Creamy Spinach & Chicken Roll-Ups!

I was desperate for something quick & easy to make for dinner tonight! I just so happened to have these ingredients on hand & took a spin off an old recipe to recreate this. It was a hit, so I'm posting here--would definitely make it again! :)

Ingredients:
Fresh spinach (I happened to have a fresh spinach/kale blend on hand, could prob use frozen as well) I used about half a bag
4 oz cream cheese
2 TBS butter
1/2 C milk
1/2 onion, minced
2 garlic cloves, minced
2 cans Crescent rolls
2C cooked/shredded chicken
Italian seasoning
Garlic Salt,
S&P

Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees
2. Boil a pot of water--blanch your spinach in the water, just enough to wilt it
3. Drain pot, use paper towels to "dry" spinach, then coarsely chop it & set aside
4. In same pot, add butter, onions & garlic to saute
5. Cut up cream cheese & add to butter mixture, add milk & stir together until creamy
6. Toss cooked/shredded chicken & spinach into creamy goodness
7. Unroll crescent dough into rectangles in a baking dish
8. Layer a little spinach/cheese/chicken mixture into each crescent roll
9. Roll the crescent rolls up & place side by side in pan filling it up.
10. Spray the tops of the crescent rolls with a butter spray, sprinkle the tops with a little italian seasoning & garlic salt
11. Bake 15 or so minutes until nicely browned!

Crunchy Black Bean Tacos

Got these off Pinterest. They have become a staple in our home! So easy, yummy, & healthyish!;)

Ingredients:
2 C black beans (I just use one can, drained. Would use 2 cans if wanting to make more...one can makes about a dozen)
1/2 C red onion, minced
1/2 tsp cumin
1/2tsp salt
1/2tsp garlic powder
shredded cheese (Monterey jack or whatever you prefer)
chopped cilantro (eyeball it to your preference)
olive oil
corn tortillas
toppings (sour cream, salsa, avocado, etc.)

Directions:
1. In a medium bowl, add beans along with red onion, cilantro & spices. Lightly mash all ingredients together (sometimes I forget to mash & it works fine anyway)
2. In a large non-stick skillet, add a few TBS of oil & heat on med-high heat.
3. Add one corn tortilla at a time & let it get hot in the oil (I flip tortilla over a couple of times to oil it up on both sides)
4. Spoon your bean mixture to one half of the tortilla & top with shredded cheese.
5. Using a spatula, carefully fold the tortilla over so it forms a shell. Press down lightly on the tortilla so it holds its shape.
6. As the first tortilla cooks, slide it to the side & do a second one (I can usually do about 3 at a time...if you had a griddle you could do even more at once).
7.  Cook each taco for several minutes on each side until they are nicely browned and crispy.
8. I place a paper towel over a plate & as I finish a batch, I set them on the paper towel to the side until all are cooked.

Serve with your favorite toppings & sides!
Enjoy!

Slow Cooker Shredded Beef Tacos

Also from Pinterest, made these last night and
they are divine! Will have to make them again
because I am sure I will be craving them!



Ingredients:
2 Tbsp. extra virgin olive oil
2 pounds beef (I used a boneless chuck roast)
2 tsp. chili powder
1 tsp. cumin
1/2 tsp. smoked paprika
1 cup beef stock
2 Tbsp. tomato paste
1 chipotle pepper in adobo sauce, minced (one is all you need, avoid seeds to lessen heat, use this link for helpful chipotle pepper advice!)
1/2 large sweet onion, diced
4 cloves garlic, minced
Flour tortillas
Favorite taco toppings: avocado, cheese, cilantro, salsa, etc.

Directions:
1. Whisk together the chili powder, cumin, and smoked paprika in a small bowl. Rub the spice mix into the beef, covering each side evenly. (I cheated and used McCormicks Salt Free Sweet 'n Smoky spice rub instead) 

2. Heat olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Carefully place the beef in the skillet and sear on each side until browned. Add the diced onion and minced garlic on top of the seared beef in the slow cooker.

3. Remove the beef from the skillet and place in the bottom of a slow cooker. Leave the pan on the heat, and add in the beef stock to deglaze, scraping up any browned bits from the bottom of the pan. Add the tomato paste and minced chipotle and whisk into the pan sauce. Bring the sauce to a boil, reduce the heat, and simmer for a 3-5 minutes until the sauce has reduced and thickened slightly. Pour the pan sauce down over the onions, garlic, and beef in the slow cooker. Cover and cook on low for 6-8 hours.

4. Shred the beef and onions with two forks. Serve the beef in the flour tortillas, topped with your favorite taco toppings.

Spicy Fish Taco Bowls

Got this recipe off Pinterest, I tweaked it slightly. The original recipe called for the addition of chili powder & cayenne pepper (probably why it was titled "spicy" :} but I chose to leave those out so my kiddos could eat it) I have made it several times & everyone likes it--definitely a keeper! I also really recommend making this spanish rice to serve with this dish!


Ingredients:
1 tsp cumin
1 tsp garlic pwd
1 tsp salt
3-4 tilapia filets
1-2 minced garlic cloves
1 C corn kernels (fresh is probably best, but I only had frozen)
1 red onion, diced
1 red bell pepper, diced
1 can black beans (rinsed & drained)
cooked rice (use brown or spanish rice recipe link above)
cilantro, avocado, shredded cheese, etc. for topping

Directions:
1. Make your rice.
2. Mix the spices together in a bowl & sprinkle evenly over both sides of fish--I like to season my fish a lot, but just sprinkle on however much looks good to you--add s&p to taste.
3. In a large nonstick skillet over medium heat, drizzle a little olive oil, add garlic & saute for 1-2 minutes. Add the fish to the pan, cook on each side for several minutes--checking the middle for doneness (fish should be completely white & flake apart easily). Remove fish & set aside.
4. Add corn, red peppers, & onion to the pan & heat on med/high heat for several minutes--stir and cook until peppers & onions are cooked to your liking. Add the black beans & heat through.
5. Layer the rice, corn/onion/pepper/bean mixture together with the fish in a bowl. Top with any of the toppings listed above, etc.!

Herb crusted pork chops

Made these tonight & they were great! Side dishes were creamed spinach(made with Laughing Cow cheese),  & potatoes.

Ingredients & Directions:

4 boneless pork chops, fat trimmed

2 Tbsp Dijon mustard

1/2 cup whole wheat Panko breadcrumbs

1 Tbsp fresh thyme, chopped

1 Tbsp fresh parsley, minced

1/8 tsp. salt

1/8 tsp. ground black pepper

1 Tbsp extra-virgin olive oil

Preheat oven to 450 degrees F.  Rub mustard evenly over pork chops.  Combine panko, thyme, parsley, salt and pepper in a large bowl and dredge pork chops in panko mixture.

Heat a large ovenproof skillet over medium-high heat.  Add oil to pan and swirl to coat.  Add pork chops, saute for 2 minutes or until golden brown.  Turn pork over and place skillet in oven for about 8 minutes or until pork reaches 145 degrees in the center.  Enjoy!

Green Smoothie

I'm back on the juicing/smoothie kick since Amber recommended the movie "Fat, Sick & Nearly Dead" (gotta watch that documentary if you haven't!!) Anyway, made this today & didn't want to forget the ingredients I used.  Very healthy & tasty!

Blend the following ingredients in juicer or mixer (I'm using a Vitamixer) 

1C unsweetened vanilla coconut milk

a small cup of ice cubes

1 peeled banana

1 apple cored (but with peel on)

large handful of fresh spinach leaves

a handful of fresh blueberries

Blend & serve! 

Cornmeal Crusted Tilapia w/Avocado Cream Dipping Sauce

Another great recipe from Clean and Delicious website! The avocado sauce was the key!! Soo yummy! Also the directions said to make avocado cream first so you're ready to eat when fish is done!



Ingredients:
1lb tilapia (4-6 filets)
2 eggwhites
1 C ground cornmeal
1 TBS paprika*
1/2 tsp cayenne pepper* (I used McCormick's Southwest Sweet n' Smoky spice instead of these 2)
S&P to taste

Avocado Cream:
2-3 small avocados
2 TBS plain Greek yogurt
juice from a lime (or lemon juice...I used a bit of both)
pinch of salt (I also added garlic salt)

Directions:
Avocado Cream:  Peel & pit avocados & cut into chunky pieces. Place in a mini food processor (I used a blender) along with all other ingredients. Blend everything together until you have a nice creamy sauce--play with texture by adding more or less yogurt and/or a bit of milk or water. Set aside until ready to serve.

Tilapia:
1. Combine cornmeal & spices in a wide dish--place egg white in another.
2. Season tilapia filets with s&p, dip them in the egg whites, then dredge in cornmeal mixture.
3. When fish is seasoned & coated, heat olive oil in a large non-stick skillet on medium-high heat.
4. Right before placing fish into hot pan, lightly mist each one with cooking spray (this will ensure even browning w/o having to add too much oil in the pan) place in pan "sprayed side" down.
5. Mist the opposite side of fillets while they're cooking--after a few minutes, flip the fish & cook for another few minutes or so. You're looking for the fish to cook through while having a nice crispy, browned exterior.

Serve with avocado cream! I also served with a yummy Sweet Kale salad I got at Costco.