Thai Friday

First things first. My baby is broken. Not Midget or Peanut, but my beloved DSLR. For some reason, it just pooped out in the middle of our vacation in Montana. I guess it just couldn't handle the utter gorgeousness of my home state. But I prefer to blame it on the hubby, since he was taking pictures of me being a total bad*ss on a jetski when the camera died. Yeah. I'm awesome like that...

So, not like you're used to super awesome pictures on this blog, but you can expect some super crummy pictures for at least the next few weeks. I'm just praying that my camera is back before the turdlets' birthday party, which is in less than a month.

Anyway, remember my little bitty Thai Container Garden? Well, this is what it looks like now!












Thanks to our lovely plant-sitting neighbors, the container didn't die while I was gone for almost two months. As a thank you, I planted them their own Thai container. I ended up removing two pepper plants from this one, so one went into the garden and one went into their pot, I separated one of the Thai basil, and then transplanted the lemongrass that I propagated. Their container looks lovely as well, and I am a bit surprised that all of their plants thrived after such a brutal transplanting and the fact that I rooted out their lemongrass!

First order of business was to snip all the basil flowers. The flowers smell lovely and I'm thinking it will make fabulous Thai Basil Flower Vinegar. I'm steeping most of the flowers in plain white vinegar for a few weeks and will report back to you whether or not it was a successful endeavor. I'm thinking it will make a neat gift for friends.

I'd like to take a quick second to brag about my first garden harvest of the season.

Isn't it gorgeous?? Grape tomatoes (the orange ones were an awesome surprise), cubanelle peppers, banana peppers, red bell pepper, crookneck squash, a better boy tomato, and some OBSCENELY large cucumbers. I've since pulled gobs more tomatoes, but the cucumbers are slow to grow after supporting those giants!


Next, it was time to put that gorgeous Thai pot to good use! For dinner on Friday, it was Gai Pad Prik Khing (Chicken and Vegetables in a Chili Ginger Curry) and Som Tam-inspired salad (Green Papaya Salad) made with zucchini instead of green papaya. Just so you know, I'm not attesting to the authenticity of these Thai dishes, but they are DELICIOUS!











The curry recipe is all my own--a mishmash of many recipes I found online and using what I had on hand. The Zucchini Ribbon Salad is from Aarti Party on foodnetwork. I would highly suggest you start with only ONE tablespoon of fish sauce in the salad and then add more to your liking. I really love cooked fish sauce, but raw fish sauce is, well, fishy. Just take a piece of zucchini and dip it in the sauce (before you dump it on all the zucchini) and then add more fish sauce if you want it.

Here's my curry recipe. Have lots of beverage nearby and reserve a bit of chicken and veggies before you add the curry if you have kids. Midget took a bite, said "YUM!" and then spit it out on her plate once the heat hit. Peanut kept shoving it in his mouth, chewing, then crying, then gulping his water. I'm not a two-meal sort of family, but they both got some ham to eat after the hubby pointed out that there are some adults that wouldn't eat my spicey curry.

Wusses...

Gai Pad Prik Khing

2 Tbs Vegetable Oil, divided
1 small Onion
1 Thai Dragon Chili (VERY optional, as the curry paste is quite hot anyway) cut into very fine mince
1 cup diced Zucchini
1 cup diced Eggplant
2 Tbs Fish Sauce
10 oz boneless skinless Chicken Breast, cut into thin strips
2 Tbs Prik Khing Curry Paste (recommended brand Mae Sri)
1 can Light Coconut Milk
Cooked Jasmine Rice

Heat 1 Tbs oil in a large skillet with high sides (at least 4 inches tall) over high heat. Add vegetables and saute for 3-4 minutes. Add fish sauce and then chicken and saute for another 3-4 minutes until chicken is no longer pink. Remove chicken and veggies to a plate and turn heat down to medium-high.

Heat remaining oil in skillet and add curry. Fry curry until fragrant, about 2-3 minutes. Add chicken and veggies back in and stir until coated with curry paste. Stir in can of coconut milk, reduce heat to medium-low and heat through.

Serve over Jasmine Rice.

Birthday Beer Can Chicken

There's something decidedly obscene about Beer Can Chicken. I can't help but guffaw every time I look at that poor chicken with a beer can shoved up its hoohah... *snort*

However, the moist deliciousness of the chicken is enough to overlook how weird it looks to have a chicken sitting straight up in your oven.

Today is Jdub-the-hub's birthday. He had to be out of town for work today, so we celebrated this weekend. The menu was fantastically trailer-trash, if I do say so myself. Yuengling Chicken, Dijon Roasted Potatoes, Peas, homemade vanilla ice cream, and.....

wait for it....

TWINKIES! Yes, my husband requeted Twinkies instead of birthday cake. The ease factor of making the cake for him--rip open box, rip open plastic, set twinkies on plate, and insert candles--was fantastic.










Beer Can Chicken

4 lb Chicken, washed and thoroughly dried
1 Tbs Kosher Salt
1 Tbs Dark Brown Sugar
1 Tbs Smoked Paprika
2 tsp Black Pepper
1 can of Beer

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.

Make rub by mixing salt, brown sugar, paprika, and pepper together in a small bowl and set aside. Be sure chicken is completely dry on the outside or your rub won't stick to the chicken. Sprinkle about 1/3 of the rub inside the chicken and then cover the rest of the bird with the rub.

Open your beer can and drink about 1/3 of it. Yummmmmmy. We used Yuengling and it was AMAZING!!

Now comes the fun part. Stick that chicken on top of the beer can with the legs and the beer can acting as a tripod. Giggle a little, then bend the wings back so it looks like the chicken is crossing its arms behind it's non-existent head.

Roast for 1 to 1 1/2 hours or until a thermometer stuck into the chicken's thigh reads 165.

Go turn on some Nascar (just kidding hubby), cut your hair into a mullet, and ENJOY!

Midge sure loves her Daddy. And so do I.

Homemade Cranberry Sauce

Here's a quick pic of Peanut rockin' a wifebeater. Isn't he just adorable?? I fall more and more in love with him everyday. He'll be THREE months old this weekend. Wow... I'm speechless. Okay, not really. Like that would EVER happen.

I'm normally a pretty adventurous cook, but when it comes to Turkey Day, I don't experiment much. I made that mistake once and the results were so disasterous I have blocked the details out completely. All I remember was the horrified look on my husband's face when he tasted the gravy and the silence that continued for the remainder of the meal. After the shock wore off and he was able to speak again, he asked if I could just do traditional Thanksgiving every year.

A large part of my husband's job is talking to farmers all over the country. A great perk is that he often comes home with large amounts of free fruits and vegetables. When he showed up with TEN pounds of cranberries a few weeks ago, I knew right away what I would use part of the cranberries for--Cranberry Sauce! And no, not the kind that goes sssllluuuurrrrrp when it comes out of the can and keeps the can shape, although I totally dig that stuff too.

When I posted to my blog a few years ago about fresh cranberries, I was surprised to see how many people hadn't made anything with fresh cranberries or even eaten anything made with fresh cranberries! We always had fresh cranberry sauce with our Thanksgiving dinners. But I grew up in Montana and everyone knows Montanans are weird...except me. I am blissfully normal. Yeah, that was a lie.

Once you see how fast and easy it is, you'll wonder why you've never made it before. But the real payoff will come when you taste it! Homemade Cranberry Sauce has a fresher and tangier taste and a MUCH better texture than that gelatinous cranberry goop from the can! Plus, when you make your own, you control the sugar. You can make it as sweet or as tart as you want!

Lots of people like to fancy up their cranberry sauce with oranges or pecans or crazy spices, but I am a purist. Well, not really, I just like cranberry sauce to taste like cranberries. I've made Cranberry Chutney before and that was AMAZING, but it just didn't have the zing and bite of plain old cranberry sauce.

There are three ingredients to make this folks! THREE!! How much easier can a recipe get? I'll tell you--not much!! Take a look at this stuff and tell me it doesn't look 100 times better than the canned stuff!


Homemade Cranberry Sauce

1 cup water
12 oz (3 cups) fresh cranberries (most bags sold in the store are 12 oz--look for them in the produce section)
1/2 - 3/4 c sugar or sugar substitute (I used Splenda, but you could also use frozen grape juice concentrate)

Rinse and pick through your cranberries. Most bags are fairly clean, with just the occasional leaf or stem. Be sure to look for soft or mushy berries. Your cranberries should be firm and smooth, just like my abs. *snort* Set them aside.

In a pot with tall sides, bring the water to a boil over medium-high heat. Dump in the cranberries. Be sure to take a cool picture.

You'll begin to hear popping, but don't worry, your kids aren't stepping on the bubble wrap from their Christmas presents you ordered online and stashed in the closet. It's just the cranberries exploding as they cook. Stir occasionally and cook for 10 minutes or until the berries get to the point where a spoon pulled through leaves a line that doesn't fill itself in.


Turn off the heat and immediately add 1/2 cup of your sweetener.

Stir to combine and add more sweetener if you desire. Be careful tasting the sauce--it is HOT! Although, if you need me to tell you that, maybe you shouldn't be using a stove...

VOILA! You are done! Now you can chortle at all your city friends when they say they've never had fresh cranberries! If your friends tell you you've suddenly become snobby, you can blame it on me. Go ahead! I can take it!

This recipe will make approximately 1 pint. I doubled it and canned the remainder. Well, I actually quadrupled it because I did two double batches. Remember--I had ten pounds of those little suckers! I also made Cranberry Breakfast Bread, which is deeee-licious and you MUST make it! Unless you want to weigh less than 689,114,285 pounds like me. You could also try my Cranberry Salsa.

To can the sauce, process pint jars for 15 minutes and quarts for 20. For altitudes above 3,000 feet, process 20 for pints and 30 for quarts. Above 6,000 feet (Hello Rocky Mountain-ers--I was TOTALLY kidding about that Montana thing--sort of), 25 for pints and 35 for quarts.

Hubby, Midget, Peanut, the Wieners, my sexy pants with the extra elastic, and I will be heading to my Sister-in-law's house for Thanksgiving and several pints of cranberry sauce will be making the trip also. I don't expect any of it to return with us, except maybe on a shirt of mine...

HALLELUJAH! Cheddar Ale Soup!

I'm finally feeling better! I'm sure that one of these days, I'll get myself back into a regular schedule with blogging. I've been cooking again and doing a GREAT BIG craft project that I just finished this weekend and will post later this week.

If you've been hanging around here longer than a few months, you know I've been on a pretty successful weight loss journey (thanks to Weight Watchers) since November of 2008. Before I found out I was pregnant, I had lost 46 pounds. By the end of my first trimester, I lost another ten pounds--that's how gross I felt!! In some ways, it was quite exciting to see that number keep dropping, but also a bit horrifying. My doctor wasn't worried (and I still have at least another 20 pounds to lose in addition to whatever I gain once I deliver baby number two), so I tried not to be worried either.

I'm still trying to make good food choices a majority of the time, since I am determined not to wind up where I started. But I am allowing myself to indulge every once in a while and that's where this recipe comes in. It is UBER delicious, but not even close to a recipe I'd normally eat anything more than an itty bitty cup once a month! But for now, I shall eat a cup for lunch and a cup for dinner and maybe even a cup for breakfast. Uh, bleh, garp, urg. Nope. Still a little sensitive at times.

Now, without further ado...











Cheddar Ale Soup

1 tsp vegetable or extra light olive oil
1 large onion, chopped finely
4 carrots, chopped finely
4 celery ribs, chopped finely
3 cloves garlic, minced or pressed
1 stick butter
1/2 cup flour
16 oz pale ale, such as Bass or Sierra Nevada
3 cups chicken stock
1 tsp salt
1 quart (4 cups) half & half
6 cups sharp cheddar cheese (block cheese that you buy and shred yourself melts MUCH better than pre-shredded cheese—it’s totally worth the work)
1/4 cup flour
optional toppings: sliced green onions, crumbled bacon, popped popcorn, crackers, croutons, whatever!

Heat oil in skillet over medium to medium-high heat. Add carrots, onions, celery, and a pinch of salt. Sweat the vegetables for 8 –10 minutes or until the vegetables are soft. Add garlic and cook for another 2 minutes. Remove veggies and puree in a blender or food processor, if desired. I like a little bit of texture, so I just used an immersion blender once the veggies were added back into the soup.

Melt butter over medium-high heat in the same pan. Add flour and cook for 5 to 7 minutes or until the roux is a golden color. Slowly add the chicken stock and beer, wisking to combine. Add salt, cooked vegetables, and stir.

Shred cheese and toss with 1/4 cup flour. This helps the cheese melt properly.

Add half and half to pan, stirring constantly and heat until the mixture is hot, but DO NOT BOIL. Remove from heat and stir in the cheese, one handful at a time, stirring after each handful to incorporate.

Ta-daaaaa! Your delicious soup is ready to eat, but tastes even better reheated! Top with whatever your heart desires and enjoy!

Roasted Butternut Squash Bisque

I have my daughter-in-law to thank for this delicious recipe. I asked her what I should make for dinner for a friend who just had a baby and she suggested this recipe. I DETEST sweet squash soups and was a little bit concerned that it would be sweet, considering it has apples and apple juice in it. I switched out fat free half and half for heavy cream and I added the rosemary and coriander to make sure there would be a little more savory flavor--just in case.

It was delicious and only slightly sweet--perfection! There's something to be said for having a daughter-in-law in culinary school!

Butternut squash is so cheap right now and this delicious soup is perfect for chasing away the winter chills. It's filling and is only 1 WW point per serving (3/4 cup).










Roasted Butternut Squash Bisque

1 small/medium Butternut squash (approx 2 lbs)
2 Tbsp butter
1 C onions, diced
½ C celery, diced
½ C carrots, diced
½ C apples, diced
2 C chicken or vegetable broth
1 C apple juice or cider
1 tsp fresh rosemary, minced or 1/4 tsp dried
1/4 tsp ground coriander
½ C fat free half and half
Salt and black pepper to taste

1. Slice squash in half, scoop seeds out (seeds may be toasted and used for garnish) and place cut side down on a greased cookie sheet and roast in 400 degree oven for 45 minutes or until tender. When tender, flip squash over, let cool slightly, and scoop out the roasted squash meat.

2. In soup pot over medium high heat, add olive oil and onions, celery, carrots, and apples. Cook for about 4 minutes or until softened and sweet smelling. Add the roasted butternut squash, the chicken broth, apple juice/cider, rosemary, and coriander. Bring to a boil, and simmer for about 15 minutes until all ingredients are tender.

3. Transfer soup to blender or use a hand blender to puree soup to desired consistency. Finish by whisking in the half and half. Season to taste with salt and pepper and serve hot.

Flat Turkey

My Stepson's wedding was Thanksgiving weekend, so we did a very simple Thanksgiving on Wednesday night. I didn't start cooking until about 4 and we ate at 7.

I spatchcocked our turkey, which means you cut out the backbone and break the breastbone so the turkey lays flat. Our 12 lb turkey cooked in 70 minutes! I know y'all have probably moved on and are getting ready for Christmas, but since it's all fairly non-traditional, this meal would be perfect for Christmas as well.

Menu:
High Roast Butterflied Turkey
Savory Butternut Squash Dressing
Mrs. Hoggle's Stuffed Cranberry Sauce
Roasted Brussels Sprouts (no recipe--just halve sprouts and toss with olive oil and balsamic vinegar and roast at 425 degrees for 20-25 minutes and top with toasted almonds)
Frozen Pumpkin Mousse Pie

Lusciously Lowercal Chicken Spanakopita

I figured I'd better redeem myself after posting that last disgusting-looking pile of goo. Yes, we ate them. No, they weren't as disgusting as they looked. Maybe I'll try again with a thicker dough instead of a batter.

This should remind you that I AM a cooking prodigy in an ever-shrinking platinum blonde package. hehe




So you might be going, "Chicken Spank-a-what??"







Spanakopita is Greek for Spinach Pie. Traditional Spanakopita is FATTENING--buttery layers of phyllo dough stuffed full of eggs, onions fried in olive oil, and full-fat feta cheese. It normally comes in around 12 Weight Watcher points (approximately 500 calories and almost FORTY grams of fat), but I made several small changes and kept the dish lip-smacking delicious and cut the WW points down to FIVE!

Phyllo dough is a mystery to some and many people are frightened to work with it, but by using cooking spray instead of melted butter, it not only cuts the calories, but it's as easy as (spinach) pie!

*bah dah bomp-chhhhhhh* Thank you folks, I'll be here all week.

By the way, you can find phyllo dough in any decent-sized grocery store freezer aisle, usually in a box containing two 8 oz twin packs of dough. Be sure to let it thaw out completely at room temperature or you will hate me forever for suggesting working with phyllo is easy.

This recipe is simple enough to make for a weeknight dinner and impressive enough to make for company! This dish manages to stay lowercal and adds ground chicken to make it a complete meal. Pair it with a salad dressed with Red Wine Vinegar, a sprinkle of garlic salt, and just a tish of Extra Virgin Olive Oil and you've got yourself a meal you'll want to scream OPA!! after!

Lusciously Lowercal Chicken Spanakopita


Nonstick Cooking Spray (butter or olive oil flavor recommended)
1 teaspoon Olive Oil
1 large Onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced or pressed
1 lb Ground Chicken
2 10 oz. packages frozen chopped Spinach, thawed and squeezed to drain liquid
1 teaspoon Salt
1/2 teaspoon Black Pepper
dash of Nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon Dried Oregano (or 1 Tablespoon Fresh)
1/4 teaspoon Crushed Red Pepper Flakes
1 cup Lowfat or Light Feta Cheese Crumbles
1 cup Egg Beaters
8 oz (9 x 14 in) Phyllo Dough, THAWED COMPLETELY


Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

Over medium high heat, heat a large skillet and add Olive Oil. Add onion and cook for 5 minutes. Add garlic and cook for 1 minute, then add chicken. Cook until no longer pink, approximately 8 minutes. Add spinach and all spices. Cook for 3-4 minutes or until there is no liquid coming out of the spinach.

Remove the spinach mixture from the heat and set aside while you are working with the phyllo.

Spray a 9 x 13 x 2 inch baking pan with cooking spray. Open and unroll the phyllo dough. Place one sheet of phyllo in the bottom of the pan (the dough is nearly paper thin, so be sure to just do one sheet at a time) and spray with cooking spray. Repeat with 9 more sheets of phyllo, making sure to spray with the nonstick spray between layers.

Mix the feta cheese crumbles and the egg beaters into the spinach mixture. Spread this mixture over the the phyllo "crust" in the pan.

Repeat the same phyllo, then cooking spray technique over the top of the spinach mixture with the remaining sheets of phyllo (there should be about 10 sheets remaining).

By the way, if your phyllo sheets tear, don't worry--it doesn't matter at all! Just piece it back together and keep layering.

LISTEN UP! Do not skip this next step or you risk your spinach pie turning into a crumbling mess!

Cut the top layer of phyllo crust into 8 equal pieces BEFORE PLACING IN THE OVEN and bake for 35-40 minutes, or until the top is nicely browned. You will need to cut your 8 pieces again after baking to cut your bottom crust.

Makes 8 servings, 5 Weight Watchers points per serving.

This is what your pan should look like. Give yourself a few activity points for all the jumping up and down you'll be doing after you taste this dish!

Recipe Flop

Since I always post perfect pictures of excellent recipes (yes, I'm quite modest--or completely delusional), I thought I'd post a picture of a recent flop. After taking Midget to her first carnival on Saturday, I had a massive craving for corn dogs! But I was not ready to spend a day's worth of points to eat a soggy microwaved one at home.

By the way, here's evidence of how much Midget loved the carnival rides.










So, I jumped on the good ol' internets and tried to find a recipe for baked corn dogs. The closest I came to finding a recipe was a baked dairy-free soy corn dog--bleeeeeech!

So I attempted to do one out of my head. This was the result.


I dub thee--PUDDLE DOGS!

Do not attempt this at home, kids.

It's a TWEETZZA!!

Last night, after I made a batch of no-knead pizza dough (recipe at the end of the post), I sent out a tweet looking for topping inspiration. I would pick a winner, make their pizza, and post about it here on my blog. I have dubbed the creation tonight my first Tweetzza!

Thank you all for the great suggestions!! Can I get a drumroll please??

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The winning suggestion was Angie's creation!

@oikology101 My fave is artichoke, chicken, and garlic...with the garlic clove and artichoke hearts cut into chunks and scattered around mmm





Angie blogs at Homemaker Chronicles. You can follow her on Twitter here. I met Angie during an iHeartFaces Twitter party. She takes gorgeous photos and has a beautiful family! Please go say hi and congratulate her on a SCRUMPTIOUS TWEETZZA!!!

I peeled and chopped four cloves of garlic, cut the breast and thigh off the rotisserie chicken and chopped it into bite size pieces, and drained and chopped two jars of artichokes into slightly smaller pieces.

I knew I wanted to cook the garlic before I put it on the pizza. Given more time, I would have roasted it. But tonight, I just gave it a quick saute.

I did add one ingredient to her creation--mushrooms. I figured as long as I was going to saute the garlic for a quick second, that I might as well add mushrooms!

Oh, wait! I added a second ingredient (because you know me--I can never leave well enough alone). Fresh Basil! Mostly because I had it and because it's delicious!

In addition, I used 1/2 cup of prepared pizza sauce, 1/2 cup of mozzarella (go light on the cheese to save calories), and a tablespoon of real parmiggiano reggiano grated on the microplane.

So what do you think of my first Tweetza??










The pizza dough recipe was given to me by my friend, Jessica, and I've made just a few modifications. It is super delicious and so EASY!! You just mix it up, let it sit, and that's it! It doesn't have a single bit of fat in it and gives you a big puffy and chewy crust. The recipe makes two pizzas, so you can make a huge pizza for dinner and make another one an entire week later!

You MUST let this dough sit (total time needed to develop is at least 10 hours). The reason it doesn't need any kneading is because the glutens have TIME to develop! Because it can sit up to a week, you can make it and wait a few days to make your pizza(s). I promise that you'll want to have this in your fridge at all times!

No-knead Pizza Crust


1 1/2 Tbs granulated yeast (or 1-1/2 packets)
1 1/2 Tbs kosher salt
1 tsp Italian seasoning
3 Cups Lukewarm Water (NOT HOT)
2 cloves of garlic, minced
6 1/2 cups unsifted, unbleached, all-purpose white flour
Cornmeal for the pizza stone or cookie sheet.
Your choice of toppings (pizza sauce, cheese, pepperoni etc.)


In a large plastic bowl with a fitted lid (at least 18 cup capacity--I use my 4.3 litre Tupperware Impressions bowl), mix salt, yeast, and Italian seasoning. Add water and minced garlic; stir. With a stiff spoon, incorporate the flour into the water mixture until well combined.

Place the lid over the bowl, but do not seal (some of the gasses need to escape or the container could burst). Leave out on counter for two hours or until at least doubled. Seal bowl and refrigerate for at least 8 hours.

When you are ready to make your pizza, preheat the oven to 450 degrees.

Spray the baking stone or cookie sheet with cooking spray then sprinkle with cornmeal. Your pizza will stick big time if you skip this step.

Sprinkle flour on top of the dough, while it's still in the bowl. Rub your hands with flour to prevent sticking. Take out half of the dough for one pizza. Use a serrated knife if necessary. Put the remaining dough into the refrigerator (covered with the lid). You can keep this for another seven days if you can wait that long to eat more of this delicious pizza!

Drop the dough into a bowl of flour to coat both sides, shaking off the extra. To form the dough ball, roll the dough down and under itself, with a tucking motion. Turn and repeat two or three more times, until you achieve a nice round mound of dough.

Roll or stretch out the dough almost to the edges of the large baking stone or cookie sheet. If your dough resists rolling, let it rest for about 5 minutes and try again. I use my fingers and gently press the dough out to the edges of the cookie sheet.

Spread sauce on pizza. Top with your desired toppings and bake at 450 degrees. Set your timer for 10 minutes and check your pizza. I use the large Pampered Chef baking stone. It took 23 minutes on the bottom rack to cook the pizza to perfection this evening. If you are not using a stone, you will most likely need to place your pizza up higher to avoid burning the bottom of the crust.

Yields two pizza doughs, eight HUGE pieces each. Crust only--3 WW points per piece. To reduce the topping calories, bump up the amount of sauce, use less cheese, and do mostly vegetables and a little (or no) meat. Turkey pepperoni is actually pretty good and only adds a few points to the entire pizza.

Come on! You know you want a bite!!!!

Chicken Pot, Chicken Pot, Chicken Pot Pie

Do any of you remember Slow Donnie from Just Shoot Me? Truly, one of the best plot lines on a show--EVER! You can go here to get a refresher--or a HUGE laugh!

Here's a little snippet and what I think of every time I think of Chicken Pot Pie (just click on it--it's FOUR seconds long):


When I started Weight Watchers back in November, I thought I'd need to swear off all comfort food in order to lose the weight (I'm 32.6 lbs lighter today than I was when I started). What I've discovered is that it's easy to make good food. You just have to make different choices and adjust your way of cooking.

By not making a true "pie," you save yourself TONS of calories and fat and you still get all the great taste of a pot pie, complete with flaky pie crust!














Lusciously Lowercal Chicken Pot Pie

1 15 oz package refrigerated pie dough (such as Pillsbury)
Cooking spray
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon poultry seasoning
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
1 lb chicken breast, cut into bite-sized pieces
2 1/2 cups chicken broth
2 1/2 cups frozen mixed vegetables
2 cups mushrooms, sliced
2 10 1/2 oz cans condensed reduced-fat, reduced-sodium cream of chicken soup

Preheat oven to 425 degrees.

Cut 6 4-inch circles out of dough. Place the circles on a baking sheet coated with cooking spray. Lightly coat dough with cooking spray and sprinkle evenly with 1/4 teaspoon salt. Pierce top of dough with a fork. Bake dough for 8 minutes or until lightly browned.

Combine flour, poultry seasoning, 1/2 teaspoon salt, and pepper in a zip-top plastic bag; add chicken. Seal bag, and toss to coat. Heat a large nonstick skillet coated with cooking spray over medium-high heat. Add chicken mixture; cook 5 minutes, browning on all sides. Stir in chicken broth, scraping pan to loosen browned bits. Stir in vegetables, mushrooms, and soup and bring to a boil. Reduce heat, and simmer 10 minutes. Spoon 1 cup chicken mixture into bowls; top each serving with 1 piecrust.

Yields 6 Potpies. 7 WW points per pie*

*I am obviously not Weight Watchers endorsed and all points values are estimates. So if you want to sue me because I don't have points values EXACT, you will be wasting your time because I am poor.

I'm in a Rhubarb State of Mind...

My awesome Sister-in-law gave us four rhubarb roots to plant in our yard! I grew up eating lots and LOTS of rhubarb, as my grandma grew tons of it and both of my parents loved it. The hubby's Mom also has a GIGANTIC section of rhubarb in her garden (it's seriously huge--trust me, it's enormous), which is where my Sis-in-law got her roots from. These little plants will be huge in a few years!












Doesn't this scream "Feed Me Seymour!?!"













She also pulled some stalks off her plants and gave us a gallon ziploc stuffed full of rhubarb. Of course, I had to make some rhubarb sauce! I love eating it on Angel Food Cake. For any of you who've never eaten rhubarb, WHY IN SAM-HELLLLLLS NOT?? It is deliciously tart and is fantastic in quick breads and pairs especially well with goat cheese! Oh lordy lordy. It's so good!















Sugar Free Rhubarb Sauce

6 c rhubarb, diced
1/4 c water
1 .3 oz sugar-free raspberry gelatin (you could use strawberry, but I prefer raspberry)
1-1 1/2 c splenda

Place rhubarb and water in 2 qt saucepan. It will nearly fill the pan, but will break down quickly. Bring to a boil over high heat. Stir and turn heat down to medium-low and cover. Stir occasionally, simmering for 10-15 minutes until rhubarb has broken down. Turn heat down to low, add gelatin and 1 c splenda. Mix thoroughly and add remaining sugar to taste. Remove from heat and serve warm or cold.

Lowfat Banana Bread

ATTENTION KMART SHOPPERS!!

This is NOT your Grandmother's Banana Bread! First of all, it isn't made with cups and cups of oil and butter. In fact, it doesn't have oil or butter in it AT ALL! Secondly, each slice is packed with FIVE WHOLE GRAMS OF FIBER! Yes, you heard me correctly!

A few weeks ago, I found some Fiber-Sure marked down at my local Kroger's. Apparently, the name is going to change to Metamucil Clear & Natural, so they are selling the old bottles at 1/2 price. Fiber-Sure (an all natural vegetable fiber called inulin) is clear, tasteless, can be used in recipes without altering the ingredients, and is a fantastic way to add fiber to your diet!

I found this recipe at the Fiber-sure website and couldn't wait to try it! I had frozen some ripe bananas a while ago, so I had everything I needed for this recipe on hand. By the way, when there is a great sale on nuts, I stock up like crazy and put them in my freezer. So to answer your question, yes, I freeze my nuts.

By the way, this is not a paid endorsement (as evidenced by my previous sentence regarding nuts).

The bread turned out nice and moist and quite tasty. Next time I make it, I think I'll eliminate the nuts and use the saved point to put a little reduced fat cheddar cheese on top of each slice. Yes, I'm completely weird that way. I have this thing with banana bread and cheddar cheese. Can't explain it. There's no excuse for it. Been eating it that way since I can remember making my own food. I have some other weird food combos that I'll have to tell you about some other time.

Without further ado...

Lowfat Banana Bread

1-3/4 cups all-purpose flour
1/3 cup Fibersure
1/2 cup sugar (I used Splenda for baking)
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup mashed very ripe bananas (2 medium)
1/3 cup fruit-based substitute for fat or unsweetened applesauce
2 large egg whites (I used 1/4 cup of egg substitute)
1 large egg (I used 1/4 cup of egg substitute here also)
1/4 cup pecans, chopped

Directions
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease 9" by 5" metal loaf pan. In large bowl, combine flour, Fibersure, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. In medium bowl, with fork, mix bananas, fat substitute, egg whites, and egg until well blended. Stir banana mixture into flour mixture just until flour mixture is moistened.

2. Pour batter into prepared pan; sprinkle with chopped pecans. Bake until toothpick inserted in center comes out almost clean, 40 to 45 minutes. Cool in pan on wire rack 10 minutes; remove from pan and cool completely on wire rack.

Makes 1 loaf, 16 slices.

Each slice: About 119 calories (15 percent calories from fat), 3g protein, 23g carbohydrate, 2g total fat (0g saturated), 13mg cholesterol, 155mg sodium, 4g fiber.

To see more "Finer Things" Visit Amy's blog for

Hot Stuff

Yesterday, in addition to massive PMS, I was having some cravings for SPICY food. Is there such a thing as cold flashes?? If so, I guess I was having one.

I decided that I needed some hot & spicy food and started looking for easy recipes that were low-fat, low-cal, and high fiber. Have I told you all how much I love doing Weight Watchers Online? The resources and tracking system are simply amazing!

Both of these recipes were found on Weight Watchers and I'm going to share my modified versions with you! These two recipes certainly spiced things up in my household!


These poppers were AWESOME!! Spicy, cheesy, and super-crunchy!










Crunchy Baked Jalapeno Poppers

Non-stick Cooking spray
1 1/2 oz light cream cheese
1/4 cup(s) low-fat shredded cheddar cheese
2 teaspoons fat-free mayonnaise
1/2 teaspoon salt
5 jalapeno peppers
1/4 cup fat-free egg substitute
1/2 cup cornflake crumbs

Instructions

Preheat oven to 350ºF. Coat a cookie sheet with cooking spray.

In a bowl, combine cream cheese, cheddar cheese, salt, and mayonnaise; mix well and set aside. Halve jalapenos lengthwise and remove seeds. You may want to wear gloves! Stuff jalapeno halves with cream cheese mixture (about 1 teaspoon per half-pepper).

Place egg substitute in a shallow dish. Place cornflake crumbs in a separate shallow dish. Dip stuffed jalapeno halves into egg substitute and then roll in cornflake crumbs to coat.

Transfer jalapenos to prepared baking sheet and coat with cooking spray.

Bake until filling is bubbly, about 30 minutes. Serve hot. Yields 2 poppers per serving. WW Points--3 per serving. Makes 5 servings.



This Chicken Stew is filling and delicious! It wasn't very hot at all--just a nice mild jalapeno flavor in the background. Next time, I'll skip browning the chicken and just let it simmer for the 20-30 minutes at the end and then shred it. That way, even less oil is used and the texture would be better.



Hearty Jalapeno Chicken Stew

2 teaspoons olive oil
1 lb boneless skinless chicken breasts
Non-stick cooking spray
5 baby carrots, sliced
1 small onion, diced
2 cloves garlic, minced or pressed
15 oz can of cannellini beans
14 1/2 oz can diced tomatoes and jalapenos, with juice
1 Tablespoon tomato paste
2 cups non-fat chicken broth
2 teaspoons chili powder
1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes
1 Tablespoon Cilantro puree (fresh cilantro if you have it)
Plain Nonfat Yogurt (optional)

Instructions

Heat a stockpot over medium-high heat. Add oil and turn to coat. Add chicken and brown on both sides; remove chicken from pan and set aside.

Coat the same pan with cooking spray and sautee carrot and onion until soft. Add remaining ingredients (except the chicken) and stir to combine.

Chop chicken into bite-size pieces and return to pan. Bring to soft boil over medium-high heat; then turn heat down and simmer for 20-30 minutes until flavors have combined well. If desired, serve with 1 teaspoon plain nonfat yogurt. Yields 2 cups per serving. WW Points--5 per serving. Makes 4 servings.

How To Roll Your Own Sushi

I know it's been a few months since we talked sushi, but ask and ye shall receive! After reading this, you can impress your friends by rolling your own sushi! Your friends and family will think you are the hippest person they know! And you don't even have to tell them how SIMPLE it is to make your own!


For those of you who are Sushi purists, GO AWAY! This will most likely frustrate and infuriate you! I'm not going to do everything perfectly and I'm NOT using raw fish. First, I don't think it's safe to work with raw fish at home, unless you have a bona-fide source of sushi-grade fish. Second, I don't like the texture of raw fish (and I've tried them all), so I make California Rolls.

And that, my friends, is how I roll--pun intended. HAHA Oh man, I kill myself sometimes...

It's very important that you gather all the proper specialty hardware for sushi making before you begin.

Yep, that's it. Pretty much everything else you can buy at larger grocery stores. I think you all can handle the 99 cents this bamboo mat costs. I bought mine at the Asian Market in my town.





While I was there, I picked up a few items I needed for the sushi because it has to taste better if you buy it there, right?? I spent about $10 on Nori paper, sushi rice vinegar, pickled ginger, and wasabi powder. All things that you can find in larger grocery stores. Don't be intimidated when you go into your asian market. If you have a hard time finding what you are looking for (because a LOT of it isn't labelled in english), just ask!


I didn't buy my sushi rice at the Asian Market because the smallest amount of sushi rice there was something like a 50 lb bag. That may be a slight exaggeration, but not much of one. You can see right on the bag that I bought my rice at Meijer's (a Michigan institution much like a Super Wal-Mart) for a whopping $2.39. The rice is the most important part of your sushi, so get it right! I've had very good results with this rice, so I'd definitely recommend it!

Just follow the directions on the back of the bag. Some people say to rinse the rice before you put it in the pan, but I'm WAY too lazy to do that! It worked just fine without rinsing it.

See!! No special skills needed yet!


While your rice is cooking, prepare your other ingredients. Since we're doing a California roll, you'll need Crab with a K, cucumber, and avocado. The smoked salmon is my lame attempt to appease my husband, who likes the raw fish kind of sushi. He'll eat it all and loves all of it!!

In fact, one night my husband and I met some friends at a restaurant called Yotsuba for some sushi. After the sushi was brought out, a different waitress came out and asked who ordered the Gizzard Shad. We all pointed to the husband and she said, "We were all wondering who ordered it. Even we don't like it." Apparently, the seasoned sushi waitresses were impressed with what he would eat!!

For easy cleanup, wrap your mat in plastic wrap. If you're cheap like me, use the Target brand.






Next, you'll prepare your sushi vinegar. For the amount of rice that the bag directions prepare (approx. 3 cups), you'll need 1/2 cup of your sushi vinegar, 1 Tablespoon of sugar, and 1 teaspoon of salt. Some people will tell you to put this on the stove and let the sugar and the salt dissolve over medium heat. Well, I'm here to tell you that it simply isn't necessary! I put my vinegar mixture in the microwave for about a minute, then stir, and set aside.


When your rice is finished cooking, dump it into a large bowl. Put the vinegar mixture back into the microwave for about 30 seconds, stir furiously, and pour over the rice.




Grab a wooden spoon and with slicing motion, stir the vinegar into the rice. It's almost the same technique as "folding," but don't tell an Itamae (sushi chef) I said that! So you slice through the middle a few times and then stir. Do this all without squishing the rice grains.


YIKES!! I really need to lotion my alligator hands!

The stirring technique is how you cool the rice. Some people use a fan in their other hand to help cool the rice. That's pretty cool, but I'm too uncoordinated to do that at this point.

Remember when you were a kid? You'd get a cool paper fan that folded out and you ran around fanning yourself like a southern belle saying, "Ah do declay-uh," and opening and shutting the fan while pretend fainting? No? I guess it was just me.

Anyway, once your rice is cooled to room temperature, set a piece of Nori on your plastic covered mat and make sure you have a bowl of water nearby. The water is VERY important, unless you want to have your hands covered in sticky rice. Dip your hands into the water and grab a handful of rice. Continue dipping your hand into the water and pressing the rice onto the paper, leaving just a little room around the outside of the nori paper.

When you've covered your nori with rice, give it one last press down to even out the rice.






Now, lay your roll ingredients on the bottom of the rice.







Lift up the bottom edge of the mat and using your fingers to push in your roll ingredients, roll the end of the paper under the ingredients.





Using all of your fingertips, press the paper under the ingredients and squeeze, almost like you are pushing your fingers to your palms. Then use your whole hand to press the sushi into a square.




Pick up the end of the mat with one hand.







Continue pressing the mat down into the sushi. Use your fingers again to press under the ingredients. This is crucial or your roll will fall apart!





Continue rolling and squeezing gently until the nori is rolled all the way up. Then give it another squeeze into a rectangular shape. You may need to lift up the mat and check to see that the roll is sealed. Then chide yourself again for not keeping your hands well-moisturized.

This is what you should see when you lift up your mat. CONGRATULATIONS! You have just rolled your own sushi!!!





Remember the water you used to keep from getting rice caked on your hands? You're going to use it again to help you cut the sushi roll. Dip the tip of your knife into the water and then tip it back to let the water run down your knife. This helps lubricate (that's a funny word) the knife so it will glide through the sushi.


By the way, have you invested in a set of Wusthof knives? NO??? WHAT THE HECK ARE YOU WAITING FOR? About 8 or 9 years ago, I took most of my measley paycheck and bought four knives, kitchen shears, and a block for about $300. My family thought I was crazy, but I have never, ever, EVER regretted my investment! My only regret is that when I visit their houses now, I know how bad their knives suck! I just recently took my knives to get professionally sharpened for the first time. Oh, how I love those dang knives! If you don't want to spend a lot of money, just buy a Chef's Knife or a Santoku Knife.

Start by cutting your roll in half. And whatever you do, don't let your camera strap show!!





Then cut them in half again and then cut until you have pieces that are small enough so you can shove them in your mouth. With this large (futomaki) roll, I like to cut it into 12 pieces.




TA-DAAAAAAAA!!! Now, go roll your own sushi, because this beauty is allllllll miiiiiiiiiiiine!!!