Southwestern Layered Salad – The Perfect Make Ahead Summer Salad!

Tags

avocado, beans, bell pepper, corn, healthy, low-fat, southwestern layered salad, vegan, vegetarian, Weight Watchers


I shared this recipe a year ago, but I made it again today for a barbecue we’re attending. It is so good that it is worth sharing again!!! This recipe has been a favorite with our friends and family for several years now. As you can see from the photo, it is a visually beautiful dish and it’s SO delicious! I usually make and serve it in a glass bowl, so I can show off the colorful layers. I also like that there is nothing in this that is incredibly perishable, so it can sit out a little longer than some dishes, which makes it great for entertaining and potlucks. It can be made ahead of time and just cut up and add the avocado at the end, so it doesn’t turn color. And last but not least, I love the salad because it is low calorie and low fat!
Unfortunately, I can’t take credit for the recipe. I have to give that to Weight Watchers. This recipe is in their Winner’s Circle cookbook. I have to give Weight Watchers kudos on their recipes! I can’t recommend their cookbooks enough! If you’re trying to cook healthy, delicious foods, you will find wonderful recipes in their cookbooks. I have found that after cooking their recipes for years, I have learned numerous tricks that have helped to make my cooking lighter overall. Ishare many of these tips and tricks throughout my various recipes.

This recipe can easily be changed to be vegan by leaving out the cheese or selecting a vegan friendly version. It will will still taste fantastic!

Southwestern Layered Salad

1 (15 1/2 ounce) can of black beans, rinsed and drained

1/4 cup prepared tomato salsa
1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro
2 cups finely chopped romaine lettuce
2 medium tomatoes, chopped
1 (15 1/4 ounce) can whole kernel corn, drained or equal amount of thawed frozen corn
1 green bell pepper, seeded and diced (I actually always use red bell pepper as I think green has an overpowering taste, but this is up to you)
1 red onion, finely chopped
1/2 cup shredded cheddar cheese (reduced fat or fat free)
1/2 avocado, peeled and cubed
2 slices of turkey bacon, cooked and crumbled
1/4 cup fat free Italian Dressing (I’ve also been known to use my homemade balsamic vinaigrette)
1. Combine the beans, salsa and 2 tbsp. of the cilantro in a small bowl. Layer the various ingredients in the bowl in this order: bean mixture, lettuce, tomatoes, corn, bell pepper, onion and cheese.

2. Just before serving arrange the avocado on top. Sprinkle with bacon and remaining cilantro. Drizzle salad with dressing.
My 2 cents: I sometimes change up the order of the layers to make sure the colors vary for aesthetic purposes. I also drizzle some of the dressing half way through the layering process, so it can reach all the ingredients. Also, if you don’t feel like layering it, you can just toss all the ingredients together. I did this the last time I made it. It’s still gorgeous and just as delicious! Enjoy!
This makes 8 servings with 166 calories, 6 g of fat, 2 g saturated fat, 0 g trans fat, 396 mg sodium, 23g carbs, 6 g fiber, 8 g protein.

Lobster Avocado Pesto Pasta – Food of the Gods I Tell You!!!!

Tags

avocado, Cilantro, Cooking, Dinner, Food, fresh, healthy, lobster, pasta, pesto, spaghetti

  

The photo of this blog post alone had me! Lobster and avocado!?! Food of the gods!!! This is a recipe I will definitely have to try and I will let you all know if I do!

lobster avocado pesto pasta my own recipe   pesto 2 ripe avocados 2 green onion sprigs juice of 1/2 lemon 1/4 cup cashews 1/4 cup olive oil 1/4 cup parmesan cheese 1/4 cup cilantro leaves 1 tsp garlic powder 1 tsp salt 1 tsp black pepper pasta 1 lb spaghetti pasta 1/2 lb langosta lobster […]

http://cookingfromtheheart.net/2016/03/16/lobster-avocado-pesto-pasta/

Carne Asada Salad with Cilantro Lime Dressing

Tags

avocado, Carne Asada, Cilantro, Cooking, Dressing, Food, lime, recipe, salad

  
This salad was so fresh and delicious, but it was hearty enough to be a great entrée for our dinner last night. I had a bunch of great items from my organic produce shipment, so a salad was just begging to be made! I had thought of making fajitas with the carne asada, but we have been eating a little heavy lately, so I wanted to keep it light and use the beatiful produce I had on hand. This salad with the savory beef, fresh produce and tangy dressing was incredibly flavorful with a nice crunch!

I had some perfect green leaf lettuce, a perfectly ripe avocado, a nice firm tomato and green onions. I just love my organic produce!!! I also had some organic cilantro, so I decided to make my own dressing. I was really happy with the tangy result that added a ton of flavor to the salad!

I decided to marinade the carne asada for half a day before cooking. I had a few Frontera marinade packets on hand. I decided to go with what was actually a chicken marinade, but what the heck it sounded good! Since I was making a salad, I didn’t want to go with flavors that are super intense, like barbacoa. I had a few Frontera sauce packets in my pantry and I decided to go with the Roasted Garlic Chicken Skillet Sauce with Chipotle and Lime. The flavors sounded good and they did not disappoint! The flavors were light and bright and worked just fine on the beef.

Carne Asada Salad with Cilantro Lime Dressing

Salad

1 pound carne asada beef

1 packet Frontera marinade (I used the flavor above, but they have several flavors, including fajita,that would work well)

1 head green leaf lettuce, washed, dried and chopped

6 green onions, sliced

2 tomatoes, diced

1 avocado, diced

Tortilla chips, crumbled

Dressing

Juice of 3 limes

1/2 cup cilantro leaves

1/2 cup olive oil

1/4 cup white balsamic vinegar

1 clove garlic

1/2 tsp salt

1/4 tsp peppper

Start by putting your meat and marinade in a zip-log bag. Mix well making sure all meat is covered with marinade. Store in fridge for a few hours. Next, make your dressing. I used my immersion blender to blend all the ingredients or you can put them all in a food processor or blender. Blend until well mixed and cilantro and garlic are in very fine bits.

Heat a pan sprayed with non-stick spray over medium high heat. Sear each piece of meat for a couple of minutes on each side. You don’t want to over cook carne asada or it will get tough. Once all meat is cooked, cut it into bite size strips. Put meat and remaining 5 salad ingredients in a large bowl. Top with some dressing and toss. Add enough dressing to lightly coat all salad. You may have extra left over depending on how much dressing you like. Sliced black olives would also be a good add, but I didn’t have any.

Enjoy!

The TABLE – Tomato, Avocado, BACON, Lettuce and Egg

Tags

avocado, Bacon, BLT, BLTA, Cooking, Food, Sandwich

  
My husband swears he invented this sandwich and has ben trying to get our local Black Bear Diner to put it on their menu. I’ll just admit it is a yummy sandwich! Bacon – yes, please! Tomato – yummy! Lettuce – like the crunch! Egg – substance, I like that too! Avocado – Don’t be stupid! Of course, I want that!

I had leftover bacon from my boeuf Bourguignon  and avocado and lettuce from my organic produce shipment. These ingredients were just dying to be made into a fantastic sandwich, so we had the TABLE for dinner last night. Of course, this would be good at breakfast or lunch too. Let’s face it! It’s just good and can be eaten anytime you want!!!

It’s not complicated and you can jazz it up or down as you please. Here is what we did:

Toasted wheat bread spread with low-fat mayo

Bacon strips cut in half and cooked until crispy – We put about 2 slices on each sandwich

Sliced Avocado

Sliced Tomaoto

Lettuce Leaf

One egg over easy or sunnyside up, depending on how runny you like your egg

Optional: jalapeno, hot sauce, mustard, ketchup, etc.

Enjoy the TABLE!

Ceviche Avocado – Fresh, Light and FABULOUS!!!

Tags

#insidekelskitchen, Antioch, avocado, ceviche, Champions, Cooking, Food, Lone Tree Golf Course, restaurant

  
My husband and I just had lunch at one of our favorite local spots; Champions Bar and Grill at the Lone Tree Golf Course in Antioch, California. I had the most delicious dish!!! The Ceviche Avocado tasted so fresh and wonderful! There was the creaminess of the avocado with just the right amount of spice from the fresh jalapenos. The shrimp were the perfect texture and the salsa was so flavorful. I can’t say enough good things!

Champions recently changed their menu. They didn’t make drastic changes. They simplified it some and added some new Mexican inspired entrees. I’ve had their new carnitas burrito with mole sauce and that was also delicious.

If you are visiting or live in the area, you should give Champions a try! They are a wonderful place to eat for either lunch or dinner. The staff are friendly, thoughtful and very open to feedback. 

Mexican Spiced Chicken With Tomatillo/Avocado Salsa

Tags

avocado, Chicken, Cooking, Food, main dish, Mexican, salsa, tomatillo, tomatillos

 
In one of the many cooking shows I watch someone was making a tomatillo/avocado salsa. I hadn’t cooked with tomatillos in a while and this was sounding yummy, so I picked up some supplies at the grocery store and started concocting!

I was thinking that a fresh salsa over chicken sounded great and it was! This dish was so colorful and had the bold, spicy flavors that I love. It made plenty of salsa and we have some leftover. Think I’ll have a snack later! This salsa was just fantastic and stands up by itself, so you could also serve this as an appetizer with chips or veggies for dipping.

Mexican Spiced Chicken With Tomatillo/Avocado Salsa

Salsa Recipe:

7-8 small – medium tomatillos, diced

2 medium – large tomatoes, diced

1/2 red onion, chopped

1/2 bunch cilantro diced

1 large serrano pepper,finely chopped

1 avocado, diced

Juice of 1/2 lime

Salt and pepper

In a lightly greased frying pan saute diced tomatillos until tender. While they are cooking add some salt and pepper. Remove from heat and allow to cool. While these are cooling, prepare all your other salsa ingredients and mix together. Once tomatillos have cooled to room temperature, toss them into your salsa. Add salt and pepper to taste. Refrigerate salsa until cool.

Chicken Recipe:

1 pound boneless, skinless chicken thighs or breasts

¼ cup all purpose flour

1/8 – 1/4 cup taco seasoning

In a resealable bag, mix flour and taco seasoning. Add chicken to bag and shake until coated. Lightly spray a baking pan with non-stick spray. Place chicken in the pan and lightly spray the chicken with the non-stick spray. Bake for 40 minutes or until chicken is cooked through in a 350 degree oven. Remove from oven and spoon salsa over chicken.

Avocado: Creative Uses for This Wonderful Fruit!

Tags

avocado, avocado egg, avocado egg salad, avocado mashed potatoes, avocado tuna salad, avocados, cholesterol, Cooking, Food, healthy, low-fat, lowfat, mayo replacement, mayonnaise replacement

You know what I love about our family friend Tom??? The man hates avocados! I love those people that don’t like avocadoes, because you know what that means??? More guacamole for me!!! Oh man! I can’t get enough of that green stuff! Guacamole and chips, sliced avocado on a sandwich or burger, avocado on a salad, guacamole on whatever type of Mexican food I’m eating at the moment, avocado in or on just about anything!!! And finally, something that is delicious, decadent, and good for me!!! There is a God and He created avocados!!!

OK, let’s take it down a notch! Calm down Kelly!

I wanted to blog about avocados, because I have recently found some exciting new ways to use them. Maybe you’ve heard of some of these, but hopefully you’ll find something new and exciting for yourself!

1. The Avocado Egg (Pictured above) – From my non-professional photography, you can tell I have made this dish for myself. It is very decadent and delicious! The egg is basically sunny side up, so if you’ re adverse to runny egg yolk you will want to cook yours a little longer or beat the egg before adding it to the avocado. How do you make it? Simple! Halve an avocado and remove the stone. Scoop out about a tablespoon of the flesh to make room for your egg. I have faith that you will put that scooped out avocado to good use! Place your avocado(s) in a baking dish in a supported fashion, so they are stable. Crack your egg into the avocado or into a bowl and pour into the avocado. Add salt and pepper and bake at 450 degrees for 10-12 minutes. Feel free to top with other goodness; cheese, green onions, peppers, etc. Enjoy your “green egg”!
2. Avocado Tuna Salad – We love tuna salad sandwiches at our house, but I just don’t need the fat that the mayonnaise adds to the mix. It tastes so good though!Well our family has found that mashed avocado is a wonderful substitute! We use one mashed avocado to one drained 12 oz. can of tuna (water packed, of course!) and add all that we usually enjoy in our tuna salad; onion, pickle relish, mustard, jalapenos or whatever you use in your tuna salad. We have found that you don’t get a strong avocado flavor. It just tastes like regular tuna salad. Delicious!
3. Avocado Egg Salad – This is pretty much the same story as the tuna salad, but you use 1/2 an avocado, mashed with 4 hard boiled eggs and again, add your other usual ingredients. Now the color is a little off, because you’re introducing green, but tell everyone to get over it, because this is delicious!!! Again, you really don’t taste avocado flavor.
4. Avocado Mashed Potatoes – I have to admit that I have not tried this myself, but I had a friend recommend replacing the butter and/or sour cream in mashed potatoes with mashed avocado. I have no doubt it’s delicious!!!

I hope you find these ideas useful! Do you have creative uses for avocado not discussed here? I’d love to hear your ideas!!!