Quinoa Chicken Chili

I've been looking for a good quinoa chili and couldn't pick one. I did the next best thing and made up my own!  Yumm, seriously. The texture the quinoa adds to chili is wonderful! This has the opportunity to be a rather healthy meal, just omit the cream cheese. To keep it creamy, you can add some plain Greek yogurt and a small sprinkle of cheddar cheese. You do not need to cook your quinoa ahead of time, just rinse thoroughly and put it in the crock pot. Anyways, here goes!

2 large chicken breasts (frozen is okay)
1 cup quinoa, rinsed
2 1/2 cups chicken broth
1 28 oz can crushed tomatoes
1 14.5 oz can diced tomatoes with chilis (undrained)
1 can of black beans, low sodium (no need to drain or rinse)
1 can kidney beans, low sodium (no need to drain or rinse)
1 cup frozen corn
1 diced green pepper
1/2 an onion, diced
4 cloves of garlic minced
2 tsp chili powder
1 1/2 tsp cumin
1 block neufchatel cheese (marked 1/3 less fat) (don't use fat free, it won't melt)

Dump all of this in your crock pot (minus cheese).  Mix well. Cook on low for 8 hours. Cube the cheese and add for the last hour of cooking (if you will be away from your crock pot all day it won't hurt to just put this in from the beginning). Once finished, mix well to blend the cheese,  remove chicken,  shred and return to pot before serving!

Enjoy!

Breakfast Souffle

My mom has made breakfast souffle for years. It was always made for special occasions. I took her recipe and made some changes (just because I could, not because it needed it) and boy an I glad I did! This souffle was awesome! It might be better than the original (I'll let you know when my mom tries it). It's great to feed a crowd too!

Ingredients:
10 slices of white bread, crusts cut off and cubed
8 eggs
3.5 cups of milk
1.5 cups shredded cheddar
1.5 cups shredded monterrey jack
Pinch of salt
Pinch of pepper
Punch of dried mustard (I didn't have any on hand)
1 lb of sausage cooked and drained (or bacon, crispy and crumbled)

Spray 9x13 pan with non stick cooking spray.  Put bread in pan and top with cheese. Mix lightly, leaving most cheese still on top. In a large bowl mix eggs, milk, salt, pepper and mustard. Pour over bread in pan, cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate over night.

Preheat oven to 325°. Sprinkle sausage generously over the top of the bread (you will only use about 1/2 to 3/4 of sausage). Bake for 1 hour.

Enjoy!

Spinach Parmesan Turkey Meatballs

These are an absolute favorite of mine! My mom gave me this recipe and I figured it's time to share it!

Ingredients:
1.5 pounds of ground turkey
HUGE handful of spinach
1 tsp olive oil
1/3 cup of shredded parmesan cheese
1 egg
1/3 cup panko bread crumbs
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper
3/4 tsp garlic powder
1/2 tsp oregano
1/2 tsp basil

1/2 tsp onion powder

Preheat oven to 450. Heat the oil in a pan. Chop spinach and saute until it is lightly wilted, let cool (the fastest way is to remove from the pan and spread out on a cutting board or plate). Mix all ingredients together and form into medium sized meatballs. I like to line my cookie sheet with foil then spray with Pam. This makes for super easy clean up! Bake meatballs for 18 minutes (check to ensure they are done). Enjoy!