Potato-Cauliflower Mash

Potato-Cauliflower Mash
2-3 potatoes
1-2 sweet potatoes
1/2-1 head of cauliflower florets
2-3TBsp Greek yogurt
Small pad of butter
Splash of milk
Salt and Pepper

Directions:  Peel the sweet potato.  Dice up the potoato, sweet potato, and caulfilower.  Boil until the potatoes are fork tender.  Drain.  Add the Greek yogurt, butter, and splash of milk.  Mash.  Salt & Pepper to taste.

Here's what you'll need:

Boil and drain.

Add the Greek yogurt, butter, and milk.

Mash

Here's what you'll end up with:

Our Thoughts:
Over the past couple of years, Scott has really started to love cauliflower.  We've had several great cauliflower dishes in the past (Cheesy Cauliflower, Cauliflower Medley, and Cheesy Artichokes, Cauliflower and Red Pepper) but this one might just be an all-time favorite!

I could go on and on and on about this dish but the bottom line, is that it was delicious.  Every single one of my kids ate it.  It actually reminded me of twice-baked potatoes with the skin of the Idaho potatoes left on.  The orange sweetness of the sweet potato reminded me of the cheese and smooth, creamy texture of the cauliflower was like the sour cream. 

You could always make this dish even healthier by reducing the Idaho potatoes and adding more sweet potato and cauliflower.  You could also cut out the small pad of butter and milk and just use more Greek yogurt.

Of course, if you are feeling really decadent, add in some cheese (your choice) and bacon bits.

Hope you enjoy!
April

Easy Grilled Fish Tacos with corn salsa chimichurri sauce

Easy Grilled Fish Tacos with Corn Salsa Chimichurri Sauce adapted from Momables

4-6 Pre portioned pieces of fish (trout, red fish, tilapia-your choice)

1 Cup corn

2 tsp taco seasoning

1 Lime -juiced

Olive Oil

Favorite salsa

Sour cream

Grated cheese

Flour, corn, or hard shelled tortillas

Chimichurri sauce (optional):

- ¾ Cup nonfat plain Greek yogurt

- 2 TB red wine vinegar

- 1 TB extra virgin olive oil

- 20 sprigs fresh flat-leaf parsley

- dash of oregano (or 5 sprigs fresh oregano)

- 3 cloves of garlic

- dash red pepper flakes

- ¼ tsp sea salt

Directions:  Heat broiler, with rack in highest position.  Place fish on rimmed baking sheet; drizzle with olive oil & taco seasoning.

In a separate bowl, mix corn with 2 TB of salsa and juice of 1 lime. Top fish with corn salsa.

Broil until fish is lightly browned on top, 8-12 minutes depending of fish thickness, until flesh is opaque throughout and thoroughly cooked.

Divide fish evenly among tortillas and top with shredded cheese, chimichurri sauce sour cream and fresh salsa (how you dress your taco is up to you!)

Chimichurri sauce: place all ingredients into a food processor or blender. Blend well until you achieve a pesto-like sauce, scraping down the bowl as necessary.

Info:
-I used tilapia
-I used whole wheat tortillas

Here's what you'll need:

Preheat the broiler to 500 degrees.

Drizzle the fish with olive oil and sprinkle with taco seasoning.

Add corn and salsa together.  Mix.

Top the fish with the corn salsa.

Put all of the ingredients for the chimichurri sauce in a food processor and blend.

Put the fish on the high rack under the broiler for 8-12 minutes or until it is brown and flaky.

Take the fish out.

Build your taco.  I used the chimichurri, corn salsa and then the fish.

Here's what you'll end up with:

Our Thoughts:
I was excited to make this dish.  I bought a package of fresh tilapia from Costco and I wanted to use a few pieces while they were still fresh and then I froze the rest of them.

This was a very easy dish to make.  I think the recipe should have called for more than 2 Tbsp of salsa to the 1 cup of corn as I ended up adding more anyway.

The absolute star of this dish was the chimichurri sauce.  It was so fresh and earthy and light.  Since it was made with the 0% Greek yogurt, I felt no guilt in adding a good portion to each taco or burrito wrap.  I even saved the remaining of the chimichurri sauce so that I could dip my veggies in it as a snack today.  If you make this dish, you MUST go ahead and make this sauce, too. 

Since tilapia is a very mild-flavored fish, I honestly couldn't tell that I was having "fish" tacos.  I may have been too conservative with the sprinkling of the taco seasoning on top of the fish.  At any rate, the texture was good and it mixed great with the corn salsa and chimichurri.

Hope you enjoy!
April

Family CookBook Project

I have been wanting to create a family cookbook for a long time. I'm hoping to start compiling my favorite recipes from my grandma, mom, and things I've found on here, to make one.  I thought I would pass this along to you guys, as well.

Stuffed Pepper Soup

Servings: 6 • Size: 1 1/3 cups soup, 1/2 cup rice • Old Points: 5 pts • Points+: 7 pts
Calories: 261.2 • Fat: 4.8 g • Carb: 37.5 g • Fiber: 4.7 g • Protein: 17.6 g • Sugar: 6 g
Sodium: 606.3 g (without salt)

Stuffed Pepper Soup adapted by SkinnyTaste
3 cups cooked brown rice
1 lb 95% lean ground beef
1/2 cup chopped green bell pepper
1/2 cup chopped red bell pepper
1 cup finely diced onion
3 cloves garlic, chopped
2 cans (14.5 oz each) cans petite diced tomatoes
1 3/4 cups tomato sauce
2 cups reduced sodium, fat-free chicken broth
1/2 tsp dried marjoram
salt and fresh pepper to taste

Directions:  In a large pot or dutch oven, brown ground meat on high heat and season with salt. Drain fat if any, reduce heat to medium-low, then add peppers, onions and garlic. Cook about 5 minutes on low heat.

Add tomatoes, tomato sauce, chicken broth, marjoram and season with salt and pepper to taste. Cover and simmer on low heat for 30 minutes. Serve about 1 1/3 cups of soup in each bowl and top with 1/2 cup cooked brown rice.

Here's what you will need:

Chop the garlic, peppers, and onion.

Brown the beef in a Dutch oven. 

Once browned, add the peppers, onions, and garlic.

Add the diced tomatoes, tomato sauce, and herbs.

Cover and simmer on low for 30 minutes. 

Prepare rice according to package directions.

Top soup with rice.

Here's what you'll end up with:

Our Thoughts:
This soup was a big hit in my house tonight.  We love stuffed green peppers (recipe) so I thought that this would be a hit and I was right.  All 3 of the kids ate it! (score!!)

The mixture of the 2 different peppers gave it a little variety in both color and taste. 

I used the Uncle Ben's 90 second microwaveable brown rice (a favorite of mine) and 1 package ended up being enough for all of us.  You could also use either bulgur or even quinoa.

Hope you enjoy!
April

Southwest Wild Rice

Southwest Wild Rice adapted from Debbi Does Dinner
Adapted from $5 Dinners

1/4 cup lime juice
2/3 cup brown rice
2/3 cup wild rice
1/2 onion, chopped
1 green pepper, chopped
1 jalapeno pepper, chopped
1 1/2 cups frozen corn
1 (15 oz) diced tomatoes
1 (15 oz) black beans, drained and rinsed
1 tsp. cumin
1 tsp. chili powder
Salt and pepper to taste

In a large saucepan, bring 4 cups of water, plus the lime juice to a boil. Add the brown rice, wild rice and chopped onion. Return to a boil, reduce heat to medium, cover and let cook for 45 - 50 minutes, or until brown and wild rices are tender.

Once the rice is cooked, add the green pepper, diced jalapeno, corn, diced tomatoes, black beans, cumin and chili powder. Mix well. Season with salt and pepper to taste.

Total calories = 1550 calories
6 servings = 258 calories per serving

Modifications:
-I did not use a jalapeno.

Here's what you'll need:

Cook rice according to package directions.

Dice up green peppers.

Dice up an onion.

Drain and rinse the black beans.

Drain and rinse the corn.  Add to the beans and pepper/onion.

Add the diced tomatoes.

Once the rice is cooked, add the bowl.

Add the herbs.

Here's what you'll end up with:

Our Thoughts:
When I decided to make Chicken Tortilla Cake, I knew that I wanted to make this dish as a side.

I love all of these ingredients individually so I knew that I would love it as a whole and I was right.  All of the textures along with the cumin and chili powder made for a great dish.

I have leftovers so I am definitely going to use the suggestion to make an omelet tomorrow morning!

Hope you enjoy!
April

Chicken Tortilla Cake

Chicken Tortilla Cake adapted from Mr. Food
1/2 cup vegetable oil
6 (8-inch) flour tortillas
1 cup sour cream
3/4 teaspoon hot pepper sauce
1/2 teaspoon dry fajita seasoning
2 1/2 cups shredded cooked chicken
4 cups (16 ounces) shredded Colby-Jack cheese blend
6 scallions (green onions), chopped
1 1/2 tablespoons butter, melted

Directions:  Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Coat a large rimmed baking sheet with cooking spray.  In a large skillet, heat oil over medium-high heat (or to 375 degrees F. in an electric skillet). Fry tortillas one at a time for 10 to 15 seconds, or until golden. Drain well on paper towels.
In a medium bowl, combine sour cream, hot sauce, and fajita seasoning; mix well.
Place 1 tortilla on prepared baking sheet then spread 1 tablespoon sour cream mixture over the top. Sprinkle with 1/2 cup shredded chicken, 3/4 cup cheese, and 1 chopped scallion. Place a tortilla on top and repeat layers 4 more times, ending with a plain tortilla on top. Reserve remaining sour cream mixture.

Brush tops and sides of tortillas with melted butter then cover tightly with aluminum foil and bake 25 minutes. Remove foil and place on a serving plate. Spread top tortilla with remaining sour cream mixture and top with remaining chopped scallion.
Cut into wedges and serve immediately.

Modifications:
-I did not use melted butter.

Here's what you'll need:

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.

Cook the chicken.  I boiled it for about 20 minutes.

Mix the fajita seasoning, hot sauce, and sour cream.

Fry the tortillas in vegetable oil for about 15 seconds.  Turning once.

Drain on a paper towel and then lay on a greased baking sheet.

Spread sour cream mixture.

Sprinkle the cheese.

Sprinkle scallions or green onions.

Shred the cheese.

Spread over the tortillas.

Add another layer of tortillas and the extra cheese, chicken and sour cream.

Bake for 20-25 minutes.

Cut in to pieces.

Here's what you'll end up with:

Our Thoughts:

We all loved this dish, even the kids!  This entire pan was eaten right up.

I used whole wheat tortillas and I admit that they probably didn't "fry" or crisp up as much as white flour tortillas.  I was actually a little afraid that they would be soggy but they tasted great!  They were crunchy but weren't soft and soggy, either, as a lot of these tortillas/baking dishes can be.

The sour cream/fajita/hot sauce mixed with the cheese was perfect.  They melted and melded together when put in the oven.

I would describe these as more of a quesadillas.  The chicken had good flavor.  We dipped it in sour cream and salsa.

I served this with Southwest Wild Rice.

Hope you enjoy!
April