Enchilada Casserole

To go along with my homemade enchilada sauce, we made the most delicious enchilada casserole! My husband and kiddos gobbled it up and it was so tasty, even the next day as leftovers!! It’s pretty easy to throw together and makes for a great warm comfort food during the winter! Here’s the recipe!

Makes 12 servings

2 cups enchilada sauce (try my homemade one if you want!)

8-10 flour tortillas

2 cups shredded chicken (you can use a store bought rotisserie too…easy peasy!)

2 cups shredded Mexican cheese blend

1 cup frozen chopped spinach (optional)

Spray or grease a 9x13 casserole dish and preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.

Pour some enchilada sauce on the bottom of the dish and spread evenly.

Place flour tortillas on top of the sauce, then shredded chicken, then more enchilada sauce, then cheese, then sprinkle on the frozen spinach (we love doing this as a way to infuse more greens in our meals!) Repeat this pattern of layering and make sure the top layer is cheese!

Bake covered with foil for 30 minutes, then uncover and bake for another 10-15 minutes till the cheese is bubble/melty. We also broiled it at the end for 3-4 minutes to get it a little crispy on top!

Let it rest for about 10 minutes, then cut into it and enjoy with a side salad, rice and beans, or on its own!

Shredded BBQ chicken (Instant Pot!)

I have been singing the praises of the instant pot ever since my hubby got it for me for Christmas. It has literally transformed meal prep, helped us eat out WAY less, and makes cooking at home so much easier! I’ve been making shredded chicken almost weekly, so I wanted to share a super easy rendition with you all! 

Shredded chicken is so versatile! I’ve been making it with salsa verde, but also adding BBQ sauce to it as well, which means you can add it to salads, wraps, sandwiches, or just eat it plain!

And the best part is that you can use frozen chicken, make it taste super moist and fresh, and you don’t have to defrost the day before and make sure you plan ahead! You can just straight up throw frozen chicken into the instant pot and have a meal ready in less than 30 minutes. Here’s the super easy recipe! 

Makes 6-8 servings  

8 frozen chicken tenderloins

2-3 frozen chicken thighs  

1 cup chicken broth  

1 cup bbq sauce of choice  

Place the frozen chicken into the IP, along with the broth. Cover and set to sealing, then cook on manual for 22 minutes. Let the pressure release naturally for about 10 mins; then quick release.  

Once the pressure releases, take the chicken out of the IP and place in a bowl. Shred the chicken with two forks, then add the BBQ sauce and mix thoroughly! 

And that’s it! Super easy to throw together and it tastes delicious! Hope y’all get to try this recipe and seriously, if you don’t have an instant pot, go get one TODAY! They are life changing!  

Broccoli Chicken & Cheese Casserole (lite!)

Well, it's Monday morning again, which means my Sunday was full of Super Bowl fun and some night time meal prep! I was pretty exhausted after coming home from my Super Bowl party, so I wanted to whip up a quick and easy dish that I could take to work with me for a few days. I made a very easy and low maintenance version of Creamy Broccoli Chicken and Cheese, without the cream! I never liked creamy dishes growing up, but I do love cheese so I decided to lighten up this usually heavy dish! Here is my recipe for Broccoli Chicken and Cheese Casserole! 

Makes 4 servings:

2 cups raw broccoli

1/2 cup uncooked brown rice (can be omitted if you want, just add extra veggies and chicken!)

1 1/3 cup water

1 container Lemon Pepper Chicken Breast from Trader Joe's (or 12 oz chicken breast any way you like...I just was short on time so used my trusty and yummy TJ's chicken!)

1 cup lite shredded mozzarella cheese (or cheddar if that's your thing, I'm just not a fan!)

Start by steaming the broccoli. I usually just place it in the microwave with a few drops of water on top, but if you have a steamer you can use that as well!

Then, cook the brown rice. I used 1 1/3 cup water for my 1/2 cup of brown rice (remember that brown rice needs a bit more water than white rice!) Bring the water and brown rice to a  boil, then simmer for about 10 minutes.

Add the cooked broccoli to the cooked brown rice, then turn the burner off.

Cook your chicken, then dice it up into little pieces! Add the chicken to the brown rice and broccoli and stir together.

This is where some creativity came into the mix, brought to you by my boyfriend. I added the shredded cheese to the pot, but wanted it to melt evenly throughout the pot. My boyfriend suggested making it into a casserole, which I thought was perfect! I sprayed an 8x8 glass dish and poured the rice, broccoli, chicken, and cheese mixture into it, making sure the cheese was evenly distributed. I baked the casserole on 350 degrees for about 10 minutes, just enough for the cheese to melt. You could also wait till the end to add the cheese and sprinkle it on top of the casserole before placing it in the oven to get the cheese to brown up on top! I just wanted it to melt, which ended up looking like this!

And there you go! This meal is perfect to cut up into squares and take to work or school!

I paired my meal with a nice salad filled with veggies and some olive oil dressing. This was SUCH a quick and easy recipe, filled with protein, fiber, and tons of vitamins, which will leave you feeling great. Hope you all enjoy!

Nutrition facts: 1/4 of recipe

235 calories, 6g fat, 20g carbs, 26g protein, 25% DV Vitamin A, 65% DV Vitamin C, 22% DV Calcium!

Macaroni & Cheese Casserole

Last night, I decided to make my fiancé a macaroni and cheese dish we had been brainstorming together. He LOVES anything mushy, warm, cheesy, and, of course, yummy! He is a big fan of comfort food. I wanted to make him a dish he would like, while making it semi-healthier than the typical macaroni and cheese dish. This recipe tasted much lighter than other similar recipes and left us feeling full without feeling gross. I was so happy with the way this dish turned out, and I hope you are too! 

Macaroni and Cheese Casserole (serves 8)

*4 cups whole wheat fusilli pasta

*1 lb lean ground beef

*1 T olive oil

*1 cup lite Alfredo sauce (I used Bertolli's...it was SO GOOD!)

*2 cups steamed broccoli

*1 cup lite mozzarella cheese (separate into 2, 1/2 cup portions)

*1 cup lite Mexican cheese blend (separate into 2, 1/2 cup portions)

Start out by boiling the fusilli pasta for about 8-10 minutes, or however long it advises on the package.

While the pasta is boiling, heat up 1 T olive oil in a skillet and cook the ground beef until it is brown and in little itty bitty pieces.

Once the pasta cooked, I drained the noodles and rinsed them with water. I added the noodles back into the pot (without the water of course!) and added the ground beef. I steamed the broccoli in the microwave (what can I say, it was a Friday night!) and added that to the pot as well. I added 1/2 a cup of each kind of cheese and the cup of Alfredo sauce, and mixed it all thoroughly in the pot.

I transferred the mixture to a casserole dish (I sprayed with non-stick spray first!), and topped it with the remaining 1/2 cup of each type of cheese.

I baked it uncovered in the oven for about 20 minutes on 375 degrees, then let it broil on high for another 5-7 minutes until it got a little golden brown on top.

We let it cool for about 5 minutes, then dug right in. This recipe is supposed to make 8 servings, but we may or may not have eaten 75% of the dish!!! It was that good!

This dish pulled together in about 45 minutes and was super easy to make! I hope you all get to try it out. You can also add any type of veggies you want like kale, spinach, peppers, onions, anything! Get creative! :)

Have a happy Saturday everyone!

Paleo Kung-Pao Chicken with Vegetables

I am so excited to finally be sharing this recipe! I absolutely love Chinese food, especially Kung Pao chicken with the crunchy toasted peanuts! Growing up, eating Chinese food usually resulted in me “throw out” my healthy eating goals and just indulging in this salty, sweet, saucy, yummy food. This would unfortunately leave me with, shall we say, digestive discomfort, not too long afterwards. Ever since discovering that I have a gluten allergy about a year ago, eating Chinese food has been out of the question for me, since soy sauce contains wheat and is a main ingredient in most Chinese and Asian cooking. However, I always wanted to create a “healthier,” no sugar version of my favorite Chinese dishes in order to enjoy the flavors without the guilt and discomfort soon afterwards!

After experimenting with the paleo lifestyle earlier this year and following the Whole 30 program in March, I finally perfected my very own soy free, gluten free, sugar-free, PALEO Kung Pao Chicken with Cashews recipe! Here it is! J

Kung Pao Chicken w/Cashews (makes 2 serving)

4 chicken tenders

Marinate chicken for about 30 minutes with:

2 T coconut aminos (I found mine at Whole Foods!)

1 tsp Aleppo pepper (or 1-2 tsp cayenne, depending on how spicy you like it!)

1 tsp garlic powder

1 T olive oil

1 tsp garlic powder

While the chicken is marinating, heat up about ½ T olive oil to sauté:

1 onion chopped

1 green bell pepper

1 red bell pepper

Once veggies are cooked, add the chicken with its marinade. Cook chicken all the way through (I usually chop it up in little cubes or strips to make this easier).

While chicken is cooking, you can prepare the sauce by whisking together the following ingredients in a separate bowl:

½ cup water

1/3 cup coconut aminos

S&P (to taste)

1/2 tsp apple cider vinegar

1 T olive oil

Once the chicken is cooked through, add the sauce and lower the heat to a simmer setting. Allow the sauce to thicken up while stirring occasionally, which usually takes about 8-10 minutes. While the chicken and sauce are simmering, toast about 1/4-1/2 cup of raw cashews in a saucepan. This should take no more than 5 minutes over medium heat!

Once the sauce thickens up, turn the heat off and serve! Top with the toasted cashews and green onion slices if desired and serve with cauliflower rice!