Curry in a Hurry?

This was not curry in a hurry, this was a labor of curry love. Last night's supper becomes tonight's dinner and it was fabulous! If you are a lover of curry, give this one a try, it tastes just like a restaraunt!

Butternut Squash Curry
1 butternut squash, cubed and roasted*
1 red onion, diced
1/2 each green and red pepper, diced
1 pound chicken breast, diced
1 head cauliflower, broken into florets
1/2 container baby spinach
1 cup chicken stock
1 cup light coconut milk
1 cup cilantro, chopped
1 tbsp garam masala
2 tbsp curry powder
SnP

*I began by roasting the butternut squash, since it takes such a long time to cook. This way the rest of my curry wasn't overcooked. I seasoned it with SnP and 1/2 tbsp garam masala, then roasted it at 425 for 30 minutes.

Now on to the curry. A curry really couldn't be simpler. I sauteed the chicken until almost done, added the onions, peppers and garlic and sauteed for a few more minutes. Then add the stock, coconut milk, curry powder, remaining garam masala and cauliflower. Cook until the cauliflower is cooked through but not mushy, still slightly crisp. At the very end I added the roasted butternut squash, cilantro and spinach.

I served this over a bed of brown rice which also had cilantro added to it.

This makes 5 servings of curry, with a WW point value of only 6 for a giant heaping portion!

Thanksgiving in..... March?

Most days I have our dinner plans thought out well in advance. Most days, but not yesterday. Yesterday I stood in front of our increasingly bare fridge (grocery day is rigth around the corner!) not sure of what the heck I was going to fix us for dinner. I just stood there and stared. What did we have.... we had chicken.... potatoes... check. Carrots? Okay. There's our meal. So I set about preparing what felt like one of Rachel Ray's 30-minute thanksgiving meal specials. This fantastic meal came out of what was otherwise a rather empty fridge.

Thanksgiving Chicken with Pan Gravy

Simple as can be, chicken breasts sauteed, seasoned with SnP, and poultry seasoning. I removed the chicken once fully cooked and set aside to let the juices redistribute. I "deglazed" the pan with chicken stock and let it reduce until it became almost as thick as a gravy. Seasoned with a little SnP, some onion powder and chopped parlsey, and we were good to go.

Simple Glazed Carrots:

3 cups sliced carrots

2 Tbsp splenda brown sugar

1/2 Tbsp light butter

2 Tbsp water

1 Tbsp chopped parsley

SnP

Cook on stovetop for 8-10 minutes or until carrots have reached your desired texture.

Creamy Mashed Tates

4-5 medium sized idaho potatoes

2 Tbs light butter

4 Tbs light cream cheese

4 Tbs skim milk

SnP, Chopped Parsley

You know the drill, mashed potatoes!

All in all it was a beautiful meal well rounded and healthy too!

Jazzed Up Fruit Salad

Next time you have a bunch of fruit laying around your house just screaming to be devoured before it goes bad, give this recipe a try and you'll be sure to make quick work of that fruit. I made this with kiwi, mango and apple, but any combo of fruit you have on hand would work.

Ingredients:

2 Mangoes - diced
6 Kiwis - diced
2 Apples - diced
2/3 cup fat free sour cream
1/4 cup brown sugar splenda
1 Tbsp poppy seed

Mix all ingredients together and enjoy!

This salad serves 6 and has a WW point value of 3!
Not bad for what tastes like a guilty pleasure.

Sheer Laziness is Sometimes the Answer!

Last night's dinner was born out of pure laziness. After a wonderful weekend enjoying our spring weather, neither of us had much desire to spend our last evening of the weekend slaving away in the kitchen. This meal was a case of "Leftovers Meet Crockpot". And the result was not only beautiful to look at, but delicious!

The "leftover" portion of this meal came from the Asian Slaw Salad that we enjoyed for lunch on Saturday. These were all veggies that will be leftover from a soup that I plan on making later this week.

Asian Slaw Salad

Ingredients:
Half head of purple cabbage, thinly sliced
Half head of savoy cabbage, thinly sliced
(use any cabbage you want, this is what I had on hand)
1 cup shelled edamame (soybeans)
2 carrots, shredded
1 cup cilantro chopped

Dressing:
2 oz. Newman's Own Light Sesame Ginger Viniagrette
2 Tbs rice wine vinegar
SnP, a touch of splenda

Toss everything together and voila!

Not only is this a beautifully colored dish, but with the vegetables and addition of edamame, it is extremely high in fiber and nutrients.

WW point value of 1 for a giant two cup serving!

Now for the BBQ portion of our dinner.... another one of those occassions where the slow cooker is your best friend. I make many different versions of this depending on what meat I use. For this one, I used Chicken. I often use pork tenderloin, which is also delicious and a healthier alternative to a heavier meat.

In the slow cooker, I mixed together ketchup, dry mustard, brown sugar Splenda, worcheshire sauce, SnP, and a chopped red onion. Added 3 medium sized chicken breasts and walked away.

Later that day I shredded the chicken, threw it on a bun, topped with some slaw and that was dinner.

Bon Appetit!

Who doesn't love a skillet breakfast?

We often enjoy a leisurely Sunday breakfast in our house.... well maybe it's leisurely for those who get to enjoy the act of watching such wonderous breakfast foods unfold before their very eyes, followed only by rampant devouring of said breakfast over a favorite morning news program (AKA this is how my husband enjoys his Sunday mornings). But don't get me wrong, I wouldn't have it any other way. I love the thrill of whipping up something fabulous, albeit something fabulously easy! Yesterday's skillet breakfast took minutes to prepare, and was far more healthy than anything you'd find at your favorite breakfast spot.

"Meat and Potatoes" Skillet Breakfast - serves 2

Ingredients:

2 small potatoes, diced

4 slices turkey bacon, diced (you could substitute soy crumbles if you'd like to make this meal truly vegetarian)

1 1/2 cups egg beaters

1 Tbs olive oil

Seasonings: SnP, onion powder, garlic powder

Saute potatoes in the olive oil until browned, add turkey bacon or meat substitute and saute until crisp, turn off the heat and add the egg beaters. Cook gently until the eggs are the desired consistency. Season as you go. You could throw anything in here, cheese, vegetables, etc and it would be equally delicious.

The WW point value for one serving of this super hearty breakfast is 5.

Mexican Pasole Lasagna

I woke up with the urge to creating something yesterday, something new and different, and something big that could do double duty, as I wanted to make a pan for my cousin as well as for us. That is where this recipe came from, something comfort foodie, but with the fresh flavors of spring and a bit more healthful that your mom's italian style pan. Using lean ground pork and a green sauce that is full of vegetables, this dish can be kept pretty light if you opt to use one of the great 2% cheeses that are out there these days.

Nick - Don't be afraid, this new dish survived the test run last night with flying colors. It was deeelish!

The idea for this recipe is loosely based on the south american favorite soup, pasole. The dominant flavors in pasole are pork, hominy, adobo, poblano, tomatillo. I've taken those same flavors and made a lasagna out of them instead. With the use of inexpensive vegetables and using hominy versus more meat, this dish is also economically friendly.

Ingredients:

16 oz ground pork

2 cups canned hominy, rinsed and drained

8 flour tortillas

1 cup each of diced onion, poblano, anaheim peppers

1 jalapeno

16 small tomatillos

5 gloves garlic

1 cup rough chopped cilantro

2 ripe avocado

2 cups shredded swiss

2 cups shredded monterrey jack

4 tsp olive oil

Lemon

seasonings: salt and pepper (always, in everything, I season through each step), adobo, cumin, chili powder, ancho powder, garlic and onion powder

In a saute pan, saute onions and peppers with olive oil.

In food processor, puree tomatillos (husk removed and rinsed), jalapeno, garlic, and cilantro. Puree until smooth, then add avocado. Pour puree into sautepan and saute with onions and peppers for ten minutes. Finish with lemon juice and zest to brighten flavors. Pour green sauce into a separate bowl.

Using the same pan as the sauce (do not clean in between, we'll went to pick up these extra flavors) brown the pork, Add cumin, adobo, ancho chili, chili powder, garlic and onion powder. Add hominy when pork has browned.

Begin layering the dish with a little sauce. I layered my dish as follows, but anyway you want to layer is fine. Sauce, tortilla, pork/cheese, tortilla, sauce/cheese, tortilla, etc until I was done.

Bake at 375 for 30-45 minutes or until cheese is browned.

The white sauce on top is a quick mixture of FF greek yogurt, cilantro, SnP, and lemon.

A hearty helping of this dish turned out to have a WW POINT VALUE OF 12.

BE HERE NOW ~ BE NOW HERE

Hello!! Here I am, I've done it. I've decided to start a food blog.

Why you ask? I spose it's cause I love food. I love the process of making it, dreaming up new creations for it, playing with it. And I love to share that with others.

You prolly couldn't tell by lookin' at me, but I try to eat very healthily. I love preparing vegetables and fruits, cooking with alternatives to meat, whole grains, superfoods. Cook with color and you will be cooking well. It's the occassional comfort food pizza or pad thai that are the nemesis to my waistline.

So since I'm always thinking up and trying out new recipes, I thought I's start to share some of those experiences along the way. Hopefully I'll post pretty regularly, but we'll see as we go!