Happy Hump Day all! Today has been a pretty fantastic day. I continued working towards my September Goals and LOST ANOTHER 2.2 lbs. As TJ would say ~ it’s ok to call me a “LOSER” :D Total Month to Date ~ 8.4 lbs!
Breakfast was just that ~ FAST! 1 cup Trader Joe’s 0% Greek Yogurt with Super Nutty Granola & Agave (5 pts)
Bell Pepper Crunchies (0 pts)
Break-FAST of champions on the go!
Mid morning snackage ~ A super cool looking Organic Fuji Apple & String Cheese (2 pts)
Last night I KNEW I wanted to have Flat Out Amazing Pizza again so I whipped up lunch while dinner cooked.
Deliciously simple salad with Heirloom Tomatoes, Parmesan & Mixed Greens (0 pts)
Flat Out Amazing Turkey Pepperoni Pizza (5 pts)
All packed up an ready to go with Newman’s Light Lime Vinaigrette (I used 1/2 of it for 1 pt)
Before I jump into dinner (which was AMAZING), I just have to give you all a little disclaimer. I am completely OBESSED with these Trader Joe’s Soy & Flaxseed Tortilla Chips.
I mean, if you are going to eat chips, you might as well have them as “chips with benefits” 😀
Stat-wise, they are pretty good (2 pts), but, 7 chips really IS enough.
Simple ingredient list you can recognize <3!
I really bought these chips so I could use them to dip in the AWESOME Wholly Salsa I received from the Wholly Guacamole peeps.
I LOVE this medium salsa because it’s ACTUALLY HOT, the kind of HOT that sticks with you as all the flavors touch your taste buds….it rocks!
When they say natural, they definitely mean with ingredients just like you’d make it in your kitchen.
Phew ~ Now that I’ve completely justified why I NEEDED to have more of their chips, we can move on to how dinner tonight came about. 😉
As you all know, I have an ever so slight recipe addiction. In addition to my cookbooks, magazines and browsing recipes online, I get a few Daily Recipe newsletters. I saw the words SLOW COOKER TACO CASSEROLE in a Recipe Lion Newsletter and it totally reminded me of my mom.
Taco Casserole totally reminds me of what my MOM used to make us as kids that I LOVED. She would layer taco meat that had beans with cheese, nacho cheese tortilla chips and corn in several layers and bake it. It really is as AMAZING as it sounds.
As much as I’d LOVE to have the real deal, I figured, why not put a healthy spin on it and throw it in the crockpot. Now, I hadn’t gone to the grocery store at all so I made due with what I had on hand.
Ready to see my RANDOM SLOW COOKER TACO CASSEROLE???
I started out whipping up a “Turkey Taco Meat”.
In the mix ~ it seems like a lot but really I just dumped it all in a pan.:
Brown:
1.25 lbs Lean Ground Turkey
2 cloves Garlic
1 of my funky new bell peppers, chopped
1 onion, chopped
2 summer squash, quartered and diced
Then stir in:
1 15 oz can Organic Diced Tomatoes
1 7 oz can El Pato Mexican Style Tomato Sauce
2 Tsp Mrs. Dash Fiesta Lime Seasoning
1 Tsp Chile Powder
1/4 Tsp Paprika
Freshly Ground Black Pepper and Sea Salt to taste
My “taco meat” became LAYER #1.
LAYER #2: 4 quartered Chile Lime Corn Tortillas
LAYER #2.5: Random decision to toss in a few crumbled tortilla chips 😀
LAYER #3: 15 oz can Black Beans
Layer #4: 15 oz can Amy’s Spicy Chili
LAYER #5: a Few Trader Joe’s Soy & Flaxseed Tortilla Chips, crumbled
LAYER #6: LIte Mexican & Mozzarella (because I ran out) Cheese
Cook on low for 6 to 8 hours. Serve over some deliciously crisp organic romaine with your favorite toppings.
Like WHOLLY GUACAMOLE & WHOLLY SALSA!
Plus a side of MORE TJ’s Chips for more CRUNCH! They are excellent crumbled or dipped in the casserole to make it like NACHOS!!
I added a little tomato & cilantro for good measure! This turned out to be really good ~ The Husband and my friend LOVED it….there are so many different layers of flavor with the turkey, the veggies, the beans, the tortillas, the chips, the cheese and the spice cooled off with the salad and guacamole. Definitely a recipe to keep and make again!
Here is the quick version of the recipe above.
SLOW COOKER TACO CASSEROLE
Brown:
1.25 lbs Lean Ground Turkey
2 cloves Garlic
1 of my funky new bell peppers, chopped
1 onion, chopped
2 summer squash, quartered and diced
Then stir in:
1 15 oz can Organic Diced Tomatoes
1 7 oz can El Pato Mexican Style Tomato Sauce
2 Tsp Mrs. Dash Fiesta Lime Seasoning
1 Tsp Chile Powder
1/4 Tsp Paprika
Freshly Ground Black Pepper and Sea Salt to taste
LAYER IT UP ~ starting with the taco meat & finishing with the cheese:
4 Corn Tortillas
1 15 oz can black beans, drained and rinsed
1 can Amy’s Spicy Chili
21 Trader Joe’s Soy & Flaxseed Tortilla Chips
1 cup Lite Mexican Cheese
Cook on low for 6-8 hours. Serve with your favorite toppings ~ salsa, guacamole, sour cream, olives, tomatoes, cilantro ~ anything you can think of :
Makes 6 LARGE Servings, 7 points each
Nutritional Information Per Serving:
Enter HERE for your chance to WIN A SHOPPING SPREE OR GET SOMETHING FOR FREE!
Night all!
WAHOOOO on the weightloss!! Shoot thats close to what I need to lose to reach my goal!! I need more motivation I tink that since Biggest Loser is back that helps!! I looove those TJ chips but the spicy are my favorite! 🙂
josi
AWESOME JOB GIRL!!!! The pounds are just falling off of you! 😉
OMG, when I saw that trivia on your cheese stick it just brought back so many memories of my childhood. We use to buy popsicles that had trivia questions on the end stick and you had to eat the other end to get the answer. I LOVED those!!!! I need to find these cheese sticks! 🙂
Love your crock dinner. 🙂
You are doing so great, Danica!!! Happy for you 🙂
Yummy taco casserole and I love those TJ’s chips, too! You have to try the rice and adzuki bean chips next. They are really good and have a nice little kick to them!
Congrats, girly! You’re doing great! 🙂
That casserole sounds SO good right now, and I love making pizzas on flat-outs. I need to buy them again.
First, congrats!!! You’re awesome. Second, those chips really are awesome aren’t they? I really like the veggie flaxseed ones even more though! And they chips with a personality disorder – they have potato and different grains -‘SO good.
LOSER!!!! I’M SO HAPPY FOR YOU!!! 🙂 WHOOHOOOOO 🙂
Taco casserole came out pretty good! Wow! I love a successful meal! 🙂 hehe
I’m a big fan of “chips with benefits” too!
Congrats on your weight loss!!! I LOVE those chips, and yes, 1 serving is enough, I was shocked!! O.M.G. That taco casserole…O.M.G. LOL! I don’t even have words to describe how amazing it looks!!! I can’t wait to make this!!
Jen
http://jenslosinit.blogspot.com/
Good Job Loser! I just printed this for my recipe book. I am a huge fan of Mexican food. also love any recipe that you can cook in a crock pot. Makes the house smell so great and relieves a ton of the stress that surrounds dinner time with my hubby and three girls. 🙂
CONGRATS on the loss! you are on a roll! 😀
and mexican.. crock pot.. those are SO perfect for me! YUM! thanks 🙂
This sounds like a recipe we would love! I love my crock pot and am on a mission to make something in it once a week. So far so good.
Love those chips too. Have you tried the ones that all all different colors? I can’t remember what that version is called, but the green ones are my favorite (I think those ones are onion flavored). SO good.
Way to go!!
I love those chips too and am going to have to seek out the salsa since I don’t normally find store-bought salsa to be quite hot enough. I’m still waiting for my local stores to carry the 100calorie packs of guac too 🙁
I truly admire your love of cooking! I wish I could be that inventive in the kitchen. That pizza and and granola look amazing! I have to admit though, I’ve never used a slow cooker. It’s so weird, I should totally use it sometime, my roommate’s got one even!
Yum!!!
I have a recipe addiction. Have for years.