Leftover That Even I Can Stomach

I'm not a "leftovers" person. The word alone makes me a little queasy. Remember that salsa crock pot chicken from yesterday? I am proud to say that I used the leftover chicken from yesterday to make a yummy salad. I cut up some of the beautiful green leafy lettuce and Romaine lettuce that I got in my basket yesterday. I like to mix my greens:

Then I cut up some cilantro and green onion to add to the mixture. I added some of these lovely tomatoes from the basket: Grated a little cheddar cheese:
Added some of the tasty tomatillo ranch dressing that my husband made yesterday (see post below), the leftover chicken and some Santa-Fe Style Tortilla Strips (these are a must buy...so good!):

And we enjoyed a tasty fresh salad with leftover chicken.

I also used two mini tortillas to make a cheese quesadilla that my husband and I split as a side-item to our salad.

Items used from our Bountiful Basket: green leafy lettuce, Romaine lettuce, cilantro, green onion, tomatoes, and tortillas.

I Should Have Been Born In Mexico....

I once took quiz that asked: "If you could eat any kind of food every day for the rest of your life and not get sick of it, would it be A. American B. Italian C. Mexican or D. Chinese". My answer: C. Mexican. If it weren't for my naturally blonde hair and transparently white skin, I would think I had some Mexican genes running through my body.


We got the lovely Mexican pack again this week with our Bountiful Basket. We also got the delicious tortilla pack. Have you tried the tortillas yet? Oh my! They are to die for. I swear there is a little Mexican lady named Rosa somewhere making these tortillas in her kitchen and packaging them up to feed me. Thank you Rosa....wherever you are!


On Saturday morning Chase threw a few large chicken breasts in the crock pot with some salsa. He added a little bit of fresh cilantro, green onion, and chopped up one of the green chili peppers. He shredded the chicken for dinner:

He warmed up tortillas, added some cheese , fresh cilantro, fresh green onion and made some tomatillo ranch dressing using a recipe he found here: http://www.food.com/recipe/cafe-rio-creamy-tomatillo-dressing-222866 (Note: Chase substituted sour cream for the mayo and it was good - I highly recommend it).

And if you don't have one of these dressing bottles for homemade dressing, pick one up next time you are at the store. It was $2 well spent.

Easy. Tasty. Fresh. Oh, and we each had a juicy kiwi for dessert. Scrumptious.

Items used from Bountiful Basket: tortillas, cilantro, green onion, green chile, tomatillos, and kiwis.

Lettuce Wrapped BLTCA's

Today for lunch I had a BLTCA. Everyone knows what a BLT is (okay - if you don't it is bacon-lettuce-tomato on a sandwich with a little mayo), and my BLTCA is just an extension of that: bacon-lettuce-tomato-cheese-avocado. Minus the carbs....uh, I mean bread. It's SO simple to make. Total prep time: 2 minutes. No joke.

I use Hormel pre-cooked bacon (Sam's Club has it super cheap). Put it in between two paper towels and warm up in the microwave (15-30 seconds). Slice one of the beautiful tomatoes from the basket. Same with avocado. Tear two leaves off your lovely Romaine lettuce from your basket and rinse. Slice some cheese (I prefer swiss with this -but whatever you have on had will work) and put it on a plate. Melt for about 15 seconds. Use one leaf to pick up the melted cheese from the plate and turn that leaf cheese-side-up on the plate. Add tomoatoes, avocado, and bacon. Curl the lettuce edges around the BLTCA and place the other leaf on top. Eat.

Dishes I got dirty: Knife. And a paper plate and two paper towels if you want to get technical.

Low carbs. Lots of veggies. No need for mayo because the cheese and avocado make it super moist. I can't believe I used the word moist. I hate that word.

I had a lovely Minneola tangelo for dessert.

Items used form my basket: Romaine lettuce, tomato, avocado and tangelo.

Green Salsa

This week we got the regular fruit/veggie basket plus the Mexican Pack. My handsome husband whipped up some green salsa tonight and it was oh so good!

The produce we used from our BB to make this salsa: tomatillos, onion, garlic, cilantro, and jalapeno peppers.

He found the recipe here: http://busycooks..about.com/od/condimentsjamsjellies/r/greensalsa.htm and made a few adjustments. The recipe is below is with Chase's adjustments:

6-8 tomatillos, husked and rinsed
1 onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic
One bunch chopped cilantro leaves (no need for a knife, just use a pair of scissors)
2 small jalapeno peppers, chopped and seeded
1 tsp salt
1/8 tsp fresh black pepper
1/2 tsp dried oregano leaves
1/2 tsp ground cumin
1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil, divided
1/3 cup water

Preparation:
Cut tomatillas into quarters. In a blender or food processor, place tomatillas, onion, garlic, cilantro, jalapeno peppers, salt, pepper, oregano, cumin, 2 tablespoons olive oil, and water: process until slightly chunky.

In medium saucepan over medium heat, heat remaining olive oil. Add tomatilla mixture and simmer for 10 to 12 minutes, stirring frequently, until slightly thickened. Remove from heat and pour into serving bowl. Cover and let stand 1-2 hours to blend flavors. Serve warm or cold.

This recipe was really simple and fast to make. All he got dirty was a cutting board, knife, blender, measure cup/spoon and pan. It took him about 5-10 prep time and then 10-12 minutes to cook it. It tasted really good fresh out of the blender without even cooking it, so you could skip that step if you want to. Cooking it helped blend the flavors - yum yum!. Now excuse me while I go eat me some chips and salsa.....

Oh How I Love Me A Bountiful Basket!

If you are visiting this website, it is probably because you have the same love for Bountiful Baskets as my husband and I do. I love the suprise of what I find in my basket each Saturday morning. I have enjoyed trying new fruits and vegetables (and tortillas and granola and bread and.....). Each Saturday as we peruse our lovely basket, my husband and I immediately start thinking of all the great recipes we can create/copy/tweak to use our produce.

Each week we will share what we make with our Bountiful Basket and we hope it will help you enjoy your Bountiful Basket!

Oh, and if you don't know what a Bountiful Basket is, you better visit this website immediately because you are totally missing out!: http://www.bountifulbaskets.org/

Stay tuned....