Szechuan Rice Noodles with Ground Turkey

This is such an easy meal designed for one!  You can add more red pepper flakes if you like super spicy but it had the perfect amount of kick for us here with the ginger and red pepper flakes it calls for. 

I was cooking for three so I just tripled the below recipe! 

Multiple everything by four if needing to utilize the whole 16 oz of the ground turkey breast package!

When cooking rice noodles, you can follow the below directions, but I had to microwave the sitting container in the microwave because just letting the noodles sit covered with the hot water (had been boiled) was taking too long.  Instructions on the package would work better too I'm assuming!

Ingredients:

1 oz thin rice noodles
1 tsp dark sesame oil
3 scallions, thinly sliced
2 tsp minced, peeled fresh ginger
1 garlic clove, minced
1/8 tsp red pepper flakes, (or more if wanting spicier)
1/4-lb ground turkey breast
1 Tbs soy sauce
1 Tbs low-sodium chicken broth
1 Tbs rice vinegar
1 Tbs chopped fresh cilantro

Instructions:

Place noodles into a medium bowl, cover with boiling water, and let stand until noodles soften, (about 3 minutes). Drain and set aside.

Heat oil in medium nonstick skillet on medium heat and add the scallions, ginger, garlic, and red pepper flakes.  Cook stirring constantly until fragrant, about 1 minute.

Add turkey to skillet.  Cook breaking up the ground turkey breast until no longer pink.  Stir in soy sauce, rice vinegar and chicken broth.  Add in noodles and toss to combine.  Transfer to a plate and top with fresh cilantro. 

YIELDS:  1 serving
SERVING SIZE:  1-1/3 cups
SMART POINTS:  6

Nutritional Information:  323 Calories, Total Fat 9 g (saturated 1 g), Sodium 705 mg, Total Carb 29 g, Sugar 2 g, Fiber 2 g, Protein 29 g

Spicy Honey-Glazed Chicken Thighs

I don't remember where I noted this recipe from but can't believe I haven't shared it here yet!  If you don't like a little kick of spicy heat here and there, you will want to lessen the amount of the ground red pepper you add.  This rings in at 446 calories for two whole chicken thighs and halving that for one thigh is only 223 calories!

Chicken thighs have a little more fat and a bit more calories than your average diet-friendly choice of chicken breasts, but they also have more flavor and are more tender.

You'll want to have a brown paper bag handy to shake your chicken up into the spice mixture perfectly!  You can just put everything in a bowl and toss to coat, but that shake-in-a-bag trick you see in the movie The Help is really nice with this one!

Spice Ingredients:

2 tsp garlic powder
2 tsp chili powder
1 tsp salt
1 tsp ground cumin
1 tsp paprika
1/2 tsp ground red pepper  (can take down to 1/4 tsp)
8 skinless, boneless chicken thighs
Cooking Spray

Glaze Ingredients:

6 Tbs honey
2 tsp cider vinegar

Instructions:

Preheat the broiler to low with rack in middle of oven.

Combine all of the spice ingredients in a bowl and mix well.  Place spice mixture in the bottom of a brown paper bag large enough to hold all 8 thighs.  Add the thighs, fold down the bag and shake 'er up!  You can open and check and pull out well-covered pieces so as to allow those less so to get covered on subsequent shakes!  You can also just add all ingredients into a large bowl and toss to coat but the bag method allows all of the seasoning to stick to the chicken specifically!

Cover the broiler pan with cooking spray and broil chicken at least 5 minutes on each side.  Make sure to open the thighs so they lay evenly on your pan avoiding having pieces that are so thick they will take longer to cook through.

Combine the honey and vinegar for the glaze and stir it together well with a whisk while the chicken is broiling.

After 5 minutes broiling per side with only the dry seasoning, remove the chicken from the oven or just pull it out far enough for brushing and brush the glaze onto the chicken and broil again for at least 1 minute.  Flip the chicken and repeat glazing the other side and broiling again for at least another minute.

Let me tell you, that allowing a little extra time (watching closely) so that the surface of the chicken with the glaze applied has a moment to caramelize and appear a little crispy or burned, is delicious!

Brush whatever little bit of glaze mixture is left over the top once done while still hot.

SERVES: 4 Servings
SERVING SIZE:  2 chicken thighs

Nutritional Information:  Calories 321, Fat 11 g (sat 3 g, mono 4.1 g, poly 2.5 g), Protein 28 g, Carb 27.9 g, Fiber 0.6 g, Chol 99 mg, Iron 2.1 mg, Sodium 676 mg, Calcium 21 mg

Turkey-Stuffed Cabbage Rolls-2 Rolls for 431 calories

The stuffing for these can also be used in baked stuff zucchini and tomatoes and peppers!  Basmati rice is so fragrant and good I highly recommend it!

Mr F said no Fewer than Five times "Wow. I'm surprised this is soo good!"  He didn't like the smell the cabbage gave the house as it baked and he was extremely nervous about it. 

Each serving is 2 rolls for 431 calories but can be one roll for 216 calories!  This is a very old WW recipe I used to make that clocked in at 8 Winning Points and it is Noom friendly because all of the ingredients are yellow and green foods!   If you want or need to switch to a less-lean ground turkey, then adjust the nutritional info accordingly!

Make sure you make this earlier in the day because it cooks long and slowly for up to 2 hours so they come out fork tender.  You can also shorten the bake time a bit by throwing the ground turkey into the pan with the mushrooms and onions and cooking up a bit before stuffing the cabbage leaves.

To reheat any leftovers, you should steam or microwave them.

 (I like extra sauce on my plate to drag each bite through!)

Ingredients:

1 (1-1/2-lb) Savoy cabbage(can use regular green cabbage as well)
1 cup bastmati rice or long-grain white rice
2 tsp olive oil
1/2-lb white mushrooms chopped coarsely
3/4-lb ground skinless turkey breast
1 large egg
1/2 tsp salt
pepper to taste
1 (26-oz) jar marinara sauce

Instructions:

Fill a large pot with water about 2/3 full.  After getting the cabbage leaves carefully separated, dip each cabbage leaf individually into the boiling water for about 30 seconds with tongs.  Thinly chop/slice up the remaining cabbage head.

Place the chopped cabbage at the bottom of a glass, coverable, baking dish large enough to hold 8 rolls-about lasagna pan size.

Bring 2 cups water to a boil in a medium sauce pan.  Add the rice and bring to a boil and simmer, covered, until the liquid is absorbed and the rice is tender. About 20 minutes.  (Boil in bag Basmati rice can cook in about 10 minutes too!).  Fluff with a fork and transfer to a large bowl.

Preheat the oven to 325 degrees.

Heat the oil in a large, nonstick skillet and add in the mushrooms and onion cooking until liquid evaporates.  Add the mushroom and onions to the rice bowl.  Now add turkey, egg, and salt and pepper to the same rice bowl and mix until well blended.

Divide the turkey mixture evenly amongst the 8 cabbage leaves.  Roll up the rolls and place them seam-side down on the bed of chopped cabbage in the baking dish. Cover with the whole jar of marinara sauce and place lid on top.

Bake at 325 degrees for 1-1/2 to 2 hours.

SERVES:  4
SERVING SIZE:  2 Rolls
POINTS:  8 Winning Points

Nutritional Information:  Calories 431, Total Fat 8 g (2 g saturated), Cholesterol 104 mg, Sodium 1.187 mg, Carbs 62 g, Dietary Fiber 7g, Protein 31 g, Calcium 151 mg

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