Chipotle Ranch Chicken Tacos

One night last week I was trying to come up with dinner last minute using ingredients I already had in my kitchen. The result was delicious chipotle ranch chicken tacos.  You have got to give them a try. Josh and I both loved them and he asked for seconds!

Here are the ingredients:

• 2 boneless skinless chicken breasts, cubed
• 1 tsp. chipotle powder
• 1 tbsp. ranch dip mix
• 1 can black beans, rinsed and drained
• Canola oil
• Shredded Mexican, cheddar, and/or Monterrey Jack cheese
• Flour tortillas

Heat canola oil in a pan over medium-high heat. Sprinkle chicken with chipotle and ranch mix. Add to pan. Cook until chicken is completely cooked through. You could also do this on a grill, but leave chicken whole and cut afterward. Add beans to pan and cook for about 1 minute, just to heat them up a bit.

Place cooked chicken and beans in tortillas and sprinkle with cheese. I put mine in the panini press to heat the tortilla and melt the cheese, but it's fine either way. This should make enough for about 6-8 people. Adding the beans helps stretch it a little further. This would also be great served over rice or with veggies for a healthier option.

And I enjoyed using the leftovers to make nachos the following day!

Getting Creative With Leftovers

One of the meals I made while I had family in town for Christmas (which I forgot to photograph originally) was slow cooker pulled pork. My grandmother gave me a copy of this recipe a few years ago, and it has become a regular in our house. It's easy and great for anytime we are entertaining and want something easy. I made it for Christmas Eve dinner and we served it on hamburger buns with different flavored Kettle Brand potato chips. Nothing fancy, but so simple, and it cooked on it's own all day while I was able to enjoy time with my family!

The day after Christmas my family all went home, and although the house was suddenly empty, my refrigerator was not. We had so many leftovers! One of which was the barbecue pulled pork. We were out of buns and I kind of felt like something different anyway. So I used the meat to make barbecue grilled tacos on my new panini press my grandmother gave me (thank you, Nana!). 

I began by heating up the leftover meat on the panini press.

Next I laid two flour tortillas on the panini press, sprinkled shredded cheese on them, a little meat, a little more cheese, and some barbecue sauce (Stubbs BBQ sauce to be exact, which is my favorite).

 

Then I folded the tortillas in half, shut the panini press for a few minutes until the cheese was all melted, and enjoyed them with some of my leftover chips. This was an easy way to make leftovers a little more interesting.

Taco Dinner & Saturday Breakfast

Today for lunch I made turkey tacos. I used ground turkey and Lawry's taco seasoning (just follow the directions on the seasoning packet). I served it with black beans, and covered the tacos with cheese, salsa, and cilantro. Tacos have always been a favorite of mine. I use to love when my mom would make us tacos for dinner! Using ground turkey is a great way to make this meal much healthier than when using ground beef. Also, this is one of the meals when using ground turkey where there is enough seasoning so that the meat is not too bland. Unlike beef, turkey does not have much flavor on its own.


I used these taco shells for the first time, and they were pretty good. They were much smaller than most taco shells, but they were very light and crispy. I think we might have them next time too!


Yesterday we had a laid-back Saturday morning, which we have not had in awhile. So, I figured it would be a good time to cook a great breakfast. So, I looked at what we had in our kitchen: bread, 2 eggs, bacon, cherry tomatoes, a couple of baking potatoes, cilantro, and a little leftover manchego cheese. So, this is the meal I came up with:

Toast 2 pieces of wheat bread in toaster. Cut cherry tomatoes in half, place in baking dish, drizzle with olive oil and pepper. Cook in oven for about 15 minutes at 350 degrees. Cook 4 pieces of bacon in pan. After bacon is cooked and crispy, remove bacon and place on paper towels. Drain most of grease from pan, but do not wipe clean. Add chopped up pieces of baking potatoes, a little oil, and salt. Once potatoes are soft and cooked through, remove from pan (if you get impatient like me, you can throw them in the oven for a little bit). Then clean pan and fry eggs over easy. To assemble dish, place toast on pan, cover with 2 pieces of bacon and one egg. Place potatoes and tomatoes on plate next to bread. Then top entire dish with fresh grated manchego and chopped cilantro. This will make enough for two of these dishes.

This meal was very tasty and easy to make. We will definitely do it again!

Busy Week Recipes

Well, it's been a busy week, so sorry I haven't written in awhile! That also means this post will be extra long. I know most of you have been dying to see when I would post next (or maybe just my mom was, but I am glad to have a faithful reader)!

On Monday night I tried a new steak recipe and made my own french fries to go with it (it was make what we have on hand night, which just happened to be steak and potatoes-can you tell I am from Texas?). A friend had mentioned a good rub for steaks if I searched "Cowboy Steaks" online. I found a good recipe on the Food Network website that was really easy, and I had all of the ingredients in my pantry. You can find it here. I used the rub in the recipe, and tried broiling my steak, which I had been wanting to attempt for awhile. I think it could have been good, but I kept them in there just a little too long, so it was more cooked than I would have liked. Next time I think I will just follow the recipe that goes along with the rub and cook it in a pan.

I made my own version of shoe string fries by cutting russet potatoes into thin strips, laying them out on a baking sheet and drizzling them with olive oil and spices. I used chili powder, garlic pepper, and season salt. Then I baked them at about 450 degrees until they were a little crispy. I ended up baking them about 15 minutes then broiling them for a few minutes, just keep an eye on them, and figure out how long is best. I liked these fries because they are cheap, quick, and healthy!

Monday morning Josh ran with me, which was really nice. I do enjoy running on my own, but it's nice to have company sometimes too. It's also good to have someone to help push me to work a little harder!


On Wednesday night I made Pasta Pomodoro from a recipe in my Cooking Light cookbook (and just changed it up a little, so I am giving you my version). It was quick, simple, and good. It's a great meal for weeknights when you get off work and don't have time to cook a big meal. For the two of us I used about 1 1/2 cups (dry) penne pasta, which you cook as directed on the box. Then, in a pan, saute about 3 cloves minced garlic in olive oil. Next, pour one 14.5 oz. can of diced tomatoes in with it, along with salt and pepper. Bring to a boil, then let simmer about 5-7 minutes (you want the sauce to thicken a little). Remove from heat and stir in fresh basil. Split penne between two bowls. Top each with sauce and fresh grated parmesan. I also added some red pepper flakes to mine for a little spice.


Tonight I made tacos and my black bean and corn salsa. Josh had a meeting and was not going to be eating dinner with me, so I just decided to make some taco meat to use for a little taco salad. I always just make taco meat with ground turkey or beef (turkey is much lighter, but tonight it was beef because I already had some on hand) and store bought seasoning packets (my favorite is Lawry's, probably because it was what my mom always used). Taco meat makes great leftovers too (makes me look forward to my lunch break tomorrow)!

I like to use the meat for a taco salad, which for me consists of blue corn tortilla chips, my black bean and corn salsa (recipe below), my regular salsa (which I have on a previous post), reduced-fat Mexican shredded cheese, and the taco meat. Tonight I tried to use a smaller portion of meat and cheese to be healthier. I like the black bean and corn salsa because it is healthy and filling, so you can use less meat and not notice.



I ate something similar to my black bean and corn salsa once, and decided to come up with my own. It is inexpensive, easy to make, pretty, and good! It's great for parties because it makes a lot and you can make it ahead of time (just wait to add the avocado until just before your guests come so it doesn't get to brown). Here is the recipe:


Chelsea's Black Bean & Corn Salsa:

• 1 can whole kernel corn, drained
• 1 can black beans, drained and rinsed
• 1 can diced tomatoes and green chiles, drained
• 2 small avocados or 1 large, chopped
• Julio's Seasoning (this may only be available in Texas, I am not sure) or other Mexican seasoning or season salt
• Fresh lime juice (about half of a lime)
  

Stir all ingredients together in a bowl and add the seasoning to taste. You can also add fresh cilantro if you have some. This is great in salads, as a dip, or to top grilled chicken.

Okay, now to the exercise update...

Sunday night I went rock climbing at the indoor climbing wall at Tech. I use to do it a lot in college, but not much since then. It was really fun, and is a wonderful workout, so I am hoping to keep doing it about once a week.

On Monday I ran with Josh, which I mentioned earlier. Tuesday I was busy working and did not workout. Wednesday morning I decided to work out inside, which for a cardio workout wasn't the best for me. I did not work as hard as I do when I run, so it probably was not the best idea. However, Josh and I did go for a walk together that night, so I got a little more exercise in, just nothing strenuous.

Today I had a break in the middle of the day, which I normally do not have, so I decided to go for a run (and this isn't even one of my official running days-I am crazy!). It was a beautiful, warm, sunny day, so it was nice to run in shorts and soak up the sunshine. I even ran longer this time-25 minutes (I know, it's not that much, but remember, we are taking baby steps here)! And after dinner I did some weight workouts at home. I think tomorrow I am going to do weight workouts in the morning, and hopefully run later in the day, and if not then, I will definitely run Saturday.

Well, hopefully next week I will be able to write more regularly!