Italian Rice Ball Casserole- REVISED (healthier)

Original recipe and photo from Skinnytaste

I revised this recipe to add more veggies, less cheese, and make it less calories...and easier to prepare by not doing layers- just mix it all up!  So good and about 300 calories per 1 big serving (1/8 of the casserole dish).

• 2 cups white or brown rice, cooked (Trader Joes frozen brown rice in a bag)
• 1 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1 lb. ground turkey
• 1 onion, minced  
• 1/2 a 12 oz. bag of spinach, chopped
• black pepper
• 2/3 cup frozen peas
• 1 jar Trader Joes tomato basil marinara
• 1 large egg
• 1/2 cup pecorino romano (or parmesan)
• 1/2 cup shredded mozzarella 
• 
  
• Preheat the oven to 400°F.  Cook the turkey and onions until browned. Season with salt and black pepper, and add the chopped spinach- mix until wilted.  Add the peas and 1 cup sauce; simmer on low for 10 minutes.

In a small bowl combine cooked rice, pecorino romano, egg, and 1 cup sauce and mix well. Add the rice mixture to the pan with the turkey mixture and mix well.

Spray a 9 x 13 casserole dish with cooking spray, and pour the mixture into the dish.  Top with remaining jar of sauce and the mozzarella.

Cover with foil and bake 30 minutes, let cool slightly then cut into squares.

Slow Cooker Picadillo

This is a Cuban dish I got from skinnytaste- it is SO good! I slightly adapted her recipe. Even the kids loved it- here are their dishes after eating with no complaining!

1 lb. ground turkey

1 minced onion

2-3 minced garlic cloves (1heaping tsp crushed)

1/4 cup chopped cilantro

1 diced tomato (I cut up grape tomatoes- about 1 cup)

8 oz tomato sauce

1/2 cup alcaparrado (I used the sliced Spanish salad olives from target)

1tsp ground cumin

Salt and pepper to taste

Brown meat in a skillet; season generously with salt and pepper. Add the onions and garlic and cook an additional 3-4 minutes. 

Transfer the meat to crockpot and add the tomato sauce, tomato, cilantro, olives, cumin and 1 cup water (I used a little bit of olive juice and just under a cup of water). 

Cook on high for 3-4 hours or low for 6-8 hours. Serve over brown rice. 

**Here is my confession- the original recipe calls for 2.5 lbs of beef, but I didn't even read it and just assumed it used only one tray of ground meat instead of two, so I only used about 1 lb of ground turkey, but kept the rest of the measurements the same (except I increased the olives!!!). It turned out so good that I'm keeping it that way! Plus, 2.5 lbs of meat is way too much for us. 

Stacked Roasted Vegetable Enchiladas

Photo and recipe from twopeasandtheirpod

This is SO good- Gary and the kids loved it, and it's vegetarian and gluten free!  It's great because you can assemble the casserole ahead of time and put it in the fridge to bake later.

1 red pepper, seeded and chopped
1 zucchini, chopped
1 yellow squash, chopped
1 onion, chopped
1 tbsp olive oil
1 can black beans, drained and rinsed
1 tsp ground cumin
1 tsp chili powder
2 garlic cloves, minced (or 1 tsp crushed)
1/2 cup chopped fresh cilantro
1 jar red enchilada sauce (I used the trader joes brand)
8-10 small corn tortillas
about 2 cups shredded cheese (I used Mexican blend)

Preheat oven to 400.  Place the vegetables on the baking sheet, drizzle with olive oil and toss until coated.  Season with salt and pepper.  Bake in the oven for 20-30 minutes.  Let cool. Reduce oven to 350.

In a medium bowl, combine vegetables, beans, spices, garlic, cilantro and S&P.  Spread some enchilada sauce on the bottom of a baking dish (I  used one slightly smaller than 9x11) and cover with tortillas (I did 2 whole tortillas then I broke some more to make it fit without overlapping a lot because I didn't want a ton of tortilla).  Top with half the vegetable mix and then cheese.  Do another layer of tortillas and then sauce.  Top with remaining half of vegetables and more cheese.  Do another layer of tortillas then sauce and top that with cheese.

(At this point, I put the entire casserole in the fridge ready to bake at dinner time!)

Cover with foil and bake for 20 minutes.  Remove foil and bake for another 10 minutes or until cheese is melted.  Cool for 10 minutes, cut into squares and serve.

Chicken and Corn Chili

This chili is so delicious!  The kids loved it too!  It's from Family Circle magazine.

1 large onion, chopped
1 lb boneless, skinless chicken breasts (I used 3 frozen breasts)
2 cups chicken broth
1 green pepper, seeded and chopped
1-3/4 tsp ground cumin
1/2 tsp cayenne pepper
1 tsp salt
1 can (14.5 oz) diced tomatoes with jalapeños, drained (I did not drain them)
1-1/2 cups frozen corn, thawed
2 cans (15 oz each) cannellini beans, drained and rinsed
shredded cheese (optional)
avocado (optional)

In a slow cooker, combine onion, chicken, broth, green pepper, 1-1/2 tsp of the cumin and 1/4 tsp salt and 1/4 tsp cayenne.  Cover and cook on HIGH for 4 hours or LOW for 6 hours.

During the last 30 minutes of cooking, shred the chicken with 2 forks and add remaining 1/4 tsp each of cumin and cayenne, remaining salt, tomatoes, corn and beans.  Gently mash some of the beans against the side of the bowl to thicken chili.

Sprinkle with cheese and avocado.