Chicken Taco Salad with Cilantro Dressing

1 bottle Lawry's Baja Chipotle Marinade

3-4 boneless chicken breasts

Shredded Romaine lettuce

tomatoes, chopped

sliced olives

shredded cheddar and monterey jack cheese

1 can black beans, drained

avocado, cut in chunks

frozen corn, thawed

Dressing

1 extra large handful of cilantro, washed

1 cup of oil (I used Veg. oil)

1/2 cup red wine vinegar

6 crushed garlic cloves

1 egg yolk

1/4 onion, chopped

1 jalapeno, minced

1 tsp sugar

1 tsp. salt

pepper

1/2 package hidden valley ranch salad dressing

1/2 cup milk

1/2 cup light mayo

Blend cilantro, vinegar, garlic, egg yolk, onion, jalapeno, sugar, salt and pepper in a food processor or blender. After it is well blended slowly add the oil with processor on. Combine ranch mix, milk and mayo and then add that to food processor and mix. Refrigerate for about an hour till thickened.

Pour marinade over chicken till covered in a ziploc back and marinade for 2-3 hours. Cut up chicken into bite size pieces and cook in a saute pan. When cooked through pour just a tad bit more of marinade from the bottle onto the chicken and heat through. Set aside. Get rest of ingredients ready and put in individual bowls. Now make your salad the way you want it and toss with dressing!

This dressing makes a lot so I halved it for my family of six. Well actually only three of us ate it, but plenty for leftovers the next day. The dressing has a little bit of a kick to it so don't know how much the kiddies will enjoy it. Also, I have not tried this by just adding ranch from the bottle. I assume it will taste fine, but the package stuff is always a little thicker.

Double-Chocolate Banana Bread

1 cup sugar

2 eggs

1/3 cup vegetable oil

1 tsp. vanilla extract

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa

1 tsp. baking soda

1 1/4 cups mashed ripe banana (about 3)

1 cup semisweet chocolate chips

Heat oven to 350 degrees.  Spray bottom of 8 1/2 x 4 1/2-inch loaf pan with nonstick cooking spray.

In large bowl, beat sugar, eggs and oil at medium speed until mixed.  Beat in vanilla.  In medium bowl, stir together flour, cocoa and baking soda; beat into sugar mixture at low speed just until combined (batter will be very thick).  Stir in bananas and chocolate chips.

Spoon batter into pan.  Bake 60-70 minutes or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean.  Cool 10 minutes.  Remove from pan;cool completely on wire rack.

This was super good and tasted like Costco's chocolate muffins.  I think next time I will add the bananas in with the egg mixture before I put in the flour mixture.  This way it gets a little more incorporated.  Not tons of banana flavor, but still yummy!

Lime Chicken Soft Tacos

1 1/2 pounds skinless, boneless chicken breast, meat cubed

1/8 cup red wine vinegar

1 tsp. white sugar

1/2 lime juiced

1/2 tsp. salt

1/2 tsp. pepper

2 green onions, chopped

2 cloves garlic, minced

1 tsp. dried oregano

flour tortillas

diced tomatoes

lettuce

shredded cheese

Saute chicken in a medium saucepan over medium high heat for about 20 minutes.  Add vinegar, lime juice, sugar, salt, pepper, green onion, garlic and oregano.  Simmer for an extra 10 minutes till most of juice is gone.

Serve on warm tortillas and garnish with tomatoes, lettuce, cheese and whatever else you like!

Pasta with Tomato and Peas

1 pound linguine or spaghetti

3 Tbs. olive oil

3 shallots, chopped

2 garlic cloves, minced

1 carrot diced

1 tsp. salt

1 tsp. pepper

5 Tbs. tomato paste

1/2 tsp. dried oregano

1 tsp. dried thyme

1 tsp. dried parsley

1/2 tsp. dried basil

1 1/2 cups frozen peas, thawed

1/4 cup grated parmesan

1/4 cup grated Romano

Bring a large pot of salted water to boil over high heat.  Add the pasta and cook until tender but still firm to the bite, stirring occasionally, about 8 to 10 minutes.  Drain pasta, reserving 2 cups of the pasta water.  Meanwhile, heat the oil in a large nonstick frying pan over  medium heat. Add the shallots, garlic, carrots, salt and pepper.  Cook until tender, about 8 minutes.  Add the tomato paste and 1/2 cup of the hot pasta water.  Stir to melt the tomato paste and create a sauce, adding more pasta water if necessary.  Stir in the oregano, thyme, and parsley.  Gently fold in the cooked pasta, peas and the cheeses, adding more reserved pasta water if necessary. Transfer to a platter and serve immediately.