Laura’s Spice-rubbed Chicken Breasts

Laura’s husband proclaimed these the most tender and juicy chicken breasts ever! Give them a try tonight. The nutrition facts were created at Calorie Count, the best free website to count your calories!

Laura’s Spice-rubbed Chicken Breasts

4 servings

Ingredients:

2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts

1 tbsp olive oil

1 tbsp brown sugar

1 tsp cumin

1 tsp garlic powder

1/2 tsp onion powder

1/2 tsp paprika

1/2 tsp dried thyme

1/4 tsp salt

1/2 tsp ground black or red pepper (depending on how spicy you want it!)

1/4 tsp ground allspice

Directions:

Slice chicken breasts horizontally across the middle to create 2 thinner halves. One at a time, cover each half with plastic wrap and pound to an even thickness with a meat mallet.

Rub each piece with olive oil.

In a small bowl, combine the sugar and spices. Rub the mixture over both sides of each piece of chicken.  A thin plastic gloves makes this a tidy operation.

Grill each side for 2 minutes over medium heat.* Let rest for five minutes.

*Alternative cooking method: On the stove-top, heat 1 tbsp. canola oil in a large skillet over medium-high. Brown a few minutes on both sides until the juices run clear. Allow to set covered with foil for five minutes.

Vendetta555's Roasted Summer Day Veggies

Vendetta555 loves to create quick and easy recipes. Use her helpful hint about how to keep your dishes to a minimum and enjoy this delicious recipe! The nutrition facts were created at Calorie Count!

Roasted Summer Day Veggies

ready for roasting

Ingredients:

1 zucchini, sliced

1 yellow squash, sliced

8 oz mushrooms, button, sliced

1/2 onion, cut into large chunks

1 T olive oil

2 t garlic powder

1 t dry onion powder

1 t paprika

1/2 t turmeric

1 t cumin

1/2 t black pepper

1/2 t oregano

Pinch sea salt

1/8 t cayenne pepper

Optional Ingredients:

sweet red pepper, shallots, purple onion, carrots, or Japanese eggplant

Directions:

Preheat oven to 400 F.

Slice the veggies into equal sized pieces, rounds or lengths. If you are using baby squashes, leave them whole or slice in half. Small or medium pieces are fine - the size is up to you. Larger pieces will need a few more minutes to roast.

Place all the ingredients in a zip lock bag and shake it all about until the veggies are well coated.

Dump the veggies onto an ungreased non-stick cookie sheet (or a baking pan) and spread evenly.  Roast for approximately 12-15 minutes (depends on the size of your veggies) - or until a fork slides into the yellow squash easily. 

Enjoy as two side dishes or one main dish. Delicious served over quinoa.

Crazypotato98's Moroccan Chicken and Butternut Squash Soup

Bring the heady aroma of Moroccan spices to your table with this delicious soup!

The nutrition facts for this delicious soup were created at Calorie Count, the best FREE online website to count your calories!

Moroccan Chicken and Butternut Squash Soup

Ingredients:

8 servings

1 tbsp oil

1/4 cup onion, chopped

0.38 kg (14 oz) chicken, boneless, skinless

1 tsp cumin, ground

1/4 tsp cinnamon, ground

2 1/2 lb butternut squash, peeled, cubed

2 tbsp tomato paste

5 cups chicken stock

1 cup brown rice, cooked

1 zucchini, quartered and sliced into 3/4 inch pieces

Directions:

Saute onion in oil until browned. Cut chicken into bite-sized pieces, add to the onion and cook for four minutes or until no longer pink.

Add cumin and cinnamon to pan; cook one minute, stirring constantly.

Add squash and tomato paste; cook 1 minute. Stir in chicken stock. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer 8 minutes or until squash is tender.

Stir in cooked brown rice and zucchini. Add salt to taste. Cook five minutes more or until all vegetables are tender.

Crazypotato98’s Teppanyaki

A variation using green beans instead of zucchini

Crazypotato98’s Teppanyaki is a Japanese-style mixture of  meat and veggies, best served with brown rice. Use the veggies and meat you have and create your very own Teppanyaki!

The nutrition facts for 4 servings were analyzed by Calorie Count!

Teppanyaki

Ingredients:

1/4 cup soy sauce

3 tbsp honey

2 tbsp balsamic vinegar

1 1/2 tsp garlic powder

1 1/2 tsp ginger, ground

1/2 pound skirt steak

8 oz carrot, sliced into long flat strips

8 oz {chayote or other squash, sliced into long flat strips}

8 oz zucchini, sliced into long flat strips

1 tbsp salt

4  sprays cooking spray

Directions:

Mix the soy sauce, honey, vinegar, garlic powder, and ginger together in a small bowl. Set aside.

On a grill, a comal or a frying pan, add steak and sprinkle with salt. Cook until no longer pink and set aside.

In a large frying pan or a wok (or a grill if desired, with foil so that the veggies don't fall through), coat with cooking spray and add carrot and chayote squash. Sprinkle with salt and saute with cooking spray for about six minutes, turning halfway through. I sprayed cooking spray on top of the veggies before I turned them.

Add zucchini, sprinkle with salt and saute for about another six minutes, turning halfway through.

You may drizzle some of the sauce into the pan with the veggies when they are nearly cooked, or you may reserve it simply as a dipping sauce.

In a large bowl, you may combine crisp-tender veggies with steak strips and drizzle some of the sauce on top, tossing so that the coating is even. Or you may simply serve steak and veggies separately and dip in the sauce.

Best served over brown rice.

Corinn's Spicy Hamburgers

The nutrition facts were designed at Calorie Count!

Corinn's Spicy Hamburgers 

Burger patties:

1 pound ground beef 80/20 (not any leaner than that)

1 minced shallot or 1/4 of a minced purple onion

2 cloves minced or crushed garlic

1 teaspoon cayenne pepper

1 teaspoon coarse black pepper

1 teaspoon dried thyme

1/4 teaspoon dried rosemary

1/2 teaspoon coriander powder

1/2 teaspoon mustard powder

1 tablespoon kosher salt

1 egg

1/4 cup panko (Japanese bread crumbs)

2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce

1 tablespoon Tabasco sauce

Garnishes (all are optional and not included in the nutrition facts):

Green leaf lettuce or arugula

Sliced purple onion

Sliced dill or bread n' butter pickles

Sliced tomatoes

Sliced avocado

Sliced cheese of your choice (I find Havarti, baby Swiss and sharp cheddar to be my favorites)

Strips of cooked pork belly bacon

A fried egg

Good quality sandwich rolls

Directions:

In a large mixing bowl place the pound of ground beef, the egg, the seasonings, the minced or crushed garlic and the minced shallots or purple onion. Add the bread crumbs and mix to combine but be careful not to over-mix and mush up the meat. When mixing is complete, if the mixture is too wet, add more panko to dry it out. It should have a slightly wetter consistency than the raw ground beef alone and should easily form into dense patties. Heat an iron skillet (or any pan with high heat conductivity) to temperature; you'll know it's ready when a drop of water skitters across the surface. Use a small piece of the meat mixture as a "test" for seasoning; cook it through and taste it, then adjust salt and heat levels accordingly.

Once the burger mix is appropriately seasoned, cook on high heat on both sides until nicely browned (if medium doneness is desired). If you want well-done burgers, cook them on medium-high heat for a longer period of time. When the burgers are just a hair away from finished, place a slice of cheese of your choice on top and cut off the heat, allowing residual heat from the pan to finish the burgers themselves and melt the cheese. Allow the burgers to rest for 10 minutes before eating--this is a good time to prepare any garnishes or toast your buns.

After the burgers rest, plate up with your favorite garnishes or buns, french fries, coleslaw, potato chips or any side dish of your choice and enjoy. :)

Michael’s Relatively Low Fat Guacamole

The nutrition facts for this delicious guacamole were designed using the great tools at Calorie Count!

Michael’s Relatively Low Fat Guacamole

Ingredients:

1 med. to large avocado, well ripened

1 tsp. Tony Chachere's salt substitute

1 tsp. garlic powder or 1 large clove, peeled and minced (to taste)

1/3 cup finely diced onions

1 - 2 Tbsp. bottled or canned NM green chili (you choose the heat level; recommend Hatch)

1/8 tsp. "all purpose" seasoning herbs (McCormick's, for example)

1/8 tsp. cumin

1/4 cup fresh tomato, seeded and finely chopped

dash of black pepper

1 tsp. lime juice + zest of one or two limes

3 oz. plain, no fat Greek yogurt (Fage recommended)

1 Tbsp. plain sweetened almond milk

Directions:

Split the avocado length-wise and remove the pit. Scoop the avocado out of the peel and place into a small mixing bowl.  Mash it up thoroughly with a fork. Add all the other ingredients and mix well, using the almond milk to bring the mixture to the desired thickness/consistency.

Cover the container and chill for at least a half hour.  If you are going to be keeping the guacamole longer, return the pit to the mixture; this will keep it from turning dark.  This recipe should be enough for two people or four light nibblers as an appetizer.

Serve with GREAT chips!

Corinn’s Katsu Curry

The nutrition facts for this delicious Japanese curry were made at Calorie Count!

Corinn’s Katsu Curry

Ingredients:

The Tonkatsu:

8 thin-cut pork chops, boneless

Panko bread crumbs

All-purpose flour

2 tsp garlic powder

2 tsp salt

1 tbsp black pepper

1 tbsp shichimi togarash (seven-flavor pepper powder) (you can sub cayenne pepper for this, but reduce to 1/2 tsp)

2 eggs diluted with milk or water

The Veggies:

8 red-skin potatoes or new potatoes (waxy potatoes work best), diced into large-ish cubes

1 red bell pepper, cut into strips

1 small sweet onion, sliced

2 carrots, sliced thinly on the bias

3 green onions, chopped finely

1 red hot chili pepper, sliced very thinly (optional if you like heat)

Splash of soy sauce (in the boiling water)

The Sauce:

3 tbsp olive oil (not extra virgin, just regular olive oil)

1 tbsp butter

All-purpose flour (to thicken, amount used varies based on desired thickness)

3 tbsp good-quality yellow curry powder (get this from an Indian grocer if you can, the quality difference is HUGE)

1 tbsp shichimi togarash

3 cloves of garlic, crushed

2 tbsp fresh ginger, minced

1/4 cup soy sauce

Water to your desired consistency

Directions to make the curry:

First, you want to get the veggies boiled off. Cut up the potatoes and carrots, since they need to be boiled first. Put them in a pot and boil them with a splash of soy sauce. While this is going on, you can start breading and frying your pork chops.

Set up a breading station with a dish of flour (seasoned with garlic powder, pepper, salt and shichimi togarash), a bowl with the egg and milk mixture and a dish with plain panko breadcrumbs. Bread the pork chops normally and fry off in vegetable oil until crisp and golden brown. Store these in the oven, wrapped in foil, to keep them warm.

By this time your veg should be done; remove from heat and strain off. Start making the sauce. In a large saucepan, add the olive oil and butter and melt it down. Add the onion and bell pepper (and chili peppers if you want it spicy) and cook them until the onions are translucent. Add curry powder, shichimi togarash,  garlic, ginger and (if necessary) more butter. Add the flour and cook it off to make a roux. Add cold water and whisk vigorously, cooking until thickened. Add boiled potatoes and carrots to the sauce; reduce heat to low and cook slowly for another five minutes.

Remove from heat and add finely chopped green onions.

To plate:

Slice two breaded pork chops into long, thin strips and arrange on a mound of white or brown rice in a shallow bowl. Ladle a few spoons of sauce over the top; garnish with pickled ginger and a sprinkling of shichimi togarash.  Serve immediately. Feeds four-six rather hungry individuals.

Dave’s Hidden Secret Dessert

Dave says not tell anyone there is tofu in here and they'll think its sherbet! The nutrition facts were designed at Calorie Count!

Hidden Secret Dessert

Ingredients:

10 oz tofu (firm or soft works just fine)

1 banana

3 T honey

1 cup berries

1 t vanilla

½ t salt

Directions:

Into a blender jar put 10 ounces of tofu, 1 banana, 3 Tablespoons honey and a cup of drained berries, peaches, plums or any other fairly strong fruit and 1 teaspoon of vanilla and a half teaspoon salt. Blend at high speed until smooth and frothy.

Ladle out into a pie dish and place in freezer for about 90 minutes.

Options:

Use any combination of fruits: berries, peaches, plums, limes, or other strongly flavored fruit.

Poetnw's Puppy Pancakes

From Poetnw who messed with a recipe from Betty Crocker and made it hers… well made it for her pups.

Sally

Sally's Puppy Pancakes

Ingredients:

1 egg

1 cup buttermilk- can be sweet milk or milk with yogurt or vinegar or lemon in it to sour it.

2 t. fat, melted or salad oil

1 cup flour- whatever you like- wheat, oat, rye, almond meal, skies the limit

2 T wheat germ

1 teaspoon baking powder

1 half teaspoon soda

No salt- dogs and humans really don't need it.

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350. 

Add wet ingredients to the dry and make a nice slurry. 

Heat skillet or griddle or fry pan and add a little grease or oil to it and get it hot.  I tend to make fat pancakes and this recipe made three large pancakes.

When the pancakes have bubbles on the top side, carefully flip it over and let it cook a minute or so on the other side. 

Put your round pancakes on a baking sheet and place into the preheated oven. Bake for around 20 minutes- keep an eye on them- the goal is get them toasted and harder for the pups.  Not burned, just toasted harder. 

Take them out of the oven and let them cool.

Cut into strips. I found the easiest way to make strips was to use my kitchen scissors.  I cut long strips then cut those in half. How large or small you make the strips depends on the size of your dog.  For sure put the dog treats in the fridge because, unlike store bought processed pet treats, these have no preservatives.

Have your pup sit pretty and reward with a nice slice of puppy pancake.

Suchit's Thai Marinade for Grilled Chicken

My friend Suchit is from Thailand. She says that, for the Thai people, the first choice for the cilantro in this dish would be to use cilantro roots instead of stems. But, since that is not always available where she lives now, she makes this delicious marinade with cilantro stems. Do not use the cilantro leaves, save those for making the dipping sauce (link below).

The nutrition facts for the marinade were created at Calorie Count.

Thai Marinade for Grilled Chicken

Ingredients:

4 chicken breasts or 8 thighs

One batch marinade

Marinade Ingredients:

1/2 cup soy sauce, low sodium
1/4 cup cilantro stems or roots* (no leaves)
2 T garlic, minced
fresh cracked black pepper to taste
Optional: 1 T ginger, sliced and smashed

Directions:

Add the marinade ingredients to a large zip lock bag.

Pat the chicken dry with a paper towel (do not rinse chicken) and add to the marinade, remove air, seal and refrigerate for anywhere from 4 hours to overnight.

Remove the bag from the refrigerator and heat coals on a grill. Remove the chicken from the bag and discard the marinade. Grill the chicken until the juices run clear - turn frequently.

Serve with Thai Dipping Sauce and enjoy mindfully with a skewer of grilled veggies and a bit of lovely brown basmati rice.