Southwestern Egg Rolls

I made these for our New Year's Eve celebration.  I found them on Pinterest and have been wanting to try them for a while.  These were easy to make and really delicious.  The flavors were really good and I was able to throw them in a freezer bag for good eats later on.

My plan for these is to incorporate them into Mexican nights and freeze batches for easy weekend meals.  I also think these would be great to make if you're bringing a meal to someone.

I served these with guacamole and salsa for dipping. 

Southwestern Egg Rolls:
(Emily Bites)

Ingredients:
2 cups frozen corn, thawed
1 (15 oz) can black beans, drained and rinsed
2 cups reduced fat shredded Mexican cheese blend
1 (10 oz) package frozen chopped spinach, thawed and squeezed dry
4 scallions, chopped
1 (4 oz) can of green chiles, drained
1 teaspoon ground cumin
½ teaspoon chili powder
1 teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon black pepper
¼ teaspoon cayenne pepper
24 egg roll wrappers (1 package)


Directions:
Preheat the oven to 425. Lightly mist two baking sheets with cooking spray and set aside.
In a large bowl, combine all of the ingredients except the egg roll wrappers and stir to thoroughly combine.

Pour some water into a small dish and set aside. On a flat surface, place an egg roll wrapper, corner facing toward you (like a diamond) and put ¼ cup of the mixture from the bowl on the center of the wrapper. Spread the mixture in a horizontal line from the left corner to the right corner of the wonton wrapper, leaving ½ inch or so of space on each side. Fold the bottom corner closest to you up over the ingredients and give it a 90 degree roll. Fold the side corners in and tuck them as you give the filled section another 90 degree roll. Dip your finger in the dish or reserved water and lightly wet the edges of the remaining top corner of the wrapper. Finish rolling the filled egg roll over the wet corner so that it adheres. Place wrapped egg roll onto the prepared baking sheet. Repeat with remaining ingredients.

When all of the egg rolls are wrapped and on the baking sheets, lightly mist the tops with cooking spray. Bake for 14-15 minutes, flipping once halfway through, until the wrappers are golden brown. Serve with salsa for dipping.

Chicken enchiladas with Chili-Yogurt Sauce

It's Mexican night!  It's our favorite night of the week.  This is another Pinterest recipe find.  (I'm so glad that website was invented)

I made some changes to the original recipe to cut a couple of calories and use what I had at home.  The Greek yogurt worked really well in this.  I really didn't feel like I was missing out  

Chicken enchiladas with Chili-Yogurt Sauce:

(inspired from Joyful Momma's Kitchen)

10 soft taco shells (I used whole wheat)
2 cups cooked, shredded chicken
1/2 cup frozen corn
1/2 jalapeno, diced
1 small onion, diced (or 1/2 a large onion)
2 cups shredded Monterey Jack cheese, divided
2 tablespoons hot sauce
3 Tbsp. butter
3 Tbsp. flour
2 cups chicken broth
1 cup greek yogurt
1 (4 oz) can diced green chillies
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1 teaspoon paprika


To make the shredded chicken:


Place a package of chicken breasts in a crock pot.  Add 1 teaspoon cumin, paprika, chili powder, and garlic power.  Cover with water and cook on low for 8+ hours.  Remove chicken from water and shred with a fork or tongs.


To make enchilidas:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees and spray a 9x13 pan with non stick spray.  Mix the shredded chicken, corn, diced jalapeno, onion, hot sauce, and 1 cup of shredded cheese.  Fill and roll up in tortillas and place in pan, seam side down.

(I had some extra chicken/corn mixture so I just plopped it on top)

















In a sauce pan melt the butter and stir in the flour. Cook about 1 minute, until a light golden brown color.  Add the chicken broth and whisk until smooth.  Heat over medium heat until thick and bubbly, stirring occasionally. 

Add the Greek yogurt, chilies, and spices.  Keep stirring until everything has come together and is warm.  Do not let the mixture come to a boil, it will cause the dairy to curdle. 

Pour over enchiladas and top with remaining cheese.

Bake 22 min and then under high broil for 3 min to brown the cheese.

Mexican Lasagna

It's Meatless Monday!!

I made Mexican Lasagna this week and it was delicious!  I was a little nervous going into it because I was kind of winging this one.  I didn't really do much research and used it as an excuse to clean out the refrigerator.  It worked out.

Mexican Lasagna:

12 corn tortillas
1 can reduced sodium black beans, rinsed and drained
1 can reduced sodium pinto beans, rinsed and drained
1 cup corn kernels, fresh or frozen
1 large bell pepper, diced
4 carrots, peeled and chopped
1 red onion, diced
1 cup fat free salsa
1-2 cups reduced fat shredded Mexican blend cheese


Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Cut each tortilla in half and layer 6 halves in a casserole dish or lasagna pan.  Top with a third of the beans, corn, onion, bell pepper, salsa, and cheese. 

Continue layering the ingredients.


Bake for 30-45 minutes or until everything is hot and the cheese has melted.  Serve with a dollop of sour cream or Greek Yogurt.

Bean Tostadas

It's Meatless Monday!!  I've been slacking a little bit in updating but here we are.  We all know that my family eats a lot of Mexican Food and this is yet another tasty recipe!

This one is easy to make and if you don't like certain toppings or want something else then it's easy enough to change around.

Bean Tostadas:

8 corn tortillas
1 can reduced sodium black beans, drained and rinsed
1 can vegetarian re-fried beans or a can of drained and rinsed pinto beans smashed
1 red onion, diced
1 cup reduced fat Mexican blend cheese
1 cup fat free salsa
Sour cream or Greek Yogurt


Preheat oven to 350.  Place the tortillas on a pan and place in oven to start crisping up.  I used a pizza pan that has holes in it to bake the tortillas.  Bake about 5 minutes.

Remove the tortillas, leave the oven on, and start to layer each one.  I spread some re-fried beans on mine and then topped them with black beans, onions, salsa, and cheese.  Bake them for an additional 10 minutes or until the tortilla is crunchy and the cheese has melted.

Top with sour cream or Greek yogurt.  These taste great with yellow rice or a guacamole salad.

Mexican Chicken Bites

I made this meal the other night when I was trying to figure out what to do with some left over black beans and yellow rice.  It was super easy to make and something really basic.  It's one of those things that can change depending on the spices you decide to use.

Mexican Chicken Bites:

2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
1/2 teaspoon cumin
1/2 teaspoon chili powder
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
Salt and pepper to taste
1/2 onion, chopped
2 tablespoons olive oil.

Cut the chicken into bite size cubes.  Season with cumin, chili powder, garlic powder, salt, and pepper.  Toss to make sure that the seasonings are covering all parts of the chicken.

Heat olive oil in a large skillet.  Once hot add the chicken and start to brown, add the onions and cook together.  Once the chicken has cooked through serve.

Spinach Cheese Enchiladas

It's Meatless Monday!  It is yet another week of Mexican food for us but at least this time it's not tacos.  I'm branching out a little bit.

I beefed up this recipe a little bit by adding some red bell pepper, cumin, garlic powder, and some extra salsa.  The brand we buy is zero points, so why not.  The filling of these enchiladas was very much ricotta (it was the texture).  It was almost like eating lasagna filling in a tortilla with salsa.

I like the idea of these but I want to figure out how to take away some of the ricotta cheese and make them with something else.  Mr. T and I both really enjoyed the flavor and it was nice to have something different for Meatless Monday.

Spinach Cheese Enchiladas:
(adapted from Weight Watchers, 7pp+)

Cooking spray
10 oz chopped frozen spinach, thawed, squeezed to remove water  
1 red bell pepper, diced
15 oz part-skim ricotta cheese  
1/2 cup(s) (shredded) reduced fat mozzarella cheese  
1 teaspoon dried oregano  
1 teaspoon onion powder  
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1/2 teaspoon cumin
1/2 teaspoon table salt  
1/2 teaspoon black pepper  
8 fajita size whole wheat flour tortillas
2/3 cup(s) fat free salsa  
1/4 cup(s) shredded reduced-fat Mexican-style cheese
 
Directions:

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Coat a 7 X 11-inch baking dish with cooking spray.

Take the dry spinach and chop it.  Just enough to get rid of the stringiness that sometimes happens with frozen spinach.

Combine spinach, bell pepper, ricotta, mozzarella, oregano, onion powder, garlic powder, cumin, salt and pepper in a large bowl; mix well. Spoon 2 tablespoons (roughly) of spinach mixture onto center of each tortilla.

Roll up tortillas and place side-by-side in prepared baking dish. Spoon salsa over tortillas and sprinkle each with 1 tablespoon of Mexican cheese.

Cover with foil and bake 20 minutes. Uncover and bake until top is golden brown, about 10 minutes more.

Two-Bean Burritos

I've been trying to think of new ideas for Meatless Monday.  I don't want to end up eating a bunch of random sides every week (which would probably be good too) so I've been trying to come up with some tasty vegetarian versions of meals my household loves.

Here is my version of bean burritos.  I thought they were really filling and delicious.  Tonight we ate them with some yellow rice but they would also be fantastic with a salad.



















Two-Bean Burritos:

1 can reduced sodium pinto beans, drained and rinsed
1 can reduced sodium black beans, drained of half the liquid
1-2 teaspoons olive oil
2 carrots, cubed
1 small onion, chopped
1 red bell pepper, chopped
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1 teaspoon garlic and herb seasoning
1 teaspoon chipotle seasoning (I used Mrs. Dash)
1/2 teaspoon cumin
1/2 teaspoon salt and pepper

In a small bowl mash the pinto beans with a potato masher.

In a skillet over medium heat, heat the olive oil.  Add the carrots and let cook for a minute.  Add the onion and bell pepper.  Let cook for an additional minute.  Add the black and pinto beans and mix everything together.  Add the seasonings and mix to combine.

Let everything heat up and fill your choice of burrito or taco shells.  I added shredded cheese, greek yogurt, lettuce, and salsa to my burritos tonight.  Mr. T added hot sauce to his, because that's how he rolls.

Stuffed Poblano Peppers

The Mexican restaurant we frequent has a stuffed poblano pepper dish that is on special most of the time.  It's Mr. T's favorite and he orders it almost every time we go.  I decided to try making a vegetarian version at home for "Meatless Monday" (or Meatless Friday for Lent) and this is what I came up with.

I have to say, I impressed myself.  These were really good.  Even if you aren't the biggest fan of stuffed peppers the filling would be great alone or inside of a burrito.

Stuffed Poblano Peppers:

2 poblano peppers
1 small package of yellow rice, prepared per the package directions
1 can reduced sodium black beans, rinsed
1/2 cup shredded reduced fat cheese (I used a mexican blend)
1/4 cup plain Greek yogurt
1 teaspoon black pepper
1 teaspoon Mrs. Dash Chipotle seasoning
1 teaspoon garlic powder
salt to taste

Set oven to 375.  Take the peppers; cut off the tops and remove the seeds and membrane inside.  Set aside. 

In a small bowl mix together the rice, beans, cheese, and greek yogurt.  Trim the tops of the peppers, chop them up, and add them to the bowl too.  Add the spices and mix everything together.  Stuff the rice and bean mixture into the peppers and bake for 15-20 minutes or until everything is warm and the pepper has started to soften.  Just make sure it doesn't get soggy.

Chicken Ropa Vieja

I was so happy to find this recipe the other day.  I had to work late and needed to figure out something to do for supper that night.  My plan was to use this chicken in tacos but I forgot to buy shells.  It didn't really matter because the chicken was really good and super moist.

(It also works really well for leftovers)

Chicken Ropa Vieja:
(Skinnytaste- 5pp+, 4 servings)

Ingredients:
3 (22.5 oz) chicken breast halves
1 small onion, quartered
1 tomato, quartered
1 carrot, peeled and chopped
2 cloves garlic, peeled
1 tbsp olive oil
1 small onion, thinly sliced
1 small green bell pepper, seeded and thinly sliced
1 small red bell pepper, seeded and thinly sliced
1/4 cup dry white wine
1/2 cup tomato sauce
Reserved broth
1 tsp cumin
Garlic powder
Salt and pepper to taste

Directions:

Place chicken, onion, tomato, carrot, and 2 cloves of garlic into crock pot. Add water to cover, and set to high for 4 hours until the chicken is tender. If cooking on the stove, cook on medium-low, and simmer until the chicken is tender, 30 to 40 minutes. Place the chicken into a bowl and shred it into strips using a fork; set aside. Reserve the liquid.

In a large deep skillet, heat olive oil over medium heat. Add the garlic, onions, green peppers, and red peppers. Cook about 3 to 4 minutes. Stir in chicken, tomato sauce, white wine, and about 3/4 cup of the reserved broth to create a nice sauce. Season with cumin, garlic powder salt, and pepper. Cover and simmer on low for about 10 minutes more adding more broth and seasoning if needed.

Fiesta Lime Rice

I've said before that we eat a decent amount of Mexican food.  Right now it seems to be our favorite.  I found this rice recipe and thought that it would work really well with our meals.

Fiesta Lime Rice:
(skinny taste - 4pp+, 4 servings)

1 1/2 cups cooked long grain rice
3/4 cup canned black beans, rinsed and heated
3/4 cup cooked corn, heated
1 large tomato, diced
1 large scallion, diced fine
2-4 tbsp chopped cilantro
1 tbsp fresh squeezed lime juice
salt to taste

In a large bowl, combine hot rice, heated corn, heated beans, tomato, scallion, cilantro, lime juice and salt if needed. Toss and serve.

Mexican Chicken Soup

It's been cold and rainy here which makes me want soup.  Mr. T and I have both been sick so I decided to make something easy.  Thank you Mr. Crock-Pot inventor!  This was really easy and I think it turned out pretty well.

Mexican Chicken Soup:

3-4 large boneless, skinless chicken breast
1 can of diced tomatoes with green chilies
1 can of reduced sodium black beans
8 oz frozen corn (about half a bag)
1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro
1 can fat free chicken broth
1 white onion, chopped
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1 teaspoon chili powder
1 teaspoon cayenne pepper 
1 tablespoon Mrs. Dash Chipotle

Combine everything in the crock pot.  Cook on low for 10 hours or high for 6 hours.  About 30 minutes before serving take the chicken breast out and chop into bite size pieces.  Add back into the crock pot and let cook for an additional 30 minutes.


Garnish with some additional fresh cilantro.

Turkey Black Bean Tacos

I love tacos.  They're easy to make, taste great, and are like little boats of awesomeness.  We make them a lot and i'm always trying to come up with some new ideas.  Turkey tacos aren't a new thing for my house but these are a little different so I thought I would share.

Turkey-Black Bean Tacos:

1 can of reduced sodium black beans
1 package ground turkey
1 tablespoon of your favorite taco seasoning
1 teaspoon ground chipotle pepper powder
Soft tacos shells
Lettuce
Salsa
Cheese
Sour Cream

In a skillet heat up a tablespoon of olive oil.  Add the ground turkey and let it start to brown.  Once it starts to brown add the taco seasoning and chipotle powder.  Cook for 5 minutes, or until the turkey is cooked through.

In a small sauce pan add the can of drained and rinsed black beans.  Let them warm through.

Assemble tacos however you like.

(I told you this was easy, and a great way to get veggies and beans into picky kids)

Turkey Tacos

We eat a lot of turkey.  It's not just for Thanksgiving anymore. Ground turkey cooks up easily and in my opinion it's just as good as beef.

Turkey Tacos:

1 package of ground turkey

1 tablespoon favorite taco seasoning

1 tablespoon Mrs. Dash Chipotle Seasoning

1-2 teaspoons chipotle sauce

1/4 cup water

1 tablespoon olive oil

Heat olive oil in a skillet on medium high heat.  Add the turkey and brown.  When the meat is browned add the seasonings and water.  Stir together and reduce heat.  Simmer, stirring until the sauce thickens.

Top tacos with favorite toppings.

Chipotle Steak Quesadillas

I love meals that I can use left overs to make.  We made skirt steak fajitas the other night and had some left over tortillas, vegetables, and steak.  We picked up some cheese and changed the seasonings a little bit and had a brand new dinner.

Chipotle Steak Quesadillas:

1 skirt steak

3 tablespoons Mrs. Dash Southwest Chipotle seasoning

2 tablespoons chipotle sauce  (Mr. T's favorite)

1 tablespoon lemon juice

1 garlic clove, chopped

2 tablespoons olive oil

soft tortillas

shredded cheese (I buy the Mexican blend)

bell pepper, sliced

sweet white onion, sliced

In a bowl, mix the Mrs. Dash, Chipotle sauce, garlic, lemon juice, and olive oil together.  Put the steak in the bowl and cover with the spice mix.  Sit in the refrigerator for 20 minutes to over night.

When ready to make the quesadillas, remove the meat and place in a hot skillet with a little bit of oil and cook for 3-4 minutes on each side.  Let rest for a couple of minutes before cutting.

I used leftover veggies that I had sauteed, but this is where you would want to saute your veggies.

Now to assemble!  In a dry skillet on low heat place the tortilla.  Add a layer of cheese.  When the cheese just starts to melt add the veggies and steak. 

I'm one of those people that tends to over stuff quesadillas so try to hold yourself back, I understand.  Top with a little more cheese and as soon as the bottom layer of cheese has melted fold it in half!

** Disclaimer- Mrs. Dash and Cholula have no idea who I am and did not compensate me in any way.  I just like their products. **

Chicken Soft Tacos

I love chicken tacos.  I love playing with the seasonings, using different salsas, adding toppings, the whole thing.  Taco night is my favorite night.

Chicken Soft Tacos:

1 package of boneless, skinless, chicken breast

2 tablespoons of Mexican Seasoning

juice of 1 lime (or lemon if you don't have the lime)

1 tablespoon olive juice

lettuce, shredded

diced tomatoes

1 red onion, thinly sliced

1 jalapeno, seeded and diced

salsa

sour cream

shredded cheese

black olives (optional)

warmed black and/or pinto beans

soft taco shells

Take the chicken and either cut it into bite size cubes or into strips.  Whichever you like.  Put the chicken in a bag with the Mexican seasoning olive oil, and the lime juice. Let it marinate in the refrigerator for at least 20 minutes.  When the chicken is finished marinating, cook in a skillet over medium/medium-high heat until cooked through and no longer pink.  Depending on the size that the chicken has been cut into it could take 5-10 minutes.

The rest is just about laying.  I tend to buy smaller taco shells, the ones labeled for fajitas.  I know I'm going to eat 2 of them anyway, I might as well make 2 smaller ones.

Here's how I make a taco:

- layer of sour cream

- chicken pieces

- beans

- cheese

- onions

- lettuce

- salsa

- Cilantro Yogurt Sauce (when I'm feeling crazy)

Tacos are all about what you want to put on them.  Add more, take away some, whatever.  Go nuts.

Skirt Steak Fajitas

We tried something new tonight.  Publix had skirt steak on sale, and since neither one of us had ever had it we decided to try it out.  My good friend Google led me to a search result for "Skirt Steak Fajitas"... so we made that.  (We're easy to please)

This would be a perfect week night meal.  The steak can be put in the marinade the night before and the vegetables can be cut up so that when dinner time rolls around all that needs to be done is cooking the meat and veggies.


Skirt Steak Fajitas:
(got the idea from about.com)

1 package of skirt steak
2 tablespoons lemon or lime juice
1 tablespoon black pepper
2 teaspoons salt
1 large garlic clove, minced
4 shakes of Worcestershire sauce
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 tablespoons Chipotle Sauce
1 large bell pepper
1 large, sweet onion
1 package of mushrooms

In a bowl add the lemon juice, pepper, salt, garlic, worcestershire sauce, olive oil, and chipotle sauce.  Mix everything together.  Take the flank steak and put it in the bowl, making sure it's covered on both sides with the marinade.  Put in the refrigerator and let marinate for at least an hour.

Slice the bell pepper and onion into strips.  Add a tablespoon of olive oil to a skillet and heat on medium high heat.  Add the pepper, onion, and mushrooms.  Heat until everything until hot, but still crisp.

When the skirt steak is finished marinating add a tablespoon of oil to another skillet and heat on medium high heat.  Add the skirt steak to the hot pan.









 





Cook for four minutes on each side.  Then take the steak off the heat, cover with foil, and let rest for about 4 more minutes.

Slice the steak against the grain.

Serve in a tortilla shell with the vegetables and some sour cream.

I know that cheese isn't a traditional fajita topping, but I don't care.

Mexican Chicken

We eat a lot of Mexican food.  I love tacos, nachos, quesadillas, etc.  This is one of my favorite ways to use chicken in Mexican.

Mexican Chicken:

4 boneless skinless chicken breasts
Juice of lime juice
1/4 cup dried oregano
3 tablespoons dried chile powder
2 teaspoons cumin
2 teaspoons garlic powder
1 tablespoon dried onion
1 teaspoon salt
1 large ziploc bag

Cut the chicken breast into bite size cubes (or whatever size would work for your dish).  Place the chicken in a bag.  Add the spices and lime juice.  Roll the chicken in the bag, making sure that the spices have coated everything.

Let the bag of chicken marinate in the refrigerator for at least half an hour.

In a skillet heat up a tablespoon of olive oil (or spray with some cooking spray).  Pour the chicken in the pan and cook until the chicken is white all the way through.

Mexican Seasoning

Most people buy the little packets of taco seasoning from the store.  They're cheap and easy but it's just as easy to make a batch of seasoning and it is much easier to control the amount of salt.  I like to make a batch of this and keep it in the cupboard.

Mexican Seasoning:

1/4 cup dried oregano
3 tablespoons dried chile powder
2 teaspoons cumin
2 teaspoons garlic powder
1 tablespoon dried onion
1 teaspoon salt

Directions:

Mix together ingredients thoroughly and store in an airtight container.

Mexican Casserole

Mr. T loves mexican food, so do I.  I'm always looking for new things to make and who doesn't love a casserole?!

Mexican Casserole:
Ingredients:
6 tablespoons butter
6 tablespoons all-purpose flour
3 1/2 cups milk
1 1/2 cups chicken stock
1/2 pound shredded pepper jack cheese
1/2 teaspoon salt
9 teaspoons vegetable oil
18 flour tortillas
4 cups cooked cubed or bite size chicken meat
6 poblano peppers, roasted, peeled and seeded
1 tablespoons seasoning salt
1 cup chopped green onions
3/4 pound (3 cups) shredded Monterey Jack cheese
1 cup chopped fresh tomatoes
1 tablespoon chopped fresh cilantro leaves
4 ounces Queso blanco, shredded (substitute Parmesan if unavailable)
1 cup sour cream
Salsa or Pico de Gallo

Directions:

Melt the butter in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Whisk in the flour and cook, stirring constantly, for 1 minute. Whisk in the milk, little by little, until thoroughly combined. Add the chicken stock and bring sauce to a boil. Reduce heat to a simmer and cook until thickened and flavorful, about 10 minutes. Add the pepper jack and stir until melted. Season with the season salt and remove from the heat. Set aside, covered, while you assemble the remaining ingredients.

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Lightly grease a 9-by 13-inch casserole.

Spoon 1 cup of the sauce onto the bottom of the casserole dish. Top with 6 of the tortillas, spreading them evenly to form a complete layer. Top with half of the chicken, half of the poblanos, half of the green onions, 1 1/2 cups of the sauce, and 1/3 of the shredded Monterey Jack. Make another layer in exactly the same way.

Cover the casserole with aluminum foil and bake for 45 minutes. Remove the foil and continue to bake for about 15 minutes longer, or until the casserole is bubbly and light golden brown on top.