Stuffed Pepper Casserole

Look at that deliciousness.

It's pretty much one of our favorite weeknight recipes.

Steve asks for it. a lot.

Which I'm totally okay with, because it's easy to make!

Steve has been out of town and I found one last serving that I had frozen for lunches and decided to pull it out for dinner. I realized I have not shared the recipe yet... and that's just not nice!

I'll be making the recipe again on Sunday - so I'll update with better pictures.

Stuffed Pepper Casserole

(This was originally a stuffed pepper recipe that I made my own. Basically, we hated having to cut the whole pepper while eating it and I was normally juggling a baby while eating at the same time... so I came up with the idea to turn it into a casserole AND it freezes much better this way!

Ingredients: 

- 4 Large Peppers. I like to do 2 red, 2 green.

- 2 cups prepared couscous (make it whole wheat for healthier option!)

- 1 1/2 cups cooked shredded chicken

- 1/2 cup Salsa

- 1/2 packet Taco Seasoning (or make your own and use about 1 tbsp)

- 1 cup shredded 4 Cheese Mexican Blend (divided)

- 1/2 sour cream (I've also made this with plain greek yogurt and the hubby didn't notice a difference!)

- Salt and Pepper to taste

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Spray dish with cooking spray.
2. Chop up your peppers into bite sized chunks. Place into casserole dish.
3. In a large bowl combine cooked couscous, shredded chicken, salsa, taco seasoning, 2/3 cup of cheese, and sour cream.
4. Layer the mixture on top of the peppers.
5. Top with the remaining 1/3 cup of cheese.
6. Bake at 350 degrees for 20-25 minutes.
7. Enjoy!

(Makes about 6 servings)


For all my Fix Portion Control ladies...  I'm not perfect and I haven't measured everything out pre-mixing in my awesome little containers.... but when I eat one serving, I consider it 1 red, 1 green, 1 blue, 1 yellow.

Pumpkin Spice Cafe Latte

It's almost Fall and it's all things pumpkin.

I satisfied my one guilty pleasure with a Starbucks Pumpkin Spice Frappuccino... but I knew that I couldn't keep my figure with one of those daily...

So I decided to make my own.


Pumpkin Spice Cafe Latte

4 oz Water
4 oz Almond Milk
7-8 Ice Cubes
1 Scoop Cafe Latte Shakeology
1 tsp Pumpkin Spice

Southwest Chicken Caesar Salad

I have a yummy recipe for you today!! 

I had a Southwest Chicken Caesar Salad at Chili's a few weeks back and I just knew I had to replicate it at home, but with a healthy twist! Now I'm bringing it to you! 



Ingredients: 
Chicken Breast Tenderloins
1 bag Romaine Lettuce
1 Tomato, diced
Corn Tortillas
Taco Seasoning
1 tbsp Olive oil

Dressing Ingredients:
1/2 Cup Reduced fat plain Greek Yogurt
3 Tbsp. fresh lemon juice
1/2 cup shredded Parmesan Cheese
2 tsp minced garlic
1/3 cup extra-virgin olive oil
1/2 tsp. ground black pepper
1 dash sea salt

Mix all of dressing ingredients together and blend in blender or food processor. Set aside.

Cut tortillas into small strips. (tip: I use a pizza cutter) Place on baking sheet and bake for 10 min at 375 degrees.

Heat pan on stove with olive oil. Cook chicken strips in taco seasoning.

Layer salad with lettuce, tomatoes, chicken, tortilla strips, and drizzle dressing on top.

It's that easy! Enjoy!

If you're doing the 21 Day Fix... measure out your ingredients using your containers.

2 green, 1 red, 1 orange(2 tbsp on dressing), 1 yellow

Romano Chicken with Lemon Garlic Zoodles

Mmmm. This recipe was so good. I originally saw something similar on Pinterest, but it was packed full of breaded chicken and pasta with no veggies. I just knew it would leave me feeling overly stuffed. I've been loving my new spiralizer attachment to my Kitchen Aid, so I decided to put my own spin on the recipe! It turned out great and got approval from the hubby!

INGREDIENTS

• ROMANO CHICKEN:
• ½ lb chicken breasts (butterflied or thinly cut into cutlets)
• salt and pepper
• ½ cup grated parmesan cheese (Shredded works too) 
• 1 egg
• dry parsley
• ½ cup panko bread crumbs (homemade or store-bought)
• olive oil
• 
  
• LEMON GARLIC ZOODLES:
• 2 large Zucchini 
• juice from 1 lemon, or to taste
• 3 garlic cloves, minced
• zest from ¼ lemon
• 2 Tbsp butter
• salt, pepper

INSTRUCTIONS

ROMANO CHICKEN:

1. Place parmesan cheese in a shallow dish. In another dish, put beaten egg with dry parsley; in third dish put panko bread crumbs.
2. Season chicken cutlets with salt and pepper; dredge with parmesan cheese, dip into beaten egg; press the chicken in panko bread crumbs to coat on both sides; shake off the excess.
3. Heat olive oil in a pan; add chicken cutlets and cook on low heat until golden and cooked through.

Side Note: I used very little olive oil to cook, but a healthier option would also be to bake the chicken. 

LEMON GARLIC ZOODLES:

1. Spiralize zucchini. 
2. Cook Zucchini in pan with 1 tsp olive oil until it starts getting soft. 
3. Add lemon juice to a pan; add garlic, lemon zest, a pinch of salt and pepper.
4. Add butter and slowly melt into your sauce, while swirling the pan.
5. Serve romano chicken over lemon garlic pasta.

If following 21 Day Fix: 1 Serving would be 1 Red, 1 Green, 1/2 Yellow, 1 Blue, 1 tsp 

Blueberry Oat Lactation Muffins

Ya'll, these muffins are delicious! And even approved by my picky 3-year-old daughter.

The best part about them? They are 21 Day Fix Approved!

I don't even feel guilty about eating them.

1 Muffin is 1 Yellow container.






Ryder started sleeping through the night lately, so without the extra nursing sessions, my supply started to take a dip! So, I made these babies to try to boost my supply! So far it's worked! I've actually be eating two with eggs in the morning for breakfast in place of my regular oatmeal, and I've counted it as 1 yellow container.

Enjoy!

xoxo,

Kacie

Chicken Tortilla Soup

Mmmm. This has become one of my favorite recipes. We have it at least twice a month. And there are always leftovers, which are even better.

Let me start by saying that this isn't your typical, Mexican Spicy Tortilla soup. I don't do spicy well, so I tweaked it to work for me! I also tweaked the already pretty healthy recipe to be 21 Day Fix approved.

Ingredients:

2-3 Bell Peppers(any color), diced
1 Onion, diced
2 Tomatoes, diced
Garlic, minced
Olive Oil
Chicken Broth(or Vegetable Broth will work too)
1 Rotisserie Chicken, shredded (You can cook your own, but seriously, this is easy and it tastes so good!)
Taco Seasoning(Make your own from the 21 Day Fix Book)
1ish Cup of Organic Corn
Salt & Pepper to taste


Optional:
Corn Tortillas
Advocado
Black Beans
Shredded Cheese
Cilantro


Directions:

1. In large pot heat up Olive oil and garlic for about 1 minute.
2. Add in Onion and Bell Pepper. Heat until soft, 2-3 minutes. (21 Day fix- measure out in your Green containers and add 5 green containers worth.)
3. Add in tomatoes. Heat for 1-2 more minutes. (21 Day fix- Measure out 2 green containers.)
4. Add in frozen corn. (21 day fix- use 2 yellows)
5. Add in broth until pot is about 2/3 full. If I run out of broth, I sometimes add a little extra water.
6. Heat until simmering, then add the Taco Seasoning, salt & pepper to taste.
7. Add in Chicken (21 day fix, 7 red containers)
8. Cook until heated throughout.
9. Enjoy!

For Tortilla Strips:

Take Corn tortillas, spray lightly with butter or coconut oil. Use a pizza cutter to cut into small strips. Spread them out on a pan and cook them in the oven at 350 degrees for about 8 minutes, flipping once halfway through.

If using the 21 Day Fix containers, you used 7 Green, 2 yellows, and 7 red. Divide the soup into 7 separate servings. Each serving will be 1 Green, 1 Red, and barely 1/2 yellow. Add tortilla strips on top to account for a full yellow. Also, add Avocado or cheese accordingly.

**Steve likes beans in his soup, I do not, but you could also measure this out with a yellow container and add.

Recipe Spotlight: Pan Seared Chicken

Steve and I have been trying to eat "healthy" if you don't include the Wawa donuts we indulged on the other night. shhh.

Anyone heard of Wawa? I hadn't until we moved to Virginia, but let me tell you their coffee options will put QT under the table.

Anyway, Steve wanted to go to the gym last night when he got home from work, so we had an early dinner. I knew it needed to be belly friendly if we were going to fit a workout in afterward.

So I decided to pan sear some chicken with some fresh spinach I had on hand.

Ingredients:

4-6 Chicken tenderloin strips
salt
pepper
your favorite seasoning, I used garlic and Mrs. Dash
Fresh Spinach
Olive oil

Throw some olive oil in the pan on medium-high heat. Season your chicken strips and place in the pan. Cook for a few minutes on each side until almost done. When they are about 5 minutes away from being done, add the fresh spinach. I added a little more oil to the spinach as well as a little more garlic salt. Cook until the spinach is wilted. Enjoy!

As for the carrots on the side, this is one of my favorite way to eat carrots. I sautéed them in some olive oil for a minute and then added 1 packet of Splenda (you can use sugar or stevia if you want), but I love the sweetness this adds. I then covered the pan and let sit while I was cooking the chicken. They are so good when done! Like eating candy.

Add some easy brown rice in the mix and you have yourself a quick and easy weeknight meal.

On a side note, I ended up dropping Sadie and Steve off at the gym and took the time to go to Target myself. I still have a bruised tailbone from an ab class on Monday and thought I would give it a rest for day. Plus my alone time in Target was glorious!

Happy cooking!

Recipe Spotlight: Honey Crusted Fish

This has become one of my favorite fish recipes. It's also hubby approved and only takes about 30 minutes total to make, so it's a great weeknight meal. 

Ingredients: 2-3 fillets of fish (I prefer Salmon or Grouper, but I've used Cod as well)

1 tsp honey

1/2 cup panko bread crumbs

1 oz oil (I use olive oil)

1 Tbsp butter, melted

Directions: 

Spray a pan or baking dish with nonstick cooking spray. Set aside. 

Combine the melted butter and honey in a small bowl. Put Panko Bread Crumbs on a plate. Set aside.

Place oil in sauce pan and heat on medium to high heat. 

Take fish filet and drag through honey/butter, coating both sides.

Then place fish in bread crumbs, dredging both sides.

Place fish in hot pan browning both sides. Only 1-2 minutes on each side. 

Remove from pan and place in oven dish.

Bake at 350 for approximately 10 minutes. Remove.

Pour the remaining honey/butter over top of fish and serve.