Creamy Black Bean Salsa Chicken

I found this recipe on a crock pot website and decided to try it as we had some salsa we needed to use up.  This was super easy, and we loved it!  What's great as well is that you could easily do many variations of this (adding ingredients you like, not using those you don't have) and it would still be tasty.  For example, I thought about how you could make an easy crock pot chicken tortilla soup with this just by adding some chicken broth and keeping the sour cream and cheese out.  Enjoy!

2 to 4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts (I used 8 chicken tenders)
1 cup salsa (what salsa you use can have a big impact on your meal. I love and used Jack's Special from Costco. Fresh and yummy cilantro flavor!)
1 can (15 oz) corn, drained
1 can (15 oz) black beans, drained
1 package taco seasoning (1 tbsp.)
1/2 cup light or fat free sour cream
1 cup grated cheddar cheese

Place the chicken in the slow cooker.  Pour the salsa, corn, beans, and taco seasoning over the chicken.  Cover and cook on low heat 6-8 hours or on high heat 3-4 hours (with tenders, check a little earlier just to make sure they're not cooking faster than the chicken breasts would).  Remove the chicken and shred.  Stir sour cream and cheese into sauce in slow cooker, then put chicken back in.  Serve with tortillas, rice, or tortilla chips.

p.s. I'm attaching "healthy" as with the no-fat sour cream and light on the cheese, it is. :)  But can be less healthy depending on how you make it.

Grilled Pork Chops Recipe with Soy Sauce, Cumin, Lime, and Oregano

This is another great pork recipe for grilling, also from Kalyn's Kitchen.

Grilled Pork Chops with Soy Sauce, Cumin, Lime, and Oregano
(Makes 4 thick pork chops, can easily be doubled. Recipe created by Kalyn.)

4 boneless pork loin chops (1 inch thick)

Marinade:
1/4 cup soy sauce (I used Tamari)
1/4 cup fresh lime juice
1/4 cup olive oil
1/2 tsp. ground cumin
1/2 tsp. dried oregano (I used Mexican Oregano)
pinch of Chipotle chile powder (or use a dash of hot sauce)
1/2 tsp. onion powder (or use 1-2 tsp. grated fresh onion)
1/2 tsp. garlic powder (or use 1-2 tsp. freshly minced garlic)
(I rarely use onion powder or garlic powder, but a marinade like this is one place where I think they work well)

Trim all visible fat from pork chops, and pound with meat mallet (or anything heavy) until pork chops are about 3/4 inch thick. Combine marinade ingredients. Put pork chops in a heavy ziploc bag or plastic dish with a lid, then pour marinade over. Let pork chops marinate 4-6 hours in the refrigerator. (They can be marinated all day while you're at work too.)

When you're ready to cook, take pork chops out of the refrigerator and let them come to room temperature. Whether you're cooking on an outdoor grill or using a stove-top grill pan, spray with non-stick spray or olive oil, then preheat the grill or pan to medium-high before you start to cook. (You can only hold your hand there for a few seconds at that heat.) To get criss-cross grill marks, lay the meat at an angle for 2-3 minutes, then rotate 45 degrees after you have the first set of marks.

Grilling time can vary greatly depending on the temperature of the grill, temperature of the meat, and even air temperature when grilling outdoors. I cooked the pork chops in this photo not quite 5 minutes per side. I highly recommend using an instant-read meat thermometer to tell when they're done, but if you don't have one, the pork chops should feel firm to the touch (not hard). Remember that grilled meats continue to cook for a few minutes when you take them off the grill, and don't overcook.

Grilled Ginger-Soy Pork Chops

This is a great pork chop recipe from Kalyn's kitchen. I love that website. I find a lot of awesome, healthy recipes there.

(4-6 servings, recipe created by Kalyn) 4-6 boneless pork chops

Marinade:
1/4 cup peanut oil
1/4 cup soy sauce
1/4 cup rice vinegar (not seasoned rice vinegar, it contains sugar)
1 tsp. dried chili pepper flakes
2 tsp. ginger puree (or grated ginger)
2 tsp. garlic puree (or minced garlic)
1 tsp. dried mustard

Trim all fat from pork chops and pound to slightly over 1/4 inch thick. (If you're using the very thick pork chops you might want to cut them in half crosswise.) Mix marinade ingredients. Put pork chops in zip-loc bag and pour marinade over. Marinate 6-8 hours or longer.

To cook, preheat grill to medium hot. To get those nice grill marks, rotate the pork chops after about 4 minutes on the first side. (I usually lift one up and check for the marks before I rotate them.) Cook about 8 minutes per side; total cooking time will depend on the temperature of your grill and the thickness of the pork chops. Pork chops should feel firm to the touch but not hard when they're done. Serve hot.

If you have a rotisserie, this recipe would be fantastic to marinate a pork roast overnight and then cook it on the rotisserie.

Asiago and Balsamic Carmelized Onion Focaccia Bread

Another Great recipe from Cooking Light.

Ingredients

• 2 tablespoons plus 2 teaspoons extravirgin olive oil, divided
• 1 cup chopped onion
• 2 tablespoons honey, divided (I used agave)
• 1/4 teaspoon dried thyme
• 2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
• 1 1/2 teaspoons salt, divided
• 1 package dry yeast (about 2 1/4 teaspoons)
• 1 1/4 cups warm water (100° to 110°)
• 3 3/4 cups all-purpose flour (about 17 ounces), divided (I used white whole wheat flour)
• Cooking spray
• 3/4 cup (3 ounces) grated fresh Asiago cheese (I used parmesean)

Preparation

Heat 2 teaspoons oil in a nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add onion, 1 tablespoon honey, and thyme; cook 5 minutes or until browned, stirring occasionally. Remove from heat; stir in vinegar and 1/4 teaspoon salt. Cool completely.

Dissolve yeast and remaining 1 tablespoon honey in 1 1/4 cups warm water in a large bowl; let stand 5 minutes. Lightly spoon flour into dry measuring cups; level with a knife. Add onion mixture, remaining 2 tablespoons oil, remaining 1 1/4 teaspoons salt, and 3 1/2 cups flour to yeast mixture; stir until a soft dough forms. Turn dough out onto a floured surface. Knead until smooth and elastic (about 8 minutes). Add enough of remaining flour, 1 tablespoon at a time, to prevent dough from sticking to hands.

Place dough in a large bowl coated with cooking spray, turning to coat top. Cover and let rise in a warm place (85°), free from drafts, 1 hour or until doubled in size. (Gently press two fingers into dough. If indentation remains, dough has risen enough.) Punch dough down; cover and let rest 5 minutes. Gently press dough into a 15 x 10-inch jelly-roll pan coated with cooking spray. Cover and let rise 25 minutes or until almost doubled in size.

Preheat oven to 400°.

Sprinkle dough with cheese. Bake at 400° for 18 minutes or until browned. Cool in pan on a wire rack 10 minutes. Remove from pan; cool completely on rack.

Pesto Chicken Salad Sandwiches

This is one of those amazing Cooking Light recipes!

Ingredients

• 1/2 cup low-fat mayonnaise
• 1/3 cup plain fat-free yogurt
• 1/3 cup commercial pesto (such as Buitoni)
• 1 1/2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
• 4 cups cubed skinless, boneless rotisserie chicken breast (I do the breasts in the crockpot)
• 1 cup diced celery
• 1/3 cup chopped walnuts, toasted
• 1 (1-pound) focaccia bread, cut in half horizontally, toasted, and cut into 20 slices
• 1 (12-ounce) bottle roasted red bell peppers, drained and chopped
• 10 romaine lettuce leaves

Preparation

Combine first 6 ingredients in a large bowl, stirring with a whisk. Stir in chicken, celery, and walnuts.

Spread 1/2 cup of salad onto each of 10 bread slices. Top each serving with about 2 tablespoons bell pepper, 1 lettuce leaf, and one bread slice.

I'm going to post a good Cooking Light Focaccia bread recipe next.

Tilapia Soft Tacos with Chipotle Cream

Mmmm, these were so dang good! The fish was so soft, the flavor was incredible, and you leave still feeling light yet so very satisfied! My mouth is watering just thinking about it!

Recipe and picture found on allrecipes.com

Ingredients:
4 soft taco size tortillas
1 tbsp. olive oil
1/2 tsp. ground cumin
1/4 tsp. cinnamon
1/4 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. pepper
4 cloves garlic, minced
3 tbsp. fresh cilantro, chopped
1 pound tilapia fillets
2 tbsp. lime juice
2 cups mixed greens

Chipotle Cream Sauce:
2 canned chipotle chiles in adobo
1 cup non-fat sour cream
1/4 tsp. salt

Directions:

1. Blend the chipotle cream sauce ingredients in a blender or food processor. Set aside.
2. In a skillet set at medium-high heat, add the seven ingredients from the olive oil through the cilantro. Saute those ingredients for 5 minutes
3. After 5 minutes, add the tilapia and cover and cook for 3 minutes or until fish is cooked. Then add lime juice and let cook for 1 additional minute.
4. Heat the tortillas according to the package instructions. Fill with fish, greens, and chipotle cream sauce. (we also added tomatoes, cheese, and extra cilantro).

Sugar Free Apple Crisp

Sometimes you just want to bite into something warm and sweet, and good news! This is also healthy! I made this for myself, so it is only a personal version but it wouldn't be hard to change up for more people.

1/2 C old fashioned oats

1/8 tsp salt

1/4 tsp cinnamon

1/8 tsp nutmeg

2 Tb oil of some kind (butter would taste good, smart balance is healthier, I used canola)

1 tsp vanilla

1 squeeze of lemon juice

1 Tb truvia

squirt of agave nectar

chopped pecans, if you like them

1 apple

Preheat oven to 350. Put the oats in the blender and blend just a bit until they are half oats, half oat flour. Mix in salt, spices, and truvia (and pecans if you are using them). Add wet ingredients. Peal and slice the apple and place in the bottom of a small oven safe dish. Cover apple with the crumble topping. Cover dish with aluminum foil and bake for about 40 minutes. Remove the foil and bake about ten minutes more.

I think this would most likely be great with berries too.

Sugar Free Hot Chocolate

I think this hot chocolate is very rich, which I like, but obviously change it up according to your preferences.

1 Cup milk (approximately)

1 Tb cocoa

1 tsp truvia (or to taste)

1/2 tsp vanilla

1/4 tsp cinnamon, or mint, raspberry, or almond extract

dash of salt

Add all ingredients to a mug and heat for about a minute depending on your microwave. This tastes even better with a couple drops of agave nectar.

Honey Baked Chicken

I have made this over and over again. It is a recipe that I can make without any previous planning, as I almost always have the ingredients on hand. We love it. Serve over rice.

Ingredients:

1 lb. chicken tenders (or 2 chicken breast halves, cut into strips or pieces, however you fancy)
1 tbs. olive oil
1/2 cup honey
1/8 cup spicy brown mustard
1/8 cup dijon mustard
2 tsp. minced garlic
2 tsp. curry powder
1 tsp. salt
a dash cayenne pepper

Directions;

1. Preheat oven to 350
2. Place chicken pieces in a shallow baking pan. Combine all remaining ingredients and pour mixture over the chicken. Cover with tin foil. Bake for 25 minutes. Flip chicken pieces over and finish cooking uncovered. (usually about 5-10 minutes)