Cooking. Outisde of the...magazine.

As mentioned before, I received a subscription to Cooking Light for Christmas from a Secret Santa. I love cooking related magazines. Ok, I love magazines in general, but I tend to flip through them once. I'll read the things I want to read and then...they sit in a stack. I used to take them to the gym to read, but apparently (according to my husband) that doesn't make for a good workout. Whatever. So if I'm going to read a magazine cover to cover, it better be cooking related or on an airplane. By the way, I'm a multi-tasker on the plane. If you ever have to sit next to me, don't be upset when I don't crash before take off. I like to listen to my ipod, read, flip thru the Sky Mall magazine, watch the movie (with or without sound). You name it - everything except sleep.

I'm also really bad about reading the cooking magazines and never using them. So with my Spring Cleaning mentioned in the last post, I ripped out pages from almost every stinking magazine in my house and...I'm finished! The leftovers are going to be recycled. Yay! I've also made it a goal to cook at least one thing from any new magazine I get.

So, the first thing I made is an Indian dish. I can honestly say I'd never eaten Indian food until about 6 years ago. Some really good friends of ours are Indian. In fact, only one member of the family, Rachel, was actually born in the US. So a few years ago we load up and go to the parents house for dinner. Jason had been before - and for what it's worth, Rachel's mom things Jason is fantastic. I tend to agree. But I was really nervous to go eat food that I knew nothing about. And I was raised not to be rude, so I knew I would at least try it. However, her mom was really nice and cooked some chicken nuggets for this native Texas girl! I did eat the Indian food (chicken curry) and I really liked it. Since then, I've been hooked. I don't venture far off of the map (no goat for this girl) and I don't go too spicy, but we're getting there.

This dish was pretty good...not quite as good as the "real thing" but still...it's Cooking Light.






Chicken Biryani from Cooking Light

• 2 t olive oil
• 1 lb boneless, skinless chicken breast, cut into 1" cubes
• 1 cup chopped onion
• 1 jalapeno, seeded and minced
• 1 t minced fresh ginger
• 1 1/2 t garam masala**
• 3/4 t ground cumin
• 1/2 t salt
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• 2 cups chopped plum tomatoes (about 2 tomatoes)
• 1 cup uncooked basmati rice
• 1/3 cup golden raisins I left this out
• 1 14-oz can chicken broth
• 1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro
• 1/4 cup sliced almonds
• lime wedges

Heat the oil in a large skillet over med-high heat. Add chicken and saute about 3 minutes. Add onion and jalapeno, saute for another 3 minutes. Add ginger, garam masala, cumin, salt and garlic, continue to saute for 30 seconds. Add tomato, rice, raisins, and broth, bring to a boil. Cover and reduce heat, simmer for 15 minutes or until rice is done. Stir in cilantro and sprinkle with onions. Serve with lime wedges to cut the heat and bring out flavor.

**I had a hard time finding garam masala at the grocery store. Rachel found it for me at World Market. You can also make this, but I think some of the ingredients are also hard to find.

The next dish I made were these Tex-Mex Calzones. We loved these!!! So easy and really good! In fact, I have some of the green salsa left in the fridge and I'm thinking about these for a dinner this week.

Tex-Mex Calzones from Cooking Light

• 8 oz ground turkey (I used a whole pound and we made tacos from the leftover meat)
• 1/2 cup chopped onion
• 1/2 cup chopped green bell pepper
• 1/2 cup chopped red bell pepper I subbed in 1/2 cup chopped tomato instead
• 3/4 t ground cumin
• 1/2 t chili powder
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• 1/2 cup fat-free salsa verde
• 1 11-oz can refrigerated pizza dough
• 3/4 cup shredded Mexican blend cheese
• 1/4 cup fat-free sour cream

Preheat oven to 425. Heat a large skillet over med-high heat. Add turkey, and cook about 3 minutes. Add onion and next 5 ingredients to pan, cook until veggies are tender, stirring occasionally. Remove from heat and stir in salsa. Unroll the dough and divide into 4 portions. Roll dough into a 6*4" rectangle. Spoon about 1/2 cup turkey mixture onto each piece of dough, add about 3 T cheese to each. Fold over and press the dough to seal it. Place these on a baking sheet (I used my Pampered Chef stone, if you don't be sure to spray with cooking spray). Bake at 425 for about 12 minutes, or until the dough is done. Serve with sour cream.

I also followed the advice of the magazine and added a Black Bean Salad. Combine 1 can of black beans, rinsed and drained, 1 cup chopped tomatoes, 1/2 cup chopped onion, 2 T fresh lime juice, 2 T chopped fresh cilantro, and 1 T olive oil, tossed well to coat.

Casseroles aren't pretty.

I refuse to take photos of food that looks like a lump. They aren't colorful or fancy or flashing "eat me!" in anyway. So...even though I made one last night (that is probably my favorite) I have no photos to pass on.

Rachel is still camping out with us, so I'm trying to make stuff that will go further with dinner for three. This recipe was in my 2002 Southern Living cookbook. I've made it a few times and always remember why I like it so much. It's very easy and make a lot of food...but I just don't seem to make it that often. Not sure why...

Easy Enchilada Casserole from Southern Living

• 1 medium onion, chopped
• 1 clove garlic, chopped (I added this)
• 2 T vegetable oil (I subbed Olive Oil)
• 1 19-oz can Enchilada Sauce
• 1 16-oz can Black Beans, rinsed and drained
• 1 14.5-oz can diced tomatoes with jalapenos (Ro-Tel)
• 1 11-oz can Mexican style corn, drained
• 1 t chili powder
• 1 t cumin
• 10-12 corn tortillas
• 3 cups cooked cubed chicken breast (you can sub 2 pounds ground beef or turkey)
• 3 cups shredded Mexican Style Cheese

Preheat the oven to 350. Saute the onion and garlic in the oil until tender, add all of the canned ingredients, the chili powder and cumin. Stir and simmer until heated through. Spray a 9*13 glass baking dish with cooking spray and spoon 1/3 of the sauce into the bottom of the pan. Layer with tortillas, 1/2 of the chicken and 1 cup of cheese. Spoon another 1/3 of the sauce on top, layer again with tortillas, chicken and cheese. Top this off with another layer of tortillas, sauce and cheese. Bake in the oven for about 15-20 minutes and I usually just serve it with chips and salsa.

Recipe Exchange: Chalupas!

I will fully admit two things about this recipe. First, I thought chalupas were either some sort of taco things...or beans, lettuce and cheese on a fried corn tortilla. Second, I was really intimidated by this recipe. But...I succeeded! We went to a friends house to hang out and drink some beers, so I used that time to try out the recipe. However, I forgot my camera at home and we ended up eating the whole batch of chalupas! It was so good!! Hopefully this does not violate the What's Cooking Recipe Exchange rules...

Chalupas from Food Network

• 2 1/2 pound pork loin roast
• 2 cups pinto beans, rinsed
• 4 large tomatoes, peeled and diced
• 6 fresh green chilies, roasted, peeled and diced
• 2 cups chopped onion
• 1 T chopped garlic
• 1 T oregano
• 2 T chili powder
• salt and pepper
• water

Place the roast, and all remaining ingredients in a large stock pot. Cover with water and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to a simmer, cover and cook for about 3 hours. Remove the meat and continue to cook for another 2 hours, stirring occasionally until the beans are tender.

Shred the meat and discard the fat. Return it to the pot and continue to cook for another hour, stiring often. Add more water if needed, until it thins out.

We served ours like a soup with chips, shredded cheese and some pico on top. For a crowd, this is perfect! I will probably make it again when we have guests over...but I will say you need a long day to do so.

Sometimes you "bake" mistakes...

My mother in law gave me a great cookbook for Christmas - a Weeknight Dinners by Southern Living. I love Southern Living and usually find too many things that I want to cook. Well, the front of the cookbook has this great looking meatless entree - Tortilla Pie.

I will probably never make it again. Don't get me wrong, it was good. But...not really worth it. Since I'm watching things on WW, this was NOT worth 6 points!! It makes 6 servings, but they were SO small! I wasn't very impressed. It may have been a little larger if I had used the flour tortillas instead of corn, but that's all I had on hand and it reduced the points value from 7 to 6. It just was not worth it! By the time you add chips (baked) or a salad, you've probably eaten more than your allotted dinner points. It did taste good, though, just not very filling.

Tortilla Pie from Southern Living

• 1 can black beans, rinsed and drained
• 1 t chili powder
• 1/2 t ground cumin
• 8 whole wheat tortillas (7 point value) or 8 corn tortillas (6 point value)
• 6-8 oz guacamole
• 1 cup salsa
• 8 oz shredded fat free cheddar cheese

Spray an 8" round baking dish with cooking spray. Place 1 tortilla in the dish, top with 1/2 of bean mixture. Top with another tortilla, then 1/2 of the salsa. Top again with a tortilla and 1/2 of the guacamole. Top with one more tortilla and 1/2 of the cheese. Repeat all layers except the cheese and bake at 350 for 20-25 minutes. Add the remaining cheese and bake 5-10 minutes more until the cheese melts.

WW Points: 7 with whole wheat tortillas, 6 with corn tortillas