spiced lemon chicken rice

My favorite recipe of the summer!! This was sooooo good!! I didn't have any carrots or raisins in the house, so I subbed them for almonds & chopped onion...mmmm the almonds were a perfect crunchy contrast to the lemon. I will definitely be making this again soon!

Adapted from SunMaid & Fitness Magazine

ingredients:
~3 large boneless, skinless chicken breasts (I used 4 thin sliced + they cook faster)
~1 1/2 Tbsp olive oil
~2 large cloves garlic, minced or pressed
~2 tsp cumin
~1/4 c. fresh lemon juice
~2 tsp lemon zest
~2 c. thinly sliced carrots (I subbed with onions)
~1/2 c. raisins (I subbed with slivered almonds)
~3 Tbsp fresh parsley, minced (I used less dried, and added it to the rice first)
~3 c. long grain rice (I use Basmati Rice)

Directions:
Place rice in rice cooker and cook through, set aside.
-In large skillet, heat olive oil over medium high heat.
-Add garlic and cumin and cook until fragrant, about 2 minutes.
-Add chicken breasts, breast side down and cook until lightly browned, about 3 minutes.
-Turn over and cook until lightly browned, about 2-3 minutes additional.
-Add lemon juice and stir to combine.
-Cover, turn heat to medium low, and cook for 10 minutes.
-Add lemon zest and carrots and stir to combine.
-Cover and cook until chicken is cooked through (to internal temp of 175-180 degrees).
-Remove chicken, place on platter and cover with foil.
-Add raisins and parsley to pan and cook until plump, about 1 minute.
-Add cooked rice and stir to combine.
-Remove from heat and serve chicken over rice, Enjoy!

eggplant, tomato, & mozzarella stacks

I found this recipe on Hostess With The Mostess, I love this site! They have such great recipes and party ideas on there ;) I wanted to make some side dishes for a dinner I was making on Friday for some of my girlfriends...these were a hit! Everyone loved them, and they were even great the next day for leftovers! This would be a great side to any meat dish, I served with lemon mustard chicken & pasta salad. Enjoy!

ingredients:

~2 eggplants

~Salt and pepper (I also used garlic powder)

~4 tomatoes

~1 pound shredded mozzarella cheese (I used about 1 c. shredded)

Preheat the oven to 350º. Lightly coat a baking sheet with cooking spray.

Cut each eggplant into 12 slices and place on the baking sheet. Season with salt and pepper and bake for 20 minutes or until the eggplant is soft.

Cut each tomato into 6 slices.

Top each of the eggplant slices with a slice of tomato and sprinkle with some of the mozzarella cheese. Place half of the eggplant stacks on top of the other half of the stacks so each one has six layers.

Bake for 20 minutes, or until the cheese is lightly browned. Let cool for 5 minutes and serve.

spaghetti pasta salad

Yummmmmm! Always a favorite in our house! My mom and Chad's mom make a version of this...so this is how it got passed down. I usually make it with Rotini noodles, but thought I would try this for something different...I also mix it up by using different Italian dressing flavors, enjoy!

ingredients:

~1 box of rotini or tri-colored rotini (I used the new Barilla whole wheat spaghetti noodles) They are really good!!

~small bottle of Italian dressing of your taste (I like making the 4 Season zesty italian...this time I used Kraft Tuscan Italian with parmesan) I would also try the Kraft greek dressing with Parmesan, super yummy!

~1/2 bottle of McCormick salad supreme seasoning

~1 small onion, chopped

~1 green pepper, chopped

~1/2 carton of cherry tomatoes, chopped

Cook noodles according to package, I always cook them al dente so they are not mushy ~ this is another reason to try whole wheat or Barilla Plus pasta ;) Drain noodles, and rinse with cold water - set aside.

Cut all veggies into bite-size pieces.

Add pasta to large bowl, and throw in cut veggies in with the pasta.

Add 1/2 of the dressing and 1/2 of the seasoning...combine well. Add the rest of the seasoning and more of the Italian dressing. I keep tasting it to make sure I don't put to much of both...you might only need 3/4 of the dressing. Adjust to taste, refrigerate first if desired.