Coconut Chili and Bean Medley

Here's something I experimented with the other night that came out quite good. It has a sweet and spicy, vaguely eastern flavor due to the light coconut milk and seasonings. I've been playing with coconut milk a lot since tasting Thai curry a few years ago, and this is another of my variations.

• Sauté half of a yellow onion (diced) and four minced cloves of garlic with a couple tablespoons of olive oil in a deep pan.


• Add 1/2 bag golden raisins, and four cooked and diced Yukon gold potatoes.


• Add 1 can rinsed and drained kidney beans, one can rinsed and drained chick peas, and 1/2 bag steamed or prepared lentils (about one cup).


• Add 1 can light coconut milk, three-quarters of a jar of Trader Joe's roasted red pepper and eggplant dip***, 1/3 bag of cashews, and 1/3 bag frozen peas.


• Season with salt, pepper, a little cumin and coriander, and a more generous amount of chili powder to taste. Heat through and combine until peas are thawed, and the dish is warm.


• Serve over brown rice, and garnish with red bell pepper or scallions.

I think this dish is easy to prepare, even if you don't really cook. It looks like a lot, but it is all "pantry" ingredients, and it is my favorite style of cooking (just combining things in a pan.) Don't be scared if it looks a little strange... The raisins give it a burst of sweetness, and the nuts give it a nice crunch. The leftovers (and there will be a lot), reheated very well, and it may have even tasted better after a couple of days in the fridge.

*** You could make your own by processing oil-packed red peppers (with the oil), garlic, and grilled eggplant until smooth.

Spam 'n Eggs, Yes, I Said Spam 'n Eggs

I am my father's daughter. Though the cooking I do is typically healthy, one thing I have in common with Dad is that I sometimes get a craving that is undeniable. I don't mean the type of craving you get where you think, "Hmm, I think stir-fry might be nice for dinner." I'm talking about the kind that starts as a nagging voice in the back of your mind, and builds over days at a time. Should you try to suppress the Craving, and allow days to turn into weeks, you will find yourself making a trip to the store at the most inconvenient time, and doing your food shopping at places like Walgreen's. Because you just have to get whatever-it-is you've been trying to tell yourself that you don't need, or is too high in fat, or doesn't fit with your ideals. And you have to get it right then.

Spam is not for everyone. In fact, I don't think it appeals to a lot of people, even those who are dedicated meat-eaters. I remember walking into my friend Jen's house one morning in high school. Her father worked for Dial corporation, which had recently acquired the company that produced Treet, a rival product of Spam. He had gotten a lot of free Treet as a result of the merger, and was packing Treet sandwiches for all the kids. One of them, Jason, was having none of it. As I walked up the stairs, I heard her dad saying, "Jason, do you like pork? Do you like chicken? Do you like beef? Well, good. Because IT'S ALL IN THERE." I'm sure Jason tried unsuccessfully to trade his lunch that day.

Well, I've never tried Treet. But I grew up with Spam, and for me it is a fond memory. In my younger days, before I turned fifteen and my metabolism came to a screeching halt, I ate as much as four grown men at every meal. I also had no standards or "ideals" to speak of, and I only obeyed my instinct -- to eat what was tasty. And oh baby, I could eat those pan-seared slices of Spam just as long as Dad would cook 'em up, and the stockpile of cans in the cabinet held out.

Now, I still adore the idea of Spam for kitsch value (a reputation I think the company is well aware of, due to their production of an extensive catalog of items, a museum, and a pretty awesome, if slightly obnoxious, website). But come on. I'm not that girl anymore. I can't stand most Hormel products (Dinty Moore beef stew gives me the shivers just to think about... And remember the Frankenstuff hot dogs with chili inside? In the commercial the dog was struck with lightning, and the chili gushed out. Uhhhk.) I don't generally eat mystery meat, or pork of any kind. Except, of course, for those times when I do.



And don't bother with the Spam Lite. It doesn't taste the same, and that unsatisfied craving just might get rolled over to another day. When you experience the Craving, just go for it. Serve a bit of it diced in scramble eggs with onion for dinner, some green veggies on the side, and enjoy. If our lives are like houses, then a good home is all about balance. And sometimes the cracks can be patched up nicely with Spam.

Trader Joe's Green Soup

This is a simple soup I like to make from my booty from Trader Joe's. TJ's used to offer a frozen mixed greens bag, containing spinach, broccoli, green beans, and edamame. At our location, however, the mix disappeared around the time of the Great Spinach Scare, and hasn't reappeared since. Now I have to buy each vegetable, and add them separately. I mean, this soup used to be so simple. Now I have to open four individual bags. Sheesh, what am I, some kind of soup-making machine?



Anyway, what I do is brown and chop Joe's feta and spinach chicken sausages, then add them to the Crockpot. In the slowcooker, I also add a bit of each veggie (frozen right out of the bag), about a cup or two of aneletti or other small pasta, diced onion and garlic to taste, and enough chicken broth to fill the thing. I just let it all simmer together until the pasta is cooked (on high).

Make sure to pile it high with parmesan or romano when you dish it up, of course...

Deviled Eggs

What's spring or summer without a deviled egg? Answer, "a sad one, indeed."



I made these awhile ago -- on Easter, I believe -- and neglected to post them. But in going through my files, they looked so yummy I didn't want to forget about them.

I had boiled the eggs, and had a dickens of a time getting the shells off, even under cold running water. In "Googling" a solution to this, I found a patent for a shell ripper, (which I assume has become the "Eggstractor" you see on TV), but who wants to buy a new item? I don't have the room for that in my tiny kitchen. Not when the unused waffle-maker is collecting enough dust for everyone. Then I read several threads which had such useful recommendations as "crack the shell all over," and "cool off the eggs." Really? You mean the egg is INSIDE that shell thing..? And I shouldn't peel them boiling hot? Wow, I didn't know that. Sheesh.

Some did say not to overcook the eggs (10 minutes only), to simmer in salt and vinegar, and to use older eggs (because gas has permeated the shell). Guess I'll try those next time... Anyone else know any tricks?

Anyway, I used a hand mixer for the yolks. I added:

• a dollop of Just Too Good! mayo


• about a tablespoon of vinegar


• a little sugar


• a couple shots of hot sauce


• garlic and onion powder


• a little dijon mustard


• salt and pepper

That's pretty much it... I just kept playing with it until I liked the taste. I used a hand-mixer, and then a pastry bag to pipe it on all pretty-like. However, even the smallest unbroken piece of yolk clogged up the whole works and required extraction... So I think next time I will put the whole deal into the food processor, whir it up, and break up the yolks very well before I add the mayo and liquids. Or find a bigger nozzle...

Even with the poor peeling, and the nozzle problems, they came out quite pretty and very tasty. They were a little zippy, just how I like them. I dusted them with paprika. I could have added some fresh dill to the inside, but this batch was destined for a family affair, and I decided to just put little sprigs on the top so that anyone who didn't like it could just take it off.

How do you like your deviled eggs (with more, or less "devil")?

Hebrew National Hot Dogs

A hot dog is not something your typical gourmet indulges in on a regular basis, if ever. Luckily for me, I'm no gourmet. Still, other than the occasional turkey or soy dog (I like Morning Star Farms dogs and corn dogs the best), I didn't purchase hot dogs as a general rule. What other meat is so famous for being so grossly mysterious? For one thing, they are not a healthy food (duh). Most have lots of fat, or lots of preservatives, carcinogens, and other chemical ick (yes, even some of the veggie ones.) Also, I've seen the process of making a typical hot dog on Discovery, or say, Mr. Roger's Neighborhood. When you watch a hot dog go from raw product, to yellowy extrusion, to the addition of smoky flavors and nitrites, the temptation to eat one is lessened considerably. Now add these other factors to an unfortunate incident I experienced as a teenager, in which I pulled a largish piece of coiled plastic sheeting out from within a cheap frankfurter. You'll see that my odds of ordering the grilled chicken sandwich instead of the mystery dog at Wrigley become very high indeed.

But while at the ol' Trader Joe's, I had a summertime craving for a really good hot dog. And I saw the Hebrew Nationals, a 100% kosher beef frank (I don't eat pork, either, my Jewish brothers) that contains nothing artificial. I remembered how much I liked them when they gave them away once a year at the office building in Skokie I used to work in. I got the Reduced Fat, and so far I like those the best. The 97% Fat Free variety, sadly, didn't have nearly as good a flavor.



Of course, even while eating hot dogs, I'm trying to "up" the nutritional value and minimize the damage... So I paired the dogs with TJ's sweet potato oven fries (cook 'em high and hot, or they'll sog out on you), and dipped those in a little low-fat ranch mixed with BBQ sauce (my two current favorites are Sweet Baby Ray's and Famous Dave's Texas Pit.) And, of course, whole wheat buns. I put Dijon mustard and relish on mine, and tried not to look when C-Dub added ketchup to his. I just kept reminding myself, "He's a good man, he's a good man..."

For my money, these are the best and the only dogs out there. But I could be suffering from inexperience, since I haven't tried them all... Would you sooner die than eat one? Or do you eat several every week? How do they fix 'em where you live?

What's your favorite hot dog?

Mediterranean Summer Pizza

I did it again... I found myself a couple of weeks ago without any marinara sauce. Or canned tomatoes. Or fresh tomatoes. And of course, what I really wanted to make was pizza. Could I make a pizza without it, I wondered, that wouldn't be dry, hard, and suitable only for a game of Frisbee?

Well, this pizza is what resulted. And it was light, summery, and very, very good.



I grilled two small chicken breasts (one large would do) with my usual mediterranean seasoning, alongside some asparagus (just a few spears). I chopped those, and mixed them in a bowl with crumbled feta, half a diced red onion, and some diced Greek olives (I used black and green mixed, but I think either one, or just Sicilian olives would be great). Lastly, I added the juice of one small lemon, and the grated zest.

I brushed the whole-wheat (prepared) crust with extra-virgin olive oil, and added minced garlic before spreading on the diced toppings. Then I drizzled with just a little a bit more oil, and added a light amount of shredded cheese (there was already feta, after all) and some Italian dried seasoning on top.

Then I just baked it at the recommended temperature for the pizza crust until the toppings were gold and bubbly. It was hearty and fresh, and we didn't miss the sauce at all.

Mojito Chicken, Nonno, and His Steak

Today I thought I would begin with pictures of a very special man: Chris' Nonno (grandpa). His name is Irio. He lives with Chris' parents, in his own little "apartment" in the downstairs area, with his own kitchen. He is adorable. Enjoy him:



My husband's Nonno (though I call him that, too) is almost 88 years old, and he still makes seasoning mix for us, fresh bread, and baccalà (which I believe is the only seafood he eats). He waters all the extensive landscaping at the house, walks every day, mows the lawn, rakes leaves, shovels snow... And probably a ton else. He doesn't have to do any of that, of course. In fact, Chris' parents have been totally unsuccessful in stopping him. He is incredibly stubborn, and just as cute and sweet at the same time with a light and merry sense of humor. I see him in my husband all the time, especially in his little periods of inflexibility about what I would consider "small things," like the schedule of events that you might have on a day off. On the days when most people would plan nothing and "go with the flow" (or even stay in their pajamas all day), Nonno wants to know, exactly what time is dinner? And Chris is grousing because we may be five minutes late to it. And you can't get very annoyed because, well, they're both just so dang cute.

Unlike Chris, Nonno is a picky eater. I'm not just saying that because on my side of the family, we cram things in our mouth first, and ask about edibility later. There is a pretty narrow range of things he will eat. When we grill out, he wants steak. Just steak. Keep away from him with the fish or the chicken (here you can see his steak in the back.)



And he always has some kind of potato or pasta, bread with dinner, and definitely white wine. And if you're not questioning the validity of all that you knew about healthy eating by now, you should be.

God bless you, Nonno. We love you, see you soon!

**As a side note, the chicken we grilled here on Father's Day was a concoction of some chicken breasts that I marinated in margarita mix (tequila included), coarse salt, pepper, olive oil, and mint for a sort of "Mojito Chicken." It was very good, as was the salmon that Wilma seasoned, and we ate with fresh homemade pesto sauce (with basil from her garden) and pasta. And Nonno's steak looked pretty good, too...

Feta Cilantro Salad

Okay, something a bit more "frou-frou," or light and healthy. Mostly because it's getting hot outside! I'm starting to wonder if I should just write recipes for Trader Joe's fliers. Stilll, you could re-create this from any store, I think.



1 serving Trader Joe's Harvest Grains, cooked and rinsed (or other mixed grains in a bag... this one contains quinoa)
1/2 package prepared lentils, or about a cup cooked and drained
1/2 bunch diced scallions
1 medium tomato, diced
1 orange bell pepper, diced
1 tub crumbled feta cheese
1/2 bag cashews or cashew pieces
1/2 bottle cilantro dressing (I used TJ's, natch)
salt and pepper

Pretty simple... Had a nice crunch, and lots of textures -- very refreshing. Next time I will add some Greek or Sicilian olives, I think, if I have them on hand.

Pesto and Goat Cheese Pasta and Taters

I'm even more eager than before to sell our condo and get into a home, since our last trip to my in-laws home. As if the smallish kitchen wasn't motive enough, my "MIL," Wilma, had a bountiful crop of fresh herbs growin' like crazy in her backyard. She grows a lot of them in pots, so this would technically be possible for us, since we have a large balcony. However, it faces north, so while this is pleasant because the sun is never direct, it isn't great for growing summer herbs, since the sun is never direct. For now, I'll just have to settle for hacking into her large basil and tomato supply, and trucking them home with me.



Pesto is so simple to make with a food processor, and you can use lots of different things as your "base" -- such as artichoke hearts, spinach, or in this case, basil. Layer up your washed herbs, begin with just a drizzle of olive oil, and about a quarter cup of toasted pignolis (I reserve another quarter cup for later.) Add about three cloves garlic, a good shake of parmesan or romano, salt and pepper, a small shake of red pepper flakes, put the top on and give it a few pulses. Then, while whirring continuously, drizzle up to a half cup more extra-virgin olive oil through the opening. I don't measure, I just whir until it looks like the consistency I want. Then I add the juice of one lemon. Lastly, I add the remaining pignolis (pine nuts) and pulse a couple of times (I do this because I want some crunch, and I don't want all the pine nuts completely pulverized.)

Have you ever combined pasta and potatoes? You can, you know. I heated my leftover potatoes and squash, and in a separate pot I boiled whole-wheat pasta. Then I tossed in frozen artichoke hearts and green beans at the last moment, just until they thawed and heated. Then I strained the whole pot, and added the potatoes and squash, and the pesto. I also crumbled in some goat cheese, and added diced tomatoes to the top.



The dish was so rich and yet fresh all at the same time. The buttery cinnamon and coriander seasoning I had used lightly on the potatoes gave the dish such a depth and additional dimension, though I think just using plain boiled potatoes would have been very tasty, too. As another note, you can use toasted walnut pieces if you can't find pignolis.



The leftovers of this dish reheated very nicely, though they did not hang around for long!

Potatoes and Squash

To go along with my previous post about fried chicken, I thought that the mixed potatoes and squash were yummy enough to deserve their own post.



They were very simple. I washed and cut up one of those bags of mixed potatoes (some blue, some red, some gold) just into bite-sized halves (I got our bag at Trader Joe's, of course). I boiled them, and steamed diced acorn squash separately. I drained the taters, and combined them with the squash. I added just a little bit of cinnamon, brown sugar, butter, garlic powder, salt and pepper.

Another tasty variation on this would have been to continue along and mash them up together, using a little milk and/or chicken broth. I guess your chemistry teacher would call that a "physical" change, not a "chemical" one...

Buttermilk Fried Chicken and the Leftovers

I tried my first-ever fried chicken (on the bone, at least) owing to my acquisition, this year, of a pan deep enough to fry in.



I used Bobby Flay's guidelines (on a show I saw of his) about double-dipping fried chicken in buttermilk and flour. First, I seasoned the flour with a little cayenne, some poultry seasoning, some Adobo seasoning, and pepper. Oh, and just a little of Nonno's seasoning, too, that I keep in the freezer (sage, rosemary, red pepper and yes, more garlic diced finely by Nonno with a mezza luna, or curved blade.) I had purchased chicken legs and thighs, because, I admit, they were so dang cheap. I had marinated the chicken (skin removed, I just don't care for it) in a gallon Ziploc bag for at least four hours in the buttermilk. Then I dipped them in the flour, and again in more buttermilk, and again in the flour. I fried the chicken in vegetable oil when the oil looked hot enough to me. You can check this by flicking a piece of breading in the oil, and seeing if bubbles form around it.

I would call my first fry successful. Next time, I will season it the same way. There are a couple of things I will do differently next time, though. I dunno if it was just my technique, but the double-dip made the breading so thick, it was almost too thick. I think a single dip is enough. I don't want anyone to split their palate open on super-crunchy breading.

Another tip is not to put the lid on the chicken if you need to walk away from it for a moment. Use a splatter-shield, but the lid, even if on for only a moment, will cause an increase in pressure. This causes the oil to flare up, and I burned that batch a bit on the bottom just from that moment of having the lid on. Makes it harder to control the temperature.

Lastly, I think next time I will spring for the white meat. I think the breasts and the drumsticks would have been a nicer combo. Especially since dark meat is naturally a bit oily, I think white meat makes a better fry.

We had plenty of leftovers. Later, I cut the meat and breading off of the drumsticks, and diced it into salads on a hot day. I added scallions, and made a buttermilk, ranch-seasoned dressing with light sour cream and some of the remaining buttermilk.



On a cooler day, I used the thighs (I had bought boneless and skinless thighs) to bake in the oven with marinara and mozzarella (in a mixed cheese) as chicken parmigiana.

Caribbean Bratwurst

Okay, y'all are gonna think I'm crazy after this one. I mean, if you didn't already.



Sometimes pulling together everything in the fridge into a coherent... something is a challenge, even for me (only because I think I have my Dad's gift for that.) And when turkey bratwurst is buy one, get one free, that's a lot of brats if there aren't any cookouts on your calendar. And no buns in the fridge.

But I was up for it. I had an idea for a spicy, fruit-based Caribbean-style bean dish kicking around in my head, and adding brats to that didn't seem too crazy. They're a spicy meat, after all... So I chopped the brats and sautéed them with diced onion and garlic. Then I added chopped green apples (which was also something I needed to use.) I always keep the skin on, because there's a lot of nutrients there, and flavor, too. When those had softened just the tiniest bit, I added:

1 can of kidney beans (rinsed and drained)
1 can of pinto beans (rinsed and drained)
¼ - ½ jar of Trader Joe's Mango purée (peach sauce or apple sauce would work, too)
a generous dusting of mexican seasoning
extra spice -- some extra cayenne pepper or red pepper flakes
a handful of cashews
a handful of golden raisins

I topped it with a dollop of low fat sour cream (or yogurt is also nice), and put it on brown rice. I really, really liked it. It was like spicy meat candy, in a phrase that sounds like something my brother might say. Mmmmm. Meat candy...

But it was also low fat and high in nutrients and fiber. It had lots of textures and flavors... what's not to like?

Grilled Veggies... and What to Do With Them

I love the veggie griller's package at Trader Joe's. It comes with bell peppers, a slice of eggplant, sweet potato, zucchini, red onion and yellow squash, plus a couple mushrooms, and some asparagus. I added the green onion myself, plus some additional bell pepper I had. If you don't have access to Joe's, you could easily make the mix yourself. I just like that it is "single-use, no waste."

Now, of course, they are good simply paired with a grilled chicken breast, but one could get tired of that. Also, there are a couple of these (like the eggplant) that need some "sneaking in" for my husband's sake. I grill the veggies on my grill pan, and I've come up with several uses for them after that.

One night I rough-chopped them, and added them to pasta with some olive oil, a can of clams, a little red pepper flakes and a bit of white wine. Plus, of course, a ton of parmesan cheese.



On another occasion, I put them through the slicer blade (after grilling) of my food processor, plus some leftover asparagus and steamed broccoli I had.



Then I added them to a sautée pan and added red sauce. I got a nutrient-packed veggie sauce out of that, and there was lots left over for the week.



Lastly, I also diced them after grilling and added them to a "crustless quiche." I based it on this recipe from cooks.com, but I basically put in the following:

10 cubed slices wheat bread
9 eggs
3 cups skim milk
two large handfuls (about 8 oz. or two cups) shredded cheese
the cubed veggies
four slices grilled Joe's turkey bacon, diced
salt and pepper

I cut the bread into cubes, and added the beaten eggs and milk, then all the other ingredients. I baked it in a sprayed pan at 350 until it all puffed up into a nice blossom, which took something like an hour. (Hard to say, because mine takes twice as long as everyone else's on earth.)



This was really delicious. We had lots of leftovers that we just reheated in the microwave throughout the week... Would be good without the bacon as a vegetarian option, too!

Will it Blend?

My husband sent me a link today to the "Will it Blend?" site. This has to be the most powerful blender in the world. Brilliant marketing -- who wouldn't want a blender that could pulverize chicken into soup, or, perchance, an iPhone?

Devil Tongues

I've become fascinated, over the last year or two, with dipping various things in chocolate. It started with a friend at my old job (her name is also Gina) that brought in these no-bake cookies. She frosted one Ritz cracker with marshmallow fluff, one with a thin layer of peanut butter, and made a sandwich out of them. Then you dip the "cookie" in melted Hershey bar chocolate, and cool them on parchment paper in the fridge. They are UH. MAY. ZING. Do not deviate from Hershey bars, she warned me. Nothing else works.

Well, of course I experimented. You know how I am. I mean, in the Garden of Eden, the addition of a snake using his forked devil-tongue to talk me into anything that I know I shouldn't do would have been completely superfluous -- because I would have gone STRAIGHT for that tree the moment I was told not to. Also, I had chocolate chips at home that I needed to use up. But the chips dry too hard and have an unpleasant "crunch" that spoils the cookie... and if you add a little milk, you end up with what is basically bechamel sauce, and it will never totally dry (though it's great on ice cream... or cheesecake). So for anyone but the expert candy maker, I say, USE HERSHEY BARS. Be ye warned.

Also, when you are melting chocolate, use a double-boiler method. It is really easy to burn the chocolate, so use indirect heat, or microwave for a few seconds, and just keep stirring until it all melts together. Don't keep nuking it, or if using a double-boiler, take it OFF the heat.

So what I've done here is take the chili-coated dried mango slices that they sell at Trader Joe's, and dip half of those in chocolate, and cool them on parchment paper (they will not stick, and then you can put them all in a tupperware container). Have you had chili spice with chocolate? It is really wonderful. They are paired a lot in Latino cooking, and these "tongues" are not too hot -- just savory. I call them "devil tongues" because, well, that's what they look like, because they're a little bit spicy, and in honor of the little voice in my head that tells me to dip things in chocolate.

Turkey Taco Time!

Nearly all of the time, you'll see me saying something like, "Hey, if you don't like this, switch it out or change it." But just this once, I think you should make my tacos exactly the way that I make them and see what you think. Chris and I could (and often do) eat these once a week, and they earn rave reviews from guests that may have been leery at first. I'm gonna be really specific here. Note the order, the layering, and the ingredients. You want to change anything, that's great! Just don't tell people you're making MY tacos. 'Cause you're not. I know, I'm being very fascist about this, but these are THE TACOS, and they are perfect and holy. (My mood will pass and I'll go back to being light-hearted and free-wheeling about procedure after this, I promise you.)



The Meat:

In the photo above, the tacos are shown with easy Crockpot taco chicken, which is also great instead of the turkey meat. The recipe for that is:

4 chicken breasts, either frozen or fresh
a liberal dusting of mexican seasoning (scroll down that page)
1/2 jar of jelly, any kind (low sugar is okay, but not sugar-free)
1/2 jar salsa
salt and pepper

Cook for 4 hours if fresh, 6 hours if frozen, or just until the chicken shreds easily with two forks.

If you're doing the ground turkey meat version, I use about a pound of ground turkey meat, added to about two cloves of diced garlic, and half a hefty diced onion that has been "sweated." When the meat has been browned with the onions and garlic, drain off the water using a lid. Return it to the heat, then add a liberal dusting of the mexican seasoning (scroll down that page), salt and pepper. When that is all mixed together, add about a half jar of your favorite salsa to the meat and mix that in. This is the key to getting turkey meat that is never dry and is nice a savory. At the last moment, add diced fresh cilantro and mix that in.



The Guacamole:

I know I've shared my guac recipe with you before, but here it is again with the reminder that it is PERFECT (I know... what is going on with me today, huh?):

2-3 ripe avocados
1/2 diced jalepeño
1/2 diced red onion
2-3 cloves minced garlic
1 small palmful minced fresh cilantro
juice of 1-2 limes
salt and pepper

I firmly believe that the salsa, as you can see, should be added to the meat, not to the avocados. What you want to taste are the avocados, and it shouldn't be mush. I like to mix it all once, just at the end, so it is nice and chunky. You can eat on this liberally with some chips and cerveza until the tacos are ready.



The Order:

Assemble the tacos in the following order. Yes, I am completely serious. DO IT THIS WAY. I'm going to know if you don't.

When the shells have been warmed for a couple minutes in the oven (and yes, if you don't do this you are a barbarian), use the back of the spoon to "frost" one inner side of the taco shell with light or fat-free sour cream. Doing this creates a "Spackle" that holds all the other ingredients in, and also distributes your sour cream throughout without taking up precious vertical space that can be used for the "stuffage" of other ingredients. (Yes, that is a technical term, and don't question me again, private!)



Next, place your taco meat in the bottom, then the shredded cheddar or mexican cheese blend, and then the lettuce (and thou shalt not use iceberg, but mixed spring greens, red lettuce, or romaine are good). Then take your guacamole and spread it over the top. Again, we have a kind of Spackle or caulking effect here, and putting it over the top seals in all your other loose ingredients.

Lastly, and most importantly, put a easy drizzle of Western Light dressing over the top. Don't use a different dressing, and oh lord Francine, don't skip it, and I can't even look at you right now because I can-NOT believe you even asked me that. Sheesh!



There she is! Packed with nutrients, lower in fat than your plain old Velveeta and beef taco, and who really cares? Because the main thing is that it tastes one thousand times better.

The leftovers also make a great taco salad assemblage, just store the meat and the other ingredients separately, and reheat the meat. I also like to add a can of baby corn, and a can of black beans (rinsed and drained). Leftover guac (not that we usually have any) will actually keep in the fridge for a day or two without browning, because there is plenty of lime juice in it.



Enjoy. The perfect taco, with the chicken or the turkey. I know I was hard on you, but anything this great usually don't come easy, and now you can make these in minutes. You are welcome.