Tabasco Braised Chicken

This is a great recipe that came together so fast! Some nights you just want to open a bunch of cans and dump them in a pot. This is the recipe for those nights!

Ingredients:

• 1 ½ pounds skinless chicken thighs (can definitely be made with chicken breasts!!)
• kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 2 tablespoons canola oil
• 1 white onion, diced
• 2 15 ounce cans diced tomatoes, including juice
• 2 15 ounce cans garbanzo beans, including juice
• 2 cups kale
• 1 tablespoon Tabasco (use 1/2 Tbsp if serving to kiddos)
• ½ cup water

Put half the oil in a heavy pot over medium high heat. Cook half the salt and pepper seasoned chicken, browning both sides (5-7 min a side), set aside and cook the other half of the chicken. Once chicken is cooked, set it aside, reduce heat to medium and add onion to pot, cooking until soft (4-5 minutes). Add tomatoes with juice, garbanzo beans with juice, kale, Tabasco (I used 1/2 TBSP and it was just right for my 3 year old, you can always add more to your personal dish) and water. Nestle chicken back into pot, bring to boil, then reduce to simmer. Let simmer for 25-30 minutes to meld flavors.

Serve over rice, quinoa, or whole wheat pasta. Enjoy! ;)

Lentil Tacos

I am so incredibly happy I ran into this recipe from crumblycookie.net. I have always been scared to cook with lentils (and I was raised vegetarian, you'd think it was my second nature) probably because the few times I tried the lentils didn't cook thoroughly (I can now attribute that to not enough liquid) but THIS RECIPE WAS SO EASY!!! Its super high in protein and fiber, its perfect for a wholesome, meatless meal AND its gluten-free and vegan! LOVE IT! Did I mention it's kid friendly, too!?

I also learned a priceless trick from this site about how to cook with corn tortillas so they don't crack. About 8-10 minutes before you are going to serve the tacos, place a damp dish cloth on a cookie sheet,  layer the tortillas on top, and then cover with another damp cloth. Pop the whole shebang in the oven at 200-225 degrees for 10 minutes. You will have soft, malleable, AWESOME tortillas!

Ingredients:

• 2 teaspoons olive oil
• 1 yellow onion, finely chopped
• 1 garlic clove, minced
• 1 tablespoon chili powder
• 2 teaspoons ground cumin
• 1 teaspoon dried oregano
• 1 cup dried lentils, rinsed
• ½ teaspoon salt
• 2½ cups low-sodium vegetable or chicken broth
• 10 taco-sized corn tortillas
• toppings: cheese, avocado, salsa, tomato, lettuce, greek yogurt, hot sauce

In a saucepan over medium heat, sauté the onion in the oil. Once slightly brown (8 minutes), add the garlic, chili powder, cumin, oregano and stir together until fragrant (1 minute). Add the lentils, salt and broth and simmer covered 25-30 minutes until lentils are soft. Remove cover and let cook an additional 6-8 minutes until the lentil mixture thickens. Mash with a potato masher or wooden spoon to break up the lentils. Place lentils on tortillas and dec out with your favorite toppings! Add a side salad for a complete meal. ENJOY!!

Lemon Protein Bars

These bars come from Jamie Eason's recipe. With a few tweaks, I've made them 100% clean and they are SOOOOO good. I will make these over and over and over!! The high protein content make them great for people that are trying to build muscle (that SHOULD be everyone!) because they keep you full and support muscle growth and recovery. I used the generic vanilla whey isolate protein powder from The Vitamin Shoppe. I'm so excited to have found this recipe!

Ingredients:

• 1 C oat flour
• 2 scoops vanilla whey protein powder
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp baking soda
• the zest of one lemon
• 1/3 C freshly squeezed lemon juice
• 4 egg whites
• 1/2 Cup baking stevia
• 1 C applesauce

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350. Mix dry ingredients in a small bowl. Mix remaining ingredients in a larger bowl and stir in dry ingredients. The batter will be thin! Pour batter into a greased 8x8 pan and bake 23-30 minutes (done when a toothpick comes out clean from the center). Cut into 16 squares and ENJOY!

Tilapia Burger

We LOVE seafood in this house, and these burgers were a nice change from our usual baked fish. They were super easy and since I used the frozen tilapia I had in the freezer, they were a snap to whip up. You can probably substitute most fish for the tilapia, but just remember, the fishier the fish, the fishier the burger. :) This recipe makes 6 burgers.

Ingredients:

• 1 1/2 pounds fresh (or frozen and thawed) tilapia
• 2/3 cup seasoned panko breadcrumbs
• 1 large egg + 1 egg white, lightly beaten
• 2 tablespoons dijon mustard
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
• 1/2 teaspoons dried basil
• 1 teaspoon smoked paprika
• 1 teaspoon onion powder

Directions:

Place the fish in a food processor to chop it up as finely as you'd like. Place the fish in a bowl and add the rest of the ingredients, mixing well. With your hands, form patties and place on a medium hot skillet sprayed with a little oil. Cook 3-4 minutes on both sides until brown and patty is cooked through. Would be yummy dressed up like your favorite burger! I had mine with spinach, tomato, onion and avocado. Delicious!!

Clean Chips and Guacamole

So it's Superbowl Sunday and what else is on our minds besides football and SNACKS (confession: snacks and beer are my favorite part, no doubt)!?! No brews for me today since I'm working, but snacks? You bet. And here's my favorite clean, easy and quick snack to whip up when I'm craving something salty.

Ingredients: *This makes enough for 2-3 people

• 1 ripe avocado
• 2-3 Tbsp your favorite salsa
• a squeeze of lime or lemon
• 2 whole grain tortillas**
• Salt
• McCormicks Fiesta Citrus seasoning
• oil in mister, or Pam

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Cut the tortillas into triangles (a pizza cutter is perfect for this) and lay them in a single layer on a baking pan. Spray the tortillas with oil and sprinkle with salt and McCormicks seasoning. I like this seasoning because its salt and preservative free so I can control the amount of salt I sprinkle on. You can sub your favorite taco seasoning or even chili powder! Bake the chips until lightly brown and a little crispy (they crisp more as they cool), about 7-8 minutes, but keep an eye on them after 6 minutes. To make the guacamole, just mash the avocado up, add salsa to taste and spritz with lime or lemon juice for a little zing!

**These are my new favorite tortillas! Tumaro's brand "Ancient Grain" flavor. For two tortillas, its only 120 calories and you get 10g of protein! I found these at Wegmans (I'm in Western New York).