It feels like a Monday, but it’s already Tuesday!  Woohoo.

Hope everyone enjoyed their weekend, regardless of whether you had yesterday off.  My long weekend consisted of a low-key Friday night in, a double teaching session Saturday morning (I subbed 8am Cardio Ball and 10am Kickboxing), lunch with Mom at Strip T’s, a little shopping (Old Navy was having a 40% off EVERYTHING sale!), Hank’s surprise 30th birthday party at Jake & Joe’s, brunch with Geoff & Trina on Sunday morning at Murph’s Place, a lot of cleaning and studying, watching the movie Crazy Stupid Love, grocery shopping, walking the reservoir and Cardio Cutz class, and Fiorella’s Express for dinner with Ashley.  Whew!

I also took the time last night to prepare all my food for the week.  I cooked up some chicken and asparagus, whipped up a batch of last week’s tuna salad, and chopped all my veggies.  I love how much time and money this saves me during the week!

Oh, and I took a look at my week to plan out my workouts too:

• Monday:  Cardio Cutz class
• Tuesday:  Two A Day!  Kickboxing with Liz, then teaching Circuit
• Wednesday:  Off
• Thursday:  Teaching Circuit in the morning, maybe back for Zumba at night
• Friday:  Either yoga, Interval Training, or Zumba – depends on my mood!
• Saturday:  Off

And now for a new recipe to share with you guys!

I mentioned in yesterday’s “Things I’m Loving Lately” post that I am loving my quesadilla maker.  Since I was subbing early on Saturday morning, Tim and I enjoyed a low-key night at my apartment the night before.  We thought making quesadillas would be a fun Friday night activity.  And cooking Mexican style doesn’t have to be bad for you, you know!

Here are some pointers on making sure your ‘dillas are a healthy choice:

• Use a whole wheat or grain wrap or tortilla
• Load up the quesadilla with veggies
• Try to steer clear of too much cheese, if you need cheese try to opt for a low-fat or part-skim mozzarella
• Sour cream isn’t necessary, just substitute with plain Chobani yogurt
• Salsa is a great way to add flavor without adding too many extra calories
• Use lean cuts of meat, such as ground turkey or chicken

Chicken & Veggie Quesadillas

Ingredients

• 2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
• 1 orange pepper, chopped
• 1 red pepper, chopped
• Sliced mushrooms
• Whole wheat tortilla wraps
• 4 tbsp extra virgin olive oil, divided
• 1/2 cup low-fat, part skim shredded mozzarella
• Basil, to taste
• Garlic powder, to taste
• Ground black pepper, to taste
• Salsa
• Cooking spray
• Plain Chobani yogurt
• 1 avocado
• 1 tbsp lime juice
• 1/4 cup red onion, chopped

Lots of ingredients, but we had most of this stuff around the house anyways!

Directions

1. Cut up the chicken breasts into 1 inch pieces.
2. Cook the chicken in a large saucepan, with olive oil and the spices (basil, garlic powder, pepper).  Saute until chicken is no longer pink.
3. In the meantime, chop peppers and mushrooms to desired size.
4. In a separate saucepan, sauté the veggies all together.
5. While chicken and veggies are cooking, whip up some homemade guacamole if desired for a healthy quesadilla topping.  In a bowl, mix together avocado, onion, and lime juice.  This should probably have also had cilantro, but we ran out.
6. Now it’s time for the quesadilla maker!  Spray the quesadilla maker with cooking spray, and place 1 tortilla at a time on it.  Add the veggies and sprinkle with cheese.  Top with a second tortilla, and close the lid.  Cook until tortillas start to brown.
7. Cut ‘dillas into desired slices, and enjoy!  Top with the guacamole, plain Chobani yogurt instead of sour cream, and salsa.

Glass of red wine:  Optional.

These filled us right up!  But I did still manage to leave room for a sugar cookie for dessert, made by Slesh.  Sorry, no picture!

What are your favorite quesadilla ingredients? 

Off to work!