Sesame Shrimp and Rice

Adapted from Simple & Delicious (Aug./Sept. 2010), page 51.

Prep./Total Time: 10 min.
Yield: 4-5 servings

2 (8.8 oz) pkgs. ready-to-serve long grain rice
1 1/2 - 2 cups fresh or frozen snow peas, thawed
2 green onions, sliced
1 tsp. canola oil
1 lb. cooked medium shrimp, peeled and deveined
1 (8 oz) can pineapple tidbits, drained
1 (11 oz) can mandarin oranges, drained
1/3 cup sesame ginger salad dressing
3 Tbs. slivered almonds, toasted

Microwave rice according to package directions.  Meanwhile, in a large skillet or wok, stir-fry snow peas and onions in oil for 1 minute.  Add the shrimp, pineapple, oranges, and salad dressing; cook until heated through and vegetables are crisp-tender.

Notes:
- I debate whether I'd include the pineapple next time or not.  If I do, I think I'll use even less than I did this time--it just seemed to make it a little too sweet.
- Be careful not to overcook your shrimp or it will be rubbery.

Squash and Veggie Couscous

Adapted from Simple and Delicious (June/July 2010), page 24.

Prep/Total: 25 min.
Yield: 4 servings

1 1/4 cup chicken broth
3/4 cup uncooked couscous
1 medium yellow summer squash, chopped
1 medium zucchini, chopped
3/4 cup chopped carrot
1/2 cup chopped red bell pepper
1/4 cup chopped sweet onion
2 Tbs. butter
1 Tbs. Italian dressing
1/2 tsp. Italian seasoning
1/2 tsp. salt-free lemon-pepper seasoning

In a small saucepan, bring broth to a boil.  Stir in couscous.  Remove from the heat; cover and let stand for 5-10 minutes or until broth is absorbed.

Meanwhile, in a large skillet, saute the squash, carrot, red pepper, and onion in butter until tender.  Stir in seasonings.  Fluff couscous with a fork; toss with vegetable mixture.

Notes:
- Use reduced-sodium chicken broth to lower the sodium in this dish even more.
- You could add 1/3 cup chicken broth and leave the dressing out.
- I opted for a red pepper instead of green because they're sweeter.
- Meatless Version: Replace chicken broth with vegetable broth and use olive or canola oil instead of butter.

Chicken Fajita Salad Wraps

From the Betty Crocker 2010 calendar.

Prep: 30 min / Cook: 0 min
Yield: 8 wraps

These were super easy and quite delicious!  Perfect for a hot summer night when you don't feel like cooking--or any other night, for that matter.

Chipotle-Lime Dressing
1/2 cup Ranch dressing
1/2 Tbs. finely chopped chipotle chiles in adobo sauce
2 Tbs. chopped cilantro
Juice and zest from 1 lime

Wraps
3 cups chopped cold deli rotisserie chicken (from 2-2 1/2 lb chicken)
2 cups thinly sliced romaine lettuce
1 (11 oz) can southwestern style corn
1 small tomato, seeded and chopped
1 cup shredded Monterey Jack cheese
Flour tortillas
Salsa, if desired
Sour cream, if desired

In a small bowl, mix the dressing ingredients; set aside.

In a large bowl, stir together chicken, lettuce, corn, and tomato.  Add dressing and toss to coat.

To assemble each wrap, spoon 1/8 of chicken mixture down center of each tortilla; top with cheese, salsa, and sour cream.  Roll up.

Notes:
- This is my modified version of the recipe; click the link under the title if you want the original.
- I used chicken from the Baked Slow Cooker Chicken recipe instead of buying a rotisserie chicken.
- Because we didn't plan to eat all 8 servings in one sitting, we decided to mix the dressing into the filling  as we ate it.  This kept it from getting all soggy.
- We ate this in freshly cooked Tortilla Land Uncooked Flour Tortillas, which we bought at Costco.  So delicious.  Regular tortillas will never be the same.
- Meatless Version: Replace chicken with black beans, kidney beans, or pinto peans.

Ranch Chicken

From Bridget Welch.

Yield: 4-5 servings.

My sister-in-law gave me this recipe, and it is so delicious!  To make things even better, it's super easy.

1 lb. chicken
1 (8 oz) block cream cheese
1 can condensed cream of chicken soup
1/2 cup milk
1 packet dry Ranch dressing mix

Place chicken in a crock pot.  Mix cream cheese, soup, milk, and Ranch seasoning.  Pour over chicken.

Cook on high for 1 hour and low for 4 more.  (Or cook on low for 6 hours.)

Serve with rice.

Notes:
- Really, the recipe just calls for "chicken," and so I used four breast halves.  I'm guessing that's about a pound.
- You may need to adjust the cooking time, depending on if you chicken is frozen or thawed.  Mine was semi-thawed, and four hours was just about perfect.
- I only cooked my chicken for 4 hours on low, and it was perfect.  But I have a rather finicky crock pot that seems to cook things faster than recipes typically call for.

Speedy Chicken Stirfry

From Kraft Foods.

Prep: 10 min. Total: 25 min
Makes 4 servings, 2 cups each

8 oz. angel hair pasta (capellini), uncooked
2 cups broccoli florets
1 lb. boneless skinless chicken breasts, cut into thin strips
½ cup Asian Toasted Sesame dressing (or similar)
2 Tbs. soy sauce
¼ tsp. each ground ginger, garlic powder, crushed red pepper
1/3 cup chopped dry roasted peanuts

Cook pasta as directed on package, adding broccoli to the boiling water with pasta.

Meanwhile, spray a large, nonstick skillet with cooking spray; heat on medium-high heat. Add chicken; cook 6 to 8 min. or until cooked through, stirring occasionally. Stir in dressing, soy sauce, ginger, garlic, and crushed red pepper; cook 1 min, stirring occasionally.

Drain pasta mixture and add to skillet; toss. Sprinkle with the peanuts.

Notes:
- Meatless Version: Omit chicken.  Increase broccoli or add other vegetables (carrots, peppers, snow peas).

Double Cheese Pasta Primavera

From Kraft Foods.

Prep: 10 min. + optional marinating /  Cook: 20 min.
Serves 4.

1 pkg. (12 oz.) Shells and Cheese dinner
4 Tbs. Italian dressing, divided
1 cup broccoli florets
1 cup chopped red or green bell pepper (about 1 medium)
1 cup frozen baby peas
1 chicken breast, diced or sliced
¼ tsp dried basil
2 Tbs. grated Parmesan cheese

Marinate chicken in 2 Tbs. Italian dressing for 30 min (optional).

Cook over high heat until no longer pink. Prepare Shells and Cheese as directed on package. 

Meanwhile, heat 2 Tbs. Italian dressing in a large skillet on medium heat with chicken. Add broccoli and peppers; cook and stir 5 min. or until crisp-tender. Stir in peas; cook until heated through.

Add Shells and Cheese and basil. Mix.

Top with Parmesan cheese.

Notes:
- If you don't have time to marinate the chicken, it's okay to cook it up in the dressing instead.
- If you have fresh basil on hand, use 1 Tbs. instead of dried.
- Meatless Version: Omit chicken.  This recipe didn't originally call for it anyway!

Beef Noodle Bowl

From Kraft Foods.

Prep: 10 min. / Total: 30 min.
Yield: 4 servings, 2 cups each.

8 oz. linguine, uncooked
3 cups broccoli florets
3 medium carrots, peeled, sliced (about 2 cups)
2 tsp. vegetable oil
1 lb. beef sirloin steak, cut into strips
½ cup Italian dressing
½ cup teriyaki sauce
2 tsp. ground ginger

Cook pasta as directed on package, adding broccoli and carrots to the cooking water for the last 5-6 minutes of the pasta cooking time. Pasta will take a little longer to cook than normal because of the vegetables. Drain pasta mixture.

Meanwhile, heat oil in large nonstick skillet. Add meat; cook until browned on all sides, stirring occasionally. Stir in dressing, teriyaki sauce, and ginger; cook until sauce thickens, stirring occasionally.

Toss pasta and meat mixtures in large serving bowl.

Notes:
- Sometimes I use more pasta than the recipe calls for--there's enough sauce.
- Optional: For added crunch, sprinkle with ½ cup dry roasted peanuts just before serving.
- Variation: Instead of ginger and Italian dressing, use ¼ cup Asian Toasted Sesame Dressing and reduce teriyaki sauce to 1 Tbs.

Catalina Chicken Breasts

From Kraft Foods.

Prep: 10 min. Total: 55 min.
Makes 6 servings.

2 tsp. vegetable oil
6 small boneless skinless chicken breast halves (about 1½ pounds)
½ cup Catalina dressing
½ cup apricot jam
½ package dry onion soup mix (about 3 Tbs.)

Preheat oven to 350˚F. Heat oil in large skillet on medium-high heat. Add chicken; cook 5 min. on each side or until browned. Remove chicken from skillet; place in 3-qt. baking dish.

Mix dressing, jam, and soup mix in small bowl. Pour over chicken.

Bake 45 minutes or until chicken is cooked through.

Notes:
- Karen of the 365 Days of Slow-Cooking blog turned this into a crock pot recipe.  She used 4 chicken breasts, 1 cup Catalina dressing, 1/2 pint (1 cup) apricot jam, and a whole package of dry onion soup mix.  Omit the oil.  Cover and cook on high for 3 hours.

Dressed-up Steaks

From Quick Cooking (Jan./Feb. 2006), page 28.

Prep/Total Time: 20 min
Yield: 4 servings

1 tablespoon olive oil
1 ½ teaspoons minced garlic
1 teaspoon dried oregano
1 teaspoon pepper
4 boneless beef sirloin steaks (6 ounces each)
¾ cup Catalina salad dressing, divided

In a small bowl, combine the oil, garlic, oregano, and pepper. Rub over both sides of steaks. Brush with ¼ cup salad dressing. Place on a broiler pan.

Broil 4 in. from the heat for 5-6 minutes on each side or until meat reaches desired doneness (for medium-rare, a meat thermometer should read 145˚; medium, 160˚; well-done, 170˚). Serve with remaining dressing.

Nutrition Facts:
1 steak = 268 calories, 21 g fat (4 g saturated fat), 24 mg cholesterol, 603 mg sodium, 11 g carbohydrate, trace fiber, 8 g protein

Notes:
- You could definitely cook these on the grill.