Healthier Mexican Pizzas

Yup... still trying to keep things lighter... and still completely addicted to Mexican food.

I was going to make tostadas with some leftover Smoky Mexican Chicken. Then Taco Bell Mexican Pizza popped into my head. So I changed it up!



They are so easy and definitely lightened up!

Healthier Mexican Pizza
6 flour tortillas, 6 inch
3/4 C refried beans
1 1/2 C Smoky Mexican Chicken
3/4 C reduced fat Mexican cheese, shredded
6 TBLS smooth taco sauce
3 TBLS scallions, sliced
12 jalapeno slices

Preheat oven to 400F
Place tortillas on a large baking sheet.


Bake tortillas until golden & crisp.


Push down any bubbles that might pop up on the tortillas to keep them flat.

Spread 1/4 C refried beans on half of the tortillas.


Then spread 1/2 C Smoky Mexican Chicken over each tortilla with beans.


Cover chicken and bean covered tortillas with remaining crisp tortillas.


Spread 2 TBLS taco sauce on pizza.


Evenly spread 1/4 cup shredded cheese on each pizza.


Add scallions.


And jalapenos.


Bake until cheese is melty.


Let it set for 3 - 5 minutes, then cut into quarters & enjoy!!


You can top these with your favorite toppings. This is just what I had on hand tonight. You can add black olives, diced tomatoes, diced red onions, cilantro, or for some cool fresh crunch, sprinkle on some crispy shredded lettuce when it comes out of the oven.

How did this measure up against Taco Bell Mexican Pizza?

Taco Bell Mexican Pizza - 1 pizza
Calories: 530
Total Fat: 30g
Total Carbs: 46g
Protein: 20g

Healthier Mexican Pizza - 1 pizza
Calories: 485 - 45 calories less
Total Fat: 12g - 18g fat less
Total Carbs: 43g - 3g carbs less
Protein: 47g - 27g lean protein more (more than twice as much!)

Not too shabby!!!

Baked Chicken Chimichangas

Normally if I'm making Chimichangas, I'd be using my Smoky Mexican Chicken and it would definitely be fried.

But I'm still trying to keeps things light at my house, so while the Smoky Mexican Chicken would definitely fit the bill... the frying definitely would not.

I think my spider cried a little... he's just been standing around in my Kitchenaid just waiting for the opportunity to dip into some hot oil and scoop out some yummy fried morsels.



Not to worry, I'm not giving up frying, just frying a little less. But last night, there was no hot oil action for spider.

I've been talking about my new favorite cookbook Foods and Flavors of San Antonio. Right away I decided to make the Chicken Chimichangas found on page 16. I also knew I'd try baking them. I refuse to give up taste or texture for a healthier dish, so I had my fingers crossed that baking would ruin them. And it DEFINITELY didn't!



I changed the recipe slightly because I couldn't find any canned tomatillos and the refresh one looked decidedly less than fresh! My changes are in green.

Baked Chicken Chimichangas
2 lbs skinless chicken breast
1 dried chipotle chile
1/2 C onion, chopped (I used less onion, since I replaced the tomatillos with tomatillo salsa)
4 cloves garlic, chopped
1 tsp cumin (more cumin, because I really like it!)
1/2 tsp coriander
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp cloves
16 oz tomatillo salsa (couldn't find decent tomatillos)
2 15.5oz cans pinto beans, drained & rinsed
salt & pepper to taste
8 10in flour tortillas

Optional but suggested garnishes: lettuce, salsa, guacamole

Place chicken breasts and dried chipotle chile in a large sauce pan add water until covered.

Cook 15 - 20 minutes, until chicken is cooked through. Shred chicken with forks and set aside.

Preheat oven to 450F.

Remove seeds from chipotle and dice chile.

In a large non-stick skillet, coated with cooking spray, saute onion, garlic and chipotle until tender. Add tomatillo salsa, cumin, coriander, cinnamon and cloves. Simmer 3 minutes. Add beans and shredded chicken. Cook until heated through.

Wrap flour tortillas in a slightly damp towel and microwave for 30 seconds, until pliable.

Place 3/4 cup chicken mixture in the center of a flour tortilla, fold sides in, then fold in top and bottom.

Place on a baking sheet coated in cooking spray. Repeat with remaining filling and tortillas.

Lightly spray tortillas with cooking spray. Bake 15 - 20 minutes or until golden and crispy.

Garnish with lettuce, salsa and guacamole.

Guacamole instead of sour cream... good fat instead of bad fat... plus it's a veggie!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Throw the chicken in a pot with a dried chipotle or two, cover with water and 15 - 20 minutes until chicken is cooked through.


This was nice. The chicken had a really mild chipotle spicy flavor when it was cooked.

Shred the chicken with forks (or your hands if it's cooled enough)


This time General Prang is interested in what I'm doing at the counter.


Saute the onions, garlic and chipotle until tender.


Add tomatillo salsa, beans & spices and cook a few minutes until they're heated through.


Then add the shredded chicken.


This smells amazing!! My recipe would typically smell like taco meat. But the addition of coriander, cinnamon and cloves gave it a completely different aroma. It kind of reminded me of mole.

Mmmmmm.... doesn't that look good?


Now put 3/4 cup of chicken mixture into the center of each tortilla. (one at a time, unless you have a gigantic counter)


Now normally I'd roll this like a burrito. Definitely not an easy shape to fry. The instruction in the recipe said to fold the sides in, then fold up the top and bottom. You end up with a little pocket shape.


Here's where I veer away from the recipe. Instead of frying these, they get baked. (sorry spider... don't worry, there are still Deep Fried Candy Bars, Lumpia & Chicken Wings in your future!

Place the yummy little chicken packet on a baking sheet coated with cooking spray.


Repeat with remaining filling and tortillas.


Give them a light spray with cooking spray and pop them into an oven preheated to 450F. Bake 15 - 20 minutes or until golden and crispy.


I garnished them with shredded lettuce, salsa and guacamole







I spread the lettuce, salsa & guacamole on top before I started to eat it and it really had a restaurant flavor/feel to it.

Jon and Lilly and I really loved these. Tawny wasn't a big fan. So I asked if she liked my Spicy Empanadas. She said, "NO!! That's what these remind me of!"

If you like the empanadas, you will love these!

How did these fare compared to their full fat deep fried relatives?

Definitely two enthusiastic thumbs up!

Nutritional Info per serving (one chimichanga):

Calories: 468.2
Total Fat: 7.1 g
Cholesterol: 65.7 mg
Sodium: 1,322.5 mg
Total Carbs: 61.5 g
Dietary Fiber: 8.3 g
Protein: 38.7 g

Adding 2 TBLS of my homemade guacamole.
Calories: 44
Fat: 4 g
Carbs: 2 g
Fiber: 1 g
Protein: <1 g

Still a healthy low fat completely delicious meal!

We have 4 left from last night... I know we'll eat three tonight... who will get the last one?

Linguine with Garlicky Clams & Peas

Why do I always forget that eating healthier isn't all rabbit food...

...it doesn't have to be boring...

and... in fact...

It can be totally delicious!!

I don't know!!



This is another Cooking Light recipe.

I just changed the basil to flat leaf parsley. You can use whatever herbs you like.

Linguine with Garlicky Clams & Peas
1 9oz package fresh linguine
2 TBLS olive oil
4 large garlic cloves, minced
3 61/2oz cans of chopped clams, undrained
1 C vegetable stock
1/4 C dry white wine
1/4 tsp crushed red pepper
1 C frozen peas
1/2 C Parmesan, shredded
2 TBLS fresh parsley, chopped

Cook pasta according to direction on package.
Drain and keep warm.
Drain clams, reserve clams and 1/2 C clam juice; discard remaining juice.
Saute garlic in olive oil in a large skillet. Add 1/2 C clam juice, stock, wine and crushed red pepper. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer for 5 minutes. Add clams and peas and cook until heated through. Add cooked linguine to pan and toss well. Sprinkle with shredded Parmesan and chopped parsley.
Makes 4 hearty servings.

Per serving:
Calories: 403.8
Fat: 11.5
Carbs: 46.4
Protein: 24

This is all you need.


Cook pasta according to direction on package.
Drain and keep warm.


Saute garlic in olive oil in a large skillet.

Add 1/2 C clam juice, stock, wine and crushed red pepper.

Bring to a boil.

Reduce heat and simmer for 5 minutes.

Add clams and peas and cook until heated through.




Add cooked linguine to pan and toss well.

Sprinkle with shredded Parmesan and chopped parsley.


This was so tasty and delicious!!

Add a nice green salad and you're all set!

Baked Rice with Chicken and Kielbasa

A lighter, more family friendly meal. Bobby is my pickiest eater. But this only has stuff he likes in it. He couldn't really identify the leeks and didn't find them offensive!

This was cool because in addition to eating better, I'm also trying to exercise regularly.

Prep time on this might be 15 - 20 minutes at most. Then it's into the oven for 45 minutes. Enough time to go downstairs and workout while it's baking.



Baked Rice with Chicken and Kielbasa
1 1/2 C jasmine rice, uncooked
3 1/4 C chicken broth, fat free
1 tsp thyme
pinch of saffron, crushed
1 pound chicken breast, skinless
14 oz turkey kielbasa, extra lean
1 leek, sliced thin
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 C frozen peas
salt & pepper

Preheat oven to 400F.
Heat chicken broth, thyme and saffron until very hot.
Cut chicken and kielbasa into bite-sized pieces and put in large casserole dish. Add sliced leeks, minced garlic, peas and uncooked rice. Toss until well mixed.
Pour hot broth over mixture.
Bake uncovered, 45 minutes, or until rice is tender and broth is absorbed.
This makes 8 hearty one cup servings.

Nutritional Info per Serving
Calories: 276.6
Fat: 3.1g
Carbohydrates: 37.5g
Protein: 22.1g

Heat chicken broth, thyme and saffron until very hot.


Cut chicken and kielbasa into bite-sized pieces and put in large casserole dish.


Add sliced leeks, minced garlic, peas and uncooked rice.




Pour hot broth over mixture.


Bake uncovered, 45 minutes, or until rice is tender and broth is absorbed.


Now you have 45 minutes... you can workout if you want... paint your nails... or maybe take your queue from Donna over at My Tasty Treasures and work up more of an appetite!

.... 45 minutes later...

It's dinner time!

Chicken Souvlaki

I mentioned before that we're trying to lighten up at my house.

We've been grilling a lot of chicken.

This looked like a tasty recipe from Cooking Light, so I tried it out a week or so ago. I tweaked most of the quantities, but the ingredients are mostly the same.



Chicken Souvlaki
2 - 3 lbs skinless chicken breast, cut into 1 inch pieces
6 TBLS lemon juice
1 TBLS fresh oregano, chopped
1 TBLS olive oil
6 cloves garlic, minced

Combine lemon juice, oregano, olive oil and garlic in a large plastic ziplock bag.
Add chicken pieces.
Squish it around so the marinade really gets to all of the pieces of chicken.
Refrigerate for 30 minutes.
If you're using wooden skewers, they need to soak for 30 minutes in water.
Thread the chicken onto the skewers and grill about 8 minutes, turning the skewers as they cook.

You can find my Tzatziki Recipe HERE.

Fresh lemon juice makes such a difference.


But bottled is fine, if that's all you have.
(it's often all I have!)

And again... I can't help but smile when I go to my herb garden to fetch herbs for whatever I happen to be putting together.




Mix the lemon juice, oregano, olive oil, and garlic in a plastic bag.

As you can see... I dirtied a bowl by mistake!




Now add the chicken to the bag and squish it around so it's all mixed up really well.


Pop that into the fridge for 30 minutes.

Then thread them onto skewers.


Obviously, feel free to add veggies between the chickens if you like.

If I was just serving the shish kabobs, I would have added veggies. But I was serving them in flat bread... and I always stuff them too full!

Now it's grillin' time!

Only charcoal at my house!

I AM the grill master! Ok... just the grill master at my house.

But for YEARS the grill was very intimidating to me. Then we went to a Cinco de Mayo party a few years ago, at the house of one of Jon's former band mates and I watched Steve grill all day. He truly IS a grill master! Something clicked that day. Suddenly it wasn't intimidating anymore. And I do pretty well!

Anywayyyy.....

Throw those shish kabobs on the grill.




Oh yeah!


Slather your favorite flat bread with Tzatziki Sauce and some lettuce, tomatoes and onions. (or whatever you like on a sammie)


Add some of that gorgeous grilled chicken.


Fold it up and it's time to eat!!!


The chicken tastes so fresh marinated in the lemon juice with oregano and garlic.


So delicious with the tangy, creamy (and entirely fat free) Tzatziki Sauce you forget it's totally figure friendly!