Tag Archives: cilantro

Chicken, Lunch, Mexican, Soups

Chicken Posole Soup

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I think this is the Mexican version of leftover soup – a bit of salsa, a bit of hominy, a bit of chicken, a bit of cilantro – – and all seasoned with cumin, that wonderful spice that makes it taste so rich.

Chicken Posole Soup
Chicken Posole Soup

4 servings
194 calories per serving

4 c fat free chicken broth
15.5 oz. can white hominy, drained
¾ c tomatillo salsa (often called salsa verde)
2 c shredded cooked chicken breast
1 ½ t cumin
½ c chopped fresh cilantro

Mix broth, hominy and salsa and bring to a boil. Toss chicken with cumin and add to broth and simmer 10 minutes. Place in bowls and garnish with cilantro.

Lunch, Mexican, Salads

Black Bean and Corn Salad

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Nutritious, full of fiber, satisfying, filling, extremely portable – this is a great lunch salad.

Black Bean and Corn Salad
Black Bean and Corn Salad

4 servings
350 calories per serving

1 c frozen corn
½ c French dressing
2 t chopped chipotle chiles in adobo sauce
4 c chopped romaine lettuce
2 c grape tomatoes, halved
¼ c sliced green onions
15 oz. can black beans, drained and rinsed
½ c shredded low fat cheddar cheese
1 c coarsely chopped blue tortilla chips
¼ c chopped cilantro

Cook corn according to package directions then drain and rinse with cold water to stop the cooking process. Combine dressing with chipotle chilies. Combine corn, lettuce, tomatoes, onions, beans and cheese then add dressing and mix well. Garnish with chips and cilantro.

Lunch, MUFAs, Salads, Tex Mex, Vegetables

Southwest Spinach Salad

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What a symphony of flavors ! Your mouth doesn’t know what to be the happiest about – is it the pine nut accent? Or the spicy pepperjack cheese? Or the creamy avocados? Or the smoky chipotle dressing? This is one of THE BEST salads I’ve ever made.

Southwest Spinach Salad
Southwest Spinach Salad

4 servings
300 calories per serving

8 c fresh baby spinach
1/2 c corn with sweet peppers
1/3 c halved black pitted olives
2 T chopped fresh cilantro
2 oz. diced pepper jack cheese
2 plum tomatoes, cut into 8 wedges each
2 hard boiled eggs, quartered
1 ripe avocado cut into 16 slices
3 T lime juice
2 T oil
1 t chopped chipotle pepper in adobo sauce
1/8 t salt
1 garlic clove, minced
2 T toasted pine nuts
A few extra squirts of lime juice if you like your salad nice and ‘wet’

Combine spinach, corn, olives, cilantro and cheese. Place 2 c worth on each plate. Arrange tomato, egg and avocado slices atop the spinach. Combine lime juice, oil, chopped chipotle, salt and garlic. Whisk well and pour over salads. Sprinkle with pine nuts.

Chicken, Dinner

Curry Chicken

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This steamy Indian inspired dish has just the right amount of curry. Pair it up with a vegetable side dish such as Ginger Steamed Carrots.

Curry Chicken
Curry Chicken

3 servings
190 calories per serving

3/4 lb. boneless skinless chicken cut into cubes
2 t oil
1/2 c onion, chopped
1/4 c celery, chopped
3 cloves garlic, minced
2 T wheat flour
1 c chicken broth
1/2 c canned diced tomatoes, drained
1/2 t Worcestershire sauce
1-2 t curry powder
¼ – 1/2 t cayenne pepper (depending on how spicy you like it)
1/4 c chopped cilantro
Salt and pepper to taste

Add salt and pepper to chicken cubes. Put 1 t oil in skillet and cook chicken 4-6 minutes or until browned. Lower the heat and cook 4 more minutes then remove from pan. Heat pan to medium and add oil, onion, celery and garlic. Cook 5 minutes. Stir in flour and add broth and cook 5 minutes or until thickened up. Stir in tomatoes, Worcestershire, curry and cayenne. Add chicken back to skillet along with salt and pepper and simmer 3 minutes. Remove and sprinkle with cilantro.

Sides, Vegetables

Cucumber Raita

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This Indian condiment / sauce is great served next to any spicy dish. It will remind you of tzatziki because of the cucumber and yogurt, but the similarity ends there with a whole different flavor combination from the green peppers and cilantro. This is so refreshing and at 23 calories per serving, you can serve it next to just about anything.

Cucumber Raita
Cucumber Raita

7 ¼ c servings
23 calories per serving

8 oz. plain low fat yogurt
2 small cucumber, peeled, seeded and finely chopped or grated
¼ c finely chopped green bell pepper
2 T finely chopped fresh parsley or cilantro
¼ t ground cumin
Black pepper
¼ t salt

Whisk yogurt and add all the rest of the ingredients other than the pepper. Cover and refrigerate until well chilled. Sprinkle with pepper just before serving.

Chicken, Lunch, Mexican

Chicken and Cheese Tostados

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I always find tostados a bit hard to eat – do you crack the tortilla and scoop? Do you pick it all up and eat it like a pizza? For this one, I folded the shell over like a taco 🙂 The flavors in this dish mix incredibly well and this is a GREAT lunch.

Chicken and Cheese Tostados
Chicken and Cheese Tostados

6 servings
280 calories per serving

6 6 inch flour tortillas
1 package (1.4 oz) taco seasoning
1 lb. boneless skinless chicken breasts in bite sized pieces
½ c water
2 large tomatoes, chopped
7 oz. shredded non fat cheddar cheese
6 T low fat sour cream
¼ c chopped cilantro
Pam

Preheat oven to 400 degrees and place tortillas on a cookie sheet and spray with Pam. Sprinkle with 1 t taco seasoning and bake 8 minutes or until tortillas are crisp and golden. Mix chicken with the rest of the seasoning mix and water and bring to a boil in a skillet then simmer 5 minutes or until chicken is done. Add 1 ½ c tomatoes and cook another 2-3 minutes them remove from heat and stir in 1 ¼ c cheese. Place the mix over the heated tortillas and then top with the rest of the tomatoes and cheese.

Dinner, Fish

Cilantro Lime Fillets

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Cooking the fillets in foil pretty much steams them and it is so very easy to do. This is a nice mild way to serve fish and I think the preparation would do just as well on meaty fish steaks such as tuna or swordfish.

Cilantro Lime Fillets
Cilantro Lime Fillets

4 servings
143 calories per serving

4 4 oz. cod, tilapia or flounder fillets
¼ t pepper
1 ½ t oil
1 ½ t dried onion flakes
1 clove garlic, minced
¾ t ground cumin
2 T minced cilantro
1 lime peeled and thinly sliced
1 T margarine, melted

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Place each fish fillet on a piece of aluminum foil and sprinkle with pepper. Heat oil and add onion flakes and garlic and cook 1 minute them add cumin and place the mix over the fish. Sprinkle fish with cilantro and add a few lime slices to each fillet. Fold the foil over securely so the fish can steam and place the packets on a baking dish and bake 35-40 minutes.

For instructions on folding, Reynold’s says:
For each foil packet, bring up the two sides of the foil and double fold with about 1-inch wide folds. Leave room for heat circulation inside the packet as the food cooks. Double fold each end to form the foil packet.

And the Scouts site has a nice diagram.

Dinner, Pork, Summer

Grilled Ham and Pineapple Salsa

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If you don’t have a grill, just pan fry or broil the ham. But whatever you do, don’t skip the pineapple salsa – it was just marvelous !

Grilled Ham and Pineapple Salsa
Grilled Ham and Pineapple Salsa

6 servings
140 calories per serving

Salsa:
8 oz. can crushed pineapple in juice
2 T orange marmalade
1 T chopped cilantro
2 t chopped jalapeno pepper
2 t lime juice
¼ t salt

Ham:
1 1 ½ lb. slice pre-cooked ham slice

Heat grill. Combine all salsa ingredients and set aside. Grill ham 10-15 minutes or until heated through – then top with salsa and serve immediately.

Mexican, Sides

My Salsa Verde

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When I first had this in a Brazilian restaurant I came home and scoured the net to find a recipe that was similar to what I had just tasted. After much trial and error, this is the recipe that grew out of many test batches.

When this is paired with meats and fishes, it makes the meal super refreshing and turns the simplest of grilled meats into a flavor sensation – it is soooo good ! But beware – this does leave you with some pretty heavy duty garlic breath – this is not a good recipe for date nite !

Just a tablespoon or 2 served with grilled beef, chicken or fish is a taste treat you won’t soon forget !

My Salsa Verde
My Salsa Verde

15 servings
39 calories per serving
(1 serving=1T)

7 cloves garlic
2 c fresh parsley
2 c fresh cilantro
10-12 T fresh lemon juice (about 2 lemons)
¼ c olive oil
¼ – ½ c vinegar
Fresh ground pepper to taste

Place garlic in a good processor and mince finely. Add parsley and cilantro and mince finely – so fine that the mixture is more of a paste than chopped herbs. Place in a bowl and mix with all the other ingredients. Refrigerate 1 hour to overnight to let the flavors mingle.

Lunch, Tex Mex

Tex Mex Wraps

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The filling for these wraps would be just as good as a dip served with tortilla chips.

Tex Mex Wraps
Tex Mex Wraps

4 servings
270 calories per serving

15 oz. kidney beans, rinsed and drained
8 oz. can of corn, drained
¼ c chopped red bell pepper
¼ c thick salsa
1 T chopped cilantro
4 tortillas (80 calories Smart and Delicious)
½ c shredded light cheddar cheese

Mix beans, corn, pepper, salsa and cilantro and spread ¾ c in each tortilla and wrap. Here is a video showing you a good way to do this:

Microwave on high 1-2 minutes or until hot.

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