Grilled Chicken Margherita Pizzas

These grilled chicken Margherita pizzas are made using tortillas and they are awesome!!! There is so much flavor and both my husband and I thought they were so yummy and that these could go on our "list" of favorite meals.  Mm-mm!!

Grilled Chicken Margherita Pizzas
from Eat Better America

Prep Time: 35 min

Start to Finish: 35 min

makes: 4 pizzas

1/2	tablespoon olive oil
1	clove garlic, finely chopped
2	boneless skinless chicken breasts (about 8 oz) (or pre-cooked grilled chicken slices like Tyson's)
1/2	teaspoon seasoned salt
4	flour tortillas (8 inch) (recommend whole-wheat)
1/2	cup finely shredded part-skim mozzarella cheese (2 oz)
2	plum (Roma) tomatoes, thinly sliced (about 10 oz)
1/4	cup sliced fresh basil leaves

	Heat gas or charcoal grill. In small bowl, mix oil and garlic. Brush chicken breasts with 1 teaspoon of the oil mixture; sprinkle with seasoned salt. Place on grill over medium-high heat. Cover grill; cook 12 to 18 minutes, turning once, until juice of chicken is clear when center of thickest part is cut (170°F). Reduce heat to medium-low.
	On ungreased cookie sheets, place tortillas. Brush with remaining oil mixture. Cut chicken into strips. Arrange chicken strips over tortillas. Sprinkle each with 1/4 cup of the cheese. Top evenly with tomato slices; sprinkle with remaining cheese and basil.
	With wide spatula, carefully slide pizzas onto grill over medium-low heat. Cover grill; cook 3 to 5 minutes, rotating pizzas to avoid hot spots, until cheese is melted and crusts are crisp. Slide pizzas back onto cookie sheets.              1 pizza= 300 calories

Veggie Quesadillas

After loads and eons of junk food and candy yesterday (hello Easter Bunny), I feel confident in saying that I am GLAD to be back on a regular eating schedule again.  ("Easter" seemed to last the whole weekend with one of my best friends getting married on Saturday- Saturday's wedding and Sunday's Easter celebration were just full of free treats and gimmes)

And boy is this recipe perfect for a sugar OD (overdose) reversal.  Because it's full of veggies and healthy goodness.

 

These veggie quesadillas are really, really good.  I promise you that you will not even notice that there is no meat in them.

 

Speaking of meat, I have recently decided that I want to eat far less meat in my diet.  

I am a student at ASU studying nutrition and we recently learned all the details about how we get meat/poultry.  I have always been a meat lover but since that class, I honestly can say that I do not look at meat in the same way.  The few days following last week's lecture, I have found meat to almost appall me- it didn't even TASTE good.  Now, I'm sure that this is probably just a phase that I will outgrow.  However, the following day I read a post on The Healthy Apron called "Meat-Less May."  I was really intrigued to learn that a lot of people are going to try eating vegetarian either partially or completely for the month of May.

Do I dare say I might do it??  I am very curious at how hard it will be.  Will my body will start to crave meat or will I accustom to a meat-less diet?  And how will my body feel?  I know that if vegetarians do not cleverly plan their diets, they can be at risk for low protein and iron intakes.  I will definitely have to get my protein and iron from other  foods like milk and nuts and iron-supplemented cereal.  

I am very interested in this meat-less May idea and am going to do it!  Do you dare try it as well?

Start with this Veggie Quesadilla recipe and you'll find that meat-less cooking is: a) inexpensive, b) delicious, and c) healthy!

Veggie Quesadillas
from Favorite Family Recipes

1 c. frozen corn
1 c. grated zucchini (juices squeezed out)
1/2 bunch cilantro, chopped
2 Tbsp. diced jalapeno (or more if you like it hot)
1 can black beans, drained and rinsed
1/2 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. pepper
1-2 tsp. chili powder
1/2 tsp. cumin
2 c. Monterey Jack cheese (or cheddar or Mexican blend), shredded
flour tortillas (I recommend whole-wheat tortillas)

In a large bowl, combine all ingredients except for the cheese (and tortillas of course). Place mixture in a large skillet and fry until hot. In the meantime, heat a medium-sized skillet over medium heat. Place a tortilla in the pan. On half of the tortilla add a few large scoops of the corn/bean mixture and a little cheese. Fold tortilla over, then flip sides. When cheese is melted, cut in half and serve!

Sour Cream Chicken Enchiladas

Yeah, the white stuff is sour cream.  Sorry for its lack of beauty (sour cream in the oven never makes for a pretty presentation- see my Deep-Dish Taco Squares) but it sure rubs ya right when you take a bite!  

Okay i KNOW this recipe is not the most thigh-friendly (I'm still working on finding a a guilt-free enchilada recipe), but I did have an excuse to make it.

A) It was Fast Sunday.

B) My family was coming over for dinner!  Forrest and I were in charge of making dinner and dessert. (I made the cheesecake for dessert that I posted about earlier this week)

C) It is my mother-in-law's recipe who is a FABULOUS cook.  She gave me a cookbook with Pratt family recipes in it for my bridal shower and I am so excited about it.

Therefore, I was completely justified in making a delicious, cheesy, fatty, delectable Mexican dish!

Sour Cream Chicken Enchiladas

from Terry Pratt

12 corn or flour tortillas

3 cups chopped chicken breasts (cooked)

1/4 c. minced onion

1 pt. sour cream

4 cups green chili sauce*** (see below)

1 lb. jack cheese, grated

salt to taste

Heat tortillas on griddle with a little oil.  Blot.

Mix 1 cup chili sauce with chicken.  Put 1/4 cup chicken mixture on tortilla and roll up.

Place on oblong baking dish (sprayed with Pam) and cover with grated cheese.

Add remaining chili sauce on top.

Bake for 20 minutes at 350 degrees.  Remove from oven and smother sour cream over top and return to oven for 10 minutes.  

Serves 6.

**Green Chili Sauce

1/4 cup salad oil or olive oil

1/2 cup minced onion

1 cup water

salt to taste

clove of garlic or powder

1Tbsp. flour

1 cup diced green chilies

Saute garlic and onion in heavy saucepan.  

Blend in flour with wooden spoon.

Add water, oil and green chilies.  Bring to a boil.  

Simmer for 5 minutes, stirring frequently.

YUM!

Turkey Enchilada Casserole

Seems like casseroles are a typical family dinner- mix a few ingredients together, layer them in a big pan and stick it in the oven, they're simple and easily feed a crowd!

Us Foster kids grew up on enchilada casserole, tuna pasta casserole, lasagna casseroles, and other different assortments of the popular dish.  Now that I'm a little more nutritionally informed, I'm well aware that these casseroles are not easy on hips or thighs.  Sour cream, full-fat cheese, fattening ground-beef are only a few of the ingredients that concoct these calorie monsters.

But not all casseroles are created equal; even though they may taste like it!  This recipe calls for ground turkey which is leaner and healthier than its red-meat cousin, ground-beef.  I PROMISE that not you, or anyone else will be able to tell the difference. In addition, this healthier version has reduced-fat cheeses and corn tortillas, but is loaded with flavors and spices to vamp up the taste factor.  My family and I thought this was SO yummy, I've already made it twice within the past month!

Turkey Enchilada Casserole
Yield: Makes 8-10 servings

1 1/2 pounds ground turkey breast
1/2  cup chopped onion
1 tablespoon  minced garlic
2 tablespoons minced fresh oregano leaves or 1 tablespoon dried
1/2  teaspoon ground cumin
1 teaspoon salad oil or olive oil
1 can (29 oz.) red enchilada sauce
Salt
12 corn tortillas (6 in. wide)
2 cups shredded reduced-fat jack cheese (8 oz.)
Chopped fresh cilantro

1. In a 5- to 6-quart pan over high heat, stir turkey, onion, garlic, oregano, and cumin in oil until turkey is crumbly and no longer pink, about 4 minutes. Stir in 1 cup enchilada sauce. Add salt to taste.
2. Meanwhile, cut tortillas in half. Arrange a fourth of the halves evenly over the bottom of a shallow 3-quart casserole, overlapping to fit. Sprinkle a fourth of the cheese evenly over the tortillas, then top with a third of the turkey mixture and a fourth of the remaining enchilada sauce, spreading each level. Repeat to make two more layers of tortillas, cheese, turkey mixture, and sauce; top with another layer of tortillas and sauce, then cheese.
3. Bake in a 425° regular or convection oven until cheese is melted and casserole is hot in the center, 18 to 20 minutes. Sprinkle with chopped cilantro.  If desired, serve with sour cream.

Nutritional Information

Calories:

249 (20% from fat)

Protein:

27g

Fat:

5.7g (sat 3.1)

Carbohydrate:

23g

Fiber:

1.7g

Sodium:

1048mg

Cholesterol:

58mg