Cooking Light Archives - 2 Sisters 2 Cities

Posted by 2 Sisters 2 Cities on March 22, 2012

Well hello, hello! I feel like I have been MIA lately. Do you want to know what is to blame this time? The Hunger Games! I got so wrapped up in these books during the last week that I feel like I got nothing done besides read those books. You will be happy to know that I finished the series and I can now give you my full attention. I am, however, going to see the movie this weekend which I am very excited about! Are any of you addicted to these books and plan on going to see the movie? It seems like everyone I talked to was wrapped up in these books.

Well, besides my Hunger Games vacation, I also received my Cooking Light magazine over the weekend. I am pretty excited because they have an entire section for 40 meals under 40 minutes. I don’t know about you, but on the weeknight, I need a dinner that is easy and quick to pull together.

The first meal I picked from the magazine is a little unlike me because I am not a huge chili or mac and cheese person. Don’t get me wrong about mac and cheese- I do love it, but I tend not to make it because it is not always healthy. I picked a recipe for Chili Mac and Cheese and let me tell you… it was awesome! My boyfriend also loved it- when I offered him one more scoop, he happily obliged which he hardly ever takes seconds of meals. I loved this recipe because it was like a healthier homemade version of Hamburger Helper, which I use to love in college. Also this recipe is super easy and only uses two pots! Okay on with Chili Mac and Cheese.

Chili Mac and Cheese
Ingredients
1 tsp. canola oil
1 lb. ground beef (95 % lean)
1 tsp. garlic powder
1 tsp. ground coriander
1 tsp. ground cumin
2 tsp. chili powder
2 cups fat-free, lower sodium beef broth
1 cup water
1 10 oz. can diced tomatoes and green chilies (I used hot but you can also use mild)
8 ounces uncooked elbow macaroni
1/2 cup fat-free milk
4 oz. of 1/3 less fat cream cheese
4 1/2 oz. of shredded reduced fat cheddar

Instructions
Heat a large Dutch oven or pot over medium-high heat . Add oil and allow to heat up. Stir in ground beef and all 4 spices and cook for about 3-4 minutes. Next add broth, water, and tomatoes. Bring mixture to a boil and stir in elbows. Cover with lid and let cook for 10 minutes or until the macaroni has been cooked and most of the liquid in the pot has been absorbed.

In a small sauce pan heat the milk and cream cheese over medium heat, stirring constantly until cream cheese has been melted and combined with milk. Remove from heat and stir in cheddar cheese until melted. Add cheese sauce to the macaroni and stir well. Serving size is about 1 cup. Makes 6 servings.

Source– slightly adapted from Cooking Light, April 2012

Posted by 2 Sisters 2 Cities on February 14, 2011

I like to bring my lunch to work to save money and to eat healthier. A lot of times I bring leftovers from dinner or Lean Cuisines/Smart Ones. The frozen meals are easy to pack, but I don’t like to eat them every day because of the high amount of sodium they have. I am always in the search for easy healthy recipes to make and bring to work. My favorite recipe to bring is the Black Bean Burrito Bake from Cooking Light. It makes 4 servings and they are soooooooo gooooooddd. I replace the light sour cream with fat free sour cream or plain Greek yogurt, flour tortillas with low carb whole wheat wraps (2 PointsPlus) and monterey jack with reduced fat shredded Mexican cheese. With these changes, the burritos are only 7 Weight Watchers PointsPlus.

After making them I put them in plastic containers and have them ready in the fridge to take to work. I bring additional salsa to put on top of them after I reheat them in the microwave for 2-2:30 minutes.

Enjoy!

-K

Posted by 2 Sisters 2 Cities on January 10, 2011

My roommate and I wanted to make a new recipe last night with either beef of seafood. We found a recipe we were interested in in this month’s Cooking Light. The recipe was called Beef Tagine with Butternut Squash. I have heard the term Tagine before but wasn’t sure where it was from. After doing some research, we found out that it was a Moroccan dish. The couscous recipe that is shown with the recipe looked good but we wanted to use the quinoa we had so we made the Quinoa with Roasted Garlic, Tomatoes and Spinach (which I have previously posted about) to go on the side. The dish was delicious and we are so happy we tried something different. We were worried about being able to find beef shoulder roast in the grocery store, but my grocery store actually had it.

My favorite part of the recipe was that I got use my new dutch oven that I got for Christmas and most importantly eating it (for dinner and lunch)! MMMMmm make it! You will thank me later.