Guacamole Chicken Burgers

OH EM GEE!!! You GUYS!! These burgers are to DIE for!! I am totally a guacamole girl and always looking for ways to squeeze it in with out having to eat chips with it. This recipe is one of the best chicken burgers I've had, then top it with guac and BAM- we have a WINNER!

These are 21 day fix approved (1 red and one blue) AND will satisfy your cravings for a yummy burger any day! I didn't use any carb with this particular dinner BUT you could use a pita pocket with some lettuce and tomato -- that would give you 1 yellow and 1/2 a green all depending on how much lettuce and tomato you use!

GUACAMOLE CHICKEN BURGERS (Serves 2)

Ingredients:
1/2-pound ground chicken
1/2 teaspoon paprika
1/2 teaspoon cumin
1/2 teaspoon onion powder
1/2  teaspoon garlic powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon ground pepper

1 avocado (2 blue containers when mashed)
2 teaspoons lime juice
1/2 teaspoons garlic powder
2 teaspoons olive oil

Directions:
1. Mix the ground turkey together with the chili powder, cumin, onion powder, garlic powder, pepper, and salt in a medium bowl.
2. Split into two parts and form into patties
3. Heat a large skillet over medium-high heat with 3 teaspoons of olive oil
4. Cook the patties, making sure they brown on both sides AND no longer pink on the inside.

Meanwhile, make your guacamole.
1. Mash together the avocados, lime juice, garlic powder in a bowl.
2. Season to taste with salt and pepper

Serve burgers with a dollop (1 blue container's worth) of guacamole on each patty.

Clean Eating Made Easy!

Lunch is served ❤️

Chopped spinach, cucumbers, grape tomatoes, baked chicken & avocado with fresh cracked pepper drizzled with a French vinaigrette.

Chicken Sausage, Pepper, Onion & Potato Hash

Dinners at my house are always a little bit of struggle for me.

Generally the kids are cranky and I'm ready to relax from the long day but yep, dinner has to be made. Plus the Hubby is a steak and potatoes type guy and doesn't really love chicken or turkey. So I'm always trying to find a healthy balance between proteins and make yummy meals that he won't have to suffer through that aren't beef.

Normally, I'm a HUGE fan of prepping many things on Sunday so it lessens my work during the week. This Sunday was a major fail in that department so I'm paying for it now!!

Anyways, I found this recipe (on thetwobiteclub.com) and decided to give it a try and to my surprise it's really good!! I did change quite a few things from the original recipe to make it my own.

Chicken Sausage, Pepper, Onion and Potato Hash

Ingredients:

-1 package chicken sausage (I used Coleman Organic Italian Chicken Sausage) cut into 1/4 inch rounds.

-1 green bell pepper, diced

- 1/2 red or yellow bell pepper, diced (I used all green! That's just what I had and I wasn't about to go to the store for a different colored pepper )

-1 onion, diced 

-3 small or 2 large potatoes, peeled and diced (I used organic yellow potatoes that didn't need to be peeled. Note: the bigger you dice your potatoes the longer they will take to cook)

-olive oil

-garlic powder, onion powder, chili powder (to taste, I added about 1 tsp. during cooking of the potatoes)

-salt and pepper (to taste)

Directions:

1. In a skillet heat about 2 tbsp of olive oil over medium-high heat. Add the diced potatoes and season with salt, pepper and if you choose garlic, onion and chili powders. Cook until golden brown and completely done through. Make sure to stir a few times to brown on all sides. Mine took about 15 minutes to cook. 

2. In a separate skillet, brown the sliced chicken sausage in about 1 tbsp of olive oil over medium-high heat. Make sure to flip the sausage at least once to brown on both sides. If you sausage isn't cooked be sure to cook it fully. 

3. Remove sausage from pan and add the peppers and onions to the skillet and season with a pinch of pepper. At this point I did add a sprinkling of garlic powder but you don't have to. Cook until veggies are softened, stirring occasionally. 

4. Add the cooked potatoes and sausage into the skillet with the onions and peppers. Combine everything well and serve hot! 

((Note: I used two skillets for this recipe because I wanted to keep the potatoes crispy so I cooked them along side the other things so when the peppers, onions and sausage were finished the potatoes could go right in without cooling down!))

I served with this steamed broccoli and it was yummy! I hope you enjoy :)

Buffalo Chicken Meatballs

I don't know about you but I LOVE buffalo chicken. Its on of my favorites! Actually when I was pregnant with my oldest all I wanted to spicy foods. This was my go to when we ate out. I'm pretty sure I ate my weight in buffalo sauce back then!! Anyways, I found this awesome recipe for a healthier buffalo chicken and just had to share :)

Buffalo Chicken Meatballs

Servings: 26 • Size: 1 meatball Calories: 37 • Fat: 2 g • Carb: 1 g • Fiber: 0 g • Protein: 4 g

Found at www.skinnytaste.com

Ingredients:

oil spray
1 1/4 lb ground chicken
1/4 cup panko crumbs
1 large egg
1/3 cup finely minced celery
1/3 cup finely minced carrot
1 clove crushed garlic
kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
1/3 cup Franks Hot sauce
1/4 cup skinny blue cheese dressing (optional) > recipe here
finely chopped celery leaf for garnish (optional)

Directions:

Reheat oven to 400 degrees! 

Combine the chicken, panko, celery, carrots, garlic, egg, salt and pepper into a large bowl and mix well.

Roll the mixture into uniform balls and place on a lightly greased cookie sheet. 

 Cook for roughly 15-18 minutes all depending the the size of the meatballs you made. The internal temperate must be 165 to be safe to eat! 

Once out of the oven you can pour the hot sauce on them or do it per serving! 

I serve with skinny blue cheese (recipe link above!) 

Enjoy!! 

Caribbean Chicken Tacos

Apparently I am on an island food kick!! First with the shrimp dinner now with this. In the summer I get obsessed with fresh, "clean" tasting foods. Okay, that sounds weird but I can't stand anything remotely close to heavy like the warm comfort foods I like in the fall and winter. As usual I was perusing the internet and Pinterest when I found this recipe at Creme De La Crumb. It was a 20 MINUTE recipe so I decided to give it a shot.

Caribbean Chicken Tacos

You will need...
3-4 boneless skinless chicken breasts, pounded to ½ inch thickness
1½ tablespoons Caribbean seasoning (store-bought OR see below for homemade version)
8 taco-sized soft flour tortillas
2 cups cole slaw (without dressing)

Caribbean salsa
½ red bell pepper, diced
½ red onion, diced
1 mango, diced
1 cup pineapple, diced
¼ cup cilantro, roughly chopped
1 tablespoon fresh lime juice (about ½ of a juicy lime)
½ teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon garlic powder

Directions:
1. Prepare the salsa by combining all ingredients in a bowl and stirring well. Cover and chill until ready to use.
2. Slice chicken breasts into strips (or chop into bite-sized pieces) and place in a bowl. Sprinkle chicken with half of the Caribbean seasoning, stir, then sprinkle with remaining seasoning and toss to coat.
3. Cook chicken in a large greased pan or skillet over medium heat for 5-8 minutes until cooked through.
4. To serve, fill each tortilla with cooked chicken, then top with cole slaw and Caribbean salsa. Serve immediately with fresh limes for drizzling if desired.


*** PLEASE NOTE: I used this seasoning when I made this the first time- It was spicy! Definitely check out the measurement you use for the taco recipe. It's NOT as much as the recipe for the seasoning makes!!!  If you don't like spicy you could always use Mrs. Dash Caribbean Seasoning that is salt and MSG free- or find another recipe online that is non spicy! Overall, the flavor of this homemade seasoning is yummy but you gotta love some heat ;)

Homemade Caribbean seasoning
2 teaspoons paprika
2 teaspoons cayenne pepper
2 teaspoons salt
2 teaspoons black pepper
2 teaspoons Italian seasoning
1 teaspoon brown sugar
1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes

Stir together all seasoning ingredients in a small bowl.

These chicken tacos were VERY yummy!! The crunchy cole slaw with the sweet of the pineapple salsa complemented the spicy chicken really well. There are a variety of textures and flavors so its definitely not a boring dinner! It is light and fresh and a fun twist on normal tacos! 

If you try these out please come back and let me know how you like them!!!

((Original Recipe found at: http://lecremedelacrumb.com/2015/04/caribbean-chicken-tacos.html ))

Spinach Chicken Burgers

Burgers. I love burgers. They are amazing and so easy. There are so many ways to make them that it's never ending what you can create!! 

Here is a recipe I modified from Sole for the Soul. The best thing about these is that you can make them ahead of time and just reheat them throughout the week. They don't really need buns either!! This are chuck full of flavor, very juicy and oh so yummy! 

Spinach Chicken Burgers

*1 pound ground chicken

*1 cup wilted spinach (I just tossed from fresh spinach in a bowl, added some water, covered it and microwaved it for 20 seconds!)

*1/2 of a small yellow onion roughly chopped

*1 garlic clove or 1tsp chopped garlic

*2 green onions roughly chopped 

*2T balsamic vinegar 

*2 tsp. Soy sauce

*1 tsp. Lemon juice (fresh!)

*1/2 tsp. Chili powder

*1/2- 1 tsp. Black pepper (you can change this to for your taste!) 

* 1/4 cup shredded sharp cheddar (I did not add this to mine!)

*1/2 cup Panko bread crumbs

Directions:

1. In a small bowl mix together the vinegar, soy sauce, lemon juice and chili powder. Set aside.

2. In a food processor add the spinach, onion, garlic and green onion. Mix until well combined and all the big pieces of onion are gone. 

3. In a big bowl put the chicken and add the spinach mixture. Combine well. (This is where you would add the cheese if using)

4. Add the vinegar mixture into the chicken, mix to combine. 

5. Next add the panko bread crumbs and pepper. Stir just until well distributed. 

6. Make four burger patties (to do this easily I form one big ball and pat it out a little. Then I score it in a + with my hand. This will give you 4 even patties!). Place patties on a plate, cover and refrigerate for at least an hour or so. This will give time for all the flavors to blend! 

***When you are ready to cook preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Grab a rimmed cookie sheet and a skillet. Heat a skillet to medium-high and add 1tsp. oil (I used coconut, olive oil would be good too!). If you need to do two batches add some more oil for the second batch! Brown each patty on both sides and place on a rimmed cookie sheet. Bake for 20 minutes or until internal temperature reaches 165!!***

I hope you love these burgers as much as my family did!! I had mine with sautéed mushrooms and mustard with a side of steamed zucchini, no bun or cheese needed!! 

Id love to hear your opinion on these and as always, feel free to share!! 

Easter Sunday!!

This holiday we decided to stay home and relax. We had nothing prepared, other than the Easter baskets of course, and I was planning on just making a simple chicken dish for dinner. Nothing fancy but sometimes all that matters is that you are with family. 

Our dinner was very simple. I chopped up some veggies and chicken, threw them into a casserole dish, seasoned it and drizzled with some chicken broth and white wine then into the oven to roast. Seriously that simple. It's clean eating made easy without having to clean tons of dishes or think ahead too much. You could really use any veggies you have on hand! 

Here's the recipe:

Simple Chicken and Veggie Roast 

2 chicken breasts cut into 1 inch pieces

3 medium red potatoes cut into bit sized pieces

1 cup tomatoes chopped (I used grape and just halved them)

1/2 a bunch of asparagus cut into 2 inch pieces

1/2 of a yellow onion roughly chopped

1/2 cup chicken broth

2 tsp. basil (I used dried but fresh would be great too)

2 tsp. white wine

salt and pepper

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees

2. Get out your chicken and season with salt and pepper; set aside.

3. Grab your casserole dish and spray it so nothing will stick

4. Put all the chopped vegetables into the dish. I did layers starting with the potatoes, then asparagus and onions finishing with the tomatoes.

5. Next add the chicken around the top of the veggies. 

6. In a small cup or bowl mix the broth and wine together. Drizzle over casserole.

7. Cook for about 45 minutes or until chicken is fully cooked through. (Half way I took the casserole out and gave it a good stir.)

If you try this recipe I would love to know how you like it!!! Come back and post a comment and by all means SHARE this with family and friends ;)

Happy (late) Easter from our family to yours!! 

Healthy Chicken Salad

This afternoon was a scramble to find the food I wanted. Sometimes I just can't stick to my meal plan so I pull from other days or swap out items for others. It works out in the long run but many times it leaves me hungry which can be scary. I tend to binge eat when I get too hungry which is the main reason I love meal plans!

Anyways... I decided to make a classic that I love- Chicken Salad. Here's the issue with chicken salad though, it's normally loaded with mayonnaise. Not really awesome for my clean eating lifestyle. So I decided to recreate it! The result came out great and I'm guessing tomorrow it will be even better after the flavors have had the time to blend. Here is the recipe :)

***Healthy Chicken Salad***

2 chicken breasts (seasoned with salt and pepper and baked until done)

1/4 cup plain greek yogurt

1/4 cup chopped red pepper

1/4 cup chopped onion

1/8 cup chopped celery

1tsp. garlic powder

1/2tsp. Paprika 

Salt and Pepper to taste

1. Shred the chicken into small bite sized pieces. You could also chop it! Place Ina big mixing bowl.

2. Add the yogurt and mix until chicken is evenly coated.

3. Add the remaining ingredients. Mix to combine.

I ate mine with some sliced avocado which was great!!! 

Serve cold and store in refrigerator. 

Other variations:

Omit the red pepper and add 1/8 cup dried cranberries and 1/8 cup chopped walnuts (you can up these amounts to your liking!) 

While I was waiting for the chicken to bake I munched on some sugar snap peas to keep the hunger at bay! They worked like a charm ;) 

Have a happy Monday!!!