Taco Salad...An Oldie but a Goodie

Yes...the fridge is STILL not operating at full capacity, so I continue to have to rely on what I have on hand and be minimalistic in what I buy since storage space in the outside fridge is limited.  It's hard to top a meal at Ruth Chris Steakhouse which we enjoyed the evening before, but at John's request and a quick trip to the grocery store, taco salad was served!

As I have mentioned, we really do try to cook healthy - using fresh fruits and vegetables when we can, and when it's not possible or if a shortcut is needed, we look for frozen or canned goods that don't have too many additives etc.  The shorter the list of ingredients, the healthier in general.  And when it comes to meat, for the most part, I just DON'T like ground turkey.  I don't like the color, and I really do think it tastes different.  For those of you who are turkey lovers, can you please tell me how it beats the nutritional value of this lean ground beef?  I truly am open to input...

So, start by browning the beef (or turkey or chicken or whatever you choose) with some chopped onion.  I prefer yellow onion, but all I had was a red one, and that was fine too.  As per the instructions on the taco seasoning packet, once it is browned, add some water (I think 1/2 a cup?) and the seasoning packet and continue to simmer. 

Sometimes I will make Mexican Rice homemade, but I do like the La Preferida brand, found in the ethnic part of the grocery store.

The rest is easy-peasy, and I did take quite a few shortcuts for this time. The toppings for taco salad are limitless.  I like to use chopped peppers, pico de gallo, corn and peppers, black beans, Mexican rice, cheese, avocado slices and a touch of sour cream.  And of course it's not complete without a light sprinkling of tortilla chips.  The key is to use a LOT of lettuce as your base, and then add a very small amount of each ingredient - otherwise you will load up on calories!  Just curious - who prefers shredded lettuce and who prefers regular?  I prefer the shredded for this for sure!

For the peppers and pico de gallo, I cheated and used those already diced compliments of Publix.  Sorry but it's tough to go from being waited on hand and foot to spending tons of time chopping in the kitchen, especially being a bit tired from our long walk and working in the yard!  I used canned black beans as well as canned corn and peppers (both warmed and drained). 

Here is the final result.  Tasty and delicious!  I logged it as 500 calories, but honestly, I think it's less than that, especially because I had a huge base of shredded lettuce on the bottom.

Last Night's Super Yummy Dinner

So...our friendly cooking "competition" really inspired me. 

Paul knows some of the fancy terms, like mirepoix, so when he mentioned it on Saturday night, I remembered that it was what Melissa D'Arabian used when starting off her ribs recipe.  So I decided to make an attempt at a homemade spaghetti sauce recipe, starting with a "mirepoix", which is simply a mix of chopped celery, carrots and onion, sauteed in a touch of olive oil (and/or butter - I did use a bit of both). 

Once the vegetables started to soften, I added in some tomato paste (almost a whole small can), as well as some garlic and fresh basil.  Then I added in a can of diced tomatoes (the kind with basil and oregano flavoring), undrained, as well as a bit of chicken stock.  A healthy dash of red wine and I let it simmer to bring all of the flavors together.  Last but not least, I chopped some spinach into it since I knew the spinach would cook down, and to get rid of some of the leftover spinach I had.

Speaking of leftover spinach, I made a very tasty (and simple) spinach salad to go with it.  Started off by destemming the spinach and placing in a bowl.  Then I hardboiled 2 eggs and crumbled them, as well as using the last of the chopped pecan as a garnish.  Some mandarin oranges completed it, with the exception of a dressing.  I LOVE a hot bacon dressing and decided I could probably figure out how to do this.  I started with some raspberry pecan preserves, olive oil and chopped pecans and used the food processor to blend.  After some internet research, I added in bacon bits (I used artificial), dijon mustard, white wine vinegar and some sugar.  The end result - delish!!!  The perfect complement to a spinach salad.

Next was my chicken.  Lots of leftover chicken from Saturday night, so I sliced it into small, thin pieces.  Put it in an egg wash, then dipped it into a mixture of flour with some dipping sauce and sauteed it all up.  Had it warming in the oven while I finished things up.

Now for the fettucine.  I do love homemade pasta, but obviously that is a bit time consuming, so I used the Bertollini (I think that's the brand) refrigerated fettucine.  It is SO much lighter than boxed pasta - a bit more expensive and I have not come across a whole grain option yet, but it was light and tasty.

And last but not least, a bruschetta with the bread that I never used Saturday night.  I warmed it, topped it with a light spread of garlic, then on some pieces I added fresh diced tomatoes.  But since most of our family are non-tomato lovers, I left them off on most.  A sprinkling of parmesan cheese, and we have a simple but tasty bread dish.

Since it looks like our refrigerator will now not be fixed until THURSDAY, I have to keep being creative in using up leftovers and using what we have.  Thankfully that only means figuring out meals for tonight and tomorrow night since Wednesday night is trivia, but it has been SO frustrating.  Tonight is definitely a leftover night, and I think I will defrost some chicken for tomorrow and continue to use what we have on hand, hoping my creative juices will flow!

Got Back on that Grill!

After the scary fire the other night, I have been a little hesitant to grill.  I definitely did the salmon in the oven because I was very scared that the teriyaki sauce would increase my chances of another fire.  But I had to look fear in the face and do my thing, and I'm glad I did!  Tonight's menu was Grilled Chicken Drummettes, Roasted Broccoli, Leftover Cauliflower "Potatoes" and a Summer Salad based on something called "Fire and Ice."

Of course the first thing to do is start to marinate the meat, so again, having this blog is helping me remember what I put into the marinade because I took a quick pic.  I used some light salad dressings, basil, garlic, red onion, and two different spice blends - one that was called "Citrus and Tangy" and one that was "Asian".  Also added in a touch of rice wine vinegar and some of my favorite Soy Vey teriyaki sauce.

From there, marinated the drummettes, making sure they were all coated for the best flavors.

I just love broccoli, but get bored with the usual steaming of it, so I googled a recipe and played around with it.  After chopping the broccoli into large florets, I put together a mixture of olive oil and garlic and tossed the broccoli in that.  I roasted it for 10 minutes at 400 - the recipe called for 20 minutes at 425, but that just seemed like overkill.  While it was cooking, I put together a mixture of lemon zest, lemon juice, parmesan cheese, basil, and the last bit of the herbed goat cheese I used for the figs Thursday night.  It also called for roasted pine nuts; I didn't have any so went to roast some sliced almonds but missed out on the timer so the nuts didn't make it!  Topped with bread crumbs and cooked it for the 10 minutes or so and final result on right.  Tasted great and I will keep on playing around with it.

Somehow no one in our family except for me likes tomatoes, so this one was just for me!  My next door neighbor had given me some delicious FRESH tomatoes - the kind you can just inhale the smell.  I chopped them into quarters, added in some cucumber pieces (peeled first) and the balsamic onions from the other night.  That's all this needed, along with 1/2 hour or so for the flavors to blend.  SUMMERY and FRESH!

Then it was time to grill.  I made sure the grill stayed on medium heat, and kept my eyes on it for signs of smoking.  These drummettes are small, so just 6 minutes per side cooked them perfectly with a bit of a crunch, but not a burn!

In an effort to cut back on carbs, we served up the cauliflower mashed "potatoes" again, topping with new chives, and here was our tasty dinner.  Quick and easy too!