Shredded Chicken Tacos

This recipe is a snap to throw together and very delicious, a perfect weeknight dinner! I found this recipe while trying to find a new way to use up left over rotisserie chicken. For extra heat add sliced jalapenos. Grill extra ears of corn to an awesome side.

Ingredients

• 2 ears shucked corn
• 1 (12-ounce) package baby heirloom tomatoes
• 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 8 (6-inch) corn tortillas
• 2 cups shredded skinless, boneless rotisserie chicken breast
• 1 peeled avocado, cut into 16 slices
• 8 lime wedges (optional)

Preparation

• 1. Preheat broiler or grill.
• 2. Place corn on a jelly-roll pan; broil 18 minutes or until charred on all sides, rotating every 6 minutes.
•      OR
•     Grill corn on medium heat for 18 minutes or until charred on all sides, rotating every 6 minutes. 
• 3. Cut kernels from corn; place kernels in a medium bowl. Cut tomatoes into quarters. Add tomatoes to corn, and sprinkle corn mixture with black pepper and salt.
• 3. Heat tortillas according to package directions. Divide chicken evenly among tortillas; top each taco with 1/4 cup corn mixture and 2 avocado slices. Serve with lime wedges, if desired.

Grilled Tilapia with Smoked Paprika

• I LOVE this recipe and make it all the time. It is an amazing weeknight dish because it takes only about 15 minutes from start to finish. I have a fish basket for my grill which works well. The spices really bring out the "grilled" flavor and diminishes any "fishy" flavor. If you can't find smoked paprika, regular paprika will do, but won't be as satisfying. This is a great recipe if you are wary of fish. Serve with a side of rice and beans and grilled veggies.
• 
  
• 1 1/2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 teaspoon smoked paprika
• 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• 4 (6-ounce) tilapia fillets
• Cooking spray

Preparation

• Heat a grill to medium-high heat or 350-400º. Combine oil, paprika, garlic powder, 1/2 teaspoon salt, and pepper in a bowl, stirring well. Rub fish evenly with oil mixture. Coat pan with cooking spray. Add fish to pan; cook 4 minutes on each side or until fish flakes easily when tested with a fork or until desired degree of doneness.

Note: The tilapia can be prepared either in a grill pan on the stove or over the coals on an outdoor grill.

Slow-Cooked Elk Roast with Horseradish Chive Sauce

Last year I shot an elk with my dad. I have not been brave enough to this point to cook the meat myself, but my parents came up for dinner on Sunday and I decided to give it a go. I did a lot of research on cooking elk and came up with this recipe which I used a shoulder roast with. It turned out great! While it was cooking it smelled pretty gamey which made me worry but it didn't taste gamey at all. Don't skimp on the oil because elk is so lean it will get very dry without it. It is also best to work with a thawed roast for a number of different reasons, so thaw it in a bowl of water in your fridge about 24 hours before you start cooking for best results. Use the left over juices to make gravy or serve with the sauce listed below. The Horseradish Chive Sauce is also excellent on beef.

To Make the Roast:
2 lb loin or any back leg roast
1 package Grill Mates Mesquite Marinade (or your favorite rub recipe)
¼ c olive or other vegetable oil
½ c. water
1 tsp. minced garlic
½ chopped onion

Other vegetables, like carrots and potatoes as desired.

In a hot skillet with a small amount of oil, quickly brown (sear) the outside of the roast. This process just takes a few minutes and improves flavor and moisture retention. Put roast in the crock pot on low temperature.
Mix together: water, oil, garlic, onion and marinade (or rub) mix and pour over roast.

Cook in crock pot on low for at least 8 hours. Longer won't hurt it. If you prefer to use a covered roasting pan or turkey roaster, add enough water to immerse about 1/3 of the meat. Remember, every time you open the crock pot, you will slow the cooking process by about 20 minutes.

To make gravy from scratch:

Mix ½ -1 tablespoon flour or cornstarch in a small amount of cold water until lumps disappear. Pour into one cup of liquid from roast. For a richer flavor, add 1 teaspoon, or so of beef base or 1 bouillon cube. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer until slightly less than desired thickness, stirring constantly. Remember that the gravy will thicken a bit after removal from the heat.


Horseradish Chive Sauce

2/3 cup light sour cream

2 tablespoons chopped fresh chives

3 tablespoons prepared horseradish

1 teaspoon fresh lemon juice

1 teaspoon Dijon mustard

1/8 teaspoon kosher salt

Combine all ingredients and serve with the roast.

No-Knead Overnight Parmesan and Thyme Rolls

These rolls are basically a savory version of cinnamon rolls. The hardest part of making these is remembering to start them the night before. I like very fluffy rolls so let them raise for 2 hours, but the choice is yours. If you are lazy and don't want the thyme to be as potent, skip cooking it. Enjoy!

Ingredients

• 1 teaspoon dry yeast
• 1/4 cup warm water (100° to 110°)
• 1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil, divided
• 2 teaspoon dried thyme
• 2/3 cup 2% reduced-fat milk
• 11 cup (4 ounces) grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese, divided
• 2 tablespoon sugar
• 1 teaspoon kosher salt
• 2 large egg, lightly beaten
• 1/2 cup whole-wheat white flour 
• 2.5 cups all-purpose flour, divided
• Cooking spray
• 1 teaspoon cracked black pepper

Preparation

• 1. Dissolve yeast in warm water in a large bowl; let stand 5 minutes or until bubbly.
• 2. Heat 2 tablespoon oil in a small saucepan over medium heat. Add thyme to pan; cook 1 minute or until bubbly and fragrant. Add thyme mixture and milk to yeast mixture, stirring with a whisk; add 1/2 cup cheese, sugar, salt, and egg, stirring well.
• 3. Weigh or lightly spoon whole-wheat white flour into a dry measuring cup; level with a knife. Using a wooden spoon, stir whole-wheat white flour into yeast mixture.  Lightly spoon 2 cups all-purpose flour into a dry measuring cup; level with a knife. Add all-purpose flour to yeast mixture, stirring well. Add enough of remaining all-purpose flour, 1 tablespoon at a time, to form a smooth but very sticky dough. Place dough in a large bowl coated with cooking spray, turning to coat top. Cover and refrigerate overnight. (Dough will not double in size.)
• 4. Remove dough from refrigerator. Do not punch dough down. Turn dough out onto a floured surface; sprinkle dough lightly with flour. Roll dough into a 24 x 7–inch rectangle. Brush dough with remaining 2 tablespoons oil. Sprinkle remaining 1/2 cup cheese evenly over dough; sprinkle with pepper. Beginning with a long side, roll up dough jelly-roll fashion. Pinch seam to seal (do not seal ends of roll). Cut roll into 16 (1 1/2-inch) slices. Place slices, cut sides up, on a baking sheet covered with parchment paper. Cover and let rise in a warm place (85°), free from drafts, 1 hour or until rolls have risen slightly.
• 5. Preheat oven to 400°.
• 6. Place pan in oven, and immediately reduce heat to 375°. Bake rolls at 375° for 12 minutes or until golden brown. Serve warm. Yield: 16 rolls

Greek Salad

Since the weather is finally getting warmer, I had a serious desire for a taste of summer and made this for dinner. I love this salad and since it has no lettuce it lasts forever in the fridge (though it doesn't need to because it is so good). I used grape tomatoes to cut down on the chopping and simply diced the cucumber and onions to make it easy. Next time I am going to double this so I can have more leftovers. I also love kalamata olives because they are fairly mild. If you want to use black olives instead, feel free but it won't be as authentic.

3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

1½ tablespoons lemon juice

1 clove garlic—minced

½ teaspoon dried oregano

¼ teaspoon salt

¼ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper, and extra for garnish

3 tomatoes—cut into wedges

¼ red onion—sliced into rings

½ cucumber—sliced into thick half-moons

½ green pepper (capsicum)—chopped

4 oz (120g) feta cheese—cut into small cubes

16 kalamata olives

PLACE the olive oil, lemon juice, garlic, salt, pepper and oregano in a small jar with a screw-top lid and shake to combine. PLACE the salad ingredients in a large bowl. POUR the dressing over the salad and toss gently to combine just before serving. GARNISH the Greek salad with a little freshly ground black pepper.

Crispy Seasoned Polenta Squares

The side dish of choice at my house is usually rice because it goes with everything and it so easy. I like to branch out and tried this recipe to mix things up. I liked them and my husband LOVED them. These are a great make ahead dish, just make the polenta and put it in the fridge until you are ready to eat then dip them in the egg and crumbs and warm them then. I served these with grilled pork chops and salad.

To find sundried tomatoes, look by dried fruit in the produce section of your store. FYI, these are a great gluten-free side if you are worried about that.

Ingredients

• 4 cups water
• 1/2 cup chopped sun-dried tomatoes (not packed in oil)
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon dried minced onion
• 1 teaspoon dried minced garlic
• 1 cup cornmeal
• 1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese
• 1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
• 1 egg
• 1/4 cup milk
• 1/2 cup seasoned bread crumbs
• 2 teaspoons dried cilantro flakes
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 9 tablespoons reduced-fat sour cream or plain yogurt

Directions

• In a large heavy saucepan, bring the water, tomatoes, salt, onion and garlic to a boil. Reduce heat to a gentle boil; slowly whisk in cornmeal. Cook and stir with a wooden spoon for 15-20 minutes or until polenta is thickened and pulls away cleanly from the sides of the pan. Stir in cheese and oregano. Spread into a 9-in. square baking pan coated with cooking spray. Cool to room temperature, about 30 minutes.
• Cut polenta into nine squares. In a shallow bowl, whisk egg and milk. In another shallow bowl, combine bread crumbs and cilantro. Dip polenta in the egg mixture, then bread crumb mixture.
• In a large nonstick skillet coated with cooking spray, cook polenta in oil in batches for 1-2 minutes on each side or until golden brown. Serve with sour cream. Yield: 9 servings.

Gnocchi with Shrimp, Asparagus, and Pesto

This is a wonderful spring recipe that is a snap to put together. Use store bought pesto to make it even quicker

Ingredients

• 2  quarts plus 1 tablespoon water, divided
• 1  (16-ounce) package vacuum-packed gnocchi (such as Vigo)
• 4  cups  (1-inch) slices asparagus (about 1 pound)
• 1  pound  peeled and deveined large shrimp, coarsely chopped
• 1  cup  basil leaves
• 2  tablespoons  pine nuts, toasted
• 2  tablespoons  preshredded Parmesan cheese
• 2  teaspoons  fresh lemon juice
• 2  teaspoons  bottled minced garlic
• 4  teaspoons  extra-virgin olive oil

Preparation

1. Bring 2 quarts water to a boil in a Dutch oven. Add gnocchi to pan; cook 4 minutes or until done (gnocchi will rise to surface). Remove with a slotted spoon; place in a large bowl. Add asparagus and shrimp to pan; cook 5 minutes or until shrimp are done. Drain. Add shrimp mixture to gnocchi.

2. Combine remaining 1 tablespoon water, basil, and next 4 ingredients (through garlic) in a food processor; process until smooth, scraping sides. Drizzle oil through food chute with food processor on; process until well blended. Add basil mixture to shrimp mixture; toss to coat. Serve immediately. Yield 4 servings.