by Cocina
With the holiday season among us, everyone will notice a significant difference in the way we celebrate this year. This time around, bringing the family together won’t look exactly the same as other years, but there’s still one thing that can connect us all, regardless of the circumstances: food. Nothing like a perfect and healthy holiday recipe to bring everyone together at an extended zoom table.
We may not be able to help you figure out what to get your family members, although we’re sure the latest gaming system would be a hit, but we can definitely offer you some guilt-free recipes inspiration for the dinner table that will surely please the whole fam.
From the traditional classics to trendy dishes we see popularized by social media, every homemade dish has something in common: preparation. Since we are quite certain you’ll have a lot on your plate these days (pun intended), we rounded up a few of our favorites for this holiday season along with some better-for-you tips complete with preparation alternatives.
Roast Beef with Steamed Vegetables
Holiday season Roast Beef with steamed vegetables Photo by Rumman Amin
Go ahead, let’s make it! Preheat the oven to 325°F. Mix together Mazola® Corn Oil, rosemary, garlic, basil, salt, thyme and pepper in a small bowl. Set the mixture aside 5 to 10 minutes. Place beef on a baking rack in a tall-sided roasting pan. Rub oil mixture on roast, covering all sides. Pour broth and water in a roasting pan. Insert oven-safe thermometer into center of roast. Place the roasting pan in the center of the 325°F oven. Roast 1-1/4 to 1-3/4 hours. Remove roast when meat thermometer registers 135°F. Transfer roast to carving board. Let stand 10 minutes. Carve roast into slices; serve with steamed broccoli and cauliflower drizzled with Mazola® Corn Oil, salt and pepper.
You may wonder: is it unhealthy to cook with oil? According to the American Heart Association, “replacing bad fats (saturated and trans) with healthier fats (monounsaturated and polyunsaturated) is good for your heart.” One tip? Replace butter with Mazola® Corn Oil. These next two recipes are perfect examples of how to do that.
Roasted Chicken with Sweet Potato Puree and Salad
Holiday Season Roasted Chicken – Photo by Claudio Schwarz
This is a super-reliable roast chicken recipe that will give you juicy meat and crispy skin. It’s all about mixing Mazola® Corn Oil and spices like oregano, parsley or rosemary. Combining them will give your chicken a golden color and make the skin crispy every time and the flavors are just perfect. It’s also all about seasoning the inside of the whole chicken so that the flavor penetrates the meat. Season with salt, pepper and then stuff it with fresh garlic and lemon. This makes for a very juicy chicken! For the sweet potatoes puree, roast the sweet potatoes in the oven with Mazola® Corn Oil, rosemary, salt, and pepper. Mash them and add a little bit of milk and sour cream. Serve with a side of shredded red cabbage salad.
Shrimp Scampi with grilled vegetables
Holiday season Shrimp Scampi – Photo by Louis Hansel @shotsoflouis
What’s not to like about shrimp? Especially when cooked scampi style. Here’s the recipe:
In a large skillet, add Mazola® Corn Oil. Add garlic and sauté until fragrant, about 1 minute. Add white wine, salt, and black pepper. Bring to a simmer. Let wine reduce by half, about 2 minutes. Add shrimp and sauté until they just turn pink, 2 to 4 minutes depending upon their size. Serve them with grilled broccolini, tomato and bell peppers. To plate, stir in parsley and lemon juice.
Whether traditional or trendy, virtual or with responsible social distancing, make sure to have Mazola® Corn Oil in your pantry to celebrate the Holidays with the most delicious dishes.
The silver lining is that there will always be (virtual or not) great company and delicious food.
This article is brought to you by Mazola©
Note: Very limited and preliminary scientific evidence suggests that eating about 1 tablespoon (16 grams) of Mazola® Corn Oil daily may reduce the risk of heart disease due to the unsaturated fat content in Mazola® Corn Oil. FDA concludes that there is little scientific evidence supporting this claim. To achieve this possible benefit, Mazola® Corn Oil is to replace a similar amount of saturated fat and not increase the total number of calories you eat in a day. One serving of this product contains 14 grams of Mazola® Corn Oil. See more at www.mazola.com
Note: Maki K, Lawless A, Kelley K, Kaden V, Geiger C, Dicklin M. Mazola® Corn Oil improves the plasma lipoprotein lipid profile compared with extra-virgin olive oil consumption in men and women with elevated cholesterol; results from a randomized feeding trial. J Clin Lipidol. Article in press. Accessed December 10, 2014. Study sponsored in part by ACH Food Companies, Inc.
