January 17, 2012: Healthy Stuffed Bell Peppers Recipe

Last year I shared a Spicy Stuffed Bell Pepper recipe with you. This year, when I’m concerned with calories, I decided to redo that recipe and make it healthier. Here’s what I came up with which, by the way, my husband loved (and he’s not counting calories!).

Healthy Stuffed Bell Peppers

½ cup brown rice

4 medium-sized green bell peppers

1 pound ground chicken breast

1 T. red bell pepper, minced

1 clove garlic, minced (divided)

2 green onions, minced (divided)

1 ½ T. green chile, minced (divided)

1/3 cup canned corn, drained

½ t. each: oregano, garlic salt, paprika, dried parsley, black pepper, dried cilantro and cumin powder

1 can condensed cheese soup (divided)

¼ cup fat free half and half

In a saucepan, bring 1 ½ cups water to boil. Add half cup brown rice. Cover and simmer on low for 45 minutes. Remove from heat.

Remove the cap of the green peppers and clean out seeds and membranes inside. Cut a thin slice off the bottom of each, if necessary, to make them stand up straight (good posture for peppers, ha!). Spray a baking pan with cooking spray and stand peppers within.

In a skillet sprayed with cooking spray, cook ground chicken over medium heat. Add red bell pepper, half of the minced garlic, the white parts of the green onion, and half of the green chile. Sauté for another two minutes, until veggies are soft. Add corn, rice, seasonings and ¼ cup of the cheese soup. The rice should have a small amount of unabsorbed water in the bottom of the pan; if not add a tablespoon of water to mixture to chicken mixture to thin it a bit.

Stuff each pepper with one quarter of the chicken/rice mixture. Cover the baking pan tightly with aluminum foil. Bake at 350 degrees for about one hour, until bell peppers are soft.

While the peppers are cooking, mix together remaining cheese soup, reserved vegetables and half and half. Microwave on high for 1 to 2 minutes, until heated through.

To serve, place one pepper on a plate and spoon a quarter of the warm cheese sauce over the top. Goes great with a hot bowl of soup or a crisp, fresh green salad.

Serves 4 with 349 calories, 11 grams of fat and 761.5 mg of sodium each serving.

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).

December 24, 2011: New Mexican Chalupas Recipe

Here’s another perfect winter dish that feeds a lot of people and fills them up quickly. The best part about this recipe is that you can throw the ingredients together in the morning and let it cook all day long, until the meat and beans are melt-in-your-mouth tender. Served with a salad and flour tortillas, it’s a complete meal with little fuss and muss.

Chalupas

One 3-pound pork roast (any variety; even tough cuts become tender)

1 T. vegetable oil

1 small white or yellow onion, chopped

2 cloves garlic, minced

1 t. oregano

1 T. ground cumin

1 t. salt

1 16-ounce can tomatoes

2 14-ounce cans chicken broth

2 small cans green chiles (or 1 cup fresh/frozen chiles, diced)

1 pound dry pinto beans, rinsed

¼ t. powdered red chile

6 quarts water

Shredded cheddar cheese, sour cream, chopped green onions, black olives and salsa for garnish (any or all optional)

Trim and discard excess fat from pork. Heat the oil in a Dutch oven to medium; add pork and brown on all sides. Add onion and garlic and sauté for a couple minutes. Add remaining ingredients (up to garnishes). Bring to a boil then cover, reduce heat and simmer for 3 to 6 hours, stirring often (you can also placed the covered pot in a low oven for the same amount of time).

Before serving, remove pork roast and shred into bite-size pieces. Return to pot. Spoon pork mixture onto tostada shells and top with garnishes, or serve with flour tortillas or corn chips on the side.

Serves 12 – 16

December 12, 2011: Crock Pot Chicken and Potatoes Recipe

Here’s another easy way to cook the ever popular chicken in the crock pot. Especially during these hectic weeks around Christmas and New Year’s, it’s a real blessing to be able to put dinner in the crock pot in the morning and come home at night to a fully cooked meal.

All the ingredients in the crock pot, ready to cook all day on low.

Crock Pot Chicken and Potatoes

1 T. olive oil

6 – 8 garlic cloves, peeled

1 medium-sized yellow or white onion, cut into big chunks

2 large white potatoes, peeled and cut into large chunks

2 t. fresh rosemary, coarsely chopped

2 large bone-in, skin-on chicken breasts

2 T. butter

1 t. dried sage

½ t. paprika

½ t. garlic salt

¼ t. cumin

1 t. Montreal Chicken Seasoning (McCormick Grill Mates)

Set your crock pot heat to high. Add the olive oil, garlic cloves, onions, potatoes and fresh rosemary. Place the chicken breasts, skin side up, on top of the vegetables. Melt the butter and add the seasonings. Pour over the top of the chicken; sprinkle with Montreal Chicken Seasoning. Cover the crock pot and reduce heat to medium. Cook for 5 – 6 hours (or 7 – 8 hours on low).

Optional: Just before serving, heat a skillet to medium high. Add the chicken breasts, skin side down. Cook for a minute or so, just until skin crisps up.

Variation: For something a bit different, use yams in place of white potatoes and a Vidalia (sweet) onion in place of yellow or white onion.

Serve chicken over vegetable mixture and add a green vegetable, such as peas or green beans, for a complete meal.

Serves 4

December 6, 2011: Crispy Baked Cod Recipe

Although my husband’s favorite fish is battered and deep fried, every now and then I try to make a slightly healthier version. I wouldn’t call this recipe low fat by any means, but because it’s baked instead of fried, it’s marginally healthier – but oh so tastier! I served it with a spicy bottled remoulade dipping sauce, alfredo noodles, and peas with mushrooms for a complete dinner. By the way, if the ingredients look familiar, it’s because the breading is the same basic recipe I used to make Crunchy BakedParmesan Chicken.

Crispy Baked Cod

1/3 cup mayonnaise

1 t. olive oil

2 garlic cloves, finely minced

½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

½ t. garlic salt

1 pound cod fillets

¾ cup panko bread crumbs

1 T. flour

1/2 teaspoon each: dried parsley, sage, garlic salt and oregano

1/4 teaspoon each: cumin, black pepper, cayenne pepper

Combine mayonnaise, oil, garlic, pepper and salt. Refrigerate for at least an hour, preferably several hours to overnight, to allow flavors to meld.

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Prepare a broiler pan by placing foil in the bottom pan and spraying the broiler rack with nonstick cooking spray.

Rinse the cod fillets and pat dry. Cut into fourths, if necessary, to make four even-sized pieces. Place the pieces on the broiler rack. Smear a fourth of the mayonnaise mixture on top of each fish piece. Combine bread crumbs, flour and spices; sprinkle a fourth of the mixture on top of each piece of fish. Gently pat the crumbs into place.

Bake in preheated oven for 15 minutes. Turn heat to broiler and broil fish fillets for about 3 – 5 minutes, until the crumb topping is browned.

Serves 4