Corn Salsa with Lime

So this corn salsa from Gina is much like the Roasted Corn, Black Bean and Mango salad I made previously.  Obviously there are some added ingredients in the later, but the prep is much the same.  This particular corn salsa is like that of Chipotle’s corn salsa.  Sadly I must say that I wish I had made Chipotle’s recipe.  This recipe isn’t bad by any means.  It’s still tasty.  We actually ate it as a side along the crab cakes.  Later that week, I also used some of the leftovers of this corn salsa on top of some baked tilapia.  It’s just my recommendation, however, that you select the Roasted Corn recipe above or the Chipotle recipe above.

The recipe also calls to make 6 cups, which I could never have consumed in our household, so our recipe below is halved.

Source: Gina's Weight Watcher Recipes
Servings: 3

Ingredients
2 cups (10 oz) cooked sweet yellow corn, cut
1 vine ripe tomatoes, diced
1/4 red onion, diced
1/2 scallion, diced
1 jalapeño, diced (remove seeds unless you like it really spicy)
1 tbsp chopped cilantro
3/4 limes, juice of
chipotle chili powder, to taste
salt and fresh pepper to taste

Directions
Combine all the ingredients and refrigerate for about an hour. Makes about 3 cups.

Surf and Turf Salad

Trying to eat light is a much more frequent thing in our household.  Sure you’ll still see me make sweets, but we are making an effort to eat less meat and increase the amount of veggies and fruits that we eat.  Spotting this recipe in Rachael Ray’s 30 Minute Get Real Meals was perfect to add to my shopping list!  We both truly enjoyed this recipe and the salad dressing is really great!

Ingredients

2 large cloves garlic, minced
1 inch fresh ginger root, peeled and minced or grated
3 tablespoons Tamari (dark aged soy sauce)
1 teaspoon ground coriander (1/3 palmful)
2 teaspoons ground cumin
1 teaspoon turmeric
1/2 teaspoon ground cayenne pepper
1 tablespoon grill seasoning, such as McCormick brand Montreal Steak Seasoning
1 lemon, zested
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil (EVOO), plus some for drizzling
1 1/2-2 pounds flank steak
1 bunch scallions
16 medium shrimp, peeled, tails removed and deveined
Salt and pepper
1 teaspoon red pepper flakes
2 hearts of Romaine, chopped
4 ounces baby spinach leaves
1/4 cup flat leaf parsley (a couple handfuls), chopped
1/2 red onion, chopped

Dressing:
1 lemon, juiced
2 tablespoons tomato paste
2 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce
3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil (EVOO)
Salt and pepper
Directions

Pre-heat a tabletop grill, grill pan, or outdoor grill to high.

Combine the first 10 ingredients in a shallow dish. Coat flank steak in mixture and reserve for 10-15 minutes.

Trim ends and one inch of tops off of the scallions. Drizzle EVOO over both the scallions and the shrimp and season with salt, pepper and red pepper flakes. Grill scallions and shrimp for two minutes on each side. Remove from grill and reserve.

Place flank steak on grill pan and cook 3-4 minutes on each side. Remove the meat to a plate, tent with foil, and let juices settle for five minutes.

Combine greens, red onion and parsley leaves on a large platter or individual plates. Cut reserved scallions into 1-inch pieces. Scatter over greens and then evenly distribute the grilled shrimp over the greens.  In a small bowl mix the lemon juice, tomato paste, and Worcestershire sauce and whisk in three tablespoons EVOO. Season the dressing with salt and pepper and drizzle it back and forth over the arranged greens and scallions and shrimp. Slice the steak very thinly against the grain on an angle with a sharp knife and arrange it over the salad.

Chipotle-Glazed Chicken Breast and Grilled Chopped Veggie Salad

I’ve actually made this recipe once before, but it was pre-Krista Kooks time.  I was actually in college when I made this.  In fact, the first time I made this recipe, it was not NEARLY as good or as pretty :)  As I prepared this recipe the 2nd time around, I kept asking myself, “What were you doing when you made this before?”  Haha!  I kept remembering how silly I was before in how I prepared it.

Nonetheless, we loved the slight spice this chicken has against the very fresh tasting salad.  Best of all, this is a great good-for-you recipe!  Here’s another Rachael Ray Get Real meal! Ingredients

5 tablespoons vegetable oil, plus some for drizzling
1/2 small yellow onion, chopped
3 garlic cloves, chopped
2 tablespoons tomato paste
2 tablespoons honey
2 chipotle peppers in adobo sauce, finely chopped
1/4 cup plus 3 tablespoons cider vinegar
1 cup chicken stock or broth
1 medium zucchini sliced lengthwise into 1/2 inch slices
1 medium yellow squash, sliced lengthwise into 1/2 inch slices
1 red bell pepper, cut in half, cored, and seeded
1 Granny Smith apple, cored and sliced into 1/2 inch rings
4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts (6 ounces each)
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 16-ounce sack of coleslaw mix (on the produce aisle)
2 rounded tablespoons honey mustard, such as Guilden's Spicy Honey Mustard
1 1/2 teaspoons ground cumin (half a palmful)
2 rounded tablespoons sour cream or plain yogurt

Preheat a grill pan or charcoal grill to high.

To make the chipotle glaze, in a small saucepot heat about 2 tablespoons of the vegetable oil over medium-high heat.  Add the onion and garlic; cook for about 2 minutes, stirring frequently. Add the tomato paste, honey, chipotles, and 1/4 cup cider vinegar, and cook for 1 minute. Add the chicken stock and cook for 10 minutes, or until glaze has thickened. Reserve the sauce on low heat.

While the chipotle glaze is cooking, season the sliced veggies, apple, and chicken breasts with salt and pepper. Drizzle with a generous amount of vegetable oil. Place the veggies, apple, and chicken on the grill. The veggies should be cooked in 3 to 4 minutes per side, or until they are well marked by the grill, then remove to cook slightly. The chicken should be cooked for 6 minutes per side. For the last 2 minutes of cooking time, baste the chicken using a pastry brush with the thickened chipotle glaze. Both sides of the chicken should be well coated with the glaze. Remove the chicken from the grill to rest while you put the rest of the grilled chopped veggie salad together.

Chop the cooled veggies into bite-size pieces and transfer to a salad bowl.  Add the coleslaw mix. In a small bowl whisk together the honey mustard, cumin, and the remaining 3 tablespoons of cider vinegar; stream in the remaining 3 tablespoons of vegetable oil while you continue to whisk the dressing. Stir in the sour cream or yogurt. Season the dressing with salt and pepper. Pour the dressing over the veggies and toss to coat.

Slice the chicken breasts on an angle and serve them on top of a mound of the salad.

Sun-Dried Tomato Salad Dressing

When the sous chef and I got married 2 years ago (March 22nd is our anniversary!), one of the salad dressings at our wedding was Sun-Dried Tomato Vinaigrette.   Here’s a couple pics from that lovely buffet :)Photo Credit: Exceed Photo

Caterer: Behind the Bash

Venue: Briscoe Manor

While I don’t expect to ever be able to match the delicious dressing the chef made, I did try to make something similar because my sous chef LOVES it!  This recipe for Sun-Dried Tomato Salad Dressing was a pretty good one, and I even made it for my in-laws the next time we went to see them.

It’s somewhat difficult to give you a good picture to accurately represent just how delicious this salad dressing is, but all I can do is try for you :)

Serving Size: About 1 cup

Ingredients:
1/2 cup tomato juice
3 tablespoons olive oil
1/4 cup red wine vinegar
1 1/2 teaspoon cracked pepper
1 clove garlic, minced
2 tablespoons minced basil leaves
2 tablespoons minced sun-dried tomatoes
Salt to taste

Directions:

Put all ingredients in a shaker bottle, and shake well. Drizzle over salad.

Roasted Corn, Black Bean and Mango Salad

Party

In

My

Mouth!

I wish I had discovered this before our wedding because I would have asked Behind the Bash to serve it. This fabulous salad recipe tastes so fresh yet has a kick of spice and some crunch from the onions and bell pepper. As my sous chef and I sat down to dinner to eat the Caribbean Chicken with this fab side dish, he laughed at me as I could not stop ohhhhh-ing and awwww-ing about how delicious this was. Unless you are allergic to some part of this recipe, you must make it! Whatever it is you are allergic to, leave it out and make it anyway. I'm serious!

Ingredients

2 teaspoons canola oil (Krista Kooks just used olive oil)
1 clove garlic, minced
1 1/2 cups corn kernels (from 3 ears) (Krista Kooks used frozen corn)
1 large ripe mango (about 1 pound), peeled and diced
1 15-ounce or 19-ounce can black beans, rinsed
1/2 cup chopped red onion
1/2 cup diced red bell pepper (Krista Kooks used green bell pepper)
3 tablespoons lime juice
1 small canned chipotle pepper in adobo sauce (see Ingredient Note), drained and chopped
1 1/2 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro
1/4 teaspoon ground cumin
1/4 teaspoon salt

Directions

Heat oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add garlic and cook, stirring, until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Stir in corn and cook, stirring occasionally, until browned, about 8 minutes. Transfer the corn mixture to a large bowl. Stir in mango, beans, onion, bell pepper, lime juice, chipotle, cilantro, cumin and salt.

Ingredient Note: Chipotle peppers are smoked jalapenos with a fiery taste that are canned in adobo sauce. Look for them in the Hispanic section of large supermarkets and in specialty stores. Are you making this yet? If not, why are you still at the computer?! Get up! Go make this now!

Baby Red Potato Salad

It's been a while ago, but one night I decided I would make a healthier 'meat and potatoes' dish for my sous chef. When I think healthy, I think Gina. :) Thus, I decided to try her Baby Red Potato Salad as a side for our steaks.

You should definitely have a look at her posting of this salad as I let our potatoes cook too long, thus mine have a mushier texture. Personally, I like potatoes that way, even in potato salad, so it wasn't a problem for us. However, I can imagine that most people would probably like them much better as Gina made them since they weren't so mushy.

That said, these were a yummy and refreshing side!

Grilled Chicken Salad with Caesar Dressing

Last night, we had our friends Kevin and Melissa over for dinner, and I decided to make some salad. Yea, it was pretty simple. A year ago, when I really started cooking out of Rachel Ray's cookbooks, I began making salad dressings from scratch (per the recipes), and they've always been so much better than Kraft or anything else.

So, I browsed through http://www.foodnetwork.com/ for one of her dressings, and I found this one. Now, I only used the dressing in this recipe. Henry bought some great lettuce mixes at HEB, and I tossed those with this dressing, Parmesan cheese, and croutons. I top the salad with grilled chicken. I used a meat tenderizer to flatten out some boneless skinless chicken breasts, seasoned them with salt, pepper, and a dash of Pampered Chef Chipotle Rub.

I will say that fresh lemon juice in these types of salad dressing really makes a difference. Spring for the lemons!

I know this sounds really healthy and all, and no doubt it was tasty, but don't worry. We followed it with the remainder of the top layer of Henry and I's red velvet wedding cake!