Warm Meals for Cold Nights

The recent cold weather in Houston has our family pining for comfort foods! Unfortunately, many of those filling, delicious dishes pack in the calories…and pack on the pounds! Here are two of our family’s tried and true “healthy” comfort foods, guaranteed to fill your belly without making your jeans any tighter.

This recipe is one of my absolute favorites! The best part about it, is you can really add whatever you want to the base soup, and it still tastes great! This is a great recipe for Monday or Sunday Night Football watching, and I love that the prep is SO minimal. Throw in a crock-pot liner, and clean-up is pretty much a breeze as well.

“Almost” Homemade Chicken Tortilla Soup

• 2 cups chicken broth
• 1 can cream of chicken soup
• 1 can Rotel {original or mild}
• 1 can Ranch Style Beans
• 1 can {or} 1.5 cups frozen corn
• 1/2 packet of taco seasoning {I prefer low-sodium}
• 1 rotisserie chicken
• 1 bunch of swiss chard
• Optional Garnishes :: cheese, tortilla strips, avocado, sour cream, green onions

1. Mix chicken broth, cream of chicken soup, and 1/2 of the packet of taco seasoning together in slow-cooker until well combined. {You may want to use a whisk.}
2. Add in Rotel, Ranch Style Beans, and corn {if using canned, drain the corn first}.
3. Roll swiss chard leaves and cut into ribbons {discard the hard, crunchy parts} and add to slow-cooker.
4. Use fork to shred meat from chicken, then add.
5. Set slow-cooker on high for about an hour to an hour and a half, or on low for approximately 3 hours.
6. Garnish with whatever you’d like! We like to crunch up 2-3 restaurant-style tortilla chips, add a spinkle of cheese, and some sliced avocados — so good!

I’ve made this recipe several times the last couple of weeks, and my husband and two year old both LOVE it. It’s not a super quick meal, but it is easy to prepare, and there is quite a bit of downtime to be able to deal with the kitchen mess as you go!

Spaghetti Squash Enchilada Bake

• 1 spaghetti squash
• 1 lb. lean ground turkey
• 1/2 packet of taco seasoning {use leftover from previous recipe!}
• 1/2 onion
• 1 can of enchilada sauce
• shredded cheese

1. Poke holes with sharp knife all over spaghetti squash {maybe 6-8x}, and microwave for 4 minutes to soften a bit.
2. Cut spaghetti squash in half, scoop out seeds, and place face down on baking sheet. Bake for 45 minutes at 375*.
3. Meanwhile, brown the ground turkey with chopped onions until almost completely cooked.
4. Add taco seasoning until completely cooked through.
5. Once spaghetti squash is cooked — should still be a little firm, but strands separate easily from skin – scoop out the “spaghetti”, and add to ground turkey.
6. Add about 1/2-3/4 can of enchilada sauce until turkey and spaghetti squash is evenly coated.
7. Fill spaghetti squash skins with squash/turkey mixture, and sprinkle with cheese to top.
8. Place back in oven for approximately 15 minutes.