December Week 3 - Onion-Smothered Italian Burgers

Onion-Smothered Italian Burgers
Source: Cooking Light Magazine, August 2008
Yield: 4 servings

Serve corn on the cob as a quick and easy side dish and low-fat strawberry ice cream for dessert.

1 teaspoon olive oil
2 cups thinly sliced Vidalia or other sweet onion
2 teaspoons sugar
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon black pepper
1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
3 tablespoons preshredded fresh Parmesan cheese
2 tablespoons tomato paste
1 teaspoon dried oregano
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
1/4 teaspoon dried basil
1 pound ground beef, extra lean
Cooking spray
4 (1 1/2-ounce) hamburger buns

1. Heat oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add onion, sugar, salt, and pepper to pan. Cook 6 minutes or until lightly browned, stirring occasionally. Add vinegar to the pan; cook 30 seconds, stirring constantly.

2. Combine cheese and next 5 ingredients (through beef) in a medium bowl; shape meat mixture into 4 (3-inch) patties. Heat a grill pan over medium-high heat. Coat pan with cooking spray. Add patties to pan. Cook 5 minutes on each side or until desired degree of doneness. Place 1 patty on bottom half of each bun; top each patty with 1/4 cup onion mixture and top half of each bun.

CALORIES 330 (24% from fat); FAT 8.9g (sat 3g,mono 3.7g,poly 1.5g); IRON 4mg; CHOLESTEROL 65mg; CALCIUM 142mg; CARBOHYDRATE 33.7g; SODIUM 541mg; PROTEIN 28.9g; FIBER 2.9g

December Week 2 - Pork Chops w/Country Gravy & Mashed Potatoes

Pork Chops with Country Gravy and Mashed Potatoes

Yield: 4 servings (serving size: 1 pork chop, 2/3 cup potatoes, 1/4 cup gravy)
Source: Cooking Light, January 2004
CL Comments: Refrigerated mashed potatoes are widely available and are already seasoned, so no additional salt is needed. The five-ingredient gravy would go well over pan-sautéed or oven-fried chicken. It's also great over an open-faced turkey sandwich.

INGREDIENTS:

3/4 teaspoon salt, divided
4 (4-ounce) boneless center-cut loin pork chops (about 1 inch thick)
1 teaspoon butter
1 1/3 cups 1% low-fat milk
3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1/4 teaspoon poultry seasoning
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
1 (20-ounce) package refrigerated mashed potatoes (such as Simply Potatoes)

INSTRUCTIONS:

1) Heat a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Sprinkle 1/4 teaspoon salt evenly over both sides of pork. Add 1 teaspoon butter to pan, stirring until butter is melted. Add the pork to pan, and cook pork for 3 minutes on each side. Remove pork from pan, and keep warm.

2) Combine low-fat milk and flour, stirring with a whisk. Add the milk mixture to pan, stirring with a whisk. Stir in remaining 1/2 teaspoon salt, poultry seasoning, and black pepper. Return pork to pan. Cover; reduce heat, and simmer for 7 minutes or until gravy is thick and pork is done.

3) While pork cooks, prepare potatoes according to package directions. Serve with pork.

NUTRITIONAL INFO

CALORIES 322 (29% from fat); FAT 10.5g (sat 3.7g, mono 3.9g, poly 0.5g); PROTEIN 26.7g; CARB 29g; FIBER 2.2g; CHOL 65mg; IRON 1mg; SODIUM 908mg; CALC 125mg;

December - Week 1: Quick Chicken-Corn Chowder

Ok, being totally frank here, the CHOPpers are all on vacation, or busy Christmas shopping :) I don't have time to compile a huge list of recipes for December and do voting, etc. I promise we'll be back in January with our regularly scheduled routine! In the meantime, unless there's grand objection, I'll just post a recipe for each week that I think a lot of people will like. I hope you'll keep cooking and stay healthy through the holidays!!
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Quick Chicken-Corn Chowder

Source: Cooking Light Magazine, December 2001
Yield: 6 servings (a little more than a cup each)
CL Comments: You can have this soup on the table in under 30 minutes.
Amy’s Comments: This was really easy and fast and may I just say YUM! It had a kick to it, but is not ‘make your nose run’ spicy. If you dont like spicy food, cut the jalapeno in half (or substitute some red bell pepper maybe!) and cut the cayenne pepper in half. Very good weeknight meal.

2 tablespoons butter
1/4 cup chopped onion
1/4 cup chopped celery
1 jalapeño pepper, seeded and minced
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
3 cups 2% reduced-fat milk
2 cups chopped roasted skinless, boneless chicken breasts (about 2 breast halves)
1 1/2 cups fresh or frozen corn kernels (about 3 ears)
1 teaspoon chopped fresh or 1/4 teaspoon dried thyme
1/4 teaspoon ground red pepper
1/8 teaspoon salt
1 (14 3/4-ounce) can cream-style corn

Melt the butter in a large Dutch oven over medium heat. Add onion, celery, and jalapeño; cook for 3 minutes or until tender, stirring frequently. Add flour; cook 1 minute, stirring constantly. Stir in milk and remaining ingredients. Bring to a boil; cook until thick (about 5 minutes).

CALORIES 257 (28% from fat); FAT 8.1g (sat 4.4g,mono 2.4g,poly 0.8g); IRON 0.4mg; CHOLESTEROL 52mg; CALCIUM 165mg; CARBOHYDRATE 28.6g; SODIUM 668mg; PROTEIN 19.1g; FIBER 1.9g