We like to celebrate taco Tuesday every week, for the most part. So that means I have to get creative with different types of tacos – meats, sauces, salsas, tortillas and preparations. We do chicken, pork, beef, crispy, baked, soft, corn, and flour. And I love to make fresh salsas to go on top of it all. This last week I went with a fresh Mango Salsa and it was so easy and so yummy!
Mango Salsa
This salsa needs to sit for at least 20 minutes before serving. It needs that long to develop the flavor you will be waiting on. The lime juice does a wonderful job of breaking down the ingredients to help them mingle together and become something so amazing.
Mango Salsa
The sweet and spicy of this salsa is just perfect over a baked chicken taco. I made the chicken in the slow cooker (with just my homemade taco seasoning). Then I chop it up and put the chicken and some shredded pepper jack into the tortillas. Then I lay them out on a parchment paper-covered baking sheet. Then I place another sheet of parchment paper on top and place another baking sheet on top. Then I use a cast-iron skillet on top to weigh it down and put the whole thing in a 425deg oven for 20 minutes. After letting them cool for a few minutes I fill them with the Mango Salsa.
I have mentioned before that we have backyard chickens – we love our chickens! But we really love having fresh eggs all the time. Sometimes we end up with a few too many though, so I try to come up with a creative way to use lots of them all at once. This time that turned into Breakfast Enchiladas – a delicious ham, pinto beans, and homemade ranchero sauce wrapped in a tortilla and covered with eggs, cheese and bacon!
Breakfast Enchiladas
The ranchero sauce is the star of this dish – and you are going to want to use it for lots of other dishes. You could use it for a more traditional enchilada – like chicken or pork. You can also make it and let it cool all the way then pour it oven a delicious southwest salad. It makes a wonderful dipping sauce for chicken strips! It has a bit of a kick on its own, but when you put it all together it mellows out just enough.
Breakfast Enchiladas
I did not serve this with a side dish because it is rather filling. The ham, eggs, beans, cheese, and bacon give it quite a bit of protein. If you needed to serve a few more people or you want to make sure you have some leftovers – you could do a side of Mexican rice (rice, chicken stock, green chilies, tomato sauce).
Prepare all of the ingredients. Preheat oven to 400deg.
In a saucepan over medium-high heat, add all ingredients for ranchero sauce. Cook for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally. Reduce heat to low and simmer for 10 minutes. Transfer to bowl and blitz with immersion blender until smooth.
In a frying pan over medium-high heat, add bacon. Cook until crispy and remove to a paper towel covered plate.
Combine the pinto beans, ham and ranchero sauce. Spoon a portion into each tortilla, sprinkle with cheese and roll up. Line up in 13×9 baking dish until full.
Combine eggs, salt, pepper, and cumin. Pour over top of enchiladas. Top with remaining cheese and bacon. Place in oven and bake for 30 minutes. Let sit for 5 minutes before serving.
Estelle Forrest self-published this cookbook after a lot of playing around in the kitchen. You can purchase your own copy here:
Summer is coming! And that calls for lighter, brighter dinners. It calls for dinner on the back porch or on the shore for a weeknight kayak adventure. Salad sandwiches are perfect for this sort of dinner idea. A simple Dill Shrimp Salad Sandwich is going to make your whole family so happy. It is also really quick to put together and only gets better the longer it sits.
Dill Shrimp Salad Sandwich
If you want to save even more time, you could use pre-cooked shrimp. I do prefer to use raw shrimp for this salad because I can infuse the lemon and garlic flavors into the shrimp. This allows you to build that extra layer of flavor. Honestly, it’s just a few minutes that are well worth it. You do want to make sure that you have them peeled, deveined, and tails-off. You also want to make sure you get at least “Large” Shrimp or bigger. It allows you to have nice chunks in the salad.
Dill Shrimp Salad Sandwich
I used croissants because they are light and flaky. I am lucky to have a great bakery inside my local grocery store, so these are easy to come by for me. I did consider using a nice crusty French baguette, to give it more heft, which I will probably do when I serve this in the Fall or Winter. You could also put this super flavorful shrimp salad in a pita pocket or wrapped up in a tortilla (maybe even a spinach tortilla). If you have a few family members sticking with a keto or paleo diet – you could absolutely serve this up in a bowl with a fork and they will be thrilled!
Prepare all of the ingrients. Start water boiling for shrimp.
Add half of lemon juice to boiling water. Add raw shrimp to boiling water. Let cook for 4 minutes (should be juice pink). Drain into colander and rinse with cool water.
Roughly chop shrimp into ½ inch pieces, Set aside to let cool completley.
Combine yogurt, garlic, dill, remaining lemon juice, lemon zest, mustard, honey and old bay seasoning.
Add cucumber, onion, celery, and chopped shrimp to a bowl. Pour yogurt mix over and toss to coat.
Serve between two halves of the croissant with a piece of green leaf on the bottom half.
Estelle Forrest self-published this cookbook after a lot of playing around in the kitchen. You can purchase your own copy here:
Alfredo is such a classic pasta dish – often served all on it’s own. But in my family of carnivores – I always have to add meat (and lots of it!). So I decided to make Chicken Bacon Alfredo this go around. The chicken is has just a little kick from red pepper flakes – oh and I cooked it in the bacon grease! And the brightness of the spinach added at the end really brings the dish together.
Chicken Bacon Alfredo
I do not like to eat cooked spinach at all – there I said it! I don’t like the way it gets basically slimy. But I do love to put it into warm dishes. The best way to do that is to put it in right at the last moment and let the heat of the dish just wilt it. That’s exactly what happens with this homemade alfredo sauce. By adding the chopped up fresh spinach right when before pouring it over the pasta – you get a perfect wilt.
Chicken Bacon Alfredo
Fettuccini is the typical pasta used in alfredo dishes – but you really could use any type of pasta, long or short. I would probably stay away from micro pastas like ditalini or orzo, though. Fettuccini can be a little tricky to cook through properly without making it over done. The trick I use is to cook it at a rolling boil – that way it doesn’t have a chance to drop in temperature and cook unevenly.
This is a rather filling dish and probably does not need any sides at all. But if you are looking to stretch the meal (for more people or to ensure leftovers), you could serve with a side salad or a nice breadstick.
A classic chicken alfredo recipe with the best addition ever – BACON
Course Main Course
Cuisine American, Italian
Keyword alfredo, bacon, Chicken, Pasta, pasta dishes
Prep Time 10 minutesminutes
Cook Time 35 minutesminutes
Servings 6
Ingredients
1½lbFettuccini
1lbBacon cut into ½-inch pieces
For the Chicken
1½lbChicken Thighsboneless, skinless, cut into 1-inch chunks
3Garlic Clovesminced
1tspItalian Seasoning
1tspParsleyplus more for garnish
1tspRed Pepper Flakes
1tspSalt
For the Alfredo
4tbspButter
4tbspFlour
1tspGarlic Powder
1tspBlack Pepper
2cupChicken Broth
1cupHeavy Cream
1cupMozzarella Cheeseshredded
1cupParmesan Cheeseshredded
1cupFresh Spinach chopped
Get Recipe Ingredients
Instructions
Prepare all of the ingredients. Start water boiling for pasta.
In a large saute pan over medium-high heat, add bacon. Cook until crispy and remove to paper towel covered plate. Reserve 2 tablespoons of bacon grease in pan.
Reduce heat to medium and add garlic to bacon grease. Stir and cook for 3 minutes. Sprinkle chicken chunks with seasonings and add to garlic. Stir to coat and cook for 10 minutes, stirring frequently.
Add pasta to boiling water and cook as directed on package. Drain in colander and rinse with cool water to arrest cooking process. Return to pot, away from heat.
In a sauce pan over medium heat, add butter, garlic powder and pepper. Once melted, whisk in flour and cook for 2 minutes. Then whisk in chicken broth and cook for 2 minutes. Whisk in heavy cream and cook for 2 minutes. Then add cheese by the handful until fully incorporated. Then stir in spinach. Pour sauce over pasta and toss to coat. Add half of bacon and half of chicken and toss to coat.
In a shallow bowl, add portion of pasta. Sprinkle with chicken and bacon. Garnish with parmesan and parsley, if desired.
Estelle Forrest self-published this cookbook after a lot of playing around in the kitchen. You can purchase your own copy here:
Summer is knocking on our doors which means meals start to be in the backyard for our family. Most meals include a protein prepared on the Traeger Grill – so a simple pasta salad that I can make ahead is perfect. It gives me the chance to actually hang out with the family while they work up an appetite in the pool. Pasta salad is a beloved side dish in our house, so of course, I have to play around with it. This time I made a Colorful Couscous Salad – a no mayo pasta salad so full of veggies – it’s like eating the rainbow!
Colorful Couscous Salad
Making your own dressings for pasta and potato salads is what really makes them stand out. When you really think about it – cold salads generally don’t require much “cooking” so the combination of the ingredients is the key. Most people use a mayonnaise based dressing for pasta and potato salads. Which I have no problem with at all, and make that sort too. But I also have 3 kids (so half of my family) that don’t really care for mayo. So I try to alternate making my dressings with and without mayo.
Colorful Couscous Salad
Knife cuts are another big part of making beautiful salads. One thing that I really try to do is cut everything to roughly the same size and shape as much as I can. With a small pasta like couscous (this style is specifically called Pearl Couscous or Isreali Couscous), I went with a dice on the veggies. If you use a short pasta like rotini or penne – you could do a julienne on the veggies.
Colorful Couscous Salad
I served this up with some simply grilled bone-in pork chops (just seasoned with paprika, salt, parsley, and garlic powder) and a homemade Mustard BBQ Sauce. It paired so wonderfully with a light bright couscous salad. This salad also keeps so well. So if you are lucky enough to have any left after dinner – you are going to be enjoying it for lunch all week.
Perfect for every BBQ and potluck – a veggie packed pasta salad.
Course Salad, Side Dish
Cuisine American
Keyword bacon, bell peppers, couscous, couscous salad, cucumber, dijon, dressing, Pasta Salad, red onion, Salad
Prep Time 15 minutesminutes
Cook Time 20 minutesminutes
Servings 6
Ingredients
1lbPearl Coucous
½lbBacon cut into ½-inch pieces
1Yellow Bell Pepperdiced
1English Cucumberpeeled, seeded, diced
½Red Oniondiced
½cup Fresh Parsleychopped
1 cupCherry Tomatoesquartered
2Garlic Clovesminced
For the Dressing
¼cupAvocado Oil
¼cupApple Cider Vinegar
1Lemonzested and juiced
¼cupHoney
½tspCayenne Pepper
¼cupDijon Mustard
Get Recipe Ingredients
Instructions
Prepare all of the ingredients.
In a frying pan over medium-high heat, add bacon and cook until crispy. Remove to paper towel covered plate and let cool.
Combine dressing ingredients in a bowl.
Add the couscous and water to a pan (use measurements as listed on the package). Cook as directed on package (usually covered over medium-high heat). Drain in colander and rinse with cool water. Transfer to a large bowl.
Add bacon, dressing and veggies to bowl with couscous. Toss to combine. Cover and place in refrigerator until ready to serve.
Estelle Forrest self-published this cookbook after a lot of playing around in the kitchen. You can purchase your own copy here:
Simple and delicious are the best ways to describe this pasta dish. Goat cheese has a wonderful tangy bite to it that makes for such a wonderful sauce. Goat Cheese Pasta is going to be a favorite at your dinner table just like it was at mine. This is a perfect weeknight meal because it is easy and quick to pull together.
Goat Cheese Pasta
I used orecchiette pasta, but you can use any small or “short” pasta with this sauce. I like the orecchiette because it holds sauces well. It is also a thicker pasta so it holds up to the richness of this sauce. If you can’t find that particular type of pasta look for something with “ribbing” or texture on them. I don’t like “cooked” spinach – that’s why I add it right at the last moment of making this dish. It does not get slimy or icky at all – keeping its bright green color and flavor.
Goat Cheese Pasta
I made a delicious homemade Rosemary Focaccia (check out my Instagram to see where I got the recipe @homemadeonaweeknight). You could do any sort of breadstick, roll, or go green with a salad – if you need a side dish.
Sausage and spinach in a creamy goat cheese sauce over orecchiette.
Course Main Course
Cuisine American, Italian
Keyword cheese sauce, goat cheese, Pasta, pasta dishes, Sausage, spinach
Prep Time 10 minutesminutes
Cook Time 30 minutesminutes
Servings 6
Ingredients
1½lbGround Italian Sausage
2lbOrecchiette Pasta
1lbGoat Cheese
1cupFresh Spinachchopped
1tbspLemon Juice
1tspSalt
1tspPepper
1tspTarragon
3Garlic Clovesminced
½White Onionminced
1cupHeavy Cream
1cupChicken Broth
Get Recipe Ingredients
Instructions
Prepare all of the ingredients. Start water boiling for pasta.
In a large saucepan over medium-high heat, add sausage. Crumble and cook until no longer pink. Remove sausage from pan, reserving grease. Reduce heat to medium and add onions, garlic and seasonings. Saute for 4 minutes.
Add pasta to boiling water and cook as directed on the package. Drain in colander and rinse with cool water.
Add goat cheese to onions and garlic. Crumble and stir until melted. Stir in heavy cream and lemon juice. Let cook 2 minutes then add chicken broth. Return sausage to pan and combine. Add cooked pasta to pan and toss to evenly coat. Lastly, remove pan from heat and stir in spinach.
Estelle Forrest self-published this cookbook after a lot of playing around in the kitchen. You can purchase your own copy here:
I have tried so many ways to make chicken wings in a large quantity (you do need a larger 6 qt slow cooker like this one by Pioneer Woman) without having to fry them. I think this method is the most effective, successful one yet. Using the slow cooker to make sure that the chicken is juicy and completely cooked with flavor-infused all the way through is definitely the way to go. And then finishing them off under the broiler to get a nice crispy skin – these Spicy Mango Wings are going to fly off the plate when you serve them up!
Spicy Mango Wings
Combining sweet and spicy is something I love to do. They give just the right balance to a sauce. You actually get the flavor of the spicy ingredient and not just the heat. It also makes it so you can use sweet ingredients like fruit in savory preparations. When you are buying mangos, you want to check them sort of like you check a tomato. You want it to be firm but not hard and you want to be able to smell the mango scent from the area of the stem.
Spicy Mango Wings
I served these wings up with a slightly milder version of mac and cheese – a gouda mac and cheese. This was to help further balance out the spicy wing sauce. I made my usual mac and cheese sauce and just traded out 1 cup of shredded gouda for half of my usual cheddar. Gouda is great for sauce as it melts beautifully and has a subtle yet tasty flavor.
In a bowl combine all remaining ingredients and blitz with an immersion blender. Or add to blender and blitz until smooth. Pour sauce over chicken and toss to coat. Secure lid and cook for 6 hours.
Preheat oven to broil. Place a baking rack on a parchment paper covered baking sheet. Line out chicken wings on rack. Place under broiler for 2-3 minutes on each side. Serve with a sprinkle of parsley on top, if desired.
Estelle Forrest self-published this cookbook after a lot of playing around in the kitchen. You can purchase your own copy here:
When trying to keep mostly keto – side dishes can become a little hum-drum. Especially at potlucks and backyard BBQs – where you probably have rather limited choices. I really prefer to enjoy my entire meal, not just the main entree. So I started thinking about some of my favorite side dishes and settled on potato salad. Now, you can make potato salad closer to keto, as I did with my Warm Potato Salad, but you will still have a little much in the carb column. That’s where Cauliflower Salad comes into play! You get that great flavor and the parboiled cauliflower gives a very similar texture to any potato salad.
Cauliflower Salad
To prepare the cauliflower you want to make sure you do two things – cut them into bite-sized pieces before putting them into boiling water and do not overcook it! If you let it get all the way to fork-tender, it will not hold up for very long. But if you don’t cook it quite enough it will just be raw cauliflower covered in dressing – not exactly what we are going for here.
Cauliflower Salad
The dressing is made with Greek Yogurt instead of mayo – which I love! It is a simple dressing that you could use for lots of different things. The red pepper flakes give it a little kick and a little more depth than your typical dressing. You will want to make sure that your bacon is cooked to just crispy and not burnt. If you have too much char it will give the salad an odd color that isn’t all that appealing.
In a large pot, add cauliflower and garlic. Cover with water and put on medium-high heat. Bring just to a boil and cook for 7 additional minutes. Drain and transfer to bowl.
In a frying pan over medium high heat, add bacon. Cook until crispy and remove to paper towel covered plate. Let cool.
Combine dressing ingredients. Add to bowl with cauliflower along with cooled bacon, onions and scallions. Toss to coat and serve right away. Or cover and place in fridge for up to 6 hours.
Estelle Forrest self-published this cookbook after a lot of playing around in the kitchen. You can purchase your own copy here:
Some rough days just really need a super simple yet super flavorful dinner. Garlic Chicken Spaghetti is the perfect recipe for that. You probably have all of the ingredients already in your house for this one – and it is so fast to put together, you will feel like you didn’t really do anything.
Garlic Chicken Spaghetti
There is a bit of controversy about using pasta water to thicken sauces – but to be honest – it does work. That starch that comes off the pasta really does help to thicken a simple oil sauce. I wouldn’t put it up against a cream or milk-based sauce, but for a light sauce – it’s a win.
Garlic Chicken Spaghetti
I realize it seems like a lot of garlic – but seriously, can you call it Garlic Chicken Spaghetti if it doesn’t have a big garlic flavor? I do use the minced California Garlic – I go through probably 3 jars of it a month. In general – 1 tsp equals one clove of garlic minced. It has great flavor with minimal effort which is so needed for weeknight meals! Be sure to use GRATED and not SHREDDED Parmesan cheese for this dish – you want the flavor but not the big presence. So you want it to mostly dissolve in the oil sauce and not stay in shreds. If you wanted to throw in some ribbons of spinach to get that veggie count in – you could totally do that when you add the cheese.
Garlic Chicken Spaghetti
I didn’t do a side with this, but a crusty bread or side salad would be great. You could also do a simple roasted asparagus. Layout 1.5 pounds of asparagus (bottoms trimmed) on a parchment paper covered baking sheet. Drizzle with oil and sprinkle with minced garlic, salt, and black pepper. Bake for 25 minutes at 400deg.
A super fast, super tasty simple weeknight dinner that is full of flavor
Course Main Course
Cuisine American, Italian
Keyword Chicken, Garlic, Parmesan, Pasta, pasta dishes
Prep Time 5 minutesminutes
Cook Time 20 minutesminutes
Servings 6
Ingredients
2lbChicken Breastboneless, skinless
1qtChicken Broth
6Garlic Clovesminced, divided
1½lbSpaghetti
4tbspOil
1tspRed Pepper Flakes
1tspParsley
1cupParmesan Cheesegrated
Get Recipe Ingredients
Instructions
Start water boiling for pasta.
In a sauce pan over medium-high heat, add chicken, chicken broth and half of garlic. Cook for 20 minutes. Then remove from pan and chop into bite-sized pieces.
Add pasta to water and cook as directed on package. Reserve ¾ cup of pasta water. Drain in colander and rinse with cool water.
In a large sauce pan over medium heat, add oil, remaining garlic and red pepper flakes. Cook for 3-4 minutes. Add cooked pasta and stir for 3 minutes. Add reserved pasta water, chicken and parsley. Cook another 3 minutes. Remove from heat, then add cheese and toss to coat.
Estelle Forrest self-published this cookbook after a lot of playing around in the kitchen. You can purchase your own copy here:
Dinner in a wrap is exactly what a weeknight meal should be! What I love about this particular wrap is that you can serve it warm or cold. Which means you can make it ahead of time or right at dinner time. You can also make them up and head over to soccer practice, or get some evening fishing in! Tex Mex Chicken Salad Wraps are full of flavor and going to be a great addition to your rotation.
Tex Mex Chicken Salad Wrap
I learned this new (to me) way of warming up a tortilla from a brewery my husband and I went to recently. I turned up my grill pan all the way, and put the tortilla down on top, gently pressing it flat. As soon as it started to bubble, I pulled it off. Let it cool for about a minute and then fill it up with this chicken salad yumminess. Just be sure not to let it sit too long, it will harden and rip when you try to roll it up. I learned that the hard way when I tried to make all of the tortillas before filling them and lost the first one!
Tex Mex Chicken Salad Wrap
Using Greek Yogurt instead of mayo is pretty common in my household. You get the same creaminess and it holds things together just the same. You also get the added benefits of getting yogurt into the family’s diet and that’s always good! I like to use 5% milkfat Greek yogurt, but you can use whatever kind of plain yogurt you want. Really make sure that you are not using vanilla or some other flavored yogurt by accident – sometimes its a win but usually its a total fail!
