Buffalo Chicken Potato Skillet

Buffalo Chicken Potato Skillet

Ingredients
-2 lbs. potatoes, cut into 1" pieces
-1 cup vegetable broth
-3 tbsp. butter
-1 rotisserie chicken, shredded 
-1 bottle hot/buffalo sauce (choose your favorite!)
-1/2 crumbled blue cheese
-2 celery stalks, diced
-1 onion, diced
-mushrooms
-1/2 cup ranch dressing (or try blue cheese if you don't like ranch)

Instructions 

1. place layer of potatoes in a large skillet and pour vegetable stock over potatoes until it is halfway up the sides of the potatoes. bring to a boil over medium-high heat, cover for 5 minutes.
2. remove cover from potatoes, add onions & mushrooms, and cook for another 5 minutes. then place three pieces of butter over the potato mixture and continue to cook them. check the bottoms of the potatoes until you see them start to brown and all liquid is gone.
3. coat the chicken with your hot sauce and heat in microwave/toaster oven (no microwaves at my place).
4. place chicken on top of cooked potato skillet, top with celery, blue cheese, and drizzle with ranch.

I made this meal for a Sunday dinner. I crave chicken wings, fries, and beer on Sundays when I'm watching football and did not want to go out to eat so I opted for this recipe. It's cheap to make because oftentimes, I have these ingredients in my kitchen already. You can expect the recipe to take about 30 minutes to make and serve about 6 people. 

Homemade Jambalaya

Homemade Jambalaya

Ingredients
-2 chicken breasts, cut into 1" pieces
-1 cup shrimp, I only had pre-cooked shrimp
-2 hot link sausages, cut into 1" pieces
-1 onion, diced
-1 green pepper, diced
-2 celery stalks, diced
-1 can diced tomatoes w/ chiles
-3 cups vegetable stock
-1 cup rice
-jalapeno pepper, finely chopped
-3 tbsp. olive oil
-2 cloves of garlic, crushed
-Cajun seasoning
-1/4 tsp. cayenne
-fresh cilantro
-salt and pepper to taste

Instructions

1. cook 1 cup rice with 2 cups water in rice cooker. keep warm until ready to serve
2. heat 2 tbsp. olive oil in large skillet over median-high heat
3. saute celery, onion, green pepper, jalapeno, and garlic for about 5 minutes (veggies are mostly cooked)
4. add the last 1 tbsp. olive oil, chicken, and sausage to the skillet. saute for about 5 minutes (or until the chicken is no longer pink)
5. add the vegetable stock, shrimp, diced tomatoes, Cajun seasoning, cayenne, sale and pepper, and stir to combine
6. reduce heat to simmer & cover for about 20-25 minutes
7. scoop rice in a bowl & top with jambalaya mixture. garnish with fresh cilantro

My Homemade Jambalaya should yield about 6 servings. I would recommend adding more/less jalapeno and cayenne pepper depending on your taste. This recipe makes a great dinner and tastes even better left-over!

Banana Cookie Butter Cookies

Banana Cookie Butter Cookies

Ingredients

-package of sugar cookie dough

-Trader Joe's Cookie Butter

-bananas

Instructions

1. bake the cookies per the package instructions
2. after the cookies are cooled, spread Cookie Butter on them
3. slice up bananas and place on cookies

So I'm in love with Trader Joe's Cookie Butter. It does not last long in my pantry. Instead of always eating it right out of the container, I decided to find a way to let others enjoy the Cookie Butter, too. I was making cookies for another recipe and thought I should give this combination a try. It's really, really good! If you can stop yourself from eating the whole container of Cookie Butter- try this recipe!

Snickers Salad

Snickers Salad

Ingredients 

-2 green apples

-1 bunch of grapes

-1 container of Cool Whip

-snack size Snickers

Instructions

1. dice the apples, grapes, and Snickers into bite sized pieces
2. in a mixing bowl combine all ingredients
3. refrigerate for at least an hour before enjoying

This is my mom's famous Snicker's Salad recipe. It's a staple for family events and cookouts. Seriously, one of the easiest desserts to make that everyone enjoys. I brought this to a 4th of July cookout and everyone loved it!

Roasted Sweet Potato and Grains Salad

Roasted Sweet Potato and Grains Salad

Ingredients

-2 sweet potatoes, cut into 1" cubes

-onion, sliced

-1 tbsp paprika

-3 tbsp olive oil

-1-2 cups cooked grain (rice, quinoa, etc.)

-3 cups of spinach

-2 tbsp lime juice

-1 tbsp honey

-2 tbsp cilantro, chopped

Instructions

1. preheat oven to 400F
2. toss sweet potatoes and onions in 1 tbsp olive oil and paprika
3. bake in the oven for about 25 minutes
4. cook grain per package instructions (I had a package of quinoa/rice that I used)
5. whisk lime juice, honey, cilantro, and 2 tbsp olive oil
6. top cooled grains with spinach, roasted sweet potatoes and onions, and honey lime dressing

I cannot believe how good this recipe was! The sweet potato, spinach, and the dressing make an excellent combination. The recipe takes about 30 minutes and will serve 2 people but up the ratios of the ingredients if need be. I used a quinoa and rice packet for my grains so I can say both are great grains for the dish. This sweet potato and grains salad is so healthy, filling, and flavorful you won't know what to do with yourself!

Quinoa and Chorizo Stuffed Peppers

Quinoa and Chorizo Stuffed Peppers

Ingredients
-4 green peppers, cut in half lengthwise and cored
-2 packages soy chorizo
-4 roma tomatoes, diced
-1 onion, chopped
-1 cup quinoa
-shredded Mexican cheese
-cayenne pepper
-salt and pepper

Instructions

1. boil cut pepper boats in water for 5 minutes. place pepper boats on a baking sheet
2. cook quinoa with 2 cups of water per package instructions
3. cook soy chorizo in skillet
4. add tomatoes, onion, cayenne, salt and pepper to taste to cooked chorizo. simmer for five minutes.
5. add the chorizo mixture to the quinoa and mix well. spoon into pepper boats
6. preheat oven to 400F and cook pepper boats in oven for 5 minutes, add cheese to peppers and cook for another 5 minutes or until the cheese is melted

I make stuffed peppers of some sort almost weekly because they're easy, healthy, and very filling. Also, they're great the next day in your lunch. As I continue to post recipes, I'll be adding more stuffed pepper recipes since they're one of my favorites!

Roasted Cauliflower Kimchi

Roasted Cauliflower Kimchi

Ingredients

-1 head of cauliflower, cut into bite sized pieces

-2 tbsp olive oil

-1/2 cup mayonnaise 

-1/4 cup kimchi

-salt and pepper

Instructions 

1. preheat oven to 400F
2. toss cauliflower in olive oil and salt and pepper to taste
3. roast for about 8 minutes, until cauliflower starts to crisp
4. mix mayonaise and kimchi in blender
5. toss cauliflower in kimchi mix 

If you haven't had kimchi yet give it a try! I picked some up at the farmer's market this weekend and have been experimenting with different ways to eat it. This recipe is so tasty, healthy, and easy to make! It's a great side dish with a little spice to it. I'm looking forward to picking up the kalechi when we run out of this. 

Roasted Brussels Sprouts with Balsamic Vinaigrette

Roasted Brussels Sprouts with Balsamic Vinaigrette

Ingredients
-1 lb brussels sprouts
-3 tbsp olive oil
-3 tbsp balsamic vinaigrette
-salt and pepper to taste

Instructions

1. preheat oven to 425F
2. trim the stump of the sprout, cut each in half lengthwise
3. toss brussels sprouts in a bowl with balsamic vinaigrette, salt and pepper to taste, and half the olive oil
4. spread remaining olive oil on a cooking sheet before you pour the brussels sprouts on it
5. bake in 400F oven for 20-25 minutes, flip brussels sprouts after 10 minutes

Generally speaking, this should serve about 4 people when served as a side dish. Brussels sprouts pair well with chicken and by themselves! 

Kale Pesto Quinoa

Kale Pesto Quinoa 

Ingredients

-1 cup quinoa

-2 cups vegetable stock

-1 cup chopped Kale

-1 cup spinach

-4 tbsp pesto

Instructions

1. Cook quinoa per package instructions
2. Add spinach kale, pesto, and Parmesan cheese to quinoa pan. Heat until spinach starts to wilt. 
3. Serve immediately. 

This dish only takes about 20 minutes from start to finish. It's a great meal for nights when you don't have a lot of time to cook or don't feel like cooking. It will serve about two people but you can always increase the ratios on the ingredients. I love adding a little extra cheese to mine and having the leftovers for lunch the next day. Kale Pesto Quinoa is a quick, healthy meal packed full of protein, fiber, vegetables, and flavor! If you're trying to consume less meat or experimenting with Meatless Mondays- give this recipe a try!

Roasted Brussels Sprouts and Potatoes with Chicken Sausage

Roasted Brussel Sprouts and Potatoes with Chicken Sausage

Ingredients
-8 chicken sausages (I used spinach feta chicken sausage)
-4 medium potatoes (I used both sweet potatoes and Idaho potatoes), cut into 1" pieces
-1 lb brussels sprouts, halved
-1 onion, sliced
-olive oil
-salt and pepper

Instructions

1. preheat oven to 425 F
2. cook the chicken sausages per the instructions on the package
3. toss cut potatoes in olive oil, salt and pepper then pour on a baking sheet lined with foil. bake in the oven for 10 minutes
4. toss the brussels sprouts and onion in olive oil, salt and pepper. add to the potatoes on the baking sheet and bake for an additional 20 minutes. 
5. serve brussels sprouts and potato mixture with chicken sausage

This is one of my new favorite recipes! It's quick and easy plus is tastes amazing!