The Dash Diet Weight Loss Solution: 2 Weeks to Drop Pounds, Boost Metabolism, and Get Healthy (A DASH Diet Book) (18 page)

Worcestershire sauce, chili powder, cayenne pepper, and black pepper. Allow to

simmer for another 30 minutes, or longer if that fits your schedule.

Serve on buns for your family members who aren’t reducing starches, or serve

directly on the plate. Top with cheese, if desired.

Makes about 12 servings.

Hints
: Freeze about half the leftovers for enjoying later. Refrigerate the rest for another meal, two to three days later.

You can also add Tabasco sauce or other hot sauce to make this spicier.

When making without a pressure cooker, first brown the meat at medium

temperature with the onions, peppers, and garlic, then add the tomato sauce and

reduce the temperature to low. You can add the additional ingredients later, as

the meat starts to soften.

Great side dishes for this include applesauce, sweet corn, and coleslaw.

Mexican Meatloaf

2 tablespoons olive oil

½ cup diced onion

1 medium carrot, diced or thickly grated

1 stalk celery, diced

1 garlic clove, minced

1 pound ground beef

6 ounces soft Mexican chorizo, removed from casing and crumbled

2 jalapeño peppers, diced

teaspoon salt

¼ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

¼ teaspoon cayenne pepper

½ teaspoon ground cumin

2 eggs, well beaten

½ cup unseasoned bread crumbs

Preheat oven to 375°F.

In a skillet, heat the oil over medium-high heat. Add the onion, carrot, celery, and

garlic. Cook, stirring often, until vegetables are soft, about 8 minutes. Set aside

until cool enough to handle.

In a large bowl combine the sautéed vegetables, ground beef, chorizo, and diced

jalapeños.

In a medium bowl, combine the salt, pepper, cayenne, cumin, and eggs. Mix well

with a fork and pour it on top of the mixed meats. Add the bread crumbs and mix

thoroughly with clean hands. (You may want to remove your rings first.)

Put the mixture into a 9-by-13-inch loaf pan and insert a meat thermometer into

the center. Bake 40–45 minutes, or until the interior temperature is 160°F.

Remove from the oven and carefully pour off any accumulated pan juices.

Makes about 10 servings.

Hint
: We use a special meatloaf pan, with an inner slotted pan that fits into an outer pan. This allows the fat from the meatloaf to drip into the outer pan. You will also want to place the meatloaf pan on a baking sheet in the oven, to prevent

drips and spills.

No Crust Pizza

1 pound extra-lean ground sirloin

1 medium onion, thinly sliced

1 or 2 red, yellow, or orange peppers, sliced

2 cloves garlic, minced

1 14.5-ounce can diced tomatoes, no salt added

Italian seasonings

1 pound shredded 2% mozzarella cheese

Preheat the oven to 425°F.

Heat a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add the ground beef, cook 3

minutes, turn down heat to medium. Add the onions, peppers, and garlic.

Continue cooking about 5 more minutes, or until the beef is thoroughly browned

and the onions are soft.

Add the tomatoes and seasonings, and cook another 8–10 minutes to thicken the

sauce.

Place the ground beef mixture on the bottom of a large shallow glassware dish

(such as a Corningware 1½-quart oval or round baking dish). Top with the

shredded mozzarella cheese, and bake in the oven for 20–25 minutes, or until

slightly browned.

Makes 6–8 servings.

Hints
: You can add any additional vegetables that you like, such as mushrooms, sliced tomatoes, artichoke hearts, zucchini, yellow squash, etc. You could also

bake in the skillet, if it is oven-safe; that is, it has a metal handle and no plastic parts.

Mexican-Spiced Pork Chops

4 butterfly cut loin pork chops (2 pounds)

1 tablespoon canola oil

Spice Rub Mixture

2 tablespoons paprika

2 tablespoons chili powder

2 tablespoons brown sugar or Splenda Brown Sugar Blend

1 tablespoon ground cumin

1 tablespoon ground black pepper

1 tablespoon ground white pepper

1–2 teaspoons ground cayenne pepper

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

½ teaspoon salt

Mix all the ingredients for the spice rub.

Dredge the pork chops through the spices, coating both sides. Preheat the oil in a

skillet on medium-high heat. Place the pork chops in the skillet, reduce heat to

medium, and cook about 4 minutes on each side, until well browned.

Makes 4 servings.

Hint
: Great side dishes include applesauce, our Mango-Melon Salsa,
*
or other fruit salsas or chutneys.

Meaty Sauce over Spaghetti Squash

1 pound extra-lean ground sirloin (could substitute lean ground turkey)

½ medium onion, diced, or ½ cup frozen onions

2 cloves garlic, crushed or minced

1 14.5-ounce can diced tomatoes, no added salt

1 14.5-ounce can tomato sauce, no added salt

½ teaspoon dry

Italian seasonings

1 medium spaghetti squash

4 fresh basil leaves cut into thin strips

Preheat the oven to 375°F.

Brown the ground beef in a nonstick skillet over medium heat. Add the diced

onions directly to the cooking ground beef, to sauté. Before adding the garlic, turn

the heat down slightly. Then add the garlic. (Hint: Remove the skin by smashing it

under the blade of a chef’s knife. You can either mince the garlic or squeeze it

through a garlic press.)

After the meat is fully browned and the onions are mostly translucent, add the

diced tomatoes and tomato sauce. Then add Italian seasonings to your own

taste. Turn down the heat to low, and allow to simmer and thicken.

Now for the spaghetti squash. Cut the squash in half first, and scrape out the

seeds. Boil in a large pot for 30 minutes, or fill a rectangular baking dish partway

with water, place the squash halves with the rind facing up, and bake for about 40

minutes, or until soft.

Add the basil to the spaghetti sauce.

Then, pick up the squash lining just like you would pasta. Top with the spaghetti

sauce, and enjoy.

Makes 4 servings.

Hints
: Add a wonderful salad, and you have a low-calorie meal with about 5

servings of vegetables and 3 ounces of lean meat.

To make this a vegetarian dish, add soy-based crumbles instead of the sirloin.

Use 1 tablespoon of olive oil to sauté the onions and garlic before adding the

crumbles. Keep the temperature slightly less than medium, to avoid burning the

garlic, which would create a harsh flavor.

If you have leftover spaghetti sauce, freeze for another use.

Hearty Extra Veggie Chili

1 pound extra-lean ground sirloin

1 medium onion, diced (or 1 cup frozen diced onions)

1 cup pepper strips (fresh or frozen)

2 cloves garlic, minced

1 14.5-ounce can diced tomatoes, no added salt

1 15-ounce can tomato sauce, no added salt

1 15.5-ounce can black beans, low-salt

1 15.5-ounce can kidney beans, low-salt

2 tablespoons chili powder

2 tablespoons paprika

1 teaspoon ground black pepper

½ bag frozen carrots, cauliflower, and broccoli

Heat a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add the ground beef, onions,

and peppers, cook 3 minutes, and turn down the heat to medium. Stir

occasionally while continuing to cook. Turn down the heat to medium-low and

add the garlic. (Higher temperatures cause the garlic to turn bitter.) Continue to

cook about 3 more minutes or until the meat is thoroughly browned.

Add the tomatoes, beans, and seasonings. Mix well, and allow to simmer for

about 5 minutes. Then add the frozen vegetables. Continue to simmer for 30–60

minutes. If the chili starts to get really thick, you could add water or some tomato

sauce.

Makes about 10 1-cup servings.

Hints
: To make this a vegetarian dish, eliminate the beef entirely or replace with soy-based crumbles.

You could use lean ground turkey instead of the beef.

This chili is a wonderful quick meal solution. And it is almost impossible to

overeat, since it is so packed with veggies.

Grilled Steak Salad

2 boneless New York strip steaks (about 10 ounces each)

1 garlic clove, cut in half

salt-free steak seasoning (or mix your own with 1 teaspoon each of ground

black pepper, paprika, garlic powder, onion powder, cayenne pepper, and

¼ teaspoon coriander)

4 cups romaine lettuce, cut into 1-inch-wide strips or baby field greens

2 ripe pears, sliced

blue cheese crumbles (optional)

French vinaigrette dressing

Pat the steaks dry with a paper towel. Rub with the cut garlic clove. Then dredge

through the seasoning mix. (Discard the seasoning mix after using.) Grill the

steaks over medium-high heat about 5 minutes per side, or until your preferred

degree of doneness.

Slice the steaks into ½-inch-wide strips. Place on top of the lettuce; add pear

slices and optional blue cheese, and dress with the French vinaigrette.

Makes 4 servings.

Super-Savory Sliders

These sliders are very high flavor. Unfortunately, they come without a bun. (You

know the drill.) But they will make a really satisfying main course for your dinner.

1 tablespoon olive or canola oil

½ large Bermuda onion or 1 medium, sliced very thin

1 small pat of butter

¼ cup red wine

1 pound extra-lean ground sirloin

4 slices 2% Swiss cheese

2 cups grape tomatoes

Preheat the oil in a nonstick skillet over medium to medium-low heat. Sweat the

onions in the oil until very translucent and soft, about 20 minutes. Stir often, and

turn down heat if needed to avoid crisping the onions. At the end of the sweating,

add the butter and red wine to finish.

Make 3 very large, thin hamburger patties, using the ground sirloin. Pan-broil

them over medium-high heat, about 2 minutes on each side, in the same skillet

used to cook the onions. After cooking, cut each patty into fours for each “slider.”

Top with Swiss cheese, and add grape tomatoes on the side. Cover with mustard

if desired.

Makes 4 servings.

Hints:

• Sweating onions means that you cook them slowly, with minimal browning. This

brings out all the sweet flavor of the onions.

• If your kids don’t like onions, leave them off their portion. And let them have

slider buns.

• Great sides would be green beans and coleslaw.

Taco Salad

1 pound extra-lean ground sirloin

1 cup diced onions, frozen or fresh

1 cup red, yellow, and/or orange bell pepper strips, frozen or fresh

1 teaspoon chili powder

1 teaspoon paprika

½ teaspoon onion powder

½ teaspoon garlic powder

dash cayenne pepper, to taste

4 cups lettuce

1 cup grated carrots

3 tomatoes, cut into chunks

1 cucumber, diced

1½ cups sweet corn

4 ounces shredded Monterey Jack cheese

Heat a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add the ground beef, onions,

and peppers, cook 3 minutes, and turn down the heat to medium. Stir

occasionally while continuing to cook until the meat is completely browned. Turn

down the heat again to medium-low and add the seasonings.

Plate the lettuce, and top with carrots, tomatoes, cucumber, and sweet corn.

Place the taco meat and then the cheese on top.

Makes 4 servings.

Hints
: You can vary any of the seasonings according to your own taste

preferences.

For a vegetarian alternative, use soy-based crumbles, or canned, drained black

or kidney beans.

The World’s Best Meatloaf

1 cup diced onions

½ cup diced carrots

½ cup diced celery

1 tablespoon butter or margarine

1 tablespoon olive oil

1 cup bread crumbs or oatmeal

2 pounds ground beef chuck

1 pound ground pork

6 ounces reduced-fat, sharp cheddar cheese

2 large eggs

½ cup beef bouillon

2 cloves pureed garlic

1 teaspoon salt

½ teaspoon pepper

2 teaspoons thyme

2 teaspoons paprika

1 teaspoon allspice

1 teaspoon oregano

3 bay leaves

Preheat the oven to 350°F.

In a nonstick skillet, sauté the onions, carrots, and celery in the oil and butter or margarine, about 5 minutes, until tender and translucent. Raise heat and sauté a