Chicken Tacos

This was a complete last minute thing, because we argued about what to make for dinner. Then we had dinner at 10:30 pm! ugh. But they were delicious, so I couldn't complain. Here is my recipe I put together.

You will need: 

Tortillas

Chicken ( I used boneless skinless chicken breasts)

Italian salad dressing

garlic powder

chili powder

red pepper flakes

Cheese (Taco blend) 

Sour cream

Lettuce

Hot sauce! 

For my chicken, I just cut it up into bite size pieces, we used 4 chicken breasts for the two of us and had some left over.  I cook it on the stove in a frying pan with the Italian salad dressing, I used almost a whole bottle, but I suggest using half, because you will have a lot of sauce still left in the pan. I have cooked chicken like this since I was 16. haha its amazing! Even tho it is not a flavor you would normally put with tacos.. that is why I add the garlic powder, chili powder, and red pepper flakes! So add those to your liking and cook until done! 

Now the next part I tried I found here.  Our recipes were quite similar, but I wanted to use her technique of making the tortillas into actual taco shells.. if you get what I mean. Well 3 mangled tacos later, and some oil burns I decided to just do it my own way.. I just put them in the pan of hot oil for a little on each side, and then folded it over to make the crease, but not long enough so it was too hard to add all the ingredients. Turned out a-ok! 

I really hate that I write full paragraphs to describe how I cook something. Sorry for rambling. 

I may, or may not have had 4 of these. yum. 

Lemon Garlic Tilapia

Yes.. another recipe. Although this one is not spicy at all.. surprise! Eating healthier has made my dishes a lot more plain.. not that they are bad by any means.. just not piling on the hot sauce or making my famous spicy chicken Alfredo (skinny version to come soon.. because its to die for). So here you have it... 

Lemon Garlic Tilapia

Frozen Tilapia(I use Kroger brand.. 3.99 a bag!)

1tbs Garlic 

1tbs Butter

 1/4 cup Lemon juice 

sprinkle with dried parsley

The recipe I adapted from was from skinnytase I love this website! Her recipe calls for 2tbs of butter and only 2tbs of lemon juice.. I used more because I cooked zucchini with mine and wanted everything covered. The Zucchini tends to dry out. 

I made this last night, and only used 1tbs of butter and it seemed fine. Tonight I made it with 2tbs and more lemon juice because the plan was to cook for the fam.. but they had tacos instead!

(I died a little inside from the cheesy fatty goodness)

The fish was still good.. its pretty impossible to screw this one up. 

melt butter in pan

add garlic and saute for a minute or so

add lemon juice 

set aside. 

I cooked mine in a glass casserole dish, layered the fish and zucchini and poured the sauce over everything. Cook at 400 degrees for about 20 min. 

Its honestly really hard for me to say an exact time because I just do the "check to see how it looks" method. I took my fish out when the edges looked like they were starting to brown and the sauce was boiling.

The best part... my 2yr old ate it! 

Each filet is 110 calories! and has 33 grams of protein. Score.    

I apologize for the not so appealing pictures that you might find on awesome food blogs.. I'm an amateur. 

 prep

 Saute

 assemble

Enjoy. 

Spaghetti squash.

This veggie is amazing! Wish I would have known about it sooner. So here is another quick and easy recipe.

Spaghetti Squash (pasta)

1 large spaghetti squash

EVOO

Garlic

Spaghetti sauce

Parmesan cheese

Cut squash length wise

 I suggest microwaving it first to soften in up, its pretty tough to cut through. You can cook it as directed on the label, I cooked mine a little different, and it wasn't as cooked as I would like it to be. 

Scoop out seeds

spread garlic and olive oil in bottom of squash

Bake cut side up at 375 for 45 min. or until squash is softened. 

Then using a fork scoop out the strands. It comes out like noodles! Awesome. 

Pile onto plate, top with sauce and cheese. 

I really REALLY. Love pasta. I could eat it all day. So I really love this alternative. The squash took the flavor of the sauce, it didn't taste vegatable-y at all! 

There are a lot of variations.. next time id like to cook it with meat inside the actual shell. So many possibilities.

and p.s there is only 40 calories per cup! Considering that a cup of pasta noodles as 200 calories. Score. 

Zucchini Boats

Another quick, easy, and healthy dinner.

Zucchini Boats

1 large Zucchini squash

Garlic (I used minced) 

EVOO

Parmesan Cheese

Red pepper flakes 

Cherry tomatoes 

Slice zucchini in half, scoop out seeds making a "boat". 

I then spread garlic and evoo to the bottom of the zucchini, 

layer on the cheese, my spices, then slice up cherry tomatoes and lay those on! 

Bake at 350 for 20-30 min (may depend on your oven) 

Seriously delicious, and about 200 calories for one slice! 

I know I do not give exact amounts of what I use.. but that's how I like to cook! :)

Mini Pizzas

Here is a simple, and easy recipe! Plus it tastes good, and its "skinny".  I love pizza, and now that im trying so desperately to watch what im eating Im trying to find healthier alternatives to the food I love.

English Muffin Pizza's

English Muffins

Low fat Mozzarella cheese

pizza sauce

mini pepperoni's
red pepper flakes- if u like it spicy!

Assemble just as you would any pizza. 

Cook at 375 for 15-20 Minutes

Calories-250 for one muffin! Score.

These were really good, and I didn't feel guilty eating it. Plus the boyfriend ate them, and asked for seconds.. which is a surprise! They are really cute for kids too!