Lulu's Recipe Box

Grilled Chicken Fajitas

Chicken fajitas are one of my favorite dishes to order at Mexican restaurants, so when I saw this authentic recipe, originally from Cook's Illustrated, I knew I had to try them. I have made fajitas at home before, but they are usually on the stovetop with a packet of fajita seasoning. When I first read this recipe, I was a little turned off by the long list of directions, but really they are very simple to put together as long as you have someone to man the grill. I whipped together the marinade for the chicken with lime juice, jalapeño, worcestershire sauce and a few other ingredients. The chicken marinated in the fridge for 15 minutes while I cut up the pepper and onion pieces. The chicken, veggies, and tortillas are all thrown on the grill and ready to assemble into delicious fajitas in no time. You really don't need toppings because the marinade flavor is wonderful, but I topped mine with a little sour cream, fresh cilantro and shredded cheese. With the warmer temperatures lately, get that grill fired up for these fajitas! I can't wait to dig into the leftovers tonight! Now, if only I had the ingredients for a margarita as well...I could really make this into a little fiesta. : )

Ingredients:

1/3 cup freshly squeezed lime juice (2-3 limes)
6 T. vegetable oil, divided
3 cloves garlic, minced or pressed
1 T. Worcestershire sauce
1½ tsp. brown sugar
1 jalapeño, seeded, ribbed and minced
1½ T. minced fresh cilantro
1 tsp. salt
¾ tsp. pepper
2-3 boneless, skinless chicken breasts, butterflied (6 halves total), about 1½ lbs.
1 large red onion (about 14 oz.), sliced into ½-inch thick slices, rings not separated
2 large bell peppers (I used red and green) (about 10 oz. each), stemmed, quartered and seeded
8-12 (6-inch) flour tortillas

Optional toppings: sour cream, salsa, guacamole/avocado, shredded cheese, fresh lime, and/or fresh cilantro

Directions:

In a medium bowl, whisk together the lime juice, 4 tablespoons of the vegetable oil, garlic, Worcestershire sauce, brown sugar, jalapeño, cilantro, salt and pepper.  Reserve ¼ cup of the marinade; set aside.  Place the chicken breast halves in the marinade, cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for 15 minutes (no longer than 15 minutes).  Brush both sides of the onion rounds and peppers with the remaining 2 tablespoons vegetable oil.  Season with salt and pepper.

Meanwhile, using a large chimney starter, ignite 6 quarts of charcoal briquettes and burn until the coals are fully ignited, about 20 minutes.  Empty the coals into the grill, spreading them in a single layer. Place an additional 20 unlit coals over the lit coals on one side of the grill to create a two-level fire. Place the grill grate over the coals and allow to heat for 5 minutes.  Scrape the grate clean with a grill brush.  (For a gas grill, light all burners to high, cover and heat grill until hot, about 15 minutes.  Leave one burner on high and turn the rest down to medium.)

Remove the chicken breast halves from the marinade and transfer to the hotter side of the grill; discard the left over marinade.  Place the onion rounds and peppers on the cooler side of the grill.  Cook the chicken until it is well browned, 3-4 minutes.  Using tongs, flip the chicken and continue grilling until it is no longer pink inside (or an instant-read thermometer inserted into the center reads 160˚ F.) Meanwhile, cook onions and peppers until spottily charred and crisp-tender, about 8-12 minutes, turning once or twice as needed.  When the chicken and vegetables are done, transfer them to a large plate and tent with foil to keep warm.

In 2 or 3 batches, transfer the tortillas in a single layer to the now empty grill on the cooler side.  Cook until warm and lightly browned, about 20 seconds per side.  When the tortillas are done, wrap them in a clean kitchen towel or foil.

Separate the onions into rings and place them in a medium bowl.  Slice the bell peppers lengthwise into ¼-inch strips and add them to the bowl with the onions.  Add 2 tablespoons of the reserved unused marinade and toss well to combine.  Slice the chicken into ¼-inch strips and toss with the remaining 2 tablespoons of reserved marinade in another bowl.  Arrange the chicken and vegetables on a large platter with the warmed tortillas and serve with optional toppings such as sour cream, guacamole, salsa, cilantro, and/or shredded cheese.

***Recipe from Annie's Eats, originally from Cook's Illustrated

Italian Grilled Chicken with Cucumber Bruschetta

Greetings everyone! I am back from a wonderful two week Midwest trip with my husband to visit our family and friends. Our annual summer trip back home can get a little crazy busy and exhausting but it's one of our favorite vacations to take! Even after living on the East coast now for four years, we still miss the simplicity of the Midwest and our family and friends who are scattered throughout Iowa, Illinois, Wisconsin and Minnesota. This year, we split our time between Cedar Rapids, IA and Des Moines, IA where our parents are located and ended our trip in Milwaukee to visit TC's aunt, grandma and his beloved Brewers. I had never been to Milwaukee so it was fun to explore the city including trips to Miller Park for Brewers Baseball, Miller Brewery and the lakefront. Is anyone else's husband/boyfriend obsessed with baseball?? I don't mind going to games but watching it on tv is like watching paint dry sometimes. Haha. At least when I go to the games, I can people watch and eat the yummy stadium food, and that's exactly what I did at Miller Park! : ) It seriously was a beautiful ballpark and my husband was in baseball heaven seeing his favorite team play so that made me happy!

It was a really great trip, but now it's back to the reality of working out and eating healthy. I always go into detox mode when I return from vacation. We attended countless BBQ's and ate at some delicious restaurants so I was ready to get back into a healthy routine when we returned home. We grilled this healthy chicken with a delicious bruschetta topping tonight. The chicken is marinated in Italian dressing/marinade and topped with a fresh cucumber and tomato bruschetta. It was light and refreshing, but still managed to fill us up. If you are looking for a healthy and flavorful chicken dish that is easy to prepare for the summer, this is it!

I hope everyone is having a wonderful summer so far! It's hard to believe that it is the middle of July already! I promise many more recipes this summer!

 

Print this recipe!

Serves 4

Ingredients:

For the chicken:

4 whole boneless, skinless chicken breasts

1 cup store bought Italian flavored marinade/dressing (I used Kraft Zesty Italian dressing/marinade and be sure to get one without high fructose corn syrup)

For the bruschetta:

1/2 cup peeled, diced English cucumber (could probably use regular cucumber as well)

2 Roma tomatoes, seeded and diced

8 basil leaves, torn or chopped

1/4 cup Parmesan cheese shavings

1/8 tsp. minced garlic (optional)

1 tsp. good quality balsamic vinegar

salt and pepper, to taste

Directions:

Place chicken breasts in a plastic container or leak-proof food storage bag with Italian marinade. Stir to coat and refrigerate until ready to grill. I marinated the chicken for 2-3 hours which was sufficient but for even stronger flavor, marinate for longer.

Preheat outdoor grill to high. Place chicken breasts on hot grill and reduce heat to medium. Cook about 5 minutes per side or until chicken is cooked through. The time per side may need to be increased depending on the size and thickness of your chicken. Use a thermometer or cut it open to be sure you have it cooked through.

While the chicken is cooking (or you can make this ahead of time), chop up and stir together all of the ingredients for the bruschetta topping in a medium sized bowl.

Remove chicken from the grill and top with the bruschetta when you are ready to serve.

Note: I cut the bruschetta recipe in half for two large chicken breasts to serve two people.

 

***Recipe from Tasty Kitchen

 

 

Healthy Cashew Chicken

I'm on a roll with finding wonderful recipes on Tasty Kitchen. This healthy cashew chicken was a little sweet, crunchy from the cashews and vegetables and just delicious! I loved all the vegetables and chicken for a well-rounded and quick dinner. I will definitely be adding this to my dinner rotation! I can't wait to eat the leftovers for lunch tomorrow!
 

Serves 2

Ingredients:

2 T. olive oil (Divided)

1 cup sliced mushrooms

2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut into bite-size pieces

2 T. cornstarch

2 cloves garlic, minced

1/2 red pepper, sliced thin

3 whole green onions, chopped

1/2 cup unsalted cashews

3 T. honey

3 T. low-sodium soy sauce

salt and pepper to taste

jasmine rice for serving

Directions:

Heat a large nonstick skillet on medium heat and add 1 T. olive oil. Add the mushrooms and saute until soft, about 5 minutes. Remove from skillet into a small bowl.

Season chicken pieces with salt and pepper, then sprinkle cornstarch on chicken pieces and make sure each piece is somewhat coated. Add extra cornstarch if needed. Add the remaining olive oil to the skillet and brown the chicken until cooked through.

Add garlic, red pepper, edamame, half of the green onions, and cashews and stir for 30 seconds. Turn heat to medium-low.

In small bowl, mix soy sauce and honey. Pour into the skillet, coating the chicken and vegetables. Let it simmer a minute if you like the sauce a little thicker.

Serve over jasmine rice. Top with extra green onions.

*Slightly adapted from HowSweetEats on Tasty Kitchen

Thai Chicken Peanut Wraps

This recipe takes me back to my senior year at Luther College. My girlfriends and I were finally out of the dorms and into Baker Village, small townhomes on campus that had kitchens! We loved cooking and baking together, and these wraps were one of our favorite meals for dinner. For graduation, my friend Joanie put together a recipe binder for all of us girls so that we could continue making our favorite recipes post-college.

I still make these wraps and many other recipes to this day. These wraps are one of my favorites though because they are healthy and simple to put together. Also, the peanut sauce is to die for. You can't eat these wraps without the peanut sauce! You can certainly omit anything that doesn't sound good to you though. The black beans were not in the original recipe, but one of my girlfriends thought they were a great addition. A few of the girls that were vegetarians would fill their wraps with tofu instead of chicken which was also a great idea! Whatever you fancy, these wraps can be very versatile.  Just don't forget the amazing peanut sauce!

 

Makes 6 wraps

Ingredients:

6, 8-10 inch wheat tortillas

1/2 tsp. garlic salt

1/2 tsp pepper

1 pound skinless, boneless chicken breasts (cut into bite size pieces or thin strips)

1 T. cooking oil

4 cups packaged shredded broccoli (broccoli slaw mix)

1 tsp. grated fresh ginger

1 cup black beans (drained)

For the Peanut Sauce:

1/4 cup sugar

1/4 cup creamy peanut butter

3 T. soy sauce

3 T. water

2 T. cooking oil

1 tsp. minced garlic

Directions:

1. Wrap tortillas in paper towels. Microwave on high power for 30 seconds to soften. (Or, wrap tortillas in foil. Heat in a 350 degree F. oven for 10 minutes.)

2. In a small bowl combine garlic salt and pepper. Add chicken; toss to coat evenly. In a large skillet cook and stir seasoned chicken in 1 T. hot oil over medium-high heat for 2 to 3 minutes or until cooked through. Remove from skillet; keep warm. Add broccoli and ginger to skillet. Cook and stir for 2 to 3 minutes or until vegetables are crisp-tender. Add the black beans and cook until they are heated through. (I add these last so that they don't get too mushy)

3. To assemble, spread each tortilla with about 1-2 tablespoons Peanut Sauce. Top with chicken and vegetable mixture. Roll up each tortilla. Serve immediately with remaining sauce.

Peanut Sauce
In a small saucepan combine all of the peanut sauce ingredients. On low-medium heat, bring the sauce to a boil, constantly stirring until the sauce thickens. Remove from heat. Makes about 2/3 cup.

***Recipe adapted from Better Homes and Gardens

Restaurant Style Chicken Enchiladas

Wasn't it nice having an extra hour today? I woke up at 7am feeling fresh and rested, and the day went nice and slow which I always enjoy on a Sunday. I had a leisurely day of grocery shopping, catching up with a few friends and making these yummy enchiladas. Believe it or not, this enchilada recipe is from InStyle magazine. Weird, I know. The older issues of InStyle always had an article on a themed party and included recipes for that party.  I used to make these all the time one summer in college when I was living with my stepsister and her husband, nannying for my nephew Colin. He was around 6 months at the time. He would hang out with me in the kitchen while I cooked dinner some nights for Abbie, Brian and myself. These enchiladas quickly became a favorite meal and my brother-in-law still talks about how good they were. I was digging through my recipe cards last night and couldn't believe I hadn't made them in so long! They were definitely as good as I remember and TC approved as well. They are very similar to the red enchiladas that you would order at a Mexican restaurant.These enchiladas are a delicious and easy meal to throw together! Buen provecho!

Restaurant Style Chicken Enchiladas

Ingredients:

2 cups shredded Monterey Jack cheese, divided

1- 19 ounce can red enchilada sauce

1- 4 ounce can chopped green chiles

1 cup sour cream, divided (I used light sour cream)

1 1/2 tsp. sugar

1 tsp. ground cumin

4 cups cooked, shredded chicken (can use preroasted chicken from store)

Flour tortillas (I used 8 large tortillas)

Directions:

Heat oven to 400 degrees F. In a large bowl combine 1 cup cheese, 1/2 (8 oz.) can enchilada sauce, all green chiles, 1/2 cup sour cream, sugar and cumin. Stir in shredded, cooked chicken. Lightly spray a 9x13 baking dish with nonstick cooking spray. Place one tortilla in the dish and spread 1/3 cup filling along center of tortilla, gently roll, and place seam- side down in dish. Repeat the process until all ingredients have been used.

Evenly divide the remaining 1/2 can of enchilada sauce over the enchiladas. Dot with the remaining 1/2 cup sour cream and sprinkle the remaining 1 cup of cheese on top. Bake in oven 15-20 minutes or until the enchiladas are heated through and bubbling.

 

 

Orzo with Chicken & Asiago

I have a very tasty, healthy and simple recipe for you to try during this upcoming work week. My sister gave this recipe to me at one of my wedding showers last year, and I'm now just getting around to trying it. It was a cinch to prep and make, and even though the flavors are simple, they come together for a delicious one pot meal. Including prep and cooking time, this meal took about 25 minutes. Definitely a meal you can still whip together when you come home from work lacking energy. Most of the ingredients are those you have in the cupboard at all times too!

Ingredients: 

1 cup water

1- 16 ounce can fat-free low sodium chicken broth

12 ounces skinned, boneless chicken breasts, cut into bite-size pieces

1 1/4 cup uncooked orzo pasta

1 cup frozen peas, thawed

1/2 cup or more grated Asiago (or Parmesan) cheese, divided

1/4 tsp. salt

1/4 tsp. dried rosemary, basil or oregano (whatever you like and have on hand)

1/8 tsp. black pepper

Directions:

Cut your chicken breasts into bite-size pieces, grate your cheese (I used mostly Asiago but added in some Parmesan as well), and thaw out your 1 cup of frozen peas.

Combine the water and chicken broth in a Dutch oven; bring to a boil. Add chicken and pasta; bring to a boil again. Reduce the heat. Stir often while it simmers 12 minutes or until most of the liquid is gone and pasta thickens up stirring occasionally.

Remove from heat. Stir in peas, 1/4 cup cheese, salt, your herb of choice and pepper until well combined. Taste so you can adjust the seasonings to your likings. I added a little more salt and pepper. I also added more than 1/4 cup cheese because I enjoy cheese! : )

Top each serving with one tablespoon of cheese. 

Makes about 4-5 servings.

***Recipe from Sarah Ramsey (my sister)

CPK's BBQ Chicken Pizza

  

One of my favorite kinds of pizza is BBQ Chicken, especially from California Pizza Kitchen. Instead of heading out to CPK and spending money, I decided to make homemade pizza using the California Pizza Kitchen cookbook that has been sitting on my bookshelf for years unused. It is actually a pretty good cookbook but we just don't make pizzas often enough to use it all that much. The CPK cookbook has the recipe for their pizza dough as well as their most popular pizzas, including the BBQ Chicken. 

I used all of the same ingredients that the CPK recipe calls for but I changed the amounts to my liking, and instead of making their pizza dough, I bought some pizza dough from Whole Foods. I had no idea up until a few days ago that many specialty grocery stores have pizza dough to purchase. For those of you in Des Moines, you can purchase pizza dough at Gateway Market as well as their homemade pizza sauce. I haven't done this myself but my sister informed me of this the other night. I thought this was a great idea to save myself some time and still get the great flavor of homemade dough, so I went to the big Whole Foods near me and picked some up! The Whole Foods by me had both plain and whole wheat pizza doughs. I had to get the plain because they didn't have any whole wheat made, but I'm definitely going to try that next time! All you have to do when you are ready to create is put some flour on the ball of dough and either roll it out or use your hands to form the pizza. The pizza turned out great and tasted just as good as CPK. The crust tasted fresh and much better than the store bought pizza crusts. I'm looking forward to trying some different combinations on this pizza dough, and hopefully making some of my own dough soon! 

 
 Ingredients:

(Feel free to use more or less BBQ sauce, cheese and chicken. The nice thing about pizza is that the measurements don't have to be exact.)

1 recipe for pizza dough (homemade or store bought)

Flour for handling the dough

Olive oil 

2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts

1/2 cup of your favorite BBQ sauce (I used Sweet Baby Ray's Honey BBQ)

1/4 cup shredded smoked Gouda cheese

1 cup (use more if you like) Shredded mozzarella cheese

1/4 small red onion, sliced thin

2 Tablespoons Chopped Cilantro (use to your liking)

Directions:

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. 

Wash the chicken breasts and pat dry. Salt the chicken breasts on both sides and then place in an ovenproof dish. Pour some BBQ sauce over the breasts and turn them over to coat both sides. Bake for 20-25 minutes, or until chicken is done. Remove from the oven and cut into 3/4 inch cubes. Set aside and increase the oven temperature to 500 degrees.

Roll/stretch out the pizza dough using flour for handling the dough. Lay it on a sheet pan or round pizza pan drizzled with olive oil. Drizzle/brush a little olive oil on top of the dough as well. 

Use a large spoon or brush to spread evenly the remaining BBQ sauce onto the dough. Sprinkle the Gouda cheese over the sauce. Cover with 3/4 cup shredded mozzarella cheese. Distribute chicken pieces evenly over the cheese. (I did not use all of the chicken) Place pieces of thinly sliced red onion onto the pizza. Sprinkle an additional 1/4 cup mozzarella cheese over the top of the pizza. 

Bake for 10-15 minutes at 500 degrees or until crust is crisp and golden and the cheese at the center is bubbly. Remove from the oven and sprinkle with about 2 tablespoons of chopped cilantro. Slice and serve.

*** Adapted from The California Pizza Kitchen Cookbook

Cheesy Chicken Enchiladas

I am a big fan of enchiladas! I enjoy enchiladas with red sauce, but I saw this variation over at Annie's Eats and thought I would give it a try. The Ranch salad dressing and sour cream as the sauce intrigued me. The results were delicious. They were much more creamy and rich than enchiladas with a red sauce, but there is nothing wrong with that. A very different taste overall but I would definitely recommend them! 

 

 

Ingredients:

4-6 boneless skinless chicken breasts

8 oz. reduced fat sour cream

8 oz. Ranch salad dressing

flour tortillas (10-15)

jar of salsa

about 4 cups shredded Mexican cheese or as much as you want

Directions:

Cook chicken breast by preferred cooking method until cooked through. Set aside to cool. 

While chicken is cooling, mix up the sauce. In a large mixing bowl, combine half of the sour cream and half of the Ranch dressing. 

In a small bowl, combine the rest of the sour cream and the rest of the Ranch dressing.

Stir both until well combined. Shred or chop the cooked chicken and add to the large mixing bowl. Mix well with sauce. 

Preheat oven to 375. Grease a 9 x 13 pan and possibly another smaller pan if needed. Take one tortilla and top with a little less than 1 T. of the sauce from the small bowl. Spread over the tortilla in an even layer. Add some of the chicken mixture to the center of the tortilla. Top with salsa to taste. Sprinkle with shredded cheese to taste. Roll up tortilla and place seam side down in the prepared baking dish. Repeat with remaining ingredients (usually makes 10-15). Sprinkle the tops of the enchiladas with extra cheese and salsa if you like. 

Bake in a preheated oven for 25-30 minutes. Allow to cool for a few minutes before serving. 

*** Recipe from Annie's Eats

Basil Chicken in Coconut Curry Sauce

I wouldn't say that I'm a huge fan of curry dishes but I liked the few that I have tried at restaurants. When I saw this recipe, I thought it would be fun to try making it at home. The recipe looked simple enough for a busy weeknight and the picture looked pretty good too. It was definitely easy to prepare and the flavor was subtle. I was expecting it to be more spicy and I wish it would have been. I would recommend putting some curry powder and chili powder into the sauce if you prefer spicy. If you are feeling adventurous and want to try a curry dish, this is one that is easy to prepare and delicious. Serve it over steamed rice.

Printable version

Ingredients: 

3 skinless, boneless chicken breast halves
2 teaspoons curry powder
½ teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon pepper
¼ teaspoon chili powder
1 medium red onion, chopped
5 cloves garlic, minced
2 jalapeno peppers, seeded and finely chopped (by seeding the jalapeno you lose most of the spice/heat but retain great flavor)
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 14-ounce can light coconut milk
1 tablespoon cornstarch
1 tablespoon dried basil
1 teaspoon grated fresh ginger
3 cups hot cooked rice

Directions:

Cut chicken into 1-inch pieces. Place in medium bowl. Stir together curry, salt, pepper and chili powder. Sprinkle over chicken, tossing to coat evenly. Cover and chill for 1 to 2 hours.

In a large nonstick frying pan, stir onion, basil, garlic and peppers in hot oil over medium-high heat for 3-4 minutes, until onion is translucent. Add chicken and cook for 5-6 minutes until no longer pink.

Combine coconut milk and cornstarch and whisk well to combine. Carefully add to skillet, whisking vigorously. Cook and stir until slightly thickened and bubbly. Add more curry powder and chili powder if you would like more hotness. Stir in ginger. Cook and stir for another minute. Serve over hot rice.

Chicken Cashew Lettuce Wraps

These chicken cashew lettuce wraps are very similar to the chicken lettuce wraps at P.F. Chang's. Those are delicious and I was really impressed by how great these were as well.These lettuce wraps had plenty of crunch, flavor and spiciness!  Great for a low carb meal too! Even though these are normally served as an appetizer, we ate them as our main dish. It was just enough food for the two of us as a meal. Instead of heading to P.F. Chang's next time, you can create these at home on the cheap and in about 30 minutes. Enjoy!  

Printable Version

Serves 6 as an appetizer or 2 as a main dish

Ingredients:

1 T. rice vinegar

1 T. brown sugar

1/4 tsp. ground red pepper

1/4 tsp ground ginger

1 tsp. sesame oil

2 T. plus 1 tsp. soy sauce, divided

3 T. Canola Oil or oil of choice

2 piece Chicken breast, about 3/4 lb., diced

1 cup diced onion

2 cloves garlic, minced

1/3 cup cashews, chopped

Leaves of Greenleaf or Iceberg lettuce, washed and dried

Directions:

For stir fry sauce, mix together rice vinegar, brown sugar, ground red pepper, ground ginger, sesame oil, and 2 T. soy sauce, making sure to dissolve brown sugar. Set aside.

Heat oil in pan over medium heat. Add diced chicken and brown for about 4-5 minutes. Remove chicken from oil. Add onions and garlic to pan and remaining teaspoon of soy sauce to the pan and brown. When onions and garlic are brown and tender, add stir fry sauce, browned chicken and cashews. Saute mixture for a few minutes and remove from heat. 

Spoon chicken mixture into individual lettuce leaves. Add your favorite hot sauce, more cashews or basil as desired. 

***adapted slightly from Tasty Kitchen member missamy