Crazy week, changing menus

Written by Linda Gauthier

Well this week there where some recipe changes, or some alternative ingredients put in place, due either to change of mood or it could be just because I was having a disorganized week, trying to fit too many things into too few hours.  A menu is just a guideline anyway right?  It is not a absolute decree.  So here is one of my changes.

This is or is supposed to be The pepper Lime Turkey Burger.  What it actually is, is a Pepper Lime Tilapia Burger, open face on 1 slice of whole wheat toast, topped with 1 slice of smoked gouda, 2 tablespoons of homemade guacamole, homemade salsa, and the Ranch Lime Sauce, served with 1/2 cup of baked beans. 

Essentially the recipe is the same, only with ground tilapia.  The guacamole was made with 1/2 a medium avocado and Epicure Selections Guacamole dip Seasoning, 1/4 of a medium tomato and some lime juice.  These changes did not affect the recipe in flavour but the point value increased by 2.  I did reduce my bread intake by making this adjustment though.

This next selection was as advertised in the menu and well worth making.

The following is a picture of the Grilled Pepper Chicken and Lemony Bean Salad, both recipes worked very well together.  The ranch dressing I made using Epicure Selections Ranch Dressing, I used 1/4 c low fat yogurt and 1/4 c buttermilk.  Each salad had 1 tbsp of dressing drizzled across the top.

On Wednesday I went to the farmers market in downtown Victoria, and bought some wonderful produce, so a couple of things changed on that evening's menu.  We were supposed to have Southwestern Turkey Chili with Black Bean Brownie.  What we ended up having was:

Seared Chicken with Pear and Ginger glaze.  Couscous, with kale and strawberry salad topped with balsamic vinegar.

I generally find kale kind of hard to chew and slightly bitter, but I read somewhere if you massage your kale with olive oil, it breaks down and becomes pliable, so I thought I'd try it.  I'll be darned if it didn't work!  It became soft and pliable like spinach and the flavour was, it seemed to me, slightly sweeter, served along with the fresh local strawberries and the balsamic vinegar.  It was a real treat.  Try it.  You'll be pleasantly surprised.

               I'm calling this Relaxed Kale and Strawberry Salad

The chicken was seasoned with salt and pepper, seared in my
non-stick pan with non-stick olive oil spray, then 1/2 cup water was added, and simmered to finish cooking.  After about 10 minutes, I added 1 1/2 tbsp pear and ginger jam (homemade low sugar content), this was simmered until the water had mainly evaporated and the jam was acting as a glaze for the chicken.  Remove from heat.
The couscous was cooked according to the package directions, I did add a little low sodium chicken broth into the cooking water and 1 tablespoon homemade salsa to the couscous after it was cooked.

These are excellent, moist, yummy and easy to make.  I did make a couple additions, of course.

1.  I added with the cocoa powder, 2 tbsp. Epicure Selections Mocha Cheese Ball Mix  Yummy!!!

2.  I did not cook them quite as long as the recipe said because I made them bite size.

I placed the plate on my e-reader and my cell phone in the picture so you could judge the size of the plate and the yummy brownies  These are definitely a make again treat.  The whole family loves them.  My husband didn't even know they were made with black beans.