Pasta Taco Salad

I was looking for a different sort of side dish to bring to a family BBQ this past weekend, and I found this pasta salad on a blog called Cara's Cravings (her picture is definitely better than mine, I was only able to capture the leftovers). There were rave reviews, and I just happened to have some leftover wagon wheel pasta, so I gave it a go.

My review: It was a nice change from the usual pasta salad, and the flavors were good. I used a very mild salsa and limited chili powder to cater to some picky palates, and I definitely think it needed more spice. In fact, we kicked up the leftovers with some spicy picante-style salsa later on, and I liked it much better. Also, I don't think the "vinaigrette" is necessary - do we really need to be adding a 1/2 cup of oil to this otherwise pretty healthy salad? I used a lot less, and I think it would be fine omitting it completely and just mixing in the lime juice and spices right into the pasta. But, I'll post the recipe as-is and you can judge for yourself!


Ingredients

1 lb. wagon wheel pasta
1 can black beans, drained and rinsed
1 10 oz. package frozen corn (if you are going to make this at least several hours ahead, no need to defrost first)
2 medium tomatoes, seeded and diced
8 oz. shredded Mexican-blend cheese (I didn't add this)
1 1/2 cups salsa
1/2 cup olive oil
3-4 Tbsp. lime juice
1 Tbsp. cumin
1-2 tsp. chili powder
2 garlic cloves, minced
freshly ground salt and pepper
1/2 cup chopped fresh cilantro
1 avocado, diced

Directions

1. Cook the pasta al dente according to package directions. Drain and rinse with cold water.

2. In a large bowl, combine the black beans, corn, tomatoes, salsa, and cheese. Add the cooled pasta and mix well.

3. In another bowl, whisk together the olive oil, lime juice, garlic, cumin and chili powder. Pour over the pasta salad, add the cilantro, and mix well. Season to taste with salt & pepper.

4. Just before serving, stir in the diced avocado

Mexican Beef Stew

I started out with an entirely different plan for this meal, but when I pulled out the recipe for what I had intended to make, I decided it really didn't sound good and changed direction. I did a little search for something that would include all the ingredients I had planned on using, as well as a few other things I had on hand, and came up with the idea for this "stew".

I ended up straining off most of the liquid at the end and serving the meat and vegetables over rice with some homemade guacamole and baked tortilla chips (yes, at the risk of carb overload), and it was delicious. You could just as easily thicken up the broth a little more and enjoy it as a more traditional stew with some fresh tortilla or cornbread...yum!

Ingredients

1 lb. beef stew meat
1 red bell pepper, thinly sliced
1 mediun onion, chopped
1 jalapeno, seeded and finely diced
3 cloves garlic, minced
2 Tbsp. all-purpose flour
1 Tbsp. chili powder
1 1/2 tsp. cumin
1/2 tsp. black pepper
1/2 tsp. salt
1/8 tsp. ground thyme
1/8 tsp. cayenne pepper
3 cups beef broth
2 large red potatoes, diced

Directions

1. In a large bowl, combine stew meat, red pepper, onion, jalapeno and garlic. In a separate bowl, combine flour, chili powder, cumin, black pepper, salt, thyme, and cayenne. Mix well, then add to the meat and vegetable mixture and stir to coat.

2. Transfer meat and vegetable to a slow cooker and pour beef broth to cover. Cook on low for 6 hours. Add potatoes and cook 2 hours more or until potatoes are tender (can turn up to high at this point to speed the cooking of the potatoes).

Buffalo Chicken Dip

I decided to make this dip for our Memorial Day BBQ, and it was a hit! Tasted just like buffalo wings. Everyone loved it - it was gone so fast. I got the recipe from Marci's recipe blog (she raved about it as well).

Although I'd had a similar dip before I remembered it being really greasy, and I thought that may have been due to the cheese, so I changed that up a little. I also adjusted the amounts of some of the ingredients, so I'll post my recipe here but you can always visit Marci's blog to see the original.

Oh, and just typing this here right now makes me crave this stuff! Its sooooo good!

Buffalo Chicken Dip

Ingredients

2 (10 oz) cans chuck chicken, drained
1 1/2 cups Frank's Red Hot sauce
2.5 packages (20 oz. total) reduced-fat cream cheese, softened
2 cups ranch dressing
1 cup Tostitos Chili Con Queso dip
1/2 cup shredded cheddar cheese


Directions

1. Combine chicken and hot sauce in a large saucepan over medium heat; stir occasionally until heated through. Mix in cream cheese, ranch dressing, and Queso dip, stirring until well-blended. Transfer to slow cooker.

2. Sprinkle the shredded cheese on top, cover, and cook on low setting until hot and bubbly. Keep warm in slow cooker to serve.

Beef and Portobello Mushroom Stroganoff

I'm starting to like anything that ends with "Stroganoff". It means you can mix up some broth and a little reduced-fat sour cream and you get a nice, light cream sauce that you enjoy without feeling guilty!

This one, also from Jillian Michaels, was really good. I know a meal is a hit when my husband says "I'd have that again". We both agreed that this would be just as good meatless - all those portobellos certainly hold up enough on their own!

Ingredients

2 tsp. plus 1 Tbsp. canola oil
1 lb. beek flank steak, trimmed
4 large portobello mushrooms, stemmed and thinly sliced
1 large onion, sliced
3/4 tsp. dried thyme
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. black pepper
3 Tbsp. all-purpose flour
14 oz. (1 can) reduced-sodium beef broth
2 Tbsp. liqueur, cognac or brandy (I didn't add this)
1 Tbsp. red wine vinegar (didn't add this either)
1/2 cup reduced-fat sour cream
4 Tbsp. fresh chives

Directions
1. Heat 2 tsp. oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add steak and cook until browned on both sides, 3-4 minutes per side. The meat will be rare but will continue to cook as it rests. (I had a pretty thick piece, so I needed about 6-7 minutes on each side). Transfer to a cutting board and let rest for 5 minutes. Cut lenghtwise into 2 long pieces, then crosswise across the grain into 1/4" thick slices.

2. Heat the remaining 1 Tbsp. oil in the pan over medium heat. Add mushrooms, onion, thyme, salt and pepper adn cook, stirring often, until the vegetables are tender and lightly browned, 8-12 minutes. Sprinkle flour over the vegetables; stir to coat.

3. Stir in broth, cognac and vinegar (if using) and bring to a boil, stirring often. Reduce heat to a simmer and continue cooking, stirring often, until the mxture is thickened, about 3 minutes. Stir in sour cream, chives, the sliced steak and any accumulated juices. Bring to a simmer and cook, stirring, until heated through.

I served over brown rice.

Nutrition
4 servings
Each serving has 404 calories, 19g fat, 14g carbs, 37g protein

Mexican Pizza

Another one from the Jillian Michaels website (as I suspect a lot of my future posts will be!). It was really good, has lots of possibilities for variation, and well, I could probably eat this every day if I wanted to!

The recipe is for 1 (and yeah, Adam had 3), and made as-is has 364 calories and 12 grams of fat.

Ingredients

1 whole-wheat, low-carb tortilla, 6 1/2 "
3 oz. chicken breast
1/4 cup salsa
1/2 cup chopped red bell pepper
2 Tbsp. diced green chiles
1 cup spinach
2 Tbsp. low-sodium mozzarella cheese, shredded (I used a low-fat Mexican blend)
1/4 cup avocado, sliced

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees.* Spray skillet with non-stick spray and heat over medium. Add bell pepper, green chiles and spinach to the pan, and cook until spinach is wilted.

2. Spread salsa on tortilla and top with chicken and spinach mixture. Sprinkle with cheese and bake until cheese melts. Top with avocado.

* I pre-baked the tortilla a little bit (about 6-7 minutes)before adding the toppings and baking again, to make sure it would be crispy.

Shrimp Lettuce Wraps and Red Chili Linguine

A nice little plate of food for under 500 calories, eh? About 457, to be exact.

The Shrimp Lettuce Wraps are my own last-minute creation, super easy and so many different ways to change it up.

Here's the basics:

* Medium shrimp, raw (6-7 pieces will equal about a 3 oz. serving)
* 1 can stir-fry vegetables (I went with the canned variety for convenience and texture), plus some extra chopped water chestnuts for crunch and sliced mushrooms for substance

Cook the shrimp in a little olive oil. When almost cooked through, add in the vegetables, some soy sauce, chili sauce, and whatever else you like. Heat through, then place in lettuce cups to serve.


The Red Chili Linguine is a ridiculously quick recipe from the Jillian Michaels website...I used half the amount of pasta and only 1 Tbsp olive oil but the full amount of garlic:

Ingredients

1/4 cup olive oil
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 tsp. red pepper flakes
4 cups linguine pasta, cooked and drained
1/4 cups chopped parsley
1 lime, juiced

Directions

Heat olive oil in skillet. Add garlic and saute 1 minute. Add red pepper and saute 30 seconds. Add linguine, stir well and cook until hot and well-coated. Add parsely and lime juice. Toss well and serve.

Spaghetti Bruschetta

I stole this idea from Picky Palate, and when I first found the recipe I totally thought it was genius...you can't eat spaghetti without garlic bread, so why not put the spaghetti on the garlic bread!

This is another "No Recipe Needed" creation too...just make up some spaghetti (I cut up the pasta into small pieces before cooking so it would be easier to eat on the bread), put it on garlic bread, top with mozzarella cheese and bake until the cheese is melted and bubbly. You'll need a knife and fork for it, but its delish!

No Recipe Needed - Breakfast Tacos

1. Cook up some hashbrowns (tator tots work great, just smash them up in the pan)

2. Mix in cooked pork sausage

3. Scramble in a few eggs and shredded cheese

4. Season with fresh cilantro and whatever spices you like

5. Place on warm corn tortillas and top with more cheese, sour cream and salsa

Of course you could also wrap it up for a breakfast burrito or even put it on tortilla chips for some morning delight nachos (Adam's favorite).

This is what Adam's first plate looked like last night, he tops them with everything:

Craisins Salad and dressing

Salad
1 head red leaf lettuce
1 head green leaf lettuce
1 head iceberg lettuce
1 (8oz) package shredded mozzarella cheese
1 (8oz) package shredded Parmesan cheese
1 pound bacon, cooked and crumbled
1 (8oz) package craisins

Break red and green lettuce into pieces. Shred iceberg lettuce. Toss together with remaining ingredients just before serving. Pass the dressing with the salad, not recommended to toss with dressing.

Salad Dressing
1/2 cup red wine vinegar
1 cup sugar
1/2 onion chopped
1 1/2 teas salt
2 teas mustard
1 cup salad oil.

Mix everything BUT the oil in a blender. Add oil and then blend again.

BLT Strudel

Oh, Paula Deen. You had me at Puff Pastry. You can never go wrong with puff pastry right?

Even though we had this for dinner, its definitely better suited as a brunch item. Adam liked it, and I though it was good, but I'd like to make it again with a few changes...I decided that although I love bacon on its own, I'm not a fan of it mixed in with other stuff, so I might swap that out for some good sausage. Kind of changes the BLT name, but oh well.

The recipe as-is makes 2 strudels, but I cut it in half and only made one.

BLT Strudel
from Paula Deen

Ingredients

12 large eggs, divided
1/2 cup mayonnaise
1 lb. bacon, chopped
1 (6 oz) package fresh baby spinach
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 cup shredded Swiss cheese (I used an Italian blend and some Parm since I had it on hand)
1 cup seeded and chopped tomato
1/4 tsp. salt
1 (17.3 oz) package frozen puff pastry sheets, thawed

Directions

1. In a large bowl, whisk together 11 eggs and mayonnaise until smooth. Set aside.

2. In a large skillet, cook bacon over medium heat until crisp. Using a slotted spoon, remove bacon from pan and drain on paper towels. Reserve 1 tbsp. bacon drippings in skillet; heat over medium heat. Add spinach and garlic; cook for 1-2 minutes, stirring occasionaly, or until spinach is wilted. Add egg mixture, and cook until eggs are set, but not dry, stirring occasionally. Remove from heat, and stir in cheese, tomato, salt, and reserved bacon. Spoon mixture into a medium bowl; cover and chill for 30 minutes.

3. Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper.

4. On a lightly floured surface, roll 1 sheet of puff pastry into a 12x10 rectangle, trimming edges as necessary. Spoon half of egg mixture down center of pastry, leaving a 3" margin on sides and a 1" margin on top and bottom. Cut pastry on side margins into 1" strips. Crisscross strips over filling. Carefully transfer strudel to one side of prepared baking sheet. Repeat procedure with remaining pastry and egg mixture.

5. In a small bowl, whisk remaining egg until smooth. Brush egg evenly over strudels. Bake for 30 minutes or until pastry is golden brown. Cut into slices and serve.