You can stuff pita pockets with all sorts of different ingredients but stuffing them with Caesar salad is certainly among the best. There is really not much to this recipe but a few simple steps. The only part that takes a little work is seasoning and grilling the chicken, as well as cooking the bacon. You can use bottled Caesar dressing or even make your own. If you’re feeling adventurous, give the dressing from my Chicken Caesar Salad Recipe a try. The original recipe calls for croutons but I chose to leave them out. It is totally up to you if you wish to add them or not. This can also work with leftover chicken if you don’t care about the seasonings. Enjoy.

Ingredients:
1lb boneless skinless chicken breasts
2 teaspoons garlic powder
2 teaspoons dried thyme
2 teaspoon dried rosemary
1/2lb bacon
1 large head romaine lettuce leaves (torn into bite sized pieces)
1 (8 ounce) bottle Caesar salad dressing
Grated parmesan cheese (to taste)
salt and pepper (to taste)
1 (10 ounce) package pocket pita bread (halved)
Croutons (optional)
Cooking Spray

Cooking Instructions:

Step 1: Grease an indoor grill pan or an outdoor grill and heat to medium high heat. In a small bowl combine garlic powder, thyme and rosemary. Season chicken breasts with the garlic powder mixture on both sides. Place chicken on the grill and cook chicken until it is fully cooked and the internal temperature has reached 165 degrees. Remove from the grill and allow to cool.
Step 2: While chicken is grilling place bacon strips in a large skillet. Cook over medium high heat until browned and crispy. Drain on paper towels. Once bacon has cooled crumble it into small pieces. Once the chicken has cooled slice the chicken breasts into thin strips.
Step 3: In a large bowl combine chicken, bacon, lettuce, and croutons (if using). Toss with Caesar salad dressing and parmesan cheese. Season with salt and pepper. Spoon the Caesar salad mixture into pita bread halves.
(Makes 4 Servings)

Crab salad sandwiches are a simple yet delicious way to prepare a nice lunch or dinner. If you are short on time and want to put something together quickly, this recipe is perfect. Yes, it does use imitation crab meat but if you prefer, you can use real crab. These sandwiches are a simple combination of imitation crab, mayonnaise, lemon juice, celery, and green onion. You can add additional seasonings such as season salt, and maybe top them with some cheese if you choose. Enjoy.

Ingredients:
1 (8 ounce) package imitation crab
½ cup mayonnaise
2 teaspoons lemon juice
2 stalks celery (finely chopped)
3 tablespoons green onion (finely chopped)
salt and pepper (to taste)
4 large lettuce leaves
4 hamburger buns

Cooking Instructions:

Step 1: Break up the crab into small chunks. You can do this with your hands or use two forks to shred the imitation crab meat. Place crab into a medium bowl. Add mayonnaise, lemon juice, celery, and green onion. Season with salt and pepper. Mix until well combined.
Step 2: Place lettuce onto the bottom half of a hamburger bun, top with crab mixture and the top half of the bun.
(Makes 4 servings)

One thing that I can never seem to get tired of eating is Mexican food. Tacos are among my favorite things to eat and I usually make them on a weekly basis. When I decide to make chicken tacos, using shredded chicken is the way to go. Shredding the chicken takes a little work but its well worth it. The chicken is simmered in a tomato based sauce and then shredded and tossed with the sauce. A lot of the flavor in this recipe comes from seasonings such as chili powder, garlic, cumin and oregano. You can add whatever toppings you choose to these tacos. I like lettuce, cheese, and tomato. Enjoy.

Ingredients:
2 (8 ounce) cans tomato sauce
2 teaspoons white distilled vinegar
2 teaspoons garlic (minced)
3 ½ teaspoons chili powder
1 teaspoon cumin
2 teaspoons oregano
½ teaspoon sugar
2 tablespoons olive oil
2lbs bone-in chicken breasts (with the skin on)
¼ cup cilantro (chopped)
flour or corn tortillas

Cooking Instructions:

Step 1: In a medium bowl combine tomato sauce, vinegar, garlic, chili powder, cumin, oregano, and sugar. Mix well and set aside. In a large skillet over medium high heat, add olive oil. Cook chicken breasts until golden brown on each side (about 5 minutes per side). Once chicken is golden brown add the tomato sauce mixture to the pan. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat to medium-low. Cover and simmer until chicken is fully cooked.
Step 2: Remove the chicken breasts from the pan (leaving the tomato sauce in the pan). Remove and discard the bone and skin of the chicken breasts. Using two forks shred the chicken. Place the shredded chicken back into the tomato sauce. Cook until the sauce reduces and blends into the chicken. Add cilantro and stir into chicken mixture.
Step 3: Transfer chicken to a serving bowl and make spoon onto warmed tortillas.
(Makes 4 servings)

French bread pizza is one of the easiest types of pizza you can make. The crust itself is sliced French bread, so you don’t have to spend a lot of time making the dough. If you are looking for an extremely quick and easy dinner, this is perfect. The pizza toppings include cheese, pepperoni, and mushrooms but you can add whatever you want. Items such as green pepper, black olives, bacon and cooked sausage would go great on this pizza. Enjoy.

Ingredients:
1 loaf French bread (split in half horizontally)
1 ½ cups pizza sauce
4 ounces fresh mushrooms (sliced)
1 ounce pepperoni (sliced)
1 cup mozzarella cheese
1 teaspoon oregano
¼ teaspoon salt
¼ teaspoon pepper
2 tablespoons parmesan cheese (grated)

Cooking Instructions:

Step 1: pre-heat the oven to 400 degrees. Place French bread halves on a baking sheet, cut side up. Pull off a few pieces of the inside of the bread to hollow it out a bit. Spread each French bread half with ¾ cup pasta sauce. Sprinkle cheese over sauce. Sprinkle oregano, salt and pepper over the cheese. Top with mushrooms and pepperoni.
Step 2: Place into the oven and bake at 400 degrees for about 15 minutes. Remove from the oven and sprinkle with parmesan cheese. Cut into slices and serve.
(Makes 4 servings)

Italian spaghetti is the most popular type of spaghetti there is. This particular spaghetti recipe offers a delicious meat sauce. The sauce is seasoned with various Italian seasonings such as oregano, garlic and basil. You can make adjustments to this recipe if you desire. For example, you could leave out the mushrooms or add more garlic. I enjoy adding pepperoni slices to my spaghetti sauce but that is totally optional. You will want to simmer the sauce for at least a 1 hour and 30 minutes. The longer the simmer the better the sauce will taste. This sauce freezes extremely well. Enjoy.

Ingredients:
1lb spaghetti noodles (cooked)
1 1/2lbs ground beef
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 medium onion (chopped)
2 garlic cloves (minced)
2 bay leaves
1 teaspoon oregano
1 teaspoon basil
1 teaspoon Italian seasoning
1 teaspoon salt
ground black pepper (to taste)
1 (6 ounce) can tomato paste
2 (16 ounce) cans tomato sauce
1 (28 ounce) can diced tomatoes
8 ounces fresh mushrooms (sliced)
sliced pepperoni (optional)

Cooking Instructions:

Step 1: Heat olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add ground beef, onion, mushrooms and garlic. Season with bay leaves, oregano, basil, Italian seasoning, salt and pepper. Add tomato pasta, tomato sauce, and diced tomatoes. Add pepperoni. Mix well.
Step 2: Bring to a boil, reduce heat, cover and simmer for 1 ½ hours. Use spaghetti sauce on top with cooked noodles.
(Makes 4 Servings)

Sesame shrimp is one of the easiest Chinese dishes you can make. There are very few ingredients to this recipe and the end result is fantastic. This is the perfect recipe for someone that has just begun to start cooking. Stir fry vegetables can be added to this dish as well if you choose. The shrimp are first marinated and then stir fried in a wok or fry pan. This dish gets a lot of its flavor from sesame oil, a necessary ingredient in this recipe. Serve with cooked white rice. Enjoy.

Ingredients:
1/2lb medium raw shrimp (peeled and deveined)
2 tablespoons soy sauce
1 tablespoon sesame oil
1 tablespoon peanut oil
2 teaspoons lemon juice
2 garlic cloves (minced)
1 green onion (sliced)
1 tablespoon sesame seeds

Cooking Instructions:

Step 1: In a sealable bag or sealable bowl combine soy sauce, sesame oil, lemon juice and garlic. Add shrimp tossing to coat. Seal and refrigerate for 30 minutes.
Step 2: Heat peanut oil in a wok or skillet. Add shrimp (with marinade) and stir fry until the shrimp turn pink (about 3 minutes) serve with white rice. Top with sesame seeds and green onion.
(Makes 2 Servings)

If you enjoy spicy and well seasoned salmon fillets this recipe for blackened salmon is perfect for you. This recipe uses numerous spices to create a nearly perfect seasoning. There is also a good chance that you already have all of these spices on hand. Just as the name says, the fillets are dipped in butter, well seasoned and then fried in the pan until blackened. What’s also great about this recipe is how easy and fast it is to prepare. You can have this on the table in just a few minutes. Enjoy.

Ingredients:
4 salmon fillets (skin and bones removed)
2 tablespoons paprika
1tablespoon cayenne pepper
1 tablespoon onion powder
2 teaspoons salt
½ teaspoon ground white pepper
½ teaspoon ground black pepper
¼ teaspoon thyme
¼ teaspoon basil
¼ teaspoon oregano
½ cup butter (melted)

Cooking Instructions:

Step 1: In a small bowl combine paprika, cayenne pepper, onion powder, salt, white pepper, black pepper, thyme, basil and oregano. Mix well. Brush the salmon fillets lightly on both sides with melted butter. Sprinkle evenly on both sides with the seasoning mixture. Drizzle one side of each fillet with butter.

Step 2: Heat a large skillet to high heat. Add salmon butter side down and cook until the bottom is blackened (2-5 minutes). Drizzle the other side with remaining butter. Flip the salmon fillets and cook until blackened and the fish flakes easily.
(Makes 4 Servings)

Homemade chicken taquitos can be a lot of work, but it is well worth it. You can forget buying them from the store because these are so much better. These taquitos use a seasoned shredded chicken mixture for the filling, along with Monterey jack cheese. If you have never made taquitos before I am going to give you a few tips. When using corn tortillas make sure that you warm them up in the microwave in small batches as you need them. Also, make sure you roll them up while they are still warm, otherwise they will tear apart.  You can use flour tortillas instead of corn if you wish, these should be a lot easier to work with. Also, as always be careful when working with hot oil. If you don’t want to make taquitos, the shredded chicken from this recipe will make a great taco or burrito filling as well. Enjoy.

Ingredients:
1lb boneless, skinless chicken  breasts
1 (15 ounce) can tomato sauce
½ cup water
1 tablespoon chili powder
2 teaspoons cumin
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1 teaspoon salt
¼ cup fresh cilantro (chopped)
8 ounces shredded Monterey jack cheese
small corn tortillas
Oil (for frying)

Cooking Instructions:

Step 1: In a large deep skillet add tomato sauce, water, chili powder, cumin, garlic powder, and salt. Stir to combine. Place chicken breasts into the sauce and bring to a boil. Cover and cook for about 20 minutes or until the chicken is fully cooked. Shred chicken into small pieces using two forks. Stir in cilantro.

Step 2: Add about an inch of oil into a large deep skillet. Warm flour tortillas (in batches) in the microwave for 15 seconds. Spoon a portion of the chicken filling down the center of each tortilla; add a little bit of shredded cheese on top of the chicken mixture. Roll up and secure with a toothpick.
Step 3: Add taquitos (3-5 at a time, depending on the size of the skillet) to the skillet and fry until golden brown (about 2 minutes per side). Remove and drain on paper towels. Repeat the process until all of the chicken filling is gone.
(Makes 4 Servings)

There are so many good chicken pasta dishes out there but this recipe for Cajun chicken pasta is definitely one of the best! Cajun chicken pasta is Cajun seasoned chicken tossed with a cream sauce and linguini. The highlight of this recipe is the cream sauce, this well seasoned alfredo style sauce is nothing short of amazing. The good news is, you probably have a lot of the ingredients for this recipe on hand. I really enjoyed the sundried tomatoes, but they can be left out if you choose. For the chicken, you can season the breasts, fry them whole and then slice them instead if you choose. This chicken pasta dish is sure to please almost everyone. Enjoy.

Ingredients:
2 boneless skinless chicken breasts (cut into small strips)
4 ounces linguini (cooked all dente)
2 teaspoons Cajun seasoning
2 tablespoons butter
1 green onion (thinly sliced)
2 cups heavy whipping cream
2 tablespoons sun-dried tomatoes (chopped)
¼ teaspoon salt
¼ teaspoon dried basil
1/8 teaspoon ground black pepper
1/8 teaspoon garlic powder
¼ cup parmesan cheese

Cooking Instructions:

Step 1: Place chicken strips and Cajun seasoning in a bowl, toss the chicken with the seasoning until the chicken strips evenly coated with the seasoning.
Step 2: In a large skillet over medium heat, melt butter. Add chicken and sauté the chicken for 5 to 7 minutes or until the chicken is fully cooked (the internal temperature has reached 165 degrees).
Step 3: Reduce heat to low. Add green onions, heavy cream, tomatoes, basil, salt, garlic powder, and black pepper. Cook until heated through. Pour over hot linguini and toss with parmesan cheese.
(Makes 2 Servings)