Paleo Southwest Frittata

Southwest Frittata
Makes 6 Servings
Recipe adapted from Everyday Paleo

1 tbsp coconut oil
1/4 cup yellow onion, diced
1 small jalapeno, seeds removed and minced
2 tsp minced garlic
16 oz. sweet potato, peeled and grated
1 pound grass fed beef
1 tbsp chili powder
1 tsp cumin
1/2 cup salsa verde (I used Whole Foods Salsa Verde)
12 eggs
Sea Salt and hot sauce to taste
optional toppings: red, green, peach, mango, etc. salsa (for more calories - add avocado or guac)

Preheat oven to 350. In a large pan over medium heat, add coconut oil. Saute onions and jalapeno until onions are translucent. Add ground beef and cook just until it starts to brown. Add grated sweet potato and garlic. Cook until beef is browned and  sweet potato is soft. (consider adding 2 tbsp of water  Add chili powder, cumin, and salsa, stir and cook until heated through. Taste and season with a little sea salt and hot sauce if desired.  Transfer meat mixture to rectangular  baking dish and spread evenly. In a large mixing bowl, beat together 12 eggs with a bit of seal salt and hot sauce; pour over meat mixture. Cover tightly with aluminum foil and bake for 30 minutes.  Uncover and bake for an additional15 minutes or until the eggs are set in the middle.

Nutritional Information: 400 calories, 19 carbs, 24 fat grams and 27 protein grams.

Review: Yum! I loved the shredded sweet potatoes - first time having those! And I haven't had ground beef for breakfast either - but i'm a fan - this whole recipe was excellent and I loved that it made 6 servings and had a good bit of protein, too. This is a new favorite of mine - I also liked that you could top it with lots of different stuff to give it different flavors - so easy! I ate it plain the first day, then added green salsa the next. It also reheated very well!

Black and White Bean Dip

Black and White Bean Dip
My Kitchen Café recipe
Makes 20 Servings

1 can of black beans, drained
1 can of white beans, drained
1 can of shoepeg corn, drained
½ cup Herdez salsa verde
2 cups of shredded cheddar cheese, divided
15 grape tomatoes, quartered (squeeze liquid out of tomatoes after chopping)
garlic salt to taste (I used about 1/2 teaspoon)

Preheat oven to 400. Rinse and drain both cans of beans. Also drain the can of shoepeg corn. Make sure to squeeze liquid out of tomatoes before chopping so the dip doesn’t turn runny. Put 1.5 cups of cheese and everything else in a bowl and mix together. Spray a baking dish with nonstick spray before spooning in the bean mixture. Sprinkle the remaining cheese on top and pop into the oven. Bake for 20 minutes until the cheese is melted and it is all warm and bubbly. Remove from oven and sprinkle with diced avocado and serve with tortilla chips.

Nutritional Information (without chips): 80 calories, 10 carbs, 3 fat grams and 5 protein grams.

Review: I thought this was excellent! Very different with all of the beans but super flavorful in the green salsa. The garlic salt definitely added a little something extra, and it bubbled up quick. This tasted good after it got cold, too, and it was good the next day. It makes LOTS of food –next time I may use a more shallow pan or pie dish so it’s not as deep.

Quesadilla Roll Ups

Recipe adapted from a Rachel Ray book
Quesadilla Roll Ups
Makes 4 Servings

16 oz. chicken + 1 pack taco seasoning, slow cooked for 3 hours on high and shredded; divided into 4 servings
4 mission burrito size tortillas
2 oz. cabot 75% fat-free cheese, grated, divided into 4 servings
2 oz. fat-free cheddar cheese, grated, divided into 4 servings
½ cup green salsa, divided

Add tortilla over medium heat. Top with cheese spread evenly. Cook until tortilla is slightly browned. Heat up a serving of chicken in the microwave (about 1 minute). Remove tortilla from heat and top with chicken. Roll up and cut into pieces. Serve each with 2 tbsp salsa.

Nutritional Information: 417 calories, 42 carbs, 7 fat grams and 41 protein grams.

Review: GREAT! I love these – super filling and flavorful. Next time I may add a tbsp of fat-free sour cream. For more calories (AKA for Austin) serve with chips and salsa on the side or a ½ cup of black beans. One thing to note – if you them crispy (which we did) make sure the chicken is dry – so pour some of the taco seasoning/sauce out (or just drain it). Also, you could easily skillet fry the chicken with taco seasoning on a pan - I just like to slowcook huge batches of chicken and use it in different recipes!

Chicken with Green Salsa Meximelt

Chicken with Green Salsa Meximelt
Makes 1 Serving (meal)
Or 2 Servings (snack)

3 oz. chicken (cooked in olive oil spray; then pulled with two forks to shred it)
1 mission carb balance tortilla
1 tbsp fat-free sour cream mixed with a little oregano & cumin & minced garlic
10 grams fat-free mozarella, shredded
10 grams fat free cheddar, shredded
2 tbsp green onions, diced
1 1/2 tbsp green salsa, divided

Put everything above in the tortilla, saving 3/4 tbsp of green salsa. Wrap it up, and toss it on the George Foreman for a few minutes. Take it off and serve with the remaining green salsa on the side. Yum.

Nutritional Information: 267 calories, 25 carbs, 3 fat grams and 30 protein grams.

Review: Great! Would be even more filling with a side of black beans! Great snack-size sandwich to split with someone!

Southwestern Chicken and White Bean Soup

Southwestern Chicken and White Bean Soup
Adapted from a Cooking Light Recipe
Makes 4 Servings

16 oz. chicken breast
3 tbsp 40%-less-sodium taco seasoning
Cooking spray
4 tsp olive oil
4 cups fat-free, less-sodium chicken broth
2 16-ounce can white beans, rinsed and drained (272 grams total)
1 cup green salsa
4 tbsp Fat-free sour cream, divided
Chopped cilantro (optional)
Trader Joe’s Organic Corn Chips (40 grams, divided)
Cumin and Salt to taste

Combine chicken and taco seasoning; toss well to coat. Heat a large saucepan over medium-high heat. Coat pan with cooking spray, and add olive oil. Add chicken; sauté 2 minutes or until chicken is lightly browned. Add broth, scraping pan to loosen any browned bits. Meanwhile, place beans in a small bowl; mash until only a few whole beans remain. Add beans and salsa to pan, stirring well. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat; simmer 10 minutes or until slightly thick. Makes two large servings. Top each with 1 tbsp sour cream, cilantro and 10 grams corn chips if desired.

Nutritional Information (including cilantro, sour cream and chips): 426 calories, 38 carbs, 10 fat grams and 37 protein grams.

Review: I LOVED this! Austin liked it a lot, but said it was a little too salty for his taste. I decided I won't add cumin or salt next time - I think because all of the ingredients (chicken stock, salsa, etc.) are salty in and of themselves, it doesn’t need anything extra. I’ll definitely be making this again – but next time I’ll make more servings! Woo! I also loved that I was able to use this ingenious product – frozen cilantro cubes.

Green Salsa Chimichangas

Green Salsa Chimichangas

Makes 4 Servings

10 oz. chicken, cooked and shredded
4 oz. 75% reduced fat cabot, grated
½ cup chopped green onions
1 tsp oregano
½ tsp cumin
2 tsp minced garlic
¼ cup fat free sour cream, divided
2 (4.5-oz.) can chopped green chilies, drained
400 grams fat-free refried beans, divided
4 burrito size flour tortillas
Cooking Spray
¼ cup bottled green salsa

Preheat oven to 500 degrees. Combine first 9 ingredients; toss well. Spread beans down center of each tortilla, then top with chicken mixture. Roll up and place rolls, seam sides down, on a large baking sheet coated with cooking spray. Coat tops with cooking spray. Bake at 500° for 7 minutes. Serve with salsa.

Nutritional Information: 452 calories, 53 carbs, 8 fat grams and 36 protein grams.

Review: This one is a family favorite. It tastes SO bad for you and is SO filling, but yet the calories aren't that bad. I like the crispiness too, definitely covers my Mexican food cravings.

Enchiladas with Chicken in Verde Sauce

Enchiladas with Chicken in Verde Sauce
Adapted from Cookinglight.com
Makes 4 Servings

1/4 cup chopped onion
1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro
2 tsp minced garlic
6 oz. salsa verde, divided
11 oz. cooked chicken breast (browned in pan; diced)
3 oz. fat-free cream cheese, softened
1 cup fat-free, less-sodium chicken broth
8 (6-inch) corn tortillas
Cooking spray
2 oz. cabot 75% cheddar cheese, grated
1/2 tsp chili powder

Preheat oven to 425°. Combine onion, cilantro, garlic, 4 oz. salsa and cream cheese in a blender; process until smooth. Add chicken and process again. Bring broth to a simmer in a medium skillet. Working with one tortilla at a time, add tortilla to pan; cook 20 seconds or until moist, turning once. Remove tortilla; drain on paper towels. Repeat for the other tortillas, then lay them all out. Spoon 1/4 cup of the chicken mixture down center of each tortilla; roll up. Place each tortilla, seam-side down, in an 8x8-inch baking dish coated with cooking spray. Pour remaining salsa mixture over enchiladas; sprinkle evenly with cheese and chili powder. Bake at 425° for 18 minutes.

Nutritional Information: 303 calories, 4 fat grams, 26 carbs and 30 protein grams.

Review: They were SUPER yum – very light! If I made this again I’d probably add a side of black beans for more protein. I laughed when I found only 4 fat grams – all of that fat free stuff you know? This recipe, with all of the salsa/cilantro/etc. made all of the other ingredients taste fatty (if that makes sense) and I LOVED cooking the tortillas in the chicken broth – SMART – made them taste authentic.

Bajio Tacos

Adapted from Real Mom Kitchen

Bajio Tacos
Makes 4 Servings

1 pound chicken
1/2 cup green salsa
1 Tbsp cumin
16 tsp brown sugar
1 4 oz. can diced green chilies
6 oz. diet sprite
1 tsp canola oil (for frying tortillas)
8 Ole corn tortillas
12 cherry tomatoes, diced, divided into 12 servings
60 grams Kraft natural Swiss/Cheddar/Parmesan blend, divided into 4 servings

1 tbsp corn starch; 2 tbsp cold waterCombine all ingredients in a crock pot. Cook on low for 5-6 hours. Remove chicken and shred. Return to crock pot and cook 1 more hour. Thicken the juices with a cornstarch mixed in water. Serve with tortillas, cheese, tomatoes and any other taco fixings.

Nutritional Information per serving: 418 calories, 52 carbs, 6 fat grams and 34 protein grams.

Review: It was SO good! If you're looking for more traditional tacos, don't look here, but if you want something different with a distinct flavor, try these!