Mango & Avocado Salsa

My husband liked this salsa over chicken so much, he told me the dinner was one of his "Top 2 Favorite Dinners Ever".  Serve this over chicken or fish or as a taco topping.  Because it is mostly fruits and vegetables, one serving has less than 100 calories and lots of "good" fats.  Thanks Martha Stewart Food for this great recipe.

MANGO & AVOCADO SALSA

Recipe Notes

Make this immediately before serving so that the avocado doesn't start to turn brown.  Also, I think that one of the keys to the red onion is the fine dice - mince as small as possible.

Nutritional Information (per 1/2 c. serving - serves 6)

91 calories - 6.9 g. fat - 8.2 g. carbs - 0.9 g. protein - 2.7 g. fiber

Ingredients

• 1 avocado (halved, peeled, pitted, and diced medium to small)
• 1 ripe mango (peeled, pitted, and diced medium to small)
• 1 small red onion, diced fine
• 1/4 c. finely-chopped fresh cilantro
• 1 jalapeno pepper, minced
• 2 tbsp. fresh lime juice (approx. 2 small limes or 1 medium lime)
• 1 tbsp. olive oil
• 1/2 tsp. coarse salt 

Instructions

1.  In a bowl, combine all ingredients.
2.  Serve immediately.

Taco Toppings

I made these grilled fish tacos from Martha Stewart Everyday Food recently, and I needed some toppings to give them a summery kick. Enter the Corn and Tomato Relish from the same Everyday Food along with Guacamole 1-2-3 (combine the juice of 1 lemon, 2 small chopped tomatoes, and 3 mashed ripe avocados with salt and pepper to taste - delicious guacamole every time!). This was a nice, light, summery topping that would also do well as a Tex-Mex summer side.

Corn and Tomato Relish

The recipe calls for fresh corn kernels. I used canned corn in order to save time and a little money.

Ingredients

- 1 c. fresh corn kernels
- 1 medium tomato, diced
- 1 scallion, sliced thinly crosswise
- 2 tbsp. chopped fresh cilantro (I used more because my husband LOVES cilantro)
- 1 tbsp. fresh lime juice (approximately 1 small lime)

Instructions

Combine all ingredients and season with salt and pepper. Enjoy!

Italian-Seasoned Chicken Breasts with Hearty Tomato Blend

This meal came from Southern Living. Normally, I stay away from Southern Living, not because its recipes aren't delicious (they are) but because those recipes are typically highly fattening. This one seems relatively harmless, with just one tbsp. vegetable oil in the whole deal.

ITALIAN SEASONED CHICKEN BREASTS WITH HEARTY TOMATO BLEND

Recipe Notes

Recipe for Hearty Tomato Blend follows. In my skillet, the cooking time on the chicken was more like 5-7 minutes per side to get it cooked all the way through.

Ingredients

• 1 c. uncooked extra long grain rice
• 1/3 c. chopped celery
• 4 skinned and boned chicken breast cutlets (3/4-1 lb.)
• 1/2 tsp. salt, divided
• 1/8 tsp. pepper
• 1/2 c. Italian-seasoned breadcrumbs
• 1 large egg, beaten
• 1 tbsp. vegetable oil
• 2 c. Hearty Tomato Blend (below)
• 2 tbsp. chopped fresh parsley

Instructions

1. Prepare rice according to package directions, adding celery with rice.

2. Sprinkle chicken with salt and pepper.

3. Combine breadcrumbs with 1/4 tsp. salt in a shallow dish. Dip chicken in egg; dredge in breadcrumb mixture.

4. Cook chicken in hot oil in a 10-inch nonstick skillet (medium-high heat) 3-4 minutes per side or until lightly browned and done. Remove from skillet and drain well on paper towels. Keep warm.

5. Heat 2 c. Hearty Tomato Blend in a small saucepan over medium heat for 5-6 minutes or until thoroughly heated.

6. Toss hot cooked rice with parsley and place on a serving plate. Top with chicken. Spoon Hearty Tomato Blend over the chicken and rice. Garnish if desired.

HEARTY TOMATO BLEND

Recipe Notes

Sorry about the ugly jar in the picture - I like to reuse old jelly jars when I can, and I haven't quite gotten the label off of this one yet. This recipe makes WAY too much for just Corey and me, so I personally halved the recipe. For the sweet onions, I used sweet yellow onions.

Ingredients

• Three 28-oz. cans diced tomatoes, drained
• Four 8-oz. cans tomato sauce
• 2 medium sweet onions, diced (about 2 cups)
• 1 large green bell pepper, diced
• 1 large red bell pepper, diced
• 1 tsp. black pepper
• 1/2 tsp. ground red pepper
• 1/2 tsp. dried crushed red pepper

Instructions

1. Stir together all ingredients in a large bowl. Use immediately or store in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to seven days.

Easy Cranberry Sauce

I make this for my family every Thanksgiving and Christmas. And with only three ingredients, how could you NOT like this recipe? This is great with leftover turkey on a sandwich with a little mayonnaise and lettuce....yum!

Recipe Notes
Easily doubled or tripled.

Ingredients

• One, 12-oz. bag cranberries
• 1 c. sugar
• 1 c. orange juice

Instructions

1. Combine all ingredients in a heavy saucepan over medium heat.

2. Bring to a boil and stir continuously, approximately 5-10 minutes. Cranberry sauce will be done when the mixture is foamy and most of the cranberries have burst.

3. Allow to cool completely before storing or serving.

Basil Pesto

Ok, once I picked my basil plant basically bare of leaves so that it would stop getting so leggy (see previous post), it was time to make basil pesto! This is a great thing to make and toss in the refrigerator for nights when you don't feel like making a big production of dinner. I keep mine in little half-cup gladware containers (above; each half-cup contains about eight servings).

Some ideas for pesto include the following:

- Add to hot cooked pasta, cherry tomatoes, and/or grilled chicken and serve with salad and crusty bread

- Drizzle over fresh mozzarella and tomatoes

- Top grilled chicken or toss with cooked shrimp for an elegant protein

Below is a recipe for pesto I use often that I adapted from a Cooking Light recipe. The recipe uses less than half the oil that traditional pesto recipes incorporate; as such, you likely won't ever see this pesto separate out into oil and other ingredients - it will stay well-mixed!

BASIL PESTO

Recipe Notes
Because my basil plant was so prolific, I was able to multiply this recipe eight times over. Please note that, if you make just one recipe of this pesto, you will have significantly less than these photos show.

Ingredients

• 1 cup basil leaves
• 2 tbsp. pine nuts, toasted
• 2 tbsp. preshredded Parmesan cheese
• 2 tsp. fresh lemon juice (about 1/2 lemon)
• 2 tsp. bottled minced garlic
• 4 tsp. olive oil
• Salt & pepper to taste

Instructions

1. Wash basil thoroughly and pat dry.
2. Broil pine nuts in the oven on LOW until toasted.

3. Combine all ingredients except for olive oil in a Cuisinart or other food processor.

4. Pulse until well-combined.

5. Add oil, one tsp. at a time, until pesto is well-blended.

Hot Fudge Sauce

Whenever I have a dinner party, dessert seems to take up way too much of my cook & prep time. The solution is this fabulous hot fudge sauce that my mom found on marthastewart.com. When served over ice cream in a pretty bowl or ice cream dish, it's a perfect and decadent finish to your dinner party, and everyone loves ice cream! Since it only has four ingredients, it is easy on the wallet as well. I promise, your guests will NOT be disappointed!

HOT FUDGE SAUCE

Recipe Notes

You can add additional light corn syrup if the consistency is too thick, but usually the 1/3 cup recommended is just right.

Ingredients

• 1 c. heavy cream
• 1/3 c. light corn syrup (plus additional for thinning, if needed)
• 12 oz. bag semisweet chocolate chips
• 1 tsp. extract (vanilla, rum, almond, orange or peppermint are some ideas)
  

Instructions

1. Combine heavy cream and corn syrup in small saucepan. Stir to combine, and bring just to a boil over medium-high heat.

2. Remove from heat and add chocolate chips and extract. Whisk until chocolate is melted. If necessary, adjust consistency with additional corn syrup.

3. Serve over ice cream.

Suggested Extract & Ice Cream Combinations

• Vanilla fudge - vanilla, mint chocolate chip, cookies & cream, peppermint, or chocolate covered cherries ice cream
• Almond fudge - vanilla or pecan praline ice cream
• Rum fudge - vanilla, chocolate, or rum raisin ice cream
• Orange fudge - vanilla or chocolate ice cream
• Peppermint fudge - vanilla, chocolate, or peppermint ice cream