Pita Croutons

These are super yummy and add some crunch to your salad without have to use store-bought croutons.

Ingredients

• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 teaspoon dried oregano
• 1/4 teaspoon crushed garlic
• Dash of salt
• 1 (8-inch) pita bread round, split into 2 circles

Preparation

Combine olive oil and next 3 ingredients, and brush olive oil mixture over the inside of each pita bread circle.

Cut each pita bread circle into bite-size pieces, and place on a baking sheet.

Bake at 400° for 5 to 7 minutes or until croutons are golden brown.

Source: http://find.myrecipes.com/recipes/recipefinder.dyn?action=displayRecipe&recipe_id=320441

NYT When Chocolate and Chakras Meet

Yoga and food- 2 of my favorite things.

Buffalo Chicken-Style Pizza

This is my favorite pizza ever. Again, another easy and yummy recipe to make...are you sensing a trend here. The recipe calls for an entire 8 oz. bottle of blue cheese dressing, but I usually just use enough to cover the crust (the whole bottle is way too much).

Ingredients

• 3 skinless, boneless chicken breast halves - cooked and cubed
• 2 tablespoons butter, melted
• 1 (2 ounce) bottle hot sauce
• 1 (8 ounce) bottle blue cheese salad dressing
• 1 (16 inch) prepared pizza crust
• 1 (8 ounce) package shredded mozzarella cheese

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees F (220 degrees C).
2. In a medium bowl combine the cubed chicken, melted butter and hot sauce. Mix well. Spread whole bottle of salad dressing over crust, then top with chicken mixture and sprinkle with shredded cheese.
3. Bake in preheated oven until crust is golden brown and cheese is bubbly, about 5 to 10 minutes. Let set a few minutes before slicing, and serve.

Source: http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Buffalo-Style-Chicken-Pizza/Detail.aspx

Mac and Cheese

Mac and cheese is by far my favorite comfort food. I love the tanginess of this version that comes from the sour cream and cottage cheese. Plus, you don't need to spend a ton of money on different cheeses like some recipes. I usually use reduced fat cheddar, cottage cheese, and sour cream to cut back on the fat, and it still tastes great.

Ingredients

• 1 (8 ounce) package elbow macaroni
• 1 (8 ounce) package shredded sharp Cheddar cheese
• 1 (12 ounce) container small curd cottage cheese
• 1 (8 ounce) container sour cream
• 1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
• salt and pepper to taste
• 1 cup dry bread crumbs
• 1/4 cup butter, melted

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil, add pasta, and cook until done; drain.
2. In 9x13 inch baking dish, stir together macaroni, shredded Cheddar cheese, cottage cheese, sour cream, Parmesan cheese, salt and pepper. In a small bowl, mix together bread crumbs and melted butter. Sprinkle topping over macaroni mixture.
3. Bake 30 to 35 minutes, or until top is golden.

Source: http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Chucks-Favorite-Mac-and-Cheese/Detail.aspx

Fiery Fish Tacos

Anyone who knows me knows that I have a huge thing for fish tacos. This recipe is so quick and easy. The jicama in the salsa adds a really nice crunch.

Ingredients

• ½ cup corn
• ¼ cup diced red onion
• ½ cup peeled, chopped jicama
• ¼ cup diced red bell pepper
• ½ cup fresh cilantro leaves, finely chopped
• ½ lime, zested and juiced
• 1 tablespoons sour cream
• 1 tablespoons cayenne pepper
• ½ tablespoon ground black pepper
• 1 tablespoons salt
• 3 (4 ounce) fillets tilapia
• 1 tablespoons olive oil
• 6 corn tortillas, warmed

Directions

1. Preheat skillet for high heat.
2. In a medium bowl, mix together corn, red onion, jicama, red bell pepper, and cilantro. Stir in lime juice and zest.
3. In a small bowl, combine cayenne pepper, ground black pepper, and salt. Brush each fillet with olive oil, and sprinkle with spices.
4. Arrange fillets in pan and cook for 3 minutes per side. For each taco, top two corn tortillas with fish, sour cream, and corn salsa.

Source: http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Fiery-Fish-Tacos-with-Crunchy-Corn-Salsa/Detail.aspx

Pad Kee Mao...sort of

Pad Kee Mao is definitely my favorite Thai dish. Many a night out in college were spent chowing down on this Chinese-influenced dish. My version isn't exactly pad kee mao--the real one uses broad noodles and thai chilies. I used whatever I had on hand in my cabinet/fridge. The recipe is based off of one I found here:

http://massiveappetite.wordpress.com/2009/04/22/pad-kee-mao-thai-drunken-noodles/.

For the sauce:

• 2 T oyster sauce
• 2 T fish sauce
• 2 T palm sugar/brown sugar
• 1 T mirin
• 1 T rice vinegar
• 1 T soy sauce
• 1 T Thai chili-garlic paste (or substitute with another Asian chili sauce, like sriracha)
• Juice of half a lime

Other ingredients:

• 7 ounces rice noodles
  
• 1 T minced garlic
• 10 shrimp
• 2 portabella mushroom caps (I cooked them in chili oil)
• Handful of fresh basil leaves, coarsely chopped--use thai basil if possible

1. In a small bowl, combine all the ingredients for the sauce. Mix until the sugar has dissolved and set aside.
   
2. Cook noodles.
3. Add oil to skillet and saute garlic for about 1 minute.
4. Add mushrooms and stir-fry for 3-4 minutes. Add shrimp and heat through.
   
5. Add noodles and sauce to skillet. Toss to coat noodles and heat through, 2-3 minutes.
6. Toss with chopped basil and serve.