Southwest Chipotle Lime Chicken

SO FAST. SO EASY.

Ingredients

• Rotisserie Chicken, shredded chicken or raw chicken
• Limes - freshly squeezed, or lime juice iFf you have a bottle
• Chicken Broth (optional if you don't have any available, but strongly encouraged)
• Mrs. Dash Southwest Chipotle Seasoning (SALT FREE!)
• or homemade chipotle seasoning
• Fresh Cilantro, finely chopped
• Salt and Pepper if needed, to taste

Directions

1. Combine Chicken broth, couple splashes of lime juice, chopped cilantro, and Southwest Chipotle seasoning into a container - bowl, tupperware, whatever you will marinate your chicken with - and whisk together with a fork or whisk
    - you need enough broth and lime juice  to coat the chicken, you don't want the chicken swimming in marinade as it can absorb too much liquid and get mushy
   - if you are not using chicken broth, do not over compensate with the lime, dilute with water if you need to or rub a small amount in with your hands. Don't make the mistake of using too much citrus!
2. Add the chicken and toss, ensuring every piece is coated
3. Marinate chicken (cooked or raw) for 20-30 minutes. We all know to marinate raw chicken, BUT its very important to marinate cooked chicken (like rotisserie or shredded) in order to impart much needed moisture and flavor.
   

   It makes a world of difference

4. After the 20-30 minutes are up, check on the chicken and transfer to a new bowl/serving dish or drain the excess liquid from the marinating container and close with lid.

Baked Italian Turkey Meatballs

Ingredients

• ground turkey
• spinach
• sundried tomatoes, finely chopped
• basil, finely chopped
• rosemary, finely chopped
• garlic, minced
• italian seasonings
• onion, finely chopped
• egg
• salt & pepper
• olive oil
• bread crumbs (optional)
• tomato paste (optional) 

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 340
2. begin sauteing onion, garlic, and rosemary in a pan on medium to medium high heat
3. add spinach and basil and cook this mixture down until it caramelizes and the liquid is evaporated
4. set aside and let cool.
5. Combine turkey, egg, tomato paste, and optional bread crumbs in bowl and mix, but do not over handle your ground turkey at any point or you will end up with tougher meatballs
6. Add in the caramelized mixture
7. Form into small meatballs no bigger than 1.5 inches
8. Bake for 20 minutes or until internal temperature reaches 160. If you care making these meatballs for meal prep, or will freeze them, feel free to cook to 145ish because they will finish cooking when you reheat them. This tip will help keep the moisture of the meatballs intact.

Notes:

Sometimes, I like to use a combination of 94-96% fat free beef and ground turkey for added flavor and moisture. I usually use more turkey than beef.

Hard Boiled Egg Snack

Quick Protien. 

This is a great protein snack that I like to pack in my lunches. A little bit or a lot of seasoning is up to you! Today I was definitely feeling the seasoning, however, even a little bit goes a long way. Try any of your favorite seasonings,  I personally do not like hard boiled egg yolks for some reason, so I take them out. 

Today, I used paprika, rosemary, thyme, and a salt free Italian seasoning blend  (Mrs. Dash).

For convenience, I use hard boiled eggs from Costco. Saves me the trouble of making them myself and makes meal prep a little bit faster!

Ingredients

• Hard boiled eggs (prepared and bought from Costco)
• Salt & Pepper
• Olive oil, sprayed from a misto (optional, but light!)

          options include:

• Ground Rosemary (a favorite of mine)
• Dried rosemary, whole
• Italian seasoning
• Paprika 
• Celery seed / celery salt
• Curry
• Lemon pepper

Directions

1. Cut hard boiled eggs in half
2. Punch out egg yolk, if so desired
3. Season moderately, lightly, heavy.. whatever you are feeling today
4. Pack in snack sized bags for on the go snacks!