Quick Pork Picadillo Sandwiches (8 Servings) from Cooking Light

1 1/2 cups chopped onion (~1 medium)
1 teaspoon minced garlic
1 pound lean ground pork (though I imagine it'd taste fine with ground chicken, turkey, or soy crumbles)
1/2 cup golden raisins
1 tablespoon chili powder
2 tablespoons red wine vinegar
1 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice
1/2 teaspoon salt
28 ounces canned tomatoes, drained
1/4 cup green olives, sliced
8 whole whole wheat hamburger bun

1. Cook onion, garlic, and pork in a large non-stick skillet over medium-high for 5 minutes or until browned, stirring to crumble. Drain in a colander and return to skillet.

2. Stir in raisins, chili powder, red wine vinegar, pumpkin pie spice, salt, and tomatoes. Reduce heat to medium and cook 5 minutes, stirring occasionally.

3. Stir in olives, then spread ~2/3 cup picadillo mixture on each bun.

4. I served these open-faced, as I missed the "drained" part of the directions on the tomatoes, but it was still very good.

This is the best chili i ever tasted. I am from Texas and this recipe just blew me away!!!
(YOU CAN USE LEAN STEW MEAT--like 7% fat)
Real Texas Chili
Recipe #1526241 rating
There are a million variations on chili, but only one true Texas-style chili. Once you eat this you'll find it difficult to eat the others. You can add pinto beans at the end, if you must, but you know we don't. This is very close to what we cook in the cookoffs--you don't think I'd post the actual recipe do you?
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8 servings 4 quarts 2 hours 10 min prep
Change to: quarts US Metric
2 1/2 lbs top round beef, trimmed and cut into 1/2-inch cubes
1 tablespoon olive oil
2 cups beef broth
1 cup chicken broth
1 cup tomato sauce
1 beef bouillon cube
1 chicken bouillon cube
First Seasoning Dump
1 tablespoon onion flakes
1/2 teaspoon cayenne
4 tablespoons chili powder
Second Seasoning Dump
1 tablespoon garlic powder
1 tablespoon cumin
2 1/2 tablespoons chili powder
1/4 teaspoon cayenne
1 (1/4 ounce) packet sazon goya
Third Seasoning Dump
1 1/2 tablespoons chili powder
1 teaspoon cumin
1/2 teaspoon brown sugar
1/4 teaspoon garlic powder

Not the one? See other Real Texas Chili Recipes
3 or Less Steps Chili
Tex-Mex Chili
Beef Chili
Brown beef in oil until beef is gray, do not drain. Add broths, tomato sauce, and boullion cubes and bring to a boil. Add First Dump and reduce heat to a slow simmer. Cover and simmer for one hour.
Add Second Dump and adjust liquid with more broth if necessary. You don't want it too thin, you want a nice thick "gravy" to your chili. Cover and cook another 30 minutes.
Add Third Dump, cook about 5-10 minutes longer and serve.

the soup sounds really delish!

Avgolemono (Greek Lemon-Chicken Soup)

1 qt chicken broth
1 tablespoon cornstarch
1/2 c cooked rice (I used brown, but the restaurant uses white)
2 chicken breasts, cooked & cubed/chopped (I bought a lemon-pepper rotisserie chicken & chopped up the breasts)
1/4 c fresh lemon juice
finely grated zest of one lemon
1/4 c egg substitute


Heat the chicken broth & cornstarch to boiling (lesson learned: broth w/ cornstarch WILL boil over quickly). Reduce heat to medium.

Add the rice & chicken, bring back up to temperature.

Whisk the lemon juice, zest, and egg substitute together in a medium to large bowl. Add a small amount of the broth and whisk. Continue to temper (adding small amounts of the hot liquid to the cooler one and whisking together) the juice/zest/egg mixture until it's too hot to hold your finger in. Add to the broth/rice/chicken. Add pepper to taste and serve.

Our favorite Greek restaurant serves this, and it's SO good. This is close, but not as rich--seeing as I got the basics from a low-fat soup cookbook, that makes sense. I suspect the restaurant version uses egg yolks to thicken & yellow the soup. I know it sounds like an odd combo, but you don't taste "LEMON!!!!", it's more of a tang, a sourness on the tongue. And it's deeeeelicious.

Crock Pot Carnitas
Submitted by: Curlz
Keywords: Main Dish, Easy, Pork, Mexican, Crock Pot, Healthy Choices
Crock Pot Carnitas
This ridiculously easy and tasty dish is one of my consistent favorites, and is always a hit. And a bonus...it's very low in fat. Plus, it's pork. Can't go wrong with pork. :-)
2-1/2 lb pork tenderloin
1 lime (juice and zest)
1 orange (juice and zest)
3 cloves of garlic, roughly chopped
2 T of cumin
(Note: I added some cayenne and cinnamon to round off the second TBSP)
Salt and Pepper to taste
Lime quarters for each serving

Zest and then juice the citrus right in to the crock pot. Add chopped garlic and cumin and mix well. Sprinkle tenderloin with salt and pepper and cut it to fit, if necessary. Cook on low for 8-9 hours. Cut and remove strings from tenderloin, and shred the meat with two forks, mixing in whatever liquid there is. Serve with tortillas, beans, corn, guacamole, shredded cheese, cilantro, etc. and/or over rice.

ok, in my effort to fight boredom in the kitchen. i am on my way... with the help of friends!!!

LAMB CHILI
1 tablespoon corn oil
1 cup chopped onion
6 large garlic cloves, chopped
3 dried ancho chilis*, stemmed, seeded, torn into pieces
2 dried New Mexico chilis, stemmed, seeded, torn into pieces
2 plum tomatoes, seeded, chopped
2 cups canned unsalted chicken broth
2 teaspoons dried oregano, crumbled
1 1/2 teaspoons ground cumin
1/2 teaspoon ground allspice


1 pound lamb stew meat (preferably shoulder), well trimmed, cut into 1-inch pieces
1 14 1/2-ounce can low-salt kidney beans, drained

* Ancho and New Mexico Chilis are available at Latin American markets and many supermarkets.
Heat 1 tablespoon oil in heavy medium saucepan over medium heat. Add onion and garlic and sauté until just translucent, about 3 minutes. Add both chilis, tomatoes, broth, oregano, cumin and allspice. Bring mixture to boil. Cover pan and simmer until chilis are tender, approximately 30 minutes.

Position rack in center of oven and preheat to 325°F. Puree sauce in batches in blender. Return sauce to same pan. Add lamb. Cover and bake until lamb is almost tender, about 50 minutes. Uncover pan and simmer chili over medium-low heat until lamb is very tender and liquids are thickened to sauce consistency, about 25 minutes. Add kidney beans and simmer 2 minutes. Season with salt and pepper. (Can be made 1 day ahead. Cover and chill. Rewarm over low heat before serving.

All this talk has my hankering for tikka masala! I'm going to make it Sunday ; )

super brie! i have almost all those ingredients. i only get discouraged by indian recipes when i have to go out and buy some kind of exotic spice but i am all set here. just going to get the chicken this morning!!
i am on my way, thanks.

Here's a Chicken Tikka Masala from the Favorite Low Fat Recipes cookbook that is really tasty. I made some further adjustments that I'll note for you:

Ingredients:
1/2 onion, coarsely chopped
3 T tomato paste
1 t cumin seeds
1 in piece of fresh chopped gingerroot
3 T of lemon juice
2 garlic cloves, crushed
2 t chili powder
1 lb, skinless boneless chicken
salt, pepper to taste
fresh mint spring to garnish

Masala sauce:
2 T ghee or vegetable oil (I used 1 t of sesame oil)
1 onion, sliced
1 T black onion seeds (I omitted this)
3 garlic cloves, crushed
2 fresh green chiles, chopped
7 oz of canned tomatoes
1/2 c lowfat plain yogurt (I used fat free)
1/2 c coconut milk (I used 1/4 lite coconut milk and a 1/4 of water)
1 T chopped fresh cilantro (I hate cilantro so I used basil)
1 T chopped mint
2 T lemon or lime juice
1/2 t garam masala or curry powder (I used 1 T)
sprigs of fresh mind

Cooking instructions:
Combine the first 7 ingredients and seasoning in a food process or blender. Then transfer to a bowl. Cut the chicken into 1 /2 in cubes, stir into the bowl and leave for 2 hours.

Make the masala sauce. Heat the oil in a pan, add the onion, and stir over medium heat for 5 minutes. Add the spices, garlic and chile. Add the tomatoes, yogurt and coconut milk and bring to a boil, then simmer for 20 minutes.

Divide the chicken evenly between oiled skewers and cook under a very hot broiler for 15 minutes turning frequently. Remove the chicken and add to the sauce. Stir in the herbs, emon juice and garam masala. Serve garnished with mint sprigs.


Serves 4 people
2 1/4 hr prep time, 50 minutes of cooking time
Calories: 353
Protein 44 g
Carbs 8 g
Sugars 8 g
Fat 16 g (although you'll cut that down and the calories by making some adjustments)
Sat. Fat 2g

I did *not* use whole milk yogurt. The article with the recipe says that the thicker yogurt helps the garlic and ginger cling to the chicken.

As an aside, a "quick" dinner I do at least twice a month--sprinkle garam masala (or Chinese 5-Spice Powder) on chicken breasts (or pork chops), cook in the skillet until they're done; pour a little white wine (or chicken broth) in to deglaze the pan, then add a tablespoon or two of apricot preserves, let it melt, add a little more garam masala to the sauce. Indian spices, 20-minute dinner.

Now I want to go through and find Denise's green curry recipe.

Yummy D! I want to try this. Do you really use whole milk yogurt? I would really appreciate if you would update this as you do some of your possible changes and let us know how those turn out. I love Indian food and really do need to figure out how to make it for myself. I've only been threatening to make Denise's green curry for about 3 years now! LOL

Peg

Chicken Tikka Masala (from Cook's Illustrated)

Chicken Tikka (recipe)
1/2 tsp ground cumin
1/2 tsp ground coriander
1/4 tsp cayenne
1 tsp table salt
2 lbs boneless skinless chicken breasts
1 c plain whole-milk yogurt
2 tblsp vegetable oil
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 tblsp fresh grated ginger

Combine cumin, coriander, cayenne, and salt. Sprinkle over chicken; refrigerate 30-60 minutes. Mix together yogurt, oil, garlic, and ginger. Dip chicken into yogurt and place on (non-stick sprayed) foil on a broiler pan. Broil chicken until thickest parts are done, 10-18 minutes, turning over halfway through cooking.

(My way: Add 1 tblsp of chili seasoning [mine has cumin, paprika, chili powder, black pepper, cayenne, so I figured it was CLOSE to what they were asking for], 2 minced garlic cloves, and grated fresh ginger to yogurt. Cube 1 lb of chicken, put it in the yogurt in a freezer bag. Set in fridge. Go to work. Come home. Heat broiler, pull out chicken pieces w/ tongs and set on sprayed foil on broiler pan. Broil 10 minutes, wrap in foil, keep warm.)

Masala Sauce
3 tblsp vegetable oil
1 medium onion, diced fine
2 garlic cloves, diced fine
2 tsp grated fresh ginger
1 serrano chile, ribs & seeds removed, flesh minced
1 tblsp tomato paste
1 tblsp garam masala (any commercial blend)
1 28-oz can crushed tomatoes
2 tsp sugar
1/2 tsp table salt
2/3 c heavy cream

Heat oil in large skillet or Dutch oven. Add onion & cook until golden, 8-10 min. Add garlic, ginger, chile, tomato paste, and garam masala; cook until fragrant, ~ 3 min. Add tomatoes, sugar, and salt, bring to a boil. Reduce heat to med-low, cover and simmer 15 minutes, stirring occasionally. Stir in cream and return to simmer. Remove pan from heat, cover to keep warm. Cut up chicken into chunks and stir into warm sauce. Serve over rice.

(My way: 1 tblsp oil, cook onion. Add garlic, ginger, chile, and garam masala, cook til fragrant. And ONE 14-oz can crushed tomatoes, bring to a boil, reduce and simmer 15 min. Add 1/3 c low-fat milk and tomato paste. Add chicken, serve over brown rice.)

Next time, I might try buttermilk instead of low-fat milk, to get the sauce thicker. Or maybe some of the yogurt. Or maybe just a little cornstarch mixed with a little tomato juice saved from the can.

Leftover Roasted Root Veggie Soup

I had left over root veggies (parnips, potatoes, carrots, and onions) from dinner the other night and didn't know what to do with them.

I ended up turning them into a soup and it came out really good.

1 1/2 cups of roasted root veggies
Fresh rosemary, sage, thyme (to taste)
1 cup of ff/low sodium chicken stock
1/2 c of water
dash of soy milk
dash of hot sauce

Cook over medium heat and then puree with a hand blender.

YUM!

"Meatball" Subs

1 lb ground something (we used chicken)
3 crushed Wasa crackers (or 1/2 c dry bread crumbs)
1/2 c milk
1 egg
Appropriate spices (parsley, oregano, garlic, basil)
1 jar tomato-based pasta sauce
Whole wheat hot dog buns (or, if your store carries them, "Snuggles", flatbread shaped to hold hot dogs)

Spray a cookie sheet w/ non-stick spray; preheat oven to 400.

Soak the crumbs in the milk; add to the ground meat, add egg, add spices. Mix well.

Form small meatballs (mine were about 3 Tbl of mix) and smush them a bit when you set them on the cookie sheet. Bake 15-20 minutes or until done.

Heat the sauce while the meatballs are cooking; add the meatballs to the sauce when they're done.

Scoop meatballs into buns, top with sauce.

With two of us eating this for dinner, there were enough meatballs & sauce leftover that we'll boil pasta tonight to use up the rest.

Chicken & Spinach Enchiladas

16 skinless chicken legs & thighs
3 onions, quartered & sliced
4 cloves garlic
cumin, oregano, pepper to taste
2 c. chicken broth/stock
2 pkg. frozen spinach (thawed & squeezed dry)
8 whole wheat tortillas
nonstick spray
6-8 oz. monterey jack cheese, shredded
1 jar tomatillo salsa

To make the filling:

Combine chicken, onion, garlic, cumin, oregano, pepper, and chicken stock in a large saucepan. Cook over medium high heat until liquid boils, then simmer 1 hour until the chicken is tender. Remove chicken from liquid and cool to room temperature. Meanwhile, boil down the liquid that is remaining until about 1 cup remains. Cool, then mix with chicken after removing the meat from the bone.

One hour before dinner, heat oven to 375. Warm tortillas in the package for 30-45 seconds, just to make them rollable. Then spray each tortilla on both sides with the nonstick spray, and use 1/8 of the chicken mixture, rolling up the enchilada and putting it in a greased baking dish. (I used 13x10.)

Bake enchiladas uncovered for 20 minutes or until the tortillas are browned. Pour desired amount of salsa over the tortillas, cover with cheese and bake another 10-15 min. until cheese is melted & bubbly. Brown the cheese under a broiler if you like a really browned cheese.

Serve immediately. These reheat well, and freeze great too.

Hint: You can make the filling ahead of time and freeze it. Then dinner would only take about 30 min. plus rolling time on a busy night. (Still quicker than take out. ;D)

Fruit Crisp al a mode

This is pretty much like KD's Rubarb Crisp

For each person:

1 to 1.25 peach or apple or pear or ______ (1 servings of fruit)
2 tsp sugar or a little more if fruit is tart (30 cals)
2/3 tsp dry tapioca about 7 cals (is tapioca a grain ?... I'll call it a grain )
1 tsp lemon juice if fruit is "too sweet"


30 g. dry oatmeal (about 1/3 c.) (or one serving of grains)
33 cals or 1 tsp real butter in little pieces
(or if you are feeling decadent... 2-3 tsp)
2 tsp sugar
1/3 oz of chopped or slivered nuts (or one serving of oil)
spices you think might go well with your fruit... cinnamon, nutmeg, cardamon... 1/4-1/2 tsp.


1/3 cup (86 cals) of ice cream (I got 6 servings out of the pint and each serving was 130 cals.)


preheat oven to 350

peel/slice fruit and mix with sugar and tapioca. Put it in an oven proof dish the right size. I make three servings... and use a Pyrex 9" pie pan. Each serving is 1/3 of the pan.

Mix together oats, nuts, sugar, butter and spices with your fingers. Rub butter into oats.

Dump oat mixture on top of fruit.

bake 30 mins... or until fruit is pie consistancy.

Serve with ice cream.

For 179 of my discretionary calories... I've gotten a huge piece of fruit pie a la mode.

This message has been edited. Last edited by: GoingSkiing,

My seafood rice dish tonight was a show stopper. My dh was soooo exicted with this dinner that while labor intensive, totally is worth sharing.

Serves two (dinner sized portions and I couldn't come close to finishing mine):

2 cups of fish stock (preferably home made) (I ended up using a fish soup that I had made at the end of the winter and straining it through a sieve because I was out of my usual stock).
4 T of finely chopped vidalia onion
2 T of chopped fresh basil
2 pinches of dried sweet bell pepper flakes (I found mine at Marshall's)
2 red bell peppers - 1 diced, 1 roasted and peeled
1 - 2 T goat cheese
scallops 1/4 lb
cleaned squid (bodies and tentacles) 1/4 lb
striped bass 1/4 lb
1/2 c brown rice
pinch of saffron
dash of orange juice

In a heavy bottom pan, heat 1 tsp of evoo and add brown rice, coat rice with oil and then slowly add fish stock and bring to boil. Add saffron and a pinch of dried bell pepper flakes. Reduce to a simmer and cover. Cook for at least 45 minutes checking periodically if more liquid is needed and stirring.

Add a dash of juice to a shallow bowl with the striped bass and squid. Toss fish so that they are coated.

Roast one of the bell peppers over an open flame. Remove skin and core and put flesh into a food processor. Add 1 - 2 T of goat cheese, fresh basil and a dash of evoo. Pulse through food processor until pureed. Put mixture aside.

When rice is almost done, heat 1 tsp evoo in a large saute pan and sweat the onions. Add the bell pepper that was diced. Cook until peppers are soft. Add the onions and peppers to the risotto to finish cooking.

Cook the striped bass and squid on medium for 5 minutes in the same pan that the onions/peppers were cooked in. Add the scallops and cook for an addition 2 - 3 minutes depending on the thickness of the scallops. Sprinkle fish with another pinch of dried bell peppers.

Plate in a deep bowl spooning in the risotto first, then 1 T of the bell pepper/goat cheese mixture and then the fish. YUMMMMMMMMMMM!!!!!!!!

There was something about the all the different layers of the bell peppers that made the dish really pop - dried, roasted and fresh.....

Prep time was about 30 - 45 minutes plus 45 minutes cooking time so you'll need some time if you try this one.

one thing i do is add a small package of frozen chopped spinach to almost all of my soups and stews to "up" the nutritional value.

i am smelling the mexican mentil soup right now. yummy smell!

CORRECTION: POSOLE IS not GARBANZO. POSOLE IS HOMINY.

i made this saturday and it turned out amazing!

Pork Chili with Beans and Hominy
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Between soaking the beans and simmering the pork, this chili would take about 3 1/2 hours to make in a casserole or pot. A pressure cooker reduces that time by two-thirds. If guajillo chiles are hard to find, pasilla, ancho or New Mexico chiles are almost as good.
Ingredients
1/2 cup dried pink beans, picked over and rinsed
8 cups water, 4 cups very hot
6 dried guajillo chiles, stemmed
2 dried chipotle chiles, stemmed
4 large garlic cloves, smashed
1 medium onion, coarsely chopped
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1/2 teaspoon dried oregano, preferably Mexican
1/2 teaspoon ground coriander
One 28-ounce can peeled Italian tomatoes
3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
2 1/2 pounds trimmed boneless pork shoulder, cut into 1-inch pieces
Salt and freshly ground pepper
2 cups chicken stock or low-sodium broth
2 bay leaves
One 15-ounce can white or yellow hominy, drained and rinsed
Rice, sour cream, cilantro and Cheddar cheese, for serving
Preparation
1. Put the beans and 4 cups of water in a pressure cooker. Close the lid and bring to high pressure over high heat. Reduce the heat to low or just enough to maintain pressure and cook for 5 minutes. Remove from the heat; let stand for 10 minutes, then carefully release the steam valve and drain. The beans should be barely tender with a hard core.
2. Meanwhile, in a medium bowl, soak the guajillo and chipotle chiles in the 4 cups of very hot water until softened, 15 minutes. Drain, reserving 1/4 cup of the liquid. Transfer the chiles and the reserved liquid to a blender and add the garlic, onion, cumin, oregano and coriander. Blend until fairly smooth. Add the tomatoes and their juices and puree until smooth. Strain into a bowl through a fine sieve, pressing hard on the solids.
3. Wipe out the pressure cooker. Add the olive oil and heat until shimmering. Season the pork with salt and pepper and add half of it to the pot. Cook over moderately high heat until browned all over, about 10 minutes. Using a slotted spoon, transfer the meat to a plate. Brown the remaining meat. Return all of the meat to the pot and add the tomato puree, stock, bay leaves and drained beans. Close the lid and bring to high pressure over high heat. Reduce the heat to low or just enough to maintain high pressure and cook for 30 minutes.
4. Remove the pressure cooker from the heat and let stand for 10 minutes, then carefully release the steam valve. Add the hominy and cook uncovered over moderately high heat for 5 minutes. Discard the bay leaves. Season with salt and pepper and serve with rice, sour cream, cilantro and cheese.
Yield
6

I DID NOT SERVE WITH RICE. I JUST HAD A WARMED CORN TORTILLA, I SPRINKLED OREGANO OVER THE TOP OF THE SOUP ALONG WITH FRESH LIME SLICES AND CHOPPED ONIONS. ALSO I DID NOT HAVE THE BEANS, AND I NEVER USED POSOLE (THE GARBANZOS). INSTEAD I ADDED CHIPPED CARROTS AND CELERY. VERY VERY AUTHENTIC MEXICAN FLAVOR. VERY NICE.