Spicy Chicken Wrap

I love spicy food. I think peppers make most meals better. Not only do the spices and peppers make this meal delicious, but it's pretty healthy too. As it's prepared below this is how a wrap stacks up: 267 calories; 9.7 grams fat; 88.7 mg cholesterol; 19.9 carbs; 35 grams protein. I like to cook up 3 or 4 chicken breasts, slice them and then eat on it all week.

1-2 lbs Chicken (I prefer breast, but use your preference)
Olive oil
salt
pepper
garlic powder
paprika
cumin
Adobo seasoning
pepper spices (cayenne, chipotle, or any kind you prefer)
Xtreme Wellness Spinach and Herb Tortillas
Quesadilla cheese (or your preferred cheese)
Salsa Verde
Romaine lettuce (thinly sliced)

Clean and prep the chicken. Salt, pepper and apply the spices the each side of each piece of chicken. Apply the amount of spice that matches your tastebuds. Start with a light coating on each side.

Heat up a couple tablespoons of olive oil in a skillet. Cook chicken on each side several minutes until browned. If your chicken pieces are thinner, ensure that the chicken is cooked through and stop here.

If the chicken pieces are thick, foil line a pan, and after browning the chicken on each side, bake in the oven 10-15 minutes until it is cooked through. Let chicken cool 10 minutes or so and then slice thinly. Prepare the wrap by adding 3-4 ounces of chicken, an ounce of cheese, a tablespoon or two of salsa verde, and an ounce of your favorite lettuce. Roll up and enjoy!

Maple Cinnamon Pumpkin Spice Cookies

I love autumn... the beautiful colors, the amazing smells, that crisp cool touch to the morning air. It's such a wonderful time of the year. Now that we are officially into autumn and tomorrow is October 1, I thought I would make a cookie to honor this time of year. Enter Maple Cinnamon Pumpkin Spice Cookies. Upon tasting the cookie, my daughter said that it tasted like fall in a cookie. I used my Triple Chocolate Cranberry Cookies recipe but  altered it. If you love this time of year, you are going to want to give these cookies a chance. The chips are part of Nestle Toll House's seasonal chips, and they are wonderful!

1 cup butter or margarine

3/4 cup sugar

1 1/4 cups dark or light brown sugar

1 Tbsp vanilla

2 eggs

3 cups all-purpose flour

2 tsp baking soda

2 tsp cornstarch
1 tsp salt
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp nutmeg
1/2 tsp cloves
sprinkle of pumpkin spice (optional)

12 ounces Nestle maple chips

12 ounces Nestle pumpkin spice chips

3-6 ounces cinnamon chips

1 cup pecans pieces

In a small bowl, whisk flour, baking soda, cornstarch, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves, and pumpkin spice; set aside. 

In large bowl or stand mixer, beat butter and sugars until smooth.

Add vanilla and eggs and mix. Scrape down sides and ensure it is mixed well. 

Add flour mixture, and stir until combined. 

Add chips and pecans and mix until incorporated.

Drop by rounded teaspoon onto baking sheet. 

Bake at 375 degrees for 8-10 minutes. Cool on tray and then transfer to cooling rack.

Pesto Chicken with Tomatoes and Asparagus

I was looking for healthier, high protein recipes and came across this gem on Pinterest: One Pan Pesto Chicken and Veggies. I added the garlic to the original recipe, and I also recommend using the sundries tomato oil to cook the chicken for added flavor. In checking the recipe ingredients, 6 oz of chicken and veggies has 329 calories, 31.6 g protein, 17.1 g fat, and 15 g carbs. If you are sparing with the pesto, you should be able to lower the fat and carbs. No matter what, everyone who has tried this dish has loved it. It also reheats pretty well when I take it to work for lunch, which I count as a win! There is so much flavor in the dinner, and it is pretty easy to make, two more wins in my book. You're going to want to try this recipe.

2 Tbsp olive oil
1-1.25 pound chicken thigh or breast meat, boneless and skinless, sliced into strips
1/3 cup sun-dried tomatoes drained of oil, chopped
1 pound asparagus ends trimmed, cut in half, if large
1/4 cup basil pesto
1 cup cherry tomatoes yellow and red, halved

4-6 cloves of garlic, minced (or use jarred minced garlic)

Salt and pepper to taste

Slice tomatoes in half; cut ends off of asparagus; and chop sun dried tomatoes.

Slice chicken into large pieces.

Salt and pepper generously to taste.

Heat large skillet on medium-high heat, add 2 tablespoons olive oil (you can use some of the oil from the sun-dried tomatoes for additional flavor). Add chicken and add half of chopped sun-dried tomatoes.

Cook everything 5-10 minutes, flipping chicken a couple of times, until the chicken is completely cooked through.

Remove the chicken and sun-dried from the skillet, leaving oil in.

Add asparagus, seasoned generously with salt and remaining half of sun-dried tomatoes.  

Reduce heat to medium and cook about 5 minutes. Add the garlic and cook several more minutes until the asparagus is cooked through. I cook just until the asparagus is fork tender.

Remove asparagus to serving plate. Add chicken back to the skillet, add pesto, stir to coat on low-medium heat until chicken is reheated, 1 or 2 minutes, and pesto is dispersed. 

Add tomatoes and cook for a couple of minutes; remove skillet from heat.

Serve chicken, tomatoes, and asparagus, and watch your family gobble it up!