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Chicken Caesar Chalupas

We had such a nice weekend. It is rare that our weekends aren’t jam-packed with crap we must get done, but this one just had a handful of little events planned with longer stretches of nothingness going on in between. Friday I took the kids to the Zoo with my mom. It was a beautiful day and we had a wonderful time. Afterward, we went downtown and had lunch at Euclid Hall with my sister.

Saturday morning I got up and went running with my pal J … we pounded out 9 miles on Clear Creek and got good and caught up – we hadn’t seen each other in a long while. Matt was supposed to have come along as well, but unfortunately Ben woke up in the wee smalls throwing up everywhere. I hate it for him – he just got over a cold only to have this icky tummy bug hit him. He seemed mostly recovered yesterday, but had it on the other end all day today and was generally a bit lethargic.

Today was even more low key. We went to a birthday party in the morning, hit the grocery store on the way home, had naps and worked around the house a bit. The start of Dayligh Savings is kind of messing with our heads and when we suddenly looked at the clock and it was almost 6:30 we knew why our stomachs were grumbling.

We whipped out the ingredients for Iowa Girl Eats’ Chicken Caesar Chalupas (found via Pinterest) and had them ready in a flash. We let the Sunday Dinner be a bit more low key and ate at the coffee table while we watched old episodes of Scooby Doo. Everyone enjoyed them, except Ben who is confined to BRAT until he recovers some more. They were very tasty and a good format for many meals, very similar to the tortilla pizzas we make routinely. We used ingredients on the healthier side of things (low carb tortillas, 2% cheese, lite salad dressing) to keep them on the lighter side.

Chicken Caesar Chalupas

  • tortillas
  • chicken breasts, chopped into bite-sized pieces
  • lemon pepper + salt
  • cooking spray
  • Caesar salad dressing
  • shredded mozzarella
  • romaine lettuce, chopped
  • tomatoes chopped

Directions

Heat oven to 400. Spray baking sheet with cooking spray. Spray skillet with cooking spray and heat on medium high. Season both sides of chicken with lemon pepper and salt. Brown chicken in skillet until done. Cut tortillas into wedges (scissors work great!) and place on cooking sheet. Spray tops with cooking spray and bake for a couple of minutes until toasty. Top tortillas with a bit of dressing, chopped chicken and mozzarella. Return to oven and bake a couple more minutes to melt cheese. Serve with romaine and tomatoes for scooping.

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Smores Cookies

Since Tabby was born, we’ve been going to Zoolights every year. And as is tradition, we bring a warm beverage in our thermoses (pretty much the only time we use them) and a treat to go with them. This time, inspired by a pin on one of my boards, we made these s’more “cookies” they were super simple and turned out really cute. They were a nice change of pace from cookies and we’d make them again anytime.

Ingredients

  • graham crackers
  • marshmallows
  • chocolate almond bark
  • white sprinkles

Directions

Lay out a sheet of wax paper on a cookie sheet or counter before you start. Then begin by breaking the chocolate bark into squares. In a microwavable bowl, microwave 30 seconds or 1 min at a time then stir. Repeat until melted. Then place a few squares of graham crackers on a microwaveable plate and marshmallows on top of them. Microwave for 30 sec – 1 min then top with another graham cracker. Push the crackers down to spread around the marshmallow. Some came out the sides and I found it worked best to scrape this off on the side of another plate. Then dip the sandwiches in chocolate to the desired depth and place on the wax paper. Decorate with sprinkles if desired. Allow to harden for 30 minutes or so and then store in an airtight container.

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Apple Chips

This “recipe” is so simple I hesitate to even post it, but these are my kids new favorite snack and they are healthy, cheap and contain only one ingredient, so I thought I should share.

Ingredients

  • 4-5 medium apples apples, thinly sliced

Directions

I will give two methods for doing this. We have a dehydrator so we used that, but you can also use your oven. The prep, however, is the same. You’ll need to slice your apples very thinly … 1/8 inch or less, I’d guess. I’m sure someone can do this by hand, but I’m not that person, so I use a mandolin. They’re not too expensive and they’re super useful for many things as they slice in many thickness and grate as well. I do not bother to core them since the seeds come out as you slice thinly.

Oven: Heat oven to 225 degrees. Line two cookie sheets with silpats or parchment paper. You can also use cooling racks if you have some that are big enough to span cookie sheets. Place the apples on the cookie sheets. You can put them right next to each other, but don’t overlap. They will shrink some as they dry. Bake for an hour and flip if you aren’t using the cooling racks. Then bake another hour.

Dehydrator: Line all dehydrator racks with apples. You can really get them close together since they shrink as they dry. Turn dryer on. They will be pretty darn good after 2 hours, but we like to go closer to 4 to get them real crispy and since you’re not monopolizing the oven forever, you can.

There are all kinds of recipes on the net for these that add sugar (or splenda or maple syrup or honey), but I personally think the apples have all the sugar you need, especially after it’s concentrated when they dry and shrink a bit. I would like to try sprinkling a little nutmeg or cinnamon on these, but really, they are incredibly good as-is. We have been going through a batch a day easily. Luckily apples are 77c/lb right now!

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Popovers

I have to say, I really love popovers. They require no leavening agent and rely, rather, on high-heat generated steam for their towering height. They have a nice, slightly custardy flavor and are incredibly easy to make.

I think this was the second time I’ve made popovers. It seems to me there was a go before this, perhaps while we were in Vail, but it’s a bit foggy up there so I can’t say for sure. I was reminded of them near the end of last week and I thought they sounded like a good thing to make with the yummy loaded potato soup we had on Friday. Every time (whether it was once or twice), they came together quickly and easily and turned out perfectly. As an added bonus, I almost always have the ingredients around. Popover connoisseurs insist that these must be baked in popover-specific pans, but I make mine in muffin tins and do not succumb to the dreaded unitasker. I am sure they taste just as good.

Ingredients

  • 2 eggs
  • 1 C all-purpose flour (I think it helps if you sift, but it’s not strictly necessary)
  • 1 C milk
  • 1/2 tsp salt

Directions
[flickr size=”small” float=”right”]http://www.flickr.com/photos/jesser80/5484034383/[/flickr]Heat oven to 450. Grease a 12-cup muffin tin with butter or non-stick spray. Beat eggs gently in a medium-sized bowl. Whisk in remaining ingredients until just smooth. Do not over-mix. Pour batter into prepared muffin tins until they are about 2/3 full or a bit less. Bake for 20 minutes then reduce oven temp to 350 and bake another 10-20 minutes or until popovers puffed up nicely and golden brown on top. Enjoy as you see fit … I suggest butter and strawberry jam.

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No Bake Granola Bars

from: Yum Food & Fun For Kids Dec 2010

Ingredients
2.5 C granola
1.5 C rice cereal
1/2 C quick oats
.5 C dried cranberries or blueberries
.5 C chopped dried apricots
.5 C honey
.5 C brown sugar
.5 C peanut butter
1 tsp vanilla

Directions
Grease a 9×13 pan with non-stick spray or butter. Combine first five ingredients in a large bowl. Combine brown sugar and honey in a small sauce pan and bring to a boil, stirring constantly until sugar is melted. Remove pan from heat and stir in peanut butter and vanilla. Pour peanut butter mixture over the cereal and fruit and mix thoroughly. Press mixture into 9×13 pan and allow to firm up for an hour or so. Cut into squares and ENJOY!

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Pumpkin Dip

from: Cooking Light, I think..

Ingredients
1 cup powdered sugar
4 oz fat-free cream cheese
1 cup E.D. Smith (Canada) Pure Pumpkin
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1 tsp ground ginger

Directions
Combine the confectioner’s sugar and cream cheese with a hand mixer until well-mixed and fluffy. Mix in pumpkin, cinnamon, and ginger until fully incorporated.
Taste to make sure the sugar/spice ratio is to your liking; adjust accordingly.
Store in an airtight container in the refrigerator. Serve with gingersnaps or apple slices.

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Cajun Dip

Ingredients
1/2 cup sun-dried tomatoes, without oil, dry-packed
8 oz light cream cheese, softened
1/2 cup plain fat-free yogurt
1/4 cup chili sauce
4 Tbsp bell pepper(s), chopped
4 Tbsp scallion(s), chopped
1 medium garlic clove(s), minced
1/2 tsp celery seed
1/8 tsp cayenne pepper

Directions
Place tomatoes in a small bowl. Cover with 1 cup of boiling water and allow to stand at room temperature for 10 minutes; drain and chop tomatoes.

Meanwhile, in another small bowl combine cream cheese, yogurt and chili sauce; mix well. Add tomatoes and remaining ingredients; mix well and refrigerate until ready to serve.

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Butternut Squash Fries

from: Hungry Girl

Ingredients
1/2 butternut squash
kosher salt

Directions
Pre-heat oven to 425 degrees. Peel and de-seed your butternut squash. If you're unfamiliar with handling them, you may have a little trouble at first. They're fairly easy to peel, but you'll need a sharp knife to cut them. Once your orange friend is peeled and seed-free, slice it in half. Then cut it up into french fry shapes. We like to use a crinkle cutter to make authentic looking crinkle cut fries, but they'll work any way you slice 'em.

Place on a cookie sheet sprayed with non-stick spray. Cover lightly with kosher salt (regular salt works, too, but we prefer kosher). Place tray in your pre-heated oven and bake for 40 minutes or so, flipping halfway through baking process. Fries are done when they are starting to brown on the edges and get crispy. Serve with ketchup, or however else you enjoy fries or sweet potato fries!

Nutritional Info (5 oz(
Calories: 65; Fat: 0g; Sodium: 486mg (includes salt); Carbs: 16.5g; Fiber: 4g Sugar: 3g; Protein: 1g

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Chocolate Peanut Butter Crunch Bars

from: Jess original

Ingredients
2 bags mini marshmallows
half a stick of butter
1 cup (approx?) peanut butter
rice cereal (rice krispies or similar) … 8 cups? I dunno
1 bag (larger) milk-chocolate chips

Directions
This is basically the recipe for rice krispie treats, but with a peanut butter chocolate cast to them. So you melt up the butter and then you add the marshmallows and melt them in like 1 min increments, stirring in between until they're all melty. Then you spoon in a bunch of peanut butter … until it looks more peanut butter colored. Then you toss in a bunch of rice krispies until it's the right consistency. I like fewer rice krispies in mine than the old recipes call for, but whatever you like. Then you smush the whole blob into a greased 9×13 pan and then you pour the chocolate chips over it in an even layer. Then you stick the whole thing in an oven (I did a couple of minutes broil this time, but next time I think I'll do 350 for a bit longer, maybe) and then the chocolate gets all melty and you can smooth it out with a spoon or knife or whatever so there's a layer on the top.

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Layered Bean Dip

from: Cooking Light September 2001

Ingredients
1 (16-ounce) can fat-free refried beans
1 (15-ounce) can black beans, rinsed and drained
1/2 cup reduced-fat sour cream
1 cup bottled salsa
1 cup (4 ounces) preshredded reduced-fat Mexican blend or cheddar cheese

Directions
Preheat oven to 375.
Combine beans; spread in an 8-inch square baking dish. Spread sour cream over beans; top with salsa and cheese. Cover; bake at 375 for 20 minutes. Uncover; bake 10 minutes or until bubbly. Garnish with cilantro, if desired.
Yield: about 2 1/2 cups dip (serving size: 1/4 cup)

Nutritional Info (1/4 cup(
CALORIES 107(19% from fat); FAT 2.3g (sat 1.4g,mono 0.2g,poly 0.0g); PROTEIN 8.8g; CHOLESTEROL 9mg; CALCIUM 111mg; SODIUM 497mg; FIBER 5.8g; IRON 1.6mg; CARBOHYDRATE 15.8g