Thai Chicken Wrap

I just made this for dinner last night, and since it didn't look like anything too special (just a bunch of stuff wrapped up in a tortilla, after all) I didn't even bother taking a picture, but I was wrong about this not being special. It didn't take much time or require any really amazing cooking skills, but it was SO good. I think part of it was that I finally avoided overcooking the chicken (I'm salmonella paranoid!) and I'm a sucker for anything with a good peanut sauce! This is a simple, easy dinner that is seriously tasty!

3 (6 oz.) chicken breasts
1 tablespoon soy sauce
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
1 tablespoon grill seasoning
2 cups cooked rice (I added cilantro and lime juice to my rice, just to add a little more Thai flavor pizazz)
1/2 cup julienned carrots
1/2 cup julienned cucumber
4 (12 inch) flour tortillas

Sauce:
1/4 cup room temperature chunky peanut butter
2 tablespoons soy sauce
1 tablespoon rice wine vinegar
1/4 teaspoon cayenne
2 tablespoons vegetable oil

Heat grill pan over high heat. Toss chicken with soy sauce and oil and grill 6 minutes on each side. Meanwhile whisk peanut butter, soy sauce, vinegar and cayenne together. Stream in oil. When chicken is done, slice on an angle. Toss with carrots and cucumber. In a very hot non stick skillet, heat tortillas for about 15 seconds on each side. Pile chicken, veggies and rice in wraps and drizzle liberally with the spicy peanut sauce before wrapping up.

Source: Rachael Ray

Spinach Artichoke Bread

I LOVE spinach artichoke dip so much that I sometimes want to just order it for my meal instead of being more appropriate and just having it as an appetizer! Colin also would not be thrilled if I told him we were having a dip for dinner, so this gives me my spinach artichoke dip fix, while seeming more like an actual main course--perfect!

1 (14 oz.) can artichoke hearts, drained and chopped
10 oz. fresh spinach
2 green onions, sliced
2 cloves garlic, chopped
1/2 package (4 oz.) light cream cheese, room temperature
1/4 cup mayonnaise
1/2 cup light sour cream
1/2 cup grated mozzarella
1/4 cup grated Parmesan
1 loaf Italian bread, sliced in half length-wise

Preheat oven to 350. Mix all ingredients through Parmesan together, reserving some of the cheese. Hollow 1/2 inch out of the center of both halves of the bread. Spread the mixture into the holes in the bread slices and top with the reserved cheese. Place on a baking sheet and bake for 20 minutes, covered in foil. Remove the foil and continue to bake until the cheese is melted and golden brown. Serve warm.

Two Pepper and Cheese Rigatoni

I could never go on the Atkins diet because I absolutely love pasta--any and all kinds! This was a perfectly good recipe, but out of all of the yummy pasta recipes out there, I'm not sure this was one of my favorites. For the amount of work/time involved, the end result just didn't quite wow me enough. Maybe someone else will feel differently though, so here's the recipe.....

16 oz. uncooked rigatoni
2 tablespoons butter, divided
1 cup chopped red bell pepper
3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
3 cups fat-free milk
1 cup. shredded fontina cheese
1 cup shredded sharp cheddar cheese
1 tablespoon finely chopped pickled jalapeno pepper
3/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup sliced green onions
Cooking spray
2 slices white bread

Preheat oven to 375. Cook pasta according to package directions, omitting salt and fat. Drain well; place in a large bowl. Melt 1 tablespoon butter in a large saucepan over medium-high heat. Add bell pepper; saute 5 minutes or until tender. Add to pasta. Add flour to pan. Gradually add milk, stirring with a whisk until smooth. Bring to a boil; cook 2 minutes or until thickened, stirring constantly. Remove from heat. Add cheeses, stirring until cheeses melt and mixture is smooth. Stir in jalapeno and salt. Add cheese mixture to pasta, tossing well to coat. Stir in green onions. Spoon pasta mixture into a 9 x 13 baking dish coated with cooking spray. Place bread slices in a food processor; pulse 10 times or until coarse crumbs measure about 1 cup. Melt remaining 1 tablespoon butter. Combine butter and breadcrumbs in a small bowl; toss until blended. Sprinkle breadcrumb mixture over pasta mixture. Bake at 375 for 15 minutes or until browned.

Source: Cooking Light

Cranberry Walnut Bread

Ok, I made this for our post-Christmas brunch with my family, if that gives you any idea of how behind I am on my blogging! I'll be better, I promise! In any case, this bread was yummy and fairly easy to make. Since I'm not much of a baker, I'm always nervous when I am making a bread of any kind, so "tasty" is my number one qualification, with "easy" as a close second!

2 cups flour
3/4 cup granulated sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup coarsely chopped walnuts
1 cup chopped cranberries (I used fresh ones since they were obviously readily available around Christmastime, but I think that dried cranberries would also work)
3/4 cup orange juice
1/4 cup butter, melted
1 egg, beaten
1 tablespoon orange zest

Preheat oven to 350. Mix the flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda and salt in a large mixing bowl. Add the cranberries and walnuts to coat with the flour mixture. In a separate bowl, mix together the orange juice, butter, egg and orange zest. Add to flour mixture and stir with a wooden spoon until just blended. Pour into a greased loaf pan. Bake for 55-60 minutes or until done (toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean). Cool in the pan for 10 minutes, then remove from the pan and cool completely on a wire rack.

Pappa al Pomodoro

It's technically spring now, but with this crazy Texas weather (snow on March 20th???!!), there may still be some chilly nights that would be perfect for this soup, which is basically a jazzed up tomato soup. I served this with the perfect accompaniment--a jazzed up grilled cheese, of course! I used "fancy" bread, 2 kinds of cheese and tomatoes--it was delicious! As yummy as this was, I'm a bit of a food traditionalist (well, I'm actually a bit of a "life traditionalist" too!), so next time I make it I may omit the carrots and celery to make it more of a standard tomato soup.

1/2 cup olive oil
2 cups chopped yellow onion
1 cup medium diced carrots
1 cup medium diced celery
4 cloves garlic, minced
3 cups diced ciabatta bread, crusts removed
2 (28 oz.) cans Italian plum tomatoes
4 cups chicken stock
1/2 cup dry red wine
1 cup chopped fresh basil leaves
1 tablespoon Kosher salt
1 1/2 teaspoon pepper
1/2 cup freshly grated Parmesan

Topping:
3 cups diced ciabatta bread
2 oz. thickly sliced pancetta, chopped (we ate this during our vegetarian month, so we skipped the pancetta and were totally fine without it)
24-30 whole fresh basil leaves
3 tablespoons olive oil

Heat oil in a large stockpot, over medium heat. Add the onions, celery, carrots and garlic. Cook for 10 minutes, until tender. Add the bread cubes and cook for 5 more minutes. Place tomatoes in food processor and pulse briefly, just until coarsely chopped. Add the tomatoes to the pot, along with the stock, wine, basil, salt and pepper. Bring the soup to a boil, lower the heat and allow to simmer, partially covered for 45 minutes.
For the topping: Preheat oven to 375. Place the bread, pancetta and basil on a sheet pan large enough to hold them in a single layer. Drizzle with olive oil, sprinkle with salt and pepper and toss well. Cook, stirring occasionally for 20-25 minutes, until all ingredients are crisp.
Beat the soup with a wire whisk until the bread is broken up. Stir in the Parmesan. Adjust seasonings to taste. Serve hot, sprinkled with toppings.

Source: annies-eats.com