Black Bean and Beef Taquitos with Red Pepper

Black Bean and Beef Taquitos with Red Pepper

Ingredients:

1/2 lb. ground beef or turkey
1 onion, finely chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 can black beans, drained and rinsed
1 1/2 cups frozen corn
1 pkg. taco seasoning
1 tsp. cumin
1 can diced tomatoes
1 red pepper diced
2 cups shredded taco cheese
8-10 whole wheat tortillas

Optional: tomatoes, avocado, salsa, sour cream

Instructions:
Cook beef, garlic, and onion until fulled browned.  Add black beans, corn, taco seasoning, cumin, and diced tomatoes.  Heat and simmer for 15-20 minutes.

Meanwhile, wrap tortillas in damp paper towel and warm in microwave for 30-60 seconds. 

Spray cookie sheet with cooking spray and preheat oven to 375 degrees.

In each tortilla, add a scoop of beef mixture, some red pepper and shredded cheese.  Roll and place on cookie sheet.

After rolling each tortilla, spray all of them with cooking spray on top.

Bake taquitos for approximately 10-12 minutes, flip and bake additional 10-12 minutes until crisp.

Serve with optional ingredients.

If freezer cooking, freeze after filling tortillas.  Wrap each tortilla in wax paper and store in ziploc baggie.  Thaw on sprayed cookie sheet and then bake as described above.

Easy Pot Roast with Roasted Brussel Sprouts

Easy Pot Roast with Roasted Brussel Sprouts

Pot Roast Ingredients:
1 1/2 - 2 lb. beef roast
6 carrots, peeled
2-3 large baked potatoes, peeled and cut up
1 yellow onion, peeled and cut into quarters
1 package au jus seasoning

Brussel Sprouts Ingredients:
25-30 fresh brussel sprouts
approx. 1 tbls. olive oil
salt and pepper to taste

Directions:

Combine roast, carrots, potatoes, onion, and au jus seasoning in slow cooker.  Add enough water to cover roast.

Set slow cooker on low for 8-10 hours

For brussel sprouts, cut ends off brussel sprouts and remove any yellow leaves. 

Place brussel sprouts in a ziploc bag with olive oil and salt and pepper.  Seal bag and shake to coat sprouts.

Spread brussel sprouts in single layer on baking sheet.  Bake at 400 degrees for about 30-40 minutes.  Stir every 10 minutes to ensure even baking.  They are done when tender with some brown leaves.

Asian Chicken Stir Fry

Asian Chicken Stir Fry

4 chicken breasts, cut into bite size pieces
1/2 c. soy sauce

1/4 c. canola oil

3 T. brown sugar

3 cloves garlic, minced

2 T. peanut butter

1/2 T. fresh ginger

Your choice stir fry veggies (pictured are carrots, broccoli, red pepper, and asparagus)

rice or Asian noodles

Instructions: (see freezer cooking instructions below)

Combine first 7 ingredients in Ziploc baggie.
Mix together and marinate for at least 1 hour before cooking.

Heat oil in a wok over medium high heat. 

Cook chicken, in marinade, for 3-5 minutes, until cooked through and juices run clear.

Set chicken aside.

Add veggies to wok with approx. 2 Tbls. water.  Cover and cook until veggies are tender-crisp, stirring occasionally for approximately 7-10 minutes.    Add chicken and sauce back to wok. 

If it needs additional sauce, combine same marinade ingredients (approximately 1/2 to 1/3 of original amounts), whisk together and pour over stir fry.

Serve over Asian noodles or rice.

Makes about 4-6 servings

For freezer cooking:

Combine chicken and marinade in one Ziploc baggie.  Cut all veggies and store in a separate bag.  Thaw chicken before cooking but keep veggies frozen until you cook them to maintain their crispness. 

Food for Thought:

Stir fry is one of the easiest ways to make a healthy meal at our house.  This marinade works well for pork, too.  I usually just throw together any veggies we have on hand for it or whatever sounds good.  My goal is usually a broad variety of colors when it comes to the veggies for a broader variety of nutrients!  To add a little kick to this rrecipe, add some chili paste or sambal oelek to taste.

Chicken Cordon Bleu

Any meal that is complimented by my two-year-old is considered a winner at our house.  Why is it that his praise ranks higher than all others?  :) 

Chicken Cordon Bleu

Recipe from: Sarah Metzger

Ingredients:

4 boneless skinless chicken breasts
1 slice of ham for each breast
1 slice of Swiss cheese for each breast
2 large egg whites
1/4 cup buttermilk
1 TBSP Dijon mustard
2/3 cup unseasoned dry bread crumbs
1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp black pepper

Butterfly each chicken breast and open as a book. Lay a slice of ham and slice of cheese on each breast. Leave 1/2” of edge uncovered and close each piece using toothpicks.

In bowl, combine egg whites, buttermilk and mustard. Blend until creamy.

In a shallow bowl, combine bread crumbs, Parmesan cheese, salt and pepper.

Gently dip each piece of chicken in egg mixture, then into crumb mix.

If freezer cooking, freeze at this point and follow directions below after thawing chicken.

Set on backing rack or in baking dish with cooking spray and bake at 400 degrees for 30-35 minutes.