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Photo Courtesy of Tostitos
Our friend, Deal Detective Kim, occasionally writes frugal recipes and meal ideas here on Time 2 $ave – and we love it when she stops by to share with us. Take it away Kim!
For those of you who love Tex-Mex, this is for you. For those of you who like cheap cooking, this is for you. For those of you trying to eat light and healthy, well, this is for you, too!
My boyfriend of almost seven months is just over a year into a health-related weight loss journey. It has not been easy for him, and I’m really proud of his progress. I walk a fine line between helping just enough and helping so much it becomes hindering. I am, as you all know, a foodie. I love playing with food, experimenting with flavor combinations. I am learning that, with him, don’t talk about it so much, just do it. The recipe I found last week is a perfect example. It’s from the good folks at Tostitos, slightly adapted to my taste.
Ingredients
- 16 oz. can of black beans, drained and rinsed
- 16 oz. can of kernel corn, drained OR 2 cups fresh or frozen corn kernels
- 1 medium onion, diced (yellow, red or white, doesn't matter)
- 1 red bell pepper, diced
- 1 green bell pepper, diced
- 1 jalapeno chili pepper, finely diced (the hottest part is the seeds and ribs inside, you can lower the heat by removing them--or raise it by adding a second one)
- 4 tbs minced fresh cilantro OR 1 tbs dried cilantro
- 1/4 cup (I used one medium fresh) diced tomato
- 1/4 cup lime juice
- 1 tbsp Minced Garlic
- salt & pepper to taste
Instructions
- Mix all ingredients except the black beans together, add them last. Chill and serve with Tostitos tortilla chips.
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http://www.time2saveworkshops.com/black-bean-corn-salsa-recipe-1-per-cup/I price-checked these ingredients at Aldi – and you can make this for very little cost:
- Cans of black beans, .59
- 3pk tricolor peppers, still $1.49
- 3pk green peppers, .99
- Bag of yellow onions, .79
- Tray of Roma tomatoes, .99
- Bagged frozen is always .99
Now, my notes: First off, the boyfriend LOVED this! It made a large Rubbermaid bowl full, which is 6 cups (That’s just bout $1 per cup!) In the interest of weight management, I served this as a side dish, rather than a dip, although he did eat some later on with whole wheat tortilla chips. If you’re using Weight Watchers Points Plus, one cup is only 3 points!
I said I served it as a side, so I’m thinking you’re wondering what I served alongside it. Two things: For Saturday night, I made basic meatloaf but I used ground turkey instead, and changed it up to give it a Mexican flavor.
Mexican Turkey Meatloaf
- 1 pkg ground turkey (they are usually 1 1/4 to 1 1/2 lb)
- 1 sm or 1/2 medium onion, diced
- 1 cup breadcrumbs
- 1 egg, beaten
- 1/4-1/2 cup salsa verde (I just poured some in. If the mixture gets too runny, just add a little more breadcrumbs to soak it up, but remember it’s easier to add more salsa than to take some out!)
- 1 tsp cumin
- 1 tsp chili powder
- 1 tsp dried cilantro
- 1 clove minced garlic
Mix all of the above together. I put mine in a sprayed glass dish that’s about 6 x 8 (only because I was at his house & he doesn’t have a loaf pan!). Awhile back, I had a coupon for a free can of NEW Ro-Tel tomato sauce WYB 3 cans Ro-Tel. So I poured that on top & baked at 350 for about 30 minutes. You can use plain tomato sauce if you don’t have or don’t like Ro-Tel. Also, if you like your food really spicy, you can add some chopped jalapeno (fresh or canned) to this recipe as well. I have not keyed this into the Weight Watchers site yet, but I will. If you do it before I get around to it, leave a comment with the points value–it should be really low!
I don’t do bell pepper AT ALL–it seriously upsets my digestive system–but if you like it, totally put some in this. My boyfriend said it was his favorite of anything I’ve ever cooked for him. Since I don’t do bell pepper, I made myself some roasted garlic mashed potatoes for the side, and kept it light by using I Can’t Believe It’s Not Butter and skim milk. To roast garlic, lay a whole bulb of garlic on its side and cut off the pointy top. Set it upright on a sheet of foil, drizzle a little olive oil on top, then gather the corners of the foil and twist closed. Throw it in the oven for about 30 minutes. Let it cool, and then just squish all the garlic (it will be gooey) out into your pototoes and mash as usual. It’s very yummy!
On Sunday, I made my Chicken Enchiladas Recipe. I said I’m trying to lighten up, and I did. I used light sour cream (always cheap at Aldi!) and some whole-wheat tortillas I stocked up on a couple weeks ago at Bi-Lo when they were 2/$3 (which is cheaper than BOGO!). When I keyed this recipe into the Weight Watchers tool, it came out at 9 points per enchilada and that’s with LOTS of sour cream because my boyfriend piles it on his. If you just use what’s in the recipe and don’t add any on top, it’s more like 7 points. We also add salsa, which I always have plenty of, on top.
One last thing, since bell peppers seem to be today’s theme. When I was a kid, my mom would make stuffed bell peppers every so often. I would eat the filling and leave the peppers, but my boyfriend wolfs those right on down with everything else–he loves ‘em! And they have NO points, which is always a plus. You could totally use the meatloaf mixture to make stuffed peppers, especially since they’re always cheap at Aldi. All you have to do is either cut the top off the pepper (if the bottom is level enough for it to sit upright) or cut them in half lengthwise, making two boat-like pepper halves. Drop them into a pot of boiling water until they’re tender but still hold some shape. Drain them when they’re done and let them cool, then put them in a sprayed casserole dish, pour the tomato sauce over the top and bake the same as the meatloaf. Just check it sooner than 30 minutes, maybe at 20, because the peppers are smaller, so they’ll cook faster.
That should keep you all busy for awhile, so I’ll sign off by saying it’s good to be back!
Email me with questions or suggestions for future posts at DealDetectiveKim@gmail.com
