Mexican Corn Salad

This recipe was adapted from Skinnytaste.

Very good! A great side dish for a Mexican meal. 

Ingredients: 

• 4 large fresh cobs of corn
• 2 tbsp light mayonnaise
• 2 tbsp fat-free Greek yogurt
• 1/2 tsp chili powder 
• half a lime, juiced
• 1 tbsp minced cilantro
• 2 tbsp onions, minced
• 1/2 cup pepper jack cheese or any white Mexican cheese, grated

Directions:

Boil corn in boiling water for 5 minutes, remove from heat. Cool and then cut corn off the cobb. 
In a large bowl combine mayonnaise, yogurt, chili powder, and lime juice; mix well. Add corn, cilantro, onions and cheese and stir. Serve warm. 

Roasted Veggie Panini with Creamy Chipotle-Lime Dressing

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• This recipe was adapted from Our Best Bites. 
• This was very good and filling. A quick and easy meal.

Ingredients:

• 4 sour dough panini's 
• 8 1-ounce slices Provolone
• 1/2 cup guacamole
• 1 small onion, sliced
• 1 zucchini, sliced
• 1 red pepper sliced
• 1 jar of artichokes, sliced
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• Creamy Chipotle-Lime Dressing:
• 1 cup mayonnaise
• 1/2 cup buttermilk
• 1 1-ounce package Hidden Valley Ranch dressing mix
• 3-4 cloves garlic
• Juice of 1 lime
• 1 tsp of adobo seasoning
• 1/2 cup roughly chopped cilantro (about 1 handful)

In a medium size pan saute veggies in olive oil until tender. During this time mix all the dressing ingredients in a medium size bowl. 

Slice panini's horizontally. Spread each slice with the chipotle-lime dressing. On one side spread the guacamole. Place veggies and 3 slices of Provolone on sandwich. 

I don't have a panini maker so I used a George Forman. This works well. Grill on the Forman for about 8 minutes. 

You could add any veggies. Some add mushrooms and asparagus. I just used what was in my fridge. :)

Zucchini Boats

May add oregano next time. :)


Ingredients:
4 zucchini's sliced in half
Olive oil, 2-3 Tbsp. 
garlic, 1 clove minced
salt and pepper
grape tomatoes
Parmesan

Directions:
Scoop out the center and get rid of seeds. In a small bowl mix garlic, olive oil, salt and pepper. Brush mixture over zucchini. 
Place grape tomatoes down each zucchini. Sprinkle with Parmesan. Bake at 350 for 30 minutes or until zucchini is tender. 

Butternut Squash Riosotto

This recipe is flavorful and rich. Very good! Will defiantly make this again. 

Recipe was adapted from Fine Cooking.

Ingredients:

1 quart (4 cups) chicken broth

1/2 cup dry white wine 

2 Tbs. olive oil 

10 large fresh sage leaves 

4 slices bacon, cut crosswise into thirds 

2 medium shallots, minced (about 1/4 cup) or regular onion

2 cups (1 large butternut) 1/4-inch-diced butternut squash

1-1/2 cups arborio or other risotto rice

1/2 cup freshly grated Parmigiano Reggiano 

Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper 

Directions:

Combine the chicken broth and wine in a small saucepan and set over 

medium heat.In another medium saucepan, heat the oil over

 medium heat. Add the sage leaves and fry, turning once, 

until they’ve turned dark green, about 1 minute total. Don’t brown. 

With a fork, transfer to a plate lined with paper towels to drain.

Put the bacon in the saucepan and cook,stirring occasionally,

until nicely browned, 5 to 7 minutes. Transfer the bacon to the 

plate with the sage.Add the shallots to the saucepan and cook,

stirring with a wooden spoon, until softened, about 1 minute. 

Add the squash and rice and cook, stirring,for 1 minute.

Ladle in enough of the hot broth/wine mixture to just cover the rice. 

Cook, stirring frequently, until the broth is mostly absorbed. 

Add another ladleful of broth and continue cooking, stirring, 

and adding more ladlefuls of broth as the previous additions 

are absorbed, until the rice is tender, about 25 minutes. 

As the risotto cooks, adjust the heat so that it bubbles gently. 

Do not let the broth boil. Add more wine/broth as needed. 

Set aside the nicest looking sage leaves as a garnish.

Crumble the bacon and the remaining sage leaves into the risotto.

 Stir in the Parmigiano. Season to taste with salt and pepper.

 Garnish with a sage leaf. 

Shrimp Taco's

This was adapted from Clean and Delicious.

Made this last night and it was good. A very light and healthy meal. 

Ingredients

• 1 lb of frozen shrimp, defrosted, peeled, & deveined
• 6 oz fat free Greek yogurt or sour cream. I did half sour cream and half ranch dressing. 
• ¼ cup chopped cilantro
• 1 lime, juiced
• 1/2 tsp cayenne pepper or cumin
• ½ a head of cabbage, thinly sliced (about 5 cups)
• 8 corn tortillas
• 4 tsp extra virgin olive oil
• Salt and pepper to taste
• hot sauce, optional

Directions

Heat tortillas over medium heat in a dry skillet until warm and starting to form small brown spots. Set aside on a plate covered with a clean kitchen towel.

Mix yogurt, sour cream or ranch, cayenne or cumin, lime juice, cilantro, & salt in a small bowl, set aside. I added a little hot sauce. :) Thanks Aimee for that suggestion. :)

Heat two teaspoons of olive oil in a medium non-stick skillet and add cabbage. I actually forgot to get cabbage. I am sure it would have been great!  Cook for about four minutes or until the cabbage is just barely wilted.  Season with salt and pepper and set aside.

Sauté shrimp in two teaspoons of olive oil and season with salt, pepper and a dash of cayenne pepper or cumin over medium heat.  I did add about 2-3 Tbsp of lime juice for extra flavor. 

Place a scoop of cabbage on the warmed tortillas taco, then top with shrimp, and cilantro sauce.

Serves 4.

Blueberry Scones with Lemon Sauce

So yummy! This recipe was adapted from http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/tyler-florence/blueberry-scones-with-lemon-glaze-recipe/index.htm

Ingredients

Blueberry Scones:

• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 tablespoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 2 tablespoons sugar
• 5 tablespoons unsalted butter, cold, cut in chunks
• 1 cup fresh blueberries
• 1 cup heavy cream, plus more for brushing the scones

Lemon Glaze:

• 1/4 -1/2 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice
• 1 cups confectioners' sugar, sifted
• 1/2 tablespoon unsalted butter
• 1/2 lemon, zest finely grated

Directions

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.

Sift together the dry ingredients; the flour, baking powder, salt, and sugar. Using 2 forks or a pastry blender, cut in the butter to coat the pieces with the flour. The mixture should look like coarse crumbs. Fold the blueberries into the batter. Take care not to mash or bruise the blueberries because their strong color will bleed into the dough. Make a well in the center and pour in the heavy cream. Fold everything together just to incorporate; do not overwork the dough.

Press the dough out on a lightly floured surface into a rectangle about 12 by 3 by 1 1/4 inches. Cut the rectangle in 1/2 then cut the pieces in 1/2 again, giving you 4 (3-inch) squares. Cut the squares in 1/2 on a diagonal to give you the classic triangle shape. Place the scones on an ungreased cookie sheet and brush the tops with a little heavy cream. Bake for 15 to 20 minutes until beautiful and brown. Let the scones cool a bit before you apply the glaze.

Cook in a small pot or cook it in the microwave. Mix the lemon juice with the confectioners' until dissolved in a heatproof bowl over a pot of simmering water for the double-boiler method, or in a microwave-safe bowl. Whisk in the butter and lemon zest. Drizzle the glaze over the top of the scones. 

Menu Plan 5/23/12 - 5/31/12

It has been a long time since I have posted a menu plan. 
Here it goes. :)


5/23 - BLT's/Cauliflower Augratin (4 WWpts)
5/24 - Chicken Veggie Kabobs/cantaloupe/potato salad
5/25- Pizza
5/26 - Panera's Turkey Artichoke Panini's/pasta salad/fruit
5/27 - Lunch: Shrimp and Grits/snap peas Dinner: Meatball Subs
5/28 - Grilled hamburgers/watermelon/roasted red pepper and eggplant dip
5/29 - Hudson's Tilapia/kale/cous cous
5/30 - Sweet and sour chickent/rice/salad
5/31 - Baked cheesy penne/bread