Quick & Easy Taco Lettuce Wraps

I love Mexican food.

If it was up to me, we would seriously have it three times a week for dinner.

Unfortunately for me, my husband doesn't share the same feelings about it.  He tolerates it.  So, occasionally it makes its way into the weekly menu rotation around here.

Whenever he is away, I like to take full advantage, and whip up a bunch of my favorites to indulge in in his absence.

Recently, I was inspired, when my friend Erika posted a photo of some taco lettuce wraps on her Instagram feed.

Seeing as I'm currently attempting to work my way back to some form of a pre-baby bod, these totally appealed to me, so I decided to whip up a batch of my own.

This version honestly couldn't be quicker and easier to throw together, they're low in fat and calories, are totally versatile when it comes to toppings, and they require minimal ingredients.

Here's what you need...

Ingredients:

1 pound of lean ground turkey or ground beef

1/2 of a small yellow onion, diced

1/2 cup of frozen yellow corn

1/2 a can of Rotel diced tomatoes and chiles

1 package of taco seasoning

1 pkg Hearts of Romaine

1 Tbs olive oil

additional toppings of your choice (I went with diced avocado and a few dashes of hot sauce, but you could totally throw shredded cheese, cilantro, sour cream, etc. on top)

Instructions:

In a skillet over medium heat, add diced onion to olive oil and sauté until soft and translucent.

Add in ground meat and cook until no longer pink.

Add the taco seasoning, following the directions on the package, as well as the Rotel and corn.  Allow to cook for a few minutes, until sauce thickens and corn is no longer frozen.

Clean and separate Romaine lettuce leaves.

Spoon taco meat mixture onto lettuce leaves and top with desired toppings.

Enjoy!

xoxo

Lightened Up Creamy Chicken & Broccoli Cassrole

It has been pouring here, literally all. day. long.  The temperature dropped about 10 or more degrees, and the wind has been howling.

Blame it on the pregnancy hormones, or maybe it is just the monsoon going down outside, but ever since lunch time I have been craving comfort food.

So, I decided to do what any woman in her right mind would do, and took to Pinterest to search for the perfect recipe to accommodate my needs.  Naturally I was tempted by the apple cider caramels and pumpkin-sour cream coffee cakes that popped up in my feed, but then I stumbled across this recipe for creamy chicken and broccoli casserole, and I just knew, it was exactly what I was longing for.

Now I'd be lying if I said that the cooler weather doesn't instantly make me want to ditch the grill and head straight for my crock pot, and that cheesy, creamy goodness doesn't make me weak in the knees. However, in the spirit of trying not to gain 100+ pounds this pregnancy, I instantly began wondering if I could make this recipe at least, somewhat, low-fat.

After a trip to the grocery store, and a few ingredient substitutions, I was ready to throw together my version... which in my opinion, has to be just as good as the original.  I didn't feel like anything was missing while eating this, it totally satisfied my cravings, and hopefully I spared myself a few added pounds... Even if I did go back for a second helping, you know, for the baby.

Lightened Up Creamy Chicken & Broccoli Casserole

(adapted from this recipe found on Pinterest)

Ingredients

3 chicken breasts, cooked & shredded

1 can of cream of chicken soup

1 can of 98% fat free cream of chicken soup

1 cup of light sour cream

1 cup of shredded 2% milk cheddar cheese

1 cup of 2% milk colby jack shredded cheese

1 bag frozen broccoli florets, thawed and chopped

s&p to taste

Cook chicken and shred (I love cooking chicken breasts in the crock pot on low in chicken broth to shred and have on hand for the week for recipes, so that is the method I used, but you could certainly just boil your chicken.)  Mix all ingredients together in a large bowl.  Transfer mixture to a 9x13 pan sprayed with cooking spray.  Bake at 375 degrees for 30 minutes.  Serve over rice.

This was super easy to throw together and will no doubt be great leftover.  The perfect simple dinner for a chilly rainy night.

What's For Dinner

As promised, here is the first, of what will hopefully be many posts, where I share our dinner plans for the week.  If you didn't catch my most recent Swoon Worthy post, where I admitted that I am totally stuck in a dinner rut, and have been feeling in desperate need of some dinner inspiration, consider yourself caught you up to speed.

As I previously mentioned, many of these meal ideas will be linked to the sources where I found them, i.e. Pinterest, food blogs, magazines, and the occasional personal recipe. There likely won't be anything super fancy, we eat a lot of chicken, and tend to go for appetizers on Fridays... a little Happy Hour at home, if you will.

If nothing else, I'm hoping these weekly posts will keep me motivated to find new and different recipes to try, but I am hopeful that you will find some inspiration here as well.

So, without further ado, here's "What's for Dinner" this week:

Monday

Chicken Fajita Pasta  served with a side salad, and some garlic bread.  I will likely substitute fat free half and half for the heavy cream that this recipe calls for, and may use whole wheat pasta.

Tuesday

Pizza Chicken Roulades served with a side of broccoli and potatoes roasted in olive oil, s&p

Wednesday

Grilled pizza night! Sometimes I make my own dough, and sometimes I use store bought dough.  I roll it out, brush it with olive oil, and a little s&p, and then I grill it until it is not quite crispy or done.  Then we top them with sauce (store bought, or I sometimes buy a can of San Marzano tomatoes, and I throw them in the food processor with a clove of garlic, some s&p, a Tbs of Italian seasoning, and a tsp of red wine vinegar), and whatever toppings we have on hand, and throw them in the oven at 450 for a few minutes until the cheese is bubbling!

Thursday

Salsa Chicken and One Pan Mexican Quinoa "burrito bowls"

Friday

Quesadillas using leftover Salsa Chicken, homemade guacamole and chips. We usually fill large flour tortillas with chicken, shredded Mexican blend cheese, and canned green chiles, and we dip them in salsa and sour cream.

If dinner this week seems pretty simple, that's because it is.  I like things that are easy to prepare and don't require a million ingredients.  I do enjoy cooking, and like to try new things, so I promise not every week will be so boring.

Please feel free to send recipes and recommendations my way.  I'm always looking for fun new ideas to test out!  Hope you all have a great week!

-J