Chipotle Beef Salad

Adapted from my Williams-Sonoma Food Made Fast: Salads cookbook.

Ingredients:

1 lb bonesless sirloin

Rub:

1 1/2 tablespoons lime juice

1 tablespoon cumin

1 tablespoon chili powder

1 teaspoon oregano

1 teaspoon minced garlic

Dash of salt and pepper

Dressing:

1/4 cup olive oil

1/4 cup canned chipotle chiles in adobo sauce

Lime juice from 2 limes

1 tablespoon white wine vinegar

1 teaspoon minced garlic

Salad:
1 can corn kernels, drains

Various veggies, chopped to bite size pieces: red onion, red pepper, celery, cucumber, avocado

Lettuce

Directions:

Combine lime juice, cumin, chili powder, oregano, garlic, pinch of salt and pepper into paste. Spread paste over steak. Refridgerate for at least one hour.

Meanwhile, in a blender, combine the chipotle chiles, olive oil, lime juice, vinegar, garlic, 1 tablespoon water, 1/4 teaspoon salt, and a pinch of pepper. Process until smooth. I found this dressing to be way too spicy for my own taste - perhaps I used one chile too many. I tried to tone it down slightly with some mayo, I think sour cream might have worked better and would have been a nice way to tame the spice.

Since I don't have a grill or grill plate (yet), I broiled the steak for 5-7 minutes per side (it came out a little more well done than I like). Transfer to a cutting board and let stand for 5-10 minutes. Cut the steak into slices.

Arrange the lettuce in a bowl, add corn and various veggies. Top with steak. Drizzle with the dressing and serve!

Taco Salad

Recipe adapted from this Recipezaar recipe and this Food Network recipe.



Ingredients:
Salad:
1 lb 90% lean ground beef
1 teaspoon minced garlic
2 teaspoons cumin
1 tablespoon chili powder
2 tablespoons tomato paste
1/2 cup water
1 can (15.5 oz) black beans, drained and rinsed
Lettuce, chopped (I used iceberg)
1 red onion, chopped
1 green pepper, chopped
1 stalk celery, chopped
1 avocado, chopped
1 can (15.5 oz) corn kernels, drained
Shredded cheddar cheese
10 inch tortillas

Dressing:
1 tablespoon red wine vinegar
1 teaspoon lime zest
1/4 cup lime juice
1/2 cup sour cream
1 clove garlic, smashed
1 tablespoon honey
1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil
Salt and freshly ground black pepper

Directions:
To make the dressing:
Blend all the ingredients except the olive oil until smooth. While machine is running, slowly drizzle in the oil until incorporated. Season, to taste, with salt and pepper.

To make the meat:
Heat a teaspoon of oil in large skillet over medium heat until shimmering. Add beef and cook, breaking up clumps with wooden spoon, until lightly browned, about 5 minutes. Add garlic, cumin, and chili powder and cook until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Stir in tomato paste, water, and black beans and simmer until thickened, about 3 minutes. Remove from heat, season with salt and pepper, and cover to keep warm.

To make the taco bowls:

Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Set 2 empty food cans (4 in. wide) 3 to 4 inches apart on a 14- by 17-inch foil-lined baking sheet. Spray with Pam and drape a tortilla on top of each can, pushing down edges slightly to help the shape of the bowl. Spray top of tortilla with Pam and bake for 5 minutes. Remove from oven, let cool for a couple of minutes, then gently remove tortilla bowl from can.

To assemble salad:
Place taco bowl on plate. Add lettuce, onions, peppers, celery, avodaco and corn. Drizzle with dressing to your liking. Top with heap of meat/beans mixture and shredded cheddar cheese. Enjoy!

Three Berry Pie

This pie is adapted from this AllRecipes recipe. I have also made this pie as a FOUR Berry Pie, adding Blackberries to the bunch and it's delicious as well.

PREP TIME	20 Min
COOK TIME	45 Min
READY IN	1 Hr 20 Min

Ingredients:
1 cup fresh strawberries, halved
1/2 cup white sugar
3 tablespoons cornstarch
2 cups raspberries
1 1/2 cups fresh blueberries
9 inch double crust pie (I buy frozen pre-made pie crusts)

Directions:
In a large mixing bowl, stir together sugar and cornstarch. Add strawberries, raspberries, and blueberries; gently toss until berries are coated. When using frozen fruit allow fruit mixture to stand for 15 to 30 minutes, or until fruit is partially thawed.

Stir berry mixture, and transfer to the frozen pie crust (in it's aluminum pan). You can just top the pie with the second crust, and seal and crimp the edge, but I prefer to make a pretty Lattice-Top crust instead so that you can see the berries peeking through. I just let my second frozen pie crust thaw out for 15 minutes on a piece of wax paper, gently press down to flatten the edges, then use a pizza cutter to slice it up into strips!

To prevent overbrowning, cover the edge of the pie with foil. Bake at 375 degrees for 25 minutes when using fresh fruit, 50 minutes for frozen fruit. Remove foil. Bake for an additional 20 to 30 minutes, or until the top is golden. Cool on a wire rack.

Nutritional Analysis Per Serving:
324 calories, 15.3g total fat, 0g saturated fat, 3.4g protein, 44.7g carbs, 4.8g fiber, 0mg cholesterol, 235mg sodium.