The Busy Mom’s Make It Quick Cookbook Copyright 2004
1 lb. extra-lean ground beef
2 cups chunky-style salsa
1 11-oz. can Mexicorn, drained
6 white corn tortillas, cut into ½-inch strips I used 8 tortillas
2 tbsp. water I added a bit more water
1 ½ cups nonfat shredded cheddar cheese I used Cabot's 50% Light Sharp Cheddar
Spray large nonstick skillet with cooking spray and heat over medium-high heat. Add ground beef and cook, stirring frequently, until beef is browned and crumbled. Add salsa, Mexicorn, tortilla strips, and water; toss to mix. Reduce heat to medium, cover, and cook 10-15 minutes. Sprinkle cheese over top, cover, and cook on medium-low heat until cheese is melted.
Serves 4. Per serving: 396 calories, 6.7g fat, 42g carbs, 39g protein, 61mg cholesterol, 5g fiber, 1377 mg sodium
Here's another great recipe from Jyl Steinback, the 'Healthiest Mom in America'. This recipe is a bit high in sodium, which is an eye opener because none of the ingredients really jump out at you as a sodium threat and there's no added salt. Only the salsa, corn and cheese are really contributing to the sodium. You can cut back by using frozen corn (or sodium-free canned corn) and/or some sort of canned tomatoes instead of salsa (you might have to beef up the flavor with more spices) if you really need to watch your sodium.
This is the third recipe I've tried from this cookbook - Beef and Potato Tex-Mex Hash and Spanish Rice with Ground Beef were the other two. They're all similar, all very good and all very fast and easy to prepare. These recipes are great alternatives if you're one to resort to packaged skillet meals such as Hamburger Helper.
I wasn't sure what to serve with this. It's really a complete meal but I knew this alone wouldn't satisfy my husband. I also knew that without serving anything else, I had no chance of any leftovers for lunch the next day. I ended up making rice. At first another starch seemed ridiculous but if I had made a pan of enchiladas with these similar ingredients, I wouldn't have thought twice about making rice, my stand-by side for Mexican-type recipes. The rice was very good with this. However, my plan didn't really work since all my husband left behind was some of the rice and only the smallest amount of the Beef Tamale Skillet Meal (jusy the stuff that stuck to the sides of the pan). It's very rare that he doesn't leave something behind as a courtesy so that's a good indication of how much he liked this.
Blast From The Past: Tex-Mex Cavatappi from February 2006 - another quick and delicious recipe using salsa as the magic ingredient.
Question of the Day: Do you prefer mild, medium or hot salsa? Or no salsa at all for you?
We are a medium salsa family, I find the mild is like putting tomato on something and my tummy (and my sons) can't handle the hot...DH would use the hot in everything if he could.
ReplyDeleteIts scary, but I know who that Jyl woman is. I've seen her on dateline or primetime. She self publishes her cookbooks, right? I thought most of her cookbooks where fatfree stuff. Maybe I'm thinking of the wrong person.
ReplyDeleteI hate tomatoes, so I dont really like salsa, but If I do use it, I use mild.
I like it hot when used as a dip for chips (Must have a beverage with it. Beer is best) Medium salsa is good for some things. I make my own salsa (6 batches last year) and vary the ingredients in each batch to have several varieties to pass around.
ReplyDeleteFavorite use for the medium stuff is on "egg rollups."
Fry (or nuke) some bacon (or use real bacon bits). Make scrambled eggs. Heat a buritto sized tortilla in skillet over med-high heat while sprinking it with your favorite shredded cheese and adding the eggs and bacon down the center. Roll up into a "tube" using tongs while the cheese melts to hold it together. Serve with mediumn salsa. Yum!
LOVE salsa! I like medium chunky style.
ReplyDeleteHerdez Medium is my favourite, DH and DD prefer the mild. But since they only dip their chip in to get the liquid and don't eat the "chunks" I buy it for me and not for them! What a waste of money, almost 5 dollars to just eat the drips.
ReplyDeleteHowever, the last time I had the flu I had eaten chips and salsa as well as drank a v-8, and even though they had NOTHING to do with the illness I haven't been able to enjoy any of it since.
We like Medium Pace Picante sauce~~made in Texas (Paris, TX to be exact) Not New York City. (remember the commercials?) lol
ReplyDeleteWe go through a lot of salsa. Yummmmmmm.
I love anything even remotely Mexican. That looks good. As for salsa, I like Mild or Medium, but if I make my own it's almost always Mild.
ReplyDeleteThat looks GOOD! But at first glance, it reminded me of the KFC "something" bowl. Have you seen that monstrosity? Mashed potatoes, chicken strips, corn, gravy and cheese! All in one bowl. Good heavens!
ReplyDeleteSalsa - I usually buy medium and the ones who want it hotter can spice it up. But, some of the medium are even too hot for me.
Jan