Broccoli Chicken Divan

This recipe was super easy and delicious and makes a lot. A great recipe for a large family it will last me and the hubbie all week. He loved it.

Ingredients

• 1 pound chopped fresh broccoli
• 1 1/2 cups cubed, cooked chicken meat( I boiled 3 chicken breast with garlic, salt, pepper, cumin.)
  
• 1 (10.75 ounce) can condensed cream of broccoli soup
• 1/3 cup milk
• 1/2 cup shredded Cheddar cheese
• 1 tablespoon butter, melted
• 2 tablespoons dried bread crumbs

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 450 degrees F (230 degrees C).
2. Place the broccoli in a saucepan with enough water to cover. Bring to a boil, and cook 5 minutes, or until tender. Drain.
3. Place the cooked broccoli in a 9x13 pan. Top with the chicken. In a bowl, mix the soup and milk, and pour over the chicken. Sprinkle with Cheddar cheese. Mix the melted butter with the bread crumbs, and sprinkle over the cheese.
4. Bake in the preheated oven for 15-20 minutes, or until bubbly and lightly brown.

Garlic-Lime Shrimp Quesadillas

So I have been away from this blog way too long. So much has been going on and I really plan to get back blogging. Been a busy little bee lately. But anyways I made these Garlic Lime shrimp Quesadillas and they were so good, quick and easy.

Ingredients ~
3/4 lb medium shrimp, cooked
Zest and juice of 1 lime
1 small clove garlic, finely chopped
2 jalapeño peppers, seeded and finely chopped
1 ounce cream cheese (1/3 of a small package), softened
2 scallions, thinly sliced
4 tablespoons fresh cilantro, finely chopped
3 cups finely shredded Monterey Jack cheese, divided
4 10-inch flour tortillas
Vegetable oil
Guacamole and sour cream

Directions ~
Peel the shrimp completely, including tails. Chop them into 1/2-inch pieces and place them in a medium sized mixing bowl. Add the lime juice and garlic and toss to combine. Set aside for 25 minutes to marinate, then drain off any liquid that has accumulated. Add the lime zest, and jalapeños and mix well.

In a separate bowl, blend the softened cream cheese, scallions and cilantro with a fork. Add in 1 cup of the Monterey Jack cheese and combine thoroughly.

Prepare the tortillas by spreading 1/4 of the cheese mixture onto one half of each tortilla.

Heat a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add about 1 teaspoon of vegetable oil and swirl the pan to coat evenly. Place one tortilla in the pan, cheese side up. Using a slotted spoon, place 1/4 of the shrimp mixture on top of the cream cheese mixture. Sprinkle 1/2 cup of shredded Monterey Jack on top of the shrimp, fold the other side of the tortilla up over the mixture and press gently.

Cook for 1-1/2 to 2 minutes, or until the cheese on the bottom has melted and the tortilla is golden brown. Flip carefully and cook for another minute until all the cheese has melted and that side is golden brown as well. Transfer to a platter to keep warm and repeat the process with the remaining tortillas. Serve with guacamole and sour cream.

This turned out so good. So quick easy and tasty.

Broccoli & Shrimp Ravioli

This was super easy and so good. I bought a bag of Trader Joes four cheese ravioli and boiled for about 12 mins then set aside. Then in separate pan saute shrimp, 1 teaspoon EVOO, 2 cloves of garlic minced salt and pepper. Steamed a bunch of fresh broccoli and mixed with the shrimp. Then tossed together with Trader Joe Alfredo sauce. And topped with grated Asiago cheese. Total meal took about 20mins tops.

Fuego and Fadi's...

I did a lot of traveling this summer (Houston, Detroit, Chicago, New Jersey, Philly, Virginia Beach) so this is why there has been a big gap in updates to my blog from June-Aug. During this summer I have had the chance to try out a some nice new places while I was on vacay! This pic here is from Fuego's is this awesome Halal Mexican restrauant in Dearborn Michigan. The food is so good and reasonably priced. I ordered a mixed sampler, wings, tortillas , stuffed mushrooms, jalapeno poppers. My brothers ordered tacos and quesadillas which were awesome. Cant wait to go back ! :-)






<----- This picture is from Fadi's Grill in Houston Texas. OMG this was so good. I had lamb almond rice, beef humus and artichoke salad. Fadi's is a must if your in the Houston area. They are 100% halal and serve many organic foods and everything is fresh and delicious. Also you can get a huge plate for around $9. Its a Mediterranean restaurant which everything is served cafeteria style but really fresh and good. They have about 6 different kinds of humus and a dozen different salads to choose from.

Pan Fried Catfish

Quick and easy for nice southern dinner. I made these with mac and cheese , corn bread and cabbage nice southern classic.

Ingredients

• 1 cup cornmeal
• 2 teaspoons ground cayenne pepper
• 2 teaspoons paprika
• 1 teaspoon onion powder
• 1/3 cup extra virgin olive oil
• 4 (4 ounce) fillets catfish
• 1 cup milk
• 4 cloves garlic, minced

Directions

1. In a mixing bowl, stir together cornmeal, cayenne pepper, paprika and onion powder. Mix well. Pour mixture onto a large sheet of waxed paper.
2. Heat oil in a large skillet over medium heat.
3. Pour milk into a medium bowl. Dip catfish fillets into milk and hold up and let the milk drip off. Roll the milk-soaked fillet in the cornmeal mixture until completely covered. Set aside.
4. Fry the garlic in the hot skillet, but do not burn. Add the coated catfish fillets and cook for 5 to 7 minutes on each side, sprinkling salt on the fish after each turn. Cook until golden brown and fish flakes easily with a fork. Drain on paper towels.

Gourmet Chicken Salad

I wanted to make something light and quick with some leftover chicken breast I had. This was so good and perfect for lunch. I actually made this for dinner with sweet potato fries.

Ingredients

• 2 (10 ounce) cans chicken chunks, drained
• 1 cup seedless green grapes, halved
• 1/2 cup sliced almonds
• 1/2 cup chopped celery
• 1 (8 ounce) can mandarin oranges, drained
• 3/4 cup creamy cucumber salad dressing

Directions

1. Mix together chicken, grapes, nuts, celery, oranges, and dressing. Chill.

(Chicken can substituted for 1 1/2 grilled chicken breast cubed)

Banana Pudding ..an Eid favorite !!

This Banana Pudding recipe is so easy and good. We usually try to make it for Eid and for iftar dinners. We made some this year for our Eid dinner and it was gone in 60 secs. Another variation of this that I have tried is use shortbread cookies and vanilla wafers and mix as you layer. This is really good.

Ingredients

• 1 (8 ounce) package cream cheese
• 1 (14 ounce) can sweetened condensed milk
• 1 (5 ounce) package instant vanilla pudding mix
• 3 cups cold milk
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 (8 ounce) container frozen whipped topping, thawed
• 4 bananas, sliced
• 1/2 (12 ounce) package vanilla wafers

Directions

1. In a large bowl, beat cream cheese until fluffy. Beat in condensed milk, pudding mix, cold milk and vanilla until smooth. Fold in 1/2 of the whipped topping.
2. Line the bottom of a 9x13 inch dish with vanilla wafers. Arrange sliced bananas evenly over wafers. Spread with pudding mixture. Top with remaining whipped topping. Chill.