Taco Pasta

What do you get when an Olive Garden receives Taco Bell's shipment of ingredients?
TACO PASTA!

There's a short little clip about the steps of taco pasta... as you can see it's pretty darn simple. It's also a great roll-over meal to have after you make tacos!

What you're going to need (for 3-4 servings)

-2 cups dry pasta (whole wheat works great)

-1/2 cup ground beef

-1/2 cup beans (can have more, this is just what I had after taco night)

-1/2 cup corn (again, give or take depending on what you have)

-2 tomatoes, chopped

-1/2 cup salsa

The steps to supper:

1. Boil pasta until nearly done, then drain all but aout 1/4 cup of the water

2. Heat the salsa, tomatoes, corn, beans and beef

3. When hot, add to the pasta and place on a burner

4. Reheat, stirring often. It may not seem like the sauce is thick enough, but it should thicken as you heat - if not you can always add a little sour cream or cream cheese to thicken

~Serve with chopped lettuce, shredded cheese, sour cream-anything you'd regularly add to a taco!

Perfect for a quick and easy (not to mention healthy) supper, and kids LOVE it!

Cowboy Caviar

Alright-so the title of this post may sound a little strange to some of you-but no matter what you think when you look at the title-you have GOT to try this recipe! I assure you-you will not be sorry!

Cowboy Caviar is kind of like bean salsa-without the tomatoes, or three bean salad-but with a lot more craziness! Actually, nevermind-forget all I just said... Cowboy Caviar is like nothing else you've ever had before-it's better!

There is so much going on in this recipe, sweetness from the marinade, crunch from the onions and peppers, a creamy vibe going on with the beans... what more could anyone ask for in a side dish/snack/burrito filling/best friend!? :)

Ok, ok... I'll quite teasing and just get down to business with the recipe at hand here

Ingredients:

-marinade-

1/4 cup vinegar

1/4 cup oil (any kind will work)

1/4 cup sugar

...I know these ingredients may not sound all that healthy, but the oil and vinegar are actually chalk full of healthy fats, antioxidants and such-and since you drain the marinade anyway-not much of the it is actually eaten at all

-everything else-

2 cans of Shoepeg corn (or any corn will suffice)

1 can black beans

1 can kidney (or red) beans

2-3 peppers

1 onion

Directions:

1. Make your marinade: on the stove bring your marinade ingredients to a rolling boil. Remove from heat and allow to cool to room temperature

2. Rinse and drain your beans

3. Drain your corn

4. Chop your peppers & onions

5. Combine everything in a large bowl and refrigerate at least 2 hours (overnight is best!)

6. When ready to enjoy-simply drain the marinade

Disclaimer: This recipe really is extremely versatile! I like to eat it as a dip with crackers, fill up a wrap  with it, use it on my salads... it truly is a recipe that wears many hats!

Nutritional Info (1/15 of recipe~about 1 cup)

Banana Batter

I have a confession to make... I am a compulsive taste tester... I know, I know it's awful! I can't help it! I always just have to have one bite, just one! It doesn't matter if it is something I'm concocting in the kitchen, or someone else's entree at a restaurant-I must have one bite! However, I've noticed that this compulsion is the strongest in one particular instance, batter. Yes, you read it right-batter! Whenever I'm making anything I love the batter more than the actual finished product in most (if not all instances). Cake batter, cookie dough (kind of like a batter!), pancake/waffle batter, the list goes on and on and on... Batter ROCKS! So today I set out to create a snack that is only meant to become batter-no taking it that last step and creating an 'actual baked product'...psh so overrated! This was a tad difficult though, on a variety of levels:

1st-it had to have something that acted as a 'binding' agent that wasn't harmful to eat raw. I have no guilty feelings sneaking a bite here and there of an uncooked egg-but to create an actual snacks that comprised of eggs...probably not the most brilliant.
2nd-it had to be healthy. Okay, "had to" is a little strong, but as you all know-I'm a health nut freak so of course I was going to strive to make this a healthy dessert/snack that would make my body happy!
3rd-it had to be made with everyday ingredients I had on hand. Living in a small town made getting specialty groceries nearly impossible, add that to the fact that it was Sunday and our local grocery store was close and you have one hungry girl, trying her best to creatively use her on-hand ingredients.

And there it was... my Sunday morning challenge! (It's a good thing I had just gotten home from Church-I was going to need all the help from Up Above possible to make this dream concoction a tasty reality!)

I first started by browsing through some health cookie dough recipes, but they most of the ones I stumbled across used ingredients I did not have in my pantry! Sad. Day. So I decided to improvise! And lucky for you, well and me since I got to eat it-my thrown together, ehh I mean improvised dip was actually DELICIOUS! (Don't act so surprised! :P )

Ingredients:
-1 can garbanzo beans
-1 1/4 cups oats
-1 small (very ripe!) banana
-1/4 cup milk
-2 TBSP oil (or any nut butter)
-1 TBSP flax seed (not particularly necessary, but adds to the health factor!)
-1/4 cup honey (or any sweetener)
-1 TBSP cinnamon

Directions:

1. The first thing you must do is grind your oats and garbanzo beans in a food processor. I know you're probably thinking...beans?! In a sweet snack?! What the heck?! But trust me-when all is said and done you will have NO idea they are in there!

2. After these two are completely combined and smooth add your flax seed, banana and cinnamon

3. Now begin adding your milk, just a little at a time until it reaches your personal desired consistency-I like mine very thick and spoon-able so I kept it at a scant 1/4 cup.

4. Alright-time for the fun! Add your honey-but again only a little at a time, some people desire less/more sweetness, it is all about you! Add honey until it tastes perfect to you! (Remember though that as this dish sits, the banana and cinnamon's flavor will be enhanced-so what may seem a little weak to you now will be perfect in a few hours of refrigeration!)

5. Now the final step..are you ready? Are you!? ENJOY! However, like I said above-you may want to refrigerate this a few hours to heighten the flavors, but really-who can wait?! Have some now...AND later! :)

Nutritional Info (1/4 cup-this recipe makes about 10, 1/4 cup servings)

Look at those stats! This seriously tastes like licking the bowl and/or spoon after mixing up your favorite banana bread recipe, but with nutrition like that packed inside you don't have 'sneak' anything! 

I especially love dipping apple slices into this amazing dip! mmm mmm mmm!

Taco Salad

Time for a recipe makeover! Taco salads have far too long been touted as a health food but mysteriously hiding grams and grams of fat, carbohydrates, sodium and nothing in the categories of vitamins or minerals! I can hear you now... "But it's a salad!" I know...I know... but 'salad' doesn't always = healthy :(

Stop crying! I'm here to help! I've got a taco salad recipe that will knock your socks off! You won't miss any of the fat, carbs, or sodium your previous healthy salads were filled with. And, since you are such wonderful blog followers, I'll even make the salad full of vitamins, minerals AND fiber! I'm sure you're thinking something this good can't possibly be true, or at least tasty, but I promise you it is!

Still don't believe me? Alright skeptics, just try it for yourself and let me know what you think!

Makes 1 Salad:
Ingredients:
-1 cups spinach
-1/4 cup beans of choice (here I used Pinto, but black are just as tasty!)
-2 ounces ground beef (best if browned with taco seasoning)
-2 TBSP Low fat Shredded Cheese
-1/4 cup corn
-Chopped tomato, onions, peppers
-Salsa

Directions:
1. Warm beef, corn and beans
2. Top spinach with beef, corn and beans
3. Top with cheese
4. Add tomato, onions, and/or peppers
5. Top with salsa

Additional Ideas:
-Eat with  my Homemade Pita Chips
-Top with low-fat sour cream
-Make a 'Ranchero' sauce for your salad (2 parts salsa, one part low-fat Ranch dressing)
-Add various vegetables: different beans, chopped carrots, different peppers, jicama, etc.

Nutritional Info: