Beef and Mushroom Tacos with Avocado Salad

This recipe had me at 'Avocado Salad'. I love all things avocado and Mexican! It was so good. Chad said it tasted like a taco crossed with a Philly cheese steak. What a great way to describe it. YUM! 

I found this recipe in Everyday with Rachael Ray. 

3 tablespoons olive oil
1 lb. ground beef
1 onion; chopped
2 jalapeno chiles; stemmed, seeded and finely chopped
Salt and pepper
2 avocados; cubed
1/4 cup fresh lime juice (1 1/2 limes)
8 ounces sliced white mushrooms
3 cloves garlic' thinly sliced
Flour tortillas

In a large skillet, heat 2 tablespoons olive oil over medium-high heat. Add the beef, half the onion and jalapenos; season with salt and pepper. Cook until the beef is browned and onions are softened. Transfer to a bowl; reserve the skillet.

Meanwhile, in a large bowl, combine the remaining onion, avocados and lime juice; season with salt and pepper.

In the reserved skillet, heat the remaining 1 tablespoon olive oil over medium heat. Add the mushrooms and garlic; season with salt and pepper and cook until golden. Stir in the beef mixture and warm through.
Prepare the tortillas to your liking and stuff with beef mixture topped with avocado salad.

Arroz Congri (Cuban Rice and Black Beans)

Last weekend my family and I went to one of our new favorite restaurants, Reds on the River. I ordered their special Ropa Vieja (which is essentially braised beef over rice with black beans.) Their version of the dish was topped with a poached egg. YUM! It was soooo good! Maybe I will attempt to recreate it one day. Anyways, I saw this recipe for Cuban rice and beans and it sounded good and easy enough for me to try. I am glad I did! It was healthy and flavorful. LOVED IT! 

2 teaspoons olive oil

1 green pepper; chopped

1 red pepper; chopped

1 small onion; chopped

2 cloves garlic; minced

1 cup uncooked long grain rice

1 - 15 ounce can black beans - don't drain

1 1/2 cups water

1/2 teaspoon cumin

1 bay leaf

Salt and pepper to taste

Rotisserie Chicken; shredded

Avocado; chopped

In a medium sized pot, heat oil on medium heat. Add onions, peppers and garlic. Saute until soft; about 5 minutes. 

Add rice, beans, water, cumin, bay leaf and salt and pepper.

Simmer on medium-low heat, stirring occasionally, until the rice absorbs most of the liquid and just barely skims the top of the rice.

Cover reduce heat to low and simmer 20 minutes (don't peak- the steam is what cooks the rice.) After 20 minutes, shut off the flame and let sit covered for another 5 minutes. 

Top with chicken and avocado. 

Recipe adapted from here.

Three Bean Chili

Another Abs cookbook recipe - "Three Amigos Chili". Quick, flavorful and healthy! We topped the chili with crushed, baked tortilla chips, reduced-fat Mexican cheese blend and a spoonful of Greek yogurt (sour cream substitute). 

1 tablespoon olive oil
1 small onion; diced
1 lb ground turkey
1 can (14.5 oz) diced tomatoes with jalapenos
1 can (10.5 oz) chickpeas; rinsed and drained
1 can (10.5 oz) black beans; rinsed and drained
1 can (10.5 oz) kidney beans; rinsed and drained
1 can (14 oz) low-sodium chicken broth
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon cumin
1/8 teaspoon cinnamon (I used about 1/16 teaspoon)

Heat the oil in a large saucepan over medium-low heat. Add the onion and cook until soft, about 3-5 minutes. Add the turkey and cook, breaking up with a wooden spoon, until browned; drain (if desired).
Add the tomatoes with juice, beans, broth and spices. Stir and bring to a boil, then reduce the heat and simmer for 20 minutes.

Chicken Parm Meatball Subs

I have never used (or ate) ground chicken - till I met this recipe. Wow - I was surprised at how good these turned out. Take the beef out of the meatballs and these chicken meatballs are a lot healthier. Probably could have tossed the sub roll for an even healthier option - but where is the fun in that? 

1 1/2 lbs ground chicken (ground turkey for those scared of the ground chicken)
1 tablespoon grill seasoning
1 large egg
1 cup grated Parmesan cheese
1/2 cup Italian breadcrumbs
Handful of chopped parsley leaves
Extra virgin Olive Oil (3 Tablespoons for the sauce and extra for the meatballs)
2 cloves garlic; cracked from skin and split
1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
1 28 oz can crushed tomatoes
1 cup chicken stock
Salt and Pepper
8-10 fresh basil leaves; torn or shredded
4 crusty sub rolls (or whole wheat)
1 1/2 cups reduced fat, shredded provolone

Preheat oven to 425.

Place chicken in a bowl and season with grill seasoning. Add egg, half of the grated Parm, bread crumbs, parsley and a good drizzle of the olive oil. Mix the meat and form 12 large meatballs.
Spray a baking sheet with cooking spray and place meatballs on sheet. Bake for 15 minutes or until golden and firm. Switch the broiler on after the meatballs have come out.

While the meatballs bake, heat a medium skillet over medium heat. Add 3 tablespoons olive oil and garlic. Cook for 5 minutes and then remove the cloves. Add the crushed red pepper flakes and the tomatoes. Slowly stir in the chicken stock. Season the sauce with salt and pepper and simmer 10 minutes. Stir in the basil at the very end. Add the cooked meatballs to the sauce and turn heat to low.

Cut the sub rolls and hollow out a little bread from each half to make room for the meatballs. Toast the rolls quickly under the broiler just for a light toast. Fill the rolls with meatballs, sauce and top with shredded provolone and remaining Parmesan. Put under the broiler just until the cheese melts. Make sure you don't burn your rolls!

Unstuffed Peppers

I found a version of this recipe in the Everyday Magazine. It was listed as a 5 ingredient recipe with wild- long grain rice, sausage, red onion, green peppers and mushrooms. While it sounded good, I changed mine up and think mine is better. :) Feel free to change this one up yourself - I have already been thinking of new ideas (ground turkey, ground beef, Ro*tel, etc.) This was a quick and satisfying dinner. Loved it!

1 lb Italian sausage links (casings removed)
2 green peppers; chopped
1 white onion; chopped
1 garlic clove; minced
1 can diced tomatoes
2 cups brown rice (with 1 3/4 cup water) - Make according to package directions
Salt & pepper
Olive oil

In a large skillet, add a dash of olive oil and heat over medium-high. Add ground sausage and break up with a wooden spoon until broke up and cooked through.
Drain the sausage and set aside.
In the same pan, add another turn of olive oil and heat over medium-high. Add peppers, onions and garlic. Season with salt and pepper and cook until softened. Add tomatoes and return sausage to the pan. Lower heat to medium stir for a few minutes.
Meanwhile, prepare the rice.
Transfer the cooked rice to the skillet and mix through.

We topped ours off with a little Parmesan cheese.

A Thinner Mexican Dinner

My sweet husband lost a bet we made during the Superbowl. As my reward, he cooked me anything I wanted. My choice, The Abs Diet Book's take on Taco Salad. I love anything Mexican and have been wanting to try this one for awhile. We loved this recipe! So good and very easy (maybe I should have made him work harder?) I think he needs to be in the kitchen more often!

For the meat: 
1 lb lean ground beef (90% lean or higher)
2 cloves garlic; minced
1 can (15.5 ounces) black beans; drained and rinsed
1 tablespoon chili powder
1/4 teaspoon cayenne
1/3 cup water

For the dressing: 
4 medium tomatoes; diced
2 tablespoons extra- virgin olive oil
2 tablespoons fresh lime juice
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon pepper

For the salad: 
2 romaine lettuce hearts; chopped
1/2 cup shredded reduced fat cheddar cheese
2 ounces baked corn tortilla chips; crushed

Heat a large skillet over medium high heat. Add the beef and cook, breaking up the meat until no longer pink. Add the garlic and beans, cook for 2 minutes more. Add the chili powder, cayenne and water and stir until well combined and some of the liquid has been absorbed. Remove from the heat and allow the mixture to cool slightly.

Mix the dressing ingredients in a bowl.

Divide the lettuce among bowls, top with beef mixture and sprinkle with cheese. Spoon the dressing over the salad and top with crushed chips.

Crock Pot Minestrone

Soup and sandwich night is always better with homemade soup. The crock pot makes this recipe easy. 

Another recipe from the ABS book. Love that book!

2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
1 - 32 ounce container of low sodium chicken broth
1 can cannellini beans; rinsed and drained
1 can red kidney bean; rinsed and drained
2 cans (14.5 ounces) diced tomatoes
5 large carrots; thinly sliced
1 cup diced celery
2 cloves garlic; chopped
1 large onion; diced
1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
1 package whole wheat pasta
1 package (10 ounces) frozen spinach; thawed and squeezed dry

Dump all ingredients, except the pasta and spinach, into a large slow cooker. Stir to mix. Cover and cook on low for 6 to 8 hours.

Cook the pasta according to the package directions. Add the pasta and the spinach to the cooker and stir. Turn up to high and cook for 10 minutes.

I topped with some Romano-Parmesan cheese.

For our sandwiches, I made "grown up" grilled cheese.

Fresh Mozzarella; sliced 

Vine ripe tomatoes; sliced

Sprinkle of oregano

Bread of your choice - would have used wheat, but wanted to use up some of our bakery bread

Olive oil

Warm pan over medium high heat. Lightly drizzle olive oil in the pan. Once warmed, add sandwiches. Top bread with another light drizzle of olive oil. Cook for about 3-4 minutes on each side; or until grilled to your liking.