February 2, 2012: Coconut Poached Cod Recipe

My husband and I love eating cod. Although neither of us are big fish eaters, we find the firm white flesh of cod or similar fish (such as halibut) delicious. Of course, my husband prefers it deep fried like he gets at the Fish Fry every Friday night at Torreon but now that I’ve lost 5 pounds, I’m not going backward by indulging in fried food. Instead, I came up with this recipe that turned out incredibly flavorful, tender and delicious. Try it and see what you think!

Coconut Poached Cod over a bed of couscous and served with Cremini Salad

Coconut Poached Cod

1 pound cod fillets, cut into four pieces of similar size

One half lime

Freshly ground sea salt and black pepper

½ cup coconut milk

1 ancho chile in adobo sauce, minced

Seeds of 1 cardamom pod

½ t. fennel seed

½ t. dried cilantro (or 1 T. fresh)

1 t. brown sugar

Preheat oven to 425 degrees.

Sprinkle both sides of cod fillets with juice from half lime and salt and pepper, to taste.

Spray a baking dish with nonstick spray. Add coconut milk and remaining ingredients; stir to combine. Place cod fillets on top. Cover pan with a piece of foil.

Bake in preheated oven for 15 – 25 minutes (depending on thickness of fillets) until fish flakes easily with a fork.

Serves 4

January 18, 2012: Healthy Meatloaf Recipe

Here’s another of my favorite meals that I’ve slimmed down for the calorie conscious diner (me!). Although my husband groaned with he saw me using ground turkey, he enjoyed the finished product. If you want fewer calories, omit the ground beef (I added it so this meatloaf would taste more like the traditional recipe I usually prepare).

Healthy Meatloaf

1 slice whole wheat bread, torn into small pieces

1 T. dehydrated onions

1 T. dried parsley

2 T. fat free half and half

2 T. beef broth

1 egg

1 T. Worcestershire sauce

¼ cup ketchup

1 chile in adobo sauce, minced

1 t. each: oregano, sage, garlic salt

½ t. freshly ground black pepper

1 lb. 4 ounces ground turkey

12 ounces 80% lean ground beef

Spray a loaf pan with cooking spray. In a large mixing bowl, combine bread pieces, onions and parsley. Stir in half and half and beef broth; let sit for five minutes. Add egg, Worcestershire, ketchup, chile and seasonings; mix well. Add in ground meat and mix with your hands. Pat mixture into prepared loaf pan. Bake at 350 degrees for 90 minutes, or until completely cooked through the middle.

Serves 6 (per serving: 615 calories, 30 grams fat, 882 sodium)

January 6, 2012: Hot and Spicy Pumpkin Dip Recipe

The Wednesday edition of the Arizona Republic newspaper contains the weekly food section and I always eagerly await it to see what kind of new recipes it might contain. Usually I’m not impressed but this week I took notice of a recipe for a sweet potato dip I wanted to try. I only had pumpkin so I did a bit of my own makeover magic in the way of substitutions and less fat to come up with this very tasty recipe.

Hot and Spicy Pumpkin Dip

1 cup cooked pumpkin (or canned pureed)

1 T. roasted pumpkin seeds

½ chipotle pepper in adobo sauce + about ½ teaspoon sauce

2 cloves garlic

½ t. paprika

½ t. cumin

½ t. sesame oil

Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste

Place all ingredients in a small food processor and process until smooth. (I just got a stick blender with attachments, which worked wonderfully for this application!)

Serves 2 with calories of approximately112 (1/2 cup serving size)

Serve this Hot and Spicy Pumpkin Dip with a 10” flour tortilla torn into strips and sprayed on both sides with nonstick cooking spray. Sprinkle them with kosher salt. Bake the strips in a 450 degree oven for about 10 minutes, turning them over once, for guilt-less chips (total calories about 220).

August 20, 2011: Short Ribs in Molé Sauce Recipe

Okay, I have to admit it – I watch the Food Network and shows about food (absolutely anything with Gordon Ramsey) in order to get new ideas for dishes I make. Sure I’m pretty good at putting ingredients together but sometimes even I need a little something to stir my creative juices.

Such is the case with the following recipe. I watched the finale of Master Chef Tuesday night and Adrien made a similar dish. It sounded really good so I pulled out my The Spicy Food Lover’s Bible cookbook to get a general idea of how to make the molé sauce and went from there. I made some pretty big changes but I think it came out really tasty. Try it and tell me what you think!

Pork Short Ribs in Molé Sauce

2 pounds pork short ribs

1 T. vegetable oil

Heat a slow cooker to high. Add the oil and the ribs. Brown on both sides (or use a saucepan on the stove if your slow cooker doesn’t have a high enough temperature).

My mortar and pestle (it has a puppy face on the front!) made out of volcanic rock from Mexico.

Molé Sauce

1 T. Especias Mixtas (this is a Mexican spice blend that contains mustard seed, cumin seed, black peppercorns, coriander seeds, cloves, allspice, bay leaves and dried red chiles)

1 T. sesame seeds

2 T. roasted pumpkin seeds

½ t. cinnamon

2 cloves garlic

½ medium-sized white or yellow onion

1 ounce unsweetened chocolate

2 T. craisins

¼ cup hot red chile powder

2 canned chiles in adobo sauce + 1 t. adobo sauce

1 (14.5 ouce) tomatoes with green chiles

1/3 cup chicken stock

1 bay leaf

Combine the Especias Mixtas, sesame seeds, and pumpkins seeds in a mortar or spice grinder; crush into a coarse powder. Add this to the bowl of a food processor and process by itself, if necessary, to break up any remaining large chunks. Add the cinnamon, garlic, onion, and chocolate and process until crumbled. Add the chile powder, adobo chiles, adobo sauce, tomatoes, and chicken stock. Process until fairly smooth. Pass through a sieve, if desired, for a smoother sauce.

Pour half the sauce over the ribs in the slow cooker and add the bay leaf. Cook on low to medium-low heat for six hours, until pork is tender.

Serves 3 – 4

Tip: Use the leftover molé sauce to make enchiladas, thinning with a bit of chicken stock, if necessary.

July 22, 2011: Chipotle Peach BBQ Sauce Recipe

I was watching Paula Deen on TV not too long ago and just happened to catch a couple episodes of her show, back to back, that focused on barbecue sauces. I pretty much had the basic recipe down after watching it over and over. I had a couple peaches that needed to be used up (or get thrown to the chickens) so I decided to start with Paula Deen’s barbecue sauce base and add my own twist to it. It came out quite tasty, although a bit too hot for my husband’s taste (cut the chile in half if you want it less spicy). I used it on pork spareribs but it would also be great on pork chops or chicken or fish.

Although the ingredients list is long, don’t be intimidated; this is easy to make.

Chipotle Peach BBQ Sauce

¼ cup vegetable oil
½ cup finely chopped onions
3 T. prepared mustard
½ cup ketchup
3 T. Worcestershire sauce
¼ cup apple cider vinegar
Juice of one lime
½ cup water
3 T. brown sugar
1 T. honey
1 t. garlic salt
2 t. paprika
1 t. black pepper
2 peaches, peeled and sliced
1 canned chile in adobo sauce + 1 T. adobo sauce

Heat the oil over medium-low heat in a saucepan. Add the onions and cook for a few minutes, until translucent. Add remaining ingredients (up to peaches) and cook over low heat.

Meanwhile, add the peach slices, chile and adobo sauce to a blender and puree. Add to the mixture in the saucepan. Continue cooking over low heat for 20 minutes, until the sauce is cooked down. Cool and store in a clean jar in the refrigerator.

July 13, 2011: Pineapple Salsa Recipe

With the abundance of fresh fruits and veggies at the farmer’s market right now, I came up with this recipe to use ingredients I had on hand. Feel free to alter or substitute the fruit and/or veggies to match what you’ve got available - mangoes are just as delicious as the pineapple in this recipe. Green onions, bell peppers, leeks and other herbs would be good to try, too.

This salsa goes great with pork and fish – especially tasty on fish tacos!

Pineapple Salsa

1 large garlic clove, minced
1 mini sweet pepper (orange or yellow or red), finely diced
1 T. minced white onion
1 chile in adobo sauce (from a can), finely minced (less if you don't like quite as much heat)
1 t. dried cilantro (or 2 t. minced fresh cilantro)
¼ to 1/3 cup chopped fresh pineapple
½ t. kosher salt
1 lime

Combine all ingredients except lime in small bowl. Halve lime and squeeze juice over salsa. Let sit at room temperature for at least half an hour before serving or refrigerate overnight to allow flavors to meld.

Makes about ½ cup of salsa.

June 18, 2011: Mojo Pork Recipe

I love summertime grilling but the problem is that I get bored with the same old hot dogs, hamburgers, steaks, pork chops and chicken. The way I change things up is to vary the marinating sauce. This recipe is based on one I found in the Better Homes and Gardens Biggest Book of Grilling.

I tried it on my husband and my niece and the unanimous verdict was… Delicious! I think it’s got just the right level of spice and tang with a memorable flavor.

Mojo Pork

1 lb. pork tenderloin
2 canned chipotle peppers in adobo sauce, rinsed
¼ cup orange juice
¼ cup onion, coarsely chopped
1 t. dried oregano
1 T. lemon juice
1 T. honey
1 T. cooking oil
2 cloves garlic

Combine all ingredients (chipotle peppers through garlic) in blender or food processor. Process until smooth. Pour half over the pork tenderloin in a zip-top bag and marinate for a minimum of one hour. Refrigerate remaining sauce.

Grill over medium heat, not directly over heat source. Cook for 30 – 45 minutes, basting occasionally with remaining sauce. Cook until the meat is still pink inside; do not overcook! Remove from heat and let rest, tenting with foil, for about 5 minutes before serving.

May 24, 2011: Chipotle Garlic Ranch Dressing Recipe

Just about everyone loves ranch dressing… but if you’re looking for a semi-homemade with a bit more zing, try this recipe.

Chipotle Garlic Ranch Dressing

1 package dry ranch dressing mix
1 cup light mayonnaise
1 cup 2% milk
1 t. freeze-dried garlic
1 red chile pepper in adobo sauce, minced
1 t. adobo sauce

Mix all ingredients together in a jar and shake well. Refrigerate and let sit for an hour or so before using, so the flavors meld and the dressing thickens.

Tip: Freeze-dried garlic is a new product I’ve recently found at Safeway. The brand they carry is Litehouse. This stuff is fantastic – it’s got a great, very strong garlic flavor. If you wish to substitute, use one large, fresh crushed garlic clove or two teaspoons of bottled, minced garlic.

May 4, 2011: Pork Chimichanga Recipe

The last time I made pork spareribs, they didn’t come out very tender. I was disappointed, but I didn’t want all that meat to go to waste. My solution? Cook it again, this time with moisture and additional spices, and turn it into chimichanga meat. This second-time-around meal was very delicious and even my husband, who doesn’t always like very spicy foods, enjoyed this meal.

Chimichangas are a wonderful dish to serve at a Cinco de Mayo celebration. Try them with this creamy guacamole recipe, Spanish rice, and a green salad. Oh – and margaritas, of course!

Feel free to use any leftover meat you have to make this dish. Pork or beef roast works particularly well.

Pork Chimichangas

Leftover, shredded pork or beef, about 3 cups
1 small Russet potato
1 T. olive oil
½ small white onion, minced
2 cloves garlic, peeled and minced
1 t. dried oregano
1 t. ground cumin
1 chile in adobo sauce, finely minced + 1 T. adobo sauce
1 t. apple cider vinegar
½ cup water
Four burrito size flour tortillas
Oil for frying
Velveeta cheese and milk (for sauce)

Clean the potato and prick it with a fork. Microwave until done. When cool enough to handle, peel the potato and finely chop it.

In a large saucepan heated to medium heat, add the olive oil. Toss in the onion and garlic. Cook for about one minute, until the vegetables start to soften. Add remaining ingredients and turn heat to low. Simmer for up to an hour, stirring occasionally and adding water, if necessary.

Place the tortillas in the microwave and heat on high for 1 minute. Divide the meat mixture among the four tortillas; roll up tightly into burritos.

Heat enough vegetable oil in a heavy saucepan to cover the bottom and come up the sides of the pan about one-half to one inch. Heat to medium high then carefully add the burritos. Cook, turning, just until the burritos brown nicely on each side.

Prepare cheese sauce as directed on the Velveeta box.

To serve, place the chimichangas on a bed of shredded lettuce and top with cheese sauce. Serves four.