..in Lunch Lady Land

I've become the resident lunch lady.

{hopefully I'm a tadge cuter..}

John works close to home and likes to come home for lunch.

I like to cook.

Thus,  I cook him lunch.

I've been trying to get creative and healthy with my kitchen offerings.

soooooo..

This is what's happening in "Lunch Lady Land":

Today I had a hit!

I used lots of my favorite ingredients shown 

HERE

cilantro and limes are two of my favorite smells and tastes ever. I don't think you can ever have too much of either!

I had some leftover peppercorn pork loin from the other night and so this was a nice way to reuse that.

And it took maybe 10 minutes to do all of it. Having the pork done was the key.

It would be good with turkey or chicken too! In my lovely town of no ethnic  grocery food options I had to forgo the chipotle chiles but I replaced them with fresh cut red pepper. And I made my own salsa.

Also, I added black beans because  a.) extra protein and  b.) they're delicious.

John, who is a fan of all things mexican, loved it.

It's easy. Try it!

Your mouth and your husband will thank you.

{He doesn't like participating in blog pictures, as you can see..}

Chipotle Pork and Avacodo Wraps

Ingredients

• 1/2  cup  mashed peeled avocado
• 1 1/2  tablespoons  low-fat mayonnaise
• 1  teaspoon  fresh lime juice
• 2  teaspoons  chopped canned chipotle chiles in adobo sauce
• 1/4  teaspoon  salt
• 1/4  teaspoon  ground cumin
• 1/4  teaspoon  dried oregano
• 4  (8-inch) fat-free flour tortillas
• 1 1/2  cups  (1/4-inch-thick) slices cut  roasted pork (about 8 ounces)
• 1  cup  shredded iceberg lettuce
• 1/4  cup  bottled salsa

Preparation

Combine the first 7 ingredients, stirring well.

Warm tortillas according to package directions. Spread about 2 tablespoons avocado mixture over each tortilla, leaving a 1-inch border. Arrange roasted pork slices down center of tortillas. Top each tortilla with 1/4 cup shredded lettuce and 1 tablespoon salsa, and roll up.

Nutritional Information Calories:239 Fat:5.8g Protein:13.9g Carbohydrate:32.8g Fiber:2.6g

Annnnnnd this is what I had for lunch:

Today isn't the best appetite day for me.

I didn't sleep well and when I don't sleep well, my blah-ness increases.

So Cocoa Krispies it is for the next few meals.

Grow, baby, grow!

Happy Eating Everyone!

Trying new things

With more time at home lately, I've been trying to get more creative and really enjoy cooking dinner.
So I am trying  new things. John is game for anything and is really honest if something really sucks. So that's nice.
Last night, we had a success!

After watching Anthony Bourdain in Sicily eating Paella, I decided to try to make it. In soup form.

This is the recipe and it's WONDERFUL!
You should try it!
Super easy.
Super fast.
Super healthy.
Super delicious.


Paella Soup
1/2 cup thinly sliced green onions
1/3 cup chopped red sweet pepper
1 clove garlic, minced
1 teaspoon oil
1 14.5 ounce reduced sodium, no MSG added, organic chicken broth
1/2 cup uncooked long grain rice
1 bay leaf
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon ground red pepper
1/8 teaspoon tumeric
8 ounces cooked pork, cut into small pieces
8 ounces peeled and deveined shrimp
1 cup frozen peas
2 teaspoon fresh oregano

In a large saucepan cook green onions sweet pepper, and garlic in hot oil for 2 minutes.

Stir in chicken broth, rice, bay leaf, salt, red pepper, and tuermic.  Heat to boiling; reduce heat. Simmer, covered, for 15 minutes. Stir in the cooked pork, shrimp, and peas. Simmer, covered, for 3-5 minutes more or until shrimp turn pink.

I kept mine on the heat (very low) for 2 hours to get all the meat very tender, and to get the spices soaked in really well.

Tumeric is really fragrant and makes the color of the soup really pretty. ( I learned tumeric used to be used in perfumes. Interesting. I don't think I'll be splashing some on anytime soon.)

Remove the bay leaf and stir in the oregano.

Enjoy!

Success

So last week I had to figure something out for dinner. I wanted something light but that was super flavorful.

I made up my own version of Tortilla Soup.
It worked!

I just put most of it in the Crockpot at lunchtime and then added the rest an hour before we ate.
Delicious!

I can't say that it was too difficult.
I just thought of all the things I would like to eat in a soup and put it in there.

Topped with fresh Cilantro, blue corn chip crumbles and  cheese, it was great..and fresh!

Of course, it had to be in complimentary Fiestaware bowls.

This is what I did:

Put chicken tenderloins in a carton of chicken broth in the crockpot
along with :
cumin
S and P
diced tomatoes with green chilis
and some sprigs of cilantro for more flavor

and I let that cook for  4 hours
then an hour before I added
corn and black beans

topped it with fresh cilantro and corn chips and cheese.

It was pretty fabulous, I think.