Avocado Salsa

One thing I miss about living a little further south is El Pollo Loco. Everything I got at that restaurant was delicious (although slightly over priced in my humble opinion). My favorite thing to order was their Chicken Taco Al' Carbon and I would drench it in this amazing avocado salsa.
So being that we no longer live by an El Pollo Loco I had to go in search of a copycat recipe. 
This recipe is PRETTY DARN CLOSE to El Pollo Loco's Original avocado salsa. I say original because they changed the recipe for theirs a few years ago (per the update below). I don't know if they changed it back but this is our favorite homemade version.
We like ours a bit more thick then how they have theirs but aside from thickness, everything else is pretty spot on.
This recipe is a great alternative to salsa's that use a tomato base for those who can't have tomatoes or who are just looking for something different. We like to make a double batch and keep it in the fridge for a few days to eat with chips and quesadillas.

**UPDATE** I have recently been noticing that the kind at El Pollo Loco is spicier then it used to be and read a sign somewhere that they don't use the jalapeno anymore to make this but they use a habanero pepper instead. So I guess if you like the extra heat you can change the type of pepper in this recipe but I prefer the taste of the original salsa better.

Spanish Rice

In this house we actually call this Orange rice because as you can see it is bright orange, but I will call is Spanish rice as this is what I make to go along with all of our Mexican themed meals. Is this true Spanish rice? No idea...but does it taste good...YES! So call it what you may, just make it.
I feel like when I make any kind of Mexican dish I need to have rice and beans with it. I don't know if that's just because it's been ingrained in me because every Mexican restaurant serves rice and beans with all of it's meals or because it's traditional to do so. Either way, I like the combination of it all together, so I always do it.
This recipe is super simple and doesn't require any prep-work other then putting everything in the pot and letting it do it's thing.
The two seasonings I use in this recipe I have been asked quite a few times what they are and where to buy them.
First, the Sazon Goya seasoning. I like to use either this one or this one. Either work just fine and taste pretty similar. As you can see one has chicken on it and one has fish on it. So I use one or the other depending on what I am serving it with. You can buy these through Amazon, or I am always able to find them at local Mexican markets.
The second seasoning is Knorr Tomato Bouillon. I use this in quite a few of my Mexican themed dishes. This can be purchased through Amazon or I often am able to find it in most grocery stores down the Mexican food isle next to the chicken bouillon.

Turmeric Roasted Cauliflower

Is everybody else's bodies just exhausted from the massive amounts of over eating from the last couple of weeks?! Mine is. From having 3 birthdays, Thanksgiving, and a baptism, my body has been feeling a bit like it needs a break from the carbs and sugar. Thus the need to blog about a few more of my favorite Anti-Inflammatory recipes. Can you have to many? I don't think so.
This recipe here has been one that I have made over and over again.
Usually I'm not a huge cauliflower fan but roasting it does amazing things to it and honestly the turmeric seasoning and other spices make this recipe a keeper in my book.
I'm always looking for new ways to cook vegetables. Side dishes in my house get pretty boring and I feel like I get in this cycle of "okay do I roast it, steam it, or just boil it to tar tonight?"
I'm so glad that I have a side dish now that has amazing flavors, is healthy, and looks beautiful in color!

Dinner Rolls

With Thanksgiving only a few days away I thought it appropriate to share my all time favorite dinner roll recipe. I have always been known to just buy my rolls because I am just not a good baker, but I finally came across an amazing recipe that even I haven't been able to mess up! These rolls are pure heaven and I can say that with a lot of confidence because even my husband who doesn't care for much bready stuff LOVES these rolls.
This recipe makes 24 rolls, so keep that in mind when making them. The nice thing is, if you make a full batch for one meal, you can stick the leftover rolls in the freezer for another time. Rolls freeze so amazingly well!

Creamy Cilantro Dressing

I can't believe that in my many rantings and ravings about me missing and loving my precious El Pollo Loco that I forgot to post this very very delicious recipe I found online for their creamy cilantro dressing. I'll tell you what...I could order their little itty bitty Loco Salads every single day  and never EVER get tired of it. Anyway, this recipe isn't EXACT,but it tastes pretty darn good regardless.
If anybody does happen to have the EXACT recipe they use and want to share it with me....I WILL LOVE YOU FOREVER! BUT--until then, this is close enough!

Fried Zucchini

Is it truly summer if you haven't had fried zucchini?! Now, I am well aware that summer is over and that most gardens have now officially frozen over but some of you may still have some zucchini in your fridge that need to be used. This recipe has been a family favorite for years. The outside gets super crispy and delicious while the inside stays nice and soft! Growing up I remember the only way we would have fried zucchini is coated in flour and fried in butter (which is still heavenly don't get me wrong) but this version adds in some Parmesan cheese and panko breadcrumbs to give it even more of a delicious crunch!

Chow Mein

Whenever I would go to Panda Express growing up I always got the fried rice. The Chow mein always looked so gross to me, but whenever we would go to any type of Chinese restaurant, my mom would get it. Since Panda changed their rice recipe a while ago (I actually have no idea how long ago it was haha) I decided one day a couple years ago to venture out and try the chow mein. Okay, normally I have a hard time saying that my mom knew what she was talking about ;) but she did. Chow mein rocks! I've never gone back to the fried rice and always get the chow mein now and trust me I have a hard time resisting the urge to tell them to just fill up the whole container and forget the main dishes.
This recipe is a great mock version of the Panda Express kind. It has very similar ingredients, as far as I can tell, and it tastes just as good if not better.
It also comes together very quick so its an easy side to pair with your favorite dishes.  SO YUMMY!
Anyway, enjoy!

Baked Beans

This recipe brings back such good memories. My husband and I love to camp. When we were first married we camped all the time and this was one of our favorite meals to prepare over the fire.
I don't do much cooking over the fire anymore for this recipe and instead use my handy dandy oven ;) but whenever I eat this it does remind me of those days.
This is seriously one of my favorite recipes because it is so versatile. I've made it with pork chops, with ground hamburger, and with hot dogs (yes we are very healthy at our house😁). This is also my all time favorite meal to make as a freezer meal. It warms up so well and tastes like it was never in the freezer.

Corn Bread

This recipe has been in my family for years. It's one of those recipes that just brings comfort every time I eat it. Maybe I am biased either with my taste or with the fact that it's a recipe that has been around forever, BUT I feel like this is the best recipe out there :)
 It's just simple. It doesn't have the bits of chunky corn or jalapeno in it (which I personally am not a fan of, but I know some people like). If you like those things, no biggie, just add them in, but don't tell me.
If I am making this recipe for a gathering of people, say for a Chili Cook Off, then I tend to pour the batter into muffin tins instead so that it is easier for others to eat with their chili!

Sweet Coleslaw

This coleslaw is fan freakin' tastic! Definitely my go to recipe.
This is a sweet coleslaw, which I personally like a lot better then those hard core coleslaws you buy at the store.
I have made this recipe many many times now and love it just as much as I did the first time. This is a great side dish that takes very little time to pull together (as long as you let it sit in the fridge) and goes with just about everything! My personal favorite thing to serve this with is my Shredded BBQ Chicken Sandwiches.

Lemon Butter Rice

I don't know about you guys but we eat rice 2-3 times a week. It's one of those sides that goes good with literally everything AND fills you up AND is versatile in flavor. This recipe is one that I created because I didn't want to serve just plain old rice with all of the different Greek/Mediterranean dishes I do. I tried so many different recipes for lemon rice on Pinterest and they were just WAY to powerhouse in lemon flavor for my liking. This rice side dish, I feel, has the perfect blend of butter and lemon to add just a bit of freshness to your average rice, but isn't soaked in so much flavor that you gag.

Cheesy Bacon & Ranch Potatoes

I'm pretty sure the title of this recipe says enough, but if it doesn't then let me tell you that this recipe is to die for! Cheese. Bacon. Ranch. Potatoes. Uhhhhh I'm literally salivating as I type this and making a mental note that I need to make this again ASAP! We have been doing a lot of grilled food at our house lately. I like it when I can keep the heat out of the kitchen by turning on the grill and cooking not only my main dish, but also my sides. This side pairs so well with any type of grilled meat or let's be real, I ate these alone as an entire meal because...why not?!

This also makes a great dish that you can have in the cooler months as well because it can also be cooked in the oven.

Roasted Chickpea "Croutons"

I know what you are thinking. There is no way that chickpeas can replace the heavenly crouton that usually tops my salad. Trust me. I get it. I was a bit skeptical as well. Anybody who knows me knows that I love bread. All things bread are my downfall, but I am here to say that although these Roasted Chickpeas are not exactly like a crouton, they do satisfy my need for something crunchy and delicious on top of my salads. I recently paired them up with an Anti-Inflammatory Caesar Salad and it was pretty amazing.
So if you are looking for a gluten free alternative, give these a try.
*To be honest, I have actually just sat down and eaten these as a snack as well, not just as a salad topper*

Anti-Inflammatory Caesar Salad

Who would have thought that the words anti-inflammatory and Caesar dressing would be in the same sentence.  Every time I go to a restaurant, I order a Caesar salad. There is just something magical about that dressing that gets me salivating.
Now I am not about to claim that this recipe for the dressing tastes exactly like a Caesar dressing, but it is pretty darn close, especially for having not really ANY of the same ingredients. In fact, I was pleasantly surprised at how good it tasted, especially for how easy it was to make. I topped my salad with some crunchy oven roasted chickpeas, to replace the croutons, and some sliced grilled chicken.

Basic Quinoa

Its time to jump on the quinoa bandwagon. Quinoa seems to be a cooking fad that has been going around for the past couple of years. I tried it a while back and thought it was so nasty and couldn't understand why anybody would want to eat this. The health benefits were enough to try it again, still wasn't my favorite. Then when I started eating more anti-inflammatory foods, I had to learn to like it. It is definitely an acquired taste, but now I use it ALLLLL the time. I rarely use rice anymore and use this in place of it. I finally figured out what I was doing wrong. YOU HAVE TO RINSE IT!!! Who would have thought that by not rinsing it well enough it would totally change the flavor?! Well it does. So before you attempt to cook it make sure that you rinse and rinse and rinse it otherwise it will have this bitter flavor that just isn't good at all. You basically cook it exactly like rice, only it shouldn't take as long.

Cilantro Lime Cauliflower Rice

You guys!! Cauliflower rice is so stinking easy I may just switch over to this instead of making real rice. This came together so quick and tasted so good. If you are looking for an alternative to rice this is it. It's weird how different you can make cauliflower taste. I have made it mashed before and it seriously tasted just like mashed potatoes. Same goes for this recipe. It tasted just as good to me as real cilantro lime rice. I paired this with some Crockpot Black Beans and Cilantro Lime Chicken.

Garlic and Mushroom Quinoa

Wow! I apologize that it has been so long since I have posted any recipes. I got into a recipe slump and just kept making the same old things every week. This week I decided to break out some new recipes. I wanted to try out some new recipes that could be part of the Anti-Inflammatory Diet.

I seem to always have the same side dishes when I do cook those foods so I wanted to branch out a tiny bit. This time instead of making my normal plain old Basic Quinoa (which is great) I decided to throw in a couple other ingredients to jazz it up. It turned it great, and so versatile. 

Enjoy!

Autumn Salad

If your in need of something light and fabulous tasting then this recipe is one that you have to try. It uses a lot of ingredients that a lot of people have on hand and is full of flavor. Leave off the chicken for a nice side salad or throw it on and make it a nice light meal. I love how there is so much crunch and flavor in this salad. I will definitely be having one of these for lunch again today!

Mashed Cauliflower

I have seen mashed cauliflower pop up all over pinterest lately and have been putting it off to try because it sounded a little bit to weird to me. How can cauliflower taste like a mashed potato....yep that is the question ladies and gents but I will tell you what...for some strange reason it really does taste extremely close! I was shocked at how much it really did taste like a heap of mashed potatoes. Mashing cauliflower is lower in carbs and makes for a great alternative if you struggle with potatoes. In fact I know some people will even mix half and half (potatoes and cauliflower) and then you really can't tell a difference at all!

Olive Garden Breadsticks

Anybody who knows me knows that I love bread. If there is any kind of bread being served as an appetizer at a restaurant then I will usually eat a couple of baskets by myself.
Olive Garden's breadsticks are so heavenly to me. So when I had my Olive Garden themed dinner a while ago I couldn't resist trying out a recipe that I have had sitting in my binder for years.
This recipe is great. Fairly simple to follow and the flavor really does taste a lot like the Olive Garden ones.