Extra Lean Turkey Tacos

Yes, extra lean turkey tacos don't sound that good, but they are.

Take extra lean ground turkey and brown in frying pan. Add package of McCormick Original Taco Seasoning. Add onions. Add tomatoes.

Take some tortillas, heat a tortilla up in another frying pan. Heat one side a bit, then flip, then put non-fat refried beans and cheddar cheese on the top side. This will warm them up/melt the cheese. When tortilla is hot/beans are warm and cheese begins to melt, remove from pan and add the hot turkey to finish the job. Top with homemade salsa (if you don't have any canned from the previous harvest season, a simple diced tomato, onion, jalapeno, and cilantro works wonders (either mix or throw in blender)

And enjoy!

Pasta and Beans

Pasta and Beans is a great dish I found on the internet, and it's really easy to make. The recipe originally called for plum tomatoes, but grape tomatoes usually taste better so I used them with excellent results. The best part about this meal, aside from it being healthy and easy and tasty is that it looks really pretty.

what you need:
8oz of short pasta
2 packages of grape tomatoes (or 4-5 other tomatoes) chopped
10-12 oz spinach
3 cloves garlic
oregano
salt
pepper
red pepper flakes
1 15-ounce can cannellini beans
Parmesan Cheese
Olive oil

Bring water to a boil and add pasta.

As pasta is cooking, sautee garlic in olive oil for 1 minute. Add chopped tomatoes and spices. Cover and cook for 5 minutes or so, stirring on occasion. With 3 minutes left on pasta, add beans and spinach. Cook until spinach is wilted.

Before draining pasta, add about 1/2 cup of the hot water to the tomato/bean/spinach sauce. Drain the pasta and then add to sauce and mix. The sauce should be slightly runny.

Serve on plate topped with parmesan cheese and enjoy.

Pasta with Tuna and Parsley

The name says it all. Simple yet tasty.

Ingredients:
Pasta
1 large can tuna
1 bunch parsley
1/2 lemon (juiced)
Olive Oil
Salt & Pepper

Cook Pasta

With 3 or so minutes left on pasta, heat olive oil and tuna in skillet over med high heat. Turn to low when pasta is done.

Drain pasta.

Add chopped parsley and a bit of lemon juice to tuna. Mix. Add salt and pepper. Mix. After parsley is in for 30-60 seconds, remove from heat, mix with pasta and serve. Top with more chopped parsley if you want more parsley flavor.

Serve with a veggie and enjoy.

Baked Chicken

It's been a while since i've posted since I've been busy and haven't cooked anything exciting. Like one night I bought cereal for breakfast and beef for dinner, and I wanted the cereal so much I ended up having it for dinner. (I made the beef tacos a few days later, in a post to come).

However, last night I made Bisquick baked chicken. It brings back memories of being a little kid and shaking chicken in a bag coating it with Bisquick - it was like a big rattle with raw meat instead of beads. I realize now that shaking chicken in a bag is highly overrated and just coating it side by side in a bowl works just as well and saves a bag.

The coating:
2/3+ cup Original Bisquick
2 teaspoons paprika
1.5 teaspoons salt
.5 teaspoon pepper
1 tsp italian seasoning

The rest:
1 tablespoon butter
3.5 - 4.5 -pound cut-up whole chicken

Preheat oven to 425. Put pan and butter in oven. Mix everything but butter and chicken in a bowl. When butter is melted in pan, remove from oven. Dip chicken in coating and cover very well on both sides. Place in pan, skin side down.

Depending on thickness of chicken, cook for 30-60 minutes. Then flip and cook for an additional 15-30 minutes (until internal temp = 170-180). Basically when the top is nice and crispy.

Serve with brown rice and homemade pickles from your previous growing season (if you don't have these, i guess you could use broccoli, but really the meal would be missing something...so go get a garden and grow too many cucumbers/zucchini and learn how to can veggies... recipe coming this summer).

Camera is out of batteries, but i think i snagged a picture of my tacos before it happened. Just imagine baked chicken.