Food Friday

Food Friday

Happy Friday everyone!  If you are like me, I love Mexican food and serving up one of my favorite dishes to my family is super easy and is packed with TONS of veggies. This is also a great dish for entertaining and leftovers are even better.

Butternut Squash and Pinto Bean Enchiladas

What you will need:
Casserole dish

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. 

2-4 cups of Pinto Beans: I always make a batch in the crock-pot. They are super easy to make or you can buy them at the store. Just make sure to drain them and give them a little rinse. 

**(Crock Pot Beans)

Soak your beans overnight

Put them in the crock-pot 

cover with vegetable broth and/or water to cover the beans. 

Place a Ham Hock for flavor in the beans or without if you want vegetarian beans. 

Add some S&P, cumin for extra spice. 

Cook on High for 4 hours or Low for 8 hours. 

That is all!  

1 dozen corn tortillas

A bunch of raw spinach

Enchilada sauce (You can go with store bought if you have a good healthy alternative or you can make your own)

Cooked butternut squash (I found fresh squash cubed at Trader Joes and Whole Foods or you can buy it as a whole squash)
Cook the butternut squash until soft, mash with masher/fork.
Once the butternut squash is cooked (you can also do this in advance and use the leftovers for soup)

Spread butternut squash over corn tortilla, add some cooked pinto beans, shred and sprinkle spinach leaves, roll up and place in baking dish. 

Repeat until all tortillas are rolled. 

Top with enchilada sauce and sprinkle with cheese. 

Bake for 20 minutes or until heated through at 350 degrees.
Cool and serve. Top with Cilantro garnish.

These are amazing!  I always serve this with a side of mixed "Super Greens" tossed with chopped mint, avocado, a little citrus slices and a fresh vinegar-ette.  You have all you need here with this super simple dish.  

If you want something non-alcoholic to go along with your Mexican themed meal Try this from my friend Kristen. You can visit her on her FB at Coach KR.  

In the blender: Watermelon, cucumber, mint, MILA, ice, and water. Super refreshing.


Enjoy and let me know how you like them! 

Food Friday

Although we are on the road on vacation, I couldn't leave my blog readers hanging without posting a favorite recipe.  This is a favorite that has become quite the staple in our house. You can play with so many different flavors adding a twist to every dish or palette.  

Cauliflower Rice

How to make your Cauliflower Rice: 

• Choose a large head of Cauliflower  *Did you know Cauliflower comes in purple, orange and white?
• After washing, cut off stem and break up or crumble into food processor.  Pulse your food processor until it breaks up into what looks like rice. If you don't have a food processor you can always 'grate' the cauliflower so it looks like rice.  Super easy and a great alternative. 

You can mix with so many different flavors, here are a couple of mine: 

• 1 Tbl sesame oil, a dash of low sodium soy sauce, chopped scallions, egg whites, chopped carrots and you have a delicious healthy 'fried rice'  

• Saute' the 'rice' in a dash of olive oil, squeeze some fresh lime, add some fresh cilantro, salt and pepper to taste and you have a great version of the Mexican version of Lime Cilantro rice.  Add with a grilled chicken breast or lean flank steak and fresh vegetables and have your own fiesta!

Go ahead and try it...I promise you will love it! 

If you come across a new flavor or version of your own let me know!  

Bon Appetite!

 

Food Friday

Oven Baked Chicken

Wholesome, Healthy Goodness!

As I am always looking for fun and new recipes for chicken, I came across a favorite new item from my "go-to" for cracker...Mary's Gone Crackers.  They now offer Just The Crumbs, breadcrumbs for baking. I thought I would give it a go and I have to say I am in love. It is just the right amount of crumbs for my Oven Baked Chicken. This is a healthier version of Fried Chicken as you get the crunch without the fat! If you are looking for a great way to add a little sass to your plain old chicken, give it a try. Let me know what you think!

What you will need: 

1.Boneless, skinless chicken breasts (or your favorite pieces)

     I did use Free Range chicken drumsticks for my girls but I took the skin off and they turned out     

     amazing as well. 

2. 1/2 to 1 cup of Mary's Gone Crackers: 'Just The Crumbs'

2. Egg whites (2-3)

3. 1 scoop Chia seed (I use Mila, you can browse my earlier posts about Mila to learn more about it)

4. Coconut Oil Cooking spray

Preheat your oven to 375 degrees

I sprayed my baking dish with the Coconut oil cooking spray. 

I then began by mixing the egg whites and chia together and then the seeds hydrate a bit. I wanted it to be thick. I cut the skin off my drumsticks and cut excess fat off of my boneless/skinless chicken breasts and began dipping the pieces into the egg white mixture.  I would take each piece and press it into the 'Just the Cumbs' making sure all sides were coated.  I placed each piece in the sprayed baking dish, sprinkled a few more crumbs along with a pinch of S+P. I did a tiny drizzle of olive oil over the chicken, you can also opt to use a few sprays of the Coconut Oil Cooking Spray or other alternative.  

I baked the chicken for 35-45 minutes until the chicken was cooked through. I always check my chicken when I bake it as that is one of my biggest fears is eating undercooked chicken. No bueno for anyone involved:) 

I served this with a giant spinach salad topped with Strawberries, dry roasted almonds, a slice of avocado and some fresh corn.  Well frozen had to do for us as we are not quite into the "fresh" season yet here in Bend. 

Ingredients needed

finished goodness!

 Enjoy and let me know how you like it