Smoky Dill Salmon & Chive Dip

Smoky Dill Salmon & Chive Dip

This stuff is DE-LI-CIOUS! It's the perfect dip to bring to a BBQ or have out if you're hosting a gathering this summer. And it's so easy to make!


Ingredients

8 oz                       Cream Cheese (I use reduced fat it tastes just the same!)

2 oz                       Packaged Smokey Dill Salmon (Trident brand)

1-2 stalks                Green Onion Chives

Mix all ingredients in a med sized bowl really well (until your cream cheese turns pink) and serve cold with crackers!

You're welcome in advance. ;)

Let me know what you think if you end up making this! I would love to hear from you. Leave a comment, send me a message!


Crista

Spicy Chicken Gyros

Holy moly, it's been a while since I've blogged! Life has been B-U-S-Y! In advance, please excuse the back to back posts that are about to happen today.

I recently made a trip to St. Cloud, MN for a three day long Emergency Medical Dispatch class which was hosted in Downtown St. Cloud at the Stearns County Law Enforcement Center. One day for lunch we found this delicious Greek restaurant (Greek Cravings, 26 5th Ave S, St Cloud, MN 56301) and I had one of thee most delicious Spicy Chicken Gyro's I could have ever possibly imagined consuming. If I lived in St.Cloud, this place (and my diet) would be in TROUBLE! Aaand they're open until 3 a.m. for all you bar hoppers!

It was then that, Spicy Chicken Gyro's became a food goal. I think I nailed this one pretty good! I also made a tasty, low calorie, Tzatziki Sauce.

One of the key ingredients to make these Gyros spicy is to use jarred hot banana peppers and/or any other type of hot peppers you can find. I grilled the chicken seasoned with some Kosher salt, crushed black pepper and cayenne pepper. When I'm ready to prepare the Gyro's I saute the banana peppers with some white onion, diced up chicken breast, Frank's Red Hot Sauce and some olive oil.

Saute until your onions are tender and your concoction is ready to put in your pita! For the Tzatztiki Sauce it couldn't be more simple! I use Fat Free Plain Greek Yogurt, Kosher salt, fresh dill, diced up cucumber and green onion. And then I just top my Gyro with some chopped up Romaine lettuce and some Roma tomatoes.



Here's a breakdown of ingredients and instructions ...


Spicy Chicken Gyro's


Prep Time: 5 Min    Cook Time: 15 Min    Servings: 4


Ingredients

3                      Grilled Boneless/Skinless Chicken Breast, Diced
1                      Medium White Onion, Sliced
3/4 Cup           Hot Banana Peppers
1/2 Cup            Franks Red Hot Sauce
1 1/2 Tbsp         Olive Oil
4 Slices             Flat Bread
2 Cups             Romaine Lettuce, Chopped
1                      Roma Tomato, Sliced & then halved              
1/2 Tsp             Kosher Salt
1/4 Tsp             Crushed Black Pepper
1/4 Tsp             Cayenne Pepper

Tzatziki Sauce

6 oz                  Plain, Fat Free Greek Yogurt
1/2 Cup            Cucumber, Finely diced
4 Tbsp              Green Onion, Finely diced
1 Tbsp               Fresh Dill, Finely chopped    


Instructions

Mix together 1/2 teaspoon salt, 1/4 teaspoon black pepper & 1/4 teaspoon Cayenne Pepper to make your seasoning for the chicken breasts. Sprinkle seasoning mixture over the chicken breasts once they are on the grill. *If you like a little more heat, feel free to add more black pepper or cayenne pepper.

In a bowl, mix together your yogurt, diced cucumber, green onion and dill. Set aside or put away in a container for later and place in refrigerator.

When your chicken is done, let it cool for about 5 minutes. Slice your white onion and add it to a skillet with your banana peppers, olive oil and franks red hot sauce. Dice up your chicken and place in skillet with your onion and peppers, medium heat. Saute until your onion has softened.


Enjoy!


*You can always make this one serving at a time and prep your onions and peppers with your cooked and diced chicken at a later time. I personally like to take these for lunches because they are filling but a super light and low calorie lunch! 
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Feel free to add more Frank's Red Hot Sauce if you really like some heat!


Please let me know if you make these and what you think! I would love to hear from you. Leave a comment, send me a message, whatever your heart desires!

Until next time,


Crista

Sweet Heat Chicken Fajitas

With it being Cinco De Mayo weekend, Mexican inspired dishes are on the brain!

I love some heat in my meal and when it's paired with something sweet ... I cannot resist! 

This recipe was something that was whipped together while I vacationed in Palm Springs back in March and it is seriously DE-LI-CIOUS! The only thing I did differently when I made this again, was the marinade I used for the Chicken. Which ultimately just ended up enhancing this recipe! 

Taste buds, beware.

Sweet Heat Chicken Fajitas

Let's talk chicken marinade first! You're going to want to let your chicken breast marinade for a good couple hours. The longer the better!

                           

I used equal parts of the items pictures above for the marinade; Sriracha, Franks Red Hot Sauce & Hawaiian Marinade. I had 3 chicken breasts to marinade, so I used approximately 4 Tablespoons of each sauce. Just make sure your chicken breasts (depending on how much you're making) is covered evenly in the marinade.

The primary components to this recipe are the Jalapeño's & Pineapple that you add to the Fajita mixture. The rest is really quite basic.

I prefer to use Red, Yellow or Orange peppers, but feel free to use any color pepper you like. Just don't forget your onion. I strongly recommend Yellow Onion, which has a bit of a sweet flavor. Though, some prefer White Onion (which has a stronger "onion taste") or Red Onion (which can be a bit on the lighter "onion taste" scale, especially once sautéd).

When you start to sauté your veggies, you can start grilling your chicken. I don't have a convenient gas or charcoal grill, so I use my stove top grill. This thing actually works quite great! Obviously you have to have a gas stove and not an electric one, if you want to use one of these. 

I add the Jalapeño and Pineapple after the peppers and onions have softened. Your Jalapeño and Pineapple don't need to soften much, just sauté long enough to combine flavors. I usually let everything sit together on low for about 10 minutes.

                

Time to eat!

I like to use the 10" tortillas, specifically the "super soft" ones. And then I top the my fajitas with Tapatio Hot Sauce and Low Fat Sour Cream. I will also add a little bit of Mexican Rice as a side when I bring this for lunch to work.
       
                                   

                                  


Here's a breakdown of the ingredients and instructions ...


Sweet Heat Chicken Fajitas


Prep Time: 10 Min or Less    Cook Time: 20-25 Min    Servings: 8-10


Ingredients

3                    Boneless/Skinless Chicken Breasts
3-4 Tbsp         Sriracha
3-4 Tbsp         Frank's Red Hot Sauce
3-4 Tbsp         Hawaiian Marinade
2-3                Peppers (color is your choice)
1                    Medium Onion
2                  Whole Jalapeno Peppers
1 1/2 Cups      Diced, Fresh Pineapple
1 Tbsp           Olive Oil (for sauteing)


Instructions

Combining the Srirach, Frank's Red Hot Sauce and Hawaiian Marinade together in a quart size sandwich baggie, along with your chicken breasts. Let this sit overnight or for several hours before cooking.

When you're ready to cook, slice up your peppers and onions. Using 1 Tbsp of Olive Oil in your saute pan, add your peppers and onions and turn your stove on to medium heat.

Start to grill your chicken in what ever manner you've chosen to do so. Each chicken breast should need about 7 min on each side to cook. Time may vary depending on your stove or if you're using an actual charcoal or gas grill, so checking the internal temperature of your chicken is always the best way to ensure it is safe to consume. It is recommended for chicken that the internal temp be at 165 degrees.

Your vegetables should be soft after about 10 minutes. Go ahead and add your pineapple and diced jalapeno peppers (seeds removed - unless you like it REALLY hot), turn your burner down to low and let that sit for no longer than 10 minutes. Stirring every couple of minutes.

Once your chicken is done, let it cool for a couple of minutes before cutting it up in to thin long slices.

Now serve & enjoy!!


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If you're interested in using one of these indoor smokeless grills, you can purchase one online for about $20. The device is just placed right on top of your burner, as pictured below, and then you add al little water to the base! They work great! 

Please let me know if you make these and what you think! Send me a message or post a comment! I would love to hear from you!

And don't forget to subscribe to my blog!


Until next time,


Crista

Tabouli (Trial Run)

While cooking some food for the rest of my work week last night, I had some tomatoes and parsley that were gonna be going bad soon, so I decided to try making Tabouli. I personally enjoy it with a lot of different things; on a salad, with a chicken breast, or on a pita chip for example.

Traditionally Tabouli is made with tomatoes, onion and/or chives, parsley, mint and wheat bulgur. Then seasoned with olive oil, lemon juice and/or zest, salt & pepper. Some variations add garlic and lettuce. And either quinoa or couscous will sometimes be used instead of wheat bulgur.

I didn't have any mint or chives this time around and I opted out of using garlic in fear that it would be too potent. When I make it again I will definitely use chives, and maybe try a little mint and garlic.

Tabouli

First I started by getting my Wheat Bulgur cooking. This takes approximately 30 minutes to make. Follow the instructions on the packaging. 

Then while that cooked, I chopped up all my veggies, which included approximately two small bunches of flat leaf parsley, 2 1/2 tomatoes and 1/3 of a red onion.

              

Once I was done chopping all that up, my wheat bulgur was ready! Yes, it took me almost 30 minutes to chop up parsley, tomatoes and onions! You gotta make sure to de-stem your parsley, and I pitted the tomatoes so there weren't any seeds in there.

I mixed all that business together really well and then added my seasonings and juices. 

I just added the salt and pepper to taste and used about a tablespoon of olive oil and a tablespoon and a half of lemon juice. But even the lemon juice I did to taste. Some of you may be more in to the bitter lemon taste than others.

Here's the breakdown of ingredients and cooking instructions ...

Tabouli

Prep Time: 30 Minutes   Cook Time: 30 Minutes   Servings: 2 Cups

Ingredients

2 bunches               Parsley (Flat or Curly Leaf)

2 1/2 - 3                  Roma Tomatoes

1/3                          Red Onion (chopped)

1/2 Cup                  Wheat Bulgur

1 Cup                     Water

1 1/2 Tbsp              Lemon Juice

1 Tbsp                    Olive Oil

A pinch of Kosher Salt & Pepper (add to taste)

Instructions

Bring to boil 1 cup water, then add wheat bulgur, cover, remove from heat, and let sit for 30 minutes. Fluff with a fork.

Finely chop up approximately 2 bunches of parsley. Dice 2-3 roma tomatoes and approximately 1/3 of a red onion. Add all of these ingredients to a bowl.

Once wheat bulgur is tender add to bowl with vegetables and herb.

Add in your lemon juice, olive oil, salt and pepper and mix well.

Nutrition Information --->  Total Calories: 123  Fat: 4g  Protein: 3g

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I hope you enjoy my trial run recipe! Please feel free to contact me with your thoughts, modifications or your own recipe!! I would love to hear from you.

Thanks for letting me share!


Crista