It’s Monday… which means the start of another week and the need for some easy weeknight meals. A fun fact.. I used to be a vegetarian.. for about 2 years… for health reasons. It was a huge adjustment for us as we were newlyweds and I was trying to figure out how to cook yummy meals for my new husband each night. My husband who loves meat. Loves it. And so I began the quest to find yummy vegetarian meals that would satisfy us both – even the toughest meat-eating critics. Here is one of our favorites that I recreated again tonight.

Ingredients

• 1/2 red onion, chopped
• 1 small green pepper, chopped
• 2 teaspoons olive oil
• 1 garlic clove, minced
• 1 can (15 ounces) low-sodium organic black beans, rinsed and drained
• 1 can (15 ounces) low-sodium organic corn, rinsed and drained
• fresh cilantro 
• 6 low carb multi-grain tortillas (8 inches)
• 1 can enchilada sauce (or homemade)
• 1 cup shredded cheddar cheese 
• 1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese 
• 1/2 tsp cumin

Directions

• In a large skillet, saute the onion and green pepper in oil until crisp-tender. Add garlic; cook 1 minute longer. Add the beans, corn, cumin and cilantro; cook for 2-3 minutes or until heated through.
• Spoon 1/2 cup bean mixture down the center of each tortilla. Roll up and place seam side down in a greased 13-in. x 9-in. baking dish. Top with enchilada sauce and cheese.
• Bake, uncovered, at 350° for 25 minutes or until heated through. 
• Yield: About 8 enchiladas.

We are nearing the end of our Whole30. I’ll give a full update on how the last 30 days have been after Tuesday of next week. Tonight we tried another recipe from The Whole30: The 30-Day Guide to Total Health and Food Freedom book we’ve been using. We had burgers with sweet potato buns and homemade ketchup. This recipe was quick, easy and delicious. Perfect dinner idea for a weeknight and a healthy alternative to no bun. The ketchup was also incredible- so good that my husband already threw our Heinz bottle in the trash. Another tasty hit!

Sweet Potato Buns

Ingredients:

• 1 thick round sweet potato
• 2 tbsp cooking fat
• salt and pepper

Directions:

• Peel the sweet potato and cut into 1/2 inch thick rounds.
• Heat the cooking fat over medium heat in a large skillet, swirling to cast the bottom of the pan.
• When the fat is hot, add the largest slices from the middle of the potato, laying them out in a single layer in the pan. Cook until fork-tender and browned, 3 to 5 minutes on each side.
• Sprinkle with salt and pepper.
• Let cook, then stack a burger and fillings between two slices of sweet potato and serve.

Whole30 Ketchup

Ingredients:

• 1 cup tomato paste
• .5 cup apple cider*
• .5 cup apple cider vinegar
• 1 tsp garlic powder
• .5 tsp salt

*Make sure you follow the Whole30 rules when buying apple cider. No sugar added or in the ingredient list.

Directions:

• Heat a medium saucepan ove medium heat. Add the tomato paste, apple cider, and vinegar. Stir completely and let it come to a simmer, do not allow to boil.
• Add the garlic powder and salt and cook, stirring frequently to prevent scorching – you may need to turn the heat down to low or simmer here.
• Simmer until the ketchup has thickened enough to evenly coat the back of a spoon, 5 to 8 minutes.
• Remove from heat and allow to cool.
• Serve when cool. Will keep in the refrigerator for 2 weeks.

 

So my husband started developing a recipe for chili since he was invited to Chili Cook-Off Competition at his work in 2015. His original recipe was so hot I could barely get it down, even with a glass of milk.  He has spent the last 5 years perfecting the recipe so it kept the flavor but cuts down the spice. There are still optional ingredients you may include,  depending on how spicy you like your chili.  Check out this hearty recipe you’ll definitely want to try this winter!

Ingredients:

• 1/4 cup olive oil
• 1 large yellow onion, diced
• 7 cloves of garlic, minced (or 3.5 tsp pre-minced garlic from jar)
• 2 bell peppers, diced
• 1 lb. ground chuck
• 1 lb. chorizo sausage
• 1 packet of low sodium taco seasoning
• 2 Tablespoons chili powder
• 2 Tablespoons of cumin
• 1 teaspoon of cinnamon
• 1 teaspoon cayenne pepper (optional, light heat)
• 2 teaspoons salt
• 1 teaspoon freshly cracked black pepper
• 1/4 cup molasses
• 1/8 cup brown sugar
• 1 can beef broth
• 2 cans of black beans, rinsed and drained
• 1 can of kidney beans, rinsed and drained
• 1 can of pinto beans, rinsed and drained
• 1 can chipolte peppers in adobo sauce (optional, SPICY)
• 1 can of SweetWater 420 (or favorite beer)
• 1 28 oz. can of crushed tomatoes in juice/puree
• 1 28 oz Prego traditional tomato sauce (OR 1 more 28 oz can of crushed tomatoes)
• 1 small can tomatoes and green chilies (Rotel)
• 1 small can tomato paste
• 1 15 oz can yellow corn

Directions:

Brown the ground chuck and chorizo together, drain, and set aside.

In a large pot, heat olive oil over medium high heat. Add your onion, green pepper, and garlic…sauté until tender.  Add in the meat mixture and all the spices and stir well.  Add in the beef broth and cook for another 5 minutes.

Add in everything else except the tomato paste and corn. Bring to a boil and cook for 30 minutes, stirring occasionally to ensure nothing is sticking to the bottom of the pot.

Turn down the heat and simmer for another 60 minutes.  Add in the tomato paste and corn, cook for 5 minutes and serve when ready.

Another great dish brought by another great neighbor as we are learning how to be parents of 3 under 2 years old! It’s easy for larger groups or for weeknight dinners. If you don’t like a lot of sauce check out the original recipe linked at the bottom of this post. If you’re like me and like a some sauce with your pasta then check out my adapted version written below. Thanks Jenn!

Ingredients:

• 1 pound dried ziti pasta
• 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
• 1 pound sweet and or spicy Italian sausages, casing removed and crumbled
• 1/4 medium onion, diced
• 3 cloves garlic, chopped
• One jar tomato/spaghetti sauce
• Fresh basil (about 3-4 sprigs)
• 1 pound fresh mozzarella, half sliced and half cubed
• 1 cup shredded Parmesan, divided
• 1/2 tsp freshly ground black pepper

Directions:

• Preheat the oven to 400 degrees
• Bring a large pot of water to a boil, salt generously, and boil the pasta until al dente, tender but still slightly firm. Drain. (Meanwhile start sauce).
• Heat the oil in a medium saucepan over medium-high heat. Cook the sausage until beginning to brown, about 3 minutes.
• Add the onion and garlic, stirring, until lightly browned, about 3 minutes more.
• Add the basil and tomato sauce (about 1/2-3/4 jar depending on how saucy you want it)  and bring to a boil.
• Lower the heat and simmer, covered, for 10 minutes.
• Season with salt and paper
• Toss the cooked pasta with the tomato and sausage sauce, half the mozzarella cubed, and h1 Parmesan cheese.
• Transfer the pasta to an oiled 9 by 13-inch baking dish.
• Cover the top of the pasta with the sliced mozzarella, and sprinkle with the remaining Parmesan.
• Bake until lightly browned and hot, about 30 minutes. Serve immediately.

Original recipe available here.

I’ve been doing pretty well sticking to our meal plan for the week. We’ve moved around some of the meals but no emergency pizza calls or cereal nights so that’s a plus! Tonight we tried this recipe for shrimp and grits.. It was so simple to make but has a flavorful and simple taste. It’s the perfect weeknight meal after a busy week when you want something different but don’t want to make an extravagant meal. I hope you enjoy it as much as we did!

Ingredients:

• 3/4 cup instant grits
• Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 1/4 cup grated parmesan cheese
• 3 tablespoons unsalted butter
• 1 1/4 pounds medium shrimp, peeled and deveined
• 2 large cloves garlic, minced
• Pinch of cayenne pepper (optional)
• Juice of 1/2 lemon
• 2 tablespoons roughly chopped fresh parsley

Directions:

• Bring 3 cups of water to a boil in a medium saucepan over high heat, covered.
• Uncover and slowly whisk in the grits, 1 teaspoon salt and 1/2 teaspoon pepper.
• Reduce the heat to medium low and cook, stirring occasionally, until thickened, about 5 minutes.
• Stir in the parmesan and 1 tablespoon butter.
• Remove from the heat and season with salt and pepper. Cover to keep warm.

• Meanwhile, season the shrimp with salt and pepper.
• Melt the remaining 2 tablespoons butter in a large skillet over medium-high heat.
• Add the shrimp, garlic and cayenne and cook, tossing, until the shrimp are pink, 3 to 4 minutes.
• Remove from heat and add 2 tablespoons water, the lemon juice and parsley, stir to coat the shrimp with the sauce and season with salt and pepper.
• Divide the grits among shallow bowls and top with the shrimp and sauce. Serve.

Original recipe available here.

So I’ve really been slacking on making dinner lately. Thankfully my husband is amazing and has been saving us and our tummies these past few weeks and taking care of making meals for us. In an effort to try and get on top of things again here is my meal plan for the week for easy weeknight dinners… week 1. Here’s to hoping I can come up with an easy month of meals to make future planning a little easier.

• Sunday: Food Trucks after church
• Monday: Filet steaks on the grill and roasted Brussel sprouts
• Tuesday: Fish tacos with salmon and Mexican corn.  (I’ll have to write a post with the recipe for both of these that night)
• Wednesday: Ranch chicken club roll-ups
• Thursday: Homemade pizza
• Friday: Date night- Dinner out!
• Saturday: Shrimp and grits

So full recipes and results on how well we stuck with this plan to come!

Last night I made dinner for one of our friends and neighbors who recently had their fourth child. It’s crazy to think we moved into our new home and neighborhood just two years ago, right around the time they had their third child. Man, how time flies!

My typical go-to meal when bringing dinner to another family is Sicilian Meatloaf, however I’m pretty sure that’s what we gave them after baby #3 so I had to change it up a bit this time around. This recipe takes a little longer than my usual weeknight meal but the results are well worth it! And it makes a ton! So not only did we send a dinner (plus enough for leftovers) to our sweet friends but we had enough for 2-3 meals ourselves. That’s a lot of peppers (and yes, this recipe can definitely be halved if you don’t want this much).

Ingredients

• 6-7 red, yellow, orange, or green bell peppers or a mixture of all
• Olive oil, divided
• 1 medium-sized yellow onion, chopped
• 4 garlic cloves, peeled and minced
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 tsp ground black pepper
• 1 tbsp chili powder (if desired-I don’t love spicy food so I often leave this out)
• 1 tbsp ground cumin
• 16 oz ground turkey
• 1 (16 oz) jar chunky salsa, mild or hot
• 2 cups fresh baby spinach
• 1 cup cooked brown rice*
• 1 cup cheddar cheese
• 2 large avocados, peeled and pit removed, sliced
• 1/2 cup low-fat Greek yogurt
• 1/4 cup finely chopped basil

*Quinoa or couscous can be subbed instead of brown rice.

Directions

Preheat oven to 375°F. Cut the peppers in half lengthwise, slicing from the stem to the bottoms. Remove the white pithy ribs near stem and down length of inside. Remove the ribs and seeds and discard. Place the peppers in a shallow 13 x 9 inch baking dish. Drizzle the peppers with oil. Cover the dish with foil, and bake the peppers 15 to 20 minutes, until they start to soften.

Meanwhile, heat 1 tablespoon of oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add the onion, garlic, salt, black pepper, chili powder, and cumin; cook until the vegetables are softened, about 3 minutes. Add the ground turkey to the skillet. Cook, breaking it up with a slotted spoon or potato masher, until lightly browned, about 5 minutes. Add the salsa and the spinach, and cook, stirring occasionally, about 5 minutes. Remove the skillet from the heat and stir in the cooked brown rice.

Carefully fill the pepper halves with the turkey mixture. Cover the dish with foil, and bake until the filling is hot and the peppers are tender, 20 to 25 minutes. Remove foil, and sprinkle the cheese over the top of the peppers. Return to oven; bake, uncovered, until cheese has melted, about 7 to 10 minutes.

When ready to serve, top the peppers with a heaping tablespoon of the greek yogurt.  Place slices of the avocado on top of each pepper.  Sprinkle with the basil.  Serve immediately and enjoy!

Original recipe available here.

Yesterday was a super busy day. We got up early, headed to my office to put together a new book shelf I recently purchased, then back to my husband’s office so he could finish up some work, lunch with my parents and then a trip to Costco. We left the house around 10:00 a.m. and didn’t get home until after 4:00 p.m. – just in time to throw together some dinner for friends coming at 6:00 p.m. This is one of those great recipes that can come together quickly either last minute or you can put it in a pot and forget it until you’re ready..it’s also one of those that I make without a recipe and the quantities often change every time I make it..  I’ll try and capture it below as best as possible- I hope you enjoy it as much as we do!

Chicken Enchiladas

Ingredients:

• 1 package tortillas (I like to use the Mission extra soft tortillas)
• 3-4 chicken breasts (usually 1 chicken breast per person)
• 2 cup shredded cheese (I like to use mexican blend or cheddar)
• half and half
• 1-2 jars of salsa (depending on size- you need enough to cover all of the chicken)*
• 1-2 packets of taco seasoning (1 packet for every 2 pieces of chicken)*

Directions:

• In a crockpot mix salsa and taco seasoning. Cook on high about 6 hours or low about 4 hours until chicken breaks apart easily with a fork. (*If you missed the window to use the crock pot you can also cook the chicken in a skillet on the stove and then mix in a bowl with red enchilada sauce. 1 can per 2 pieces of chicken then continue with directions below).
• About 20 minutes out from your preferred dinner time…
  • Preheat oven 350 degrees
  • Shred chicken with a fork and mix in bowl with half of shredded cheese.
  • Fill each tortillas with chicken/cheese mix and wrap with the fold face down.
  • Pour half and half over the top of all enchiladas (this keeps the tortillas soft while baking).
  • Sprinkle remaining cheese over enchiladas.
  • Bake 10-12 minutes.
• ENJOY!

 

I’ve been waiting for months (ok maybe weeks or days) for Tom + Chee (the new grilled cheese and tomato soup restaurant) to open up near my office. A friend and I attempted to go there again today and it was still not even close to being open. Since it’s rainy and cold outside I finally decided its time I went ahead and made some myself. This is my favorite recipe for some thick and creamy tomato soup (best served with a hot grilled cheese)! Enjoy!

Creamy Tomato Soup

DIRECTIONS: 
1. Place oil in a large saucepan over medium heat. Add onion,  carrot, and garlic, and cook for 3-4 minutes or until vegetables are tender, stirring often.

2. Add sun-dried tomatoes, canned tomatoes, chicken broth, sugar, salt, pepper, oregano and basil. (If you’re adding red pepper flakes, add them now)

3. Bring soup to a boil and then reduce heat to simmer.  Cover pan and simmer for 30  minutes.

4. Remove from heat. Place soup in a blender (do this in 2 batches if necessary). Add cream cheese. Remove center piece of blender lid to allow steam to escape, but place a paper towel over opening in blender lid to avoid spills. Process for a few minutes until smooth.  You could also add cream cheese directly to the pot and use an immersion blender to combine.

5. Add additional salt and pepper to taste and then divide soup among bowls.  Garnish each serving with a sprinkle of shredded Parmesan cheese and a fresh basil leaf if desired.

*Recipe by Our Best Bites