Tag: Lunch Recipes

Salsa Chicken Bowl with Cilantro Lime Cauliflower Rice Low Carb/Keto – Instant Pot/Ninja Foodi Friendly Recipe

Salsa Chicken Bowl with Cilantro Lime Cauliflower Rice Recipe

This Salsa Chicken Bowl with Cilantro Lime Cauliflower Rice Recipe is keto and low carb friendly. You can make this Salsa Chicken Bowl recipe using your instant pot, your slow cooker or your Ninja Foodi! This comes together quickly and is a great dinner or lunch option!

Do you love getting a big burrito from Chipotle, Freebirds or (here in Texas) Bullritos?

Oh my gosh, it is one of my FAVORITE things to eat! So filling, so many flavors.

Burritos make this Texas girl’s heart happy.

(FYI, if you like Salsa Chicken, you might check out these Ridiculously Easy Chicken Tacos!) 

However, have you ever calculated the nutritional info on those bad boys?

Well, if you want to continue eating them…I recommend you do NOT.

You might get more nutritional bang for your buck by simply omitting the tortilla, but you still have the 2 + cups of rice to deal with.

You might say, just get a salad?

The thing is, if I wanted a salad…I would have gone some place to get a salad. I want a burrito darnit!

This Salsa Chicken bowl combines all of my favorite parts of a restaurant quality burrito bowl with a fraction of the carbs!

It comes together SO quickly too!

Salsa Chicken Bowl with Cilantro Lime Cauliflower Rice

Ingredients:

  • Steamable cauliflower rice in a bag
  • 3 limes
  • Cilantro
  • Butter (1 Tablespoon)
  • Chicken breast
  • Jar of salsa
  • Guacamole
  • Sour cream
  • Shredded cheddar

Directions:

  1. First off, you need to make the chicken. Just throw your chicken breasts (I used 5 thin sliced chicken breasts) into your slow cooker (4-6 hours on low), Instant Pot (just press the chicken button) or Ninja Foodi (15 minutes) with the jar of salsa (you can reserve a bit of salsa if you want some to top your burrito bowl!).
  2. Meanwhile, go ahead and steam your cauli rice per the directions on the bag.
  3. Melt the butter and then add your cauli rice to a saucepan
  4. Next, add lime juice and salt and pepper to taste.
  5. Top with cilantro (this is by taste!) and put your lid on, keep warm on low until your chicken is finished.
  6. Shred chicken in your kitchen aid (or with 2 forks)
  7. Open cauli rice pot and stir
  8. Add cauli rice to your bowl, then top with chicken.
  9. Now top with guacamole, sour cream and cheddar   

Voila! Enjoy!

You can also use the carnitas recipe from this post in lieu of chicken and it tastes amazing as well!

Salsa Chicken Low Carb/Keto Bowl with Cilantro Lime Cauliflower Rice – Instant Pot/Ninja Foodi Friendly Recipe
Ingredients
  • Steamable cauliflower rice
  • 3 limes
  • Cilantro
  • Chicken breast
  • Jar of salsa
  • Guacamole
  • Sour cream
  • Shredded cheddar
Instructions
  1. First off, you need to make the chicken. Just throw your chicken breasts (I used 5 thin sliced chicken breasts) into your slow cooker (4-6 hours on low), Instant Pot (just press the chicken button) or Ninja Foodi (15 minutes) with the jar of salsa (you can reserve a bit of salsa if you want some to top your burrito bowl!).
  2. Meanwhile, go ahead and steam your cauli rice per the directions on the bag.
  3. Melt the butter and then add your cauli rice to a saucepan
  4. Next, add lime juice and salt and pepper to taste.
  5. Top with cilantro (this is by taste!) and put your lid on, keep warm on low until your chicken is finished.
  6. Shred chicken in your kitchen aid (or with 2 forks)
  7. Open cauli rice pot and stir
  8. Add cauli rice to your bowl, then top with chicken.
  9. Now top with guacamole, sour cream and cheddar   
3.5.3251

 

 

Greek Chicken Salad Recipe

Do you love chicken salad? If so, you’ll love this Greek Chicken salad!

This is great on crackers or on toasted bread.

Greek Chicken Salad

Inspired by Nature’s Own Bread

Ingredients: 

  • 1/4 cup plain nonfat  yogurt
  • 1 tablespoon lemon juice
  • 1 clove of minced garlic
  • 1 cup diced chicken breast
  • 1/3 cup diced English Hothouse Cucumber
  • 1/4 cup diced red onion
  • 1/2 cup feta cheese
  • 1/2 teaspoon dried oregano

Directions: 

  1. Mix oregano, yogurt, lemon juice, garlic and cheese together in a large bowl.
  2. Add chicken, cucumber and onion
  3. Chill until ready to serve.

Enjoy!

Greek Chicken Salad Recipe
Ingredients
  • 1/4 cup plain nonfat yogurt
  • 1 tablespoon lemon juice
  • 1 clove of minced garlic
  • 1 cup diced chicken breast
  • 1/3 cup diced English Hothouse Cucumber
  • 1/4 cup diced red onion
  • 1/2 cup feta cheese
  • 1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
Instructions
  1. Mix oregano, yogurt, lemon juice, garlic and cheese together in a large bowl.
  2. Add chicken, cucumber and onion
  3. Chill until ready to serve.
3.5.3208

 

My Homemade Chicken Noodle Soup Recipe

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This might seem like an ODD time of year to post a recipe for Chicken Noodle Soup.

It’s July after all, and hot soup is the last thing on our minds most days.

Until that summer cold comes along and knocks us out.

We moved last month and the mixture of moving, swimming, going on playdates, etc made for excellent “getting sick” conditions in my family. In fact, my husband is STILL battling his cold.

So last week, I set to work on making a big huge pot of my yummy Homemade Chicken Noodle soup!

This soup is fabulous. The secret is a bit of a shortcut I stumbled on by accident a couple of years ago.

You START with an already cooked rotisserie chicken from the supermarket.

Now you don’t HAVE to go this route. You can just purchase your own whole chicken, but I really do recommend you roast it and season it first. Something about that already cooked chicken makes this broth AMAZING.

You might not have a need to make this homemade Chicken Noodle Soup this summer, but bookmark it for the fall. Because you’ll want to make it (sick or not) once the weather cools off!

Homemade Chicken Noodle Soup

Ingredients:

Broth

  • Rotisserie Chicken
  • 1 Onion cut into chunks
  • 2 carrots cut into large chunks
  • 4 stalks of celery cut into chunks
  • About 6 cups of water (more if your chicken is pretty big. You want the water to cover the chicken just about)
  • 4 chicken bouillon cubes (optional, it does make the broth a lot saltier…we like it that way though!)
  • salt & pepper to taste
  • poultry seasoning (I usually do about a heaping tablespoon. I use Chef Paul Prudhomme’s Magic Seasoning Blends ~ Poultry Magic, 2-Ounce Bottle)

Soup

  • Chicken picked off rotisserie chicken
  • diced onion
  • diced carrot
  • diced celery
  • Amish Kitchen Wide Egg Noodles (you can use any  noodles, these just make the soup extra special to me)

Directions: 

  1. Go ahead and pick the chicken off the rotisserie chicken and set it aside. I like to cut it into bite sized chunks.
  2. Fill your pot with all of the ingredients for the broth and bring to a boil.
  3. Bring down to a simmer and let simmer until the chicken carcass falls apart easily.
  4. Using a large colander, go ahead and strain your broth into another pot. Be careful, you can easily burn yourself.
  5. You can either throw away what remains or find some way to make use of it. (I typically pick out any chicken that fell off the bones and use that in the soup and then throw the rest away).
  6. Now you’ll want to put your diced veggies into the soup. Use as much as you want. Depending on how you want your broth to veggie ratio to be. If I’m sick with a sore throat, I tend to want minimal veggies/more broth. If I am looking to be filled up, I use more veggies.
  7. Simmer until the veggies are soft, then add in chicken and noodles. Bring to a boil and then let simmer once again until noodles are soft.
  8. You might want to season a bit more at this point. You can control the salt in this soup by adding more or less, but chicken soup is always slightly on the salty side so keep that in mind for maximum flavor.
  9. Serve!

I hope you enjoy this fabulous soup. I know I do!

My Homemade Chicken Noodle Soup Recipe
Ingredients
  • Broth
  • Rotisserie Chicken
  • 1 Onion cut into chunks
  • 2 carrots cut into large chunks
  • 4 stalks of celery cut into chunks
  • About 6 cups of water (more if your chicken is pretty big)
  • 4 chicken bouillon cubes
  • salt & pepper to taste
  • poultry seasoning (I usually do about a heaping tablespoon. I use Chef Paul Prudhomme’s Magic Seasoning Blends ~ Poultry Magic, 2-Ounce Bottle)
  • Soup
  • Chicken picked off rotisserie chicken
  • diced onion
  • diced carrot
  • diced celery
  • Amish Kitchen Wide Egg Noodles (you can use any noodles, these just make the soup extra special to me)
Instructions
  1. Go ahead and pick the chicken off the rotisserie chicken and set it aside. I like to cut it into bite sized chunks.
  2. Fill your pot with all of the ingredients for the broth and bring to a boil.
  3. Bring down to a simmer and let simmer until the chicken carcass falls apart easily.
  4. Using a large colander, go ahead and strain your broth into another pot. Be careful, you can easily burn yourself.
  5. You can either throw away what remains or find some way to make use of it. (I typically pick out any chicken that fell off the bones and use that in the soup and then throw the rest away).
  6. Now you’ll want to put your diced veggies into the soup. Use as much as you want. Depending on how you want your broth to veggie ratio to be. If I’m sick with a sore throat, I tend to want minimal veggies/more broth. If I am looking to be filled up, I use more veggies.
  7. Simmer until the veggies are soft, then add in chicken and noodles. Bring to a boil and then let simmer once again until noodles are soft.
  8. You might want to season a bit more at this point. You can control the salt in this soup by adding more or less, but chicken soup is always slightly on the salty side so keep that in mind for maximum flavor.
  9. Serve!
3.2.1251

 

 

Fun and Frugal Tuna Cakes on $5 Dinners!

I have a guest post recipe over on $5 Dinners today! This recipe is for super fun and frugal tuna cakes! Be sure to check it out and put it on the menu for the week.

Heather’s Tuna Cakes

Also want to give a big WELCOME! to $5 Dinners readers! I have some frugal recipes on this site, money saving tips and of course tons of hot deals and freebies! Stick around and check out the Start Here tab for more information.

Be sure to enter the $100 or Kindle Re-Design Bash Giveaway going on right now as well!

Enjoy!

Fun & Frugal Bean & Pasta Soup

So I have definitely been on a new recipe kick lately. I am trying to eat healthier and lose weight and to be honest…I’ve never tried to lose weight AND clip coupons at the same time. Losing weight for me has always resulted in higher grocery bills. Not because healthy food is more expensive, it’s really not. Mainly because to keep things interesting and to stay on track, I have to have a wider, more interesting selection of food available to me.

This generally results in higher grocery bills, which in the past I just chalked up to getting healthier. Well, this time around…I wanted to do it right.

I don’t want to raise our grocery budget to accommodate losing weight.

That makes it seem like weight loss and health are short term goals and eventually we’ll go back to where we were. We’re not going to do that. So in addition to making our new menu lifestyle changes, we also have to make a new budget lifestyle changes. This means changing the way I shop (a little) and changing the way I cook (a lot).

Everyone has those fall back recipes that they make when ideas escape them and they just want dinner to be as quick and painless as possible. Unfortunately for me, my go to recipes don’t exactly fit into my new lifestyle. So I need to find new go to recipes. The stakes are high for these test recipes though. Rather then JUST being healthy or JUST being frugal…they have to be both…and so much more.

  • Healthy
  • Tasty
  • Frugal
  • Kid Friendly
  • Adult Friendly
  • NOT Diet Food

This next recipe fills all of the above criteria and more. My picky picky son even ate most of this soup! If that’s not a testimonial for this yummy soup…I’m not sure what else is? So without further ado…

Fun & Frugal Bean & Pasta Soup

adapted from Taste Of Home Comfort Food Diet Cookbook

Ingredients:

  • 1 cup small pasta (we used macaroni, but if you can find alphabet pasta…I’d totally use that if your kids will be eating with you!)
  • 2 celery ribs thinly sliced
  • 2 carrots peeled and sliced thin
  • 1 medium onion diced
  • 1 garlic clove minced
  • 1 tbspn olive oil
  • 2 cups water
  • 1 can (14 1/2 ounces) diced tomatoes (undrained)
  • 1 1/2 cup low sodium chicken broth
  • 1 tspn dried basil
  • 1/2 tspn dried rosemary
  • 1/4 tspn salt
  • 1/8 tspn pepper
  • 1 can (15 oz) cannellini beans rinsed and drained
  • 2 cups fresh spinach (I used one  cup because I wanted the kids to eat it!)
  • 1/4 cup shredded Parmesan (I actually left this out because I forgot…you totally don’t need it)
  1. Cook the pasta according to the package directions. Drain and set aside.

  2. Meanwhile add olive oil to a deep pan or pot. Add celery, carrots, onion and garlic and sautee until nice and soft.

  3. Add water, chicken broth, tomatoes, basil, rosemary, salt and pepper and bring to a boil. Turn down the heat and let simmer, covered, for about 10 minutes. Meanwhile, chop spinach

  4. Add beans & spinach and let simmer about 5 minutes longer.

  5. Add pasta* just before serving. Top with parm if desired.

*If you aren’t going to eat this all in one sitting…it’s up to you if you add all the pasta to the soup right away or if you store it separately and add pasta as you heat it up. I poured all the pasta in because I don’t mind my pasta being mushy. You might not feel the same!

Enjoy!

Nutrition Info: 1 1/2 cups= 218 calories/ 5 g fat/ 35 g carbs/ 7 g fiber /9 g protein 5 Points Plus on Weight Watchers

I wish I had gotten pics of the kids eating this. Lizzie ate it so fast that we thought maybe she spilled her soup. Noah LOVED the broth and the macaroni. He still shied away from the veggies, but I’m convinced some nutrition leached into the broth during cooking!


Ask the Readers: Are you enjoying all the recipes lately? Anything you’d like to see? Please let me know!

Quick & Easy “French Bread” Pizza

Tot Tuesday is a weekly feature where I highlight a special kids activity, frugal recipe for kids, kids tutorial, etc.


 Do your kids like pizza? Why am I even asking? Of course they do! If you are anything like me though, inevitably when they ask I either A. don’t feel like making the crust and don’t have any frozen or B. Don’t feel like spending money on expensive delivery.

So today when my son asked for pizza, I quickly improvised with food I already had laying around! I call these French Bread Pizzas because they are made on leftover french bread rolls from some sandwiches we had late last week. You could easily do this on hot dog buns or really any kind of leftover bread you have laying around though. If it looks like pizza, and it has cheese and sauce…most kids don’t care!

Quick & Easy “French Bread” Pizza (sub any kind of bread you like for French Bread)

Ingredients:

  • Bread…I used french bread sub rolls
  • Tomato sauce
  • part skim mozzarella
  • salt & pepper
  • italian seasoning
  • Worcestershire sauce

Directions:

Toast your bread on the side that you will be putting the sauce and cheese on first. I made mine on our electric grill. You could put garlic butter on the bread first to make it even tastier, but my kids just want a delivery vehicle for cheese and sauce so I didn’t.

Meanwhile, take your tomato sauce and add your salt & pepper & italian seasoning to taste. Throw in a dash of Worcestershire sauce.

Flip bread over when it’s toasted and spread tomato sauce on bread. Top with cheese. Let the bread sit and toast for a bit on the other side while the cheese melts.

Voila! Quick and easy. Kids get pizza, you use up leftover bread!

Tot Tuesday: Yummy Nachos!

Make a Healthier Version at Home!

So today’s Tot Tuesday WAS going to be Halloween themed, but my little helper just wasn’t in the mood. So instead, this week I bring you a fun kid friendly recipe!

My kids would seriously eat the same exact thing for every meal every single day if I let them. It takes some creativity to jazz things up!

We love nachos, so sometimes I make some right here at home. Corn tortillas are incredibly inexpensive, and making your own chips is a lot healthier than buying a bag at the store. Of course, if you are looking for something quick and convenient, using store bought chips is not really that big of a deal!

Forgive the cell phone pictures. I still cannot find my camera upload cord!

Bean and Cheese Nachos

Ingredients:
-10 corn tortillas (this makes a fair amount of chips for 4 people)
-cooking spray
-salt
-beans (refried, pinto, homemade, canned…whatever your family enjoys)
-cheese (we prefer shredded cheddar)
-shredded lettuce
-1 diced tomato

1. Preheat oven to 450 degrees.

2. Stack all of your tortillas on top of each other. Cut into quarters.

3. Spray the tortillas with cooking spray and move them around so they are all pretty evenly coated. Sprinkle with salt

4. Lay the tortillas out single layer on your cooking sheet (you might need more than one) and place in the oven

5. Cook for around 10 minutes, check them often. Sometimes mine need more, sometimes they need less. You’ll know when they are done because they will start getting slightly browned.

6. Allow the chips to cool a bit and place on plates.

7. Top with beans, cheese, lettuce, tomatoes, and anything else you might want!

8. Enjoy!

If I were making these for dinner, I probably would have added some meat as well, but for lunch just the beans was protein enough!

It’s pretty simple and really doesn’t take that much longer to whip up than some sandwiches!

5 Minute Tostadas

By popular demand, I’m going to start posting some of my most frugal recipes on Family Friendly Frugality. I’m no gourmet, and I’m also not a health nut. I do know how to make a cheap meal that tastes good though!

Tostadas are an an easy easy dinner option when you need to get a filing meal on the table fast. My husband raves about my tostadas. They are so incredibly simple, so it’s a meal I don’t mind making on demand. (my husband NEVER demands anything of me, but you know what I mean!)

5 Minute Tostadas

  • 1-2 corn tortillas per person (If you want to make this even easier, you can buy pre-fried corn tortillas at the store…they aren’t as good)
  • refried beans (I either make my own or buy the fat free in the can)
  • shredded cheddar
  • shredded lettuce
  • diced tomato
  • vegetable oil
  • salt and pepper
  1. Heat up enough oil to cover the bottom of your frying pan. You want it pretty hot. Test it by sticking the tip of a tortilla in…if it immediately starts to bubble, it’s good. 
  2. Using your tongs, place tortilla in oil. Let cook about 30 seconds each side and place on a paper towel to drain after (the tortilla SHOULD be hard and flat)
  3. Heat beans and spread a layer of beans onto each tortilla
  4. Top with cheese, tomatoes and lettuce
  5. Generously add pepper and just a teeny bit of salt
  6. Serve with rice or a salad
Super easy! I’m not going to claim it’s the most healthful meal. It’s quick, easy and cheap though! Add more veggies if you like, get creative with sides. Use refried black beans. Add meat! Change it up and make it your own!
Happy eating!



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