Beef & Mango Tostadas

So I know beef and mango might sound as good as kiwi and mushrooms or pork and chocolate. Trust me though, it goes so well together. This recipe is super simple and it is perfect for leftovers. I also diced up some jalapenos and sprinkled it on top. That’s just how I roll though. Anything that goes well with spice, I will be adding it. I think sour cream would be good too but since I’m trying to lose weight (sigh) then I skipped out on it. I know though by imagining it together it would taste well with it :).

Beef & Mango Tostadas

Ingredients:

• 1 lb. ground beef
• 1 T Olive oil
• 1 can (15 oz) black beans, drained
• 1 T chili powder
• 1 large mango, diced
• 1 small red bell pepper, diced
• 3 scallions, chopped
• 1 T fresh lime juice
• Corn tortillas (makes about 10)

Directions:

• In skillet, cook beef in olive oil until brown.
• Stir in beans and chili powder.
• In medium bowl, combing mango, bell pepper, scallions, and lime juice for salsa.
• In a dry skillet, toast tortillas over high until golden and crispy, about 2 minutes per side.
• Top with meat mixture and salsa. Option toppings: jalapenos, sour cream, cilantro.

Baked Honey Lime Chicken Taquitos

I must say these are a new found love of mine, I will be definitely be making these within the next week or two again. I love how I can actually taste the honey in these. I’ve made some other ones where you couldn’t really tell honey was an ingredient used. These are pretty healthy overall, the dip is something of questioning because of the sour cream. One day I’ll substitute it with greek yogurt and see how it tastes. If anyone tries with yogurt please let me know! I don’t have much to say because I just got home from work and I’m trying to get this in before my little man wakes up so here’s the recipe :)…

Honey Lime Chicken Taquitos with Cilantro Lime Cream

Ingredients:

3 cups cooked, shredded chicken ( I used to 2 medium breasts)

2 T fresh lime juice

1/3 cup honey

1 T chili powder

1 t cumin

1/2 t garlic powder

1/2 t salt

1/2-1 cup of shredded cheddar cheese (depends on how much cheese you want to put, I only put about 1/2 cup)

10 soft whole wheat flour tortillas (make sure it’s not enriched)

1 T olive oil

Cilantro Lime Cream:

1 cup light sour cream

1/3 cup green taco sauce (I bought the hot heat)

1 T fresh lime juice

1/2 t salt

1/2 bunch of fresh cilantro

Directions:

1.Preheat oven to 350

2. In large bowl, combine all ingredients from chicken down to salt. Mix to coat.

3. Lay out tortillas and divide chicken evenly in middle. Place cheese on top  and then roll each one.

4. Brush the flaps/ends with olive oil and place flaps down on pan sprayed with olive oil.

5. Bake 5 minutes, flip them over and bake for another 5 minutes. Make sure cheese is melted on inside.

6. In a food processor or blender combine all ingredients for cilantro lime cream and blend until smooth and place in bowl.

Fiesta Fresh Mango Salad

 Colorado weather is super crazy and I’m so tired of it. It snowed on Mother’s day. It’s been snowing off and on since and yesterday (May 17th) we were finally seeming glimpses of sun and warm weather. My mom and I were out shopping and feeling the mood of the weather decided to grill for dinner with the family. We went and bought brats and hamburgers and stuff to make this salad. I haven’t had it before but my mom has been making it for a while now. Even though the weather of course took a nose dive when it started raining and become cold outside the meal still turned out great and we all had a good time.

Now to focus on the salad, if you don’t care for cilantro you might not want to make this. We do put more than what it calls for so maybe a Tablespoon to you weirdo people who don’t like Cilantro it won’t be that bad. The jicama gives it a good crunchy texture while the bell peppers and cilantro give it really good flavor.

Fiesta Fresh Mango Salad

Ingredients:

• 3 large firm but ripe mangos (peeled, pitted, and cubed) *we used champagne mangos
• 1/2 cup 1/2 inch diced jicama
• 1/4 cup diced red bell pepper
• 3 T fresh lime juice
• 3 T brown sugar
• 1 T fresh cilantro

Instructions:

• Lightly stir all ingredients in a medium bowl. Salad may be served immediately or covered and refrigerated for several hours.

**This recipe is very versatile and you can add more or less of what you like. Just play around with it. We use way more cilantro and bell peppers then what it calls for so just put what suites your taste buds!

 

Sticky Lemon Chicken

I cannot take the credit for making this delicious dish…but I can proudly say that I did help myself to seconds :). My mom actually made this and she got it from a cookbook called Eat More of What You Love. That title says it all really, why wouldn’t this be the best cookbook ever?? Just kidding, I know there’s a lot of reasons why it wouldn’t be :/. There’s not much to say about it besides you better make it! I promise you’ll love it.

Sticky Lemon Chicken

Ingredients:

1/2 cup fresh lemon juice

1/3 cup granulated no-calorie sweetener (white sugar)

1 T honey

1/4 cup reduced sodium chicken broth

1 1/2 T soy sauce (liquid aminos)

1/2 t grated ginger

1 T cornstarch

8 boneless thighs

2 T all purpose flour

2 t canola oil (coconut oil)

1/2 lemon, thinly sliced

3 sliced green onions

Directions:

1. To make sauce, whisk together the first 7 ingredients in a small saucepan. Place pan over low heat and simmer until clear and slightly thickened. Remove and set aside.

2. Place chicken and flour in bag and shake to coat.

3. Heat oil in large skillet over medium-high heat. Add chicken and cook until well browned on both sides, about 4 to 5 minutes per side.

4. Reduce heat to medium low. Sprinkle most of the green onions (save some for garnish) over the chicken. Add the sauce and simmer for 3 to 4 minutes or until the chicken is just about cooked through and the sauce has thickened. Add the lemon slices to the sauce and cook for 2 more minutes. Sprinkle with remaining green onions and garnish with additional fresh lemon slices, if desired.

**Highlighted green in ingredients is what we used but you can choose to use what it originally called for.

Pepperoni Pizza Cauliflower Casserole

Who doesn’t love pizza? If you don’t love pizza then something is seriously wrong with you. The way I eat my pizza though, people’s eyes get big as they watch me. I love hotness, I suppose maybe it’s the brown in me. I love it to the point where with each bite I have to suck in air to cool my mouth and lips down. That’s when you know it’s good…anyway long story short I put a ton of Chile flakes on my pizza. After reading foodbabes most recent blog, I was truly saddened because she investigated main chain pizzas and what exactly they are putting in the food. Little Caesar’s wouldn’t even respond back so that’s super scary considering it’s only 5 bucks for a cheese pizza something has to be sketchy there. If you don’t follow her blog you definitely should.

If you follow me you know I’m a huge fan of cauliflower. It’s such a versatile vegetable that takes on flavors easily.  My little man Liam who is 11 months absolutely loved this dish. I try to be careful with what I feed him. While pregnant, I started reading on food and what we are actually consuming. I figure it’s to late for me (half-joking) but with him I really try to feed him all natural, non processed food. So with that said, I bought the Applegate Natural uncured pepperoni. It’s nitrate/nitrite free (look into that if you don’t know what it is), casein free, and antibiotic free.  Everything else if you can buy organic you should but to me the pepperoni is the most important. This brand of pepperoni makes huge slices compared to the normal size you’re used to seeing on pizza. So that’s why below I have 2 different numbers of the slices you might want to use. This dish was super easy but a little time-consuming due to the length the cauliflower needed to be microwaved. I also served it with garlic bread so I know it takes away from the main meal being carb and gluten-free but hey I love my bread. I just put the casserole on top of the bread with each bite and it was bomb. It’s still a healthier option then eating pizza! My source estimated this meal to be 207 calories per serving for 4 people.

Pepperoni Pizza Cauliflower Casserole

(adapted from http://www.ibreatheimhungry.com)

Ingredients:

For the puree

1 medium head of cauliflower

2 T heavy cream

1 T butter

5 slices of Pepperoni (or 8 if you use the normal size one)

1/4 cup shredded mozzarella

For the casserole

8 slices of Pepperoni (or 12 if normal size)

1/2 cup shredded mozzarella

Directions:

Cut cauliflower away from stem and cut into medium size pieces

Place cauliflower in bowl along with 2 T heavy cream and 1 T butter

Microwave uncovered for 10 minutes , stir to coat with mixture and microwave another 6 minutes

Remove and place in blender and puree along with 5-8 pepperoni and 1/4 cup cheese

Place in an 8×8 dish then cover with 1/2 cup cheese and layer with pepperoni.

Bake at 375 for 20 minutes .

Healthy Cashew Orange Chicken

 Who doesn’t just love Chinese food? What I don’t love is at least the 600 calorie, 500 mg sodium and all that msg (flavor enhancer) that has been linked with obesity that comes with it. One of my favorites to eat is Sesame chicken, omg I just love it. So when I’m feeling like eating bad and I mean really bad that day I’ll order up some Sesame chicken with white rice. It is so good while you eat it but towards the end the sick disgusting feeling comes over. You know the feeling! This recipe is super clean and yeah it has a little more sodium then I would like but hey that’s what you get for using soy sauce. I made this with cauliflower rice and I’m telling you if you haven’t tried it yet, you just have to! Brown rice just doesn’t taste as good to me. White rice is just so good but with the cauliflower rice it tricks your brain. Honestly, I would pick cauliflower rice over brown rice any day. Plus you can eat as much cauliflower rice you want and it’ll be good for you.

Cashew Orange Chicken

Ingredients:

• 1 T olive oil
• 1 pound chicken thighs, cut into small pieces
• 1/3 cup orange juice
• 3 T honey
• 3 T reduced sodium soy sauce
• 2 T rice vinegar
• 1 T sriracha or chili sauce (Put a teaspoon if you can’t handle a lot of spice)
• 1 T orange zest
• 1 clove garlic minced
• 1 t ginger
• 1 T water
• 1 T cornstarch
• 1/3 cup cashews
• 1/4 cup green onions

Directions:

• Heat oil in a pan over medium-high heat.
• Add chicken and cook till cooked through.
• Add all the other ingredients in a bowl and mix together.
• Pour into pan, until it thickens (1-2 minutes).
• Remove from heat and garnish with green onions and place on top of cauliflower rice.
• Voila!

Honey Mustard Chicken

This is probably one of my new favorite recipes. I’ve been trying to eat really clean for about the past month and a half. This recipe is perfect for that. Sometimes a recipe looks really good then you see what you need to make it and you close the page instead of writing what you need. Or maybe I’m the only one who does that…sometimes you aren’t in the mood to chop, simmer, blend food. Or have to have 13 different ingredients. You want to hit it and quit it, so to speak :). You can serve this with cauliflower or brown rice. Of course it would be really good with white rice and mashed potatoes but we aren’t going there remember? Think about summer coming and it will direct your paths on the right track.

Honey Mustard Chicken

(Adapted from Foodiecrush)

Ingredients:

1/4 cup grainy (coarse) mustard

1/4 cup Dijon mustard

1/2 cup honey

1 teaspoon soy sauce

2 tablespoons tarragon

1 tablespoon ginger, minced

8 boneless, skinless chicken thighs

Directions:

1.  Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees.

2. Place thighs in a baking dish and add all the ingredients in a bowl.

3. Pour mixture over thighs and make sure to coat both sides.

4. Bake for 40-45 minutes flipping the thighs about 20 minutes in.

5. Spoon sauce over thighs on a served plate.

Skinny Spinach Lasagna

   Who doesn’t just love Pinterest? Whoever invented that is one smart cookie and one rich person that’s for sure! I was over my brother’s house visiting and we were all talking about what to eat for dinner. So I just hopped on Pinterest and looked up food items that I had pinned and came upon this little gem. I found this recipe on skinnytaste where I have found a couple of good recipes.

This recipe makes 9 noodles so it fed 3 of us with some leftovers. By the way it tasted just as good as the first day! According to the skinnytaste website one roll has 224.9 calories, 5.1 grams of fat, 3.4 grams of fiber, 13.0 grams of protein and 31.5 grams of carbs. The ones I made had a little more calories since I used straight ricotta cheese, not fat-free. I’ve always read to not buy fat-free or less fat because they add other items in the food whether it be more sugar, sodium or an artificial ingredient to make it taste better. So use whatever kind of fat-free, less fat, full fat cheese you’d prefer, after all you are the one eating it :).  One last thing is you can’t even taste the spinach so this is great for kiddos or adults who are worse than kids.

Skinny Spinach Lasagna

Ingredients: 

• 9 lasagna noodles, cooked
• 10 Oz frozen chopped spinach, thawed and drained
• 15 Oz ricotta cheese
• 1/2 cup grated parmesan cheese
• 1 egg
• 32 Oz tomato sauce
• 9 tbsp. of mozzarella cheese

Directions:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Combine spinach, ricotta, parmesan and egg in medium bowl. Ladle about 1 cup tomato sauce on the bottom of a 9×12 pan.
• Place wax paper on counter and lay out the cooked lasagna noodles. Make sure the noodles are dry. Take about 1/3 cup of ricotta mixture and spread evenly over noodle. Roll carefully and place seam side down onto baking sheet. Repeat with remaining noodles.
• Ladle sauce over the noodles in the baking dish and add 1 tbsp. of mozzarella cheese. Bake for 40 minutes or until cheese melts.

*For the cheese I used a bag of mixed mozzarella and parmesan cheese from Kraft instead of buying 2 separate cheeses.

White Chicken Chili

Well it’s been a long time I feel like since I’ve posted! I recently have moved back to Colorado so things have been up and down in my life(but that’s another post) but I’m back now.

Now this recipe I found at the Taste of Home website but we know there’s a ton of white chicken chili recipes floating around everywhere. It’s been super cold and snowing the past week here so what else will hit the spot but some good old soup. I’ve always loved soup even in the summer time. Soups are just easy and versatile. 

WHITE CHICKEN CHILI

Ingredients:

32 Oz chicken broth (I used Rachel Ray, it had less sodium then any other brand)

3 Chicken breasts

1 Large onion, chopped

2 Garlic cloves, minced

1 Teaspoon ground cumin

1 Teaspoon dried oregano

1/4 Teaspoon cayenne pepper

2 Cans northern beans, rinsed and drained

1 1/2 Cups of frozen corn

1/3 Cup lime juice

Sour cream, cheese, cilantro, avocado and tortilla chips are optional.

Directions:

1. In a large pot, combine the first eight ingredients. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat; cover and simmer for 35-40 minutes or until the chicken is done. Remove chicken from broth and allow to cool.

2. Cube chicken and return to pot. Add all the beans, corn and lime juice to chicken mixture. Return to boil. Reduce heat; cover and simmer for 15-20 minutes.

3. Serve with toppings and chips if desired.

BBQ Hamburger Salad

This is one of my favorites I make, it really doesn’t get any easier than this. I came across this recipe on http://www.primallyinspired.com , she has a ton of great recipes. I never used to be a big salad fan until about the last year or so. My perception on salads were that they were all the same. Holy moly how wrong was I! It shocks me sometimes when I hear women saying they don’t want to lift because they don’t want to get big. I think to myself, seriously women still think that?? I can’t help but think someone thought that of me when I used to mention salad was boring. Nobody enlightened me, I had to find out on my own. So women, let me help you out. You will not put on massive amounts of muscle if you lift weights! You will look gorgeous and fit. Anyway, back to the salad. It is very filling, my husband who eats a ton can hardly finish his portion when I make it. The amount of servings is entirely on how much your family eats. I use 1 lb of hamburger meat and it feeds my husband and I. Like I said though he eats a ton! So if your family eats smaller portions then you’ll be able to serve 2-4.

BBQ HAMBURGER SALAD

Ingredients:

• Head of Romaine Lettuce
• Bacon
• Avocado
• Red onion
• Pickles
• BBQ sauce of choice
• Tomatoes
• Hamburger meat

Directions:

• Place hamburger meat in pan, crumbling it as it cooks.
• Tear romaine lettuce into pieces and then wash and dry. The drier the lettuce is the less sauce you’ll have to use because it’ll stick better.
• Chop all other side ingredients.
• Once hamburger meat is done put about 1/2 cup of BBQ sauce.
• Voila! Add everything together in your favorite salad bowl and enjoy :).

*On a side note, I didn’t list how much to put of everything because it entirely is up to you. If you love bacon make more bacon. If you hate tomatoes then leave it out. You can add mustard to it as well! Whatever you like you just determine how much each person in your family will want of each and chop accordingly.