A Better Bag of Groceries

Summer Stretch

Monday, June 7, 2010 at 06:57 AM

One of my least favorite things about living in New England is that our summers are short.  Yes, they are stunning and beautiful, especially at the coast or in the mountains, but they are oh-so-fleeting.  So, I try to maximize our family’s summer activity time.  That means that I want to spend the least amount of time possible in the kitchen so that we can take our kids out on the bike path, to our community pool or best of all, to the beach.  My strategy for summer cooking?  Meals that s-t-r-e-t-c-h.  Meaning, I get can get more than one meal or eating occasion out of them.

One of my favorite examples of a recipe that really stretches out is my famous Avocado Salsa. 

Well, it’s not really mine.  The recipe came from my fabulous hair-stylist, Karen.  Not only is she amazing at hiding my ever-increasing grays with her great highlights, she is a wonderful Italian cook.  She introduced me to this recipe a few years ago and I included it on my blog last summer.  However, I was a novice blogger at the time, and I didn’t have the whole photos-on-the-blog thing figured out, so I thought an encore was in order.  Also, I never filled my readers in on how to stretch the recipe out, so here I go again!

Avocado Salsa is my Number 1, most requested party dish.  I bring it to almost every summer party I go to.  No one ever seems to tire of it.  The recipe makes a huge amount, so I bring half to the party and the other half goes in my fridge.

1 large red onion, finely chopped (NuVal score:  93)

2 red peppers, finely chopped (NuVal score:  96)

1 16 oz. bag of frozen corn (NuVal score: 91for Green Giant Niblets)

3 – 4 cloves, garlic, minced (NuVal score:  91)

2 small cans chopped black olives (NuVal score: 6 for Black Pearl chopped ripe olives)

1/2 tsp oregano (not scored)

1/2 cup lemon juice (not scored)

1/3 cup olive oil (NuVal score: 11)

3 Tablespoons cider vinegar (not scored)

Kosher salt and ground black pepper to taste (salt gets a NuVal score of 1)

4 avocados, chopped (NuVal score: 89)

Mix all ingredients together, except avocados and refrigerate.  Before serving, add chopped avocados and mix well.  Serve with blue corn chips, like Garden of Eatin’ No Salt Added, which get a NuVal score of 52.

So, like I said, you end up with this ginormous bowl of Avocado Salsa that could feed a small army.  So, bring half to the party.  The other half will keep in your fridge for a few more days, as long as it’s well sealed and your fridge is on the colder setting.

What to do with all that leftover avocado salsa?  Two things.

First, use it in lieu of salad dressing on a green salad.  You could even add some black beans for a true Southwest effect.  Yum.

Second, and really more of “meal”, is my Chicken Avocado Salsa Fajita recipe. 

First, you take a fajita and spread it with non-fat plain Greek yogurt.

Add some grilled chicken.  I recommend Martha Stewart’s Grilled Chicken Paillard, a simple and easy recipe that has no added fat.  I grill up a whole bunch on the weekend and use the rest during the week for sandwiches, salad toppings and fajitas.  It’s a real meal that stretches!

Next, add the avocado salsa:

And then, just wrap it all up:

A perfect mid-week, easy supper. 

About Tortillas

I’ve been experimenting with some different wheat tortillas, such as these:

I found them in the Mexican section of my local Stop & Shop.  They score a 32 on the NuVal scale.  That is very good when you consider that regular Mission flour tortillas only score a 2!  Yes, you read that right – they get a 2. 

If you really wanted to trade up, you could switch from flour tortillas altogether and try a corn tortilla.  The Mission corn tortillas score a 91!  Amazing, isn’t it.  That is what I love about NuVal.

Well, I’m off to plan my weekly menu.  Now that our community pool is open (and you are more likely to find me there on a Sunday afternoon instead of in my kitchen), I will be planning some meals that stretch.  Before you know it, the calendar will read August 31st.  Happy Summer!

Posted by: Melissa 8 comments

Posted in: Uncategorized

Tags: avocado salsa, avocados, fajitas, Summer