Grilled Chicken Tacos with Lettuce Slaw, Avocado and Cotija

Grilled chicken tacos piled high with a lettuce-tomato slaw, avocado, and Cotija cheese all served on a charred tortilla. A quick weeknight dinner solution!

We love taco Tuesdays in my house, and I'm not talking about the taco's that come in a kit! Instead I make all kinds of tacos from scratch, from fish tacos, to slow cooker chicken and black bean tacos, turkey taco lettuce wraps and sometimes we even use picadillo in our tacos.

These grilled chicken tacos are a wonderful addition to our taco rotation, and perfect to make outside on the grill now that the weather is warming up. I set all the fixins out on the table and let everyone make their own. You can double or triple this if you want to feed a crowd. If you don't have an outdoor grill, no worries! A grill pan works just as good. If you prefer to skip the tortilla, just turn this into a great big salad!

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Shrimp Zoodles Parmesan for Two

Baked Shrimp Parmesan over Zucchini Noodles – an easy, light and delicious shrimp dish made in under 30 minutes!

I love shrimp parmesan and make it often at home because it's so much healthier to make it yourself. Rather than frying the shrimp like you'd get from a restaurant, I bake them in the oven until golden.

I've had the idea of making shrimp parm over zucchini noodles for quite some time, so when I was approached by Tuttorosso to be a part of their Inspiralize the Spring campaign, I knew this was what I was going to make. Every day this week, five bloggers are participating in a Spiralized Virtual Dinner Party – how fun! Here's the invite so you can follow along.

I've been using Tuttorosso tomatoes for years – if you've been following me from the beginning, you probably already know that they're my crushed tomato of choice.

This recipe is simple, you'll want to have everything prepped and ready before you start making this, because it comes together fast.  Have your zucchini cut and ready before you start, I prefer a thicker zucchini noodle so I used the thicker noodle blade of my Paderno Spiralizer to cut my zoodles. Enjoy!

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Seattle Asian Salmon Bowl

These Asian Salmon Bowls are my new addiction!! Served over brown rice and topped with cucumbers, avocado and sprouts and drizzled with a soy-wasabi vinaigrette – SO good!

My friend Heather has been talking about these salmon bowls for as long as I know her. Finally I convinced her to do a guest post to share her sister's recipe, and last night I decided to test it before sharing it here. Holy YUM!! It's healthy and delicious, tastes like a dish you would order at an Asian restaurant. I know you'll love it!

Hi there, I’m Heather. I’m a dietitian, a nutrition consultant for Skinnytaste, and the founder of Smaller Size Bigger Life an online coaching program for women who struggle with emotional eating, binge eating, overeating, or body image issues.

I’m so thrilled to share my sister’s salmon recipe here on Skinnytaste (thank you, Gina!).

My sister Lori and I have always shared a love of cooking (and our sister Cyndi has always enjoyed eating our creations!). Lori and I swap recipes, spend hours browsing farmers markets, share cookbooks, and talk about bacon the way some women talk about shoes. We just really, really love food!

Some of my happiest memories with Lori are in the kitchen – we slice, dice, and taste while we laugh, chat, and connect. And while I really enjoy cooking, Lori is the true family food superstar. If Lori’s in the kitchen, you just know the end result will be awesome! 

We live in Seattle so naturally salmon is a regular on the menu, and this Asian Salmon Bowl is one of Lori’s signature everyday dishes. It’s healthy, it’s tasty, and it’s ready in a snap.

I’m incredibly grateful for my two sisters – they’re pretty amazing. I hope you enjoy Lori’s recipe as much as I do!
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Pressure Cooker Pozole (Pork and Hominy Stew)

This stew made with pork, hominy and spices is so comforting, especially on a cold winter night. And leftovers taste even better the next day. Topped with avocado and a squeeze of lime, it's the perfect balance of flavors and textures.

This recipe is ever so slightly adapted from Martha Stewart's new cookbook, One Pot. When I say ever so slightly, all I did what reduce the amount of oil used. We all loved how it turned out, excellent dish for a chilly night. Her book has everything from slow cooker, pressure cooker, stock pot and skillet recipes that only require one pot – brilliant idea!

Believe it or not, I love my pressure cooker even more than I like my slow cooker. Why? Because it cuts the cooking time in half, especially when making stews that use tough cuts of meat and the pressure cooker makes them very tender, fast. Plus, nothing beats the flavors you get from cooking in the pressure cooker. That being said, I know a lot of people are scared of the pressure cooker. I've been using my stove top Presto for years and never had an issue. I purchased one of those fancy electric ones but have yet to use it, but either one will work.

Could you make this in a pot or Dutch oven? Sure, you will need to add a little more liquid and let it simmer, covered at least 2 hours before adding the Hominy.

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Spicy Whole Wheat Linguini with Sausage and Roasted Peppers

If only you could taste how good this dish is! But since you can't, you're going to have to take my word for it. It's everything I love in a meal and it's all ready in about 30 minutes. 

I love using spicy chicken sausage to give it a little kick, but if you want to make this mild for your family, simply swap it for sweet Italian.

I don't know about you, but for years I tried to like whole wheat pasta and never found a brand that my family would eat. Then last year I discovered DeLallo organic whole wheat pasta and it changed my life. My Italian husband who is pretty picky about his pasta also loves it, and now it's the only brand of whole wheat I will ever use. Their gluten-free pasta is also AMAZING so if you can't eat gluten, you can easily swap it out.

A few weeks ago, a few bloggers including myself got a chance to visit the Delallo Italian Marketplace in Jeanette, PA which was established back in 1954 as a small market and has grown into a large marketplace complete with the largest antipasti bar I've ever seen!

The DeLallo family visits Italy and works closely with the BEST of the best which allows them to import the highest quality pasta, tomatoes, olive oil, etc. If you are ever in that area, you must stop and visit – I was in DeLallo heaven!! Luckily, many of their products can be found in supermarkets across the country and you can also order their products online.

We stayed up the road in their home and cooked together, ate together and of course laughed together. They even made this fun video of our pasta making and some Q & A's – check it out!



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Quinoa Fiesta Enchilada Bake

Quinoa, black beans, corn, cilantro and green chiles covered with a quick homemade enchilada sauce and baked in the oven with cheesy goodness topped with avocado, cilantro and scallions.

Perhaps because I'm enchilada obsessed, this is my FAVORITE way to eat quinoa – perfect for Meatless Mondays!! You can make this ahead, then bake when ready to eat, and leftovers (without the avocado) are just as good as the day you made it which is perfect to pack for lunch. Plus, this is protein packed – over 17 grams per serving!

To make this freezer friendly, assemble up to topping with the cheese. You can put this in the oven frozen, bake until hot in the center and the cheese is melted about 35 to 40 minutes.

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Turkey Picadillo Stuffed Sweet Plantains

These sweet plantains are baked in the oven and then stuffed with a savory turkey picadillo filling and topped with cheese – pretty hard to resist! Similar to a Puerto Rican Pastelón which is really more of a plantain lasagna, instead these are made as individual boats which are easy to make, filling and perfect as a main dish.

If you're not very familiar with plantains, they are similar to bananas only they need to be cooked. Green plantains are usually meant for salty chips or tostones, but when the plantains are very ripe, almost black, that's when they are at their sweetest! That's what you want here, not yellow because they won't be sweet and soft enough. They should be soft and the skin almost black (see photo below in the directions).

The recipe calls for 6, but as you see here I made the full amount of picadillo and only baked two, and froze the meat for another day. So if you are worried this makes too much, you can easily make what you need and freeze the rest. Hope you enjoy!

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Chilled Lobster Salad with Sweet Summer Corn and Tomatoes

The perfect light summer salad, made with sweet summer corn, grape tomatoes, garden herbs and chilled steamed lobster. Serve this for two as a main dish salad or for four as a first course as pictured here.

I revived this one from the archives since this is the perfect time of year to make it. August is a great time to buy lobster here on Long Island, I can usually get great specials from my local Lobster farm. And the best part about buying my lobster from a lobster farm is that they also steam it for me at no extra cost. It's not that I can't cook my own lobster, it's just that if given the choice, I'd rather not. If you don't have that luxury, here is a great video from Fine Cooking that shows you how to do it.

Swap It Tip: If you don't live near the coast and don't have access to live lobster, you could use lump crab meat, cooked shrimp or even imitation crab instead. 

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Dirty Brown Rice with Shrimp

A healthier twist on a Cajun classic, the addition of shrimp turns this into a fabulous main dish. I'd like to think of this as a Cajun shrimp fried rice. With Mardi Gras ends tomorrow, I thought this would be the perfect timing to share this recipe from the archives because I LOVE this dish!

Dirty rice is a classic Cajun dish made "dirty" by cooking the rice with minced livers or gizzards. I created a healthier version using brown rice and lean ground beef in place of the chicken livers that normally make dirty rice "dirty".

But don't worry, this healthier version does not skimp on flavor! It has plenty of spices and a bit of kick, you can adjust the heat to your taste but don't be shy with the cayenne if you can handle it!

Normally a rice dish like this if made with white rice would be cooked all in one pot, but after several attempts to perfect this I found that cooking the brown rice all together created an unpleasant mushy texture. By cooking the brown rice separate, the texture of the rice was perfect when mixed with the beef and shrimp and made a delicious main dish even my "non-brown rice eating" husband enjoyed. 

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Eggplant Panini with Pesto

My friend gave me eggplants from her garden, and I used it to make this delicious hot pressed sandwich. If you can find a whole wheat baguette, even better! A perfect summer panini made with eggplant, tomatoes, mozzarella and skinny pesto on crispy French bread. Make this for one, or for the whole family.

I love, love, LOVE Panini night in my house because everyone is happy and they are so easy to make. If you're capable of making a grilled cheese, then you can make a panini, that's how simple and you don't need a fancy panini press to make it. Prior to owning my panini press, I used my George Forman grill or made them on the stove in a grill pan with an iron skillet on top to press it down.

I grilled the eggplant right on the panini press, so there's no dirtying extra pans. A perfect Meatless Monday dish, and even the meat-lovers in your house will enjoy this sandwich. 

If you're a newbie to Skinnytaste, check out my tip on how to make a larger sandwich for less calories. If you are making this for one, simply divide the ingredients by four.

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Roast Beef Sandwich with Melted Cheese and Caramelized Onions

I wish this photo could capture how delicious this sandwich is. I made a few attempts at photographing this, but the photo can't capture how sweet these caramelized onions are and how perfect they taste with yesterday's leftover garlic infused roast beef and melted Swiss cheese.

Father's Day is coming up and I'm trying to think of dishes that would make Dad happy. For those of you who are Pinterest obsessed, I made a Skinny Father's Day board and pinned recipes I think Dads would love. My husband loves caramelized onions, I can't say I blame him. I never knew just how good they were until I met him; he makes them all the time. The onions shrink to about half their size when the slowly cook down, and as they turn golden in color they turn sweet and delicious. They are great over burgers too, I make them with a lot less oil than he does with great results.

I don't east sandwiches often, maybe once a week. But when I do eat a sandwich, my bread of choice is a fresh baked whole wheat French or Italian bread from the bakery because it's generally made with no fat and I love a crispy fresh baked loaf.


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Linguini with Sautéed Scallops and Peas

Scallops are great for a quick meal any night of the week and are a real treat. They can be quickly sautéed, then added to salads like this Scallop and Baby Green Citrus Mojo Salad, and this delicious Scallop and Grapefruit Salad, but once in a while when I want something more substantial, I love it with pasta. Here I tossed it with some pasta and peas, for a dinner that took less than 15 minutes to make.

I love sea scallops and it takes very little effort to get delicious results. For best flavor seek out the freshest scallops. Before cooking remove the small, tough muscle attached to the side. You can easily double this recipe for four servings.

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Chicken and Andouille Sausage

A chicken and sausage stew made with skinless chicken legs and spicy andouille sausage simmered with flavors from the deep south – without the extra fat.

Today is Fat Tuesday, but any day is really a great day to enjoy this comfort dish. Traditional gumbos are made with a whole lot of fat and take hours to make. My lighter version you won't miss the fat because there's still tons of flavor. The stew itself is not very spicy, but the sausage is so you get a little heat each time you take a bite. If you're not a fan of spice, a smoked turkey sausage or turkey kielbasa would taste great too.

To lighten this dish, I use lean skinless chicken on the bone (the bone adds great flavor) and lean chicken/turkey andouille sausage. It's simmered with onions, bell pepper and celery, also known as the "holy trinity" in Cajun cuisine, and topped with scallions. This is the type of dish you may want to serve with a fork AND spoon, I served mine with 1/4 cup of cooked rice on the side, completely optional. Quinoa or farro would also work nicely.

I found the chicken a little tricky to calculate on the bone; I was getting discrepancies when I calculated it raw, vs cooked on the bone, vs cooked off the bone so I decided to weigh the meat off the bone cooked, I feel this is the most accurate. The chicken I purchased was from a small bird, so if you have really large chicken, the nutritional info will change. If you prefer white meat, be sure to use skinless breasts on the bone so your meat doesn't dry out and you still get the great flavors from the bones.

Low carb, gluten free, and really good!


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Angel Hair Pasta with Scallops and Tomatoes

Sauteed bay scallops with tomatoes and a touch of white wine and lemon juice served over angel hair pasta.

If you're looking for a special dinner to make for your loved one this Valentine's Day, this is a perfect dish. For starters, it takes less than 15 minutes to make, so you'll have less time cooking, and more time together. Secondly, scallops date back to ancient Greece as an aphrodisiac. As legend has it, the goddess Aphrodite was carried to earth on the shell of a scallop.

Personally, I love scallops for their sweet, delicate flavor. Bay scallops are the smaller variety and are usually less expensive than sea scallops. They are wonderful tossed with pasta and take less than a minute to cook.

Because bay scallops retain so much water, it's really important that you dry them well before cooking, and you really want to cook them in a hot pan so you get a quick sear. I cook them in 2 or 3 batches depending on the size of my pan. Don't skip this step because you don't want to overcrowd the pan, otherwise the scallops will become rubbery and won't sear.

If you're family doesn't like whole wheat pasta, a great trick I like to do is use both whole wheat and semolina. You don't really notice the taste of the whole wheat and your getting the added benefits of using a whole grain.

For all you spaghetti squash lovers out there, I'm sure this would be wonderful over roasted spaghetti squash as a gluten-free, lower-carb alternative.

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Pasta with Butternut Sauce, Spicy Sausage and Baby Spinach

Spicy chicken sausage is the perfect compliment to this creamy pasta dish made with butternut squash, baby spinach, parmesan and a touch of sage. It's filling and comforting on a chilly winter night.

Since making Spaghetti with Creamy Butternut Leek Sauce a few weeks back, I am officially hooked. I love how the butternut squash feels like a decadent creamy sauce without the need for heavy cream. And with the addition of parmesan and hot sausage, the end result is savory and delicious.

I am also loving Giada's new line of organic pastas sold at Target. I'm picky with my pasta and love the taste and texture of this pasta when cooked al dente. I always go for unusual pasta shapes, here I used a shape called casarecce... love!

As part of the Target Inner Circle, I got to meet Giada in person a few weeks ago at Fun and Fit in the City. Isn't she beautiful!

L-R, My daughter Karina, Me, Giada, My girlfriend Raquel

She was so sweet in person, I also got an autographed cookbook and a goody bag full of her new food products sold at Target. My favorites were of course the organic pastas. I tried a few shapes, but plan on going back to Target to try the whole wheat.

A few more things: This week I teemed up with 11 other bloggers to host a HUGE HOLIDAY giveaway... Two winners, one will win an iMac Computer! A second winner will win a $500 gift card. Hey, you never know! You gotta be in it to win it... click here for a chance to win!

And most importantly: Starting today I am making a commitment to run at least 1 mile a day until New Years. You in? It's part of the 2012 Holiday Running Streak from Runner's World. The way I see it, why wait till New Years? Let's start now, with all the baking and indulging that goes on during the Holidays, this is the perfect way to find a balance. I ran a mile this morning, I'll be running again tomorrow... if you prefer to walk, that's fine too, I would love it if you joined me. It could be inside, outside, morning, lunch time, evening... whenever you can squeeze it in. Tell me you're in, it will help keep me motivated!

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Zucchini Lasagna

By replacing the lasagna noodles with thin sliced zucchini you can create a delicious, lower carb (gluten-free) lasagna that's loaded with vegetables, and you won't miss the pasta!

This recipe is from the archives, but needed a photo-makeover. I also like to make some of my older recipes over to see if I can improve them. I made slight adjustments to the original recipe, so if you have an old printout, you may want to re-print it. This feeds eight, and is quite filling. Everyone in my house likes it, including my picky daughter.

The first time I made this, I didn't grill the zucchini first, but there was a lot of liquid so I found grilling it first greatly improved it. I soaked up as much of the liquid as I could with paper towels before layering the ingredients. I think the next time I make this, I'll try it with turkey sausage in place of the ground beef, I bet it will be spectacular!

Tip: Using a mandoline is a must to slice the zucchini thin, and it's quick and easy. You can also make the sauce ahead of time if you want to speed this up for a weeknight.

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