dinner

Beef, Bean, and Sweet Potato Enchiladas

April 18, 2018 by Megan

Ground beef enchiladas with black beans and sweet potatoes topped with a cheese blend and freshly chopped cilantro.

These enchiladas have transformed my attitude about making enchiladas! They are so delicious. So usually when I make enchiladas I put chicken in them and I feel like they come up short of my expectations. Not these though! I wanted to keep them simple and yet still make sure they had great texture and flavor which they have from the onion, beans, and sweet potato and spices.

And you can trust me when I say these are amazing because I have been eating the leftovers for lunch for the last week and I’m not even upset about it one bit. I do recommend chopping the sweet potato pretty small so it cooks quicker and it just tastes better that way too!

I get pretty excited about making any Mexican food at home and these sure did not disappoint! They are soo good! These were definitely my favorite meal from my week three meal plan. You can see the entire meal plan here.

So lately we have all been going to bed rather on the late side, and it sure is clear every morning as I seem to get up a little bit later every day and then am scrambling to get the kids out the door and to school. Well, I am known to preach to my three year-old that she needs to go to sleep so she has energy for the next day. Lately after I have been putting her to bed, if I have work to do and she can hear me up and about she will shout, “Mommy! You need go bed so you have anergy!” I love it so much. I will agree with her and say you are right and then proceed to tiptoe around the house in the dark so she thinks I am in bed. LOL! You gotta do what ya gotta do.

Ingredients

Flour Tortillas
Ground Beef
Olive Oil
Red Onion
Sweet Potato
Black Beans
Red Enchilada Sauce
Cayenne Pepper
Ground Cumin
Cheddar/Monterey Jack Cheese
Avocado
Cilantro

Lately, I seem to be really loving making simple every day things that I’m familiar with cooking but making them just a bit different and more interesting. The more familiar I am with something the more willing I am to cook it for dinner.

However, I don’t like the same old stuff every week so it’s fun to put a little spin on it to make it different and that’s how I feel these enchiladas are with the addition of the sweet potato. Sweet potatoes aren’t something I would normally add to my enchiladas but they are definitely a good choice for these!!

I hope you love them!

Beef, Bean, and Sweet Potato Enchiladas

Megan

Ground beef enchiladas with black beans and sweet potatoes topped with a cheese blend and freshly chopped cilantro.

5 from 1 vote

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Prep Time 15

Cook Time 40

Total Time 55

Course Beef, Main Dish

Cuisine Mexican

Servings 10 enchiladas

Ingredients

10 8 '' flour tortillas- I used La Tortilla's Smart and Delicious Light Tortillas
1 pound lean ground beef
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 red onion chopped
1 sweet potato chopped
1 15 oz can black beans rinsed and drained
10 oz can red enchilada sauce
1 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1 teaspoon ground cumin
3½ cups cheese- combination of cheddar and/or Monterey Jack cheese
Optional toppings: sliced avocado and chopped fresh cilantro

Instructions

Preheat oven to 350℉.
In a large skillet, cook ground beef breaking it up until cooked through. Transfer beef to a bowl and set aside. Drain grease from pan and wipe with paper towel.
Heat oil over medium heat in skillet. Add onion and sweet potato and cook 7-8 minutes or until softened. Add beans and ¼ cup enchilada sauce and stir to combine. Remove from heat.
Mix in ground beef, cayenne pepper, and cumin.
Assemble enchiladas and set out tortillas, enchilada sauce, beef filling, and cheese.
Lay out tortilla. Spread spoonful of enchilada sauce down center of tortilla and spoon beef filling over the enchilada sauce down the center. Sprinkle 1-2 tablespoons cheese blend over filling. Roll up and place seam side down in 9x13 baking dish. Repeat for remaining enchiladas.
Pour remaining sauce over the top of enchiladas and top the remaining cheese over the sauce.
Bake for 20 minutes.
Top with avocado slices and chopped fresh cilantro.

More Great Recipes

Slow Cooker Spicy Chicken Tacos

Stuffed Pork Tenderloin

Stuffed Poblano Peppers with Lime Crema

Meal Plan #3

April 16, 2018 by Megan

It’s meal plan time again!! I’m so pumped about these meals and I hope you are too! They are meals that are very different from each other but that incorporate some of the same ingredients to reduce waste and clean out your fridge quicker. My personal fav for the week has got to be the enchiladas with the shrimp tacos close behind. My husband definitely loved the chicken drumsticks the best and I would say the kids loved those the best as well.

I really love doing these meal plans and hope you find some favorites in this week’s meal plan as well. I stepped out of my comfort zone and put tofu in the asian chopped salad. If you don’t care for tofu you definitely could go without or add in some chicken in its place.

Beef, Bean, and Sweet Potato Enchiladas

Ground beef enchiladas with black beans and sweet potatoes topped with a cheese blend and freshly chopped cilantro.

These enchiladas are hands down the best enchiladas I have made yet. I love that I decided to go with beef because it doesn’t get dried out like chicken sometimes can. These are very simple to put together making them a great option for a weeknight meal. I also used La Tortilla Factory’s smart and delicious light tortillas and they only have 80 Calories per tortilla.

I don’t get too excited about leftovers but I’m having no problems eating these for lunch this week!

Beef, Bean, and Sweet Potato Enchiladas

Megan

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Prep Time 15

Cook Time 40

Total Time 55

Course Beef, Main Dish

Cuisine Mexican

Servings 10 enchiladas

Calories 213 kcal

Ingredients

10 8 '' flour tortillas- I used La Tortilla's Smart and Delicious Light Tortillas
1 pound lean ground beef
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 red onion chopped
1 sweet potato chopped
1 15 oz can black beans rinsed and drained
10 oz can red enchilada sauce
1 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1 teaspoon ground cumin
3 1/2 cups cheese- combination of cheddar and/or Monterey Jack cheese
Optional toppings: sliced avocado and chopped fresh cilantro

Instructions

Preheat oven to 350℉.
In a large skillet, cook ground beef breaking it up until cooked through. Transfer beef to a bowl and set aside. Drain grease from pan and wipe with paper towel.
Heat oil over medium heat in skillet. Add onion and sweet potato and cook 7-8 minutes or until softened. Add beans and 1/4 cup enchilada sauce and stir to combine. Remove from heat.
Mix in ground beef, cayenne pepper, and cumin.
Assemble enchiladas and set out tortillas, enchilada sauce, beef filling, and cheese.
Lay out tortilla. Spread spoonful of enchilada sauce down center of tortilla and spoon beef filling over the enchilada sauce down the center. Sprinkle 1-2 tablespoons cheese blend over filling. Roll up and place seam side down in 9x13 baking dish. Repeat for remaining enchiladas.
Pour remaining sauce over the top of enchiladas and top the remaining cheese over the sauce.
Bake for 20 minutes.
Top with avocado slices and chopped fresh cilantro.

Spicy Sriracha Shrimp Tacos

Spicy shrimp and cabbage slaw topped with avocado lime crema and a drizzle or two of sriracha sauce. This combination creates the best shrimp taco you’ve eaten so far.

I’m not sure if it’s the hint of spring in the air or what but lately I am totally digging spicier foods like these amazing sriracha shrimp tacos. They are the king of shrimp tacos. I have been incorporating red cabbage into my meals a lot lately so I decided to go with the green cabbage this week. It just adds crunch, texture and packs some nutrition along with it so it’s just a great addition to any meal.

I usually like the flour tortillas but with these shrimp tacos, I do recommend getting some small corn tortillas. They add a great touch!

Spicy Sriracha Shrimp Tacos

Megan

Spicy shrimp and cabbage slaw topped with avocado lime crema and a drizzle or two of sriracha sauce. This combination creates the best shrimp taco you've eaten so far.

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Prep Time 30

Cook Time 10

Total Time 40

Course Main Dish, Seafood

Servings 6 tacos

Calories 265 kcal

Ingredients

Corn tortillas
1 pound small to medium cooked shrimp thawed and tails removed
1 tablespoon olive oil

Shrimp Marinade

1 tablespoon Sriracha sauce
2 tablespoons soy sauce
3 cloves garlic minced
1/2 tablespoon lime juice

Avocado Lime Crema

zest of 1/2 lime
2 1/2 tablespoons lime juice
1 cup sour cream
1/2 avocado mashed
1/4 teaspoon kosher salt

Cabbage slaw

2 1/2 cups green cabbage shredded
1/2 teaspoon sesame oil
2 teaspoons honey
zest + juice 1 lime

Optional Topping- Sriracha sauce

Instructions

Combine shrimp in a medium bowl with all the shrimp marinade ingredients.Stir to combine, cover and refrigerate for at least a half hour.
Meanwhile prepare avocado lime crema. Combine mashed avocado with remaining ingredients and whisk together until smooth. Refrigerate until ready to use.
Prepare cabbage slaw. Combine all slaw ingredients in a medium bowl and stir to combine. Refrigerate until ready to use.
Heat oil in a skillet over medium-high heat. Sear shrimp for 5-6 minutes, flipping halfway through. Remove from heat.
In a dry skillet, heat tortillas over medium heat until warmed.
Arrange shrimp tacos. Lay out corn tortilla, toss cabbage slaw down the middle of tortilla, top with shrimp and avocado lime crema. Repeat for remaining shrimp tacos. Drizzle a bit of sriracha sauce on top if you like a little more heat to your tacos. Enjoy!!!

Grilled Cilantro Lime Chicken and Veggie Skewers

Chicken marinated in a cilantro lime marinade and grilled to perfection with all of your favorite veggies.

I love grilled food but it’s definitely nice the first time you break out the grill and it’s a cool 65 degrees. Now that deserves a meal on the back patio with this combo of chicken and veggies on your plate. Oh, and because I try to be resourceful we are using the avocado lime crema made up from the shrimp tacos to dip our chicken in today. Why not?!

Grilled Cilantro Lime Chicken and Veggie Skewers

Megan

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Prep Time 25

Cook Time 8

Total Time 33

Course Chicken, Main Dish

Servings 3

Calories 414 kcal

Ingredients

1 pound chicken tenderloins
1 pint cherry tomatoes
8 oz white button mushrooms
1 red pepper cut into 1'' wedges
1/2 red onion cut into 1'' wedges
1 green pepper cut into 1'' wedges

Marinade

1/2 cup lime juice from about 2 limes
1/2 cup honey
4 tablespoons soy sauce
2 tablespoon olive oil
6 cloves garlic minced
1 cup fresh cilantro chopped
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon black pepper

Instructions

Combine all marinade ingredients in a large bowl and mix.
Place chicken tenderloins in a sealable plastic bag and add half of marinade to tenderloins. Refrigerate for at least 1 hour up to 8 hours.
Thirty minutes prior to grilling combine veggies in a bowl. Of the remaining marinade, set aside 1/4 cup for basting chicken while grilling. Pour the rest of the marinade in the bowl with the veggies and let marinate for 30 minutes.
Prepare grill to medium high heat. Place chicken tenderloins on metal skewers. Discard remaining marinade that was with the chicken.
Arrange veggies on skewers and place on baking sheet separate from chicken.
Grill chicken for 3 minutes, baste with that 1/4 cup marinade previously set aside and flip chicken skewers. Don't baste the cooked side. Grill for another 3-4 minutes until chicken is cooked through.
Do the same for the veggie skewers just don't baste them with the marinade to prevent contamination.
Enjoy!

Notes

I love dipping this chicken into the avocado lime crema that was made for the sriracha shrimp tacos!

To save time, I like cutting up the peppers and onions ahead of time and keeping them in a bowl in the fridge then mixing them with the marinade for a bit before they go onto the grill.

Our Family’s Favorite Chicken Drumsticks

Chicken drumsticks marinated in a honey, soy, garlic and sriracha sauce and then baked for an hour.

I am not exaggerating when I say these are our favorite chicken legs. They are finger-licking good! And I just can not get over how easy they are to make. Supper during the week should not be a hassle.

Our Family's Favorite Chicken Drumsticks

Megan

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Course Chicken, Main Dish

Calories 234 kcal

Ingredients

2 1/2 pounds chicken drumsticks
1 1/2 tablespoons olive oil
1/2 cup soy sauce
1/2 cup honey
1 tablespoon Sriracha sauce
2 cloves garlic pressed or minced
1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
1/8 teaspoon black pepper

Cabbage Slaw

4 cups cabbage shredded
1/2 cup cilantro chopped
1/4 cup lime juice about 1 lime
1/2 tablespoon white vinegar
1/2 cup cashews

Instructions

Preheat oven to 350℉.
Place drumsticks in a 9x13 baking dish. Season chicken with salt and pepper.
In a small bowl combine oil, soy sauce, honey, Sriracha sauce, and garlic. Pour over chicken evenly.
Bake for 1 hour and serve.

Cabbage Slaw

Combine ingredients in a medium bowl and stir to combine. Refrigerate until ready to serve.

Notes

You can definitely serve chicken with a different side such as a ready to eat bagged salad to save on time. I went with the cabbage slaw to use up some leftover cabbage in our fridge from this week's meal plan.

Asian Chopped Salad with Tofu

A mix of greens, carrots, celery, green onions, and edamame topped with pan-seared tofu marinated in garlic and ginger with a honey and soy based dressing for a fresh-tasting and delicious meal.

Asian Chopped Salad with Tofu

Megan

A mix of greens, carrots, celery, green onions, and edamame topped with pan-seared tofu marinated in garlic and ginger with a honey and soy based dressing for a fresh-tasting and delicious meal.

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Course Main Dish

Cuisine Vegan

Servings 4 -5

Ingredients

16 oz firm or extra firm tofu
1 tablespoon sesame oil
1 inch cube fresh ginger grated
3 cloves garlic minced
1 tablespoon canola oil
4 cups Romaine chopped
2 1/2 cups green cabbage shredded
10 oz frozen edamame thawed and removed from pod
1 carrot grated
1 cucumber chopped
2 stalks celery chopped
2 green onions chopped
2 tablespoons mint chopped
2 tablespoons cilantro chopped

Dressing

2 tablespoons low-sodium soy sauce
1 tablespoon sesame oil
1 tablespoon honey
Juice 1 lime
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon black pepper

Instructions

Remove tofu from package, drain, and pat dry with paper towels. Combine tofu with sesame oil, ginger, and garlic in a bowl and refrigerate for 1-3 hours.
In the meantime, combine Romaine, cabbage, edamame, carrot, cucumber, celery, onions, mint and cilantro in a large bowl and refrigerate until ready to serve.
In a non-stick skillet, heat oil over medium high heat. Add tofu and sear 2-3 minutes a side until golden brown on 3-4 sides. Remove from heat.
In a medium bowl, combine ingredients for dressing and whisk together. Add to salad and mix to coat evenly. Add tofu on top and serve.

Notes

Adapted from Very Well Fit

For a printable grocery list, click here.

Happy Meal Planning!!

Easy Skillet Lemon and Garlic Chicken

March 2, 2018 by Megan

Lemon and garlic chicken tossed with tomatoes, orecchiette, and fresh mozzarella. It starts out on the stovetop and then bakes in the oven for 15 minutes for a delicious, healthy and quick meal.

Do you have a really good chicken recipe that you just always go back to because it’s easy, quick, and well…like the perfect weeknight meal? Me? I have LOTS!! And this skillet lemon and garlic chicken is DEFINITELY one of those!!

What’s even better 👉 (secret: the leftovers are the best leftovers ever!) I can’t say that for all leftover chicken recipes. This one though, this is a recipe I would stick in the front of my recipe box if I still used those dusty things up in my cupboard regularly.

So, now that we are on the topic of recipe books, what is your favorite way to organize your recipes? Do you have a system online? To be honest, I still use my recipe books for a few meals that I have had since I put them together when I was about 15. Those ones handed down from my mom that I just love more than anything. Yes, those recipes are still in my recipe book and they aren’t going anywhere. However, these days I don’t use a recipe book much because every week is a brand new week and that means new food!! I need new food, new colors, and new flavors! Call me crazy, but it’s my inner child/dietitian at work here.

Honestly, the recipes that seem to repeat themselves are those that my husband and kids request otherwise I’m all over here writing down new recipe inspiration before they can chime in and tell me what to cook. Hahaha! For example, if we go too many days without beef aka steak mainly, my husband politely reminds me that we haven’t had it in a while and so I make sure it pops back in to make an appearance. I have nothing against steak, it’s just…well okay so ya I do. I would rather eat anything else but let’s not tell him that. One exception to that is fillets, they are awesome period. This Filet Oscar is still one of the most popular recipes on my site. Warning…the pictures aren’t stellar.

What are your hands-down favorite recipes? I want to know! For me, if it has avocado in it then I’m down. I love salmon, a good chicken recipe like this one for instance, and grilled veggie skewers (those onions and peppers are rockin!)

This recipe has a spring feel to it and I am totally ready for some temps above 30℉! So in that respect, I couldn’t think of a better recipe to add to your day.

Easy Skillet Lemon and Garlic Chicken

Megan

Lemon and garlic chicken tossed with tomatoes, orecchiette, and fresh mozzarella. It starts out on the stovetop and then bakes in the oven for 15 minutes for a delicious, healthy and quick meal.

5 from 1 vote

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Prep Time 10

Cook Time 35

Total Time 45

Course Chicken, Dinner, Main Dish

Servings 4

Ingredients

1 1/2 pounds chicken breasts skinless and boneless
1 tablespoon olive oil
Salt/Pepper to taste
3 tablespoons unsalted butter
6-8 cloves garlic crushed or minced
1 pint cherry tomatoes
1/2 cup chicken stock
1 lemon sliced
1 1/2 teaspoons lemon juice
1 1/2 cups orecchiette uncooked
1 cup spinach chopped and stems trimmed
3 oz mozzarella pearls or thinly sliced
dried parsley for garnish

Instructions

Preheat oven to 400℉.
In a large cast iron skillet, add olive oil and heat over medium. Season chicken breasts with salt and pepper. Add to skillet and cook 3 minutes per side. Transfer chicken to a plate.
Meanwhile bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Cook orecchiette according to manufacturer's instructions. Drain pasta and set aside.
Leaving skillet on burner, decrease heat to medium-low and wait just a minute. Then add butter and once melted add crushed garlic and stir for 30 seconds. Toss in the tomatoes and cook for about 6 minutes stirring frequently. Add chicken stock, chopped spinach, lemon juice, and lemon slices and increase heat a bit. Cook another couple of minutes.
Add the chicken breasts back to the skillet. I like to place a few of the lemon slices on top of the chicken at this point. Fill in the skillet with the cooked orecchiette. Add mozzarella pearls or slices evenly over the chicken and pasta.
Bake for 15-18 minutes until chicken is cooked through and juices run clear.
Sprinkle some dried parsley on top for garnish and more salt/pepper if needed.

dinner

Ingredients

Beef, Bean, and Sweet Potato Enchiladas

Ingredients

Instructions

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Beef, Bean, and Sweet Potato Enchiladas

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Spicy Sriracha Shrimp Tacos

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Grilled Cilantro Lime Chicken and Veggie Skewers

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