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Tuesday, May 28, 2013

Tamales with Refried Beans and Tomato Avocado Salsa

I am so lucky to have my mom give me some tamales. If you don't have any tamales, this meal is great with cheese quesedillas as well.

Ingredients:
Tamales (or tortilla and cheese for quesedillas)
Can of pinto beans
2 Tomatoes
1 Avocado
Cilantro
Lime juice
Garlic Salt
Chili Powder

Heat some oil in a pan over medium heat. Add the beans, garlic salt, and chili powder. Mash the beans with a fork or potato masher. Cook until heated through.

Dice the tomatoes and avocado. Top with lime juice, salt, and cilantro.

Serve with tamales or quesedillas.

Salmon Cakes with Brussel Sprouts and Spring Vegetables

One of my health goals is to eat more omega 3 fats...and thus to eat more salmon. But, salmon can be expensive, especially the good stuff. This is a very tasty recipe for canned salmon, which is very economical.

Serves 3

Ingredients:
1 can of salmon
2 Tablespoons of mayonnaise
1 Tablespoon of mustard
4 green onions, chopped
1 clove of garlic, chopped
Squeeze of lemon juice
1/4 cup Italian Bread Crumbs (or crushed crackers, etc). 
Crushed red pepper flakes (to taste)
Bag of frozen buttered brussel sprouts(steam in bag)
Bag of frozen spring vegetables (steam in bag)

Take the salmon out of the can and remove the bones and skin. Place into a bowl. Add the green onion, garlic, bread crumbs, and squeeze of lemon juice. Toss to combine. Add 1 Tablespoon each of mayonnaise and mustard and combine. We are using this combination as a binder for the salmon. Add more if necessary to hold the ingredients together. Form the salmon into patties a little smaller than the palm of your hand. I usually get 6 to 8 salmon patties.

Heat some oil in a pan over medium high heat. Add the salmon patties to the pan. Be careful not to overload the pan because you need room to flip the patties. After about 4 minutes, check to see if the patties have browned. If so, flip and cook until the other side is browned.

While the patties are cooking, heat the frozen vegetables according to directions.

For a great sauce to top your patties, combine 1 Tablespoon mayonnaise with 1 Tablespoon mustard and a squeeze of lemon juice.

Chicken Broccoli Parmesean

I was craving Italian food even though I was doing low carb. You could easily add pasta to this if you want.

Serves 2

Ingredients:
Chicken, cut into bite size pieces (4 ounces per person)
1/2 onion diced
1 large head of broccoli cut into florets
1 clove of garlic, diced
1/2 jar of Spaghetti Sauce
Crushed red pepper flakes
Parmesean cheese (to taste)
2 Tablespoons of pesto sauce (optional)

Season the chicken with salt and pepper and then cook in a pan over medium heat with some oil until no longer pink. Add the broccoli and cook about 2 minutes. Add the garlic, spaghetti sauce, and crushed red pepper flakes. Cook until the chicken is completely done and the broccoli is bright green and tender. When serving, top with pesto sauce and Parmesean cheese if desired.

Chicken Stir Fry with Broccoli

This is part of my low carb program. If you wanted to, you could add rice. You could also use whatever vegetables you like. Stir fry is a great quick and healthy meal.

Ingredients:
Chicken, cut into bite sized pieces (4 ounces per person)
Broccoli, cut into florets, about 2 cups
1/2 onion chopped
1 red bell pepper chopped (or green for a cheaper recipe)
1 bag snow peas
Ginger
Soy Sauce
Red Chili Paste (optional)
Asian dried seasoning (optional)

Season the chicken breast with Asian seasoning. Stir fry the chicken in a little bit of oil over medium high heat until no longer pink. Add the vegetables, ginger, soy sauce, and red chili paste. Cover and cook for four minutes until chicken is cooked through. Serve with rice if desired.


Mediteranean Salad with Chicken

This is my favorite salad with my favorite salad dressing. I use Rotisserie chicken as a quick source of protein that doesn't require preparation. It makes this salad easy for lunch.

Ingredients:
Romaine lettuce
Red onion
Tomato
Cucumber
Rotisserie Chicken

 Dressing Ingredients: (per person)
1 Tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
1/2 Tablespoon lemon juice
Garlic salt (to taste) or 1/2 clove garlic per person
Pepper

Combine all ingredients in a large bowl and enjoy!

Saturday, May 18, 2013

Sopa de Lima and Quesedillas

Sopa de Lima is kind of like tortilla soup. I had it in Mexico and fell in love with it. This is a somewhat modified version, but it is very easy to make and healthy.

Ingredients:
5 long green chiles (You can use any kind of pepper you want depending on how spicy you like to eat: poblano, Anaheim, jalapeno, or even bell peppers. This version is pretty spicy. If you don't like spicy, use only 1 or 2 poblano peppers or bell peppers.)
1/2 large onion
1 can diced tomatoes
1 can black beans (drained and rinsed)
36 ounces of chicken broth
lime juice (3 or 4 limes or about 1/3 cup of juice)
2 cloves of garlic chopped (only 1 clove if you aren't crazy about garlic)
Ground cumin (about 1 teaspoon)
Cilantro
Tortillas
Shredded Mexican blend cheese
Garlic salt
Chili powder

Dice the onion and chiles. Heat a soup pot over medium heat, add a little oil, and saute the onion and chiles until cooked. Add the tomatoes, black beans, and ground cumin. Stir to combine. Then add the chicken broth. Bring to a boil and let cook for 5 to 10 minutes. Remove from heat and add the garlic and lime juice. Let sit about 5 minutes (this will cook but not burn the garlic). Top soup with chopped cilantro.

While the soup is sitting, fill some tortillas with cheese. Add some garlic salt and chile powder to taste. Fold over and warm in a pan until the cheese melts.

Serves 4

Pasta with Brocoli and Pesto

This is a great really simple but healthy meal for when you are strapped for time. If you need some protein, add some canned chicken, tuna, salmon, or rotisserie chicken, or even a can of cannelini beans.

Ingredients:
1 box of pasta (I use the Smart Taste brand for extra fiber and calcium)
1 large head of broccoli, cut into florets
1/2 jar of pesto sauce
Red pepper flakes

Bring salted water to a boil and add pasta. Cook according to package directions, but in the last 2 minutes add the broccoli. Cook until the pasta is done and the broccoli has just turned bright green. Drain. Combine with pesto sauce and add red pepper flakes to taste. This recipe will make enough for great leftovers.