Taco Seasoning

I was in the mood for Taco Night this week, but as I said in my last blog, I'm trying to eat healthier, more filling options, so I wanted to take a stab at making my own taco seasoning as the pre-packaged ones usually contain a lot more sodium than is necessary. This would be an easy recipe to double/triple/etc. and have some on hand to use it as you need it. I used it on some cooked ground turkey, I added about 1/8 cup of water just to keep it all moist as I was finishing cooking and chopping everything else for the tacos and it worked out great.

Taco Seasoning

1 tablespoon chili powder
1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
1/4 teaspoon onion powder
1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1/4 teaspoon dried oregano
1/2 teaspoon paprika
1 1/2 teaspoons ground cumin
1 teaspoon sea salt
1 teaspoon black pepper

In a small bowl, mix together chili powder, garlic powder, onion powder, cayenne pepper, oregano, paprika, cumin, salt and pepper. Store in an airtight container.

Instead of the cayenne pepper you could use 1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes, I didn't have any at the time, so I used cayenne pepper and really liked it. As another option, you could also add in 1/2 to 1 tsp. of dried cilantro.

This could be used on ground turkey, chicken, pork or even beef, it's very versatile, just like the packets of taco seasoning you can buy in the store, but a LOT less sodium. I also noticed that it allowed the fresh flavor of the turkey to shine through as well.

Spicy Black Beans w/Zucchini

I've been trying to find new and healthier recipes lately, as I'm trying my best to make sure what I eat has the fewest amount of calories but make a great filler. I saw this recipe on another blog I've been following [GreenLiteBites] and since this week I had taco night, I decided to try this one out since beans are a great healthy option. I'll be following up with another blog with my new Taco Seasoning that I made the same night, so stay tuned!

This could be used as a side dish, or as an extra filing for your tacos. The next day I heated some up and topped a salad with them and some extra salsa which tasted great!

Spicy Black Beans w/Zucchini

1 cup canned black beans
1/8 cup vidalia onions, chopped
1/2 cup zucchini, diced
1 tsp. chili powder
1/2 tsp. cumin
1/2 tsp. curry powder
2 tbsp. salsa

Spray a medium sauce pan with non-stick spray and heat over medium heat. Add onion, cook until soft.

Add zucchini and sprinkle with spices. Stir in beans and salsa. Lower heat and stir occasionally until ready to serve.

Tri-Color Tuna Salad

I was in the mood for a tunafish sandwich tonight, but wanted to shake it up a little bit and try something new at the same time. Again, I looked through the veggie crisper to see what we had and decided to go with a tri-color tuna salad. I think it tasted pretty good and was definitely not your average tuna salad. The mixture of the chopped vegetables makes the mixture spread a little further than usual and I loved the crunch of the carrots and spicy bits of the red onion were a nice touch.

Tri-Color Tuna Salad

1 can tuna in water, drained
1/4 cup red onion, chopped
1/4 cup carrots, chopped or shredded
1/4 cup celery, chopped
1 small dill pickle, chopped
2-3 Tbsp. mayonnaise
1-2 tsp. yellow mustard
1/2-1 tsp. Mrs. Dash original blend

Mix it all together, adjust seasoning to taste. Spread 1/4 - 1/2 of the mixture on a slice of bread, top with lettuce and slices of tomato and top with another slice of bread.

Friday Night Pasta

This is what I might also call a fridge cleaner pasta. I had a tough workout at the gym tonight, and I wanted to top off my week with a nice homemade dinner that was extra filling but easy. So, I looked through the fridge and freezer to see what we had. I started chopping and cooking away and this is what I came up with.
	Friday Night Pasta 2 tsp olive oil 2 clove(s) garlic clove(s), finely chopped
	1/2 cup(s) onion(s)
	1 cup(s) mushroom(s), sliced
	1 cup(s) zucchini, quartered and sliced
	1 cup(s) canned diced tomatoes
	6 oz cooked shrimp
	4 cup(s) cooked whole wheat pasta
	1 oz romano cheese, shredded finely
	1 tbsp Italian seasoning Heat olive oil in a pan, add garlic and onions, saute until clear and tender. Add zucchini and mushrooms and cook for 1-2 minutes. Add can of diced tomatoes and Italian seasoning and let simmer for 5 minutes. If the sauce seems to thick add a small amount of water. Add in shrimp and continue simmering until shrimp is cooked through and sauce is at a consistency that you want. Serve over cooked pasta, and sprinkle some of the shredded romano cheese over the vegetables and shrimp mixture. I think there are enough vegetables in the sauce to count as your "vegetable" for this meal, but I enjoy salads, so I served this pasta with a side garden salad and it was a very satisfying meal! This would also be an easy vegetarian option, just leave out the shrimp.

Asian Chili Chicken

So, I had to make dinner on the fly tonight. My roommate had taken out some chicken, but wasn't able to make dinner for us, so...I flew into improv mode. I think that when it comes to chicken, the two easiest ways to fix it is either BBQ or an Asian version. For tonight, I chose Asian and sort of made it up as I went along.

Asian Chili Chicken

5-6 green onions
2-3 Tbsp. oil
6 chicken thighs
1 tsp. garlic chili paste
1/4 cup soy sauce
1 Tbsp. sugar
salt
water

Chop green onions but keep green sections separate. Heat oil in pan, add green onions and chili paste. Saute in pan for about 1 min. Add chicken thighs and brown on both sides until golden. Add soy sauce, sugar, salt and enough water to submerge the chicken. Boil until chicken is cooked through and sauce has reduced and thickened.

Serve chicken over rice with extra sauce and sprinkled green onion tops.

Chicken Paprikash

So, I'm pretty sure this isn't a "true" chicken paprikash recipe, but it was pretty simple to do and tasted just fine. I have a co-worker who has a recipe for this dish that I'm sure is much truer to the original Hungarian version that I'd like to try one of these days, but in the mean-time, I cheated and made this version.

Chicken Paprikash

3 lb. chicken cut into 8 pieces (I used a few chicken breasts cutlets)
4 tbsp. extra-virgin olive oil
1 large onion, peeled and chopped
1 tsp. salt
1 tbsp. paprika
¾ c. water
1 c. crushed tomatoes
2 c. sliced mushrooms
1 c. sour cream
1 tbsp. flour
1 green pepper, cut into pieces


1. Heat oil in a pan (I used my new favorite cast-iron pan) over medium heat, add mushrooms and onion and cook until transparent
2. Place chicken pieces in pan, cook, turning often until lightly browned all over
3. Sprinkle salt and paprika on chicken, add ½ c. water and tomatoes and bring to a boil.
4. Reduce heat and simmer for 30 minutes, or until chicken is tender
5. In a small bowl, combine 1 c. sour cream, flour and ¼ c. water and stir well
6. Add peppers in, pour mixture over chicken and stir, simmer uncovered for 5 minutes
7. Place chicken in a deep serving dish, pour remaining sauce over.

I boiled up some elbow pasta to pour the chicken mixture over but you could also use egg noodles, rice or spaetzle. Make sure that when you're cutting up the chicken and peppers to cut them small enough. The original recipe called for the green peppers to be cut into rings. I suggest you cut both the chicken and peppers into bite sized pieces.

Meatloaf Muffins

This is one of our favorite weeknight recipes to make. I've adapted it from a Rachel Ray recipe. She uses ground sirloin, we always use ground turkey. She also uses a food processor for all of the chopping, we use a knife, we're funny that way. Make sure when picking out your salsa you get the level of hotness you can handle, because it really does affect the spiciness of the meatloaf! We usually serve this with smashed Yukon gold potatoes.

Meatloaf Muffins

Ingredients

• 1 2/3 to 1 3/4 pounds ground turkey
• 1 small-medium onion finely diced
  
• 2 ribs celery from the heart of the stalk finely diced
• 1 green bell pepper finely diced
  
• 1 large egg plus a splash of milk, beaten
• 1 cup plain bread crumbs
• 2 tablespoons grill seasoning (Rachel recommendeds: Montreal Steak Seasoning by McCormick, I think this is what we use too)
• 1 cup smoky barbecue sauce
• 1/2 cup tomato salsa
• 1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
• Vegetable oil or extra-virgin olive oil

Directions

Preheat oven to 450 degrees F.

Put ground beef into a big bowl. Add diced onion, celery, and green pepper to the meat bowl. Add egg, beaten with milk, bread crumbs and grill seasoning to the bowl. Next, mix together the smoky barbecue sauce, the salsa and the Worcestershire sauce. Pour half the sauce mixture into the bowl with the meatloaf mix. Mix the meatloaf together with your hands. Wash up. Brush a 12-muffin tin (1/2-cup each) with vegetable oil or extra-virgin olive oil. Use an ice cream scoop to help you fill meat into a each tin. Top each meat loaf with a spoonful of extra sauce. Bake about 20 minutes. Cut open 1 muffin to test that the middle is cooked through.