Date Night--March 27, 2013

Okay, I'm a little embarrassed.  I knew that I had made the Korean Style Flank Steak before, I just didn't remember that it was the last date night I posted.  Whoops!  We really liked it and I'm making it again. (See the post 3/14/13 for the recipe.)  This time I marinated it from last night--the flavor should be very intense.

So we've covered the Main Course.

Once again (sorry), we're having shrimp cocktail for our appetizer.  It' so tasty!

As for beverages,   I'm having a 0 pt fizzy lemon/limeade thingy for the cocktail portion of the evening.  I'll make my love a gin gimlet.  He'll be happy.

Side dishes--well the beef gets served with a salad and I think I'll make some broccoli, too.  I have potato innards that I'll mash for Josh.  He'll be happy and I'll get space back in my fridge and a gain another container.

The best part of the evening's meal will be dessert.



Chocolate Chip Cannoli Cups
Source: inspired by Gimme Some Oven

Ingredients:
15 Frozen Mini Phyllo Shells (I used Athens brand)
2 oz Marscapone cheese (I used BelGioso brand)
2/3 cup fat free Ricotta cheese
3 T powdered sugar
¼ t vanilla
A pinch of cinnamon (a little goes a long way!)
1/3 cup mini chocolate chips, divided

Directions:
1.    Place phyllo shells* on the counter to thaw for at least 10-15 minutes.
2.    In a medium sized mixing bowl, combine the marscapone, ricotta, powdered sugar, vanilla and cinnamon and stir together until thoroughly mixed. Reserve a small pile of the chocolate chips for topping and stir the remainder into the cheese mixture.
3.    Spoon the filling evenly between all the phyllo shells. Sprinkle reserved chocolate chips over the tops and serve. *I recommend you only defrost/fill as many as you plan to eat at once so that the shells stay crispy.

Yields 15 cups. WW P+: 2 per cup (P+ calculated using the recipe builder on weightwatchers.com)
Nutrition Information per cup from myfitnesspal.com: 63 calories, 7 g carbs, 3 g fat, 2 g protein, 0 g fiber









Don't they just look so cute and tasty?!  I've been waiting to make these for a week now.

Having just said that, I gots to go.  I've got potatoes to mash, cocktail sauce to make, and canonoli cups to assemble.

happy cooking!

Date Night--March 13, 2013

It's Wednesday.  That's always a happy day in this house.  And right now, it smells of sugar and spice.  Not just because I'm "a little girl"  (thanks to WW and exercise, getting "littler" by the day--down 15.5 lbs!!), but because I've already made dessert--Cinnamon Buns.

That seems like a good place to begin...

Dessert

Recipe Renovation: Cinnamon Buns

Weight Watchers Recipe

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Prep time: 30 min

Cook time: 30 min

Other time: 0 min

Serves: 12

These cinnamon buns take some time to make, but most of that time is in the rising, and the result is spectacular.

Ingredients

	1 cup(s) fat free skim milk
	1 Tbsp vegetable oil
	1 Tbsp sugar
	1 tsp table salt
	1 Tbsp yeast, about 1 package
	2 1/2 cup(s) all purpose flour, sifted, divided
	1/4 cup(s) unpacked brown sugar
	1/4 cup(s) dark corn syrup
	2 tsp ground cinnamon
	1/8 tsp ground nutmeg
	1 tsp orange zest, grated
	1/4 cup(s) raisins, dried cherries or cranberries

Instructions

• Stir together milk, vegetable oil, sugar and salt in a small saucepan. Heat to lukewarm. Pour yeast over 2 tablespoons lukewarm water and let sit 5 minutes. Stir into milk mixture.
• Transfer warm milk to a large mixing bowl and beat in half the flour by hand or with an electric mixer. Mix in enough remaining flour to make a soft dough. Let rest 10 minutes; knead well on a floured board or with an electric mixer and dough hook; let rest 10 minutes.
• Spray a large, clean bowl with cooking spray, add dough, cover with plastic wrap and let rise in a warm place until doubled, about 1 hour.
• Lightly coat a 9-inch round baking pan with cooking spray. Turn the dough onto a floured surface and roll into a 12 x 10-inch rectangle. Spray with cooking spray.
• Stir together brown sugar, corn syrup, cinnamon, nutmeg and orange zest; brush over dough. Sprinkle with raisins. Roll up tightly, like a jelly roll. Cut into 12 pieces.
• Place buns cut-side up in baking pan. Cover with plastic and let rise until doubled, about 1 hour.
• Preheat oven to 350°F. Bake buns until firm and nicely browned on top, 30 minutes. Cool completely before inverting onto a serving plate.

 Adjustments I made--I only had light corn syrup and not as much as the recipe called for;  I topped it off with Molasses.  I had way too much dough so I made 6 more without craisins as Josh doesn't think that fruit or nuts belong in a cinnamon bun.  Please school him when you see him.

Main Course

Korean-Style Grilled Flank Steak

Weight Watchers Recipe

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Prep time: 5 min

Cook time: 18 min

Other time: 0 min

Serves: 6

Lean, flavorful flank steak does not have to be a grilling-season-only dinner. Indoor grill pans simulate the taste of outdoor cooking with no added fat.

Ingredients

	1 1/4 pound(s) uncooked lean flank steak
	4 clove(s) (medium) garlic clove(s), chopped
	2 Tbsp ginger root, chopped
	1/4 cup(s) vinegar
	2 Tbsp soy sauce
	1/4 tsp red pepper flakes, or to taste
	1 Tbsp sesame oil
	2 bunch(es) fresh watercress, cleaned and trimmed
	2 medium uncooked scallion(s), sliced
	1 medium uncooked carrot(s), grated

Instructions

• Put flank steak into a shallow glass or ceramic dish.
• To make marinade, combine garlic through to sesame oil in a blender and blend until smooth.
• Pour half the marinade over flank steak, turn over to coat both sides, cover and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes and up to 24 hours. Refrigerate remaining marinade as well.
• Prepare coals for grill.
• Grill flank steak for 5 to 7 minutes on each side for medium-rare. Set on a cutting board to rest while you finish salad.
• Put remaining marinade into a small saucepan and add 3 tablespoons water. Bring to a simmer over very low heat and cook for 3 to 4 minutes.
• In a large bowl, toss watercress, scallions and carrot with warm marinade.
• Slice flank steak into thin strips. Pour any juice from meat over salad and toss it in. Serve flank slices alongside salad. 

No real changes to this recipe...I did use the entire marinade recipe as a marinade for the beef.  Then I made more--it just smelled soooo good.  Oh, and I thought it would go nicely over the broccoli that I'm going to roast and the barley/brown rice that we'll be having also.  If you're keeping track the rice is 4 points and the broccoli is 0.

Appetizer

Shrimp cocktail.  No real recipe here.  It tracks at 2 points.

Beverages

I'm wavering here.  If I have a cocktail before dinner, it will be a Martini (with a twist).  If I want wine with dinner (4 pts for 5 oz) then I will have an after dinner nip (4 pts for 1.5 oz) or I could have a Brandy Alexander with dessert.  I just don't know.  What do you think?

So that brings this week's installment to a close.

happy cooking

Date Night--March 5, 2013

It's Italian!

Appetizer
Cheese sticks.  That's right...those ooey gooey breaded cheese sticks.  Skinnytaste.com has a yummy recipe.  (2 pts)

Skinny Baked Mozzarella Sticks
Skinnytaste.com
Servings: 12 • Serving Size: 2 pieces • Old Points: 1 pts • Points+: 2 pts*
Calories: 86.8* • Fat: 4.8 g • Protein: 7.4 g • Carb: 3.5 g • Fiber: 0.2 g • Sugar: 0.2
Sodium: 168.6
Ingredients:

• 12 sticks part-skim, reduced sodium mozzarella string cheese (Sargento)
• 1 large egg, beaten
• 2 tbsp flour
• 5 tbsp Italian seasoned breadcrumbs
• 5 tbsp panko crumbs
• 2 tsp parmesan cheese
• 1 tbsp dried parsley
• olive oil cooking spray (I used my misto)

Directions:Cut cheese in half to give you 24 pieces. Place cheese in the freezer until cheese is frozen.
In small bowl, whisk the egg. Place the flour on another small dish. In separate bowl, combine bread crumbs, panko, parmesan cheese and dried parsley. Dip the frozen sticks in flour, shaking off excess, then into the egg, then coat with the crumbs. Repeat this process with the remaining cheese placing them on a tray with wax paper. Place cheese back into the freezer until ready to bake (this is a must or they will melt before the crumbs get golden).When ready to bake preheat oven to 400° F. Line a baking sheet with aluminum foil and lightly spray with oil.
Place frozen cheese sticks on baking sheet. Spray the tops of the mozzarella sticks with a little more oil and bake in the bottom third of your oven until crisp, about 4 to 5 minutes. Turn and bake an additional 4 - 5 minutes watching them closely so they don't melt.Makes 24 pieces.
* There will be extra crumbs and flour after breading, I've deducted them from the nutritional info.

 I've made these before and didn't freeze them long enough.  I learned my lesson.  I'll be making these early in the day and baking them just before Josh gets home.

Dinner
 This tracks at 7 points.  I will also serve a spinach/argula salad.  The dressing will be 1 point. I actually have some of my homemade tomato sauce on hand.  That is probably what I'll use instead of the diced tomatoes (or maybe in addition to).

Penne with Peppers and Sausage

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Weight Watchers Recipe

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Prep time: 15 min

Cook time: 20 min

Other time: 0 min

Serves: 6

This recipe is full of tasty stuff: spicy sausage, sauteed vegetables and Parmesan cheese. Use the sausage mixture as a sandwich, omelet or baked potato filling.

Ingredients

	1 spray(s) cooking spray
	2 medium green pepper(s), cut into thin strips
	1 clove(s) (medium) garlic clove(s), minced
	1 medium uncooked onion(s), thinly sliced
	1 cup(s) fresh mushroom(s), sliced
	1 pound(s) uncooked turkey sausage(s), spicy-Italian flavor
	1/8 tsp dried oregano, crushed
	1/4 tsp table salt
	1/8 tsp black pepper, freshly ground
	1/4 tsp crushed red pepper flakes
	14 1/2 oz canned diced tomatoes
	3 cup(s) cooked whole wheat pasta, penne, kept hot
	6 Tbsp grated Parmesan cheese

Instructions

• Coat a large nonstick skillet with cooking spray and set pan over medium-high heat. Add green pepper, garlic, onion and mushrooms; cook, stirring frequently, until almost tender, about 7 to 8 minutes.
• Remove turkey from casings; add turkey to skillet and brown until no longer pink, stirring occasionally, breaking it up with a wooden spoon as it cooks, about 6 minutes. Add oregano, salt, black pepper and red pepper flakes; stir in tomatoes. Simmer until heated through and to allow flavors to blend, about 5 minutes.
• Spoon penne into a deep serving bowl; top with sausage mixture and sprinkle with cheese. Yields about 1 1/2 cups per serving.

Dessert

This is something I know I will love and it will be great to have the leftovers around.  Josh will probably opt for ice cream.  That's fine by me...more later in the week.  :-)

Cinnamon Apple Crisps

Weight Watchers Recipe

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Prep time: 15 min

Cook time: 120 min

Other time: 0 min

Serves: 4

Put these tasty treats in a bag and go. Easy fruit on the run!

Ingredients

	2 small fresh apple(s), Red Delicious or Gala, sliced paper-thin
	1 Tbsp sugar
	1/2 tsp ground cinnamon

Instructions

• Preheat oven to 200°F.
• Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper (not wax paper). Place apple slices in a single layer on paper; sprinkle with sugar and cinnamon.
• Bake until lightly browned, about 2 hours. Cool on wire rack and serve.

 

Beverages

I've been nursing a sore throat, so I think I may have a Bloody Mary.  There's something about the bloody mary mix (or in my case...Spicy V8, worcesteshire, lemon juice and  few dashes for tobasco) that just soothes the scratchiness of my throat.  Plus, that drink points out at around 5 points (compared to 10 for other cocktails).    Josh may want a gimlet.  I'll ask him.

 

So those are my dinner plans for tonight.  How 'bout you?

 

happy cooking

 

  

Date Night--2/27/13

Many of you already know that I started Weight Watchers almost 2 mos ago.  (Down 14.5 lbs as of this morning.  Woohoo!!!)  Trying to follow a healthier eating plan hasn't stopped Date Nights (not that you would know that since I've not blogged about them recently.), it just makes it a bit more of a challenge.  But it's a challenge I'm having fun with.

So tonight's date night breaks down like this (and I will include points and WW recipes where appropriate):

Appetizer:
Rondele Garlic and Herb Light Cheese spread (1 pt for 2 T + 1 dairy credit and 1 veggie credit) on crackers for Josh, in cucumber cups and celery for me. I bet Josh eats at least one of my cucumber cups.

Dinner:  
Rolled Chicken Cordon Bleu (7 pts)

Rolled Chicken Cordon Bleu

Weight Watchers Recipe

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Prep time: 15 min

Cook time: 40 min

Other time: 0 min

Serves: 4

Moist, tender chicken wrapped around smoked ham and gooey Swiss cheese — what could be better? Our version is delicious and healthy!

Ingredients

	4 spray(s) cooking spray, or enough to coat chicken
	1 pound(s) uncooked boneless skinless chicken breast(s), four 4 oz pieces
	3 oz cooked lean ham, four 3/4 oz slices
	3 oz low-fat Swiss cheese, four 3/4 oz slices
	1/4 cup(s) all-purpose flour
	1/4 cup(s) honey mustard
	1/2 cup(s) seasoned breadcrumbs, Italian-style

Instructions

• Preheat oven to 400°F. Coat a baking sheet with olive oil cooking spray.
  
• Place chicken breasts between two pieces of plastic wrap and pound to 1/4-inch thickness; remove plastic wrap. Arrange 1 slice of ham and 1 slice of cheese on each chicken breast.
  
• Starting from shorter end of chicken, roll up breast into a tight pinwheel. Tuck in ends. Secure with toothpicks.
  
• Place flour, honey mustard and bread crumbs in 3 separate shallow bowls. Add chicken to flour; turn to coat. Transfer chicken to honey mustard; turn to coat. Place chicken in bread crumbs; turn to coat.
  
• Transfer chicken to prepared baking sheet and coat with cooking spray. Bake until chicken is golden brown and cooked through, about 40 minutes. Remove toothpicks and serve.

 I will be serving the chicken with a cucumber salad (1 point for the dressing) and green beans.

Dessert:
Caramel Cookies (1 pt each)

Caramel Cookies

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Weight Watchers Recipe

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Prep time: 5 min

Cook time: 10 min

Other time: 0 min

Serves: 60

Delicious and so easy to bake in small batches. Just keep the dough in the fridge or freezer and slice off and make as many cookies as you want at a time.

Ingredients

	1/2 cup(s) unsalted butter, softened
	1 cup(s) packed brown sugar, dark
	1 large egg(s)
	1 tsp vanilla extract
	1 cup(s) all-purpose flour
	3/4 cup(s) whole wheat flour
	1/4 tsp table salt
	1/2 tsp baking soda

Instructions

• Preheat oven to 400°F.
  
• In a large bowl, using an electric mixer, cream butter, sugar, egg and vanilla extract. Add remaining ingredients and beat thoroughly.
  
• Scrape dough out of bowl and onto a large piece of plastic wrap. Roll dough into a log, about 2 1/2-inches wide; completely wrap dough in plastic and refrigerate until firm, at least 20 minutes or up to overnight.
  
• Cut dough into 1/8-inch-thick slices and arrange on several large ungreased cookies sheets about 1- to 1 1/2-inches apart. Bake until lightly browned around edges, about 8 to 10 minutes.
  
• Allow cookies to cool on cookie sheet for about 1 minute and then remove to a wire rack to cool completely. Yields 1 cookie per serving.

Notes

• Add some spice to these cookies by sprinkling a pinch of cinnamon and nutmeg into the batter.

 I will be adding lots of spices to this batter.  This girl loves no cookie more than ginger snaps.  We'll see how close she can get.

Beverages:
With appetizer, Josh will be drinking Moscato.  I will be having a 0 calorie/point fizzy citrus water thing.
With dinner, we will both have a glass of white wine (4 pts for 5oz)
With dessert, Brandy Alexanders (10 points and 1 dairy credit)

All in all, I think this will be a very satisfying meal.  I will go over my daily points, but that's what the weekly bonus points are.  Also, I've tracked 9 activity points which get used first.  I have sheets to change, a workout to do, and cookies to bake.

happy cooking

Date Night--1/9/13

So this week was my first Date Nigh on WW.

And it was good!!!  I stayed on track and had appetizer (stuffed mushrooms), cocktail (mini Manhattan), dinner (Fresh Wild Mushroom Soup) and dessert (a strawberry smoothie WW bar).  All that and I only had to dip into my "bonus" weekly points for 1 point.

So recipes.

Stuffed Mushrooms (1 point)

3 mushroom caps*

.5 T reduced fat cream cheese
.5 tsp garlic powder
freshly ground black pepper
1 crushed rosemary and olive oil Crunchmasters Seed Cracker

Mix the cream cheese with the garlic powder and pepper; top with cracker crumbs and microwave for 90 seconds.

*I built this recipe on WW.  There was no quantity for mushroom cap by number--just by cup.  And veggies are 0 points.  So stuff as many caps as you can with the quantity of stuffing this yields.

Mini Manhattan (5 points)

Our regular Manhattan just 2 oz (5 points) instead of 4 oz (10 points)

Fresh Wild Mushroom Soup (6 points)

Ingredients

• 6 tablespoons (3/4 stick) butter
• 2 cups finely chopped onions
• 6 ounces crimini (baby bella) mushrooms, chopped
• 6 ounces fresh oyster mushrooms, chopped
• 6 ounces fresh shiitake mushrooms, stemmed, caps chopped
• 1 tablespoon chopped fresh thyme
• 3 tablespoons brandy
• 2 tablespoons all purpose flour
• 4 cups beef broth

Preparation

Melt butter in large pot over medium-high heat. Add onions; sauté until golden, about 5 minutes. Add all mushrooms and thyme; sauté until mushrooms begin to brown, about 8 minutes. Add brandy; stir 30 seconds, then mix in flour. Slowly stir in broth; bring soup to boil. Reduce heat; simmer uncovered 10 minutes. Season with salt and pepper. Ladle into bowls. 

 

***So, I used 1 c leeks and 1 c onion.  I had no brandy, so I subbed Marsala which brought the points from 7 to 6.

 

I also ate one Rhodes dinner roll with my soup (1 point)

 

Dessert seems pretty self explanatory.  I made Josh brake and bake Choc Chip cookies and I had my dessert bar.

Tonight's dinner is leftover soup.  Yum. 

happy cooking

 

 

Monday Night Dinner with Grandma 1/7/13

I started Weight Watchers today.  So far, so good.  I even exercised a little bit.

But enough about me.

Here is tonight's recipe:
 

Balsamic Chicken with Mushrooms

Weight Watchers Recipe

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Prep time: 10 min

Cook time: 10 min

Other time: 0 min

Serves: 4

For a different flair, substitute dry white wine for the chicken broth, then sprinkle on a few spoonfuls of chopped sun-dried tomatoes with the mushrooms.

Ingredients 2 tsp vegetable oil    3 Tbsp balsamic vinegar    2 tsp Dijon mustard    1 clove(s) (medium) garlic clove(s), crushed      1 pound(s) uncooked boneless skinless chicken breast(s), four 4-oz pieces      2 cup(s) fresh mushroom(s), small, halved    1/3 cup(s) canned chicken broth    1/4 tsp dried thyme, crumbled    Instructions In a nonstick skillet, heat 1 teaspoon of oil. In a medium bowl, mix 2 tablespoons of vinegar, the mustard and garlic. Add chicken and turn to coat. Transfer chicken and marinade to skillet. Sauté chicken until cooked through, about 3 minutes on each side. Transfer chicken to a platter and keep warm. Heat remaining teaspoon of oil in skillet. Sauté mushrooms for 1 minute. Add broth, thyme and remaining tablespoon of vinegar. Cook, stirring occasionally, until mushrooms are deep brown, about 2 minutes longer. Serve chicken topped with mushrooms.

I think it looks very tasty and  not at all diet-y.  I'll let you know how it turns out.

I'll be serving it with cut green beans (you've gotta love Green Giant).  Veggies (and most fruit, too) are pretty much all 0 points.

I don't really have anything to bring for dessert.  (I have WW ice cream treats and wine for when I get home.)  There may be some pudding left;  I have some graham crackers; and there are mini marshmallows where I'm going.  There may be some kind of S'Mores creation to be had.  We'll see.

all in all, I wish you

happy cooking

I've not been feeling like myself...

This has been for a little while now.  No specific symptoms, just general malaise.

But it has me craving soup.  Homemade soup.  Wild Mushroom soup.

Fresh Wild Mushroom Soup

Ingredients

• 6 tablespoons (3/4 stick) butter
• 2 cups finely chopped onions
• 6 ounces crimini (baby bella) mushrooms, chopped
• 6 ounces fresh oyster mushrooms, chopped
• 6 ounces fresh shiitake mushrooms, stemmed, caps chopped
• 1 tablespoon chopped fresh thyme
• 3 tablespoons brandy
• 2 tablespoons all purpose flour
• 4 cups beef broth

Preparation

Melt butter in large pot over medium-high heat. Add onions; sauté until golden, about 5 minutes. Add all mushrooms and thyme; sauté until mushrooms begin to brown, about 8 minutes. Add brandy; stir 30 seconds, then mix in flour. Slowly stir in broth; bring soup to boil. Reduce heat; simmer uncovered 10 minutes. Season with salt and pepper. Ladle into bowls.

Read More http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/Fresh-Wild-Mushroom-Soup-233131#ixzz2H1Q4snsN

Now, when I make this (probably not till next week), I'll serve it with warm crusty bread.

I hope I'll be feeling more like myself  by then.

happy cooking