Turkey Enchilada Casserole

I can't imagine my life without the influence of Mexican heritage. When I was growing up Cinco de Mayo was one of my favorite times in elementary school.  The music, the dancing and most of all the food.  If I had to pick my favorite food it would be Mexican food hands down.  Give me some home-made tortillas, frijoles and cheese and I am a happy man. When I was five my mom actually taught me how to make flour tortillas and this was a skill that came in handy when I moved to Japan and buying tortilla at the marketing was certainly not an option.

Now Mexican food is not really known for being figure-friendly and when I found this recipe in my Weight Watcher's Take-Out Tonight cookbook I was skeptical.  How could one take the fat out of my favorite food and still have it be delicious?!  Well, this really does the trick.  While it is not authentic Mexican food, it has all the flavor and reminds me of a culture my life wouldn't be the same without.

Ingredients

• 2 teaspoons olive oil
• 1 pound ground skinless turkey breast
• 1 large onion, chopped
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon ground cumin
• 2 (10-ounce) cans enchilada sauce
• 1 (4 1/2 ounce can) mild green chiles
• 1 teaspoon red-wine vinegar
• 1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro
• 8 (6-inch) corn tortillas, halved
• 1 cup shredded reduced-fat cheddar cheese

Instructions

1. Preheat over to 375° F. Spray a 7x11-inch baking dish with nonstick spray; set aside.
2. Heat a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Swirl in 1 teaspoon of the oli., then add the turkey, half of the onions, half of the garlic, and 1/4 teaspoon of the salt.
3. Cook breaking up the turkey with a wooden spoon until browned, about 8 minutes.
4. Meanwhile, heat a medium nonstick saucepan over medium heat.  Swirl in the the remaining 1 teaspoon oil, then add the remaining onions, garlic, 1/4 teaspoon salt, the oregano, and cumin.
5. Cook, stirring occasionally, until well softened, about 8 minutes.
6. Stir in the enchilada sauce, chiles, and vinegar and bring to a boil.  
7. Reduce heat and simmer, covered until the flavors are blended.  About 10 minutes.
8. Remove from heat and stir in the cilantro.
9. Arrange on-third of the tortilla halves in an overlapping layer on the bottom of the dish.
10. Spoon one-third of the turkey misture over the top; top with one-third of the sauce and sprinkle one-third of the cheddar.  
11. Repeat the layering twice.
12. Cover the pan loosely with foil and bake for 20 minutes.
13. Remove the foil and bake for 5 minutes longer or until the cheese in bubbly.
14. Let stand for 10 minutes before serving.

Stuffed Cabbage

The other day I had a free afternoon so I pulled out one of my slow recipes.  These are the recipes I make with my favorite music playing, the birds on my shoulder, and I have plenty of time to enjoy the process of cooking.  Now usually these recipes tend to be on the fattening side, but this is an exception.  I found the original recipe on Weight Watchers, but I have modified it quite a bit.  For one thing, their recipe only made four servings.  Well, if I am going to spend an hour preparing something I am certainly going to make sure it serves more than four!  My version makes about nine or ten servings.

The first time I made this recipe it just made me mad because it really does take a long time to prepare and I couldn't figure out how to roll the cabbage.  Then finally I figured out the secret.  TIME.  Just give yourself time to do it.  Get your favorite music going; maybe a glass of wine; and enjoy the process.  This can be a very relaxing dish to make if you let it.  This dish is totally worth it and and you will also have a new-found respect for ladies that make lumpia or pot stickers!

Ingredients

• 1 head Chinese cabbage, (see picture)
• 1pound uncooked lean ground beef or ground turkey
• 1 cup uncooked white rice 
• 1 cup water 
• 1/2 cup seasoned bread crumbs 
• 2 medium carrots, grated 
• 2 medium onions, finely chopped 
• 3 medium garlic cloves, minced 
• 2 large eggs
• 1 tsp table salt 
• 1/2 tsp black pepper 
• 3 tablespoons olive oil 
• 2 - 29 oz canned diced tomatoes, with basil, garlic and oregano
• Parmesan cheese (optional)

Instructions

1. Fill a large pot of water and bring to a boil.
2. Cut the bottom inch or two off the cabbage and separate the leaves carefully.
3. Blanche the leave in the boiling water and put in a strainer and set aside.
4. Combine beef, rice, water, bread crumbs, carrot, onion, garlic, eggs, salt and pepper in a large bowl; mix well.
5. Spoon about 1/4 cup of beef mixture near the top of each leaf. 
6. Fold over the two sides then roll the top over the beef then continue rolling to make loose rolls (rice will expand during cooking so it is important not to roll them too tightly).
7. Heat oil in a large sauté pan over medium-high heat; add rolls and sauté until golden brown on all sides, turning frequently, about 5 minutes.  Do this in batches.
8. Gently add the rolls to a large stockpot or dutch oven.
9. Add the tomatoes and bring to a simmer.
10. Reduce heat and cook at least one hour checking pot every 15 minutes or so and stirring to prevent sticking.
11. Serve in a bowl sprinkled with Parmesan cheese.

Potato Leek Soup

One thing Joey and I both want to do this year is lose weight. We all know it's "easy." All one needs to do is eat healthily and exercise. I wish there was a way to divide up those duties. I would gladly let Joey do the exercise part and I would do the eating. It seems totally fair to me. Of course that is not the case, so we need to do both together.

Another thing we want to do this year is save money. That ranks right up there with exercise for me. I have visions of myself waddling to The Dollar Store to buy discount SlimFast. At least I would have all my bases covered. Rather than do that I am going to focus on low-fat, inexpensive, healthy meals. I was shocked to find it surprisingly easy. There are a myriad of low-fat cookbooks out there and I have most of them! I recently purchased 1,000 Lowfat Recipes by Terry Blonder Golson and along with all the other great recipes is a fantastic soup chapter. I had a lot of potatoes and found this great recipe. Not only is it 123 calories per serving, it's completely nonfat. As with most soups you can make this well ahead of time and it can be served hot or chilled. Either way it's a light yet satisfying soup.

Ingredients

• 3 cups chopped leeks, including the light green part, washed well and chopped
• 4 cups peeled, shredded all-purpose potatoes
• 6 cups reduced-sodium, defatted chicken broth
• 1 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1 Tablespoon minced fresh chives
• 1 Tablespoon fresh parsley
• Freshly ground pepper to taste
• 1/2 cup plain non-fat yogurt

Instructions

1. Simmer leeks, potatoes, broth, and salt in a pot for 30 minutes.
2. Add the chives and parsley.
3. Cook for 10 minutes more.
4. Season to taste.
5. Puree if a smoother soup is preferred.
6. Chill or serve immediately with a dollop of yogurt.

Notes

• I chopped my leaks first thing then soaked them in cold water while I gathered up all the other ingredients or ten minutes. Then rinsed and drained them. Leaks can have a lot of sand.
• If you intend to puree the soup, you can just cut the potatoes into small pieces, which faster than shredding them.
• I didn't have chicken broth so I used mushroom broth and vegetable broth. It was really tasty and is a great vegetarian way to make the soup.

Lowfat Apple and Cinnamon Cake

Joey and I really both love dessert, but it's hard to find desserts that are figure friendly. Yes, I know all about Skinny Cow, etc., but sometimes we really want something besides ice cream.

Now, I am not a baker at all. While I do own a fancy mixer, it pretty much sits there neatly covered. I have had so many of my baking attempts fail, that I am always hesitant bake. This time I am glad I took the chance, because not only is it figure friendly, it's super tasty.

I got this recipe from the new Lifetime show, "Cook Yourself Thin." This particular recipe stood out to me because it uses sweet potatoes instead of butter or oil. The outcome is extremely moist AND extremely dense. You can not eat a huge slab of this, so I guess this makes it even more figure friendly. I followed the recipe really closely except I didn't have an 8-inch springform and was not about to buy one. (Okay, I confess I would have bought one but I couldn't find it in my neighborhood.) I used an 8x8 square metal baking dish and it turned out just fine.

Ingredients

For the cake

• 1 large apple (about 10 ounces)
• Juice of 1 lemon
• 1 1/4 cups finely ground almonds
• 1 cup self-rising flour
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1 tablespoon ground cinnamon
• 3 large eggs
• 3/4 cup superfine sugar
• 2 cups peeled sweet potato (the white variety), finely grated at the very last minute to prevent
• discoloration
• 2 teaspoon vanilla extract
• For the icing
• 1 cup confectioners' sugar, sifted
• 4 tablespoons fresh lemon juice

Instructions

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Grease the base and sides of an 8-inch springform pan with a little vegetable oil and a pastry brush. Line the pan with parchment paper.
2. Peel, core and chop the apple into 1/4-inch cubes. Toss them in a small bowl with some lemon juice to prevent oxidation.
3. In a separate bowl, combine the ground almonds, flour, baking soda, salt and cinnamon. Set aside.

Notes

As I mentioned earlier, I did use a square dish rather than a springform. I did use parchment paper, though, and that was really helpful.

I didn't particularly love the icing. It could be that my powered sugar is too old, but when I make this again I am going to use non-fat whipped topping or ice-cream instead.