Texas Pete Salad

One of our favorite summer dishes is Texas Pete Salad. Dave actually came up with this recipe, a twist on a pizza his mom makes (one of my all time favorite pizzas!) I thought I had posted the recipe for the pizza as well, but I am not seeing it, I will share that as well soon! It's so good!

This salad is super easy and super versatile. You can add tons of veggies, whatever you like really.

We like;
Lettuce (obviously)
Tomatoes
Peppers
Red onions
Mushrooms
Green onion
Avocado
Bacon
Corn
Black beans

For the chicken, I just sautee chopped chicken over medium high heat, and once it's almost fully cooked, coat it all in Texas Pete Buffalo sauce. Make sure to buy the buffalo wing sauce, not the hot sauce, so it's not too hot! I like to let my chicken cool before topping it on the salad, so this is when I start prepping all my veggies. Once I have everything chopped up the chicken is cool enough, add everything together for your salad, and top it with a little more Texas Pete Buffalo and we also toss it with a homemade creamy cilantro dressing.

For the dressing;
1 packet of Ranch
1 cup of milk
1 cup of sour cream or mayo
1 bunch cilantro
1 jalapeno (optional)

Add everything to a blender and chill until ready to serve! So easy! I love having a bottle of this dressing in the fridge. It only lasts about a week, but I will put it on anything and everything!

That's it! It's one of my favorite meals that is ready in under 30 minutes and is so flavorful!

Enjoy!

Quick & Healthy Greek Chicken - 30 Minute Meal

This has become one of our favorite recipes as of late. Inspired by delicious gyros, this meal is easy to throw together, ready in 30 minutes or less, yummy and healthy, making it the perfect light summer meal. 

What you need;
(measurements for 2 people)

4-5 Chicken breasts
1 tablespoon Greek or Italian Seasoning (they have fairly similar ingredients)
1 tablespoon olive oil (enough to coat pan) 
Approx. 1/4 cup Tzatziki 
Approx. 2 tablespoons Feta Cheese (I like less, Bear likes more!)
1 Tomato
1/2 Cucumber

I love these Perdue brand chicken breasts that are all fairly thin and can be cooked without needing to be deforested. Bonus! I do really love to make this recipe with lamb as well. We are lamb obsessed! But obviously I don't always have that on hand, and it's quite a bit more expensive. 

Heat pan over medium high heat with olive oil, Once the pan is hot I add the frozen breasts and top them with the seasoning I have on hand. I allow each side to cook about 8 minutes and then turn the heat down to low, and cover, cooking for another 5 minutes until chicken is fully cooked.

While the chicken is cooking I prep my toppings. 

You can certainly make your homemade tzatziki which is really quite easy. Here is a link to a great healthy recipe. While it's not quite as healthy I do have a bottle of the stuff in the fridge. Makes the meal much easier when I am making it last minute and am feeling lazy or am crunched for time! Bear loves to use it as a dipping sauce when snacking on veggies. He can eat that stuff by the spoonful!

I then slice up my veggies.

Our chicken should be ready by this time. I like to give it a minute to rest, as I don't like it to heat up my toppings too much, but that's just my preference. 

Spread a little of the sauce, top with veggies, and finally, cheese.

Can be served with fresh pita bread or a greek salad (click here for a crazy quick and healthy greek salad recipe that pairs perfectly with this!) 

And there you have it! 

Enjoy!

Easy Zucchini Parmesan

We are at the end of the prime Zucchini season - Zucchini is in season May-September so time to enjoy it while it is at it's best! So I thought I would share our family favorite recipe from Mama Cavanaugh for super simple Zucchini Parmesan. And friends, I am not joking when I say this is easy, so easy!

Here's what you will need;
1 Zucchini
Italian Style Bread Crumbs
2 eggs, beaten
Marinara Sauce
Mozzarella
Parmesan

Directions;

Slice up your zucchini, a little thick, not too thin.

Dip them in egg wash, and then bread crumbs (sorry no pictures of that, but you should know the drill!)

Next, fry them up in a pan, over medium heat, about 3 minutes for each side.

Spread a layer of sauce on the bottom of a baking dish and lay out the fried up zucchini on top of the sauce.

 Top with a generous layer of mozzarella and sprinkle with parmesan. 

Broil in oven to melt the cheese, as long as your liking. I broiled mine for about 10 minutes.

And there you have it!

The family devours this meal! I should have doubled it. Even our pickiest eater got herself two servings! And it's easily a 30 minute meal. Can't complain with that! 

Enjoy!