Hawaiian Grilled Chicken

• 3 pounds of boneless skinless chicken thighs or breast
• 1 cup soy sauce (See Note; the soy sauce and water just needs to be a 1:1 ratio)
• 1 cup water
• 2 Tablespoons honey
• 1 white onion, chopped
• 1 teaspoon minced garlic
• 1 teaspoon of sesame oil
• 1 (13.5 ounce) can of coconut milk (light or regular)

Mix everything except the chicken in a large, resealable bag or container. Add chicken and refrigerate 8 hours or overnight.

Pour out marinade and grill chicken (and onions if you want) over low heat until cooked through. Serve over rice.

Note: You can make this using the broiler. For my chicken breasts, it took 8 min/side with a high broiler and the pan 3" from the flame.

Baked Pumpkin Donuts

{note} You will need a donut pan for this recipe, or you could make muffins

Donuts

• 1/2 cup vegetable oil
• 3 large eggs
• 1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
• 1 1/2 cups pumpkin purée (canned pumpkin)
• 1 1/2 teaspoons pumpkin pie spice, or 3/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon plus heaping 1/4 teaspoon each ground nutmeg and ground ginger
• 1 1/2 teaspoons salt
• 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1 3/4 cups + 2 tablespoons all purpose flour

Coating

• 3 tablespoons cinnamon-sugar

Directions

1) Preheat the oven to 350°F. Lightly grease two standard doughnut pans. If you don't have doughnut pans, you can bake these in a standard muffin tin; they just won't be doughnuts.

2) Beat together the oil, eggs, sugar, pumpkin, spices, salt, and baking powder until smooth.

3) Add the flour, stirring just until smooth.

4) Fill the wells of the doughnut pans about 3/4 full; use a scant 1/4 cup of batter in each well. If you're making muffins, fill each well about 3/4 full; the recipe makes about 15, so you'll need to bake in two batches (unless you have two muffin pans).

6) Bake the doughnuts for 15 to 18 minutes, or until a cake tester inserted into the center of one comes out clean. If you're making muffins, they'll need to bake for 23 to 25 minutes.

7) Remove the doughnuts from the oven, and after about 5 minutes, loosen their edges, and transfer them to a rack to cool.

8) While the doughnuts are still warm (but no longer fragile), gently shake them in a bag with the cinnamon-sugar. If you've made muffins, sprinkle their tops heavily with cinnamon-sugar.

9) Cool completely, and wrap airtight; store at room temperature for several days.

Yield: 12 standard or 24 mini doughnuts (or 15 muffins) {original recipe from: http://www.kingarthurflour.com/shop/PrintRecipe?RID=4281&radio=1}

Tortilla Pie

1 lb. ground beef or turkey
1 yellow or white onion, chopped
1 can black beans, drained and rinsed
1 can whole kernel corn, drained (or about 1.5 cups frozen, thawed)
1 cup cherry tomatoes, halved (optional)
1 1/2 cups salsa, divided
1 cup shredded cheese
1-2 Tbsp taco seasoning mix (see below)
6 corn tortillas

On the stove over medium-high heat, cook the meat with 1-2 Tbsp of taco seasoning. When it's close to being done, add the onion and cook until onion is soft and translucent, about 3-5 minutes. Drain off any excess grease.

In a large bowl make filling mixture: Combine meat and onions, corn, beans, tomatoes, and 1 cup salsa. Place 3 tortillas in the bottom and part way up the sides of a 9-inch glass pie plate. Then add the filling mixture. Place 3 more tortillas over the filling. Spread 1/2 cup salsa over the tortillas. Top with 1 cup cheese.

Cover with foil and bake at 350 for 60 minutes or until thoroughly heated. Serve with sour cream and sliced green onions if desired. Makes 4-6 servings.

Note: Cooked, shredded chicken can be used instead of ground beef, or meat can simply be omitted for a vegetarian option.

- - -

Taco Seasoning:

1 Tbsp chili powder
1 1/2 tsp cumin
1 tsp salt
1 tsp black pepper
1/2 tsp paprika
1/4 tsp garlic powder
1/4 tsp onion powder
1/4 tsp crushed red pepper flakes
1/4 tsp dried oregano

Creamy Avocado Pasta

6 ounces whole wheat pasta
1 large ripe Avocado, roughly chopped
1 tablespoon fresh lime juice
1 clove garlic, minced
1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt, or to taste
Freshly ground black pepper, to taste
2 Mango Jalapeno chicken sausages (or any flavor - this is just my personal favorite)
1 red pepper, diced

1. Bring water to a boil in a medium sized pot. Salt the water and add in your pasta, reduce heat to medium, and cook until Al Dente, about 8-10 minutes.

2. Either grill, microwave, or bake chicken sausages according to package directions. Once cooked through, slice sausages into 1/4" thick slices.

3. While sausages and pasta are cooking, make the sauce by placing the avocado, garlic, lime juice, cilantro, salt and pepper into a food processor or blender. Process until smooth and creamy.

3. When pasta is done cooking, drain and place pasta into a large bowl. Add the sauce to the pasta and toss until pasta is well coated. Season with additional salt and pepper, if desired. Top with cooked sliced chicken sausage and diced red pepper. Serve immediately.

Note: This pasta dish is best eaten the day it is made.

Time: 15 minutes. Serves 2. Can easily be multiplied to serve many. Such a quick and easy dinner!

{Adapted from Two Peas & Their Pod}

Creole Breakfast Bread Pudding

1/2 lb sausage
1/2 cup finely chopped yellow onion
1/4 cup chopped green pepper
1/3 cup sliced green onions
1/3 cup dry white wine
8 cups french bread cut into 1" cubes (day old or stale is ideal)
2.5 cups milk
1/2 cup cream
1/4 cup melted butter
8 large eggs, beaten
8 ounces peperjack cheese, shredded
8 oz Monterey Jack cheese, shredded
3/4 tsp salt
1/8 tsp each black and cayenne peppers
3/4 cup sour cream
1/2 cup shredded parmesan cheese

Preheat the oven to 325. Cook the sausage in a skiller. Add onions and peppers. Cook for 3 min more. Stir in the green onions, add wine and cook over high heat for 1 min. Set aside.

Place bread on a mixing bowl. Add milk and cream. Stir well. Let sit for 5 min.

Pour melted butter into a 9x13" pan and coat sides. Pour extra butter in with the bread.

Mix sausage and bread mixtures. Add eggs, jack cheeses and seasonings. Put in the pan and cover with foil.

Bake 1 hour. Uncover and bake 15 min more. Remove from oven and increase the temp to 375. Spread sour cream and parmesan cheese over the top. Bake for 10-15 min. Serve hot.

Sweet Potato and Quinoa Salad

1/2 cup quinoa
1 cup vegetable stock

3 sweet potatoes, peeled and diced
1 teaspoon olive oil
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1 teaspoon chili powder
1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper

vinaigrette
1/2 lemon, juiced
1 tablespoon, apple cider vinegar
1 teaspoons maple syrup
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 teaspoon dijon mustard
1 small garlic clove, minced
salt and pepper, to taste

1 green onion, sliced thinly
2 tablespoons sliced toasted almonds
small handful of dried cranberries
feta cheese crumbles

Bring vegetable stock to a boil and add in quinoa. Cover and simmer over medium heat until tender and mostly absorbed. Drain, fluff with a fork and set aside.

Meanwhile, toss sweet potatoes with olive oil, cumin, chili powder and cayenne and bake in a 400F oven for about 20 minutes or until tender.

In a small serving dish, toss together the quinoa and potatoes. Combine the vinaigrette ingredients in a small jar (tasteand adjust seasonings, if necessary) and pour over salad. Add in green onions, almonds, cranberries and feta and combine.

Serves at least 8 as a side.

{from Poppytalk}

Peanut Butter Bacon Cookies

1 cup all-natural chunky or smooth peanut butter
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup brown sugar
1 egg
1 teaspoon baking soda
about 6 slices of bacon, cooked, cooled and diced

In a skillet over medium high heat, fry up bacon until cooked through and let cool on paper towels until cool enough to dice. Dice up and set aside.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

Line a cookie sheet with parchment and set aside. In a mixer combine peanut butter and sugars until well combined, about 2 minutes. Add egg and baking soda and mix for another 2 minutes. Fold in cooked bacon. Roll into large walnut sized balls and create a criss-cross pattern with a fork. If you’d like, roll the dough balls in granulated sugar before making the criss-cross pattern. Bake for 10 minutes, until lightly browned. Cool on a baking sheet for five minutes.