Asian Chicken Lettuce Wraps (Slow Cooker)

Yield: 6 wraps, about 3 servings

Ingredients:

• 1 pound ground chicken
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 tablespoon low-sodium soy sauce
• Salt and pepper, to taste
• 1 red bell pepper, diced
• 1 yellow bell pepper, diced
• 2 tablespoons canned green chile peppers
• 1 teaspoon cayenne pepper
• 1 teaspoon paprika
• 1/2 cup onion, diced
• 1/3 cup hoisin sauce
• 1 cup cooked white rice
• 1 8-ounce can water chestnuts, drained and rinsed
• 1/2 cup diced tomatoes
• 1 tablespoon rice vinegar
• 1 head iceberg lettuce

Instructions:

1. Place ground chicken and minced garlic in a large, microwave-safe bowl. Mix together with a spoon and then microwave for about 5 minutes or until chicken is no longer pink. 
2. Remove mixture from microwave and drain. Then pour mixture into slow cooker.
3. Add bell peppers, onion, hoisin sauce, soy sauce, diced tomatoes and green chiles to slow cooker. Mix well.
4. Season mixture with salt and pepper, cayenne pepper, and paprika. 
5. Cook on low heat for approximately 2-3 hours or until chicken is tender.
6. When cooking time is up, add in water chestnuts, rice, and rice vinegar. Cook for an additional 3-5 minutes.
7.  Season with additional salt, pepper, cayenne pepper and/or paprika if desired.
8. Separate iceberg lettuce leaves and serve with chicken filling. Enjoy!

Chickpea-Spinach Wrap

This delicious wrap is super easy-to-make and takes under 15 minutes. It's the perfect quickie after-work snack or healthy lunch on a busy day.Yield: 3 servings

Ingredients:

• 4 cups fresh spinach, shredded
• 1 can chickpeas
• 2 teaspoons cumin
• 2 teaspoons curry powder
• 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
• 3 spinach tortilla wraps
• 3 garlic cloves, minced
• Salt and pepper, to taste

Instructions:

1. Add olive oil and garlic to a large pan. Cook on medium-high heat for about two minutes or until flagrant. 
2. Add chickpeas and spinach to pan.
3. Sprinkle cumin and curry powder onto chickpeas and spinach.
4. Stir constantly until the spinach is fully wilted and the chickpeas are cooked thoroughly.  This should only take about 5 minutes.
5. Add salt and pepper to mixture and then remove from heat.
6. In a separate medium-sized pan, place one spinach wrap. Cook for about 15 seconds on medium-high heat and then flip and cook other side for another 15 seconds. Then remove from heat and set aside. Repeat for each wrap.
7. Add spinach-chickpea mixture onto each wrap and then roll it up tightly. Serve immediately and enjoy!

Mexican Street Corn Salad with Black Beans and Avocado

Yield: about 4 servings
Prep time: 20 minutes

Ingredients:

• 4 ears fresh corn or 1 medium-sized bag of frozen sweet corn
• 1/2 cup choppped red onion
• 1 green bell pepper, diced
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• 2 jalapeno peppers, seeded and diced
• 1 teaspoon Mexican chili powder
• 1 teaspoons Mccormick Southwest Sweet N' Smoky Seasoning
• 1 and 1/2 tablespoons vegetable oil
• Salt and pepper, to taste
• 1/3 cup cilantro leaves, choppped
• 1 can black beans (15 oz), drained
• 3 tablespoons mayonnaise or Miracle Whip
• 3 oz Cotija or feta cheese, crumbled
• 1 fresh lime, sliced into quarters
• 1 1/2 tablespoon fresh lime juice, divided
• 2 medium avocados, peeled and chopped small

Instructions:

1. Heat vegetable oil in a large skillet until shimmering.
2. Add corn. Season with salt and pepper and toss. Then let corn cook, tossing only occasionally, about every two minutes. This allows the corn to brown evenly.  Fresh corn will take about 7-10 minutes to cook, while frozen corn will take about `12 minutes. Remove corn from heat once it is well-charred all over.
3. Add corn to a medium bowl along with drained black beans, cilantro, chopped bell pepper, diced jalapeno peppers, garlic, onions, chili powder, sweet n' smoky seasoning, 1 tablespoon lime juice, mayonnaise and 3/4th of the Cortija. 
4. In a small mixing bowl, pour other 1/2 tablespoon of lime juice over diced avocados. Add bowl to corn mixture and toss. 
5. Top with remaining Cortija, additional chili powder, and sliced lime quarters. Enjoy!

Crockpot Chicken Fajitas

Makes about 8 servings
Prep time: 20 minutes
Cook time: 3-4 hours on high setting, 4-6 hours on low setting

Ingredients:

• 2 lbs boneless, skinless chicken breasts
• Three bell peppers (red, orange and green), julienned 
• 1 large yellow onion, diced
• 2 small (10 oz) cans diced tomatoes with green chiles 
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• 1/4 cup Taco-blend cheese
• 3 teaspoons Mexican chili powder
• 2 teaspoons cayenne pepper
• 2 teaspoons ground cumin
• 1 teaspoon paprika
• 1 teaspoon ground coriander
• 1 teaspoon Mccormick Southwest Sweet N' Smoky Seasoning
• Salt and pepper, to taste
• 2 tablespoons honey
• 2 tablespoons fresh lime juice
• One package of flour tortillas
• Optional ingredients for serving: sour cream, salsa, guacamole, cilantro

Instructions:

1. Pour one can of the diced tomatoes into the slow cooker. Spread evenly across the bottom. 
   
2. Add half of the bell peppers and half of the onions on top. Sprinkle garlic in.
   
3. In a small bowl, whisk together chili powder, cayenne pepper, cumin, paprika, coriander, Southwest Seasoning, salt and pepper. Mix well. 
   
4. Rub seasoning onto both sides of the chicken breasts. Then place chicken in the slow cooker on top of the peppers and onions. 
   
5. Add the other can of diced tomatoes on top of the chicken breasts. Spread evenly. 
6. Sprinkle Taco-blend cheese over the tomatoes.
7. Top with remaining onions and peppers. Sprinkle extra seasoning on top if desired.
   
8. Cook on high for 3-4 hours or on low for 4-6 hours (If you want shredded chicken, cook more towards the longer suggested cooking time. If you want to slice the chicken into strips, keep towards the shorter time)
9. Remove chicken from slow-cooker. Cut into strips or shred.
10. Ladle out approximately 1 1/2 cups of watery broth from the slow-cooker(mostly tomato liquid) and discard.
11. In a small bowl, whisk together lime juice and honey. Add this mixture to the slow-cooker along with the shredded/sliced chicken breasts. Season with additional salt and pepper if desired.
12. Gently toss. Serve in warmed tortillas with optional sour cream, guacamole, cilantro, additional cheese and salsa. Enjoy!

I served the fajitas with spicy Mexican rice and a sweet corn and black beans salad. The recipe for the salad will be up on the blog shortly. There are a quite a few shared ingredients between this chicken fajita recipe and the salad, so it is an easy meal to plan. If you try out this recipe or have any suggestions, feel free to leave a comment below! 

Jalapeno Popper Stuffed Mushrooms

This recipe is perfect as a side dish or as a fun after-school, after-work snack. This was my first time making stuffed mushrooms, so I tried out both white mushrooms and these large portobello caps. The portobello caps proved to be a bit easier to stuff than the white mushrooms, but use whichever you please!

Ingredients:

• 3 slices bacon
• 6 large white mushrooms or 3 large portobello caps, stems removed and insides finely chopped and put aside. (Reserve caps for stuffing)
• 1 3-ounce package of cream cheese
• 1/4 cup finely shredded cheddar cheese
• 1 tablespoons minced garlic
• 1 or 2 jalapeno peppers, seeded and finely diced
• Salt and pepper, to taste
• 2 teaspoons Mexican chili powder
• 1 teaspoon cilantro

Instructions:

1. Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees F. Double line a baking sheet with foil.
2. In a skillet over medium-high heat, cook bacon until it begins to brown. Remove from skillet and place on a paper towel to drain. Once cool, crumble the bacon and set aside. 
3. In the same skillet over medium-high heat, add chopped mushrooms, garlic, diced jalapeno, salt and pepper. Cook for a few minutes, until the mushrooms soften. 
4. Remove from heat and add the mushroom mixture to a large mixing bowl.
5. Add the cream cheese, cheddar cheese, and crumbled bacon into the mixing bowl.
6. Mix well to combine. Add salt and pepper to taste, and Mexican chili powder.
7. Spoon the cheese mixture into the mushroom caps.
8. Place each mushrooms on the foil lined sheet and bake in the pre-heated oven for 20 minutes.
9. Remove from oven and garnish with cilantro. Serve and enjoy!

Chicken Enchilada Zucchini Boats

I served my zucchini boats with a side of spicy Jambalaya-style rice.

Chicken enchiladas are a favorite dish of mine, but typically they are so unhealthy. I decided to create an alternative to the Mexican favorite and came up with this easy zucchini recipe. I served this dish to my family and they actually liked it more than regular chicken enchiladas! Try it out and let me know what you think. I like my sauce to be super spicy, but feel free to tone it down by leaving out a few of the spices to suit your preferences. Leave a comment here or tweet me at @kitchen_sams using the hashtag #LetsTalkFood. I hope you enjoy this simple but decadent dish as much as we did!

Ingredients

For the spicy enchilada sauce:

• 1 and 1/2 cups tomato sauce
• 4 tablespoons chipotle chile in adobo sauce
• 1 tablespoon minced garlic
• 2/3 cup low-sodium organic chicken broth
• 1 teaspoon Mexican chili powder
• Olive oil cooking spray
• 1 teaspoon ground cumin
• Salt and pepper to taste
• 1 teaspoon cayenne pepper
• 2 teaspoons cornstarch

For the zucchini boats:

• Four medium zucchinis
• 8 ounces cooked and shredded chicken breast
• 1 teaspoon extra virgin olive oil
• 1/2 cup chopped onions
• 2 tablespoons minced garlic
• 1/4 cup cilantro
• 1 teaspoon cumin
• 2 tablespoons tomato paste
• 1/3 cup low-sodium chicken broth
• 1 teaspoon Mexican chili powder
• 1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
• 3/4 cup shredded chedder or taco-blend cheese

Instructions

1. Let's make the enchilada sauce first! In a medium saucepan, spray olive oil cooking spray and turn on medium-high heat. Add minced garlic to saucepan and saute for about 30 seconds.
2. Add chicken broth, tomato sauce, cumin, chili powder, cayenne pepper, chipotle chiles, salt and pepper, and cornstarch. Bring to a boil.
3. Reduce heat and simmer for 5-10 minutes. Set aside.
4. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.
5. Add water to another medium saucepan. Bring to a boil while you complete the next two steps.
6. Now it's time to make those zucchini. Cut each zucchini in half lengthwise. Use a small spoon to scoop out the insides of the zucchini, leaving the zucchini about 1/4 inch thick.
7. Don't throw away the insides of the zucchini! Chop them into small pieces and put aside for later.
8. Drop the hollowed-out zucchini halves in the boiling water. Cook for one minute and then remove. Set aside.
9. In a large pan, heat oil. Add minced garlic and chopped onion. Cook on medium heat for about 2-3 minutes.
10. Add chopped zucchini, cilantro, shredded chicken, cumin, oregano, chili powder, chicken broth, and tomato paste. Mix well and cook for about 7 minutes.
11. Place 1/3 cup of enchilada sauce on the bottom of a large lasagna dish.
12. Add zucchini halves on top of the enchilada sauce.
13. Fill each zucchini half with chicken mixture. Press down firmly.
14. Top each zucchini with 2 tablespoons of enchilada sauce. Sprinkle shredded cheese on zucchini boats.
15. Cover with boil and bake for about 30 minutes.
16. Top with more cilantro and sour cream if desired. Serve and enjoy!

Easy Ways to Cut Calories Throughout the Day

Don't have time to invest in a complicated diet plan like Atkins or Weight Watchers? Losing weight doesn't have to be hard! Try following these easy tips to make small changes in your daily diet. You will lose weight without the added stress of changing your whole lifestyle. You'll also be more likely to keep the weight off long-term as these changes become routine for you.

1. Use skim milk instead of half-and-half or Coffeemate in your morning coffee.
2. Eat a bowl of Kashi cereal instead of a fast-food breakfast. This high-fiber cereal will make you eat less throughout the day.
3. Whatever you do, just make sure you eat breakfast! This super easy trick will ensure you don't pig out later on.
4. Use Smart Balance instead of butter or margarine.
5. Ask for a child-size soda instead of a medium-sized one if you find yourself at the drive-thru.
6. Skip the croutons on your salad.
7. Toss your salad with one tablespoon of low-fat salad dressing until every lettuce leaf is coated. You will get away with using half of the usual serving size. This is much more efficient than simply pouring a ton of fatty dressing on the top of your salad.
8. Add hot sauce to your food whenever possible. The spiciness will up your metabolism while adding flavor to bland foods.
9. Freeze a can of Donald Duck orange juice and enjoy as a dessert. It tastes like ice cream but has fewer calories.
10. Replace half the butter in cake or brownie recipes with mashed bananas. Surprisingly, the final product is pretty much the same.
11. If you think you are hungry, try drinking water before eating a snack. Our brains often confuse thirst for hunger. If you are still hungry after a glass of water, go for the snack.

Have any more tips for this list? Leave a comment below!

Sam's Original Fiesta Salad

It might be the dead of winter, but this mouth-watering salad will instantly perk up your day. This colorful, flavorful and healthy salad is super easy to make and will be a hit at your next picnic--err, fireplace gathering.

Makes 3-5 servings

Ingredients:

• 1 package grape tomatoes
• 1 lime
• 1 large red onion, diced
• 3 bell peppers, preferably of all different colors. Chopped.
• 1 jalapeno pepper, diced
• 1 can of black beans
• 1 teaspoon ground pepper
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1 avocado

Lime Vinaigrette Dressing Ingredients:

• 1 bottle lime juice
• 1 1/2 cup olive oil
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon pepper
• 1 teaspoon minced garlic

Instructions:

1. Slice grape tomatoes in half
2. In a large bowl, add tomatoes, bell peppers, jalapeno peppers and onions.
3. Drain black beans. Add to salad mixture.
4. Season with salt and pepper.
5. In a separate bowl, add avocado. Stir. Add avocado to salad and stir well.
6. In another bowl, mix salad dressing ingredients. Add to salad.
7. Add sliced limes on top as a garnish
8. Serve or refrigerate