Ultimate Nachos

      This is a recipe I designed especially for my husband.  Whenever I made tacos he would skip the tortilla and go strait for the chips.  I was wondering how I could make his addiction to nachos a little healthier so I made up the Ultimate Nachos.  Basically it's all your favorite taco flavors mixed with black beans and a ton of veggies.  James doesn't even like black beans, but they are so good for you I mix them in and he eats them up.   You could use this recipe as a filling for your tacos, or layer it with corn tortillas in a 8x8 pan and bake it to make Mexican Lasagna.  If you're having a group over to watch football you could put this meal in a crock pot on low and let your guests make their own nacho bowls. 

Ingredients:

2lbs ground beef                                    7.50
2 cans black beans                                1.32
     (rinsed and drained)
30 oz diced tomatoes with green chilies  2.04
2 Small or 1 Large green pepper            1.20
2 stalks celery                                          .22
1 medium onion                                       .30
1 large carrot                                           .20
1 bunch cilantro                                       .74
1 1/2 C frozen corn                                  .25
2 envelopes taco seasoning                     1.00

Toppings:

sour cream                             1.00
shredded cheese                     4.08
Jalapenos                               2.78
Tortilla chips                           3.48

Directions:

In a large pan brown and drain the ground beef--set aside.  Chop the onion, celery and green pepper.  Peel and grate the carrot.  Add about 1 Tbsp olive oil to the pan and add the onion, celery, green pepper, carrot and corn.  Cook for about 5-7 min until crisp tender.

 Add in the cooked ground beef, drained beans and drained diced tomatoes.   Stir in the two envelopes of taco seasoning.  Stir gently and heat through.  Because the veggies give off water you wont need to add any extra water with the seasoning mix.  Once mixed turn off heat and stir in a handful of chopped cilantro.

Colorful huh?  Now split into three containers.  One is for dinner and two are to freeze.  When ready to eat, heat up a container on the stove until warm.  Serve a scoop of the meat mixture in a bowl and top with sour cream, jalapenos and cheddar cheese.  Eat with tortilla chips or over rice. 

When freezing the left over cheese make sure to grate all the cheese and split into three sandwich baggies.  If you freeze the whole block of cheese it will be very crumbly when you thaw it.  If you pre-shred or buy shredded cheese it will freeze and thaw much better. 

I made three meals for $8.70 each including chips and toppings. 

Enjoy! 

Christie aka Keeza

Chicken Tortilla Soup

    This is one of my favorite soups.  It started as a weight watcher soup, but I have adapted it to suit my taste.  It is very low calorie and is full of veggies.   As long as you go easy on the toppings it is a healthy dinner option with a lot of flavor. 

Ingredients:

1 1/2 lbs boneless skinless chicken breasts           5.48
2 15 oz cans diced tomatoes with chilies               1.88
1 10 oz can mild red enchilada sauce                    1.14
1 medium onion-chopped                                       .40
1 bell pepper--chopped                                         .88
4 oz can diced green chillies or jalapenos                .78
1 summer squash or zucchini peeled and shredded  .39
3 carrots--peeled ans shredded                              .30
14 oz fat free chicken broth                                   1.78
1 C corn                                                                .25
1 bunch cilantro                                                     .74
2 tsp cumin
2 tsp chili powder
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp black pepper
1 bay leaf

Toppings: sour cream   .98, pickled jalapenos 1.00, and tostitos scoops 3.48

Directions: 

In a large crock pot combine raw chicken breasts, diced tomatoes, diced chilies, onion, green pepper, carrot, squash/zucchini, broth, cumin, chili powder, salt, pepper and bay leaf.  (all ingredients except corn and cilantro)

Cook on low for 4-6 hours.  When chicken breasts are fully cooked, pull them out and cut them up into bite sized pieces on the cutting board and return the chicken to the soup.  Add corn.

 Just before serving add lots of chopped cilantro.  We like about 1/4 cup to 1/2 cup chopped fresh cilantro.  Now comes the toppings.  We like pickled jalapenos, sour cream and tortilla chips.  The original recipe calls for tortillas that you brush lightly with oil, cut into strips and bake until crispy.  This sounds like way too much work, so we buy a big bag of scoops tostitos and use a handful of them to help us enjoy our soup. 

This soup would also be great with celery, black beans, hominy, okra, or a little Parmesan on top.  Feel free to use any great veggies that you find in the fridge.  I was able to make 4 dinners at $3.51 each!  The toppings were $1.37 each. 

Enjoy!
Christie aka Keeza

Chicken Noodle Soup

Well, it's cold and snowy today and I'm out of money.  I blew all my personal money on clothes the day after Thanksgiving.  So here I am at the house after two very stressful days at work and I'd love to make some comfort food.  I looked around my cupboards and freezer and I have all the things I need to make Chicken Noodle Soup.  So here goes!  The prices may be a little off because these are left over things and I don't have the receipts handy.

Ingredients:

2 Large bone in chicken breasts         4.00
1 large onion                                       .30
4 celery ribs                                        .40
3 large carrots or 1 C baby carrots      .40
12 C homemade chicken broth           free!
1 bay leaf                                            .10
2/3 bag of wide egg noodles                .75
3 tsp chicken base                               .30
    (or 3 chicken bullion cubes if you prefer)
salt, pepper and all purpose seasoning to taste

Directions:

Fill a large pot with the uncooked chicken breasts and water.  Roughly chop 1/2 the onion, two celery ribs and 1/2 your carrots and add to the pot.  Add bay leaf.  Cook the chicken slowly over low heat for 30 min.  If your chicken is frozen (like mine was) then it will take 1 hour 15 min to poach. 

While the chicken is cooking, slice the remaining onion, celery and carrot into bite size pieces.  The first set of veggies will be thrown away, this set will go in the final soup.  Once the chicken has cooked through, remove the breasts and let them cool on the cutting board.   Strain the cooking liquid to remove the veggies and chicken bone but reserve the fluid for your soup.  This is your homemade chicken broth!  Woo hoo. Return the broth to the pan and add enough water to make 12 cups.  Stir in the 3 tsp of chicken base or bullion to add extra flavor.  Add the raw sliced onion, carrot and celery to the broth. 

In a separate pot heat water for the pasta.  When it reaches a boil add the egg noodles and cook for 5 min.  then strain and add to chicken broth.   Once chicken has cooled then remove from the bone and chop or shred the meat into bite size pieces.  Add to the broth and vegetables.  Taste your soup and add salt, pepper and all purpose seasoning to your liking.  If it's a little bland add another teaspoon or two of chicken base.

I was able to make 4 dinners for $1.57 a meal.  This is a great dinner on a cold night with a hot roll fresh from the oven.  It's also a great meal to have in your freezer for those days when you don't feel well.   Make sure you bring one to a friend when they catch a cold! 

This is what we'll be having for dinner. I hope you give it a try.  If you are very brave you can make your own noodles.  I have not been very successful at this...I am much better with yeast breads.   But if you are adapt at noodle making let me know your tips and tricks.

Christie aka Keeza