Avocado and Black Bean Salad

"Cooking for people is an enormously significant expression of generosity and soulfulness, and entertaining is a way to be both generous and creative. You're sharing your life with people. Of course, it's also an expression of your own need for approval and applause. Nothing wrong with that." - Ted Allen

Looking for an alternative to the standard side dishes or dips? Look no further. I found this recipe on Skinny Taste and made it for the Super Bowl Party we attended. The freshness of the lime paired perfectly with the creaminess of the avocado and the crunch of the cucumber. Some people ate this as a side salad, I liked it with tortilla or pretzel chips. No matter how you eat it the flavors and textures meld together extremely well.

Nutritional Information (calculated on myfitnesspal.com): 10 servings, 3 weight watchers points plus. 103 calories, 14g carbs, 5g fat, 4g protein

Ingredients:

• 2 Avocados, Diced
• 3 Roma Tomatoes, Diced
• 1 Seedless Cucumber, Peeled and Diced
• 15.5 oz can Black Beans, Drained and Rinsed
• 3 T Red Onion, Diced

Slow Cooker Chicken Enchilada Stuffed Peppers

My mom's 29th* birthday was last week and I went over to make dinner for her. When I was brainstorming with Tammy what to make we came up with this idea. I have always found stuffed peppers to be so bland and wanted to find a way to spice them up a bit. The amount of flavor in these was perfect. If you want a little more spice top with a little Tabasco. I originally calculated this recipe for a whole pepper (both sides) was a serving but after eating I found that 1 stuffed pepper with a side was more than enough.

(*actual age redacted for the safety of the author) :-)

Nutritional Information (calculated on myfitnesspal.com): 5 weight watchers points plus. 154 calories, 13g carbs, 7g fat, 11g protein.

Ingredients

• 15 oz can Enchilada Sauce
• 2 Boneless Skinless Chicken Breasts
• 1 Flour Tortilla, Chopped
• 1 Large Spanish Onion, Chopped
• 1 c Frozen Corn, (I used Roundys, Steam n' Serve Fire Roasted Super Sweet Corn from Mariano's)
• 1/4 c Cilantro, Chopped Finely
• 2 Garlic Cloves, Minced
• 4 Large Poblano Peppers
• 1/2 c Shredded Reduced-Fat Mexican Cheese
• 1/2 avocado, sliced thin

Directions

1. Place the frozen Chicken and Enchilada Sauce in the Slow Cooker and cook on low for 4 hours.

Chipotle Chicken and Avocado Wrap

Another inspiration from Skinny Taste that will go great with the Cold Corn Soup. When this recipe was originally posted it had lobster but since I have a slight allergy to shellfish I substituted chicken. It still creates a great wrap! The originally recipe was 6 points plus per wrap.

Ingredients

1 lb Chicken Breast, Cooked and Chopped

3 T Light Mayo

2 T Fat Free Greek Yogurt

1 T Chopped Chipotle Peppers in Adobo Sauce

1 Green Onion, Finely Chopped

1 T Lemon Juice

1 T Minced Cilantro

1 Medium Avocado, Diced

8 Medium Romaine Lettuce Leaves

4 - 8" Tortillas

Directions

1. In a medium bowl combine Mayo, Yogurt, Chipotle Pepper, Green Onion, and Cilantro.

Cold Corn Soup w/ Queso Fresco

I ran across this recipe on Skinny Taste and it was a warm soup but that seemed like too much with the heat wave we had been going through. I decided to chill it and see if it was good cold... it was great! Make sure to use fresh corn because it will give a much better corn flavor. To make it easier/cleaner there are two different methods that you can use. 1) OXO makes a corn stripper that catches all the corn. 2) Place a small bowl upside down inside of a large bowl and place the end of the corn on the smaller bowl. now when you cut the corn it will fall into the larger bowl eliminating the majority of the mess.

Enjoy this soup this weekend it is supposed to get into the eightys here so it will be the perfect temperature for a picnic and the next recipe i post will be the perfect compliment for this soup. I will post it today as well.

Ingredients

1/2 t Olive Oil

1/3 c Chopped Scallions

1 Garlic Clove

3-1/2 c Fresh Corn Kernels, Cut from the Cob (5-6 medium sized ears)

1 (6 oz) Russet Potato, Peeled and Diced

5 c Skim Milk

1 Chicken Bouillon Cube

2 T Chopped Cilantro, Divided

1/4 c Reduced Fat Sour Cream

Salt and Pepper, to Taste

3 oz (6 T) Crumbled Queso Fresco

Directions

1. Heat Olive Oil in a medium heavy pot

Easy Salsa Verde Chicken Tostadas

One of my main focuses when cooking is healthy foods. My wife is doing Weight Watchers and I have found that the best way that I can be supportive is by cooking meals that not only fit within the program but also are tasty because otherwise we both fall off the wagon and start eating more junk food. I have found that not only has it be a benefit to her program but I feel much better as well. For those of you who are also doing weight watchers, I will post the points for a recipe whenever I have them. (Which is most times.)

Recently, I have been really inspired to use Mexican flavors in my food. This recipe is one that I made from www.SkinnyTaste.com but Tammy and I both felt as if it was missing something so I made my own little addition that we both feel brings it all together and only adds one point per tostada. Black Bean Hummus inspired by Spark Recipes.

I need to work on my photography and presentation skills but I swear it tastes great!

6 ww points plus per tostada (we generally eat 2 for a meal.)

Ingredients and Directions:

Black Bean "Hummus"

2 Cans Black beans, Drained and rinsed

1 small onion, diced

1/2 green pepper, diced

4 cloves garlic minced

2 T ground cumin

1 1/2 t olive oil

2 T chopped fresh cilantro

1/4 c salsa verde

1. Place drained and rinsed black beans in the food processor and pulse a few times to start to chop up the beans.