At-home Southwest Chicken

Aside a massive (turkey) burger) or swimming in garlicky dressing, I love salad, but without all the bad stuff it usually just awakens my appetite, rather than suppressing it. That said, a salad which is massive, filling, healthy, affordable, and my go to meal in airports is (surprisingly) McDonald's Southwest Chicken Salad. It's pretty affordable (especially compared to other airport options), filling, and with grilled chicken it's healthy (the chicken has this delicious glaze that pretty much takes the place of dressing).

Conveniently, my love for mexican flavors (and Nachos in particular) means I tend to have most of these items on hand in my refrigerator. My other gripe is meals that take too long (marinating and cooking, etc) and too many ingredients. So, I put together some of the components and whipped up a tasty meal that was done in 5 minutes, tasted great, and was only 360 calories to boot!

Ingredients:
- "Chicken" - Morningstar Farms Meatless Buffalo Wings (altho Trader Joe's Frozen Chicken Strips would also work well)
- 1/8 - 1/4 cup shredded cheddar
- 2 tbs fresh pico de gallo salsa
- 1-2 tbs ranch dressing (I used Kraft Fat-Free Ranch)
- 1/4 c Black Beans
- 1-1 1/2 c Chopped Romaine Lettuce

(optional toppings - crumbled tortilla chips, sour cream, guacamole/chopped avocado, lime wedge)

Microwave "chicken" as directed by package. Chop into small pieces. Combine with other ingredients in bowl. Mix. Eat. Delicious.

Turkey Burgers

Nothing is more satisfying in the summer than a deliciously grilled burger, although with a Foreman grill you can enjoy these any time of year. As a non-beef eater, I make my burgers with turkey, which need thorough seasoning. This is a basic mix which makes a flavorful but not overpowering patty that matches any number of toppings.

1 lb ground turkey (lean but not 99% gives a moist but healthy burger)
1 tbs McCormick's Barbeque seasoning
1/2 tsp Spike seasoning (available in health food stores, but can use seasoned salt or omit instead)
1/2 tsp Poultry seasoning
1/2 tsp Chili powder
1/3 tsp crushed garlic (or garlic powder)
1 egg

Preheat Foreman grill (grill pan, or frying pan) to high heat.
Mix and spoon one tbs onto pan to form a mini patty. Cook a few minutes and taste for flavor. Adjust seasonings to taste. Form mix into 4-5 equal sized patties.
Grill on each side 2-3 minutes until juices run clear (insert knife at an angle to pierce patty until juices run)

And now for the toppings...some of my favorites:

* Wilted spinach, sauteed onions, fried egg, and havarti cheese

* Mayonaise flavored with chili powder, Cheddar cheese, and guacamole

* Cheddar cheese and sauteed onions

A twist on a good thing: Cornmeal Crusted Mango Salmon

I like to think of this as a twist on Teriyaki salmon, since it mixes in a sweet flavor. The idea comes from Sunny Anderson from the Food Network with a few changes...

Ingredients:
1 can mango nectar
2-4 salmon fillets
1/2 cup flour
1/2 cup cornmeal
1 tbs butter
2 tbs olive oil
2 tsp sugar
2 tsp salt
salt & pepper to taste

1. With a sharp knife, scrape skin from salmon (if too difficult, or if you like skin, you can also leave on)
2. Place salmon in a bowl, season both sides with salt & pepper, pour in mango nectar to cover
3. Marinate at least 30 minutes
4. In a plate, mix flour, cornmeal, sugar, salt
5. Dredge front and back of salmon in cornmeal mixture
6. Heat olive oil and butter at medium high to high heat (watch butter does not burn)
7. Cook salmon for 4-8 minutes depending on thickness, flipping to cook each side.

Enjoy!

This goes great with garlic mashed potatoes and you can try a trick that Sunny uses to get more flavor in: boil a few cloves of garlic (2-3 per large potato) in the water with the potatoes as they cook. Then mash the garlic up together with the potatoes.

Want to try this! ~ Also, Sunny serves it with garlic mashed potatoes, which she makes by boiling garlic cloves in the water with the potatoes! Yum :)

Caponata

This is a delicious way to cook veggies and is extremely versatile too. It can be used as a meaty yet meatless filling for a veggie lasagna, a saucy topping for pasta, or just plain or as a side salad.

Ingredients:

Veggies - Caponata is usually a mix of veggies and eggplant, but for this, you can make any combination of eggplant, zucchini (or squash), bell peppers, and even maybe spinach. It's a great way to buy whatever is cheap and cook it up. A good start is 1 regular eggplant, 1-2 zucchini and 1/2 each 1 red pepper and 1 green pepper.

1 can (14-16 oz) Diced Tomatoes - I also use tomatoes, which you could chop up and stew, but I usually end up using canned diced tomatoes (in the winter, because regular tomatoes aren't in season, and in the summer, cause it's so quick and easy this way). You want to avoid the seasoned kind (which can taste a little too sweet, but if you have to get seasoned, get the Italian flavoring).

1/2 onion
Garlic
Olive oil
Balsamic Vinegar
Salt
Pepper

1. Dice your veggies into 1/2 inch cubes. Sprinkle with salt (esp. eggplant & zucchini).
2. Mince garlic & dice onion.
3. Heat a few tbs of olive oil and sautee garlic and onion until translucent.
4. Sautee eggplant for a minute or two, add peppers and zucchini, cook until tender and browned (a fork should go easily through these).
5. Add can of tomatoes, 1/4 can of water, and a few good shakes of balsamic vinegar. Salt & pepper to taste.
6. Decrease heat and simmer for 20 minutes or until reduced and tender.

Enjoy!

When eating it plain or over pasta, I like a little cheese on top. Grated parmesan is the best.

Recipes to try: Drunken Shrimp

I HATE The Neely's from Food Network, but they are cooking a combination of a few great standbys that I bet taste even better together: beer and shrimp! Then they serve it with another great combination: cocktail and barbeque sauce!

Almost as easy as Shrimp Cocktail...you basically just dump the ingredients into a pot and boil the shrimp -- simple!

Can't wait to try it :)

Ingredients

• 2 (12-ounce) bottles lager style beer (recommended: Budweiser)
• 1 cup water
• 1/4 cup apple cider vinegar
• 2 onions, quartered
• 1 garlic clove, smashed
• 1 tablespoon Neelys Seasoning Rub, plus more for garnish, recipe follows
• 1 tablespoon crab boil seasoning (recommended: Old Bay)
• 2 bay leaves
• 3 whole peppercorns
• 1 lemon, quartered
• 1 tablespoon hot sauce
• 2 pounds large shrimp, peeled and deveined
• Lemon wedges, for garnish
• BBQ Cocktail Sauce, for garnish, recipe follows

Directions

Add all ingredients, except shrimp and garnishes to a large saucepan on high heat. Bring to a boil for 10 minutes. Reduce the heat to low. Add the shrimp and cook until bright pink, about 5 minutes. Drain the shrimp from the cooking liquid and place in a serving dish. Chill or eat while warm, sprinkled with the dry rub before serving alongside Cocktail Sauce.

Neelys BBQ Seasoning:

• 1 1/2 cups paprika
• 3/4 cup sugar
• 3 3/4 tablespoons onion powder

Add all ingredients to a bowl and stir until combined. Keep in an airtight container for up to 6 months.

BBQ Cocktail Sauce:

• 1/2 cup Neelys Barbecue Sauce, recipe follows
• 1/2 cup prepared horseradish
• 1/2 cup ketchup
• 1 lemon, juiced
• Dash hot sauce

Mix all ingredients in a small bowl. Cover and refrigerate until use.

Neelys BBQ Sauce

• 2 cups ketchup
• 1 cup water
• 1/2 cup apple cider vinegar
• 5 tablespoons light brown sugar
• 5 tablespoons sugar
• 1/2 tablespoon fresh ground black pepper
• 1/2 tablespoon onion powder
• 1/2 tablespoon ground mustard
• 1 tablespoon lemon juice
• 1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce

In a large saucepan, combine all ingredients. Bring mixture to a boil, reduce heat to a simmer. Cook uncovered, stirring frequently, for 1 hour 15 minutes.

Yield: 3 1/2 cups

Quesadillas 3 ways!

There are many ways to make a delicious quesadilla and here are a few different ways I fold them to make them super delicious.

Foreman Grill


The first is a clean and easy no brainer. It works for semi cold ingredients, or you can warm them on this first, before you throw on the tortilla.

1. Pre-heat your grill

2. Meanwhile, arrange the ingredients you want inside and fold into a pocket while cold.

3. Arrange the pocket folded side down on the grill and shut it until you get nice grill marks and the browned color you want.


Fold and Fill

The next is also quick and easy. It's perfect for when you have a hot filling to put inside (like say some peppers and onions that you've just sauteed).

1. You toast the tortilla on both sides (until the bloom -- or shine -- goes away and the tortilla is white with brown spots and a bit crunchy as opposed to soft).

2. Mound the cheese on one half of the tortilla (you'll need a good amount to get it really cheesy)

3. Fold the tortilla over and cook on both sides to cook the cheese. Cook until cheese is good and melted.

4. Peel the tortilla apart (see picture) and fill with delicious warm filling. Stick it back together and you're done!


Burrito Style

The third is great for when you have a lot of fillings to put inside. In this one, the cheese is just the glue, and the fillings are the main show, so you want to fold it kind of like a burrito to hold everything in.

1. Proceed like always and toast the tortilla on both sides

2. Sprinkle a line of cheese right down the center. Layer fillings in a line on top (works well with chicken strips!). Sprinkle a second layer of cheese in a line on the top.

3. Fold over one side of the now warm tortilla and lightly hold on top to melt the cheese and make the tortilla stick.

4. Fold over the other side.

5. Flip it over to make sure both sides are warmed and melted, and you're done!

UPDATE: NOLA BBQ Gulf Shrimp

So I tried out the recipe for Emeril's BBQ Gulf Shrimp and boy did it take a lot of effort. Lots of simmering and reducing...oh my. In the end, it turned out quite tasty although a little diluted I thought (I'll use less of the cream next time). Also, I'll try using smaller shrimp so each bite has more of a BBQ coating on it.

Here's how it's supposed to look (Emeril's version), although what we ended up with was lighter and soupier.


I also found this pared down recipe for the sauce, which sounds like it's worth a try (and explains how the shrimp got to our table in ten minutes at the restaurant).

What You'll Need For The Barbecued Shrimp:

• 1 tsp. Creole seasoning
• 1 tsp. black pepper
• 2 oz. barbecue base
• 1/2 cup heavy cream
• 1 tbsp. butter

What You'll Need For The Barbecue Base:

• 1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil
• 10 cloves garlic, minced
• 3 bay leaves
• 1/4 cup Lea & Perrins Worcestershire Sauce
• 1 tablespoon Emeril's Essence
• 1/2 teaspoon cayenne
• 2 tsps. fresh oregano
• 1 tsp. salt
• The juice of two lemons

Let's Cook:

You're going to start by making the barbecue base.

Take the ingredients listed above, put them in a saucepan and reduce on low to medium heat.

It's not too spicy, but it has a lot of flavor.

Also, add creole seasoning, black pepper, the barbecue base, a little bit of heavy cream and a little bit of butter.

Sear off the shrimp in a pan on medium heat. Let them cook on each side for about two minutes.

Now add a little bit of heavy cream.

Then you're going to use the extraction or barbecue base until it turns into a nice coffee color.

Finish with a little bit of butter. It's a very simple dish and very quick.