Recipes

Chicken Salsa Tacos

Here is an easy crock pot dinner!

Put a jar of salsa in the crock pot with a couple of boneless, skinless chicken breasts.

Turn up the heat and let it cook for a few hours. It is done when the chicken is cooked thoroughly and easily shreds.

We put the chicken mix in warmed fajita sized wheat tortillas and garnish with the following:

Diced tomatoes

Lettuce

Black Beans

Salsa 

Minimal Cheese

Sour Cream (Fat Free)

Avocado

It’s easy and yummy!

Taco Soup

This is one of my favorites and it’s VERY easy!

1 lb lean beef (we use turkey meat, or for some of you, elk and deer works well too!)

1 can corn (undrained)

1 can kidney beans (undrained) 

1 can tomato sauce

1 large can stewed tomatoes (make sure they are sliced to eliminate extra work.)

1 Package Taco Seasoning

Brown meat and drain grease. In a pot, combine all canned vegetables. DO NOT DRAIN VEGETABLES! Add in meat and taco seasoning. I use the entire packet, but some only use half a packet. Serve when warm. Serve with shredded cheese, tortilla chips, sour cream.

Tips:

If a large can of stewed tomatoes is too much, a regular sized can is fine. 

White and black beans are an excellent substitute for kidney beans. We also eat it without tortilla chips and cheese and it is super good still!

Fajitas

1 lb of Chicken or Steak
2 Tbsp Olive oil
Fajita seasoning envelope (found by the gravy envelopes and other seasonings in the spice aisle)
1/4 C Water
1 Green pepper
1/2 white onion
Small wheat tortillas

Cut the meat into 1/2 inch strips. Cook the meat in the oil until it's not pink. Cut the pepper and onion into strips as well and add to meat when it is not pink. Cook on med-high for about 3 minutes (so the veggies are cooked a little but still a little crunchy). Add about a 1/4 cup of water and 1/2 of the fajita seasoning envelope and continue cooking for another 3 minutes till the sauce thickens.
Serve on a warm wheat tortilla and garnish with your choice of guacamole, sour cream, salsa, cheese or whatever else you like.
We serve tortilla chips and black beans on the side. It is so easy, fast and delicious! Enjoy!

Spinach, Strawberry, Feta Cheese Salad

Ingredients:

1 bottle fat free poppy seed dressing (I know raspberry vinaigrette is a good substitute)
1/2 pound baby spinach
1 cup strawberries, thinly sliced
1/3 cup sliced almonds, toasted
1 package feta cheese

2 ounces fresh goat cheese, crumbled (optional for feta)

Method

Combine spinach, strawberries, almonds and feta (or goat) cheese and gently toss to combine. Serve immediately. Drizzle dressing on top. (serves about 4)

Pepper Steak 

Just get one large sirloin steak or 2 petite steaks. Dice them up into cubes. Chop up 2 bell peppers. I like different colors but you can just do green peppers. Steam some rice. I have brown minute rice. Mix up one clove of garlic, 1/4 cup butter, sauté in a large frying pan. Add steak and brown it. Add 4 tablespoons soy sauce and 1/2 tablespoon sugar. Cook on high 5 min. Add 1 can (approx 1 cup) diced tomatoes. I buy the ones that have garlic and pepper in them. Add the 2 diced peppers with the tomatoes and cook another 5 min.

Serve over rice. I make enough rice for 4.

Roasted Asparagus

Preparing Asparagus for cooking

You can either cut off a couple of inches of the stalk or, preferably, you can simply bend each spear until it breaks at its natural breaking point. Using the breaking method will make sure that you end up with nice tender spears of asparagus without any waste.
You'll find that you lose more of the stalk with thicker asparagus than with the young thin spears

Roasted Asparagus Photo by: flickr.com/photos/laurelfan/

How to Roast Asparagus
 Here's what I usually do:
Quick Roasted Asparagus

1. Preheat oven to 400
2. Dump asparagus spears on baking tray
3. Drizzle with plenty of olive oil
4. Toss asparagus spears to coat in olive oil
5. Spread them out on baking tray evenly
6. Sprinkle sea salt (or kosher salt) on asparagus
7. Grind pepper over asparagus
8. Sprinkle bits of chopped garlic over asparagus
9. Stick in the oven and cook for about 10-15 minutes

I usually let them cook until the asparagus is sizzling in the oil and there's a bit of browning. If you like yours a little crisper, you can take them out after they've turned bright green.
Once they are out of the oven, you can squeeze some lemon on them or shred some parmesan cheese over them or sprinkled some balsamic vinaigrette or Caesar dressing.

16 Calorie CUCUMBER SALSA!  From: Jolene

Ingredients
2 cups finely chopped seeded peeled cucumber
1/2 cup finely chopped seeded tomato
1/4 cup chopped red onion
2 tablespoons minced fresh parsley
1 jalapeno pepper, seeded and chopped
4-1/2 teaspoons minced fresh cilantro
1 garlic clove, minced
1/4 cup reduced-fat sour cream
1-1/2 teaspoons lemon juice
1-1/2 teaspoons lime juice
1/4 teaspoon ground cumin
1/4 teaspoon seasoned salt
Baked tortilla chip scoops

Directions
In a small bowl, combine the first seven ingredients. In another bowl, combine the sour cream, lemon juice, lime juice, cumin and seasoned salt. Pour over cucumber mixture and toss gently to coat.

Serve immediately with chips. Yield: 2-1/2 cups.
Nutrition Facts: 1/4 cup (calculated without chips) equals 16 calories, 1 g fat (trace saturated fat), 2 mg cholesterol, 44 mg sodium, 2 g carbohydrate, trace fiber, 1 g protein. Diabetic Exchange: Free food.

Healthy Chicken Salad Sandwich  From: Deb
1-2 chicken breasts, broiled and shredded
1/2 finely chopped apple
1-2 mashed avocadoes
1 small diced dill pickle
a little splash of lime juice
a splash of red wine vinegar
salt and pepper to taste
Bread recommended for this is a whole wheat bagel thin
Spread a thin layer of laughing cow cheese on one side of the bread
Top the whole thing with fresh sliced tomatoes