Taquitos Turned Tacos

There are a lot of things going for me.  I have a wonderful husband.  We have a great house.  Our families both really get along quite well even my blended family.  We both are blessed with great jobs.  Sometimes, as good as things are, mistakes happen.  For example, we went furniture shopping today.  We've been saving for new bedroom furniture that we can call our own for quite some time now and today was the day.  So we headed up to Nebraska Furniture Mart, found an awesome deal on a set, and made our purchase.  Then we realized we needed a matching media console for our television not really thinking about the space and the massive chest of drawers that came with our set.  So, we went down to the living room furnishings and purchased a console we thought would be a good match.  The bedroom set will not arrive until May.  The console was ready for pick up.  We brought it home...and then I freaked out.  "Bear, I don't think we thought this through enough," I say.  The Bear replied, "What do you mean?"  "Well, um where are we going to put the large set of drawers with the mirror on top?" I said.  "Oh $h*t.  You're right!" the Bear says.  Oh $h*t is right people.  We have a large bedroom, but not enough room for our new console.  So, I guess the console will have to go in the living room.  Really it is okay because our media console right now was a pre-marital purchase Justin made and looks straight out of fratville.  The color of the finish does not totally match the rest of our furniture, but it is far better than what we've got going on right now.  Yin-yang.

So goes my Very Veggie Beef Taquitos tonight.  I was all geared up for a sweet taquito surprise and this happened in the oven:

Yeah, that's my oven.  I opened the door after running 2.5 miles on the treadmill at the gym 45 minutes earlier to find this little beast of a happening.  I was trying to calm myself down after dropping $400 on a media console that would not fit in our bedroom.  Not very photogenic, but at least I'm being honest.  Recipe mishaps happen.  No one is perfect.  So, to make the recipe more successful, yes even for the rookies, I turned the taquitos into tacos.  Something a little more photo friendly and palatable.

Beef Taquitos Turned Tacos with Edimole

For the tacos:

1/4 pound lean ground beef

1 red onion, finely diced

1 yellow or red bell pepper, finely diced

1 clove crushed garlic

1 can black beans, rinsed and drained

1 can fire roasted tomatoes (preferably salsa style)

2 tablespoons taco seasoning (I use Penzy's)

Corn tortillas

For the edimole:

1 cup thawed edimame

Juice of one lime

1 clove crushed garlic

1/4 cup cilantro, chopped

2 avocados

1/4 cup fat-free sour cream

1/4 cup salsa of your choice

Heat a large skillet over medium heat.  Coat with non-stick cooking spray.  Add the beef and cook, breaking up the meat with a spatula, until browned.  Add onion, peppers, and garlic.  Cook, stirring occasionally until the vegetables have softened.  Add the black beans, tomatoes, and taco seasoning.  Cook, stirring occasionally until the mixture begins to thicken.  Remove from heat.  Set aside.

Set a medium sized skillet or griddle over medium high heat. If you are using a skillet you will only be able to heat the tortillas one or two at a time. If you have a pancake griddle you can heat several at a time. Place corn tortillas onto the skillet or griddle. Heat the tortilla(s) until they begin to fluff a little, then flip and heat another minute or so. Remove from heat with a spatula. Fill with the beef mixture and serve with salsa and the edimole (edimole recipe below).

Blend edimame in a food processor or blender until smooth.  Add the lime juice, garlic, cilantro, avocados, sour cream, and salsa.  Process or blend until smooth.  Serve along with the tacos or with tortilla chips.  It is a totally "skinny" alternative to traditional guacamole if you are looking to save some calories.

This recipe is on my menu post for Sunday left-overs.  You can do as you choose.  I suggest the tacos, but it tastes the same no matter what:)

Saturday Menu Post

I love Saturdays!  Sleeping in, time to run errands, and menu planning are my favorite activities reserved for this day.  Spring is in full bloom here in Kansas City.  I can't believe it is the last day of March and we have leaves on some of the trees and pollen fries rearing to flourish on the tall oak trees in our yard.  It really feels and looks more like the middle of May. 

This week's menu post includes opportunities for firing up the grill and enjoying the lovely weather.  Sunday you can save some bucks on using left-over beef taquitos.  I will be posting the recipe later this evening to share.  Monday's forecast is yet another 80 degree day, so we will be grilling some chicken kabobs with a side of yogurt sauce and a Mediterranean quinoa salad.  Wednesday I am on my own as the Bear is in his final weeks of his last graduate class.  I will be experimenting with a tofu recipe I discovered.  I've not really ever worked much with tofu, but know there are tons of health benefits.  Thursday is pizza night.  We will wrap the week up with another evening spent on the patio grilling steaks served with a roasted pepper salsa.  This week's rundown and grocery list is as follows:

Sunday 4/1        Left-over Veggie Beef Taquitos with Edimole (recipe to be posted later today)

Monday 4/2      Chicken Kabobs with Yogurt Sauce & Greek Quinoa Salad

Tuesday 4/3      Left-overs

Wednesday 4/4 Blackened Tofu with Quinoa & Sauteed Kale

Thursday 4/5     Butternut Squash, Spinach, & Goat Cheese Pizza

Friday 4/6 or     Steak with Roasted Pepper & Caper Salsa & Mashed Potatoes
Saturday 4/7

What you will need:

4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
2 steaks of your choice ( we will most likely use sirloin)
1 package center cut bacon
1 package extra firm tofu
1 pound red skinned potatoes
2-3 lemons (depending on their size)
1 pint cherry or grape tomatoes
1 cucumber
1 green pepper
2 red onions
1 shallot
1 head garlic
1 bag cut and cleaned kale
1 bag spinach
1 jar kalamata olives
1 jar roasted red peppers
1 jar sliced banana peppers
1 jar capers
1 package personal sized pizza crusts (mine will be Udi's gluten-free crust, regular for the Bear)
1 bag quinoa
1 box low-sodium chicken broth
1 bag frozen butternut squash
4 oz. goat cheese
1 package feta cheese
1 container non-fat Greek yogurt
1 pint low-fat buttermilk

Pantry items you will need:

Paprika
Dried oregano
Dried dill weed
Cayenne pepper
Onion powder
Garlic powder
Low-sodium soy sauce
Sesame oil
Extra virgin olive oil

I hope you all are enjoying your weekend!  Happy spring!

Italian Chicken Sausage & Potato Cassoulet

One of my favorite foods is potatoes.  Mashed, hashed, smashed, baked, fried, doesn't matter, I love them.  Believe it or not, they are also good for you!  The once frowned upon carb bomb actually punches a hefty does of vitamins, minerals, and fiber.  I think there are far worse things in the world and am not afraid of the potato.  I love it!

I also loved in place of pasta in this recipe and swapped pork sausage for chicken sausage.  My favorite brand is Isernio's.  It is gluten-free, lean, and available at your local Super Target for under $5.  Check out the stats:

If you cannot find Isernio's chicken sausage, chicken sausage links or an Italian style turkey sausage will work as well.  If you want to make this cassoulet vegetarian, feel free to leave out the sausage.  It is plenty filling!

On a side note, a cassoulet, as defined by Wikipedia, is a slow cooked French casserole.  I kind of get tired of the word casserole.   While this dish was not slow cooked I felt it was too elegant to be called a casserole. It also gave me an excuse to use my large, red Le Creuset baking dish I never get to use.  See!  This is not just your mama's tuna noodle casserole.  It is a cassoulet:)

Italian Chicken Sausage & Potato Cassoulet

8 medium red skinned potatoes, cut into 1 inch cubes

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon pepper

8 oz. Italian chicken sausage

1 yellow onion, thinly sliced

1 clove crushed fresh garlic

2 yellow peppers, thinly sliced

1 cup mushrooms, thinly sliced

1 14.5 oz. can diced tomatoes

2 tablespoons tomato paste

1 teaspoon dried oregano

1 teaspoon dried parsley

1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes

1/2 cup shredded 2% mozzarella cheese

2 tablespoons chopped fresh basil

Pre-heat your oven to 400 degrees.  Spray a large baking dish (13 x 9 will do) with non-stick cooking spray.  Place the potatoes in the dish and season with salt and pepper.  Roast the potatoes for 30-40 minutes or until slightly browned.  While the potatoes are roasting, heat a large non-stick skillet over medium heat.  Brown the chicken sausage until cooked through.  Remove the sausage from the skillet into a dish and set aside.  In the same skillet, add the onions and garlic.  Cook, stirring occasionally until the onions are soft and translucent.  Add the peppers and mushrooms.  Cook and stir occasionally until the peppers soften and the mushrooms brown.  Add the sausage back to the skillet.  Add the tomatoes, tomato paste, oregano, parsley and red pepper flakes.  Cook, stirring occasionally until the sauce begins to thicken.  When the potatoes are slightly browned, pour the sauce over the potatoes.  Sprinkle the cheese over the top.  Bake in the oven for another 10 minutes or until the cheese is melted and bubbly.  Remove from the oven and garnish with the fresh basil. 

In other news, I have to thank my new Food Buzz friend Neshanne from Oishii Treats.  She nominated me for a Versatile Blogger Award!  I am so excited!  So I do not mess up my formatting, I've included the expectations below.  Here are some blogs I've recently discovered since joining Food Buzz:

1.  Feed Your Soul

2.  Peas & Crayons

3.  Saucy Gourmet

4.  Seaweed & Sassafrass

5.  She Makes & Bakes

6.  Happy Valley Chow

7.  Feeding Las Vegas

8.  Young Grasshopper

9.  The Not so Desperate Chef Wife

10.  Flour Trader

11.  A Kitchen Addiction

12.  Oishii Treats

13.  Forkful of Comfort

14.  La Cucina Prima Donna

15.  Lady Behind the Curtain

Here are the rules for the Versatile Blog Award:

• Thank the person who gave you this award.
• Include a link to their blog.
• Next, select 15 blogs/bloggers that you’ve recently discovered or follow regularly.
• Nominate those 15 bloggers for the Versatile Blogger Award.
• Finally, tell the person who nominated you 7 things about yourself.

There are also a few add-on rules:

• In the same post, include this set of rules.
• Inform each nominated blogger of their nomination by posting a comment on each of their blogs

So, what is the Versatile Blogger Award? ”It is a great way to introduce different bloggers to each other and to promote quality blogs that awardees and their readers may not have discovered otherwise.”

Cuban Stuffed Chicken Breast

The challenge is off to a great start!  I have not really felt incredibly hungry all day.  The original plan has you eating more at one sitting.  While at work, I unfortunately do not have the time to eat all of the food.  Not to be one to let myself starve, however, I have chosen to spread some of the bulk throughout the day.  For example, I was to eat a salad for lunch with a side of strawberries.  This salad was a fairly heafty salad with 2 cups of greens, 2/3 cup lentils, 1/2 cup diced beets, 1 oz. goat cheese, and 2 tablespoons balsamic dressing (I used my better than Panera recipe).  I ate the salad for lunch and saved to berries for a snack later in the afternoon.  I also have accomdated some of the recipes to fit our pallet.  See the Cuban Stuffed Chicken Breast below:

The challenge suggests eating a chicken breast stuffed with salsa, cheddar, and broccoli served with brussel sprouts and a sweet potato.  Sounds fine, but I thought this had a little more pep in the step.  The components of a Cuban sandwich swiss cheese, tasty pickles, and ham are stuffed into a chicken breast.  I've also made this with pork loin.  You must try it!

Cuban Stuffed Chicken Breast
(adapted from Cooking Light's Cuban Stuffed Pork)

4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
2 dill pickle spears, chopped
1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
6 slices lean deli ham
2 slices Swiss cheese cut in half
Toothpicks
Salt & pepper to taste

Pre-heat your oven to 375 degrees.  In a small dish, combine the pickles and mustard.  Set aside.  With a very sharp knife, cut a slit into each chicken breast.  Stuff each breast with 2 slices of ham, 1 tablespoon of the pickle mixture, and 1/2 of a slice of Swiss cheese.  Secure the opening of the chicken with toothpicks.  Place each chicken breast on a baking sheet coated with non-stick cooking spray.  Bake for 30 minutes or until the internal temperature of the chiken is 165 degrees.  Cool for 5 minutes before serving.

Saturday Menu Post & Super Foods

Yesterday was casual Friday at our school.  To cheer on KU, I sported one of my favorite t-shirts.  It was a little snug, but I managed to layer a navy blue fleece to hide my love chub.  My teaching style is very interactive with a lot of music, movement, and other adaptive materials such as yoga balls, t-chairs, and tube socks filled with rice to accommodate for the sensory needs of my little first and second graders.  During my interactive reading instruction, I sat on a large yoga ball and had two other students sitting on t-chairs on my right and left side.  We had just finished practicing sight words which included dancing.  I was a little hot and had removed my fleece not thinking about my little bit of love chub around my belly.  While I was pointing at a book for another student in front of me, I suddenly felt a wiggly little finger poke at my said love chub.  I laughed out loud and said to the student, "Did you just poke my love chub?"  He gave me a giggly reply, "Yes!  My dad has that too." 

Not to ever go into a self-destructive body image pattern, I laughed it off.  But, I have decided one thing; the belly has got to go people!  Since turning 30, I have been trying to shed a pesky 10 pounds that has unfortunately put me in the "overweight" category according to my BMI.  I eat very healthy, am somewhat active (see above teaching style:)), but know I could be doing more now that my 20 something metabolism has come to a screeching halt.  This week, I got my monthly Self magazine in the mail.  Per their usual yearly format, they have the Drop 10 challenge with meal plans, exercises, and a tracking sheet.  I was very pleasantly surprised to see that most of the recipes included in the meal plan are gluten-free and include a ton of super foods which as research suggests help ignite metabolism.  I have decided to take on the challenge as an experiment and will track my progress through the online tracking system.  My plan is to adapt some of the meals with some additional herbs, spices, and veggies as they look like they need a boost in the flavor department.  This week's menu and grocery list includes:

Sunday 3/25         Cuban Stuffed Chicken Breast with Baked Sweet Potatoes & Asparagus

Monday 3/26        Left-overs

Tuesday 3/27        Chicken Sausage Skillet with Mixed Greens Salad

Wednesday 3/28   Left-overs

Thursday 3/29      Tossed Quinoa Salad with Kiwi & Strawberries

Friday 3/30 or       Baked Taquitos with Black Bean & Avocado Salad
Saturday 3/31

Groceries you will need:

Avocado
Apples
Bananas
Kiwi
Strawberries
Grapes
2 Limes
2-3 bags baby spinach
2 bags mixed greens
Cucumber
Asparagus
1 head garlic
1 package stoplight peppers (red, green, yellow)
1 bunch cilantro
1 bag red potatoes
Mushrooms
6 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
Chicken sausage
Deli sliced honey ham
1 bag quinoa
1 can diced tomatoes
1 can or jar of beets
1 bag lentils
1 can chickpeas
1 can black beans
1 jar all natural peanut butter
Goat cheese
1 tub plain, non-fat Greek yogurt
Almond milk
Stevia

Pantry items you will need if you do not have them:

Non-stick cooking spray
Olive oil
Balsamic vinegar
Chipotle peppers in adobo sauce (you can buy these in a can in your grocery's Hispanic food isle and freeze the rest in a plastic bag for future use)
Dried parsley
Dried oregano
Dried basil
Hebes de Provence
Crushed red pepper flakes
Taco seasoning (I use Penzy's)

I prepare all of my lunches for the week and store them accordingly so they are ready to grab and go.  I plan on drinking my daily Green Monster for breakfast in the morning and too include a morning snack of apples with peanut butter dip and yogurt and berries sweetened with stevia for my afternoon snack. If you were wondering what the lentils, beets, and goat cheese are for it will be in my salad I plan to take to work this week.  The super foods included in the challenge are apples, quinoa, lentils, olive oil, yogurt, sweet potatoes, and kiwi.  The plan suggests adding healthy fats, proteins, fiber, essential amino acids, vitamins, and resistant starch to help boost metabolism.  If you would like to learn more about the challenge, check out http://www.self.com/drop10 .  I look forward to sharing my posts with you this week!  Have a great weekend!

Veggie Burgers

"It is the Americans who have managed to crown minced beef as hamburger, and to send it round the world so that even the fussy French have taken to le boeuf hache, le hambourgaire." ~ Julia Child

I wish I could say everyone loves burgers, as most do.  My husband loves them.  My sisters, mom, dad, brother-in-law, friends, you name it all love burgers.  I do not like hamburgers.  The only burger that has ever rocked my palate was from Blanc Burgers in Leawood, Kansas.  And, it has to be the lobster burger from the Blanc in Leawood.  I've tried the Blanc Burgers on the Country Club Plaza and it wasn't the same.  Nope, not even close.  My sister tried the Blanc Burgers in Omaha after talking up our dining experience in Leawood and was very disappointed.  It has to be Blanc Burgers in Leawood if we are to ever recreate that special burger experience again.  Otherwise, I am not a burger person.  I don't know what it is.  It doesn't get me excited.  A veggie burger if gluten-free, however, will get me somewhat excited.  Especially this little gem I made last night...

I topped the burger with colby-jack cheese, spinach, tomatoes, caramelized onions, and gluten-free BBQ sauce served between a gluten-free bun (Shar brand). The recipe is really simple.



Veggie Burgers

2 cans chickpeas

1/2 cup broccoli florets

1/2 cup chopped carrots

1/4 cup chopped red onion

1/4 teaspoon chili powder

1/4 teaspoon paprika

1/8 teaspoon garlic powder

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/8 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

2 tablespoons ground flax seed

1 tablespoon water



Add the chickpeas, broccoli, carrots, red onion, and spices to a food processor and roughly chop. Add the flaxseed and water and mix until the chickpeas become a rough paste.

Heat a large skillet over medium heat and swirl the olive oil. With your hands, scoop the chickpea mixture and flatten the mixture in your hands to form your patties. Add the patties, one or two at a time depending on the size of your skillet and cook for 4 minutes or until lightly browned. Flip the patty or patties and cook for another 4 minutes or until lightly browned. Top with any regular burger toppings and enjoy!

The Bear thought these burgers were okay, but I know he is very carnivorous. I have so many ideas for other burgers such as a Greek burger, Southwestern burger, the possibilities are endless. What would you maybe try?

Chipotle Chicken Salads

I don't know what it is about the time of year, but I always feel like I need to freshen my plate up a bit.  Mmmm...salad.  While there is not much available in the way of summer produce, there are plenty of options in spicing up lettuce.  Homer Simpson said, "You don't win friends with salad," but I have had a lot of friends in the teacher's lounge asking me about my salad this week.  Justin and I ate this for dinner Monday and Tuesday.  It was so good, I ended up buying more salad makings to enjoy at work for lunch. Can you blame me?  Just look at the color!

Romaine lettuce, black beans, thinly sliced red onion, lush red tomatoes, corn, avocado, chicken, and the spicy chipotle dressing.  You can adapt the salad toppings however you want, but it is the dressing that really is the key player in this salad.

Chipotle Ranch Dressing

1/4 cup buttermilk
1 cup fat free sour cream
1/4 cup light mayonnaise (if you've read any previous posts, I adore Hellman's made with olive oil)
Zest of one lime
2 tablespoons freshly squeezed lime juice
1/4 cup fresh cilantro
1 chipotle chili canned in adobo sauce
1/2 teaspoon chili powder
1/2 teaspoon cumin
1/4 teaspoon salt

Blend all ingredients in a blender or food processor until smooth.  Use as a dressing for salads, wraps, or as a dip for tortilla chips.