Funny how fast food just isn't as satisfying once you've tasted good home-cooked meals. Wendy's small chili is still a good lunch choice (PointsPlus: 5 points), but open-faced steak sandwiches are so much better. *sigh*
Tonight I made the banana brown rice pudding. I bought the banana when Jen was here, but I had to wait until it ripened. Patience... The cooked brown rice came from the side dish for the orange beef and broccoli, so I am feeling very efficient in my leftovers.
The recipe calls for cooked brown rice, milk, banana, cinnamon, vanilla, and whipped cream (optional). I should explain that I love rice pudding. I grew up with a scrumptious dessert made by my mother's loving hands. How would this compare - especially without sugar as a separate ingredient?
It was simple to follow the recipe. After thickening the milk and rice, I chilled the mixture and, separately, the mashed banana. After catching a recorded episode of The Amazing Race and putting Jamie down, I pulled out the pudding, mixed in the banana, vanilla and cinnamon, and tried it without whipped cream first. The brown rice influence was quite strong. I opted to add the 1/4 cup of Cool Whip. What a difference! It reminded me of drinking herbal tea without sugar and then with sugar - quite a difference. I'm not sure how my husband will react to the prevalence of banana. Hey, if he doesn't like it, more for me... in measured amounts, of course.
1 serving = 2/3 cup pudding w/o whipped cream = 4 pts.
PointsPlus: 6 points
Wednesday, February 24, 2010
Monday, February 22, 2010
Grilled Ginger Chicken with Peach Salsa (pg. 190)
I went back to work today, and I had a WW meeting tonight, so my sister took over the cooking for me tonight. I will just say that this recipe was quite yummy. 1 serving = 1 cutlet and 1 cup salsa = 4 pts. PointsPlus: 5 points. Yum!
Turning it over to my sister, Jen:
Hello Everybody! Before I get into the recipe I would like to take this time for a quick Public Service Announcement about Peaches. DO NOT EAT MASON JAR PEACHES OVER 1 YEAR OLD!!! We apparently did not know this little tidbit, so when I started looking for Peaches I found a Mason Jar with them from oh let's say 2007.....Stupid Stupid Stupid ....(The first clue was when they automatically changed color the second the seal was broken and they looked kinda...how do I put this...HAIRY!!) I couldn't get the taste out of my mouth for over an hour! DON'T DO IT PEOPLE! ;-)
I had a great time preparing this meal! The Salsa was very easy to make and consisted of Peaches (we used 2 small canned w/ light syrup - drained), Red Onion, Japapeno Pepper, Tomato, Salt and Lemon Juice. I ommited the Cilantro for personal preference (oh and if you don't like hot food don't be afraid of the Jalapeno in this one - it's very subtle). It was a very refreshing Salsa combination - next time I would use less onion. The book says 1 small onion and I think I used a little more than was intended.
The recipe called for Chicken Cutlets but I used Chicken Breasts instead. The cooking time increased to 4 1/5 - 5 min per side. Chicken was marinated with garlic, ginger and oil. I marinated it a little longer - approx 2 hours. We served the chicken with a small portion of brown rice on the side.
This meal was very crisp, light and refreshing yet very filling. It reminded me of the Caribbean. I cannot wait to make this for my husband at home!
I had so much fun cooking with my sister this weekend! I am so proud of her for doing this! She is an Amazing Woman thru and thru. It's nice to see her take chances and accomplish what she didn't think she could do. I love you Sista!! xoxo
___________________________________
Love you, too, Jen!
Turning it over to my sister, Jen:
Hello Everybody! Before I get into the recipe I would like to take this time for a quick Public Service Announcement about Peaches. DO NOT EAT MASON JAR PEACHES OVER 1 YEAR OLD!!! We apparently did not know this little tidbit, so when I started looking for Peaches I found a Mason Jar with them from oh let's say 2007.....Stupid Stupid Stupid ....(The first clue was when they automatically changed color the second the seal was broken and they looked kinda...how do I put this...HAIRY!!) I couldn't get the taste out of my mouth for over an hour! DON'T DO IT PEOPLE! ;-)
I had a great time preparing this meal! The Salsa was very easy to make and consisted of Peaches (we used 2 small canned w/ light syrup - drained), Red Onion, Japapeno Pepper, Tomato, Salt and Lemon Juice. I ommited the Cilantro for personal preference (oh and if you don't like hot food don't be afraid of the Jalapeno in this one - it's very subtle). It was a very refreshing Salsa combination - next time I would use less onion. The book says 1 small onion and I think I used a little more than was intended.
The recipe called for Chicken Cutlets but I used Chicken Breasts instead. The cooking time increased to 4 1/5 - 5 min per side. Chicken was marinated with garlic, ginger and oil. I marinated it a little longer - approx 2 hours. We served the chicken with a small portion of brown rice on the side.
This meal was very crisp, light and refreshing yet very filling. It reminded me of the Caribbean. I cannot wait to make this for my husband at home!
I had so much fun cooking with my sister this weekend! I am so proud of her for doing this! She is an Amazing Woman thru and thru. It's nice to see her take chances and accomplish what she didn't think she could do. I love you Sista!! xoxo
___________________________________
Love you, too, Jen!
Open-Face Garlicky Steak Sandwiches (pg. 100) & Pizza Margherita (pg. 286) & Pumpkin-Cranberry Bread Pudding (pg. 263)
It was a day of cooking on Sunday. I love it when my sister visits!
I had never cooked steak before this experiment. It is usually for my husband to work with a steak on the grill, but this cookbook is stretching my limits.
We spent an afternoon walking through a winter wonderland in Mendon Ponds Park, and we came home hungry. The steak sandwich picture looked scrumptious, so we went with it. A serving is one slice of hearty bread topped with garlic spread, steak, and a tomato/cucumber/jalepeno pepper salsa. The one ingredient that we eliminated was the cilantro - not a fan. The salsa marinates in an apple cider vinegar, and I would honestly cut the 3 tablespoons of vinegar in half to 1.5 tablespoons. It was too strong with 3 tablespoons, but we were able to drain some of it off before serving the dish. It helped. We served the sandwiches with a small side of Sun Chips. 1 serving = 6 pts.
PointsPlus: 7 points
The meat was moist and seasoned properly. The topping was crisp and refreshing. I would have toasted the bread a little more. According to my sister and husband, it was the perfect lunch. I agree.
For dinner, we made the pizza margherita, which is a thin-crust pizza without sauce. It has tomatoes, garlic, mozz cheese, basil, oregano and olive oil. My sister put the pizza together while I worked on the pumpkin bread pudding. Her comment on the pizza: "that's a lot of cheese." The pizza was tasty, and it had me thinking about summer ingredients. The pizza recipe is in the "Need A Snack" section of the book. To make it a dinner, we coupled it with a side salad, and that did the trick. Anna's verdict: Yum. 1 serving = 1/6 of a pizza = 3 pts.
PointsPlus: 5 points
For dessert, we decided to try the pumpkin-cranberry bread pudding. It was a teensy bit labor intensive (many minutes whisking half and half over the stove), but the smell was beyond expectation. It worked out that we prepped this while making dinner - the whole mixture needed to set for 20 minutes before it could be cooked. We kept out the pecans because of allergies in the family, but I would include them in my pudding next time. The pudding is cooked in 12 individual cups in a hot bath. Pecans can be customized in each cup. We added whipped cream on top, and it cut the consistency of the pudding quite nicely. I'd have it again. 1 serving = 5 pts.
PointPlus: 6 points
I had never cooked steak before this experiment. It is usually for my husband to work with a steak on the grill, but this cookbook is stretching my limits.
We spent an afternoon walking through a winter wonderland in Mendon Ponds Park, and we came home hungry. The steak sandwich picture looked scrumptious, so we went with it. A serving is one slice of hearty bread topped with garlic spread, steak, and a tomato/cucumber/jalepeno pepper salsa. The one ingredient that we eliminated was the cilantro - not a fan. The salsa marinates in an apple cider vinegar, and I would honestly cut the 3 tablespoons of vinegar in half to 1.5 tablespoons. It was too strong with 3 tablespoons, but we were able to drain some of it off before serving the dish. It helped. We served the sandwiches with a small side of Sun Chips. 1 serving = 6 pts.
PointsPlus: 7 points
The meat was moist and seasoned properly. The topping was crisp and refreshing. I would have toasted the bread a little more. According to my sister and husband, it was the perfect lunch. I agree.
For dinner, we made the pizza margherita, which is a thin-crust pizza without sauce. It has tomatoes, garlic, mozz cheese, basil, oregano and olive oil. My sister put the pizza together while I worked on the pumpkin bread pudding. Her comment on the pizza: "that's a lot of cheese." The pizza was tasty, and it had me thinking about summer ingredients. The pizza recipe is in the "Need A Snack" section of the book. To make it a dinner, we coupled it with a side salad, and that did the trick. Anna's verdict: Yum. 1 serving = 1/6 of a pizza = 3 pts.
PointsPlus: 5 points
For dessert, we decided to try the pumpkin-cranberry bread pudding. It was a teensy bit labor intensive (many minutes whisking half and half over the stove), but the smell was beyond expectation. It worked out that we prepped this while making dinner - the whole mixture needed to set for 20 minutes before it could be cooked. We kept out the pecans because of allergies in the family, but I would include them in my pudding next time. The pudding is cooked in 12 individual cups in a hot bath. Pecans can be customized in each cup. We added whipped cream on top, and it cut the consistency of the pudding quite nicely. I'd have it again. 1 serving = 5 pts.
PointPlus: 6 points
Saturday, February 20, 2010
Orange Beef and Broccoli (pg. 179)
We chose orange beef and broccoli for tonight. All fresh ingredients, including some that I have not worked with before: ginger and orange zest.
Jen and I worked on cooking the dish together. We got into a rhythm, and cranked out the meal in style. We paired it with brown rice, and it was a pretty dish with a lovely orange flavor on the tongue. The ginger was mild and a delicious addition. It looked like what we get at a Chinese restaurant. Next time, I am bringing fortune cookies.
Fresh ginger looks very ugly, but it smells sooooo good.
Anna's verdict on the meal = a keeper. I haven't cooked this much continuously since we moved into this place. Good times.
PointsPlus: 6 points
Jen and I worked on cooking the dish together. We got into a rhythm, and cranked out the meal in style. We paired it with brown rice, and it was a pretty dish with a lovely orange flavor on the tongue. The ginger was mild and a delicious addition. It looked like what we get at a Chinese restaurant. Next time, I am bringing fortune cookies.
Fresh ginger looks very ugly, but it smells sooooo good.
Anna's verdict on the meal = a keeper. I haven't cooked this much continuously since we moved into this place. Good times.
PointsPlus: 6 points
Corn and Green Chile Frittata (pg. 12) and Cinnamon S'mores (pg. 264)
My sister, Jen, is visiting this weekend. She is great in the kitchen, so I knew that this would be an opportunity to cook some recipes. So the first night, we decided to make the frittata with s'mores for dessert.
I have never made a frittata before. The idea that an egg concoction can be in a skillet for 15 minutes without being stirred and not get scorched was baffling to me before last night. The recipe calls for eggs, corn, mild green chiles, milk, thyme, salt, pepper, hot pepper sauce and cherry tomatoes. Everything but the tomatoes gets whisked together and poured into a medium skillet. The tomatoes get sprinkled on top, and the whole bit is covered and left for 15 minutes on medium heat.
We had it with buttered light wheat toast. The meal was delicious! The egg was, to quote my sister and husband, "fluffy, non-gooey yet solid." I think that it would make a great brunch meal as well.
Anna, my 2 1/2 year old, liked the dish. That says a lot. I would make it again.
The recipe makes four servings (1/4 of the fritatta), and each serving is 4 points.
PointsPlus: still 4 points
For dessert, I made oven s'mores. It makes 8 s'mores and uses fluff and chocolate chips. It cooks in the oven at 425 degrees for 8 minutes. As a winter dessert, it was quite satisfying. The s'mores tasted like the real thing without the singed arm hair. 3 points per s'more.
PointsPlus: still 3 points
Three recipes down, 197 to go...
I have never made a frittata before. The idea that an egg concoction can be in a skillet for 15 minutes without being stirred and not get scorched was baffling to me before last night. The recipe calls for eggs, corn, mild green chiles, milk, thyme, salt, pepper, hot pepper sauce and cherry tomatoes. Everything but the tomatoes gets whisked together and poured into a medium skillet. The tomatoes get sprinkled on top, and the whole bit is covered and left for 15 minutes on medium heat.
We had it with buttered light wheat toast. The meal was delicious! The egg was, to quote my sister and husband, "fluffy, non-gooey yet solid." I think that it would make a great brunch meal as well.
Anna, my 2 1/2 year old, liked the dish. That says a lot. I would make it again.
The recipe makes four servings (1/4 of the fritatta), and each serving is 4 points.
PointsPlus: still 4 points
For dessert, I made oven s'mores. It makes 8 s'mores and uses fluff and chocolate chips. It cooks in the oven at 425 degrees for 8 minutes. As a winter dessert, it was quite satisfying. The s'mores tasted like the real thing without the singed arm hair. 3 points per s'more.
PointsPlus: still 3 points
Three recipes down, 197 to go...
Wednesday, February 17, 2010
Moroccan-Style Chicken (pg. 87)
My first foray into the book challenged my preconceived notion that I would never cook a recipe with "Moroccan" in the title. Looking at the ingredients, it all seemed so intriguing:
Chicken, cumin, salt, cinnamon stick, carrots, red onion, garlic cloves, yellow squash, petite diced tomatoes, vegetable broth, chick peas, and raisins. I cheated and did not include the chick peas. I knew that my husband was not a fan, and I made the executive decision that it would not ruin the dish to omit them.
My husband prepped the chicken by cutting it into bite-size pieces while I worked on the rest. That saved time. (The recipe indicates 20 min prep and 10 min cook time.) On a side note, it is very difficult to coordinate recipe reading, food prep and cooking while tending to sick children. I'm happy that we had two sets of hands working on both the food and the kids.
On another side note, when the recipe calls for a 3-qt casserole dish, they really mean a 3-qt casserole dish. I only have a 2.5 qt casserole dish that would fit in the microwave. I am surprised that I did not have overflow of ingredients - it was touchy at times.
The dish cooks in stages. First, the onions, garlic, and carrots for softening. Then the squash, tomatoes and chicken, cinammon stick and broth. Lastly the raisins. I must admit that I was a bit nervous about cooking chicken in the microwave. I cooked it for two minutes longer than the recipe called for just in case.
The smell of the chicken was heavenly through the house.
And I tried couscous for the first time as well. I can honestly say that I don't think that I would ever cook couscous on a whim. I am glad that the recipe called for it. I Love Couscous!!!
I was still nervous about the chicken being cooked through. My rule of thumb on when chicken is done is that there is no pink. Well, when chicken is cooked in veggie broth with lots of additional ingredients, it is difficult to tell if there is pink in the middle. My second rule of thumb is that the chicken is firm throughout. Not the case here - very tender chicken. Very nervous diner. But we rolled with it and enjoyed the myriad of flavors. The recipe says that it serves 4. We got six meals out of it and two small meals for my 2 1/2 year old, Anna. We told her it was Rainbow Chicken and Stars. A big hit.
Points: 7 pts for the chicken (1 cup chicken and 1 cup veggies). 2 pts for the couscous.
Points Plus: 9 points for the chicken. Not sure on the couscous.
Verdict: Would make it again. Might cook the chicken a bit beforehand to see what that does to the texture.
Chicken, cumin, salt, cinnamon stick, carrots, red onion, garlic cloves, yellow squash, petite diced tomatoes, vegetable broth, chick peas, and raisins. I cheated and did not include the chick peas. I knew that my husband was not a fan, and I made the executive decision that it would not ruin the dish to omit them.
My husband prepped the chicken by cutting it into bite-size pieces while I worked on the rest. That saved time. (The recipe indicates 20 min prep and 10 min cook time.) On a side note, it is very difficult to coordinate recipe reading, food prep and cooking while tending to sick children. I'm happy that we had two sets of hands working on both the food and the kids.
On another side note, when the recipe calls for a 3-qt casserole dish, they really mean a 3-qt casserole dish. I only have a 2.5 qt casserole dish that would fit in the microwave. I am surprised that I did not have overflow of ingredients - it was touchy at times.
The dish cooks in stages. First, the onions, garlic, and carrots for softening. Then the squash, tomatoes and chicken, cinammon stick and broth. Lastly the raisins. I must admit that I was a bit nervous about cooking chicken in the microwave. I cooked it for two minutes longer than the recipe called for just in case.
The smell of the chicken was heavenly through the house.
And I tried couscous for the first time as well. I can honestly say that I don't think that I would ever cook couscous on a whim. I am glad that the recipe called for it. I Love Couscous!!!
I was still nervous about the chicken being cooked through. My rule of thumb on when chicken is done is that there is no pink. Well, when chicken is cooked in veggie broth with lots of additional ingredients, it is difficult to tell if there is pink in the middle. My second rule of thumb is that the chicken is firm throughout. Not the case here - very tender chicken. Very nervous diner. But we rolled with it and enjoyed the myriad of flavors. The recipe says that it serves 4. We got six meals out of it and two small meals for my 2 1/2 year old, Anna. We told her it was Rainbow Chicken and Stars. A big hit.
Points: 7 pts for the chicken (1 cup chicken and 1 cup veggies). 2 pts for the couscous.
Points Plus: 9 points for the chicken. Not sure on the couscous.
Verdict: Would make it again. Might cook the chicken a bit beforehand to see what that does to the texture.
Thursday, February 11, 2010
A different start than anticipated...
Well, my two girls are sick with sore throats and coughs. Not the best circumstances for testing new recipes - I had cereal for dinner tonight (BTW, my husband was a saint and stayed with the girls today. Took them both to the doctor and the pharmacy and lived to speak of it! Brilliant!!).
Yesterday, I implemented a recipe from dwlz.com: Chicken Stroganoff (Crockpot method). I have a crockpot, and I wanted an excuse to use it before the weather moves beyond comfort food.
I had some frozen chicken and some fat free sour cream to use, so I threw it into the crockpot with an envelope of onion soup mix and a can of low fat cream of mushroom soup. Seven hours later on low, and it was done. The dish serves 6, and it is 4 pts. per serving plus points for the macaroni.
The chicken was very tender - no knife necessary. My husband cooked some hi-fiber elbow macaroni to accompany the dish, and the dish looked and smelled great. Imagine my surprise when the taste did not quite live up to my visual and olefactory expectations. The first bite made me think of tuna casserole. Very salty. I should have expected it given the ingredients, but it was still a slow acceptance of the truth - leftovers would have to be endured instead of savored.
I had the leftovers today for lunch, and the extra day did nothing to mellow out the salt. Oh well, at least I am cooking...
Yesterday, I implemented a recipe from dwlz.com: Chicken Stroganoff (Crockpot method). I have a crockpot, and I wanted an excuse to use it before the weather moves beyond comfort food.
I had some frozen chicken and some fat free sour cream to use, so I threw it into the crockpot with an envelope of onion soup mix and a can of low fat cream of mushroom soup. Seven hours later on low, and it was done. The dish serves 6, and it is 4 pts. per serving plus points for the macaroni.
The chicken was very tender - no knife necessary. My husband cooked some hi-fiber elbow macaroni to accompany the dish, and the dish looked and smelled great. Imagine my surprise when the taste did not quite live up to my visual and olefactory expectations. The first bite made me think of tuna casserole. Very salty. I should have expected it given the ingredients, but it was still a slow acceptance of the truth - leftovers would have to be endured instead of savored.
I had the leftovers today for lunch, and the extra day did nothing to mellow out the salt. Oh well, at least I am cooking...
Tuesday, February 9, 2010
Start of a new year with a new challenge
Having watched (and loved) the movie "Julie and Julia," I am inspired. I recently joined Weight Watchers (again) just after Christmas. Baby #2 -Jamie - is now 5 months old, and I was running out of excuses for eating everything I could get my hands on. Back to the tried and true lifestyle choice of the big WW.
Needing a boost, I bought the Weight Watchers Momentum Cookbook at the last meeting. In order to actually crack it open and use it, I have devised this challenge: 200 recipes in 1 year. That's a lot less demanding than going through the thick volume of Julia Child's French cooking tome.
This is also my first time entering the blogosphere. Two challenges at once... we'll see where this adventure takes us.
Oh, and I didn't start the challenge with a recipe. Leftover pizza was on the menu tonight. 18 points and loving it. Hey, I had water with it...
Needing a boost, I bought the Weight Watchers Momentum Cookbook at the last meeting. In order to actually crack it open and use it, I have devised this challenge: 200 recipes in 1 year. That's a lot less demanding than going through the thick volume of Julia Child's French cooking tome.
This is also my first time entering the blogosphere. Two challenges at once... we'll see where this adventure takes us.
Oh, and I didn't start the challenge with a recipe. Leftover pizza was on the menu tonight. 18 points and loving it. Hey, I had water with it...
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