Out to Dinner: Cantina 1511

Tonight's dinner out was at Cantina 1511 in Stonecrest. Their menu has evolved over the past few years, and now includes both standard Mexican-American/Tex-Mex dishes (tacos, burritos, quesadillas) as well as more upscale protein-centric dishes. I tried one of the latter this evening - duck breast in blood orange sauce.

The duck was a little too fatty for my taste, the fat not fully rendered out of the skin. I took the skin off and ate the meat, which had a fine flavor. The blood orange sauce was very tart and strongly flavored - it almost overwhelmed the flavor of the duck but not quite. The fruit salsa served over the top was a nice addition. The rice was pretty bland - they say "saffron" but I'm thinking turmeric.  I wouldn't bother with this dish again as there are so many other items to choose from. Last time I was there I had duck "carnitas" tacos and it was much better.

Enchiladas, augmented

Trader Joe's black bean and corn enchiladas: 260 calories

Topped with 1/4 cup lite shredded mexican cheese blend: 80 calories
and 1 egg over easy: 70 calories

Turkey Mole

I unearthed some of the Thanksgiving turkey that I had stashed in the freezer for tonight's dinner.

Turkey in mole sauce (Dona Maria brand),  refried beans, rice, pineapple, and avocado. I haven't done the math on this meal, and I know the mole sauce is pretty high-fat, so I just took small portions and hoped for the best.

Breakfast Burrito

Another one for the tastes-better-than-it-looks file:

8-inch flour tortilla
2 oz. shaved beef (i.e., leftover pot roast)
2 tbsp. salsa verde
1 tbsp. light sour cream
265 calories

Baked Chiles Rellenos

I cooked dinner with some of the ingredients I got from Compare Foods today.

Baked Chiles Rellenos:

Peppers and filling:
4 poblano peppers
4 oz. shredded low-fat cheddar cheese
4 oz. queso fresco, crumbled
2 green onions, minced
Batter:
1 egg
1/3 cup cornmeal
1/3 cup water

Roast poblano peppers over a gas flame or under a broiler until they are black and blistered all over.
Let cool in a 1-gallon Ziploc bag, and then remove the skins under running water. Cut a slit in each pepper and remove seeds and ribs.

Mix the cheeses and green onions together, and stuff the peppers with the cheese mix. Coat the stuffed peppers in the batter. Bake at 375 for 20 minutes.

Makes 4 chiles rellenos, 230 calories each.

Served with yellow rice, refried beans, and a salad of tomato and avocado with lime juice and cilantro.

Out to Lunch: Salsarita's

Today, Election Day, is a school holiday here, so after voting I took my son out to lunch. We went to Salsarita's, a chain burrito restaurant. I had a small bowl:

This bowl had black beans, pork, lettuce, and cheese. The pork was tender with a mild flavor. The pico de gallo on the side perked everything else up a bit. One trick to eating light at these burrito places is to skip the tortilla. My bowl was 320 calories; a small burrito with the same contents would have been 520.

Salsarita's has a Coca-Cola Freestyle machine, so I was able to accompany my meal with a fruit-punch flavored Fanta Zero. I'd have preferred a beer, but, you know, driving and all that.