Bacon Avocado Chicken Salad

PEOPLE. This is SO good. Like go to the store RIGHT NOW and get what you need to make this. I just had leftovers for lunch and it was just as delicious. For those of you doing Whole 30 – put it in a lettuce wrap and you are good to go! 

 

Bacon Avocado Chicken Salad

 

3 cups shredded chicken breast (I used a rotisserie chicken)

2 large avocados – partially mashed (I ended up using 2 and 1/2)

1/2 tsp sea salt

juice of 1 small lime

1/3 cup (approx 4-5 slices) cooked and chopped turkey bacon

1/2 tsp garlic powder

1/2 tsp onion powder

 

Let chicken cool. Combine all ingredients until fully mixed. Try to keep some avocado chunks intact. Store in a zip top plastic bag with the air removed to prevent browning (I did this last night and no browning at lunch today). Refrigerate. Serve on a sandwich bun, in a tortilla, or on a lettuce leaf. I also ate this with tortilla chips. You can top with seeded jalapeños. I didn’t because I knew that would be too spicy for my kids. Three out of four kids liked it. WIN!

Crunchy Stuffed Chicken Wraps

I don’t know why it never occurred to me to cook up stuffed tortillas like this, but it didn’t. I’m so glad I found this recipe!

The original is here. You can follow her directions and make an absolutely delicious dinner!

My takeaway from this recipe, though, was that this method is the perfect way to fancy up what’s leftover in your fridge. And, you can make as much or as little as you want! Several times now I’ve used leftover chicken from various other recipes, leftover rice or quinoa that I seasoned, some shredded cheese, and voila! Tomorrow I’ll be mixing together scrambled eggs, shredded cheese and some leftover turkey sausage to make breakfast wraps.

To assemble and cook: put the mixture down the center of a tortilla, roll it up, flatten it a bit, and then spray the seam side of the wrap with some canola, coconut or olive oil spray.

Cook them in a non-stick skillet on medium until golden brown and crisp, about 2-3 minutes per side. Cook them seam-side down first to seal the edge.

Serve with any kind of dip that would go with however you’ve flavored the inside of the wrap! Sour cream, ranch, hummus, salsa, whatever!

Pesto Crockpot Chicken

Ok, ok, I DO realize that the title of this blog is NOT “1001 Ways to Make Chicken in the Crockpot.” And, we do eat more than shredded crockpot chicken in this house.

However, it’s easy, versatile, and good. Tonight’s was a big hit, as in my husband commented that it was one of the best things I’ve ever made (he did come home starving at 7:45pm, so that *might* have something to do with this, but trust me, it’s delicious!).

And it could not be easier. Recipe found here originally, and she served the chicken whole, but I liked the versatility of the shredded idea better.

1 jar pesto (drain the oil off the top if it’s separated; you won’t miss it!) (any kind, 6-8 oz, or make your own! Recipe here, just don’t add the half and half.)
1 packet Hidden Valley Ranch dressing (not dip mix)
1/2 cup chicken broth
4 large chicken breasts

Put chicken in crockpot, cover with pesto and ranch packet, pour over broth and stir around a little bit. Then cook for 5-6 hours on low or until the chicken shreds easily with a fork.

I shredded the meat and put it in a casserole dish with the liquid it cooked in, and stuck it in the fridge because it was done too soon for dinner. When I reheated it, there wasn’t a ton of leftover liquid, just FYI.

This would be excellent mixed in with some pasta and sprinkled with parmensan, or on a hoagie roll with some melted provolone. I served it tonight over jasmine rice (cooked in chicken broth) and sprinkled with shredded chihuahua cheese (I would’ve used mozzarella, but I didn’t have any). It was SO good! Even the kids ate it up without a peep of complaint.

Success!

Crockpot Philly Chicken Sandwiches

Another Pinterest-inspired winner for our family! I’ve made this several times since finding it last spring. I usually make a double batch in the crockpot and freeze it in 2-3 portions for meals on a busy baseball-game night.

Original here; my main change from the original is the seasoning because I didn’t know what Dale’s Steak Seasoning was. The original poster updated her recipe with info on it in case you want to try it: it’s a sauce found near BBQ, etc in the grocery, not a dry seasoning as I assumed it was.

So here goes!

1 large sweet onion, sliced
1 large green pepper, sliced
8 oz sliced mushrooms
4 chicken breasts, whole (sometimes they’re even partially frozen and that’s fine)
Weber’s Chicago Steak Seasoning (but for the love, don’t buy this online – it’s usually on sale for about a buck at our grocery stores)
Granulated garlic
Sliced cheese (provolone, swiss, mozzarella)
Hoagie rolls

Spray your crockpot with non-stick spray, and put a couple of pats of butter in the bottom of it. Put in the vegetables, and sprinkle in some of the seasonings. Then layer the chicken on top, and cover with seasonings. I’m sure I use at least a Tbl of the Chicago Steak seasoning, but it is peppery so take it easy if you don’t love pepper. I just use about a tsp total of the garlic powder. You can always salt this later if it’s not salty enough for you!

Because our boys eat these sandwiches REALLY well without the vegetables, I keep the chicken on top the whole time it’s cooking. Then, I can easily just lift out the chicken, SHRED IT, and keep the vegetables for Matt’s and my sandwiches.

I cook this on low for probably 6 hours.

Avocado Egg Salad

Green egg salad looks a little funny, but tastes so good!

And it fits into my diet well (fat is a little high, but it’s avocado and egg, so a good source of fat at least!). This quantity makes 4 servings.
Calories: 155
Fat: 12g
Protein: 8g
Sodium: 138mg

5 hard-boiled eggs (but only use 2-3 of the yolks), chopped
1 1/2 – 2 Tbl light mayo
1 avocado, mashed
finely chopped red onion
Salt & pepper
A little squirt of mustard
Dill – I love dill, so I use a lot, but use what you like

Mix together.

I love this on any kind of Flatout bread!

Breakfast Pockets

I made these for dinner last night, and they were REALLY good! A bit time-consuming, but since it makes a lot (we had several pockets leftover for the freezer, which means Luke will get a hot breakfast on a school day in the weeks to come, which will make him really happy!) I was okay with that.

You do make a bread dough, but it was really easy and totally worked. In fact, now that I have this dough recipe, I’m thinking of all kinds of stuff to fill these pockets with! It makes a light, not-tough bread that’s perfect for filling with something, and dough that was very easy to work with.

I mostly followed the original recipe, found here. My only change was to use crumbled bacon instead of sausage, since that’s what I had on hand (and what we prefer). I just sprinkled it over the top of the egg filling when I had it on the dough already, so it stayed crispy. That meant that instead of frying the sausage with the onion, I just needed to saute the onion in a tiny bit of butter before I added the egg and hash browns later.

A note about the filling: instead of frozen hash browns, thawed, I just bought Simply Potatoes hash browns (I used the southwest seasoned ones – these are found in the refrigerated section of the grocery near eggs). And, next time, I will omit the hash browns completely. We just don’t eat a lot of potatoes around here, and Luke even commented that he loved them, but next time he’d like no hash browns. To me, it was just filler. I’ll add a couple more eggs to make up the difference in volume.

Dough
1 1/2 Tbl yeast (2 packets)
1/2 c warm water (110 degrees – I microwaved for about 30 seconds)
3/4 c evaporated milk (110 degrees – again, microwave, but only about 20 seconds because it’s not as cold as the water to start with)
1/2 c vegetable oil
1/4 c sugar
1 egg
1 tsp salt
3 1/2 c flour

Filling
1 lb bulk sausage (or bacon, as described above)
1/2 c onion, chopped
1 1/2 c hash brown potatoes (thawed or use Simply Potatoes)
7 large eggs
3 Tbl milk
1/2 tsp pepper
1/2 tsp garlic salt
pinch of cayenne pepper
1 1/2 c cheddar cheese, shredded

Dough:
In a large bowl, dissolve yeast in the water.
Add milk, oil, sugar, egg, salt, and 2 cups flour; whisk until smooth.
Add enough flour until it makes a soft dough but do not knead. Cover and let rise in a warm place until doubled, about 1 hour.

Filling:
Cook the sausage and onion over medium heat until browned. Drain. Whisk the eggs, milk and spices together in a bowl. Add the hash browns and egg mixture to the pan. Cook and stir until set. Sprinkle with cheese and keep warm.

Assembly:
Preheat oven to 350°.
Punch down the dough and cut into 16 equal pieces.
Roll or stretch each piece into 7 in circle on a floured surface. Top with 1/3 c filling, fold, and pinch shut (I didn’t have any problems with filling oozing out while baking, and I just pinched them closed with my fingers). Bake for 15-20 minutes.

To freeze:
Allow to cool completely. Once cooled, place in the freezer on the baking sheet until frozen. Store in a ziploc bag in the freezer for 3-6 months. To reheat, place on a paper towel and microwave for 1 1/2-2 minutes.

Peanut Butter Apple Roll-ups

This is a quick, delicious lunch or snack that I can’t believe I haven’t posted before now! I’m not sure where I saw it…maybe Tiffany’s blog years ago? Anyway, I just quick put these together for the boys’ lunchboxes yesterday.

You need:

Flour tortillas
peanut butter
honey
apple slices
Sprite or similar if you’re making them to be eaten later (like school lunch)

Lay out the tortilla, spread some peanut butter down the middle and drizzle on a little honey. Cut the apples into large slices (1 large apple makes 2 roll-ups) and put them in a bowl with some Sprite for a minute if you’re serving them later, so they don’t brown. If you are serving them immediately, you can skip this step.

Roll them up, cut them in half, and you’re done!

Really easy and my boys gobble these up.

Avocado Chicken Salad

This was one of those pins that I couldn’t wait to try!

And it didn’t disappoint. I’m really partial to my own chicken salad recipe as far as homemade goes, so I’m always reluctant to try a new one BUT because of the avocado, I gave this a try. Yum!

The original is here, and I’ve made a couplr of changes to make it the perfect mashup between Chipotle’s guacamole and chicken salad.

Here’s how I did it, along with approximate quantities:

~3 1/2 cups of shredded chicken (rotisserie or use this trick)
1 1/2 regular-sized avocados
3 Tbl light Hellmann’s mayo (really go easy on this…you can always add a little more if needed)
2 Tbl-ish of chopped red onion
cilantro, to taste
juice of one-half a lime, or maybe a bit more
salt/pepper to taste – using rotisserie chicken meant I didn’t need to salt this, really, but it did need pepper

Mix everything in a bowl, simple as that. Serve with crackers or make sandwiches.

About 1/8 of this recipe = approximately 185 calories.

i can't wait until there is still sunlight coming through my windows at dinnertime, so my pictures with my crappy camera are less crappy.

 

Enjoy!

The Most Delicious Grilled Cheese Ever.

I’m not sure there can be a better grilled cheese sandwich than this one.

Inspiration here via Pinterest, of course. (Aaaand realizing now that I completely forgot the pepperoni when I made these, so I won’t include that in the recipe, but I’m sure it’s delish. Oh well.)

Here’s what you need:
bread (I used a loaf of artisan french bread – any will do, but I prefer something that like for this kind of sandwich)
slices of provolone and/or mozzarella cheese
slices of avocado
slices of tomato
butter
garlic salt

You’re basically just making a grilled cheese sandwich here, so no rocket science. Butter a slice of bread, lightly sprinkle with garlic salt, and put on a skillet or griddle. Top with a slice or 2 of cheese (we used a slice of provolone and a slice of mozzarella), a few slices of avocado and tomato, and another piece of bread with butter and a light sprinkling of garlic salt.

NOTE: Flipping these sandwiches is difficult, so use caution not to let them come apart!

this was the second time we made these, and i smashed the avocado up a bit, which made them easier to flip BUT harder to eat. i'd still recommend slicing the avocado.

Serve with a bowl of soup or a salad. YUM.

Smashed Meatball Sandwiches

A while back I made a GIANT batch of these meatballs (I’m talking 3+ pounds), taking some to a friend and making extra to stick in the freezer.

After I rolled about a million meatballs, but before I started stuffing them with cheese, I thought about cooking some up for sandwiches. And a round meatball on a sandwich + a kid = huge mess, so I got the idea to smash them down a bit.

So here’s how it all goes:

1 lb. lean ground beef (or turkey or chicken)
1/2 cup Italian seasoned dry bread crumbs (I use Panko)
1 egg
spaghetti sauce
rolls
cheese slices

Mix the first 3 ingredients together well and roll into a dozen or so meatballs.

Put in a non-stick skillet…no need for oil or anything, even with extra lean ground beef (with ground turkey or chicken you will probably need just a little bit to keep them from sticking). Let them cook over medium heat for a few minutes as a whole meatball, and just before flipping them over, smash them down a little. Flip, cook through, and remove from heat. Heat some spaghetti sauce and pour over the meatballs (if you just put the sauce in the pan you’ve just used, it’s going to pop and splatter a lot, so be ready for a mess if you go that route).

Serve on rolls – whatever you prefer, but they are best when toasted on a griddle for a few minutes – and add a slice of provolone or mozzarella.

Because I froze these and was making an original batch of the meatballs for us, too, I used some of the sauce from that pan to put over the smashed meatballs and froze them that way.

These were really good…Luke devoured, and the other 2 ate moderately well, especially when I described them more as tiny burgers instead of meatballs!