As my New Year's gift to you--I am offering my Quick and Easy Southwestern Hard bound edition to you at half price or $11.50 plus shipping until midnight January 9.  If you want loads of recipes plus hints, tips and great menus--this book is for you!  Each recipe has the nutritional breakdown and is personally developed by me to give you maximum health--featuring low calories, fat grams, sodium and major health.  The book is loaded with all kinds of recipes--appetizers, drinks though desserts.

And--to add to the healthy benefits, most of the recipes include some chile to aid in your diet including at least 1/2 teaspoon of the hottest chiile you can endure at least 2/3 thirds of the time.  In case you haven't heard--a University of the Phillipines study many years ago concluded that people eating at least this much chile had a much, much lower incidence of heart disease or cancer.

Some of my very favorite recipes are the Aztec Pork Chops featuring chipotle, loads of garlic, honey and cinnamon--what ingredients could be better for you?   In addition to the chile benefits--garlic is one of the very best immune system boosters...helping prevent colds and flu--even skin infections.  Honey kick starts our energy and cinnamon helps our brains and reduces belly fat.  Fun to know all that stuff, isn't it?

For vegetarians, you can't beat our Grilled Corn and Spinach Enchiladas.  Grilling the corn kernels brings heightened flavor and the calorie count is only a mere 330.

Dessert lovers will really enjoy a couple of quick and easy cookies.  Banana Oatmeal cookies are only 82 calories each and a great way to use those aging bananas.  The Quick Lo-fat Brownies are only 1 calorie more per serving and feature unsweetened applesauce as an ingredient for moisture without all the butter.

Our February weekend class still has a few openings and is still 20% off or $840, down from $1050 and features 100% full participation (as all of our classes do).  The next day classes with openings are the Red Chile Fiesta still has 2 openings and is set for this Thursday evening or January 9 and our February 20 Perfect Pies class still has a few openings.  The Take a Tortilla and...class is Sold Out!

Here's the Aztec Pork Chops and our Spinach and Grilled Corn Enchilada recipes--

AZTEC PORK CHOPS

We have the Aztecs to thank for chipotle chiles.  With their spicy, smoky taste, they are delicious combined with cinnamon in this dish.  Serve them with grilled Jicama for crunch, whipped sweet potatoes with carrots, and a spinach salad for a meal fine enough for company.  This is a “Sunday Best” recipe.

Yield:  4 servings
Cooking time:  16 minutes

2 dried Chipotle Chiles, reconstituted, or 1 teaspon Chipotle Chile powder
4 cloves garlic, minced
¼ cup honey
1½ teaspoons ground cinnamon
1 tablespoon ground pure mild red chile
 4 pork loin chops (1 inch thick), trimmed of excess fat
4 cinnamon sticks
4 slices Jicama, each ¼ inch thick 

1. In a shallow bowl, combine the drained chiles, garlic, honey, ground cinnamon, and ground chile.  Add enough chipotle cooking liquid to make a thick paste.  Marinate for 10 to 15 minutes.

2. Preheat the grill, stovetop grill, or a large, heavy, seasoned skillet to medium high.  Grill the chops for 8 minutes per side.  At the same time and on the same surface, grill the Jicama until it is slightly edged with brown on each side.  To serve, top each chop with a cinnamon stick.  Overlap each chop with a slice of the grilled Jicama.

PER SERVING:  Calories 281, Protein 25 g, Carbohydrates 20 g, Fiber 1 g, Fat 11 g, Saturated Fat 4 g, Cholesterol 70 mg, Sodium 53 mg.

SPINACH AND CORN ENCHILADAS

Seared corn or leftover grilled corn definitely sets this sauce apart. This vegetarian dish has a great fresh flavor and is vegetarian—vegan without the cheese.

Yield: 4 servings

2 ears corn grilled Mexican style or 1, 10 oz. package frozen corn kernels*

1 cup evaporated skim milk

3 cloves garlic, minced

8 corn tortillas, warmed

1, 15 oz. can spinach, without salt, well drained

½ cup chopped onion

1 cup grated low-fat Monterey Jack cheese

Nonstick oil spray

1. Cut the grilled corn from the cob. If using frozen corn, see note.

2. In a blender, combine the milk, garlic and corn. Process until smooth. Transfer to a shallow plate.

3. Preheat the oven to 400° F. Lightly spray an 8 x 8-inch baking dish with nonstick oil spray.

4. Dip each warm tortilla in the corn mixture. Place on a flat surface and sprinkle with one-eighth of the spinach, onion and cheese, reserving some cheese for garnish. Roll, then place seam side down in the baking dish. Cover with the rest of the corn mixture, making sure that you pour it evenly over each enchilada. Sprinkle with the reserved cheese. Bake for 10 minutes, or until bubbly. Serve hot.

*If using frozen corn, place it in a heavy, seasoned skillet over medium-high heat to brown the edges of most kernels.

PER SERVING: Calories 330, Protein 21 g., Carbohydrates 47 g. Fiber 7 g. Fat 9 g., Saturated Fat 4 g. Cholesterol 23 mg., Sodium 413 mg.