Eating Out at Home: Earl Cobb Wrap

Have you ever had the Earl of Sandwich’s Earl Cobb wrap? They claim it to be on their Lighter Side menu, but to see the huge chunks of cheese they use made me question just how low cal it could be.

And yet, I adore it. Here I’ve done my best to recreate its glory at my house, but cut some calorie corners. In doing so I’ve discovered the perfect meal for both men and women. Just look at what happened at our house (somewhat romanticized, but not too far from true):

Josh comes home from work to find the whole house smelling like fresh cooked bacon.

Josh: Mmm, bacon. Whatcha cookin’ good-lookin’?
Me: Bacon, chicken, buttermilk ranch sauce, you know, nothing special.
Josh: Wow, sounds great.
Me: Hmm, this bacon is so crumbly and this sauce is so slimy, we should keep it together with these vegetables and low-cal wraps.
Josh: Sounds good, let’s eat.

And we did and we were both thrilled. I didn’t even tell Jay that it was turkey bacon until the meal was over. He only shrugged and said, Huh?

Here’s the game plan to make this scene a reality at your house:

Earl’s Cobb Wrap

• 2 boneless skinless chicken breasts, cooked, roughly cut
• 4 slices turkey bacon, cooked till crispy, crumbled
• 2 heads of Romaine lettuce, chopped
• 1 cucumber, peeled and sliced in half moons
• chopped tomato
• dried cranberries
• cubed cheddar cheese
• non-fat buttermilk Ranch dressing*
• low-cal wraps (I used Flat-Out light wraps, they’re only 90 calories, but still really big and soft)

Combine ingredients in the quantities that you like, wrap up and enjoy!
Kim’s notes:

I first cooked the bacon, then cooked the chicken in the same pan with the drippings, but any cooked chicken will do. I combined them both in one bowl, stirred and then refrigerated them until needed.

*To make the fat-free Ranch sauce, I used a packet of Buttermilk Ranch dressing powder, stirred it into a container of fat free sour cream, and then mixed about half of the ranch-sour cream with skim milk until I had the consistency I wanted. This made for a great and normal Ranch flavor, instead of a diet flavor.

Broccoli Slaw Salad

HEB offers a bagged "rainbow salad:" hearts of broccoli, cauliflower, red cabbage and carrots - which adds some color. I usually cut the recipe in half for the fam. Add some cubed grilled chicken and make it a meal. I think it's even better the second day!

2 bags (3-ounce) Ramen Noodle Soup in Oriental flavor
1/2 stick butter
1/4 cup slivered almonds
2 bags (12-ounce) bags broccoli cole slaw (in the bagged salad section of the grocery store)
1/4 cup sunflower seeds
Chopped green onions, for garnish

Dressing Mix:
3/4 cup canola oil
1/4 cup brown or white sugar
1/4 cup apple cider vinegar
1/4 cup soy sauce
2 ramen noodle seasoning packets

Put the ramen noodles in a bag and crush them with a rolling pin while melting butter in a large skillet over low/medium heat. Add the crushed noodles and slivered almonds to the skillet and saute, stirring occasionally (keep temperature at low/medium heat). Meanwhile, whisk together all the dressing ingredients in a small bowl. Place the shredded broccoli into bowl and toss with the noodles, almonds, and sunflower seeds. Pour dressing over salad and toss to coat. Garnish with chopped green onions. Refrigerate a couple of hours before serving.

Bean and Vegetable Risotto

I’ve tried my hand at baked risotto in the past and it’s always been a big flop, so I went into this project with low expectations and an apprehensive heart. As Josh will attest, it really crushes me when a recipe fails – not that it’s just a little groady, but when it’s completely inedible as were the other risottos.

But enough about them, because I’ve found a gem that trumps all the others! When Josh came home he looked at the pan and said “Where’s the chicken?” I told him to just try it and before I knew it he and Caleb were gobbling these veggies down. I served it as a main dish, but it could go great as a side too. The only drawback is the method – you pretty much have to stir this constantly, but that won’t stop me from making it again (in a week when Caleb and I aren’t sick).

Bean and Vegetable Risotto

• 4 c. low-sodium chicken or vegetable broth
• 2 large garlic cloves, minced
• 1 med. onion, chopped
• 1/8 tsp black pepper
• 1 ¼ c. long grain rice
• 1 ½ c. zucchini, finely chopped
• 1 c. carrots, finely chopped
• 15 oz can white kidney beans (Cannellini), drained and rinsed
• ½ c. grated Parmesan cheese
• Parsley as garnish if desired

Begin by sauteing garlic and onion in a little cooking spray on medium heat until onions are softened. Add rice and continue sautéing until rice becomes golden (3-5 min). Add pepper. During the sautéing process, warm broth in a microwave safe dish, preferably one that pours easily. It is important that the broth be warm when it is added to the rice mixture, so continue to microwave it as needed during the cooking process.

After rice is cooked, slowly add 1 cup of broth to the rice mixture stirring constantly. Continue to cook and stir until liquid is absorbed. Add another ½ c. of broth with the zucchini and carrots, stir constantly until liquid is absorbed. Continue the pattern of adding the warm broth by half cups, stirring until absorbed, then adding more. When adding the final half cup, add the beans as well and stir to combine. Cover the rice mixture and allow it to heat through for about 4 minutes. Remove the lid and stir the rice, making sure to scrap the pan so that no rice sticks or burns. Add the parmesan cheese and stir until evenly blended. Simmer until mixture reaches desired consistency.

Happy Cooking!

Bean and Veggie Enchiladas & Easy Oreo Fruit Salad

Bean and Veggie Enchiladas

• 2 cans (15 ounces) red kidney beans, drained and rinsed
• 2 can (4 ounces) diced green chile peppers, drained
• 1 cup frozen whole kernel corn, thawed
• 1 onion, chopped
• 1 small yellow pepper chopped
• 2 teaspoon chili powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
• 2 heaping Tbs. fresh cilantro, chopped (plus more for garnish if desired)
• 2 cups shredded pepper-Jack cheese (10 ounces)
• 1 can (20 ounces) enchilada sauce
• 8-10 flour tortillas (depending on how full you like your enchiladas)

Directions

Chop onion and pepper then sauté them on med-high heat with the frozen corn until just softened. Add chili powder, salt, cumin, and cilantro. Drain and rinse beans, then mash slightly with hands. Add them to the veggie mixture.

Pour about ¼ cup of the enchilada sauce on the bottom of a 13×9in baking dish, turning dish until the sauce coats the entire bottom. Place desired amount of bean mixture in a line on one side of a tortilla shell then roll up. Place rolled enchilada, seam side down, in the prepared baking dish. Repeat until bean mixture is gone. Top tortillas with remaining enchilada sauce, sprinkle with cheese and additional cilantro if desired.

Bake at 375 degrees for about 20 minutes. Enjoy with shredded lettuce, tomatoes, sour cream, and Mexican rice.

Kim’s hint: If you would like to serve this dish with rice, a quick way to take white rice to Mexican rice is to reserve about 3-4 Tbs of the enchilada sauce and add it to 2 cups of plain rice with cilantro, some splashes of lime juice, and dashes of onion powder.

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In my house, if I suggest that we have fruit as a side dish I usually get met with dull, bored stares. But when I threw this little treat together I had both of my guys scraping the bowl for every last drop. The thinner Oreo crackers really soak in the moisture from the cool whip and become a smooth chocolate – delicious!

Easy Oreo Fruit Salad

• 3-4 c. fresh fruit cut to bite size pieces
• Light Cool Whip
• 1 – 100 calorie package Oreo snacks (these are the Oreos that are more like crackers)

Put all fruit in large mixing bowl. Add cool whip until everything is just coated. Crush Oreo crackers into crumbs of all sizes and mix in to salad. Chill until time to serve.

*Kim’s notes: For my salad I used 1 apple, 2 bananas, and 1 mango, but you could use any fruit based on your family’s preferences. Can be served as a dessert or side. Also, if you aren’t trying to be calorie conscious, another fun way to make this salad is replacing the Oreo crackers with chopped Snicker’s bar.

Happy Cooking!

Chocolate Brownies with Andies Mint Candies

Brownies
1 box Betty Crocker brownie mix
Bake according to directions. Let cool.

Frosting
1 pint heavy whipping cream
1 bag chocolate chips
powdered sugar
1 bag chopped Andies Mint Candies

Melt chocolate chips and mix with whipping cream. Add powdered sugar until consistency is thick enough to spread on brownies.

Spread frosting on brownies. Sprinkle with Andies Mint Candies. Place in fridge or freezer ... these are really good chilled.

Homemade Chocolate Cupcakes

I recently found an awesome cupcake recipe on Bakerella .... a really cool blog dedicated to all things yummy & bake-able. (just click on the word Bakerella if you wish to see the website) She made cupcakes by scratch. Whoa.... by scratch? Never done it before! I'm usually using my trusty box of cake mix. However, this recipe was from Martha Stewart, and how could it be bad if it's from Martha Stewart??!! Well, the recipe was SO simple, so easy..... and involved few ingredients and ONE bowl! Away I baked...... and they were SO delicious! WAY better than cake mix cupcakes, I must say!

My fudge frosting is from my Betty Crocker recipe book. I use it on ALL of my chocolate cakes. So incredibly yummy!

Ingredients
Makes 18 to 24
3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/2 cups sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
3/4 teaspoon baking powder
3/4 teaspoon salt
2 large eggs
3/4 cup warm water
3/4 cup buttermilk
3 tablespoons safflower oil
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
Directions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line standard muffin tins with paper liners; set aside. Sift together cocoa powder, flour, sugar, baking soda, baking powder, and salt into a large bowl. Add eggs, warm water, buttermilk, oil, and vanilla, and mix until smooth, about 3 minutes. Scrape down the sides and bottom of bowl to assure batter is well mixed.

Divide batter evenly among muffin cups, filling each 2/3 full. Bake until tops spring back when touched, about 20 minutes, rotating pan once if needed. Transfer to a wire rack; let cool completely.

Amy's Notes: This was very runny batter ~ and I was very hesitant that I did it right (since cake mix batter isn't very runny)... but it's supposed to be runny, so you did it right! If you don't have buttermilk, just take 1 Tablespoon of lemon juice or vinegar & add enough whole milk to make a cup, let sit for 5 minutes!

No-Cook Fudge Frosting
(from Betty Crocker's recipe book)

Cast of Characters:
4 3/4 c sifted powdered sugar
1/2 c unsweetened cocoa powder
1/2 c margarine or butter, softened
1/3 c boiling water
1 tsp vanilla

Mix powdered sugar & cocoa. Add margarine, boiling water, and vanilla. Best w/ an electric mixer on low speed till combined. Beat for 1 minute on medium speed. Cool for 20-30 minutes or till or spreading consistency. Frosts tops & sides of two 8 or 9 inch cake layers.

Snowball Cookies

1 c butter, softened
1/2 c sugar
1/2 t salt
1 t almond extract
1 t vanilla
2 c flour
1-2 c finely chopped walnuts or pecans
1/2 c powdered sugar

Cream together first 5 ingred. Mix in flour. Mix in nuts. Chill dough at least 1/2 hr. Form into 1-in balls, & bake on ungreased cookie sheets 12-15 mins, at 350 degrees. While still warm, roll cookies in powdered sugar.

Raspberry Shortbread

1 c butter, softened
1 t vanilla
2/3 c sugar
2 1/2 c flour
1 jar raspberry jam (or preferred flavor)
1/2 c powdered sugar
1 1/2 T milk or water
1/2 t almond extract

Beat butter, vanilla, & sugar at medium speed til light & fluffy. Gradually add flour, beating at low speed.

Divide dough into 6 equal portions, & roll each portion into a 12-in-long x 1-in-wide strip. Place strips on greased baking sheets. Make a 1/2-in-wide x 1/4-in-deep indentation down center of each strip. Bake 15 mins at 350 degrees.

Remove from oven, & spoon jam into indentations. Bake 5 more mins, or til lightly browned.

Whisk powdered sugar, milk or water, & almond extract, 7 drizzle over warm shortbread. Cut strips into 2-in pieces, & cool.