Cilantro Lime Chicken Taco Salad with Creamy Baja Catalina Dressing

This is one of those semi-convoluted recipes because it's actually a combination of two different ones. I'll try to merge them as well as I can here, but it may look like a lot. Don't freak out. It's got some really good flavors!

Cilantro Lime Chicken

• 1 lb boneless, skinless chicken breasts pounded to an even thickness
• 1 cup loosely packed cilantro leaves and stems
• 4 garlic cloves, peeled
• 3 Tbsp lime juice
• 2 Tbsp olive oil
• 1 tsp chili powder
• 1 tsp ground cumin
• 1 tsp onion powder
• 1/2 tsp smoked paprika
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp pepper
• 1/2 tsp sugar
• 1/4 tsp cayenne pepper, optional

Dressing

• 1/4 cup ketchup
• 1/4 cup red wine vinegar
• 3 Tbsp sugar, to taste
• 1/4 cup mayonnaise
• 1/4 cup sour cream
• 1 Tbsp reserved cilantro lime marinade

Salad

• 1 large head romaine lettuce chopped
• 1 cup cherry tomatoes, halved or quartered (or 2 Roma tomatoes chopped)
• 1 cup black beans, drained and rinsed
• corn from 2 ears sweet corn, raw
• 1/2 cup finely grated sharp cheddar cheese
• 2 avocados, chopped
• tortilla chips, slightly crushed

Add all cilantro lime chicken ingredients except chicken, to food processor. Pulse until finely chopped, scaping down sides several times. Remove and reserve 2 Tbsp: 1 for basting and 1 for dressing. Put remaining marinade in a shallow dish or Ziplock bag and add chicken. Turn to coat. Marinate in refrigerator for 2-10 hours. When ready to cook, remove from refrigerator and let sit at room temperature for 20-30 minutes.

While chicken is marinating, make dressing. Whisk all ingredients together in a medium bowl. Store in refrigerator at least 30 minutes before using. Keep refrigerated in an airtight container for up to 7 days.

After chicken is done marinating, remove chicken and pat off excess sauce. Heat 1 Tbsp olive oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add chicken to skillet and cook undisturbed for 3-4 minutes, or until nicely browned on one side. Turn chicken over, cover, and reduce heat to medium. Cook for about 4-6 minutes or until chicken is cooked through. Remove chicken to cutting board and baste with 1 Tbsp reserved marinade. Let rest 5 minutes before slicing.

Assemble salad using remaining ingredients, topped with chicken and dressing. Toss to combine.

NOTES: My dressing was lumpy. It was like the mayo didn't want to blend. I don't know if I didn't try hard enough or what, but it didn't look super appetizing. Also, the recipe doesn't say if the chicken should be skinless, but I made the assumption and updated the ingredients.

Serves 6-8

Prep Time: 15 minutes, plus marinating and chilling

Total Time: 25 minutes, plus marinating and chilling

Recipe from Carlsbad Cravings

Shrimp Tacos with Sauce

I wouldn't say there's anything particularly special about these tacos; nothing that made me say I'd rush out to make them again tomorrow, but the original called them tacos with the "best shrimp taco sauce." I definitely wouldn't go that far. The store also didn't have smaller shrimp so we actually made these with jumbo and sliced the shrimp into thirds. It worked well. 

Shrimp Prep

• 1 lb medium or large shrimp, raw
• 1 garlic clove, pressed or minced
• 1/2 tsp sea salt
• 1/4 tsp black pepper
• 1/4 tsp ground cumin
• 1/4 tsp cayenne pepper
• 1 Tbsp olive oil

Sauce

• 1/3 cup sour cream
• 1/3 cup mayonnaise
• 1 1/2 Tbsp lime juice
• 3/4 tsp garlic powder
• 3/4 tsp Sriracha sauce, or to taste

Toppings

• 8 white corn or flour tortillas (6" diameter) or hard taco shells
• 1/2 small purple cabbage (2 cups shredded)
• 1 large avocado, pitted, peeled, diced
• 1/2 red onion, diced
• 4 oz Cotija cheese (1 cup grated)
• 1/4 bunch cilantro, coarsely chopped
• 1 lime, cut into 8 wedges

Pat dry shrimp with paper towels and place in a medium bowl. Add seasonings and garlic; stir to combine. Place a large nonstick pan over medium-high heat. Add 1 Tbsp olive oil and add shrimp in a single layer. Sauté 1-2 minutes per side or just until cooked through. Transfer to a plate and set aside to cool.

If using corn tortillas, toast over open gas stovetop flame on medium-low heat about 10 seconds per side, until lightly charred. For flour, heat in microwave about 20 seconds.

Whisk all sauce ingredients together. Build tacos with tortillas, shrimp, toppings, and sauce.

Serves 4

Prep Time: 30 minutes

Total Time: 40 minutes

Recipe from Natasha's Kitchen

Greek Turkey Meatball Gyro with Tzatziki

This one wasn't so great. I mean, the sauces were good, but that's all you could taste. At least there was that flavor, but I'd like the entire thing to have some taste. 

Meatball

• 1 lb ground turkey
• 1/4 cup finely diced red onion
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• 1 tsp oregano
• 1/3 cup chopped fresh spinach
• salt and pepper to taste
• 2 Tbsp avocado oil

Tzatziki Sauce

• 5 oz plain Greek yogurt
• 1/4 cup grated cucumber (squeeze some moisture out)
• 2 Tbsp lemon juice
• 1/2 tsp dry dill
• 1/2 tsp garlic powder
• salt to taste

Gyro

• 1/2 cup thinly sliced red onion
• 1 cup diced tomato
• 1 cup diced cucumber
• 4 whole wheat flatbreads or pitas

Add all meatball ingredients except oil together in a large bowl. Mix until meat forms a ball and sticks together. Form mixture into 1" balls (or use a cookie scoop) for about 12 balls. Heat a large skillet to medium-high heat. Add oil to the pan and add the meatballs. Cook on each side for 3-4 minutes or until they are browned on all sides and the internal temperature has reached 165 degrees. Remove from pan and let rest. 

To a small bowl, add all Tzatziki ingredients and mix until combined. To a flatbread (warmed, if desired) add 3 meatballs, sliced red onion, tomato, and cucumber. Top with Tzatziki sauce.

NOTES: We used arugula instead of spinach because that's what we had. Not sure if that majorly changed the flavor or not, but, as I said above, it was just pretty bland (other than the sauce). 

Serves 4

Prep Time: 10 minutes

Total Time: 30 minutes

Recipe from www.JoyfulHealthyEats.com

Popcorn Shrimp Tacos with Cabbage Slaw

This was an alright recipe; not a ton of flavor. A bit messy and I think the shrimp could have been smaller in order to be easier to eat. I hate when you have a taco that has 3 shrimp on it and you have to bite carefully so you don't eat all the shrimp in one bite. Maybe that's just me. 

Also, we definitely needed a lot more panko and egg mixture than the recipe called for, which is unusual. I feel like I tend to have extra of that sort of ingredient. Anyway, because of that I upped the ingredients and changed the recommended shrimp size below.

• 2 cups coleslaw mix
• 1/4 cup minced fresh cilantro
• 2 Tbsp lime juice
• 2 Tbsp honey
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1 jalapeno pepper, seeded and minced, optional
• 3 large eggs
• 3 Tbsp 2% milk
• 3/4 cup all-purpose flour
• 2 cups panko bread crumbs
• 1 1/2 Tbsp ground cumin
• 1 1/2 Tbsp garlic powder
• 1 lb uncooked shrimp (60-80 per lb) peeled and deveined
• cooking spray
• 8 6-inch tortillas, warmed
• 1 avocado, peeled and sliced

In a bowl combine the first 5 ingredients and, if desired, the jalapeno; toss to coat. Set aside. Preheat air fryer to 375 degrees. In a shallow bowl, whisk eggs and milk. Place flour in a separate shallow bowl. In a third shallow bowl, mix panko, ground cumin, and garlic powder. Dip shrimp in flour to coat both sides; shake off excess. Dip in egg mixture, then in panko mixture, patting to help coating adhere. 

In batches, arrange shrimp in a single layer on a greased tray in the air-fryer basket; spritz with cooking spray. Cook until golden brown, 2-3 minutes. Turn; spritz with cooking spray. Cook until golden brown and shrimp turn pink, 2-3 minutes longer. Serve shrimp in tortillas with coleslaw mix and avocado.

NOTE: In recipes that involve coating something in egg and flour, I tend to only make up half the mixture at a time for coating. The reason for this is that halfway through my coating of whatever meat, I tend to have a bowl that once was full of breadcrumbs or flour, now full of chunks of eggy, squishy nastiness. Then the second half of my meat that gets coated doesn't work as well. So by planning for that ahead of time, I can do half the meat, make up the rest of the dipping mix, and then do the other half. A bit more work perhaps, but I find it makes the breading process work better.

Serves 4

Total Time: 30 minutes

Recipe from Taste of Home

Onigiri

Tyler requested this recipe and also helped us figure out how to make it. There wasn't really a specific recipe we were following. It was just a mish mash of things he knew and what we could find in store. Personally, it wasn't my favorite. It tasted like tuna wrapped in rice...which is sort of what it was. But for those more knowledgeable than me, I bet you could add something to make it more flavorful. 

• 6 cups cooked white rice
• 7 oz can of tuna
• 1/4 cup furikaka or benito flakes
• nori (seaweed) in 1 1/2 to 2 inch strips

Allow rice to cool to room temperature. Make a ball of rice and flatten into a triangle with about 3-inch long sides. Make a well in the middle of the triangle and scoop 1 Tbsp of tuna (or other filling) into it. Cover tuna with rice and pat down flat. 

Using seaweed, wrap the bottom of the triangle to use as a handle. Sprinkle with flakes. Serve fresh or as a chilled snack later.

I learned a lot more about onigiri after the fact from this website. JustOneCookbook.com

Serves 4

Total Time: 10 minutes

Recipe from Tyler's Travels

Chicken Gyros

Does anyone know how to properly pronounce "gyro?" I've heard it so many ways. No matter how you say it though, they are usually delicious. Only difficulty we had with this recipe was finding chimichurri seasoning. It wasn't something just sitting on the shelf at WalMart or WinCo. I think I ended up finding a recipe for it and making my own out of seasonings I already had. Not ideal, but it worked. 

• 2 tsp olive oil
• 12 oz diced boneless, skinless chicken breast
• 1 tsp chimichurri seasoning
• 2 oz sour cream
• 1 tsp buttermilk
• less than 1/2 tsp dill
• 3 Tbsp water, divided
• 1 shallot
• 4 oz grape tomatoes
• 1/2 oz spring mix lettuce
• 4 mini naan flatbreads
• 1 tsp lemon juice

Pat diced chicken dry. Place a medium non-stick pan over medium-high heat and add 2 tsp olive oil. Add diced chicken and chimichurri seasoning to hot pan. Stir occasionally until the chicken browns and is cooked through. While chicken cooks, prepare remaining ingredients. 

In a mixing bowl combine sour cream, buttermilk, dill, and 1 Tbsp water. Set aside. Halve tomatoes. Peel and halve shallot. Slice thinly.

Add shallot and tomatoes to hot pan with chicken and cook undisturbed for 2 minutes. Stir in 2 Tbsp water and lemon juice. Then stir occasionally until tomatoes soften and release juices, 3-5 minutes. Remove from burner. 

While filling cooks, warm flatbreads. Place another medium non-stick pan over medium-high heat. Add flatbreads to hot pan, two at a time. Gently press down on flatbreads until golden brown and warmed through, 1 minute per side. 

Stir sour cream mixture to re-combine. Plate dish by filling flatbreads with meat mixture, topping with sour cream spread and spring mix. 

Serves 2

Total Time: 15 minutes

Recipe from Home Chef

Moroccan Chicken Salad Pitas

I don't know if it's a good thing that the best we could say about this recipe was that it wasn't as bad as we thought it would be? I had never cooked with radishes, and I don't like cucumber, so this was possibly a doomed recipe from the start. We invited a friend over who's a picky eater and we all ate it together. No one couldn't finish it, but also, none of us would make it again.

• 2 boneless skinless chicken breasts, pounded to 1/2 inch thickness
• salt and pepper to taste
• 1 cucumber, peeled and diced
• 1/3 cup thinly sliced radishes
• 3 Tbsp cilantro, roughly chopped
• 1 can chickpeas, drained and rinsed
• 2 Tbsp lemon juice
• 1 Tbsp olive oil
• 2 tsp cumin
• 1 Tbsp plain yogurt, Greek yogurt, or sour cream
• 1 Tbsp mayonnaise
• Greek-style pita bread, or other flatbread

Season chicken breasts with salt and pepper. Spray a large pan with cooking spray and cook over medium-high heat for 4-5 minutes on each side, until cooked through. Chop into 1-inch pieces.

Mix chicken and remaining ingredients except bread in a bowl. Chill until ready to serve. Serve wrapped in pita or flat bread. 

Serves 4

Total Time: 15 minutes

Recipe from https://www.lecremedelacrumb.com/

Chicken Caesar Wraps

I liked this one. I've had my share of Caesar chicken wraps at restaurants and they can be great and horrible and everything in between. I think a lot has to do with the ratio of dressing to chicken. I've had some dry wraps in my day. This one was just right. Only change I would make would be to include more lettuce. It just didn't seem like a lot. The wraps were pretty small with ordinary tortillas and even they could definitely could have held more romaine.

• 3/4 cup reduced fat creamy Caesar salad dressing
• 1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
• 1/2 tsp garlic powder
• 1/4 tsp pepper
• 3 cups cubed, cooked chicken breast
• 2 cups torn romaine lettuce
• 3/4 cup Caesar salad croutons, coarsely chopped
• 6 whole wheat tortillas (8 inches), room temperature

In a large bowl, combine the dressing, cheese, garlic powder, and pepper. Add the chicken, romaine and croutons. Spoon 2/3 cup chicken mixture down the center of each tortilla, roll up. 

Serves 6

Total Time: 15 minutes

Recipe from Taste of Home

Ultimate Grilled Cheese

I love cheese. Doug likes cheese too, but thinks I'm trying to kill him when I cook with cheese (cheese doesn't like him back). This was definitely one of those recipes where he thought he might sit it out. In the end, we all ate it together, and suffered the consequences together.

• 3 oz cream cheese, softened
• 3/4 cup mayonnaise
• 1 cup shredded part-skim mozzarella cheese
• 1 cup shredded cheddar cheese
• 1/2 tsp garlic powder
• 1/8 tsp seasoned salt
• 10 slices Italian bread, 1/2 inch thick
• 2 Tbsp butter, softened

In a large bowl, beat cream cheese and mayonnaise until smooth. Stir in the cheeses, garlic powder and seasoned salt. Spread five slices of bread with the cheese mixture, about 1/3 cup on each. Top with remaining bread. 

Butter the outsides of the sandwiches. In a skillet over medium heat. toast sandwiches for 4-5 minutes on each side, or until bread is lightly browned and cheese is melted. 

Serves 5

Total Time: 5 minutes

Recipe from Taste of Home

Spam Sandwich

Tyler's friends brought him a pack of Spam for some reason. Maybe his birthday? Anyway, Doug couldn't help himself and decided to eat it. He made a "gourmet" Spam sandwich and here it is!

• mayonnaise
• 1 1/2 - 2 slices of Spam
• bread, toasted
• egg, cooked over easy
• cheese single

Fry Spam in small frying pan with a little bit of butter. Remove from pan and set aside. Add egg with spices, if you like (Doug likes Santa Maria seasoning on his), and cook to your liking. Spread mayonnaise on bread, top with Spam, cheese, and then egg and second slice of bread. Enjoy!

Serves 1

Homemade Pizzas

We had some hamburger buns that were getting ready to go bad so I wanted to use them up fast. Tyler and I were out of ideas for dinner one Friday night and I remembered something my mom used to have us make when we were kids: English muffin pizzas. We didn't have any English muffins, but we did have a few hamburger buns and they worked just fine.

This is a fun kids recipe because they can make it their own. And they learn to look a little beyond the basic ingredients of pizza (cheese, pepperonis) to what makes it good.

I don't have any exact measurements, but you should be able to figure them out yourself.

• hamburger buns or English muffins, separated
• tomato sauce
• mozzarella cheese
• oregano
• garlic powder
• mini pepperonis, pastrami, ground sausage and other classic pizza toppings

Using a large soup spoon, ladle enough tomato sauce on the bun to cover the top part (as if you were putting ketchup on a burger). Gently sprinkle oregano and garlic powder on the sauce. Cover sauce with cheese and other topping. Toast in toaster oven until cheese is well melted and bun is a little crispy (about 6 minutes in our oven). 

Serves 1 person for each whole hamburger bun

Prep Time: 5 minutes

Total Time: 10 minutes

Recipe from The Kitchen of My Mom!

Roasted Pork Club with Scallion Mayonnaise

Fancy mayonnaise? Who would have thought? I'm a pretty big fan of mayonnaise in general, though not as much as those people that eat it plain on their artichokes and such. This recipe had me making mayonnaise mixed with a little salt and pepper and scallions and to my surprise, it was delicious. I think I will make this mayonnaise for toppings on other things, just for the extra kick. I must warn you though, it really does a number on your breath. So take note: this is not a date appropriate recipe.

This recipe is actually a combination of 2 separate recipes so I will combine them as smoothly as I can.

• 8 slices bacon
• 1/2 cup mayonnaise
• 4 scallions, trimmed and minced
• coarse salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 12 sliced whole wheat sandwich bread, lightly toasted
• 3/4 lb pork loin
• olive oil for frying
• 1 ripe avocado, pitted, peeled and thinly sliced
• 1 cup alfalfa sprouts
• 8 thin slices Swiss cheese
• dill pickle spears for serving, optional

Preheat oven to 450 degrees. In a medium ovenproof skillet, heat oil over medium high. Pat pork dry with paper towels. Generously season pork all over with salt and pepper. Cook until brown on all sides, turning as needed, about 8-10 minutes. Pour off all but 1 Tbsp fat. Transfer skillet to oven, and continue to cook pork until an instant read thermometer inserted in the thickest part registers 145 degrees, about 25-35 minutes. Transfer pork to a plate, cover loosely with aluminum foil (internal temperature will rise about 5 degrees as it sits).

While meat rests, in a large skillet over medium heat, cook bacon until crisp, turning once, 6-10 minutes. Let drain on paper towel-lined plate. Mix together mayonnaise and scallions, season with salt and pepper.

Spread one side of each bread slice with mayonnaise mixture. Layer 4 bread slices with pork and avocado, layer another 4 slices with sprouts, bacon and cheese. Stack layers, then top with remaining bread.

NOTES: I forgot the alfalfa sprouts on our sandwiches, but I don't think anyone was terribly missing them anyway. We added some lettuce to our sandwiches instead. Also, we were going to run out of bread with the 9 of us there (my brother-in-law's family attended this week's meal) so we just made normal sandwiches with 2 slices of bread instead of layering them like a club sandwich. Still tasted great and a couple of the kids went back for seconds!

Serves: 4
Prep Time: 30 min
Total Time: 1 hr

Recipe from Every Day Food - Fresh Flavor Fast from Martha Stewart Living

Chicken Salad Sandwich

Who doesn't love a super easy, cheap, multiple meal, cheap, semi-healthy (did I mention cheap?) recipe? My mom has been making this recipe for me for years and I finally had to learn how to make it when I got my own place. Seeing as I was (and still am) living on a budget, it's nice to have something available for lunches that doesn't come in a cardboard box or need to be heated in the microwave, stirred and then heated again.

There are many ways you can make this recipe your own. I like simple so I will give you the basic recipe (there aren't really any measurements) and you can personalize it from there.

• 1 can chunk chicken (find it next to the tuna), drained
• ranch dressing
• poultry seasoning
• pickles, diced
• onion, diced
• bread
• mayonnaise

Dump chicken into a Tupperware container, add as much ranch, poultry seasoning, pickles and onion as you like. I usually get a larger can of chicken and use half a normal size onion and a whole dill pickle. Toast your bread, spread with mayonnaise and enjoy!

I must say, when using a larger can (about double the normal small cans) I can easily get 3-4 sandwiches out of one can. Doug, however, uses the same amount on one very large, very messy sandwich. Personal preference. This should keep for about a week in a good Tupperware in the fridge.

NOTES: as I said before, you can tweak this recipe however you want. You can make it with tuna instead of chicken, you can add some celery or maybe red pepper flakes and cheese. Who knows, Maybe it would taste good with a little chopped spinach mixed in.

Serves: 3-4
Prep Time: 5 min
Total Time: 5 min

Recipe from my mommy!

After-Work Chicken Noodle Soup

So last Monday's family dinner got all wacky and we ended up going out to eat (as a family at least!), but I already had ingredients for the original Monday night dinner so I decided to  make the recipe yesterday before they went bad. It was fairly easy prep, with a lot of stuff that could be prepared ahead of time. Even so, it doesn't take very long.

Tyler said he liked the soup, Doug said it was good, but we both thought it was a little bland. The chicken needs some flavor, I think. Maybe if I let the soup simmer for longer the chicken would sort of marinate in the soup? I have decided I don't like thyme. There isn't a big taste to it that I can tell, but the smell just gets me. And every time I went to take a bite it was right there in my nose so that kinda killed it for me.

• 2 cups cut up rotisserie or other cooked chicken
• 2 medium stalks celery, chopped (1 cup)
• 2 medium carrots, sliced (1 cup)
• 1 medium onion, chopped (half cup)
• 1 Tbsp chopped fresh parsley or 1 tsp parsley flakes
• 1 tsp dried thyme leaves
• 1/4 tsp pepper
• 2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
• 7 cups chicken broth
• 1 cup uncooked wide egg noodles (2 oz)

In large pot, heat all ingredients except noodles to boiling. Stir in noodles. Heat to boiling, reduce heat. Simmer uncovered for 8-10 minutes, stirring occasionally, until noodles and vegetables are tender.

NOTES: See how I underlined "cooked?" Make sure to read the fine print on recipes before planning them. Luckily I remembered this time so I didn't have to spend more prep time Saturday cooking the chicken. The recipe also doesn't say what color onion to use. We used a yellow one just because it's what I've had the longest in my pantry (scientific decision, I know). This serves about 6 adults. The recipe doesn't say, but with only 3 of us eating on Saturday, we still have plenty to eat for lunches this week.

Get ready for tomorrow: I'm attemping to make Yaki Soba, an Asian recipe. We'll see how this goes!

Serves: 4
Prep Time: 10 min
Total Time: 30 min

Recipe from www.BettyCrocker.com

Barbeque-Style Grilled Cheese

This week's recipe was surprisingly simple but still very delicious. I was a little nervous about the seemingly random ingredients, but it turned out really well and I would highly recommend this recipe. Doug and Tyler both liked it as well, though Tyler stayed way from the dipping sauce, but only because he was having one of those nights (he didn't even try it).

As usual (for me), this recipe has parts you can make ahead of time, though we didn't make any ahead of time and it still didn't take very long. The recipe calls for cooked bacon, which, as much as I love bacon, I hate the mess of making it. We have started cooking the entire package of bacon in our oven and just refrigerating the extra. You spread the bacon out on foil (or the amazing Magic Baking Sheets we got for our wedding!), put it on a cookie sheet, heat the oven to 400 degrees and cook for about 20 minutes (or till you get to your desired crispy level). This route saves some on the clean up and you can let the bacon cool, put it in a zip top bag and stick it in the fridge for a few days if need be. Just reheat it in the microwave when you're ready to eat it. From first-hand, blonde-moment experience: take the bacon out of the bag before reheating it. Nobody wants bacon with a plastic frosting.

• 4 thick-cut bread slices
• 2 cheese singles
• 4 slices bacon, cooked
• 1 tomato, cut into 4 slices
• 6 thin slices avocado
• 2 tsp margarine, softened
• 2 Tbsp Miracle Whip dressing
• 2 Tbsp chunky salsa

Heat greased grill to medium-low heat. Fill bread slices with singles, bacon, tomatoes, and avocados to make 2 sandwiches. Spread outsides of sandwiches with margarine. Grill with lid closed 4-6 minutes or until singles are melted and bread is grill marked, turning once. Meanwhile, mix Miracle Whip and salsa. Serve as dip for sandwiches.

Changes we made to the recipe: we used 2 cheese singles in each sandwich and it gave it a little more of a grilled cheese taste. Tyler and I don't care for tomatoes so we opted out, but Doug said it was just as good with or without. I definitely recommend the dipping sauce, though I used regular mayo since that's what we had at the house. I was worried about the salsa part of the sauce, but the mayo cuts in to the spicy and just leaves the salsa taste without the heat.

I got this recipe from Kraft Foods. For those of you who didn't know, they have a whole recipe website. You can sign up to receive weekly recipe emails and that's where I find a lot of my new stuff. Give it a try.

Serves: 2
Prep Time: 20 min
Total Time: 20 min

Recipe from www.KraftRecipes.com

Fiesta Tuna Salad Sandwiches

Ok ok, I know I haven't posted in a while. Forgive me. Or don't. Between work, school, church and life it's been a bit busy. I have still been cooking for Monday Night Dinners, I just haven't had time to post about it. I have to point out that now, because of Tyler's schedule, Doug and Tyler get home on Mondays around 4pm. So yay for me, they have been the ones actually cooking the meals. I still pick out the recipes, shop and lay everything out for them, but it's nice knowing some of the pressure to rush home after work on Mondays is gone.

A few weeks ago we tried Fiesta Tuna Salad Sandwiches. First off, let me say that this recipe can feed an army. Probably 5 armies. You think I would have learned to pay attention to the amount of each ingredient, but noooooo....I decided to just go full out and maybe this would be my family's new favorite summertime recipe. Seriously, why did I think that?

So needless to say this recipe wasn't fantastic, but it wasn't terrible either. Definitely would make some changes if I ever made it again. For instance, it was quite spicy. There are 2 jalapeno peppers mixed in with all the million other ingredients, but it still had a pretty good kick to it. We also couldn't find ciabatta bread at our local WinCo so Doug got us some pita bread instead. Which wasn't too bad, just a little soggy. We also realized, this would probably be a good cracker spread for a party. We used some club crackers and pita chips after we tried it as a sandwich and other than the spicy it wasn't that bad. Anyway, here is the recipe. I would cut it at least in half if not in quarters, it's that much food.

• 6 cans white water packed tuna, drained, flaked
• 1 large red onion, chopped
• 2 medium tomatoes, chopped
• 2/3 cup reduced fat mayonnaise
• 2 jalapeno peppers, seeded, finely chopped
• 1/4 cup lemon juice
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• 1 tsp seafood seasoning
• 1 tsp coarsely ground pepper
• 2 loaves (14oz each) ciabatta bread, split
• 3/4 lb sliced pepper Jack cheese
• 12 lettuce leaves

In a large bowl, combine the first nine ingredients, spread over bread bottoms. Layer with cheese and lettuce. Replace bread tops, Cut each loaf into six slices.

Serves: 12 (so the recipe says)
Prep Time: 20 min
Total Time: 20 min

Recipe from Taste of Home