Gameday 2011

  Fall is nearly here and you with it comes the start of football season, thankfully on both accounts. But my crazy schedule has yet to slow down and I haven't had much time for some new recipes to fix on game day. So I thought I would take this opportunity to share some of the recipes I have done that would work great for a game day in your own living room or easily fixed while tailgating. The first up is Tex-Mex Nachos!
  I fixed this for the last Superbowl and it was a hit, not to mention it's incredibly easy to make more for a crowd and fairly healthy; for those that are inclined to watch their waist line.

Ingredients:
 3/4 pound ground round
 1/4 cup green onion
 3/4 cup taco sauce
 1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
 1/8 teaspoon black pepper
 1 (16 ounce) can kidney beans, drained
 1 (8-3/4 ounce) can no-salt-added whole-kernel corn, drained
 2 ounces baked tortilla chips( about 3 cups or about 42 small chips)
 3 cups shredded iceberg lettuce
 1 cup chopped tomato
 1 cup (4 ounces) shredded reduced-fat sharp cheddar cheese
 1/2 cup bottled salsa
 1/2 cup fat-free sour cream

 Directions
 Cook beef and green onions in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat until browned, stirring to crumble. Drain well; return beef mixture to pan. Stir in taco sauce, garlic powder, pepper, beans, and corn; cook until thoroughly  heated. Spoon 1 cup beef mixture over 3/4 cup chips; top with 3/4 cup lettuce, 1/4 cup tomato, 1.4 cup cheese, 2 tablespoons salsa, and 2 tablespoons sour cream. Repeat procedure with remaining ingredients. Yield: 4 servings.

Gryo with Tatziki

It's time again for another recipe that takes me for a walk down memory lane. The time is roughly 12 years ago when I was in Colorado with a high adventure group, we were out there to fish, mountain climb, repel, and white water rafting. It was one of the funnest summers of my early teenage years. I wish I could remember all the towns we visited, but for a teenager that was such a small detail, especially when I was busy having fun. While we were on our way out to go fishing for the afternoon, we stopped for lunch in supplies in one of the local towns. We ate lunch at a sort of 50's style diner. At this diner they had Gyro's on the menu and I was persuaded to try one, probably one of the few times to give into peer pressure for a teenager. I'm thankful I did because it was absolutely delicious. Well fast forward to now. My wife has never had a Gyro, so I knew she needed to try one. I looked for several ways of trying to give her some sort of decent glimpse of how delicious they can be. I settled on a simple recipe that called for items I knew were a little more economical and easily obtainable. She really liked my attempt at making them, so I may have to attempt a little more accurate recipe with proper ingredients. The real fun of this recipe came when our little girl wanted in on the action of her food wrapped like Mom and Dad's. We took a leaf of lettuce and made her a small wrap with a little sauce and a few small bite size chunks of the meat, she loved it. So this recipe is Tot approved!

Ingredients
Meat Mixture
1 lb. ground lamb or beef (I used beef)
1/4 cup minced red onion
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 tsp. salt
1 tsp. black pepper
1/4 tsp. nutmeg
1 tsp. fresh lemon juice
Sandwich
4 rounds of flat bread or pita
lettuce
tomato; sliced

Tzatziki sauce
Ingredients
1 cup plain yogurt
4 garlic cloves; roasted and finely chopped
1/2 lemon; juiced
2 tsp. finely chopped mint
1/4 cup finely chopped cucumber without seeds
Salt to taste

Preparation
Sauce
1. Place whole, un-peeled garlic cloves in a small, un-oiled skillet over medium low heat and cook for about two minutes per side-until lightly browned. Peel and chop finely.
2. Combine all ingredients in a small bowl.
Allow the sauce to set in the refrigerator for a couple of hours to let the flavors mingle.

Meat Mixture
1. Thoroughly combine all ingredients in a bowl.
2. Divide into four equal portions and shape into oblong patties about 3" wide, 6" long, 1/2" thick. Refrigerate for an hour.
3. Grill patties over hot fire for 3-4 minutes per side.
4. Spread Tzatziki sauce down the center of a flat bread round, add a lettuce leaf, add some diced tomato. Add the patty, fold the bread over the meat and enjoy.

Kung pao chicken wrap

I have another Kraft recipe that was an excellent light lunch, which believe it or not is Tot Approved. Perhaps I need to start finding a rating system for such recipes, anyways I digress. This recipe is incredibly easy and would be a great one to take the ingredients to work and assemble right before lunch or wrap it up and take it on the go. There is one ingredient that you will want to use sparingly and that's the Kraft Hot and Spicy Flavored Mayonnaise, it's SPICY! Like the name didn't give that away. I would suggest if your not into a lot of spice, then mix it with some regular mayonnaise to cool it down a bit.

For our little girl we took and gave her all the ingredients in small pieces, as this is usually how she likes her sandwiches. Well she wanted in on the wrap action so we took a slice of cheese and made crude wrap with the chicken, lettuce, and shredded carrots which she really got a kick out of.

Make it
1 Whole wheat tortilla (8 inch)
1 tbsp. (or less, be sure to taste it first to know how much you will like) Kraft Sandwich Shop hot & Spicy Flavored Mayonnaise
1 slice Kraft Big Slice Mild cheddar Cheese, cut in half
2 oz. Oscar Mayer Carving Board Rotisserie Seasoned Chicken breast.
4 thi cucumber slices
1/4 cup shredded carrots
1 tbsp fresh cilantro leaves
2 tbsp. drained canned pineapple tidbits
2 tsp. chopped Planters Cocktail Peantus (this was ommitted because we have yet to test our little one for peanut allergies)

Fried-Chicken Salad

I have another Tot approved recipe and I so did not see that coming! My dear daughter is always so hit and miss when it comes to meat of any kind, so I prepared this recipe with the idea that I would be heating up some leftovers for her to eat, boy did she prove me wrong! She must have devoured two and half chicken strips and even ate a small amount of the romaine lettuce, of course it all had to be drowned in the Honey Mustard Dressing, but she ate it.

Ingredients
1/4 cup dry bread crumbs
14. cup all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1 teaspoon dried thyme
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
1 pound boneless skinless chicken breast, cut into thin strips
1/2 cup low-fat or nonfat buttermilk
Cooking spray
1 tablespoon olive oil
4 cups thickly sliced romaine lettuce (cut across ribs)
1 (15 ounce) can whole baby beets, drained and halved(I omitted these)
1/2 cup fat-free honey mustard dressing
1/2 cup shredded Parmesan cheese

Directions
1. Combine first 6 ingredients in a shallow dish. Combine chicken and butter-milk in a bowl; cover and marinate in refrigerator 30 minutes. Drain chicken; dredge a few strips at a time in bread-crumb mixture.
2. Coat a nonstick skillet with cooking spray. Add oil; place over medium heat until hot. Add chicken to skillet; cook 3 minutes on each side or until done.
3. Arrange 1 cup lettuce on each of 4 plates; divide chicken and beets among plates. Top with 2 tablespoons dressing and 2 tablespoons shredded Parmesan cheese

Tex-Mex Nachos

With Super Bowl this weekend I've been looking for some healthy alternatives to serve and this will be sure to satisfy. It's loaded with flavor and low on calories, so it will be sure to help you keep that new year's resolution to lose some weight and eat healthier.

Ingredients:
 3/4 pound ground round
 1/4 cup green onion
 3/4 cup taco sauce
 1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
 1/8 teaspoon black pepper
 1 (16 ounce) can kidney beans, drained
 1 (8-3/4 ounce) can no-salt-added whole-kernel corn, drained
 2 ounces baked tortilla chips( about 3 cups or about 42 small chips)
 3 cups shredded iceberg lettuce
 1 cup chopped tomato
 1 cup (4 ounces) shredded reduced-fat sharp cheddar cheese
 1/2 cup bottled salsa
 1/2 cup fat-free sour cream

 Directions
 1. Cook beef and green onions in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat until browned, stirring to crumble. Drain well; return beef mixture to pan. Stir in taco sauce, garlic powder, pepper, beans, and corn; cook until thoroughly  heated. Spoon 1 cup beef mixture over 3/4 cup chips; top with 3/4 cup lettuce, 1/4 cup tomato, 1.4 cup cheese, 2 tablespoons salsa, and 2 tablespoons sour cream. Repeat procedure with remaining ingredients. Yield: 4 servings.

Strawberry Salad

This recipe comes from my wonderful mother-in-law, she prepared this for a small get together we had recently at our house, and she got it from Kraft. The salad was amazing and made a wonderful side to the Gulf Coast Shrimp since it's a very sweet dish, also making it a wonderful summer time salad. We had five people, and she cut everything in half and we still had plenty for every one.

Strawberry Salad

2 bags (10 oz. each) torn Romain lettuce

2 cans (15 oz. each) mandarin orange segments, drained

4 cups sliced strawberries

1 medium Red onion, sliced

1 cup Caramelized Almonds

1 cup Poppy Seed Dressing

1. Toss lettuce with oranges, strawberries and onion in large bowl.

2. Sprinkle with caramelized Almonds.

3. Add Poppy Seed Dressing; mix lightly. Serve immediately.

Caramelized Almonds

This she made a full recipe of. It was a good thing she did, because these were so good without the salad.

1 cup Planters Sliced Almonds

6 Tbsp. Sugar

1. Toss almonds with sugar in nonstick skillet. cook on medium-high heat until sugar is caramelized, stirring frequently.

2. Spread into single layer on greased baking sheet or sheet of wax paper; cool at least 1 hour.

3. Break into small pieces. Stored in tightly covered container at room temperature.

Poppy Seed Dressing

1/2 cup Sugar

1 tsp. Salt

1 tsp. Dry mustard

1/4 cup wine vinegar

1/2 cup Olive oil

1/2 cup Canola oil

1 tbsp. Onion juice

3 tbsp. KRAFT Real Mayo Mayonnaise

4-1/2 ts. Poppy seed

1. Beat sugar, salt, dry mustard and wine vinegar in medium bowl with wire whisk until well blended.

2. Add olive oil, canola oil and onion juice; mix until well blended. Add mayo and poppy seed; mix well. Cover.

3. Refrigerate until ready to serve.