Cooking Ligh Virtual Supper Club- Strawberry-Avocado Salsa

Roz chose our theme this month- Spring is Berry-licious Season, for the Cooking Light Virtual Supper Club. Each of us chose a recipe that highlighted some kind of berry and we came up with a delicious menu. Check it out below-

Roz - Pork Medallions with Spicy Pomegranate-Blueberry Reduction

Sandi - Raspberry Asparagus Medley

Mary Ann - Strawberry-Avocado Salsa

Jamie - Balsamic Strawberry Topping

Jerry -Raspberry Daiquiris

Val - Mesclun with Berries and Sweet Spiced Almonds

I don't know why I am drawn to wierd salsa combinations, but this strawberry and avocado salsa just seemed so interesting to me that I had to try it. I made it when my parents were here visiting, after my dad bought a large bag of avocados. I made it on a night when we were having tacos for dinner. We tried it with some tortilla chips and it was really good. Even though I forgot to add the sugar! My mother and I added some to top off our tacos and it was a really great addition. I was actually glad that I accidentally left out the sugar because it made the salsa seem savory, with just the right amount of sweetness from the strawberries.

I noticed that a very similar recipe was in the May issue of Cooking Light, but was paired with Cinnamon Tortilla Chips. I am going to have to make it and compare the two.

Make sure you go and see how the rest of the menu turned out!

Here is the recipe for Strawberry-Avocado Salsa from Cooking Light
* I forgot to add the sugar, but I thought it tasted great that way

Cranberry- Avocado Salsa

Here is a fun way to use cranberries, in a delicious salsa.
I love cranberries and finding savory ways to enjoy them is really great.
I took this salsa to a Christmas get-together and it was gone by the end of the night.
There is a little bit of honey and lime juice, which evens out the tartness of the fresh cranberries.
If you need a fun appetizer for a party or just want to try something a little different, give this a try!
Recipe for Cranberry-Avocado Salsa

Spiced Eggplant-Lentil Salad with Mango

This salad is perfect.
Spicy & Sweet.
Healthy & Delicious.
Crunchy & Salty.

Plus, it has many of my favorite things. Eggplant. Lentils. Mango. Romaine. Salad. Nuts.
Salsa.

I saw it in a recent copy of Eating Well and knew I had to make it.

A couple of weeks ago my church collected food for a local food bank.
We walked up and down our street and met all of our neighbors, who willing donated cans of food for the food bank.
After the collecting and transporting of the food to the food bank the next day, we had a picnic for all those who had helped.

I brought this salad to share.
I wasn't sure if anyone else would be as excited about it as I was, but it got rave reviews. Lots of people really liked it. I loved it.
I was sad that there weren't any leftovers for me to take home. I guess I will just have to make it again.

This recipe is gluten and dairy free.
Recipe for Spiced Eggplant-Lentil Salad with Mango
* I reduced the amount of oil in the dressing to 1 1/2 Tbls
* I used Herdez salsa- the only jarred salsa I like

Chicken Nachos

A couple weeks ago I accompanied my daughters to a birthday party. It was really fun with lots of princesses and princess activities.
The birthday girl's mom had made some cute little sammies and snacks for the kids as a light lunch and had also prepared these chicken nachos for the adults to munch on.
They tasted really good and so I asked her for the recipe. Turns out that it is super easy.
I don't usually use sour cream, but I happened to have some in my fridge because I used it in a baked good, so I went ahead and used the rest of it in this recipe. I am sure that plain yogurt or greek yogurt would work just as well.
I added a can of black beans and also garnished it with green onions and cilantro.

I made these for a dinner get together and we had the leftovers for dinner another night wrapped in a tortilla with chopped tomatoes inside. It would also make a great filling for a quesadilla.


Chicken Nachos adapted from Misty Francom
Season 4 chicken breasts witih lemon pepper and garlic salt.
Cook and Shred.
Add 2 cans of corn without juice (I used Mexi-corn because I had it in the pantry)
1 can black beans, drained and rinsed
1-2 cups of shredded cheese
1 large scoop of sour cream
1 jar of salsa
green onions and cilantro, for garnish

Simmer together for 10-15 minutes
Serve with chips

* Misty's note- I (Misty) don't cook it this way anymore, but it basically tastes the same as the way I make it. I cook the chicken and shred it the night before. Then in the morning I through everything in the Crockpot and let it cook until lunch and it is ready!

One Year Ago- Weekly Lunchbox

Sesame-Chile Chicken with Gingered Watermelon Salsa

Today life changes as we know it at our house.
College Football started on Thursday and that is when the craziness slowly started to appear, but today is when it will take over full force.
The Georgia Bulldawgs play their first game today and I can pretty much guarantee that I won't see much of my husband until January. At least he is passionate about something, right? I am looking on the bright side here.
Ok, I might be exaggerating a little bit- but I learned the first couple years that we were married that GA football reigns supreme in the fall and I have just accepted it. There is nothing that is more important. But that also gives me lots of opportunities to make tasty food, so it is a good thing.
Here is to a great season! It is good to be back in the South!

Now, I have this thing for watermelon. I love it. A lot.
A couple of weeks ago I tried a fantastic tilapia dish with watermelon salsa- that was soo delicious!
I saw this recipe- Sesame Chile Chicken with Gingered Watermelon Salsa, on the cover of some sort of Cooking Light special magazine. The salsa ingredients for this one were slightly different, so I wanted to try it and compare the 2 watermelon salsas. This recipe also has great reviews on myrecipes.com, almost everyone who has reviewed it gave it 5 stars.

This chicken was really good and so was the salsa, but I liked the tilapia dish better. The watermelon salsas were fairly similar but had a few different ingredients- the one with the tilapia was spicier and I just like fruit salsas with fish better.
Don't get me wrong, if I had tried the chicken first and never had the tilapia, I would be raving about it even more. It was good.

I am soo excited for a 3 day weekend-football, hiking and time with family. Hope you have a great Labor Day weekend!

Recipe for Sesame-Chile Chicken with Gingered Watermelon Salsa

One Year Ago-Smoky Black-eyed Pea and Rice Cakes with Spinach Garnish on Cornbread

Huevos Rancheros

This was a really quick lunch we had recently on a day off from school. I know Huevos Rancheros are supposed to be a breakfast dish, but, I made them for lunch and it worked out. I also think that Huevos Rancheros traditionally calls for fried eggs, but I am not an expert, so I don't know for sure. I am not calling this an authentic dish, so feel free to correct me if I am wrong. I am just using the recipe title that was in the magazine. I served them at the wrong time of day and made them untraditionally, but they were still good.
This is a quick meal and it starts out with a really fast blender salsa. You cook everything in the same pan, so there aren't alot of dishes to worry about.
I added some cumin and chili powder to the black beans, just so we could have a tad bit more flavor.
This recipe was really fast and I could see it fitting easily into our favorite meals.
I like eggs and beans. They are pretty basic and this is a fun way to get them into your diet. So, if you have a few minutes, try serving these for breakfast, or lunch, or really, whenever you want.

Huevos Rancheros From Every Day with Rachael Ray Magazine
One 14.5-ounce can diced tomatoes, drained
1 small onion, quartered
1/4 cup cilantro leaves, plus more for garnish
1 jalapeño chile, halved and seeded
Cooking spray
7 large eggs, lightly beaten
Salt and pepper
One 15-ounce can black beans, rinsed
8 small corn tortillas, warmed
1/2 cup shredded monterey jack cheese (about 2 ounces)
1/4 cup light sour cream (I used Greek Yogurt)

1. Using a food processor, pulse together the tomatoes, onion, cilantro and jalapeño until chunky. 2. Coat a large skillet with cooking spray and heat over medium-high heat. Add the eggs, season with salt and pepper and scramble for 3 to 4 minutes. Transfer to a large plate.
3. Wipe out the skillet, add the beans and 2 tablespoons water and cook over medium heat until warmed through; transfer to a bowl. Wipe out the skillet, add the salsa, season with salt and cook for 5 minutes.
4. Divide the tortillas among 4 plates and top with the beans, eggs, salsa, cheese, sour cream and cilantro.

Coming on Monday- Cookie Carnival- Toasted Almond Lemon Bars