Cheeseless Quesadilla?
What do you call a cheeseless quesadilla?
Is it just a dilla? What about a cheeseless quesadilla with beans? A habadilla?
Something to ponder…
Quesadillas are one of my favorite fast-fix dinners. I put a lot of random things in my quesadillas, and I’m convinced that you can sandwich pretty much anything in between a tortilla, throw it on the george foreman grille, and have near instant glory in your mouth.
Take this dinner for example. I started off with 1 Tumaro’s low carb tortilla topped, 1/4 cup fat-free refried beans and 2 ounces grilled chicken:
Plus 1/2 a cup of frozen calabacita mixed veggies that I defrosted in the microwave:
5 minutes of quality time with the george:
Naked quesadilla:
Veggies for toppin’
Add 2 tbsp of fat-free sour cream and you have yourself magnificence on a plate!
Stats on the habadilla: 264 calories, 38g carbs, 3g fat, 33g protein, 12g fiber
Mmmmmm beans…… Love them.
Hummus + Spaghetti Squash
Sometimes I have foodie visions. This is my term for the moment when a random collaboration of ingredients convene in my brain and its seems as though there is nothing I can do to regain control of my thoughts… except of course, try out the random concoction … all the while hoping it doesn’t make me ralph.
My most recent foodie vision consisted of some of this:
plus
What’s that, you ask? Good question! This lovely dinner concoction consisted of:
- 2 tbsp Trader Joe’s Original Hummus
- 2 ounces chopped grilled chicken
- 1 diced roma tomato
- 1 baby spaghetti squash
- Some red pepper flakes
Repulsed? Don’t go all eggplant on me yet!
First, I baked the spaghetti squash in a 425 degree oven for 25 minutes (since this was just a lil guy). Then I used a fork to scrape out the squash noodles.
Meanwhile, I sprayed a skillet with some cooking spray and tossed in the hummus to get it heating up:
Then I added the tomatoes and chicken:
Once everything was warmed through, I added the spaghetti squash and some red pepper flakes.
Presto!
This was really tasty and simultaneously really weird 😯
Several times during the meal I got a faint reminder of macaroni and cheese which I found even weirder–but that gave me ANOTHER foodie vision I must try sometime soon…. Cheesy spaghetti squash! Stay tuned, folks!
Overall, I like this idea and I’m definitely going to play with it some more. I think wilted spinach would be a really nice addition and maybe a different flavor of hummus….. we shall see… we shall see.
Stats on the spaghetti squash/hummus concoction: 199 calories, 20g carbs, 6g fat, 14g protein, 5g fiber
CALL TO ACTION! Now that the weather is changing, I’ve been craving WARM lunches…. I am bored & I need inspiration for yummy/healthy WARM lunches to bring to work….. Any ideas?
Back to the normal routine
Even with the big tax deadline behind me, my schedule is crazy hectic. What’s up with that??? Wednesday for instance is a VERY busy day for me because I go straight from the office to the university for the class I teach. This requires ample food-planning on Tuesday nights because I have to pack 6 meals. 6 meals?!? Yes 6. Take today for instance, here’s what I packed last night for the day ahead:
- B#1: Scrambled eggs & roasted broccoli
- B#2: Overnight oats + chopped strawberries + blueberries
- Lunch: Big ole Salad + Jennie O’ Turkey Sausage
- Snack: Granny smith apple
- Dinner: Chicken & hummus wrap + cucumber salad
- Snack: 1/2 of an 18 Rabbits granola bar
I like to travel with food apparently 🙂
One thing I’ve been craving the past few weeks is getting back to my normal foods routine!
You know what that means:
EGGS for breakfast #1!
Last night, I cooked up a batch of my scrambled eggs:
I also roasted up some broccoli which I enjoyed at 8am at my desk with a dollop o’ heaven Ketchup:
Of course, this was followed up 2 hours later by none other than my overnight oats for B#2:
Yesssssssss.
My lunch salad consisted of romaine lettuce, 1/2 a large cucumber, 1 baby roma tomato, some red onion, banana pepper and Ken’s steakhouse Lite Italian Romano dressing:
I also had a Jennie O’ turkey sausage on the side…
Is it just me, or does that sausage look really sad?! … A sausage with no bun is like a bird with no wings eggs with no ketchup! Luckily I had a monster Italian sausage sandwich over the weekend 😀
After the 2PM doldrums pass, it’s time for a snack! My usual afternoon snack is a granny smith apple:
Usually my snacks go unpictured. But today, I’m snapping everything that goes into my mouth 🙂 Uh oh.
Fun fact about me and apples: I REFUSE to buy an apple unless the stem is still attached. An apple sans stem is a clear indicator that a worm has crawled inside…. I’m pretty sure my sister told me that as a child, and it has stuck with me through the years. I may look funny in the produce aisle as I pick up one apple after another to find one that still has the stem attached, but guess who WON’T be looking funny when they bite into a worm? It won’t be me, that’s for darn sure! 😉
For dinner, I packed some cucumber salad:
And also a La Tortilla low-carb wrap consisting of 2 ounces grilled chicken, onion, and 1 tbsp Trader Joe’s original hummus:
Come to think of it, I probably should have avoided so many onions right before class… Oh well, they don’t call me the Onion Lady for nothin’. 
Last my not least, I packed 1/2 of an 18 Rabbits granola bar (thanks Dorry!) for my late-night snack:
Whew! That’s a lot of food!
Happy Eating and Happy Hump Day!
Easy Chicken Pot Pie
Holy comfort food!!!!
Ever since we stopped at Bob Evans last week for breakfast, I’ve been craving a pot pie with a vengeance. We’ve got a BIG deadline at work this week, so I’ve been working my little hiney off and have had zero time to cook. Tonight however I made time because I knew my body NEEDED a lil pot pie. I’ve never made a pot pie before, so I did a little googlin’ and found this recipe for Impossibly Easy Chicken Pot Pie. Sounded like a good place for me to start learning the art of potpiedom!
This recipe was incredibly simple to throw together, which made it all the more comforting and delicious. First up, I gathered the mixins.
And quickly threw a chicken breast seasoned with salt and pepper on the George.
Meanwhile, I threw the following items into a bowl:
- 1 bag frozen stew vegetables (pearl onions, potatoes, carrots, celery)
- 2 cups chopped broccoli … because I love broccoli and broccoli loves me!
- 1 can Campbell’s Healthy Request Cream of Mushroom Soup
- 1/4 tsp Salt
- 1/4 tsp Black pepper
Once the chicken breast was cooked through, I roughly chopped it into cubes, and added to the mix.
Yes… this is what I called a “cube” 😉
I gave everything a good mix and poured into a pie dish that I had sprayed with some cooking spray.
Next up, I mixed the following in a little bowl:
- 1 cup bisquick
- 1 large egg
- 1/2 cup almond breeze
If you are smarty pants, you may have noticed Bisquick is NOT the baking mix pictured in my ingredients pic… I had full intentions of using my Bob’s Red Mill Low-carb baking mix… but last minute I got a little nervous thinking the pot pie might be a pot-flop, and I wasn’t about to waste my last bit of low-carb baking mix on that. So I decided to use Bisquick instead and save the Bob’s Red Mill for pot pie round #2. (I foresee many pot pies in my future)
Once the batter was all mixed up, I dumped it on top of veggies.
Now, I can assure you that even though this looks like I just poured some paper-mache goopy gop concoction on my delicious veggies it did not taste like any sort of glue… Well at least not any glue I’ve ever tasted. I popped this pie into a 400 degree oven with apprehension, and let it hang out for 40 minutes until the top was nice and browned.
Voila! Pot Pie!
The pot pie was everything I had hoped for! Creamy, comforting, and oh-so delicious!
Not to mention this made four servings so now I have food for the rest of the week. Hooray!
Just a few more days to go folks, then life can return to its “normal” state.
Easy Chicken Pot Pie Ingredients List (makes 4 servings)
- 1 bag frozen stew vegetables
- 2 cups chopped broccoli
- 1 can Campbell’s Healthy Request Cream of Mushroom Soup
- 1/4 tsp Salt
- 1/4 tsp Black pepper
- 1 large grilled chicken breast (mine was approx 7 ounces)
- 1 cup Bisquick
- 1 large egg
- 1/2 cup Unsweetened Almond Breeze Vanilla Almond Milk
Myfitnesspal stats on 1 serving of Easy Chicken Pot Pie: 315 calories, 41g carbs, 7g fat, 19g protein, 4g fiber
White Chicken Chili & Spaghetti Squash
I love spaghetti squash. I mean, what could be better than an all-natural version of one of my FAVORITE foods in the world? Lately I’ve been in a spaghetti squash rut. I’ve been searching high and low for something different than my standard Spaghetti Squash with Spicy meat sauce.
Luckily, I stumbled across this post by Green Dog Wine for some white chicken chili she tossed on top of spaghetti squash. Sounded like an awesome combo to me!
Since Monday was a holiday, my usual Sunday-Cooktacular was pushed back a day. Here’s a shot of some of my inventory:
That doesn’t even include the 2 turkey sausages and 1 chicken breast I grilled up along with the 4 servings of White Chicken chili this recipe makes! I’m a cooking machine!
Alright, on to the main event: White Chicken Chilli!
First up, I heated up a skillet that I sprayed down with cooking spray. Once the skillet was hot, I tossed in a cup of a chopped white onion and 2 cloves of minced garlic.
A few minutes later the onions were looking nice and caramelized, so I plopped three chicken breasts seasoned with S&P into the skillet right on top of the onions and garlic.
Once the chicken was cooked through, I added the following to the pan:
- 1 can Navy beans, drained and rinsed
- 1 can rotel tomatoes
- 1 packet McCormick’s White Chicken Chili seasoning
- 1 cup all-natural free range chicken broth
I gave everything a good stir, then popped the lid on and reduced the heat to a simmer.
Meanwhile, I halved two baby spaghetti squash and tossed them onto a cookie sheet. Into a 415 degree oven for 25 minutes (since these guys were so tiny, I shortened the cooking time).
While the squash was cooking, I pulled the chicken breasts out of the chili mix and gave them a rough shred using two forks (just like I do when I make my buffalo chicken dip). I tossed the shredded chicken back into the chili just in time for the spaghetti squash to be done.
I used a fork to scrape out all the squash noodles… Squadles, perhaps? 😉
Then, I divided the squash evenly between two containers to take to work for late-night dinners at the office:
When it was time to eat, I topped one of the containers of squash off with one quarter of the white chicken chili mixture:
This is going into my spaghetti squash roatation for sure! The chili was delicious even without the squash, but I like the extra texture and flavor that the squash adds.
White Chicken Chili Ingredient List (serves four)
- 1 cup white onion, chopped
- 2 cloves minced garlic
- 1 lb boneless skinless chicken breast
- S&P
- 1 can Navy beans, drained and rinsed
- 1 can rotel tomatoes
- 1 packet McCormick’s White Chicken Chili seasoning
- 1 cup all-natural free range chicken broth
- Spaghetti squash (optional)
Myfitnesspal stats on one serving chili: 293 calories, 39 carbs, 5g fat, 33g protein, 10g fiber