Avocado Bagles

This is a favorite breakfast of ours introduced to us by Ramona Stice.

• 1 toasted bagel

• 1/2 avocado gently mashed

• 3 tomato slices

• 1 t olive oil

• salt and pepper to taste

When making these for both of us I often make us each a half as listed above and substitute the avocado on the other half for an ounce of goat cheese. So YUMMY!

Spicy Chicken Sandwiches with Cilantro-Lime Mayo

We love Wendy's Spicy Chicken Sandwich, this is similar and much healthier. I make this without the mayo and don't marinade, I just dip the chicken in the sauce and then the crushed chipped. Marinading makes the chicken spicier.

Ingredients

MAYO:
1/4 cup reduced-fat mayonnaise
2 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro1 teaspoon fresh lime juice
1 garlic clove, minced

CHICKEN:

1 egg
3 tablespoons hot sauce (such as Tabasco)
1 teaspoon dried oregano
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 (6-ounce) skinless, boneless chicken breast halves
4 1/2 ounces baked tortilla chips (about 6 cups)
2 tablespoons olive oil

REMAINING INGREDIENTS:
4 (2-ounce) Kaiser rolls, split
12 (1/8-inch-thick) red onion slices
4 lettuce leaves

Preparation

1. To prepare mayo, combine the first 4 ingredients.

2. To prepare chicken, combine egg substitute, hot sauce, oregano, and salt in a large zip-top plastic bag. Cut chicken breast halves in half horizontally to form 4 cutlets. Add chicken to bag; seal. Marinate in refrigerator 2 hours or up to 8 hours, turning bag occasionally.

3. Place tortilla chips in a food processor; process 1 minute or until ground. Place ground chips in a shallow dish.

4. Working with one cutlet at a time, remove chicken from marinade, allowing excess to drip off. Coat chicken completely in chips. Set aside. Repeat procedure with remaining chicken and chips.

5. Heat a large nonstick skillet over medium heat. Add olive oil to pan, swirling to coat. Add chicken to pan; cook 3 minutes on each side or until browned and done. Spread mayo evenly over cut sides of rolls. Layer bottom half of each roll with 3 onion slices, 1 lettuce leaf, and 1 chicken cutlet; top with top halves of rolls.

Slow Cooked Southwest Chicken

Marc made this yesterday, Yummy!

Ingredients:
2 cans (15 ounces each) black beans, rinsed and drained
1 can (14-1/2 ounces) reduced-sodium chicken broth
1 can (14-1/2 ounces) diced tomatoes with mild green chilies, undrained
1/2 pound boneless skinless chicken breast
1 jar (8 ounces) chunky salsa
1 cup frozen corn
1 tablespoon dried parsley flakes
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1/4 teaspoon pepper
3 cups hot cooked rice

Directions:
In a 2- or 3-qt. slow cooker, combine the beans, broth, tomatoes, chicken, salsa, corn and seasonings. Cover and cook on low for 6-8 hours or until chicken shreds easily with two forks.
Shred chicken and return to the slow cooker; heat through. Serve with rice. Yield: 6 servings.

Bistro Roast Chicken

I make this on a regular basis. The prep is quick even though the cooking time is long. Sometimes I put this on time bake at 400 for 1 hour 15 min. Serve the roasted heads of garlic on the side. Squeeze out the pulp and use it as a spread on baguette slices or as a condiment for the chicken. You can omit the garlic if you want. Makes 2 servings.

Ingredients

2 chicken leg quarters (about 1 1/2 pounds)
1 tablespoon chopped fresh or 1 teaspoon dried basil
1 tablespoon chopped fresh or 1 teaspoon dried thyme
1 tablespoon chopped fresh or 1 teaspoon dried rosemary, crushed
2 teaspoons olive oil
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
2 whole garlic heads
Preparation
Preheat oven to 375°.

Rinse chicken with cold water; pat dry. Trim excess fat. Loosen skin from thigh and leg by inserting fingers, gently pushing between skin and meat. Combine basil and next 5 ingredients (basil through pepper). Rub herb mixture under loosened skin. Place chicken on a broiler pan. Insert meat thermometer into meaty part of thigh, making sure not to touch bone.

Remove white papery skin from garlic heads (do not peel or separate the cloves). Wrap each head separately in foil; place on broiler pan with chicken. Bake at 375° for 45 minutes. Increase oven temperature to 450° (do not remove chicken from oven). Bake 30 minutes or until thermometer registers 180°. Cover chicken loosely with foil; let stand 10 minutes. Discard skin.

Thoughts on yoghurt

I hate mayonnaise/miracle whip and am not a big sour cream fan either. Besides the fact that these are not healthy, I don't like the taste. A few years ago I read an article about substituting plain yoghurt for sour cream/mayo/cream cheese. I haven't tried the cream cheese substitute because I love cream cheese, but I have turned over a leaf in healthy cooking. You truly can put plain yoghurt in any recipe that calls for sour cream or mayo. I have tried everything from stroganoff to egg salad and it is amazing. You can get the same creaminess and taste, but much better for you.

Falafel and Tzatziki

This is a recipe that Ryan gave me and we had for dinner tonight. Pretty quick and very delicious. Sauce can be made in advance!

FALAFEL:

• 1 (15 ounce) can chickpeas (garbanzo beans), drained
• 1 onion, chopped
• 1/2 cup fresh parsley
• 2 cloves garlic, chopped
• 1 egg
• 2 teaspoons ground cumin
• 1 teaspoon ground coriander
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 dash pepper
• 1 pinch cayenne pepper
• 1 teaspoon lemon juice
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1 tablespoon olive oil (I only used a tsp)
  
• 1 cup dry bread crumbs

1. Preheat oven to 425.
   
2. In a large bowl mash chickpeas until thick and pasty; don't use a blender, as the consistency will be too thin. In a blender, process onion, parsley and garlic until smooth. Stir into mashed chickpeas.
3. In a small bowl combine egg, cumin, coriander, salt, pepper, cayenne, lemon juice and baking powder. Stir into chickpea mixture along with olive oil. Slowly add bread crumbs until mixture is not sticky but will hold together; add more or less bread crumbs, as needed. Form 8 balls and then flatten into patties.
4. Spray oil a baking sheet. Place patties on sheet and bake on the bottom rack about 25 minutes flipping once.
5. Serve in pitas with tzatziki sauce or hummus.

TZATZIKI SAUCE

• 1 (6 ounce) container plain yogurt
• 1/2 cucumber - peeled, seeded, and finely chopped
• 1 teaspoon dried dill weed
• salt and pepper to taste
• 1 tablespoon mayonnaise

Combine all ingredients and chill for 30 minutes. We added a little extra dill and some lemon juice!

Healthy Tips--quick oats for breads

Frances, I hope you'll allow me to offer a suggestion that we can share healthy tips for cooking as well, not just recipes. I've found that healthy cooking involves tweaking good recipes just as much as finding them.

For instance, I've just recently figured out that adding quick oats with a wheat flour substitute improves the texture of wheat bread, and adds more whole grain. Example: I have a bread stick recipe that calls for 3 C flour. I substitute 1 C wheat flour (old trick) and 1/2 C quick oats (new trick!) for the same amount of all-purpose flour. You can't even see the quick oats in the bread when you're done, and it gives the wheat bread a more moist texture.

Kalua Pork

This recipe is very adjustable. I usually just put the roast in the slow cooker with the water (or not) and sprinkle with the salt and liquid smoke to taste. It tastes like luau pork. Serve on rice.

3 pounds pork butt roast or tenderloin
2 cups water
1 teaspoon liquid smoke flavoring
2 tbsp sea salt

Combine all ingredients in a slow cooker and cook on low for 7-8 hours.

Welcome to Quick and Healthy Meals

I LOVE food and love cooking. I am always on the hunt for good and healthy food. I am member of another food blog that has delicious recipes, but not too many healthy ones. I decided to start this blog to collect recipes and articles on healthy, quick cooking. I hope this blog is helpful and please comment with any suggestions.