Taco Bites

Taco Bites
Makes 4 Servings
Recipe adapted from Emily Bites

16 oz. chicken
1 packet taco seasoning
24 wonton wrappers
12 tbsp salsa, divided
2 oz. Cabot 75% reduced fat cheddar cheese
1 can Black beans, drained and rinsed
6 tbsp guacamole, divided (we used wholly guacamole)
Cilantro, to garnish

Preheat oven to 375. Heat a pan over medium heat. Spray with nonstick cooking spray, and add chicken, taco seasoning and 1-2 tbsp water. Cook until no longer pink, then shred with two forks. In the meantime, spray a 12-whole muffin tin with nonstick cooking spray. Push a wonton wrapper into each muffin tin. Spread no more than a tsp of salsa in each, then top with 1/12 of the chicken and beans. Top with a bit more salsa and a bit of cheese, then cover with another wonton and top with remaining salsa and cheese. Bake for 18 minutes until golden brown. Let cool for 5 minutes, then each with 1/2 tbsp guacamole and a few cilantro leaves.

Nutritional Information per serving (3): 435 calories, 49 carbs, 7 fat grams and 41 protein grams.

Review: Great little guys! Loved the crunchiness and the idea that I get 3! I will say that the chicken/bean mixture fills up those cups, so definitely consider  using half of the beans, which would take down the calories, too! I thought it was plenty of cheese, loved the layers of the bits of salsa and the guacamole topper (we used Wholly Guacamole) was perfect! I'll definitely make these again, too easy not too, and am still loving those wonton wrappers!

Roasted Chicken Pattie & Guacamole Pita

Roasted Chicken Pattie & Guacamole Pita

Inspired by a Trader Joe's sample test

Makes 2 Servings

2 6-inch pitas (about 120 calories each)

2 Trader Joe's roasted chicken patties

4 tbsp Trader Joe's spicy pico/guac servings, divided

Toast pitas in the toaster. While toasting, heat the chicken in the microwave for 1 minute. Put chicken onto pita, and then spoon guac/pico on top.

Nutritional Information: 295 calories, 29 carbs, 7 fat grams and 27 protein grams.

Review: We LOVED it. Amazing. It’s not much to look at but AWESOME. Would be a good snack to split with someone too (split one of them!).

Guacamole Chicken Wraps

Guacamole Chicken Wraps
Recipe from Cooking Light
Makes 4 Servings

4 green leaf lettuce leaves
4 (8-inch) fat-free flour tortillas
16 oz. Chicken, defrosted
½ tsp dried Parsley
½ tsp thyme
¼ tsp sea salt
¼ tsp pepper
1 tbsp lemon juice

Cut chicken into 1” pieces. Cook in pan sprayed with cooking spray over medium heat, sprinkled with parsley, thyme, lemon juice, salt and pepper. Place 1 lettuce leaf on each tortilla; spread about 1/4 cup avocado mixture (below!) on each lettuce leaf. Top each serving chicken. Wrap and serve.

Guacamole:
7 oz. avocados, peeled and pitted (2 medium)
1 ½ tbsp lime juice
½ tsp sea salt
1/8 tsp pepper
Dash cayenne pepper
¼ cup chopped red onion
¼ cup tomato, diced
1 tsp jarred minced garlic

In medium bowl, mash avocados. Stir in 1 teaspoon of the garlic, the lime juice, salt, black pepper and cayenne pepper. Stir in onion and tomatoes. Serve with baked tortilla chips or vegetables for dipping.

Nutritional Information: 329 calories, 25 carbs, 11 fat grams and 33 protein grams.

Review: I'm a HUGE fan of this guacamole recipe, and love adding it to chicken and tortillas to make it a filling meal. It really tasted like something you would order at a sandwich shop or something!

Inside

Guacamole

Guacamole

Adapted from Eat Better America recipe
Makes 4 Servings
(7 oz. avocado is AFTER peeled and pitted)

7 oz. avocados, peeled and pitted (2 medium)
1 ½ tbsp lime juice
½ tsp sea salt
1/8 tsp pepper
Dash cayenne pepper
¼ cup chopped red onion
¼ cup tomato, diced
1 tsp jarred minced garlic

In medium bowl, mash avocados. Stir in 1 teaspoon of the garlic, the lime juice, salt, black pepper and cayenne pepper. Stir in onion and tomatoes. Serve with baked tortilla chips or vegetables for dipping.

Nutritional Information: (entire recipe) 359 calories, 23 carbs, 31 fat grams and 5 protein grams. Per serving: 90 calories, 6 carbs, 8 fat grams and 1 protein gram. Total grams: 356; per serving: 89 grams!

Review: Amazing. I make this ALL the time - it's a great recipe! Sometimes I add fresh cilantro and I've considered adding jalapeno but haven't yet. This is a winner though!

Fire-Roasted Chicken Tostadas

Fire-Roasted Chicken Tostadas
Makes 2 Servings

For chicken
8 oz. Chicken
1 tsp paprika
1 tsp garlic powder
1 tsp chili powder
1 tsp cumin
½ cup water

For rest of recipe
½ cup or 128 grams of Rosarita 98% Fat Free Refried Beans
2 tbsp water
2 tsp taco seasoning (from powder packet)
4 small Mission corn Tortillas
30 grams cheddar cheese
2 tbsp fat-free sour cream
2 tbsp Trader Joe’s Guacamole/Pico
8 cherry tomatoes, diced
1 tbsp fresh cilantro, chopped
Salt to taste

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Get out a baking sheet and lay tortillas on it. Spray both sides of tortillas with nonstick fat-free cooking spray. Add to oven for 12 minutes. While they’re cooking, heat a medium sized pan sprayed with nonstick fat-free cooking spray. Cut defrosted chicken into cubes and add to pan with water and all seasoning. Cooking for 5-6 minutes until no longer pink. Remove from heat and add to food processor. Grind. Also, heat a pot and add beans, water and taco seasoning. Stir for 3 minutes then remove from heat. Remove tortillas from oven. Spoon bean mixture over tortillas, then spoon chicken mixture over that and sprinkle cheese and salt on top. Spoon on sour cream and guac/pico, then add tomatoes and cilantro. Serve hot. Each serving contains two tostadas.

Nutritional Information: 429 calories, 50 carbs, 6 fat grams and 41 protein grams.

Review: Yummy, yummy yummy! They were crispy, filling and flavorful – we’ll DEFINITELY be making these little guys again. As far as substitutes you could easily add onion and could just use salsa instead of guac/pico. You could also mix up the beans, chicken, cheese, etc. before piling it on so it sticks together better. Anywho – GREAT!

Creamy Chicken Tostados

Creamy Chicken Tostados

Adapted by For the Love of Cooking

Makes 2 Servings

Sour Cream Sauce
6 tbsp fat-free sour cream
2 tbsp sweet yellow onion, finely chopped
2 tbsp fresh cilantro, finely chopped
1 tsp lime juice
1 clove of garlic, minced
salt and pepper to taste
In a small bowl, combine ingredients. Cover and place in the refrigerator.

Chicken and Dressing
1-2 pieces baby red bell pepper, cored, seeded and flattened
1-2 pieces baby yellow bell pepper, cored, seeded and flattened
8 oz. cooked chicken, shredded
1 tsp olive oil
1/2 tsp ground cumin
1 clove of garlic, minced
1 tsp lime juice
salt and pepper to taste

Heat broiler for 10 minutes. Cover a baking sheet with foil. Put the flattened peppers skin side up on a baking sheet; broil until blackened, about 5 minutes. Transfer to a small bowl, cover with plastic wrap, and let cool for 10 minutes. Carefully remove any blackened skin and chop them finely into pieces. Reduce the oven temperature to 400 degrees. In a small bowl, mix together olive oil, cumin, garlic, lime juice, salt and pepper. In a large bowl, combine the shredded chicken meat, onions and peppers. Toss chicken mixture with the dressing until well coated. Taste and re-season with salt and pepper if needed. Add sour cream sauce. Mix well.

Other Ingredients: 4 tortillas, 1/2 cup of Cheddar cheese, shredded and Guacamole & salsa (I used 6 tbsp of Trader Joe's - 1.5 tbsp on each)

Place tortillas on a baking sheet coated with cooking spray. Cook for 3-4 minutes, or until the bottom of the tortilla is close to golden brown. Remove from the oven and turn the tortillas over. Carefully, layer the chicken and pepper mixture on the tortilla; then add some sour cream mixture; next add a bit of cheese. Bake until the cheese melts and the tortilla is golden brown, about 5 minutes. Remove from the oven and top with fresh guacamole and cilantro. Serve with fresh salsa and enjoy.

Nutritional Information: It makes 2 servings but for one it’s super filling and secondly it’s pretty high in calories. So, it makes 4 tostados – I had 1.5 which came out to 388 calories, 40 carbs and 10 fat grams. It also has TONS of protein – 35! But if you have all two, you would end up at 517 calories, 54 carbs and 13 fat grams. If you DEFINITELY want more than 388 calories – just pile all of half the recipe on one tortilla to cut out a tortilla! Just some thoughts.

Review: GREAT recipe, but I’ll reserve it for weekends – it took too long for a weeknight!