One Dish Chicken Fajita Quinoa Bake

Ingredients

        1 16-ounce jar of your favorite thick and chunky salsa

        1 15-ounce can black beans, rinsed and drained

        1 14.5-ounce can reduced-sodium chicken broth

        1 cup uncooked quinoa (rinse if needed) 

        1 red pepper, cut into strips (to equal about 1½ cups)

        1 green pepper, cut into strips (to equal about 1½ cups)

        ½ of a large sweet onion, cut into strips (to equal about 1¾ – 2 cups)

        1 pound chicken breasts, cut into strips

        1 tablespoon olive oil

        3 teaspoons chili powder

        2½ teaspoons ground cumin

        2 teaspoons garlic powder

        Dash of salt – optional

        ½ tsp pepper

        Optional toppings for serving: shredded cheese, shredded lettuce, reduced-fat sour cream, avocados or guacamole, chopped cilantro or green onions, hot sauce.

        Also, if you enjoy a different grain instead of quinoa like "Freekeh or Black rice", you can directly substitute for 1 cup.

 

INSTRUCTIONS

1.  Preheat oven to 400°F.

2.  Mix salsa, black beans, chicken broth and quinoa in a 9×13 baking dish coated with cooking spray.

3.  In a large bowl, combine peppers, onion, chicken, oil and seasonings until thoroughly combined. Spoon pepper mixture over quinoa mixture in baking dish.

4.  Cover tightly with foil and bake for 40-50 minutes (depending on thickness of your chicken and peppers and your brand of quinoa), or until chicken is cooked through, veggies are crisp-tender, and quinoa is done.

5.  Serve with desired toppings.

Red lentil, Sweet potato and Peanut soup

Serves 6

Ingredients

1 large sweet potato, peeled and diced

1-19 oz (540 mL) can diced tomatoes, with juice

1/3 cup (185 mL) split red lentils

1⁄4 cup (60 mL) chopped cilantro stems, saving leaves for garnish

1 jalapeño pepper, seeded and finely chopped

3 garlic cloves, crushed

1 Tbsp (15 mL) grated fresh ginger

4 cups (1 L) chicken or vegetable stock

1⁄4 cup (60 mL) peanut butter (optional)

1 tsp chili flakes (Optional - for a little extra kick!)

 

Directions

Combine all the ingredients (except the cilantro leaves) in a slow cooker. Cover and cook on low heat for 6-8 hours. Leave chunky or puree with a hand-held immersion blender.

Serve hot, topped with fresh cilantro.

**Check out lentils.ca for lots of more great recipes

ENERGY BARS

INGREDIENTS

  • 1  1/2 cups of cashews, walnuts, almonds
  • 2 cups dates

Also can add:

  • unsweetened coconut
  • sesame seeds
  • hemp seeds 
  • pumpkin seeds

 

DIRECTIONS

  1. Boil dates for 5-8 minutes to soften. 
  2. Chop nuts in food processor place in a dish.
  3. Add dates to processor and blend until smooth.  
  4. Add nuts to processor and blend all together.
  5. Press into 8"x8" baking pan
  6. Place in refridgerator to cool. Can later store in refrigerator or freezer. (Will stay fresh longer in freezer.)

SWEET POTATO SHEPARD'S PIE

INGREDIENTS

  • 1 lb ground beef 
  • 2 large sweet potatoes
  • 1 medium onion, chopped 
  • 2 large carrots, chopped 
  • 1 cup of mushrooms, chopped 
  • 1 can of low sodium corn, drained
  • 1/3 cup of full fat coconut milk 
  • 1 egg 
  • 1/2 tsp of cinnamon 
  • 1/2 tsp of allspice 
  • 1/2 tsp of nutmeg 
  • 1 tsp of black ground pepper
  • Dash of salt

 

DIRECTIONS

  1. Peel, chop and boil sweet potatoes until soft. 
  2. While the potatoes are cooking, cook beef, onion, carrots and mushrooms in a skillet until the beef is no longer pink and the carrots are soft. Mix in can of drained corn, cinnamon, allspice, nutmeg, 1/2 tsp black pepper and a dash of salt. 
  3. Mash the sweet potatoes with the egg, coconut milk, dash of salt, 1/2 tsp pepper, until smooth.
  4. Spread the mashed sweet potatoes over the ground beef as evenly as possible in a baking dish.
  5. Bake the dish in the oven at 350 degrees for approximately 25 minutes. 
  6. Broil the dish for 8 minutes to give it a nice finish.

 

NUTRITION FACTS

Serving size - 1/6 of the dish
Calories 374
Total Fat 8.4g
Sodium 102mg - 4%
Carbohydrates 40.2g
Dietary Fiber 6.4g
Sugars 3.1g
Protein 26.7g