Candy Apple Grapes

These grapes are easy and delicious and would be perfect for a hot weekend treat (supposed to be a hot one here in Chicago) or for a Labor day BBQ.  I got this recipe from Sandi a friend and fellow youth leader.  They kind of taste like candy apples with the chocolate, nut, and sour combo, but are a lot easier to eat and make!

Candy Apple Grapes
From: Sandi Fischer
Prep time: 10 min
Chill time: 30 min

Ingredients:
Green Grapes
White Melting Chocolate
Roasted Peanuts, crushed (I used chopped nuts to make it easier)

Directions:
1. Wash and thoroughly dry grapes. Prepare a cookie sheet with wax paper or parchment. Place crushed nuts in a small bowl.

2. Melt chocolate heating in 30 second intervals (stirring each time) on medium heat in the microwave.

3. Take a grape and dip into the chocolate, then dip into the nuts and place on cookie sheet.  Repeat with as many grapes as you would like.

4. Chill in refrigerator for 1/2 hour.  Place in an airtight container and store in the fridge.

Quick "Grilled" Corn

I wanted to make a the Mexican Street Corn Salad I posted the other day but didn't have any fresh corn (and I was too lazy to go out and get some).  I saw this on Pinterest and thought I would give it a try. It isn't exactly like real grilled corn, but it is good enough when you don't have any fresh corn on hand!

Quick "Grilled" Corn
From: Bev Cooks
Prep: 5 min
Cook: 5 min

Ingredients:
Frozen Corn
Oil
Salt & Pepper

Directions:
1. Place frozen corn on a baking sheet with oil, salt, and pepper.

2. Place under the broiler for 5 minutes or so until corn is roasted.

BBQ Chicken Packets

With the warm weather we have been having we have been grilling more and more.  The other night we had these BBQ Chicken packets.  This mostly came from a Kraft recipe, but I didn't have green peppers so I decided to work with what I had.  I threw in some green onion and jalapeno slices.  I loved the addition of the jalapenos, it gave it a nice kick, but you could easily make this without them.  This was a quick recipe with basic ingredients, easy to throw together and very tasty.  Definitely will be making this again since it is perfect for a week night meal!

BBQ Chicken Packets
From: Adapted from Kraft Recipes
Prep Time: 10 min
Cook Time: 15 min

Ingredients:
2 Boneless Skinless Chicken Breasts
1/2 cup BBQ Sauce (I used Fox Brothers BBQ, but you could use any)
1/2 cup Frozen Corn
1 green onion, sliced
1 jalepeno, sliced (seeds taken out)

Directions:
1. Heat grill to medium-high heat

2. Place each chicken in the center of individual large sheets heavy-duty foil.

3. Top each chicken with1/4 cup bbq sauce, 1/4 cup frozen corn, 1/2 of the onion, and 1/2 of the jalapeno slices.

4. Fold each foil sheet over the chicken to make it a packet.

5. Grill 15 minutes.  Cut slits in foil to release steam before opening packets.

NOTE: To cook in oven, bake in 450 degrees for 18-22 minutes.

Mexican Street Corn Salad

I love corn, espeically in the summer.  And elote? Well forget about it.  And this is an Elote "Salad."  So it is healthy right?  Maybe not if I ate half the batch myself for dinner when Bill was gone for the weekend.  But it was SOOOO good.  I actually didn't have any fresh corn on the cob and being to lazy to go to the store on a Friday night, I worked with what I had and used frozen. I'll post the recipe in a bit about what I did to my frozen corn for them to seem a little more "roasted."

Mexican Street Corn Salad
From: Foodie with Family
Prep Time: 20 min
Cook time: 5 min

Ingredients:
6-8 ears of corn, grilled, cooled and cut off the cob.
1/4 of a sweet onion, finely diced
1/4 of a sweet red bell pepper, seeded and finely diced
1/2 cup crumbled Cotija or Feta cheese (I used feta)
1/2 cup mayonnaise (I used light)
1/3 cup fresh cilantro leaves, coarsely chopped
Juice of 1 lime, plus extra wedges for serving
1/2 tspn to 1 Tbsp chili powder (or ground chipotle pepper)
1/2 tspn ground cumin
salt and pepper to taste

Directions:
1.  In a large bowl, mix together corn, onion, pepper, cheese, mayonnaise, cilantro, lime juice, chili powder, cumin, salt and pepper until everything is evenly distributed.   Serve immediately or refrigerate for an hour to let the favors mix.  This is best the same day, but is ok the next day.

Southwestern Black Bean, Corn, Tomato, and Avocado Salad

My Sister-in-law asked for a recipe for a side to go with a Mexican dish and I looked through my recipes and found this one.  After I sent it to her, I thought it looked pretty good, so I  decided to make it for my lunches one week.  We both thought it was very good.  It is easy to make, and made enough for me to have lunch for 3 or 4 days.  I'll make this again either for lunch or as a side dish for Mexican food since I never seem to know what to serve with Mexican food!

Southwestern Black Bean, Corn, Tomato, and Avocado Salad
From: Skinny Taste
Prep time: 20 min

Ingredients:
15 oz can black beans, drained adn rinsed
1 1/2 cups corn, cooked fresh or frozen
1 medium tomato (I actually used grape tomatoes cut in half)
1/3 red onion, chopped
1 scallion, sliced
1 1/2 - 2 lime juice
1 Tbsp olive oil
2 Tbsp fresh minced cilantro
salt and pepper
1 avocado, diced
1 jalapeno, seeds removed, diced

Directions:
1. In a large bowl, combine beans, corn, tomato, onion, scallion, cilantro, salt and pepper.

2. Squeeze fresh lime juice to taste and stir in olive oil.  Marinate in refrigerator at least 30 min.  Add Avocado just before serving

What's for Lunch Wednesday - Cookie Dough Greek Yogurt

I saw this on Pinterest and thought it might be a nice snack.  The person I pinned it said to freeze it and it would be like ice cream. It doesn't. However, it is pretty tasty when it isn't frozen. The only thing is that it is pretty rich so I really need to split it in half or even thirds and would be a great snack at work.

What's for Lunch Wednesday - Cookie Dough Greek Yogurt
From: My Fridge Food
Prep time: 5 min

Ingredients:
1 Greek Yogurt
1 Tbsp Peanut Butter
1 Tbsp Honey
1 Tbsp Mini Chocolate Chips
1/4 tsp vanilla extract

Directions:

1. Mix all ingredients together with greek yogurt.

Cashew Cookie Bars - Larabar copycat

I tried making my own Cherry Pie Larabars a while back which turned out great.  I saw this copy cat recipe of another Larabar flavor - Cashew Cookie.  I've never tried the real one, but I have to say this was pretty good.  I still like the tart flavors of the Cherry Pie one better, but these were so easy to make and were a nice snack when you want something sweet.

Cashew Cookie Bars - Larabar copycat
From: Edible Sound Bites
Prep Time: 10 min
Makes: 8 small bars

Ingredients:
1 cup raw unsalted cashews (or you can use sunflower seeds)
10 medjool dates, pitted (or 1 cup of regular dates)
pinch of sea salt

Directions:
1. Pulse Cashews in your food processor until finely chopped.  Empty the nuts into a bowl.

2. Place the dates into the food processor and grind until roughly chopped into small pieces.

3. Add the cashews back into the food processor with the dates, add a pinch of sea salt and pulse until well combined (if using regular dates and the mixture isn't holding together add 1-2 Tbsp warm water)

4. Form into bars and store in air tight container and refrigerate.

Freezer Meal - Crock Pot Chicken Fajitas

Here is another meal I made when I did my Freezer Meal extravaganza.  After making it I realized it is really similar to my other Crock Pot Fajitas. I actually didn't end up making these myself, I gave them away, but I do have another one in my freezer to try someday.  I assume they taste similar to the other recipe and the recipients of the meal (my in-laws) said it was quite tasty.


Freezer Meal - Crock Pot Chicken Fajitas
From: Making our Marx
Prep time: 15 min
Cook time: 5-6 hours

Ingredients:
2 green peppers, sliced
1 onion, sliced
3 chicken breasts
1/2 cup chicken broth
taco seasoning packet (or 2-3 Tbsp taco seasoning)
1 tsp chili powder
1/2 tsp paprika
1 tsp salt

Directions:
1. Slice green peppers and onions.  Combine all ingredients in gallon freezer bag.  Get as much air out when closing bag.  Freeze.

2. To Cook: Thaw, place contents of bag in crock pot and cook for 5-6 hours on low.  Shred meat and serve on tortillas with fixings.

*** This is actually from my other recipe, but I assume they look very similar!