Jun 28 2012

Habanero Mayonnaise

Need a little spice in your life? Or maybe just on your sandwiches? Yes?

This mayo will do just the trick.

Recently, I started making our own homemade mayo thanks to a recipe I pinned on Pinterest. I made it exactly as is the first time, then made my own adjustment (we like it better without any olive oil). After successfully making plain mayo a few times, and with an over-abundance of habanero peppers thanks to the plant in my garden (which has given us over 30 habaneros already!), I decided to put a spicy twist on a common condiment.

All I can say is, the hubs loves me even more after this concoction. And I can also say that he’s happy that there will soon be many more habanero-themed dishes/condiments/salsas etc, because our plant is producing so many that we are giving them away! But I gotta use some of these hot peppers for us, too!

I originally was going to call this “Habanero Lime Mayonnaise”, but honestly, you can’t really taste the lime. The habanero, however, is a different story!

I immediately put some homemade roasted chicken, avocado, and tomato on that piece of bread and had a delicious sandwich. This mayo totally made the sandwich!

Ingredients:
Recipe adapted from Spain in Iowa

1 egg plus 1 egg yolk
1/2 tsp sea salt
2 TBSP fresh-squeezed lime juice (lemon juice works just as well)
1 cup grapeseed oil
1 habanero pepper

Directions:

Slice habanero and remove seeds. Put it in the blender with all other ingredients except grapeseed oil. Pulse the blender or blend on low for just a few seconds, until ingredients are mixed and habanero is blended smooth.
If using a Vitamix (this is what I use), turn on low speed (or somewhere between variable 5-7) and add oil slowly. You can add about 1/4 cup to start, then just pour through the hole in the lid at a somewhat slow pace. It should take less than a minute to make the mayo in your VitaMix. Store immediately in the fridge to keep for a week or see note below to have it keep for 2 months.
If using a regular blender, turn onto high speed and add oil very slowly until it is thickened to a mayo consistency. It may take a few minutes, but be patient because adding the oil slowly is the key (I know this because I came up with mayo water one time when I decided to add it all at once – no bueno). Store immediately in the fridge to keep for a week or see note below to have it keep for 2 months.
If you want your mayo to keep for up to two months, add 1 TBSP whey and let it sit on the counter for 6-8 hours. Whey is the biproduct of cheese, yogurt, etc. You can drain plain yogurt on several layers of cheesecloth to easily get whey. Once you have let it sit at room temperature, store it in the fridge.

Note: If you do not like things very spicy, use half or even a quarter of the habanero. If you like things ultra spicy, do not seed the pepper or only remove a few seeds. The mayo has a definite “kick”. It is perfect for me, and I like things on the spicier side. The hubs, however, requested it be even spicier (but he’s on the verge of crazy when it comes to spicy things…ha!).

This recipe was shared on Full Plate Thursday, Little House in the Suburbs DIY Linky

Jun 7 2012

Lightened Up Blue Cheese Dip

Let’s face it, blue cheese dip is not exactly known for being low on the fat and calorie content. It’s known for being an indulgence, something to get kids and adults alike to eat their veggies.

What makes this one so much lighter? Can anyone guess?

Not sour cream, or mayo, or any of the traditional base ingredients for blue cheese dip. Plain greek yogurt! If you stick around long enough, you’ll realize I have a thing for greek yogurt these days. It makes an appearance in a lot of my recipes.

Here is the nutrition content for the whole batch (1.75 cups).
Calories: 394, Fat: 20g, Protein: 41g, Carbs: 10g

Not bad, really. I don’t know anyone who would sit and eat 1.75 cups of blue cheese dip in one sitting, but hey, if you really want to, I think you’d be okay You may not want dinner, though. I suspect you’d be really, really full!

For comparison, here is the nutrition info for 2 tablespoons of a popular pre-made blue cheese dip.
Calories: 160, Fat: 17g, Protein: 1g, Carbs: 0g

You have nearly the same amount of fat in 1/14th the amount! Holy cow! And my recipe is jam-packed with protein, just as low on carbs (two tablespoons only yields 0.7 carbs), and much lower in calories (just 28 per serving). For a list of the per serving nutritional content in this lightened up dip, check it out below the recipe.

This recipe makes a great appetizer or party dip. No one will ever know it’s made with yogurt, trust me!

It’ll be our little secret

Ingredients:

1/2 cup + 2 TBSP blue cheese (separated)
1 cup plain greek yogurt
2 TBSP finely chopped onion
1 TBSP dried parsley
1/4 tsp celery seed
1/2 tsp garlic powder

Directions:

Melt 1/2 cup blue cheese in microwave until melted, about 30 seconds.
Mix yogurt and melted blue cheese together until mixed. Add in remaining 2 TBSP blue cheese, onion, parlsey, celery seed, and garlic powder and mix until combined.
The dip can be served immediately, however, it’s best if left to chill in fridge for at least 4 hours while the flavors meld.

Yields: 1.75 cups dip

Nutrition Info
Serving Size: 2 TBSP
Calories: 28, Fat: 1.5g, Protein: 3g, Carbs: 0.7g

This recipe was shared on Full Plate Thursday, Meatless Monday

Jun 5 2012

Guilt-Free BBQ Chicken Sandwiches

Yes, that’s right, guilt-free BBQ sandwiches! Homemade BBQ sauce, crockpot shredded chicken, and 100% whole wheat sandwich buns – they taste delicious and will never leave you wondering “What did I just eat?” Because when I look at the back of a BBQ sauce bottle, the ingredients really scare me! Here’s the ingredients from a bottle that was hiding in the back of our pantry:

High Fructose Corn Syrup, Distilled Vinegar, Tomato Paste, Water, Modified Corn Starch, Contains less than 2% of: Salt, Pineapple Juice Concentrate, Natural Smoke Flavor, Spices, Caramel Color, Jalapeno Pepper, Sodium Benzoate as a preservative, Molasses, Corn Syrup, Dried Garlic, Sugar, Tamarind, Natural Flavor.

I think we’ve all heard enough about high fructose corn syrup and why it’s bad for you. It is not only in this sauce, but it’s the first ingredient! The preservative is also very scary. Unfortunately, most processed foods have preservatives (amongst a million other things that you usually can’t pronounce) and is one of the main reasons Marcos and I have decided to start weeding out processed foods from our diet.

Now, we don’t eat a lot of Bar-B-Que in our house (although I’m sure the hubs would love for that to change). It’s just not really my thing. So why go to all the trouble to make my own sauce? I just can’t bring myself to use the bottled stuff knowing what’s in it. We are getting rid of processed foods and this is no different. The pre-made condiments is one of the last things on my list to cut out of our diet. I plan to start making my own mayo, ketchup, and mustard. We definitely use them enough to make it worthwhile.

And really, it was fun and rewarding knowing that I knew exactly what was in this sauce! It was so worth it to make my own, and it really was pretty easy! Cutting out processed foods has been a lifestyle change for us that’s been for the better. I am making my own breads (including the buns in this recipe), tortillas, sauces, etc. I’ve got a lot of recipes to share with you guys!

Now, back to the BBQ sauce!

I put the chicken in the slow cooker a few hours before I wanted to eat. It went in frozen. Yes, frozen. Please, can this recipe get any easier? We don’t even have to think about thawing out the chicken!

Once it’s cooked, it’s shredded and mixed into the sauce … mmmmm. The sauce is “chunky”, unlike most BBQ sauces which are smooth. If you’d prefer it that way, I’m sure you could stick it into the blender before mixing it with the chicken. The hubs & I thought it was great like this, however.

This sauce is not your typical heavy BBQ sauce. It feels a lot lighter. I have an aversion to most BBQ sauces and usually eat my BBQ “dry”. This sauce is completely different – I love it. It got a seal of approval from the hubs, the BBQ lover.

Don’t tell me this isn’t a picture-perfect sandwich. Come on, look at this! It’s making my mouth water just looking at it (never mind that it’s only 7:30 am!).

Ingredients:

For the sauce:

Adapted from Oh She Glows

1 TBSP olive oil
1 medium sweet onion, diced
4 garlic cloves, finely diced
1/2 tsp sea salt
Two 14.5 oz cans no salt added diced tomatoes, drained & pureed (or use canned tomato sauce – I didn’t have any)
4 TBSP honey (molasses may give a better flavor, but again, I didn’t have any and it tasted great with honey)
1/3 cup white vinegar
1 TBSP apple cider vinegar
4 TBSP brown sugar
1 tsp yellow mustard
1 tsp garlic powder
1/8 tsp cloves
1/8 tsp cayenne pepper

For the chicken:

1.5-2 lbs frozen chicken breast
1/2 tsp sea salt
1/4 tsp black pepper
1 tsp poultry seasoning
1/2 tsp paprika
1/2 tsp dried oregano
1 tsp garlic powder
1 cup water

Directions:

About 3.5-4 hours before serving, place chicken breasts, water, and spices into the crock pot. Cover and cook on high. When chicken has reduced in size and turned white, it should be done. At this point, shred chicken and set aside. If you desire, save your broth left in the crock pot. I froze mine and used it in another recipe later.
Heat onion in a saucepan over medium-high heat. Add onion and cook until slightly softened. Add garlic and cook just a minute more, stirring to keep it from browning.
Add in all remaining sauce ingredients. Cook uncovered over medium heat, stirring frequently, for about 25-30 minutes or until sauce is thickened to your liking.
Taste sauce and make any adjustments if necessary.
Add in shredded chicken and cook just until chicken is warmed (or, if added directly after shredded, chicken should still be warm).
Serve with 100% whole wheat sandwich buns, and enjoy!

This recipe was shared on Slightly Indulgent Tuesday, Tasty Tuesdays, Fat Tuesday, Totally Tasty Tuesdays, Trick or Treat Tuesday, Melt in Your Mouth Monday, Monday Mania