Avocado Chicken Salad Sandwich

adapted from sixsistersstuff.com

Ingredients
1 shredded rotisserie chicken
2-3 avocados, chopped 
1/2-1 bunch of cilantro, chopped
1/4 tsp garlic powder 
1/4 tsp onion powder
salt & pepper to taste

6 ciabatta rolls, dinner rolls or hamburger buns

Instructions
Stir the chicken, avocado, cilantro and seasonings in a bowl. Taste the mix. Add a little more seasoning, if desired.
Serve on rolls or buns.

In this picture I grilled chicken and then chopped it. Although the rotisserie chicken would have been easier, the grilled method was tasty too.

This would be a good sandwich for a St. Patrick's Day lunch since it's green!

Husband rating:  3.5 stars
Boys say:  thumbs up

Outback Chicken and Honey Mustard

adapted from sixsistersstuff.com

Ingredients:
4 boneless skinless chicken breasts, pounded to 1/2 inch thickness
seasoning salt
6 slices bacon, cut in half
1/2 sweet onion, sliced

your favorite honey mustard sauce 1 tablespoon cooking oil 1 cup sliced fresh mushrooms 2 cups shredded Colby/Jack cheese




Directions:
Sprinkle and rub the chicken breasts with seasoning salt. Cover and refrigerate for 30 minutes. Cook bacon in a large skillet until crisp.
Remove the bacon and drain the bacon drippings but don't clean the pan.  Add the onions and cook over medium low until soft, about 8-10 minutes.
Heat oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Place chicken in the skillet and saute for 3 to 5 minutes per side, or until browned. Move chicken to an 11x7 inch or 9x9 inch pan.
Apply the honey mustard to each breast, then layer with mushrooms, onion, bacon, and shredded cheese. Bake in a 350° oven for 20-25 minutes, or until cheese is melted and chicken is done.

This recipe has two big things going for it:  1-BACON!  2-It says to pound the chicken.  I always have fun doing that!  I left the mushrooms out since we don't have many mushroom lovers around here.  I also left the cheese off of mine and it was still great.  

Husband rating:  4 stars
Boys say:  most liked it

Baked Herb Lemon Chicken

from andicakes.com

4 split chicken breasts, skin on
Kosher salt
freshly ground black pepper
1 lemon sliced in wedges, 6-8 slices
1/4 c extra virgin olive oil
9 cloves minced garlic, about 3 tbsp
1/3 c dry white wine
1 tbsp grated lemon zest (2 lemons)
2 tbsp freshly squeezed lemon juice
1 1/2 tsp dried oregano
1 tsp minced fresh thyme leaves, plus 4 sprigs

Preheat oven to 425 degrees.  First prepare the chicken breasts by rinsing them and drying them with paper towel.  On a cutting board using boning knife, carefully remove the breast bone leaving the skin on and still attached to the breast.  Trim any excess fat from the breast and place in a 9 x 13 baking dish skin side up.  Repeat with the remaining breasts.  Sprinkle the breast with kosher salt and fresh ground pepper.  Now slice one lemon lengthwise into 6-8 wedges and set among the chicken breasts in the dish.

Next add the extra virgin olive oil to a small sauté pan and heat over medium-low temperature, once warmed add the minced garlic and cook for just a minute and stirring constantly.  Turn the heat off and add the dry white wine, lemon zest, lemon juice, dried oregano and minced thyme.  Pour the warm mixture into the dish to surround the seasoned chicken breasts.  Using a brush lightly brush the chicken breasts skins with the oil mixture so it will brown and crisp during baking and then add the 4 sprigs of thyme on the top the chicken breasts.

Bake the dish uncovered for 30 to 45 minutes, until the breast are cooked and reach 165 degrees.  Turn the oven to broil for 1-3 minutes and broil the dish if necessary to brown the skins on the breasts.  Remove from the oven, cover with aluminum foil and allow resting for 10 minutes before serving.

Transfer the chicken to a serving platter and pour desired amount of cooking liquid onto the platter for service.

I simplified this recipe by using boneless skinless chicken breasts.  I only did the sprigs of thyme on top since I was running out of time and didn't feel like getting the thyme leaves off the sprigs.  You will probably need less time to cook the chicken breasts if you do the boneless kind so keep that in mind.

Husband rating:  4 stars
Boys say:  thumbs up

Bellini's Texas Grill

If you're in the north Austin area you should stop by Bellini's Texas Grill.  We had lunch there.  Although my husband thought his lunch was just alright (he ordered a sandwich) I thought the salad I ordered was amazing.  This is the berry and nut salad.  The pineapple balsamic dressing was a unique dressing that helped make this special.  

Slow Cooker Sweet Glazed Pork Chops

from sixsistersstuff.com

Ingredients:
4-6 boneless pork chops (mine were pretty thick) 
1 (12 oz) bottle chili sauce
1 cup grape jelly

Directions:
Spray slow cooker with non-stick cooking spray. Place pork chops at the bottom. In a bowl, mix together the chili sauce and the jelly; pour on top of pork chops. Cook on LOW for 6-8 hours (do 8 hours if your pork chops are frozen) or HIGH for 3-4 hours (I prefer the low and slow method for these). 

Husband rating:  3 stars
Boys say:  thumbs up

Lupe Tortilla

One of the great things about moving to a new place is trying out all the new restaurant options!  This last weekend we had a short trip to Katy, Texas which is a suburb of Houston.  We had dinner one night at Lupe Tortilla.  This restaurant has a great atmosphere.  There is a sandy area for children to play while the grown-ups eat.  There is a bar with sports games to watch, if you like that.  But the food and the service are the highlight.  We had the fajitas and they were excellent.  They bring you everything and you can create your fajita just how you like it.  I'm getting hungry just thinking about it!  Go early or plan on a wait.  This place is popular!

Chicken Zucchini Casserole

from sixsistersstuff.com

Ingredients
6 ounce package of boxed stuffing mix (I used Stove Top) 
1⁄2 cup melted butter
4 cups of zucchini, diced
2 cups of cooked chicken, cubed
10.75 ounces Cream of Chicken Soup 1⁄2 onion, chopped
1⁄2 cup of sour cream

Instructions
1. In a large bowl, combine the stuffing mix and melted butter. Set aside 1⁄2 cup of the mixture for the topping. In a large bowl add the zucchini, chicken, soup, onion and sour cream to the remaining stuffing. Place the zucchini mix into at greased 9x13 glass pan and spread out evenly. Sprinkle reserved 1⁄2 cup stuffing mix on top and bake uncovered at 350 degrees for 40 to 50 minutes or until golden brown. 

This sounded like it would be a winner with the boys but it was just okay.  That being said, it was easy and inexpensive.  And definitely better than a bowl of cereal for dinner!  

3 stars