BBQ Black Bean Salsa

BBQ Black Bean Salsa (slightly adapted from Kraft Foods, 24 servings – 2 T servings, Total Time: 15 minutes)

Ingredients

·         1 can  (15 oz.) black beans, drained, rinsed

·         4 ears of corn on the cobb, husked and de-silked

·         ½ cup  Barbecue Sauce

·         ¾ cup  Medium Salsa

Directions

1.      Put corn in a large pot of water.  Bring to boil and cook for 4-5 minutes.

2.      Let cooked corn cool, then cut kernels off cobb.

3.      Mix all ingredients until well blended. Serve with tortilla chips.

A hit at a picnic that I went to recently.  A great low calorie, no fat option (at least without the chips!).  I have made it before with canned and frozen corn, but nothing tastes better than fresh corn.  A great mix of healthy ingredients that mix together to make a tasty, slightly spicy dish.  You can play around with the BBQ to salsa to chili powder ratio to meet your personal tastes.  If you do want to kick things up a notch, I suggest Hot Salsa or cayenne pepper.

Cookies & Crème Pudding Pops

Cookies & Crème Pudding Pops (adapted from Kraft Foods; Servings: 9-10, Total Time: 4-5 Hours)

Ingredients

·         1 pkg. (3.9 oz.) instant sugar-free chocolate pudding mix

·         2 cups skim milk

·         6 Oreo cookies

·         ½ cup thawed low-fat or sugar-free Cool Whip whipped topping

Directions

1.      Whisk together the pudding mix and milk in a large bowl until smooth (about 2 minutes).

2.      Crush cookies and add to the pudding.

3.      Add Cool Whip to pudding.  Stir until blended.

4.      Spoon into 9-10 (3 oz.) paper or plastic cups.  Insert wooden popsicle stick into each for a handle.  Freeze 4-5 hours or until firm.

Husband and wife approved!  This is a tasty, cold treat for a hot day.  Be careful, though, when it starts to melt the chocolate gets all over your hands (not necessarily a terrible thing!).  I love that this can be made fairly healthy while keeping the chocolaty taste.  A nice way to get in that chocolate craving that comes each day!  I think that this would also be tasty with other flavors of pudding – vanilla, white chocolate, cheesecake…there’s a lot of possibilities here.  You could also add your favorite cookie.  I like when recipes are so versatile!

Corny Spaghetti

Corny Spaghetti (slightly adapted from AllRecipes, Servings: 6, Total Time: 30-45 minutes, depending on how fast you chop veggies)

Ingredients

·         10 ounces thin spaghetti or angel hair pasta

·         2 tablespoons margarine

·         ¼ cup red onion, chopped

·         2-3 cloves garlic, minced

·         2 medium or 3 small zucchini, chopped

·         10 oz. button mushrooms, chopped

·         ¼ cup red wine

·         1 (16 oz.) jar pasta sauce (I used the Barilla Vineyard brand)

·         1 (15 oz.) can sweet whole kernel corn, drained

Directions

1.      Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil. Add pasta and cook according to package directions until al dente; drain.

2.      While pasta is cooking, in large skillet over medium heat, melt butter.  Sauté onions 2 minutes. Stir in garlic and zucchini and cook 3 minutes.  Add mushrooms and cook 5 minutes, or until mushrooms are soft.

3.      Pour in red wine and pasta sauce, reduce heat to low and simmer.

4.      Add corn and bring back to a simmer again to heat through.

5.      Serve sauce over pasta, or toss together.

As is, I did not find this recipe that tasty.  The sauce is very thick, but does coat the pasta.  It is a nice way to get in some healthy vegetables, but it needs something a little more – maybe some oregano or basil.  I did add a little grated parmesan cheese to the top of my leftovers and it was so much better!  Little enhancements can go a long way!  It did take a long time for me to chop all of the vegetables, which is why I increased the total time to 30-45 minutes.  My husband did enjoy this dish, even without adding cheese!

Tomato Pie

Tomato Pie (adapted from AllRecipes, Total Time: 1 hour, 30 minutes, 4 servings

Ingredients

7-8 plum tomatoes, sliced

½ cup chopped fresh basil

3 green onions (green and white parts), thinly sliced

1 package Yves vegetarian pepperoni

½ - 2 tsp. garlic powder

½ - 2 tsp. dried oregano

½ - 2 tsp. crushed red pepper

2 cups shredded Colby and Monterey Jack cheese

¼ cup reduced fat mayonnaise

Directions

1.      Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.

2.      Spray a pie pan with cooking spray.

3.      In alternating layers, fill pan with tomatoes, basil, scallions, pepperoni, garlic powder, oregano, and red pepper.

4.      In a small bowl, mix cheese with mayonnaise. Spread mixture over top of pie. Cover loosely with aluminum foil.

5.      Bake in preheated oven for 30 minutes. Remove foil from top of pie and bake an additional 30 minutes. Serve warm or cold.

Oh my goodness!  Flavor explosion!  I didn’t measure the garlic, oregano, or red pepper – I just sprinkled some on top of each layer (I ended up with three) and this pie ended up so delicious!  Everything works so well together.  I was a little concerned that the mayo would overpower the cheese, but it didn’t at all.  I didn’t use a pastry shell with this dish because I made a Garlic Basil Bread (courtesy of Betty Crocker and my breadmaker) that served as a great side.  I sprinkled the tomatoes with salt before putting them in the dish, but I should have pressed them between paper towels to draw out the excess liquid.  I had a little on the bottom of the pie pan after cooking.  I couldn’t find one fault with this dish.  The original recipe calls for bacon – so I may try a mixture of Morningstar Farms Bacon Strips and the pepperoni next time.  And there definitely will be a next time.

P.S. – Hubby liked it too, even though he gets slightly overwhelmed by tomatoes.  Win!