Lasagna Roll-Ups

These were fun to make and delicious! The site I got this from has great step-by-step pictures (link below). These are way easier to serve too!

1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
1/2 lb lean ground beef
1/4 cup finely chopped yellow onion
1 (28 oz) can crushed tomatoe
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 tbsp dried basil
1/2 tsp dried oregano
Salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste

1 (15 oz) container Ricotta cheese
1 large egg
1/3 cup fresh flat leaf parsley, chopped
2 1/4 c freshly grated mozzarella cheese, divided
3/4 c freshly, finely grated parmesan cheese, divided
1/3 c freshly, finely grated Romano cheese
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp freshly ground black pepper

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Spray a large non-stick fry pan with olive oil spray. Heat over medium high heat, crumble ground beef, add chopped onions, and cook mixture stirring occasionally and breaking up meat, until browned. Drain any fat from beef. Pour beef mixture into a food processor and pulse for about 5 seconds until it is ground into fine pieces.  Pour beef mixture back into fry pan and add crushed tomatoes, minced garlic, basil, oregano and stir.  Season sauce with salt and pepper to taste then cover with a lid and simmer over low heat while preparing pasta and cheese mixture.

Cook lasagna noodles in a large pot of boiling water along with 1 tsp salt and 1 tbsp olive oil to al dente according to directions listed on package. Once noodles are cooked, drain and immediately line noodles in a single layer on waxed paper.  

Prepare cheese mixture (I did this while pasta cooked) by stirring together Ricotta cheese, egg, 1/4 tsp salt and 1/4 tsp pepper with a fork in a large mixing bowl until well combine. Stir in chopped fresh parsley. Add in 1 3/4 cups grated mozzarella cheese, 1/2 cup parmesan cheese and 1/3 cup Romano cheese, stir mixture until well combined.

Stir meat sauce and spread 1/3 cup evenly into a 13x9 inch baking dish by tilting pan back and forth. Spread 1/4 cup cheese mixture evenly onto each cooked lasagna noodle, then spread 1 heaping tablespoon meat sauce along the top of cheese covered noodle. Roll noodles up jellyroll style and arrange seam side down in baking dish. Cover rolled noodles with remaining meat sauce then sprinkle remaining 1/2 cup Mozzarella Cheese and 1/4 cup Parmesan Cheese evenly over roll ups. Tent lasagna roll ups with foil (don't allow foil to rest on cheese or it will stick you just want to loosely tent to prevent the cheese from browning) and bake for 35-45 minutes in preheated oven. Serve warm garnished with additional chopped fresh parsley.

Original recipe found here.

Spicy Avocado Chicken Enchiladas

These were amazing. So creamy and delicious. The original recipe called for one serrano pepper, but I used two. I took some of the seeds out, but left some as well. Depending on how much spice you like, that's how many peppers you should use.

Sauce:
1 tbsp light butter
1 serrano pepper, minced
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 tbsp flour
1 c fat free chicken broth
1 tsp cumin
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp ground pepper
1/4 c chopped cilantro
1 c medium salsa verde
1/2 c fat free sour cream

Enchiladas:
2-3 c chopped cooked chicken breasts (about 3 breasts)
8 oz Monterrey Jack Cheese, shredded & divided
1 small yellow onion, chopped
3 avocados, peeled and chopped
8-10 flour tortillas

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. In a medium sauce pan, melt butter over medium-high heat. Saute serrano pepper and garlic, for 1 minute. Stir in flour, constantly stirring, and cook for 2 minutes. Whisk in the chicken broth, cumin, salt and pepper and bring to a low boil. Once boiling, whisk in the sour cream, salsa verde and cilantro. Remove from heat.

In a large bowl, combine cooked chicken (I cubed mine), 3/4 of the cheese, diced onion, and chopped avocado. Spray a 9x13" baking dish. Add 3/4 cup sauce to the bottom of the pan. Add chicken mixture to the center of each tortilla and roll, placing seam-side down in the dish. Pour the remaining sauce over the enchiladas. Top with leftover cheese and bake for 20-25 minutes or until bubbling. Serve immediately.

Original recipe found here. 

Szechuan Chicken & Veggies Stir-Fry with Pasta

This recipe calls for YOSHIDA sauce!! I love Yoshida sauce, but you can't get it at Kroger. My mom usually gets it for me at Sam's. It makes this stir-fry awesome! I loved the veggies in this too.

2 chicken breasts, diced into 1 inch pieces

1 c 'Yoshidas' Original Gourmet Marinade

1 tbsp light butter

1 tbsp olive oil

1 green bell pepper, chopped

1 yellow onion, chopped

1 c broccoli, steamed/cooked

1 tsp minced garlic

2 tsp paprika 

1/2 lb linguine

Start by boiling a large pot of water for your linguine. Boil according to package directions while you make the other ingredients.

In a large skillet over medium-high heat, melt the 1 tbsp butter. Add your diced chicken and cook until chicken turns white and is no longer pink on the inside. (About 10 minutes) Meanwhile, in a small skillet, add 1 tablespoon oil over medium heat. Add the onion and bell pepper and saute until soft. Once softened add to the cooked chicken. Then add the gourmet sauce, minced garlic, and paprika. Stir well. Reduce heat to medium-low and continue to cook for 5-8 more minutes or until marinade is thoroughly heated. Add in cooked broccoli last.

When linguine is done cooking. Drain and then throw noodles into the chicken/marinade mixture. Stir well to combine all, and then serve!

This is without the pasta, and it'd be great on its own too!

Original recipe found here.

Almond Joy Oatmeal

Only 230 calories for this entire bowl of goodness! I love sweets... Will, not so much a sweets person. He thought the sweetness of this oatmeal was perfect, and so did I. It feels like you're getting a delicious, creamy treat for breakfast at only 230 cal. Pair it with some fruit or something, and you've got the perfect breakfast.

1/2 c almond milk, unsweetened (a little more if you don't want it so thick)
1/4 c quick cooking oats
1 tbsp chopped almonds
1 packet Truvia (I had Splenda, so that's what I used)
1 tbsp sweetened, shredded coconut
10 milk chocolate baking chips

Prepare oatmeal as directed with almond milk. Stir almonds and Truvia into oatmeal. Top with chocolate chips and coconut, and mix it all together! Mmmm.

Original recipe found here.

"Skinny" Chicken Enchiladas!

You would NEVER think this is a light dish! At only about 150 calories per enchilada, you can't beat this recipe. It calls for shredded chicken... you can cook the chicken however you want before you shred it... I just boiled it because I was kind of short on time. This recipe comes from Eat Yourself Skinny and she's got tons of awesome, healthy recipes over there.

For the sauce:

2 cloves of garlic, minced

1 can diced green chilis

1-1/2 cups tomato sauce

1 tsp. southwest chipotle seasoning (Mrs. Dash)

1/2 tsp. ground cumin

3/4 cup fat-free chicken broth

Salt and fresh pepper to taste

For the chicken:
1 tsp. vegetable oil

2 chicken breasts, cooked and shredded

1 cup diced onion

2 cloves of garlic, minced

1/4 cup fresh cilantro

Salt

1 tsp. cumin

1/2 tsp. dried oregano

1 tsp. southwest chipotle seasoning (Mrs. Dash)

1/3 cup chicken broth

1/2 cup tomato sauce

8 (6-inch) reduced carb whole wheat flour tortillas

1 cup shredded low-fat Mexican cheese

Nonstick cooking spray

In a medium saucepan, spray oil and saute garlic.  Add green chilis, chipotle seasoning, cumin, chicken broth, tomato sauce, salt and pepper.  Bring to a boil.  Reduce the heat to low and simmer for 5-10 minutes.  Set aside until ready to use, and preheat oven to 400 degrees. 

Heat the vegetable oil in a medium skillet over medium-high heat.  Saute onions and garlic on low until soft, about 2 minutes.  Add chicken, salt, cilantro, cumin, oregano, chipotle seasoning, tomato sauce, chicken broth, and cook 4 to 5 minutes.  Remove from heat.

Spray a 13 by 9-inch glass baking dish with non-stick spray.  Put 1/3 cup chicken mixture into each tortilla and roll it.  Place in baking dish seam side down.  Top with sauce and cheese.  Cover with foil and bake in the oven on the middle rack for 20 minutes. Remove foil, add scallions, and cook an additional 5-10 minutes.