Absolutely Avocado's Cucumber Salad

We ate this with our Krab avocado sandwiches the other night, and we all enjoyed this so much.  I found this recipe in the Absolutely Avocado cookbook.  Each serving, for six servings, was 165, and Noah and Aaron gave it a perfect 10, Owen gave it a 7, and I gave it a 9.  Here's what to do:

2 T olive oil
2 T balsamic vinegar
1 garlic clove, minced
1 cucumber, chopped
2 avocados, chopped
2 tomatoes, chopped
salt and pepper

Mix together the oil and vinegar, season to taste, and set aside.  Assemble the vegetables together with the garlic, and then toss with the dressing, serve.

Jonah really loved this too :)

Absolutely Avocado's Mexican Chopped Salad with Crab

This was going to be a side dish salad from the Absolutely Avocados cookbook, but the recipe I was going to make with the Krab didn't happen because I forgot one of the main ingredients, sigh :).  Anyway, I changed this recipe a little to make it a main dish, and it was super delicious.  We all gave this a 9, it was super great.  Each serving was 578 calories, and it came together really quickly.  Here's what I did:

2 avocados, peeled and chopped
4 ears corn, cooked and cooled, then cut off the cob
3 scallions, chopped
1 15 oz can black beans, rinsed and drained
1 red bell pepper, diced
1 bag romaine lettuce, chopped
chopped cilantro, to taste
1/2 c olive oil
1 lime, juiced
1 t honey
1 T mayonnaise
1/2 t salt
5 oz pepper jack cheese, grated
1 lb Krab (fake crab meat, use the real stuff if you can :))

Mix together the olive oil, lime juice, honey, mayonnaise, and salt.  Set aside.  Mix together the avocados, corn, scallions, black beans, bell pepper, lettuce and cilantro.  Add in the cheese and Krab, then toss with the dressing and serve.

Yum, yum, yum!  This was a great, cool salad, and a really good summer meal, even if we had it in October :).

Absolutely Avocado's Cheese Bellied Guacamole Turkey Burger

These were a fast and easy dinner for us, and although kind of a calorie bomb, they were delicious.  Aaron and Noah gave them an 8, Noah because they were spicy, and Aaron because he had his cold, so didn't love it :).  Owen and I gave them a 9.  This recipe was from the Absolutely Avocado cookbook, and these are super easy.  I used Wholly Guacamole, and store bought buns, so these came together super quickly.  Each burger was 600 calories, so save up :)!

1 lb ground turkey
1 T paprika
1 T chili powder
1 sprinkle red pepper flakes
1 t garlic salt
4 slices pepper jack cheese
4 hamburger buns
2 t olive oil
4 slices bacon
1 package Wholly Guacamole
some cotija cheese

Combine the turkey with the chili powder, red pepper flakes, paprika, and garlic salt.  Make four balls of the turkey mixture, fold up a slice of pepper jack cheese, and form a patty around it to make four patties.  Warm the olive oil in a skillet, and cook the turkey on both sides until done.  Make your burger with buns, burgers, bacon, guac, and cotija cheese.

Absolutely Avocado's Cajun Shrimp and Guacamole

This is such a simple recipe, but we really enjoyed it.  Everyone gave it a 9, and we will have it again, because it is so quick to come together.  Each serving was only 240 calories the way I made it with the guacamole, so this is fast and low calorie, bonus :).  Absolutely Avocado came up with the recipe, but I just made my own guacamole, make it the way you like.  Here's what I did for the shrimp:

2 T butter
1 T Cajun seasoning
salt
1 lb peeled and deveined shrimp

Mix the Cajun seasoning and the shrimp together.  Melt the butter in a large pan, then cook the shrimp, about 2 minutes per side.  Season with salt to taste.

Dip in the guacamole of your choice, and enjoy!

Absolutely Avocado's Cowboy Caviar Couscous Salad

This was a really good salad!  Absolutely Avocado came up with another winner for us, this was fast and easy, and everyone liked it.  I used homemade salsa, like always :), and used more corn than the recipe called for.  We had 10 servings out of this, and ate ours with cheese crisps for a complete meal.  Each serving was 183 calories the way I made it, and Aaron and the boys gave this an 8 and I gave it a 9.  Great summer meal idea, definitely give this a try!

1/2 c couscous
2 c chicken stock
2 avocados
1/2 red bell pepper, chopped
1 14.5 oz canned black eyed peas, drained and rinsed
4 ears fresh corn kernels cut off the cob
1/2 c diced red onion
2 roma tomatoes, chopped
1/2 c salsa
3 scallions, chopped
3 T cilantro, chopped
1 lime, zest and juice
some red pepper flakes and salt

Cook the couscous with the chicken broth until the liquid is absorbed.  Set aside to cool.  Mix everything together, then season to taste.  Serve.

Absolutely Avocado's Mexican Pizza

Can I just say yum?  Absolutely Avocado's Mexican Pizza was such a winner at our house, and I love how easy it was.  The boys gave this a 9, and Aaron and I gave this a perfect 10.

5-6 boneless, skinless chicken thighs

1 can El Pato salsa

1 T paprika

1 T chili powder

2 t ground cumin

1 t salt

1/2 t red pepper flakes

8 corn tortillas

cooking spray

1 c canned refried beans

1-2 c Monterey Jack cheese

cabbage, avocados, green onions, tomatoes, etc to top

Combine the chicken thighs, salsa, paprika, chili powder, cumin, salt and red pepper flakes and cook in a slow cooker.  Shred and set aside when thoroughly cooked, about 3-4 hours on low for me.  Preheat the oven to 450.  Spray both sides of the tortillas with cooking spray, and cook them for 5 minutes.  Remove them from the oven, spread them with refried beans, chicken, and cheese.  Bake them for 5-7 minutes, then serve with the toppings.

Pasta Salad from Absolutely Avocados

I liked this salad because of the arugula and dressing, but I didn't love the cheese, and neither did the rest of the family.  I added chicken to this, so we could have a complete meal, and this was such a nice, summery salad.  The original recipe used farro and was vegetarian, so this is really just a take on the original recipe from Absolutely Avocados.  Aaron and I gave this a 9, and the boys gave it an 8.  Each serving was 551 calories, and here's what to do:

3 oz pasta, cooked and set aside
1 avocado
1 roma tomato
1 c small cheese balls, quartered (I would use fresh mozzarella next time)
12 oz chicken breasts, cooked and chopped (I cooked mine in the crockpot)
1/4 c olive oil
2 T red wine vinegar
1 T Dijon mustard
1 T Parmesan cheese
1 t oregano
1 t parsley
1 t garlic
1/2 t onion powder
1/2 t salt
pepper
2 c arugula

Mix together the olive oil with all the ingredients up to the pepper, then in a large bowl mix everything together except the arugula and avocado.  Let chill for as long as you would like, then when ready to serve add in the avocado and arugula, mix well, and serve.

Absolutely Avocado's Crab And Avocado Quesadilla

So these crab and avocado quesadillas from Absolutely Avocados were good, just not as good as I had hoped.  They didn't have enough flavor, especially from the cheese.  I think if I made them again I would use pepperjack cheese, and I would put less other things to detract from the cheese and crab.  Still, these were easy, they tasted good, and Aaron, Owen and I gave them a 7 and Noah gave them an 8.  Each half of the a quesadilla, or two triangles is 429 calories with the sauce we used.  Here's what to do:

1 1/2 c Monterey Jack cheese
4 green onions, chopped
1/2 c diced green pepper
1/4 c corn
1/2 an onion, diced
1/2 jalapeno, seeded and chopped
1 avocado, thinly sliced
4 flour tortillas
8 oz imitation crab meat (or real crab meat if you can afford it :))
Sauce for dipping

Mix the first 6 ingredients together, then layer the first tortilla, the cheese mixture, 1/2 an avocado, and half the crab, then top with another tortilla.  Let cook for a little while, then flip carefully to the other side.  Repeat the steps again for the second quesadilla.  Serve with preferred dipping sauce.

Absolutely Avocado's Chipotle Guacamole

Easy peasy and a nice change of pace, this guacamole recipe from Absolutely Avocados was fun.  We had this with some chips and enchiladas, and the boys and I liked it.  Aaron, Noah and I gave it an 8, and Owen gave it a 6.  The calories for 1/6 of the recipe are 147.  The smoky flavor of the chipotle peppers was so delicious, I love cooking with them.  I will feature a recipe soon with shrimp and chipotle peppers.  Anyway, here is the way easy recipe:

3 Haas avocados
1/3 c chopped fresh cilantro
1 lime, juiced
1 chipotle pepper chopped with a little of the sauce
Salt

Mix all ingredients together and serve.