Chicken and Lentils in Apple-Curry Sauce

 

Make sure you get some good size chicken thighs for this dish because those suckers can shrink up big time, which is why my photo shows 2!  I only had a one-pound pack of chicken thighs instead of the 1-1/2 lbs this recipe calls for, so no biggie!  This is under 500 calories at 436!

Yes, there is 10 g of fat in this recipe but only 2 of them are saturated fats and chicken thighs have so much more flavor than chicken breasts.  Check out that 19 grams of fiber and 38 grams of protein though.   Very filling dish!

Ingredients:

2 Tbs olive oil
6 skinless/boneless chicken highs (about 1-1/2 lbs total)
1 large onion, halved and thinly sliced
1 garlic clove, minced
1 Tbs finely shredded fresh ginger
2 Tbs tomato paste
1 Tbs mild curry powder
1 tsp garam masala
3 c reduced-sodium chicken broth
1-1/2 c uncooked lentils, rinsed and drained
3 red and/or green cooking apples, cored and sliced
2 5-oz pkgs baby spinach (8 to 10 cups)

Instructions:

Rinse and drain dried lentils and set aside. 

Place oil in a large nonstick skillet with a tight-fitting lid over medium-high heat and add chicken thighs once hot enough. Cook only 4 to 6 minutes per side turning once or just until nicely golden brown.  Remove (still undercooked chicken) from pan and set aside.

In the same pan add onion to skillet stirring and cooking for about 3 minutes and then add garlic and ginger stirring and cooking for another minute or so more.  Stir in tomato paste, curry powder, garam masala and 1/2 tsp salt mixing well.

Add chicken broth and lentils stirring well and place chicken thighs on top in pan.  Bring to a rapid boil and reduce heat to simmering and simmer for about 30 minutes or until lentils are tender.

Add sliced apples to skillet and cover and simmer for about another 10 minutes. Stir in about 3 cups of spinach until wilted.  No need to cook the spinach in.  The heat from the finished dish still in the pan will wilt your spinach nicely.

Divide the remaining 6 to 8 cups of spinach among the 6 plates or bowls to create a "bed" or a base.  Top each with the lentil-apple mixture and then the chicken thighs.

YIELDS: 6 Servings
SERVING SIZE:  1 thigh, 1-1/2 c spinach, 2/3 c lentil mixture

Nutritional Information:  436 calories, 10 g fat, (2 g sat fat), 108 mg cholesterol, 658 mg sodium, 49 g carb, 13.5 g sugars, 19 g fiber, 38 g protein

Pierogies and Peppers

This is a vegetarian, meatless meal for less than 400 calories!  It also happens to be Noom friendly in that the pierogies are a yellow food and the tomato sauce and veggie blend are green foods!

So I have thrown in the towel and have accepted that there is zero way for me to get an appetizing food photo when cooked bell peppers are involved.  I just don't know about photoshopping yet.  I will share the finished photo below but don't let it scare you!  It is good!

I was unable to get the tri-colored stir-fry pepper blend at my local store still during this pandemic shortage situation, but I went with the fajita blend that has just the red and green peppers and onions. 

I will say this is super, duper easy; Filling; and Flavorful!

One note,  the fennel seeds in this recipe need to be toasted and ground, so having a pestle and mortar handy, a spice grinder, or being prepared to use a little ingenuity is needed for that portion.   I used a wooden spoon to crush mine in the pan in which I toasted the seeds because my pan has a little texture to it, so this worked well for me.  You can grind them up using the bottom of a coffee mug where the cup edges are raw as well.  You can also crush with a hammer or mallet between two paper towels but you'll want to make sure you are on a safe surface for doing it this way.  Just crush up well after toasting in a pan.

To toast the fennel seeds, place them in a dry pan over medium-low heat and toast while either shaking the pan or using a wooden spoon keeping the seeds moving.  They will toast quickly once starting to change color so watch closely.  They will change color and become very fragrant.  This only takes about 2 to 3 minutes.

Because this recipe is an old WW recipe for an old points system, I will share the Winning Points I have noted.  For the Winning Points plan this dish is 6 points for 4 pierogies and about 3/4 cup of the pepper mixture. You should be able to figure out your points easily utilizing the new scan-in feature for the bag of pepper blend and the box of pierogies.

(See?! Colors look horrible when cooking peppers!)

Ingredients:

Nonstick cooking spray
1 (1-lb) bag frozen pepper stir fry (green, red, yellow and onions)
1 (16.9-oz) package frozen potato and cheddar pierogies
1 (8-oz) can tomato sauce
1 Tbs finely chopped fresh oregano (or 1 tsp dried)
2 tsp fennel seeds, toasted and ground
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp coarsely ground black pepper


Instructions:

First, toast your fennel seeds and crush as mentioned above in your dry frying pan while starting your water for boiling the pierogies to heating up to a boil.

Then spray a nonstick skillet with cooking spray and set over high heat.  Add the frozen pepper mix and saute until lightly browned slightly, about 10-12 minutes when all of the liquid is evaporated off.

You can add the pierogies to the boiling water as soon as it starts to boil.  Then you boil the pierogies until the water returns to a boil and continue boiling for another 3 minutes.

MAKE SURE TO RESERVE 1/4 CUP OF THE PIEROGIE WATER WHEN DONE TO ADD TO YOUR "SAUCE"

Add the reserved cooking liquid, tomato sauce, oregano, fennel, salt and pepper to the cooked pepper mix in the pan and simmer one minute.

Serve 4 pierogies with about 3/4 cup of the pepper sauce mix and voila!  Enjoy!

YIELDS: 4 Servings
SERVING SIZE: 4 Pierogies with 3/4 c peppers/sauce mixture

Nutritional Information:  332 Calories, Total Fat 7 g (3 g sat fat), 65 mg cholesterol, 1139 mg sodium, 55 g total carbohydrate, 5 g dietary fiber, 14 g protein, 179 mg calcium

Pork and Veggie Stir Fry with Cashew Rice for 460 calories

Stir-frying is said to be one of the fastest and healthiest cooking methods.  Stir-frying uses high heat so the food is seared quickly, which preserves the natural juices in mere minutes, using very little oil.  The veggies also therefore retain their crispness, bright color, and nutritional value! 

This recipe can seem labor intensive and too involved, but not if you get your ingredients prepped beforehand and prior to diving into actually making it!  I promise, it is worth it!  It is a huge serving for 460 calories so halving it and subbing in some healthier, yet filling, low-cal options can work here too!

I would totally eat this dish weekly if only I could get my kids to try it.  They won’t even give it a go.  They can be such jerks sometimes.  I am not kidding when I tell you that things my oldest two refused to try here at home they now love, but it isn’t because they finally tried those same things that I made here; rather, it is because they ate it somewhere else or at someone else’s house and came home announcing now they love it!!!  See? Jerks. lol

Master Ingredients List:

¾ c. uncooked long-grain rice

1/3 c chopped green onions

¼ cup dry-roasted cashews, salted; coarsely chopped

½ tsp salt

2/3 c fat-free, lower-sodium chicken broth

2 Tbs cornstarch (total will be divided)

3 Tbs lower-sodium soy sauce (total will be divided)

2 Tbs honey

1 lb pork tenderloin, trimmed, cut into ½” cubes

1 Tbs canola oil (total will be divided)

2 c sliced mushrooms

1 c chopped onion

1 Tbs grated, peeled, fresh ginger

2 garlic cloves, minced

2 c sugar snap peas (about 6 oz trimmed)

1 c red pepper, coarsely chopped

Instructions:

You will first want to prep all of your ingredients. Chop your pork, onion, cashews, green onions, and red bell pepper. Mince your garlic cloves. Slice your mushrooms if not buying presliced.  Grate your ginger!

Instructions with ingredients for Cashew Rice:

¾ cup uncooked long-grain rice

1/3 cup chopped green onions

¼ cup dry-roasted cashews, salted, coarsely chopped

½ tsp salt

Cook the rice according to package directions BUT leave out salt and fat (butter, oils).  Stir in green onions, cashews and salt.  Set aside.

Instructions with ingredients for “sauce”:

2/3 c fat-free, lower-sodium chicken broth

1 Tbs cornstarch

2 Tbs lower-sodium soy sauce

2 Tbs honey

Combine the broth, 1 Tbs cornstarch, 2 Tbs soy sauce, and the honey in a small bowl.  Whisk mixture if necessary.  Set aside.

Instructions with Ingredients for pork:

1 (1-lb) pork tenderloin, trimmed, cut into ½” cubes

2 tsp canola oil

2 c sliced mushrooms

Heat 2 tsp canola oil in a pan and get hot enough for stir-frying.  Combine pork remaining 1 Tbs cornstarch and remaining 1 Tbs soy sauce in a bowl.  Toss well to coat.   Add pork to hot oil in pan and sauté about 4 minutes or until browned.  If pan is not hot enough, the cornstarch mixture will stick to the pan.   Remove pork from pan and set aside.

Instructions for vegetable stir fry:

1 c chopped onion

1 Tbs grated pelled fresh ginger

2 garlic cloves, minced

2 c sugar snap peas, trimmed

1 c chopped red bell pepper

This stage moves quickly due to the “stir-fry” process.  Add remaining 1 tsp oil to pan and add mushrooms and onions sautéing about 2 minutes.  Now stir in the ginger and garlic and sauté another 30 seconds or so.  Now add peas and bell pepper to the pan and sauté for another minute.  Stir in the coated pork sautéing another minute.  Add the sauce mixture and bring to a boil.  Cook about another minute or until the sauce thickens slightly while stirring constantly (if you get it too thick, there won’t be enough sauce to blend in with your rice). 

YIELDS: 4 servings

SERVING SIZE:  1-1/2 c pork-veggie mixture and ½ c cashew rice

Nutritional Information:  Calories 460; Fat 11.8 g (sat 2.5 g, mono 6.2 g, poly, 2.3 g); Protein 31.8 g, Carb 55.9 g, Fiber 3.6 g, Cholesterol 74 mg, Iron 4.6 mg, Sodium 787 mg, Calcium 73 mg

Flank Steak and Poblano Pepper Quesadillas - 10 Smart Points

Um, hello!  Who doesn't love a steak quesadilla?  Yeah, it is a little on the pricey side but it helps when the Flank steak goes on sale to nab some then!

This fit into the Family Favorite category because, duh, it's a quesadilla, which kids love!  For me, it's a Favorite simply because it was so simple to make!

Ingredients:

12 oz lean flank steak
1/4 tsp kosher salt
1/4 tsp black pepper
1 Tbs olive oil
2 poblano chiles, sliced
3 oz reduced-fat Monterey Jack Cheese shredded (about 3/4 c)
4 (8") whole-wheat flour tortillas
vegetable cooking spray
1/4 c fresh pico de gallo
1/4 c fat-free sour cream (optional)

Directions:

1. Sprinkle the steak with the salt and pepper and heat the oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat.  Add the steak and cook until the desired degree of doneness, 4-5 minutes per side for medium-rare. Remove the steak from the pan and let rest at least 5 minutes before slicing. 
2. Add the sliced poblano peppers to the same pan stirring often until lightly browned and tender. 
3. Cut the steak across the grain into thin slices.  Sprinkle half of the Monterey Jack cheese evenly over half of each tortilla and top evenly with the steak, peppers and remaining Monterey Jack. 
4. Fold each tortilla in half over the filling. Lightly coat the tortillas with cooking spray. 
5. Heat the same skillet over medium heat and place 2 quesadillas into the skillet cooking until the Monterey Jack cheese is melted and the tortillas are lightly browned on both sides.  
6. Cut each quesadilla into 3 wedges.  Top evenly with the pico de gallo and if desired sour cream!

YIELDS:  4 Servings
SERVING SIZE:  3 quesadilla wedges and 1 Tbs pico de gallo (add extra for sour cream)
SMART POINTS:  10

Nutritional Information:  Calories 319, Fat 13.5 g (sat 4.9 g, monto 6 g, poly 1.1 g), Protein 27 g, Carb 22 g, Fiber 1 g, Sugars 1 g, Chol 68 mg, Iron 2 mg, Sodium 550 mg, Calc 322 mg

Spicy Shrimp Noodle Bowl for 6 SmartPoints/Serving

This colorful bowl is delicious and not too spicy!  It is only 6 Weight Watchers Smart Points per serving too and just too easy to make!  Packaging it up per serving size is a fast grab option for lunch as well! 

I could not find banh pho wide rice stick noodles as the recipe as written listed, so I went with another rice noodle.  I hope you have better luck than I did there!  I also used precooked medium shrimp since I had some in the freezer and put it into the pot at a point that made sense so as to not overcook!

As you can tell, I am a woman of few words...well, online for sharing recipes that is.  People IRL would probably like to shut me up.  When it comes to sharing recipes online, I don't like to wade through all the stories that people share, although cute, I just want the recipe, so hear ya go!

Ingredients:

8 oz uncooked wide rice stick noodles (banh pho)
4 c unsalted chicken stock
3 Tbs sambal oelek (ground fresh chile paste)
2 c shredded napa cabbage
1 lb. peeled and deveined raw medium shrimp
1 c fresh snow peas, cut into 1" pieces
3/4 c matchstick carrots
1/4 cup loosely packed fresh cilantro leaves
3/8 tsp kosher salt
3 scallions, thinly sliced

Directions:

Cook the noodles according to the package directions and drain them.

While noodles are cooking stir together the chicken stock and sambal oelek in a 3-quart saucepan.  Bring to a boil over high heat.

Add the uncooked shrimp and cook for 3 minutes.  Then add the cabbage, snow peas, and carrots and cook just until the shrimp are cooked through, about 2 minutes. (Add precooked shrimp at same time here).  You want the veggies to remain slightly crisp so don't overcook them!

Stir in the noodles, cilantro, salt, and scallions.  Serve!

YIELDS: 4 Servings
SERVING SIZE:  1-1/2 cups

Nutritional Information:   Calories 290, Fat 2 g (sat 0.2 g, mono 0.4 g, poly 0.5 g), Protein 26 g, Carb 39 g, Fiber 5 g, Sugars 5 g, Chol 179 mg, Iron 1 mg, Sodium 7880 mg, Calc 120 mg

Honey-Smoked Pork Tenderloin - 11 Smart Points and 7 Winning Points

This is a light and easy meal to make with a sweet, slightly smoky flavor.

Ingredients:

3 Tbs. butter
1 lb. 2" diameter pork tenderloin sliced 2"
4 medium carrots, sliced 1"
3 stalks celery, sliced 1"
1 small onion, sliced 1/8"
1/2 tsp ginger
1/4 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. pepper
1/4 tsp. sage
3 Tbs. honey
2 Tbs. lemon juice
1 tsp. liquid smoke
1/2 tsp. minced fresh garlic


Instructions:

In 10" skillet, melt butter until sizzling, add pork and carrots.  Cook over medium-high heat, stirring occasionally, until meat is browned (about 5 to 6 minutes).  Reduce heat to medium.  Stir in remaining ingredients.  Cover, cook, stirring occasionally, until vegetables are crisply tender (10 to 12 minutes).

YIELD:  4 Servings

SERVING SIZE:  About 4 oz of pork and equal distribution of vegetables
POINTS:  7 Winning Points and 11 Smart Points

Skillet Pasta and Vegetables - 8 Weight Watchers Smart Points or 5.25 Winning Points

This dish is obviously quite good....that's a lot of cheese!   I lightened up this recipe by using light butter and reduced-calorie shredded Mozzarella, but next time I will use 1/4 cup of it per serving since there are only 4 servings total in this dish.  That will reduce the overall points, which I'll note the next time I make this. 

Ingredients:

4 oz. uncooked bow tie pasta
1/4 c. light butter
1 tsp. minced fresh garlic
1 medium zucchini, cut into 1/2" pieces
1 small eggplant, cut into 1/2" pieces
1 medium red onion, cut into eighths
1 tsp. basil leaves
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. pepper
1-1/2 c. (6 oz.) shredded reduced-fat Mozzarella cheese

Instructions:

Cook pasta according to package directions and drain.  In 10" skillet, melt butter until sizzling and stir in garlic.  Stir in remaining ingredients except pasta and cheese.  Cook over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until vegetables are crisply tender (about 4 to 6 minutes).  Stir in pasta.  Continue cooking, stirring occasionally, until heated through (2 to 3 minutes).  Stir in cheese.  Serve immediately.

YIELDS:  4 servings
SERVING SIZE:  1/4 of dish
POINTS:  8 Smart Points or 5.25 WP

Lemon-Raspberry Ice Squares - 5.5 Weight Watchers Smart Points or 3 Winning Points

This dessert was a find by me for using up raspberries many years ago.  It can be lightened up further, as the points depend greatly on the sugar cookies, butter, and yogurt used.  I tend to use real ingredients.  Vegan yogurt might be a good option to try with light butter and fat-free yogurt for fewer points.

Unfortunately, I was unable to find some lower-calorie vanilla sugar cookies and there were a lot of points involved in the ones I chose, but I also only used about 7 of them compared to the 18 called for in the recipe.  

The image above is a slice of the entire recipe cut into 9 portions and it's sitting on a salad-sized plate, so it's a good size.  Cutting the entire batch in 18 portions would halve the points. The whipped cream topping is not included in the points for this recipe, as that depends on your choice for whipped topping. 

The lemon and raspberry go so well together.  Just make sure you let it sit at room temperature for at least 10 minutes to soften a tad because "Ice" squares are pretty hard to get through with forks and spoons otherwise.

Ingredients:

1 c. (about 18) crushed lemon-flavored sugar cookies
1/4 c. sugar
3 Tbs. butter
1 c. raspberry-flavored yogurt
1 c. low-fat buttermilk
1/3 c. sugar
2 c. frozen or fresh raspberries
sweetened whipped cream

Instructions:

In small bowl, stir together crushed cookies, 1/4 cup sugar and butter.  Press on bottom of 9" square baking pan and set aside.

In medium bowl, stir together remaining ingredients except raspberries and whipped cream.  Fold in raspberries. Pour yogurt mixture over cookie crust.  Cover and freeze until firm, about 3 to 4 hours.

To serve, let stand at room temperature for 10 to 15 minutes.  Cut into 18 squares (or 9) and garnish with whipped cream.

You can also change up the flavor for this recipe.  Use blueberry-flavored yogurt and blueberries or strawberry-flavored yogurt with strawberries.  Heck, switch it all up and make it a combo deal, just remember the lemon flavor in the "crust" and choose complimentary flavors.

YIELDS:  18 servings
SERVING SIZE: 1/18
POINTS:  5.5 Smart Points or 3 Winning Points

YIELDS:  9 servings
SERVING SIZE: 1/9th
POINTS:  11 Smart Points or 6 Winning Points

Hearty Cheese, Turkey & Zucchini Supper Sandwiches for 10 Weight Watchers Smart Points and 6 Winning Points

Once again, my camera settings have changed and the coloring in the pics is slightly off, but that's life with my 11-year-old.

These open-faced turkey sandwiches are packed full of flavor because of the homemade chese sauce and the basil the zucchini cooked in.  I was a little hesitant about trying this one, but I am so glad we did.  So was Mr F.  He loved it.  One child ate it and liked it, one outright refused to even try it, and the other wasn't home, so no family rating on this one.

Because it's higher in points, go for low-point sides to accompany it.  A half of an English muffin would be half the points listed here and would make a nice lunch as well.

Because most of the butter that the zucchini is cooked in remains in the pan upon completion, I've taken the liberty of removing some of the points assigned to it in the recipe while allowing for some extra calories/points for the bit of butter on the zucchini.

You can probably lighten it up further by using light butter and low-fat cheese, but I already did this recipe using 1% milk and used whole-wheat English muffins.  Also...I didn't use all of the cheese sauce.  I just eyeballed it and estimate each received around 2 tablespoons of cheese sauce.


Ingredients:

Cheese Sauce Ingredients:

2 Tbs butter
1 Tbs. all-purpose flour
1/4 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. dry mustard
1/4 tsp. pepper
1 c. milk
1 c. shredded cheddar cheese
1 Tbs. chopped fresh chives

Sandwich Ingredients:

2 Tbs. butter
1 medium zucchini, sliced 1/4"
1 tsp. basil leaves
4 English muffins, split, toasted
8 (1-oz.) slices of cooked turkey


Instructions:

In a 2-qt. saucepan, melt 2 tablespoons of butter and stir in flour, salt, mustard, and pepper.  Cook over low heat, stirring constantly until smooth and bubbly (1 min).  Add milk.  Continue cooking over low heat, stirring constantly, until mixture thickens and comes to a full boil (4 to 5 mins).  Boil 1 minute.  Remove from heat.  Stir in cheese and chives until cheese is melted. Keep warm.

In 10" skillet, melt 2 tablespoons butter and stir in zucchini and basil.  Cook over medium heat stirring occasionally until crisply tender (3 to 5 mins).  Place toasted English muffin halves on serving plate and top each half with 1 slice turkey, 1/8 zucchini mixture, and cheese sauce.

YIELDS:  4 servings
SERVING SIZE:  2 halves
POINTS:  10 Smart Points or 6 Winning Points

Springtime Ham and Asparagus Salad for Only 2 Weight Watchers Points

arranged to visually see each serving size via sections between asparagus spears

This salad is so low in points and light and refreshing that you can double up your servings for more of a meal salad.  It serves 6, so a single portion is more of a side salad and not as filling alone.

The homemade dressing has a strong lemon flavor, so if you're not a fan of lemon, try cutting the amount in the recipe back a bit.  I also added garlic powder to this batch but plan on trying it next time with actual minced garlic added to the dressing.

I also only applied one tablespoon of dressing per serving of salad with leftover dressing at the end, which means this actually fewer in point than I figured for the entire dressing recipe to begin with.

Single serving in large salad bowl

Salad Ingredients:

16 asparagus spears
4 c. torn lettuce
2 c. cubed 1/2" cooked ham
2 hard cooked eggs, quartered (I chose to slice them instead going for even eggs per serving)

Dressing Ingredients:

1/2 c. fat-free dairy sour cream
2 Tbs. chopped fresh parsley
1 Tbs. chopped fresh chives
pinch of salt
pinch of pepper
2 Tbs. lemon juice
1 Tbs. low-fat mayonnaise


Instructions: 

In 10" skillet, place asparagus, add enough water to cover.  Cook over medium-high heat until water comes to a full boil.  Boil 1 to 2 minutes and drain.  Rinse immediately with cold water until fully cooled.  This stops the cooking process.  Don't overcook your asparagus. You want them crisply tender, not mushy.

Arrange ham, eggs, and asparagus spears on lettuce on either individual salad plates or platter.   

In small bowl, stir together all dressing ingredients.  Pour dressing over salad if all will be eaten upon serving.  If wanting to save your salad in the event you'll have leftovers, apply dressing to individual servings and store dressing in an airtight container.

YIELDS:  6 servings
SERVING SIZE:  1/6 of platter
POINTS:  2 WWWP or 2 SmartPoints

Garden-Stuffed Mushrooms for 1.5 Weight Watchers Winning and Smart Points Each

These stuffed mushrooms make a good appetizer for the Weight Watchers conscious party goer...keep that in mind.

This recipe makes 16 stuffed mushrooms and for the Winning Points that I do, it comes out to 1.4375 points or 1.5 rounded up....so I'm going with 3 points even for every 2 mushrooms consumed.   For the newer Smart Points system, it works out to 1.5625 points per mushroom, but rounding up would be 2 points per mushroom.  That's quite a jump for a round up, so I'm leaving it up to you if you want to count these at 3 points for every 2 consumed as well or whether you would rather it be 2 points per mushroom and therefore 4 per every 2.  There are only 7 in the above picture because we started eating them before the spinach-stuffed steaks that were to accompany them were done cooking.  The recipe for the spinach-stuffed steaks can be found here.

The filling was quite easy to make.  I just put some herb-seasoned boxed stuffing mix into the food processor and pulsed it to break it down a little and proceeded from there.  Below is a picture of all of the stuffing ingredients ready to mix in a bowl.

Ingredients:

1/2 dried, crumbly style herb-seasoned stuffing, crushed
1/4 c. butter, melted
1/4 c. finely chopped carrot
1/4 c. finely chopped green pepper
pinch of pepper
2 Tbs. finely chopped onion
16 mushroom (2"), stems removed


Instructions:

Heat oven to 35 degrees.  In small bowl stir together all ingredients, except mushrooms.  Stuff each mushroom cap with 1 tablespoon filling.  Place in buttered 13" x 9" baking pan.  Bake for 20 to 25 minutes or until tender.

YIELDS:  16 mushrooms
SERVING SIZE:  2 mushrooms
WINNING POINTS: 3 WWWP/2 mushrooms
SMART POINTS:  4 SP/2 mushrooms

Spinach Salad with Feta or Goat Cheese for 2 Weight Watchers Points

This salad has an easy-to-make dressing with a little kick to it and it goes well with the Chile Carmelized Pork Medallions I'll be posting soon (because I forgot to take a picture of them last week).

I don't like feta cheese, but Mr. F loves it, so leave the cheese off and allow people to "pick their poison" as they say for personal preferences.  

Ingredients:

Dressing:
   2 Tbs. Hoisin sauce
   1 Tbs. rice vinegar
   2 tsp. canola oil
   2 tsp. water
   1/4 tsp. chili paste

Salad:
   5-oz. pkg baby spinach
   1/2 c. yellow bell pepper
   1/4 c. thinly sliced red onion
   1/4 c. (1 oz) crumbled feta or goat cheese


Instructions:   Combine dressing ingredients in a container with a lid if you don't plan on using the entire salad in one sitting amongst your diners and apply only enough to each serving individually if so.  It doesn't store well after dressing application, but you can store it without the dressing on it.

Add spinach and remaining salad ingredients into a large bowl.   If going to eat the entire salad preparation in one night, apply all of the dressing and toss to coat.

NUTRITIONAL INFORMATION:  Calories 73; Fat 4.6 g (saturated 1.6g, mono 1.9g, poly 0.9g); Protein 22 g; Carbohydrates 6 g; Fiber 1 g; Cholesterol 9 mg; Iron 0.8 mg; Sodium 256 mg; Calcium 68 mg

Roasted Green Beans with Bacon and Shallots for 2 Weight Watchers Points

Well, I'm not really sure what has happened to Pinterest while I was away for the summer, but it looks like you guys/girls, any of my readers, needs to create a description of each new recipe and pin it for a description to show up or for it to show up in an actual search???  All I'm getting is a picture now on Pinterest when I pin my own stuff.  It always winds up being about the marketing dollar and not us little guys who are actually trying to network socially versus advertise doesn't it?

If anybody wants to take pity on this tech-challenged lady and help me Figure out what I'm supposed to be doing now to reach people looking for recipes, it'd be greatly appreciated.  In the interim, I will be searching online to Figure it out. 

Frustrated is my F word for that reason.

Anyway, here is today's recipe for Roasted Green Beans with Bacon and Shallots for only 2 Weight Watchers Winning Points per 3/4-cup serving.

This is really easy and really Flavorful.  I just reserve some bacon from a morning session of frying it up in a pan; maybe some goes into a breakfast for the Family or some BLT's for a lunch, but I keep bacon aside for this later in the day and sometimes even the next day in the fridge until I make it. 

Ingredients:


1 (12-oz.) pkg pretrimmed green beans
2 small shallots
2 tsp olive oil
1/8 tsp salt
2 slices precooked bacon

Instructions:

Preheat oven to 450 degrees.  Arrange beans in a single layer on a large jelly-roll pan.  Bake at 450 degrees for 13 minutes or until lightly browned and tender.  Crumble bacon and sprinkle over green beans.

YIELD:  3 servings
SERVING SIZE:  About 3/4 cup
POINTS:  2 points

NUTRITIONAL INFORMATION:  Calories 98 (51% from fat); Fat 5.5 g (sat 1.2 g); Protein 4.2 g; Carbohydrates 9.8 g; Fiber 3.9 g; Cholesterol 6 mg; Iron 1.4 mg; Sodium 225 mg; Calcium 46 mg

Quick Pesto Pasta Tauce Recipe for 3 Weight Watchers Points

This side dish is quick and easy...I repeat quick and easy. I have to fight Mr F because he wants to eat it all by himself versus leaving any leftovers for me for quick points figuring.

Next time I make this, I'll try adding in a bit of chicken breast.  Let me know if you do that first and how you liked it please!

Ingredients:

4 oz.  uncooked multigrain penne pasta (1-1/4 c uncooked)
2 Tbs commercial pesto
2 tsp grated Parmesan cheese

Instructions:

Cook pasta according to package directions omitting salt and fat.  Drain.  Combine pasta, pesto, and cheese in a bowl and toss well.

YIELD:  4 servings

SERVING SIZE:  1/2 cup

POINTS: 3 (Winning points)

NUTRITIONAL INFORMATION:  147 calories (29% from fat); 4.8 g Fat (0.8 g saturated); 6.3 g Protein; 20 g Carbs; 3 mg Cholesterol; 1.6 mg Iron; 93 mg Sodium; 38 mg Calcium

Goat Cheese Sandwich with Cucumber and Alfalfa Sprouts for 4 Weight Watchers Points

This is a light and refreshing snack recipe that I sometimes pair with this recipe for Spicy Vegetarian Black Bean Soup.  Yes, that is a lot of veggies!  I like it that way though, as the cheese and cucumber of the "sandwich" balances the spicy in the soup.

I also sometimes add a bit of other seasoning to the layer of goat cheese, such as garlic powder to switch up the Flavor.  Play around and make it your own that way!  It doesn't get any easier than this really.

Ingredients:

2 Tbs. goat cheese
1 (2-oz) whole-grain English muffin, split, toasted
1/8 tsp. freshly ground black pepper
6 (1/8" thick) slices English cucumber
2 Tbs. alfalfa sprouts

Instructions:  Spread 1 tablespoon goat cheese on each half of warm English muffin.  Sprinkle with pepper (and seasoning of your choice to switch it up).  Top with 3 slices of cucumber each and about 1 tablespoon of alfalfa sprouts each and voila!

YIELD:  1 serving

SERVING SIZE:  2 halves

POINTS:  4 points

NUTRITIONAL INFORMATION:  223 Calories (39% from fat); 9.7 g Fat (6.1 g saturated); 11.5 g Protein; 24.5 g Carbs; 4.1 g Fiber; 2.2 mg Cholesterol; 2 mg Iron; 508 mg Sodium; 240 mg Calcium

Spicy Vegetarian Black Bean Soup for 3 Weight Watchers Points

If you're pressed for time, this is a quick and easy soup to make!  The only real prep involved was mashing half of the black beans; the rest was prepackaged for an open-and-dump-in situation.

I paired this with the Goat Cheese Sandwich with Cucumber and Alfalfa sprouts recipe found here for a total of 7 Weight Watchers Winning points.  As soon as the sugars portion of this recipe is Figured out, I can share the Smart Points values.  Sorry, but old recipes just don't list sugars in the nutritional information and I haven't had the time while cooking to stop and figure them out myself.

I used a Chipotle-flavored meat crumble package, so that added a lot of flavor on it's own.  It was the only bag left, but I'm sticking with those because it worked.   I also had to make my own Mexican Spice blend because I couldn't find any at the store, so I'll include the mixture of spices I used for that as well in case you can't find it either.  I think the pepper stir-fry and fajita vegetables may be the same thing, but I'm not certain because, as is the story of my life, I couldn't find the pepper stir-fry mix either and went with the frozen fajita vegetables mix. 👌

Only Mr F is willing to give this a go.  As I've mentioned previously, the kids don't do beans of any color, shape or size.  If you find you won't eat this faster than it may spoil, then cut the recipe in half.

Ingredients:

2 (15-oz.) cans black beans, rinsed, drained
1 (16-oz.) pkg frozen pepper stir-fry, slightly thawed
1 (12-oz.) pkg frozen meatless burger crumbles
1 (14-oz.) can organic vegetable broth
2 tsp. salt-free Mexican seasoning
1/2c (2 oz.) reduced-fat Monterey Jack Cheese with jalapeno

Home-made Mexican Spice Blend/Seasoning:

2 Tbs. paprika
2 Tbs. no-salt-added chili powder
1-1/2 tsp. onion powder
1-1/2 tsp. garlic powder
1-1/2 tsp ground cumin
1-1/2 tsp. ground black pepper
1/4 tsp. cayenne or ground chipotle pepper (optional)

Mix all Mexican spice blend ingredients together and store in an airtight container for future use.


Instructions:

Mash half of the beans with a fork or a potato masher.  Combine mashed beans and remaining beans in a large dutch oven.  Add pepper stir fry and next 4 ingredients and bring to a boil.  Reduce heat and simmer, uncovered, for 8 minutes.  Ladle soup into bowls and top with shredded cheese.

YIELD:  8 servings

SERVING SIZE:  1 cup soup and 1 Tablespoon of cheese

POINTS:  3 points

NUTRITIONAL INFORMATION:  185 calories (18% from fat); 3.7 g Fat (0.9 g saturated); 14.1 g Protein; 24.9 g Carbs; 6.2 g Fiber; 5 mg Cholesterol; 3.1 mg Iron; 717 mg Sodium; 125 mg Calcium

Chocolate-Chocolate-Chip Avocado Cookies for 2 Points Each!

Seriously, if you need a chocolate Fix, this is a good one. Especially Fresh out of the oven with the ooey gooey chocolate and even warned in a microwave for a few seconds afterward.

Yes, it's dairy free and gluten free (if you use gluten-free flour, which I do), and even vegan too. It's so easy to make and the whole Family gobbles them up completely unaware they're made with avocado!

I've tried this recipe with different types of flour, regular all-purpose, whole wheat flour, gluten-free versions, and I've settled on Cup-4-Cup gluten-free as my favorite in this recipe.

I've also tried this recipe with different chocolate chips--milk chocolate, dark chocolate, semi-sweet, etc. and I've settled on semi-sweet chips as my favorite, but feel free to pick your poison here.


INGREDIENTS:

parchment paper
1/2 cup mashed avocado
1/2 cup turbinado sugar (method to making sugar-big rough, crystal-like granules)
1 tsp apple cider vinegar
2 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 tsp baking soda
2 Tbs unsweetened cocoa powder
1 tsp cinnamon
3/4 c gluten-free flour
100 grams of chocolate chips of your choice


INSTRUCTIONS:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees and line your cookie sheet with parchment paper.

While the oven is preheating give your avocado and turbinado sugar a good whirl in a food processor or blender.

Add vanilla and apple cider vinegar and give another quick whirl until blended well/incorporated.

Mix the cocoa powder, the flour, the baking soda, and the cinnamon in a separate bowl with a whisk and add half at a time to moist mixture and blend after each addition.

Mix in chocolate chips by hand.

Spoon about a tablespoon of cookie dough onto your parchment-lined cookie sheet and use the backside of your spoon to flatten and shape the cookies somewhat, as they don't expand and shape much on their own.  Try to make sure there are no thin spots on the outer edges as they will cook/burn quickly and affect the taste of your first bites.

Bake for 10 minutes.

Hamburger Steak with Carmelized Onions and Lemon-Thyme Green Beans

This is a very simple, quick and easy dish to make. It doesn't even matter if the "sauce" gets onto the beans, they go well together. A three-fourths cup of beans is only 1 point and the burger steak rings in at 4 points.

For the picky kids, who were scared of the onions and sauce, they put their patty onto a bun with the usual condiments, so all were able to partake in this one in one way or another.

Now for the green bean recipe, I have no idea what kind of bag of pretrimmed and microwavable beans they wer hoping I could find, but I just bought precut frozen green beans and I quickly boiled them for a few minutes in water to heat them up from a frozen state.

Hamburger Steak Ingredients:

1 lb ground sirloin
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp black pepper
1/4 tsp dried Italian seasoning
Cooking Spray
1 medium onion, thinly sliced
1/2 c beef consomme (I used beef broth)
1/4 c balsamic vinegar

Hamburger Steak Instructions: 

Combine the first four ingredients in a small bowl. Shape into four 1/2-inch thick patties

Heat a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Coat pan with cooking spray. Add patties, cook 3 to 4 minutes on each side or until browned. Transfer patties to a platter.

Add onion to pan and coat onion with cooking spray. Saute over medium-high heat 4 minutes. Return patties to pan.

Combine consomme/broth and balsamic vinegar and pour over onion and patties. Bring mixture to a boil and cover reducing heat and simmering five to six minutes or until meat is done.

YIELD: 4 servings
SERVING SIZE: 1 patty and about 1/3-cup onion/broth mixture
POINTS: 4 points

NUTRITIONAL INFORMATION: Cal 163 (28% from fat); Fat 5 g (sat 2 g); Pro 23.7 g; Carb 6.3 g; Fib 0.8 g; Chol 60 mg; Iron 2.2 mg; Sod 375 mg; Calc 17 mg



Lemon-Thyme Green Beans Ingredients:

1 (12-oz.) pkg pretrimmed green beans
2 Tbs light stick butter
1 tsp chopped fresh thyme
1/2 tsp grated fresh lemon rind

Lemon-Thyme Green Beans Instructions:

Pierce bag of green beans with a fork. Microwave at HIGH 4 minutes or until tender.

While beans cook, soften butter. Combine butter, thyme, and lemon rind in a large bowl. Add green beans aand toss to coat.

YIELD: 4 servings
SERVING SIZE: About 3/4 cup
POINTS: 1 point

NUTRITIONAL INFORMATION: Cal 62 (55% from fat); Fat 3.88 g (sat 2.3 g); Pro 1.8 g; Carb 6.7 g; Fib 2.7 g; Chol 7 mg; Iron 0.7 mg; Sod 229 mg; Calc 41 mg

Mexican Chili with Chipotle Cheese Toasts for 6 Weight Watchers Points

This old Weight Watchers recipe I got from a 2009 recipe book is yummy and quick.  Mr F LOVED it.  Sadly, the nutritional information does not include the sugar content and I'm unable to use the Weight Watchers recipe builder since it crashes my computer, so I don't have the Smart Points right now for it.

The kids, however, wouldn't go near this.  They're scared of the beans for some reason. What's a girl to do? I even tried to declare it tasted like a cheeseburger if you took a bite WITH the toast, but nope.  #PICKYKIDPROBLEMS

The chili alone is 4 points and the toast alone is 2, so together you have 6 points total.

Good luck finding Chipotle cheddar cheese slices because my store certainly doesn't carry them.  I went for regular cheddar and sprinkled some Chipotle seasoning on the bread slices before I topped them with cheese.


CHILI INGREDIENTS:

1 lb ground round
1 c. prechopped onion
1 (14.5-oz) can diced tomatoes with garlic, undrained
1 (15-oz) can kidney beans, rinsed and drained
1 cup hot water
2 Tbs chili powder
1 oz semisweet chocolate, coarsely chopped
1 tsp ground cumin
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp dried oregano


CHILI INSTRUCTIONS:

Cook beef and onion in a large saucepan over medium-high heat for 5 minutes or until beef is browned, stirring to crumble.  Drain, if necessary, and return beef mixture to pan.

Add tomatoes and remaining ingredients; cover and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer 5 minutes.

YIELD:  6 servings
SERVING SIZE: about 1 cup
POINTS:  4

NUTRITIONAL INFORMATION:  CAL 215 (31% from fat); FAT 7.5 g (sat 2.9 g); PRO 17.2 g; CARB 19.1 g; FIB 3.9 g; CHOL 37 mg; IRON 3.4 mg; SOD 934 mg; CALC 69 mg

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CHIPOTLE CHEESE TOASTS INGREDIENTS:

6 (1/4" thick) slices of French bread
3 (1-oz.) slices Chipotle Cheddar cheese (such as Sargento), cut in half


CHIPOTLE CHEESE TOASTS INSTRUCTIONS:

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.

Place bread slices on a baking sheet and bake at 400 for 5 minutes or until toasted. Remove from oven.  Place 1/2 slice cheese on top of each slice of bread.  Bake an additional 3 to 4 minutes or until cheese melts.

Note:  I baked for the recommended time, but the bread did not brown.  It did, however, get crisp.  So I wanted to point this out so you don't wind up with little bricks you can't bite into by baking longer to get "toasted".  Next time i plan to try broiling to get a nice browned effect on top.

YIELD:  6 servings
SERVING SIZE: 1 slice of toast
POINTS: 2

NUTRITIONAL INFORMATION:  CAL 81 (37% from fat); FAT 3.3 g (sat 1.8 g); PRO 4.2 g; CARB 8.5 g; FIB 0.3g; CHOL 5 mg; IRON 0.5 mg; SOD 167 mg; CALC 81 mg

Turkey-Cheddar-Zucchini Burgers for 7 Weight Watchers Points

This is actually a Family Favorite.  Of course, I didn't share with anybody it had shredded zucchini in it until AFTER they were Finished.  You could peel your zucchini prior to shredding it so that the bits of green are never questioned in the First place, but I just gave it a go to see if I could pull it off.  For the burgers I served to the kids, I topped theirs with a thin slice of Mozzarella cheese to hide all that green, which worked.  I've also topped it with plain old American cheese slices too.

My husband declared this burger his favorite.  I felt it needed a little something, so next time I'm going to add a bit of onion powder to the mixture.

I apologize for the sickly flashlight glow cast upon this burger in the photo above, as it was dark and I tried to illuminate it from the side using a flashlight.  I assure you it was the standard turkey-breast-white in person with flecks of green rather than this strange color.

For juicier burgers, don't be tempted to press the burgers with a spatula while cooking. This common mistake actually robs the burgers of moistness by squeezing out the juices.  The zucchini and minced onion help to keep the burger moist.


INGREDIENTS:

1 lb. ground skinless turkey breast
1 small zucchini, shredded
1/2 c. shredded reduced-fat cheddar cheese
1/4 c minced red onion
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 tsp freshly ground pepper
1/4 c ketchup
1/4 c reduced-calorie mayonnaise
4 lettuce leaves
4 tomato slices
4 whole-wheat burger buns, split and toasted


INSTRUCTIONS:

Heat a nonstick ridged grill pan over medium-low heat
Combine the turkey, zucchini, cheese, onion, salt, and pepper in a bowl until blended. Shape into four patties.
Grill the patties until browned on the outside and no longer pink on the inside, about 7 minutes on each side.

Meanwhile, whisk together the ketchup and mayo in a small bowl and toast your burger buns with center sides up under the broiler for a few minutes on a baking sheet (watch closely so they don't burn).

Layer the lettuce, burgers, and tomato slices on the bottom of the hamburger buns. Top with the ketchup mixture, then the bun tops.

POINTS: 7
YIELD: 4 burgers

NUTRITIONAL INFORMATION: 348 CAL; 12 g TOTAL FAT; 4 g SAT FAT; 80 mg CHOL; 105.3 mg SOD; 25 g CARB; 4 g FIB; 35 g PRO; 158 mg CALC