Egg and Cheese Breakfast Tacos with Homemade Salsa

Egg and Cheese Breakfast Tacos with Homemade Salsa
Makes 4 Servings
Recipe adapted from Cooking Light Recipe

½ cup tomato, diced
2 tbsp diced red onion, diced
1 tbsp fresh cilantro, finely diced
½ jalapeno pepper, ribbed and deseeded, finely diced
1/8 tsp kosher salt
3 tsp lime juice, divided
1 tsp minced garlic, divided
1 can fat-free refried beans
¼ tsp cumin
1 tbsp fat-free milk
6 large eggs, beaten lightly
¼ cup green onions, diced
8 small flour tortillas
2 oz. Cabot 75% reduced fat cheddar cheese
8 tsp fat-free sour cream, divided

Combine first 5 ingredients in a small bowl. Stir in 1 tsp lime juice and ½ tsp garlic. Combine beans, remaining 2 tsp juice, remaining ½ tsp garlic and cumin in another bowl. Combine milk and eggs in a medium bowl; stir with a whisk. Heat a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Coat pan with cooking spray. Add green onions to pan; sauté 1 minute, stirring frequently. Stir in egg mixture; cook 3 minutes until scrambled, stirring constantly. Remove from heat. Warm tortillas in microwave. Spread 2 tbsp bean mixture on each tortilla. Spoon 2 tbsp egg mixture down center, and top with ½ tbsp tomato mixture, ½ tbsp cheese and 1 tsp sour cream.

Nutritional Information per serving (2 tacos): 386 calories, 46 carbs, 10 fat grams and 25 protein grams.

Review: At first I was like really? Make my own salsa? But it added so much to these beans and eggs! I was also nervous about refried beans but they went so well with the green-onion eggs and everything had a lot of flavor. I wouldn't change a thing - it was a wonderful, filling breakfast that tasted excellent! I will say that it had about 10 minutes of prep work, and I think it would be best served on the weekends so that all servings are eaten when made - we had to box up half of the bean mixture, the egg mixture and the salsa for next time, which was kind of cumbersome. Although it did reheat well, it was just kind of a pain. All in all, i'd make these again and i'd make them for a crowd if you had visitors on the weekend! Great, meatless meal!

Burrito Casserole

Burrito Casserole
Makes 6 Servings
Recipe adapted from Blog Chef

1 pound 96/4 ground beef
1 package taco seasoning
9 small Mission flour tortillas
1 can fat-free refried beans
1 can fat-free cream of mushroom soup
½ cup fat-free sour cream
hot sauce (optional)
80 grams Cabot 75% reduced fat cheddar (a little less than 3/4 cup)
Optional Toppings: 1 cup shredded romaine lettuce and 6 cherry tomatoes, divided

Preheat oven to 350. In a large skillet brown ground beef. Once it’s almost done, add taco seasoning and stir in refried beans. Mix until evenly blended. In a bowl, mix cream of mushroom soup and sour cream. Spread ½ of the sour cream mixture onto the bottom of a rectangular casserole dish sprayed with nonstick cooking spray. Tear up 3 tortillas and spread them over the sour cream mixture (I typically lay 2 tortillas down side by side without tearing - then tear up the third to fill in blanks to make a solid layer!). Put ½ of the meat mixture on top of it. Sprinkle on hot sauce. Add remaining layers as follows: 3 tortillas; sour cream mixture; 3 tortillas; meat mixture; hot sauce. Sprinkle cheese over the top and place in oven uncovered for 25 minutes. Serve with lettuce and tomatoes as toppings.

Nutritional Information: 403 calories, 47 carbs, 7 fat grams and 29 protein grams.

Review: Two words: OH MY. This recipe seriously may trump my top Mexican recipe. No joke! I LOVE the layers, the use of flour tortillas, how that sauce mixture clings to the tortillas and makes it all taste just meshed together and creamy. I also love the hot sauce kick on those layers- perfect! Yes, time to update my top 10 - this one takes the cake. And the calories are great - love that it makes six too. Winner, winner. Austin loved it too! For less heat, simply leave out the hot sauce. You could even top with salsa if you want to leave the heat level up to each person!

Here's a pic of the full dish - how it looks coming out of the oven!

Rotel Slowcooker Chicken Burritos

Rotel Slowcooker Chicken Burritos
Recipe adapted from Fabulessly Frugal
Makes 6 Servings

16 oz. chicken
1 can Rotel
1/3 cup chicken broth
1 packet taco seasoning
6 large Mission flour tortillas
1 avocado (116 grams)
1 can Trader Joe’s refried beans with jalapeno seasoning*
60 grams (2 oz) cabot 75% reduced fat cheddar, divided into 6
6 tbsp Sour cream, divided into 6

*If you can’t find these, get a can of black beans, drain them, and mash them with a fork

Place chicken in slowcooker. Mix Rotel, chicken broth and taco seasoning and pour mixture over chicken. Cook on high for 4 hours. Remove chicken from slow cooker, shred it, and add back to slowcooker to blend with any remaining sauce. Scoop out contents of avocado and mash, leaving mixture chunky. Mix beans and avocado together and spread evenly on six warm tortillas (about 85 grams each). Sprinkle each with cheese (10 grams). Add a scoop of chicken mixture (114 grams) and a dollop of sour cream (15 grams). Fold into burritos and enjoy.

Nutritional Information: 462 calories, 58 carbs, 10 fat grams and 32 protein grams.

Review: Yum! The guacamole added so much mixed with those beans. It was almost like a bean burrito then no – there’s some spicy chicken! I liked the sour cream and that little bit of cheese went a long way. This was a great burrito/wrap that we’ll definitely be having again. Although, next time I’ll double the chicken and use the other half in salads or in a taco or enchilada bake!

The inside

Taco Salad

Taco Salad

Makes 4 Servings

Recipe idea from my co-worker & friend Stacy

1 can fat-free refried beans (400 grams)
16 oz. 96/4 ground beef
2 tbsp onion, diced
1 serano pepper, deseeded and finely diced
1 packet taco seasoning, divided
8 tbsp fat-free sour cream
4 cups lettuce
16 wedges of sliced tomato
¼ cup fat-free cheddar cheese (for garnish)
4 mission low-carb tortillas

Preheat oven to 350. Ball up foil loosely and mold “shells” with the tortillas around the ball (picture bowl topside down). Place tortillas on a cookie sheet in oven for 6 - 10 minutes until desired crispiness. While tortillas bake, set pot over medium and spray with cooking spray. Add beans and 1-2 tsp of taco seasoning. Stir until warm. While beans are heating up, set a large pan on medium and spray with nonstick cooking spray. Add onions and peppers and stir for 1-2 minutes until fragrant. Add meat, remaining taco seasoning, and a little bit of water (1-2 tbsp). Stir until meat is no longer red. While stirring, remove tortillas from the oven and set on a plate. Add lettuce layer, 100 grams of beans to each tortilla, 121 grams of meat mixture, lettuce layer, sour cream, tomato and cheese and serve.

Nutritional Information: 415 calories, 45 carbs, 8 fat grams and 38 protein grams.

Review: Yummilicious! So glad that I can make this at home - very exciting. I thought it tasted restaurant quality and loved all of the flavors - especially the sour cream topping with the beans - yum!

Taco Casserole

Adapted from Recipes For Moms
Taco Cassrole
Makes 4 Servings

1 pound 96/4 ground beef, cooked in taco seasoning
1 jalapeno, finely diced
1 cup crushed tortilla chips (70 grams)
1 can (16 oz.) fat-free refried beans (400 grams)
¼ cup fat-free cheddar cheese
¼ cup cabot 75% light cheddar cheese
½ cup diced tomato, 4 tbsp fat-free sour cream and ½ cup shredded romaine, divided (for toppings)

Preheat oven to 375. Place chips in a square baking dish sprayed with cooking spray. Spread refried beans carefully over chips. Top with beef, jalapenos and cheese. Bake for 20 minutes. Remove and add toppings.

Nutritional Information: 398 calories, 35 carbs, 10 fat grams and 35 protein grams.

Review: We LOVED it! I don’t have too many casseroles with refried beans so it was nice to get those in, and we LOVED the crispy chip layer on bottom – fabulous! Next time I may add more lettuce for crunch but that’s an easy, no-calorie fix. It was perfectly spicy – yay for jalapeños! I actually ate it with a spoon - nom nom nom.

Notes: For this one, I actually made 8 servings of beef: 2 pounds beef with 4 tbsp onion, 2 envelopes taco seasoning, 3 jalapenos and 1 cup water. This way I can use the other 4 servings for taco salads and tacos!

before toppings were added

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.

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!