Cheesecake replacement therapy:
one cup Fage 2% greek yogurt or any other brand of
Greek yogurt that is all natural, very thick, and free of added thickening agents
honey, preferably local
pure vanilla extract
small lemon wedge
whole grain cereal, I use Uncle Sam cereal.
Stir honey into yogurt, to taste. Add a squirt of lemon and a dash of vanilla. Swirl a bit more honey on top. Top with cereal. Eat. Should have only 4 grams of fat. You can use non fat yogurt as well, it just won't be quite as creamy in mouthfeel.
No Guilt Enchiladas:
Sauce:
3/4 lb. tomatillos - peeled, rinsed and diced
one can green chiles
4 cloves garlic
1 hot pepper of your choice
large handful of chopped fresh cilantro
juice of about half a lime
salt to taste
Process for sauce: Put in bowl and puree with immersion blender or put in normal blender and puree till smooth
Enchilada Filling:
One large sweet potato, peeled and diced
One small onion, diced
Four to five cloves garlic, roughly chopped
one ear of fresh corn, corn removed from cob
once can drained and rinsed black beans
one can of tomatoes with green chiles (i use Kroger's
roasted tomatoes, salsa-style)
Red Powder:
Toast one dried red chile of you choice, seeds included, plus cumin seeds in a skillet. Grind in a coffee or herb grinder. Add smoked paprika or regular paprika, garlic powder, onion powder, cayenne to taste. Alternatively, you can buy powdered ancho chile and cumin, however they will not taste as fresh as toasting and grinding it at home.
Start everything but the beans and tomatoes in a large skillet with just enough vegetable oil so they don't stick. Season with red powder. Cook on medium heat till onions soften and caramelize and potatoes are mostly cooked through. Add the can of tomatoes, simmer until liquid evaporates. Taste and add more red powder if needed. Add a pinch of salt as well. Maybe some ghost chile sauce if you are brave. Gently stir in rinsed beans.
To assemble enchiladas:
I make them more like a lasagna then traditional rolled enchiladas, because they just end up falling apart when you serve them rolled.
In a good sized casserole pan, put down a layer of corn tortillas. Then spread some sauce to cover. Add potato and bean filling. Measure out 4 servings of Mexican blend cheese. Add one serving to this layer. Continue to layer this way, using your last serving of cheese to top the casserole. Bake at 400 till top is lightly browned and melty. Serve with a dollop of nonfat yogurt, fresh cilantro, a wedge of lime and some chopped avocado. Should feed about 4 people. We got 5 servings out of it. Even better the next day, when sauce has absorbed into the tortilla. DO NOT USE FLOUR TORTILLAS. THEY ARE AN ABOMINATION.
Orange Soup:
one butternut squash, peeled and diced
one sweet potato, peeled and diced
one orange bell pepper, diced
five carrots, peeled and diced
six cloves garlic, chopped
one onion, chopped
hot pepper of your choice, diced
garam masala seasoning or your favorite indian/curry spice blend
one box of vegetable broth
salt and pepper to taste
this is easy. put all chopped vegetables into a soup pot. add seasoning to taste, and vegetable broth. simmer until everything is cooked through. reduce the liquid a tiny bit-there should still be plenty of liquid. Use an immersion blender in the pot or blend in a traditional blender. Garnish with chopped cilantro and a dab of nonfat greek yogurt if desired.
