Cheeseless Quesadilla?

What do you call a cheeseless quesadilla?

Is it just a dilla?  What about a cheeseless quesadilla with beans?  A habadilla? 

Something to ponder…

Quesadillas are one of my favorite fast-fix dinners.  I put a lot of random things in my quesadillas, and I’m convinced that you can sandwich pretty much anything in between a tortilla, throw it on the george foreman grille, and have near instant glory in your mouth.

Take this dinner for example.  I started off with 1 Tumaro’s low carb tortilla topped, 1/4 cup fat-free refried beans and 2 ounces grilled chicken:

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Plus 1/2 a cup of frozen calabacita mixed veggies that I defrosted in the microwave:

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5 minutes of quality time with the george:

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Naked quesadilla:

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Veggies for toppin’

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Add 2 tbsp of fat-free sour cream and you have yourself magnificence on a plate!

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Stats on the habadilla:  264 calories, 38g carbs, 3g fat, 33g protein, 12g fiber

 

 Mmmmmm beans……  Love them.

 

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Hummus + Spaghetti Squash

Sometimes I have foodie visions.  This is my term for the moment when a random collaboration of ingredients convene in my brain and its seems as though there is nothing I can do to regain control of my thoughts… except of course, try out the random concoction … all the while hoping it doesn’t make me ralph.

My most recent foodie vision consisted of some of this:

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plus

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What’s that, you ask?  Good question!  This lovely dinner concoction consisted of:

  • 2 tbsp Trader Joe’s Original Hummus
  • 2 ounces chopped grilled chicken
  • 1 diced roma tomato
  • 1 baby spaghetti squash
  • Some red pepper flakes

Repulsed?  Don’t go all eggplant on me yet!

First, I baked the spaghetti squash in a 425 degree oven for 25 minutes (since this was just a lil guy).  Then I used a fork to scrape out the squash noodles.

Meanwhile, I sprayed a skillet with some cooking spray and tossed in the hummus to get it heating up:

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Then I added the tomatoes and chicken:

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Once everything was warmed through, I added the spaghetti squash and some red pepper flakes.

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Presto!

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This was really tasty and simultaneously really weird 😯     

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Several times during the meal I got a faint reminder of macaroni and cheese which I found even weirder–but that gave me ANOTHER foodie vision I must try sometime soon…. Cheesy spaghetti squash!  Stay tuned, folks!

Overall, I like this idea and I’m definitely going to play with it some more.  I think wilted spinach would be a really nice addition and maybe a different flavor of hummus…..  we shall see… we shall see.

Stats on the spaghetti squash/hummus concoction:  199 calories, 20g carbs, 6g fat, 14g protein, 5g fiber

CALL TO ACTION!  Now that the weather is changing, I’ve been craving WARM lunches….  I am bored & I need inspiration for yummy/healthy WARM lunches to bring to work…..  Any ideas?

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Back to the normal routine

Even with the big tax deadline behind me, my schedule is crazy hectic.  What’s up with that???  Wednesday for instance is a VERY busy day for me because I go straight from the office to the university for the class I teach.  This requires ample food-planning on Tuesday nights because I have to pack 6 meals.  6 meals?!?  Yes 6.  Take today for instance, here’s what I packed last night for the day ahead:

  • B#1:  Scrambled eggs & roasted broccoli
  • B#2:  Overnight oats + chopped strawberries + blueberries
  • Lunch:  Big ole Salad + Jennie O’ Turkey Sausage
  • Snack:  Granny smith apple
  • Dinner:  Chicken & hummus wrap + cucumber salad
  • Snack: 1/2 of an 18 Rabbits granola bar

I like to travel with food apparently 🙂

One thing I’ve been craving the past few weeks is getting back to my normal foods routine! 

You know what that means:

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EGGS for breakfast #1!

Last night, I cooked up a batch of my scrambled eggs:

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I also roasted up some broccoli which I enjoyed at 8am at my desk with a dollop o’ heaven Ketchup:

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Of course, this was followed up 2 hours later by none other than my overnight oats for B#2:

 

Yesssssssss.

My lunch salad consisted of romaine lettuce, 1/2 a large cucumber, 1 baby roma tomato, some red onion, banana pepper and Ken’s steakhouse Lite Italian Romano dressing:

I also had a Jennie O’ turkey sausage on the side…

Is it just me, or does that sausage look really sad?! … A sausage with no bun is like a bird with no wings eggs with no ketchup!  Luckily I had a monster Italian sausage sandwich over the weekend 😀

After the 2PM doldrums pass, it’s time for a snack!  My usual afternoon snack is a granny smith apple:

Usually my snacks go unpictured.  But today, I’m snapping everything that goes into my mouth 🙂 Uh oh. 

Fun fact about me and apples:  I REFUSE to buy an apple unless the stem is still attached.  An apple sans stem is a clear indicator that a worm has crawled inside…. I’m pretty sure my sister told me that as a child, and it has stuck with me through the years.  I may look funny in the produce aisle as I pick up one apple after another to find one that still has the stem attached, but guess who WON’T be looking funny when they bite into a worm?  It won’t be me, that’s for darn sure!  😉

For dinner, I packed some cucumber salad:

And also a La Tortilla low-carb wrap consisting of 2 ounces grilled chicken, onion, and 1 tbsp Trader Joe’s original hummus:

Come to think of it, I probably should have avoided so many onions right before class… Oh well, they don’t call me the Onion Lady for nothin’. :mrgreen:

 

Last my not least, I packed 1/2 of an 18 Rabbits granola bar (thanks Dorry!) for my late-night snack:

Whew!  That’s a lot of food! 

Happy Eating and Happy Hump Day!

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Easy Chicken Pot Pie

Holy comfort food!!!!

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Ever since we stopped at Bob Evans last week for breakfast, I’ve been craving a pot pie with a vengeance.  We’ve got a BIG deadline at work this week, so I’ve been working my little hiney off and have had zero time to cook.  Tonight however I made time because I knew my body NEEDED a lil pot pie.  I’ve never made a pot pie before, so I did a little googlin’ and found this recipe for Impossibly Easy Chicken Pot Pie.  Sounded like a good place for me to start learning the art of potpiedom!

This recipe was incredibly simple to throw together, which made it all the more comforting and delicious.  First up, I gathered the mixins.

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And quickly threw a chicken breast seasoned with salt and pepper on the George.

Meanwhile, I threw the following items into a bowl:

  • 1 bag frozen stew vegetables (pearl onions, potatoes, carrots, celery)
  • 2 cups chopped broccoli … because I love broccoli and broccoli loves me!
  • 1 can Campbell’s Healthy Request Cream of Mushroom Soup
  • 1/4 tsp Salt
  • 1/4 tsp Black pepper

Once the chicken breast was cooked through, I roughly chopped it into cubes, and added to the mix.

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Yes… this is what I called a “cube” 😉

I gave everything a good mix and poured into a pie dish that I had sprayed with some cooking spray. 

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Next up, I mixed the following in a little bowl:

  • 1 cup bisquick
  • 1 large egg
  • 1/2 cup almond breeze

If you are smarty pants, you may have noticed Bisquick is NOT the baking mix pictured in my ingredients pic… I had full intentions of using my Bob’s Red Mill Low-carb baking mix… but last minute I got a little nervous thinking the pot pie might be a pot-flop, and I wasn’t about to waste my last bit of low-carb baking mix on that.  So I decided to use Bisquick instead and save the Bob’s Red Mill for pot pie round #2.  (I foresee many pot pies in my future)

Once the batter was all mixed up, I dumped it on top of veggies. 

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Now, I can assure you that even though this looks like I just poured some paper-mache goopy gop concoction on my delicious veggies it did not taste like any sort of glue…  Well at least not any glue I’ve ever tasted.  I popped this pie into a 400 degree oven with apprehension, and let it hang out for 40 minutes until the top was nice and browned.

Voila!  Pot Pie!

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The pot pie was everything I had hoped for!  Creamy, comforting, and oh-so delicious!

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Not to mention this made four servings so now I have food for the rest of the week.  Hooray!

Just a few more days to go folks, then life can return to its “normal” state. 

Easy Chicken Pot Pie Ingredients List (makes 4 servings)

  • 1 bag frozen stew vegetables
  • 2 cups chopped broccoli
  • 1 can Campbell’s Healthy Request Cream of Mushroom Soup
  • 1/4 tsp Salt
  • 1/4 tsp Black pepper
  • 1 large grilled chicken breast (mine was approx 7 ounces)
  • 1 cup Bisquick
  • 1 large egg
  • 1/2 cup Unsweetened Almond Breeze Vanilla Almond Milk

 

Myfitnesspal stats on 1 serving of Easy Chicken Pot Pie:  315 calories, 41g carbs, 7g fat, 19g protein, 4g fiber 

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White Chicken Chili & Spaghetti Squash

I love spaghetti squash.  I mean, what could be better than an all-natural version of one of my FAVORITE foods in the world?  Lately I’ve been in a spaghetti squash rut.  I’ve been searching high and low for something different than my standard Spaghetti Squash with Spicy meat sauce.

Luckily, I stumbled across this post by Green Dog Wine for some white chicken chili she tossed on top of spaghetti squash.  Sounded like an awesome combo to me!

Since Monday was a holiday, my usual Sunday-Cooktacular was pushed back a day.  Here’s a shot of some of my inventory:

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That doesn’t even include the 2 turkey sausages and 1 chicken breast I grilled up along with the 4 servings of White Chicken chili this recipe makes!  I’m a cooking machine!

Alright, on to the main event:  White Chicken Chilli!

First up, I heated up a skillet that I sprayed down with cooking spray.  Once the skillet was hot, I tossed in a cup of a chopped white onion and 2 cloves of minced garlic.

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A few minutes later the onions were looking nice and caramelized, so I plopped three chicken breasts seasoned with S&P into the skillet right on top of the onions and garlic.

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Once the chicken was cooked through, I added the following to the pan:

  • 1 can Navy beans, drained and rinsed
  • 1 can rotel tomatoes
  • 1 packet McCormick’s White Chicken Chili seasoning
  • 1 cup all-natural free range chicken broth

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I gave everything a good stir, then popped the lid on and reduced the heat to a simmer. 

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Meanwhile, I halved two baby spaghetti squash and tossed them onto a cookie sheet.  Into a 415 degree oven for 25 minutes (since these guys were so tiny, I shortened the cooking time). 

While the squash was cooking, I pulled the chicken breasts out of the chili mix and gave them a rough shred using two forks (just like I do when I make my buffalo chicken dip).  I tossed the shredded chicken back into the chili just in time for the spaghetti squash to be done. 

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I used a fork to scrape out all the squash noodles…  Squadles, perhaps? 😉

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Then, I divided the squash evenly between two containers to take to work for late-night dinners at the office: 

When it was time to eat, I topped one of the containers of squash off with one quarter of the white chicken chili mixture:

 

This is going into my spaghetti squash roatation for sure!  The chili was delicious even without the squash, but I like the extra texture and flavor that the squash adds. 

White Chicken Chili Ingredient List (serves four)

  • 1 cup white onion, chopped
  • 2 cloves minced garlic
  • 1 lb boneless skinless chicken breast
  • S&P
  • 1 can Navy beans, drained and rinsed
  • 1 can rotel tomatoes
  • 1 packet McCormick’s White Chicken Chili seasoning
  • 1 cup all-natural free range chicken broth
  • Spaghetti squash (optional)

Myfitnesspal stats on one serving chili:  293 calories, 39 carbs, 5g fat, 33g protein, 10g fiber

 

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