Light Cajun Chicken Pasta

Light Cajun Chicken Pasta

I wanted to make the Pioneer Woman's Cajun Chicken Pasta for the longest time! I never did because it just seemed SO unhealthy! Heavy amounts of cream, wine, and butter...those are not ingredients I would feel comfortable eating and serving to my friends and family!

So, I went on a (Google) search for a light and healthy Cajun Chicken Pasta, and I found the perfect recipe! I got it from Skinnytaste.

You've got it make it. It's delicious! 

You'll need 

• 8 ounces of long pasta noodles (I used De Boles gluten free spaghetti)
• 1 pound of chicken, cut into thin strips
• Cajun seasoning (1-2 teaspoon, or to taste) (I used Tony's Creole Seasoning)
• 1 tablespoon of extra virgin olive oil
• 1 red bell pepper, thinly sliced
• 1 yellow bell pepper, thinly sliced
• 8 ounces of mushrooms, sliced
• 1/2 red onion, sliced
• 3 cloves of garlic, minced
• 2 medium tomatoes, diced
• 1 cup of chicken broth
• 1/3 cup of skim milk
• 1 tablespoon of flour (I used gluten free)
• 3 tablespoons of light cream cheese 
• salt/pepper/garlic powder to taste
• cooking spray

Prep all your vegetables. In a small blender make a slurry by combining milk, flour and cream cheese. Set aside. Season chicken generously with Cajun seasoning.

Prepare pasta in salted water according to package directions.

Heat a large heavy nonstick skillet over medium-high heat; spray with cooking spray and add half of the chicken. Sauté 5 to 6 minutes or until done, set aside on a plate and repeat with the remaining chicken. Set aside.

Add olive oil to the skillet and reduce to medium; add bell peppers, onions, and garlic to skillet, sauté 3-4 minutes. 

Add mushrooms and tomatoes and sauté 3-4 more minutes or until vegetables are tender. Season with to taste with Cajun seasoning/garlic power/black pepper.

Reduce heat to medium-low; add chicken broth and pour in slurry stirring about 2 minutes.

Return chicken to skillet; adjust Cajun seasoning to taste, cook another minute or two until hot, then add linguine; toss well to coat.

What did I think? I made it, and we ALL loved it! I'm not exactly a master with my knife skills, so it took me awhile to prep all of the vegetables. After that, it went by quickly! 

I will definitely make it again!

Enjoy! 

McAlister's Gluten Free!

Starting on April 1, McAlister's started carrying gluten free bread! I was pretty concerned about cross contamination, especially since the Subway gluten free bread hasn't been very successful for me...

BUT I called McAlister's and they sounded like they took many precautions to prevent cross contamination, so Daniel and I tried it.

And guess what...

I didn't get sick!

Now, I'm not guaranteeing that you will not get sick, but I do have a very sensitive stomach.

We went to the McAlister's in Denton, TX on 4/27.

You have to give it a try!

They said they can make any sandwich gluten free, and they told me the sides I could have. I had a difficult time finding the information on the website, so you might need to call ahead if you have any questions about the menu.

Yall should go try it! I am VERY excited about this new restaurant option!

-Anita

 

(The sandwich on the top is the sweet chipotle chicken, and the sandwich on the bottom is the french dip. They were both delicious!)

Salsa Chicken and Black Bean Soup

I have a little philosophy. If I’m not working out, I’ll eat fairly healthy. Since this year has been so crazy with my student teaching, you better believe I’ve been eating healthy!

Here is a delicious and easy soup to throw into the slow cooker.

I got the idea from CrockPot 365

I used….

· 1 pound chicken

· 1 cup dried black beans (or 2 cans, drained and rinsed)

· 4 cups chicken broth

· 1 cup sliced mushrooms

· 1 can of corn (I used Fiesta corn because it’s what I had)

· 1 jar prepared salsa (16 oz)

· 1 ½ tsp cumin

· 1/2 cup sour cream (to stir in the end)

If you know you are going to make this the night before soak the black beans in enough water to cover and another 2 inches overnight. In the morning, drain the water and rinse the beans.

If you don't have super hard water or live in a super high altitude, you can quick soak the beans by pouring boiling water over them and let them sit for an hour or two. I did an hour, but 2 would really be better if you have the time.

Drain and rinse the beans. Add to the crockpot. Put in the chicken, and add the broth and salsa. Pour in the corn and mushrooms, and add the cumin. Stir, but don't disturb the beans---let them stay at the bottom of the pot, closest to the heating element.

Cover and cook on high for 9 hours. Yup. High. For 9 hours. It took a crazy long time for the beans to soften, but they did.

If you are using beans you soaked overnight, canned beans, or pre cooked beans, you can cook on low for 6-8 hours, or on high for 4-5--similar to normal soup-cooking time.

If you'd like to thicken the broth (I did this), you can use your immersion blender (I love that thing) to blend a bit of the beans and chicken. If you don't have one, scoop out 2 cups of the soup and carefully blend in your traditional blender. Stir the mixture back into the crockpot.

Stir in the 1/2 cup of sour cream before serving.

I loved this soup! It’s delicious! It makes A LOT! Which is convenient when you don’t have time to cook in the middle of the week and don’t mind leftovers…

(Check out all the leftovers..)

Enjoy! :)

-Anita

Garlic and Rosemary Pork Tenderloin

I find that it is easy to get stuck in a food rut. I tend to make the same things over and over because they are easy.

I've had my eye on this recipe for awhile, and I finally made it.

I am so happy I did! It is DELICIOUS!

I got the recipe from OurBestBites

My boyfriend said "this is like the best steak I've ever had, but better".

It doesn't really make sense, but it was so good that it didn't matter :)

Here's what you will need

• 1 pork tenderloin (my pork tenderloin package had 2 inside, so I prepared one and stuck the other in the freezer)
• 2 1/2 Tbsp. olive oil
• 2 1/2 Tbsp. chopped rosemary leaves (strip them from the woody stem first)
• 2 1/2 Tbsp. coarse mustard
• 5 cloves garlic, minced
• salt & pepper

It is so easy to make!

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees (or whatever the pork tenderloin package tells you to do).
Line a baking sheet with aluminum foil and spray with non-stick cooking spray. Set aside.

Rinse pork tenderloin in cool water and trim any excess fat or the silvery membrane on the meat. Pat dry and place on the prepared baking sheet.

In a small bowl, combine olive oil, rosemary leaves, mustard, and garlic. Salt and pepper the pork tenderloin and then carefully rub the olive oil mixture all over pork roast, particularly on top. Place in heated oven and cook for about 30 minutes.

Enjoy!

Perfect Vanilla Cupcake

I have been gluten free for about 5 years now, so I'm fairly accustomed to this lifestyle.

But, I must say, whenever other people get to eat desserts, and I don't, I get jealous.

I've made red velvet cupcakes, strawberry cupcakes, and chocolate cupcakes with great success, but I wanted just a basic vanilla cupcake.

I found what I was looking for...

Not only was this a delicious gluten free cupcake, but it might have been the best cupcake I have ever had!

Recipe from A Gluten-Free Guide

Please try it. Yall will thank me.

You'll need

• 1 package Gluten Free Pantry Old Fashioned cake mix (don't follow the directions on the package)
• 1 package Jello vanilla instant pudding
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 4 extra large eggs room temperature
• 1/2 cup canola oil
• 3/4 C orange juice
• 1 Tablespoon plus 2 teaspoons good vanilla extract
  

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

Mix the wet ingredients in a large bowl. Add the dry ingredients and beat on high speed for two minutes.

Line a muffin tin with cupcake liners. Fill liners 2/3 to ¾ of the way full.

Bake for about 18 minutes, or until the cupcakes are golden and a toothpick inserted comes out clean.


These cupcakes are perfection.

I gave some cupcakes to 5 people (who are not on a gluten free diet) for Valentines Day and 3 of them asked for the recipe!


Enjoy!

Slow Cooker Cashew Chicken

My friends finally convinced me to make a pinterest account!

I saw this recipe and I instantly wanted to make it because

1) I love Chinese food
2) I have a minor obsession with the slow cooker

It’s okay, we all have our quirks.

I looked at the directions, and then went off into the kitchen without checking them again. I made some mistakes, but they were delicious ones!

Here's my first pinterest recipe!

I found the recipe from Six Sisters' Stuff

This is the recipe the way I made it :)

• 2 lbs chicken cut into bite size pieces
• 1/4 cup all purpose flour (obviously, I used gluten free flour)
• 1 teaspoon black pepper
• 2 teaspoons of sesame oil (you can use vegetable/canola)
• 1/4 cup soy sauce
• 1 tablespoon of brown sugar
  
• 2 tablespoons rice wine vinegar
  
• 2 tablespoons of ketchup
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• 1/2 tablespoon of minced ginger
• 1/4 teaspoon (heaping) of red pepper flakes
  
• 1/2 cup of cashews
  

Combine flour and pepper in resealable food storage bag. Add chicken. Shake to coat with flour mixture. Heat oil in skillet over medium-high heat. Brown chicken about 2 minutes on each side. Place chicken in slow cooker. Combine soy sauce, vinegar, ketchup, sugar, garlic, ginger, and pepper flakes in small bowl; pour over chicken. Cook on LOW for 3 to 4 hours. Add cashews and stir. Serve over rice. Makes 4-6 servings.

It was good! I'll enjoy finding more recipes off of pinterest!

Yall enjoy!

-Anita

Asian Lettuce Wraps

Asian Lettuce Wraps

Recipe from Our Best Bites

Yall know me, I love any sort of Chinese food.

I actually don’t know if lettuce wraps are Chinese food, but I love them anyway!

I was craving some lettuce wraps, and found a recipe I wanted to try from Our Best Bites!

These are SO good! My mom loved them so much that I actually made them two days in a row!

Enjoy!

Note: this recipe is a bit time consuming. These will probably take 45-60 minutes to make! My advice is to be organized and gather all your ingredients before you start cooking! :)

Ingredients

· 2 tsp canola oil

· 4 cloves garlic, minced

· 1 tablespoon minced fresh ginger

· 1 lb ground chicken* -I used ground turkey

· 3 ounces mushrooms, finely chopped (about 8 small mushrooms)

· 1/2 tsp kosher salt

· 4 C bagged coleslaw mix or thinly shredded cabbage

· 1 8oz can sliced water chestnuts, drained, rinsed, and finely minced

· 1/2 C thinly sliced green onions

· 4 Tbs soy sauce

· 1 tsp sesame oil

· 1 lemon, zested and juiced (about 3-4 Tbs juice)

· 1/2-1 tsp sriracha or other hot sauce

· 1/3 C roughly chopped cilantro

· 1-2 heads iceberg lettuce

Here’s what you do!

*To prepare your own ground chicken, cut boneless skinless chicken breasts into large chunks and pulse in a food processor until ground.

Dipping/Drizzling Sauce

· 4

· 4 Tbs soy sauce

· 4 Tbs rice vinegar

· 3 Tbs water

· 2 tsp honey

· 1-2 tsp finely minced fresh ginger

Heat a very large skillet to medium-high heat on the stove top. When hot, add vegetable oil and then garlic and ginger. Saute for about 30 seconds, until fragrant, and then add ground chicken, chopped mushrooms, and kosher salt. Cook for about 5 minutes, stirring often, until chicken is cooked through. (*At this point, sometimes I have some extra liquid in the pan from the chicken. If it’s quite a bit, I tilt the pan and spoon it out so the chicken can cook and not boil.) Add cabbage/coleslaw, water chestnuts, and green onions. Cook for about 2 minutes, until cabbage starts to wilt. Add soy sauce, sesame oil, the zest from the lemon and the lemon juice, and hot sauce to taste. Remove from heat and stir in cilantro.

To prepare dipping sauce, combine all ingredients and whisk to combine.

To serve, carefully remove the individual leaves from the head of lettuce. (The closer you get to the center, the easier it becomes!) Place chicken mixture in the leaves and serve with sauce.

Yield: about 5 C chicken mixture. Makes 14-16 lettuce wraps.

Yall enjoy! These are delicious!