Vegetarian Tacos: Support that Resolution!

Well hi there!  If you're still here, thanks!  Sorry about the radio silence: after my big trip abroad I have been bushed and out of wack.  I'm finally able to stay awake past 9 pm (party time!) so let the blogging commence.  In additional, it's taken a while for me to get back into the swing of cooking, and I am fired up about trying new dishes.  Specifically, I'm trying to recommit to a balanced diet.  With the holiday and vacation, I've had a bit of a backward slide, so I'm excited about getting "back on track" if you will.

I've decided to take things a step further and try to eat more vegetarian meals.  I don't think I will ever be a vegetarian because meat is tasty, but I know it's a healthy way to go, so I'm going to be trying to find more creative ways to enjoy vegetarian meals.  This first one is almost so simple, I feel like posting it is cheating, but it was too yum to keep all to myself.  By substituting roasted mushrooms for meat I was able to have a meal that was flavorful and tasty but light on fat.

Vegetarian Tacos

1 container white button mushrooms, rough chopped
1 tsp Smoked Paprika
1 tsp Chili Powder
1 tsp olive oil
2 wheat tortillas
1/8 cup shredded cheddar cheese
10 cherry tomatoes, chopped
Lettuce
1/2 Avocado, sliced
1 tbsp of cilantro, rough chopped
1 tbsp salsa
1 tsp lime juice

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Place mushrooms on baking sheet and coat with paprika, chili powder, and olive oil.  Stir to coat.  Bake for 10 minutes until mushrooms are cooked through but still firm.

Microwave tortillas for 10 seconds.  Put cheese on tortillas (not as pictured, but how I should have done it.) :) Add mushrooms and all other ingredients and enjoy!

Note: Wheat tortillas, although healthier than flour, still pack a lot of calories.  I typically don't eat the whole tortilla because it's a little big so I tear off about 1 inch all the way around.

Kitchen sink tacos: chicken, grilled veggies, pickled onion, etc...

Show me a day of the week and I'll show you a day that myself and my fella are in the mood for Mexican.  As I sit here and try to rack my brain for all the ingredients I used in these tacos, my mouth is literally starting to water.  If I was Guy Fieri, I'd say that I was looking forward to a "one way ticket to flavor town" but I'm not him, so I'll just say this meal was DAMN good. (Sorry mom).

The chicken was grilled on Sunday, and waiting in the wings.  (Hehe.)  I cannot stress enough the importance of grilling and how it can simplify your life by allowing you to cook multiple dishes and not make your kitchen a mess.  Hear my words.  Embrace them.

Most of this dish came together as a hodge podge of fridge leftovers.  Pickled onions and coleslaw were leftover sides from the salmon dish and the grilled veggies (mushroom, onion, and squash) were leftover from sunday's grilling spectacu-lar.  I added fresh onion and bell pepper for some crunch and garnished with cilantro, sour cream, and lime juice.  I'll be having a variation of this for lunch tomorrow and we're going out for Mexican on Friday.  I have a craving that CANNOT be satiated.  Mexican food 4 life.

Chipotle Marinated Chicken (adapted to serving size from Cooking Light community)
2 garlic cloves
2 chipotle chile
1/4 cup fresh cilantro
1/2 tbsp honey
1 tbsp olive oil
1/2 tbsp balsamic vinegar
1/2 tbsp lime juice
1/8 tsp ground cumin
black pepper
2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts

Place all ingredients in small chopper/process.  Pour over chicken; cover and refrigerate several hours or overnight.  Grill chicken over medium-high heat, about 8 minutes on each side, or until no longer pink in center.

Firecracker Rice (adapted from my pal Jennifer Laurent)


Rice (4 servings)
1 can chicken stock
1 poblano, (roasted, skin peeled, diced)
4 ounces manchego cheese, chopped
2 tsp lime juice
2 tbsp cilantro, chopped
1/2 tbsp smoked paprika

Cook rice according to package directions using chicken stock and a bit of water in a rice cooker.  If you don't have a rice cooker, go to the store and buy one.  Trust me: it's worth it.  Once rice is cooked, let cool for a few ingredients, then stir in all other ingredients and serve.

Simplify Your Life: Slow Cooker Chicken Taco Soup!

Today, girls and boys, we are going to talk about simplification.  One of the reasons that people buy lunch during their work day or grab food on their way home is because they think they are taking the "easy" way out.  Cooking may seem daunting and time consuming but I am here to tell you that's just not so.  So listen up, and learn how to simplify...your...life!  (Thunderous clapping from a studio audience.)

First of all: the dreaded work lunch. Dreaded because the last thing you want to do after a long day at work is come home and plan for the next one.  Eww.  A salad is your simple solution, especially if the thought of cooking makes you uneasy.  Salads are stirring, no cooking necessary!

For the base of this salad, I used spinach and arugula.  Anything leafy and green could work: spring mix, lettuce, etc.  I also added wee tomatoes (grape, cherry, whatev) and shredded rotisserie chicken.  Note: this salad isn't earth-shattering: I'm a bit of a salad purist.  For most of my life, I was a basic lettuce, tomato, dressing sort of gal, but I'm now livening things up with CRAZINESS like chicken...and arugula!  (My salad growth is a slow process.)  

The key to making your super easy take-to-work lunch healthy is the dressing.  If you have a fatty, mayonnaise laden dressing, you might as well be having a burger.  Most store-bought creamy dressings (ranch, bleu cheese, thousand island) are delicious, but unhealthy, so my solution to my homemade version is to swipe out the mayo and swipe in fat free greek yogurt.  You get the same creamy texture and tang without the fat/cholesterol.  For my homemade honey mustard dressing, use equal parts honey and mustard and enough yogurt to pull it all together.  Taste and adjust as necessary.

And now...dinner.  Crock-pots are the best because the cooking is done in your absence.  Thanks, technology!  This slow cooker chicken taco soup from allrecipes.com is one of my favorites, both for simplicity and crowd-pleasing, lip-smacking deliciousness.  The only additional step is that midway through cooking,  you take the chicken out, shred it, and return it to the pot.

When I serve, I add cilantro, throw in some corn chips, and use low fat yogurt in place of sour cream.  (I'm a bit fond of yogurt, if you hadn't guessed).  For other toppings you could use cheese, avocado, or fresh onion.  This recipe makes 8 servings, so you'll be set for a few days, or can freeze and eat later.  For a vegetarian option, just leave out the chicken.

The most important thing is to use good seasoning mix to pull it all together.  Here's mine: 1 tbsp chili powder, 1/3 tsp garlic powder, 1/4 tsp red pepper flakes, 1/3 tsp oregano, 1/2 tsp smoked paprika, 1 1/2 tsp cumin, 1 tsp salt, 1 tsp black pepper.

• Slow Cooker Chicken Taco Soup

  Ingredients

• 1 onion, chopped                            1 (16 ounce) can chili beans
• 1 (15 ounce) can black beans          1 (15 ounce) can whole kernel corn, drained
• 1 (8 ounce) can tomato sauce          1 (12 fluid ounce) can or bottle beer or water
• 2 (10 ounce) cans rotel, undrained  3 whole skinless, boneless chicken breasts
• Seasoning Mix
• 
  

Directions

1. Place the onion, chili beans, black beans, corn, tomato sauce, beer, and diced tomatoes in a slow cooker. Add seasoning mix, and stir to blend. Lay chicken breasts on top of the mixture, pressing down slightly until just covered by the other ingredients. Set slow cooker for low heat, cover, and cook for 5 hours.
2. Remove chicken breasts from the soup, and allow to cool long enough to be handled. Stir the shredded chicken back into the soup, and continue cooking for 2 hours. Serve with toppings as desired.

Tacos. Glooooooooorious shrimp tacos.

Shrimp tacos with slaw and pickled onions.

If there is one type of food that I am ALWAYS in the mood for, it is Mexican.  I could eat chips and salsa all day, and bonus: salsa is CRAZY HEALTHY, since it's really just diced up veggies.  Most other Mexican food is more on the non-healthy side, what with the prevalence for oil/butter/cheese.  I've found ways to satisfy my cravings for Mexican in ways that are healthy but still delicious.

Here are my tips to cut out some of the fat, and bring in some healthy bits:

1. Choose wheat or corn tortillas when possible.
2. Use coleslaw in your tacos to incorporate veggies and creaminess and eliminate the need for a big glop of fatty sour cream.
3. Change up the cheese!  Feta is a close match to cotija cheese which is used in a lot of traditional mexican cooking.  It has high salt content, so watch the salt in the rest of your components, but it's a bit healthier

And now, the moment you've been waiting for: I'm going to tell you how to make these tacos!  Not going to lie, I ate them for dinner tonight, and last night, and would probably eat them again tomorrow.  That is how much I loooooooove them.  These are not your average tacos, but if you give them a try, you won't be sorry!

Coleslaw

16 ounce bagged coleslaw mix      1/4 cup reduced fat greek yogurt

2 tbsp orange juice                         1 tsp sugar

1 tbsp red wine vinegar

Spices: cumin, smoked paprika, chili powder, cayenne, salt, pepper

Mix liquids and spices to taste, then add coleslaw.  Stir well and chill.  The longer it has to sit, the better it will taste!

Pickled Red Onions (Recipe a la Bobby Flay and Food Network Magazine)

1/2 red onion, sliced thin                          3/8 cup lime juice

1/8 cup each red wine vinegar & sugar    1/2 tbsp salt

Bring liquids/salt/sugar to a boil in a saucepan.  Remove from heat and let cool, 5 minutes.  Toss with the red onion (easy way: put in mason jar); cover and chill at least 4 hours, shake jar periodically.

Ashlie Style Shrimp

Spices: garlic powder, smoked paprika, chili powder, cayenne

Olive Oil

Shrimp

Mix together garlic powder, smoked paprika, and chili powder in equal qualities, depending on the number of shrimp you are cooking.  Add cayenne to taste.  Mix olive oil into the spices and mix in the shrimp.  Cook shrimp in a hot pan for a few minutes per side.

To make the tacos, grab your wheat tortilla and put a heaping spoonful of coleslaw on the bottom, followed by shrimp, feta, and pickled onions.  Enjoy!!!