Some Of My Favorites...

Yesterday I promised to add some of our simple "tricks" and pantry stocks to help get through a week staying on track! 

1. Deli whole roasted chickens can be a simple easy grab on the way home.  Serve it with a side salad with  reduced fat dressing. Another favorite side dish is a simple rice pilaf (Uncle Ben's wild rice is a family favorite).  Just be sure to remove as much of the skin and fat as possible to cut back on calories.

2. Uncooked shrimp can thaw quickly under a small trickle of cold water. I place my shrimp in a collander and then inside a larger bowl directly under the spigot inside my kitchen sink. After about 5 mins in the cold water remove the collander and gently remove any pieces of ice you can and place back under the trickle of water inside the bowl. You can make a number of dishes once thawed!

3. Stock low sodium crushed tomatoes for a quick marinara sauce. Check out my simple recipe under the Butternut Squash Lasagna blog.  For a quick pasta dish and add in some chicken/turkey italian sausage to up the protein content.

4. I have fallen in love with Johnsonville's half pork bratwursts! They totally take me back to summer grilling. While they aren't as low in calories and fat as a 100% chicken or turkey braat, they are great! I served ours with a simple shredded napa cabbage, shredded carrot, and light ranch dressing "salad".

My biggest suggestion to anyone watching what they eat is to do a lot of prep work and measuring on the weekends to avoid frustration and poor decisions during the hectic work week.  For example, use snack sized baggies to portion control mid-day snacks and servings. I love a wedge of Laughing Cow Garlic and Herb cheese with a serving of pretzel thins for a mid-day snack at work. So every weekend I buy another bag of pretzel thins I make up little "to-go" baggies of 11 pretzels. I know it sounds kinda geeky but it really prevents me from overeating or skipping a snack.

If you have a great trip, trick or idea please post it here..... I love new ideas!!!

Herbed Game Hen with Faro Pilaf

Sorry for the lag in blogging lately…it was a rough week with our youngest ill with strep throat. Our weight loss continues and I plan to post the simple things we did during the week to keep the calorie count low over the next few days. But for now…here’s what was cooking tonight

Herbed Game Hen with Faro Pilaf

To everyone reading this that thinks that they can’t make restaurant style entrees or all that “fancy stuff” I beg to differ. It just takes a little time and most importantly a bit of confidence.  I was and am still am impressed with chefs and home cooks who are skilled at deboning poultry. It is an impressive skill. However, not an impossible task for the average home cook. The keys to success are confidence, patience and a good knife.

Sundays are the day I love to take the time to make dishes that require a little more prep than I usually have time for during the week. One of my classics is a whole roasted chicken basted and rubbed with an herbed butter.  This week I decided to switch things up with two Cornish game hens, a lighter rub, and nutrient whole grain faro pilaf as a side dish.

The dinner received rave reviews! It was juicy and flavorful.

I would offer you a detailed recipe but if you know me well sometimes a collection of ideas comes to me and I forget to measure.

If you are inspired by this blog, please feel free to Google ‘brine’, ‘Cornish game hens’, or ‘faro’ to get example recipes. Below is an approximation of how I prepared dinner….sorry, it's the best I’ve got.

I thawed both Cornish game hens and prepared a brine to ensure they stayed juicy during the roasting. Brining sounds complicated and salty but it actually only minimally increases sodium content but massively increases moisture retention during the cooking process. I LOVE brining when I have time, especially during the summer grilling time.

My brine:

                In 2 cups of hot water dissolve ¾ cup to 1 cup of kosher salt and 2 Tablespoons of sugar.  Add 1 ½ cups of very cold water and a trays worth of ice cubes to the salt mixture. Make sure the solution is cold as to not accidently begin cooking the birds. Adding a hot or even warm solution would be dangerous and not safe to eat despite later cooking. Place the birds and the solution in a container that is just large enough so that the birds can be submerged in the solution.  Gallon bags inside a large container can work too.

The Herb Rub:

                2 Tablespoons of fresh thyme leaves (remove the stems)

                2 Tablespoons of rosemary leaves (remove the stems)

                2 cloves of garlic pressed or minced finely

                1 Tablespoon of olive oil

                1 teaspoon of Dijon mustard

Mince the herbs fine. Mix all ingredients together.  Set aside for the hens.

Preparing the hens:

Heat oven to 450 degrees.  Remove hens from brine and rinse under cold water. Place the breast side of the hens down on a cutting board. Cut the bird in half. Removing the ribs carefully by bending it back and looking for the natural “joints”.  Be careful of the cartilage  breastbone through the breast.  Trim off all excess skin and fat. Gently loosen the skin over the breast and place some of the rub between the breast and the skin. Rub gently to distribute the herb mixture. Repeat on both breasts. Rub remaining herb mixture over the hens.  Place on a cooking sheet or broiler pan.  Bake until golden, crispy and internal temp is at least 150 degrees. Remove from oven and allow to rest for 10 minutes.

Faro Pilaf:

 Before roasting the hens, I roasted three cups of  butternut squash, parsnips and onions all diced fine (approximately ¼ by ¼).  I mixed the diced veggies with 1 teaspoon of kosher salt, ½ teaspoon of freshly ground black pepper, 2 teaspoons of olive oil, fresh rosemary, fresh thyme, and a splash of balsamic vinegar.  Spread in a single layer on a cookie sheet and roast at 350 degrees until veggies are tender and slightly browned.

Cook Faro according to package directions. I started with 1 ½ cups of faro and 3 ½ cups of chicken stock.  Check the faro often as cooking times will vary. When it is slightly chewy but not tough, remove from heat and drain any excess liquid.

Mix in the veggies, splash of balsamic vinegar, ½ tsp of soy sauce and toss well.

Spinach and Butternut Squash Lasagna

If you haven’t heard or experienced, it is COLD here in Minnesota. I tried explaining negative temperatures to my kids and they thought I was kidding. Needless to say, the temperature dropped significantly over the weekend. When the temps drop my need for warm comfort foods rises. There is nothing like a carb coma to ward off frostbite. Oh, who am I kidding!! I didn’t even leave the house on Sunday.   

Additionally, I am currently refusing to acknowledge the disgusting amount of pounds my husband has been able to drop and instead enjoying the dozen I’ve been able to shed. We’re already feeling better, moving easier, and, most importantly, we’re not starving ourselves.

Sunday night dinner was no exception to this. We ventured out to our first truly meatless meal.  While we won’t be moving to a vegetarian lifestyle any time soon the meal was wonderful and very satisfying.   I am marking this as a successful step in my 12 step “veggie-hater” recovery program.

This recipe makes plenty to be sure to invite some of your meat-loving friends and family!  

Spinach and Butternut Squash Lasagna

This recipe does take some time and some prep work so I recommend saving it for a weekend or a day off. Also, it is freezer friendly so feel free to double the amounts and make one to freeze. (Freeze the second one before the baking step and allow it to thaw in the fridge overnight before baking)

I started my sauce first

Quick Marinara Sauce

This is a great staple sauce to have on hand or memorized for any of your favorite Italian meals. Premade sauces can have a LOT of hidden calories, fat and sodium.

2 12.5 ounce cans of fire roasted diced tomatoes

1 12.5 can of crushed tomatoes

1/3 cup of fresh basil, chopped fine (fresh is best but 1 tablespoon of dried will work)

1 tablespoon dried diced onion

1 tablespoon dried parsley

1 tablespoon dried oregano

2 cloves of garlic minced fine or pressed

1 teaspoon sugar

1 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon balsamic vinegar (totally recommend splurging on good stuff here)

½ teaspoon fresh ground black pepper

Add in order listed to a sauté or sauce pan and allow to simmer for a minimum of 25 minutes. I don't like huge chunks of tomato so I smashed the sauce lightly with a potato masher (you could use a food processor or a whisk to break up the larger pieces). 

I allow my sauce to simmer while I prep the rest of the ingredients for the lasagna.

Spinach and Butternut Squash Lasagna

4 cups of fresh spinach, stems removed

2 cups of butternut squash, diced small

1 small onion

2 cloves of garlic minced fine or pressed

1 Tablespoon olive oil

7 ounces of fat free Ricotta cheese

2 cups of low fat sharp Provolone cheese, diced or shredded

½ cup shredded parmesan cheese

1 egg

2 teaspoons of dried parsley flakes

1 box of Barilla no-boil lasagna noodles

Quick Marinara Sauce (above)

1/3 cup of mozzarella cheese, low fat

In a sauté pan add the oil and onions over medium high heat. Sweat the onions for about 5 minutes then add the garlic and cook for another 2 minutes. Add in the spinach and toss with the onion, garlic, and oil. Allow the spinach to just wilt slightly and remove to a bowl (approximately 4 minutes).

Put the butternut squash in a microwave safe bowl, cover, and nuke for four minutes until tender.

Mix the Ricotta, provolone, parmesan, egg and parsley together in a third bowl.

Heat the oven to 350 degrees.

Spray a 9x13 cake pan with a non-stick cooking spray. Spread a ½ cup of the sauce across the bottom of the pan.  Place three “sheets” of the pasta across the sauce. Be sure to leave lots of room for expansion. 

 

Spread the cheese mixture on top of the noodles then sprinkle on a third of the squash. Add another ½ cup of the sauce over the squash. Top with another layer of noodles. Spread the cheese mixture on top of the noodles then sprinkle on a third of the spinach onion mixture. Add another ½ cup of the sauce over the squash. Top with another layer of noodles and repeat until all the ingredients are gone. I was left with one extra lasagna noodle.

Cover with aluminum foil and bake at 350 degrees for 50 minutes. Remove foil and sprinkle on 1/3 cup of mozzarella cheese and broil for 10 minutes until cheese is melted and bubbly.

Allow the lasagna to set for about 15 minutes before you cut and serve.

Hoisin Shrimp and "Fried" Brown Rice

We love Chinese food, especially take-out on a busy night! It’s usually breaded in something, deep fried, and smothered in a sauce. To keep with our healthier lifestyle, I changed out a few ingredients in our favorites and thoroughly enjoyed the results. I would have upped the spice amount but I wanted to include the kids in the meal tonight. I would encourage you to play around with spices like white pepper, crushed red pepper, Chinese five spice, and ginger to add some punch and heat.

I replaced the usual white rice with a brown rice. I did a little research on the two and found that while there is a little difference in the calorie count there was a big difference in the nutrients and the way the body processes the rice.  According to the Mayo site and several others, white rice causes a high spike in blood sugar levels while brown rice does not. Brown rice is reported to be a much better choice for people battling type 2 diabetes.

I also added in some nutrients with the veggies and omitted the usual fried egg. I would encourage everyone to maximize the veggies they might have on hand (green onion, spinach, celery, etc) and to suit personal tastes…and feel free to add back in the egg based on your preferences and calorie needs.

Just be sure that if you’re going to add calories be sure they are worth it and bringing something else to the party like iron, vitamins, or potassium.

Have fun and Happy Eating!

“Fried” Brown Rice

1 cup uncooked brown rice short grain (feel free to substitute Uncle Ben’s instant brown rice)

3 strips of bacon, diced

1/4 cup onion diced

1/3 cup shredded carrots

1/3 cup of shredded cabbage

1/3 cup bean sprouts

1 clove of garlic, pressed or minced

2 tsp olive oil

1 tablespoon low sodium soy sauce

Cook the brown rice according to package directions, omitting any salt or fat.  Sauté the bacon until some of the fat begins to render out (liquefy). Add the onion and garlic cook for 5 minutes. Add in the oil, carrots, cabbage and sprouts. Sauté for 7 minutes.  Add in the cooked rice and the soy sauce. Stir/fold well until all ingredients are incorporated. Cover and remove from the heat.

While the rice rests cook the shrimp

Hoisin Shrimp

1 pound of large deveined shrimp uncooked and pealed

2 Tablespoons of Hoisin sauce, divided

Toss the shrimp in 1 tablespoon of the sauce. Coat well. Place on a lightly sprayed (non-stick cooking spray) grill or broil pan.  Place under the broiler for four minutes (depending on shrimp size). Turn and brush on extra hoisin sauce. Cook for another three minutes. Shrimp should be pink.

Place 1 ½ cup of the rice mixture into a bowl and top with several shrimp and serve warm!

Steak Frites with Asparagus

Steak Frites with Asparagus

Pan Seared Strip Steak

I use a cast iron skillet and a hot oven when it’s too cold to grill outside. The results are very good but still second place to my husband’s grilling!

We had 2 approximately 12 ounce strip steaks left over from some tasty light Philly steak sandwiches. I enjoy using strip steaks because they usually have light fat marbling through the meat to keep it moist and has a decent beefy flavor.  

I like to let my steaks “warm up” before searing or even grilling. This helps create an even cooking and avoids an overcooked crust with a “blue” or raw center.  I season my steaks with salt, pepper, granulated onion and garlic and allow them to sit on the counter for 15-20 minutes.

Bring your skillet up until it begins to “smoke” just a little. Drop in your steaks and sear them for 5 minutes. Flip the steaks and move the pan to a hot oven ( 400-425 degrees) for approximately 7-10 minutes depending on how well done you want your steaks.

Press on the steak to test for firmness; the tighter or firmer the flesh is the more well done it is.

Spicy Sweet Potato Fries

1 sweet potato scrubbed

1 Tablespoon olive oil

½- ¼  teaspoon ground chipotle pepper, amount depends on how spicy you want your fries

1 teaspoon salt

½ teaspoon fresh ground pepper

¼ teaspoon dry curry powder (optional)

Heat oven to 400 degrees. Cut the sweet potato into ½” by 4” strips (approximately). Place into a large gallon sized sealable plastic bag. Add in the remaining ingredients and toss well to coat.  Place on a cookie sheet that has been sprayed with cooking spray in a single layer. Flip fries after 30 minutes. Bake for 45-60 minutes until golden brown.

Oven Roasted Asparagus

One bunch of fresh asparagus, remove the woody bottom 1”-3” of the stalks

½ Tablespoon of olive oil

Salt and Pepper

Lay out the asparagus on a cookie or baking sheet. Drizzle on the asparagus and sprinkle liberally with salt and pepper. Toss the asparagus, oil and seasonings on the baking sheet. Ensure oil and seasonings coat the asparagus well. Place in the oven under the broiler (do not place your oven rack at its highest position). Roast the asparagus approximately 7 minutes. Watch carefully for any burning and be sure to turn the asparagus throughout roasting.

Oven Fried Halibut

I'm pretty picky about fish. After a less than good experience with a mushy baked fish covered in some white sauce I haven't been a fan of baked or broiled white fish. I'm a huge fan of lovely crispy fried fish but that doesnt exactly fit with our good eating commitment so I needed to tweak my usual recipe.

I turned to halibut which is a very firm nice fish. I was impressed with turnout despite using a frozen fish because the fresh price was rather high.

Wanting a crunchy topping I turned to panko (japense breadcrumbs). They are crispy without any extra fat. Usually fried fish is coated in milk, flour, eggs, and then crumbs. I wanted to skip the flour and reduce the fat of using full eggs. I skipped the milk and flour reduced my usual two eggs to one egg and one egg white.

To keep the cooking fats at a minimum I seared the coated fish and finished them in the oven.

Here's the full recipe:

Oven Fried Halibut

12 ounces of Halibut - mine came as two six ounce filets
1 egg and 1 egg white
1 cup of panko breadcrumbs
1 teaspoon granulated garlic
1 teaspoon granulated onion
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon fresh cracked black pepper
1/2 teaspoon ground rosemary
1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
3 Tablespoons olive oil

Place the egg and egg white in a shallow dish and lightly beat with a splash of water.
In another shallow dish mix the panko and seasonings together.
Heat the oven to 375 degrees.
Heat the oil in a skillet.
Dip the top and bottom of each filet in the egg mixture and then the panko mixture.
Place each fillet in the pan and cook just until the panko begins to turn golden, approximately 5 minutes on each side.
Remove from pan and place on a cookie or baking sheet and move to the oven for approximately 6 minutes.
The fish will be firm to the touch and should easily flake with a fork.
Serve warm.

Play around with the spices you like the best. We felt the rosemary added a terrific flavor but you could definately add in some heat or some lemon zest for a new twist.

Creamy Spinach and Pancetta Shells

On freezing Minnesota nights (like tonight), I always turn to warm creamy comfort foods. I was craving something reminiscent of the hot dishes Midwesterners are famous for. You know the ones; carb laden smothered with a fattening cream of something soup sauce.  To cut fat and keep flavor I turned to my favorite friends; cured pork, garlic, and the onion family.  For the creamy sauce, I used 1% milk, bit of half and half for fat and a flour slurry.  Not sure what a slurry is? Don't worry it’s a little like making paper mache “paste” but thinner. The directions are simple and below in the recipe.

So not only did we get the fat reduced down and the flavor in but I needed to get some veggies worked in.  If you know me well or have been following along you know I am NOT a veggie eater and am always looking for ways to sneak them in on myself. Yes, I am fully aware how strange that sounds. J

Thankfully I had picked up a bag of baby spinach at the store recently.  I assumed that adding it in to the creamy flavorful sauce would be reminiscent of creamed spinach (and thus would taste great).  

In the end, I also added in some chopped up left over chicken breast from another meal for some added protein.

Creamy Spinach and Pancetta Shells

1 12 ounce box of small shells (I used a Barilla white fiber product for added fiber content) uncooked

4 cups of raw baby spinach chopped

3 ounces of pancetta diced

1 bunch of green onions (chopped up 2/3^rd’s of the stalk)

2 cloves of garlic minced

¼ cup plus 1 tablespoon all-purpose flour

3 ½ cups of 1% milk, divided

¼ cup half-n-half

½ shredded parmesan cheese

Salt and pepper

Heat oven to 400 degrees

In a Dutch oven, spray with non-stick cooking spray. Heat over medium-high heat. Add pancetta, onions and garlic to the pan and sauté for 7 minutes or until some fat has rendered out of the pancetta and the onions are tender. Be careful to not burn the garlic.

While sautéing, bring a large pot of water to boil. Cook the noodles until they are almost tender. They will finish cooking in the sauce in the oven later.

In a small bowl measure out the flour and slowly add ¾ cup of the milk to the flour being careful to work out the lumps. This is your thickening slurry.

Add the flour mixture, remaining milk, and half-n-half to the Dutch oven pancetta mixture. Bring up to a simmer being careful to stir frequently and avoid the milk burning to the bottom. Simmer for approximately 10 minutes until the sauce begins to thicken.  Add in the cheese.  Add in the spinach and cooked noodles. Place the pot in the oven uncovered for 15-20 minutes until golden and bubbly. Serve warm.

1 ½ cup = approximately 500 calories