Southwest Spiced Grilled Chicken with Apricot Ginger Sauce and Lime Cilantro Beans

The chicken breast was prepared with a spicy southwest rub and then grilled on direct heat till done and a drizzle of Aprcot ginger sauce. Pictured above with Cilantro Lime coleslaw, Southwestern beans, and tomato-cucumber salad with red onion and fresh oregano in Balsamic vinagairette

Apricot Glaze:

1 C Apricot preserves; 1/4 C maple syrup, 1/4 C packed brown Sugar, 3 tbsp Cider Vinegar, 1 tsp grated or minced fresh ginger, fresh ground black pepper

SOUTHWESTERN CILANTRO LIME PINTOS
All Natural Diabetes Cookbookby Jackie Newgent

Ingredients

• 2 tsp peanut or canola oil

• 1 large garlic dove, minced

• 1 small jalapeno pepper with some seeds, minced

• 1 (15-oz) can organic pinto beans, drained

• 1/4 cup natural vegetable broth

• 1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro

• 1 Tbsp lime juice

Directions

1. Heat the oil in a medium saucepan over medium-high heat. Add the garlic and jalapeno and cook, stirring, for 30 seconds. Add the beans and broth and cook, stirring occasionally, for 3 minutes or until the liquid is nearly evaporated.

2. Remove from the heat and stir in the cilantro and lime juice. Serve hot as a side or cool as a salad.

Southwestern Slaw
Recipe 2005, Ellie Krieger

Ingredients
1 medium jicama, sliced into thin strips (about 3 cups)
1/4 head cabbage, thinly sliced (about 5 cups)
1 red onion, thinly sliced (about 1 cup)
1/2 cup fresh cilantro leaves, chopped
1/4 cup mayonnaise
1/2 cup lowfat buttermilk
1 tablespoon lime juice
Salt and pepper

Directions:
In a large bowl, toss together the jicama, cabbage, onion, and cilantro. In a small bowl whisk together the mayonnaise, buttermilk, lime juice, salt and pepper. Pour the dressing over the vegetables and toss to combine.

Asian Chicken Salad with Pecans and Almonds

The key ingredient on this salad is the preparation of the chicken...

3 chicken breasts were julienned, and coated with egg and cornstarch, and then stir fried in sesame oil. When just about done, I added some General Tsao's stir fry sauce I had purchased at Trader Joe's... this gave it just a bit of spicy/sweet flavor. Set the chicken aside to cool. With the remainder of the oil, stir fry some chopped nuts till browned... I had pecans and almonds but walnuts or anything else would work well.

While all that is cooling, the salad was made up of baby spinach, romaine, and cilantro. To this I added julienned carrots, and tri color sweet peppers, and then tomatoes. Pile the chicken on when cool and top with the nuts, chopped green onion, and mandarin oranges. I found a great dressing for this... called Brianna's, Mandarin Ginger.

Stuffed Chicken w/ goat cheese and oregano

Pretty easy and good for summer...oregano is the common factor in all the elements of this..

Chicken with Goat Cheese and Oregano served with Yam chips and Cucumber Salad

either slice a pocket in a large chicken breast, or pound the breast flat

Make a mixture of goat cheese, fresh chopped oregano and a small bit of maple syrup or agave nectar... stuff the breasts or spread mixture and fold over pounded breasts. Place in a flat pan and drizzle Maple syrup (or Agave or whatever you have) and lemon Juice...let stand for about 10 minutes, turn, add salt and pepper and let stand for another 10 min.

grill indirectly on medium heat with fruitwood such as cherry or apple

note: for a bit more savory taste, add chopped green onion to the stuffing...

Yam Chips:

coat thin slices of yam with Olive oil and season with salt, pepper, dried oregano and a bit of galrlic powder... bake at 425 - 450 till desired crispness.

The cucumber salad:

Tomato, Cucumber and Red Onion with a mixture of fresh chopped mint and oregano and a balsamic vinegairette

Chicken Fajita Salad with Pepito Cilantro Dressing

I know it is just a salad but dang the dressing is good. I have purchased bottled El Torito's Pepito Cilantro dressing, but it is not even close to the fresh version!

I started out with a spicy rub and smoked the chicken with mesquite. That was sliced and sauteed in with tri color peppers and onion for the fajitas. The key is the pepitas (roasted shelled pumpkin seeds) and cotija cheese...

El Torito`s Mexican Caesar Salad
note: I halved the recipe below from CD kitchen.com and it made plenty.
Category: E - Copy Cat Restaurant Recipes
Serves/Makes: 4 Difficulty Level: 4 Ready In: 30 min

***Salad:***
2 corn tortillas
Vegetable oil
1 large head romaine lettuce, rinsed and spun dry
1/3 cup finely grated Cotija cheese
Roasted red bell pepper, peeled and cut into julienne strips
1/2 cup pepitas (roasted pumpkin seeds)

***Cilantro Pepita Dressing:***
1 medium Anaheim chile, roasted, peeled and seeded
2 1/2 tbsp roasted pepitas (pumpkin seeds)
1 garlic clove, peeled
1/8 teaspoon ground black pepper
1/2 teaspoon salt
6 ounces salad oil
2 tbsp red wine vinegar
2 1/2 tablespoons grated Cotija cheese (see note)
1 small bunches cilantro, stemmed
3/4 cup mayonnaise
2 tbsp water

Directions:
Place all dressing ingredients except cilantro, mayonnaise and water in a blender of food processor. Blend
approximately 10 seconds, and then add cilantro little by little until blended smooth. Depending on size of blender, it may be necessary to do in batches.
Place mayonnaise and water in a large stainless steel bowl, and mix with a wire whip until smooth. Add the blended ingredients to the mayonnaise mixture, and mix thoroughly. Place in an airtight container and refrigerate. Will keep for three days. Yields 1 quart.
To assemble salad: Cut corn tortillas into matchstick-size strips. Heat oil in saut an; fry tortilla strips until crisp.
Remove with slotted spoon, and drain on paper towels. Set aside. Tear romaine into bite-size pieces. Place greens on salad plates and ladle approximately 2 ounces of cilantro pepita dressing on each salad.
Sprinkle each dish with Cotija cheese and tortilla strips. Arrange four red pepper strips like spokes on the top of each salad, and garnish with whole pepitas.
Note: Cotija cheese is a hard cheese, similar to Parmesan. It is available at some grocery stores and most Mexican markets.

Marinated Chicken with Goat Cheese/Red Pepper sauce

My wife gave this meal 2 thumbs up (or is that 2 snaps and a circle?)

Salad :

Romaine, spinach, fresh basil leaves tooped with white mushrooms, red onion, marinated cucumbers, and tomatoes.

Simple Balsamic Vinaigrette:

1/4 cup balsamic vinegar 2 teaspoons dark brown sugar, (*optional, I used 1/2 tsp), 1 tablespoon chopped garlic 1/2 teaspoon salt 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper 3/4 cup tablespoons olive oil

Okay, for this one, marinate the chicken (breasts or thighs) in a mixture of 1/4 c balsamic, 2 tbs Olive oil, 1 tbs fresh rosemary, and 2 cloves garlic minced. Using the flat side of a meat mallet, cover the chx in plastic wrap and pound out flat (maybe 1/2"?) Place in sealed plastic bag to marinate for 1 to 2 hours.

When ready, grill the chicken over medium heat for 10 minutes or so... I used hickory wood for this one and it worked really well. (Source: Better Homes and Gardens "New Grilling book")

While that is marinating, make the goat cheese pepper sauce:

1/4 C store bought roasted red sweet peppers

Reserve about 1tsp of the liquid in the jar

In a food processor combine

the peppers,

about 4 oz. soft goat cheese

1 tsp fresh rosemary.

Process until reasonably smooth.

(Source: Better Homes and Gardens "New Grilling book")

The potatoes are really easy.

Dice em up.

Put em in a bowl.

Add some olive oil, Herbs de Provence, salt, pepper, and fresh garlic.

Mix it around and dump it on a non-stick baking sheet at 425 for about 20 minutes or until done to your preference of browning.