Elote

I'm not sure why we tried this dish, however I'm glad we did. It is now easy to see why the Mexicans are catching up to the US in terms of obesity. I mean, it never occurred to me to put mayo on corn.

It really sounds gross, but it is oh so good!

Elote

Photo by ALB

Grilled corn on the cob is a popular street food in Oaxaca, Mexico.

Ingredients
3 tablespoons fat-free mayonnaise
2 teaspoons fresh lime juice
2 tablespoons finely grated Parmesan cheese
1/2 teaspoon chili powder
1/4 teaspoon ground red pepper
1/4 teaspoon ground cumin
1/8 teaspoon salt
4 ears shucked corn
Cooking spray

Preparation
Prepare grill. Combine mayonnaise and juice in a small bowl. Combine cheese and next 4 ingredients (through salt) in another small bowl. (We combine everything (Mayo through salt) in 1 bowl.)
Place corn on a grill rack coated with cooking spray. Grill corn 12 minutes or until tender, turning frequently. Remove corn from grill; brush with mayonnaise mixture, and sprinkle with cheese mixture. Serve immediately.

Yield: 4 servings (serving size: 1 ear of corn)

CALORIES 145 (17% from fat); FAT 2.8g (sat 0.8g,mono 0.8g,poly 0.9g); PROTEIN 5.7g; CHOLESTEROL 3mg; CALCIUM 34mg; SODIUM 227mg; FIBER 4.3g; IRON 0.9mg; CARBOHYDRATE 29g

Cooking Light, JUNE 2006

Salsa Chicken

No, this isn't the recipe that floats all over WeWa about chicken in the crockpot. D doesn't like meat in a crockpot, so you won't catch many recipes here with it.

Anyway, this is a go to dish as we usually always have the ingredients on hand.

Salsa Chicken

Photo by ALB

Ingredients
1 pound skinless, boneless chicken breasts, cut into bite-sized pieces
2 teaspoons taco seasoning
Cooking spray
2/3 cup bottled salsa
2/3 cup (about 2 1/2 ounces) shredded reduced-fat cheddar cheese
1 (4-ounce) can whole green chiles, drained and thinly sliced
1/4 cup fat-free sour cream
2 tablespoons sliced ripe olives (we don't use)


Preparation
Preheat oven to 475°.
Combine chicken and seasoning in a medium bowl, tossing to coat. Heat a large nonstick skillet coated with cooking spray over medium-high heat. Add chicken; cook for 4 minutes or until browned, stirring occasionally. Arrange chicken in an 8-inch square baking dish coated with cooking spray; top with salsa, cheese, and chiles. Bake at 475° for 8 minutes or until chicken is done and cheese is melted. Top each serving with 1 tablespoon sour cream and 1 1/2 teaspoons olives.


Yield: 4 servings

CALORIES 207 (15% from fat); FAT 3.5g (sat 1.4g,mono 1.1g,poly 0.5g); PROTEIN 33.4g; CHOLESTEROL 71mg; CALCIUM 130mg; SODIUM 587mg; FIBER 2.1g; IRON 1.5mg; CARBOHYDRATE 9.5g

Cooking Light, APRIL 2004

Sautéed Chicken Breasts with Creamy Walnut Sauce

This recipe looked interesting when it was done. The Sauce was not creamy, but looked like hummus. Couldn't tell you why.

D cooked the spinach, and we had with basmati rice. It was really good. Reminded me of Chicken in Mushroom sauce (like cream of mushroom). I liked it a lot. Will have again.

Sautéed Chicken Breasts with Creamy Walnut Sauce

2 (1 1/2-ounce) slices day-old white bread
1 cup fat-free, low-sodium chicken broth
1/3 cup walnuts, toasted
1/4 cup fresh flat-leaf parsley leaves
2 teaspoons fresh lemon juice
3/4 teaspoon salt, divided
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper, divided
1/8 teaspoon ground red pepper
2 garlic cloves, chopped
6 (6-ounce) skinless, boneless chicken breast halves
1 teaspoon olive oil
1 teaspoon butter
6 cups fresh baby spinach
2 tablespoons chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley

Trim crusts from bread. Chop bread; combine bread and broth in a small bowl. Let stand 10 minutes. Combine bread mixture, walnuts, parsley leaves, juice, 1/2 teaspoon salt, 1/4 teaspoon black pepper, red pepper, and garlic in a food processor; process until smooth.

Sprinkle chicken with remaining 1/4 teaspoon salt and remaining 1/4 teaspoon black pepper.

Heat olive oil and butter in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add chicken; cook 7 minutes on each side or until done. Remove chicken from pan; keep warm. Add chicken broth mixture to pan; cook until hot and slightly thickened, scraping pan to loosen browned bits.

To serve, place 1 cup spinach on each of 6 plates. Place 1 chicken breast half on each serving; top each with about 2 1/2 tablespoons sauce. Sprinkle 1 teaspoon chopped parsley over each serving.

Yield: 6 servings

CALORIES 286 (24% from fat); FAT 7.6g (sat 1.4g,mono 1.8g,poly 3.2g); PROTEIN 42.4g; CHOLESTEROL 100mg; CALCIUM 59mg; SODIUM 586mg; FIBER 2.6g; IRON 2.8mg; CARBOHYDRATE 11.5g

Cooking Light, MAY 2006

Cumin-Crusted Pork Soft Tacos

Well D halved the recipe for this one. It was really very good. We didn't use the sour cream or chipotles, because I left the sour cream at the grocery store in the dairy section (it wasn't on the list). However, even with out it we devoured our portions. I really liked the salsa.

We had with yellow rice.

Cumin-Crusted Pork Soft Tacos

Lightly coat the tortillas with cooking spray before heating to keep them from splitting. They can also be heated in a grill pan. Garnish with sliced green onions, if desired.

Pork:
2 teaspoons ground cumin
1 teaspoon cumin seeds, crushed
1 teaspoon paprika
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
2 (1-pound) pork tenderloins, trimmed
1 tablespoon olive oil

Salsa:
2 cups frozen whole-kernel corn, thawed
1 cup quartered grape tomatoes
1 cup cubed peeled avocado
1/2 cup diced red onion
1/3 cup chopped fresh cilantro
2 tablespoons fresh lime juice
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 (15-ounce) cans black beans, rinsed and drained

Remaining ingredients:
2 cups reduced-fat sour cream
1 tablespoon canned chipotle chile in adobo sauce, chopped
30 (6-inch) corn tortillas

Preheat oven to 425°.
To prepare pork, combine first 5 ingredients. Rub cumin mixture over pork. Heat oil in a large cast-iron skillet over medium-high heat. Add pork; cook 4 minutes or until browned on all sides. Bake at 425° for 12 minutes or until a thermometer registers 155°. Remove pork from oven; let stand 5 minutes. Cut pork across grain into thin slices.
To prepare salsa, combine corn and next 7 ingredients (through beans).
Combine sour cream and chipotle in a blender; process until smooth.
Wrap tortillas, 3 at a time, in a damp paper towel. Microwave at high 20 seconds. Spoon about 1 ounce pork onto each tortilla. Top each tortilla with about 2 tablespoons salsa and about 2 teaspoons sour cream mixture. Fold in half.


Yield: 15 servings (serving size: 2 tacos)

CALORIES 345 (29% from fat); FAT 11.1g (sat 4g,mono 4.1g,poly 1.4g); PROTEIN 24.6g; CHOLESTEROL 68mg; CALCIUM 157mg; SODIUM 427mg; FIBER 5.8g; IRON 2.6mg; CARBOHYDRATE 40g

Cooking Light, SEPTEMBER 2005

African Chicken in Spicy Red Sauce

Yum! We had this for Easter. It was a bit spicy, but the chicken was really good. D said it was pretty easy to make. We probably could put another meat in this besides chicken as well, if we wanted to.

I couldn't find Cardamon at Kroger, but it was at Whole Foods.

We had with basmati rice.

African Chicken in Spicy Red Sauce

Photo by ALB

Chicken:

2 chicken breast halves, skinned (about 1/2 pound)

2 chicken drumsticks, skinned (about 1/2 pound)

2 chicken thighs, skinned (about 3/4 pound)

3 tablespoons fresh lemon juice (1 lemon)

3/4 teaspoon salt, divided

Cooking spray

1 1/2 cups chopped onion (2 medium)

1 tablespoon minced garlic

2 teaspoons Berbere (see below for directions)

1 tablespoon butter

1 tablespoon minced peeled fresh ginger

1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg

1/2 teaspoon ground cardamom

1/2 cup dry red wine

1 (14-ounce) can fat-free, less-sodium chicken broth

1 (6-ounce) can no-salt-added tomato paste

2 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro

4 lemon wedges

Place chicken in a shallow dish; drizzle with juice, and sprinkle with 1/2 teaspoon salt. Cover and marinate in refrigerator 30 minutes.

Heat a Dutch oven over medium heat. Coat pan with cooking spray. Add onion and garlic; cook 5 minutes (do not brown), stirring frequently. Add 2 teaspoons Berbere, remaining 1/4 teaspoon salt, butter, ginger, nutmeg, and cardamom; cook 1 minute. Add wine, broth, and tomato paste; stir until well blended. Add chicken mixture; bring to a boil. Cover, reduce heat, and simmer 50 minutes or until chicken is tender, turning chicken occasionally. Stir in cilantro. Serve with lemon wedges.

Note: Nutritional analysis includes 1 teaspoon Berbere per serving.

Yield: 4 servings (serving size: 3 ounces chicken, about 1 cup sauce, and 1 lemon wedge)

CALORIES 373 (24% from fat); FAT 9.8g (sat 3.6g,mono 2.7g,poly 1.8g); PROTEIN 53.2g; CHOLESTEROL 175mg; CALCIUM 72mg; SODIUM 848mg; FIBER 3.6g; IRON 4mg; CARBOHYDRATE 17.3g

Cooking Light, OCTOBER 2006

Berbere

2 tablespoons ground red pepper

1 tablespoon freshly ground black pepper

1 teaspoon ground ginger

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/4 teaspoon ground cloves

Combine all ingredients in a small bowl.

Yield: 1/4 cup (serving size: 1 teaspoon)

CALORIES 6 (30% from fat); FAT 0.2g (sat 0.0g,mono 0.0g,poly 0.1g); PROTEIN 0.2g; CHOLESTEROL 0.0mg; CALCIUM 6mg; SODIUM 1mg; FIBER 0.5g; IRON 0.2mg; CARBOHYDRATE 1.1g

Cooking Light, OCTOBER 2006

Hormel Boneless Pork Roast--Roast Flavor

Ok, we bought this because it was marked down to $2.99 for the whole thing. We put it in the freezer and forgot about it for a month or 3. Anyway, we haven't gone to the grocery store a lot this month, so D took it out of the freezer this morning to thaw. And he cooked it for dinner.

D said it tasted like a roast. I thought it had a peanutty flavor. Both of us very much enjoyed it, especially since it was $2.99.

We had it with basmati rice (D made, since we know I can't make it).

Overall, the whole dinner probably cost $3.50-$4.00 (D buys basmati in 5 pounds bags, which is why I can't make it...no directions).

If the pork is a decent price, we will definitely have again.

http://www.alwaystender.com/defaultfa90.aspx

Bourbon Fudge Brownies

Hmmm... D likes these a lot. I do not, BUT I think it is because I don't like fudge, and I think these are too fudgy. They have the same texture to me that fudge does on your teeth, that gives me the heeby-jeebies. However they did cure a chocolate fix I was having (2 took care of it). They are VERY EASY to make.

Bourbon Fudge Brownies

1/4 cup bourbon
1/4 cup semisweet chocolate chips
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 1/3 cups sugar
6 tablespoons butter, softened
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 large eggs
Cooking spray

Preheat oven to 350°.

Bring bourbon to a boil in a small saucepan; remove from heat. Add chocolate chips, stirring until smooth.

Lightly spoon flour into dry measuring cups, and level with a knife. Combine the flour, cocoa, baking powder, and salt, stirring with a whisk.

Combine sugar and butter in a large bowl; beat with a mixer at medium speed until well combined. Add vanilla and eggs; beat well. Add flour mixture and bourbon mixture to sugar mixture, beating at low speed just until combined.

Spread batter into a 9-inch square baking pan coated with cooking spray. Bake at 350° for 25 minutes or until a wooden pick inserted in the center comes out clean. Cool in pan on wire rack.

Yield: 20 servings

CALORIES 148 (30% from fat); FAT 5g (sat 2.9g,mono 1.5g,poly 0.2g); PROTEIN 2.2g; CHOLESTEROL 31mg; CALCIUM 20mg; SODIUM 121mg; FIBER 1g; IRON 1.5mg; CARBOHYDRATE 23.2g

Cooking Light, MARCH 2003

Baked Spinach-Parmesan Dip

I adapted this recipe from Sunset Magazine. Why did I adapt it, it needed to go in the crockpot, so that's what I did.

D, Victoria, and I liked this a lot.

Baked Spinach-Parmesan Dip

2 package (10 oz.) frozen chopped spinach, thawed
2 cup reduced-fat or regular mayonnaise (I used Helman's Light)
1 package cream cheese
1 onion (6 oz.), peeled and minced
4 clove garlic, pressed or minced (this was supposed to be 2 cloves, I used 4)
2 cup plus 4 tablespoons grated parmesan cheese
1/4 teaspoon pepper
1 teaspoon paprika
4 baguettes (8 oz. each), thinly sliced (I used crackers)

1. Squeeze spinach to remove liquid. Dump everything into the crockpot. Turn on low. Stir every so often. Serve with bread or crackers..

Yield: Makes about 6 cups

Supposed to be Layered Potato Salad

Well this dish was supposed to be Layered Potato Salad, but I have no patience for that. So everything went in the bowl together.
I thought it was bland and needed more salt. Of course, I forgot the mustard. Sister-in-law liked it a lot and said it tasted like Red Hot and Blues potato salad.

Next time, I'll try to remember the mustard...

Layered Potato Salad

4 pounds red potatoes, unpeeled
1 (8-ounce) container fat-free sour cream
3/4 cup light mayonnaise
2 tablespoons Creole mustard (Al's note-I forgot this)
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon pepper
1 bunch green onions, chopped (about 1 cup)
3/4 cup chopped Italian parsley
3 reduced-fat, reduced-sodium bacon slices, cooked and crumbled (Al's note: I used 5 pieces)

Bring potatoes and water to cover to a boil in a large Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Boil 25 minutes or until tender. Drain and let cool. (Al's note: cube them into potato salad sized pieces).

Stir together sour cream and next 4 ingredients.

Layer one-third each of potatoes, sour cream mixture, green onions, and parsley in a large glass bowl. Repeat layers twice, ending with parsley. Cover and chill 1 hour. Sprinkle with bacon just before serving. (Al's note...dump everything together and mix, including the bacon. Forget the whole layering thing)...

Note: Salad may be prepared a day in advance and chilled.

Yield: Makes 12 servings

CALORIES 192 (27% from fat); FAT 5.8g (sat 1g,mono 0.0g,poly 0g); PROTEIN 4.8g; CHOLESTEROL 8mg; CALCIUM 51mg; SODIUM 270mg; FIBER 3.4g; IRON 1.5mg; CARBOHYDRATE 30g

Southern Living, AUGUST 2003

Maple-Balsamic-Glazed Pork Medallions

D was at work, so I made these. First I had some issues with the sauce. I couldn't figure out how 1/4C + 3 TBSP would reduce to 1/3C. And the phone rang, so it did reduce to a bit too much. But it was easy. The next step is my favorite...pounding meat (that sounds so wrong)...
Cooking in the pan... I cooked it 3 minutes on one side and 5 on the other. By this point I had to scrape the glaze out of the pot into the pan.

So it was pretty easy. I had it with rice (that I still cannot make) and roasted cauliflower. The taste was on the bland side to me.
D hadn't had it yet.

Maple-Balsamic-Glazed Pork Medallions

Balsamic vinegar and maple syrup combine for a sweet-tart sauce; Dijon mustard adds a savory note. Serve with whipped sweet potatoes and sautéed broccoli rabe.

1/4 cup maple syrup
3 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
2 teaspoons Dijon mustard
1 (1-pound) pork tenderloin, trimmed
2 teaspoons olive oil
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

Combine syrup and vinegar in a small saucepan; bring to a boil. Cook until reduced to 1/3 cup (about 3 minutes), stirring occasionally. Remove from heat; stir in mustard.

Cut pork crosswise into 8 pieces. Place each pork piece between 2 sheets of heavy-duty plastic wrap; pound to 1/4-inch thickness using a meat mallet or small heavy skillet. Heat oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Sprinkle pork evenly with salt and pepper. Add pork to pan; cook 3 minutes on each side. Add vinegar mixture; cook 1 minute or until desired degree of doneness, turning pork to coat. Place 2 pork medallions on each of 4 plates; drizzle about 1 tablespoon syrup mixture over each serving.

Yield: 4 servings

CALORIES 214 (27% from fat); FAT 6.4g (sat 1.7g,mono 3.3g,poly 0.7g); PROTEIN 22.7g; CHOLESTEROL 63mg; CALCIUM 22mg; SODIUM 409mg; FIBER 0.1g; IRON 1.5mg; CARBOHYDRATE 15.3g

Cooking Light, DECEMBER 2007

Roasted Cauliflower with Brown Butter

Roasted cauliflower has a savory caramelized crust and is tender and creamy inside. Mine was neither savory or creamy. It tasted good, and I liked it, but it was crispy. I like cauliflower so it would be hard to ruin it, but this was pretty easy and good. I'll have again.

Roasted Cauliflower with Brown Butter

6 cups cauliflower florets (about 1 head)
Cooking spray
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
2 teaspoons butter

Preheat oven to 400°.

Arrange cauliflower in a single layer on a baking sheet coated with cooking spray. Coat cauliflower with cooking spray; sprinkle with salt and pepper. Bake at 400° for 25 minutes, turning cauliflower twice.

Melt butter in a small skillet over medium heat; cook 3 minutes or until lightly browned. Combine cauliflower and browned butter in a bowl, and toss gently to coat.

Yield: 4 servings (serving size: 1 cup)

CALORIES 53 (37% from fat); FAT 2.2g (sat 1.2g,mono 0.5g,poly 0.1g); PROTEIN 3g; CHOLESTEROL 5mg; CALCIUM 45mg; SODIUM 183mg; FIBER 1.3g; IRON 0.9mg; CARBOHYDRATE 7.5g

Cooking Light, MARCH 2007

Black Bean and Chicken Chilaquiles

I had made this dish sometime in 2006 and my friend Hope reminded me about it a few weeks ago.

So I made this dish yesterday. I read the reviews and they were all over the place with a lot of them saying the dish was bland. Looking at the recipe, I realized it didn't have the usual staples of cumin, cilantro, salt or pepper. And seeing as I had to cook my chicken (I don't use rotisserie), I decided that's where I would add it.

Adobo Seasoning is a combo of pepper, Mexican oregano, cumin and some other things. You can get it at www.Penzeys.com

So I made the dish, which means it was easy. D and I each had 1.5 servings with no side. We both liked it. He said I could have chopped the chicken into smaller pieces but that was the only thing...

We used Sour Cream on top.

Black Bean and Chicken Chilaquiles

Photo by ALB

Ingredients
Cooking spray
1 cup thinly sliced onion
5 garlic cloves, minced
2 cups shredded cooked chicken breast (I used 3 chicken thighs chopped, raw, boneless, skinless=2Cups)
1 (15-ounce) can black beans, rinsed and drained
1 cup fat-free, less-sodium chicken broth
1 (7 3/4-ounce) can salsa de chile fresco (such as El Pato) (I used Herdez Salsa Casera)
15 (6-inch) corn tortillas, cut into 1-inch strips
1 cup shredded queso blanco (about 4 ounces) (I used Pepper Jack Cheese)
I added cilantro
I added Penzey's Adobo Seasoning

Preparation
Preheat oven to 450°.

Heat a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Coat pan with cooking spray. Add onion; sauté 5 minutes or until lightly browned. Add garlic; sauté 1 minute. Add chicken; cook 30 seconds. (I added the chicken and some (maybe 1/2 tsp of Penzey's Adobo Seasoning) and 1/4 teaspoon salt.) Transfer mixture to a medium bowl; stir in beans. (Add cilantro) Add broth and salsa to pan; bring to a boil. Reduce heat, and simmer 5 minutes (add more cilantro), stirring occasionally. Set aside.

Place half of tortilla strips in bottom of an 11 x 7-inch baking dish coated with cooking spray. Layer half of chicken mixture over tortillas; top with remaining tortillas and chicken mixture. Pour broth mixture evenly over chicken mixture. Sprinkle with cheese. Bake at 450° for 10 minutes or until tortillas are lightly browned and cheese is melted.

Yield: 6 servings

Nutritional Information
CALORIES 293 (15% from fat); FAT 4.9g (sat 1.7g,mono 1.5g,poly 1.2g); PROTEIN 22.9g; CHOLESTEROL 46mg; CALCIUM 200mg; SODIUM 602mg; FIBER 5.9g; IRON 2.3mg; CARBOHYDRATE 40g

Cooking Light, NOVEMBER 2006