Shredded Chicken Nachos (with Homemade Baked Tortilla Chips!)

Today was my first day back to work and I decided to have a really good dinner to clear my head. I'm feeling much better except for my ears, which are still stopped up (like that feeling you get when your ears pop on a plane), and I'm about to go nuts listening to myself breathe really loudly all day. Couple that with the fact that I could only hear about 80% of what people were saying all day -- you get the idea. I needed some good food.

This started out as tostadas and by the time I got done, it ended up as delicious nachos. Mmm!

Servings: Listed as serving 1, but of course multiply by as many as you want

Ingredients:

1/2 chicken breast, grilled and shredded (or really any protein you like...lean ground beef, steak strips, ground turkey, meatless crumbles, etc)

3 six-inch corn tortillas, each cut into six to make 18 pre-chips

1/2 c fat free refried beans

1/4 c Mexican blend shredded 2% cheese

1/2 c shredded lettuce

1/2 c chunky salsa/pico de gallo

1 tbsp diced jalapeños

1 1/2 tbsp light sour cream

Canola oil cooking spray

Salt and lime juice to taste (optional)

Preparation:

I almost burned these...

1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Spray a baking sheet with cooking spray and lay the tortilla pieces in a single layer. Make sure that there is space between the edges of each chip - if you put them too close together, they won't crisp up. Spray the tops of the chips with the cooking spray, and then sprinkle salt as desired. Once the oven is heated, put the chips in and bake for 8-10 minutes, until chips become crisp. Be careful not to let them turn brown, they can burn quickly!

2. While the chips are baking, heat the refried beans in the microwave for about one minute fifteen seconds, until hot. Get all your delicious toppings ready!

3. When the chips come out, scoop them on a plate and start layering. My order? Beans, chicken, cheese, lettuce, salsa, jalapeños, and sour cream, with a little fresh lime juice drizzled on the top. If you like your cheese extra melty, put it in the microwave for 30 seconds after the cheese goes on top, then finish with the cold toppings.

Broccoli Rice Cheese Chicken Casserole

I've had to get creative with the meals since I haven't been able to get to the store. I'm still at my mom's friend's house, so I've been raiding her fridge and pantry to come up with a few meals to tide us over. This is what I had to work with for lunch and dinner today. It turned out to be the perfect warm comfort food for a snowy day.

The way I had to make it I wouldn't call it low fat, but with some substitutions (2% cheeses, low fat cream of mushroom soup) it could be a dish that is in my regular rotation, and I don't think it would change the flavor that much, if at all. Note that the calories listed are for the full-fat version.

Yield: 6 servings, 1/6 of an 8x12 casserole dish each, so about a 4x4 inch square.

Ingredients:
1 cup uncooked white rice
10 oz cooked chicken breast
1 10.75 oz can condensed cream of mushroom soup
2 tbsp margarine
1/2 c skim milk
1 12 oz package of frozen broccoli
6 oz Velveeta
1/2 c shredded cheese, cheddar or colby jack blend


Preparation:
1. Cook rice as instructed on package. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

2. While rice is cooking, steam the broccoli and chop it into pieces. You could use frozen chopped broccoli to make this step easier, but I prefer the Steam Fresh Florets; it seems like in the other packages all you get are stems.

3. Dice the Velveeta cheese into 1/2 inch cubes.

4. Dice the chicken breast into 1/2 inch cubes. All I had on hand was a bag of frozen, pre-cooked diced chicken from Kroger, so I just popped it in the microwave according to the directions. It was good! I am definitely putting it on my shopping list!

5. Once the rice is completely cooked, mix the rice, Velveeta, chicken, broccoli, cream of mushroom soup, water, and milk together in an 8x12 (13x9 is fine if that's all you have, just shave 10 minutes or so off the oven time) casserole dish and press down to even out the top. Put pats of margarine on the top. NOTE: If you want some additional texture, you can also put in a small can of water chestnuts or 1/2 of a small onion. I didn't have either of these on hand this time.

6. Bake for 25 minutes on 350 degrees. At 25 minutes, sprinkle the casserole with the shredded cheese and then return to oven for 10 minutes until the cheese is bubbling. I put the broiler on for the last minute just to get a good crispy texture on the top.

Lasagna Roll-Ups with Turkey Sausage

I'm so mad at myself for not taking pictures until I rolled these up. Sorry! Next time I make them I'll document properly. We had training all day at work and I was focused on getting these in the oven as soon as possible. This recipe takes a little under an hour to prepare but it is so, so worth it. And it freezes great, so I make six at a time for lunches and quick dinners.

Yield: 6 roll-ups (can be multiplied/divided easily to make more or less)

Ingredients:
6 lasagna noodles
1 lb turkey italian sausage
1/2 10 oz pack of frozen spinach, thawed, rinsed, and squeezed dry
22 oz (2.75 cups) part-skim shredded mozzarella cheese
1.5 cups fat free cottage cheese (or ricotta, whichever you prefer)
1/2 cup shredded parmesan cheese
24 oz jar pasta sauce (I used Newman's Own Sockarooni)
Italian seasoning blend


Preparation: 
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. Bring a LARGE pot of water to a boil, cook the lasagna noodles until al dente and then spread them on a piece of wax paper. I like to cook a few extra noodles since I inevitably break some or they stick together; you really need them whole to make this recipe work.
3. Brown the sausage in a skillet until crumbled. Divide into 6 portions.
4. Mix spinach, 2.5 cups mozzarella (reserve 1/2 cup for topping), cottage cheese (or ricotta), and parmesan together in a large bowl. Divide into 6 portions.
5. Spread a layer of cheese, a layer of sausage, and a thin layer of sauce onto each noodle, in that order. This is the fun part! It gets messy, but don't be afraid to use your hands! Sprinkle Italian seasoning blend over the noodles.
6. Spray a large baking pan with cooking spray. Quickly roll up each noodle and put it in the pan. If anything falls out while you're rolling, just press it into the sides of the roll.
7. After all the noodles are rolled and arranged in the pan, top with the remaining sauce and then the reserved mozzarella cheese. Bake in the oven at 350 degrees for 30 minutes.

Serve with a side salad! Yum!!