Pancakes

My mom made us these pancakes growing up, and now I make them for my two boys (and Corey too!).  They are easy, can be generally made any time with items always kept in your fridge and pantry, and make a ton of pancakes....batter can be stored in the refrigerator for several days (covered).  Enjoy with butter light syrup!

PANCAKES

Ingredients

• 2 eggs, separated
• 2 c. sifted flour
• 1 tbsp. sugar
• 1 tsp. salt
• 2 c. milk (whole or skim)
• 1/2 c. margarine (one stick), melted
• 1 tbsp. baking powder

Instructions

1.  Combine egg yolks, flour, sugar, salt, and milk.

2.  Stir in margarine.

3.  Beat egg whites until stiff peaks form.  Fold egg whites into batter, then add baking powder.

4.  Heat a griddle or cast-iron skillet over medium heat, coating with cooking spray.

5.  Cook pancakes on both sides until done.  Serve with syrup.

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.

Tex-Mex Rice Bowl

This is an easy weeknight skillet from Cooking Light. Great with a little Cholula over the top and a salad.

TEX-MEX RICE BOWL

Recipe Notes

This is a great use for precooked rice.

Nutritional Information (per serving - serves 4)

306 calories - 7.6 g. fat - 44.4 g. carbohydrates - 18.1 g. protein - 4.3 g. fiber

Ingredients

• One 8.8 oz. bag precooked brown rice (such as Uncle Ben's)


• 8 oz. ground sirloin


• 1/4 c. water


• 1-1/2 tbsp. taco seasoning (such as Ortega)


• 1/2 c. frozen or canned whole-kernel corn


• 15-oz. can black beans, rinsed and drained


• 1 c. fresh pico de gallo


• 1 jalapeno pepper, minced


• 4 tsp. chopped fresh cilantro

Instructions

1. Heat rice according to package instructions.

2. Heat a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add beef and cook ~3 minutes or until done. Stir to crumble.

3. Stir in water and taco seasoning and bring to a simmer.

4. Stir in corn and beans. Cook one minute or until heated. Stir in rice.

5. Top with pico de gallo and jalapeno, then sprinkle with cilantro.

Deviled Chicken

This is a quick and easy Cooking Light dinner. I served it with steamed broccoli and herbed cous cous pilaf and it all went very well together.

DEVILED CHICKEN

Recipe Notes

I didn't have any prepared mustard or dijon mustard on hand, so I used honey mustard this last time I made this recipe and it turned out great. Just a little sweetness to go with the tang and the spice!

You can also use chicken cutlets (as I did here). Your chicken goes farther, the portions are more reasonable, and the recipe cooks more evenly.

Ingredients

• Four 8-oz. boneless, skinless chicken breast halves


• 1/2 tsp. black pepper


• 1/4 tsp. salt


• 2 tbsp. prepared, dijon, or honey mustard


• 1/2 tsp. ground red pepper


• Two 1-oz. slices of French bread baguette (I used white sandwich bread)

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 475 degrees.

2. Sprinkle chicken with salt and pepper. Lightly coat with cooking spray.

3. Place chicken breasts on a rack of a broiler pan or roasting pan coated with cooking spray. Bake at 475 degrees for 15 minutes, remove pan from oven.

4. Combine mustard and red pepper and brush the mixture over the chicken.

5. Pulse bread in a Cuisinart until crumbs form (approx. 1 cup).

6. Sprinkle breadcrumbs evenly over chicken and mustard mixture. Press lightly to adhere and lightly spray with cooking spray to prevent breadcrumbs from burning.

7. Return pan to oven and bake for 10 minutes more (or until breadcrumbs are browned).