Grilled Sticky Chicken Wraps

These are delicious. I use an indoor grill to make them, but you could definitely do this on an outdoor grill if you wanted to! You may just want to cut the chicken into bigger chunks so that you don't lose any through the cracks of the grill.

What I do is slice up a couple chicken breasts and grill them on both sides for a couple of minutes. 

Then I toss the almost-fully-cooked pieces in sticky finger sauce.

Then I put them back on the grill and cook them on both sides again, and I brush each side with more sauce. I like to let the sauce get all caramelized and thick and STICKY, since these are sticky finger wraps.

YUM. Stack sliced tomatoes, lettuce, shredded colby jack cheese, ranch dressing, more sticky finger sauce, and crispy chow mein noodles on a tortilla.

Slab on some of that sticky chicken.

Roll up and DEVOUR.

Sticky Chicken Wraps

Recipe Source: © The Taste Tester, Sticky Finger Sauce recipe adapted from Favorite Family Recipes

Sticky Finger Sauce:

1 1/2 cups brown sugar
1/3 cup Frank's hot sauce
1 tablespoon water
2 tablespoons butter

Wrap Assembly:

2 chicken breasts, sliced
tortillas
sliced tomatoes
shredded lettuce
shredded colby jack cheese
ranch dressing
crunchy chow mein noodles

To make sauce: Combine brown sugar, hot sauce, and water in small saucepan. Bring to a boil and cook for two minutes, stirring constantly. Remove from the heat and stir in the butter. Let cool to room temperature. Store any leftovers in the fridge--- it will get really thick and sticky in the fridge so sit it on the counter a couple of hours before grilling the chicken if it's been refrigerated beforehand.

To grill chicken: Cook chicken strips on grill for a couple of minutes on each side, or until you get some nice looking grill marks. Remove from grill into a small bowl and toss with about half of the prepared sauce. 

Put strips back on grill and cook for 2-3 additional minutes on each side, brushing with more sauce. When they are done the sauce will be sticky and caramelized (but not burnt) and the chicken will be cooked through.

To assemble wraps: Stack sliced tomatoes, lettuce, cheese, dressing, more sticky finger sauce, chow mein noodles and chicken on a tortilla. Roll up and serve.

If you'd like to use this recipe on your food blog my only request is that you give me credit for the recipe and write it in your own words. If you would like to use my photo please do not write the recipe in your post and link back to this post instead. For more information on using my content please click here.

100% Whole Wheat Hamburger Buns

I know, it's yet another boring whole wheat bread post. I'm on a roll. The important thing here is that it's SUMMER (or at least it feels like it is) and that means grilling season is upon us. We don't have an outdoor grill, but we do have an indoor grill that I use all the time. Someday when we are in a little bit more of a stable living situation, I'd like an outdoor one too.

I don't know about you but we will be eating a lot of hamburgers this summer, which means we'll be needing a lot of hamburger buns. I love this bun recipe because for less than the price of a pack of buns at the store, I can make something that I know is healthy for me and my family. The bonus here is that you can make ten buns in just under 45 minutes, and a lot of that is wait time. This is a very low maintenance recipe.

100% Whole Wheat Hamburger Buns

Recipe Source: adapted from Taste of Home

2 tablespoons active dry yeast

1 cup + 2 tablespoons warm water (110˚-115˚F)

1/3 cup vegetable oil

1/4 cup sugar or honey

1 egg

1 teaspoon salt

3 tablespoons vital wheat gluten

3 to 3 1/2 cups whole wheat flour

1 egg yolk, beaten

1 tablespoon milk

In the large bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment combine the yeast, warm water, oil, and sugar (or honey). Let stand for 5 minutes. Add the egg, salt, and vital wheat gluten. Remove the whisk attachment and secure the dough hook. Add the flour gradually until a soft (but not sticky) ball of dough forms.

Turn the mixer on high and knead for 5 minutes. Preheat the oven to 425˚F. When the dough is finished kneading, divide it into ten equal pieces and shape into balls. Place on a parchment paper lined baking sheet. I like to press my dough balls out a little so that they are slightly flattened and have a larger circumference. They'll still puff up and get beautiful in the oven even if you do this.

Let the buns rest for 10 minutes. Meanwhile, add the milk to the beaten egg. Brush the tops of the buns with egg wash mixture just before putting them in the oven. You can also sprinkle the tops of the buns with sesame seeds or poppy seeds after brushing them with egg wash. Bake for 10-12 minutes or until golden brown. Remove from the pan to cool on a wire rack.

Mmmmmmmmmmmmm burgers. 

Disclaimer: This post contains affiliate links. If you click on these links and purchase the product, it will not cost more for you but I will earn a tiny percentage of commission which helps me keep this blog up and running. Thank you!

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If you'd like to use this recipe on your food blog my only request is that you give me credit for the recipe and write it in your own words. If you would like to use my photo please do not write the recipe in your post and link back to this post instead. For more information on using my content please click here.

Spinach Artichoke Dip and Whole Wheat Flatbread, Two Ways

Spring cleaning= NOT DONE. But the good news is I found two more pennies. I should be done by the end of the week which means I will be able to focus a little more time on this blog and a little less time on my cute little home.

So while I keep scrubbing and organizing I thought I'd bring not one but three delicious recipes to the table today. You are welcome (and yes, I'm sure you'll be thanking me--- they are that delish).

First off, I love Stacy's Pita Chips. I mean I really love them. But at the grocery store here they cost an arm and a leg ($5 for a small-ish size bag), and if you are acquainted with chip bags then you know they are at least half filled with air. That's why I developed this recipe; I can enjoy the pita chip taste for a much smaller price.

Flatbread "Pita"Chips

Recipe Source: © The Taste Tester

3 whole-wheat flatbreads*

1 tablespoon olive oil

coarse sea salt for sprinkling

Preheat the oven to 400˚F. Brush a baking sheet with about 1 1/2 teaspoons of olive oil (it should be a very very thin layer of oil). Brush one side of each flatbread with 1/2 a teaspoon of remaining oil. Using a pizza, cut each flatbread into small squares. Place flatbread pieces olive oil side up on prepared baking sheet. Sprinkle with desired amount of sea salt. Bake for four minutes and then flip over. Bake for an additional 3-6 minutes watching them very closely so that the chips do not burn!

*I use three flatbreads for this recipe because it is what I find fits best on a standard size baking sheet.

Now, I'm not going to flash a "pita" chip recipe in your face without giving you something incredible to dip them in!

Hot Spinach, Artichoke & Sun-dried Tomato Dip

Recipe Source: © The Taste Tester

1 (5-6 ounce) container plain greek yogurt

1/3 cup mayonnaise

4 ounces cream cheese

4 cloves garlic, minced

1/2 cup diced onion

1 (7 oz) jar marinated artichoke hearts, drained *You can also use a drained 14 ounce can of artichoke hearts. I like the marinated ones better but either will work.

1 (10 oz) package frozen chopped spinach, thawed and drained well

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper

1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese *I recommend whole milk mozzarella if you can find it. I buy mine at Wal-Mart.

1 cup shredded parmesan cheese, divided

1/4 cup oil packed sun dried tomatoes, finely diced

Preheat the oven to 350˚F. Grease an 8x8" or 9x9" baking dish. Whirl the first nine ingredients together in a food processor until smooth (you can also mix them together using a hand mixer if you do not have a food processor). Fold in 3/4 cup parmesan cheese, mozzarella cheese, and sun dried tomatoes. Spread dip evenly in prepared pan. Sprinkle with remaining 1/4 cup parmesan cheese.

Bake for 20-25 minutes or until bubbly. I like to turn the oven temp up to 375˚F for the last 5 minutes to get the edges a little crispy. Serve warm with flatbread "pita" chips, tortilla chips, sliced baguette, or fresh raw veggies like sliced sweet peppers, broccoli, cauliflower, carrots, etc.

Since there are only three of us here at the Jenks home, we often have to get creative with how we eat our leftovers. So here's the third recipe for today! It uses leftover spinach artichoke dip and leftover flatbreads (we just pull our flatbreads out of the freezer for this one). The recipe is written per one flatbread pizza.

Spinach Artichoke Flatbread Pizza

Recipe Source: © The Taste Tester

1 whole wheat flatbread

1/3 cup leftover spinach artichoke dip

1/4 cup cooked sliced chicken (opt.)

3 tablespoons shredded mozzarella cheese

1 teaspoon parmesan cheese

Preheat oven to 375˚F. Spread dip on one side of flatbread. Layer chicken on top of dip and sprinkle with both cheeses. Bake directly on oven rack for 5-7 minutes or until cheese is melty and bubbly and flatbread is crispy.

P.S. Another great way to enjoy leftover spinach artichoke dip is by stirring it into a bowl of whole wheat pasta!

Disclaimer: This post contains affiliate links. If you click on these links and purchase the product, it will not cost more for you but I will earn a tiny percentage of commission which helps me keep this blog up and running. Thank you!

If you like what you see, feel free to follow me on Facebook, Pinterest, and/or twitter.

If you'd like to use this recipe on your food blog my only request is that you give me credit for the recipe and write it in your own words. If you would like to use my photo please do not write the recipe in your post and link back to this post instead. For more information on using my content please click here.

Homemade Whole-Wheat Flatbreads

Today is my spring cleaning day, and I am really hoping I find a big wad of cash. So far I have only found one penny but a girl can dream. In the past three hours all I have organized is my nightstand, and that's it. This is most likely because while I was cleaning I got distracted with reading my recipe ideas notebook. Lots of times when I am asleep I have dreams about food [surprise, surprise] and I wake up in the middle of the night with ideas for recipes. I keep a notebook in my bedside table to write these ideas down. Let's just say some of them are very entertaining and would probably never amount to much of anything (but that doesn't mean I don't give a lot of these ideas a try).

These whole wheat flatbreads were a not so crazy middle of the night recipe idea, and I probably was only dreaming about them because we had just eaten some awesome chicken gyros for dinner the night before on some totally awful store-bought flatbread. I won't tell you the brand, but they were honestly like soggy cardboard. YUCK!

These homemade ones are perfect, however. They are thin, but fluffy and chewy. They really are 100% whole wheat too which means they are good for you. And, no, they do not taste like cardboard. Extra bonus= they freeze well so you can always make a batch and freeze them before you actually need them for a meal. 

Whole Wheat Flatbread

Recipe Source: © The Taste Tester

1 tablespoon active dry yeast

1 tablespoon honey or sugar

1 cup warm water (110 degrees)

2 tablespoons olive oil + more for cooking

2 tablespoons vital wheat gluten

1 teaspoon salt

2 1/4 cups whole wheat flour, plus or minus 1/4 cup depending on heat and humidity

Mix yeast with warm water and honey. Let sit for five minutes (yeast will activate--- should bubble up).   In the meantime whisk flour, gluten, and salt together.

When yeast is ready stir in the olive oil first and then the flour mixture until wel combined. Knead dough twenty times. It should be soft but not sticky. Add more flour while kneading as needed. Let dough rest for 20 minutes.

Divide dough into eight equal portions. Shape each piece into a ball and then roll into a oval or rectangle on a whole-wheat-floured surface (they don't have to be perfect). The dough should be thin. Heat a pancake griddle to 350 degrees. When grill is heated brush it with two teaspoons of olive oil and place two-three flatbreads on it. Cook for 1-2 minutes on each side or until lightly browned. They will bubble up. Remove to a plate and repeat with remaining pieces of dough.

More recipes for using this flatbread will be coming your way this Thursday! You can like my page on facebook to get the latest updates on new recipes here.

If you'd like to use this recipe on your food blog my only request is that you give me credit for the recipe and write it in your own words. If you would like to use my photo please do not write the recipe in your post and link back to this post instead. For more information on using my content please click here.

Kalua Pulled Pork with Rice and Slaw

I just started watching Arrested Development on Netflix. Why didn't I know about this show sooner!? So funny.

This pulled pork is seriously delicious. It's the closest thing to real smoked meat that comes out of my kitchen, though someday David and I do dream of owning a smoker so we can make REAL barbecue (something we are always craving).

We've eaten this on homemade whole wheat buns and on rice, both with coleslaw. I'm not even normally a coleslaw lover, but this pulled pork makes me one every time I eat it.

On a more housekeeping sort of note, I had contemplated writing an e-book recently about how much weight I have lost while still eating the foods I love. However, after a lot of contemplation I have decided I'd rather do a blog series on the topic, so keep on the look-out for that in the upcoming weeks. I've already started working on it, and I hope to have the first part of the series up by the end of the month. If you are a fan of mine on facebook, you'll get the latest updates on posts here including this upcoming series.

Kalua Pulled Pork

Recipe Source: adapted ever so slightly from Favorite Family Recipes

1 (4 lb) pork roast

2 tablespoons coarse sea salt

1/3 cup liquid smoke

1/4 cup water

Using a small sharp knife, pierce the surface of the pork roast all over. Rub the pork on all sides with ALL of the sea salt. Put the water in the bottom of a large crock pot, and then put the prepared pork roast into the water. Pour liquid smoke evenly over roast. Cook on low for 8-10 hours. DO NOT DRAIN THE JUICE. The meat should shred really easily. Serve with rice, or on buns, and coleslaw (recipe below). We like to drizzle barbecue sauce over it.

Greek Yogurt Coleslaw

Recipe Source: adapted from Lauren's Latest

1 (14 ounce) package cole slaw mix
1 (5-6 ounce) container plain greek yogurt
1/3 cup mayo
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup white vinegar
3 tablespoons salt
1/8-1/4 teaspoon pepper (to taste)
1/2 red onion, sliced very thin
3 green onions, sliced

Mix the greek yogurt, mayo, salt, pepper, vinegar, and sugar together. Stir in the cole slaw mix, red onion, and green onions. Let refrigerate one hour before serving with pulled pork.

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