Asian Salad with Chicken

This is a very informal recipe & mainly a reminder for me personally of an easy, healthy, and delicious meal.

INGREDIENTS
chicken breasts
mixed salad greens (ideas: romaine, spinach, baby leaf lettuce, iceberg, etc)
shredded cabbage (coleslaw mix without the dressing)
matchstick carrots
mandarin orange segments
snap peas
roasted almond slices
wonton strips

DIRECTIONS
1. Marinate chicken breasts in Cardini's Roasted Asian Sesame Dressing the night before cooking or up to 24 hours in advance. Grill or cook in skillet.
2. Combine the rest of the ingredients along with chicken and serve with the Asian Sesame dressing.

Broccoli Cheese Soup

*Adapted from this allrecipes.com recipe.

Serves: 6
Prep: 40 minutes

INGREDIENTS
1/4 cup butter
1/2 onion, chopped
1 carrot, diced
16 oz pkg frozen broccoli, thawed and chopped
2 (14 oz) cans chicken broth
1/2 Velveeta cheese loaf, cubed
1 cup milk
1 tsp garlic powder
1/4 cup cornstarch

DIRECTIONS
1. In a stockpot, saute onion and carrot in butter until softened, about 5 minutes.
2. Add broccoli and 1 1/2 cans of chicken broth. Simmer until broccoli is tender, about 10 minutes.
3. Reduce heat to low, stir in cheese cubes until melted. Mix in milk and garlic powder.
4. Add cornstarch to 1/2 can of broth, stir until combined and then add mixture to soup. Raise heat to medium and cook, stirring frequently until soup thickens. (Reduce heat immediately if cheese begins to stick to the bottom of the pot.)

Notes: You can use an immersion blender before adding the cheese if you prefer your soup to be smoother. I like broccoli cheese soup to have larger pieces of veggies, so I finely chopped half of the broccoli and coarsely chopped the other half for variety. You could also use vegetable stock if you want this to be vegetarian.

Jan's Chicken Enchilada Soup

Prep: 1 hour
Serves: 6

INGREDIENTS
2 Tbsp butter
1/2 cup onion, chopped
1/2 cup red bell pepper, chopped
15 oz can black beans, rinsed
15 oz can Mexican-style diced tomatoes
10 oz pkg frozen whole corn
10 oz can enchilada sauce (red, not green)
10 oz can cream of chicken soup
15 oz can chicken broth
1 pkg dry Ranch dressing mix
1 1/2 cups milk
2 chicken breasts, cooked and shredded*

DIRECTIONS
1. Saute onions and bell pepper in butter.
2. Add all ingredients except chicken to large pot. Bring to boil, then reduce heat to low and simmer, covered, for 30 minutes.
3. Add chicken and continue simmering for 15 minutes.
4. Serve with crushed tortilla chips, sour cream, shredded cheese, and avocado.

*substitutions/additions:
-sub for cooked chicken breasts: rotisserie chicken, shredded, or 3 cans chicken
-sub for frozen corn: canned corn, drained
-sub for Mexican-style diced tomatoes: regular can diced tomatoes plus 2 Tbsp Rotel or canned diced green chilies
-pinto beans would be a good addition to this soup

Clementine Mango Green Smoothie

*From New Nostalgia here.

Serves: 2
Prep: 5 minutes

INGREDIENTS
2 large handfuls of spinach (about 2 cups)
2 clementines, peeled
1 cup frozen mango (if fresh, use a frozen banana)
1 ripe banana (can be frozen)
1 1/2 - 2 cups water

DIRECTIONS
If using a high speed blender, add all ingredients together and blend until smooth.

If not, start with spinach and one cup of water. Blend well until spinach is in teeny tiny bits. Add the rest of the fruit and blend away. Add more water until a vortex forms in the middle and consistency is smooth.

Simple Roasted Butternut Squash

*From allrecipes.com.

INGREDIENTS
1 butternut squash, peeled, seeded, and cut into 1-inch cubes
2 Tbsp olive oil
2 cloves garlic
salt & pepper, to taste

DIRECTIONS
Toss all ingredients in a large bowl. Spread onto a baking sheet. Bake at 400 degrees for 25-30 minutes, until squash is tender and lightly browned.

Tomato & Zucchini Fritatta

*Adapted from skinnytaste.com

Serves: 4
Prep: 20 minutes

INGREDIENTS
2 tsp olive oil
1 medium onion, diced
1 1/2 cups (7 oz) zucchini (about 2 zucchini), diced into matchsticks
4 large eggs
1 cup egg whites
1/4 cup Asiago cheese, grated
salt & fresh pepper
2 medium vine-ripe tomatoes (about 8 oz), cored and thinly sliced crosswise

DIRECTIONS
1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Sautee onion in 10-inch skillet (oven safe skillet) with oil over medium-low heat until slightly golden, 8-10 minutes. Add zucchini, increase heat to medium-high, season with salt and pepper and cook 2-3 minutes or until the moisture dries up, stirring occasionally.
2. In a medium bowl, whisk eggs, egg whites, Asiago, salt and pepper. Pour eggs into the skillet making sure they cover all the vegetables. Arrange tomatoes in an overlapping pattern on top and season with salt and pepper. When the edges begin to set (about 2 minutes) move skillet to oven. Cook about 16-18 minutes, or until frittata is completely cooked. Serve warm, cut into 4 pieces.

Spinach Steak Salad

I'm jotting this down here so I can remember an easy weeknight dinner that can be adapted for just me for lunches.

INGREDIENTS
beef (any form of steak*), seasoned with Cajun seasoning and then broiled/grilled
spinach
cherry tomatoes, halved
small amount of red onion, thinly sliced
light blue cheese dressing

DIRECTIONS
Combine however desired, then eat!

*The first time I made this I used skirt steak and it was delicious!