One Pot Chicken Enchiladas

 I love my instant pot!  I use it all the time, but mainly for veggies.  But every once in a while I pull it out and make an actual meal in this neat all purpose kitchen gadget!  I did that and shared my red beans and rice recipe here.  And that recipe is fantastic!!!  Healthy and delicious!!!

Today I am sharing a One-Pot Chicken Enchiladas.  This is a great little recipe because it combines the ease of cooking in an instant pot with the delicious flavors of tex-mex food.  That is a win -win in my book!

Ingredients:

1 pounds boneless skinless chicken breasts

1 (4oz) can green chilies, chopped

1 envelope taco Seasoning

1 cup chicken stock

2 cups tortilla chips

1 (10oz) can enchilada Sauce

1 cup colby and cheddar cheese blend

Sour cream and green onions for garnish (optional)

1.  Place the Chicken, Chilies, taco seasoning and stock into the Instant Pot; secure the lid.

2.  Press the Manual button and enter 15 minutes.

3.  When the cook time is complete and the pressure has fully released, remove the lid with caution.

4.  Add the tortilla chips, enchilada sauce and cheese to the Instant Pot, stir; secure the lid.

5.  Press the Manual button and enter 3 minutes.

6.  When the cook time is complete and the pressure has fully released, remove the lid.

7.  Garnish with green onions and sour cream.  Serve Immediately.

Cal 413

Fat 20.9

Sat fat 8.2

Chol 103.8

Sodium 1121

Total Carbs 20.4

Fiber 2.3

Sugar 4.2

Protein 35

For a printable Recipe you can click here.

Crustless Strawberry Pie

 I absolutely adore strawberries!  I love them!  I don't know if I have ever gotten to the point of saying I've had enough!  They are delicious! It doesn't matter what format they come in either.  Strawberry shortcake?  Sign me up!   Strawberries with a little sugar?   I'm in!   Warm strawberries straight from the strawberry patch? OH my mouth is watering now!     But a few years ago I stumbled upon a recipe for a Crustless Strawberry Pie.  And I was intrigued!

The crust on a strawberry pie is what holds a lot of the calories!   So crustless sounds fabulous!  Do you know how many calories I can save.  And seriously, what strawberry lover hasn't scooped the delightful strawberries out of the pie and left the crust???? I made this recipe a few times and loved it.  But then promptly forgot about it.  I forgot about it for YEARS!  Until this summer when I stumbled upon this easy recipe!  I started making it a few weeks ago.  EVERY WEEK I make a  new one!   It is soooo delicious!  It's a perfect little touch of sweetness in the evenings after dinner.  It is full of fresh strawberries...and that is a win in my book for taste AND health!

Ohhh...and did I mention that this recipe is easy???   SUPER SIMPLE!!!!  Ok, your hooked now...so let me share the recipe!!!

Main Ingredients

1 large box of cook and serve vanilla pudding

1 large box of strawberry jello

1 pound strawberries

3 cups water

1 tbs Whipped topping

Recipe Steps

1. 1. Slice strawberries and layer them on the bottom of a 9x13 pan 
2. 2. Cook pudding as directed on package using water in place of the milk. 
3. 3. When pudding is boiling, add contents of the jello packet and mix thoroughly. 
4. 4. Pour the jello/pudding mixture over the strawberries. 
5. 5. Refrigerate until the jello/pudding mixture has set . 
6. 6. Serve with a dollop of whipped topping (optional)

Serves 8 Calories 117 Total Fat 0.2 g Total Carbs 28.1 g Dietary Fiber 2.4 Sugar 16.1 Cholesterol 0 Sodium 98.3 mg Protein 0.6 g

I'm telling you.  Crustless Strawberry Pie is the bomb!  It's easy to make. This is delicious.  Even better, the serving size  is a decent portion.  I  don't know about you...but I don't call a dessert 'healthy' just because it's only a half bite.  I want to actually have a nice serving of something that this dessert checks that box but still not break the bank in calories!!!!  This dessert does it all!!!!!!    If you try it, let me know what you think!

For a printable recipe, you can click this here.

Broccoli Chicken Rice Crockpot Casserole

 I love using my crock pot.  I somehow always seem to forget about it though!  But not this week!  This week we dined on the broccoli chicken rice crockpot casserole.  

This recipe is super easy.  It calls for a 

1pound of chicken (cut into bite size pieces)

5 cups of bite sized pieces of broccoli

 1 can cream of chicken soup

 1 can cream of celery soup

2 cups of rice

 1 cup of shredded cheddar cheese 

3-4 cups of chicken broth (I start with 3 and add more if it looks too dry as it is cooking)

Dump it all in the crockpot, put the crockpot on low and let it cook for 6 hours.  And Voila'  a delicious meal!!!!

For a printable recipe you can click here.

Broccoli Salad

A cool refreshing salad for the summer months

Broccoli Salad

In a large bowl combine:

6 cups fresh broccoli florets

1 can (8oz) sliced water chesnuts, drained

½ cup dried cranberries

¼ cup chopped red onion

 

In a small bowl whisk together

¾ cup mayo

¾ cup yogurt

1 ½ tsp cider vinegar

1 ½ tsp sugar

1 ½ tsp Dijon mustard

¼ tsp salt

1/8 tsp pepper

Pour dressing/liquid over broccoli and toss to coat.

 

Just before serving sprinkle with ¼ cup slivered almonds (optional)

 

Serving Size ½ cup

Per serving (without the almonds)

Cal 51.8

Fat 0.5

Sat Fat 0.2

Poly Fat 0.1

Mono fat 0.1

Chol 0.9

Dietary Fiber 1.8

Sugars 5.6

Protein 2.6

 

Alternate versions:
Use raisins instead of cranberries

Different dressing

 1 cup miracle whip

1 tbs vinegar

1/3 cup sugar

Click here for a printable copy of this Broccoli Salad Recipe.

Summer Salad

One of our favorite dishes in the summer is this summer Salad.  It is filled with nutritious beans and is  healthy, light and very filling.

15 ounce can black beans, rinsed and drained

15 oz can pinto beans , rinsed and drained

15 oz can kidney beans, rinsed and drained

Rinsed and drained , rinsed and drained

15 oz bag frozen sweet corn kernels

small chopped red onion

2 garlic cloves, chopped

2-3 chopped bell peppers (different colors make it prettier but not necessary)

Mix all of the above ingredients together in a large bowl

THe Dressing

1 tbs ground pepper

1 tsp salt

1/4 cup canola oil

1/2 cup red wine vinegar

The juice of two limes

Whisk all of the ingredients for the dressing together and pour over the vegetables.  This can be eaten immediately, but the taste will be enhanced after they sit and marinate together for a bit.

serves 10

Cal 245.4

total fat 6.5

chol 0

sodium 192.4

total carbs 39.6

fiber 11.4

Sugars 1.9

protein 10.6

Click here for  a printable recipe of this Summer Bean Salad.

Broccoli and Mushroom Stir-Fry

It is time for another healthy recipe.  And believe it or not, I am going to be cooking up another recipe that is predominantly mushroom based.  Why is that so shocking?  I don't really like mushrooms!  This is the third recipe that I have made with mushrooms that I really like!  I have made this recipe twice now in the last few weeks....it is that good! 

Broccoli and Mushroom Stir-Fry

Ingredients
2 cups broccoli, cut into small florets
3 cloves garlic
2 cups mushrooms, sliced
1/4 tsp crushed red pepper (optional)
2 tsp ginger
1/4 cup broth (more may be needed to keep vegetables from sticking during cooking)
1/2 cup carrots, shredded
1/4 cup cashews (optional...can add water chesnuts)
2 tbs rice wine vinegar
2 tbs soy sauce
1 tbs sesame seeds

Directions:
1.  In a large skillet on high heat add  broccoli, garlic, mushrooms, red pepper, ginger and broth.  Cook, stirring often until broccoli is soft.  Add more broth as needed to prevent the vegetables from sticking.
2. Stir in the carrots, cashews, vinegar and soy sauce.  Stir well and simmer for about 2 minutes.
3. Sprinkle with Sesame Seeds.
4.  Serve alone or on top of quinoa or brown rice.

This recipe takes a few minutes of prep time to slice the vegetables but is super quick to cook!  It is one of our new favorites!

Baked Portobello Parmesan

I have never been a huge fan of mushrooms but as we have tried to segue into a more meatless existence I have found myself coming up against more and more mushroom base recipes.  I decided to give mushrooms a REAL try.  I started small and had a recipe that I was able to chop them up quite fine.  And guess what?  I survived!   I got a bit braver and decided to go all in.  I decided to make portobello Parmesan.  I wasn't sure how I was going to handle this recipe....it is ALL mushroom!  But I knew that jason would like it, so I forged ahead!   Jason loves this recipe and I  have to agree, it's not too bad.....for mushrooms! (hahahah nope I'm not to the point of loving mushrooms ....yet....but I am really trying to see if I learn to like them a bit more....and for me it's not a taste issue...it is a texture issue!)

Portobello Parmesan

Ingredients

1 Portobello Caps
1/4 cup marinara
1 slice of mozarella cheese
1 tbs parmesan cheese
2 tbs olive oil

Directions
1.  Preheat oven to 350 degrees
2.  Wash mushrooms and allow to dry
3.  Heat olive oil in a large skillet.  Brown portobello caps on each side, allowing to cook until just starting to get tender
4.   Spoon a small amount of marinara sauce in the bottom of a baking dish. (You can use individual dishes or if you are making multiple portobello caps, you can place all of your portobello caps in one large baking dish
5.  Place portobello caps in baking dish upside down. Spoon remaining marinara sauce over the mushroom. Cover the sauce with the slice of cheese and sprinkle the parmesan cheese over the top. 
6.  Bake for about 10 minutes...or until sauce bubbling and cheese if golden.
7.  Serve immediately.