Recipe Review from 1/24/11

It was a mostly uneventful week, with a quick trip across the state to visit relatives this weekend.  We've been at 0*, then up in the 20's, it's snowed, temps have dropped again, and now, snowing again.  LOVE IT!  Makes for great skiing and snowshoeing and the dogs love to run down on the lake.  Cold, snowy days call for some warm comfort type food:

Quick Black Bean Soup with Corn (Ckng Lght, June 2010)

I needed something quick for supper Sunday evening and I had the ingredients on hand for this soup.  I added onion and celery to the corn saute (a black bean soup with no onion?! tsk!).  After sauteing the corn, onion and celery, I set aside and quickly sauteed some kielbasa slices.  Then added everything back to the pot....except the tomatoes because I completely brain-farted adding those.  It would have helped make the soup a bit thinner had I remembered.  Oh well.  I think I'll be making this again and will add all the ingredients. 

Total: 27 minutes (pretty darn close!)

Yield: (with kielbasa) about 6

Ingredients
Cooking spray
1 cup frozen corn kernels
3 (15-ounce) cans organic black beans, rinsed, drained, and divided
1 1/2 cups fat-free, lower-sodium chicken broth
1 (14.5-ounce) can no-salt-added diced tomatoes, undrained
1 tablespoon chile paste (such as sambal oelek)

3/8 teaspoon salt

1/4 cup 2% reduced-fat Greek-style plain yogurt (such as Fage)

Preparation
1. Heat a Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Coat pan with cooking spray. Add corn to pan, and sauté 4 minutes or until lightly browned, stirring occasionally.

2. Combine 2 cans of beans and broth in a blender; process until smooth. Add bean mixture, remaining can of beans, tomatoes, chile paste, and salt to corn, stirring to combine; bring to a boil. Cover, reduce heat to medium, and simmer 15 minutes, stirring occasionally. Serve with yogurt.

Mexican Chicken Casserole (Ckng Lght, Jan/Feb 2011)

First off, I halved this recipe.  I didn't need a 9x13 pan.  I like leftovers, but that's moving into the waaayyy to much for two people category.  I also omitted the feta cheese. I've been in a bit of a pantry/freezer reduction mode and I just didn't want to be buying more cheese.  Homemade salsa can easily be substituted, but it really wasn't too much work to made it as directed below.  The flavors of the dish turned out nice and bright, and tangy from the jalapeno.  Not to saucy either, which I appreciated.  I served this with some steamed green beans. 

Total: 1 hour, 10 minutes

Yield: 8 servings

Salsa:
8 plum tomatoes, halved and seeded


picture from cookinglight.com



3 garlic cloves, peeled and crushed

1 small onion, peeled and chopped
1 seeded jalapeño pepper, quartered

Cooking spray

1/3 cup chopped fresh cilantro
3 tablespoons fresh lime juice
1/8 teaspoon black pepper

Casserole:
1 cup chopped onion
1 cup fresh or frozen corn kernels
1 cup diced zucchini
1 cup chopped red bell pepper
3 cups shredded cooked chicken breast
1 tablespoon minced garlic
2 teaspoons chili powder
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1 (10-ounce) can green chile enchilada sauce
1 (4-ounce) can chopped green chiles
12 (6-inch) corn tortillas
1 cup (4 ounces) shredded Monterey Jack cheese
1 cup (4 ounces) crumbled feta cheese

Preparation

1. Preheat broiler.

2. To prepare salsa, combine first 4 ingredients on a baking sheet coated with cooking spray. Broil 20 minutes or until charred, stirring once. Remove from oven; cool slightly. Place tomato mixture in a food processor; add cilantro, lime juice, and pepper. Process until smooth. Set aside.

3. Preheat oven to 350°.

4. To prepare casserole, heat a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Lightly coat pan with cooking spray. Add 1 cup onion, corn, zucchini, and bell pepper; sauté 6 minutes or until tender. Add chicken and next 5 ingredients (through green chiles); sauté 2 minutes or until thoroughly heated. Remove from heat.

5. Spread 1/2 cup salsa over the bottom of a 13 x 9-inch baking dish coated with cooking spray. Arrange half of tortillas over salsa. Spoon 2 cups chicken mixture evenly over tortillas. Top with 3/4 cup salsa. Sprinkle with 1/2 cup of each cheese. Repeat layers, starting with remaining tortillas and ending with remaining cheeses. Bake at 350° for 25 minutes until bubbly.

Poached [Cod] with Lemon-Herb Sauce (Ckng Lght Jan/Feb 2011)

Plans for going out for dinner fell through when the roads went snotty toward the end of the working day Friday.  Add in several errands and I was ready to call it a day and just go home.  Problem?  What to have for dinner?  I knew I had the sauce ingredients on hand for this dish - all I needed was the fish.  A quick stop at the meat market confirmed halibut is done till spring, so I picked up some cod instead.  This was the perfect dish for a snowy, late night dinner.  Quick - on the table in under 30 minutes.  Nice bright flavors that I complemented with some steamed green beans and red pepper.  Add a bottle of Pinot Grigio and the recent netflix DVD and it was better than going out.  Recommended.

Ingredients



picture from cookinglight.com



3 tablespoons olive oil

1 1/2 tablespoons chopped seeded jalapeño pepper

1 tablespoon grated lemon rind

1 1/2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice

4 teaspoons chopped fresh cilantro
4 teaspoons chopped fresh parsley
1/2 teaspoon salt
3 lemon sections, finely chopped

6 cups water
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon black peppercorns
2 green onions, coarsely chopped
1 parsley sprig
1 cilantro sprig
4 (6-ounce) halibut fillets [I used 1 lb cod for two people; halibut is no longer available up here]

Preparation
1. Combine first 8 ingredients.

2. Combine water and next 5 ingredients (through cilantro sprig) in a large skillet; bring to a low simmer (180° to 190°). Add fish; cook 10 minutes or until desired degree of doneness. Remove fish from pan with a slotted spoon; drain on paper towels. Serve with sauce.

Sustainable Choice: Halibut is a readily available, sustainable option with mild flavor and firm flesh.