Eat Your Heart Out

I know, I know, another food post.  But, I've had a couple of weeks off from school so I'm getting to cook a little more often.  Hurray fresh foods!  Both of today's recipes were found on Pinterest. 

Chicken Tacos

This is a crock pot recipe I cooked last Tuesday.  I followed the recipe pretty much exactly as they appeared.  It's from a blog called "Skinny Taste"  They have lots and lots of excellent and healthy recipes. 

Ingredients: 

• 24 oz (1 1/2) lbs chicken breast
• 14.4 oz can diced tomatoes with mild green chilies
• 15 oz can black beans
• 8 oz frozen corn
• 1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro
• 14.4 oz can fat free chicken broth
• 3 scallions, chopped
• 1 tsp garlic powder
• 1 tsp onion powder (I used 1 shallot instead)
• 1 tsp cumin
• 1 tsp cayenne pepper (to taste)
• salt to taste

Right after I put all the spices and ingredients into the crock pot, I realized I had left the chicken breast out over the night (not thawing, just out).  So I rushed to the grocery store to buy some new meat.  When I got back I put the chicken in and put the crock pot on low.  

Cooking away!  I didn't go into work that day, so I got to smell the deliciousness all day long!

9.5 hours into cooking I took the chicken out to shred it

I love cooking chicken in a crock pot.  It's soooo tender.  It practically fell apart. 

I put the chicken back in to cook for another 30 minutes 

10 minutes before Jason walked in the door I put some corn tortillas on our comal to get nice and toasty

  Throw in some steamed veggies and voila!

This was a big success.  Next time I'll probably add in a little extra cayenne and possibly some jalepeno.  It also worked great as a left over.  I had it for lunch a couple of times that week. 

Shrimp Penne Rosa and Mushroom Pizza

I used two separate recipes for this dinner.  It was Jason's idea to combine the two recipes, using the pizzas as a vegetable side dish.  Pizza as a side, you say?  Yes, read on!  Jason was also nice enough to help me prep and cook this dinner.  I love cooking with my husband!  We were lucky enough to have our very first home-cooked dinner guest too!  My wonderful sister  :)  She came over to borrow some clothes as she and her husbandy are jetting off to NEW ZEALAND!  Wow!  I'm sure when they return she will be sure to update her blog with lots of pictures.  Okay, now to recipe 1.  We started prepping the pizzas at the same time we put the noodles on to cook.  I'll start with my mistakes so if you're reading this trying to replicate it, you won't make the same mistake I did.  

First, I didn't have enough basil.  This was mostly a result of all the fresh basil I had bought wilting before I made this dish, so I had to salvage what I could. 

Next, I forgot to squeeze the lemon over the stuffed mushrooms before putting them into the oven.  When I found the lemon after we finished eating I thought to myself that this would have been a great addition to the flavor of the dish.  

I also forgot to add the parmigiana cheese to the pasta dish.  I don't think this was a huge loss unless you're really into cheese.  

Finally, I rinsed off the portobellos directly under the water.  The proper way to wash off mushrooms is with a paper towel.  The result of being rushed with water?  They retained a lot of moisture, which all came leaking out while in the oven.

Ingredients for Pizza (adapted from BodyRock.tv; awesome food/workout blog):

4 tomatoes, 4 large portobello mushrooms, 4 cloves of garlic, lemon, 1 leek, 1 onion, fresh basil, parmigiano reggiano cheese, fresh parsley, olive oil, salt.

Sauteing all the veggies.  I substituted jalepenos for the leeks

We spooned out the insides of the mushrooms to make little bowl.  The body rock website doesn't tell you to do this, but I had seen this tip elsewhere and it definitely allowed us to fit in all the toppings. 

Stuffed the mushrooms and placed into oven at 400 degrees for 12 minutes. 

And it was that easy!  A very simple pizza alternative with no bread, lots of fresh veggies, and just a touch of cheese.  

Ingredients for pasta:

• 12 ounces whole wheat penne
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 4 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 pinch crushed red pepper flakes
• 8 ounces button mushrooms, sliced
• 2 medium tomatoes (about 1/2 lb.) chopped
• Salt and pepper, to taste
• 4 cups fresh spinach
• 10 ounces medium raw shrimp, peeled and deveined
• 1/2 cup marinara sauce
• 1/3 cup 0% plain Greek yogurt
• 1/4 cup grated parmesan cheese

Sauteing all the veggies! 

Placed the shrimp in with the veggies until cooked.  After this I added the pasta sauce and Greek Yogurt. 

 

Mixed in the pasta and ready to enjoy! 

The final products!  Everything was very delicious.  Even with the watery mushrooms, I think they turned out great.  The pasta was tasty as well.  I love recipes that use Greek yogurt as a substitution.  It's so easy and flavorful.  We definitely got our vitamin D for the day with all the mushrooms we ate  :)  I look forward to eating the pasta for lunch tomorrow!  I also think these little pizzas would make great appetizers for game day.  Noted for the future.  

Until next time, 

The VrlyFries