Wednesday, February 27, 2008

Flank Steak with Creamy Mushroom Sauce

I ended up making this, because D had to work. It was pretty easy to make, although it took me a few minutes to figure out how to use the broiler. It tasted like Creamy Beef and Noodles. It was pretty good. I messed up the cutting of the steak (I cut with the grain, and it got stringy), but other than that, I think I did good. I made egg noodles to go with it.

Flank Steak with Creamy Mushroom Sauce

This recipe calls for a gourmet mushroom mix, but most mushrooms will work.
Total time: 23 minutes.

Ingredients
1 (1-pound) flank steak, trimmed
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
Cooking spray
1/2 cup chopped shallot
1 (4-ounce) package gourmet mushroom mix
1/3 cup water
2 teaspoons Dijon mustard
1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
1/2 teaspoon chopped fresh thyme
1/4 cup fat-free sour cream

Preparation
Preheat broiler.

Sprinkle steak evenly with salt and pepper. Place steak on a broiler pan coated with cooking spray. Broil 6 minutes on each side or until desired degree of doneness; let stand 10 minutes.

Heat a large nonstick skillet over medium heat. Coat pan with cooking spray. Add shallots to pan; cook 3 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add mushrooms to pan. Cover and cook 4 minutes or until mushrooms are tender, stirring occasionally. Stir in 1/3 cup water, mustard, Worcestershire, and thyme. Cover and cook 2 minutes. Remove from heat; stir in sour cream.Cut steak diagonally across grain into thin slices. Serve with mushroom sauce.Yield4 servings (serving size: 3 ounces steak and about 1/3 cup sauce).

Nutritional Information
CALORIES 186(27% from fat); FAT 5.6g (sat 2.3g,mono 2.2g,poly 0.3g); PROTEIN 25.6g; CHOLESTEROL 38mg; CALCIUM 49mg; SODIUM 443mg; FIBER 0.5g; IRON 2.1mg; CARBOHYDRATE 7.5g

Cooking Light, MARCH 2007

Sunday, February 24, 2008

Spiced Tilapia With Roasted Pepper-Tomatillo Sauce

This is from CL July 2007, but it isn't online.
We need to half the recipe bc neither of us like left-over fish. There was a lot of sauce. It should be cold in our opinion. Anyway, we both really liked it, so we'll have it again.

Spiced Tilapia With Roasted Pepper-Tomatillo Sauce

Ingredients For Sauce
1 large red bell pepper
2 teaspoons canola oil
1 cup finely chopped tomatillo
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 minced garlic clove
2 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro
1 teaspoon rice vinegar
1 teaspoon honey

Ingredients For Fish
2 tablespoons flour
2 teaspoons chili powder
½ teaspoon dried oregano
1/4 teaspoon ground cumin
4 tilapia fillets about 6 ounces each
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
2 teaspoons canola oil
Cilantro sprigs for garnish

Directions
To prepare sauce::
Cut bell pepper in half lengthwise, removes seeds and membranes. Place pepper halves, skin sides up, on a foil-lined baking sheet and flatten with hand.
Broil 15 minutes or until blackened. Place in a zip-top plastic bag; seal. Let stand 10 minutes. Peel skins and cut into chunks.
Heat 2 teaspoons canola oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium heat. Add tomatillo to pan and cook 6 minutes or until tender.
Add 1/4 teaspoon salt and garlic to pan and cook 1 minute. Transfer mixture to a blender or food processor. Add bell pepper, chopped cilantro, vinegar, and honey. Remove center piece of blender lid to allow steam to escape; secure blender lid on blender. Place a clean towel over opening in blender lid to avoid splatters and blend until smooth. Set aside.
Wipe skillet pan with a paper towel.
To prepare fish:
Combine flour, chili powder, oregano, and cumin spice in a shallow dish; stir with a whisk. Sprinkle fish evenly with 1/4 teaspoon salt and pepper. Dredge fillets in flour mixture.
Heat 2 teaspoons canola oil in pan over medium-high heat.
Add fish to pan, and cook 2 minutes or until lightly browned. Carefully turn fish over, and cook 4 minutes or until fish flakes easily when tested with a fork or until desired degree of doneness.
Serve fish with sauce. Garnish with cilantro sprigs.

Nutritional InformationCalories: 239Fat: 8.5gProtein: 34.3Carbohydrates: 7.4gCholesterol: 73mg.Sodium: 382mg. Fiber: 1.6gIron: 1.4mgCalcium: 27mg.
ServingsThis recipe serves 4.
Serving size 1 tilapia fillet and 1/4 cup sauce.
Time To Cook:30 minutes sauce. 20 minutes fish.

Swiss Baked Potatoes

Totally not worth the effort. Blech! This recipe does not meld together. It tastes like potatoes in beef broth with onions on top. You can't taste the cheese at all. D said they were ok (as in easy) to make. A total disappointment.

Swiss Baked Potatoes
This homey gratin partners nicely with pork or other grilled meats. Dotting the top with butter adds richness.
6 baking potatoes, peeled and thinly sliced (about 3 1/2 pounds)
Cooking spray
1 1/4 cups thinly sliced onion (about 1 medium)
1 1/2 teaspoons freshly ground black pepper, divided
3/4 teaspoon salt, divided
1/2 cup (2 ounces) shredded Gruyère cheese
2 tablespoons butter, chilled and cut into small pieces
3/4 cup fat-free, less-sodium beef broth

Preheat oven to 375°.
Arrange one-third of potato slices in the bottom of a shallow 2-quart baking dish coated with cooking spray. Top with one-third of onion slices. Sprinkle with 1/2 teaspoon pepper and 1/4 teaspoon salt. Sprinkle with one-third of cheese. Repeat layers twice, ending with cheese. Dot with butter. Pour broth over potato mixture. Coat top layer with cooking spray. Cover with foil, and bake at 375° for 30 minutes. Uncover and bake an additional 30 minutes or until tender.

Yield: 12 servings (serving size: 2/3 cup)

CALORIES 106 (30% from fat); FAT 3.5g (sat 2.1g,mono 1g,poly 0.2g); PROTEIN 3.2g; CHOLESTEROL 10mg; CALCIUM 58mg; SODIUM 208mg; FIBER 1.6g; IRON 0.8mg; CARBOHYDRATE 15.9g

Cooking Light, OCTOBER 2007

Pork Chops with Country Gravy and Mashed Potatoes

This is one of my favorite quick meals.

Pork Chops with Country Gravy and Mashed Potatoes

Refrigerated mashed potatoes are widely available and are already seasoned, so no additional salt is needed. The five-ingredient gravy would go well over pan-sautéed or oven-fried chicken. It's also great over an open-faced turkey sandwich.

3/4 teaspoon salt, divided
4 (4-ounce) boneless center-cut loin pork chops (about 1 inch thick)
1 teaspoon butter
1 1/3 cups 1% low-fat milk
3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1/4 teaspoon poultry seasoning
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
1 (20-ounce) package refrigerated mashed potatoes (such as Simply Potatoes)

Heat a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Sprinkle 1/4 teaspoon salt evenly over both sides of pork. Add 1 teaspoon butter to pan, stirring until butter is melted. Add the pork to pan, and cook pork for 3 minutes on each side. Remove pork from pan, and keep warm.
Combine low-fat milk and flour, stirring with a whisk. Add the milk mixture to pan, stirring with a whisk. Stir in remaining 1/2 teaspoon salt, poultry seasoning, and black pepper. Return pork to pan. Cover; reduce heat, and simmer for 7 minutes or until gravy is thick and pork is done.
While pork cooks, prepare potatoes according to package directions. Serve with pork.


Yield: 4 servings (serving size: 1 pork chop, 2/3 cup potatoes, and 1/4 cup gravy)

CALORIES 322 (29% from fat); FAT 10.5g (sat 3.7g,mono 3.9g,poly 0.5g); PROTEIN 26.7g; CHOLESTEROL 65mg; CALCIUM 125mg; SODIUM 908mg; FIBER 2.2g; IRON 1mg; CARBOHYDRATE 29g

Cooking Light, JANUARY 2004

Corn Bread Bites


We had these last night. Eh. We didn't like the sour cream taste, and I didn't like the green onions. A box of Jiffy is better.

Corn Bread Bites

This recipe also makes a dozen muffins in a standard muffin tin; bake 17 minutes or until golden brown. You also can double the recipe and freeze the extra muffins for up to one month. If you do this, prepare the muffins in two batches so the baking powder doesn't lose its effectiveness while the extra batter waits for the first batch to be turned out of the pans.

2/3 cup all-purpose flour (about 3 ounces)
1/2 cup yellow cornmeal
1 tablespoon sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup (2 ounces) shredded sharp cheddar cheese
1/2 cup reduced-fat sour cream
1/4 cup thinly sliced green onions
1 (8 3/4-ounce) can cream-style corn
Dash of hot sauce
1 large egg, lightly beaten
Cooking spray

Preheat oven to 375°.
Lightly spoon the flour into dry measuring cups; level with a knife. Combine flour and next 4 ingredients (through salt) in a large bowl. Combine cheese and remaining ingredients except cooking spray in a small bowl; stir with a whisk. Add to flour mixture; stir just until moistened.
Divide batter evenly among miniature muffin cups coated with cooking spray. Bake at 375° for 10 minutes or until golden brown. Cool in cups 2 minutes on wire racks; remove from pans. Cool completely on wire racks.

Yield: 12 servings (serving size: 3 muffins)

CALORIES 108 (28% from fat); FAT 3.4g (sat 1.9g,mono 0.5g,poly 0.1g); PROTEIN 3.7g; CHOLESTEROL 28mg; CALCIUM 89mg; SODIUM 221mg; FIBER 0.8g; IRON 0.8mg; CARBOHYDRATE 15.5g

Cooking Light, OCTOBER 2007

New Potato Salad

Making with the Caroline Pork

New Potato Salad

1 1/2 pounds small red potatoes

1/2 cup finely chopped red bell pepper

1/3 cup finely chopped celery

5 tablespoons low-fat mayonnaise

1/4 cup minced shallots

1/4 cup chopped green onions

2 tablespoons white wine vinegar

1 tablespoon Dijon mustard

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

Place potatoes in a saucepan; cover with water. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat; simmer 15 minutes or until tender. Drain and rinse with cold water; drain. Cool. Cut potatoes into quarters. Combine potatoes and remaining ingredients in a large bowl; toss gently to coat.

Yield: 6 servings (serving size: about 3/4 cup)

CALORIES 113 (15% from fat); FAT 1.9g (sat 0.5g,mono 0.0g,poly 0.1g); PROTEIN 2.6g; CHOLESTEROL 0.0mg; CALCIUM 21mg; SODIUM 351mg; FIBER 2.5g; IRON 1.1mg; CARBOHYDRATE 22.2g

Cooking Light, JUNE 2007

Parmesan Chicken and Rice Casserole

D made this tonight. He said it was very easy to make. The rice was very tangy. D thought the chicken needed more flavor but I cut mine into little pieces and ate it with the rice, so I didn't notice. Definitely having again.

I made Green Beans with Bacon (see Dec 2007 Blogs) to go with it.


Parmesan Chicken and Rice Casserole

Total time: 37 minutes.


Cooking spray

1 cup chopped onion

2 garlic cloves, minced

2 (3 1/2-ounce) bags boil-in-bag brown rice

1/3 cup dry white wine

8 skinless, boneless chicken thighs (about 1 3/4 pounds)

1 1/2 teaspoons chopped fresh thyme

1/2 teaspoon salt

2 cups fat-free, less-sodium chicken broth

3 tablespoons whipping cream

1/3 cup (1 1/2 ounces) shredded Parmesan cheese


1. Preheat oven to 450°.
2. Heat a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Coat pan with cooking spray. Add onion to pan; sauté 2 minutes. Add garlic; sauté 30 seconds. Remove rice from bags; add to pan. Sauté 30 seconds. Stir in wine; cook 30 seconds or until liquid almost evaporates. Spoon rice mixture in an even layer into a 13 x 9–inch baking dish coated with cooking spray.
3. Arrange chicken thighs in a single layer over rice mixture; sprinkle evenly with thyme and salt. Combine broth and cream, stirring well; pour over chicken and rice mixture.
4. Bake at 450° for 15 minutes. Sprinkle with cheese. Bake an additional 5 minutes or until chicken is done.


Yield: 4 servings (serving size: 2 chicken thighs and 1 cup rice)


CALORIES 498 (35% from fat); FAT 19.1g (sat 7.5g,mono 6.7g,poly 3.1g); PROTEIN 38.2g; CHOLESTEROL 122mg; CALCIUM 198mg; SODIUM 765mg; FIBER 5.6g; IRON 3mg; CARBOHYDRATE 43.8g


Cooking Light, MARCH 2008