Spinach, Bean, & Avocado Salad

I found this recipe on Pinterst and I eat it alot...it is so yummy! Lots of times I don't have cilantro on hand so I will use green onions and it is just as good!

No measuring involved...I just put in as much as I feel like!

spinach
black beans (rinsed well)
cucumber
tomato
avocado
lime juice
pepper
cilantro or green onions
dash of olive oil.

Roasted Parmesean Green Beans

I found this recipe on Pinterest. This is a delicious way to eat fresh green beans!  Make sure you eat them fresh out of the oven for best results.

Roasted Parmesan Green Beans

• 12 oz green beans, trimmed (make sure they are dry)
• 2 tsp olive oil
• kosher salt + fresh cracked pepper to taste
• 1/4 tsp garlic powder
• 1 1/2 tbsp shredded Parmesan

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 425°F. Line a baking sheet with aluminum for easy clean-up.

Lay green beans out on the baking sheet and drizzle oil over them. Season with salt, pepper and garlic powder and toss to evenly coat.

Spread them out on the sheet so that they all lay flat and place on the lower third section of your oven.
 Bake 10 minutes, shake the pan to turn; bake 5 additional minutes. Remove from the oven and sprinkle with grated cheese.

Servings: 4 • Serving Size: 1 cup • Old Points: 1 pts • Points+: 2 pts
Calories: 62.4 • Fat: 2.9 g • Carbs: 8.0 • Fiber: 3.8 • Protein: 2.7 g • Sugar: 0
Sodium: 38.4 mg (without salt)

Grilled Chicken and Veggie Italian Skewers

I bought Our Best Bites Cookbook at Costco (it is only $15.99 there...the cheapest I have found!) and I.LOVE.IT. Here is the newest recipe that we made last night for dinner. The hot dogs in the upper corner ruin the beautiful skewers...sorry. I used the homemade Italian dressing recipe I linked to below. It was delicious, but spicy for me so if you are sensitive to spicy buy one from the store.

Incidentally, while we were eating these delicious skewers last night, our neighbors were grilling also and their house caught on fire from the grill! They were not outside so it is a good thing we were. We were able to notice it and put it out before their house went up in flames. It was really scary. In just second it went from a grill fire to 6-8 feet of their siding on fire. Moral of the story...pull your grill away from your house!

1 lb. chicken breasts, cut into small, bite-sized pieces

1 each yellow and green zucchini squash, cut in half (if large) and sliced

8 oz. small whole mushrooms, stems removed

1 red, yellow, or orange bell pepper (or combo of 2 or more), chopped into bite-sized pieces

1 small red onion, carefully cut into bite-sized chunks (try to keep as much of the pieces in tact as possible, but don’t stress it if they start to fall apart)

Sweet cherry tomatoes

1 recipe of Zesty Italian Dressing or 1 bottle of Berenstein’s Italian Dressing (recipe tastes better if you use high quality dressing)

Place cut-up chicken in a shallow dish and pour a little less than half of the remaining dressing over the chicken. Place in refrigerator for 2-3 hours or until ready to use.

Place chopped veggies in a dish (a 9×13 pan works great) and pour remaining dressing (except for reserved 1/2 c.) over the veggies. Toss gently to combine. Set aside.

If using bamboo skewers, soak in water for about 30 minutes.

When chicken is done marinating, skewer veggies and chicken (you’ll have far more veggies than chicken, so keep that in mind when assembling your skewers; I use about 3 pieces of chicken per skewer, but as many vegetables as I can get on there). 

Preheat grill and then cook skewers for about 10-12 minutes over medium heat until chicken is cooked through and veggies are tender-crisp, turning at least once.