Chicken Quesadilla Muffins

So i love Mexican food.  Seriously love Mexican food.  As I try to clean up my eating habits I've been challenged to find a way to still have things I enjoy that are just a bit more healthy.

Chicken Quesadilla's are a favorite of mine, but I wanted to replace the shell with a more complex carb option.  I also love single serving type recipes, so I came up with this!

I could totally binge on these - they are so freakin' good!  I say could because they are so incredibly filling that there is just no way that's going to happen!

The beautiful part of this recipe is that most of it came out of my freezer and was cooked in the crock pot!

Ingredients:

For Chicken Filling:

1 ½ lbs. boneless skinless chicken breasts 

1 (10 ounce) can Rotel tomatoes 

1 (4.5 ounce) can diced green chilies 

2 teaspoon Wildtree Chicken Bouillon blend 

¼ cup Wildtree Fiesta Salsa blend 

For Corn Muffin:

4 cups water

1 cup corn meal

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon fresh ground pepper

2 eggs

3 tablespoon milk

Reserved:

1 teaspoon Wildtree Grapeseed Oil

1 cup cheddar jack cheese

1/4 cup sour cream

I make my Polenta ahead of time.  Actually I always try to have some polenta in my refridgerator for recipes like this!  Bring water to a boil, and slowly, and I mean slowly whisk in corn meal.  If you add to much at once it will clump, and trust me, you do not want that!  Cook on low, stirring constantly for about 10 minutes, until it is really hard to stir and it pulls away from the side of the pan.  If making that day bring to room temp before adding eggs and milk.

Combine polenta with eggs and mild.  Best way to do this?  The good old fashioned way with your hands!  Now I use the large silicon muffin pan, so I put about 1/2 cup polenta into each slot.  If you don't use silicon I would recommend lining your pan for easy removal.

Lightly brush Grapeseed Oil in each muffin slot, and add polenta.  I cover a spice bottle with plastic wrap and gently press down, making an indentation.  Bake for 10 minutes at 350 to set.

Chicken Filling:

Combine all ingredients for chicken filling in a large Ziploc freezer bag and freeze if preparing later. When ready to cook, empty thawed bag into crockpot, add ½ cup water, cover, and cook on low for 8 hours. At serving time, shred the chicken with a fork, add ½ cup sour cream, and stir. Let simmer an add’l 5-10 min. 

Fill each muffin with chicken filling.  I get about 8 muffins using my large muffin pan.  Bake 25 minutes or until top of corn muffin starts to brown.  Sprinkle with cheese and cook for a few more minutes, until cheese melts.

With a few substitutions this recipe is awesome for people doing the Weight Watcher Simply Filling Technique.  Hell it's good for the points system too!  It is so delicious and filling!

Want to check out some of the seasonings in this recipe?  You can get any of them from my website, http://www.mywildtree.com/kellycalton  Wildtree is certified organic and most of our products are gluten free!  I love my Wildtree business and if you'd like to know more, check out my FAQS!!  Getting my groceries for free and making money at the same time?  Winning!

Keep up with me on facebook!  http://www.facebook.com/freezeit

Make Ahead Southwest Chicken or Turkey Burgers

I have a confession to make.  I am a huge food waster.  Like I'll go to the store, buy all this healthy stuff, have a complete week from hell and only end up making half of it because I am either to tired or stressed out to cook every night.

Enter these awesome make ahead meals, or freezer meals if you will.  I got a lot of good feedback on Facebook with the last one I posted, so this is one of my absolute favs.

What's really nice about this recipe is when I make the burgers I individually wrap them in parchment so I can just take a couple out.  The recipe makes four burgers, but when ground turkey or chicken go on sale I'll make 3 or 4 pounds worth and have them at my ready in the freezer. With the cost of food skyrocketing, this has most definitely saved me some big time money.

These burgers pack a punch in the flavor department, and you'd never know you are eating something healthy!

Ingredients:

1 lb. Ground Chicken or healthier option: ground turkey
1 Tablespoon Wildtree Garlic Grapeseed Oil
2 Tablespoons Wildtree Fiesta Salsa Blend
1 Tablespoon Wildtree Rancher Steak Rub

Combine all ingredients in a freezer Ziploc and smush to blend. *Before freezing, you can shape meat into 4 patties, wrap in parchment and then freeze. Otherwise, the chicken is a little difficult to form into patties once thawed. I definitely recommend forming into patties before freezing.

 Freeze. 

When ready to serve, thaw bag in fridge. Heat 1 Tablespoon of Wildtree Garlic Grapeseed Oil in a large non-stick skillet over medium-high heat. If using chicken where you didn’t pre-form the patties, spoon into the hot pan as the meat will be difficult to form into patties and pan fry or grill for about 5 min per side. If using turkey, form into patties and cook 5-6 min per side. Serve on buns with mayo or sour cream,  I like to add onions and tomatoes too :)

OPTIONAL: add provolone cheese slices during the last 3 min of cooking,

and melt by making an “aluminum foil tent” over the skillet. Serves 4.

Calories 280; Fat 19 g; Saturated Fat 0 g; Carbohydrate 7 g; Fiber 2 g; Protein 21 g; Cholesterol 85 mg; Sodium 580 mg

The nutritional below reflect the recipe using extra lean ground turkey (no dark meat):

Calories 180; Fat 5 g; Saturated Fat 0 g; Carbohydrate 7 g; Fiber 2 g; Protein 21 g; Cholesterol 45 mg; Sodium 570 mg

To order Wildtree products please visit http://www.mywildtree.com/kellycalton

Interested in joining a white hot business? Wildtree will have 65% of their products certified #glutenfree and 88% of their products certified #organic by the end of the year! Check out my FAQ's to learn more on how you can join this amazing business for $49.95! https://www.facebook.com/notes/wildtree-with-kelly-calton/faqs-on-joining-wildtree/583740365039229

Fiesta Quinoa Salad

I love this! Mason jars are the ultimate MacGyver kitchen accessory. You can bake in it, you can preserve food in it, and now you can eat lunch out of it!

Veggies will stay fresh longer too!

Fiesta Quinoa Salad
½ cup water ¼ cup quinoa
1 teaspoon Wildtree Taco Seasoning Pinch of salt
½ cup canned diced tomatoes (with liquid)
2 tablespoons Wildtree Fiesta Salsa Mix ½ cup corn
¼ cup black beans
½ cup orange bell pepper
¼ cup shredded cheese

1 cup romaine, chopped
To order Wildtree products please visit http://www.mywildtree.com/kellycalton
Interested in joining a white hot business? Wildtree will have 65% of their products certified #glutenfree and 88% of their products certified #organic by the end of the year! Check out my FAQ's to learn more on how you can join this amazing business for $49.95! https://www.facebook.com/notes/wildtree-with-kelly-calton/faqs-on-joining-wildtree/583740365039229
Combine the water and quinoa in a saucepan. Bring the mixture to a boil, then lower heat and simmer, covered, until quinoa is tender and still chewy, about 15 minutes. Remove from heat. Once the quinoa has cooled mix in the Taco Seasoning, salt, diced tomatoes, and Fiesta Salsa Mix. Add this mixture to the bottom of 1 quart mason jar. Layer with bell pepper, corn, black beans, cheese and spinach. Seal the jar and refrigerate until you are ready to eat. Shake to mix up the ingredients when ready to eat.
Calories 470; Fat 14 g; Saturated Fat 6 g; Carbohydrate 72 g; Fiber 13 g; Protein 22 g; Cholesterol 30 mg; Sodium 920 mg