Brown Rice and Black Bean Casserole

(the end of my busy picture season is wrapping up so I'll hopefully be back to more frequent posting soon!)
This is a perfect meal for fall and winter! It's has the cheesiness I love in casseroles, but without the guilt because of all the added veggies and lowfat cheese. I saw this recipe on Peachtree Cooking and luckily I loved it enough to eat it for lunch and dinner for days in a row...the rest of my family were not fans :-). I would still make it again though! I think I would use a low-fat cheddar on top that melts a little easier and just use the swiss mixed in with the casserole itself.

Ingredients:
1/3 cup brown rice
1 cup vegetable broth (I used chicken broth)
1 Tbs. olive oil
1/3 cup onion, diced
1 medium zucchini, chopped or thinly sliced
2 chicken breasts, cooked and diced (I used 1 can chicken)
3/4 cup sliced mushrooms
1/2 tsp. cumin
Salt, to taste
Cayenne Pepper, to taste
1 (15 oz.) can black beans, rinsed and drained
1 (4 oz.) can green chilies
1/3 cup carrots, chopped small
2 cups shredded swiss cheese (I used 2% swiss slices and shredded them)

Directions:Mix the rice and chicken broth in pot on stovetop, bring to a boil. Reduce heat to low, cover and simmer 45 minutes, or until rice is tender. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Lightly grease a medium-sized casserole dish (I used 9x9). Heat the olive oil in a skillet over medium heat and cook the onion until tender. Mix in the zucchini, chicken, and mushrooms. Season with cumin, salt and cayenne pepper. Cook and stir until zucchini is lightly browned and chicken is heated through. In a large bowl, mix the rice, onion, zucchini, chicken, mushrooms, beans, chilies, carrots, and half of the swiss cheese. Transfer to the baking dish and sprinkle remaining cheese on top. Cover casserole dish loosely with foil and bake for 30 minutes. Uncover and bake 10 more minutes, or until bubbly and lightly browned.

Crock Pot Country Chicken

I was excited to try this recipe because the potatoes in a roast are my favorite part and this dish (from Real Mom Kitchen) gave me those, but in a healthier way. It was super simple but still delicious!

Ingredients:
◦8 Yukon gold potatoes, halved or quartered depending on their size (I used red)
◦6 carrots, cut in half lengthwise and cut into large pieces
◦2 celery ribs, sliced
◦4-6 boneless skinless chicken thighs
◦3 Tbsp. cornstarch
◦1 1/4 cup chicken stock, cold or room temp
◦2 tsp honey dijon mustard
◦1 1/2 tsp. dill
◦1 tsp salt
◦pepper to taste

Directions:
1.Spray the crock pot with non stick cooking spray.
2.Place the vegetables in the bottom of the crock pot followed by the chicken breast.
3.In a bowl, whisk together the cornstarch and chicken stock until well blended.
4.Then whisk in the mustard, dill, salt, and pepper until blended.
5.Pour the mixture over the vegetables and chicken in the crock pot.
6.Cook on low for 6-8 hours or on high for 4 hours.

Quinoa Black Bean Salad

This recipe comes from Our Recipe Box and made for some delicious lunches for me last week! A couple days I ate it plain and one day I melted some cheese on top...it was delicious both ways. I like to have something healthy and tasty ready to eat at lunch time and this was a perfect solution!

Ingredients:
1 cup Quinoa, rinsed
2 cups water (I used chicken broth)
1-2 Limes
Cilantro
Olive Oil
Salt

Lettuce or Spinach
Avocado, diced
Red or Green Peppers, diced
Tomatoes, diced
Black Beans, rinsed

Directions:
Rinse quinoa well under cold, running water. You'll need a fine, mesh strainer for this or you can place a paper towel in a colander. Quinoa has to be rinsed because it has this funny taste/scent if you don't. (the quinoa I use comes rinsed already so I skipped this step)
Pour rinsed quinoa into 2 cups of boiling water and turn down the heat to medium. Cook for about 10 minutes and then turn off the heat and let it sit. When you turn off the heat it might look oatmeally, but give it 15+ minutes and it will become light and fluffy. Transfer quinoa to a large salad bowl.
Chop cilantro and throw into quinoa. Squeeze fresh lime into quinoa mixture. Add salt and olive oil to taste.
The rest of the ingredients can be thrown into the quinoa, according to personal preference. (I added 1 red pepper, tomatoes, ` can black beans and avocado)

Mexican Chicken Stuffed Peppers

I knew I would love these when I saw them on Cassie Craves! Initially I was also excited about the fact that it was also a crock pot meal, but then the day I had this on the menu got crazy and I forgot about it. So, I ended up using 1 can of chicken instead and mixing the other ingredients in a saucepan. They still turned out delicious!

Ingredients:
3 chicken breasts
1 can black beans, rinsed and drained
1 can corn, drained
1 package taco seasoning
4 cups salsa, divided
4 large bell peppers, any color
Shredded Mexican-blend cheese

Directions:
1. Put chicken breasts, black beans, corn, taco seasoning and 2 cups salsa in the Crock pot. Cook on low for 6 to 8 hours. Shred chicken with two forks and mix well.
2. Using a sharp knife, halve peppers and pull out all the seeds and ribs. Stuff each pepper half with chicken mixture.
3. Spread 1 cup salsa on the bottom of a baking dish. Place peppers in dish and top with remaining 1 cup salsa. Bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes, or until peppers are soft.
4. Top with shredded cheese and cook for an additional 5 minutes, or until cheese is melted. Serve immediately.

Chipotle's Barbacoa Beef on Cilantro Lime Rice

This is another recipe from Skinnytaste...a new favorite recipe spot for me! Slow cooker meals are always a hit for me and this one was AMAZING! I love Chipotle and this definitely hit the spot. We served it on the Cilantro Lime Rice (recipe below) with the Corn Salsa on top, burrito bowl style. Delish!

Ingredients:
3 lbs beef eye of round or bottom round roast, all fat trimmed
5 cloves garlic
1/2 medium onion
1/2 lime, juice
2-4 chiptoles in adobo sauce (to taste)
1 tbsp ground cumin
1 tbsp ground oregano
1/2 tsp ground cloves
salt and pepper
3 bay leaves
1 tsp oil
1 cup water

Directions:
Place garlic, onion, lime juice, cumin, oregano, chiptoles, cloves in a blender.
Trim all fat off meat, cut into 4 inch chunks. Season with salt and pepper and brown on high heat in 1 tsp oil. Add liquefied spices, water, bay leaves and simmer on low two hours in a pressure cooker. (If you are making this in a regular pot, you will have to double the cooking time to at least 4 hours or more, covered on low flame and add more water from time to time to make sure it doesn't dry out.)
Once cooked and the meat is tender, remove the meat and place in a dish. Shred it with two forks, and reserve the liquid for later (discard the bay leaf). Return the shredded meat to the pot, adjust salt and cumin (you may need to add more) to taste and add some of the reserved liquid back. Simmer uncovered for about 10 minutes to let the flavors penetrate.
For the Slow Cooker...
Sear meat on high heat in a pan with 1 tsp oil or oil spray. Place all ingredients in your crock pot and cover. Cook low for 8 hours. After 8 hours, shred pork using two forks and combine well with the juices at the bottom. Remove bay leaves and adjust salt and cumin (you will probably need to add more). Let it cook another 15-30 minutes. Super easy!!

Cilantro Lime Rice
1 cup extra long grain rice or basmati rice
1/2 lime, juice of
2 cups water
1 tsp salt
3 tbsp fresh chopped cilantro
3 tsp vegetable oil

In a small heavy pot, add rice, water, 1 tsp oil and salt. Boil on high until most of the water evaporates. When the water just skims the top of the rice, reduce to low and cover about 15 minutes. Shut off flame and keep covered an additional 5 minute.
In a medium bowl, combine chopped cilantro, lime juice, rice and remaining oil and toss until completely mixed.

Chipotle Corn Salsa

This recipe from Skinnytaste is great plain with chips or as we had it, on top of their Barbacoa Beef.

Ingredients:
4 cups (20 oz) cooked sweet yellow corn, cut
2 vine ripe tomatoes, diced
1/2 red onion, diced
1 scallion, diced
1-2 jalapeños, diced (remove seeds unless you like it really spicy)
2 tbsp chopped cilantro
1 1/2 limes, juice of
chipotle chili powder, to taste
salt and fresh pepper to taste

Directions:
Combine all the ingredients and refrigerate for about an hour. Makes about 6 cups.

Halloween Chex Mix

This was definitely a big hit...even amongst the candy corn haters (like myself :-). Easy and festive and yummy! I'm sure we'll be making another batch before Halloween arrives.

Ingredients:
8 oz. white chocolate baking bars, coarsely chopped
4 cups Corn or Rice Chex cereal (we used corn)
2 cups bite-size pretzel twists (we used gluten-free pretzel sticks)
1/2 cup raisins (optional, we left out because they didn't seem to go in the mix)
1 cup candy corn
1/4 cup Betty Crocker orange and black candy decors (I KNEW I had these in the house, but couldn't find them so we used some Halloween sprinkles instead)

Directions:
*In large microwavable bowl, microwave chopped baking vars uncovered on high 1-2 minutes, stirring every 30 seconds until melted and smooth. (I melted out chocolate in a pan on the stovetop)
*Gently stir in cereal, pretzels and raisins until evenly coated. Stir in candy corn and decors.
*Spread on waxed paper or foil to cool and let chocolate set. Break into chunks.

Easy Cheesy Alfredo

I really, really love pasta in creamy sauces. I thought this was a great lower fat option with tons of flavor (plus I could use gluten free noodles for me!). And like I mentioned before, that Rosemary Ranch Chicken that The Recipe Club suggested putting on top was seriuosly divine. I mixed steamed broccoli in with it all and LOVED it!

Ingredients:
1- 8 oz. package cream cheese (I used 1/3 fat kind)
1 cup grated parmesan cheese, divided
1/2 cup margarine (I used 4 T)
1/2 cup milk (I used 1% and added some extra to thin out the sauce a bit at the end)
8 oz. fettuccini noodles, cooked & drained (I used gluten-free spaghetti noodles)
fresh parsley for garnish

Directions:
In a large sauce pan stir together cream cheese, 3/4 cup parmesan cheese, margarine & milk over medium heat until smooth. Pour over noodles & top with the rest of the parmesan cheese
**Top with Rosemary Ranch Chicken!!!**

Beef, Potato and Quinoa Soup

picture and recipe from Skinny Taste

This soup was deliciously different and healthy too. It was filling and super easy to make. Definitely a keeper!!! (my picture did not do it justice and I didn't want it to deter people from trying it!)

Ingredients:
2 tsp olive oil
6-7 scallions, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 tomato, diced
1 tsp cumin
1/2 tsp Badia Sazon with Annato (I used some paprika and chili powder)
1/2 lb beef, cubed into small bite size pieces (I used beef tenderloin)
5 cups water
beef bullion
1 carrot, peeled and sliced
2 tbsp yellow bell pepper, diced
2 medium potatoes, peeled and cubed
1 cup cooked quinoa
6 tbsp fresh chopped cilantro
salt and pepper to taste

Directions:
Saute oil in a large pot, add scallions and garlic and sauté until soft over medium heat, about 3 minutes. Add tomato, cumin, sazon with achiote, 1/4 cup cilantro and cook another 2 minutes. Add beef, water, bullion, carrot, bell pepper, salt and bring to a boil. Cover and simmer on low about 1-1/2 hours, until meat is tender.
Add potato and cooked quinoa and cook an additional 25 minutes. Add remaining chopped cilantro and serve.

Rosemary Ranch Chicken

I made this chicken to go with the alfredo we had last night, but the chicken itself was sooo good I thought it deserved it's own post because we will definitely be making this on its own in the future. I found it on The Recipe Club and we all absolutely loved the unique flavor of the marinade...seriously delicious!!!

Ingredients:
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1/2 cup good ranch dressing
3 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
1 tablespoon minced fresh rosemary
2 teaspoons salt
1 teaspoon lemon juice
1 teaspoon rice wine vinegar
1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper, or to taste
1 tablespoon white sugar
4-6 skinless, boneless chicken breasts

Directions:
Mix all top ingredients in a medium bowl. Stir until sugar is disolved. Place chicken in a gallon size Ziplock bag. Pour marinade over chicken. Squish bag around until all chicken in coated. Refrigerate until ready to use at least 30 minutes, preferably a few hours or overnight (I only had time to let it marinade 1 hour). Grill on the BBQ or in the oven on broil. (I used a grill pan)

Noodle & Co.'s Thai Peanut Saute

I love peanut sauce! This recipe from Favorite Family Recipes is a replication of a Noodle & Co dish and although I don't know how it compares to the original, I really loved this version. I only wish I had added more broccoli, so add more than you think you'll want to be safe. The bean sprouts were my favorite part, adding a nice crunch!

Ingredients:
1-2 Lbs. chicken, cut into thin strips
vegetable oil (to saute)
1 Tbsp Sriracha chili sauce
juice of 1 lime
3 cloves garlic, pressed
1 Tbsp. fresh ginger, minced
3-4 shakes soy sauce
salt & pepper (to taste)
16 oz. (1 pkg.) linguine noodles (I used gluten-free spaghetti noodles)
**peanut sauce (see below)
peanuts
2-3 limes, sliced
The following are all to taste, add as much or little as you want
-shoestring carrots (I just used the packaged kind)
-broccoli florets, chopped (I wish I would have put more, be generous with it!)
-green onion
-peanuts (chopped)
-bean sprouts

Directions:
In a large skillet, saute chicken in oil, Sriracha, lime, garlic, ginger, soy sauce, salt & pepper. While chicken is cooking, prepare the linguine (to al dente) and make the peanut sauce. After the chicken is cooked, remove from the skillet and wrap in foil to keep warm. Re-oil the skillet, add vegetables and saute (except for the bean sprouts, add those a few minutes before serving so they are still nice and crunchy and don't get overcooked). Add the chicken and bean sprouts to the skillet, cover, and reduce heat. Drain noodles and toss with a little olive oil (to keep the noodles from drying out and sticking together). Now there are 2 ways you can finish the dish: 1. mix the sauce with the noodles and TOP with veggies & chicken OR 2. you can add the noodles and sauce to the skillet with the vegetables and toss until everything is well coated with sauce. Garnish with peanuts and limes. (I did option 2, which wasn't as pretty for pictures, but delicious)

**SAUCE:
1 c. chicken broth
6 Tbsp. (heaping) creamy peanut butter
2-4 tsp. Sriracha chili sauce -- more or less depending on hot hot you like it
3 Tbsp. honey
6 Tbsp. soy sauce
3 Tbsp. fresh minced ginger
4-5 cloves garlic, pressed or minced

Combine chicken broth, peanut butter, chili sauce, honey, soy sauce, ginger, and garlic in a small saucepan over medium-low heat until sauce becomes smooth and well blended

Easy "Healthy" Pumpkin Cupcakes

 

So, these little cupcakes from The Daily Dish, really are pretty healthy for you! And with only 2 ingredients in the actual cupcakes themselves, they couldn't be any easier either! I'm going to use a little less pumpkin next time to see if it makes them a little fluffier, but overall these were great and a great kick off to our pumpkin treats! (we made these cookies this weekend...LOVE!)

Ingredients:
- 1 box of spice cake mix
- 2 (15 oz) cans of pumpkin (I'm just going to use 1 1/2 cans next time)
- 1 container of cream cheese frosting, for topping
- Pumpkin pie spice, for topping (optional)
**don't add the eggs/oil suggested on the back of the cake mix box**

Directions:
1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
2. Mix together your spice cake mix and cans of pumpkin.
3. Bake in the oven for about 15 minutes (or follow the instructions on the back of your box).
4. Once a fork comes out clean, remove the cupcakes from the oven and let cool for at least 10 minutes before frosting.
5. Frost the cupcakes with the cream cheese frosting, and top with a sprinkle of pumpkin pie spice on each one. Grab a plate, and enjoy!

Tomatillo Chicken Soup

YUUUM!!! This is my new favorite! I recently re-organized my recipe binder (which was full of recipes ripped out of magazines) and added this one, from the Nov 2010 Better Homes and Gardens magazine) to our menu this week. Now when I went to make it at 5pm I realized it was a crock pot recipe, woops. I just sauteed the peppers, celery and onion in a large pot first and used a can of chicken. I let it all simmer about 20 minutes and it was still delicious, so I can only imagine it's even better in the crock pot. It was tangy with a little heat and sooo delicious! I was planning to eat out for lunch today but was so excited about these leftovers that I didn't...it's that good!

Ingredients:
* 6 medium tomatillos, husks removed and rinsed
* 1-1/2 lb. skinless, boneless chicken breast halves
* 1 32-oz. box chicken broth (I used low-sodium)
* 1 medium green sweet pepper, chopped
* 1/2 cup chopped red onion
* 1 stalk celery, chopped
* 1 4-oz. can diced green chiles
* 2 Tbsp. snipped fresh cilantro
* 1 fresh jalapeño pepper, seeded and minced*
* 1 Tbsp. ground cumin
* 1 Tbsp. lime juice
* 2 tsp. chili powder
* 2 cloves garlic, minced
* 1 tsp. salt
* 1 tsp. ground black pepper
* Dairy sour cream, chopped green onion, chopped red sweet pepper, sliced jalapeño peppers, snipped fresh cilantro, and/or tortilla chips (we topped with monterrey jack cheese and tortilla strips)

Directions:
1. Chop three tomatillos. Place remaining tomatillos in blender. Cover; blend until smooth. In a 3-1/2- or 4-quart slow cooker combine pureed and chopped tomatillos, chicken, broth, sweet pepper, onion, celery, chiles, cilantro, jalapeño, cumin, lime juice, chili powder, garlic, and 1 tsp. each salt and pepper.
2. Cover; cook on low for 6 to 7 hours or high for 3 to 3-1/2 hours. Remove chicken; let stand until cool enough to handle. Shred chicken; return to soup. If desired, top with sour cream, additional chopped red sweet pepper or jalapeño peppers, snipped cilantro, and/or tortilla chips. Makes 4 to 6 servings.

Servings Per Recipe 4, Calories 247, Protein 42g, Carbohydrate 10g, Fat total 4g, Cholesterol 101mg, Saturated fat 1g, Dietary Fiber, total 3g, Sugar total 4g

Tex-Mex Buttermilk Chicken Tenders

After a few nights of more adventurous dinners I often try and throw in a more classic meal that I know the whole family will love. Most of the time it will be one of our tried and true favorites, but this week I tried these chicken tenders from Rachael Ray's magazine. Dipping the tenders twice really gave them a great coating of batter and they turned out pretty AND tasty. I loved the spice mix! I didn't make the corn on the cob this time, but included it in the recipe below because I do want to give it a try the next time we make the chicken.

Ingredients:
4 cups vegetable oil, for frying
2 tablespoons chili powder
1 tablespoon sweet smoked paprika
1 tablespoon garlic powder
1 tablespoon onion powder
1 tablespoon poultry seasoning (I used smoky sweet pepper seasoning)
Juice of 2 limes and 2 teaspoons grated peel, plus wedges for serving
2 cups buttermilk
2 1/2 cups flour
2 pounds chicken tenders
Salt and pepper
4 ears corn
Hot pepper sauce, for passing at the table

Directions:1.In a large, heavy skillet, heat the oil over medium-high heat. In a bowl, combine the chili powder, paprika, garlic powder, onion powder, poultry seasoning and lime peel. In a shallow bowl, combine the buttermilk and half of the spice mixture. In another shallow bowl, combine the flour and the remaining spice mixture. Season the chicken tenders with salt and pepper.
2.Bring a large pot of water to a boil, add the corn and cook until crisp-tender, about 2 minutes. Drain, then dress with the lime juice.
3.While the corn is working, using tongs, dip the chicken fingers in the buttermilk, then coat with the flour; repeat for a second coating. Working in batches, add the chicken fingers to the skillet and cook until golden, 6 to 8 minutes. Drain on a rack.

4.Pass the hot sauce at the table for drizzling on the corn. Serve with the chicken fingers and extra lime wedges.

Cheesy Zucchini Enchiladas

This is another recipe from Skinnytaste and it was another delicious one! I will admit that though I was initially really excited about these (zucchini + enchiladas was a fun new combo to me), as I started preparing them I got a little nervous. They are really simple when it comes to ingredients and I was worried that they were going to be bland and no one would like them, including me. Luckily I was wrong. They were full of flavor and absolutely delicious, especially with fresh avocado on top!

Ingredients:
* cooking spray
* 1 tsp olive oil
* 2 cloves garlic, crushed
* 2 medium scallions, chopped
* 1/4 cup cilantro, chopped
* 2 medium zucchinis, grated
* kosher salt and fresh ground pepper
* 1 1/2 cups grated reduced fat mexican blend cheese
* 4 Large La Tortilla Factory Low Carb tortillas (I just used 6 plain corn tortillas)
* chopped scallions
* chopped cilantro
Enchilada sauce:
* 1 garlic cloves, minced
* 1 tbsp chipotle chilis in adobo sauce, optional for more heat (I used 1 T of the liquid in jar, but not the actual peppers)
* 1 cups tomato sauce
* 1/4 tsp chipotle chili powder
* 1/4 tsp ground cumin
* 1/2 cup fat free vegetable broth (I used chicken broth)
* kosher salt and fresh pepper to taste

Directions:
For the enchilada sauce: in a medium saucepan, spray oil and sauté garlic. Add chipotle chile, chili powder, cumin, broth, tomato sauce, salt and pepper. Bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to low and simmer for 5-10 minutes. Set aside until ready to use.

Spray a baking dish with nonstick spray. Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
In a medium nonstick skillet, sauté garlic and scallions in olive oil over medium heat for about 3 minutes; add zucchini, salt and pepper to taste and cook about 4-5 minutes.
Remove from heat and add 1/2 cup cheese; mix well.
Divide zucchini between in each tortilla, roll and place seam side down in baking dish.
Top with enchilada sauce (you might not use all) and remaining cheese and bake until hot and the cheese is melted, about 20 minutes.
Serve with chopped cilantro, scallions, and reduced fat sour cream if you wish. Enjoy!!