Chicken w/ Potatoes & Asparagus

I heart potatoes! This is an easy recipe and it was a crowed pleaser. I did change rosemary to thyme since I'm not a fan of those little stick things in my meals. Find the original recipe here!

INGREDIENTS

• Cooking spray
• 2 lb boneless, skinless chicken breast, chopped into 2 inch cubes
• 2 lb red potatoes, chopped into 2 inch cubes
• 1 1/2 cups chopped Roma tomatoes
• 1 bunch asparagus, trimmed and cut into 1 inch pieces
• 1/2 cup fresh basil, chopped
• 4 tsp garlic powder
• 3 tbsp olive oil
• 1 tsp chopped fresh thyme
• Salt and Ground pepper to taste

METHOD:
Preheat oven to 400°F and spray a baking dish with cooking spray. Add chicken, potatoes, tomatoes, asparagus, basil, garlic and olive oil. Sprinkle with rosemary. Add pepper if desired. Bake for 30 to 40 minutes, turning occasionally until tender. Serve.

YIELD:
Makes 8 servings

NUTRIENTS PER SERVING:
Calories: 426
Fat: 16g
Carbs: 30g
Protein: 40g
Fiber: 1g

Chocolate No Bake Cookies

We're having people over for dinner and I think they are sick of my black bean deserts. I decided to go with a recipe that involved too much sugar - of course I didn't use the 2 cups it asked for! Here is the original recipe. These aren't the healthiest snack to eat but they are better than many other choices!

Chocolate Oatmeal No Bake Cookies

1/2 C Sugar (I used Stevia in the Raw)

1/4 C Raw Honey

2 Tbsp Butter

1/2 C Milk (I used dark chocolate almond milk)

4 Tbsp Cocoa

1/2 C Peanut Butter, Natural

3 C Quick cooking Oats

1-2 tsp. Vanilla

1. Add the first 5 ingredients in a saucepan. Bring to a rolling boil, and boil for 1 minute. 
2. Stir in the next 3 ingredients.
3. Drop onto wax/foil paper. 
4. Let cool until set. 

Makes about 32 cookies. 

Nutrition info per cookie:

44 Calories

10g Carbs

5g sugar

3g fat

2g protein

14mg sodium

Roasted portobello & red pepper tacos

I made this meal Wednesday night and it was delicious and pretty easy! It says it serves two but it fed all four of us. We really loaded up one tortilla with the yummy veggies. We topped the tacos with spinach and avocado. Enjoy!! Find the recipe here.

Roasted portobello & red pepper tacos

Yield: Serves 2

Ingredients:

• 3 portobello mushrooms, sliced
• 2 tsp dried oregano, divided
• 1 tbsp balsamic vinegar + 3 tbsp water
• 1 sweet red pepper, sliced
• 1/2 red onion, sliced into 1/2 moons
• 1 tbsp olive oil
• salt & pepper
• 4 (4-inch) soft tortillas (use brown rice tortillas for gluten-free option)
• optional add-ins: sliced avocado, guacamole, shredded kale, salsa

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 425F.
2. In an 8x8-inch square baking pan, combine the portobello mushrooms with 1 teaspoon of oregano, balsamic +water mixture, salt and pepper. Stir to coat.
3. In a 9x12-inch baking pan, combine the red pepper, onion, remaining teaspoon of oregano, olive oil, salt and pepper. Stir to coat.
4. Bake both at 425F for about 20 minutes, stirring halfway through, until the veggies are cooked and the onion is just starting to caramelize.
5. To assemble, fill each tortilla with roasted veggies and other optional add-ins. Serve immediately.

Avocado Chicken

I found this recipe on Pinterest but I haven't made it since the first time and now the link is broken! Luckily, I saved the ingredients and directions in an e-mail! This is SUPER easy and fairly quick!

Avocado Chicken

 Ingredients

• 2 tsp oil (I used grapeseed)
• 4-5 chicken breasts or tenderloins (I used thin cut breasts)
• 1/4 tsp onion powder
• 1 tsp lemon juice
• 1/2 tsp pepper
• 1 avocado, sliced
• 1-2 tomatoes, sliced
• mozzarella cheese (not a lot - just enough to sprinkle)

Directions;

1. Heat oven to 350
2. Heat oil in a medium skillet. Add chicken, sprinkle with onion powder and pepper. Cook for about 3 minutes on each side (won't be fully cooked).
3. Transfer chicken to greased baking dish and top with avocado, tomato, and sprinkle cheese. Drizzle with lemon juice.
4. Bake for 10-12 minutes or until chicken is done. 
5. Serve with your favorite veggies! 

Bean, Kale, Sausage Stew

This one is pretty high in sodium. Try to find beans that are low sodium. It was good, though!! Here is the original recipe.

Ingredients:

• 2 Tbsp olive oil 
• 1 teaspoon garlic 
• 4 low sodium chicken sausage
• 1 cup water
• 2 cups less-sodium chicken broth
• 2 cans cannellini beans or other white beans, rinsed and drained
• 4 cups chopped kale 
• 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
• 1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper
• 1/8 teaspoon salt
• 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice

1. Heat the oil in a large saucepan over medium-high heat. Add minced garlic and sausage; sauté 1 minute. 
2. Add water, broth, and beans; bring to a boil. 
3. Stir in kale, black pepper, red pepper, and salt; bring to a boil. 
4. Cover, reduce heat, and simmer 5 minutes or until kale is tender. 
5. Remove from heat; stir in lemon juice.

Quinoa & Bean Chili

Steve and I had a joint effort in tonight's dinner that we received from my favorite Alaska friend, Vanessa. I chopped the veggies and Steve did everything else. I wish he was home early from work every day!

Here is the original recipe but below is what we did with the ingredients we had on hand:

Makes about 6-8 servings

Ingredients
2 tablespoons olive oil
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 onion, diced
Sea salt
1 tsp Crushed red chili flakes
1/2 tsp paprika
3 stalks celery, diced
1 medium carrot, diced
1/2 green bell pepper, seeded, diced
1 red bell pepper, seeded, diced
1 (14-ounce) can diced tomatoes, no salt added
2 tablespoons fresh salsa
½ cup quinoa, rinsed well
1 (14-ounce) can organic black beans, drained and rinsed well

Directions

1. Place oil, garlic, onion, and in a soup pot over medium heat. When the onions begin to sizzle, add a pinch of salt, crushed red pepper flakes, and smoked paprika. Sauté for 2–3 minutes. 
2. Stir in celery and, a pinch of salt and sauté for 1 minute. 
3. Stir in carrot and, a pinch of salt and sauté for 1 minute. 
4. Stir in pepper and, a pinch of salt and sauté for 1 minute. 
5. Add tomatoes, salsa, quinoa, and beans and stir well. 
6. Add 1½ cups water. Cover and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to low and cook until quinoa is soft, about 15 minutes. 
7. Season to taste with salt and adjust heat with chili flakes if more is desired. Simmer for 2–3 minutes more.

Enchilada Casserole

As much as I dislike the texture of meat, I know it has a few vitamins that we need, like Vitamin B12, that are not found in all my favorite veggies. So I used some ground turkey I had in the freezer. I based this recipe from here. Of course I paired the meal with fresh green beans seasoned with a spray of olive oil and sprinkled with a pinch of salt. 

Ingredients:

• 1 pound ground turkey
• 1 cup chopped onion
• 1-2 peppers, chopped
• 3/4 Tbsp butter
• 1 Tbsp minced garlic
• 1 Tbsp flour of choice
• 1 cup veggie or chicken broth, low sodium
• 3/4 Tbsp Chili seasoning (I used my homemade version)
• 1 can diced tomatoes, no salt added - finely chopped w/ garlic, oregano, and basil
• 4 (8-inch) whole-wheat flour tortillas
• 1/3 cup shredded mozzarella cheese

Preparation

1. 1. Heat a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add turkey and onion to pan; cook 6 minutes, stirring to crumble.
2. 2. Preheat oven to 400°.
3. 3. Melt butter in a medium saucepan over medium-high heat. Add garlic; sauté 1 minute. Sprinkle with flour, add broth, chili seasoning, and tomato sauce to pan. Bring to a boil; cook 2 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add  tomato mixture to turkey mixture; reserve 1/2 cup tomato mixture.
4. 4. Place 1 tortilla in a 9-inch pie plate. Top with 1 cup turkey mixture. Repeat layers, ending with tortilla. Spread reserved tomato mixture over tortilla. Top with cheese. Bake at 400° for 10 minutes or until cheese melts. Cool slightly.