You are currently browsing the Light and Healthy category.
Who says guacamole is the one and only southwest chip dip?
When I was having some people over a few days ago, I decided I needed a dip to go with my enchiladas. But. No avocados. =Sigh=
When I searched the pantry, I had lots of canned black beans and one can of garbanzo beans, both protein powerhouses and so yummy, but could they be yummy together? Answer: Most definitely!
The cumin and chipotle powders are fabulous together, the raw garlic adds a very nice mild bite, and the garbanzo and black beans are a perfect texture pair. I LOVE this dip, and will make it again and again. Especially when I run out of avocados!
Continue Reading…
I know what you’re thinking, ”Crepe recipes? On a Southwest food blog?” That’s what I thought. Until I tasted fajita steak and chipotle chicken wrapped up in a crispy crepe, that is.
We found a great little restaurant in Irvine, California last month called the Crepe Maker. The menu is built around a basic crepe recipe filled with just about anything you can imagine. Savory, sweet, Southwest, Italian, they have it all. My husband was skeptical, to say the least. ”Crepes aren’t really food. Are they?”
These crepes certainly are! I have never had a crepe like this. The crepes I have eaten are usually small and soft… delicate little things. The crepes at Crepe Maker are large and crispy! Think pizza sized. They are folded in half and rolled into a cone shape in order to hold such hearty ingredients as fajita steak, marinated chicken and even Tex-Mex combos with corn and black beans. My favorite crepe turned out to be the one I tried on a whim. It has marinated chicken, melted cheddar cheese, tomatoes, spinach, walnuts and… wait for it… raspberry jam! It was delicious! The raspberry jam added tartness and just a little sweet to the dish. The jam melted slightly in the warm crepe and spread itself around on the spinach greens. I’ve been craving the crepes ever since we returned home.
The cooks at the Crepe Maker shared their tips for making the perfect crepe. So, get your filling and your crepe batter ready and cook along.
Continue Reading…
I’m not usually a “salad for dinner” kind of girl. But when summer hits full boil here in Phoenix, salad recipes are all I can think about. Salads are quick, easy and there are no rules to follow; you just throw in what ever sounds good at the time. This Strawberry and Goat Cheese Salad with Candied Walnuts is not only what sounds good this time, but it’s all I have this time.
Apparently, I didn’t do that great of a job shopping before I went into the hospital for knee surgery. I found a strange collection of ingredients in the fridge when I got home: left over pizza, dried out chicken nuggets and really smelly chinese food. All signs that my family survived any way they could… by eating take-out. The big bag of salad greens I purchased is still sitting there, looking a little sad. I must have been under the influence of pre-surgery medication when I bought it. I had these images of my husband sitting around, munching on salad and marveling at its crisp, summery, freshness while I was in the hospital eating reconstituted beef bullion and rubberized pork chops.
However, there is a big patch of really fresh strawberries in the fridge that wasn’t there before. He probably picked them up at the grocery store on one of his “emergency runs” for ice cream (the evidence is in the trash can). So, I mixed the strawberries and bag of greens with creamy goat cheese from the fridge (every Southwest cook has goat cheese in the fridge) and candied walnuts from the pantry for a fresh summery salad that made me feel so happy to be home.
Continue Reading…
Tags:
candied walnuts,
cheese,
easy dinners,
goat cheese,
healthy,
low carb recipes,
low fat recipes,
low glycemic recipe,
meatless monday,
pantry,
salad,
southwest recipe,
spinach,
strawberry
We have always said that Southwest food can be light and healthy. Now, we have proof. Rubio’s Fresh Mexican Grill just opened restaurant number 200! The restaurants feature Baja style “beach food” that is packed with fresh ingredients and authentic flavor.
We were invited to join Ralph Rubio (the man behind the fish tacos and founder of Rubio’s) and a group of fellow bloggers for a free lunch at one of the new locations in Utah. Rubio showed off the food he fell in love with as a college student while vacationing on the beaches of Baja, Mexico. That’s when, at a little taco shop in San Felipe, he met his first love, the fish taco. Rubio brought the concept of the fish taco back to California and, after perfecting his own recipe, opened his first restaurant in San Diego in 1983.
- Ralph Rubio shares his Baja style food and tips to keep it healthy
Before sitting down for lunch, Rubio took us on a tour of the kitchen where we saw chiles and fresh vegetables cooking on an open flame grill and stuffed into the healthy, Baja style food that Rubio’s is famous for. The lunch featured some of the greatest hits from the menu as well as some of Rubio’s newer dishes. The fish taco is still the star, but other items have been added to the menu along the way to keep up with customers’ tastes and current trends. With each course, Rubio gave us tips on how he to keeps the authentic flavor in his fresh and healthy food.
Continue Reading…
This recipe combines two fabulous Tex-Mex classic dishes – fajitas and nachos – in the perfect Southwest party creation: Fajita Style Vegetarian Nachos. Perfect for Meatless Mondays – we promise you won’t miss the meat!
It’s simple, if you think about it. Just grill or broil the veggies and then use them to top your nachos.
This recipe is great because it is hardy enough to serve as a main dish, but flavorful and colorful enough to serve as an appetizer at a party. They are pretty enough to impress your boss or your in-laws!
I started with black beans, so delicious and little protein powerhouses. I made a black bean puree to drizzle over the chips. This puree is amazingly flavorful and so easy – just a can of black beans, a can of enchilada sauce and some raw pressed garlic all blended until smooth. Yum. The puree isn’t cooked – just warmed in the microwave. Then you top that with the veggies and then, of course cheese. Lots of it. Whatever kind you like.
These may be are definitely the best nachos I have ever eaten. This easily beats the restaurant versions. Hands down!
Continue Reading…
