Crock Pot Rice & Bean Burritos

I am happy to announce that my clinical rotations are officially over. With only a few projects and site rotations to go in the next four weeks, I feel like I finally have my life back! Graduation and taking the RD exam is just around the corner. I am slowly going to get back into my old Monday/Thursday posting schedule, and I’m so excited to start experimenting in the kitchen again. Let me tell you, it was a long couple of months of staple recipes and leftovers, and I. Am. Bored.

This one was so so easy and tasty. Rice and beans provide what we call a “complimentary protein source.” What this means is that together the two provide all of the amino acids required to make a complete vegetarian protein source, equivalent to a meat source. It’s also a crock pot recipe which is great for nights that you just need a break. Enjoy and thank you for still reading!

Crock Pot Rice & Bean Burritos
Serves: 6 (2 tortillas each)

1 cup brown rice
1 14.5oz can no-salt added black beans
1 14.5oz can no-salt added pinto beans
1 14.5oz can no-salt added diced tomatoes
1 tbsp. extra virgin olive oil
1 tbsp. dried Italian seasoning
1/2 tbsp. onion powder
1 tbsp. chili powder
Water (see instructions)
1/2 red onion, diced
1 avocado, diced
6 oz plain non-fat Greek yogurt
6 oz salsa
12 6-inch flour tortillas

Instructions:

1) Rinse and drain pinto and black beans
2) Drain diced tomatoes with the remaining tomato juice draining into a 2 cup measuring cup. Fill measuring cup with water to reach the 2 cup line.
3) Place 1 tbsp. olive oil in bottom of crock pot, pour in rice and mix into oil. Next add beans, tomatoes, tomato juice/water mixture, and all seasonings. Heat on LOW 5-6 hours.
4) When crock pot is finished, divide bean mixture evenly between 10-12 tortillas. Add even amounts of diced red onion, avocado, Greek yogurt and salsa to each burrito. Roll up and enjoy!

Nutrition Facts (per serving): 470 calories, 11g fat (8g unsaturated), 75g carbohydrate (13g dietary fiber), 19g protein

Grape & Walnut Quinoa Salad

We have a winner! I loved the mixture of sweet, crunchy and slight heat in this salad. The prep is really easy too, so make this on Sunday and enjoy for lunches throughout the week. This recipe is a great way to get protein, fiber and healthy fats into your meal. So, enjoy!

Grape & Walnut Quinoa Salad
Serves: 6

1.5 cups water
1 cup quinoa, well-rinsed (buy fair-trade!)
1/2 tsp. salt
2 cups red seedless grapes, halved
2 stalks celery, thinly sliced
1/3 cup un-salted walnuts, chopped
4 medium radishes, sliced
3 scallions, white & green parts, thinly sliced
1 jalapeño, seeded and minced

Ginger-Apple Vinaigrette
1/4 tsp. garlic powder
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. pepper
1 tsp. ground ginger
3 tbsp. apple cider vinegar
5 tbsp. extra virgin olive oil

Instructions:
1) Cook quinoa according to package directions.
2) Mix vinaigrette ingredients in a small bowl, whisk until blended.
2) Once quinoa is cooled, mix with above ingredients. Pour vinaigrette over top of salad and mix well. Serve or chill in refrigerator to serve later.

Nutrition Facts (per serving): 289 calories, 17g fat(2g saturated), 30g carbohydrate(3.5g fiber), 7g protein

Sun-Dried Tomato Turkey Meatballs

Almost one month since my last post, yikes! The dietetic internship has been very busy to say the least. I really miss the part of my life where I had free time to experiment with cooking. I’m going to work harder this month to show my face here, so to speak.  Due to working seven days last week, I had to relinquish control of grocery shopping to Mr. Applebutter.  All sorts of full fat cheeses and ice cream made their way into my house, but so did some organic veggies and free-range beef. I was proud!

Enjoy this easy spin on the classic spaghetti and meatballs.

Sun-Dried Tomato Turkey Meatballs
Serves: 3 (3 meatballs per serving)

1/4 cup whole wheat low-sodium seasoned breadcrumbs
9 large drained, rinsed and chopped Sun-Dried Tomatoes (in oil)
2 tsp dried parsley
2 cloves garlic, minced
3 tbsp. reduced fat Parmesan cheese, grated
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 egg, beaten
1 tablespoon skim milk
3/4 pound 97% lean ground turkey

Instructions:

1) Preheat oven to 350˚F.

2) Combine breadcrumbs with tomatoes, parsley, garlic, Parmesan and salt in a large bowl. Mix with beaten egg and milk to incorporate. Add ground turkey to the mixture and combine by hand.

3) Form into 9 medium-sized balls and arrange on a large baking sheet. Bake for about 25 minutes, or until cooked through. Be sure to turn halfway through cook time.

4) Remove from heat and serve with your favorite sauce and whole wheat pasta.

Nutrition Facts (per serving): 214 calories, 6g fat, 10g carbohydrate (1.5g fiber), 30g protein

Easy Peasy Chicken Fingers

Sometimes, the heart wants chicken fingers.  I get it.  As a child, it was always chicken fingers for me.  Instead of running to the drive-thru for a deep fried, high fat version- take 15 minutes to make these. :)

Easy Peasy Chicken Fingers

Serves: 4 (3 chicken fingers each)

1/3 cup panko breadcrumbs

1/3 cup whole wheat breadcrumbs

2 tbsp. ground flax seed (or “flax meal”- same thing)

1 egg, lightly beaten

1 lb boneless skinless chicken breast tenderloins, rinsed and trimmed of visible fat

1/4 tsp. salt

1/4 tsp. pepper

Cooking spray

Barbeque sauce to drizzle on top (optional)

Instructions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 F
2. Lay raw chicken out on cutting board and lightly salt and pepper.
3. Lightly beat egg in medium sized bowl.  Combine flax, panko and whole wheat breadcrumbs on a plate.  Mix well.  Spray medium sized cookie sheet with cooking spray.  Line them up in a line in the above order.
4. Carefully dip chicken fingers one at a time into egg, then flour mixture, and place on cookie sheet.
5. Bake in 350 F oven for 25-30 minutes, flipping chicken fingers over after about 15 minutes.
6. Serve with 1-2 tbsp. drizzle of barbeque sauce if desired.

Suggested Side: baked sweet potato fries and a mixed greens salad.

Nutrition Facts (per serving- bbq sauce not included):  230 calories, 6g fat (1g saturated fat), 12g carbohydrate (2g fiber), 30g protein

Broccoli-Olive Pizza Puffs & Veggie Enchiladas

I wanted to make note of these two recipes because they were great.  I only made very small alterations though so I will link you right over to the original recipe.  I hope that you might like these too :)

Broccoli-Olive Pizza Puffs

I made these for the Superbowl last weekend and I thought they were a great way to satisfy a pizza craving with the addition of vegetables while cutting out some of the high-sodium sauce.

My changes: substituted black olives for green olives and used a low sodium marinara sauce.  I also made them in large muffin tins, so it made 10 servings.  I didn’t have enough mini-muffin tins to accommodate the recipe, but if you have them I would recommend doing it that way since they will be more bite-size.

Veggie Enchiladas

I seem to have misplaced the picture I took of these but they were deeeelicious!  We loved them.

My changes: I used one whole red bell pepper instead of 1/2, I omitted the cilantro, and used flour tortillas instead of corn.  I just find them easier to roll up for enchiladas.

Butternut Squash Ravioli with Spinach-Pesto Sauce

Before I start I have to admit that my posts are going to be a little sporadic for a while. I love blogging recipes that I find to be successful to share with all of you, so it won’t be goodbye.  Unfortunately, I am in my internship full time until May.  The unfortunate part is that I am not paid to do it, so I have to work some nights and weekends on top of my full time hours just to get by.  Effectively, this doesn’t leave a whole lot of time for trying new recipes.  What I do promise is that as I find them, I will post them.  It just may vary from my usual schedule.  I hope you can bear with me during this time, because I appreciate every single person that stops by my blog.  It makes me love doing this even more then I already do when I see a “like” or a “comment” on a post. :)

In other news, this was my first attempt at a homemade ravioli, and I’m happy to say that it won’t be my last!  Folding the ravioli’s up did take a little bit of time so this is probably best left for the weekend, but it still wasn’t that time consuming.

Butternut Squash Ravioli with Spinach-Pesto Sauce– slightly adapted from Cooking Light

Serves: 5

1.5 lbs butternut squash, pre-diced or scoop and dice yourself
2 tsp. dried Italian seasoning
1 tsp dried oregano
2 tablespoons Smart Balance, melted (or other light buttery spread without hydrogenated oils)
5 tbsp. reduced fat Parmesan cheese, grated and divided
1/2 teaspoon salt, divided
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper, divided
30 frozen wonton wrappers, thawed out
1 large egg, lightly beaten
1 tsp. garlic powder
1.75 cups fresh baby spinach
1/4 cup fresh basil
2 tbsp. chopped walnuts, divided
3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, divided
2 tablespoons vegetable broth
1 teaspoon fresh lemon juice
6 quarts water

Instructions:

1. Preheat oven to 400°.
2. Place diced squash on a foil-lined baking sheet coated with cooking spray.  Toss with 1 tbsp olive oil and dried Italian seasoning.  Bake at 400° for 30-35 minutes or until tender. Cool.
3. Combine oregano, squash, and smart balance in a large bowl.  Mash together with a potato masher. Stir in 3 tbsp. Parmesan cheese, 1/4 teaspoon salt, and 1/4 teaspoon pepper. Working with 1 wonton wrapper at a time (cover remaining wrappers with a damp towel to keep them from drying), spoon about 1 1/2 teaspoons squash mixture into center of each wrapper. Moisten edges of wrapper with beaten egg; bring 2 opposite corners together. Pinch edges together to seal, forming a triangle. Repeat procedure with remaining wrappers, squash mixture, and egg. Cover ravioli loosely with a wet towel to prevent drying.
4. Place garlic powder, remaining 2 tablespoons cheese, remaining 1/4 teaspoon salt, 1/4 teaspoon pepper, spinach, basil, and 2 tablespoons walnuts. With processor on, slowly pour 2 tbsp. oil, broth, and lemon juice through food chute. Process until well blended. Place pesto in a large bowl.
5. Bring 6 quarts water to a boil in a large pot.  Add half of ravioli; cook 3 minutes or until thoroughly cooked. Remove ravioli with a slotted spoon. Repeat procedure with remaining ravioli. Top ravioli with pesto and serve.  Suggested serving: 6 ravioli per serving with a side of mixed greens.

Nutrition Facts (per serving): 286 calories, 15g fat, 30g carbohydrate, 8g protein

Vanilla Blueberry “Ice Cream”

As promised, here is another spin on my banana ice cream obsession.  This was good and completely nutritious.  I can’t say one bad thing about the ingredients in this “ice cream.”  I encourage you to use this on picky eaters that don’t like eating whole fruit, because unlike juice, it will give you the benefits of the antioxidants and fiber even though it’s not in its whole fruit form.

I also used blueberries that I had frozen from the 5 lbs of blueberries we picked back in July.  I would highly recommend doing so because it’s such a refreshing bite of summer in the middle of a dreary, cold winter!  If not, frozen from your local grocery store or fresh will work just fine.

Vanilla Blueberry “Ice Cream”

Serves: 1 pint (or four 1/2 cup servings)

4 ripe bananas, sliced and frozen

1 tsp. vanilla extract

1 cup frozen (or fresh) blueberries

Instructions:

1. Slice bananas into 1/2 inch slices and place on a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper.  Place in freezer for about an hour until bananas are frozen.
2. Put sliced, frozen bananas into a food processor and blend until it becomes creamy.  This will take a few minutes, and you’ll have to wipe the sides down with a spatula a few times.  Be patient, it will get there!
3. Once bananas are creamy, add vanilla extract and frozen blueberries to food processor.  Mix another few minutes until blueberries are mostly broken up and well blended.
4. Remove “ice cream” from the food processor and serve as soft serve or freeze for a later time.

Nutrition Facts (per 1/2 cup serving): 130 calories, 1g fat, 33g carbohydrate, 1g protein.

Chicken Waldorf Salad

Traditionally I don’t incorporate fruit into dinner.  You may disagree, but for me fruit is more of a breakfast, lunch, or snack food.  While this recipe works best as a lunch, I think it made for a delicious and filling dinner as well.  The best part of this is that it’s loaded with lean protein, fiber, and plenty of fruits and vegetables.  Another major plus, if you slow cook the chicken while you’re at work, this will take 10-15 minutes to prep when you get home, with very limited dishes.  Healthy AND quick, that is a huge win for me!

Chicken Waldorf Salad– adapted from EatingWell

Serves: 4

3 cups [about 1 lb] chicken breast, cooked & shredded (*see step 1)

1 cup 0% fat plain Greek yogurt

2 tsp. lemon juice

1/4 tsp. salt

1 medium gala apple, diced

1 cup red grapes, halved

1 cup celery, diced

2 tbsp. chopped walnuts, unsalted

2 tbsp. reduced fat crumbled feta cheese

6 oz fresh mixed greens

salt and pepper to taste

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Ingredients:

1. Slow cook chicken on LOW for 8 hours.  Like I said, set this up while you’re working and you’ll be ready to go when you get home!  Don’t have a slow cooker? Simply bake in a 350 F oven for 30 minutes.  Once cooked, shred chicken.
2. Combine yogurt, lemon juice and salt in a large bowl.  Mix until combined.
3. Add chicken, apple, grapes, celery, walnuts and cheese to bowl.  Mix until combined and add a little salt and pepper to taste. Divide into 4 equal portions and serve over equal portions of mixed greens.

Nutrition Facts (per serving): 349 calories, 10g fat, 17g carbohydrate (3g fiber), 48g protein

Turkey, Spinach & Feta Panini’s with Cranberry Honey Spread

Last week was rough on the cooking front. I had a LOT of flops. One was so bad that we threw it out and ordered a pizza. A really greasy, cheesy pizza. I think Dan was ecstatic. That’s only happened one other time that I can remember since living in this apartment. That’s not saying I haven’t chosen a bad recipe or screwed one up more then twice, but usually we can choke it down. My problem is truly crockpot recipes. I have SUCH a hard time finding good crock pot recipes! They always turn out looking and tasting and smelling like something excreted from a zoo animal. If anyone has a good source, please comment below. I would love some help.

With that being said, I didn’t have a recipe to give you on Thursday. Sometimes that’s going to happen, but I think it’s better then giving you one that will drive you to greasy pizza. I think know this recipe will fully make up for it. It was absolutely delicious, and I’m super excited that it was completely an applebutterharmony invention!

Turkey, Spinach & Feta Panini’s with Cranberry- Honey Spread

Serves: 3

8 oz bone-in skinless turkey breast (I bought 1lb of the split turkey breast which worked great and I still had 8 oz leftover for sandwiches for the week), thinly sliced

1-2 tbsp. extra virgin olive oil

salt and pepper

1/4 red onion, thinly sliced

2 oz baby spinach leaves

3 tbsp. reduced fat crumbled feta cheese

9 oz ciabatta bread

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Spread:

1/2 cup fresh or frozen cranberries [I used frozen], thawed

2 tbsp. 1/3 less fat cream cheese

1 tbsp. extra virgin olive oil

1 tbsp. apple cider vinegar

1 tbsp. honey

Instructions:

1. Trim turkey of visible fat, rub with 1-2 tbsp of extra virgin olive oil. Lightly salt and pepper on all sides. Spray a 13 x 9 baking dish with cooking spray and cook turkey in 325 degree oven for 55-65 minutes or until the turkey has reached a safe internal temperature of 165 F. Use a meat thermometer! [please note, this cooking time was for the entire 1 lb of turkey breast that I mentioned above so if you actually use 8 oz it may cook faster].
2. While the turkey is cooking, chop the onion and prepare the cranberry spread (see below).
3. Cranberry spread: Making sure cranberries are fully thawed, combine with 2 tbsp. reduced fat cream cheese, honey, olive oil and apple cider vinegar. Blend with an electric mixer until well combined. You may still have some chunks of cranberries, that is ok.
4. Cut bread into 3 oz pieces and slice lengthwise to form 3 open sandwiches. Top about 1 tbsp. of cranberry spread onto each of the 3 sandwich “bottoms.” Then top each bottom with equal proportions of sliced onion, fresh spinach & crumbled feta cheese.
5. Once turkey is done, slice into 1/2″ slices and add 4-5 slices to each sandwich bottom. Add the tops and cook in a panini press (or george foreman) until pressed to your liking, about 4-5 minutes depending on your bread.
6. Eat with fresh veggies or a salad for a well balanced meal

Hint: If you have an hour to bake the turkey on a weeknight, it’s definitely easy enough because all of the prep can be done by the time the turkey is done. If not, save it for a Saturday and use the hour of baking time to snuggle up with a good book.

Nutrition Facts (per sandwich): 448 calories, 11g fat, 52g carbohydrate, 23g protein.

BBQ Southwest Chicken Burritos

These are GREAT for a weeknight.  There is hardly any prep involved at all, and they are done within 10 minutes.  I dislike that summer is the only time of year people think of having BBQ, so I like to throw it into my menu in the winter too.  Barbeque sauce is traditionally very sodium heavy, but by using small amounts to get the flavor, and choosing low-sodium versions, you can still get the taste you love.  These burritos have beans for added fiber, Greek yogurt for added protein, and fresh mixed greens for added veggies.  I think the warming and cooling tastes make for a great match.  Let me know what you think!

BBQ Southwest Chicken Burritos- adapted from eatingwell

Serves: 6

1 lb BBQ rotisserie chicken breast, diced (Wegmans sells a 2lb whole bbq chicken that I removed the breast meat from.  If you only have a plain rotisserie chicken available that will work fine,  or if you prefer cooked chicken breast done in the oven or slow cooker, that will work too!)

1/2 cup low-sodium bbq sauce

1/2 large red onion, diced

1/2 cup frozen corn, thawed

1 (14.5 oz) can reduced-sodium black beans

6 8-inch flour (or whole wheat) tortillas [I used flour because I had leftover from another recipe but whole wheat is best!]

Cooking spray

2 oz. mixed greens

1/2 avocado, pitted and diced

6 Tbsp. 0% fat plain Greek yogurt

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Instructions:

1. Heat large non-stick pan with cooking spray over medium heat.  Add red onion and saute 2-3 minutes until softened.  Add chicken, black beans, corn & bbq sauce.  Cook 5-6 minutes until warmed through.
2. Assemble burritos by dividing the mixed greens, avocado and Greek yogurt evenly between the 6 tortillas.  Once chicken mixture is warmed, divide evenly between the 6 tortillas (about 1/2-3/4 cup each).
3. Roll up like a burrito and serve with a mixed greens salad of your choice.

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Nutrition Facts (per serving): 379 calories, 9g fat, 46g carbohydrate (7g fiber- more if whole wheat tortillas), 30g protein