It's "Tasty Tuesday"! 

For this week's Tasty Tuesday we are talking about a new healthy Mexican Lasagna with Spinach that we tried out! As for how it went over with all four of us, both Wes and I were quite pleased! It had good flavor, was great for leftovers but I'm totally not going to lie. Emma wouldn't touch this with a ten foot pole (she completely refused dinner the night we had this) and Jack, well, he at least tried it and ate several bites of the ground turkey but that was about it. So maybe if your kids are a little more adventurous, or you have older kids, I think this would be a hit with them too. But not so much with our picky little eaters this go around. We are definitely going to give it another try though!

This is another recipe where you could really add whatever your family likes best. We actually didn't put in all the spinach that the recipe called for because frankly, it just seemed like a lot, and I think next time we might try chopping the spinach up into smaller pieces too. This would probably also be really good with zucchini or maybe some other veggies thrown in. What toppings would you try?

Healthy Mexican Lasagna w/Spinach

What You'll Need

• 10 6-inch corn tortillas
• 2 Cups of canned low-sodium black beans, rinshed
• 4 Cups of Healthy Tomato Sauce
• 1 1/2 Cups Monterey Jack Cheese
• 1 Bag (10 oz) baby spinach leaves, rinsed
• 2 Cups Grilled Chicken, diced
• 2 Tbsp Fresh Cilantro, rinsed, drained and chopped
• Nonstick Cooking Spray

Directions
Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Lightly spray a 9 by 13 inch baking pan with cooking spray. Place two to three corn tortillas on the bottom, trimming as necessary for a good fit.

Add beans, 1 cup of the tomato sauce (we used Wes's homemade clean spaghetti sauce), and 1/2 cup of grated cheese. Top with two to three more corn tortillas. Then repeat! But in this second layer, add the spinach in between the sauce and the cheese. Then top with two more corn tortillas.

Add chicken and 1 more cup of the tomato sauce, then top with two more corn tortillas. For the top layer, add the last cup of tomato sauce, 1/2 cup cheese and chopped cilantro.

Bake for 30 minutes or until the cheese is melted and browned and chicken is reheated. Let stand for 5 minutes, cut into eight even squares and voila!

Nutrition Facts Per Serving: (serving size is one square)
Calories: 304, Total Fat: 10 g, Sodium: 275 mg, Vitamin A: 80%, Total Fiber: 6 g, Protein: 23 g

Tasty Tuesday: Baked Pork Chops with Apple Cranberry Sauce

It's "Tasty Tuesday"!

We have been a little behind when it comes to our Tasty Tuesday recipes but today's is one of our new favorites! This comes from the same Healthy cookbook that our Healthy Turkey Meatloaf and Crunchy Chicken Fingers. This recipe has a very Thanksgiving-y feel too it, making it the perfect fall dinner. The orange and cranberries give it a sweet but tart (odd I know) taste. If you have picky eaters, you can give them the pork chop, with a side of applesauce and dried cranberries, which is what we did and both Emma and Jack loved it!

Baked Pork Chops with Apple Cranberry Sauce

What You'll Need For The Pork Chops:

• 4 boneless pork chops (about 3 oz each)
• 1/4 tsp ground black pepper
• 1 medium orange, rinsed, for 1/4 tsp zest (use a grater to take thin layer of skin off the orange; save the orange for garnish)
• 1/2 tbsp olive oil 

What You'll Need For The Sauce:

• 1/4 cup low sodium chicken broth
• 1 medium apple, peeled and grated (about 1 cup) (use grater to make thin layers of apple)
• 1/2 cinnamon stick (or 1/8 ground cinammon)
• 1 bay leaf
• 1/2 cup dried cranberries
• 1/2 cup 100% orange juice

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees and season your pork chops with pepper and orange zest.

In large saute pan, heat olive oil over medium heat. Add pork chops, and cook until browned on one side, about 2 minutes. Turn them over and brown the second side, an additional 2 minutes. Remove pork chops from the pan, place them on a nonstick baking sheet, and put in oven to cook for an additional 10 minutes (to a minimum internal temperature of 160 degrees).

Add chicken broth to the saute pan and stir to loosen the flavorful brown bits. Bring to a boil, and then lower to a gentle simmer. Simmer for up to 10 minutes, or until the cranberries are plump and the apples are tender. Remove cinnamon stick.

Peel the orange used for the zest, and cut it into sections for garnish. Serve one pork chop with 1/4 cup of sauce and two orange segments.