Spicy Mexican Skillet

You know when you have one of those days, where the last thing you want to do is cook? And you wish you could just go to your pantry, throw a bunch of ingredients in a pan and end up with a healthy, tasty meal? Look no further, my friends. This meal is for you!

 

I came had to run a quick errand after I left work today, so I stopped in at Target. An hour later (damn you, Target - you get me every time), I finally left - hands full of random items I obviously can't live without. It was 7:45pm, and the last thing I wanted to do was cook. I remembered this super fast, super easy, super tasty meal that I prepared a few months ago. Lucky for me, I had everything on hand to whip this up in no time.

This recipe for Spicy Mexican Skillet takes less than 30 minutes to make, and it's full of healthy ingredients. It's also full of flavor, so it's a win/win. The original recipe can be found here. As usual, I've changed minor things here & there to my taste. But the beauty of this dish is it's hard to go wrong!

Ingredients:

• olive oil
• 1 1/2 cups zucchini, quartered and sliced
• 1 medium green pepper
• 1 15 oz. can black beans, rinsed and drained
• 1 15 oz. can diced tomatoes with green chiles, undrained
• 1 15 oz. canned corn, drained (or use some frozen corn if you have that)
• 3/4 cup water
• 1 cup instant rice
• 1/2 cup cheddar cheese or mexican cheese blend (plus some extra)

How to:

• Heat oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add zucchini and pepper and cook for 5 minutes, until vegetables are tender, stirring occaisionally.
• Add beans, tomatoes, corn, and water. Bring to a boil.
• Add rice and mix well. Cover and remove from heat. Let stand about 7 minutes or until liquid is absorbed.
• Add cheese and mix well.
• Serve and top with more cheese (b/c let's be honest, you can never have too much cheese)

This recipe makes a LOT of food, so be prepared to have many lunches and dinners taken care of for the few days!

Skinny Cream of Zucchini Soup

Why is it that whenever I'm sick, all I want is soup? Actually, that's not entirely true. I would eat soup for breakfast, lunch, and dinner if I could. And I anticipate many future posts that fully demonstrate my love for soup. Anyway, the point is, I currently AM sick, and I WANT soup, so I'm going to share this recipe with you.

I stumbled upon SkinnyTaste when I first joined Pinterest, and that's where I found this recipe for Cream of Zucchini Soup. If you're wondering the same thing I was the first time I tried this recipe - "How can something with so few ingredients have any taste?" - STOP. This is one of my favorite recipes! It's flavorful, super easy to make, and best of all - pretty healthy!

 

The original recipe can be found here. My recipe has a few minor adjustments, but I assure you, it tastes great!


Ingredients:

• 6 cups prepared chicken broth (I prepared mine from Bouillon)
• 3 medium zucchinis, skins on, quartered and diced
• 1/2 medium onion, chopped
• 4 cloves of garlic, thinly sliced
• 1/3 cup light sour cream
• salt & pepper to taste

 How to:

• Combine broth, zucchini, onion, and garlic in a medium pot and bring to a boil.
• Cover, reduce heat to low and simmer for about 20 min, until vegetables are tender.
• Remove from heat.
• Add sour cream.
• Either transfer soup to a blender* and puree ingredients, or puree with an immersion blender until smooth.
• Add salt & pepper to taste.
• Serve warm & enjoy!

*When transferring ingredients to a blender, be careful! Only fill the blender ~1/3 of a way full at a time. I've found that it's best to only transfer the solid contents of the soup and a little bit of broth, to minimize spillage when you turn the blender on. An immersion blender really works best.

I make this recipe every few weeks, and I'm always amazed at how flavorful it is, considering how few ingredients there are. It's great that you can get the taste of a creamy soup, without all the added calories. I've even gotten Jake to eat it, and he doesn't eat any creamy soups. Not even Cream of Crab - and he's a native Marylander! So enjoy!