contributed by Tanya Harrison

Green Chili Shredded Beef

• 3-5  pound chuck roast
• 1 large can whole green chilies
• salt, pepper, and other spices

Generously season the chuck roast with salt, pepper, and spices.  Place the roast in the crock pot.  Pour the can of whole green chilies over the roast.  Cook in the crock pot on High for 6 hours or until tender.  Shred the meat with two forks and serve.  Store leftovers in an airtight container. 

Serve with your favorite Mexican accompaniments!

A lot of juice will develop as a result of the cooking process.  Drain off most of it before serving or else you will have drippy beef.  (You can reserve it to make Green Chili French Dip sandwiches.)  Don't remove all of the because you want to have some reserved for storing leftovers or else your beef will be DRY!

          Pork Chops and Country Gravy

• YIELD: 4 servings (serving size: 1 pork chop, 2/3 cup potatoes, and 1/4 cup gravy)
• COURSE: Main Dishes

Ingredients

• 3/4 teaspoon salt, divided
• 4 (4-ounce) boneless center-cut loin pork chops (about 1 inch thick)
• 1 teaspoon butter
• 1 1/3 cups 1% low-fat milk
• 3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
• 1/4 teaspoon poultry seasoning
• 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
• 1 (20-ounce) package refrigerated mashed potatoes (such as Simply Potatoes)

Preparation

Heat a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Sprinkle 1/4 teaspoon salt evenly over both sides of pork. Add 1 teaspoon butter to pan, stirring until butter is melted. Add the pork to pan, and cook pork for 3 minutes on each side. Remove pork from pan, and keep warm.
Combine low-fat milk and flour, stirring with a whisk. Add the milk mixture to pan, stirring with a whisk. Stir in remaining 1/2 teaspoon salt, poultry seasoning, and black pepper. Return pork to pan. Cover; reduce heat, and simmer for 7 minutes or until gravy is thick and pork is done.
While pork cooks, prepare potatoes according to package directions. Serve with pork.

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• Calories: 322
• Fat 10 grams

                   Chicken Chipotle Salad

4 servings (serving size: 2 1/2 cups)

 Ingredients

• Dressing:
• 1/3 cup chopped fresh cilantro
• 2/3 cup light sour cream
• 1 tablespoon minced chipotle chile, canned in adobo sauce
• 1 teaspoon ground cumin
• 1 teaspoon chili powder
• 4 teaspoons fresh lime juice
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• Salad:
• 4 cups shredded romaine lettuce
• 2 cups chopped roasted skinless, boneless chicken breasts (about 2 breasts)
• 1 cup cherry tomatoes, halved
• 1/2 cup diced peeled avocado
• 1/3 cup thinly vertically sliced red onion

• 1 (15-ounce) can no-salt-added whole-kernel corn, rinsed and drained

Preparation

To prepare dressing, combine first 7 ingredients, stirring well.

To prepare salad, combine lettuce and remaining ingredients in a large bowl. Drizzle dressing over salad; toss gently to coat. Serve immediately.

Tip: Add a spoonful of adobo sauce for a spicier salad. Kidney or pinto beans also taste great in this dish.

•  

249 calories and 8 grams of fat for 2 ½ cups of salad

French Dip Sandwiches

                                  

3 lb roast

Package of onion soup mix

2 cups water

2 cans beef broth

Provolone cheese

Rolls

Place roast in crock pot, sprinkle with soup mix. Pour in water and broth around meat. Cook on low 8-10 hours or high for 6. After cooked, pull out meat and slice or shred. Place a pile of meat on bun, cover with a slice of cheese, and place under a broiler until golden and crisp(only takes a minute!). Strain the juice from crockpot and pour into small containers for dipping. Enjoy!

Mongolian Beef

                                        

4 tsp. vegetable oil
2 tsp. ginger, minced
2 Tbsp. garlic, minced
1 c. soy sauce
1 c. water
1 c. brown sugar (packed)
2 c. vegetable oil
2 Lb. flank steaks
½ c. cornstarch
3 large green onions

Make the sauce by heating 4 tsp. vegetable oil in a medium saucepan over medium/low heat. Don’t get the oil too hot. Add ginger and garlic to the pan and quickly add the soy sauce and water before the garlic scorches. Dissolve the brown sugar in the sauce, then raise the heat to medium and boil the sauce 2-3 minutes or until sauce thickens a little bit. Remove sauce from heat.

Slice the flank steak against the grain into 1/4 inch slices. Tilt the blade of your knife at about a 45 degree angle to the top of the steak so you get wider cuts. Dip the steak pieces into cornstarch to apply a very thin dusting to both sides of each piece of beef. Let the beef sit about 10 min. so the cornstarch sticks. As the beef sits, heat up 1 c. oil in a wok (or skillet). Heat the oil over medium heat until its hot, but not smoking. Add the beef to the oil and saute for just 2 minutes, or until beef just begins to darken on the edges. Stir the meat around a little bit so that it cooks evenly.

After a few minutes, use a large slotted spoon to take the meat out and onto paper towels, then pour most of the oil out of the skillet. Put the pan back over the heat, dump the meat back into it and stir-fry for 1 minute. Add the sauce, cook for 1 minute while stirring and add green onions. Cook for 1 more minute. Now at this point you can either remove the beef with a slotted spoon or tongs and discard the sauce (this is what P.F. Chang's does) OR thicken the sauce with a cornstarch-water mixture to desired thickness and serve it over rice with the beef.

Buffalo Chicken Sandwiches

                          

2-3 chicken breasts

1 bottle of Frank's Red Hot BUFFALO Wing Sauce

1-2 Tbsp. dry Hidden Valley Ranch mix

2 Tbsp. butter

6 hoagie rolls

Directions:

Place chicken breasts in slow cooker, and pour 3/4 of the wing sauce and the ranch dressing mix over top. Cover and cook on low for 6 hours.

Once the chicken has cooked, add the butter, then shred the meat with two forks. Pile the meat onto the hoagie rolls and add a splash of remaining sauce if desired.

*I topped ours with lettuce, tomato, mozzarella cheese and drizzled ranch dressing over each one. Yummo!

Asian Chicken

                                          
*Serves 4-6
Chicken:
2 tablespoons low-sodium soy sauce
1 ½ tablespoons rice vinegar
2 teaspoons cornstarch
3 (about 1 1/2 pounds) boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut into thin, 1/2-inch, strips
1 tablespoon olive oil
Vegetables:
1 tablespoon olive oil
8 ounces cups sliced white button mushrooms
3 green onions, white and green parts, chopped
2 garlic cloves, finely minced
4 cups sliced cabbage or coleslaw mix
2 tablespoons low-sodium soy sauce
2 tablespoons hoisin sauce

For the chicken, mix the soy sauce, rice vinegar and cornstarch in a small bowl. Add the chicken strips and mix to thoroughly coat the chicken. Heat the oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the chicken and cook, stirring often until it is cooked through, about 4-5 minutes. Transfer to a plate and set aside.
For the vegetables, heat the oil in the same skillet over medium heat. Add the mushrooms and cook, stirring often, until they begin to brown, about 3 minutes. Stir in the green onions and the garlic, and cook until the garlic is fragrant, about 30 seconds. Stir in the coleslaw mix or cabbage and soy sauce. Add the chicken. Cook, stirring often, until the coleslaw is slightly wilted but still has a bit of crunch, and the mixture is heated through, about 3 minutes. Stir in the hoisin sauce. Serve immediately, rolling up the mixture in soft wrap bread or flour tortillas.