Shredded Beef Verde Tacos

 Every time that I have Mexican food, I remember how much I love it! I came up with a weeknight taco recipe so that when I came home I could indulge in some delicious shredded beef tacos!

Ingredients: (This recipe is just for the beef taco filling, make sure to also purchase taco shells and other various toppings!)

3-5 lb pot roast
1/2 purple onion
3 cloves of garlic
1/8 bunch of fresh cilantro
1 jar of salsa verde

Directions:

Chop up the purple onion and garlic.

Place the pot roast in the crock pot. Top with the garlic.

Then top with the purple onion, salsa verde and top with the cilantro.

Place the crockpot on low for 6-8 hours.

Take the beef out of the crock pot and shred with a fork. Throw away any fat.

Now here is the fun part! Use the beef as your taco filling and top with your favorite ingredients! I used my left over taco meat for taco salads the next night! Yummy and easy!

Mac and Cheese Bar !!!

Nothing beats any type of food bar for any type of party! I had a ladies night the other night and made a mac and cheese food bar, because honestly, who doesn't love mac and cheese? Especially when it's loaded! For the cheese sauce I used Ragu double cheddar sauce, a little bit of milk and a mixed shredded cheese. I kept it in the crock pot so that it stayed warm throughout the night. There are endless toppings that taste great on mac and cheese so I narrowed it down for my mac and cheese bar. I also printed out some recipe examples in case anyone was stuck on what type of combination to make. 

 Feel free to be creative and have fun!

Pumpkin Mini Bunt Cakes with Cinnamon Cream Cheese Frosting

I made these for my boyfriend's mothers birthday and they were delicious! If fall had a taste, these would be it!

Ingredients:

For the Cake:

1 package of super moist carrot cake
3/4 cup of water
1 can of pumpkin (15oz)
Mini bunt cake pan
Non-stick spray

For the Frosting:

2 cups of confectioners sugar
4oz of cream cheese (don't use fat free)
1/2 teaspoon of vanilla extract
1 teaspoon of ground cinnamon
2 tablespoons of cold cubed butter

Directions: 

For the cake:

Preheat your oven to 350. In a large mixing bowl, mix together the carrot cake mix, water and can of pumpkin. Mix well until it is well blended. Spray your bunt cake pan with non-stick spray. Fill them half way with the mixture. Place in the oven for 20-25 minutes or until it passes the toothpick trick.

Allow them to cool for about 5 minutes before placing them on a cooling rack. I used a butter knife to gently remove my cakes from the pan. Allow to fully cool before frosting them. This recipe should make about 9 mini bunt cakes.

For the Frosting:

Add all of your frosting ingredients in a medium sized mixing bowl. Blend with a hand mixer. Start at a slow speed and slowly increase the speed until it is a frosting like consistency.

Once the frosting is well mixed, place in a large ziplock bag.Cut a small edge off the tip of the bag and gently squeeze the frosting out on to the cakes with your desired design. Be sure to keep the frosting refrigerated because it has cream cheese in it! Serve and dig in!

Asian Beef Stir Fry

I love any type of Asian inspired meal! This makes for a great weeknight meal. Most of the work is done in the prep the night before.

Ingredients:

1 lb of flank steak
1 orange pepper
1 yellow pepper
1 red pepper
1 vidalia onion
1 bunch of green onions
2 cups of instant white rice
1 tablespoon of sesame oil
1 tablespoon of stir fry seasoning or sauce
3 tablespoons of your preferred Asian inspired salad dressing or marinade ( I used archer farms lemon ginger sesame salad dressing)

Directions:

24+ hours prior to cooking:

Chop up your peppers and onion to desired size. Place them in an air tight tupperware or large ziplock bag. Add the sesame oil and stir fry seasoning. Mix well. Set aside in the refrigerator for marinating for 24+ hours. Next, thinly slice the steak to your desired thickness. Place in an air tight tupperware or ziplock bag. Add the 3 tablespoons of Asian marinade and mix well. Set aside in the refrigerator for 24+ hours.

Next day:

Most of the work was done yesterday, so now lets cook up this delicious meal and enjoy! Set the oven to 400 degrees. Place the vegetable mixture in a casserole dish and place in the oven for 30-45 minutes or until the vegetables are cooked through. Next, fire up the grill. Allow it to warm up for about 5-10 minutes. While the grill is heating up, slice up the green onions for topping and set aside. Now that your grill is warmed up, place the steak on the grill and allow it to sear on one side. Flip when the steak is about 80% cooked. Now everyone has different ways they like their steak cooked, from rare to well done (in my opinion, why even eat steak if you're going to have it well done - but that's a different story!) Anyways, cook it the way you like it based on the thickness of your steak. When it is finished cooking, set aside. Your vegetables should be just about done by now. Cook the minute rice according to the instructions. I use the minute rice cups (I'm lazy but whatever). Plate up the rice. Top it with the vegetables, steak and top with the green onion. Yummy!

Thai Coconut Curry Chicken with Jasmine Rice

This is one of my easiest, most delicious recipes! I just gave the recipe to my friend and she loved it! The good part is, it is just as delicious re-heated so it makes for a good lunch for work. The pictures don't do this meal justice. Just trust me it's amazing!

Ingredients:

3 Tablespoons of yellow curry sauce

1 can of coconut milk

1 tomato

4 garlic cloves

4 tablespoons of butter

1-2 lbs of chicken thighs

Green onion for garish

Your choice or rice to serve it over ( I used Minute Jasmine Rice)

Red pepper flakes for garnish if you want a kick

Directions:

You will need 2 separate frying pans, 1 medium and 1 large. Add 2 tablespoons of butter to the medium frying pan and 2 tablespoons of butter to the large frying pan. Put both on medium heat. While the butter is melting, chop up your garlic cloves into small pieces along with the onion. Add the garlic and onion to the medium frying pan and stir well. Next, take the curry sauce and coconut milk and add them to the large frying pan. Stir well. Bring this to a boil. While this is warming up, cube up the chicken thighs into 1 inch by 1 inch sized pieces. Also be sure to trim off any unwanted fat. Chop up your tomato. At this point, the onion and garlic should be well cooked. Add this mixture to the large frying pan with the curry mixture. Next, add the cubed up tomato and chicken. Keep this covered at a low boil for about 30 minutes or until the chicken is cooked through. Serve over your favorite rice (I used minute rice because I work full time!) Garnish with chopped green onion and red pepper flakes in the picture below. Enjoy!

Zucchini "Pasta" Bolognese

So zucchini noodles seem to be all the rage on pinterest at the moment, so I decided to give them a try! Let me tell you, they turned out great! They obviously don't taste like pasta but had a similar texture and were super filling! I bought an OXO brand mandolin and it was a great purchase! I think I only paid $7 for mine at TJMAXX. If you are un-familiar with what a mandolin looks like, I have a picture of mine below.

Ingredients:

3 summer squash

2 zucchini 

1 tablespoon of garlic

Non-stick spray

1 lb of ground turkey meat

1 jar of sauce (I use my favorite sauce - Trader Joe's Creamy Tomato Basil Sauce)

Parmesan cheese for topping

Directions:

Cook the ground turkey as directed on package. While that is cooking, begin slicing your summer squash and zucchini with your mandolin. Be careful! The blades are sharp and I always end up cutting myself somehow. Once all of your squash is sliced, place in a medium to large sized sauce pan. Be sure to spray it first with non-stick spray. The noodles only take about 5-7 minutes to cook. I used tongs to stir them mid way. Be very careful because if you are too rough, the noddles will become mush.

When the noodles are almost done cooking, add your garlic and stir. Once the meat is all done cooking, add the jar of sauce to the mixture and mix well. Once everything is warm and finished cooking, plate up and garnish with the Parmesan cheese. Now how easy was that? Feel free to add other veggies to the mixture! I was experimenting so I was playing it safe this time! I can't wait to try new combinations.

Chewy French Toast Cookies

I can't believe I am giving away my secret recipe for the world to see! These are my boyfriend's FAVORITE cookies... "in the world", or so he says! So I guess they are too good not to share with the world! These cookies are perfect for parties, holidays or just because! I usually end up making them as "just because" cookies! They are the perfect mix of soft and chewy cookies which is my favorite! I have considered adding chocolate chips or white chocolate chips to this recipe!

Ingredients:

1 cup butter  softened
1 1/4 cup brown sugar
3/4 cup sugar
½ tsp vanilla extract

½  tsp of almond extract

2 eggs
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
2 1/4 cups all purpose flour
2 packets of maple brown sugar instant oatmeal
1 1/2 cup shredded, sweetened coconut
Ground cinnamon for a sprinkle garnish

Directions:

Preheat your oven to 350. Mix together the butter, brown sugar and cane sugar in a mixing bowl. Once this is well mixed, add 1 egg and mix. Once the first egg is mixed in, add the second egg, the vanilla and almond extract and mix until everything is incorporated. Next, add the baking soda, baking powder and salt and mix well. Now add ½ of your flour until it is incorporated. Do not over mix. Add the rest of your flour until it is just incorporated.  Next add the oatmeal packets and shredded coconut and do not over mix. Mix until it is just evenly incorporated. Roll the dough into about 1 inch by 1 inch balls. Place on an un-sprayed cookie sheet in a 3x4 rows. Place the cookie sheet in the oven and allow them to cook for 8-10 minutes. These cookies are supposed to be chewy so you don’t want to overcook them. Once the cookies are to your desired chewiness, take them out of the oven and allow them to sit for five minutes. Once they have cooled, allow them to cool for another 5-10 minutes on a cookie cooling rack. Garnish with the ground cinnamon sprinkle and serve warm with a big glass of milk!

Homemade Alfredo Sauce

I love love love Alfredo sauce... who doesn't? I know it isn't the healthiest sauce for you but it sure is a nice treat every now and then! I also think that making it at home could be a little healthier than eating out since you will be measuring out your ingredients...hopeful thinking? Regardless of the calories, this sauce is worth an extra trip to the gym!

Ingredients:

1 stick of butter
2 cups of half and half
2 minced garlic cloves
2 cups of fresh grated Parmesan cheese


Directions:

Cube up the 1 stick of butter. Place in a large cooking pot and place on low-medium heat. When the butter is melted, add the 2 cups of half and half, minced garlic and stir. Continue stirring for about 5 minutes. Slowly add in the Parmesan cheese and continue stirring for another 5 minutes or until all of the cheese is melted and the sauce is thick. If the sauce is not to your desired thickness, slowly whisk in 2 tablespoons of all-purpose flour. I served this sauce over fettuccine, sauteed mushrooms and pan fried chicken. Yumm!

Steak and Cheese Egg Rolls

Ingredients:

1 lb Shaved steak
1 white onion
1 package of mushrooms
1/4 lb white american cheese from the deli
Spring roll wrappers
Non-stick spray

Directions:

Slice the onions and mushrooms to desired size. Place in a medium sized frying pan and spray with non-stick spray. Cook on medium.

When they are just about finished cooking, add the shaved steak to the frying pan. Continue cooking until the onions, mushrooms and steak is cooked to your desired liking.

Pre-heat your deep fryer to 365 degrees and make sure it is full with the recommended about of oil. Next, lay out 1 spring roll wrapper. Line with the cheese and fill with the meat and vegetable mixture and fold into a spring roll. Click this link for a useful video on how to roll a egg roll wrapper.  Be sure to lightly wet the edges of the wrapper to create a seal.

Create an assembly line to make this process easier. 

Place into the fryer. Make sure that the egg rolls are not touching in the fryer. Rotate half way with tongs once the egg roll starts to get bubbly looking. Continue to cook until it is golden brown.

Place on a paper towel and allow to dry for about 1-2 minutes.

Serve whole or cut in half!

Crab Meat Stuffed Mushrooms

These are such a hit whenever I make them! Sadly, there are never any leftovers! I think I'm going to start making a double batch and hide some aside for myself! Definitely a comfort food so I used real butter! It happens! This recipe calls for the same stuffing I use to make my Baked Stuffed Shrimp. You could put this stuffing on anything and make it taste delicious! 

Ingredients:

-30 mushrooms

- 1 stick of butter

- 1/4 cup of white onion

- 2 sticks of celery

- 1 can of crab meat

- 2 sleeves of reduced fat ritz crackers (should equal about 64 crackers)

Directions:

Pre-heat oven to 350. Chop up the onion and celery into little pieces and put in mixing bowl. Add butter to the bowl. Microwave until the butter is melted. While the butter is melting in the microwave, take a large baking sheet and spray with non-stick spray. Core out the mushrooms (take off the stems) and place on the pan with the round side facing down and the hole where the stem used to be facing up. Once the butter in the mixing bowl is melted, stir well. Add the crab meat to the mixing bowl. In a large ziplock bag, add all of the ritz crackers and seal tightly. Mash the ritz crackers until they look like small breadcrumbs. Pour the Ritz into the mixing bowl and mix together all of the ingredients until it is a thick stuffing-like texture. Begin making 1 tablespoon sized balls and form with your hands. Place firmly on the mushroom and continue until every mushroom has a stuffing ball on top. Bake in the oven for about 20 minutes or until the stuffing is crispy looking and the mushrooms are cooked through.

Nutrition Information for 1 Stuffed Mushroom (this recipe should make 30 stuffed mushrooms)

Calories - 62

Carbs - 5

Fat - 4

Protein - 1

Sodium - 98

Fiber - 0

Smothered Filet Mignon

Who doesn't just love a big juicy steak smothered with onions and mushrooms? My boyfriend loves filet night! The first time I cooked for him, I made him filet and its safe to say that a year and a half later we are still happily together. So I guess its true what they say, the way to a man's heart is through food?

Ingredients: 

1 tablespoon of EVOO

(1) 4.5 oz filet mignon steak

1/2 teaspoon of Beef base stock

1/2 cup of mushrooms

1/2 cup of vidalia onion

1/4 teaspoon of sea salt and garlic grinder or any other seasoning spice

non-stick cooking spray

Directions:

Pre-heat the oven to 350. Take out your steak fillets out of the fridge (you want them to set in room-temperature air for 30 minutes.) Rub half of the EVOO on each side of the filet, along with dusting each side with the sea salt and garlic.Chop up the onion and mushrooms to desired size. Place them in a medium sized frying pan. Spray with non-stick cooking spray and put on medium heat. Continue to stir while they are cooking.Once they are cooked through, reduce to low heat. Add in the beef stock and mix well, allowing it to coat the onion and mushroom mixture and it will look like the below picture. Keep the burner on low heat to keep the mixture warm.

Next, get another medium sized frying pan and place on medium heat. Once the pan is hot (about 1 or 2 minutes to heat up), place the desired filet in the pan. Allow the steak to sear on each side for 3-4 minutes. Do not play with the steak. Just let it do its thing.

Once both sides of the steak have a beautiful sear, place in a non-stick sprayed casserole dish. Now I like my steak cooked medium-rare. Especially a fillet! I think anything more ruins the whole idea of a fillet being able to "cut like butter." So I leave the steak in the oven for about 8-10 minutes for medium-rare. If you want your steak cooked more, leave it in longer. Other than that, once you take the steak out, smother that baby with the onion and mushroom mixture and enjoy! This dish would pair well with my Greek Orzo Summer Salad  or my Not Your Average Wedge Salad !

Nutrition Information for 1 Filet (About 4.5 oz steak)

Calories - 429

Carbs - 10 

Fat - 26

Protien - 38

Sodium - 482

Fiber - 1

Baked Stuffed Shrimp

Yummm, baked stuffed shrimp! One of my favorites! I hate when you go out to a restaurant and you pay about $20 for 5 pieces of shrimp, a little salad and rice! I made the same dinner for 6 people for about $30! This is one of my meals that I love to make at home because its cheaper, healthier and it tastes better! Now let's be honest, I do use real butter in this recipe so I'm not claiming it's healthy but definitely healthier than the amount of butter they use in restaurants! 

Ingredients:

-30 large shrimp cocktail already cooked

- 1 stick of butter

- 1/4 cup of white onion

- 2 sticks of celery

- 1 can of crab meat

- 2 sleeves of reduced fat ritz crackers (should equal about 64 crackers)

Directions:

Pre-heat oven to 350. Chop up the onion and celery into little pieces and put in mixing bowl. Add butter to the bowl. Microwave until the butter is melted. While the butter is melting in the microwave, take a large baking sheet and spray with non-stick spray. Butterfly the shrimp and place on the pan. Once the butter in the mixing bowl is melted, stir well. Add the crab meat to the mixing bowl. In a large ziplock bag, add all of the ritz crackers and seal tightly. Mash the ritz crackers until they look like small breadcrumbs. Pour the Ritz into the mixing bowl and mix together all of the ingredients until it is a thick stuffing-like texture. 

Begin making 1 tablespoon sized balls and form with your hands. Place firmly on the piece of shrimp and continue until every shrimp has a stuffing ball on top. Bake in the oven for about 15 minutes or until the stuffing is crispy looking.

Serve with your favorite sides! I served mine with rice pilaf and Not Your Average Wedge Salad ... and of course a nice big glass of wine!

Nutrition Information for 1 Piece of Shrimp (This recipe should make 30 pieces of shrimp)

Calories - 70

Carbs - 5

Fat - 4

Protein - 3

Sodium - 126

Fiber - 0

Greek Orzo Summer Salad! 259 Calories Per Serving!

I made this recipe for a family get together on the beach. It was so refreshing and delicious! Everyone went back for seconds and some even went back for thirds! You could eat this as with a meal or a side. This was so pleasing that I made it twice in one week!

Ingredients:

- 1 box of orzo pasta
- 1/2 container of red cherry tomatoes
- 1/2 container of yellow cherry tomatoes
- 1/4 purple onion
- fresh basil leafs
- 1 cup of pesto
- 1/2 cup of corn relish (sometimes this is hard to find - check near the regular relish. Stonewall kitchen has their own brand as well.)
- 1 cup of frozen peas (or pigeon peas)
- 6 oz of crumbled feta cheese

Directions:

Cook the orzo pasta as instructed on box. While the pasta is cooking, begin to chop up the tomatoes (yellow and red), onion and basil leafs. Once pasta is finished cooking, drain and place in a mixing bowl. Add the pesto and corn relish and mix well. Add the chopped up tomatoes, onion, basil leafs and frozen peas. Mix well. Let this sit in the refrigerator for 3 hours. Once you are ready to serve, mix up the mixture and garnish with the crumbled feta cheese. Yummmy!

Nutritional Information - (This recipe makes 10 servings. Nutrition information is for 1 cup)

Calories- 259

Carbs -  42

Fat - 5

Protein - 9 

Sodium - 201

Fiber - 4

***If you are making this recpie and adding it to your My Fitness Pal food diary, I have added it to the food database under "lowcalcook Greek Orzo Summer Salad" to make it easier to add!

Funfetti Cake Batter Dip

The pictures honestly say it all...yum! I spent the weekend in Maine at the beach house with my boyfriends family and my family. We all made appetizers and ate them on the front porch overlooking the ocean with a few glasses of sangria in hand ;) . I wanted to be able to make a somewhat healthy dessert to compensate for all of the alcohol calories consumed so I did some research. I found a similar recipe on Stuck on Sweet's blog but wanted to add my own stamp on it so I modified the recipe a little bit. This recipe was honestly finger licking good! It didn't even make it to the table without a few "samples" taken. 

Ingredients:

- 1/2 box of pillsbury funfetti cake mix

- 1.5 cups of fat free vanilla yogurt

- 1 cup of fat free cool whip

- 1 package of Jello cheesecake sugar free mix

- 2 tablespoons of rainbow sprinkles for garnish

Directions:

Combine the cake mix, yogurt, cool whip and Jello mix in a mixing bowl. Mix well until all ingredients are well mixed and the dip becomes thick. Garnish with sprinkles. If you are making this ahead of time, be sure to wait to add the sprinkles until the very end as they may melt and dye the dip. Serve with your favorite fruit or cookie. I served with fresh strawberries and mini Nilla wafers. Yumm! This dip was so good and sweet that it could also be used as frosting :)

Nutritional Information - (For 1 serving = 1/20 of recipe - about 2-3 tablespoons)

Calories - 98

Carbs - 19

Fat - 2

Protien - 1

Sodium - 163

Fiber - 0

Summer Shrimp Salad - 286 Calories

This recipe is great for summer! It cool, refreshing and chilling! I love how easy it is to make, just chop and mix! It leaves more time for laying by the pool and getting together with old friends! This would be perfect for a backyard cook out, because let’s be honest, who wants to slave over an oven all day? Not me!

Ingredients:

-          Shrimp Cocktail (18 Medium Shrimp)

-         ¼ of a white Vidalia onion

-         ¼ cup of garbanzo beans rinsed

-        1.5 oz of light Italian salad dressing

-        ¼ of a medium avocado cubed

-        8 cherry tomatoes

-        Sprinkle of cracked pepper and sea salt

Directions:

Chop up the shrimp cocktail and onion. Cut the cherry tomatoes in half. Rinse the garbanzo beans. Mix together the cut up shrimp, onion, tomatoes, beans. Add in the salad dressing and sprinkle the cracked pepper and sea salt. Mix well and serve! So easy! Now go enjoy your Summer Shrimp Salad out by the pool!

Nutrition Information (This recipe only makes 1 serving. If you want to make more, just modify the recipe!)

Calories – 286

Carbs – 17

Fat – 4

Protein – 5

Sodium – 160

Fiber - 4

Taco Chicken Salad - 227 Calories!

I am finally back! Since graduating I haven't been able to find the time to update my blog, but I have been doing a lot of cooking so there are lots of recipes to be added! I made this meal as a post workout meal and it was delicious!

Ingredients:

- 3/4 cup of chopped fresh tomatoes
- 1/4 cup of canned corn (rinsed)
- 1/4 cup of black beans (rinsed)
- 1/2 cup of shredded lettuce
- 3 slices of avocado
- 2 teaspoons of low sodium taco seasoning
- 2 tablespoons of light mayonnaise
- (2) 4oz chicken breasts
- 1/4 cup of fat free shredded cheese for topping

Directions:

Cook up the chicken and chop up into bite sized pieces. In a small mixing bowl, mix the mayonnaise and taco seasoning until smooth. In a larger mixing bowl, add the chicken, tomatoes, corn, beans and mayonnaise mixture and mix well. ***If you are making this and will be eating it right away, add the lettuce and avocado and sprinkle the cheese on top. ***If you are making this for the future, hold off on adding the lettuce avocado and cheese and don't add until you are ready to eat it.

Nutrition Facts - (This makes 2 servings. Nutrition information is for 1/2 of the recipe - 1 serving)

Calories - 227
Carbs - 11
Fat - 9
Protein - 27
Sodium - 579
Fiber - 4