Tag Archives: dinner

Dinner Troubles? My new hero…

Last day of school, crazy week professionally and personally, gorgeous weather demanding time outside, oh, and everyone expects dinner on the table at 6. Eeek! What to do?

Meet my new hero – filling and delicious, fortified with fiber and superfoods, dinner is saved…
Spinach Enchilada Vegetarian Bake

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You’ll need:

Large container of baby spinach
2 cans garbanzo beans
1 can black beans
1 can pinto beans
2 cups cooked brown rice (instant is fine)
1 corn tortilla (there’s one in the bottom of your fridge somewhere)
3/4 of a large can of mild enchilada sauce
1 small bag of shredded organic Mexican blend cheese

First, tear tortilla into one inch pieces and spread over bottom of glass pan.

Next, layer rice over tortilla pieces.

Then, use your food processor to chop all of the spinach in batches (or chop by hand if you have the time.) Layer that.

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Rinse and drain all beans. Layer pinto…

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Then garbanzo…

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Then black beans…

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Then second can of garbanzo…

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Then enchilada sauce…

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Then cheese…

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Cover and microwave for four minutes….

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Enjoy with homemade guacamole (mashed avocado, garlic, cliantro) and a few chips!

Whew. That was easy!

90 second taco seasoning

IMG_5687Ditch the prepackaged taco seasoning. Here a fresh, fast solution already sitting in your cabinet:

Brown ground round in large skillet.

Drain fat. (photo below)

Return meat to pan and add (per pound of meat):

2 tablespoons dried minced onion
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon cayenne
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1 teaspoon cumin
1/2 teaspoon oregano
1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes
1/2 cup water
(omit red pepper and some cayenne for less kick)

Stir, simmer and serve.

Here’s how I drain the fat…

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Then, return to pan and add water…

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“Do you like green eggs and ham?”

IMG_9167“Try them! Try them! And you may!” – Dr. Suess
In honor of Father’s Day, I thought I would share one of my husband’s (the father of my children) favorite meals. These Mexican inspired tacos offer protein, veggies, flavor and fiber.
Easy and delicious! Enjoy!

IMG_9159Chop two red peppers and one large onion

Saute veggies in large pan with a drizzle of olive oil until soft

Scramble 7 eggs and 5 egg whites

Add eggs and 29oz can of drained black beans

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Stir in pan. Then, periodically scrape mixture from edge to bottom of pan with spatula until all the eggs are cooked.

As I hope you can see, the black beans dye the eggs greenish. (If you want to avoid this, simmer the beans in a separate pot and add as you layer your taco.)

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Warm corn tortillas and create your taco. Layer egg mixture, a sprinkle of monterey jack cheese (or something more authentic) and fresh cilantro.

As far as the “ham” is concerned, we are truly a bacon family. I’ve found that baking strips of high quality bacon on cookie cooling racks over a cookie sheet (to catch all the fat) strikes a good balance of delicious and not too indulgent. Bake well in oven for about 18 minutes at 385 degrees.

Serves two adults and two children with leftovers.

Enjoy!

Easy Peasy Mac and Cheesy

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Barely anytime for dinner? Need something quick, easy and adequately healthy? We love this one…

Grocery List: two boxes of organic whole wheat mac and cheese, three servings of high quality ham or smoked turkey lunch meat, one bag of frozen peas (milk and butter if you don’t have any on hand)

  1. Add two boxes of organic whole wheat mac ‘n cheese pasta and half of a bag of frozen peas (three or four servings) to boiling water.
  2. Finish making mac ‘n cheese according to directions and add a little extra milk to help the sauce coat
  3. Add two servings of chopped, high quality ham or turkey lunch meat slices and mix.

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We put this in a thermos for my 4 year olds lunch. Leftovers serve as a great quick meal for fussy eaters. Enjoy! Let me know if you liked it!