Pilsbury Biscuit Sloppy Joe's

Soooooo.... this Easter I decided to go super casual and make my favorite sloppy joe recipe. (I actually forgot about Easter when I made this weeks meal plan to be honest, hehe) You can find this recipe online if you google Pilsbury sloppy joe biscuits, but I have tweaked it just a little bit. Don't worry it's easy!

Ingredients:

3/4 lb lean ground turkey meat

1/4 cup diced onion

1/4 cup diced green onion

1 tablespoon mustard

1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce 

1/3 cup ketchup

salt & pepper

1 can of Pilsbury Grand Biscuit (if you can find the wheat ones get those!)

1 egg yoke

1/2 cup of cheese ( I used Muenster but Monterey Jack is good too) 

Heat oven to 375
Cook turkey, green bell pepper and onion till cooked completely. Drain.
Add ketchup, mustard, Worcestershire, salt and pepper.
Take each biscuit and spread it with your fingers till about 3 1/2 inches wide. Place biscuits on cookie sheet. Brush egg yoke on each biscuit and scoop about 1/3 of turkey mixture onto each biscuit. 
Sprinkle with cheese.
Bake for 12-15 minutes

You will LOVE these, I swear!!!!

Spicy Chicken Rigatoni with Peas

Ok, this is honestly one of the easiest recipes ever!! I like to make my own sauce usually, but for this recipe I don't!! Which is part of what makes it so easy. Alright, here ya go!

Ingredients:

3 chicken breasts, cut into pieces

2-3 T olive oil

1 teaspoon crushed red pepper

1 -2 teaspoons minced garlic

salt & pepper to taste

1 box of rigatoni pasta (wheat if you can find it, is healthier)

3/4 cup marinara or more

1/2 Alfredo sauce or more

1 cup frozen peas

Directions:

Cook pasta as directed on box.
Saute crushed red pepper, salt, pepper, and garlic in vegetable oil for about 5 minutes. Add chicken and cook till done. Then add marinara, Alfredo and lastly the peas. Let simmer for a few minutes while stirring constantly. Drain pasta and serve saucy chicken poured over. If you like it even spicier than add more red pepper flakes.  

Cinnamon Quinoa Pancakes

This year I have discovered quinoa. It is awesome!!! I'm sure you have heard of it by now and are wondering what it is. Some say it's a whole grain, but it's actually a seed. It's pronounced  "key-nwa." You need to cook it first before using it, by boiling it in water or broth depending on what you are making. Quinoa provides all 9 essential amino acids, it's gluten free and cholesterol free.

This recipe is one of my favorites because it's delicious and who doesn't love breakfast for dinner every once in a while? And the left overs for breakfast are super easy when you are in a hurry. To make the turkey bacon bake in the oven at  350 for about 15 minutes on a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper. Easy! Now here is how you make the pancakes...

Ingredients

1 cup cooked quinoa

3/4 cup all purpose flour

2 teaspoons baking powder

1/2 teaspoon course salt

1 large egg, plus 1 large egg white

1 tablespoon unsalted butter, melted, plus more for skillet

1/4 cup lowfat milk ( I use Almond milk)

2 tablespoons pure maple syrup, plus more for serving                                                                            1 teaspoon vanilla                                                                                                                                   1/4 teaspoon cinnamon

Directions

1. In a medium bowl, whisk together quinoa, flour, baking powder, cinnamon and salt. In another medium bowl, whisk together egg, egg white, butter, milk, vanilla and syrup until smooth. Add egg mixture to flour mixture and whisk to combine.
2. Lightly coat a large nonstick skillet or griddle with butter and heat over medium-high. Drop batter by heaping tablespoonfuls into skillet. Cook until bubbles appear on top, 2 minutes. Flip cakes and cook until golden brown on underside, 2 minutes. Wipe skillet clean and repeat with more melted butter and remaining batter (reduce heat to medium if over browning). Serve with maple syrup and fresh fruit or preserves if desired.

73 calories per pancake

35 calories per turkey bacon strip

This container is one of my favorite kitchen tools. It's a pancake dispenser from William Sonoma. It makes pouring so easy and accurate, And even though its name is used for pancakes, I mostly use is for cupcakes :) 

ENJOY!!! nom nom nom

Zucchini Chicken Enchiladas

Mexican food is notorious for being high in calories and often makes me feel guilty after eating it. But it's SO delicious and hard stay away from. Here is a healthier version of a favorite Mexican dish, enchiladas. It has shredded zucchini in it. Zucchini, like black beans helps prevent colon cancer and lower cholesterol because of its high dietary fiber. It can also help lower blood pressure, prevent strokes and heart attacks. So, I think it's safe to say these enchiladas are the best alternative to the cheesy, saucy, cuisine we all love. 

1 cup frozen chopped onion

1/2 cup frozen chopped green bell peppers

1 Tbsp. canola oil

4 oz. fat-free chicken broth

1 cup grated zucchini (about 1 small zucchini)

2 cups shredded, cooked chicken breasts

2 Tbsp. chopped cilantro

3-oz. can chopped green chili peppers

1 tsp. garlic powder

11/2 cups grated reduced-fat monterey jack chesse

15-oz. can red enchilada sauce

8 small corn tortillas

2 tsp. sliced black olives

1/2 cup light sour cream

Preheat oven to 350

Saute onion, bell peppers in chicken broth on for about 5 minutes or until the broth has evaporated. Add garlic powder and green chilies. Combine all veggies, chicken and 1 cup of cheese in a large bowl. 

Pour 1/2 of enchilada sauce in the pan you are cooking with. I used an 9 x 10.

In another bowl, pour the remaining sauce and then dip each tortilla in sauce, fill with chicken/zucchini mixture and roll and place in pan. Sprinkle the top with remaining cheese. 

Bake for 15 minutes.

Garnish with olives and serve with sour cream.

254 calories per enchilada

If you want it spicier try adding jalapenos too!

Red Velvet Cake and Cream Cheese Frosting

Red velvet is my favorite cake and with a good cream cheese frosting it is Heaven in my mouth!!! I've attempted it before and it was not good. It was dense, not red enough in color and it just didn't taste good. I used butter cream and not cream cheese. HUGE mistake!! It was all wrong. It tricked me into thinking red velvet is hard to make because my first try went so wrong. Yesterday I gave it another go using this recipe and it was perfect!!!! Make sure to use the exact measurements.

Red Velvet Cake

2 1/2 cups all purpose flour

2 cups sugar

1 Tablespoon cocoa

1 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon baking soda

2 eggs

1 1/2 cups oil

1 cup buttermilk

1 Tablespoon vinegar

1 teaspoon vanilla

2 oz. red food coloring

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Grease and flour two 8 inch cake pans.
Lightly stir eggs in a medium bowl with a wire whisk. Add remaining liquid ingredients and stir together with whisk until blended. Set aside.
Place all the dry ingredients in your mixing bowl and stir together really good with another wire whisk.
Add wet ingredients to the dry ingredients and mix on medium-high for about a minute or until completely combined.

Bake for 35-45 minutes. Mine took 45, but it depends on your oven.

Cream Cheese Frosting

10 oz cream cheese (room temp)

1 cup butter (room temp)

1 teaspoon vanilla

5 cups sifted powder sugar

Beat cream cheese, butter, and vanilla. Mix in 1 cup on powder sugar at a time.

Put one layer of frosting in between the 2 cakes. Then frost the rest of the cake and enjoy!! 

The flag decoration is from Target for $2. It is so cute and simple. And I wish I had a better picture of the inside when we cut it, but as you can see it was so awesome everyone dug in right away and this is what was left to snap a pic of. :) 

Change the food coloring and you can make your dessert "any color of the rainbow" Velvet. Here are Blue Velvet cupcakes I made for a baby boy baby shower

Bake cupcakes 18-20 minutes using the same recipe as above. 

Crock Pot Provencal Chicken

Don't let the name of this recipe intimidate you. It's SO easy!!! Almost every crock pot recipe is!! Provencal chicken is just the origin of where the recipe came from. This is from a region in France, Provence.  Which my best friend and I visited the summer of 2010 and happens to be one of my favorite places now. I am a big fan of colorful dishes and this is a perfect example of one. It is so flavorful and has hardly any ingredients.

Boneless chicken breast

1 yellow bell pepper

1 red bell pepper

1 can of diced tomatoes with green chiles

1 can of cannelloni beans

2 Tablespoons dried basil

dash of salt

dash of pepper

Throw it all in the crock pot, and cook on low for 7 hours or until ready. You can add onion and garlic if you want to. But it still has so much flavor without. :) Enjoy with a mixed green salad with vinaigrette. Bon appetite!! 

Makes 6 servings

212 calories per serving

Spicy Black Bean Soup

I've been on a health kick this year and I read a lot about what we should be eating more of and less of. Recently I have been reading about the benefits of black beans. They are high in fiber, so it's good for you cardiovascular health. And studies have connected black beans to help prevent certain types of cancers. I love spicy food and soup is always perfect for lunch or dinner. Since it's still a little chilly out I want to post my Spicy Black Bean Soup recipe...

1 tablespoon olive oil

1 medium onion finely chopped

4 garlic cloves minced

3 (15oz) cans of black beans, drained

1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes

1 teaspoon cumin

14 1/2 oz fat free chicken broth

10 oz canned tomatoes with green chilies

11 oz canned yellow corn

cilantro 

Saute onion and garlic with olive oil in a large stock pot for about 5 minutes
Blend onions, garlic, red pepper flakes, cumin and TWO can of drained black beans. Then pour back into stock pot.
Pour chicken broth, last can of black beans, tomatoes, and corn into stock pot. Simmer 20-25 minutes. Then serve garnishes with cilantro. 

8 servings
200 calories per serving.

Buffalo Chicken Meatballs

I've been meaning to start a blog and a couple days ago my best friend inspired me to do it! So here is my first official post....

2012 was my first year being married and I discovered that I am actually a pretty good cook. Growing up my big sister was always the cook of the family and I was SO busy with gymnastics and school that I never took the time to try. But today I live in South Carolina with my husband while he finishes up getting his masters in Nurse Anesthesia. Now, that I am no longer a full time student athlete I have plenty of time to cook. It has become something I'm really passionate about and I love seeing how happy my food makes my husband. :) I even on occasion cook a few homemade dog meals for Tucker and Lola. I want to post as many of my recipes as I can for you all. I'll start with what I made last night.

Buffalo Chicken Meatballs and a Blue Cheese Wedge Salad

1lb ground lean chicken meat

1 egg

1/2 cup Panko bread crumbs

1 carrot

1 cellery stalk

1/2 teaspoon garlic poweder

1/4 teaspoon salt

1 oz blue cheese crumbles

1/2 cup Franks hot sauce

preheat oven to 350
In a food processor chop up the carrot and celery finely.
Combine all ingredients in a bowl (only 1/4 Franks tho) and don't over mix
Place meatballs on a cookie sheet and bake for 20 minutes.
Drizzle with the remaining 1/4 Franks hot sauce

The wedge salad was just ice berg lettuce, cherry tomatoes, bacon bits, blue cheese crumble and black pepper. For the dressing I use Marie's yogurt dressing. It tastes the exact same and is half the calories.