Buffalo Chicken Baked Tacos

Over a year ago, I made and blogged about Crock Pot Buffalo Chicken.

In that post, I shared three different ways to enjoy it,

and I've done so many time since.

Recently I ran across a recipe for Baked Tacos that sounded great!

I knew almost immediately that I wanted to make some,

but that I'd incorporate the Crock Pot Buffalo Chicken too!

Not only did I previously give you three ways to use the chicken,

but today I'm sharing yet another delicious way,

so you now have FOUR different options!!!

The Goods:

Crock Pot Buffalo Chicken

Taco Shells

Shredded Cabbage

Avocado

Green Onion

Bleu Cheese

Ranch Dressing

Franks Red Hot

You can buy your taco shells...

OR you can make your own!

They're actually quite simple.

Preheat your oven to 375 degrees.

Microwave corn tortillas for about 10 seconds to soften.

Drape the tortillas over two bars of your oven rack.

And back for 5 to 10 minutes - until nice and crisp!

The baked shells are SO much better for you because they aren't fried in oil.

Stuff your tacos to your liking and pop them in the oven.

Bake at 425 degrees for about 10 minutes.

Add fresh avocado, a little ranch dressing and a dash of Franks.

Then devour them while attempting not to burn your mouth!

Spring Quinoa Salad

I'm a BIG fan of quinoa and recipes that use the super grain.

By far, my favorite way to eat it is salad form.

You can see past recipes I've shared here, here and here!

Quite often I bring some version of quinoa salad to work for lunch.

In fact, my coworkers have caught on to my love of quinoa salad

and one even shared a link with me that she thought I'd like.

While browsing the link the next day,

I quickly realized I already had one of the links bookmarked!

I already had plans to make it and had forgotten!

Because of my awesome coworker, I was reminded of this recipe!

I found my Asian Quinoa Salad Recipe on Two Peas & Their Pod,

so I had a feeling I'd really enjoy another recipe from them too!

The Goods:

Cooked Quinoa

Asparagus

Peas

Avocado

Olive Oil

Honey

Lemon Juice

Basil

Garlic

Salt

Pepper

First step - make your lemon basil dressing.

In a deep bowl or jar, combine the following:

olive oil, lemon juice, honey, garlic, basil, salt and pepper.

Whisk or shake to combine.

Next wash and cut your asparagus into 1-inch pieces.

Heat olive oil to medium, then add the asparagus and lemon juice.

Cook for about 5 minutes - until asparagus is tender.

Add your peas, stir and cook an additional 2 minutes.

While the asparagus and peas are cooking, chop up your basil.

Now the fun begins - adding and mixing everything together!

In a large bowl, combine the quinoa, asparagus and peas, then toss.

Now add the dressing and basil, then mix again until well coated.

The original recipe called for adding the avocado before tossing,

but since I was going to be enjoying this for the next few days,

I decided to add diced avocado right before eating!

Now the only thing left is to dig in and enjoy!!!

Spring Quinoa Salad

Adapted from Two Peas & The Pod's Recipe!

For the dressing:
3 Tablespoons Olive Oil
2 Tablespoons Fresh Lemon Juice
1 Teaspoon Honey
1 Clove Garlic - Minced
1 Tablespoon Basil - Chopped
Salt and Pepper to taste

For the salad:
2 Cups Water
1 Cup Quinoa
2 Teaspoons Olive Oil
15 Spears Asparagus - cut into 1-inch pieces
1 Tablespoon Fresh Lemon Juice
1 Cup Frozen Peas
1 to 2 Avocados
1/4 Cup Basil - Chopped
Salt and Pepper to taste

1. Cook your quinoa according to package directions. Once cooked, fluff with a fork and set aside.
2. In a deep bowl or jar, combine the olive oil, lemon juice, honey, garlic, basil, salt and pepper. Whisk or shake to combine.
3. Heat olive oil to medium, then add the asparagus and lemon juice. Cook for about 5 minutes - until asparagus is tender.
4. Add your peas, stir and cook an additional 2 minutes.
5. In a large bowl, combine the quinoa, asparagus and peas, then toss.
6. Pour the dressing over the quinoa mixture, add the chopped basil and then mix again until well coated.
7. Right before serving/eating, add fresh chopped avocado.

Inez's Turkey Burgers

Now that summer is basically here, 

I'm sure there will be lots of grilling going on.

So now is the perfect time to talk about some yummy burgers!

A few weeks ago, my friend Inez, who's a foodie like me, 

told me about a Turkey Burger she made that was amazing.

She said she wasn't going to make them any other way again!

After hearing that, I KNEW I had to give these burgers a try.

I got the recipe from her and made the burgers shortly after.

And she was right - they are amazing!!!

Since they were so good, I asked her permission to share the recipe on my blog.

And lucky you - she said yes!

Take a look below at how you make these simple, yet delicious burgers.

The Goods:

1 Package Ground Turkey

2 Tablespoons Chopped Fresh Cilantro

2 Tablespoons Minced Garlic

Juice from 1/2 Lemon

4 Teaspoons Cholula Hot Sauce

1  Teaspoon Ground Cumin

Salt and Pepper to your liking

Buns

Lettuce

Avocado

In a large bowl, combine turkey, cilantro, garlic, 

lemon juice, hot sauce, cumin, salt and pepper.

Divide mixture into six and make into burgers.

From here - you can either cook them right up, or with in a day.

OR you can do what I did - cooked one to eat now and froze the rest for future use!

I froze mine with wax paper between and in freezer zipper bags.

Cook the burgers FULLY. This is turkey, so it can't be raw!

If you want, be a lil naughty and add cheese like I did!!

Then make you delicious burger, serve it with a side and enjoy!!!

Confession - I not only added cheese, 

but there's a tomato on the final product too!

Now go make these super tasty turkey burgers yourself. 

I'm pretty sure you'll thank me, but really you should thank Inez!!

Sunday Night Dinner: Take 32

I was originally planning to make Roasted Squash for dinner, but turns out I'd had my squash too long. :( Oh well, I wasn't too disappointed and was happy to replace the squash with a grilled cheese sandwich. Mmm mmm mmm!!!

I'm sure roasted squash would have been very tasty, but I'm not sad I had to have the grilled cheese instead... 

I was already planning on making a salad tonight, but once the squash was out I opted to roast some brussels sprouts to have with the salad and grilled cheese. 

While things didn't go as I'd originally planned, tonight's dinner was absolutely a success. 

Giant Salads for Lunch

I've always taken my lunch to work, but it wasn't until recently that I started making giant salad almost every day of the work week. Over the weekend I get and prep everything I'll need for the salads. It changes every week, but is usually pretty similar. I bring everything in little containers and assemble it in the office kitchen. This is a great lunch that is quite healthy and never fails to fill me up!

Start with lettuce - spring mix in this case.

Add some roasted potatoes. 

And a lil bit of roasted broccoli. 

Throw in some cherry tomatoes.

And some fresh corn off the cob!

Now some freshly roasted beets.

And don't forget those cucumbers!

Toss it alllll up with dressing of your choice.

I used a yogurt bleu cheese. 

YUM! YUM! YUM!

I can't wait for lunches this week to eat more tasty salads. 

Pioneer Woman Guacamole

Last night I went over to my wonderful neighbor's house for some wine, beer, appetizers and a whole lot of fun! I decided to bring some Restaurant Style Salsa and to go along with it, I threw together Guacamole based on a recipe from The Pioneer Woman. 

Man I love her food! 

Now let me show you how to make the guacamole that everyone seemed to love! 

The Goods!

I knew I wasn't going to make as much as the original recipe called for, so I used 2 avocados, 1 medium hot house tomato, 1 jalapeno, 1/4 of a medium red onion, a lime and salt and cilantro to taste.

Chop up the tomato, jalapeno, onion and cilantro.

Toss with lime juice and salt.

Add the avocado and mash everything together.

Finish it off with a little more lime juice and salt.

Keep the avocado seeds in until ready to serve to limit browning.

Fried Fish Tacos

One of my best friends went to Maui last summer and fell in love with Taco Tuesday's at Fred's Mexican Cafe. She especially loved their Chipotle Mayo and told me about it more than once! Recently she invited me over to try to make the Mayo and fry our own fish to make delicious tacos. In fact, they were so good I don't know if delicious is a good enough word to describe them!

We didn't take pictures, so I just HAD to make them again to show all my wonderful readers how to make these amazing tacos! I made them last weekend and devoured them with a friend. I wanted them again while editing the pictures a few days later. Oh and I'm sure I'll want them yet again before I'm done writing this blog! 

Now onto the fun part - showing you how to make the tacos.

The Goods!

Corn Tortillas, Vegetable Oil, Tilapia, Panko and Bread Crumb Mixture,

Limes, Avocado, Homemade Chipotle Mayo, Shredded Cabbage & Red Onion

Cover the Tilapia with the Panko and Bread Crumb Mixture.

I forgot to photograph this step - I'm sorry!

Heat oil in a large stock pot. 

Test the oil temperature with a tiny piece of Corn Tortilla.

Then do a final test with one piece of fish.

Once you know the oil is at the right temperature,

throw in (gently place really) the rest of the fish! 

Turn them after about 2 or 3 minutes. 

Cook a few more minutes - until they're golden and crispy.

Finally, take out one piece to make sure the fish is cooked through.

NOTE: Be careful folks - the oil is VERY hot and will probably start to pop at some point. 

Don't be like me and burn yourself...

Please be smarter and more safe than I was!

Nom nom fried Tilapia! 

Put the Mayo and Toppings on!

Now time to enjoy the amazingness.

And if you're nice - share the yummy tacos with someone else!