Enchilada Lasagna

Pinterest inspiration strikes again!  I was looking for a recipe that would help me use up a lot of things I had sitting around in my pantry.  This recipe from mogwai soup did just that, allowing me to use 3 cans that otherwise may not have been used.

I followed the blogger's basic recipe and method, but made a lot of changes, (which hopefully made it a teeny bit healthier).  Some of the changes include: reducing the canned soup to 1 can (rather than 2), reducing the cheese by half, reducing the tortillas, adding onions and canned tomatoes. Because of the addition of the tomatoes, the color of my filling was not as white and creamy looking as the blogger.  The tempting, cheesy top, however will definitely draw in the masses, who are bound to come back for seconds!  To counteract this slight color change, and to add to flavor, I think next time I'll be adding in a half (or maybe full) container of enchilada sauce.

Here is the recipe, heavily inspired from here.

Enchilada Lasagna

Ingredients:

1 tbsp of vegetable oil
1 clove of garlic, grated
1/4 cup chopped onions
1 lbs chicken breast, chopped to bite pieces (marinated overnight in 1 tsp grill seasoning and 3-4 TB Zesty Italian dressing)
1 tsp taco seasoning
2 1/2 cups of mexican blend cheese
1 can of healthy request cream of celery soup (or cream of any other soup)
1 cup sour cream
1/2 cup canned and chopped green chillies (not drained) (reduce amount for milder flavor)
1 can diced tomatoes with basil, garlic and oregano (no salt added), drained
about 6 small corn tortillas
sliced, jarred jalapenos (optional)

Preheat oven to 425 degrees F.  Heat oil in a skillet.  Add onions and garlic and saute until the onions are translucent, 3-4 minutes.  Be careful not to let the garlic burn.  Add chicken pieces only (not the liquid marinade).  Sprinkle with taco seasoning, and cook over high heat until brown, about 5 minutes.  (You don't need to cook it through completely because it will continue to cook in the oven).  Set the chicken aside, and let cool.  I chopped the chicken into a small dice once it cooled .

In a bowl combine cream of celery soup, sour cream, chicken and green chillies. Put 1/2 cup of cream mix on the bottom of the baking dish (I used 13 x 9) and spread. Layer a row of tortillas (cut to fill in corners) followed with cream/chicken mix and cheese. You should be able to make 2 layers like this (cream, tortillas, cream, cheese, tortillas, cream, cheese).  Top with jalapenos, if using.

Bake, uncovered for 20 - 25 minutes.  Let cool for 10 minutes before serving.  Serve with a dollop of sour cream, guacamole, or sliced avocado or whatever else you like to serve with your enchiladas (sliced onions, tomatoes, salsa, etc).

Triple Chocolate Chunk Muffins

How can something with the words triple chocolate chunk in the title be good for you?  It seems a little too good to be true, doesn't it?  Well, do not despair, because these muffins are extremely delicious and satisfying, yet filled with the wholesome goodness of oats and the protein power of Greek yogurt. Yes, there is the addition of sugar substitute and chocolate chips to this, but anything in moderation is good.

Once again, this is one of those recipes found on Pinterest.  A cute little 16 year old girl hosts a blog here.  The link is no longer available via Pinterest because some users reported it as spam.  I'm not sure what the deal with that is, because it seems like a legit site.  Who knows?  I'm just happy to come across this wonderful recipe, which my 7 year old devoured in 15 seconds flat!

You can see that my muffins didn't rise too much.  It is important to fill up the cups all the way, if you want tall, rounded muffins.

A few tips:

The recipe suggests to use foil cupcake/muffin liners.  My foil liners were lined with paper, so I just used paper liners.  All of my muffins stuck to the paper, and I wasn't able to remove them easily.  (No worries, as neither my son or I have any trouble gobbling up the tiny leftover bits directly from the liners!)  To avoid this, next time I think I will just spray my liners with a little cooking spray, or use silicone baking cups.

So every recipe for muffins/cupcakes that I have ever seen always recommends to fill the cups 3/4ths of the way up.  I did this, and had so much batter left over.  I was able to fill a little six inch silicone mold (which I sprayed, by the way and had no issues getting the mini cake out) and had a nice little cake along with my 12 muffins.  I would recommend filling the muffin cups all the way for nice, tall, rounded muffin tops.

Finally, if you are not on any sugar restricted diet, I would recommend using 1/2 sugar and 1/2 splenda (or even all sugar - which means these will not be healthier anymore).  Although still delicious, there is a slight after taste of the splenda, which I am not accustomed to yet.

Here's the recipe, with some of my changes and tips!

Triple Chocolate Chunk Muffin Knock-Offs of Whole Food’s 6 Dollar per 4 Chocolate Chunk VitaTop Muffins (via healthyisalwaysbetter.tumblr.com)

Ingredients:

1 3/4 c oats
3 egg whites
3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa
1/2 cup unsweetened applesauce
1 tsp. vanilla extract
1/2 cup plain Greek yogurt (or regular plain low fat yogurt)
1/2 tsp cream of tartar (or 1-1/2 Tbsp. vinegar) (I used the vinegar)
1-1/2 tsp. baking powder
1-1/2 tsp. baking soda
1/4 tsp. salt
1 cup hot water
1 cup sugar substitute (like Splenda granular) OR 1/4 cup + 2 tbs stevia OR Regular sugar*
1/2 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips (or use white chocolate or peanut butter chips!)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line 2 (12-cup) mini muffin pans (or one large 12 cup muffin pan) with foil cupcake liners (spray liners with oil spray or use silicone cups also sprayed with oil spray), or spray muffin tin with non-stick cooking spray. Set aside.

In a blender, (or food processor), mix all of the ingredients together, except for the chocolate chips. Blend until oats are ground and mixture is smooth.

Place mixture in a bowl and gently stir in 1/2 of the chocolate chips (set the rest aside). Scoop mixture into prepared muffin pans, filling all the way to the top of liner.

Place muffins tins in the oven for 10 minutes. After 10 minutes, remove muffins from the oven (but don’t shut oven off), and distribute the other half of the chocolate chips on top of each muffin.

Place the muffins back into the oven and bake for an additional 2-5 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out clean. *Note, you could skip this step by putting all of the chips in the batter, and baking the muffins for 12-15 min straight, but this method gives the muffins the traditional ‘VitaTop Muffin’ look with the chocolate chips on top!

Cool muffins before removing from pan. ENJOY!!!

Servings: 12 Big Muffins or 24 Smaller Muffins
Calories: 116 Calories Per large Muffin or 58 Calories Per mini Muffin *The calorie count will change if you use regular sugar.

Deep Dish Cookie Pie

Yesterday I mentioned how much I love Pinterest.  This recipe is proof of that love!  I am also in love with Chocolate Covered Katie and her healthy dessert blog.  First of all, I love dessert.  Second of all, they are healthier (but still 'oh so good').  What's not to love?

This chocolate covered pie uses garbanzo beans or navy beans. (I used the garbanzos).  At first there is such a distinct smell to the beans that you wonder, is this going to smell like this when it's cooked?  No.  It smells divine, just like a deep dish cookie pie should!  Even though it was healthy, even though my children saw the beans going in, they begged to have more at every meal until the pie was finally all gone.  That is also proof of how good something healthier (when done right) can be!

Now, I'm saying healthier, and not healthy. This is not diet food, people.  There is still sugar (although I replaced half of the brown sugar that is called for with splenda), and chocolate chips and chocolate sauce or ice cream at the end.  But the flour is replaced by beans which will provide protein, fiber, iron, manganese, and folate.  All that from a dessert!  So without any further delay or description, here is the recipe!

Deep - Dish Chocolate Chip Cookie Pie

(recipe, adapted slightly from Chocolatecoveredkatie.com)

2 cans white beans or garbanzos (drained and rinsed) (500g total, once drained)
1 cup quick oats (or certified-gf quick oats)
1/4 cup unsweetened applesauce
3 T canola oil
2 tsp pure vanilla extract
1/2 tsp baking soda
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1 and 1/2 cups brown sugar (You can sub evaporated cane juice or white sugar). I used 1/2 brown sugar and 1/2 regular splenda)
1 cup chocolate chips

Blend everything (except the chips) very well in a good food processor (not a blender). Mix in chips, and pour into an oiled pan (I used a 10-inch springform pan, but you can use a smaller pan if you want a reallydeep-dish pie.) Cook at 350F for around 35-40 minutes. Let stand at least 10 minutes before removing from the pan.

Overnight Oats

So like a lot of other people, I have been finding amazing new recipes on Pinterest! I'm addicted, but the good thing is that it is also productive (well, most of the time)!  One recipe I decided to try was the overnight oats.  There aren't many ingredients involved, but one gave me a hard time - Chia seeds.  Yes, you remember correctly, cha cha cha chia!  The same seeds, I believe that are used with those cute Chia pets go into this oatmeal.  There are many different combos, but I've only tried one so far (strawberry jam with bananas).  I hope to try many more combinations in the near future!

This breakfast provides a healthy start to the day because it is chock full of fiber, protein and Omega 3's.  I have provided the recipe below (taken from pepperlynn.com) with lots of variations.  Enjoy!

Makes 1 large serving.

• ½ cup rolled oats (not quick cooking)
• ½ cup plain Greek yogurt
• 2/3 cup milk
• 1 tablespoon chia seeds

Mix all the ingredients in a bowl or jar, cover with a lid or plastic wrap, and allow the mixture to sit in the refrigerator overnight. In the morning, stir in the mix-ins of your choosing.

Variation #1 – Pumpkin Peanut Butter

• ½ cup pumpkin puree
• 2 tablespoons natural peanut butter
• 2 tablespoons pure maple syrup
• ¼ teaspoon ground cinnamon

Variation #2 – Strawberry Banana (I used this option)

• 2 to 2 ½ tablespoons strawberry jam
• 1 small banana, mashed (I used sliced rather than mashed)

Tips and Tidbits (from pepperlynn.com)

• The sky is the limit when it comes to the possible flavor combinations! In addition to the toppings I mentioned above, you could add any of the following: dried coconut, granola, nuts, ground flax seed, Nutella, cocoa powder, chocolate chips, or fresh or dried fruit.
• If you don’t have Greek yogurt on hand, feel free to use whatever type of yogurt is available. You may want to reduce the amount of milk depending upon the consistency of the yogurt so that the final result is thick and creamy.
• What are chia seeds? These tiny, dark colored seeds can be found in most health food stores and are a nutritional powerhouse of fiber, omega-3 fatty acids, antioxidants, vitamins, and minerals. Chia is also a complete protein, containing all 8 essential amino acids.

The craving for overnight oats sometimes strikes unexpectedly, and I don’t want to wait overnight before consuming a bowl of this healthful treat. In these instances, I reduce the liquid slightly and allow the oats to soak for at least 30 minutes. The more soaking time, the better, but a half hour is usually sufficient to soften the oats to my liking.