Tex-Mex Pasta Salad

Have I mentioned how glorious it is to have the entire summer off? I have spent my days thus far waking up around eight, followed by some intensive puppy petting and coffee drinking. After that Terry and I head to the gym, I always eat a banana in the car on the way. Working out is followed by lunch, chores, and then a little lounge time beside the pool. Tough life, isn't it? I have to keep pinching myself to make sure it is real. What have I been doing teaching summer school for all these years while I could have been living this lifestyle!? With all of this amazing down time I have decided to revisit some of my old Cooking Light publications, in no particular order. I happened upon the September 2005 issue and while pursuing through I found several recipes that looked very appealing. The first one I decided to try was the Tex-Mex Pasta Salad. I am always looking for a great dish to bring to BBQ's and this one delivered.

Tex-Mex Pasta Salad
Cooking Light

Ingredients
1 pound uncooked radiatore pasta -- (short coiled pasta)
2 teaspoons olive oil
3 garlic cloves -- minced
1 1/2 pounds ground turkey
2/3 cup water
1 (1.25-ounce) package 40%-less-sodium taco seasoning -- (such as Old El Paso)
2 cups preshredded reduced-fat Mexican blend cheese -- (8 ounces)
2 cups chopped seeded tomato
1 cup chopped bell pepper
1/2 cup chopped fresh cilantro
1/2 cup chopped green onions
1/2 cup sliced ripe olives
1 (15.5-ounce) can black beans -- rinsed and drained
2 tablespoons fresh lime juice
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon ground cumin
1 (8-ounce) container reduced-fat sour cream
salsa (optional)

Directions
Cook pasta according to package directions, omitting salt and fat. Drain and rinse with cold water. Drain; set aside.

Heat oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add garlic; sauté 1 minute. Add turkey; cook until browned, stirring to crumble. Stir in water and taco seasoning; bring to a boil. Reduce heat, and simmer 4 minutes or until liquid almost evaporates and the turkey is done, stirring frequently. Remove from heat; cool slightly.

Combine pasta, turkey mixture, reduced-fat cheese, and next 6 ingredients (through beans) in a large bowl.

Combine lime juice, salt, cumin, and sour cream, stirring until well blended. Pour over pasta mixture; toss gently to coat. Serve with salsa, if desired.

Serves 12 Serving size: about 1 1/3 cups

CALORIES 344 (30% from fat); FAT 11.4g (sat 5.3g, mono 4.1g, poly 1.4g); PROTEIN 23.4g; CHOLESTEROL 51mg; CALCIUM 193mg; SODIUM 632mg; FIBER 3.6g; IRON 2.9mg; CARBOHYDRATE 38.5g

Ingredients for the Tex-Mex Pasta Salad.

Cook pasta according to package directions.

Rinse pasta with cold water.

Heat oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add garlic; sauté 1 minute.

Add turkey; cook until browned, stirring to crumble.

Stir in water and taco seasoning.

Reduce heat, and simmer 4 minutes or until liquid almost evaporates and the turkey is done, stirring frequently. Remove from heat; cool slightly.

Combine pasta, turkey mixture, reduced-fat cheese, and next 6 ingredients (through beans) in a large bowl.

Combine lime juice, salt, cumin, and sour cream, stirring until well blended.

Pour over pasta mixture.

Toss gently to coat.

Cooking Light's Tex-Mex Pasta Salad was awesome, definitely bring-to-a-BBQ worthy. It seems like it would be thrown together very quickly but it took a bit of time due to all of the chopping involved, it was nothing too tedious however. Instead of using a prepackaged taco seasoning I used the Taco Seasoning from Allrecipes.com that I reviewed in my last blog post. I used whole wheat medium shell pasta and a green bell pepper. The sauce is a sour cream mixture flavored by cumin and lime juice and really adds a great creaminess to the dish. Because the pasta is rinsed with cold water and the meat is allowed a brief cooling period I was a bit confused as to what temperature it should be served at. It turned out to be a little warmer than room temperature and tasted great. Today we ate the leftovers for lunch so I microwaved the refrigerated Tex-Mex Pasta Salad for one minute and enjoyed the results. I would recommend this kid friendly recipe to everyone, it is a delightful summer dish.

-Heather

Taco Seasoning & Turkey, Corn and Black Bean Nachos

Summer is here and school is out! Terry and I teach summer school every year, but when art wasn't offered this summer due to budget cuts we both decided to take a well deserved break. Sorry that I haven't posted in so long but all of that is about to change with all of my new found free time. This summer is going to be all about home projects, painting, playing with puppies and cooking. As I have mentioned many times before we love avacados around here, especially in the form of Terry's guacamole. I decided to try something new and remembered an old Cooking Light thread dedicated to Taco Seasoning mixtures. We tried the one from Allrecipes.com posted by Lindrusso and it was a hit. We used it to make Turkey, Corn and Black Bean Nachos.

Taco Seasoning
Allrecipes.com

1 tablespoon chili powder
1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
1/4 teaspoon onion powder
1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
1/4 teaspoon dried oregano
1/2 teaspoon paprika
1 1/2 teaspoons ground cumin
1 teaspoon sea salt
1 teaspoon black pepper

In a small bowl, mix together chili powder, garlic powder, onion powder, red pepper flakes, oregano, paprika, cumin, salt and pepper. Store in an airtight container.

Turkey, Corn and Black Bean Nachos
Heather's Recipe

1 Pound Turkey
1 batch Allrecipes.com's Taco Seasoning
1/4 cup water
1 cup frozen corn, thawed
1 cup canned black beans, rinsed
1 bag reduced fat corn chips
1 to 2 cups 2% Mexican cheese blend
Any additional toppings that you desire (lettuce, tomato, onion, salsa, guacamole, sour cream etc.)

Preheat oven to 425 degrees.

Brown turkey and drain any excess liquid. Add taco seasoning and 1/4 cup water to the browned turkey. Stir, bring to a boil and reduce heat. Add corn and black beans to the turkey mixture and stir until heated through.

Meanwhile, cover a baking sheet with tin foil and then spread out the desired amount of corn chips in a even layer onto the baking sheet.

Spoon the turkey mixture over the chips and top with cheese.

Bake for 8 minutes or until the cheese has melted.

Remove from oven and serve immediately with desired sides.

Ingredients needed for the Taco Seasoning.

In a small bowl, add all ingredients.

Combine with a whisk, this may be stored in an airtight container for later use.

Thaw 1 cup of frozen corn and rinse 1 cup of canned black beans.

Cover a baking sheet with tin foil for easy clean up.

Spread the desired amount of chips onto the baking sheet.

Brown the ground turkey and drain away the excess liquid.

Add the Taco Seasoning and 1/4 cup of water to the pan, stir, bring to a boil and lower heat.

Add black beans and corn to the turkey mixture.

Mix in the corn and black beans until heated through.

Spoon turkey mixture over corn chips.

Sprinkle cheese over the turkey mixture.

Bake in a preheated 425 degree oven for 8 minutes or until cheese is melted.

Remove from oven, serve immediately.

Enjoy with desired toppings.

Prepackaged taco seasoning is now a thing of the past in our house. Making it myself was easy, and I really like that I can control the sodium level. Allrecipes.com's Taco Seasoning was excellent used in my Turkey, Corn and Black Bean Nachos. The flavors of the spices blended beautifully together and the addition of the corn and black beans enhanced the texture of the dish. The corn gave the meat mixture a crunch while the beans created a creaminess that was wonderful. Terry topped his nachos with the guacamole he made, some diced onions and fresh salsa. I went all out and used the same toppings that Terry chose, as well as lettuce, tomato and sour cream. We used a little over half of the meat mixture, which means we will be making grilled burritos with the leftovers tomorrow for lunch, I can't wait!!

-Heather