Baked Nachos

Lunch is one of those meals that I tend to struggle with. I spend most of my effort on breakfast and dinner, so lunch leaves me wondering why my family needs to eat so often and if it is really my turn to feed them again.

When my kids were smaller, I usually had leftovers from dinner that we could eat the next day and then we'd fill in the gaps with sandwiches, so I didn't have to think about it much. These days, I still have leftovers, but not enough to feed everyone, so I've been forced to think about lunch a bit more.

Being a homeschool mom and having children that do their best work in the morning, means that lunch can't take a lot of time to prepare. These nachos take about 15 minutes from start to finish and my children gobble them up.

For the basic recipe you'll need:
1 bag tortilla chips
1 can black beans
1 1/2 TBSP ground cumin
1-2 C Mexican cheese blend

Preheat oven to 425 degrees.
Cover the bottom of a large jelly roll pan with tortilla chips (this may or may not take the entire bag).
Rinse and drain black beans, then put on top of the chips.
Sprinkle cumin over the beans and chips.
Top with cheese and bake 5 minutes.
Serve and enjoy!

To make a more balanced lunch, add diced peppers before baking, then serve with avocado and fresh salsa.

What's your favorite quick and easy lunch?

Asian Chicken Salad

I have been loving this salad recently. I like to add some chicken to it, but you could certainly skip the chicken and it would still be filling and tasty.

Click here for the printable version.

 You'll need: melted peanut butter (not pictured), rice vinegar, soy sauce, vegetable oil, sugar, roasted almonds, sesame seeds, chow mein noodles, napa cabbage, romaine lettuce, carrots, basil, sweet sweet peppers.

Whisk together 1/4 C veg oil, 2 T soy sauce, 2 T rice vinegar, 1/2 tsp sugar, and 1 1/2 T melted peanut butter to make the dressing.

 Thinly slice the napa cabbage.

 Thinly slice the romaine lettuce.

 Use a vegetable peeler to shave the carrots.

 Slice the peppers and basil and mix with the cabbage, lettuce, carrots, sesame seeds. Don't forget the almonds and chicken like I almost did when taking these pictures.

 Add prepared dressing to the salad and toss thoroughly.

Top the salad with chow mein noodles and, if desired, mandarin oranges. Enjoy!

Click here for the printable version


What's your favorite salad?

Chicken and Sweet Pepper Quesadilla and Tasty Tuesday Linkup

I love quesadillas. I mentioned in my Chicken and Broccoli Quesadilla recipe, that I made and ate them a lot back in college. These days, I make them when we need a quick meal. The kids usually love them and I can sneak in quite a few things without anyone really noticing or caring. I finely diced the peppers in these and it took several bites before David (aka: Mr. I don't like peppers) noticed and he ended up not even minding. Score one for me (aka: Mrs. eats peppers like candy).

The ingredient amounts are suggestions. When I make quesdaillas, I just grab the ingredients and put them on until it looks good. I rarely measure anything.

2 8-inch tortillas
1/2 C shredded colby jack cheese
1/4 C chicken, shredded or diced
1/4 C sweet pepper, finely diced
1 T medium taco sauce 

Preheat a 10 inch nonstick skillet over medium heat.
Place 1 tortilla on a clean, flat work surface.
Sprinkle half the cheese evenly over tortilla.
Evenly sprinkle chicken, peppers, and taco sauce.
Top with remaining cheese and 2nd tortilla.
Place on skillet and allow cheese to melt.
Flip the tortilla after 2-3 minutes or when bottom tortilla is lightly browned.
Quesadilla is done when cheese is melted and both outer sides of tortilla are lightly browned.
Enjoy!

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Summer Vegetable Stew in a slow cooker

I first started making this recipe in college. I was running on the treadmill while watching Food Network and Rachel Ray came on with a total drool worthy Giambotta. I watched the show and then tweaked it to my preferences. One of my room mates was not a very adventurous eater, but absolutely loved this recipe. Back then, I made it in a stock pot, but when I started having kids, I no longer had time to stand in the kitchen for an hour or more supervising a pot.
The cooking times for this recipe will yield al dente vegetables, if you prefer yours softer, cook on high instead of low or increase cooking time.

You'll need:
1 T olive oil
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 bay leaf
2 onions, diced
2 medium-large red potatoes
1 large eggplant
2 medium zucchini
1 red bell pepper
14.5 oz diced tomatoes
2 C stock*, chicken or vegetable (if you want it vegan)
1 tsp sea salt (or to taste)
pinch of pepper (or to taste)

Turn slow cooker on high and place oil, garlic, bay leaf, and onions on bottom.

Chop potatoes and add to slow cooker.

Peel and chop eggplant and add to slow cooker.

Chop zucchini and add to slow cooker.

Remove seeds from pepper, chop, and add to slow cooker.
Do NOT stir.
Reduce heat to low and cook 4 hours.
Stir in the tomatoes and stock.
Continue to cook 1-2 hours or until ready to eat
If you're not ready to eat yet within a few hours, turn the slow cooker to warm.

Serve with a crusty bread.
Enjoy!

*If you're using vegetable stock, make sure it is a flavorful, high quality stock or your stew will require additional seasoning. Most chicken stocks will taste great.

Printer friendly version

That wraps up Zucchini week (I ran out of zucchini). For links to the other recipes, check out this week's meal plan here.
This recipe originally appeared on 8/3/12 @ oneincomefamilyliving.blogspot.com. I wrote, edited, and transferred it here.