Taco Soup

Last week I pushed Mother Nature and wore sandals to work, although there was still some snow on the ground. This week Mother Nature decided to push me back and snowed. A lot. The sandals are back in the closet for a while.

Usually my lunch consists of a salad and some type of protein, but as always when the weather gets cold, I crave something warm. Monday night I decided to make Taco Soup. I didn't have a lot in my fridge or pantry because I hadn't gotten groceries over the weekend, but that's why I like this recipe. Anything you have works.

Taco Soup
1 pound lean ground chicken (or turkey, or beef)
1 large onion, diced
half of green pepper, diced
1 handful of grated carrot
1 small can diced tomatoes
1 can red kidney beans
1 container chicken stock
1 package taco seasoning (I actually didn't use this. I used Epicure's Louisianna Hot and Spicy mix, and salt and pepper instead.)
1 can corn

Optional: grated cheddar cheese, corn tortilla chips, green onion, sour cream or greek yogurt

1. Brown the ground chicken in a large soup pot. Add the onion and green pepper and cook until softened.
2. Add the other ingredients and bring to a boil.
3. Turn down heat and simmer for approx. 45 minutes.
4. Add optional toppings and eat!

Normally I would have added more veggies and beans, but like I said, I needed to get groceries so I used what I had. It turned out great and I had lunch for a few days.

Flax Pizza Crust

I love pizza.

Pizza is one of the foods that I have missed the most the last few months, actually. The thick crust, tangy sauce, ooey gooey melted cheese....yum!

Figuring out a "clean" pizza has been tough, combined with the fact that I can't eat wheat or tomatoes, but then I remembered a recipe I received from a co-worker who also avoids grains. The recipe is for Flaxseed Wraps, but I modified it with the seasonings to make a pizza crust.

Flaxseed Pizza Crust
Makes 1 serving

3 tbsp. ground flaxseeds
1/4 tsp. baking powder
pinch of salt
1/4 tsp. each oregano, basil  or any other "pizza" spices (optional) *I didn't add these
1 tbsp. olive oil, plus more to grease the pie plate
1 tbsp. water
1 large egg
corn meal, enough to sprinkle on a pizza stone *I didn't have any, so skipped this

Mix together the ground flaxseeds, baking powder, spices, and salt in a small bowl.  Stir in the oil.  Beat in the egg and water until blended.

Grease a microwave safe pie plate.  Pour the batter in the pan and spread evenly over the bottom. Microwave on high for 2-3 minutes until cooked.  Let cool for 3-5 minutes.

Remove from the pie plate using a spatula to lift the edges. Place the cooked crust onto a pizza stone sprinkled with corn meal. Top with desired toppings.  Bake in a 400 degree F. oven for 10 minutes.

I topped my pizza with caramelized onions, thinly sliced zucchini, fresh spinach, diced chicken, goat cheese, and some mozza cheese. 

My husband topped his with BBQ sauce, red peppers, caramelized onions, chicken, and mozza cheese, but he used a pita as his base. 

Maybe I was just very excited to eat pizza, but I thought that it was delicious!  The flaxseed crust was sturdy enough to hold all of my toppings, it was a little crunchy, and it had a nice flavor and texture (although not doughy like a traditional pizza crust).  Keep in mind I didn't use a sauce, so I'm not sure if that would change how the crust holds up. 

The recipe only makes one individual crust the size of your pie plate, but that was big enough for me as my supper, and I couldn't even finish that.  I put 1/4 of the pizza in the fridge and enjoyed it for lunch today, and I was impressed that the crust was still crunchy.

My pizza up front and my husband's two pizzas on pitas at the back. 

Rainy Day

The weather lately has been miserable.  Last weekend we had a snow storm and all of the snow that had recently melted from our yard was back again.  It warmed up later in the week, and we are close to the snow being gone again but it has been raining all day and once the temperature drops it will turn to ice.  I miss the sunshine! 

Being stuck inside last Saturday in the snow storm, there wasn't a chance I was staying home this Saturday too.  I called up my mom to see if she wanted to come grocery shopping/errand running with me, and she was game (of course!).  After groceries we even clothes shopped for a bit and she bought me a bunch of stuff to "pay me back" for the three pairs of Lulu Lemon pants I gave her once I had replaced them with a smaller size during my Spring Break shopping trip.  I really am a spoiled 27 year old "Princess".

Since it was a cold, miserable day I decided I needed something warm and delicious for supper tonight so I picked up a roasting chicken at the store. Chicken has become my new favorite food.  Before my clean eating life began I would eat chicken, but it wasn't my first choice.  Now I eat chicken at least 5 days a week, and actually crave it.  It is so versatile and is great leftover in my salads. We usually have roast chicken on Sundays but today seemed like a perfect day to get the oven heating up the house and the smell is amazing!

Here is my beautiful roast chicken!

To go with our roast chicken we had potatoes of course.  I don't eat any grains (pasta or rice, etc.) so potatoes are the norm as well.  We eat some form of potato every supper because they are as versatile as chicken.  My favorite is a baked potato, and then homemade fries come in second.  But tonight I was craving something crunchy and cheesy so I planned on making potato skins. 

As I was scooping the flesh of the potato out of the baked skin I had an even better idea.  I would stuff the potato skins!  My usual recipe changed just a bit, and the end result was wonderful.  My husband loved the stuffed potatoes because it was something different for us and the flavor and texture was exactly what I had been craving.

Here are my recipes:

Roast chicken
1 roasting chicken
5 or 6 garlic cloves (grate 2 or 3 of them)
1-2 tsp. dried (or fresh) thyme
1-2 tsp. dried (or fresh) rosemary
2 tsp. Epicure Lemon Dilly mix (optional)
1 lemon (zested and cut into wedges)
pepper
2-3 Tbsp. butter

1. In a small bowl, mix butter, grated garlic, lemon zest, thyme, rosemary, and pepper.  I eyeball everything so my measurements are approximate.
2. Rub the butter mixture UNDER the skin of the chicken and massage it in to the chicken.
3. Sprinkle the skin of the chicken with more of the spices.
4. Stuff the lemon wedges and garlic cloves into the cavity of the chicken.
5. Roast in oven until done (mine usually takes approx. 2 hours, but check for doneness).


Stuffed Potatoes
1 large potato per person (you will want to make extras!)
extra virgin olive oil
1 cup grated cheese (I like cheddar, but use what you prefer)
1 Tbsp. Epicure Three Onion dip mix (or use chopped green onions and other seasonings) *Epicure Cheese, Chive, and Bacon dip mix would be fantastic if you can eat soy.
2 Tbsp. plain Greek yogurt  (or plain yogurt, or sour cream)
salt and pepper

1. Bake potatoes for an hour in an oven to get crispy skins.
2. Remove potatoes from oven and cut in half lengthwise.
3. Scoop out the flesh of the potatoes into a medium sized bowl. Be careful not to tear the skins.
4. Mash the potato, greek yogurt, cheddar cheese, Three Onion dip mix, salt and pepper together until combined.
5. Brush the inside of the potato skins with a little EVOO and sprinkle with salt, pepper, and Three Onion dip mix. (*This is how I make my potato skins.  If you aren't stuffing them, top the skins with cheese and bake now! Use the flesh of the potato for supper tomorrow.)
6. Stuff the mashed potato mixture back into the skins.
7. Top the potatoes with cheese.
8. Bake until warmed through and cheese is melted.

Roast chicken (skin removed), stuffed potatoes, and asparagus for supper!  I could only eat one potato so that means I have lunch tomorrow. 

I hope you had a wonderful Saturday!