I look at cooked chicken as fast food. I can knock out a meal in a few minutes with minimal effort. Throw it in pasta with some vegetables; add some cauliflower, curry and cooked rice for a quick Indian meal and of course you can always make soup, especially if you made stock from your roasted bird. And as with most leftovers, you can throw it into a burrito.

Chicken and Spinach Burritos
This is a good dish to make when you don’t feel like cooking. It’s quick and healthy. You can add whatever you have on hand. Add a can of black beans if you want to stretch your dollar a bit more.

Ingredients
2-3 cups of cooked chicken
1 tablespoon of olive oil
2-3 garlic cloves, minced
1 small onion, chopped
3 generous handfuls fresh baby spinach
1/2 teaspoon chili powder
1/4 teaspoon chopped jalapeno (optional)
3 ounces of cream cheese
1/4 cup plain yogurt
2 tablespoon salsa
1 tablespoon chopped cilantro
4 Whole-grain flour tortilla
Salt and pepper to taste

Method

• Heat olive oil in large skillet.
• Wrap tortillas in foil and place in a 350° oven to heat for 10 minutes.
• Add onions, garlic, jalapeno and chicken to skillet. Cook over medium heat for a few minutes.
• Mix in chili powder, salsa, yogurt and cream cheese. Cook until cheese has melted and sauce has thickened.
• Add spinach. Cook on low just until spinach starts to wilt.
• Remove from heat, add cilantro.
• Spoon about 1/2 cup of the chicken mixture onto each tortilla; roll tightly and place seam-side down.
• Top with salsa and plain yogurt or sour cream. Serve with a salad.

Serves 4

My friend Jan has always liked beets. I did not like them until she made them for me once years ago. I always thought that beets tasted like dirt, but Jan roasted them in orange juice and transformed them into a delicately sweet and only slightly earthy dish. It was a perfect compliment to the pork roast and the cold snowy night.

Recently, Jan further expanded my beet world by telling me that you don’t have to cook beets at all. Grated beets with salt, pepper and lemon juice make an easy, yummy and let’s not forget, uber-healthy salad.

Here’s a version with cabbage (another nutritional powerhouse):

1 large beet or several small ones, uncooked, peeled
1 cup chopped cabbage
1/4 cup apple cider or rice vinegar
1 tablespoon honey
1 teaspoon grated horseradish (fresh or prepared)
Salt and pepper to taste

Mix honey, vinegar and horseradish.
Grate beets or chop them in food processor.
Toss all ingredients.

Eat up!