Black Bean Lasagna

This is one of my all-time favorite homemade meal(s).  I have prepared it many times and have tweaked the recipe a couple of times.  My sister-in-law shared with recipe with me a few years ago.  I believe she found it in Cooking Light magazine or something like that.  It takes a bit of time to prepare, as lasagna does.  I've tried using no-bake lasagna noodles and I'm not a fan.  I'd rather cook my own pasta and just suck up the time and effort it takes to boil the noodles.  This lasagna is flavorful, colorful, almost completely healthy and smells great during preparation and while baking.

You can vary the degree of spiciness by altering the ingredients, but using spicy black beans and a medium salsa makes it perfect!  Would anyone like to come over for dinner and try it?  I mean it.  Open invite!  You might even be offered a glass of wine...

Ingredients

1 cup                chopped onion

1 cup                chopped bell peppers (any color)

2 tsp                 minced garlic

1 cup                chopped tomato

2 each              chopped jalapeno peppers (optional)

2 (15 oz) cans  black beans, drained & rinsed (Whole Food Spicy BB are yummy!)

3 tbs                 fresh chopped cilantro              

8 oz                  low-fat sour cream

1 each              large egg, lightly beaten

1 (16oz) btl      chunky salsa (I use 24oz of Kirkland Organic Medium Chucky Salsa)

Cooking spray

12 each            cooked lasagna noodles

16 oz               shredded Monterey jack cheese (I like to use 8oz monterey jack, 8oz pepper jack)

Directions

1.      Sauté onion, peppers, garlic for 6 minutes over medium heat.

2.      Add tomatoes, cook 3 more minutes.

3.      Add jalapenos & beans, cook 3 more minutes.

4.      Remove from heat, let cool for 10 minutes.

5.      Stir in cilantro, sour cream, & egg.

6.      Spread 13 x 9 pan with cooking spray.

7.      Arrange 4 noodles over salsa & top with 1/2 bean mixture, 1/2 cup cheese & 3 tbs salsa. 

8.      Repeat layers, ending with noodles.

9.      Spread remaining salsa over noodles & sprinkle with 1/2 cup cheese.

10.  Spray foil with non-stick spray, cover and bake at 375 F for 30 minutes.

11.  Uncover and bake for 15 minutes or until cheese melts.

12.  Let stand 5 minutes.

Serves 8.

 

Pan-Fried Tilapia with Creamy Lemon Sauce

Do you ever get excited about a recipe and run out and buy the necessary ingredients and rush back home to start cooking?  I don't!  I get excited when I find a new recipe that I want to try, but I don't usually rush out grocery shopping.  I didn't with this one, but I was looking forward to making this simple recipe from Kraft.  I actually followed the recipe exactly this time, minus using my preferred brand of dressing, broth and cream cheese.

The feed back I received from hubby was that it looked great and I managed to get it to the table at the proper temperature.  The latter has occasionally been a problem since the food often cools off quickly while I'm attempting to get an acceptable photograph.  The feed back went downhill when he commented on the flavor.  He was unimpressed.  An exact quote is, "it's nothing special".  How disappointing.  A creamy lemon sauce over fish.  What's not to like?  I guess a lack of flavor.  Can't win them all.  If someone thinks they could tinker with the recipe and make it a home run, please let me know how to do it.  I might try it again just to make sure it's a real "miss".

Ingredients
  

2  tilapia fillets (1/2 lb.)

1 Tbsp. flour

4 Tbsp. Light House Italian Dressing

1/2 cup fat-free reduced-sodium chicken broth

2  Tbsp. lemon juice

2 oz. Fat Free Cream Cheese, cubed

1 Tbsp. chopped fresh parsley

Directions

 1.  Cost fish with flour.
2.  Heat dressing in medium skillet on medium heat. Add fish; cook 4 to 5 min. on each side or until fish flakes easily with fork. Remove from skillet; cover to keep warm.
3.  Add broth and lemon juice to skillet; cook 3 min. or until reduced by half, stirring frequently with whisk. Add cream cheese; cook 1 min. or until melted, stirring constantly. Pour over fish. Sprinkle with parsley.

 http://www.kraftrecipes.com/recipes/pan-fried-fish-creamy-lemon-118572.aspx

Slow-Cooker Boneless BBQ Country Ribs

While I was working part-time I would try to use a slow-cooker to get a meal going for my husband. I wouldn't get home until 10 pm at night or later so if I didn't have something planned, he'd have 'chicken on the Foreman' on those nights. How sad. I'm sure it was unseasoned with no side dish. :( I've been making this entree for him for a long time. It's incredibly easy and I use the left-overs to make my baked chimichangas (previous blog entry). This smells great as it cooks and it shreds so easily when it's done. My preschooler likes this as well, so thanks, Parenting Magazine (February 2007), for the recipe.

Here are the changes I make when preparing the recipe...
- I use enough onion to cover the bottom of the crock pot and enough to cover the pork on top. It's about half an onion.
- I only spray the crock pot with cooking spray if I remember to. Not a big deal.
- I typically only use 1# of pork.
- I do not measure the BBQ sauce. I use enough to cover.
- Forget the jam. Not necessary and it's near impossible to find plum jam.
**Cook on low for only 5 hours + the 30 minutes on high.** - more than this tends to dry it out.

Coconut Chicken Tenders with Sweet Chili Dipping Sauce

For my sister-in-law's baby shower, quite a long time ago, I made a coconut chicken tender appetizer with a sweet chili dipping sauce. I got a lot of positive feedback that day and I got rave reviews again when I prepared it for dinner! While I did fry these up, they can be baked. I'll definitely bake them next time to try and cut out some fat and calories.

My son said grace and then dug right in and didn't say a word all throughout dinner until it was time to eat his vegetables. That was a huge thumbs up for me! My husband liked the crunchy coating (why wouldn't he? it's panko). He liked that the coconut was flavorful but not overwhelming. He called these "adult chicken tenders". I guess that is a good thing. ;)

Ingredients

2 pounds boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut diagonally into strips
2 large eggs
1/4 cup coconut milk (optional)
1/2 cup AP or whole wheat flour
1 cup panko breadcrumbs
1 cup sweetened shredded coconut
1/2 tsp salt
1/2+ cup vegetable oil
sweet chili sauce for dipping

Directions

1. Cut each breast into approximately 6 strips, diagonally.

2. Take two ziploc bags, one for dredging and the other for breading. In the first bag combine the flour and salt. In the second bag, together the panko bread crumbs and shredded coconut. In a bowl, combine the eggs and coconut milk. Whisk together until well combined.

3. Place 1/4+ cup of vegetable oil in a large heavy duty skillet and heat over medium/high heat until hot.

4. While the oil is heating, toss chicken into the first bag of flour & salt. Then dip the strips into the eggs/coconut milk and finally toss the chicken into the second bag of panko & coconut.

5. After breading the strips, the oil should be hot enough. Place about 1/2 the strips in the pan at once. There should only be one layer in the pan and there should be about an inch between each strip. If you over crowd the pan it will get too cold and the strips will soak up a lot of oil instead of frying. Fry the strips for 2-3 minutes on each side or until they are golden brown and crispy. Place them on a plate with paper towel to drain and move on to the next batch. After a couple of batches you may need more oil so you can add the second 1/4 cup to the pan. Allow the oil to come up to temperature before frying the next batch (2-3 minutes). Because the strips are thin, they should be cooked through by the time both sides are browned. You can tell by the texture of the chicken; it should be stiff when pressed. If you cut your strips thicker, you will need to bake off the chicken after frying to make sure the insides are cooked through.

6. When all of the strips are done frying, serve immediately with sweet chili sauce to dip in.

**These baked up really nicely at 350 degrees for about 25 minutes.

Adapted from:

http://budgetbytes.blogspot.com/2010/01/coconut-chicken-w-sweet-chili-sauce-691.html