Tag Archives: weight watchers recipe

Faux Fried Catfish and Spinach Quinoa

19 Jan

I was in the mood for quinoa, so I checked to see what Weight Watchers recipes came up and found a tasty sounding one with mushrooms and spinach.  The recipe was very similar to cooking kasha where you brown garlic and onions in a pan, then toast up the quinoa, then add in liquid and let it absorb.

(Side note: Does anyone else find it annoying to rinse quinoa?  It’s so delicious, but I can’t find a good way to rinse it without it getting everywhere)

DSCF2702

Then at the finale, you top it with fresh spinach (which is always surprising how much it reduces in size!) and let it steam down and stir it in.

DSCF2704

We paired it with faux fried catfish (it’s faux fried because it’s coated in ground up Fiber One cereal and then baked… it’s a really delicious and diet friendly way to “fry” just about any white meat or fish).

DSCF2707

It made for a great meal, although the more I eat catfish, the less I like it.  I just don’t think it’s my kinda fish.

DSCF2710

My favorite part about this meal, however, was making the leftovers for lunch the next day!  I topped the quinoa and spinach with 2 poached eggs and the mushy yolky goodness was purrrrrrrfect with the nutty quinoa and spinach.  Delish!

DSCF2711

 

_______________________________
RECIPE
_______________________________

Ingredients

1 Tbsp olive oil
1 large onion(s), minced
1 clove(s) (medium) garlic clove(s), minced
1 cup(s) quinoa, rinsed
2 cup(s) reduced-sodium chicken broth
1/8 tsp black pepper
1/8 tsp crushed red pepper flakes, optional (we left this out)
4 cup(s) spinach, baby leaves, packed, coarsely chopped
1/2 tsp table salt

Instructions

  • Heat oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add onion and garlic; cook, stirring frequently, until onion is tender, about 3 to 5 minutes.
  • Add quinoa to skillet; cook, stirring frequently, until quinoa starts to turn golden brown, about 2 minutes.
  • Add broth, black pepper and red pepper flakes to skillet; bring to a boil. Cover skillet and reduce heat to low and simmer for 13 minutes; stir in spinach. Cover skillet and cook until spinach and quinoa are tender and liquid is absorbed, about 3 to 5 minutes; season with salt. Yields about 1/2 cup per serving.

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.

_______________________
RECIPES
_______________________

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

_______________________

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.

Chicken in Blackberry Ginger Balsamic

30 Jul

Our trip through Maine brought us to Fiore, a specialty shop for balsamic vinegars and olive oils.  One vinegar we bought was the Blackberry Ginger variety that seemed to just scream “cook with me!”  So our first meal back, that’s just what we did.

We paired it with a boxed cous cous.  DELICIOUS! And sooooo easy.  One reason I love balsamic is that it packs a lot of flavor, is easy to cook with, and super low in Weight Watcher’s Points.