Taco Salad Casserole

2 lbs hamburger
taco seasoning
8 0z cream cheese, softened (I mixed a little salsa in with mine)
1/2 cup shredded Monterrey Jack cheese
1/2 cup chopped green onion
several handfuls chopped lettuce
1/2 large tomato, chopped

Prepare taco meat.
Spread meat into a casserole dish.
Spread cream cheese evenly over top.
Sprinkle Monterrey Jack cheese over cream cheese.
Layer onion, lettuce and tomato.
Serve and enjoy!
Goes well with fresh avocado.
Would also be good served with chips and a layer of Spanish rice, black beans or both!

Low-Carb Chilaquiles & Cilantro-Lime Slaw

I got both of these recipes out of my Cooking Light cookbook (thanks again, Jenn!). I changed the chilaquiles up a bit to make them low carb.

Low-Carb Chilaquiles
2 cups shredded rotisserie chicken
1/2 cup chopped green onions, plus a little extra
1/2 cup shredded Monterrey jack cheese, divided
2 tbsps grated Parmesan cheese
1 tsp chili powder 1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper
1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro
1 (11 oz) can salsa verde
1 (4.5 oz) can chopped green chiles, drained
cooking spray
fresh jalapeno (optional)

*Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
*Combine chicken, onions, 1/4 cup Monterrey Jack cheese, Parmesan cheese, chili powder, salt, pepper, green chiles, cilantro and jalapeno in a medium bowl and mix well.
*Spread mixture in bottom of 11x7 baking dish coated with cooking spray.
*Top with salsa verde.
*Sprinkle remaining Monterrey Jack cheese on top.
*Bake at 375 for 20 minutes or until bubbly.
*Serve with green onions on top.

Cilantro-Lime Slaw
3 tbsps lime juice
1 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
2 tsps sugar
1/4 cup chopped green onions
1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro
1 (12 oz) package coleslaw

*Combine first 3 ingredients in a small bowl.
*Combine next three ingredients in a large bowl.
*Drizzle juice mixture over slaw and toss well to coat.

Low-Carb Stuffed Peppers

Low-Carb Stuffed Peppers

I failed to take a picture, but these sure were yummy. Just click on the link above to find the recipe site!

Beef & Mushroom Rice

(Beefy Rice with mushroom soup)
*****
1 lb hamburger meat
1 yellow onion, chopped
1 green bell pepper, chopped
1 small can sliced mushrooms
1 can diced tomatoes
garlic salt
1 packet onion soup mix
1 can cream of mushroom soup with roasted garlic
rice
shredded 2% milk cheddar
Hot sauce (i.e. Tabasco, Louisiana Hot Sauce)-optional
*****
Season hamburger meat with garlic salt and cook until browned; drain fat.
Mix together cream of mushroom soup, onion mix and approximately 1 cup of water; set aside.
Add onion, bell peppers, tomatoes, mushrooms, and soup mixture.
Simmer 15-20 minutes until the onion soup mix is cooked.
In the meantime, cook rice.
Spoon mixture over rice and and sprinkle with cheese.
Garnish with hot sauce if you like.

Woodland Creature Pancakes

This recipe for McPancakes came from this other delightful blog I follow: My Charming Kids
*****
MckPancakes
2 c. regular old pancake mix (I had to use at least a half a cup more to get a good consistency)
1 1/2 c. water
1/2 c. flaxseed meal
1/2 c. almond butter
1 banana
1 tsp. flaxseed oil
1 egg
1/3 c. plain, whole yogurt
1/4 c. honey
dash cinnamon
*****
In a large mixing bowl, blend pancake mix, flaxseed meal and cinnamon. Set aside.

In blender, combine almond butter, oil, egg, honey, yogurt and banana.

Blend until smooth.

Add blended mixture and water (note: I actually added the water to the wet ingredients and blended it in the blender along with everything else) to the dry mix. Stir together well.

Make pancakes out of the batter.

Drizzle with honey or syrup (syrup gives it a completely different flavor altogether!) and enjoy! They're very filling and very delicious!

Feta Couscous

1 box whole wheat couscous

1 can low-sodium chicken broth

handful of reduced-fat feta cheese

handful toasted pine nuts

handful chopped green onion

handful grape tomatoes, quartered

*****

Cook couscous according to package but replace water with chicken broth.

Once couscous is cooked and fluffed with a fork, stir in feta, pine nuts, green onion and tomatoes.

Tex-Mex Panzanella

This is a Weight Watchers recipe that, of course, I have tweaked.

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4 cups cubed corn bread

3 tbsps lime juice

1 tsp ground cumin

1/4 tsp salt

1/8 tsp black pepper

1 1/2 tbsps canola oil

1 can black beans, drained and rinsed

1 can low-sodium corn

1 lrg tomato, chopped

1 cup shredded 2 % milk cheddar cheese

fresh cilantro

*****

I ALSO ADDED:

diced southwestern-flavored rotisserie chicken

a handful of chopped red onion (because I had some on hand)

a handful of chopped green onion

a dash of garlic powder

*****

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

Heat cornbread in oven for five minutes, stir and heat for five minutes more.

While cornbread is in oven, combine lime juice and next three ingredients (here is where you'll also add the garlic powder if you so desire) in a large bowl, stirring with a whisk.

Add oil and stir with a whisk.

Add beans, corn, tomato, chicken, red and green onion (if you used them) and toss well.

Add corn bread and cilantro; toss gently.

Top with cheese.

*****

I served mine over a salad of mixed baby greens, but I will eat the leftovers today for lunch cold and with chips and a little avocado. YUMMY!