Friday, June 29, 2007

Hummus & Pepper Salad

Mmmnn, after doing Carole's class today, I played around and tried a new salad combo tonight. Yummmmm.

Hummus & Pepper Salad
  • Caesar Lite Bag Salad
  • 1/8 c Hummus
  • 1 red pepper
  • 1/4 avocado
  • 1 TB olive oil

Cut pepper into slices, cook on the grill with olive oil and garlic, until the skin of the pepper browns in some places (I did this at the same time as some crab legs). Cut pepper into small pieces.

Put salad in bowl. Add pepper, avocado, hummus, and olive oil. Add part of the dressing from the bag salad. Toss well.

2 servings - 4

Monday, June 25, 2007

More Recipes from this Week

Finishing off my recipe post below. I did pretty well today with the Kickboxing class at the Dell Gym (EEEEvil). I feel like I'm making progress with my exercise routine when I can finish that class without puking.

More Recipes...................

Here's what I made tonight:
Baked Turkey and Jack Chimichangas
  • 1/2 lb ground turkey breast
  • 16 oz can fat free refried beans
  • 1 + 3/4c Salsa
  • 4.5 oz can diced green chile's
  • 1 tsp chili powder
  • 3 TB scallions, thinly sliced
  • 1c shredded reduced fat Monterey Jack cheese
  • 8 large fat free or wheat tortillas
  • 1c salsa
  • 1/2 c fat free sour cream

1) Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

2) Add turkey to skillet and cook over medium heat until browned. Drain excess liquid from pan, then add beans, 1.75 c salsa, chilies, chili powder, and scallions. Cook until heated through, then stir in cheese.

3) Spoon filling evenly into 8 tortillas (approx 1/2 c each). Fold tortillas closed over the filling, place in baking dish coated with cooking spray. Bake 20 min at 350 degrees, or until crispy and brown.

4) Serve chimichangas with 2TB salsa and 1TB sour cream.

5 points each.

Open Faced Turkey Patty Melt

  • 1tsp olive oil
  • 1c vertically sliced Vidalia or other sweet onion
  • 1/4 c fat free ricotta cheese
  • 1.5 tsp Worstershire sauce
  • 1/2 tsp black pepper
  • 1lb ground turkey breast
  • 1 large egg white
  • Cooking spray
  • 4x 1oz slices reduced fat swiss cheese (such as alpine lace)
  • 4 slices light rye bread
  • 1/4 c country style dijon mustard

1) Heat oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium heat. Add onion to pan. Cook 5 min or until browned, stirring occasionally. Transfer onion to a bowl.

2) Preheat broiler.

3) Combine cheese, pepper, worstershire, turkey and egg white. Divide into 4 equal portions, shaping each into a patty. Return pan to stove, heat on medium, add cooking spray, and add patties to pan. Cook 4 min per side or until brown.

4) While patties are cooking, toast 4 bread slices.

5) Assemble sandwiches - each gets 1 slice bread, 1 TB mustard, 1 turkey patty, 1/4 of onions, 1 slice cheese. Place sandwiches onto baking tray, broil for 2-4 min, or until cheese is melted and bubbly.

Serving - 1 sandwich, 7 points (348 cal, 9g fat, 1.5g fiber)

Peel & Eat Shrimp & Cocktail Sauce

  • 1 - 1.5 lb uncooked shrimp
  • cocktail sauce
  • 3 ears corn on the cob

1) Take two pots, fill both with boiling water and place on stove to boil. In the first pot that boils, place the corn. Continue boiling corn until dinner is fully ready, about 20 min.

2)When 2nd pot boils, put shrimp into pot, cook for 3-5 min, or until shrimp rise to the top of the water. Place shrimp in a collander and drain. Then, put ~20 ice cubes in with the shrimp and allow shrimp to cool.

3) While shrimp is cooling, place cocktail sauce into serving dishes, and take corn out of water. Get a bowl for shrimp shells and serve.

3 servings, 4 pts for shrimp, 1pt for corn = 5 points

Sunday, June 24, 2007

This Week's Menus

Hey there,
I gained 3lbs last week, with my son's 5th birthday party, lack of exercise, and generally cheating on my weight loss plan. So, this week, I have to get on the stick with cooking - that always helps me eat a bit better. I've also been exercising like a madwoman this weekend - I did a 5-mi run/walk with my son this morning. It's too sweet to see him trying to keep up with me - it makes me feel like I'm actually setting a decent example. Anyway, as usual, I chose some dishes to cook this week - this is what's on my menu for this week:
  • Sausage, potato, and onion skillet dinner
  • Penne with Asparagus, Spinach and Bacon
  • Peel & Eat Shrimp with cocktail sauce
  • Turkey Patty Melts
  • Baked turkey & jack cheese chimichangas

Recipes.....................

Sausage, Potato and Onion Skillet Dinner:

  • Cooking Spray
  • 14-oz Light smoked sausage, like Healthy Choice, sliced
  • 1 sweet onion, cut in half and sliced
  • 20-oz package pre-sliced red potato wedges, like Simply Potatoes
  • 1c fat free chicken broth
  • 1/2 c. light beer or Sprite

1) Heat a large nonstick skillet over medium high heat. Coat pan with cooking spray. Add sausage, and cook, stirring often, until sausage is nicely browned. Take sausage out of pan, set aside for later.

2) Re-coat pan with cooking spray, Add onion and potato. Cook until brown, about 10 min. Add sausage back to pan, add broth and beer. Cook until liquid is almost completely absorbed, stirring occasionally.

Yield: 5 servings, 1c each, 4 points (199 cal, 3.6g fat, 3g fiber)

Penne With Asparagus, Spinach and Bacon

  • 8 oz uncooked penne pasta (I've been loving Dreamfield's pasta lately - same nutritionals as wheat pasta but tastes better)
  • 2 bacon slices
  • 1/2 c chopped sweet onion
  • 1lb asparagus, sliced into 1-in pieces
  • 1.5 c fat free chicken broth
  • 4c bagged baby spinach
  • 1/2 c (2oz) shredded parmesan cheese, divided
  • 1/4 tsp black pepper

1) Cook pasta according to package directions. Drain, keep warm.

2) Cook bacon in a large nonstick skillet, until crisp. Remove from pan, crumble. Add onion to drippings in pan, saute one minute. Add asparagus and broth to pan. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer until asparagus is crisp-tender. Add Pasta, spinach, half of cheese, and pepper. Toss well. Sprinkle with remaining cheese and crumbled bacon.

Yield: 4 servings (1.5c pasta, 1TB cheese)

7 pts (363 cal, 10 g fat, 4.6g fiber)

Getting tired now, will write the rest of these recipes in tomorrow night. Man, my legs are sore from that run today. It was hot, and a longer distance than I'm used to.