Day 28 - Mini Burritos

Mini Turkey and Black Bean Burritos, red plum, dried green beans.

You know those delicious peppers from yesterday?  Well, when I cooked them two nights ago, I actually doubled the filling and used the leftovers for burritos last night (and today for lunch).  I liked it just as much as the peppers from last night!  The only alteration I would make is maybe adding some extra salsa and sour cream...but they were delicious even without those.  Added a red plum and some dried green beans, and this was a good meal.

The burritos packed a ton of protein, so this is a great meal if you need to eat quickly and stay full for a while.  You could also use regular burrito sized (10 inch) tortillas for a larger burrito - I just used fajita tortillas because that's what I had on hand, and everything is cuter when it's mini.  Seriously.  For instance...

See how tiny and cute he is?!  And he's next to soup, so he obviously loves being a mini-fluffy-chef.

I rest my case.

Anyway, burrito time.  Remember, the way I organized this was to double the recipe for the filling (what gets cooked in the skillet, minus the cheese), using half for the Roasted Stuffed Peppers and the other half for burritos the next day.  The recipe below, however, is just for the burritos.  Only.  Smaller quantities, equal deliciousness!



Mini Burritos

1/4 lb ground turkey
1/2 small onion, diced
1 Tablespoons taco seasoning
1/2 can black beans, drained
1/2 cup cooked brown rice
1/2 cup red tomato salsa
1/4 cup frozen corn
1 cup shredded Mexican blend cheese
8 6-inch (fajita size) flour tortillas

Brown turkey in a large skillet.  Add onions and cook until onions are translucent.  Stir in the following 5 ingredients, through corn, and cook until heated through.  Gently fold in cheese until just melted.  Remove from heat and divide evenly between tortillas, rolling them up as you go along.  Serve or refrigerate immediately.  Pin It Now!

Day 27 - Roasted Stuffed Peppers

Roasted Bell Pepper with arugula,  cucumber slices, mini rice cakes.

Last night was a listen-to-Billie-Holiday-and-get-creative-in-the-kitchen kind of night. So I tried out a new recipe for Southwestern Stuffed Peppers from Simply Love  Food blog.

It was delicious.  So delicious.  I served it last night with roasted potatoes with hot peppers and an arugula salad. Had one leftover for lunch today which I had with more arugula, cucumber slices, and mini rice cakes.

I made the pepper fairly true to the original recipe, with a few changes.  I also cut the recipe in half, as below, but doubled the filling which I will use for dinner tonight!  Burritos may be on the lunch menu tomorrow!

Roasted Stuffed Bell Peppers

2-3 bell peppers,any color
olive oil, to taste
1/4 lb ground turkey
1/2 small onion, diced
1 Tablespoons taco seasoning
1/2 can black beans, drained
1/2 cup cooked brown rice
1/2 cup red tomato salsa
1/4 cup frozen corn
1/3 cup shredded Mexican cheese

Cut peppers in half, removing seeds.  Place open side up in a baking dish, drizzling lightly with olive oil.  Bake at 400F for 15 minutes.  Meanwhile, brown turkey in a large skillet.  Add onions and cook until onions are translucent.  Stir in remaining ingredients, saving cheese, and cook until heated through.

Twice as much as the recipe calls for, but you get the picture.  The beautiful, delicious picture.

 
Once peppers are crispy-tender, remove from oven.  Gently spoon in turkey filling, sprinkling the tops of each with cheese.  Bake for an additional 10 minutes, until cheese is melted and slightly browned.  Serve hot.

Sizzling goodness.

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Day 26 - Chicken Gyro!

Chicken gyro,  watermelon, pistachios.

Last night, I went out for Greek food.  We went to a new place and found my new favorite guilty pleasure: fried portobello mushrooms with marinara and feta dipping sauce.   It was so bad for me.  It was so tasty.

How did I not think of combining marinara and feta myself?

Needless to say, I got the vegetable plate for my entree.

Anyway, it inspired me to try to make a chicken gyro for lunch.  I was honestly a little shocked at how good it is.  I've made pretty good tzatziki sauce for a while now, just never mastered the gyro.  All I did was made up some fresh tzatziki, heat up a wheat pita, add some tomato, mixed greens, red onion, feta cheese, and chicken grilled with Greek spices.  It was soooo good.  Added some watermelon and pistachios, and it was a pretty great lunch.

Throwing together gyros and other Greek wraps is pretty easy, as long as your components are good.  Here's my recipe for tzatziki sauce.


Tzatziki

1 cup plain Greek yogurt
1 large cucumber
juice of 1 lemon
1-2 cloves garlic, minced
1 Tablespoon dried dill
Salt and Pepper to taste

Peel the cucumber and cut in half, longways (is that a word?  Guess it is now).  Scoop out the seeds with a spoon; discard seeds.  Chop roughly and pulse in a food processor until finely diced or pureed - the smoother your cucumber, the smoother your sauce will be.  Spoon the cucumber into a sieve and press until most of the liquid is removed.  In a small bowl, combine cucumber, yogurt, and remaining ingredients.   Refrigerate for at least an hour to allow flavors to mingle.

Don't know what to do with your leftover cucumber juice?  Add it to a gallon of water and keep in the fridge for a super refreshing drink! Pin It Now!

Day 25 - Trader Joe's Mandarin Chicken

Mandarin Orange Chicken on jasmine rice, steamed broccoli, orange  slices.

I tend to make food from fresh ingredients.  Sometimes I will freeze those fresh ingredients myself, but then I know how long they've been in the freezer.  I don't often have frozen dinners.

Trader Joe's Mandarin Orange Chicken is a definite exception.  The only Mandarin Chicken I've had better than this was in Chinatown in San Francisco, and this one goes from freezer to plate in about 15 minutes.  I love it.  Frozen precooked chicken and sauce cook for about 10 minutes in a skillet with a little sesame oil.  I often throw in broccoli or asparagus, and serve it over rice.

Mmmm...tasty goodness.

For lunch today I had last night's leftovers over jasmine rice, with steamed broccoli and cara cara oranges on the side.

Yes.

Look  how beautiful!

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Day 24 - Final Man Lunch...Return of the Sandwich

Chicken salad sandwich, cherries, and popcorn.

Alright, last day of lunches for Dad.  I could tell he wanted another sandwich, so I gave him a Waldorf Chicken Salad sandwich with romaine, cherries, and popcorn.  Popcorn and red cherries, by the way, are impossible to photograph well together in sunlight.

The chicken salad is from The Fresh Market, which my parents love.  My dad really loves this chicken salad - chicken, grapes, celery, poppyseeds, nuts - sounds good, but I don't personally like it.  He gives it both thumbs up, though, so he was happy!

Back to more of my lunches and recipes next week.  Hope some of you are getting a quick vacation before fall sets in, as well!

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Day 23 - Man Salad

Man Salad with vinaigrette, mandarin oranges, triscuits.

Day 2 of lunches for dad.

I made him eat a salad.

Yeah, I know.  A salad.

He was less impressed, but he didn't complain!  He had fresh romaine lettuce, cherry tomatoes, pecans, asparagus, and the other half of the roasted chicken from yesterday.  It's allll crammed in there.  Oh, and some raspberry vinagrette, which I think he sees as way girly.  Added some mandarin oranges and triscuits.

He ate it, he was full.  He would have rather had a sandwich. :)  I'll make chicken with cream sauce tonight and he'll be much happier! Pin It Now!

Day 22 - Man Lunch

Roasted Chicken Sandwich, blueberries, crackers & cheese, Kashi granola bar.

I'm visiting my parents for a couple of days, so instead of documenting my own lunches, I'll show you the lunches I'm making for my dad to take to work.

I'm so nice.

Ok, that wasn't so nice.

Anyway, these are MAN LUNCHES.  If I made steak and mashed potatoes for my dad every night, he'd die happy.  Early, but happy.  So I'm trying to give him lunches that are light, healthy, and will still keep him full.

Today he had a sandwich of pumpernickel bread, dijon mustard, romaine lettuce, fresh tomatoes, and roasted chicken.  I had to squoosh it down (technical term) for it to fit in the box, but there is seriously about half of a chicken on that sandwich.  I included some blueberries, wheat crackers, and light cheese spread.  Threw in a Diet Dr. Pepper and a Kashi bar in case he got snacky.

He claims to have loved it, and to have been too full to finish.

He's never too full to finish.

So if you have one of those people in you're life who's never too full, try this one! 

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