five ingredient fridays: strawberry poppyseed salad

this is all i ate for a week straight at the beach with my best friend in december. i love it. my husband loves it equally as much - dubbed his new favorite salad! and it's a super quick and easy meal. my 2 year old had a few bites of mine and then needed her own plateful. i'm not sure there's anything cuter than a 2 year old eating a salad. adorable.

and try to go easy on the dressing. it's the only unhealthy part of this, but if you take it easy it isn't too bad!!

strawberry poppyseed salad

lettuce of choice (spinach is best, but romaine was good, too!)
sliced strawberries (wait until they're $1 a lb)
a hard boiled egg, sliced
shredded/chunked cooked chicken
poppyseed dressing (i used kroger brand that i got for $1!!!!!!)

cilantro lime vinaigrette

salads are one of my favorite foods on the planet - my all time favorite being the cafe rio-style salad. the more ingredients the better. pile it high.

when i went dairy free for my baby boy i was devastated not to be able to eat the cafe rio ranch dressing and was forced to try their other dressing.... which was shockingly delicious!
so of course i tried to replicate it at home. i think i like mine better than cafe rio's. and it's soooo easy. try it with the sweet and spicy slow cooker chicken, above, and your choice of beans and rice. then top with all the salad toppings you can handle. a perfectly delicious, healthy and well-balanced meal.

cilantro lime vinaigrette dressing
5-6 servings

1 cup bottled lite balsamic vinaigrette dressing (i use kroger brand that i got for $1)
juice of 1 small lime, or 1/2 of one large lime
1 large clove or 2 small cloves garlic
1/2 a bunch of cilantro

combine all ingredients in a small food processor/chopper and mix until all ingredients finely chopped and combined. serve over your favorite mexi-salad.

five ingredient fridays: sweet and spicy slow cooker chicken

welcome to the 1st edition of five ingredient fridays! thanks again for the suggestion, katja. it will be a good challenge for me!

this is so yummy and so easy it's almost ridiculous. i make it to put in all kinds of things now - burritos, tacos, enchiladas, salads - the sky is the limit. the 2 year old loves it too!

sweet and spicy slow cooker chicken
from mel's kitchen cafe (here)

1 lb. boneless, skinless chicken breasts
1 (14 ounce) can petite diced tomatoes, undrained
1/3 cup brown sugar
1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes (i use 1/4 teaspoon)

coat the inside of your crockpot with non-stick cooking spray. place all ingredients in the crockpot. cook on high for 4-6 hours or on low for 8-10 hours, or until chicken shreds very easily with a fork. season to taste with salt and pepper. (chicken will absorb liquid after it is shredded.) serve in tacos or however your little heart desires.

another note from mel:

*freezable meal: i freeze the leftovers in a freezer-safe container and let thaw in the refrigerator overnight before serving the next day. i reheat over medium-low heat in a saucepan on the stove.

banana snack cake

this banana snack cake was just like banana bread, but you didn't have to wait an hour for it to cook! no white flour and it was completely delicious. both times i've made it it failed to last 24 hours. try it for yourself!

banana snack cake
modified from recipe at zimbio.com (here)

1 cups whole wheat flour
1 cup oat flour (toss some oats in your blender!)
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoonbaking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1 cup sugar
2 eggs
1/4 cup unsweetened applesauce
1 cup mashed, ripened banana (i use 4 smallish bananas)
1/4 cup vanilla soy milk (original recipe called for 1/2 cup sour cream - this would be great too!)
1 tsp vanilla
1/2 cup chocolate chips


preheat oven to 350 degrees. spray a 9x 13 pan with non-stick cooking spray.

in a large bowl mix together sugar, eggs, and applesauce. add bananas, soy milk (or sour cream) and vanilla. beat again until smooth.

add the dry ingredients slowly. the batter will be thick. fold in chips.

pour batter into pan and bake for 25 to 28 mins or until toothpick comes out clean.

cool completely on a wire rack. cut into 16 pieces.


and coming friday - a new skinny bovine feature! five ingredient fridays. at the request of my friend katja i will post a recipe every friday with five ingredients or less! thanks for the great suggestion, katja!

fresh ginger: a lesson learned

so, i'm too cheap to buy fresh herbs (except garlic of course, oh and i grew my own basil). there, i said it. sad, i know. but when you've got two kids and your hubby isn't quite done with school it's a mentality you must embrace. well, hubby's done with school and i keep hearing people rave about fresh ginger and what a difference it makes in your food. so i decided to give it a go now that i'm among the working, adult class (not that my food budget is different, but i gladly spend the entire thing every month instead of trying to scrimp every last penny... you should see my food storage!). good news is, it really isn't that expensive either! WOW!!! i can't believe what i've been missing out on all this time. fresh ginger really does make a huge flavor difference in my food. lesson learned.

this is one of my favorite fresh ginger dishes we've eaten lately. my bff made it for us when we visited them (and disneyland!) in california last month. she got it from her friend. it's pretty high ranking on the favorite food list right now. soooo good, easy and quick!

thai peanut chicken wraps
6-8 big wraps

sauce:
1/4 cup sugar
1/4 cup creamy peanut butter
3 tablespoons soy sauce
3 tablespoons water
2 teaspoons olive oil (next time i'll try no oil here, i don't think it needs it)
1 teaspoon minced garlic
1 teaspoon grated fresh ginger

6-8 eight to ten inch flour tortillas (yummy on wheat!)
1/2 teaspoon garlic salt (or a bit more fresh garlic instead and add some salt)
1/2 teaspoon pepper
12 oz boneless skinless chicken breast meat, in chunks or slices
1 teaspoon olive oil
4 cups packaged broccoli slaw ($1.68 at my wal-mart, my bff gets it at trader joes)
3/4 medium raw red onion, cut into thin wedges
1 teaspoon grated fresh ginger

1. for peanut sauce: combine all sauce ingredients in a small saucepan. heat until sugar is dissolved, stirring frequently. set aside.
2. wrap tortillas in foil. bake in 350 degree oven about 10 minutes ot until heated and softened. meanwhile, combine garlic salt, pepper and chicken.
3. in a large skillet, heat the 1 teaspoon olive oil. cook and stir seasoned chicken in hot oil over medium-hight heat until cooked through. remove chicken from skillet; keep warm. add broccoli, onion and ginger to skillet. cook and stir for 2-3 minutes or until vegetables are crisp-tender. remove from heat.
4. to assemble, top tortilla with chicken and vegetable mixture. spread each tortilla with about 1 tablespoon + peanut sauce. roll up each tortilla, securing with a wooden toothpick. serve immediately with remaining sauce.

a spotlight and a guest post

the skinny bovines kitchen was recently featured on two awesome blogs - secrets of mom and the tree of life!

heather at secrets of mom gives great mom tips all over the board - i love to read her stuff. she just wrote a post on getting organized and i'm feeling completely inspired.

jenna at the tree of life writes about nesting/homemaking of all kinds - gardening, sewing, cooking, baking, etc. and invited me to guest post last friday. i even posted the most wonderful, delicious, all-time best and completely unhealthy chocolate chip cookie recipe. check it out here.

thanks, girls, for featuring me! i appreciate other bloggers and the things we can share back and forth to make all of our lives better and easier!

orange juice cake

this is a fool-proof recipe. there is nothing you can do to mess it up if you follow the directions. it's springy, would look lovely on your easter table and is always a crowd pleaser. and it's super simple - which makes it even better! enjoy!

orange juice cake
from: my mother-in-law

1 yellow cake mix
1 small package instant vanilla pudding
1 tablespoons flour
1 cup orange juice
4 eggs
nuts, finely chopped (optional)

pour a few chopped nuts on the bottom of a well-greased bunt pan. (i used mini bunts this time, see pic, but i wouldn't suggest it. it wasn't as good!) mix all ingredients and pour into bunt pan. bake 35-40 minutes at 350 degrees.

glaze (reduced fat version)

1 cup sugar
2/3 cup orange juice

combine in saucepan, boil 2-3 minutes. pour over hot cake while still in pan (i like to save a little bit to drizzle over the top after i turn it out). turn cake out after 15 minutes.

*glaze (regular version)

1 cup sugar
1 stick butter
1/4 c orange juice

same directions as above.

*just for reference, 1 stick of butter adds 92 calories and 810 grams of fat to your cake. yikes. the entire cake has less than a 1/4 of that much fat without it.