Buffalo Chicken & Grilled Vegetable Quinoa Salad

Grilled summer vegetables with buffalo chicken and quinoa come together in this delicious and healthy salad.

Stuffed Peppers

These sweet peppers are stuffed with corn, black beans, tomatoes, quinoa, and chicken.  It's clean eating at it's finest!

Sorry I've been MIA lately.  The past few weeks my blog has been put on the back burner because of life.  Yes, life happens and some things just need to take priority.  You all know how it is...

First off, I've been eating only clean foods, so I haven't been baking at all.  I make a large batch of a meal and then eat it through out the week.  There hasn't been a ton of variety because I'm still learning about all this clean eating.  It's a journey well worth it though!  I have lots of ideas and new recipes to share with you soon!

Secondly, it's summertime and I'd much rather be outside enjoying the gorgeous weather we've been waiting months for than spending time in the kitchen or on my computer.  We recently got a swing and a baby pool for Summer and she loves to be outside!  She also just got a picnic table, slide, and sandbox for her birthday (more on that in a minute), so lots of time outdoors is in our future.

And third, we had Summer's first birthday party on Saturday.  She won't be one for a couple more weeks but since we'll be camping over her birthday and my Grandma was visiting from Canada this week, we decided to have an early celebration.  I spent a lot of time preparing for her party and I'm pleased to say it went beautifully!

Anyway, on to the food.  The Stuffed Peppers are one of my new favorite foods.  I always thought that I didn't like peppers and so I always picked them out of my food and I never cooked with them.  Then a few weeks ago we had Kabobs at a friends house and they used red and yellow peppers.  I really enjoyed them and so I was motivated to pick up a few sweet peppers at the store.  Honestly, they sat in my crisper for a couple weeks because I got nervous that I wouldn't end up liking them as stuffed peppers.  I'm glad I decided to try anyway because like I said, these are one of my new favorite foods!  Plus, they are 21 Day Fix friendly!

The filling is super simple and customizable.  I used diced chicken, quinoa, corn, black beans and tomatoes.  Combine the filling ingredients and then place the mixture in a hollowed out half of a pepper.  Warm them in the oven and you have a delicious and filling dinner!  This made more filling than I had peppers for, so I have also used the filling as a salad topping and inside a corn tortilla.  The peppers reheat well and made perfectly portioned lunches for me to take to work!

Stuffed Peppers

Serves 8

Ingredients:
1 large chicken breast
1 cup quinoa
1 can black beans, rinsed and drained
1 bag frozen corn
1 can diced tomatoes
2 Tablespoons Cajun seasoning
4 red, yellow, or orange peppers

1.  Dice up chicken breast and cook in a frying pan.

2.  Cook quinoa according to package directions.

3.  Mix cooked quinoa, black beans, corn, tomatoes, and Cajun seasoning together.  You can also mix the chicken in if you want, I put mine on top of the filling because I needed to measure it separately.

4.  Wash peppers, cut them in half, and remove the seeds and white membranes.

5.  Place peppers, cut side up, on a baking sheet.  Fill with the quinoa and vegetable mixture.  Top with chicken if you haven't already added it in.

6.  Bake at 350 for 15 minutes, until heated through and the peppers are soft.

Serve hot.  Store any leftovers in an airtight container in the fridge.

If you're doing the 21 Day Fix, fill a yellow container with the filling and place it in a pepper.  Measure the chicken in your red container and place on top of the filling.  This meal is 2 greens, 1 yellow and 1 red.

Grilled Corn {Flashback Friday}

Grilling brings out the juices, enhances the natural sweetness, and gives so much extra flavor to an ear of corn.  It's my favorite way to enjoy this summer vegetable!

Grilled corn on the cob is one of my favorite summer foods.  It's so easy to do, and tastes so much better than boiling or microwaving corn!

I should note that I no longer wrap my corn in foil before putting it on the grill.  I found that it was actually an unnecessary step, and leaving the corn unwrapped gives it so much more flavor.

Get the recipe: Grilled Corn

Fiesta Chicken

Fiesta Chicken is an easy and delicious versatile slow cooker dinner!

Since going back to work almost 3 months ago, I have come to realize how much I love my Programmable Slow Cooker . Let's face it, if I don't have dinner planned or in the slow cooker before dinner, I will end up taking the easy way out and ordering a pizza.

And that adds up quickly...both in cost and calories! I have a baby who needs clothes and diapers and I am trying to lose the baby weight, so those are two things I would like to reduce. Thankfully I have some good crock pot recipes, like this one!

I have made Fiesta Chicken at least a dozen times in the past year. It is so easy; just open a few cans, add a few chicken breasts, sprinkle in some seasoning, turn on the crock pot and walk away. After a few hours, your house will smell amazing and dinner will be ready.

This Fiesta Chicken is extremely versatile. The recipe can easily be adapted. Don't like beans? No problem, leave the out! Love corn? Add another bag! Like it more soupy? Add another can of tomatoes or some chicken broth! There are also multiple serving options. I typically serve the Fiesta Chicken over brown rice, but it is also good on its own, over noodles, or even on a baked potato!

Fiesta Chicken

Serves 4-6

Ingredients:
4 chicken breasts

1 bag sweet corn
1 can black beans, drained and rinsed
2 cans diced tomatoes
1 packet taco seasoning
Salt

Place ingredients in crock pot on low for 8 hours.  Shred chicken and serve, adding salt as needed.

Texas Caviar

I love to get recipes from friends because that usually means that they are time-tested and loved!  I first had this dip at my friend Alecia's house.  She served it with quesadillas and I could not stop eating the Texas Caviar.  I knew I had to have the recipe!  I made this dip as my contribution to a family potluck when we were camping earlier this summer.  It was a huge hit, as most people had not had it before.

The sugar and apple cider vinegar add a sweetness that is completely unexpected from a bowl full of vegetables.  I found myself eating this dip for a snack, side dish, and as a meal itself!  Yes, it is just that good.  With football season starting up, this is a great dip for tailgating.  The dip makes enough to feed a large crowd, and if you're lucky you'll have enough leftover that you can enjoy the leftovers for lunch like I did!


Texas Caviar

1 (10 ounce) bag frozen sweet corn
1 can black beans, drained and rinsed
1 can black eyed peas, drained and rinsed
1/2 colored pepper, diced,
1 cup chopped celery
1 cup chopped green onion
1 cup chopped white onion
1 cup apple cider vinegar
1 cup sugar
1 cup vegetable oil

1.  In a large bowl, mix together the corn, beans, peas, pepper, celery, green onions, and white onions.  Set aside.

2.  Pour vinegar, sugar, and oil in a medium saucepan and bring it to a boil.  As soon as it boils, remove from heat and let it cool.

3.  Pour cooled dressing over the vegetables.

4.  Cover and refrigerate overnight.

5.  Drain excess dressing before serving.

Serve with tortilla chips.

Recipe from my friend, Alecia

Tomato, Corn, and Black Bean Salsa

If you're looking for a great dish to bring for your 4th of July celebration--look no further.  This salsa comes together in minutes, is fresh, and tastes delicious!  I brought this to a family potluck, thinking it was nice and simple but nothing too special.  To my surprise, it got rave reviews.  I knew if our family enjoyed it (and requested the recipe), it was definitely worth sharing! 

Tomato, Corn, and Black Bean Salsa

Serves 12

1 can black beans, rinsed and drained
1 cup frozen corn, thawed
2 tomatoes, chopped
1/4 cup red onion, chopped
2 Tablespoons lime juice (or juice of 1 lime)
3 Tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
1 Tablespoon cilantro
salt and pepper

1.  In a large bowl, combine black beans, corn, tomato and onion.

2.  In a small bowl, combine the lime juice, olive oil, and cilantro.

3.  Pour the marinade over the vegetables.  Add salt and pepper as needed.

4.  Refrigerate at least 30 minutes before serving.

Serve with tortilla chips for dipping.

Chicken, Corn, and Black Bean Salad

I was inspired to make this recipe after I saw one of my co-workers eating it.  We often talk about what we're eating for lunch, and he was showing me what his wife had made that day.  It looked delicious, so I asked him if he'd ask his wife for the recipe.  He thought she found it on Pinterest, and since I follow her boards, I figured I'd see if I could find it.  I was successful, and I'm glad I was! 

I made this recipe that night and took it for lunch the next day.  It is so easy to put together, and delicious.  I changed up the recipe a bit to suit my tastes, and I've added in diced tomatoes a few times that I've made it.  This is a perfect lunch for at work.

Chicken, Corn, & Black Bean Salad

Serves 2

1 chicken breast, cooked and shredded
1/2 cup frozen sweet corn
1/4 cup black beans, drained and rinsed
2 Tablespoon mayonnaise
1 Tablespoon vinegar
1 teaspoon sugar (optional)
1 pita pocket, cut in half

Combine chicken, corn, beans, mayonaise, vinegar, and sugar in a bowl. 

Serve in pita pockets.

Adapted from:  Pearls, Handcuffs, and Happy Hour

Grillin' Season! -- Grilled Corn

I love corn, but especially corn on the cob!  To me, it just screams summer, so it had to be included in my Grillin' Season series.  Grilling the corn brings out the sweetness, and gives it so much flavor.  You can grill your corn longer than I did if you'd like it more charred.  I would have left mine a little longer, but I actually ran out of propane 3/4 of the way through grilling this meal so I had to make do with the heat left in the grill.  Note to self:  buy a propane gauge!

You will need:
Corn
Margarine/Butter, melted
Garlic salt (or minced garlic, I like both)
Foil

1.  Husk corn and remove all the strings.

2.  Rip a piece of foil big enough to wrap the corn in (1 piece per ear of corn).

3.  Place each ear of corn onto foil and brush with melted margarine.

4.  Sprinkle with garlic salt.  (I really like garlic, but you could also use salt, pepper, season salt, or other seasonings of your choice.)

5.  Wrap corn in foil.  Grill on medium-high heat for about 30 minutes, turning every 7-10 minutes. I prefer my corn to not be blackened, but you can leave it on longer if you'd like!  Serve hot.

Check out the other great recipes in my Grillin' Season! Series:

Grilled Marinated Steak

Grilled Marinated Chicken

Grilled Asparagus

Fiesta Chicken Soup

Fiesta Chicken Soup

I've found that we've been eating more soup in the past month or so than we did all winter!  We've had chili a few times, chicken noodle soup, and my newest soup creation, Fiesta Chicken Soup.  This soup was originally supposed to be a white chicken chili, but since we don't care for beans and some of the other ingredients, I ended up making something different.  My favorite part of this soup is that I made it in the Crock Pot, so it's a great meal for a busy day!  I think this soup is definitely something I'll be making again!

You will need:
2 chicken breasts
1 can (15 oz) diced tomatoes (mine had green peppers in it too, it was a can of tomatoes for chili)
1 can (10.75 oz) cream of chicken soup
1 cup chicken broth
1 Tablespoon dried onion
2 tsp chili powder
1-1/2 cups frozen corn
1/2 cup sour cream
1/4 cup cream cheese (I used Philadelphia cooking cream)

1.  Dice chicken into bite-sized pieces and place in Crock Pot.

2.  Pour diced tomatoes, cream of chicken soup, chicken broth, dried onion, and chili powder over chicken.  Stir to combine.

3.  Cook on low for 4-6 hours.

4.  30 minutes before serving, stir in frozen corn, sour cream, and cream cheese.  Cook on high until you're ready to serve.  Serve with crushed tortillas or shredded cheddar cheese.