Clean Eating Taco Soup

Mmmmm, TACOS!  I love tacos!  Yes it is basically just meat and veggies, but I love those flavors.  They are smokey and slightly spicy.  Ok, I am hungry, so I am going to post this and then eat some of this taco soup!!

I have my nephew staying with me and he is a 15 year old who is a picky eater.  I am trying to get him to eat what I am eating, so that I don’t have to make 2 meals, and that so he doesn’t have to eat Turkey sandwiches or bowls of Captain Crunch every night for dinner.  (He could seriously live on that crap).  I have taught him how to hide veggies in his smoothies, so that’s progress.  The past week I have been making dishes I already know he likes, with my recipes that are clean, but that have already been shared with you here.  His favorite being the Chicken Curry (I love it too, but I don’t want it every night!).  So, I was thinking Tacos!  Easy enough, ground beef, clean corn tortillas (thank you Trader Joe’s), lettuce, tomato, cheese…but how do I season the meat, just cumin?  I don’t want a package of hydrogenated oils to flavor it.  So I took to Google for a taco seasoning recipe and found something even better!!  Taco Soup!!! (Ok, maybe not better, but definitely in my wheelhouse, I love soup!)

Courtesy of www.heandsheeatclean.com

I found a Taco Soup recipe, that included the recipes for Taco Seasoning and Ranch seasoning, so that I didn’t have to dump the hydrogenated oil packets into it.  And it added beans for additional protein and fiber (FILLING!).  I made this this morning, as the snow caused a delay to enter my work facility, and let me just tell you, I wanted to eat it for breakfast!!!  I hope you will try this and enjoy it as much as I did!!

Ingredients:

1 lb extra lean ground turkey, beef, or ground chicken breast

1 onion, chopped

1 pkg ranch dressing mix (for clean mix, use the recipe I posted)

1 pkg taco seasoning mix (for clean mix, use the recipe I posted)

1 can  pinto beans, drained

1 can  kidney beans, drained

1 bag whole kernel corn

1 can Rotel-style tomatoes (mild)

1 can tomatoe sauce

1 cup low sodium chicken stock

Directions:

1. Brown meat & onions (in a stock pot or dutch oven)

2. Mix ranch & taco seasonings into meat

3. Add the rest of the ingredients into mixture

4. Add a cup and a half of low sodium chicken stock

4. Simmer for at least 1 hour

You may notice that you don't see corn in the pic, that is because I had forgotten it!!  I remedied that quickly though! LOL

Clean Eating Taco Seasoning Mix and Ranch Seasoning Mix

Courtesy of www.heandsheeatclean.com, which is a great site I found yesterday when looking for a clean taco soup recipe.   That recipe will follow, but needed for the recipe are Ranch Seasoning Mix and Taco Seasoning Mix.  It’s time to open those spice cabinets (or racks).  These were great, since I am a spice nerd and already own everything spices.  Dried herbs/spices go such a long way, so I highly recommend investing in the popular ones, they also keep in the cabinet for eons.

Taco Seasoning Mix

Ingredients:

1 Tbsp chili powder

1 ½  tsp cumin

1 ½  tsp paprika

1 tsp oregano

1 tsp salt

½ tsp garlic powder

½ tsp onion powder

¼ tsp cayenne pepper

Directions:

Mix all spices together!

Ranch Seasoning Mix

Ingredients:

2 Tbsp dried parsley

2 tsp dried dill

1 tsp garlic powder

1 tsp onion powder

½ tsp black pepper

½ tsp dried chives

Pinch of salt

Directions:

Mix all spices together!

Clean Eating Pot Roast Made Crock Pot Easy

I had never liked Pot Roast as a kid, or as a teen, or even as an early adult.  But a funny thing happens when you start cooking for pleasure and trying new tastes and textures, because now I love it!  I think for me it was always the texture of the meat.  I don’t usually like beef done anything more than medium, and well a pot roast is simmered, so it tends to get well done.  But it is so tender and I have learned to like that.  This recipe was really simple, but the slow cooking takes some time.  You can throw it in the crockpot early in the am, and finish up just before it’s time to eat.

You can omit the potatoes and serve them on the side, or with mashed cauliflower, but I really liked them in there.  I didn’t put amounts for the seasonings, as I just eyeballed it.  Maybe start with a tsp of each.

Ingredients –

2-3 lbs Roast or Chuck Beef or Brisket (I used a Roast)

2 celery stalks, sliced in 4’s

½ bag baby carrots

6 red potatoes (quartered)

2 onions (sliced)

3 cups (24 oz) low sodium beef broth

8 oz mushrooms

Salt

Pepper

garlic powder

onion powder

1 Tbsp Worcestershire sauce

2 Tbsp corn starch

2 tbsp water

Directions –

Place celery, onions, carrots, mushrooms and potatoes in the crock pot.  Season the beef and place it on top of veggies and pour in the broth.  Add some more seasoning to the veggies.  Pour the Worcestershire sauce on the beef.  Set crock pot on low for 9- 10 hours.

At the end of the slow cooking, move your beef to a cutting board.  I drained my veggies, reserving the broth in a deep sauté pan.  Add the cornstarch to the water and once dissolved add it to the broth.  Once the sauce has thickened, add the veggies.  Slice your beef and top with the veggies and gravy.

Enjoy!

Homestyle Chicken and Noodles

I’m pretty sure I promised you this recipe last week, so I am very sorry for the delay.  The Holidays had me in a fog and I didn’t really post much.  That is changing because I have more nights free and lots of cooking to do and recipes to share!! 

The recipe here for my Homestyle Chicken and Noodles is delicious and nutritious, and very easy to make…if you crockpot (or boil, bake, etc) your chicken beforehand.  I tend to throw a pound or 2 of boneless, skinless chicken breasts in the crockpot on a Sunday.  Shred them and keep them in the fridge.  This recipe calls for 3 cups of the shredded chicken.  Also note that if you want Chicken Noodle Soup, rather than a thick, creamy pasta dish, just add 4 more cups of stock/broth!  It’s easy and versatile!!!

Ingredients –

1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil

32 oz Chicken broth (1 box or use your own homemade stock.  I used Trader Joe’s Organic Low-Sodium when I don’t have any homemade stock available)

2 large carrots peeled and sliced

2 celery stalks sliced

1 large onion, diced

2 tsp dried thyme

3 cups of cooked chicken, shredded or diced

½  pound whole wheat pasta

½ cup grated parmesan cheese (real stuff preferably, not the oily canned junk)

Directions –

In a Dutch Oven or Stock pot, drizzle the olive oil.  Add the Mirepoix (haha, gotcha, I learned a new word).  This would be the carrots, onions and celery.  Sauté until tender (about 6 minutes).  Add the stock and bring to a boil.

Stir in the chicken and the uncooked noodles.  Cover the pot and turn it down to a simmer.  Simmer for 30 minutes (stirring occasionally).  Add the parmesan cheese and serve.

Easy peasy!!! (oooh you can add peas too if you would like J)