Recipe Review from 4/23/2012

A busy, busy week both at work and home:  had the usual yoga classes, then add in bookgroup dinner with a friend, and hour and forty minute vet appointment (hounds are fine, wallet is not; it was a preventative check-up) and then Husband came home from Ohio on Friday.  

Tex-Mex Rice Bowl  (Ckng Lght April 2012)

OMGoodness!  This was good!  And so easy too. Okay - my deviations: I pre-cooked a batch of brown rice earlier in the day and set aside using Cooks Illustrated's oven baked method.  I subbed turkey for the sirloin, added a cup of chopped onion, and used some regular picante sauce I had on hand.  Topped my bowl off with a dollup of sour cream and I could have eaten the whole. damn. pan.  Seriously.  Double check the taco seasoning - this should be GF.

8 ounces ground sirloin  turkey

Photo from CookingLight.com

1 (8.8-ounce) pouch precooked brown rice (such as Uncle Ben's)

1/4 cup water  (oops! missed this, but yet, never noticed till typing this out!)

1 1/2 tablespoons 40%-less-sodium taco seasoning (such as Ortega)

1/2 cup frozen whole-kernel corn

1 (15-ounce) can black beans, rinsed and drained

1 cup fresh pico de gallo (I used Pace picante sauce, medium heat)

1 jalapeño pepper, minced

4 teaspoons chopped fresh cilantro

Avocado-Butter Lettuce Salad

Sour cream

1. Heat rice according to directions.

2. Heat a large skillet over medium-high heat. [Cook onion until just starting to soften] Add beef turkey; cook 3 minutes or until done, stirring to crumble. Add jalepeno; Stir in 1/4 cup water and taco seasoning; bring to a simmer. Stir in corn, rice and beans; [add picante sauce] and cook 1 minute or until heated. Stir in rice. Top with pico de gallo and jalapeño. Sprinkle with cilantro.  Serve with a dollup of sour cream. 

Robin Bashinsky, Cooking Light
APRIL 2012

Chai Banana Bread

I made myself a treat this past week!  The blurb on the article warned that the spices could be a bit "adult" in taste, but I used a chai blend that I already had on hand and I thought it was perfect.  A nice change of pace to the usual cinnamon and nutmeg.  The cardamom definitely adds some nice background notes to the sweetness of the banana.  I'll be making this again.

1/3 cup plain fat-free yogurt

1 1/2 cups mashed ripe banana (about 3)  

Photo from CookingLight.com

5 tablespoons butter, melted

2 large eggs

1/2 cup granulated sugar

1/2 cup packed brown sugar

10 ounce all-purpose flour (2 1/4 cups)

3/4 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon salt

3/4 teaspoon ground cardamom

1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/4 teaspoon ground ginger

1/4 teaspoon ground allspice

1 1/4 teaspoons vanilla extract, divided

Cooking spray

1/3 cup powdered sugar

1 1/2 teaspoons 1% low-fat milk   skipped.  Really not necessary. 

1. Preheat oven to 350*

2. Combine first 4 ingredients in a bowl; beat with a mixer at medium speed just until blended. Add sugars; beat at medium just until blended.

3. Weigh or spoon flour into dry measuring cups. Combine flour, soda, and salt. Add flour mixture to banana mixture; beat just until blended.

4. Combine cardamom and next 3 ingredients. Stir 1 1/2 teaspoons spice mixture and 1 teaspoon vanilla into batter. Pour into a 9 x 5-inch loaf pan coated with cooking spray. Bake at 350° for 65 minutes or until a wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool 10 minutes in pan on wire rack. Remove from pan; cool.

5. Combine remaining spice mixture, remaining vanilla, powdered sugar, and milk. Drizzle over bread.  Skipped.

Maureen Callahan, Cooking Light
MAY 2012