Delicious dinners

It's been nearly a month since I last posted (sorry). I honestly have been a little too busy to do anything too creative :(. I do, however, have a few awesome dinner ideas to add into your rotations. I highly recommend the chicken avocado burger. They are AMAZING.

I'll start with the easiest and work toward the more complicated recipes.

1) Mozzarella, tomato avocado salad with garlic toast
This one is SUPER easy.  It's great for days that you have little to no time to shop or prepare food or just nights that you don't want a big clean up.
What you need:
Avocado
Cherry tomatoes
Mozzarella (the ball, not shredded)
Garlic
Bread (sourdough works really well especially if it is fresh)

What you do:
Cut the avocado and mozzarella into small chunks.
I left the tomatoes whole, but you can cut them in half if you want them more manageable.
Put the tomatoes and avocado chunks into a bowl. 
Salt and pepper the mozzarella. Make sure you really mix it in there.
Add the mozzarella and you are done with the salad.

Chop garlic.
In a pan, melt butter or olive oil and throw in the garlic.
Let garlic cook a little (but don't let it brown too much).
Put toast in and let sit until desired toastiness. Flip and repeat.
Put on plate with salad and enjoy!

2) Caprese Lasagna
Perfect if you wanna do a pasta dish, but want to switch things up a bit.

What you need:
Lasagna noodles
Ricotta cheese
Red sauce (I used garlic and caramelized onion red sauce and it was fantastic)
Fresh basil
Tomato
Mozzarella cheese (shredded)- optional

What you do:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Cook lasagna noodles to the al dente setting on the box (usually just a few minutes).
While it's cooking slice the tomatoes and chop the basil.
When the noodles are done, drain the water and place the noodles unfolded onto a plate or cutting board.
Using a knife, spread ricotta cheese along the length of the noodle. I suggest salt and peppering the ricotta to bring out more flavor.
Place a 1 tomato slice and sprinkle basil at one end of the noodle.
Wrap once and repeat.
When it is done you will have one roll up (the layers from bottom to top should be: noodle, ricotta, tomato, basil, noodle, ricotta, tomato, basil, noodle).
Place roll up in a baking pan.
Pour sauce over roll up and sprinkle with mozzarella cheese.
Bake in oven for about 30 mins.
Serve hot perhaps with a side salad and garlic bread.

 
3) Avocado chicken burgers (HIGHLY RECOMMENDED)
These are a bit more complicated, but honestly not that bad. The one downside is you really have to touch the ground chicken.

What you need (makes 5-6):
1 lb. Ground chicken
1 Avocado
2/3 Lime chips (wheat thins, tortilla chips, avocado oil potato chips, etc.)- crushed
1/2 cup Cilantro
1 clove garlic
Burger buns
Bacon- optional
Tomato- optional
Lettuce- optional
Heavy bottom pan, skillet, or grill (I used my cast iron skillet on the grill side)
Fries- optional*

What you do:
Prep all ingredients: cut avocado into chunks (can be large), crush lime chips, chop cilantro, chop garlic.
Add and mix all ingredients in a large bowl. Stir until mixed completely.
Add ground chicken and mix completely (you will need to use your hands so be mindful to wash them both before and after).
When everything is mixed turn on the grill, pan, skillet, etc. to hot. Let sit for a few minutes to get up to temperature.
While it is heating form patties should be about 1/2 inch thick. It should make about 5-6 patties.
Place on pan/grill/skillet for about 4 mins per side.
Place on bun and add any extra ingredients you want. Enjoy!

Fries:
Several potatoes
Cooking oil
Heavy bottomed pan or pot

What you do:
Thinly slice the potatoes so that they look like match stick fries.
Wash potatoes and dry completely with paper towels.
Heat oil to about 350 degrees (if you don't have a cooking thermometer you can put a small piece in the oil and see if it starts cooking... it will need several minutes to heat completely)
Put fries in and break them up to make sure none of them are sticking together. 
Cook for several minutes until they float and start to brown.
Remove and place on paper towels.
Put in large bowl and add salt and pepper and toss.
Serve hot!