Chili "Chik'n" Tacos

This was adapted from Clean Eating Magazine to make it vegan.

1 package of Morningstar Chicken Strips
1 green bell pepper, cut into strips
1 red onion, sliced
1 lime, juiced
Shredded lettuce
A small handful of chopped cilantro
1 avocado, chopped
1/3 cup vegan sour cream
Sea salt
1 teaspoon chili powder
Flour tortillas

Place avocado and sour cream in blender with a dash of salt and 1/2 the lime juice. Blend until smooth.

Heat a cast iron skillet to medium-high and toss in still frozen chik'n strips. Sprinkle with chili powder and sauté until browned. Squeeze 1/2 a lime over the chik'n.

Warm tortillas in oven or microwave.

Assemble tacos by placing the avocado cream in the center of a tortilla then top with chik'n. Add green pepper strips, onions, cilantro and lettuce. Sprinkle with sea salt. Enjoy!

The avocado cream made this special. It cooled things off nicely. I had 2 and was left very satisfied but not overly full. I will certainly make these again. It was super quick too.

Turkey and Black Bean Tacos

Original Recipe


It's another taco night. I found the corn tortillas worked much better this time. There isn't really anything new or exciting about this recipe, but it's fast and good. And by not using "taco kits" you are decreasing sodium and who knows what else is in those spice packets. 

INGREDIENTS:

•  corn tortillas
• 1 lb extra-lean ground turkey
• 1 15-oz can low-sodium black beans, rinsed and drained
• 1 cup, plus 2 tbsp chunky low-sodium salsa
• lettuce
• olive oil
• salt and pepper

INSTRUCTIONS:

1. Preheat oven to 350°F. Loosely wrap tortillas in foil, making 2 packets of 6 tortillas each. Place packets on a baking sheet and bake for 10 to 15 minutes, or until hot.
2. Coat a skillet with olive oil and heat on medium-high. Add turkey and cook until lightly browned and cooked through, about 6 to 8 minutes, breaking up meat as you go. Season with salt and pepper, to taste. Remove from heat and set aside.
3. Unwrap foil packets and place 2 tortillas on each of 6 plates. For each plate, distribute 1/2 cup turkey, 1/4 cup beans, 3 tbsp salsa and 1/3 cup lettuce evenly between both tortillas. Serve immediately. 

I varied it a bit by adding cumin to the turkey as it cooked. Once the turkey was done I added the salsa and black beans to the turkey and let it heat through. My tortillas were small and once I added the mixture there wasn't much room. So I divided it amongst 3 tortillas for me. Made it much easier to eat. 

Ever since Willa gave up naps her bed time ritual starts early. So in an effort to eat supper with her I have to cook pretty early in the afternoon. I've usually finished my meal by 4:30 or 5:00.  Fast meals like this are perfect for weeknights.  

Baja-Style Fish Tacos

I got this recipe from The Best of Clean Eating, a cookbook. It describes Baja tacos as being beer battered and fried so they lightened it up.  This is a very fast meal to put together. Perfect for a hot day. For some reason I thought the recipe called for corn tortillas so that is what I bought. I found I didn't care for the corn tortillas so I would probably use whole grain tortillas instead next time.

Ingredients:

whole grain tortillas
1 lb. tilapia fillets (I had 2 fillets, which was plenty for 2 people.)
1/2 fresh lime
1/4 tsp. kosher salt
1/8 ground black pepper
1/2 cup plain Greek yogurt (I didn't have plain Greek yogurt so I used plain organic yogurt)
1 small jalapeno pepper, minced
1/4 tsp oregano (I was out so I used Italian blend which contained oregano, basil, etc)
1/4 tsp cumin (I couldn't even taste cumin so more was needed)
1 cup shredded cabbage (I bought the pre-shredded slaw mix to save time so it had a few carrots)
1 avocado, cut into slices

Preheat oven to 350. Wrap tortillas in foil. Place fish on baking sheet and season with salt and pepper. Sprinkle with lime juice. Place fish and tortillas in oven. After about 4-5 minutes remove the tortillas. Let the fish cook through (took mine 10 minutes.)

While the fish is baking, make the sauce. Mix together the yogurt, jalapeno and spices. I added a dash of salt as well.

Remove fish and break apart with a fork. Assemble tacos: cabbage and fish, top with sauce and avocado.

This might make a better lunch than supper unless you are wanting something light. I ate 2 and I do feel full.  Little Miss wouldn't even try the fish or the avocado. Go figure. I would definitely make this again.

Word of warning: DON'T scratch your nose after cutting a jalapeno!  Even though I washed my hands with soap, it burned SO bad. I'll have to handle the pepper with gloves next time. Adventures in cooking, indeed.