Baked Tilapia

Arrange desired number of tilapia fillets on a lightly greased, foil lined, baking sheet.

Drizzle with olive oil and season as desired. Salt and pepper. Chipotle. Cajun. Lemon pepper...

Bake at 350 degrees for about 20 minutes.

Serve with rice, your choice of beans, and fresh lemon or lime wedges.

Chicken Salsa Black Bean Tacos

A quick assembly meal. 

1 quart sized bag shredded chicken (I always have these in my freezer)
1/2 can black beans
1 cup salsa
3/4 cup chopped bell peppers

Heat the above stove top. Spoon mixture into corn tortillas and "toast" tortillas on skillet. Serve with desired toppings like cheese, lettuce and sour cream.

Easiest, Fastest Cheesecake

I knew this five minute, four ingredient cheesecake was going to be good when two of those four ingredients were cream cheese and sweet and condensed milk. Um, yum! It is incredibly rich and creamy. I served mine in cupcake liners, forgoing the graham cracker crust for gluten free purposes, and topped them with strawberries. I might call this a cheese mousse instead of a cheesecake because of the texture difference, but a cheese mousse doesn't sound nearly as appetizing for some reason. I second her advice to really let the cream cheese soften before making as those little cream cheese clumps are rather annoying.

Click here for this wonderful little recipe.

Thumbprint Biscuit Treat

The falling snow outside put me in the mood for a big pot of chili. And then a big pot of chili put me in the mood for biscuits. And while I was making biscuits, I realized that cinnamon rolls would have been better. So, I came up with this much easier, delicious treat that quite hit the spot, but that took half the time and made half the mess that preparing cinnamon rolls does.

Ingredients:
1 recipe for biscuits, dough prepared (I used Bobs Red Mill Gluten Free Biscuit and Baking Mix)
Cinnamon sugar
Butter, melted
Nuts (we used walnuts)
Dried fruit (I used dried cherries)

Shape the biscuit dough into balls and press your thumb into the center, not deep enough to create a hole in the bottom, just deep enough to leave an imprint. Fill this imprint with cinnamon sugar, nuts and dried fruit. Arrange biscuits onto a greased baking sheet and drizzle melted butter on top. Cook according to biscuit recipe instructions. Allow to cool slightly before serving with your favorite frosting or glaze. We just mixed powdered sugar with milk and a bit of vanilla. Yum.

A plate of biscuits and thumbprint biscuit treats- perfect for this snowy day!

Chicken Thighs

All you need are chicken thighs and salt and pepper and a tablespoon of oil.

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

Heat oil in cast iron skillet on the stove, then add chicken thighs skin side down. Salt and Pepper as desired. Move them around every couple of minutes to prevent them from sticking to the pan. After about eight minutes, when the skin is nice and brown, transfer the skillet to the oven. Three minutes into cooking, flip the thighs over and continue to cook until done. Maybe about ten minutes.

These would go great with roasted vegetables.

No Bake Energy Bites

Picture courtesy of Smashed Peas and Carrots Blog

1 cup oatmeal

1/2 cup peanut butter (or other nut butter)

1/3 cup honey

1 cup coconut flakes

1/2 cup ground flaxseed

1/2 cup mini chocolate chips

1 tsp vanilla

Mix everything above in a medium bowl until thoroughly incorporated.  Let chill in the refrigerator for half an hour.  Once chilled, roll into balls and enjoy!  Store in an airtight container and keep refrigerated for up to 1 week. 

We LOVE this recipe. Great for on the go snacks and rumor has it ground flaxseed is super healthy! This creation is that of smashed peas and carrots blog.

Fish Tacos with Chipotle Lime sauce

Drizzle one 6 ounce tilapia fillet with a squeeze of lime juice and season with a pinch each cayenne and salt. Bake at 375 degrees for 20 minutes.

To make the sauce, mix together:
1/2 cup nonfat Greek yogurt
2 tablespoons mayonnaise
Juice of 1 lime
1 chipotle pepper, (canned with adobo sauce) minced
2 teaspoons adobo sauce

Toast two corn tortillas and top with tilapia, shredded cabbage, diced fresh tomatoes, black beans and sauce.

Italian Pineapple Chicken

4 boneless sinless chicken breast halves
1/2 cup italian salad dressing
1 can sliced pineapple, drained
4 slices provolone or swiss cheese

Place chicken in a skillet over medium- high heat. Top with dressing and cook with the lid on. Just before the chicken is cooked through, remove lid and top with cheese and pineapple. Serve with quinoa.

Pesto Cavatappi Knock Off

My gluten free, made at home, version of the Noodles N Company favorite.

1 pound cavatappi noodles, or any other of your choice
Handful of sliced mushrooms
1 tomato, chopped
1/2 bag cooked, peeled, deveined shrimp- tails removed
1/2 jar pesto sauce
1/2 cup of cream
1 cup mozzarella cheese

Prepare pasta as directed by packaging. Saute mushrooms in butter. Add tomato and shrimp to mushrooms to warm. Drain pasta and add the pesto and cream. Add the mushrooms, tomato, shrimp and cheese.

Salsa Verde Tacos

2 1/2 cups shredded cooked chicken
1 cup green salsa
1/4 cup minced cilantro
Juice of 1 lime
8 taco shells
Combine all ingredients except taco shells in a saucepan over medium- low heat. Bring to simmer. Serve as tacos.

Fettuccini

Fettuccini pasta
Shredded meat (we like ham or chicken best, just use left overs)
Head of broccoli, chopped
Fresh garlic, crushed
Italian cheese, shredded
Sour cream
Butter
Prepare pasta as directed on packaging. While the pasta is cooking, saute garlic and broccoli in butter, add meat to warm. Drain pasta and stir in a heaping spoonful of sour cream, a handful of cheese, and the meat, garlic and broccoli.

Nana's Green Chili Dip

Mix together:
8 oz soft cream cheese
1/2 cup sour cream
1 4 oz can chopped green chilies
1/2 teaspoon garlic salt

Goes well with chips and veggies.

Layered Bean Dip

Spread 1 can of black re-fried beans in the bottom of a glass pie pan.
Mix together:
2 mashed avacados
2 Tablespoons mayo
8 oz soft cream cheese
1/2 cup sour cream
1 teaspoon lemon juice
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1 teaspoon chili powder
Spread this mixture over the beans. Top with shredded cheese, bacon bits, black olives, chopped tomatoes and banana pepper rings.

Smoky Bacon Wraps

Bacon
Mini smoked sausage links
Brown sugar

Cut bacon in half and wrap around sausage links. Place on foil lined pan. Sprinkle with brown sugar. Bake at 400 degrees for 30 to 40 minutes.

Papa John's Buttered Chicken

Melt ½ cup of butter in 9 x 13 inch pan. Line with chicken breasts and sprinkle with Italian seasoning and seasonall. Cover with foil. Bake at 325 for 1 ½ hours. 

John Meyers recipe. 

Two Mustard Chicken

½ cup Dijon mustard

1/8 cup yellow mustard

¼ cup honey

8 boneless, skinless chicken breast halves

Preheat oven to 375. Grease 13 x 9 inch pan. Mix mustards with honey and spread on both sides of the chicken. Bake uncovered 25 to 35 minutes.