Almond-Chive Salmon

Tonight, I want to start with a shout-out to my dinner girls back in Minneapolis. 

You see, Katy, Emily, and I would get together about once a month and make dinner.  Whoever was hosting would pick the theme (I love theme dinners!) and make the entree and the other two of us would bring a side dish and a dessert, respectively.  We would eat, drink, and chat until the wee hours of the evening - no significant others invited - expect for Sushi Rolling Night, which was an experience and a half.

As for tonight's dinner, this was the entree at either Katy's or Emily's one night and it became one of my favorite salmon recipes yet.  A simple topping made with simple flavors that shine through and complement the salmon in an elegant way. 

I've made this a couple times since that evening and every time it takes me back to the nights we spent together - one of the things I miss most about having moved away.

So tonight, I tip my chef's hat to Katy and Emily and our little but oh-so-special dinner group.

Almond-Chive Salmon

Almond-Chive Salmon

What You Need:

• 1 oz sliced almonds
• 1 tbsp snipped chives
• 1/2 tsp grated lemon rind
• 1 slice bread, torn (I used 1/2 a leftover hamburger bun from our Memorial Day BBQs)
• salt & pepper, to taste
• 2 6-oz salmon fillets

How You Do It:

1. In a food processor (I used this awesome manual food processor from Pampered Chef), combine almonds, chives, lemon rind, torn bread, and salt & pepper.  Process until finely chopped.
2. Top fillets evenly with mixture and press to adhere.
3. Bake at 400* for 15 minutes until salmon flakes easily or cooked to desired doneness. 

Almond-Chive Salmon adapted from the best dinner group ever... and AllRecipes.com.

Chicken Fajita Pizza

Every once and a while you need a taste of home.  So over the weekend I emailed my mom to ask her if she could send some of my favorite recipes from when I was a kid.  This one is just that.  I used to ask her to make this when I was home from college for a long weekend or break.  It’s nothing really special, but to me, it really was – probably because it married two of my favorite things: Mexican food and pizza.

Saute up some chicken, an onion, and bell pepper – spread it atop partially-baked crust – add some salsa and cheese – golden brown – YUM.

There’s not much more I can tell you about this one other than it was just as good as I remembered it and exactly what I was hoping for.

Chicken Fajita Pizza

 

Chicken Fajita Pizza

What You Need:

• 1 10oz can refrigerated pizza crust
• 1 lb boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut in thin strips
• 1 ½ tsp. chili powder
• 1 medium onion, thinly sliced
• 1 bell pepper, thinly sliced
• 1 c salsa
• 2 c shredded mozzarella cheese

How You Do It:

1. Preheat oven to 425°.  Spread out dough on large rimmed baking tray (I used my favorite fromPampered Chef).  Bake for 7-9 minutes or until very light golden brown.
2. While the crust pre-bakes, mix chicken and chili powder and cook in rimmed skillet 3-5 minutes, or until lightly browned.  Add onions and peppers; cook an additional 2-3 minutes, or until chicken is no longer pink and veggies are crisp-tender.
3. Remove crust from oven and spoon chicken mixture evenly over partially baked crust. 
4. Spoon salsa over chicken; sprinkle with cheese. 
5. Bake an additional 15 minutes or until crust is golden brown.

Chicken Fajita Pizza recipe adapted from my mom.

Southwest Tortilla Bake

"Don't mind that this looks like mush," I said as we sat down to the table for dinner tonight.  Yep, tonight's meal didn't make the best of presentation, and frankly, I should have snapped a photo before I cut into this puppy, but alas, I did the best I could.

Ok, I digress.  Yes, tonight's dinner looks like a mess on the plate, but the flavor was awesome.  I love Mexican food, as I believe I have mentioned previously.  And while I don't make it all that often, when I do, I do.  This recipe was so easy to make - really, it only has six ingredients, most of which you can purchase from the store and use as-is.  Food Network's Sandra Lee has coined this a "semi-homemade" dish.  And you know what, they are good and sometimes better than making something 100% from scratch.

This one is ooey and gooey and cheesey and delicious.  A deep pie pan is totally recommended - I used my not-so-new-but-first-time-being-used Pampered Chef deep dish pie pan I got for my - gulp - wedding shower.  It was perfect.  And don't be alarmed about how full the pin pan is - mine was to the rim and didn't make a mess of the oven.

My only suggestion - which I will do on the next go-around of this recipe - is to really let this sit for a solid 5-7 minutes before you attempt to cut and serve.  I think this would have helped it stay togheter and not look like mush on the plate.

Yet again, another Mexican fiesta on a plate!

Southwest Tortilla Bake

Southwest Tortilla Bake

What You Need:

• 1 can Progresso Recipe Starters Creamy Roasted Garlic with Chicken Stock cooking sauce
• 1/2 c salsa
• 2 c cooked and shredded chicken
• 1 can Mexicorn, drained
• 3-4 tortillas
• 2 c shredded taco cheese

How You Do It:

1. Combine cooking sauce and salsa in bowl.
2. Combine corn and chicken in separate bowl.
3. Spread 1 cup sauce on bottom of pie pan.  Top with 1 tortilla, 1 cup sauce, 1/3 chicken mixture, and 1/3 cheese.  
4. Repeat tortilla-sauce-chicken-cheese layers until the pie pan is full, ending with cheese.
5. Bake 350* for 30 minutes until the center is warm and the cheese is lightly browned.
6. Let sit for 5-7 minutes to set before serving.

Southwest Tortilla Bake recipe adapted from Pillsbury.com.

Chipotle Chicken Burrito Bowls

For a solid week now I've wanted a Chiptole burrito.  So instead of spending the 10 minutes waiting in the lunch line and the $10 for something I would only regret for the remainder of the afternoon, I took to the inter-web to find a recipe for the chicken and made my own.

Much much much to my happiness, the burrito bowls (who really needs the tortilla anyway?) were exactly what I hoped for.  The chicken had amazing flavor and we had all the fixings for what turned out to be a filling and healthy dinner.

Just a note, and another selfless pitch for The Pampered Chef, on the chicken.  The original recipe, and in the restaurants themselves, the chicken is grilled.  While we very well could have fired 'er up tonight, I took to the microwave.  Yes, you heard me right - the microwave.  I'm telling you - in 6 minutes flat, I had cooked the moistest chicken I could have imagined - in the microwave!  Get yourself one of these Magic Pots - you won't be sorry.  And remember, if you don't already have a The Pampered Chef consultant, contact mine!

Chicken Burrito Bowl

Chipotle Chicken Burrito Bowls

What You Need for the Chicken:

• 1 lb boneless, skinless chicken breasts
• 1 tbsp vegetable oil
• 2 tsp chili powder
• 1 tsp garlic powder
• 1 tsp onion powder
• 1 tsp cumin
• 1/2 tsp dried oregano
• 1/2 tsp black pepper

Suggested Fixings:

• Brown rice
• Lettuce
• Mexicorn
• Shredded cheese
• Avocado
• Sour Cream
• Salsa

How You Do It:

1. Combine oil, spices, and chicken in large ziploc bag.  Let marinate at least 20 minutes, up to 24 hours.
2. Cook chicken; cut into bite-size pieces. (See my note above)
3. Assemble salad with desired fixings.

Chicken recipe adapted from The Star Tribune

The Pampered Chef Italian Dressing

I love salad.  I really do.  Ask my husband.  Ask my friends.  I. Love. Salad.

So tonight on my way home when our neighbors invited us over for pizza (yet another of my favorites!), I jumped on the offer and insisted on bringing a salad.  I wasn't even close to being home from work yet, thanks to my horrifying commute, but knew immediately what needed to happen when I got home.  Two words:  Salad Dressing.

Now just any salad dressing, The Pampered Chef Italian Dressing from my salad dressing maker thing.  Yes, that's a technical term.  I wish I could share the recipe for this with you, but I really have no idea of the amounts of balsamic or oil - I just fill to the line in the amazing salad dressing maker thing.

Long story short - this is the best salad dressing ever.  My suggestion - contact your Pampered Chef consultant and get a The Pampered Chef Salad Dressing Maker Thing right away.  And if you don't have a Pampered Chef consultant, contact mine!

The Pampered Chef Italian Dressing

Blogger Note:  In no way was I compensated for this post - I just love The Pampered Chef!