Tag Archives: weight watchers

Top Recipes of 2010

31 Dec

Before going into the Top Nom Restaurants of 2010, I wanted to share with you my favorite recipes that I discovered and came up with in 2010 (click on the links for the recipes):

Best Brunch Recipe: Crustless Ham & Egg Tarts

Best After Work Dinner: Chicken Stuffed with Grapes, Hazelnuts, and Parmesan Cheese

Best Weight Watchers Recipe: Weight Watchers – Chicken Tagine with Apricots

Best Seafood: Scallops Lime & Vine

Best Odd Protein: Ostrich Steak

Best Chicken Recipe: Zuni Chicken & Bread Salad

Best Side: Corn Fritters

Best Desserts (You know I couldn’t pick just ONE):

Homemade Crunchie Bars

Pumpkin Cheesecake

Meringue Minis

Banana Faux Ice Cream

This year has taught me, above else, that the best cooking comes from reckless abandon.  Throw caution to the wind and spices in your pot.

Happy Nomming!

Spaghetti Squash and Slow Cooker Pears

19 Nov

I feel like I am already at the tail end of this incredible cacophony of  support for the long neglected spaghetti squash.  I first encountered this awesome veggie about 8 years ago, and when I found out that it has ZERO Weight Watchers Points for a whole cup, I had to make it part of my weekly cooking.  I love squash to begin with, so having a squash that is easy to cook, can be paired with just about anything, and is good for me is pretty awesome.

How easy to cook?  I’ll tell ya.

The hardest part is cutting the sucker in half, lengthwise.  I always sharpen the big knife before going into it, however, it makes me yearn for an axe.  Once you have it split, you can just scoop out the yag and seeds from the middle (just keep those seeds for roasting!)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I use the side of a large spoon to scrape around the opening.

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After that, you put it cut side down on parchment paper, a Silpat, or slightly greased cookie sheet and just roast it up at 350 degrees for 30-40 minutes.  A fork should easily be able to scrape out the insides.

So why do they call it spaghetti squash?

Well… what starts as a seemingly solid piece of squash winds up turning into these beautiful strands that look just like spaghetti.

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And you can treat it like spaghetti and pair it with a pasta sauce, cheese, veggies or any other savory topping.  You can also make a sweet version and I’ve heard brown sugar and butter on it is especially delicious.  Personally, I’m dying to try this recipe which pairs it with maple syrup and shallots.

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Another quick and easy, yet totally healthy recipe for a good dessert after you’ve had your spaghetti squash is putting a pear (or apple) in the slow cooker.  I just cored 2 apples and then put them in the crock pot.  Then I poured over some apple cider (until it came up about half way on the pears), a sprinkle of brown sugar, cinnamon, cloves, and nutmeg, then set it on low for about 4 hours until it was tender.

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Topped off with a bit of homemade schlag and it was a very yummy treat.

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Tuity Fruity Chicken and Corn Fritters

1 Sep

It is no secret that I love fruit paired with chicken/turkey/pork/scallops. We happened to have a lot of fruit that needed to be used, so we made up a Tuity Fruity Chicken and paired it with a great Weight Watchers recipe for corn fritters.

We cut up some plums, peaches, and sections of clementines and combined it with some Diet Sunkist, garlic, apricot preserves, salt, and pepper.

I didn’t have a broiler pan, so I tried to put a baker’s rack upside down… It actually didn’t work really, however, it was just fine.  Then… we broiled. That’s it!

As for the corn fritters, it was a bit more complex… but ENTIRELY worth it!  The directions were to beat egg whites until they were stiff but not glossy.  Meh? 

As someone that has made many a meringue, I wasn’t sure I had ever seen eggs glossy… so I just went until it peaked.

Then you mix together corn, tomatoes (we substituted these for the peppers), scallions, salt, pepper, and flour.  Then you fold in the egg whites.

Then after you spray down a pan, you scoop a dollop of the mixture onto a heated pan.  I was concerned that they wouldn’t stick together, but oh…

They did.

And they were amazing!

And the fruity chicken was pretty damn good, too.

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RECIPES
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Fruity Chicken (5 points for 1 1/4 pound chicken breast)

Ingredients:

·         1 tsp olive oil   

·         1 medium garlic clove(s), minced   

·         1/8 tsp table salt   

·         1/8 tsp black pepper, freshly ground   

·         1/2 pound(s) uncooked boneless, skinless chicken breast   

·         2 medium peach(es), sliced   

·         1 cup(s) Sunkist Diet Orange Soda   

·         1 small plum(s)   

·         2 small clementine   

·         2 Tbsp Polaner Sugar Free Apricot   

Directions:

1.       In a shallow bowl, mix the orange soda, preserves, oil, garlic, salt and pepper; set aside 1/4 cup of the marinade for basting.

2.       Add the chicken and peaches; refrigerate, covered at least 1 hour.

3.       Preheat the broiler; spray rack with nonstick cooking spray. Transfer the chicken and peaches to the rack.

4.       Broil 6 inches from heat until cooked through and peaches begin to brown, basting with reserved marinade,

5.       7-8 minutes on each side (ours were thick, so it took longer)

6.       Cool slightly; spoon fruit over chicken

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Corn Fritters (3 points for a quarter of the recipe)

Ingredients

·         2 large egg(s), separated (keep egg whites only)   

·         4 medium corn on the cob, kernels removed with a knife*   

·         1 medium sweet red pepper(s), diced the size of corn kernels   

·         1/3 cup(s) scallion(s), diced   

·         1/2 tsp table salt, or more to taste   

·         1/4 tsp black pepper, or more to taste   

·         2 Tbsp all-purpose flour   

·         2 spray(s) cooking spray, butter-flavored   

Directions

  1. In a small bowl, beat egg whites until stiff but not glossy; set aside.
  2. In a medium bowl, lightly beat egg yolks. Add corn, red pepper (or tomatoes), scallions, salt, black pepper and flour; thoroughly combine and then fold in egg whites.
  3. Coat skillet with cooking spray and warm over high heat; when skillet is hot, reduce heat to medium.
  4. Spoon a heaping tablespoon of batter onto skillet to make each fritter. (Do not press fritters down with your spatula since they are meant to be fluffy.)
  5. Cook for about 2 to 3 minutes; carefully flip and cook until lightly browned and cooked through, about 2 to 3 minutes more.
  6. Remove cooked fritters to a serving plate and cover to keep warm. Repeat until all batter is used and then serve immediately. Yields about 4 fritters per serving.

*Frozen corn can be used instead. Thoroughly thaw before using.