Chicken taquitos

 

This came out delicious, and one out of two kids ate it! We saved some of the chicken mix for lettuce wraps for a low carb option instead of eating a bunch of tortillas. I served it with a very simple salad on the side and salsa mixed with sour cream for dipping the taquitos.

Ingredients

• 2 cups cooked shredded chicken breast (use slow cooker and hand mixer for easy shredding)
• 6 ounces cream cheese , softened
• 1/4 cup salsa , your favorite kind
• 1/4 cup sour cream
• 1 cup shredded cheddar cheese
• 1/4 teaspoon cumin
• 1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1/4 teaspoon chili powder
• salt and freshly ground black pepper for taste
• 15 corn tortillas

For serving:

• guacamole, sour cream, salsa, hot sauce

Instructions

• Add cream cheese, salsa and sour cream to a mixing bowl and stir until smooth. Add remaining ingredients (except the tortillas) and toss to combine. Taste and add more seasoning, if needed.
• For corn tortillas, heat a non-stick griddle over medium high heat. Cook tortillas for about 15 - 30 seconds on each side until soft and pliable. Remove tortillas to a plate covered with tinfoil to keep them warm and pliable.
• Place a large spoonful of filling in a line along each tortilla and roll tightly. Secure with a toothpick if needed.
• Baked Taquitos: Preheat oven to 425 degrees F. Spray the tops of the tacos with cooking spray , or brush them lightly with oil. Bake for 15-20 minutes or until the shells are crispy.
• Fried Taquitos: Add about 1 1/2 inches of oil to a large skillet and heat to medium-high. Once hot (the tortillas should sizzle immediately when added to the oil). Fry the taquitos in small batches, for a few seconds on each side, rotating them as they cook, until they are golden and crispy on all sides. Place them on a paper towel lined plate.
• Serve taquitos with guacamole, salsa and sour cream.

Notes

Make ahead Instructions: Make the filling up to 1 day in advance and store in the refrigerator.  Roll in tortillas before baking.

Freezing Instructions:  Taquitos make a great freezer meal.  Make the filling as instructed and roll up in tortillas. Place in a freezer ziplock bag and freeze for up to 3 months. Remove from freezer and place them on a lined or greased baking sheet. Cover with tinfoil and bake at 350 degrees for about 20 minutes. Uncover and bake for an additional 15-20 minutes or until warmed through and crisp on the outside.

Keto pizza

 

This came out super dense and filling. It was tasty and I’d do it again. Needs something lighter on the side, like some asparagus, a salad, etc.

https://www.recipe-diaries.com/fat-head-pizza-crust/print/15396/

INGREDIENTS

• 1 1/2 cups shredded mozzarella
• 3/4 cup almond flour 
• 2 tablespoons of cream cheese, cubed
• 1 egg
• garlic powder, onion powder, and mixed herbs for seasoning *see notes
• 
  
• INSTRUCTIONS

1. Put Mozzarella and cream cheese in a medium bowl microwave-safe bowl. 
2. Microwave for 1 min, stir and then another 30 sec, stir.
3. Stir in egg and almond flour until the dough is combined.
4. Place a sheet of parchment paper on a baking sheet or pizza pan. Wet hands and spread the dough thin on parchment paper. It should spread evenly with dough-like consistency.
5. Poke rows of holes with a fork to avoid bubbles.
6. Put in 425-degree oven
7. After 8 minutes check the crust and poke holes if there are bubbles.
8. Add desired pizza toppings.
9. Continue cooking for a total of 12 to 14 minutes or until slightly brown and golden.

Keto Baked Feta Pasta with Tomatoes

 

https://peaceloveandlowcarb.com/keto-baked-feta-pasta-with-tomatoes/print/35198/

This was really really good. We added pepperoni which gave it a yummy pizza vibe.

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SCALE

INGREDIENTS

• 1 large spaghetti squash or 2 small, halved and seeded
• 8 ounce block feta cheese (or sub 6oz crumbled feta)
• 3 cups grape tomatoes (2 pints)
• 1 small bulb garlic
• 1/4 cup olive oil
• 2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
• 1 teaspoon sea salt, more to taste
• 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
• 1/2 teaspoon dried Italian seasoning
• Pinch of red pepper flakes
• 5 fresh basil leaves, torn
• 1/2 cup shredded parmesan cheese, optional
• cracked black pepper, optional

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INSTRUCTIONS

1. Preheat the oven to 400°F. Line a rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper.
2. Drizzle the spaghetti squash halves with a little olive oil, and sprinkle with salt and pepper.
3. Roast the spaghetti squash for 45 minutes, or until the shreds easily pull away from the skin and are tender.
4. Place the block of feta cheese in a the center of a large baking dish. Add the tomatoes to the dish and place them all around the feta.
5. Slice the top off of the bulb of garlic, exposing all of the cloves and add it to the baking dish with the tomatoes and the feta.
6. Drizzle the olive oil and balsamic over top of the feta, tomatoes and garlic.
7. Sprinkle over the salt, pepper, Italian seasoning, and red pepper flakes. Toss the tomatoes so that they are evenly coated in the oil, vinegar, and seasonings.
8. Add the the baking dish to the oven with the spaghetti squash and cook for 30 minutes, or until the tomatoes are just about to burst, the cheese is melty, with a golden brown top, and the garlic is roasted.
9. Once they are done, squeeze the garlic cloves out of the bulb into the baking dish with the tomatoes.
10. Using a fork, gently start popping the tomatoes, mashing the garlic, and mixing them into the cheese as you go. This will be the sauce for you pasta.
11. Add the fresh torn basil and the roasted spaghetti squash and toss until the squash is evenly coated in the sauce.
12. Top with Parmesan cheese and cracked black pepper before serving.

Classic chili

 Anna made this tonight and it was good! A little spicy for Leo but Wren liked it. 

https://www.thewholesomedish.com/wprm_print/8547

Ingredients

• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1 medium yellow onion -diced
• 1 pound 90% lean ground beef
• 2 1/2 tablespoons chili powder
• 2 tablespoons ground cumin
• 2 tablespoons granulated sugar
• 2 tablespoons tomato paste
• 1 tablespoon garlic powder
• 1 1/2 teaspoons salt
• 1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
• 1/4 teaspoon ground cayenne pepper* -optional
• 1 1/2 cups beef broth
• 1 (15 oz.) can petite diced tomatoes
• 1 (16 oz.) can red kidney beans, drained and rinsed
• 1 (8 oz.) can tomato sauce

Instructions

• Add the olive oil to a large soup pot and place it over medium-high heat for two minutes. Add the onion. Cook for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally.
• Add the ground beef to the pot. Break it apart with a wooden spoon. Cook for 6-7 minutes, until the beef is browned, stirring occasionally.
• Add the chili powder, cumin, sugar, tomato paste, garlic powder, salt, pepper, and optional cayenne. Stir until well combined.
• Add the broth, diced tomatoes (with their juice), drained beans, and tomato sauce. Stir well.
• Bring the liquid to a low boil. Then, reduce the heat (low to medium-low) to gently simmer the chili, uncovered, for 20-25 minutes, stirring occasionally.
• Remove the pot from the heat. Let the chili rest for 5-10 minutes before serving.

Notes

I typically skip the cayenne pepper because I have a young kiddo.  Then, I put out some hot sauce for those adults that want to add some spiciness to their chili.

Crispy baked chicken wings

 These came out really good! A bit time consuming but quite tasty and the kids ate them, which is a huge win.

https://tastesbetterfromscratch.com/wprm_print/10130

Ingredients

• 4ish pounds chicken wings, halved at joints, wingtips discarded
• 2 Tablespoons baking powder
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
• 1 teaspoon paprika
• 1 teaspoon garlic powder

Instructions

• Adjust your oven racks to the upper-middle and lower-middle positions. Preheat oven to 425 degrees F, use convection if you have the option.
• Line two baking sheets with aluminum foil. Spray with non-stick spray.
• Use paper towels to pat the wings dry and place them in a large bowl. I dried them with paper towels twice. It's important to dry them REALLY well so they get crispy not soggy. 
• Combine the salt, pepper, garlic powder, paprika, and baking powder in a small bowl. Then sprinkle the seasoning over the wings, tossing to evenly coat.
• Arrange wings, skin side up, in single layer on prepared baking sheets. Do not crowd them. Spray with cooking spray.
• Bake, turning every 20 minutes until wings are crispy and browned. (For me that was 40 minutes. The total cook time will depend on the size of the wings but may take up to 1 hour.)
• Remove from oven and let stand for 5 minutes. If you want to sauce them, transfer wings to bowl and toss with wing sauce, or BBQ sauce, or whatever you prefer!

Easy Baked Chicken Quesadillas

 The kids have been off quesadillas for a while now, but I want to win them over again. I like quesadillas and they're so easy! We'll see if this recipe does the trick. I'll probably add cilantro and use mild salsa instead of chipotle for the kiddos.

Ingredients

8-10 10" flour tortillas

4 cups chicken, cooked and shredded (about 1.5 lbs)

1 Tbsp chipotle peppers in adobo sauce, to taste

1 1/2 cups sour cream

2 cups shredded cheese

 

Instructions

 

1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees

 

2. In a large bowl stir together the chicken, sour cream, chipotle peppers, and cheese. Salt to taste. 

 

3. Line 2 large baking sheets with parchment paper and adjust racks in the oven if needed. Grease the parchment paper with cooking spray. 

 

4. Add 1/3 c - 1/2 c filling to each tortilla and fold in half. Arrange prepared quesadillas on baking sheets and brush or spray with oil.

5. Bake for 15 minutes or until golden brown and crispy. Serve with sour cream, salsa, and/or guacamole.

https://themodernproper.com/baked-chicken-quesadillas

Pollo Sudado in the crockpot

I love this recipe and am trying to work out a good crockpot version. Having the chicken on low from 8:30 AM - 5:30 PM was certainly too much, so next time I'll try for 6 hours instead. The potatoes needed about 90 minutes and that came out well. I'd like to try using two onions next time for more sauce, since the onions and tomatoes basically liquefied.

Ingredients 

- 6 chicken thighs bone in, skin on

- 2 Tbsp mustard

- 2 Tbsp oil

- 1 Tbsp minced garlic

Salt and pepper to taste

- 1 or 2 onions, diced

- 5 Roma tomatoes, diced

- 1/4c fresh cilantro, minced

- 2 Tbsp parsley, minced (optional)

- 1 Tbsp Worcestershire sauce

- 1 tsp turmeric 

- 2 tsp chicken bouillon (or 2 cubes)

- 10 oz water

- 1 1/2 lbs potatoes, roughly chopped

Instructions 

1. Marinate the chicken by combining the first 5 ingredients in a ziploc bag or a bowl. Marinate for 15ish minutes while prepping the other ingredients.

2. In a wok pan sauté the onions in oil until plumped, then add the next six ingredients (not the water) and simmer until tomatoes fall apart a bit. Then add the water and mix until combined.

3. Put the chicken in the bottom of the crockpot, then add onion tomato mix on top. Cook on low for 6-9 hours.

4. Add potatoes for the last hour and a half. Serve with white rice or biscuits, sour cream, and extra cilantro.