Oven Baked Chicken Chimichangas

If there is one thing we love in this house it's Mexican food. It has such a fantastic flavor and has that great crunch you would expect from a fried chimichanga in a baked one. It has easily become a favorite recipe for our dinner rotation. I hope you'll love it as much as we do!

Serving Size: 2 Chimichangas 

Servings Per Recipe: 4

Ingredients

2 cups chicken, cooked and shredded

1 cup of your favorite salsa (we used Pace Medium Picante)

1 handful cilantro, chopped

2 tsp minced garlic

2 tsp reduced sodium taco seasoning

1 cup shredded cheese (can use cheddar, Mexican blend, or even pepper jack)

1 small bunch of green onion, chopped including tops

8 soft taco size tortillas (8inches)

2 tbsp melted butter 

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit

2. Mix together the shredded chicken, salsa, cheese, taco seasoning, cilantro, garlic, and green onion together in a bowl. If it seems overly dry you can add more salsa. 

3. Put approximately 1/4 cup of the chicken mix into your tortilla.

4. Fold in opposite sides and roll up. Place seam side down in your baking dish. 

5. Brush (I spooned) melted butter over the tops of your tortillas. This will help crisp them up!

6. Bake at 400 for about 20-25 minutes or until golden brown. 

*We served with Guacamole, you could also use sour cream, plain Greek yogurt, salsa, extra green onion, or whatever you like!

Happy Eating!

Peanut Butter Coconut Frosting

Ingredients: 

• 1/2 cup creamy peanut butter
• 5 Tbsp Coconut Oil 
• 1 Tsp Vanilla Extract
• 1/2 Cup Powdered Sugar 

Directions:

1. In a microwave safe bowl put in your peanut butter, coconut oil, and vanilla. 
2. With 10-15 second increments, melt the ingredients together. Stirring each time to make sure everything melts smoothly.  
3. Once it is all melted together add in your powdered sugar and stir. (If it's too thin still, add a little bit more powdered sugar until it's desired consistency). 

Keep in mind this isn't going to be like conventional store bought frosting. The coconut oil moves between solid and liquid form so you'll find if you refrigerate this, it'll get stiff. When it's out for a while it'll get soft. I gave mine a few minutes in the fridge and then spread on brownies. 

"Homemade Hamburger Helper"

Ingredients:

• 1 lb ground turkey
• 1 can Rotel tomatoes/chilies [Mild & Drained]
• 1 packet taco seasoning
• 1 cup dry white rice
• 2 dashes of Chipotle Tabasco
• 1 3/4 cup water
• Queso Fresco
• 1 Tbsp minced garlic
• Seasonings: Salt, pepper, onion powder

Directions: 

1. Brown the turkey meat w/ salt, pepper, minced garlic, onion powder, and chipotle tabasco
2. Drain the meat and return to the pan. Add water, taco seasoning, rice, and DRAINED rotel. 
3. Bring to a boil, reduce heat, cover and cook 15-20 minutes. 
4. Let sit for a couple minutes to thicken. 
5. Dish into bowls and top with the queso fresco

Cheese Tortellini Soup

Ingredients: 

• 1lb ground meat (could use any you like, hamburger, turkey, chicken, sausage, etc.)
• 1 bag of baby spinach
• 19oz of frozen Tortellini
• 1 8oz package of Cream Cheese (I don't use the reduced fat kind, but it would likely work the same)
• 1 can of cut tomatoes (undrained)
• 2 cups low sodium chicken broth
• Shredded Mozzarella *Optional*

Directions:

1. Cook your ground meat thoroughly and drain. [I used hamburger meat with 2 cloves of minced garlic, oregano, salt, pepper, onion powder, and parsley. I didn't measure the spices, just eyeballed it. Was going for an ''Italian'' seasoning sort of flavor. Go with how much your family would like]
2. With the drained meat in the pan on medium heat add the entire bag of spinach and wilt. 
3. Add the chicken broth, cut tomatoes, and cubed cream cheese (we did about 6-8 cubed chunks). 
4. Cook on low for about 2 hours stirring occasionally. 
5. Add the entire bag of tortellini and turn the heat up to medium high cooking for about 30 minutes. Soup should be reducing and thickening. 
6. Serve and top with mozzarella if desired. 

Pink Monkey Overnight Oats

Servings: 3

2 containers strawberry Chobani greek yogurt
2/3 Cup Rolled Oats
2/3 Cup Almond Milk (I used Unsweetened Vanilla)
1 Banana
1 small handful of White Chocolate Chips (All I had was white)
*Slivered Almonds, Optional

1. Mix all the ingredients in a bowl except for the banana (and almonds if you're going to use them)
2. Slice banana directly into the mason jars (so about 1/3 of the banana in each).
3. Top with the Oatmeal mixture
4. Leave in fridge overnight
5. Crack that baby open, top with slivered almonds and enjoy!

Sloppy Joe's!

Sloppy Joe's

This is a meal we usually make about twice a month (or more depending on mood). I would consider it a go-to meal because we always have the ingredients on hand! It's super delicious and I like to eat mine open faced with a little bit of shredded cheese on top! 

Ingredients: 

• 1 lb ground turkey, 
• 1 cup ketchup, 
• 1 TBSP Paprika, 
• 1 TBSP Worcestershire sauce, 
• 1 TBSP Dijon Mustard, 
• 1 TBSP Lemon Juice, 
• 1 TBSP Distilled Vinegar, 
• 1/2 Large onion (or 1 small), 
• 1 small bell pepper, 
• 2 cloves of minced garlic. 

Directions:

We dice the onions and bell pepper and cook it with the turkey meat and the garlic. In a bowl on the side we mix together all the other items and when the meat mixture is cooked thoroughly it is first drained, then with it in the pan you add the sauce. Just need to leave it there till heated through and serve on whatever bread you like! We really enjoy it and can be served with whatever you like. We frequently eat salads, Brussels sprouts, or sweet potato fries.

Penne Pasta Salad

Penne Pasta Salad

Approximately 4 servings

Cooking Spray
1/2 pound Italian Pork Sausage [you can use any ground meat you like]
2 cloves of garlic [I buy pre-minced from the dollar tree!]
16 cherry tomatoes [you can use grape, cherry, or regular tomatoes cut up].
2 tsp Perfect Pinch Savory All Purpose Salt Free*
7 ounches of whole wheat penne
1 tsp Extra Virgin Olive Oil
1 Tbsp Parsley
2 handfuls of baby spinach (I buy it bagged)
2 Tbsp Pesto

**A container of marinated mozzarella balls (NOT REQUIRED)** 

1. Spray pan cooking sausage. As it starts to brown add garlic, seasonings (except parsley), tomatoes. Cook until sausage is brown and tomato skins have burst (this doesn't apply to cut up whole tomato). Season with Salt and Pepper to taste. 

2. Place cooked pasta in a bowl with the olive oil. Top pasta with sausage and tomato mixture, add the pesto. Mix well, and top with parsley. [If the dish doesn't seem to have enough pesto add another TBSP]

*If you don't have this seasoning in your kitchen, no worries! It's made with Thyme, oregano, rosemary, paprika, chili pepper, ginger, cinnamon, tumeric, garlic, and onion. You can play with the flavors yourself! Use what you like and customize the dish to your families liking.

**After dishing each bowl, add 3-4 mozzarella balls into each bowl. Super yum!**