Tag: hot peppers

Skinny Queso Dip

A zesty chunky cheese dip with chunks of tomatoes, hot peppers, garlic, onions, lime juice, cilantro and spices. Get the chips ready, this stuff is good while it’s hot!

Skinny queso, it sounds like an oxymoron, right? This is a perfect appetizer to serve for the Superbowl, I’m adding this one to the list.

I stumbled on this recipe on Slender Kitchen^[1] and curiosity got the best of me so I decided to try it out. To be honest, while I was cooking it I had my reservations. It wasn’t until I scooped some up with my chips that I found myself going for more. Luckily I had a house full of people to help me dip away, and they all gave it a thumbs up.

I served it with Beanitos black bean chips, love them! You can use any light baked chip you desire. For those of you on Weight Watchers, 1/4 cup of this dip is only 3 points plus which is pretty good considering how much cheese is in here!

A few things to note: I personally thought this was best right after making, it was all cheesy and stringy. Later I microwaved the leftovers to see how it would re-heat and it was no longer stringy like it was when I first made it so this is definitely something you want to make and eat right away.

Skinny Queso Dip
gordon-ramsay-recipe.com
Servings: 11 • Size: 1/4 cup • Old Points: 2 pts • Weight Watchers Points+: 3 pts
Calories: 92.5 • Fat: 4.5 g • Protein: 6.5 g • Carb: 7 g • Fiber: 0.7 g • Sugar: 2 g
Sodium: 143 mg (without salt)

Ingredients:

1 cup skim milk
3 tbsp cornstarch
1 tsp canola oil
1 cup minced onion
3 garlic cloves, minced
1 poblano pepper, diced
1-2 jalapeños, seeded and diced
1/2 cup low sodium chicken broth
10 oz can Rotel tomatoes with chiles, diced and drained
1/4 cup fresh cilantro, chopped
juice of 1 lime
salt and black pepper, to taste
1/2 tsp ground cumin
1 tsp ancho chili powder
1 3/4 cups shredded reduced fat sharp Cheddar, Sargento

Directions:

In a small bowl, whisk together 1/4 cup of the milk with 3 tbsp of cornstarch to create a slurry; set aside.

Heat a large saucepan on medium heat; when hot add oil. Add the onions, garlic, poblano, and jalapeno and cook until soft, about 5-7 minutes. Season with salt, to taste.

Add the chicken broth and the rest of the milk. Bring to a boil and cook for about 3 minutes to reduce slightly.

Add the slurry (cornstarch mixture) to the pan and stir; simmer a minute until it bubbles and thickens, then reduce heat to low.

Add the drained tomatoes, cilantro, lime juice, chili powder, cumin, salt, and pepper. Remove from heat and add the cheese; stir until it melts completely. Serve immediately.

Makes 2 3/4 cups.

Adapted from Slender Kitchen^[2].

References

^{^} Slender Kitchen (www.slenderkitchen.com)
^{^} Slender Kitchen (www.slenderkitchen.com)

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Savory Ricotta Tart – Thin to Win

I got a food wish for a ricotta cheesecake recently, which sounded fantastic, but with bikini season rapidly approaching, my love handles and I thought we’d compromise and do a savory, sugar-free version instead.

I love the simple combination of really good ricotta and fresh herbs, baked with just enough eggs to hold things together. I was in the mood for some heat, but things like pepper and cayenne are totally optional.

As I alluded to in the video, I usually do this as a pie, which comes out about twice as thick, but I wanted to try it in tart-form and the pan I used was clearly too large. Next time I’ll simply double the ingredients, and add about 10 or 15 minutes to the cooking time, and I recommend you do the same.

Keep this humble pie in mind when the “way too many vegetables” part of summer rolls around. This could be a great base for using up leftover veggies in a very fritatta-like way. I hope you give it a try soon. Enjoy!

Ingredients for 6 thin portions:

1/2 cup panko breadcrumbs, toasted in some olive oil

olive oil to coat pan

2 large eggs

1/2 tsp salt

1/4 tsp freshly ground black pepper

cayenne or other hot peppers to taste

1/4 cup fresh chopped or torn basil

1 tbsp chopped Italian parsley

tiny pinch nutmeg

1 1/2 cups ricotta cheese

1 oz finely greated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese (about 1/2 cup if the real stuff, otherwise 1/4 cup packed of the fake “stuff”)

*Bake at 325 for about 20 to 25 minutes, or until set.

Hot Wheels Pasta – Your Taste Buds Will Be Rollin on Dubs

It only happens once every couple years or so, but sometimes
I’ll think of the name of a recipe before I actually have the recipe. This
summery, hot wheels pasta is one such dish. Not sure how “hot wheels” popped
into my brain, but pop it did, and the next thing I knew I was at the market
buying a box of rotelle.

So the “wheels” part was easy, but what about the “hot?”
Just as easy, thanks to an assortment of hot and sweet pepper rings. I used about
two-thirds hot peppers to one-third sweet, but you’ll obviously adjust to your
personal tolerance. The zucchini provided a nice balance, although this is the
kind of pasta that will accept any and all other summer veggies.

Besides what to add, you also have a lot of flexibility when
it comes to the final taste and texture. I tend to like my peppers and squash
just barely tender for this, but if you cook the sauce a few extra minutes
before adding the pasta, you will get a softer, sweeter sauce. My version was a
little more bracing, with some bite left to it.

On the other hand, you could cook everything even less, and
have what would basically be a hot pasta and vegetable salad. Regardless, no
matter what you add, or how long you cook it, I hope you’ll be driven to try
this great recipe soon. Enjoy!

Ingredients for 4 portions:

2 generous cups dry rotelle pasta

2 zucchini, sliced

2 to 3 cups of sliced pepper rings, seeded

2 tbsp olive oil

1/2 cup green onion

1 anchovy filet

3 garlic cloves, minced

salt and pepper to taste

2 cups prepared tomato sauce (use a pinch of sugar if sauce needs it)

3/4 cup chicken stock

Italian parsley

grated Parmigiano-Reggiano