More Recipes & Fun!

Hey ya’ll! Happy Monday! I hope everyone had a great weekend! Mr Tan Lines and I had a very, very low key weekend! We have been so busy the last few months and have a lot coming up the next few weekends that we decided to take it extremely easy and not do much of anything this past weekend! We even went to date night on Thursday so as to keep the weekend free and clear! We went to our favorite place Arko’s and took advantage of their $5 martini night and enjoyed some delicious food!

I started out with the avocado martini, yes you read that right…avocado! It was actually really good! It had a light flavor to it; almost as if there was some cucumber in it, it was sweet and delicious and paired great with my chimichurri steak!

Last week I cooked another really delicious and healthy meal that I wanted to share with you! It’s my own take on shredded chicken stuffed zucchini boats; I made these once and Mr Tan Lines has been requesting them ever since, I wasn’t too big of a fan so I put my own spin on them and they came out fab! The first time I made them was with ground turkey meat, which was also very good, I just happened to have extra chicken on hand so I decided to try it out. The best part is that it’s one of those one-bowl beauties where you just dump everything into one big bowl; mix, bake and enjoy! Here’s what you’ll need for two people:

2 zucchinis

2 tbsp parmesan cheese

2 garlic cloves, finely chopped

2 shallots, diced

1 egg

2 tbsp Italian bread crumbs

¼ cup carrots, finely chopped

2 tbsp feta cheese

2 tbsp Worcestershire sauce

6 oz cooked, shredded chicken breast

1 small can tomato paste

1 can diced, un-salted tomatoes

Salt & pepper

1/2 tbsp oregano

1/2 basil

And here’s what I did:

First I sliced my zucchinis in half and placed them in small baking dish with 4 tbsp of water. I baked them at 325 degrees for 35 minutes, took them out of the oven and let them completely cool. I then took a spoon and scooped out the inside seeds, leaving a “boat” inside of each zucchini wedge.

In a bowl I combined the shredded chicken, parmesan cheese, shallots, carrots, worcestershire sauce, tomato paste, can of diced tomatoes, egg, bread crumbs, salt & pepper, oregano and basil. I mixed everything well and set aside. I then placed about a cup or so of the mixture in each “boat”; I found it best to use a small spoon as the mixture is a bit creamy and falls off the sides! I piled it high and then placed them into my baby oven at 350 for 25 minutes. I had some extra chicken so I made some "meatballs" out of them and baked them on the side for extras!

Right when I pulled them out I sprinkled them with the feta cheese and a little more parmesan, serve warm and enjoy! I also paired it with a new Merlot I tried out; it ended up being very tasty for $9 a bottle. It had a very sweet flavor that went fabulous with the red sauce flavors.

The second recipe I have to share I made last night, I had been dying to make it and I was really excited. Again, my own little spin on ground chicken burgers with a chipotle-mayo-dill sauce! I did some research and found a general consensus for the burgers, I then added my own little flare and voila! Here’s what you’ll need:

For the meat patties:

1/2 pound ground chicken

1/4 cup plan non-fat greek yogurt

1/2 tsp fresh, finely chopped dill

1/2 tsp fresh, finely chopped chives

1/2 tbsp fresh, finely chopped parsley

1 tbsp Worcestershire sauce

2 garlic cloves, finely chopped

2 tbsp Italian bread crumbs

Salt & pepper

For the chipotle-mayo-dill sauce:

1/2 cup mayo

2 tbsp fresh squeezed lemon juice

Salt & pepper

1/2 tsp fresh, finely chopped dill

1/2 tsp fresh, finely chopped chives

1/2 tbsp fresh, finely chopped parsley

1/2 tsp chipotle chili pepper

Here’s what I did:

I combined all of the ingredients for the meat patties in a bowl and let them marinate for 30 minutes. I then formed my patties and placed them on a hot, flat griddle surface. In a separate bowl I combined all of the ingredients for the mayo sauce and let it cool in the fridge. I buttered my rolls and toasted them on the flat griddle pan alongside my patties; I used whole grain Kaiser rolls, but you can use whatever kind of bread you have on hand.

To build my burgers I spread 2-3 tbsp of the mayo on one side of the bread and topped with lettuce and fresh basil. I then added raw red onion and tomatoes. I served them with freshly baked corn on the cob, I simply placed them into the oven, husk and all and bake at 325 for 40 minutes, they come out just perfect and delicious! Serve and get ready to enjoy!

I should note that this is a very, very rich dish. Dill is a particularly strong herb, if you aren’t sure about it I would suggest leaving out the dill from the mayo sauce, just that little bit will make a difference! I might also suggest using arugula instead of lettuce, the bitter taste would have been a great addition in my opinion, I just didn’t have any on hand! I hope you enjoyed today’s recipes!