Protein Packed (warming) Meals

Protein-Packed Meals.

Cream of Tomato Soup with Cubed Chicken and Wild Rice
This is a delicious, protein-packed twist on the classic tomato soup. Fast and easy to prepare and so warming and comforting.
Preparation time: 20 minutes
Cooking time: 1 hour
Ingredients:
3 cups of chicken stock
3 cups of water
1 cup long grain wild rice
10 plum tomatoes (pureed in your food processor or blender)
4 skinless, boneless breasts of chicken (with excess fat removed), cubed
1/2 cup fresh basil
Fat-free sour cream
Directions:
In a large, heavy pot, combine chicken stock, water, rice, pureed tomatoes, and cubed chicken (uncooked).
Bring to a boil over medium-high heat and reduce heat to a simmer.
Cook on low heat for one hour.
Before serving, dollop with sour cream and top with fresh basil.




Chicken and Black Bean Wraps
Preparation time: 10 minutes
Cooking time: 30 minutes
Ingredients:
4 large skinless, boneless breasts of chicken (remove all excess fat), grilled and chopped
1/4 cup red onion (peeled and chopped fine)
1 15-oz can black beans (rinsed and drained)
2 jalapeno peppers (remove seeds and sliced thin)
1 6-oz can yellow corn (drained)
Romaine lettuce (cleaned and shredded)
1 cup fat-free sour cream
1/4 cup fat-free ranch dressing
2 Tbs low-sodium taco seasoning
6 large whole-wheat wraps or soft whole-wheat tortillas
Directions:
Preheat grill to medium-high heat and cook chicken until golden brown and juices run clear when pierced with a fork.
Or
Prepare in oven at 350 degrees for 20 to 25 minutes until golden brown. Chop into small cubes.
Combine chicken, onion, beans, peppers, corn, and lettuce in a medium size bowl and set aside.
In a small bowl, combine sour cream, ranch dressing, and taco seasoning. Pour mixture into the bowl of chicken and mix until all is coated well with the dressing.
Fill wraps and roll like burritos and serve immediately.
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Turkey Chili

Preparation time: 20 minutes
Cooking time: 1 hour
Ingredients:
2 Tbs light olive oil
2 cups onion (peeled and chopped)
1 medium red bell pepper (seeded and chopped)
5 cloves garlic (peeled and minced)
2 lbs lean ground turkey
3 cups chicken broth
1 1/2 Tbs chili powder
1 tsp cayenne
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp fresh ground pepper
2 tsp coarse salt
Fat-free sour cream
2 green onions (cleaned and chopped)
Directions:
In a large heavy pot, combine onion, pepper, and garlic with 1 Tbsp olive oil over med-high heat. Cook, stirring occasionally, until medium brown and onion is transparent.
At the same time, in a large skillet, brown ground turkey over medium-high heat.
When turkey is browned, add to the onion mixture (once it's fully cooked). Add broth, chili powder, cayenne, cinnamon, salt, and pepper.
Bring to a boil. Reduce heat to low and cook for 1 hour.
Serve warm and topped with fat-free sour cream and chopped green onion.
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Chicken and White Bean Chile
Preparation time: 20 minutes
Cooking time Crock-pot: 3 to 4 hours
Ingredients:
2 lbs skinless, boneless breasts of chicken (with all excess fat removed), cubed
2 cups chicken stock
2 cups water
1 cup white onion (peeled and diced)
3 jalapenos (seeded and diced)
1 Tbs light olive oil
2 Tbs chili powder
1/2 tsp oregano
1/4 tsp cayenne pepper
1 16-oz can white (northern) beans
Fat-free sour cream
Fat-free cheddar cheese
1 jalapeno (seeded and chopped fine)
2 green onions (cleaned and chopped)
Directions:
Pour 1 Tbs light olive oil into a large, heavy skillet. Add chicken. Cook over med-high heat until golden brown.
In a large Crockpot, add all ingredients and cook on high for three to four hours or until desired consistency.
Serve warm, topped with fat-free sour cream, green onion, jalapenos, and fat-free cheddar cheese.
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Lemon-Pesto Chicken
Preparation time: 10 minutes
Cooking time: 25 minutes
Ingredients:
4 skinless, boneless breasts of chicken (remove all excess fat)
3 Tbs pesto sauce (your favorite brand or homemade if you have it)
3 large fresh lemons (juiced and seeds removed)
1 tsp lemon zest
1/8 tsp both course salt and fresh ground pepper
Directions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Butterfly your chicken.
In a large bowl, combine pesto, lemon, zest, salt, and pepper. Add chicken and coat well.
In a 9 x 11 baking dish, bake chicken at 350 degrees for 20 to 25 minutes or until the juices of the meat run clear.
Serve with rice and steamed or roasted veggies.
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Chicken Macaroni
Preparation time: 10 minutes
Cooking time: 1 hour
Ingredients:
2 skinless, boneless breasts of chicken (all excess fat removed), chopped
3 cups chicken stock
3 cups water
1 can garbanzo beans (aka, chick peas)
2 cups whole-wheat macaroni noodles
1 small can tomato paste
1 lb baby spinach
Directions:
In a large, heavy pot, combine chicken, stock, water, and garbanzo beans. Bring to a rapid boil over medium-high heat for five minutes. Reduce to medium-low heat.
Cook over medium-low heat for 20 minutes.
Add macaroni noodles and tomato paste. Cook until macaroni is tender when pierced with a fork (about 15 minutes).
Add spinach and cook for three more minutes.
Serve warm.