This morning’s training included a 5 mile run which turned me into a hot sweaty mess. My shins were really hurting again during today’s run so I want to spend a little time researching the possible reasons why. Am I running incorrectly? Am I deficient in a certain nutrient?

On the drive home from the gym I asked Dana if he smelled onions. He said “no, but you’re probably sweating them out from last night’s dinner.”  Huh, he’s probably right! That’s gross and funny at the same time, and totally worth it because last night’s dinner turned out wonderfully! I hope you are ready for this oh baby baby.

Yesterday I gave you a little sneak peak of the ingredients I was going to be using for part of the dinner.

After some chopping, mixing, and seasoning, those ingredients turned into this:

Melanie’s Cowboy Caviar

Ingredients

• 2 tomatoes, chopped
• 1 medium red onion, chopped
• 10 mini bell peppers (or 1.5 medium-sized bell peppers), diced
• 1 ripe avocado, chopped
• 1/2 cup corn
• 1-15 oz can black beans, rinsed and drained
• 1/2 cup cilantro, chopped
• 2 Tablespoons lemon juice
• 2 teaspoons cumin
• 2 teaspoons garlic powder
• salt and pepper to taste

Directions

Mix all ingredients gently making sure to cover avocados with lemon juice to prevent browning. Serve as a salad/side dish or with baked tortilla chips.

Holy moly this was goooood.

Next up was the main dish: Chicken Enchiladas

This was my first time ever making enchiladas I think and I decided to wing it. I started off sautéing 2 small yellow onions and 4 mini bell peppers.

Next I added 1-7 oz can of diced green chilies, 2.5 cups of cooked pulled chicken, cracked black pepper, and 1 teaspoon garlic powder.

I removed from heat then added 1/2 cup of Mexican style reduced fat shredded cheese to the mix. The next step is to stuff the tortillas. I sprayed a 9 x 13 pan with non-stick cooking spray and stuffed each tortilla with approximately 1/4-1/2 cup of chicken mixture. This made 9 enchiladas.

I rolled them up like burritos and lined them in the pan. I topped them with about 1 cup of non-fat plain greek yogurt, then a layer of red salsa, then finished with a layer of the Mexican style shredded cheese.

They cooked for 20 minutes covered at 350°, then removed the cover and broiled on high for 2 minutes to start to melt the cheese.

And helllllloo cheesy healthy goodness. I plated up and topped the enchilada with a little more salsa, because I love saucy. Apparently I need to work on my plate presentation because this picture DOES NOT do the dinner justice.

I loved every bite of this dinner and my family really loved it too! See, look how happy they are.

We hung out for a little while after dinner and heard all about mom and dad’s wonderful trip to Florida. I am so glad they are home.

Chicken Enchiladas

Ingredients

• 2 small onions, diced
• 4 mini bell peppers, diced
• 1-7 oz. can diced green chilies
• 1 teaspoon garlic powder
• freshly cracked black pepper to taste
• 2 1/2 cups cooked chicken breast, shredded
• 1 cup Mexican style reduced-fat shredded cheese divided into 1/2 cup portions
• 9 whole wheat tortillas (La Tortilla Factory Low-Carb)
• 1 cup non-fat plain greek yogurt
• 1 cup salsa (plus more to top post baking if you like your food saucy like me)

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350°.
2. Saute onions and peppers.
3. Add green chilies, chicken, garlic powder, and black pepper. Stir, remove from heat.
4. Stir in 1/2 cup cheese.
5. Stuff 9 tortillas with 1/4-1/2 cup of chicken mixture, roll into burritos, and place in 9 x 13 pan coated with non-stick cooking spray.
6. Top with a layer of yogurt, then a layer of salsa, and finish with the shredded cheese.
7. Bake covered for 20 minutes.
8. Remove cover and broil on high for 2 minutes or until cheese is melted.
9. Serve warm with extra salsa on top (or hot sauce if you like it SPICAY)

I am off to find something to eat for lunch and enjoy some time with my husband.

Adios muchachos!