Blueberry Lemon Pina Colada

Looks refreshing right?  Perfect summertime drink, no?

We're guest blogging over at Or So She Says today, so go and check it out & leave some love!:)

You're awesome!!

Chipotle Chicken Skewers with Cilantro Lime Dipping Sauce (and our diet success..so far!)

As some of you know, my husband and I have been on a diet (I really hate that word, but for lack of a better one...) since February.  It has had it's ups and downs (the downs mostly came during the stressful month of May...and I have learned that I am a stress eater!), but it has been fantastic for us.  I've just briefly mentioned it a few times here on the blog, but went into more detail over at Or So She Says for one of my blog posts there, so if you'd like to know more about it head over there.  Or check it out at dukandiet.com.

We had family pictures taken last week...finally!  It had only been about 3 years since our last ones.  Sheesh!    Anyway, I absolutely LOVE them.  They turned out great!  And they really made me realize how much Tony & I have lost.  I wanted to see the difference side by side so made a "before" and "current...not our "after" just yet!" collage.  

WOW.

I cringe to see what we looked like in our "before" picture.  (That's the whole reason I'm having issues with posting this collage!)  I'm printing it off and hanging it on my fridge for those days (which have been many lately) that I just want a stinkin' brownie!  So here it is in all it's glory...

Okay, glad that's over...now, on to the recipe!

When I stumbled upon this recipe (Thanks Mel...LOVE her site!) I knew it was one that I needed to make and that could be adapted to fit our diet.   It was wonderful!  Just enough spicy for me (and I'm a wimp!) and paired with the cilantro lime dip...oooohhhhhh...divine!

You must try these!

Chipotle Chicken Skewers with Cilantro Lime Dipping Sauce
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2-2 1/2 pounds boneless, skinless chicken breasts
1/4 cup packed brown sugar (we used equal amount of Stevia)
2 tablespoons cilantro
1 chipotle chile in adobo sauce, minced (scrape out the seeds unless you like your food pretty spicy!)
2 teaspoons adobo sauce from the chipotle chile can
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
1/2 teaspoon chili powder
1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
skewers, I prefer metal because I always forget to soak the bamboo ones and then they catch on fire!:)

Cilantro Lime Dipping Sauce
3/4 cup fat free sour cream (can use lowfat as well)
1/4 cup lowfat mayonnaise or greek yogurt (we opted for nonfat greek yogurt)
1/4 cup lime juice, from 2-3 limes
1/8 teaspoon garlic powder
2 tablespoons cilantro leaves, minced
2 green onions, finely chopped
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon black pepper

Slice the chicken into 1/2 inch strips.  In a small bowl combine the sugar, cilantro, chipotle chile, adobo sauce, and spices.  Stir to combine.  Toss chicken and sugar mixture in a large ziploc bag until evenly coated.  Refrigerate at least 30 minutes or up to 24 hours.

About 30 minutes before grilling the skewers, make dipping sauce.  This will give it time in the fridge for all the flavors to mesh together.  In a small bowl combine all ingredients and stir.  Place in fridge until chicken is ready to serve.

If using bamboo skewers, soak for 30 minutes in water before grilling.  Preheat grill to medium-high (about 400 degrees).  Weave chicken onto skewers making a "rolling hill" pattern.  Use about 2-3 strips per skewers, depending on the length of skewer and chicken strips.  Some of mine I even used 4 on.   These tend to stick to my grill so I always use a coat of cooking spray before grilling.  Grill for about 7-9 minutes, turning midway through cooking time, or until cooked through.

Serve immediately with dipping sauce.

Source: Mel's Kitchen Cafe

Navajo Tacos with Homemade Scones

This is a recipe that is requested often at our home and is a staple for whenever we have company over.  We served these last night and had a young man who had never had them before...he's from Louisiana, so he knows all about beignets (which is pretty much the same thing as a scone).  And so, instead of piling all the ingredients on top of the scones he opened up the top and stuffed them full...gotta say, it looked pretty delicious that way!  And I think he probably ate 4 of them!:)

Don't let the homemade scones scare you off.   They are really easy to make & are delicious!  This recipe makes a lot, but they are great leftovers and can also be frozen after they are fried and taste just as good warmed up.  My family likes to make some smaller sized ones and toss them in a bag with some powdered sugar, or slather them with honey butter.  They are also good with jam and are to DIE FOR with a little nutella spread on top!

Navajo Tacos with Homemade Scones

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Scones:

2 tablespoons yeast

1/2 cup warm water

1/2 cup butter or margarine, softened

1 teaspoon salt

1/4 cup sugar

2 cups warm water

2 eggs

7-8 cups flour

For Navajo Tacos:

Scones

Chili ( Heres a great homemade recipe, or canned)

shredded cheddar cheese

lettuce

sour cream

sliced tomatoes

sliced olives

To make the scones:

Dissolve the yeast in the 1/2 cup of warm water.  While yeast is "growing", combine the butter, salt, sugar, water, eggs and 4 cups of the flour.  Mix in blender using the whisking beaters until smooth.  Change out the beaters for your dough arm and add the remaining flour until a soft, slightly sticky dough forms.  I gauge this by when the dough "cleans" the sides of my bosch.

You can put the dough in the fridge at this point if you are making it a head of time and just pull it out a half hour to 45 minutes before you are ready to fry them, or you can just start rolling them out and frying them right away.

Divide the dough in half and spray counter/rolling area with cooking spray (I think this works better than flouring your surface and it's a lot easier to clean up!) and roll dough until it is about 1/2 inch thick.  Use a pizza cutter to cut the dough into horizontal strips about 3" across and then do the same vertically.

Fry them in 350 degree oil until browned on both sides.  Watch them carefully...they brown quickly!  Transfer to a paper towel lined plate.

To assemble your Navajo taco:

Place scone(s) on bottom of plate.  Ladle hot chili on top of scones.  Top with cheese, lettuce, tomatoes, sour cream and olives.

Dig in!

Mexican Stuffed Shells

Looking for a easy, quick and yummy summertime meal to serve your family?  That's what I'm all about during the summer months!  And this one is delicious....kind of reminds me of the Creamy Baked Taquitos I LOVE, but in a shell instead of a tortilla.  And I have just as much love for this one as the taquitos!

Serve with some fresh fruit (some kind of melon is my first choice during the summer), and the Best Spanish rice.  One of my favorite meals!

Mexican Stuffed Shells

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2 cups chicken breast, cooked and shredded
1 can black beans, rinsed and drained
3 green onions, diced
2 bell peppers, diced (I like color so I do 1/2 of a red, orange, yellow and green pepper, but any variation works!)
1 1/2 blocks (12 oz.) cream cheese, softened
1 can diced tomatoes with chilies (Rotel kind)
1/2 teaspoon cumin
1 cup picante sauce
1 package pasta shells, cooked al dente
1 1/2 cups shredded cheese (sharp or colby jack work well)

Cook pasta shells until al dente (you don't want them too soft they will cook some more in the oven).   Drain and set aside.

Mix chicken, beans, onions and bell peppers in a large bowl.  Set aside.

Beat cream cheese in electric mixer until soft and smooth.  Slowly add the diced tomatoes while continuing to mix.  Add the cumin and mix.

Combine the cream cheese mixture with the chicken mixture and stir until well combined.

Pour the picante sauce on the bottom of  a 9x13 inch baking pan.  Stuff shells generously with filling and place on top of picante sauce in pan.

Sprinkle cheese over top of shells and bake at 350 degrees for 25-30 minutes.

Gooey Almond Coconut Cereal Treat

I've been wanting to share this recipe with everyone for SO long, but just haven't because I could not come up with a name good enough for it!  I got the recipe from my sister-in-law, she's been making it for family get togethers for YEARS, and it is always requested...and devoured!  We just call it Candy's chex mix, but I thought it needed something better, so I asked my kids what they thought we should call it.  I thought my 10 year old Eli's answer described it perfectly...he said we should call it yummy goodness!:)  And that it is!!  But I didn't think that was an actual name, so this long descriptive name is what you get.  

It's perfect to wrap up and give to teachers, neighbors, friends.  Just know that if you give it away you will be hounded by everyone to make them more!  But I guess that's better than eating every last bit yourself! 

Gooey Almond Coconut Cereal Treat

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1 box (12 oz.) Rice Chex cereal (off brand works great)

1 box (12 oz.) Golden Grahams cereal (off brand works great here too!:))

1 cup sweetened coconut flakes

1/2 cup slivered almonds

1 1/2 cups (3 sticks) butter

2 cups sugar

2 cups corn syrup

Combine both cereals, almonds and coconut in a large bowl.  

In a medium sized sauce pan add butter, sugar and corn syrup.  Cook over medium heat until it reaches the soft ball stage.  That's between 230-240 degrees using a candy thermometer.  Or you can use the method we used growing up (and I still use today).  Get a small cup and fill it with cold water.  Test the syrup by adding a little drop into the cold water.  Use your fingers and if you can mold it into a ball and it will stay formed but is still soft you've got soft ball stage...pretty easy!

Pour syrup over cereal mixture and using a wooden spoon stir until all pieces are well coated.  Dump onto wax paper until cooled.  Pull it apart into chunks and store in bags or any airtight container.

And for your info...the cute little cups I used to put the yummy goodness in I purchased from Pick Your Plum.  I love them!:)

Chicken Bacon Croissant

I love these sandwiches!  They are so perfect for these hectic May days!
May is so unbelievably jam packed with activities, programs, recitals, projects, homework, baseball, track...and I'm sure you all could add plenty to the list...so these are a lifesaver!

One of the best features of these is that you can make them ahead of time.  They are even better the next day, it gives it time for all the flavors to combine & makes them so delicious!  Grab it on the run & have a nice picnic at the baseball park or track meet...or hurry and scarf them down in the car before that special recital/program!  Beats fast food any day!

Chicken Bacon Croissant

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3 boneless skinless chicken breasts, cooked and shredded
1/2 cup milk
1/2 cup mayo
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
1/4 teaspoon onion salt
1/4 teaspoon ground mustard
3 stalks celery, chopped
2-3 green onions, chopped
1/2 package of turkey bacon (you can use regular as well)
croissants

Combine milk, mayo and spices and mix until combined.  Add celery and onions.  Stir in the shredded chicken; mix well.  Place in refrigerator for at least 2 hours to let the flavors combine.

Serve on croissants.

Chubby Hubby Cupcakes

I come from a family where we had ice cream every single Sunday night.   And when I say every, I mean EVERY!  I honestly don't remember a Sunday growing up where we did not have ice cream.  We would make special trips to the grocery store on Saturday night if we didn't have any in the freezer.  I remember loving it when my Dad would let one of my brothers dish it up...they always gave us big helpings!

As an adult I've noticed that my ice cream taste buds have matured.:)  I now crave the good stuff!  I'm in love with anything Ben & Jerry's and I love Tillamook ice cream as well.  (but just so you know...I don't turn down any ice cream!)  One of my favorite Ben & Jerry's flavors is Chubby Hubby.  If you haven't had the pleasure of eating an entire carton...it's vanilla ice cream swirled with fudge with peanut butter filled pretzels.  Oh. My. It's good!!

So to keep this cupcake in harmony with the ice cream we just had to fill it with delicious chocolate ganache & broken pretzel pieces.  And then we had to top it with the MOST RIDICULOUSLY AMAZING peanut butter frosting.  And to top it off...a chocolate drizzled pretzel!

Chubby Hubby Cupcakes

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For the Cupcake:
3 cups cake flour
1 tablespoons baking powder
1 cup (2 sticks) butter, at room temperature
1 1/2 cups sugar
1 cup malted milk powder
5 large eggs
1 tablespoon vanilla
1 1/4 cups buttermilk

For the filling:
1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
1 cup heavy whipping cream
4 tablespoons butter, softened
1 1/2 cups chopped pretzels

Peanut Butter frosting:
1 1/2 cups (3 sticks) butter, at room temperature
1 cup peanut butter
4 1/2 cups powdered sugar
2 teaspoons vanilla
3 tablespoons heavy whipping cream

Pretzels drizzled with chocolate, for garnish

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Line muffin tins with cupcake liners; set aside.

Combine flour, baking powder and salt in a small bowl.

Beat butter in an electric mixer until smooth.  Add the sugar a little at a time beating well in between additions.  Mix in the malted milk powder.  Beat in the eggs one at a time, mixing well after each addition.  Add vanilla.  Alternate adding in the flour and the buttermilk and beat after each addition just until incorporated.

Fill liners 2/3 full with batter.  A large cookie scoop works wonders here!  Bake for 18-20 minutes or until a toothpick inserted come out clean.  Cool for 10 minutes in the pan and then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.

Make the ganache by placing the chocolate chips in a glass bowl.  Heat the whipping cream in a microwave safe bowl until simmering.  This takes about 2 1/2 minutes in my microwave, but it will vary with each microwave so just watch it.  Pour the hot cream over the chocolate chips and let sit for a couple of minutes.  Whisk until combined.  Add the butter and stir until butter is melted and incorporated.  Place in the fridge for about 30-45 minutes or until it starts thickening, about the consistency of pudding.  Whisk occasionally throughout the waiting period.

Take a serrated knife and hollow out the middle of the cupcakes.  Add the filling to the middle of the cupcakes about 3/4 the way full.

Place chopped pretzels on top of the ganache.

To make the frosting, combine butter and peanut butter and beat until smooth.  Add the powdered sugar one cup at a time and beat until incorporated.  Add in the vanilla and cream and beat on medium high speed until light and fluffy...about 3 minutes.

Place frosting in a pastry bag and pipe onto the top of the cupcakes.  I used a large round tip, Wilton 2A.  Garnish with drizzled pretzel.