Strawberry Banana Muffins (Lightened Up)

Hilary sent me a link to this recipe. Although I'm not much of a baker these muffins sounded yummy and we had the ingredients so I thought I'd try them out. I LOVED that the recipe only made 6 muffins which is perfect for smaller households or single people. Plus it can easily be doubled, etc if you need more muffins. I don't really consider 217 calories low for a small muffin so just keep that in mind when you're eating 2 or 3 :) But the taste was great and I thought it was a good way to use overripe bananas if you're tired of banana bread. The pics above were of the muffins I baked.

Strawberry Banana Muffins (Lightened Up): Recipe here

Mandarin Orange Salad with Orange Vinaigrette Dressing

This salad is very similar to the Berry-Madarin salad I posted last year but a different dressing and the salad is slightly different. I think I like parts of one salad with parts of the other! Both are good I just thought I'd give another option! (Plus this one has one of my favorite ingredients - Jicima!)

Mandarin Orange Salad

Red leaf lettuce
Green leaf lettuce
Purple onion - sliced in rings
Jicima - sliced in sticks
Mandarin oranges
Almond slices

Orange Vinaigrette Dressing:
1 Tbsp dry Italian dressing mix
1 tsp orange zest
1/4 cup red wine vinegar
2 Tbsp sugar
1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil
1/3 cup orange juice (from orange)

Fusilli with Shrimp, Orange, and Arugula

This is a Giada De Laurentiis recipe from the Food Network that my Dad made last night. I LOVED how light the vinaigrette was. It was a perfect summer dish! He made it with white pasta but I'd love to try it with wheat pasta. We ate it as a main dish but it could easily be served as a side pasta salad as well. I didn't think it needed the green olives for flavor but I like green olives so I didn't mind them.

Fusilli with Shrimp, Orange, and Arugula
Serves 4-6

1 pound fusili pasta
2 Tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
2 shallots, minced
1 clove garlic, minced
1 pound medium shrimp, shelled and deveined
Freshly ground salt & pepper
2 Tbsp white wine (or pasta water)

1 tsp lemon zest
1/4 cup lemon juice from lemon (~1 lemon)
1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
Freshly ground salt & pepper
2 large oranges
5 ounces arugula (or spinich)
15 (5 ounces) large pitted green olives, halved

For the pasta:
Cook pasta as directed until desired tenderness, drain pasta.
In a large saute pan, heat 2 Tbsp oil over medium-high heat. Add the shallots and garlic. Cook until soft, about 2 minutes. Season the shrimp with salt and pepper. Add the shrimp and white wine (or pasta water) to the pan. Saute for 2-3 minutes or until the shrimp are pink and cooked through.

In a seperate large bowl combine the lemon zest and lemon juice. Slowly add the oil, whisking constantly, until mixture is smooth. Use paring knife, remove the peel and white pith from oranges. Over the bowl, cut between the membranes of the oranges to form segments. Allow the juice to drip into serving bowl and squeeze out excess juice from membrane portion of orange into the bowl before discarding. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Add the arugula and olive to the serving bowl. Toss lightly to combine.

Add the hot pasta and shrimp to the vinaigrette and toss until the arugula is wilted and all the ingredients are combined and lightly coated with vinaigrette.

Green Chile Chicken Enchiladas - By Cheryl Parham

Last night, I put together green chili chicken enchiladas that came out really good and were so easy. Then, today I had leftover chicken so I made red chili chicken enchiladas and they were also so yummy!!! Enchiladas are really easy, but if you are like me I never really make them even though I love them. Anyway give these a try sometime!!!

First, best trick ever for super easy great recipes is buying a rotisserie chicken. It is cooked and has that great rotisserie taste and you woud be amazed at all the recipes you can do with that chicken!!

What you need:
1 rotisserie chicken- shredded
chopped onion (fresh or frozen)
2-3 cups Pepper jack cheese or another mexican cheese I am sure would be good too!
1/2 - 1 cup sour cream
corn tortillas
1 can or more of green enchilada sauce- Your preference. I used the Albertson's brand, but I have used Old El Paso too.
1 can diced green chile

**I eyed the measurements to fit my taste and only made six so do what works for you!!

Preheat oven to 350F
Spray a casserole pan w/ non-stick spray- mine is fairly small since I only made 6
Set casserole pan aside
Shred/cut up rotisserie chicken- need about 1 1/2 cups to 2 cups in a medium bowl
Add to the bowl of chicken- diced onions about 1/3 cup, 1/2 cup sour cream, diced green chiles(I used canned) and 1 cup shredded pepper jack cheese.
Mix together and set aside.
In your sprayed casserole pan pour 1/2 of the green chili enchilada sauce to the bottom of the pan.
Take all the torillas you are going to use. Put on a plate then cover with another plate turned upside down. Microwave for about 30-40 seconds depending on how many.
Now take each tortilla dip into casserole pan, put the filling in it, roll it and repeat with all the tortillas and filling til finished.
Pour the rest of the enchilada sauce on top of the enchiladas.
Spread shredded pepper jack cheese on top and bake in oven for 15 min. longer if more than 6.

* I like red sauce with ground beef, but the chicken was really good with the red sauce. The only thing I didn't use with the red was the diced green chilis.
Also, I am sure you can use ground beef, crab meat, shrimp, pork, ground turkey. Whatever