Mexican Black Beans and Rice

MEXICAN BLACK BEANS AND RICE
Source: Moi!
Servings: A lot, probably 8?

Ingredients:

• 3/4 c. uncooked brown rice (cooks up to about 2.5 cups)
• Crockpot salsa chicken (or ground beef/chicken/turkey, cooked in taco seasoning)
• 1 jar of salsa (if you don't use the crockpot salsa chicken)
• 1 tbsp olive oil
• 1 green pepper, diced
• 1 red pepper, diced
• 1 onion, diced
• 1 tbsp garlic
• 1 can of diced tomatoes
• 1 can of corn
• 1 can of black beans, drained and rinsed

Possible toppings:

• Low-fat shredded cheese
• Fat-free sour cream
• Guacamole
• Shredded lettuce (to make a salad)
• Chopped green onion
• Black olives
• Tortilla (to make a burrito)

Instructions:

1. Make the crockpot taco chicken or ground meat. Make the brown rice.
2. In a skillet, cook the onion, red pepper, green pepper and garlic in the olive oil until the veggies are soft.
3. Add the corn, black beans, chicken (or meat and salsa) and diced tomatoes. Cook until heated through.
4. Add the rice and mix everything up. Cook, stirring regularly until heated through.
5. Serve with toppings, over rice or in a tortilla as a burrito.

Comments:

This recipe is very flexible. We jokingly call it "mexican dump" because you can dump in a variety of ingredients and use them up. Sometimes, I use the crockpot salsa chicken, other times I use ground beef cooked with a packet of taco seasoning and sometimes I leave out the meat altogether. You can also use whatever veggies you have on hand.

Best Ever Cheesy Chicken and Rice Casserole

CHEESY CHICKEN AND RICE CASSEROLE
Source: Me!
Servings: 8 (or 6 big ones :)

Ingredients:

• 3-4 chicken breasts, boneless/skinless, cooked and cut into bite-sized pieces
• 3 c. brown rice, cooked (or whatever 1 c. uncooked makes)
• 1 large onion, diced
• 4 large carrots, diced
• 4 stalks of celery, diced
• 1 can of mushrooms, drained (or 1 package of fresh sliced mushrooms)
• 1 tbsp jarred garlic
• 1 can of Campbell's low-fat cream of chicken soup
• 1/2 c. milk (I used 1/2 the soup can)
• 1 c. fat-free or low-fat sour cream
• 1 tbsp dry mustard
• salt and pepper (I like lots of fresh ground black pepper in this)
• 2 c. low-fat shredded cheddar cheese, divided

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 F.
2. Cook diced chicken and rice, if you aren't using leftovers.
3. While they are cooking, dice carrots, celery and onion (mushrooms too, if using fresh). Cook the vegetables in a pan until they are soft. Add garlic and the canned mushrooms at the end and cook for about a minute.
4. In a large mixing bowl, mix the chicken, rice, vegetables, soup, sour cream, milk, dry mustard, s&p and 1 c. of the cheddar.
5. Pour it into a large greased rectangular pan, like your lasagna pan. Top with remaining cheese. Bake for 20 mins if ingredients are already warm, 30-40 if cold.

Comments:

I have a cold and had a hankering for creamy comfort food. I had chicken breasts thawed and the other ingredients are things I always have on hand. The KEY to this recipe is the dry mustard. It might sound crazy, but it doesn't make it taste mustardy at all, trust me, because I LOATHE mustard. It just gives it it a nice kick. Using all low-fat and fat-free ingredients, due to the vegetable content, this is a pretty light recipe too!

You could totally use leftover chicken or turkey too. I would keep the onion/carrot/celery veggie base, because it gives it a nice flavour, but you could definitely add chopped peppers, corn, broccoli, etc...

Spinach and Bruschetta Pasta

SPINACH AND BRUSCHETTA PASTA
Source: ME!

Ingredients:

• 1 tsp EVOO
• 1 small red onion, sliced
• 1 package of mushroom, sliced
• 1 tbsp balsamic vinegar
• 1 jar of bruschetta mix (I used Classico Extra Garlic Bruschetta mix)
• 1 can of diced tomatoes
• 1 bag of fresh spinach
• 1 pkg of chicken sausage, diced (I used Nature's Own Chicken spinach and garlic)
• Whole wheat pasta

Directions:

1. Boil water and cook pasta as you make the sauce.

2. In a dutch oven, sautee the red onion in the EVOO until the union is soft and starting to brown. Add the mushrooms and cook until liquid is released.

3. Add/deglaze with the balsamic vinegar and stir continuously until the vinegar is mostly cooked off.

4. Add the bruschetta mix, diced tomatoes and sausage. Bring to a boil, then simmer for 5-10 mins.

5. Cover the top in spinach. Put the cover back on the pot until the spinach is wilted and then stir it in. Repeat adding the spinach, wilting and stiring until the whole bag of spinach is wilted and stired in.

6. Serve over pasta with a dusting of parm cheese.

Comments:

I was planning on having pieorgies with spinach, mushroom and onion last night, but I didn't have enough pierogies for everyone. I was limited in the produce I had on hand and had a jar of bruscetta mix that had been in the cupboard FOREVER, so I came up with this! It was a really nice change from traditional sauce, cooks up much quicker and is nice and healthy. The bruschetta mix is already well seasoned, so I didn't have to add any additional spices. Also, you could probably do without the balsamic vinegar step, but I think this gave it a bit of kick.

This was a delicious, easy and healthy weeknight meal. I have been told this is being added to the meal rotation :)

Bubble-Up Pizza Casserole

BUBBLE-UP PIZZA CASSEROLE
Source: Internet/Me

Ingredients:

• Ground chicken or turkey (you can use beef, I'm just trying to keep things light)
• Turkey pepperoni (I used a package of butterball brand)
• 1 onion, diced
• 1 green pepper, diced
• 1 red pepper, diced
• mushrooms, sliced
• 1 tbsp jarred minced garlic
• 1 large can tomato sauce
• 1 small can pizza sauce
• 1 medium can diced tomatoes, liquid drained
• Italian seasoning (1 tsp oregano, 1 tsp basil, 1 tsp Italian seasoning)
• 1 can Pillsbury biscuits
• 1 c. Kraft 4 cheese Italian blend (skim)

Directions:

1. Grease a lasagna pan (large rectangular) and turn over to 375 F.

2. Brown ground meat and put it in a large mixing bowl. Soften onions, peppers, mushrooms and garlic and add to the mixing bowl.

3. In the mixing bowl, combine ground meat, vegetables, sauces and seasoning.

4. Remove biscuits from the tube and quarter them. Stir into mixture. Pour into pan.

5. Bake for 25-30 minutes, until biscuits are puffy and start to brown. Cover the top in cheese and bake for 10 more minutes. Let it sit for 5-10 minutes to thicken a bit. Cut and serve!

Comments:

I made the enchilada version of this a couple of weeks ago and it was delicious, so I thought I would give the pizza version a try. It did not disappoint! Again, the presentation certainly wasn't great, but the taste made up for it. It is quite time consuming to make all at once. I really should make it all up the night before and when I get home, just add the biscuits and bake.

Orange Ginger Pork

ORANGE GINGER PORK, JASMINE RICE AND ASIAN SLAW

Orange Ginger Pork

Ingredients:

• 4 large pork chops or 8 small
• 1 c. orange juice
• 1 c. chicken broth
• 2 tbsp corn startch
• 1 tbsp brown sugar
• 1 can of mandarin oranges, drained, juice reserved
• 2 tbsp pickled ginger, chopped
• 1/4 c. green onion, chopped

Directions:

1. Put a little oil in a large skillet. Cook pork on each side for two minutes, to brown. Set aside.

2. Whisk together orange juice, chicken broth, corn starch and brown sugar. Bring to a boil in the skillet. Add mandarin orange and pickled ginger. Stir gentle.

3. Add pork chops and cook in the sauce, turning every couple of minutes until pork chops are cooked and the sauce thickens.

4. Serve garnished with chopped green onion.

Jasmine Rice:

While the pork is cooking, prepare jasmine rice. Use the leftover mandarin orange juice, chicken broth and water to make up the liquid. Once rice is ready, mix in some chopped green onion, fresh or dried cilantro and a little chopped pickled ginger.

Asian Slaw

Mix shredded cabbage, shredded carrot, chopped red onion, chopped green onion, garlic, cumin, pickled ginger, sesame oil, rice vinegar and a couple of squirts of lime. Or, mix up the veggies with Newman's Asian Ginger Vinegrette.

Comments:

This was a super fast, delicious and healthy supper. It was ready in under thirty minutes. If I had done the chopping the night before, I think it could have been ready in about 15 minutes! The flavours were all really fresh and the orange sauce from the pork was delicious poured over the pork. I cut up my pork and mixed it all together for my lunch today and can't wait to eat the leftovers.

Bubble-Up Enchilada Casserole

Bubble-Up Enchilada Casserole
Source: Internet/Me

**Warning: This sounds like a bizarre and disgusting recipe, but I can assure you that it is DELISH. I would not lead you astray.

Ingredients:

• 1lbs of ground chicken or turkey, browned (you can use hamburger, I am just trying to keep it "light")
• 1 green pepper
• 1 red pepper
• 1 onion
• 1 pkg mushrooms
• 1 small can of corn
• 1/2 can of black beans
• 1 can of enchilada sauce (8 oz)
• 1 can of tomato sauce
• 1 pkg of taco seasoning
• 1 can of Pilsbury buscuits
• 1 pkg of Kraft Mexican cheese blend

Instructions:

1. Preheat oven to 370. Brown the ground chicken/turkey. Put in a large mixing bowl.

2. Cook the peppers, onion and mushrooms in the pan until the onion is slightly browned and the peppers and tender. Add to mixing bowl.

3. Mix up beef, veggies, enchilada sauce, tomato sauce and taco seasoning. Remove the buscuits from the can and quarter each biscuit. Mix them in the enchilada mixture until they are coated in sauce.

4. Pour the whole mixture into a large greased pan, like a lasagna pan. Try to make sure the buscuits are somewhat evenly distributed around the pan. Bake for about 25 minutes. Remove from oven and add cheese to the top. Cook for another 10 minutes, or until biscuits are cooked.

5. Let sit for 5-10 minutes, until it cools and settles a bit. Serve with low fat sour cream.

Comments: As I mentionned earlier, this dish sounded somewhat gross and the appearance was questionable. However, it is so very delicious, even the skeptics devoured it. You could mix it up the night before and just add the biscuits and pour it into the pan when you got home, to speed things up a bit.

Rosemary Peppered Lamb Chops

ROSEMARY PEPPERED LAMB CHOPS
Source: Company's Coming 30 Minutes Weekday Meals

• Lamb chops (I used 8 small but thick)
• 1/4 c. flour (optional)
• 1 tbsp olive oil
• 4 large carrots finely sliced
• 1 onion, sliced
• 1 c. beef broth
• 1 c. dry red wine
• 4 sprigs fresh rosemary
• 1 tsp fresh group pepper

1. Dredge lamb in flour. Heat oil in a large skillet. Cook lamb for 3-5 minutes on each side, depending on thickness. Set aside.

2. Add 1 tsp of olive oil to the skillet. Cook onion and carrot in the skillet until the onion is browned and the carrot is becoming tender.

3. Add broth, wine, pepper and rosemary. Stir and bring to a boil.

4. Add lamb, coating in sauce. Cook for 3-5 more minutes on each side, until lamb is cooked.

5. Serve the vegetables and sauce over mashed potatoes.

Side dish: I served this with brussel sprouts. I normally don't love brussel sprouts, but I tossed them in 1 tsp of butter, 1 tsp of honey and a squirt of lemon juice. They were AMAZING!

Comments: This was really good and quick for a weeknight. I cut up the vegetables while the lamb was searing and steamed the brussel sprouts over the boiling potatoes to save time and dishes. My lamb chops were really thick, so they took a bit longer to cook, even to medium doneness (is that a word?) They stayed moist though, since they were cooking in liquid.

Definitely a make-again!