Lemonade Chicken with Cilantro Lime Veggies

Here is a recipe I made last night that turned out rather well.  And it was SO easy!  I made some for us to enjoy over the next few days and dished some up in freezer bags for dinner coop group. 


Lemonade Chicken (borrowed from Freezer Friendz) 
Ingredients:
6 boneless, skinless chicken breast halves
6 oz. frozen lemonade concentrate, thawed
1/3 cup soy sauce
1 tsp. garlic powder

Assembly:
Place chicken in freezer bag.
Combine the lemonade, soy sauce and garlic powder and pour over the chicken.
Seal out air and freeze flat.

Serving Day:
Thaw completely.
Pour into a greased 9 x 13-inch baking dish.
Cover with foil and bake at 350 degrees for 45 minutes.
Uncover. Spoon juices over chicken and cook another 10 minutes uncovered.
Enjoy with a salad and your favorite side!


I was blessed with several fresh garden veggies from our friends Melanie and Lindsey, so I cut up a squash, zucchini, onion, 2 tomatoes, and 5 small potatoes (Pre-steam any potatoes first or they will end up hard.). I  used the following dressing since I still had lot of fresh cilantro in my fridge.  I concocted the following dressing for the veggies, allowed them to soak in it for several hours, and then hubby threw them on the grill with the chicken in our grill veggie basket. He wasn't a big fan of the bitter taste of the lime, but I liked them ok.  To cut down on the bitter taste, I decreased the amount of lime below.  


Cilantro Lime Veggie Marinade
1 Tablespoon lime juice
1/4-1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil 
Dash of pepper
Dash of sea salt
1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro
2 teaspoons of minced garlic (I like garlic)
Mix together in a bowl.  Pour over chopped veggies.  Allow to soak for several hour and then grill or place in oven. 

Summer's just around the corner...

Hello all!
The temps are climbing and the sun is shining.  School is gradually coming to an end.  It is time for SUMMER!  With summer drawing nearer, this weekend I was inspired to eat light, fresh foods.  My food choices are indicating that I am definitely ready for cookouts, cold beer, and lazy days!

I had some leftover shredded BBQ chicken in the fridge that I had previously made in the crockpot and had frozen.  Last week we enjoyed some hearty BBQ sandwiches, but I quickly tired of that heavy food and was avoiding the leftovers in my fridge like the plague.  Although it was tasty, I was burnt out on the typical BBQ chicken sandwich.  I also so did not want to be wasteful, so I was looked for some inspiration on www.pinterest.com to see how I could be creative. Ultimately, I ended up going back to my old post on Buffalo Chicken Wraps and recreated them with BBQ chicken instead!

I used ready-made shredded coleslaw mix in the bag from the store, cut up some red pepper and onions, and sprinkled some shredded cheddar cheese on top.  I even squeezed a little bit of light ranch dressing and then rolled them up in some yummy cilantro-jalapeno wraps. Here are the steps:

I wrapped up 8 of them and stuck them in the fridge for the week.  YUM!  Cut one in half for a light meal, and you are all set!

I was also inspired by this yummy and EASY summer salad- Fresh Corn and Tomato Salad.  

To save time and since it is not quite corn season yet, this time I opted to use canned corn.  However, I cannot wait to make this again this summer with fresh corn, cut directly from the cob! I did use fresh vine tomatoes and basil, though.  With only a few ingredients, this was a simple 10 minute recipe. 

  We ate a bunch with our BBQ chicken wraps for dinner the other night, and then I prepackaged the rest into several small containers.  

I have been enjoying them for lunch this week at work along with some fresh snap peas,  low fat mozzerella string cheese, and baked Cheetos. I occasionally add a granola bar into the mix!

We had some leftover bananas that needed a purpose- and quick! Since my husband loves banana bread, I thought I would break out my beloved Kitchen Aid Mixer and whip up some banana bread last night, but I wanted to give it a new twist.  Looking for something with ingredients that I keep on hand, I was inspired to make this Peanut Butter Banana Bread. It turned out well, but you should know it is definitely more peanut butter tasting than banana if that is what you are craving!

With the coming of a new season, we are happy to announce our newest arrival...we went with Team Titan!  We really preferred the Tundra, but decided that the Titan was a more reasonable choice for now.  

What are your favorite summer recipes?

Buffalo Chicken Wraps

As promised, I am returning today with an awesome recipe I got off of Iowa Girl Eats, but have adapted it to become a "make-ahead" meal for the week. I was craving hot wings, but I am not one for trying to suck all the carnage off of the bones just so I can taste the sweet, hot tang of wing sauce. Plus, I wanted to make a healthier alternative. I also made these on Superbowl Sunday for a satisfying lunch, but then made several more wraps to take to work for lunch throughout the week.

I started with the following ingredients: 

4 boneless Chicken breasts

1 packet of dry Ranch dressing mix 

1 16 oz. bottle of hot wing sauce

1 package of tortillas or wraps.

One small bag of shredded lettuce

One small bag of shredded carrots

1 onion

4 stalks of chopped celery

Bleu cheese or shredded cheddar cheese

*Ranch dressing optional 

I started by placing the chicken and the bottle of hot sauce in the slow cooker.  Sprinkle the Ranch seasoning mix over the chicken. You can place it on low for 6 hours.  I was anxious so I placed it on high for about 3-4 hours and it worked fine.  Shred the chicken as it gets more tender.  

Believe it or not, there is a whole bottle of wing sauce in the slow cooker above.  It was the perfect amount of kick when mixed with four chicken breasts.  

Next, I chopped up my lettuce, carrots, onion and celery and mixed together well. 

I then spread a bit of the meat mixture onto the edge of a tortilla.  Rather than a regular old tortilla, I used Mission 10"cheddar jalapeno wraps because they are easier to "fold".  (I also have serious issues with store-bought tortillas.  Once you have bought fresh, homemade tortillas, nothing else quite tastes the same!)  These worked perfectly because it added a bit more flavor and really complimented the wrap. I then sprinkled some of the veggie mixture on top of the chicken.  Lastly, I strategically placed some bleu cheese on top. If you do not care for bleu cheese, you could easily opt for shredded cheddar. If you choose, you can add a dab of Ranch dressing to the wrap as well, although I would only do this if you plan to eat it right away.  If you are preparing make-ahead, it might become too soggy. 

Then roll it up! I cut each wrap in half to make smaller portions. 

Next, I placed the wrap on a piece of aluminum foil and then I wrapped it. 

I used all of the tortillas I had and then was left with several small Buffalo Chicken Wraps that we both took to lunch almost everyday. The didn't get too soggy and they were delicious!  

We definitely had leftover fixins' of the Chicken mixture and veggies so for a couple of nights, we actually enjoyed Buffalo Chicken tacos placed in small corn tortillas with the veggies and cheese placed on top.  These were even better!