Servin' With Ervin » Recipes

Italian Wedding Soup

admin — Mon, 22 Feb 2010 02:40:25 +0000

My wife and I really enjoyed the taste. My wife thought I could have cut back on the spinach but I really enjoyed the way it was.

Ingredients:

6 cups chicken broth
1 lb spinach (frozen)
1/2 lb lean ground beef
2 tablespoons breadcrumbs
1 tablespoon parmesan cheese
1/2 teaspoon dried basil
1/2 teaspoon onion herb mix (or just use onion powder)
1/2 cup whole wheat pasta (broken into small pieces)
1/2 cup finely chopped carrot

Directions:

In a medium pot put the broth and spinach on low heat to thaw.
Mix the breadcrumbs, parmesean cheese, basil and spices in a bowls.
Mix in the ground beef
Ball up the mix into various sizes about the size of you thumbnail
Turn the heat up until all the spinach is thawed and broth is at a rolling boil
Put the meat balls and pasta into broth
When the broth comes back to a boil turn down the heat to slow boil and cook for 10 minutes or until the pasta is tender and the meatballs are cooked all the way.

Nutrition Information:

Servings:	4
Calories	283
Calories from Fat	82 (29%)
Amount Per Serving	%DV
Total Fat 9.2g	14%
Saturated Fat 3.3g	16%
Monounsaturated Fat 3.6g
Polyunsaturated Fat 1.1g
Trans Fat 0.4g
Cholesterol 37mg	12%
Sodium 1353mg	56%
Potassium 1225mg	35%
Total Carbohydrate 25.1g	8%
Dietary Fiber 3.2g	12%
Sugars 2.6g
Protein 26.0g	51%

Notes:

If you use low sodium broth make sure to sample the soup before you serve it. Sometimes you really need some salt to bring out the flavor of the food.

Mexican Chicken With Beans and Rice

admin — Sat, 30 Jan 2010 11:00:07 +0000

This maybe the the best chicken I’ve ever made, at least to my tastes. The recipe is very flexible to your tastes. I preferred mine to be spicy but you can easily change to suite your palette.

I love using my Dutch Oven I got for Christmas. You don’t have to worry about scratching a non-stick coating and the heat is continual and gentle on the food. Gentle heat is cheaper to make and leaves more juice and flavor in your food.

Ingredients

8 chicken legs
2 tablespoons canola oil
fajita seasoning mix
1 (14 1/2 ounce) can chili beans
1/2 cup salsa
1 cup chicken broth
1 cup long grain white rice

Directions

Start your baking oven preheating to 250 degree Fahrenheit.
Heat a Dutch Oven on your stove burner with the Canola Oil over a low flame.
Dry 2-3 the Chicken Legs with a paper towel.
Coat the Chicken Legs with the Fajita Spice Mix in a pie tin or similar container. The heavier the coating the spicier the chicken.
Place the coated Chicken Legs in the Dutch Oven and cover. Brown both sides of the chicken for 3-5 minutes. Don’t crowd the chicken or the chicken will burn. Also the Dutch Oven will get hotter as you go so watch your browning time.
Remove the browned Chicken Legs and set aside.
Repeat the process until all the chicken is browned. You’ll need to keep a thin coat of oil on the bottom of the Dutch Oven so add Canola Oil as needed between brownings.
Wipe out the hot Dutch Oven with a paper towel to remove the extra oil and unwanted spices. Leave some extra spice if you want the dish to be hotter.
Place the ingredients into the Dutch Oven in this order: Chili Beans, Salsa, Chicken Broth, Long Grain White Rice, and then the Chicken Legs.
Cook for 1 hour and 10 minutes or until the rice is cooked and the chicken’s juices run clear. Don’t peak or you’ll let out a lot of mosture.

Nutrition Facts: Serving Size 1 (291g), Recipe makes 8 servings, Calories 513, Calories from Fat 219, Total Fat 24.3g, Saturated Fat 6.1g, Monounsaturated Fat 10.4g, Polyunsaturated Fat 5.7g, Trans Fat 0.2g, Cholesterol 138mg, Sodium 447mg, Potassium 692mg, Total Carbohydrate 34.0g, Dietary Fiber 3.3g, Sugars 0.6g, Protein 37.5g

A note on the nutrition facts: I belive the program I used to calulate the calories are a bit over stated. A lot of them are coming from oil used to brown the chicken. Since you dump the oil out I belive each servering should be at least 50 calories less.

Poblano Pepper Sloppy Joes

admin — Sat, 23 Jan 2010 21:36:20 +0000

I love this low calorie sloppy joes. While you’re making this recipe check the heat in your pepper. Poblano peppers are usually quite mild but I have ran into some that will rival any jalapeno pepper. If your pepper is too hot for your taste then cut the poblano pepper in half and substitute the rest with a small green pepper.

Don’t substitute canned corn! You need the firmness and full flavor of frozen corn. If you use canned corn you’ll have sweet mush when you’re done.

Ingredients

2 tablespoons canola oil
1 medium onion (diced)
1 poblano pepper (diced)
1/2 cup corn (frozen)
2 garlic cloves (diced)
1 red potatoes (diced)
1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
1 teaspoon dried chipotle powder
1 teaspoon cumin (ground)
1 teaspoon oregano (ground)
1 lb ground turkey
3/4 cup ketchup
4 teaspoons worcestershire sauce
8 whole grain buns

Directions

In a dutch oven or 12″ heavy skillet put in your oil and set your stove to medium-low heat.
Add the Red Skin Potatoes. Cook for 3-5 minutes stirring occasionally. You want the potatoes warm and slightly softened.
Put in the rest of the vegetables and the salt and cook for 5-10 minutes or until most of moisture has cooked out of the corn. This should be a gentle cooking time so reduce heat to were you just hear the sizzle.
Add the rest of the spices and let it cook for just a minute or two more to help integrate the flavors. If you don’t have a Dried Chipotle Powder mix try the Southwest Chipotle Seasoning (recipe #162886) found on RecipeZaar.
Remove the vegetables and set aside. Remember they’re hot, so use an appropriate storage vessel.
Brown the meat and drain off any fat or extra juice and discard the liquid.
Bring back the vegetables to the pan and add the rest of the ingredients.
Cook for 10-15 covered or until the potatoes are tender.