Grilled Chicken Soft Tacos with Fresh Tomato-Corn Salsa

What perfect tacos for warm weather! Quick, easy and so fresh tasting. I originally had intentions of marinating the chicken, but when I didn't get around to it, I went with a simple dry rub that I came up with just by browsing my spice drawer. The seasoned chicken paired so nicely with the delicious fresh salsa that can be put together in minutes while the chicken is on the grill.

If I'd had it I would've used fresh corn from the cob in the salsa, but thawed frozen kernels work just fine (if you're like me and had way too much produce in the basket already by the time you reached the corn.) Do your self a favor and double or triple the salsa recipe because the leftovers are delicious with multi-grain tortilla chips!

For the dry rub:
1/2 tsp chili powder
1/4 tsp cumin
1/4 tsp paprika
1/4 tsp brown sugar
1/8 tsp kosher salt
1/8 tsp onion powder
fresh ground pepper

For the salsa:
2 medium ripe tomatoes, seeded and chopped
1/4 cup diced red onion, soaked in cold water for 10 minutes
1 small jalapeno, seeded and minced
1/4 cup chopped cilantro
1/4 cup frozen corn kernels, thawed
juice from half of a lime
1/8 tsp kosher salt
fresh ground pepper

2 boneless skinless chicken breasts, pounded thin
cooking spray
small flour or corn tortillas (I used low-carb flour ones)
crumbled queso fresco or shredded cheddar
diced avocado
chopped lettuce

Combine all of the ingredients for the rub in a small bowl. Rub a quarter of the mixture on each side of the chicken breasts. Spray the chicken lightly with cooking spray and grill over medium-direct heat for about 3-4 minutes per side, or until chicken is cooked through and no longer pink inside. Transfer to a cutting board and slice.

Meanwhile, combine all salsa ingredients. This can also be made ahead of time and refrigerated until ready to use.

Assemble tacos by topping tortillas with sliced chicken, tomato-corn salsa, cheese, lettuce and avocado.

Vegetarian Black Bean Chili with Quinoa

This week, I've challenged myself to create tasty and healthy meals, using up the random ingredients in my fridge and pantry , without food shopping. Its so easy to just run to the grocery, and we have a bad habit making far too many trips there during the week, to grab this or that. I'm pretty sure Beckett thinks his daddy spends his time away from the house split equally between work and "the store."

The chili was a last minute decision the other night, when I couldn't figure out what I wanted to make with the chicken I'd defrosted. It worked great since I wasn't sure what time Sage would be home, and I was able to let the chili simmer and then prepare the fast cooking quinoa when I knew he was on his way. This meal was warm and comforting, while still being a healthy, flavorful and very easy dinner to make. Serves 4.

1 tbsp olive oil
1 medium yellow onion, chopped
3/4 cup coarsely chopped carrots
2 ribs celery, diced
sea salt and fresh ground pepper
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 (6 oz.) can tomato paste
1 (14.5 oz.) can diced Southwest Style Tomatoes (with green chiles, jalapenos and lime juice)
2 (15 oz.) cans black beans, drained and rinsed
3/4 cup vegetable (or chicken) stock
2 tbsp chili powder
1 tsp cumin
1 tsp corriander
1 tsp oregano
1 1/2 cups uncooked quinoa, rinsed well
greek yogurt (or light sour cream,) for serving

Heat oil over medium heat in a large skillet (or stockpot or dutch oven.) Add onions, carrots and celery, and sesaon with salt and pepper. Saute began to soften, about 5 minutes. Add garlic and cook for another minute or two.

Add in tomato paste, diced tomatoes, beans, stock, and seasonings. Mix well. Cover, reduce heat and simmer for a half hour or so. (Just make sure vegetables are tender.)

Bring quinoa and 3 cups water to boil in a saucepan. Cover and simmer for 12-15 minutes or until it has opened up and water is absorbed.

Serve chili over a small bed of quinoa. Top with yogurt.

Moroccan Chickpea Stew & Moroccan-Style Couscous and Chickpeas

I love chickpeas. So much, in fact, that I typically eat them a couple times a week. My favorite way to enjoy them is with couscous, veggies and a Moroccan-inspired flavor. These two dishes, while containing many of the same ingredients, manage to taste quite different from one another. Its hard to say which one I prefer more. I have no idea if they are anything close to authentic (and most likely not) but I don't care, as they are both so good! This absolutely delicious recipe is from Cooking Light (found on myrecipes.) Its super easy and one of those kind of meals where you find yourself excited about the leftovers. (Or at least I did!) The recipe originally called for serving with brown rice, but suggested trying it with couscous, which I definitely think is the better choice. Due to a sensitive little mouth, I seed my jalapeno, and it isn't hot at all.

Moroccan Chickpea Stew
adapted from Cooking Light (they say 6 servings, I say much more like 4)
2 tsp olive oil
1 medium onion, chopped
1 large carrot, diced
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 jalapeno pepper, minced (seeded, if desired)
1 1/2 cups cubed peeled Yukon Golds (Several small or 1 large)
2 tsp ground cumin
1 tsp chili powder
1/2 tsp ground tumeric
2 (15 oz.) can diced tomatoes, undrained (you can also just use one)
1 (15 oz.) can reduced sodium chickpeas, rinsed and drained
1 cup vegetable broth
2 tbsp tomato paste
3 cups hot cooked couscous (or brown rice)
plain yogurt (or sour cream,) for serving
cilantro, for serving

Heat olive oil in a large saucepan over medium-high heat. Add onion, carrot, garlic, and jalapeño to pan; sauté 6 minutes or until tender.

Stir in potato, spices, tomatoes, chickpeas, broth and tomato paste. Bring to a boil. Cover, reduce heat, and simmer 15 minutes or until potato is tender. Serve over couscous. Top with yogurt and sprinkle with cilantro.

This equally wonderful dish has already been shared on my blog once before, as the stuffing for acorn squash. It was great that way, but I loved the "stuffing" so much, I've made some changes and now make it without the squash. It would make a great side dish to chicken, but in our house, we're just as happy to eat it as an entree along with a baked sweet potato, for a filling meatless dinner. If you have leftovers the next day, its just as good hot or cold.

Moroccan-inspired Chickpeas and Rice
adapted from allrecipes (about 5 servings as a side, 2-3 as a meal)
2 tbsp olive oil
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 celery rib, finely chopped
1/2 medium onion, chopped
2/3 cup chopped red bell pepper (about 3/4 of a large pepper)
1 large carrot, chopped
sea salt and fresh ground pepper
1/2 an apple, peeled, cored and chopped (I used fuji)
1/3 cup rasins
1 tsp ground cumin
1 tsp ground corriander
1/4 tsp tumeric
1/4 tsp cinnamon
2/3 cup uncooked couscous
1 cup vegetable broth

Heat the olive oil in a skillet over medium heat. Add garlic, celery, onion, pepper and carrots. Season with salt and pepper, and cook 5 minutes.

Mix in the garbanzo beans, apples and raisins. Season with cumin, coriander, tumeric and cinnamon, and continue to cook and stir until vegetables are tender.

Add couscous and broth, mix well. Cover and turn off heat. Allow couscous to absord liquid for 5 minutes. Fluff couscous. Taste and adjust seasonings, if needed.

White Turkey Chili

Everytime we have a holiday dinner at our home, leftover turkey meat goes into the freezer in zip lock baggies, with the intention of using them in soups and casseroles. But what usually happens is Sage will pull out a package to defrost, make a sandwich with it once, and then it will sit in the fridge until I throw it away. (And I won't even get into the year I stored a turkey carcass in the freezer to make a stock, only to toss it out in defeat somewhere around the following Thanksgiving.)

This year however, we had turkey at both Thanksgiving and Christmas Eve at our house, so I had a good bit and was determined to do better than past years. So far, I'm doing pretty well. I recently made an amazing pot pie (sorry, no blog post-it was impossible to photograph) and now this tasty soup. It's been quite cold here, and the three of us have all been sick. When I'm not feeling well and its freezing out, all I want to eat is soup. And I'm not the only one. Right after I'd found this recipe to make for dinner the other night, Sage called me and asked if I could defrost some turkey and make soup for dinner.

I kept the ingedients of this recipe the same, but I did change the quanities. I wanted more veggies in mine and less broth. This called for 32 oz. of broth, which would've been way too watery. We added a topping of sharp cheddar, a dallop of sour cream and served it with tortilla chips. It was a good soup that we enjoyed, but since the reviewers on the site I found it on gave it 5 stars, I expected to be blown away. I wasn't, but I chalked it up to just preferring a hearty tomato based chili over a white one and also liking ground turkey meat more than chopped roast turkey. I did feel the cheese, sour cream and chips really helped. The next day, though, this soup was SO much better! I'm not sure if it was a little colder and I was a little sicker, or just that the flavors melded overnight, but it was fantastic as a leftover! This soup makes about 6 good sized servings and is great for those who like a little warmth, but nothing too spicy. Add some heat to it if you prefer a kick.

adapted slightly from a Cooking Light recipe, found on myrecipes.com

1 tbsp olive oil

1 large onion, chopped

1 large red bell pepper, chopped

2 stalks of celery, diced

1/2 jalapeno, seeded and minced

1 clove galic, minced

3 cups chopped cooked turkey (I didn't measure out mine, but it was probably about 2 1/2 cups)

2 cans cannnellini beans, drained, rinsed and divided

2 1/2 cups (20 oz.) low sodium chicken broth

1 (4.5 oz. can) chopped green chiles

1 cup frozen whole-kernel corn (I only had a 1/2 cup but would've used the full cup if I'd had it.)

1 tbsp ground cumin

1 tbsp chili powder

kosher salt and fresh ground pepper, to taste

1 cup 1% low-fat milk

1/2 cup chopped cilantro

suggested accompaniments: 2% sharp cheddar, reduced fat sour cream or plain yogurt, tortilla chips

Heat oil in a large dutch oven or stock pot over medium high meat. Add onion, pepper, celery, jalapeno and garlic and saute for 5 minutes. Add the turkey, 1 1/2 cups of the beans, broth, green chiles, corn and seasonings. Bring to a boil. Cover, reduce heat, and simmer for 15 minutes.

Mash remaining beans. Add mashed beans and milk to the pot. Simmer, uncovered for for 20 minutes or until mixture is thick. Stir in chopped cilantro.

Serve with tortilla chips on the side and top with cheese and sour cream or yogurt, if desired.

Pumpkin Black Bean Bake

I didn't bother wasting my time trying to get a great picture of this one. I knew it was a lost cause. Homey, casserole types of meals like this just aren't pretty- and photograph even worse. Of course the magazine that I found it in, managed to take an attractive picture, but then they don't have a hungry family waiting, hoping to get to eat while dinner is still warm.

I found this in Better Homes and Gardens this month, and was instantly sold just by the title alone- a pumpkin and black bean casserole? Sounded great to me! Then Sage just happen to mention how growing up in New England, he never once had cornbread, until he moved down here and that he loves it. It always amuses me when I discover something I don't know about him after all these years; I was unaware of his fondness for cornbread. Since this spin on Tamale Pie had such a topping, it really just cinched it for me that this was a must-make meal.

When we sat down to eat this, I could see Sage was having issues with the combination of ingredients- olives and cilantro with pumpkin? Yet with each bite, it grew on him, and halfway through he proclaimed it very good, despite being unusual. I really liked it too, but I wish the pumpkin had been more prominent. The original recipe had ground beef, and I debated on bulking up the veggies and beans, and having a meatless meal, but decided upon ground turkey. It worked well, but perhaps making it without meat would've made the pumpkin really stand out.

The recipe didn't have spices in the meat/pumpkin mixture, which was fine because the jalapeno-olive relish gave it additional flavor, but if you're not going to use it, I think spices are needed. The only other suggestion I would make it, is omitting the pumpkin puree in cornbread topping, as it's absolutely lost. In all though, this is a tasty comforting bake we enjoyed. I'm sure its not for everyone, but if you like the ingredients and casseroles, it's worth trying!

Pumpkin Black Bean Bake, adapted from Better Homes and Gardens
1.25 lb. lean ground turkey
2 cups of 1/2-inch pieces peeled pie pumpkin or winter squash
1 medium onion, coarsely chopped
1 (15 oz.) can of black beans, rinsed and drained
1 cup frozen whole kernel corn
1 (4 oz.) can mild green chiles
1/2 cup beef broth
1/4 cup reduced fat cream cheese, softened
1 (8.5 oz.) package of corn muffin mix (I used Jiffy)
1 egg, lightly beaten
1/3 cup 1% milk
1/3 cup Pumpkin Puree (I'd omit next time)
Jalapeno-Olive Relish (optional- but highly recommended)

Preheat oven to 400. In a large skillet, cook turkey, pumpkin and onion until meat is cooked and onion is tender, breaking up turkey with spoon. Drain fat. Stir in black beans, corn and chiles. Heat through. Stir in broth and cream cheese until blended. Transfer to 3 qt. casserole dish.

In medium bowl, stir togethercorn muffin mix, egg, milk and pumpkin puree (if using) until just combined. Spoon over meat mixture.

Bake 20 minutes or until toothpick inserted into topping comes out clean. Let sit 5 minutes to help set. Serve with Jalapeno-Olive Relish (recipe follows.)

Jalapeno-Olive Relish
2 tbsp coarsely chopped green olives (originally called for 1/4 cup halved, but I wanted them in smaller pieces)
2 tbsp pickled jalapeno peppers (I subbed this from 1 to 2 fresh, for a more mild taste)
6 grape tomatoes, quarted
2 tbsp snipped fresh cilantro

In a small bowl, combine all ingredients.

Black and White Pizza

I recently tried chicken on a pizza (due to a grocery miscommun-ication between Sage and I) and ever since then I've been wanting to try this Black & White Pizza (from allrecipes.com.)

Instead of a red sauce it uses a jarred alfredo. I LOVE white pizza; Sage does not. Because of this, and because I didn't want the extra calories- I was going to just use olive oil with some canned diced tomatoes. (Not exactly white, but healthier.) But Sage wanted to try it. All I had was a sundried tomato alfredo, which we knew might be wierd. Honestly, it wound up being the only thing that kept it from being amazing! We may try it with regular alfredo (the creaminess is good) but probably the way I was first going to do it. Either way, the black beans, jalapenos and chicken are so yummy on a pizza! I've made only a few changes in the original recipe.

1 Whole Wheat Baboli

olive oil

1 chicken breast

1/2 cup jarred alfredo

1 cup shredded mozzarella

1/4 cup chopped onion

1 tsp minced garlic

1/2 cup canned black beans (rinsed and drained)

1/4 cup jarred sliced jalapenos

1 tsp dried parsley

1. Preheat oven to 450. Lightly brush Baboli crust with olive oil.

2. Grill chicken, cooking until just before done. Slice into bite size pieces. (Or cook chicken in a saute pan with olive oil and the minced garlic.)

3. Spread alfredo sauce on pizza. Sprinkle very lightly with some of the cheese. Top evenly with onions and garlic, black beans, chicken, and jalapenos. Cover with remaining cheese and sprinkle with parsley.

4. Cook for 10-13.