Chipotle Chicken Skewers with Creamy Dipping Sauce

Ingredients

Chicken Skewers:
• 2 1/2 pounds boneless, skinless chicken breasts (4-5 medium chicken breasts)
• 1/4 cup packed light brown sugar
• 2 tablespoons fresh cilantro, minced
• 1 chipotle chile in adobo sauce, minced (scrape out the seeds before mincing to reduce spiciness)
• 2 teaspoons adobo sauce
• 1 1/2 teaspoons salt
• 1/2 teaspoon chili powder
• 1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
• 12 bamboo or metal skewers
Creamy Dipping Sauce:
• 3/4 cup lowfat sour cream
• 1/4 cup lowfat mayonnaise or Greek yogurt
• 1/4 cup lime juice, from 2-3 limes
• 1/8 teaspoon garlic powder
• 2 tablespoons cilantro leaves, minced
• 2 green onions, finely chopped
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/8 teaspoon ground black pepper

Directions

1. Slice the chicken breasts into long, thin strips, about 1/2-inch thick. You should have right around 30 strips. In a small bowl, stir together the brown sugar, cilantro, chipotle chile, adobo sauce, salt, chili powder, garlic powder, and pepper. Toss the chicken with the brown sugar mixture coating all the pieces evenly. Cover the chicken (or place in a ziploc bag) and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes and up to 24 hours.
2. For the dipping sauce, in a bowl, stir all the ingredients together. Cover the mixture and let stand at room temperature for 30 minutes until the flavors combine. Alternately, you can make the dipping sauce in advance and refrigerate for up to 2 days. Be sure to season the dipping sauce with additional lime juice, salt and pepper to taste before serving.
3. 30 minutes before grilling, cover the bamboo skewers with water and soak. Skip this step if using metal skewers.
4. Preheat an oven broiler or gas/charcoal grill. Weave two strips of chicken onto each skewer. Broil or grill the chicken for 5-8 minutes until cooked through, using nonstick cooking spray on a foil-lined pan if you are broiling. Serve immediately (if you broil, you may need to cook in batches) with the dipping sauce.

http://www.melskitchencafe.com/2013/05/chipotle-chicken-skewers-with-creamy-dipping-sauce.html

We had these Sunday for dinner and they were AWESOME!!!

Salted Toffee-Chocolate Squares

 

13 graham crackers
1 bag (8 ounces) toffee bits
1 1/2 Cups coarsely chopped toasted natural almonds
1/2 Cup sugar
1 Cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter
3/4 cups (4 ounces) chocolate chips
3/4 tsp coarse salt

Preheat oven to 350.  Line a rimmed baking sheet with foil.  Place graham crackers in a single layer on sheet, edges touching.  Sprinkle toffee bits and almonds over graham crackers.

In a small sauce pan, bring sugar and butter to a boil over medium-high.  Reduce heat and cook at a rapid simmer, swirling pan occasionally, until mixture is syrupy, 2 minutes.  Immediately pour over graham crackers.  Bake until sugar topping is bubbling, 12 minutes.  Remove from oven and immediately sprinkle chocolate and salt over graham crackers.  With a sharp knife or pizza cutter, cut into 2-inch squares.  Let cool completely on sheet on a wire rack.

Lemon-Ricotta Hot Cakes

6 large eggs, separated		1/4 cup sugar
1 1/2 cups whole-milk ricotta cheese		1/2 teaspoon salt
1 stick unsalted butter, melted and cooled		2 tablespoons grated lemon zest
1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract		Powdered sugar for dusting
1/2 cup all purpose flour

Yield: 4 Servings

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directions

 Heat a griddle. Whip egg whites until they hold firm glossy peaks, and set aside. Beat ricotta, butter, egg yolks, and vanilla together and set aside.Whisk together flour, sugar, salt, and zest. With a rubber spatula, stir dry ingredients gently into the ricotta mixture. Stir a spoonful of whipped egg whites into the batter, then gently fold in the remainder.  Grease the heated griddle, if necessary. Drop 3 tablespoons of batter for each hotcake on the griddle, allowing space for spreading. Cook until golden on the bottom and the top shows a bubble or two. Gently flip, and cook until undersides are light brown. Dust with powdered sugar.

6 large eggs, separated

1/4 cup sugar

1 1/2 cups whole-milk ricotta cheese

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 stick unsalted butter, melted and cooled

2 tablespoons grated lemon zest

1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

Powdered sugar for dusting

1/2 cup all purpose flour

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Olive Garden (Copycat) Grilled Chicken Flatbread Pizza

4 flat breads (pita bread) 1 Cup Alfredo Sauce 2 Cups mozzarella cheese 2 Chicken breasts grilled and thinly sliced roasted red pepper 1 roma tomato diced 3 green onions thinly sliced Preheat oven to 350. Place the flat bread on a large baking sheet. Spread Alfredo sauce on each flatbread, then top with cheese, chicken, roasted peppers, tomatoes and green onions. Place in the oven and cook for 5-7 minutes or until cheese melts. Makes 4 servings.

Fractured Tacos

1 1/2 lb Ground Beef 1 large onion chopped 2 cloves garlic, minced 1 tsp Chili powder 1/2 tsp ground Cumin 1 tsp Oregano 1 tsp salt 1 (6 oz) can Tomato paste 1 (8 oz) can Tomato sauce 1 1/2 Cup water 1 Cup cooked rice 1 (10oz) bag corn chips 1/2 head lettuce shredded 2 tomatoes, chopped 1 Avocado diced 2 cups cheddar cheese, shredded Sour Cream Cook beef until browned, stirring to crumble. Add onion, garlic, chili powder, cumin, oregano and salt. Cook 5 minutes. Add tomato paste, sauce and water. Simmer 25-30 minutes. Add rice to sauce just before serving. To Serve: Arrange corn chips in a layer on a serving platter. Top chips with meat sauce, lettuce, tomatoes and avocado. Top with cheese and sprinkle with hot sauce it desired. Top with sour cream. Serve at once 6 servings.

Tuscan Vegetable Soup

Serves: 6 servings (1 1/2 cups each) Ingredients 1 (15-ounce) can low-sodium canellini beans, drained and rinsed 1 tablespoon olive oil 1/2 large onion, diced (about 1 cup) 2 carrots, diced (about 1/2 cup) 2 stalks celery, diced, (about 1/2 cup) 1 small zucchini, diced (about 1 1/2 cups) 1 clove garlic, minced 1 tablespoon chopped fresh thyme leaves (or 1 teaspoon dried) 2 teaspoons chopped fresh sage leaves (or 1/2 teaspoon dried) 1/2 teaspoon salt 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper 32 ounces low-sodium chicken broth or vegetable broth 1 (14.5-ounce) can no salt added diced tomatoes 2 cups chopped baby spinach leaves 1/3 cup freshly grated Parmesan, optional Directions In a small bowl mash half of the beans with a masher or the back of a spoon, and set aside. Heat the oil in a large soup pot over medium-high heat. Add the onion, carrots, celery, zucchini, garlic, thyme, sage, 1/2 teaspoon of salt and 1/4 teaspoon of pepper, and cook stirring occasionally until the vegetables are tender, about 5 minutes. Add the broth and tomatoes with the juice and bring to a boil. Add the mashed and whole beans and the spinach leaves and cook until the spinach is wilted, about 3 minutes more. Serve topped with Parmesan, if desired.

Barbara Rossiter's Salad

2 heads romaine (used the kind you buy 4-5 in a package, like costco) 4 cups, approx., spring mix lettuce 3 pears 2 avocados 6-8 oz asiago cheese grated ( I usually use Jarlesberg cheese) 1-1 1/2 C whole candied pecans (I put 2 cups pecans in a skillet with 2/3 C sugar and stirred them together until the sugar was all melted and coated the pecans. I didn't use all the pecans in the salad) Briannas Blush Wine Vinigarette for dressing