Spicy Shrimp Wraps

From Taste of Home



Ingredients:
1 cup salsa
1 medium ripe mango, peeled, pitted and diced
1 tablespoon ketchup
1 envelope reduced-sodium taco seasoning
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 pound uncooked medium shrimp, peeled and deveined
6 flour tortillas (10 inches), warmed
1-1/2 cups coleslaw mix
6 tablespoons reduced-fat sour cream

Directions:
In a small bowl, combine the salsa, mango and ketchup; set aside. In a large resealable plastic bag, combine taco seasoning and oil; add shrimp. Seal bag and shake to coat.

In a nonstick skillet or wok, cook shrimp over medium-high heat for 2-3 minutes or until shrimp turn pink. Top tortillas with coleslaw mix, salsa mixture and shrimp. Fold bottom third of tortilla up over filling; fold sides over. Serve with sour cream.

Comments:
Adam liked the shrimp but didn't think much of the salsa/mango mixture. Prep was pretty easy, although putting taco seasoning on the shrimp made it kind of hard to tell when it was done using color alone. I managed. :)

Southwestern Turkey Burgers

From Cooking Light



Ingredients:
1 pound ground turkey breast
1/3 cup crushed baked tortilla chips
1/3 cup bottled salsa
1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro
2 tablespoons finely chopped green onions
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
Cooking spray
4 (1.5-ounce) light wheat hamburger buns
4 curly leaf lettuce leaves
4 slices ripe tomato
1/4 cup bottled salsa

Directions:
Combine first 8 ingredients. Divide mixture into 4 equal portions, shaping each into a 1/2-inch-thick patty.

Heat a large nonstick skillet over medium heat. Coat patties with cooking spray. Add patties to pan; cook 3 minutes. Carefully turn patties over; cook 4 minutes or until done.

Top bottom halves of buns with lettuce and tomato slices. Place patties over tomato slices, and top each with salsa and top halves of buns.

Comments:
Man, I could not get a decent picture of this. Then Adam tried and ended up with obvious cat foodage on the counter. Gah! Oh well. These were really good. I don't like a lot of junk on my burger so I skipped the lettuce, tomato, and extra salsa and it tasted just fine.

Red Rice with Chorizo

From Everyday with Rachael Ray



Ingredients:
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
8 ounces chorizo, sliced 1/4 inch thick
1-1/2 cups long-grain white rice
1-1/2 cups red salsa
2 cups thawed frozen corn
One 15-ounce can sliced large black olives
1/2 cup chopped fresh cilantro

Directions:
1. In a heavy medium saucepan, heat the oil over medium heat. Add the chorizo and cook, stirring occasionally, until lightly browned, about 4 minutes. Add the rice and stir for 1 minute to coat. Stir in 1-1/2 cups water and the salsa and bring to a boil, stirring once or twice. Cover the pot and simmer on low heat for 20 minutes.

2. Fluff the rice and stir in the corn. Remove from the heat, cover and let stand for 5 minutes. Stir in the olives and cilantro.

Comments:
I swapped some black beans for the olives because, while Adam claims to "hate" beans, he "hates" beans a whole lot less than he hates olives. I also left out the cilantro. It took about 25 or 30 minutes for my rice to cook completely, but other than that the recipe worked well. Nice flavors. Adam's comment (I mean aside from the "eww, beans" one) was "needs more chorizo." So there you go.

Salsa Meat Loaf

From Cooking Light



Ingredients:
2 large egg whites
1/3 cup quick-cooking oats
1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons chipotle salsa, divided
1/4 cup ketchup, divided
1 pound ground beef, extra lean
Cooking spray

Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 350°.

2. Combine egg whites in a large bowl, stirring well with a whisk. Stir in oats, 1/2 cup salsa, and 2 tablespoons ketchup. Add beef; mix well. Divide beef mixture into 4 equal portions, shaping each into an oval-shaped loaf. Coat a foil-lined rimmed baking sheet with cooking spray. Place loaves on prepared pan.

3. Bake at 350° for 30 minutes or until done.

4. Combine remaining 2 tablespoons salsa and remaining 2 tablespoons ketchup in a small bowl; spread mixture evenly over loaves.

Comments:
These were really good. The salsa isn't overpowering at all and they stay so moist when they bake. I didn't expect to like them so much so it was a pleasant surprise.

Picante Chicken

From The Biggest Loser Cookbook



Ingredients:
1/3 cup plus 1/2 cup mild picante sauce
4 medium (4-oz) boneless, skinless chicken breasts
6 tbsp light cream cheese
1/2 cup shredded cheddar cheese

Directions:
Preheat the oven to 350. Spread 1/3 cup of the picante sauce in the bottom of a 13 x 9 baking dish. Set aside.

Lay chicken breasts on a cutting board. Use the flat side of a meat mallet to pound the chicken breasts to a uniform thickness.

Spread the chicken evenly with the cream cheese. Lay the chicken, cream cheese side up, in a single layer in the prepared baking dish. Spoon the remaining 1/2 cup picante sauce evenly over the breasts. Cover the dish with foil.

Bake for 15 minutes. Remove the foil. Sprinkle the cheddar cheese evenly over the breasts. Bake, uncovered, for 15 minutes, or until no longer pink.

Comments:
I apparently forgot to get cheddar cheese this week and on Thursday night I was so tired I didn't even feel like running to the grocery store across the street from our house to go get some. So I just left it off. I didn't eat this since I was feeling not so great and cream cheese has a tendency to make me feel even worse. Adam seemed to like it though. Probably would have been better with the cheddar though. :)

Beef Taco Skillet

From Campbell's via an ad in Everyday with Rachael Ray



Ingredients:
1 pound ground beef
1 can (10 3/4 ounces) Condensed Tomato Soup
1/2 cup salsa
1/2 cup water
6 flour tortilla (6-inch), cut into 1-inch pieces
1/2 cup shredded Cheddar cheese

Directions:
Cook the beef in a 10-inch skillet over medium-high heat until it's well browned, stirring often to separate meat. Pour off any fat.

Stir the soup, salsa, water, and tortillas in the skillet and heat to a boil. Reduce the heat to low. Cook for 5 minutes. Stir the beef mixture. Top with the cheese.

Comments:
I discovered the jar of salsa I thought I had in the pantry was, in fact, not there, so I had to do some improvising. I added a second can of tomato soup and a little extra water and it turned out fine. Not so "taco" or spicy, but I liked it and Adam even ate the leftovers!

Nacho Chicken & Rice Wraps

From Campbell's via Slow Cooker Magic in Minutes



Ingredients:
2 cans cheddar cheese soup
1 cup water
2 cups salsa
1 1/4 cups uncooked regular long-grain white rice
2 pounds skinless, boneless chicken breasts, cut into cubes
10 flour tortillas (10-inch)

Directions:
Mix the soup, water, salsa, rice and chicken in a slow cooker.

Cover and cook on low for 7 to 8 hours or until chicken is cooked through.

Spoon about 1 cup rice mixture down center of each tortilla. Fold tortilla around filling.

Comments:
Totally easy. I halved the recipe and put completely frozen chicken breasts in the slow cooker. I came home at lunch and cut them up a little. Turned out fine. The edges burned a bit and Adam didn't like it too much, but overall, a decent meal.

Taco Salad

From The Everything Glycemic Index Cookbook by Nancy Maar



Ingredients:
16 taco chips
1 cup grated Cheddar or Monterey Jack cheese
1 bag baby spinach, shredded
2 sweet red roasted peppers, chopped
1 sweet onion, chopped
1 cup salsa
1/2 cup sour cream

Directions:
Arrange taco chips on serving plates. Sprinke with cheese and place under broiler until cheese melts. Top taco chips with spinach, peppers, and onion. Serve with salsa and sour cream on the side.

Comments:
Remember what I said about Adam liking his nachos with all the crap up on top of it? Well this is that preference at work again. I left off the red peppers and subbed a green onion. Overall it was ridiculously simple and he ate it. I can't ask for more than that.

Mexican Manicotti

From Taste of Home's Cooking for 2 Summer 2008.



Ingredients:
manicotti
chicken breast
salsa
ricotta cheese
olives (left out)
parsley
pimentos (also left out)
green onion
garlic
hot sauce (yep, that's right, left out as well)
Monteray Jack cheese

Comments:
I was kind of skeptical of a manicotti dish made with salsa rather than spaghetti sauce. It was kind of neat how the salsa turned the ricotta cheese filling a cute pink color. Luckily the end product was mighty tasty and not too hot for my wimp of a tongue.

Corn Tortilla Chicken Lasagna

From 2008 Taste Of Home Annual Recipes (recipe isn't on the site so I can't link)



Ingredients:
tortillas
chicken breast
kidney beans
salsa
sour cream
green peppers (left out)
olives (left out)
Jack cheese
cheddar cheese

Comments:
Adam doesn't like green peppers or black olives which is why I omitted them. This left the "lasagna" probably more gooey and runny than if the cheese had two more groups of things to grab onto. Regardless, it's tasty and an interesting concept.

Lime Chicken Tacos

From Taste of Home



Ingredients:
boneless, skinless chicken breasts
lime juice
chili powder
corn
salsa
tortillas
shredded cheese
sour cream

Comments:
I followed this recipe as it was written, which, if you read this blog with any regularity, you know is quite rare. I even put the full 3 tablespoons of chili powder in. And you know what? It wasn't really even that hot. I was relieved. It definitely has some kick but I think that's more attributable to the salsa than the chili powder. Overall, great flavor and totally simple to make (although you may note that Adam rolled his up like a burrito or something rather than a taco...)