a favorite summer recipe

Cooking Light is a friend of mine with some great ideas. I thought I'd share one of them with you today, because I don't know what else to blog about that won't involve me talking about things that I'm scared of. I need to post a 34 weeks along (*eeeeeeeep* deep breath) post soon, since yesterday marked exactly 34 weeks for me.

So anyway, on to the recipe:

Chipotle Chicken Taco Salad
note: this recipe rates 5 stars on myrecipes.com and on my kitchen table

The creamy dressing mellows the heat from the chiles—and best of all, it can be prepared in less than 30 minutes.

Yield

4 servings (serving size: 2 1/2 cups)

Ingredients

Dressing:

• 1/3 cup chopped fresh cilantro
• 2/3 cup light sour cream
• 1 tablespoon minced chipotle chile, canned in adobo sauce
• 1 teaspoon ground cumin
• 1 teaspoon chili powder
• 4 teaspoons fresh lime juice
• 1/4 teaspoon salt

Salad:

• 4 cups shredded romaine lettuce
• 2 cups chopped roasted skinless, boneless chicken breasts (about 2 breasts)
• 1 cup cherry tomatoes, halved
• 1/2 cup diced peeled avocado
• 1/3 cup thinly vertically sliced red onion
• 1 (15-ounce) can black beans, rinsed and drained
• 1 (8 3/4-ounce) can no-salt-added whole-kernel corn, rinsed and drained

Preparation

To prepare dressing, combine first 7 ingredients, stirring well.

To prepare salad, combine lettuce and remaining ingredients in a large bowl. Drizzle dressing over salad; toss gently to coat. Serve immediately.

Tip: Add a spoonful of adobo sauce for a spicier salad. Kidney or pinto beans also taste great in this dish.

Nutritional Information

Calories: 249 (30% from fat)

Fat: 8.2g (sat 2.8g,mono 2.9g,poly 0.7g)

Protein: 23.3g

Carbohydrate: 25.1g

Fiber: 7g

Cholesterol: 50mg

Iron: 2.2mg

Sodium: 650mg

Calcium: 106mg

David Bonom, Cooking Light, AUGUST 2006

Notes from me:
-I saved the rest of my little can of chipotle peppers in adobo sauce by:
1. blending the rest of the can in my food processor
2. laying out a wax sheet of paper on a cookie sheet
3. and measuring out 1 tbsp portions in little heaps on said paper
4. and freezing them in the freezer.
5. then I put the little lumps in a zip lock freezer bag to use whenever I need some.

-I think it's fun to say 'chipotle peppers in adobo sauce.' Go ahead and try it out.

-In my current gravid state I can't handle a full tbsp of chipotle peppers in adobo sauce, so I use a tsp and it's still nice. So, if you're averse to spicy food this could be a solution for you too.

-If you're looking for sides, serve this with tortilla or corn chips and a watermelon mango fruit salad.


I hope you enjoy this recipe as much as Nick and I do. =)

one of my new favorite recipes:

Back when I was young and dependent I would randomly and authoritatively declare that when I was older and independent I was going to make just the gravy and mashed potatoes the full meal. Nothing else. No greedy meats getting in the way of the goods. Mom would always say "Well you do that Nicole, but for tonight, eat your chicken"... or pork, or whatever greedy meat was in the way.

And then when I was all old and independent (married) I did fix just gravy and mashed potatoes for dinner. I told Nick the story and he seemed to be okay with just the mashed potatoes. (And sometimes he would only eat the potatoes and I was sitting there thinking "what is this crazy doing? doesn't he realize we're having gravy and mashed potatoes? he's leaving out the whole main dish!") I asked him a lot if he was okay with just the potatoes and he's really easy going and he always said yes, but secretly I wondered if he really wanted more.

Then I came across this recipe in Cooking Light and was instantly drawn to the gravy oozing over the picture. I tried it out for Nick's sake and fell in love. I can make gravy from scratch now and I feel so empowered. It might be what I've always wanted to be able to do. Anyway, here is one of my new favorite recipes. And I even like the meat! The recipe does not say to make mashed potatoes, so you have to remember to do that on your own.

Pork Chops with Country Gravy:

Yield: 4 servings (serving size: 1 chop and 1/2 cup gravy)

Ingredients

• 1/4 cup all-purpose flour (about 1 ounce)
• 3/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon dried marjoram
• 1/4 teaspoon dried thyme
• 1/4 teaspoon dried rubbed sage
• 4 (4-ounce) boneless center-cut loin pork chops (about 3/4 inch thick)
• 1 tablespoon butter
• Cooking spray
• 1 1/2 cups 1% low-fat milk

Preparation

Lightly spoon flour into a dry measuring cup; level with a knife. Place flour, salt, dried marjoram, dried thyme, and dried rubbed sage in a shallow dish. Dredge pork in flour mixture, turning to coat; shake off excess. Reserve remaining flour mixture.

Melt butter in a large nonstick skillet coated with cooking spray over medium-high heat. Add pork to pan; cook 2 minutes on each side or until browned. Reduce heat, and cook for 10 minutes or until done, turning pork once. Remove pork from pan; keep warm.

Combine reserved flour mixture and milk in a small bowl, stirring with a whisk until blended. Add milk mixture to pan; place over medium-high heat. Bring to a boil, scraping pan to loosen browned bits. Reduce heat, and simmer 2 minutes or until slightly thickened, stirring constantly. Serve with chops.

Nutritional Information

Calories: 252 (34% from fat)

Fat: 9.6g (sat 4.4g,mono 3.6g,poly 0.8g)

Protein: 28.9g

Carbohydrate: 10.6g

Fiber: 0.3g

Cholesterol: 83mg

Iron: 1.5mg

Sodium: 584mg

Calcium: 142mg

Lorrie Hulston Corvin, Cooking Light, JUNE 2006