients and of course lots more cheese!

These taco quesadilla pizzas will disappear in a flash and each is pretty large, being big enough for 2 or more servings. One nice thing about this recipe is that you can either go for the convenience of all store bought ingredients or you can make one or more components from scratch and keep things a little lighter. I can't wait to experiment with a few more quesadilla pizza flavour concepts!

Ingredients :
1/2 pound ground beef
1 tablespoon homemade taco seasoning or 1/2 store bought packet
1/4 cup water
4 (8 inch) tortillas
2 cups cheese such as cheddar and/or jack, shredded
1/2 cup refried beans
3/4 cup salsa
1 tomato, diced
2 tablespoons black olives, sliced
4 green onions, sliced

Directions :
1. Brown the meat in a pan over medium heat, drain the excess grease, mix in seasoning and water and simmer until most of the liquid is gone, about 10 minutes.
2. Sprinkle 1 cup of the cheese evenly over two tortillas followed by the meat and the 1/4 cup of the salsa.
3. Spread the refried beans over the remaining two tortillas and place them on top of the meat covered ones with the bean sides down.
4.Place one of the taco quesadillas in a large pan and grill it over medium heat until the cheese has melted and the tortillas are lightly golden brown, about 2-4 minutes per side.
5. Place the taco quesadilla on a large baking sheet and repeat for the remaining taco quesadilla.
6. Spread the remaining salsa over the tops of the taco quesadillas, sprinkle on the cheese, black olives and green onions.
7. Broil in a preheated oven until the cheese has melted, about 2 minutes. (Keep an eye on them so they do not burn!)

Chicken with Olive

Chicken features on our menu at least twice a week and as I’ve said before, after the 100th time of trying to cook it differently, it becomes hard to get creative! Especially during the summer months when being in a hot kitchen is about as appealing as a full body wax (well for me anyway).

Knowing I had to develop a recipe using Mediterranean Delicacies’ Calamata Style Olives, I wanted to keep whatever I was going to make fresh, light and perfect for Summer eating. I wanted the olives to have a starring roll and thought the chicken would be the perfect, simple backdrop.

This dressing is quite amazing. It is such a pleasure to eat as the salt, almost-bitter olives paired with sharp and vinegary capers and sweet cherry tomatoes just work so well together. I had to stop myself from eating spoonfulls straight out of the bowl before dinner. I added lemon juice, olive oil and fresh parsley to make it into a ‘dressing’ and served on top of the warm chicken escalopes, it was just delightful! Serves 4 4 large skinless chicken breasts, de-boned 1 cup flour, seasoned with salt & pepper for the dressing 1 cup Mediterranean DelicaciesCalamata Style Olives, pitted and roughly chopped 2 tbsp capers (if the capers you buy are packaged in salt, rinse and drain them before using) 1 cup cherry tomatoes, roughly chopped 1/2 cup olive oil juice of 1 lemon 1/2 cup fresh parsley, chopped salt & pepper to taste

Start by pounding the chicken between two layers of cling film until approximately 1cm thick.
Coat the chicken in the seasoned flour and fry in a hot pan until browned on either side and cooked through (approximately 1-2 minutes per side).
In the meanwhile, combine all the ingredients for the dressing and set aside.
When the chicken is cooked, remove from the pan and serve topped with the dressing.
To win a hamper filled to the brim with fabulous Mediterranean Delicacies products, visit their Facebook page.
Mediterranean Delicacies can be found at select Pick n Pay, Shoprite Checkers, Spar, Fruit & Veg City and independent retailers nationwide.

Crock Pot Mexican Chicken

Shredded Mexican or Tex-Mex Chicken is so easy to cook in a crock-pot (slow cooker) or pressure cooker. It’s a great basic recipe to have on hand in your freezer for use in burrito, Quesadillas, Soft Tacos, Chicken Enchiladas, Chicken Tortilla Soup, or Chimichangas. Really, you can put this chicken in anything you want to give a Mexican or Tex-Mex flair to.

CROCKPOT MEXICAN CHICKEN

This is possibly the easiest homemade Mexican food. Ever. Also known as soul-warming, snuggle-up-and-get-cozy sweatshirt and blankie comfort food. Also known as my life, minus the sweatshirt and blankie. And never again will I use the word blankie in writing. Bleh.

Ironically it’s something like 110 degrees here, which is not a joke AT ALL and yet still I felt the need to use the sweatshirt analogy? Maybe I’ve been thinkin’ too much about those yummy sweatshirts from Albion Fit. <– pst, that’s a giveaway and you should enter.

This ridiculously easy 5-ingredient crockpot Mexican chicken recipe starts with my love of beans.

When I think of beans, I think of… well, first I think of lentils. I can’t even start on that one because we all know this post will be overtaken with lentil stuffs. And I mean Oooooovertaken.

But coming in at a close second is today’s beloved bean: the pinto.

Pinto beans and I have really gotten close in the last few years. I think it has something to do with these perfect veggie burgers that my friends Alex and Sonja introduced to me (seriously – they are perfect), and then the crockpot chalupas that have become a weekly part of my life, and just my love for Mexican-style beans and all Mexican food in general.

CROCKPOT MEXICAN CHICKEN
APRIL 8, 2013
5K+
crockpot mexican chicken

This is possibly the easiest homemade Mexican food. Ever. Also known as soul-warming, snuggle-up-and-get-cozy sweatshirt and blankie comfort food. Also known as my life, minus the sweatshirt and blankie. And never again will I use the word blankie in writing. Bleh.

Ironically it’s something like 110 degrees here, which is not a joke AT ALL and yet still I felt the need to use the sweatshirt analogy? Maybe I’ve been thinkin’ too much about those yummy sweatshirts from Albion Fit.  pst, that’s a giveaway and you should enter.

This ridiculously easy 5-ingredient crockpot Mexican chicken recipe starts with my love of beans.

beans

When I think of beans, I think of… well, first I think of lentils. I can’t even start on that one because we all know this post will be overtaken with lentil stuffs. And I mean Oooooovertaken.

But coming in at a close second is today’s beloved bean: the pinto.

Pinto beans and I have really gotten close in the last few years. I think it has something to do with these perfect veggie burgers that my friends Alex and Sonja introduced to me (seriously – they are perfect), and then the crockpot chalupas that have become a weekly part of my life, and just my love for Mexican-style beans and all Mexican food in general.

Dear Chipotle, I miss you.

crockpot mexican chicken

So how exactly is it possible that this recipe has just FIVE ingredients? I don’t even know.

What I do know is that somehow I still managed to get mildly stressed out trying to do a three minute grocery trip to find five ingredients. Bah! This is an unnecessary thought right now (that’s me cryptically reassuring my mom that I’m not pregnant) but sometimes I worry about what my life will be like when we have kids. Someone tell me it’s not just straight up chaos all the time. Someone?

When you need to slow your life down a little bit and not run all over the grocery store in a tizzy, because I’m sure you’re more capable at the hunt for five ingredients than I am, this is your winner.

Five ingredients stand between you and crockpot Mexican chicken. Unless you still need to buy a crockpot. Go! Go now.

crockpot mexican chicken

Speaking of slow, this guy needs to cook for a long time. Blame it on the beans – they take forever and a half to cook. I started to worry that my chicken was getting dry, so I took it out when it was done and just let it chill (yep) in the refrigerator while the beans cooked their slow selves away. Then a year later when the beans were done, I added the chicken back in the crockpot and shredded it up.

And before this post ends, I’m going to mention just a few of the endless possibilities for customizing this Mexican crockpot goodness into your favorite thing ever.

Leave out the cream cheese.
Add all the cream cheese.
Add corn.
Use canned beans: omit most of the water and reduce the cooking time.
Add corn before cooking.
Add sauteed peppers after cooking.
Use homemade salsa.
Use less beans.
Use more chicken.

INGREDIENTS :
1 jar of your favorite salsa (I like to use 1½ jars… just because)
3½ cups water
1 lb. chicken breasts
1 lb. dry pinto beans, rinsed
2-3 tablespoons taco seasoning (1 packet if using store bought)
2 ounces or more light cream cheese (totally optional – just adds creaminess)
salt to taste

INSTRUCTIONS :
Place the pinto beans, salsa, and water in a slow cooker or Crockpot. Stir to get the liquid in and around the beans. Place the chicken breasts on top. Cover and cook on high for 4-5 hours or low for 7-8 hours.
After about 3 hours, remove the lid and check on the mixture. Stir to keep the beans from sticking to the bottom and add a little more water if necessary. Don’t open the lid more than once or twice – it adds to the cooking time.
When the beans and chicken are cooked, gently shred the chicken with two forks. It should shred very easily. Add the taco seasoning and cream cheese and let the mixture sit for another 15-30 minutes. Serve with rice, tortillas, or chips. Top with avocado, cheese, and cilantro.

NOTES
If you use canned beans, omit the water and reduce the amount of cooking time. Also, if you are worried about the chicken getting dry, remove the chicken breasts after 3 hours or so when they are fully cooked, store in the fridge, and add them back in at the end. I have tried it both ways and they’ve both worked fine.
This makes about 8 cups, so I’m roughly calculating 16 servings (about ½ cup each).

Crispy Baked Apple Chips

These Crispy Baked Apple Chips have been my saving grace, particularly when I am craving a dessert like apple pie or something crunchy to munch on.

This is such a fun way to eat a serving of fruit!  Granted you could just eat the apple and be done with it (LOL).  Where's the fun in that? Or you could simply buy these from the store already prepared and packaged, but then you have more than you should have for one sitting (I for one am not done with a bag of chips until I've reach the bottom of the bag), and who knows what additives are in the store bought ones.

Ingredients:
1 medium (baseball sized Organic apple (Gala, Honey Crisp and Fuji are what I used)
Juice from 1/2 Lemon
3 C cold water
1/4 tsp Cinnamon
1/2 tsp Splenda

Utinsels:
2-Large Non-stick Cookie Sheets
Large bowl
Mandoline slicer or a sharp knife
Paper towels or clean dish clothes
Silpat sheets (optional)

Make an acidulated water bath for your apple slices by filling the bowl with water and the juice of half a lemon.  I float a slice of lemon in mine just for ha has.

Wash and dry apple.  Using great care slice apple into paper thin slices, the thinner the better.  Don't worry about the core it bakes up crispy too, and the seeds will fall out as you slice.  When your slices build up drop them into the bowl of acidulated water.  This process will keep the apple slices from browning from air exposure.

Remove the slices from the water bath and place in a single layer on paper towels.  Pat them try thoroughly and transfer them to the cookie sheet.

Mix together the Splenda and Cinnamon in a small bowl and sprinkle it evenly over your chips.

The cookie sheet should be non-stick and very clean.  If your sheet has some wear or is not non-stick then you will want to use the silpat sheet otherwise your crisps will stick.

Cooker Chicken Tacos

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If there has been one thing to steal my heart from the wonderful clouds of smoke from my grill this year, it has been my slow cooker. I have always loved having a magic dinner-ready-when-I-walk-into-a-house-filled-with-tummy-growling-awesomeness tool but this year I really feel in love with it. And why? BBQ nachos waiting for me at 9:30 at night after a long day of work, creamy soups comforting me when I can’t chew, and this cookbook.

America’s Test Kitchen Slow Cooker Revolution has been my most used cookbook this year. I am constantly flipping through it tabbing more and more pages. I have expanded my slow cooker collection to one large one, two small, and now one of those fancy triple ones for parties (thank you, Santa) and there are days when I feel like I could possibly use all of them. Every time I think I can walk away from this cook book for a little while, I am drawn back in by one more recipe I just have to try.  (Heck, I have made two from it this week alone!)

Now, because this is a book from America’s Test Kitchen (cough, Cook’s Illustrated) even this slow cooker book is not for a novice chef. It’s not dump everything in and walk away, poof, dinners ready 7 hours later. There is prep work, though it’s not terribly much. There may be some browning, or some simmering before hand but because its a ATK book, you know they did some crazy amount of research to make that simmering and browning 100% worth it.  Every recipe I have tried from the 336 page thick book has been mouth watering, hearty, and satisfying.

No, the following recipe is not from Slow Cooker Revolution. It’s a simple, fast, and painless kind of meal with no prep work and the product of some quick rummaging through the pantry. But I did want to get you all excited about the book. Why? Well I guess you will just have to scroll down a bit more.

Ingredients:
1 1/2 lb boneless skinless chicken (breasts or thighs, whichever you prefer)
1 8oz can enchilada sauce
4 teas taco seasoning (I love this recipe)
a few dashes of tabasco sauce
1/8 teas pepper
2 oz cream cheese
1 cup shredded sharp cheddar cheese
Whole wheat soft taco shells

Toppings:
1 bunch cilantro
black beans
salsa
1 green pepper, diced
1 red onion, diced
guacamole
sour cream
Preparation:

Toss chicken in slow cooker with enchilada sauce, taco seasoning, tabasco sauce, and pepper. Cook on low for 5-7 hours, until chicken is easily shredded with two forks. After shredding, stir in cream cheese and cheddar until melted.

Serve with soft shell tacos and desired toppings.

Tomato Salad with Mozzarella and Avocado

Here is another interesting version of spring inspired salad. Instead of spreading out pieces all over the plate or making a mix, you can assemble them into mini-tower. You family and friends at the table will be pleasantly surprised by this. Who said all healthy things can't be beautiful as well?

Ingredients:
1 large tomato
1 fresh buffalo mozzarella (in water), drained or other mozzarella
1 avocado, peeled and sliced
minced fresh basil
1/2 cup arugula salad
1 tsp lemon juice
1 Tbsp. olive oil
salt and freshly ground pepper

Directions:
Slice tomato horizontally into 3 or 4 slices depending on the size of your tomato. Slice mozzarella cheese into slices and place one slice on top of each tomato slice. Next, cut the avocado into thin slices and place on top of the mozzarella layer. Drizzle olive oil and lemon juice over the top and lightly sprinkle with basil. Season with salt and pepper.

Reassemble the tomato, with the arugula salad in between each slice. Drizzle with more oil, and serve.

You may also need :

• Tomato
• Salad with
• Mozzarella
• Avocado