Curry Chicken Pasta Salad

4 boneless skinless chicken breasts
1 Green Bell Pepper
1 Yellow Bell Pepper
1 large tomato
1 15 oz can Garbanzo Beans
1 box Bow Tie Pasta
Salt and pepper
Garlic Powder
Curry Powder
Vegetable oil

Dressing

1-1/2 cups olive oil 
7 Tbls. wine vinegar (apple cider vinegar works too)
2 cloves garlic crushed or 1 Tbls. garlic powder
3 tsp curry powder
1/8 tsp pepper
3 dashes red cayenne pepper powder
1 tsp basil

Add olive oil to medium sized mixing bowl. Add vinegar, garlic, curry, pepper, red pepper and basil. Whisk until well combined. Chill until ready to use. 

Cook bowtie pasta according to directions. Drain and chill.

Season chicken breasts with salt, pepper, garlic powder, and curry powder. Place seasoned chicken breasts in hot skillet with oil. Cook until juices run clear, about 8 min per side is what I do. While chicken is cooking rough chop peppers and tomato. Drain and rinse garbanzo beans. Add to large bowl. 

When chicken is finished cooking place on cutting board and let rest for 10 min. Slice and chop into about 1 inch
pieces. Let cool. Add all ingredients to large bowl and pour dressing over everything. Toss and serve or chill for later. 

Serve with dinner rolls.

Moist Healthy Banana Bread

I'm always looking for ways to "healthy up" my recipes. Here is my banana bread that is so delicious you won't want to stop eating it! My 11 year old daughter makes this by herself (with mom's watchful eye of course).

3 c. all-purpose flour
1 1/2 tsp. salt
2 tsp. soda
2 1/2 c. mashed ripe bananas (about 8)
2 c. sugar
2 eggs
1 tsp vanilla
1/2 c. butter, melted & cooled (You can substitute vegetable oil)
1 c. chopped pecans
1/4 c. flax seeds

Stir together flour, salt and soda. Set aside. In another bowl, combine bananas and sugar. Add egg, vanilla and butter and blend. Chop pecans somewhat finely and add the flax seed to the chopped pecans. Add liquid ingredients to dry ingredients. Mix until moistened. Pour into greased 8 1/2 x 4 1/2 inch loaf pan. Bake at 325 degrees for about 55 to 60 minutes. Cool for 10 minutes then remove from pan to completely cool. Cool before slicing. Freezes well. 

Makes 2 loaves

Flour Tortilla

Have you ever had those strange flour tortillas from a bag? Well throw them out and try these great ones from scratch. They cost about $0.75 to make and taste so much better. Don't be afraid to try these.



Makes about eight to ten  6-inch tortillas

2 cups of white flour
1 1/2 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. salt
2 tsp. vegetable oil
3/4 cup warm water

Combine the flour, baking powder and salt in a bowl. In another bowl combine the warm water and oil.
Add the water/oil mixture to the flour mixture, one tablespoon at a time and mix the dough with a fork. Once the water is mixed in, add another tablespoon of water and repeat the process until all the water is mixed into the dough.
The dough will be sticky.

Lightly flour a wooden cutting board and knead the dough. Knead the dough by pushing the dough with the heals and palms of both hands down onto the board. Fold the dough back onto itself, give a quarter turn and push again with the palms and heels of your hands. Keep repeating the process of pressing, folding and turning for about 4 or 5 minutes. Dust the counter or board with flour when the dough gets sticky.
If the dough sticks to the cutting board while kneading, scrape up the dough and dust the board with a little flour and continue kneading. Eventually the stickiness will go away and you will have a nice smooth dough.
Place the dough back into the bowl and cover it with a damp towel or damp paper towel. Let the dough rest for 20 minutes. Divide the dough into walnut sized balls (about 2 oz. each) by pinching off the dough with your thumb and fore finger. Form each ball into ball.Place the balls on the counter making sure they don't touch each other and cover with the damp cloth.

Let the dough rest again for 10 minutes.

Preheat a heavy skillet or cast iron pan on medium heat.

Lightly dust board or counter with flour. Take one of the balls of dough and flatten it out on the cutting board to a 4 inch circle. Rub flour on your rolling pin and begin to roll out the dough starting from the center out. Roll the tortilla until it is 6 or 7 inches in diameter and about 1/8 inch thick.

I have never been able to roll out a perfectly round shaped tortilla so I often form them more like an irregular shaped circle but it works fine.

Take your rolled out tortilla and place it on a preheated DRY skillet. Cook the tortilla for about 30 seconds. You will notice brown spots all over your tortilla. Flip it over and cook an additional 30 seconds.
Don't over cook it because this will make it crunchy and not soft and pliable.
Keep your tortillas warm by covering them in a towel on a plate or in a tortilla warmer.

If you have left overs you can put them in a freezer bag and store them in the fridge for a few days or freeze up to a month. When we make them we usually make a triple recipe and have some for Quesadilla's.

Hamburger Buns

These are so easy and delicious you will never want to eat those horrible hamburger buns from the store again. This recipe is very versatile as well. You can exchange 1 cup of bread flour for Whole Wheat flour and increase your protein and your fiber. You can shape into log shaped rolls for hot dog buns as well. Make those about 5 to 6 inches in length.

2 Tbls yeast
1 cup plus 2 Tbls warm water (110-115 degrees)
1/3 c vegetable oil
1/4 c sugar or honey
1 egg
1 tsp salt
3 to 3-1/2 c flour (I use bread flour)

Dissolve yeast in warm water (about 5 min). Add oil and sugar/honey. Let stand 5 minutes. Add egg, salt and flour to make a soft dough. 
Turn onto floured surface. Knead until smooth and elastic (3 to 5 min). Do not let rise. Divide into 12 pieces (about the size of a walnut – 2 oz).
Shape into a ball. Place on greased baking sheet about 2 inches apart. Cover and let rest 10 min. 

Bake 425 degrees 8 to 12 min. Remove to rack to cool or serve warm with dinner as a dinner roll. Slice in half for hamburger buns.

Grilled Chicken Pasta Salad

(Serves 8 with leftovers)
This recipe serves my large family with leftovers for lunch tomorrow
2 lbs. boneless skinless chicken breast
48 oz tri-color pasta
2 – 3 cans garbanzo beans, drained and rinsed
2 cans black olives, drained and rinsed, halved (optional)
1 pkg. Cherry tomatoes (2 if you prefer)
2 each Red and Yellow sweet peppers, cut into thin strips
3 Yellow summer squash, halved and sliced
3 Zucchini squash, halved and sliced 
3 bags of your favorite frozen mixed vegetables (I get bags with broccoli, baby corn, carrots, snap peas, asparagus, water chestnuts, green beans, etc.) Keep the vegetables frozen until you are ready to use them. DO NOT cook them.
2 bottles of Newman’s Own Caesar Dressing
16 oz sour cream or plain yogurt
Crumbled Feta Cheese
Salt to taste
Pepper to taste
Marinate in 1 cup Caesar dressing for 30 minutes to 1 hour before broiling/grilling.

Grill or broil chicken until cooked thoroughly. Use cooking tongs to turn the chicken so that you don’t let the juices escape. Remove to platter and let cool to the touch.
While the chicken is cooking bring a large pot (at least 6 qts) of water to a boil. Cook 48 oz of tri-color pasta in salted water. Drain and empty into large bowl. (I use my turkey roasting pan to mix this in so that I have plenty of mixing space.)
Slice the cooled chicken into strips and then cut into bite sized pieces. Add to the pasta. Do not mix together yet.
Add the bags of uncooked Frozen vegetables to the pasta and chicken, Mix them together. As you toss together this will cool the pasta and chicken to a nice cold salad; the heat from the pasta cooks the frozen vegetables enough to make them perfect for a fresh salad.
Add all of the fresh vegetables, the garbanzo beans and the black olives and quartered artichoke hearts to your pasta and chicken. 
Season with salt and pepper to taste.
In a medium mixing bowl combine the Caesar dressing and the sour cream or yogurt and whisk together to combine. Pour over the salad and mix together. Top with crumbled Feta Cheese, give a quick toss and serve.
Cheesy garlic bread is a great accompaniment to this salad.  

Turkey Burgers

I am forever trying to come up with healthy alternatives to dinner. Today I decided to make turkey burgers. They are delicious and healthy for you. The kids will love these!

Serves 10

2-1/2 lbs lean ground turkey

2 eggs

1 c quick oatmeal

1/2 tsp kosher salt

1 cup leeks, finely chopped

1 stalks celery finely chopped 

3 Tbls. Flax seed

2 - 3 Tbls Soy sauce

Vegetable oil

Combine all ingredients EXCEPT vegetable oil in a bowl and combine well. Don't over mix. Heat heavy skillet and form turkey into 3 inch patties. Add vegetable oil to medium hot skillet and place patties in skillet. Cook 5 minutes and turn. Reduce heat to medium and cook 6 minutes and flip again and cook 6 more min. Serve with lettuce and tomato and your favorite condiments. 

Calories 234

French Bread Rolls

I love to cook and eat wonderful food. As a mom of 4 plus anyone who walks through the door we feed a crowd all the time on a very limited budget. I make something out of nothing a lot. Don't be afraid of making food from scratch. It's a lot easier than it seems. Just takes patience and sometimes a little trial and error. 

These are some of the best and easiest French Bread Rolls I have ever made. You can do it all by hand or use a stand mixer that has a dough hook on it. I do a combination of both for this one. I make these at least 5 times a week. My family loves them!

French Bread Rolls
2-1/4 cups warm water (about 105-110 degrees F.)
5 tsp. yeast
3 Tbls. Oil
3 Tbls. sugar (you can use honey also)
1-1/2 tsp kosher salt
6 cups bread flour

Mix water sugar and yeast in large mixing bowl. Let stand 10 min.

Add oil, salt and 3 cups of the flour. Mix well. Add the remaining flour 1/2 cup at a time stirring it in well. Mix until the dough pulls away from the bowl.

Put about 1/2 cup of flour on the board or counter. Place the dough on the flour and knead 8 minutes. The dough will have an elastic feel to the touch and be smooth.

Oil your bowl well and place the dough in the bowl, turning it to coat it well. Cover with a damp cloth and let rise until doubled, about 45 min to 1 hour. 

After the dough has risen punch it down and let it rest about 3 to 5 min. 

Prepare 2 baking sheets that are well oiled. 

Pull the dough off into 2 ounce pieces (about 1-1/2 to 2 inches in diameter). Using the palm of your hand and your fingers gently shape the roll so that the top is smooth and about 3 inches across. Place on prepared baking sheet. 

You should get about 16 dinner rolls. 

Let rise in a warm place for about 40 minutes. 

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Bake rolls for 11 to 12 min or until nicely browned.

Remove from oven and let rest 5 minutes before removing them from the pan. 

Enjoy!

NOTE: I must note here that using Kosher salt is crucial in making yeast based dough. Normal table salt destroys the yeast and the bread won't rise much. If you don't have a choice but to use table salt then use it after almost all of the flour is added and the table salt can't come into contact with the living yeast. Personally I don't use table salt because of its aluminum and flouride content but that is a choice you will need to make on your own. Just make sure you get your iodine from other sources.