Pineapple Upside Down Poke Cake

Wow--I've been so busy with our move to our (coveted) 60 acres (from the city) and changing careers, that I haven't been very diligent about my posts. I apologize to those glorious cooks who have recently provided inspiration....I will try to give honorable mention to as many as I can in the coming days.

This weekend we had some friends out for a Sunday afternoon of bbq, smores and ranch exploration. I made potato salad (with mustard, red potatoes and pickles--recipe to follow) and this delicious Pineapple Upside Down Poke Cake with a fresh pineapple the hubby had purchased. [The trickiest part was doing the flip upside down..better luck next time? j/k...it actually went pretty well. And, although we ran out of time and belt-space, most interested in smores, I managed to discover, the hubby and the teenager LOVED it! 24 hours later and it's half gone. ;) It was very easy and I quite enjoyed not having to frost it, saving a step in the dessert process. Thank you Hen Basket for the share (that I had saved on my pinterest under my Poke Cake Board). :)

http://thehensnest.blogspot.com/2013/04/pineapple-upsidedown-caramel-poke-cake.html

"Middle Eastern" Chicken and Rice

Chicken, chicken and more chicken....trying to inventory/clean out our freezer and that's what on the horizon. We are trying to add more turmeric to our diet, and, although, I really need to start learning to cook with fresh, ground is okay for now. Using the keywords "chicken and turmeric" on pinterest, I found some amazing recipes (for later), but this one really caught my eye. I didn't end up marinating the chicken, but rather, mixed it in with the chicken and threw it right into the pan. While that was cooking, I added chicken broth, and the other spices to the rice cooker and it turned out beautifully (and I didn't have to use butter). Based on the last picture on the page, I kept the chicken thighs whole and added fresh tomatoes (and red onions). The (fat-free) yogurt sauce was the pièce de ré·sis·tance; regular, non-greek, plain worked just fine. This dish was finished in under 30 minutes but tasted like it took hours. Definitely a keeper.

http://dinnerthendessert.com/halal-carts-middle-eastern-chicken-and-rice/?crlt.pid=camp.4p8krhbYlJkq

Chicken (and/or) Beef Enchiladas

This website said it was the "Best Chicken Enchiladas Ever" and I had a little bit of ground beef and turkey left over from the week. I added onion to the ground beef, found some awesome corn tortillas (buy-one-get-one-free) at our local health food store (one pkg white corn, one pkg green chili corn). The sauce is what made this so amazing. I'll never buy sauce in a can again. If you ever find yourself with leftover meat, this is a winner. [I actually used the smaller tortillas and didn't have any black beans or green chili and put cilantro inside with the meat, sauce and cheese, but it still tasted dee-licious!]

http://www.gimmesomeoven.com/best-chicken-enchiladas-ever/

http://www.gimmesomeoven.com/red-enchilada-sauce/

Pesto Chicken Crescent Ring

Well, at the end of the week, the teenager was looking forward to something not so "healthy".  I just happened to have a couple of Pillsbury Crescent Roll tubes and a jar of basil pesto to use and had great success in the past with the taco ring. This was the final package of chicken tenders, so I boiled them in chicken broth and salt & pepper (and used the broth the next day for a crockpot of the week's leftovers w/zucchini & yellow squash). I then shredded the chicken and combined it with the pesto and mozzarella, making it a 4 ingredient recipe. The teenager was very pleased, especially since he loves Italian.

http://www.pillsbury.com/recipes/pesto-chicken-crescent-ring/acc81360-6989-4728-9328-51e2467cb0a4

Middle Eastern Glazed Chicken

It's been a busy week and, thanks to my hubby's love of manager's specials, we had chicken all week. I took it as a challenge and googled some really delicious recipes. Monday was simple, just using our favorite seasoning-McCormick's Smokehouse Maple on chicken thighs, Tuesday was Baked Caprese Chicken. Wednesday was Middle Eastern Glazed Chicken. What a delightful dish. I sauted the chicken in Coconut oil; orange juice is always a yummy addition to a sauce; I didn't have orange blossom water, so I used dried orange peel (from Watkins). I served it with rice (for the boys' sake) and we had a nice kale salad  on the side.

http://autoimmune-paleo.com/middle-eastern-glazed-chicken/

Baked Caprese Chicken

What a busy week! Last weekend the hubby bought 2 packages of chicken breast tenders and 2 packages of chicken thighs, so I took to google to get creative. I'm behind on my posts so I'm going to get caught up tonight. Monday started with 1 pkg of chicken thighs using one of our favorite seasonings from McCormick:

Tuesday: Baked Caprese Chicken using 1 package of the chicken tenders. [I was actually hoping to do this as a stuffed chicken breast, but the tenders were just as good. Power packed flavor with very little effort. I didn't marinade the chicken, I actually added the cooked down sauce, the basil, tomatoes and mozzarella halfway through the baking process. 

http://damndelicious.net/2015/05/02/baked-caprese-chicken/

Spaghetti Sqaush Boats (Ground Turkey)

I have made spaghetti squash boats before but not with healthy methods in mind. This recipe is probably the best version I have ever had. I will admit to using heavy whipping cream because I didn't have any half and half; I used plain ground turkey and original rotel rather than spicy. A delightful meal if you're cooking for 2. 

http://www.eat-yourself-skinny.com/2015/09/spaghetti-squash-boats-with-spicy-sausage.html