Quinoa Burgers

Ingredients:

• 1/2 cup of quinoa, rinsed
• 1 can of black beans, rinsed and drained
• 2 large carrots, peeled and grated
• 1 zucchini, grated and drained (wrap in a paper towel and squeeze out the water)
• 2 tsp. of minced garlic
• 1/2 cup of plain bread crumbs
• 1 egg
• 1 egg white
• 1/2 cup of reduced fat cheddar cheese, shredded
• 1 tablespoon of ground cumin
• Pinch of salt
• 1/2 tsp. of garlic powder
• 1/2 tsp. of paprika
• 1 tsp. of ground black pepper
• 1-2 tablespoons of olive oil
• Whole grain sandwhich thins
• Brown mustard

Directions:

1. In a small pot, bring 3/4 cup water to a boil. Add quinoa, cover, and reduce heat to low. Cook for about 12-15 minutes and set aside.

2. Add the black beans to a large mixing bowl and mash with a fork (doesn't have to be pureed, just mashed up). Next add the grated carrots, zucchini, garlic, and bread crumbs and stir until all of the ingredients are combined.

3. Place the egg and egg white in a seperate small bowl and whisk together with a fork until smooth. Add the eggs to the large bowl of beans and vegetables and stir. Next add the cooked quinoa  and the shredded cheese to the mixture and stir until everything is well incorporated.

4. Next season the mixture with cumin, salt, garlic powder, paprika, and ground pepper. Form the mixture into patties (1/4-1/2 cup of mixture per patty depending on how big you want them). In a large skillet, heat oil over medium heat and add patties. Cook for about 5-8 minutes per side (or until browned).

5. Toast sandwhich thins and add mustard to one half of the bun. Place patty on the bun and enjoy!!

*Recipe adapted from Whole Living*

Tomato Basil & Goat Cheese Stuffed Chicken

Ingredients:

• 2 large chicken breast cutlets (Sliced very thin or pounded out very thin)
• 4-5 fresh basil leaves, chopped
• 1/4 cup of sun dried tomatoes, chopped into small pieces
• 2 oz. of fresh goat cheese
• 1/2 tsp. of garlic powder
• 1 tsp. of olive oil
• 1/2 tsp. of ground black pepper

Coating:

• 1/2 cup of plain bread crumbs
• 1 tsp. of dried oregano
• 1 tsp. of garlic powder
• 1/2 tsp. of ground black pepper
• 1 large egg

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees. In a small bowl, combine the chopped basil leaves, sun dried tomatoes, goat cheese, garlic powder, olive oil, and pepper. Stir the ingredients together until they are well incorporated (it should look like a compound butter). 

2. Spread half of the cheese mixture in the center of each of the chicken cutlets leaving about half an inch of space from the border. Next roll the chicken to completely cover the cheese, using toothpicks to secure.

3. Stir the bread crumbs, oregano, garlic powder, and pepper together in a small bowl. In another small bowl, crack the egg and whisk until smooth. Dip each chicken breast into the egg and then into the bread crumb mixture.

4. Place chicken breasts onto a greased cookie sheet. Bake for 25-30 minutes or until the chicken reaches 165 degrees. Remove tooth picks from chicken. Enjoy!!

**Sides: roasted okra and whole wheat bread**

Baked Vegetarian Egg Rolls with Peanut Dipping Sauce

This recipe was made up last night by my sister, Kendall. These were absolutely delicious!! My husband and I had them leftover for lunch today and they were still just as yummy. We paired these egg rolls with a Thai marinated flank steak on top of a udon noodles and vegetables. Hope you enjoy!!

 

Ingredients: (makes 10 egg rolls)

Egg Rolls

• 1 package of all natural egg roll wraps
• 1 bundle of bean threads
• 1 red bell pepper, julienned (matchsticks)
• 2 cups of cole slaw mix
• 2 medium carrots, shredded
• 1 zucchini, julienned
• 2 green onions (scallions), diced
• 2 Tablespoons of light soy sauce
• 2 teaspoons of light olive oil

Peanut Sauce

• 2 1/2 Tablespoons of natural crunchy peanut butter
• 2 Tablespoons of honey
• 1 Tablespoon of soy sauce
• 1 Tablespoon of rice vinegar
• 1 Tablespoon of olive oil
• 1 teaspoon of fresh ginger
• 1 teaspoon of minced garlic

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Grease a large cookie sheet with non-stick cooking spray.

2. Bring a small pot of water to boil and add 1 bundle of bean threads. Immediately after adding the bean threads, remove from heat and let sit for 20 minutes or until softened.

3. In the meantime, in a large saute pan (on medium heat), add 2 teaspoons of olive oil, julienned bell pepper, zucchini, cole slaw, and carrots and saute until soft and lightly browned. Next stir in the green onions and soy sauce and mix until combined. Reduce heat to low.

4. Drain the bean threads and give them a rough chop. Add the bean threads into the vegetable mixture and stir until ingredients are well incorporated. Let this mixture cool for about 15 minutes or it will break through the egg roll wrapper.

5. Once the mixture is cooled, add about 1/4 cup of mixture to the end of each wrapper. Fold in the sides and roll. Place the egg rolls seam side down onto the cookie sheet. Spray the top of egg rolls with cooking spray.

6. Bake for 12-15 minutes or until the tops are browned and crispy.

7. While the egg rolls are baking, prepare the peanut sauce by adding all of above ingredients into a bowl and whisk together until combined. ENJOY!!

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!!

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!! 

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!!

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!!