Grilled Pork Chops with Pineapple Salsa

I have been wanting to try something new and decided to have a go at a Cooking Light recipe for Pork Chops with Pineapple Salsa.   I have really been into making salsas this summer.   This turned out great and I wanted to keep eating the salsa when my pork chop was gone!    My wife enjoyed this dinner as well.

Photo: Randy Mayor; Styling: Melanie J. Clarke

The recipe calls for pan grilled pork chops, but I really enjoy grilling outside on a warm day, so I grilled my pork chops over a charcoal grill.   I made the salsa on the stove.  

I served this with rice noodles and an southeast asian style salad with lettuce, shredded carrots, mint, cilantro, onion and a dressing made with sesame oil, chile garlic sauce, fish sauce, vinegar, and some sugar.

Everything was really delicious and the whole meal with a 3.5 oz cooked pork chop and 4 oz of cooked rice noodles and the salad was under 500 calories.

Spice Rubbed King Salmon with Orzo and Asparagus

While I generally cook fresh, wild-caught Salmon for dinner every couple of weeks while its in season, it has been quite awhile since I have cooked salmon with my favorite spice rub.    I think the last time was in May at the start of the season..   My spice rub includes  garlic powder, brown sugar, cumin, paprika, salt, pepper, cinnamon, and all spice.   I cover the salmon with the spice rub and then broil the salmon for about 15 minutes. 

To go along with the Salmon, I made a side dish I use often, orzo with butter and parsley.   The orzo with butter and parsley is also a very simple and delicious Cooking Light side dish recipe that I found on myrecipes.com.    I also sauteed some fresh asparagus in a little bit of olive oil as another side dish. 

I ate 4.5 oz of cooked salmon, 3 oz of cooked orzo with butter and parsley, and about 6 asparagus spears.   Dinner was delicious and healthy and less than 500 calories.

Chicken Enchiladas with Ranchero Sauce

I know I say a lot of dishes are my favorite, but Chicken Enchiladas really could be at the top of my all time greatest hits!   They are so good and this dish is usually good for dinner for two nights and at least a couple of lunches.   I get to enjoy this dish for several meals after I make it.

Photo: John Autry; Styling: Cindy Barr

Its really the home made ranchero sauce which make this dish so good.   The recipe for the chicken enchiladas is based on Cooking Light recipe for bean and cheese enchiladas with ranchero sauce I found on myrecipes.com.   The ranchero sauce is made with fresh oregano, boiled ancho chiles, sauteed onion, tomato paste, lime juice, and cumin.   I boil the chicken in water, broth, and some water from the ancho chiles.    The enchiladas are stuffed with cheese, black beans, and chicken and then smothered in cheese and ranchero sauce.   Oh man, this is delicious!

I am getting hungry writing about it.  I try to limit myself to making this dish once over couple of months so I don't get too tired of it.   If I didn't restrain myself, I would make enchiladas a couple of times per month.

We usually eat two enchiladas per serving which comes out to about 450 calories per meal.  

Dinner at Il Fornaio

It has been many weeks since we have gone out for dinner.   When we do go out for dinner we often eat Italian since we can order pasta for my daughter.    Its hard to stay on a diet and go out for dinner.   The food served in restaurants is often too rich, the portions are large, and then there's the high sodium!   But both my wife and I have been doing so well on our diets it seemed like we deserved a night out.

We went to Il Fornaio in downtown San Jose.   The restaurant is located inside the historic St. Claire Hotel.    I always like walking through the lobby of the hotel to get to the restaurant.   It feels like I have gone back in time for a few moments.

I looked up the menu online before we left and had identified a couple of dishes I could eat and stay within my calorie budget for the day and also ate a lighter lunch to give myself a little more room.   But when we looked at the menu, I had a hard time making up my mind.   My wife was feeling the same way, so we decided to share and appetizer, pasta dish, and a main course.   We started with Carpaccio followed by Pennoni alla Vodka (giant penne pasta with a vodka-cream sauce), and Petto di Pollo al Peperoncino (chicken breast marinated with sage, rosemary, thyme, crushed red pepper, white wine, Dijon mustard and lemon; served with spicy peperoncino sauce).  

We passed on wine and the whole meal was around 700 calories and amazing.   I don't know if it was amazing because we just haven't gone out to dinner much or if was really amazing in an absolute sense, but we were very happy that we went out to dinner.   And the bill for the three of us came out to only $60 before tip!   I guess there are some financial advantages to watching the calories.

Greek Salad with Chicken

Whenever I don't have much time to cook, a greek salad something I can prepare quickly, especially if I have time to pick up a roasted chicken from grocery store.    When I make greek salad, each serving includes about 1/4 cup chopped cucumber, 2 cups lettuce, 1/4 cup chopped tomato, 1 oz of cumbled feta cheese, 4 or 5 kalamata olives, and 3 oz of roasted chicken breast.  

The dressing per salad is a tablespoon of some type of vinegar, a teaspoon of olive oil, 1/2 teaspoon of sugar, 1/2 teaspoon of oregano, 1/2 teaspoon of lemon juice, 1/8 teaspoon of pepper, and 1/8 teaspoon of salt. 

I made some hummus earlier in the week and so on both Thursday and Friday night, I had Greek Salad, hummus, and pita bread for dinner.   At only 450 calories per meal, its a light and delicious meal.

Shrimp Fettuccine Alfredo

On  Tuesday, after salad and soup for two nights, I was in the mood for something richer, so I decided to make Shrimp Fettuccine Alfredo.    It had been quite awhile since we had shrimp for dinner and I have been wanting to try Cooking Light's version of Alfredo sauce.   The last time I made Alfredo sauce at home, it was the full fat version and almost too rich.   This was before I started making healthier healthier dinners.  

Photo: John Autry and Randy Mayor; Styling: Cindy Barr

I usually buy frozen or previously frozen, wild caught shrimp.   Most of the frozen wild caught shrimp I find at Whole Foods in California seems to come from the Gulf of Mexico.  

I had some half-n-half left over from the Creamy Tomato Soup I made on  Sunday.   The Alfredo sauce is basically grated Parmesean cheese, half-n-half, and light cream cheese.    It was a nice bonus to make two dishes within a few days which both use half-n-half since I rarely use all the half-n-half I buy.

This is a pretty simple dish and really delicious.   I liked the Alfredo sauce better than my full fat version.   Its pretty rich though, even for a Cooking Light recipe.   A serving size of one cup, which is a little small for me, is about 450 calories.   I was able to limit myself to one cup and stay within my calorie budget for the day and have enough for left overs tomorrow night.   I did want to lick my plate, though.

Spring Garden Salad with Chicken and Champagne Vinaigrette and Creamy Tomato Soup.

When I am working out regularly, watching my diet, and getting plenty of rest, having a healthy salad for dinner brings at all together and leaves me feeling like I am living well.  

Photo: Iain Bagwell; Styling: Mary Clayton Carl

I like to try new dishes on the weekend when I have more time to shop and cook and I have had my eye on a Cooking Light recipe for Creamy Tomato Soup for some time.   So, tonight I decided to make the Tomato Soup and found a Cooking Light recipe this Spring Garden Salad with Chicken and Champagne Vinaigrette which I thought would go well with the soup.  

I was curious to try Champagne Vinaigrette.  I mentioned this to my wife and she said there are all sorts of exotic vinaigrettes these days and she was right.   There was a whole section of vinaigrettes at the store which I have never noticed before.

The combination of the honey, oil, and vinaigrette made for a sweet and light dressing for salad.   I bought a whole roasted chicken from Whole Foods and used the breast meat in the salad.

Photo: Johnny Autry; Styling: Cindy Barr

For me, the Creamy Tomato Soup was really the star of this meal.   The recipe says that it yields 6 servings of 3/4 cup each.   Those are pretty small servings, but with only 1/4 cup of half-n-half for the entire recipe, we had a little over a cup of soup per serving and easily stayed below my calorie budget for the day.

The soup really did turn out great.   I love tomato soup but I don't like the calories and sodium from the soup I find in stores and restaurants.   This was the first time I have ever made tomato soup at home and I am sure it will become part of my repertoire of delicious dishes for healthy dinners.