Resolution Saving Touchdown Dips

Resolution Saving Touchdown Dips

No good party, football themed or otherwise, is complete without at least one dip.  Well, that’s how I feel about it anyway.  I want something delicious to dip vegetables, tortilla chips and pita chips into throughout the event.  Dips are perfect for prolonged snacking…just put a little on your plate with some sort of dipper, eat, and repeat!  Unfortunately, most party dips are FULL of fat and high in calories – not exactly helpful in keeping to a New Year’s resolution.  In an attempt to help myself, and all of you, stay healthy throughout this New Year, I concocted this trio of dips.  They are perfect together or individually.  They are beautiful and tasty enough to use at a party, and simple and healthy enough to take with you in your lunch for work.  Just pack some vegetables and/or pita chips and you’ll be looking forward to that healthy packed lunch for once!  The hummus is also really good in a wrap or sandwich with some crunchy lettuce and tangy tomatoes. 

So don’t shy away from those playoff parties this year!  You can have your dip and be healthy too!

Dip #1

Roasted Red Pepper Hummus

Ingredients

4 Cloves garlic

2 (15 oz) Cans garbanzo beans (chick peas), liquid from one can reserved

1 ½ Teaspoons salt

1/3 Cup tahini paste

6 Tablespoons lemon juice

2 Tablespoons bean liquid

3 – 4 Teaspoons Frank’s hot sauce

3 Whole roasted red peppers, towel dried

Before we begin, I need to make sure you know about the tahini.  It is a sesame paste that is a classic ingredient in hummus.  You can actually find it in the ethnic (Mediterranean section) of most grocery stores.  It really makes hummus delicious, so pretty please…keep it in the dip! J

Step 1

This dip is so incredibly simple to make!  You just need the food processor and you are ready to go!  Throw your garlic cloves into the processor and process them until they are minced.  Then scrape the pieces down the sides of the food processor back to the base of the bowl.

Step 2

Add the drained garbanzo beans, salt, tahini, lemon juice, bean liquid, hot sauce and roasted red peppers.  Turn the machine on and let the ingredients blend until smooth. 

If it is too thick, add more of the bean liquid until the texture is just as you would like it.  Make sure you taste it and add more hot sauce or salt if your taste buds aren’t dancing!

To serve at a party, I just chopped some roasted red pepper and used it to garnish the dip.

It's that easy!!!  Now on to the next dip...

Dip #2

Black Bean Dip

Ingredients

1 (15 oz.) Can black beans, liquid reserved before rinsing the beans

Juice of 1 lime

¼ Medium red onion, small diced

1 Tablespoons cilantro

1 Teaspoon cumin

1 Jalapeno, small diced

1 Tablespoon, plus more if needed, bean liquid

2 Cloves garlic

½ Teaspoon salt

Step 1

The food processor makes this dip a snap too!  Place the garlic in the food processor and process until minced.

Step 2

Place the black beans, lime juice, cilantro, cumin, bean liquid and salt into the bowl with the garlic and process until it is smooth. 

Add more bean liquid if the dip is too thick.

Step 3

Small dice your red onion and jalapeno.  When it comes to the jalapeno, I removed most of the ribs and seeds, but left some for heat.  It is up to you how hot you would like it to be.  When you have finished, hand mix them into the dip.  I like the crunch of the onion and pepper with the creamy dip.

To serve this dip, I topped it with cilantro.

How easy have these dips been?!  Now on to the last...

Dip #3

Guacamole

Ingredients

3 Avocados

Juice of 2 limes

1 Teaspoon Frank’s hot sauce

¼ Red onion, diced

2 Cloves garlic, minced

1 Teaspoon salt

½ Dry pint grape tomatoes, cut into eighths

1 – 3 Teaspoons cilantro, chopped

First, put the food processor away!!!!  Guacamole should be delightfully chunky with creamy cubes of avocado, juicy bites of tomato and the pungent crunch of onion.  I don’t like it perfectly smooth…it says “I was made from a mix” and not, “I am fresh and delicious!”  Enough of my guacamole rant…let’s just make some…

Step 1

Chop the onion, tomatoes and cilantro and mince the garlic.  Put them into a container or bowl.  Add the juice of 1 of the limes and hot sauce.

Step 2

Now it’s a race against the clock with the avocados.  They brown when they are exposed to the air, but the acid in the lime juice helps to prevent this.  Cut your avocados in half long ways and remove the pits.  Use a large spoon to scoop all the flesh from the skin.  Then large dice the avocado.  Add the pieces to the bowl and squeeze the remaining lime on top of the avocados.  Then sprinkle the salt on top.

Step 3

Mix all of the guacamole together. 

Grab a potato masher like this one (or just use a fork if you don’t have one) and mash the mixture until it is creamy with large chunks of avocado throughout. 

Taste to see if there is enough salt, cilantro (I use a little bit because I am sensitive to large amounts of cilantro) and hot sauce for you.

To serve, I garnished with some extra cilantro and some small diced tomato.

(Guacamole is best served immediately.  If you are storing it, keep it in an air tight container, with plastic wrap pressed directly on top of the guacamole before placing the lid on top.)

These dips are all wonderful.  I was trying to select my favorite.  Each time I thought I had a choice, I tasted another one and that went out the window!  Make one, make all, it's up to you!  But enjoy these simple, flavorful and healthful dips this winter!

Meatloaf Parmesan

Meatloaf Parmesan

“Meatloaf”  There are very few more unappetizing food names in the English language than “meatloaf.”  A loaf of meat.  Sounds weird and completely unappetizing.  I wish we could rename it…let’s try and see if it catches on!  How about “pain de viande” – the French name for meatloaf.  Everything sounds better in French, doesn’t it?  Join me in my crusade to turn meatloaf into something beautiful and elegant!

Honestly, I think meatloaf gets a bum rap because of the dry, tasteless loafs of meat we have all experienced a number of times throughout life (cafeteria meatloaf, anyone?).  They can also be the other extreme…so heavy and greasy that you can hardly even eat it.  I have found though, that there are variations of meatloaf out there in recipe land, that are completely worthy of passing over my lips and are actually even worthy of sharing with company!  This meatloaf variation is rooted in a recipe I received at my bridal shower.  I have no idea who gave it to me, but we absolutely love it!  I’ve shared the recipe with others too who have raved about the flavors.  So thank you to my mystery recipe donor.  I am now sharing your recipe with the world (or my little section of it)!

Keep in mind, meatloaf can be lightened and still kept delicious by mixing your meats.  I usually make it with half ground turkey breast (often marked “99% fat free” at the grocery store) and half ground beef.  This reduces the fat significantly, while still maintaining the flavor and juiciness of a good meatloaf.

Here it goes…Pain de Viande Parmesan:

Ingredients
1 ½ Pounds ground meat (beef, turkey, chicken, pork or any combination)

½ Cup Bread crumbs

½ Cup onion, diced

1 Egg

2 Cloves garlic, minced

1 ½ Teaspoons Italian seasoning blend

1 Teaspoon salt

1/8 Teaspoon pepper

¼ Cup Parmesan

1 ½ Cups spaghetti sauce (a little more if using a lean ground meat)

Step 1

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.  Then the first step, as usual, is to prep your ingredients.  You need to dice the onion and mince the garlic.  If you are using fresh Parmesan cheese, you will want to grate that awhile too.

Step 2

Combine the ground meat, bread crumbs, onion, egg, garlic, Italian seasoning, salt, pepper, 2 Tablespoons Parmesan and ½ cup spaghetti sauce (a little more for moisture if using lean meat).  Mix them by hand until they are just combined…you don’t want to over work your meat or it will get tough. 

When the ingredients seem equally distributed throughout the meat, form it into a loaf in a shallow baking dish and bake the pain de viande for 45 minutes.

Step 3

Bring your pain de viande out of the oven and drain any excess fat you might have in the dish.  Then spread the remaining spaghetti sauce on top of the loaf.  Top the sauce with the remaining Parmesan cheese.  Bake it for another 15 – 20 minutes.  Then let it sit for a few minutes before cutting, so all the juices can redistribute through the meat.

Enjoy the pain de viande!

I promise, truly healthy recipes are coming.  But by using lighter ground meats, you can turn pain de viande into a tasty, lean protein dinner!

Salmon with Dill Butter

Salmon with Dill Butter

Happy New Year to all of you!  I hope your Christmas season was full of love and cheer and 2012 is welcoming you with open arms.  Tim and I were both off work last week; we had a lovely week with family, friends and lots of time for relaxation.  My sister came over one of the evenings and we had an Italian themed food and movie night.  Pictures and recipes will be coming soon, but the evening was a blast!  I hope food is fun for you in this New Year.  I know I am excited to create more healthful and delicious recipes now that the holiday season is over and we begin anew.  My first recipe for 2012 should be incredibly light and healthy…this is not what I expected to post with all the butter.  But it is delicious and full of those necessary Omega 3s…and it is incredibly quick to put together!  It is also written for two servings for all those friends out there cooking for two. 

The flavors in this salmon dish work together so perfectly.  Salmon has a heavier, fattier feel when no effort is made to counteract it.  By using this butter mixture, full of acids from lemon and mustard, that fattier feel is lightened and the salmon becomes something bright and lovely.  Paired with a steamed green vegetable, this salmon does become a healthful meal.  The power punch of the Omegas 3s will help you begin 2012 on the right foot!

Ingredients

2 Salmon fillets

4 Tablespoons butter, softened

2 Tablespoons fresh dill, chopped

2 Tablespoons whole grain mustard

1 ½ Teaspoons lemon juice

½ Teaspoon salt

¼ Teaspoon pepper

Step 1

There are soooo many steps to this recipe, you might want to make yourself a latte and brace yourself for this process…did you do it?  Are you ready?  Here we go! 

Combine the butter, chopped fresh dill, whole grain mustard, lemon juice, salt and pepper. 

Whew!  Finally Step 1 is over...on to 2...

Step 2

Heat a sauté pan over medium-high heat.  Add about 3 tablespoons of the butter mixture and allow it to melt. 

When it does, add the salmon fillets.  Let them sauté for about 4 minutes on each side (they are easily flaked when they are finished).  Remove the salmon from the pan and top each fillet with a dollop (I just love that word!) of the butter mixture.  It will begin to melt down the fillet and look beautiful and inviting on your plate.

That’s it!!!  I admit it, I lied about the large quantity of steps.  I really just wanted you to make yourself a latte.  You deserve it!  Pamper yourself a little each day.  THAT should be your resolution this year.  Just sayin’…

Gastronome's Note:  You will have leftover butter.  Add some to your vegetables or save it to use again!