Healthy Cooking Group

A few months back, we started a healthy cooking group at work. The last Friday of the month, someone takes a turn at preparing a healthy lunch. It is actually pretty fun, but a little stressful when it is your turn to cook! Since today is the last Friday of the month, we had our luncheon. AND yes, it was my turn to cook.

I cook for people all the time - I mean all the time, but for some reason this lunch had me particularly stressed out. I thought about what I was going to make for weeks and finally settled on shredded chicken taco salads for a few reasons:

1. I wouldn’t actually have to cook at work - I could make everything ahead and bring in crock pots.
2. Everyone loves Mexican food, right?
3. Look how yummy!

I like my chicken, beans, and corn on the bottom - so, you really can't see them :)

I think the salads were a big hit. In fact, I made everyone’s mouth water the entire day while the chicken and black beans were just cooking away. I also made my whole building smell like a Mexican restaurant. Hmm, oh well :)

Here are a few details:

The tortilla bowls are baked. They are made from uncooked flour tortillas sprayed with a little cooking spray, then smashed between the form found below. Bake for about 15 minutes at 375 degrees. Watch them carefully as to not burn them. If you don’t have any of these little forms, you should definitely get some! They are awesome and the tortilla bowls are fantastic. 

For the chicken, I used the same exact recipe found in this post - but obviously substituted the pork for 4 pounds of boneless skinless chicken breasts. I am a bigger fan of using pork for this recipe, but chicken worked since it is technically healthier.

For the beans, I started with the recipe found here. Instead of cooking in a pan, I just threw everything into a crock pot. I didn’t see a need for the oil, so I didn’t use it and I also used half chicken stock and half tomato juice instead of just tomato juice. If I were cooking for John and I, I would have added some jalapeno times two. I love spicy!

I used my go to recipe for the southwestern corn succotash, which is found here. It is just a nice accompaniment to the rest of the meal and makes a good topping! I was uncertain how everyone would feel about this,  but they loved it! Whew!

The other toppings include lettuce (since it is a salad after all), habenero cheese, cotija cheese, cilantro, tomatoes, avocado, fresh squeezed lime, and jalapenos. I also made two different dressings a creamy cilantro ranch - like they have at Café Rio - and an avocado/lime vinaigrette. Both dressings were great.

Creamy Cilantro Ranch

I started out with the recipe found here, then made a few substitutions since it is the healthy cooking group after all.

• 2 T salsa verde (you can use a tomatillo in place of this - I think I will do that next time)
• ½ jalapeno diced 
• 1 pkg buttermilk ranch dressing mix
• 1 cup mayonnaise (use the kind made with olive oil)
• 1 6 ounce cup of plain Greek yogurt
• Skim milk to thin to the correct consistency (maybe ½ cup)
• ½ bunch cilantro (with stems)
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• Lime juice from 1 lime
• Salt and pepper to taste

Add ingredients to a blender and puree until smooth. Chill at least one hour.

Avocado/Lime Vinaigrette - this looks like a Green Machine smoothy, but is way good!

• 1 large ripe avocado
• 1 clove of garlic
• 2-3 tablespoons rough chopped cilantro
• 1/2 cup olive oil
• Lime juice from 1 lime
• 1/2 teaspoon cumin
• Salt and pepper to taste

Add all ingredients to a blender and process until smooth. Serve immediately.

Wow…that was a lot of work and I am certainly glad that it is over with and I don’t have to think about cooking for the group for at least six months! Oh and thank goodness for John…he helped me get everything all chopped up last night. I would have been up all night if he hadn’t helped out.