Tex Mex Corn Veggie Taco Dip

How I have missed trying new recipes this summer!!!  It has been unbelievably crazy -- Catherine graduated high school, Timmy graduated middle school, an amazing trip down to Disney World, getting ready for Catherine to head off to college... and then the loss of my mother.  So many highs and so many lows.  My family and friends have been with me through this entire journey and I am so incredibly blessed.  I have felt strengthened, sheltered, supported and loved.  There are not enough words that can express how much I thank and love each and every one of you!

My friend Karen drove all the way from North Carolina with her two munchies, to be with me.  What an amazing distraction that was!  With Karen coming up, it necessitated not one get-together... not two... but MANY!  As much as I would have otherwise just holed up at home, my friends enticed me out with their company.  The first was a potluck cookout on Sunday afternoon.   Not having done much cooking this summer, I was at a loss, so I went on Pinterest to find an easy dip to make, where I had most of the ingredients already at home.  This one sold me at "corn" and "tex-mex" (I'm so predictable).  I made it for the cookout, bringing Tostitos and Fritos Scoops, and before we knew it, it was gone.  (Confession:  I may or may not have been one of the girls planted in front of it.)  It seemed like a hit so I decided to make it again for Tuesday's Taco Night, especially since it seemed to go with the theme.  Again, I took home the empty bowl!  Definitely a blog-worthy recipe!  (And I highly recommend the Frito Scoops with it!)

• 8 oz. softened cream cheese
  (Original recipe calls for low fat, which I didn't have... but good to know to make it healthier)
• ¼ cup sour cream
  (Also called for low fat, which I also didn't have)
• 2 Tbsp. taco seasoning
• 1 15-oz can black beans, rinsed and drained
• 2 cups frozen sweet corn
  (I made it once with defrosted corn, and once with it still frozen... it was fine both times.  The cream cheese made it "solidify" a little with it still frozen but as it defrosts, it will loosen back up.  You just need to stir it before serving.  If you use frozen, I would recommend leaving it out at room temperature for about 30-60 minutes before serving)
• 1 red bell pepper, diced
• 1 green bell pepper, diced
• 1/2 large red onion, diced
• 1 jalapeño, diced finely
• Salt & pepper, to taste

DIRECTIONS

1. In a large bowl, microwave softened cream cheese for 15-30 seconds or until very easy to stir
2. Mix in sour cream and taco seasoning, stirring thoroughly
3. Add in remaining ingredients
4. Sprinkle in salt and pepper to taste
5. Serve with tortilla chips or Fritos

Refrigerate up to 7 days (but it won't last that long).

Adapted from Lauren’s Latest blog

Korean Beef

My baby girl is all grown up (sniff sniff sniff).  She has graduated from high school and is now looking forward to a Summer of relaxation and vacationing before heading off to college.  Aside from my obvious denial that this is happening, I’ve been trying to acclimate back to our normal level of chaos, as opposed to the glorious mayhem that has ensued with all of the Senior activities over the past few months.

As I continue school drop-off and pick-up duty for Timmy, who still has almost two more weeks of school left after all of this winter’s snow days, plus refocusing back on work, Catherine leisurely wakes up at whenever o’clock.  After becoming bored with watching tv, she starts asking about “what’s for dinner”.  Now this is where my baby has grown up – she has made dinner for the past two nights in a row!  She has found the recipes, prepped and cooked the entire thing.  The only thing I have to do is… clean up (oh fun!).

Let me just say she has done a fabulous job.  Tonight’s meal she found on Pinterest after I told her that our meat options for dinner were chicken breast, ground beef, pork chops or sausage. She found this recipe pretty quickly.  It has a similar flavor to a Mongolian Beef recipe I tried a month or so back, but this was SO MUCH better… and seemingly so much easier to make.  Two words for this meal – Absolutely Delicious!!!  It is also very similar to the PF Changs Chicken Wraps that we make, so we adapted the idea of serving over shredded lettuce, along with the beef and rice.  Let’s just say we have now found a new go-to recipe!

• 1 lb. ground beef 
• ½ cup brown sugar 
• ¼ cup soy sauce 
• 1 Tbsp. sesame oil 
• 3 cloves garlic, minced 
• ¼ tsp. ground ginger 
• 1 tsp. crushed red peppers 
• Salt and pepper
• Shredded lettuce 
• Rice, cooked 
• 1 bunch green onions, diced

DIRECTIONS

1. Heat a large skillet over medium heat and brown hamburger with garlic in the sesame oil.
2. Drain most of the fat and add brown sugar, soy sauce, ginger, salt and pepper and red pepper.
3. Simmer for a few minutes to blend the flavors.
4. Serve over a bed of lettuce, steamed rice and topped with green onions.

Adapted from Six Sisters’ Stuff blog

Nutritional Data (Calculated from MyFitnessPal.com)

¼-cup serving size* – Yields 6 Servings

If you are not counting your calories – you will mostly go for at least a ½-cup serving!!!

Garlic-Mexican Crema Dressing

Sunday night… didn’t really have much of a lunch today – kind of napped through it.  After dropping off the kids, I came home to my lovely husband making big salads.  He wanted to add a side of leftover turkey and pasta, however I had other leftover ideas in mind.  I wanted my big salad to have some of the leftover taco meat on it.  Add a little spicy cheese, add a little guacamole, add a little salsa… it was wrapping up to be a fantastic dinner.  Just needed to figure out what kind of dressing to put on it, but keeping it healthy.  About two months ago, I had found a recipe on Pinterest for a Chopped Salad with this Garlic-Mexican Cream Dressing.  I kept it on my desktop meaning to make it for weeks, even having bought the Mexican crema.  Finally, tonight, I realized this BIG SALAD would be PERFECT.  I made a simple substitution – Greek yogurt for a mayonnaise.   It was delicious on top of my taco salad!

• ½ cup Mexican crema
• ½ cup yogurt
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 tsp. salt
• 1 tsp. ground black pepper
• 3 Tbsp. Hood Fat Free Smart Milk

DIRECTIONS

1. Whisk together the Mexican crema, yogurt, minced garlic, salt, and ground black pepper in a small bowl.
2. Stir in milk, 1 tablespoon at a time, until desired consistency.

Adapted from La Cocina de Leslie blog

Nutritional Data Calculated from MyFitnessPal:

Factored using the salt called for in the original recipe (1 tsp.), but in the future, I would reduce by half -- therefore the sodium should be only 210.