RAVE - "Clean"? Alfredo Sauce

If you weren't aware, in the past 6 weeks, I've done 2 bouts of a special 10-Day Cleanse program that my good buddy, Beth Young, put me (and some other ladies) up to. In those 20 days (separated by a good 3 weeks), I've dropped 9lbs, and feel pretty great! The struggle, however, has been trying to find recipes to make that don't taste like "clean" recipes.

I'm ecstatic to have found a great blog with lots of great recipes for "clean" stuff! I found this particular recipe while searching for a great, "clean", healthy alfredo sauce. I know you're thinking, "Humdawg, you're delusional - alfredo is in no way, shape or form 'clean'", and you're right! But this...this is!

So here is this incredible recipe, thanks to Tiffany from www.thegraciouspantry.com. Of course, I modified it to use ingredients I normally have on hand (basil, fresh garlic).

Ingredients:

1 lg container cottage cheese * (she recommends 4C)
1/2 C Kraft parmesan and romano cheese *
I did not add the milk or garlic powder as Tiffany did.
I did add chopped fresh basil and minced garlic to taste.


*I was supposed to use the organic kind, but I'll admit that my small-town grocery store didn't carry any, so I bought the non-organic stuff, which makes the recipe a little less "clean".

Directions:

You combine all the ingredients in a double-boiler (or in my case, a metal bowl on top of a pot of boiling water, and let it all melt together, using a hand-mixer to diminish the cottage cheese chunks. You can't let it heat too fast or the cottage cheese will separate, which would be gross. I think had I added the milk, it might not have been quite so stringy when I blended it, but it was INCREDIBLE, and reheated just fine as well.

I poured this over some penne pasta with grilled chicken sauteed with mushrooms, onions and broccoli. It was better than any entree I've had at Olive Garden - better than any alfredo sauce I've had that I can recall, and it's BETTER for you than any alfredo sauce too!

I apologize, yet again, for the lack of pictures, but the good news is they are working on my lens!! Hopefully it will be back soon!

Fiesta Bowl

If you haven't noticed lately, I've been cooking a lot. The problem with cooking and baking a lot is that you end up eating too much and feeling kinda crummy afterward.

I've decided to join some friends in a 10 Day Cleanse, where I'm only allowed to eat foods that don't have junk in them. (i.e. cook with lean meats and lots of veggies, and stop eating so much of it!)

This, of course, poses a problem for me, when 80% of my recipes are probably not so healthy. Of course, there are some great options that ARE healthy (i.e. This Chicken Tortilla Soup recipe), but I always struggle to find the time and willpower to spend that much time in the kitchen when I'm already hungry!

Suddenly, it came to me - a friend of mine emailed me a recipe a while back that sounded like some sort of Mexican dish with black beans (score!) and shredded chicken. I looked it up, and here's what I had to go on:

"Saute peppers (red, orange, green) and onions in pam olive oil flavor. Add black beans and corn. Throw them in between two whole wheat tortillas with low fat cheese and non fat sour cream. Yum."

So, while I modified it a little bit, here's what I ended up with.

The Recipe

1 large chicken breast, poached and shredded
1 large yellow pepper, diced
1 medium white onion, diced
3 large mushrooms, diced
1 can black beans
1/2 pkg frozen corn
Salt, pepper, chili powder, red pepper flakes and cayenne pepper to taste while sauteeing

Putting it All Together

You start by poaching a chicken breast like so:



While you're waiting, you then dice up all your goods - pepper, onion and mushrooms, and saute it in olive oil spray like so:



And then, the dreaded shredding of the chicken:



Once the goods are good and cooked, you add in the black beans and corn, let it blend in for a minute or two, then add that shredded chicken and the seasonings, to taste.



Once it was heated through, I threw it over a bed of tortilla chips...



...then tossed on a little cheese and a bit of salsa. Delicious!!



I added a little chicken broth to keep the leftovers moist and let it simmer a little longer, since the leftovers will be killer! My plan for tomorrow is to throw a little of this between two tortilla shells with a little cheese to make a little quesadilla - and I can't wait!

I have no idea what the name of this recipe is, so I'm making it up lol