Chipotle Shrimp Stew

 

Chipotle Shrimp Stew

   This was born out of wanting to make a veggie soup with what I had on hand. I never would have thought to put shrimp in but I really needed to use it up. I didn't even have a spare onion so I had to use onion powder, and the edamame was because I thought I had chickpeas and I didn't and I needed protein.

Ingredients:

- Frozen corn, edamame

- 2 chopped carrots

- 2 chopped celery stalks

- 5 mini bell peppers

- 1 bag medium shrimp

- 1 can cannellini beans

- A bunch of handfuls of kale

- 1 jar Cholula chipotle salsa

- Salt, pepper, garlic, onion powder, smoked paprika, cumin

- 1 bay leaf

I cooked the shrimp until it was almost done, then I just simmered everything together for like an hour. It's super delicious but sooo spicy lol. I have to add a dollop of greek yogurt (more protein) to kinda cool it down.

Bang Bang Chicken with Thai Quinoa Salad

 

Bang Bang Chicken with Thai Quinoa Salad

This was so good! I did make a couple of changes just to make it a little lighter. For the Bang Bang Chicken I swapped out half the mayo for half greek yogurt, and I used sugar free Thai chili sauce. I cooked it in the oven but it would be so good on the grill! For the quinoa salad I added a bit more sriracha, added a cucumber and I used a bunch of mini bell peppers that I already had. 

I love having salads like this to grab for lunch!

Click here for the Bang Bang Chicken recipe by Simple Home Edit

                        Click here for the recipe for Thai Quinoa Salad by Tastes Better From Scratch

Creamy Parmesan Tortellini with Nashville Hot Salad

 

Creamy Parmesan Tortellini with Nashville Hot Salad

Super quick and easy meal. It's just 1 bag of family sized refrigerated tortellini with a jar of creamy pesto sauce. After I cooked the tortellini I did sauté some jarlic in the same pot and once I added in the pesto sauce I added a squirt of tube basil and a bunch of black pepper. Then I topped it with red pepper flakes and shredded parmesan. Now that I'm typing this I remembered that I have some spinach in the fridge I could have tossed in.

The salad kit is just the "Nashville Hot" kit from Walmart, I love it...it's delicious. Very quick dinner!

Lime Shrimp Dragon Noodles

 

Lime Shrimp Dragon Noodles

This is honestly one of the best things I've ever eaten. Literally incredible. The only change I made to the recipe was I added a spoonful of peanut butter and topped it with chili crisp. In fact it's so good that I'm going to the store tomorrow to get the ingredients to make it again. All I need is another lime and another bag of shrimp. There is leftover cilantro and green onions and I have ramen packs in the pantry already.

 Ethan loves it too. We never eat shrimp because Craig's allergic but he's out of town so that's when we make shrimp recipes since I love them.

Click here for the Lime Shrimp Dragon Noodles recipe by BudgetBytes

Zero Sugar Apple Pie WW Cake

 

Zero Sugar Apple Pie WW Cake

Ingredients:

- 3 eggs

- 1 box zero sugar cake mix

- 1 can sugar free pie filling

Mix everything together in a 9x13 pan and bake at 350 for 35-40 minutes. I sprinkled cinnamon all over the top too.

It's really good, not too sweet and would be fun with some whipped cream or cool whip topping. I think it works out to 4 points if you sliced it into 12 bars.

I got the recipe from a random screenshot from a WW Facebook post.

White Bean Pumpkin Turkey Chili

 

White Bean Pumpkin Turkey Chili

I made a few substitutions of what I had on hand. Instead of 2 lbs ground turkey, I used 1 lb and 1 roasted sweet potato. I also used 1 can of black beans in place of 1 of the white bean cans, and I threw in a few handfuls of kale. I also added salt and pepper because the recipe didn't call for it for some reason.

It's so good! You can't even taste the pumpkin, it really just adds a creaminess to it. I think some corn and chipotle powder would also be good. I've been trying to have high veggie & protein soup on hand for lunches lately. 

I also made a side of cornbread, I haven't tasted it yet but I'm sure it's good....it's cornbread lol.

Click here for the White Bean Pumpkin Turkey Chili recipe from Skinnytaste

Click here for the cornbread recipe from BudgetBytes

Cheesy Sausage Pasta

 

Cheesy Sausage Pasta

This was really good! I have to say I was worried because it doesn't actually call for any spices. So I did add salt, pepper and garlic powder just in case. I also added in some jarlic and a couple small bell peppers because I had them to use. I also had to substitute the monterey jack cheese for fiesta cheese because that's all they had. I used Target brand andouille chicken sausage. I'd make this again! I actually was going to add in some of the refrigerated squeeze cilantro because we have it, but I forgot. I bet it would add some bright flavor. 

Click here for the Cheesy Sausage Pasta recipe from BudgetBytes

Butternut Squash and Black Bean Soup

 

Butternut Squash and Black Bean Soup

 This I improvised some. I used a bag of frozen butternut squash and 1 sweet potato instead of just 2lbs of squash like the recipe called for. I roasted the sweet potato with salt & pepper for 20 minutes in the oven first. I also added in a jalapeno, some chipotle in adobo sauce that I had extra from the meatloaf I was making for dinner, and a bay leaf. It's SUPER good, I really love it! Craig wont eat it because he doesn't do black beans, but I know Ethan will at least try it. I just wanted a quick lunch that I can grab that's super healthy. I've been way into sweet potatoes and beans lately.

Chipotle Cheddar Turkey Meatloaf with Mac & Cheese and Honey Bourbon Salad

 

Chipotle Cheddar Turkey Meatloaf with Mac & Cheese and Honey Bourbon Salad

  This meatloaf is PHENOMENAL. The recipe called for ground chicken but the store didn't have any so I subbed turkey. I made everything else as is except I used half an onion instead of a shallot. Oh and the store was out of cilantro so I used a squeeze of that fresh tubed cilantro. We had it with Bob's mac and cheese and a bourbon honey mustard salad kit. The mac & cheese was a little bland, but the salad kit was absolutely delicious.

  Next time I might try making it more WW friendly with fat free cheddar and a sugar free sweetener for the glaze.

Click here for the Chipotle Cheddar Turkey Meatloaf Recipe by Jawn I Cooked

I made a quesadilla the next day with the meatloaf and it was incredible. So so good. I also ate the leftover salad and it stayed nice and crunchy because it was sprouts and cabbage instead of lettuce. 

Meatball Subs

 

Meatball Subs

I needed to use up spaghetti sauce since I made so much and everyone was tired of spaghetti. Walmart had these fresh three cheese meatballs in the meat department. I browned them in a skillet then added the leftover spaghetti and simmered until the meatballs were cooked. I toasted some mini subs with Italian mix cheese and red pepper flakes. Super quick and delicious. 

Rotisserie Chicken Baked Potatoes with Parmesan Broccoli

 

Rotisserie Chicken Baked Potatoes with Parmesan Broccoli

   I had leftover rotisserie chicken from the protein caesar salad, so I used it up on this recipe. I baked potatoes in the oven at 400 for like an hour, then topped them with butter, salt/pepper/garlic, shredded cheddar, bacon bits, chicken and sour cream.

   To make my version lighter I used light butter, light sour cream, and queso along with the chicken, salt/pepper/garlic. The broccoli is just microwaveable steamed broccoli that I tossed in spray butter with salt/pepper/garlic and parmesan.