What's for Dinner? Wednesday: Lemon Chicken with Red Beans and Quinoa

This week’s What’s for Dinner? Wednesday meal is Lemon Chicken with Read Beans and Quinoa.  This tangy, protein-filled number was adapted from one in the March 2013 copy of Shape magazine. The most time intensive part of this meal is cooking the quinoa because it takes about 25 mins to make, however, it's a pretty easy dish overall.  Ready to get cooking? Here's what you'll need to feed four:


Ingredients:
1/2 cup dry quinoa
4 4-oz  boneless, skinless chicken breasts
Juice of 1 lemon
2 tsp salt
1.5 tsp ground cumin
Olive oil cooking spray
1/2 small red onion, minced
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/4 tsp ground pepper
1 - 15 oz cans red beans, rinsed and drained
1 tsp balsamic vinegar
1/2 tsp freshly ground black pepper
1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley 

Step One: Make your quinoa come to life by combining it with 1 cup of water in a saucepan.  Set your stove to medium heat to bring this protein-filed grain and the water it is swimming in to a boil.  Then, reduce the stovetop’s temperature to bring the pan’s contents to a simmer before covering it for 25 minutes.  

Step Two: While your quinoa continues to cook, prep your chicken.  Coat the chicken with the lemon juice and then sprinkle it with a pinch of salt before rubbing it with your cumin. Don’t let one part of the chicken get jealous-make sure to coat it evenly with the spice.

Step Three: Use a medium heat setting to warm a skillet sprayed with cooking spray before adding your cumin covered chicken.  Cook your chicken for 4-5 minutes on each side before removing it from your skillet to cool.

Step Four: Now that your chicken is out of the way, spray your skillet again and add the onion.  Sauté your onion for 4 minutes before adding your garlic and cooking for another minute.   Finally, add the rest of your salt, pepper, pinto beans, and vinegar and bring the skillet to a simmer.  Your quinoa should be done by now. Check on your quinoa and then stir it into this mix.  Remove the mix from the stove and mix in your last ingredient, parsley. 

Divide the chicken and quinoa evenly among four plates so you and your guests don’t fight.  Add a carbohydrate as a side and you'll have a complete meal.  

Do you plan on making this dinner? Share your thoughts with a comment below:

Dinner is served! Healthy Taco Salad

Dinner is served and it's a Healthy Taco Salad!  If you're a salad lover, you probably know that the restaurant version of this meal is shamefully high in calories and low in nutrition.  However, the version shared in this week's What's for Dinner? Wednesday meal is under 350 calories.  It's great as a dinner or lunch if you pre-make your tortilla cups.

Interested in testing it out for yourself? Find the full recipe HERE>>

Do you enjoy taco salads? Share your thoughts with a comment below:

What's for Dinner? Wednesday: Healthy Take on Taco Salad

Love taco salad? Did you know it’s often one of the least healthy options on a restaurant menu? Fear not! This week’s What’s for Dinner? Wednesday recipe allows you to enjoy a taco salad without the guilt  served on the side of it’s unhealthy restaurant-made relative.  This recipe is a healthy, done in 10 minutes option suitable for any night of the week.  Let’s get cooking!

Ingredients needed to serve four:

1 bag of your favorite salad greens
4 (6-inch) fat free flour tortillas
cooking spray
1 lb ground chicken breast
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp ground pepper
1 can black beans and corn
1/4 c Greek yogurt
1/4 c finely chopped red onion
2 tsp grated lime zet
1 tbsp lime juice

Step One: Preheat your oven to 400 degrees. Take out four custard-style oven-proof cups and spray them with cooking spray before placing them on a baking sheet. To make your taco salad’s bowl, gently press one tortilla into each cup before returning the cups to the baking sheet.  When all four are ready, bake until they are crisp and golden brown in color (about 8 minutes).  

Step Two:  While your tortilla bowls cook, spray a nonstick skillet with cooking spray to cook your chicken. Add the chicken, salt, and pepper and cook the chicken until it has browned.  It should be ready after around six minutes on the stove.  Next, add your can of corn and black beans and mix it with the chicken to heat it up.  

Step Three: By now your chicken filling and tortillas should both be ready to serve.  Place a bed of lettuce down in your salad bowl and top it with a tortilla bowl that you’ve filled with 1/4 of your chicken filling.  Do this for all tortillas.  

Step Four: Create your Greek Yogurt topping by mixing the yogurt, onion, lime zest, and lime juice in a small bowl.  Top each tortilla bowl with about 1/4 of this topping before serving.  

Enjoy your salad and the crunch of the restaurant version of a taco salad without the added calories when you serve up this meal.  

Do you like Taco Salads? Share your thoughts on this meal idea by posting a comment below:






**This post is part of one of my favorite linkups, the WOW Linkup. See some of the other posts in the linkup by clicking HERE and enjoy an extra healthy Wednesday!**

Dinner is served! Chili Cornbread Pie

Wondering what Chili Cornbread Pie looks like? Wonder no more! The finished product is shown above.  This meal requires only 5 ingredients and less than 10 minutes of hands on time! Could it get any better? It can! You can keep most of the ingredients on hand to whip up this perfect-for-winter healthy meal on any busy night without having to think twice!

Ready to make your own Chili Cornbread Pie? Read the original recipe post here>>

What do you think of this meal idea? Share your thoughts with a comment below: 

Dinner is served! Sweet Potato + Spinach Quesadillas with a side of Pickled Onions

Yummy yummy in my tummy! Here's the finished product for this week's dinner: Sweet Potato + Spinach Quesadillas.  It's hard to tell that these quesadillas are filled with nutritious spinach and sweet potatoes and pack a punch of dietary fiber, vitamin B6, iron, potassium, Vitamin A, Vitamin C and Manganese, but it's true! Ready to try it out for yourself? Find the full recipe HERE.

Are you going to try this recipe? Let us know what you think of it with a comment below:

What's for Dinner? Wednesday

Happy What's for Dinner? Wednesday! This week I'm sharing a delicious Spinach and Sweet Potato Quesadilla recipe I modified from Health.  It's a very vibrantly colored dish, chock full of vitamins, and tasty to boot!  I'm getting hungry for another one just thinking about it right now.  But, I will stay focused.  I wouldn't want to get spinach all over this post!

Want to join us in this unique twist on Mexican cuisine? Here's what you'll  need to serve 4 people:

• 1 lb of sweet potatoes
• 1 cup vinegar 
• 1/2 cup Splenda 
• 4 black peppercorns
• 1 large red onion, sliced
• 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• 8 flour tortillas
• 5 cups baby spinach 
• 1 cup shredded part-skim cheddar 
• 1/2 lb of cooked diced chicken (cook while potatoes cook or ahead of time)
• olive oil cooking spray

Step One: Stab your sweet potatoes with a fork (they really didn't live up to their name so don't feel bad) and then microwave them on high for about 15 minutes or however long your microwave will take to make them soft.  Warning: They will sound like they're screaming as they release steam.  Don't worry!  They want to be cooked.

Step Two: As you're waiting for your sweet potatoes to calm down, pickle your side of onions!  Find a medium saucepan and add your vinegar, splenda, and peppercorns. Boil this mix until the sugar is dissolved.  When you can't see any more of the sweet stuff, pour this boiling mix over your red onions and let them sit for 10 minutes before draining the liquid off.

Step Three: By now your potatoes should be cooked! Yay for multi-tasking!!  Take out the sweet potato flesh and mash it and your salt and pepper in a separate bowl.  Next, spread 1/4 of your potato mix over a tortilla and add 1 cup of spinach, 1/4 cup of cheddar, 1/4 of the diced chicken, and another tortilla.  

Step Four:  From tortilla to quesadilla! Heat a skillet coated with cooking spray on medium-high heat.  Add your quesadilla in training.  Cook for 3 minutes on each side so that the cheese melts. Mmmm does that smell bueno!  Repeat to make 3 more quesadillas. 

Serve your quesadillas with 1/4 cup of your pickled onions.  Enjoy more calcium than a glass of milk when you have a fiesta with these quesadillas!

Thinking of trying this recipe? Share your thoughts with us by posting a comment below: 

What's for Dinner? Wednesday

Lunes, Martes, Miercoles! We're practicing our Spanish this Wednesday and getting ready to cook one of our favorite recipes because it's What's for Dinner? Wednesday!  Today we are busy as bees and using our crock pot again to make Black Bean and Sweet Potato Turkey Chili. We hope you can join us!

Gather these ingredients:

1 small yellow onion

2 cloves garlic

1 14.5 oz can tomatoes

1 15 oz can black beans

2 cups sweet potatoes, peeled and cubed

1 lb lean ground turkey

1 bay leaf

3/4 tsp cumin

1/2 tsp each of oregano, ground pepper,  and cayenne pepper

pinch of sea salt

2 tbsp chili powder

1.5 cup water

How to make it (Hint: so easy!)

Step One: Get out your crock pot (if you don't have one, buy one already! it has been a real life-changer for us).

Step Two: Find a can opener and get out your tomatoes and black beans and add them to the pot. Prep your sweet potatoes, garlic, and onion, and add them before covering your veggies with your turkey, spices, and water.

Step Three: Cover your crock pot and set it to cook on low for eight hours or four hours on high if you're really pressed for time.

Step Four: Check in on your dinner for a taste test about 20 minutes before it's time to serve and adjust your spices if necessary.  Then give it a stir.

Step Five:  Serve your delicious fall-inspired chili! 

Are you going to try this recipe? Let us know your thoughts by posting a comment in the space below: