Mel's Famous Coconut Protein Shake

Here is the protein shake that everyone is talking about:
Ingredients: Vanilla greek yogurt, Coconut Tofu (any brand would work fine, as long as it can be mixed), one banana, milk, ice,
oats and protein powder: optional.
Directions: Depending on how many people you are making it for, that determines how much milk and yogurt you put in. But chop up a banana then add in, add in yogurt, half of your tofu container, milk, ice, one tablespoon of protein powder, then your oats. Blend until creamy. (tofu chunks are not fun to swallow)
PERFECT for after a gym workout.
Also adding cocoa powder or spinach is an option. Depends on the taste that you want to achieve. Enjoy!

Broiled Homemade Turkey Burger Sliders

Way healthier than any sliders you'll find at Red Robin or Chili's!
Ingredients: 1 Ib of ground turkey. Any sauce of your choosing. Cheese. Spinach leaves.

1. Set oven on HI broil. Line a cooking sheet with tin foil. Spray the sheet.
2. Season ground turkey in a bowl. (I used salt, ground pepper, paprika, garlic salt, basil leaves)
3. Roll ground beef into mini patties to create sliders.
4. Place patties on the cooking sheet. Broil for 7 minutes. (Check on your patties after about 5, just to make sure they're not burning.)
5. After they look like they're close to being cooked thoroughly, Slice cheese into four squares and place on top of the patties. Place back in the oven. Broil for 2-3 minutes.
6. Take out, make sure the inside isn't pink. If not, you're good to go! Take a bun (or in my case, a slice of bread), spread your sauce on the inside of the bun, coat with spinach leaves, and place your patty in. Yum!

Turkey Salad

Here is another creation I made when I was experimenting with salads:

Ingredients: 1. 1/2 Ib. of ground turkey. Season with salt, pepper, garlic powder. Brown on the stove top.
2. Spring mix salad.
3. Spinach leaves.
4. Low fat jalapeno ranch dressing
5. Shredded cheese
Mix all of this together. Feel free to add more or less. Super simple and very filling.

Meatloaf Cakes

So the title doesn't sound as appealing as it tastes. But this is so good! My roommate Anna and I created this deliciousness.
Ingredients:
1 Ib. of Ground beef
1 onion
Seasoning: garlic salt, paprika, salt, pepper, basil leaves.
BBQ sauce (or ketchup)
Instructions: 1. Preheat oven to 450 degrees.
2. Mix ground beef in a bowl with onions, seasoning, then add BBQ sauce.
3. Spray a muffin tin. Roll beef mixture into little balls that fit in the muffin tin.
4. Cook for 8-10 minutes.
Enjoy this quick and easy recipe! Add pasta or salad for a delicious side. (Notice the onion top that grew a tree for our table decoration.)

Spicy BBQ Chicken Wrap

My favorite dish from Red Robin is called The Whiskey River BBQ Chicken Wrap, so here is my attempt to duplicate it:
Mission Spinach Tortilla
Grilled chicken (seasoning I used: salt, pepper, garlic salt, paprika)
Shredded cheddar cheese
Crushed tortilla chips
BBQ sauce (your favorite brand)
Shredded lettuce
1. Grill and season the chicken.
2. Once grilled, put spinach tortilla on the stove, spread BBQ sauce onto wrap
3. Add chicken, cheese, sprinkle tortilla chips, add lettuce last.
4. Once wrap is crisp and warm, fold!
Tada! Super fast, easy, and lot less calories then Red Robin.
Add a Diet Coke with a dash of vanilla.

Mel's Chicken Bowl

So tonight, again, I was starving and had no idea what to make. So here is what I came up with to make a very filling and healthy meal! That is also flavorful. I used a bunch of leftovers that were in the fridge and mixed it all together. I call it- Mel's Chicken Bowl 1. Start boiling water and cooking rice. Remember- don't overcook rice or add to much water-rice ratio! It'll taste nasty. 2. Grill chicken on a skillet. I used butter to flavor the chicken. Add salt, pepper, and PAPRIKA. (I love paprika.) 3. Once your chicken finishes grilling, add chopped creamy ONIONS to it. (side note: grilled onions with seasoning and butter are very creamy and delicious. That's what I used. You can be creative with onions and add your own flavor to it.) 4. Grill the onions and chicken together for a little bit till the onions turn a little brown. (not too brown!) 5. Once this is all mixed together, add the skillet chicken mix to the rice when it is all fluffy. Stir together and keep the heat on 2. 6. Gradually add in spinach! Stir. Personally, I like my spinach between cold and cooked, so I don't stir it in too long. You can do whatever to your own preference. There ya go! Super simple chicken bowl and it's so delicious! Perfect for dinners of 2 or lunches for bigger families.

Mel's Dinner Eggs

So the other night, I was starving! And had no idea what to eat. My ingredients aren't very diverse, so I decided to work with what I had. I thought.. what sounds good right now? Then I decided, scrambled eggs! But I didn't want to make the generic eggs with salt and pepper and a piece of toast. So here is what I did: 1. I scrambled 3 eggs and mixed with 1% milk. 2. I added seasoning to it next- I added salt, pepper, a hint of garlic salt, and paprika! (Can I just say, I LOVE PAPRIKA. It adds color to your meal and brings the taste together. Everything I make will have paprika to it from now on.) 3. I poured onto a heated skillet with a hint of butter on it. 4. As the eggs started to solidify, I added shredded cheese into it, but not too much! 5. The eggs started getting ready, so to finish it off- I added two pinches of cilantro and spinach leaves. 6. I mixed it all together (not too long though!) 7. Then I added one piece of toast with CREAM CHEESE on it. It was super delish! It filled me up so much, I couldn't even finish it. Anyways. It's super simple when comparing a college girl's meal to a normal family meal, but if you want to spice up your eggs a little- there ya go!

Lasagna

Mom made a yummy lasagna for us right after we had Chloe. This was my attempt to duplicate it.

No boil Barilla Lasagne noodles (see pic)


1/2 lb ground turkey (seasoned with italian seasoning, garlic powder, dried minced onion, S+P)
Fresh mozzarella cheese sliced
Parmesan cheese shredded
Cheddar cheese or mozzarella cheese shredded
Dried spinach flakes (you could do fresh spinach instead!)
Pre-made spaghetti sauce... you know... from a jar

Directions:
Brown the ground turkey. Pour some sauce on the bottom of the dish. Then layer like this...
pasta > sauce > meat > sliced mozz, parm cheese > spinach >
pasta > sauce > meat > sliced mozz, parm cheese > spinach

Top with shredded cheddar or mozz cheese

Follow the directions on the box of noodles to bake. I think its 350 degrees for 50 minutes. Bake covered with foil, and remove foil for the last 5-10 minutes to crisp the top a little bit.

Taco Chicken

This week I cooked up some chicken that we used for three different meals. Very easy!

3 chicken breasts
1 packet of taco seasoning
Juice of 1 lime
1 can of mild, fire roasted green chilies
1/2 cup water
1 chicken bullion cube

Directions:
Throw it all in the crock pot until chicken shreds nicely. Shred it all together, and don't throw out the juice. The juice helps keep the chicken flavored and moist in the fridge.

We used this chicken for three meals this week:
1. Fajitas
2. Enchiladas
3. Quesadillas (lunch time favorite for us)

If you have more mouths to feed, you may need to make up more chicken to start with. I would add a little more taco seasoning, and more lime juice if I were to do more breasts.

Mmmmm mmmm mmmm!

Shane's favorite meal

Tonight's meal took a lot of time and effort, I hope it isn't too difficult to duplicate...

Ingredients:
Rice Krispies
Sugar
Milk

Directions:
Pour the desired amount of Rice Krispies into a bowl. Pour the milk, and sprinkle sugar on top. Don't forget to use a spoon to scoop the cereal into your mouth.

Hawaiian Haystacks

I went to be with Phil, Bec, and the kids this week. We had the yummiest dinner on Tuesday night!

Hawaiian Haystacks

Main:
Shredded chicken (I lightly marinated the chicken in a homemade teryaki sauce- equal parts soy sauce and rice vinegar, 1 TBL Hoisen sauce, 1 TBL brown sugar, minced garlic... then I cooked it in the crock pot in a little chicken stalk)
Rice

Toppings:
Bell peppers
Tomatoes
Celery
Green onion
Pinapple
Mandrin oranges
Coconut
Chow mein noodles
Shredded cheese

Gravy:
Cream of chicken soup
Milk

Easy chicken wraps

Chicken wraps

Shane and I had wraps for dinner tonight. Super easy and healthy-

Spinach or whole grain tortilla wrap
Rotisserie chicken (you know, the already prepared chicken from the grocery store)
Chopped veggies: tomato, bell pepper, cucumber
Romaine lettuce
Shredded cheese
A little ranch dressing

Delish!

Honey Lime Enchiladas

Talking to Becca yesterday gave me motivation to start planning dinners again. Since Chloe was born, we have either had people over who made dinner for us, picked up take out, gone out, or the good ol' cereal for dinner. Last night I made enchiladas from a recipe Becca gave me. Here it is:

Honey Lime Enchiladas

Crock Pot-
2 chicken breasts
1/2 sauteed onion (you can leave this out if you want)
1 TBL chili powder
1 tsp minced garlic (2 cloves chopped)
1/2 cup broth (or 1/2 cup water + chicken bullion)

Marinate-
Shredded chicken mixture
5 TBL Honey
5 TBL lime juice (3 limes juiced)

Other ingredients-
Flour or corn tortillas
Shredded mexican cheese
Green enchilada sauce

Directions-
Cook the chicken crock pot mixture, 4 hours for thawed chicken, 6 hours for frozen chicken. Shred chicken mixture and keep the juices. Place chicken mixture into a ziploc with honey and lime juice. Marinate 30-40 minutes.

In a 9x13 pan, pour a little enchilada sauce on the bottom. Roll chicken mixture, shredded cheese into each tortilla. Line tortillas up. Pour enchilada sauce on top on tortillas. Sprinkle cheese on top. Place foil over the dish and bake.

Oven 350 degrees, 30 minutes. Take foil off for the last 10 minutes to crisp the top a bit.

-Mel, if you don't have a crock pot, just stick the chicken in a covered pot over the stove on low for an hour or two. Until it cooks all the way through and you can shred it.

What's cookin' good lookin'?

So a stroke of genius hit me the other day. Inspiration at its finest. I thought: I love the women in the Walker (and Gidley) family, I love their cooking, and I want everyone to share what they have been cooking lately! So that is what this blog is for; everyone post any new ideas or new dishes that they have created or found lately and everyone comment what they think and give feedback. Bon Apetite'!