Just a Mom, HA!

Cilantro Ranch Salad

Fab new salad coming at ya:

Boom Baby!  You can make this as lean or as fatty as you want (I went lean – imagine that?!), but either way it is a taste KNOCK OUT.  The first time around we went fancy with the lime chicken, but for the week after I made quick salads with lettuce, beans and corn which were also amazing.

Thanks to The Double Dipped Life who gave me the idea for this (thought I did make the occasional tweak here and there).

Cilantro Ranch Salad

Dressing

• 1 packet of Buttermilk Ranch Dressing mix
• 1 c. mayo (I used fat free)
• 1/2 c. buttermilk (to make this fat free, simply take one Tbs of lemon juice, then add enough skim milk to it to make one cup)
• juice of one lime (about 2 Tbs, add zest for extra kick if desired)
• 2 cloves garlic
• 1/2 c. rough chopped cilantro
• 1/4 c. green salsa

Toss everything in a blender and blend it until everything is pureed.  Store in the fridge until ready to use. (For best results make the dressing early in the day so that it is chilled for serving.)

Kim’s note:  This dressing is THICK and this recipe makes TONS!  Adjust accordingly for texture and amount preferences (I might try adding a bit extra milk the next time I make it).

Lime Chicken (Salad topping or for any Mexican food filling)

• Juice of one lime
• 1 Tbs sugar
• 1 tsp oregano
• 1/4-1/2 tsp chili powder
• 1/2 tsp cinnamon
• 2 tsp fresh chopped cilantro
• 3-4 chicken breasts cut to bite sized pieces
• 1 small onion, sliced

Combine all marinade ingredients and chicken in an air-tight container, let chill for at least 30 minutes (mine was in the fridge all afternoon).  Dump out chicken and sauce in a frying pan and cook with sliced onion until done.  Serve warm.

Serve the salad as you wish with fresh lettuce, tomatoes, beans, corn, cheese, chips, quesadilla wedges, whatever you like.

Lemon Herb Chicken

It’s been FOREVER since I posted a recipe!  With the move things have been hectic and cooking experiments have taken a back burner (ha ha, that’s pretty punny for a recipe blog), but I still have a few recipes that I’ve been saving for just such a time as this.

One day I found myself with a bag of chicken breasts and no idea what to do, so I threw a little of anything that I had in with them to marinate and this is what I got:

Not a new fav, but not too shabby either for a last minute, throw together meal.

Lemon Herb Chicken

• ½ Tbs rosemary
• ½ tsp dill (this amount was pretty strong, can be cut back according to your tastes)
• 2 Tbs honey
• 1 clove garlic, minced fine
• 1 Tbs lemon juice
• 1 green onion, sliced
• 1 tsp canola oil
• 2 Tbs warm water
• 4 chicken breasts (or whatever meat you are using)

Mix all marinade ingredients together until well blended.  Add chicken and seal in an air tight container.  Shake container until marinade is evenly dispersed over meat, then refrigerate until time to cook.  Bake at 375 for 20-30 minutes or until cooked through (cooking time will depend on the thickness of the meat).

Happy Cooking!

Fajita Sauce for Chicken, Beef, Pork, Shrimp, Whatever!

Jay and I LOVE fajitas.  Love, not like, not want to hold hands at summer camp then part ways never to see each other again.

We’re talking the BIG L.

So when we moved to TX we were kind of surprised to find that just about anything can pass for a fajita down here as long as there is meat in a tortilla.  Sadness – meat is good, but I love the flavorful slightly burnt onions and pops of peppers.

I took it upon myself to make fajitas at home and had a wonderful success!  I was surprised by some of the non-Mexican flavors that went into the original recipe that I found, but with a few tweaks of my own I ended up with a perky (but not spicy) Mexican delight.  I used chicken this first time, but will give it a whirl with other meats in the future.

Fajita Sauce

• 1 Tbs Worcestershire sauce
• 1 Tbs apple cider vinegar
• 1 Tbs soy sauce
• 2 tsp. chili powder
• 1 clove garlic, finely minced
• 1 dash cumin
• 4-5 drops of lime juice (more can be squeezed on the finished food, but this is just what goes in the sauce)

Mix all ingredients together in an air-tight container.  Add trimmed meat, seal and marinate for at least an hour.  Dump container out into a warm fry pan and saute until meat is partially cooked then add onion and peppers and cook until softened and meat is fully cooked.  Serve in tortillas with lettuce, tomatoes, beans, cheese, sour cream, whatever you like.

Cranberry Vinaigrette Salad Dressing

THIS salad was by far the best thing that I “cooked” all through the holidays.  It beat the ham, it beat the spuds, it rocked.

Oh – and that’s some non-fat dressing you’re looking at to boot!

I’m putting up the dressing recipe, but the salad recipe itself can be whatever you like – suggestions follow…

Cranberry Vinaigrette

• 8 oz whole berry cranberry sauce (about half a normal can, or one small can if you can find it)
• 1/3 c. apple cider vinegar
• 1/4 tsp. salt
• 1/8 tsp. pepper
• 1/2 tsp. sugar
• 1 Tbs. honey dijon mustard
• 3 Tbs. water

Add all ingredients to your blender and liquify.  Store in an air tight contain in the fridge until ready to serve.  Can store for several days.

The pictured salad is made of:

• Sweet baby lettuces
• Spinach
• red onion
• cheese
• cucumber
• candied almonds*
• tomatoes

Next time I’m absolutely adding fresh berries and dried cranberries too.

*Rather than buying tons of candied almonds which I knew I’d eat by the truck load, I bought natural almonds, chopped them, and then sauteed them with only a little cooking spray, sugar and cinnamon.  Wonderful taste, wonderful crunch, no butter and no commitment to eat a million candied nuts.

Homemade Pizza Sauce

I love pizza.  It is my great vice in this world.  I’ve never been great at making it at home, but I have high hopes for improving my standing.  My first great success was with my BBQ Chicken Pizza, now I’ve got sauce down, maybe if I can get over my baking-with-yeast anxiety I’ll try crust.

According to most cooking forums the key to pizza sauce is tomato sauce, tomato paste, a dash of sugar and then any other italian-y spices you can think of.  After looking over lots of ideas, I came up with this:

When Jay got home, I told him to try the pizza and tell me what he thought of the sauce:

Jay: I really like your sauce.
Me: Really?
Jay: Yes.
Me: Enough to keep me around?
Jay: Yes.
Me: Enough to buy me a great present?
Jay: Yes.
Me: Enough to father my offspring?
Jay: I already did that.
Me: And all future offs that I may spring?
Jay: Yes.

It’s the positive feedback I get that keeps me going. : )

Homemade Pizza Sauce

• 15 oz can tomato sauce
• 6 oz can tomato paste
• 1/2 Tbs. oregano
• 1/2 Tbs. basil
• 1/2 tsp. sugar
• 1/2 tsp. garlic powder
• 1/2 tsp. onion powder

Put both tomato products in a mixing bowl, blend together till you have an even consistency.  Add spices one at a time, stirring at each addition.

Kim’s notes:  This recipe makes enough sauce for 2 normal homemade pizzas, with a little left over. If you don’t use lots of sauce on your pizza it might even stretch to three pizzas. If you’re only making one pizza at a time, the sauce can be stored in the fridge for a few days or in the freezer for longer.  Also would make a great dip for bread sticks.

Ideas for making pizza healthier:

Homemade pizza is a great way to get the flavor we love, while controlling some of the fat/calories.  I used turkey pepperoni and was so impressed with it that I may never go back.   The flavor was great and there were no pools of grease sitting on top after baking.  I will say that the texture wasn’t like normal pepperoni, but it wasn’t bad either.  It also helps to use a very fine shredded cheese – it covers the pizza but with lots of holes so it isn’t as thick of a cheese layer.

Sour Cream and Paprika Pork Chops

I love making pork in my slow cooker.  This is my 3 recipe of this genre and I’m falling even more in love.  Pork, creaminess, onions – wow it’s awesome.

I won’t even tell you how good this will make your house smell while it cooks.  I won’t say, because it is sure to make me drool all over my keyboard.

Though this recipe uses a chicken broth base, it does have a stroganoff feel to it and therefore it lends itself to being served with noodles, rice, or POTATOES!

That did it – I did drool a bit thinking about those potatoes.  And for a bit of extra veggie goodness I layered fresh spinach on my plate and then loaded it up. YUM!

Sour Cream and Paprika Pork Chops

• 1.5 lbs. boneless pork chops
• Pepper
• 4 garlic cloves, minced
• 1/3 c. flour
• 1 med onion, sliced in rings
• 2 cubes chicken bouillon
• 2 c. hot water
• 2 Tbs flour
• 8 oz fat-free sour cream (half an average container)
• 1 tsp. paprika

Season pork chops with pepper, then lightly coat them with the 1/3 c. flour (discard flour after use).  In a skillet, lightly brown the chops on each side until flour is well adhered.  Place chops in slow cooker, topping with onion rings. Add the garlic, hot water, and bouillon to the slow cooker as well.  Cook on low for 6 hours, or until pork is cooked through.

Once the pork is cooked, remove from slow cooker, cover and keep warm.  Strain excess fat or gristle from juices. Combine the sour cream, 2 tbs. flour and paprika, then add it to slow cooker juices. Turn the slow cooker to high allowing sauce to thicken for about 30 minutes.  Return pork chops to slow cooker, and reduce heat to warm until it’s time to serve.

Serve with sauce over potatoes, noodles, or rice.

Green Chili & Chicken Enchiladas with Pink Sauce

It seems like just about every family has a recipe for Green Chili Chicken Enchiladas.  They all have chilies, onions, soups, and so forth, and everyone loves them.

I love them too, but don’t make them often since they take a lot of work (I hate shredding chicken), so when I told Jay that they were on the docket for the week he was pretty pumped.  What I didn’t tell him at the time was that I had a diabolical plan to try a new (and pink) idea for the enchilada sauce.

I’m glad that I did – changing up the sauce to be chili-lime cream was a stroke of pure genius (not that I want to toot my own horn, but seriously, I’m drooling just thinking about it).

Maybe I’ll start making these a bit more often.

Green Chili Chicken Enchiladas with Pink Sauce

• 3-4 c. shredded cooked chicken
• 2 (4 oz) cans green chiles
• 1 can reduced fat cream of chicken soup
• ½ c. non-fat sour cream
• 1 med-large onion, chopped very fine
• 8-10 medium sized flour tortillas (soft taco, fajita, gordita style)
• Grated cheddar cheese

For sauce:

• ½ c. non-fat sour cream
• ¼ c. milk
• ½ Tbs. chili powder
• 1 Tbs lime juice

In a skillet sauté onion and chilies in their own juices until just tender.  In a large bowl combine onion and chili mixture with chicken, soup and sour cream.  Mix until well combined.  Spoon filling mixture onto tortillas and roll them up, placing enchiladas in a sprayed casserole pan.  Once all enchiladas have been rolled and placed, combine the ingredients for the sauce in the same bowl that the filling was in.  Mix until evenly blended then pour over enchiladas, smearing it around with the back of a spoon until every enchilada gets coated.  Top lightly with cheese if desired.  Bake at 350 degrees until heated through and sauce bubbles at edges (about 20-30 minutes).

Kim’s Notes: This serves well with rice and corn.  If you want something a bit more special than plain rice, add 1 tsp of cumin, 1 tsp of chili pepper, and 1 Tbs of fresh chopped cilantro.

Don’t want to make the pink sauce?  Try a green enchilada sauce or simply mix milk with about 1/3 of a can of cream of chicken soup.

Happy Cooking!

Eating Out at Home: PF Chang’s Mongolian sauce

We tried this tonight and I was just too excited to wait to post it.  Jay and I love the Mongolian dish from Pei Wei (PF Chang’s) and I was lucky enough to stumble upon the copycat version of their sauce online this week.  It seemed like all of the copy-catters were agreeing on what made the sauce so amazing, so I thought it would be worth a try.  I did cut some oil, and smudged a few ingredients to work with what I had at home, but the end results were awesome!

I didn’t think it was an exact match, but after a bite Jay said to me, “Wow, this really does taste like the Mongolian chicken I get.”

This one is definitely a keeper at our house!

PF Chang’s Mongolian Sauce (with Kim twists)

• 1 tsp. canola oil
• 1/2 tsp. ginger powder
• 1 Tbs minced garlic
• 1/2 c. soy sauce (lite or low sodium works well)
• 1/2 c. water
• 3/4 c. brown sugar (the recipe calls for dark, but I used the normal kind with good results)

Warm oil in sauce pan, add ginger and garlic, stirring quickly to avoid scorching.  Add water, soy sauce, and sugar allowing sugar to dissolve.  Bring sauce to a boil then reduce heat to med-med/low.  Continue to stir sauce until it reduces and thickens slightly.

Sauce goes well with veggies and rice, but if you’re doing a meat dish:

Slice meat (chicken, steak, pork) into bite size pieces.  Coat lightly with corn starch and allow to sit for at least 10 minutes for the corn startch to do its thing (my chicken sat like that in my fridge for most of the afternoon and it worked out well).  When ready to cook, warm a frying pan over medium high heat and prepare pan with cooking spray or a little oil.  Cook meat until browned on edges, then add the sauce to the meat.  Allow sauce to boil and thicken around meat until meat is cooked through.  Serve over rice.

*Kim’s hint:  I did a veggie rice with this dish much like what you’d get at Pei Wei.  I added carrot strings to the rice water, and then when it was done cooking I tore fresh spinach into the rice and stirred it in until wilted.  Delicious!

Slow Cooker Swiss Pork Chops

Not wanting to relinquish my recent love-affair with pork chops just yet, I thought to myself – Why not try your Slow Cooker Swiss Steak recipe on them?

I’m so glad I did – these might even be better than the beef.

They turned out so tender and subtly sweet that I think this is going to become a new favorite of mine.  I’m sure my boys won’t complain about that since they gobbled them up with as much enthusiasm as I did.  I’m also really glad that I tried my idea to lessen the number of potatoes in the pot and make mashed potatoes on the side.  We had a few roasted ones with dinner, but what we didn’t eat saved well to go with Jay to work as leftovers.

Slow Cooker Swiss Pork Chops

• 1.5 lbs pork chops, trimmed of fat
• pepper
• 2 medium red potatoes cut into bite sized pieces
• 1.5 c. baby carrots
• 1 med onion, cut into wedges
• 1 can diced tomatoes with Italian herbs
• 2 packets pork gravy mix
• 1 c. cold water
• mashed potatoes, if desired

Layer potatoes, onion and pork in your slow cooker. Sprinkle chops with pepper.  Add tomatoes.  Mix up one packet of gravy with 1 cup cold water and pour into crock pot.  Top everything with the baby carrots.

Cover and cook on low heat setting 7 to 8 hours or until pork and vegetables are tender. I did 5 hours on low, then one more hour on high with great results.

Kim’s notes:  If you want to serve this meal with mashed potatoes, then make them near the end of your cooking time.  Use the second packet of gravy for serving, or add liquid from the slow cooker to the package gravy and and then thicken it.

Never thickened your own gravy? It’s easy as can be – add 1/4 c. of flour to 1 c. of water, shake until combined, or if you don’t have a shaker of some sort you can use a wire whisk to get the clumps out.  Add just a little of the flour mixture at a time to your gravy so that you don’t over thicken it.  Be sure to taste the gravy along the way so that you don’t over flour it or so that you can add spices/pepper if desired.

Happy Cooking!

Balsamic Honey-Mustard Marinade

Amazing marinade, A-mazing!  It has a great blend of herb flavors and just a little touch of sweet-tartiness. I took the original recipe, made a few alterations to the portions and then cut WAY back on the oil.  I did leave a bit, which for me is monumental, but I thought that just a little would help lubricate the cooking surface and it did just that perfectly!  I baked chicken with this recipe, but this would be great on the grill or with other meats too – I can’t wait to try it on pork chops!

Balsamic Honey-Mustard Marinade

• 6 Tbs. Balsamic vinegar
• 3 Tbs. honey-dijon mustard
• 3 garlic cloves, minced fine
• 1 Tbs. dried basil
• 1 ½ Tbs. honey
• ¾ tsp. salt
• ¾ tsp. black pepper
• ¾ tsp. dried oregano
• 3 tsp. olive oil

Combine all ingredients, mixing until well blended.  Place meat in an air tight container, cover with marinade, shaking container until coated.  Allow meat to marinade in the refrigerator for at least an hour (I let mine for about 6 hours and it was fantastic).  Cook meat as desired, and discard left over marinade.  The pictured chicken was baked in a glass dish at 375 degrees for a half hour.

Makes enough marinade for about 6 chicken breasts.