Weekend Cooking: It Was a SkinnyTaste Kind of Week

Today's Weekend Cooking is all about enjoying being in my own kitchen and having control over my own cooking. I love being with my family, and I really like cooking in my mother's kitchen (especially knowing that those days are soon to end), but there's something to be said about being in your own space and cooking your own way.

Last week my meal plan focused on SkinnyTaste recipes. I know I was slow to get on the SkinnyTaste bandwagon, but once I found a seat, I was there for good. I swear everything I've ever made from the SkinnyTaste website or cookbooks has been a success, and I'm now a die-hard fan for life.

Here are three recipes we made and loved this week. The photos come from the SkinnyTaste website and the links will take you right to the recipes.

Chickpea Salad with Cucumbers and Tomatoes. I made this easy and tasty salad to have on hand for lunches and to supplement dinners. Instead of a diced tomato (which I would have used in the summer), I went with a mix of heirloom cherry tomatoes I found at the grocery. The colors were pretty, and cherry and grape tomatoes generally taste pretty good all year long. For the cukes, I used the little Persian cucumbers, because I like the flavor. I also added an orange bell pepper--both for flavor and color. I'd absolutely make this again, especially because it held up well for several days, even with the dressing. Next time I might add feta or avocado.

The Best Chicken Enchilada Recipe, was--if not the best--really, really good and super easy to make. I poached two large chicken breasts and used 8-inch whole grain tortillas. I surprised myself and followed this recipe to the tee. We both really loved the homemade enchilada sauce, the flavor of the shredded chicken and the completed dish. We used chopped heirloom cherry tomatoes, diced avocado, jarred jalapeno pepper slices, and scallions for our toppings. The recipe says eight servings, but for us, it made two dinners and a lunch, so I'd say more like six servings. I was surprised at how quickly this dish came together, and it was stress free, even on a weeknight.

The third SkinnyTaste recipe was Spinach Tortellini en Brodo, which was another winner. We had a cold snap this week and a hearty soup was just the ticket. I know this calls for chicken broth (which I used), but I still think of this as a vegetarian dinner. I couldn't find spinach and cheese tortellinis, so I used spinach and cheese raviolis instead. I had a red bell pepper to use up, so I threw that into the soup, and I added more fresh baby spinach than was called for. I seasoned the soup as directed, but added a few good shakes of hot pepper flakes just because I could. Again, the recipe said eight servings but I would count only six. We got two dinners and a lunch, which is perfect for our needs.

We rounded out the week with two big favorites: spice-rubbed grilled salmon with a roasted vegetable (I used broccoli this week) and red beans and rice (healthy, hearty, and yummy).

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