Huevos Rancheros with Queso Fresco- Cooking Light

A savory breakfast for dinner an excellent Cooking Light Find.   This takes less than 20 mins to make because most of it is canned ingredients. I can’t even imagine how tasty this is with freshly made ingredients, the next time I make home made Enchiladas I will be making this dish.  To make this spicy add some hot spices to the salsa or hot sauce.

Ingredients

• 1 (10-ounce) can diced tomatoes and green chiles, undrained
• 1 (10-ounce) can red enchilada sauce
• 1/3 cup chopped fresh cilantro
• 1 tablespoon fresh lime juice
• 2 tablespoons water
• 1 (16-ounce) can pinto beans, rinsed and drained
• Cooking spray
• 4 large eggs
• 4 (8-inch) fat-free flour tortillas
• 1 cup (4 ounces) crumbled queso fresco cheese

Preparation

1. Combine the tomatoes and enchilada sauce in a medium saucepan; bring to a boil. Reduce heat; simmer 5 minutes or until slightly thick. Remove from heat; stir in cilantro and juice. Set aside.
2. Place water and beans in a microwave-safe bowl, and partially mash with a fork. Cover and microwave at HIGH 2 minutes or until hot.
3. Heat a large nonstick skillet coated with cooking spray over medium-high heat. Add eggs; cook 1 minute on each side or until desired degree of doneness.
4. Warm tortillas according to package directions. Spread about 1/3 cup beans over each tortilla; top each tortilla with 1 egg. Spoon 1/2 cup sauce around each egg; sprinkle each serving with 1/4 cup cheese.

Note:Queso fresco is a soft, crumbly Mexican cheese found in the dairy section of large grocery stores or Hispanic markets, but use feta or goat cheese if you prefer.

Cheryl Alters Jamison and Bill Jamison, Cooking Light
JANUARY 2004

Nutritional Information

Amount per serving

• Calories: 340
• Calories from fat: 26%
• Fat: 9.8g
• Saturated fat: 3.2g
• Monounsaturated fat: 2.7g
• Polyunsaturated fat: 1g
• Protein: 15.7g
• Carbohydrate: 37.8g
• Fiber: 6.1g
• Cholesterol: 222mg
• Iron: 2.1mg
• Sodium: 970mg
• Calcium: 153mg

Chipotle Glazed Tilapia with Spicy Pico De Gallo Topping

I’m so excited for this post because this is my own creation!!! Yes, I finally decided to do a little Test Kitchen experiment and loved the results.  This is a fantastic fish recipe for all you spicy food lovers.  So cool, I even get to name this dish..

3 TB of Chili Powder

1 Tsp of Cumin Powder

Salt

Can of Chipotle with Adobe Sauce

For Pico De Gallo-

Grape Tomatoes

Sweet Onions

Cilantro

Avocado

Lime Juice

The Pepper Plant Hot Sauce (do not substitute- as this hot sauce is loaded with lime flavors)  Original Flavor

Season your Tilapia with Chili Pwdr, Cumin and Salt spread with one tsp a layer of the Chipotle Hot sauce on both sides of the fish and let it sit.  Start your Pico De Gallo- chop onions, cilantro, Grape Tomatoes, 1 Avocado about 4 TBS of Lime Juice and 1/4 Cup of The Pepper Plant Hot Sauce, let this marinade in the frig while you cook your fish.  Sauté in Olive oil spray  and top with Pico De Gallo.  For more heat I added an additional spoon of Chipotle Sauce to the fish before topping with pico de gallo.

Beet Salad with Candied Walnuts and Goat Cheese

I’ve been wanting to do a beet salad for awhile now and I found a fantastic recipe at All Recipes.  This is a definite recipe keeper.  I love the creamy goat cheese mixed with the candied walnuts…:)  (click on this picture just to be tempted in making this..)

Ingredients

• 4 medium beets – scrubbed, trimmed and cut in half
• 1/3 cup chopped walnuts
• 3 tablespoons maple syrup
• 1 (10 ounce) package mixed baby salad greens
• 1/2 cup frozen orange juice concentrate
• 1/4 cup balsamic vinegar
• 1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil
• 2 ounces goat cheese

Directions

1. Place beets into a saucepan, and fill with enough water to cover. Bring to a boil, then cook for 20 to 30 minutes, until tender. Drain and cool, then cut in to cubes.
2. While the beets are cooking, place the walnuts in a skillet over medium-low heat. Heat until warm and starting to toast, then stir in the maple syrup. Cook and stir until evenly coated, then remove from the heat and set aside to cool.
3. In a small bowl, whisk together the orange juice concentrate, balsamic vinegar and olive oil to make the dressing.
4. Place a large helping of baby greens onto each of four salad plates, divide candied walnuts equally and sprinkle over the greens. Place equal amounts of beets over the greens, and top with dabs of goat cheese. Drizzle each plate with some of the dressing.

Nutritional Information 

Amount Per Serving  Calories: 347 | Total Fat: 26.1g | Cholesterol: 7mg

Reuben Sandwich

This is such a yummy little gourmet type corned beef sandwich.  The perfect quick lunch at home.  The dressing is delicious!  Sauerkraut…dill pickles…swiss cheese…it’s all good.  I used Russian Rye for the bread.

I nabbed this recipe from Cooking Light

Ingredients

• Dressing:
• 1/4 cup canola mayonnaise
• 1 tablespoon chili sauce
• 2 teaspoons finely minced dill pickle
• 1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
• 1/2 teaspoon grated onion
• Sandwiches:
• 8 (3/4-ounce) slices rye bread
• 3 ounces Swiss cheese, shaved (about 3/4 cup)
• 4 ounces lower-sodium corned beef, thinly sliced (such as Boar’s Head corned beef, top round, cap-off)
• 1 cup organic sauerkraut, drained well

Preparation

1. 1. Preheat broiler to high.
2. 2. To prepare dressing, combine the first 5 ingredients in a small bowl, stirring well.
3. 3. To prepare sandwiches, place bread slices in a single layer on a heavy baking sheet. Broil bread 1 1/2 minutes or until toasted. Turn bread over; broil for 1 minute or until lightly toasted. Remove 4 slices. Divide cheese evenly among remaining 4 slices, sprinkling it over lightly toasted sides. Broil 1 minute or until cheese melts. Spread about 1 1/2 tablespoons dressing over the cheese-coated side of each bread slice; top each serving with 1 ounce corned beef, 1/4 cup sauerkraut, and remaining bread slices. Serve immediately.

Julianna Grimes, Cooking Light
MAY 2012

Nutritional Information

Amount per serving

• Calories: 336
• Fat: 19.9g
• Saturated fat: 5.6g
• Monounsaturated fat: 8.1g
• Polyunsaturated fat: 3.6g
• Protein: 14.7g
• Carbohydrate: 24.2g
• Fiber: 3.4g
• Cholesterol: 40mg
• Iron: 1.9mg
• Sodium: 790mg
• Calcium: 212mg

Broccoli and Cheddar Cheese Soup

I try to get all my green and red vegetables in my diet every week but what I rarely eat is broccoli.  I’m just not a fan of this vegetable at all and yet it is consider the healthiest and most beneficial of them all, so I read.   This is a fantastic broccoli recipe and what better way to eat it than in a soup.  I rarely eat soup but I have taken several attempts at them in the passed.  This is Cooking Light’s recipe, however I did cheat as I’m not a fan of Velvetta processed Cheese so I used in replacement New York Cheddar instead and this came out so good- just add on about 100 calories or so to this dish if you go with regular cheddar.  I really enjoyed this and it will definitely be a repeat for cold days.

If you want to try some other ideas of soups I tried check these out- Clam Chowder, Minestrone, Posole, Chicken Tortilla- for this recipe I add less broth in order to get more of the spiciness to it so do so if you like spice, Chili-Spiced chicken soup and Udon Noodle Soup.  

Ingredients

• Cooking spray
• 1 cup chopped onion
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• 3 cups fat-free, less-sodium chicken broth
• 1 (16-ounce) package broccoli florets
• 2 1/2 cups 2% reduced-fat milk
• 1/3 cup all-purpose flour
• 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
• 8 ounces light processed cheese, cubed (such as Velveeta Light)

Preparation

1. Heat a large nonstick saucepan coated with cooking spray over medium-high heat. Add onion and garlic; saute 3 minutes or until tender. Add broth and broccoli. Bring broccoli mixture to a boil over medium-high heat. Reduce heat to medium; cook 10 minutes.
2. Combine milk and flour, stirring with a whisk until well blended. Add milk mixture to broccoli mixture. Cook 5 minutes or until slightly thick, stirring constantly. Stir in pepper. Remove from heat; add cheese, stirring until cheese melts.
3. Place one-third of the soup in a blender or food processor, and process until smooth. Return pureed soup mixture to pan.

Cooking Light
JANUARY 2002

Nutritional Information

Amount per serving

• Calories: 203
• Calories from fat: 28%
• Fat: 6.3g
• Saturated fat: 4g
• Monounsaturated fat: 1.8g
• Polyunsaturated fat: 0.4g
• Protein: 15.6g
• Carbohydrate: 21.7g
• Fiber: 2.9g
• Cholesterol: 24mg
• Iron: 1.2mg
• Sodium: 897mg
• Calcium: 385mg

Quinoa Salad with Blueberries, Strawberries and Watermelon

I love berry season….the ideas on what to use them for are limitless.   Biting into a nice hard tasty blueberry reminds me how close we are to summer. Maybe I’m just over the teasing that Spring likes to do to us Southern California residents with a nice warm 90 degree day one day and a really cold rainy day the next.  Stop it already, I’m done with you Spring!  I just  like the way Summer heats me up…..  ;)

I found this fantastic recipe from food blogger Gluten Free Goddess, found it through Pinterest. I made some slight changes to it, I used Baby Arugula for my greens and I drizzled the top of this salad with Extra Virgin Olive Oil and Honey to off set the taste of the arugula as the taste of this green is strong for me.  Now Quinoa is incredibly good for you loaded with nutrients click on the link to see its nutritional value and I’ve been trying to find ways to work this very bland tasting grain in my diet.  This recipe adds flavor and depth to this grain.  It’s the perfect snack or light Brunch idea.

Egg White Omelette with Bell Peppers and Mushrooms

This is a low calorie, healthy yet filling breakfast/brunch omelette and it’s so easy and quick to make too. You can substitute the veggies of your liking too- or add in some spinach for more greens in your diet.

To make 1 Omelette

All you do is finely chop up a sweet onion- half of a small or 1/4 of a large, 1 Jalapeño, 1/2 of a Red Bell Pepper, about 4-5 Large Mushrooms of your choice.  Sauté in Olive Oil Cooking spray on a non-stick pan.  Combine 2 Egg White and 1 Full egg in a bowl with 2 tbls of whole milk, two dashes of Dill Weed, pinch of salt and pepper- Mix.  To make it spicy add in some hot salsa to the mixture for an even more tastier version. Once the veggies are soft in texture remove from pan.  Add another addition of Olive Oil Spray to the pan and pour in Egg Mixture let that cook until it is almost dry on top.  Once it is almost cooked through add the veggies and fold over.  Simple, tasty and filling.  You can cut your portion size doown to just two egg whites too.