Tuesday, July 31, 2012

Creamy Spinach Enchiladas

Ingredients:
(Makes about 7 enchiladas)
  • 1 package of soft flour tortillas (if you use corn, use less filling)
  • 2 packages of chopped frozen spinach
  • 1 cup of corn (canned or frozen)
  • 1/4 cup of low-fat ricotta cheese
  • 1/4 cup of fat free cream cheese
  • 1/2 medium yellow onion, diced
  • 1 Tablespoon of garlic, minced
  • 1 Tablespoon of olive oil
  • 2 cups of salsa (any kind you would like)
  • 1/2 cup of low-fat sour cream
  • 3/4-1 cup of low-fat mexican shredded cheese
Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Remove frozen spinach from the package and place in a microwave safe dish. Microwave on high for about 5 minutes or until the spinach is thawed (it does not need to be hot, just thawed). Squeeze as much water out of the spinach by placing the spinach in paper towels or a dish towel. Set the spinach aside until ready to use.

2. Make the sauce by adding 2 cups of salsa + 1/2 sour cream to a small bowl and stirring. Set aside.

3. Add 1 tablespoon of olive oil and chopped onion to a medium saute pan and cook on medium-high heat for about 5-8 minutes of until the onion is soft and slightly browned. Next, turn the heat down to medium and add the minced garlic and stir until the ingredients are well incorporated (be careful not to burn the garlic).

4. Add the spinach to the garlic and onion, breaking it apart while stirring (you don't want all of the spinach to be stuck together).



5. Next add the corn, ricotta, and cream cheese and stir into the spinach, garlic, and onion until the cheese is melted and all of the ingredients come together.


6. Assemble the enchiladas by first adding about 1/2-3/4 cup of the sauce to the bottom of the dish. Next, make each enchilada by stuffing the tortilla with a couple of spoon fulls of the spinach mixture, rolling the tortilla, and placing it seam side down into the bottom of the pan. Repeat this same step for the remainder of the tortillas.



7. Lastly, pour another 3/4 cup of sauce on top of the enchiladas and top the sauce with shredded cheese. Bake for about 20-25 minutes or until the top is melted and bubbling. Enjoy!!

Saturday, July 21, 2012

Sweet Potato, Kale, & Black Bean Quesadillas


This recipe is from www.carrotsncake.com blog and its so yummy and easy to make. This recipe has a lot of good-for-you nutrients including: Vitamin A (sweet potato), Iron (black beans & kale), Calcium (cheese, black beans, and kale), and Fiber (whole-grain wrap, sweet potato, beans, and kale). Hope you enjoy! :)


Ingredients: (makes 2 wraps)
  • 2 small sweet potatoes
  • 1/2 can of low-sodium black beans, rinsed and drained
  • 1/2 cup of fresh kale, chopped
  • 2 Mini-Babybel Light cheese circles
  • Whole-grain wraps (burrito size)
  • Pinch of salt and pepper
  • Pinch of garlic powder

Directions:

1. Place washed and dried sweet potatoes on a microwave safe plate. Punture holes around the sweet potatoes with a fork. Microwave on high for 7-10 minutes or until the sweet potato is soft in the middle. Once the sweet potatoes are finished cooking, slice them open and spoon out the potato into a small bowl (you may need to mash them a little bit more with a fork or a masher to get a smooth consistency).

2. Place rinsed and drained beans into a small bowl next to your mashed sweet potaotes.

3. Place chopped fresh kale into a small bowl and add it your assembly line of ingredients.

4. Cut Mini-Babybel cheese circles into small pieces.

5. Assemble your wrap: place your wrap on a large plate and spread mashed sweet potato onto one half of the wrap. Top the mashed sweet potato with black beans, chopped kale (~2 Tbs), and cheese. Sprinkle the top with salt, pepper, and garlic powder. Fold the other half over so it looks like a half-moon. Follow the same steps for the other wrap(s).

6. Place the quesadillas into a panini grill or a saute pan and cook until the cheese is melted and the contents inside are hot. Enjoy!! 

Friday, July 6, 2012

Healthy Shrimp Linguine


Ingredients
  • 1/2 box of whole wheat linguine
  • 30 small shrimps, peeled, deveined, tails removed
  • 4 cloves of fresh garlic, minced
  • 2 Tablespoons of unsalted butter
  • 1/4 cup of olive oil
  • 1/2 cup of sherry cooking wine
  • Juice of 1 large lemon
  • Salt & pepper
  • 1-2 pinches of red pepper flakes
  • Parmesan cheese
Directions

1. Put a large pot of water on stovetop to boil. Once water starts to boil, salt the water (about 1 pinch of salt), and then add the pasta. Turn heat down to medium-high. Cook for about 7-10 minutes.

2. While the pasta is cooking, heat a large skillet to medium heat and add butter. Once the butter is melted, add the olive oil and minced garlic and stir (make sure the garlic does not burn-if it starts browning, turn down the heat).

3. Next season the shrimp with salt and pepper and add the shrimp to the garlic and olive oil. Cook shrimp for about 2 minutes on each side. Once the shrimp is cooked (should turn pink), remove shrimp from olive oil and garlic and place in a small bowl to the side.

4. Add sherry cooking wine to garlic and olive oil and bring to a boil. Once it starts to bubble, turn the heat down to low (simmer). Add the juice of one lemon and the red pepper flakes and stir the sauce with a whisk.

5. Add the shrimp back into the sauce. Lastly, add the cooked linguine to the sauce and toss all of the ingredients together. Top with parmesan cheese! Enjoy!!

Thursday, July 5, 2012

BBQ Chicken Pita Pizza

Ingredients
  • Leftover BBQ chicken from previous recipe for crockpot BBQ chicken
  • Whole wheat pita bread
  • Low fat mozzarella cheese
  • Fresh cilantro leaves, chopped
Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

2. Spread 1/2-3/4 cup of BBQ chicken evenly over the top of the pita bread. Top the BBQ chicken with mozzarella cheese.

3. Bake in oven for about 15 minutes or until the top is lightly browned. When it is finished baking, top each pita with 1 tablespoon of chopped cilantro. Enjoy!!