Taco Salad (w/ Veggie Ground Round)

TUESDAY, AUGUST 18TH, 2009

2.5 stars (out of 5 - impressive looking, but difficulty eating it makes it very disappointing)

Ingredients:

2 (8") flour tortillas
1/3 pound of ground round (I used 1 pack Yves Veggie Ground Round)
1/3-1/2 cup water
4 tbsp chopped green onion
2 tsp chili powder*
1/4 tsp ground cumin*
2 cups shredded iceberg lettuce
1 tomato, chopped
1/2 cup cheddar cheese, grated
4 tbsp sour cream
1/2 cup salsa (optional)

{*Note. I used a taco seasoning mix that we had in the cupboard because SB doesn't really like the chili taste so much. I'm sure the chili powder/cumin is also good, though!}

Veggie prep:

1. First, I placed the tortillas in our oven and baked for 10 minutes at 350F (depending on how crispy you want them... I think medium crispy is good!).

2. While they were cooking, I placed a saucepan over medium-high heat and added some olive oil. I then added the veggie ground round, water (bit by bit) and taco seasoning, and let simmer for 10 minutes. {If you are using real meat, cook until browned, drain and pat dry with paper towel, and return to the skilled adding water, green onions, chili powder, and cumin. Bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer for 10 minutes}

3. For each salad I... cut a tortilla into 8 equal size pieces and placed them on a plate...

4. ... then added half of the shredded iceberg lettuce...

5. ... topped it with 1/2 of the meat sauce...

6. ... and added half of the tomatoes, green onions, and cheddar cheese.

7. Finally, I decided to add a little bit of sour cream, because I will take every opportunity to eat it with my meals!

Overall, I thought that these were just okay. I thought they looked VERY impressive, but in the end they were difficult to eat and to mix the different flavours. You would end up with one bite of lettuce, one bite of meat, one of tortilla.... I think you're better off making super-nice soft tacos with ground round.

Chicken/Chick'n Caesar Salad and Wrap

TUESDAY, AUGUST 11TH, 2009

3.5 stars (out of 5 - super easy, but not super impressive)

I'm posting this, not because it's special in any way, but rather because I had forgot what a super-quick, easy meal this is, and thought it would be a great reminder. I have yet to try my own Caesar salad dressing, but maybe when I have a bit more time. For this salad, I splurged on some better salad dressing from the store.

Ingredients:

1 chicken or chick'n breast*
Romain lettuce
Caesar salad dressing
Parmasan cheese
Croutons (optional)
Flour tortillas (optional)

{*Note. Any simulated chick'n meat will do for vegetarians.}

1. First we heated the frying pan, added some olive oil, and cooked our respective meats. As they were cooking, we tore up the lettuce (okay, we used a pre-made salad... sooo bad and soo lazy!) and added the dressing and parmasan cheese. We then added our meat on top of the salad. A better way to do this is to add your meat directly to the salad, but we forgot :) Garnish as you please!

2. I preferred to have a Caesar salad wrap, so just wrapped it up. It was a bit disappointing how little salad I could fit in there, though, after all my chick'n.

Overall, this is such a simple thing to do, and with the chicken added it makes a great light dinner or lunch. We'll definitely do it again on lazy days!

Chicken Piccata & Broccoli w/ Creamy Chive Sauce

TUESDAY, AUGUST 4TH, 2009

3.5 stars (out of 5 - easy and pretty good) for the Chicken
2 stars (out of 5 - not great, not great) for the Broccoli

Ingredients (Chicken Piccata):

2 skinned boned chicken cutlets or breasts*
2 tbsp flour
1 tsp paprika
1 tsp ground red pepper
Olive oil, to cook
2 tbsp dry white wine
2 tbsp lemon juice
2 tbsp butter or margarine
1/2 tsp veggie or chicken flavoured bouillon granules
1 tbsp chopped fresh parsley (optional)

{*Note. I use chicken cutlets because the idea of having to pound a chicken breast does not appeal to me in the slightest. You can also use a boneless chicken breast and flattento about 1/4 inch thickness using a meat mallet. I used my President's Choice Simulated Chick'n Breasts here again.}

1. First, I combined the flour, paprika and red pepper in a shallow bowl. I used extra paprika because I couldn't find any ground red pepper.

2. I then dredged the chicken breasts/cutlets in the flour mixture, until they were coated on both sides.

3. I heated the pan with the olive oil in it over about medium-high and added the chicken. I then cooked the chicken for approximately 3 minutes on each side (depending on the size of the chicken), and removed it and kept it warm for a few minutes while I did the sauce.

My veggie chick'n version cooking:

4. I then added the wine, lemon juice, margarine, and buillon granules to the skillet, and stirred the mixture constantly until the butter melted.

5. The final chicken version. SB decided to place his chicken right in skillet to soak up the juice in the pan and sear the meat. The recipe calls for you to actually drizzle it overtop of the warmed chicken (which I did, below). Either way, I'm sure it's fine, although it was annoying that my sauce ran in my plate.

Veggie Chick'n Version:

Overall, this chicken was pretty good. Not difficult, and the flavour was fairly decent. We will probably do it again, perhaps adding our own ingredients as we go. I will definitely cook mine in the pan again to get that seared look.

Ingredients (Broccoli w/ Creamy Chive Sauce):

2 stems of broccoli
1/3 cup water
1/2 tsp veggie-flavoured buillon granules
1 tbsp butter or margarine
1 tbsp all-purpose flour
2 1/2 tbsp milk
1 1/2 tsp freeze-dried chives
1 tsp lemon juice
1/2 tsp mustard

1. First, I washed and steamed the broccoli until tender crisp.

2. I then placed the water in a 1-cup measuring cup and microwaved it on high for 40 seconds. I stirred in the bouillon granules until they are dissolved, and set the mixture aside.

3. After this, I placed the butter in another measuring cup nad microwaved it for 10 seconds uncovered (until the butter melted).

4. I then added the flour, and stirred until it was smooth. Once smooth, I added the bouillon mixture, and milk, and microved the stirred mixture on high for 2 minutes (or until thickened and bubbly, stirring half-way through).

5. After the mixture was thickened, I stirred in the chives, lemon juice, and mustard.

6. At this time, the broccoli was done, so I drained it, placed it on our plates, and drizzed the sauce overtop.

The broccoli, in the end, was just OK. I've definitely had better. I felt like the sauce was a bit slimy, or perhaps the taste could've been accentuated with more mustard. If I do it again (doubtful), it would need a lot of tweaking, and definitely more punch.

Overall dinner: