Search results for: chili

Slow cooker chicken enchilada soup with shredded chicken – a flavorful healthy whole30, paleo, keto dinner recipe made conveniently and easily in the crock pot. This post also includes an Instant Pot option!

Did anyone else here grow up on boxed Spanish rice? My hand just shot through the roof.

My parents were all about convenience, so we grew up on boxed rice pilaf and Spanish rice. While I have zero hesitation to continue eating the boxed version, I find that there is just never enough! 

I prefer my carbs (particularly rice) in excess, so I make a big batch of this rice (sometimes I double the recipe!) every time I have the hankering.

Homemade Spanish Rice is super simple to make! It requires hardly any additional effort than making regular white rice, and results in a mouth-watering rice that the whole family will love. I’m willing to bet you already have everything you need on hand.

One of my brothers and his wife makes Spanish rice for their kids regularly, and often for family dinners. I requested they fork over the recipe so that I could give it a whirl in my own home. This recipe is an adaptation of what they do!

Color me telepathic, but I have a sneaking suspicion you could use an easy meal using mostly pantry ingredients. 

Sometimes we need cooking to be the easiest thing we’ve done all day or could simply use a win, and this vegan black bean sweet potato skillet is exactly that!

Incorporating basic ingredients you likely already have on hand, you’ll likely not even need to leave the house to make this beauty happen.

Bonus points: this recipe makes a TON of food – great for feeding the whole family or for meal prepping.

Bonus points, the sequel: You can make all sorts of changes to this meal based on what you have on hand!

This colorful, nutritious meal includes sweet potato, black beans, quinoa, bell pepper, onion, garlic, salsa and chili powder. The end result? A hearty meal that’ll tickle the tongue buds and make you feel satisfied.

The best part? This vegan Mexican inspired meal is so easy to prepare. Let’s talk about it!

A couple of weeks ago, I had a reader request freezer meals. Happy to oblige! Nothing pleases me more to provide inspiration or resources for meals that are easy to prepare and save. After all, cooking shouldn’t be complicated (IMHO).

In this post, I am including my favorite recipes from my site that can be frozen, thawed, and re-heated easily, as well as mouth-watering recipes from around the web.

Which Foods Freeze & Reheat Well?:

In general, plenty of liquid and/or fat and minimal vegetables makes a great freezeable meal. You’re pretty safe with anything that is smothered in tomato sauce, a cream-based sauce or coconut milk sauce.

Take lasagna for instance. It includes sauce, minimal fresh vegetables, and plenty of fat (from the cheese and/or meat). Casseroles, meat-centric soups (hello, chili!!!), curries, and recipes using pantry staples freeze and reheat well without tasting funky.  

Hearty vegetables, like root vegetables, winter squash, onion, and peppers freeze and reheat very well, but less hearty vegetables like cauliflower and zucchini do not.

As an exception to this, recipes that are fairly dry for the most part, such as veggie burgers, meatballs, breaded meats, and/or animal protein burgers are great candidates for freezing to reheat and consume later.

So let’s dive in! Here are my favorite healthy freezer meals from both The Roasted Root and from around the web.

How to cook dry black beans in the Instant Pot – a quick and easy method for cooking dried black beans (or any beans) that doesn’t require soaking.

Anti-Inflammatory Recipes to Support Your Immune System using nutrient-dense ingredients. Packed with antioxidants to lower inflammation.

Instant Pot Rotisserie Turmeric Chicken is a perfectly moist and tender whole body chicken recipe that comes out just like rotisserie chicken, but is prepared in your pressure cooker! You’ll put this easy, mouth-watering chicken recipe on repeat!

A healthy plant-based meal plan featuring Spring produce. Enjoy this week’s worth of healthy meals! Happy weekend to you, and Happy Spring! I hope you all are doing well. If you’re looking for a baking project to keep your mind occupied, be sure to try out the Low-Carb Carrot Cake recipe I posted this week! …

40 recipes using pantry ingredients, covering breakfast lunch and dinner. If you have a hefty stock of pantry items but are low in fresh produce, you’ll love these easy nutritious recipes using staples.

 

Many of us keep a hefty stock of pantry items but don’t always have access to fresh produce. Coming from a small mountain town where it can snow non-stop for days, I’m very familiar with pantry cooking. 

When we don’t have control of mother nature, we can make the best of our food situation by whipping up delicious meals using ingredients we always have on hand.

You’d be surprised what you can do with a can of beans. I mean, Double Chocolate Chickpea or Black Bean Brownies, anyone? Suddenly being stuck at home doesn’t seem so bad.

Some of the recipes in this post include ingredients I would consider to be staples. For instance, I personally always have a supply of ground turkey, chicken, and/or sausage in my freezer, and keep bananas, potatoes, carrots, garlic and onion on hand.

If you are fresh out of anything on any of the ingredient lists, feel free to comment below, and I will do my best to provide substitutions! Here are some common substitutions you can employ when in a pinch:

Easy Substitutions:

• Meat: You can always replace meat with rice and beans for a complete protein. If you’re making soup that calls for meat, swap it for black beans and brown rice.
• Potatoes: Most potatoes can be used interchangeably, and butternut squash is a great replacement for potato.
• Carrot: Grated sweet potato, butternut squash, or regular potato can be used to swap out grated carrot.  Carrot and zucchini are interchangeable in baked recipes.
• Sweet Potatoes/Banana: You can often substitute applesauce for mashed sweet potatoes in breads or baked goods using a smaller measurement. For instance, if a recipe calls for 1 cup of mashed sweet potato, use ½ to ⅔ cup applesauce. Mashed banana can be used to replace mashed sweet potato and vice versa in a 1:1 change.
• Tomatoes: If a recipe calls for tomato sauce and you don’t have any on hand, you can blend up diced tomatoes. Similarly, you can often substitute tomato sauce for diced tomatoes if you are fine with a smoother versus chunky texture.
• Nut Butters: Use peanut butter, tahini, almond butter, and cashew butter interchangeably.
• Dried Fruit: Raisins, dried blueberries and cranberries can be used interchangeably. 
• Oil/Butter: Most cooking oils are interchangeable, and butter can almost always be used to replace oil and vice versa. Where I don’t suggest using olive oil is in sweet baked goods, unless you are okay with the olive flavor coming through.
• Dairy-Free Milk: Non-dairy milks such as almond milk, oat milk and coconut milk can be used interchangeably and can often be used to replace cow’s milk.
• Cream: Cream can be replaced with full-fat canned coconut milk.
• Sweeteners: All liquid sweeteners are interchangeable, but be sure to keep a watchful eye on a baked good that uses honey instead of pure maple syrup, as honey burns at a lower temperature.
• Sugar: Coconut sugar + a touch of pure maple syrup can be used to replace brown sugar, and vice versa.
• Eggs: If you don’t have eggs on hand, you can replace 1 egg with ¼ cup of something else. For instance, ½ of a banana, ¼ cup of mashed sweet potato, applesauce, and/or flax or chia eggs. To make 1 flax egg, combine 1 tablespoon of ground flax seed with 3 tablespoons of water and stir well. Allow the mixture to sit and thicken for 10 minutes, then use it as you would a regular egg. 

These easy, nutritious recipes will not only keep you satisfied, they make for fun cooking projects at home! Leave a comment telling me which ones you try, and enjoy!

xo

Chicken Sheet Pan Dinner with turmeric-seasoned chicken thighs and vegetables is a quick, easy one-pan dinner. Paleo, Keto, and Whole30.

Immunity-Boosting Ground Turkey Soup with Turmeric and Ginger is creamy, tangy, hearty, and filling! This comforting soup is full of Thai flair and helps protect your immune system.

Italian Wedding Soup with Rice is a quick and easy recipe that results in a filling, clean dinner and a gluten-free version of the classic recipe. This simple recipe requires just 30 minutes of time, one pot, and only a handful of basic ingredients.  Make a big batch to enjoy throughout the week! Back when …

One Pan Meal of Salmon and Vegetables is a great recipe for batch cooking or meal prepping for a busy workweek or for feeding a big family. This carb-conscious meal is packed with protein and vitamins and is paleo, keto, and whole30 compliant.

Thai Coconut Soup is a flavorful, creamy yet tangy soup made with lemongrass, coconut milk, broth, ginger, and lime juice. Add vegetables like broccoli, carrots, and zucchini for a light and refreshing meal! The best part – this recipe takes less than 30 minutes to make!

Sicilian Chicken Soup made quickly on the stove top in less than an hour! This hearty chicken soup recipe is easy to make and comforting on chilly winter nights. I have included instructions for Instant Pot and Slow Cooker in this post as well!