Boy have I missed my Allrecipes Allstars assignments the past couple of months! The program took a little bit of a break as it reorganized and evolved a little, and my fellow Allstars and I were going through withdrawals of sorts.
Until I got a surprise box in the mail from Allrecipes a couple of weeks ago! Woohoo!
Inside the box was a bottle of Mazola corn oil and quite a bit of information about recent studies that show that corn oil can be part of a healthy diet.
I can honestly say that I've never purchased a bottle of corn oil in my life...I'm picky about my olive oil, but tend to go with what is cheapest for the rest of my cooking oils. Vegetable, canola...always kind of overlooked the corn. That's one of my favorite things about being an Allstar, though- I get to try products I might have otherwise overlooked!
We were asked to make two recipes from the Mazola collection on Allrecipes- they all looked great, but the two we were asked to make were Sweet and Spicy Salmon with Grapefruit Salsa and Pork Carnitas with Cilantro Tomatillo Sauce.
Well, thankfully I like to play with my recipes, because I had a couple of problems...
1) My husband can't eat grapefruit because of medication he takes
2) I can't find a good tomatillo anywhere in the area, they're waaaaay past their prime by the time they find their way to my little corner of Tennessee!
The first recipe I tried out was the salmon. I left the dry rub alone but switched out the grapefruit salsa for an avocado salsa that I threw together (recipe below...).
I'm sure the grapefruit would have been great (some of my fellow Allstars used mandarin orange and loved it too), but I loved how my salsa turned out. In fact, I used the leftovers the next day in a FANTASTIC quesadilla!
The dry rub had a little spice itself with a small bit of brown sugar to sweeten it up. It worked really well with the salsa, though I have to admit I think salmon is sweet enough on it's own- next time I would leave out the added sugar.
Next up? Carnitas.
YES.
Of course, I had to play with this too, since one of the main ingredients is so poorly represented in my local stores.
I started by cubing the pork and dicing the onion- I mixed them with the seasonings and oil and allowed them to sit in the fridge for a few hours. When I was ready to get cooking, rather than using the tomato and tomatillo I used a jar of that Herdez Tomatillo Verde cooking sauce I love and a can of Ro-Tel. Aside from that, I followed the recipe exactly.
Sooooooo good! I served with my favorite low carb tortillas, toppings, and a side of Mexican rice for the family. Definitely a keeper- though next time I will toss the cooked pork with the salsa before serving.
According to the materials Mazola sent me, research now shows that Corn oil is significantly more effective at reducing LDL cholesterol than olive oil. I'm not a nutritionist or a scientist, but I do know that with cardiovascular disease being the number one cause of death in the US and a husband on cholesterol meds, it's something worth looking into for my family. I'm not here to be a talking billboard for the company- just to share my thoughts on recipes made with their product. That being said, I'll definitely be keeping an eye on further research on the correlation between corn oil and cholesterol.
Although we were only asked to make these two recipes, I think I'll be making more of the (relatively) heart-healthy recipes from Mazola on the Allrecipes website- I do have a whole bottle of corn oil to play with after all!
Avocado Salsa
1 avocado, diced
1/2 yellow onion, diced
2 Plum tomatoes, diced
1/3 C fresh cilantro, chopped
1 jalapeño (deseeded if preferred), minced
1 Tbsp lime juice
1 Tbsp sriracha
3/4 tsp ground black pepper
1/2 tsp coarse sea salt
1/2 tsp olive oil
1/4 tsp garlic powder
Well, thankfully I like to play with my recipes, because I had a couple of problems...
1) My husband can't eat grapefruit because of medication he takes
2) I can't find a good tomatillo anywhere in the area, they're waaaaay past their prime by the time they find their way to my little corner of Tennessee!
The first recipe I tried out was the salmon. I left the dry rub alone but switched out the grapefruit salsa for an avocado salsa that I threw together (recipe below...).
I'm sure the grapefruit would have been great (some of my fellow Allstars used mandarin orange and loved it too), but I loved how my salsa turned out. In fact, I used the leftovers the next day in a FANTASTIC quesadilla!
The dry rub had a little spice itself with a small bit of brown sugar to sweeten it up. It worked really well with the salsa, though I have to admit I think salmon is sweet enough on it's own- next time I would leave out the added sugar.
Next up? Carnitas.
YES.
Of course, I had to play with this too, since one of the main ingredients is so poorly represented in my local stores.
I started by cubing the pork and dicing the onion- I mixed them with the seasonings and oil and allowed them to sit in the fridge for a few hours. When I was ready to get cooking, rather than using the tomato and tomatillo I used a jar of that Herdez Tomatillo Verde cooking sauce I love and a can of Ro-Tel. Aside from that, I followed the recipe exactly.
Sooooooo good! I served with my favorite low carb tortillas, toppings, and a side of Mexican rice for the family. Definitely a keeper- though next time I will toss the cooked pork with the salsa before serving.
According to the materials Mazola sent me, research now shows that Corn oil is significantly more effective at reducing LDL cholesterol than olive oil. I'm not a nutritionist or a scientist, but I do know that with cardiovascular disease being the number one cause of death in the US and a husband on cholesterol meds, it's something worth looking into for my family. I'm not here to be a talking billboard for the company- just to share my thoughts on recipes made with their product. That being said, I'll definitely be keeping an eye on further research on the correlation between corn oil and cholesterol.
Although we were only asked to make these two recipes, I think I'll be making more of the (relatively) heart-healthy recipes from Mazola on the Allrecipes website- I do have a whole bottle of corn oil to play with after all!
Avocado Salsa
1 avocado, diced
1/2 yellow onion, diced
2 Plum tomatoes, diced
1/3 C fresh cilantro, chopped
1 jalapeño (deseeded if preferred), minced
1 Tbsp lime juice
1 Tbsp sriracha
3/4 tsp ground black pepper
1/2 tsp coarse sea salt
1/2 tsp olive oil
1/4 tsp garlic powder
1. Combine all ingredients in bowl, allow to chill for at least 30 minutes before serving.
DisclaimerI am an Allrecipes Allstar Brand Ambassador (a voluntary position) and I’m not compensated for my work with Allrecipes.com.
Products received from advertiser are only used for experienced-based reviews on Sunny Days With My Loves. The reviews, content and opinions expressed in this blog are purely the sole opinions of Nora.
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