Baked Kale Chips

Sheehan house motto: Eat Your Greens! :) This recipe makes it easy to eat Kale which is one of the most nutritious things you can eat.

Ingredients:

1 bunch kale

1 tablespoon olive oil

1 teaspoon seasoned salt

Directions:

Preheat an oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Line a non insulated cookie sheet with parchment paper. With a knife or kitchen shears carefully remove the leaves from the thick stems and tear into bite size pieces. Wash and thoroughly dry kale with a salad spinner. Drizzle kale with olive oil and sprinkle with seasoning salt.

Bake until the edges brown but are not burnt, 10 to 15 minutes.

Tips:

-I bought the pre-chopped Kale as a short cut.
-They are very salty, so you can cut the salt down to your taste
-It is key to get the right cooking time - watch them carefully - undercooked = still chewy, overcooked = burned

They really do turn out like crispy chips - I promise you will like them. Even the kiddies gobbled them up. They save for a few days too, so you can make them ahead of time.

Grilled Romaine with Blue Cheese Bacon Vinaigrette

y'all- try this salad. We made it at the beach- DELISH!!!


Grilled Romaine with Blue Cheese Bacon Vinaigrette

Ingredients

    4 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
    3/4 cup chopped red onion
    1/2 pound bacon, chopped
    1/2 cup balsamic vinegar
    3 heads romaine lettuce, cut in 1/2 lengthwise
    1/2 cup crumbled blue cheese
    Freshly ground black pepper



Directions

Preheat the grill to high heat.

Heat 1 tablespoon of the olive oil in a saute pan over high heat. Add the onions and bacon and cook until the bacon is crispy. To the same pan add the balsamic vinegar and 1 tablespoon of the olive oil and stir to combine. Remove from heat and set aside.

Brush the romaine lettuce with the remaining 2 tablespoons of olive oil, place on the grill cut side down, and quickly sear.

Serve the lettuce, cut side up, and drizzle the balsamic dressing over the lettuce. Sprinkle with blue cheese and garnish with cracked black pepper.
Grilled Romaine with Blue Cheese Bacon Vinaigrette

Taco Chicken Wraps

This is an old recipe I dug up last week and it was super easy, tasty, can be made from canned stuff you have on hand, relatively healthy and the whole family loved it. I think I actually got this from Jen years and years ago. It is just a different twist on Mexican fare, but very tasty. The key is oven baking them and freshly shredding your cheese - makes it so melty and yummy. Enjoy!

Ingredients: 
1 can (10oz) diced tomatoes and green chilies, drained
1 large can chunk white chicken, drained
1 C shredded sharp cheddar and/or monterey jack cheese
2 T diced jalapeno peppers (*add however much to taste for your family's spice level)
2 tsp taco seasoning 6 flour tortillas (6in)
Toppings: taco sauce, salsa, sour cream, avocado - all optional

Instructions: 
In small bowl, combine tomatoes, chicken, cheese, jalapenos and taco seasoning. Place about 1/3 cup down the center of each tortilla. Roll up and place seam side down in greased baking dish. Bake uncovered at 350˚ for 10-15 min or until heated through. Serve with desired toppings.

Tips: 
You can mix up the chicken mix earlier in the day, then just take it out of the fridge and roll up your wraps when you are ready to go. I baked them in the toaster oven to save energy and it was perfect.

Roasted Garlic Cauliflower

I couldn't let February get by without at least one new recipe on the blog, so here it is - Cauliflower. You might say YUCK, but it was actually great and the whole family loved it. It will be in the weekly veggie rotation from now on. I have been trying all sorts of new veggie recipes lately to help us make it to '5 a day' each day and this is one of the only good ones so far. I hope you enjoy!

Ingredients:
2 tablespoons minced garlic
3 tablespoons olive oil
1 large head cauliflower, separated into small florets
1/3 cup grated Parmesan cheese
salt and black pepper to taste
1 tablespoon chopped fresh parsley

Directions:
Preheat the oven to 450 degrees. Grease a large casserole dish or use non-stick baking/roasting pan. Place the olive oil and garlic in a large resealable bag or bowl. Add cauliflower and mix well. Pour into the prepared casserole dish, and season with salt and pepper to taste.

Bake for 25 minutes, stirring halfway through. Top with Parmesan cheese and parsley, and broil for 3 to 5 minutes, until golden brown.

Note:
I omitted the parsley because it is not my favorite and it still tasted great!

Cheezits Chicken

One of Tanner and Kenzie's favorites - they are the Cheezit hogs in the family.

Ingredients:
4 boneless skinless chicken breasts
1 cup sour cream
3 cups Cheezits, crushed
1 cup margarine, melted

Directions:
Melt margarine in 13 X 9 baking dish. Dredge clean chicken in sour cream. Roll in Cheezits crumbs. Place chicken in baking dish with melted margarine. Turn over so margarine is on both sides.

Bake at 375 degrees for 40 minutes

Tips:
I usually butterfly the chicken breasts or pound them out so they are not too thick. I also sometimes cut the breasts in half to make smaller pieces so there is more surface area for cheezits - sort of like chicken fingers. This is one of those recipes you don't really have to measure and don't really have to have the exact amounts of anything - whatever you have on hand will work. I typically use butter instead of margarine, but that is just because we are more of a butter family. I am sure both are great.

Pasta a la Amatriciana

Girls! forgot about this one! Its one of Elfies recipes- yummy and easy! Definitely comfort food.


4 panchetta slices (1/3" thick)- i would do more if you like panchetta, bc it shrinks
penne pasta (1/2 box for 2)
3T red wine vinegar, dark
2 small onions - or 1lg
red pepper flakes, to taste
garlic salt and powder, to taste
2T olive oil
tomato puree (about 15oz or so)

- Cut panchetta into small chunks, put in skillet with olive oil (just to cover bottom)
- Once hot, put panchetta in and cook until crispy- remove.
- add onions to skillet, shrink
- add red wine vinegar, let cook out
- add puree and begin adding pasta water until desired thickness (about 3 ladles)
- add panchetta, red pepper flakes to taste
- add garlic salt and powder to taste

Bacon wrapped beef medallions with smoked paprika butter

um, yes pleas!! this was SO good. and i bought the beef medallions ALREADY wrapped in bacon at kroger last week on sale. so all i did was brush the olive oil and add s&p. I did follow the butter recipe exactly though- just used regular paprika. YUM. and the butter will keep for months- so you can put it on grilled chicken, corn on the cob, whatever!

then i did these for a side: Balsamic roasted red potatoes:


* 2 tablespoons olive or canola oil
* 2 pounds small red potatoes, quartered
* 1 tablespoon finely chopped green onion
* 6 garlic cloves, minced
* 1 teaspoon dried thyme
* 1 teaspoon dried rosemary, crushed
* 1/8 teaspoon ground nutmeg
* 1/4 cup balsamic vinegar
* 3/4 teaspoon salt
* 1/4 teaspoon pepper

Directions

1. In a large nonstick skillet, heat oil over medium-high heat. Add the potatoes, onion and garlic; toss to combine. Add the thyme, rosemary and nutmeg; toss well. Cook and stir for 2-3 minutes or until potatoes are hot.
2. Transfer to a 15-in. x 10-in. x 1-in. baking pan coated with nonstick cooking spray. Bake at 400 degrees F for 25-30 minutes or until potatoes are golden and almost tender. Add the vinegar, salt and pepper; toss well. Bake 5-8 minutes longer or until potatoes are tender.