Light & Summery

Life has been pretty busy lately for Ben and me. Before last week it had been probably a month or so since I was able to cook and we sat down for a meal together at our own place. It's been killing me, (1) because I get real tired of eating out real quick...even if it's at someone else's house...and (2) because I love cooking and trying new things. I made a new rule with Ben that every time I cook something we need to put it on our "keeper" or "eh" list. The keepers I'll write down so it's easier for me to decide what to cook in the future. And so when we have a family, I can put them together in a family cookbook!

Things are finally starting to settle down, so in an effort to get organized and save money, I made myself sit down on Sunday and put together a menu for the week. This made making a grocery list so much easier and helped me stay on track and not make any (ok I made one...ice cream of course) impulse buys. During my lunch break on Monday I was looking over my list and menu and for some reason nothing was jumping out at me to cook. It was such a hot day and I just wanted something light, healthy and summery. So I started googling and this is what I found....

Chicken & Summer Vegetable Tostadas

Not only did this look delicious, it features lots of vegetables! I immediately started re-working my menu to include this recipe. After becoming besties with my cashier at the store, I couldn't get home fast enough to start! 

HUGE SUCCESS!!! Not only was I in love, but Ben love it too! I was a little nervous about him liking it with all the veggies, one being onion which he is not a fan of at all. I guess it didn't matter because he even went back for seconds!! 

Whoops! Took a bite before I remembered the picture!

This is a KEEPER!!!!

Chicken & Summer Vegetable Tostadas

Source: Cooking Light 

Ingredients: 

• 1 tsp ground cumin 
• 1/4 tsp salt 
• 1/4 tsp black pepper 
• 2 tsp canola oil (vegetable oil also works) 
• 12 oz chicken tender breasts 
• 1 cup chopped red onion (about 1) 
• 1 cup fresh corn kernels (about 2 ears) 
• 1 cup chopped zucchini (about 4 oz) 
• 1/2 cup green salsa 
• 3 Tbsp chopped fresh cilantro, divided ( I didn't have this on hand, so I used parsley) 
• 4 fat-free flour tortillas (I used whole wheat) 
• Cooking spray 
• 1 cup shredded Monterey Jack cheese 

Directions:

Preheat broiler. 

Combine first 3 ingredients, stirring well. Heat oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Sprinkle the spice mix evenly over chicken. Add chicken to pan and saute. Add onion, corn and zucchini to pan and continue to saute until the chicken is done. Stir in the salsa and 2 Tbsp cilantro. Cook until the liquid almost evaporates, stirring frequently. 

Arrange tortillas in a single layer on a baking sheet and lightly coat with cooking spray. Broil 3 minutes or until lightly brown. Spoon about 3/4 cup chicken mixture in the center of each tortilla. Sprinkle with 1/4 of cheese and continue to broil until the cheese melts. (I skipped this) Repeat with remaining tortillas. Sprinkle each serving with about 3/4 tsp of cilantro and serve. 

YUMMMMMM!!!!! :)