Best Damn Guac

Avocados.

You love them or you hate them. Until a couple of years ago, I hated them. Sometimes, when they're too mushy and I try to eat them any other way besides guacamole, I still hate them. GAG over that texture!!

Last night I had some leftover spicy chicken soup (I made extra last week and froze individual portions for easy dinners this week!) for dinner, but my problem is.. I love a CRUNCH. I normally top the soup with avocado slices but my avocado was a smidge overly ripe for me. So I threw some kale in the oven for kale chips & made some guacamole! I felt rather lazy so I didn't chop up all the fresh ingredients I normally would.

Lazy Lady Guac is what I should have named this. haha

For this super easy guacamole, I only used 1/2 an avocado (it was all I had leftover from the previous day).

1/2 avocado

6 grape tomatoes

1/8 tsp garlic powder (I didn't measure but this is approximate)

1/8 tsp onion powder (I didn't measure but this is approximate)

1/8 tsp seasoned salt (bet you can guess what I was going to type here)

1/2 tsp freeze dried chives

sea salt & black pepper to taste

generous dousing of lime juice (1/2 a lime)

Mix everything together and Voila! you have super fast, easy, still delicious guacamole. I normally add fresh cilantro but I was out, so I just went with extra chives. 

For my kale chips:

place on a cookie sheet and drizzle with olive oil, seasoned salt, honey, and crushed red pepper. Bake until crunchy at 300 degrees.

Perfect snack for any time!!

xo

Super Green Salad

Hello there!

Today I'm sharing a cute little salad (that I had for lunch)!

I love having people over for dinner & entertaining, and I love love love plating. Nerdy, right? Anyway, this salad is meant to be an appetizer, however after I took the photo I tripled the ingredients and had it for lunch. :)

This is a very simple salad with only a few ingredients. I like to have simpler lunches when I'm on the go/in a rush to get out of the house.

Since these are all healthy things, I didn't measure any of them!

Cucumber, thinly sliced the long way
arugula + spinach mix
grape tomatoes
avocado
pistachios
pink sea salt
black pepper
I used a high protein yoghurt avocado cilantro dressing

Salads are so flexible and easy! These are fun for appetizers, and you could definitely skip the cute cucumber bowl and make a larger version, and add red pepper flakes, grilled chicken, sharp cheddar cheese.

To make this cute appetizer version, you'll need some toothpicks. I have TONS of cute picks since BENTO! :) Take your cucumber slice and secure the ends together to create a circle. Fill the cucumber "bowl" with your greens, and garnish with the avocado, tomato slices, salt, and pepper. I crushed the pistachios with a spoon so I could sprinkle them, and then drizzled the dressing over the cucumber bowl.

I promise, having your friends over for dinner will be so fun when you wow them with a tiny elegant salad! :)

Spicy Chicken Soup

The weather is warming up but around here, strep throat is going around like its nobody's business! When I'm worried about getting sick, I make this delicious soup. I love it and since its pretty basic, you can add a lot to it to change it up.

I sliced up a couple of flour tortillas and made little chips to put in the soup for my family. They were easy, just spray with olive oil spray, crushed red pepper, cumin, and seasoned salt.

For the soup:

2 tbsp olive oil

2 jalepeno peppers

1 pablano (or omit this for an extra jalepeno)

7 small sweet peppers or 2 red/orange/yellow bell peppers

7 cloves of garlic

2 onions

1 can fire roasted tomatoes

1 cup (or one whole bunch) cilantro

1.5 tsp cumin

1 tsp chili powder

1 tsp coriander

juice of 2 limes

2-3 large chicken breasts (about 1.5-2 lbs meat when cooked)

8 cups chicken broth

cilantro, avocado, lime for garnish

I prefer to simmer my chicken in a crockpot all day before shredding for the soup. I simmer in water, cumin, and crushed red pepper flakes.

When you're ready to create your soup, your chicken should already be cooked and shredded. 

Prep Time: 45 minutes

Cook Time: 45 minutes

In your soup pot, sauté the diced onions, peppers, and garlic in the olive oil until the onions are translucent and the peppers are tender. 

Add the chicken broth, spices, diced cilantro, tomatoes, lime juice, and chicken. Simmer for about 30-45 minutes to allow all the flavors to mix and steep. 

Top with sliced avocado, tortilla chips, fresh tomato slices, hot sauce, lime slices, pepper slices... pour over rice, add in noodles if you wish. This is a great soup that is so versatile!