Chicken Sung & Soba Noodles

Yummy, simple and healthy!  This is a great weeknight dinner.

Sauce:
1/2 cup Soy, 5 tbls rice wine vinegar, 4 gloves crushed chopped garlic, 1 tsp grated fresh ginger, 3 chopped scallions, bunch chopped cilantro, 2 tsp sesame oil, 1/2 tsp chili oil..2 tbls water

For the Chicken Sung:
Saute 1 onion, 5 cloves smashed garlic and finely chopped carrots (about 2 large carrots) for about 5 minutes. Cut up large boneless chicken breasts into cubes (about 6 breasts), add the chicken to saute pan…add chopped mushrooms (one container). Let this cook on medium for about 6-8 minutes, add chopped cilantro and grated fresh ginger and lots of chopped scallions (at least 6).  When chicken is cooked through, add about 4 tbls of the above sauce to pan. Use the rest of this glorious sauce on your lettuce wraps as eat them.

Noodles:
Soba noodles are made from buckwheat flour and are much better for the waistline. They are half the calories of pasta, and half the glycemic index as pasta. Buckwheat has been known to help with both metabolism and cardio vascular support. I love them… they have a nice warm nutty-ish flavor. They take about 6-8 minutes to cook in boiling salted water…then drain and toss with about 1 tbls sesame oil, 1 tbls soy sauce, chopped cilantro, chopped scallions and I like to thaw one bag of frozen edamame and throw them in as well… i also like to add hot chili oil.
(Endless possibilities here… sometimes I add rice wine vinegar, fresh Garlic, and diced red peppers…)

one of my favorite summer salads

i have been making this salad for years.  i truly love it.  very light and refreshing and perfect for summer-time BBQ’ing. takes just a few minutes.

cut kernels off of a 4 ears of corn, dice watermelon (about 1 cup), and slice cucumber into thin slices(1 english cucumber) … finely chop one bunch of fresh tarragon.

for the vinaigrette:  use about 1/4 cup white wine vinegar (or any other white vinegar you like) 1 tsp honey, 1 tsp mustard more fresh and dried tarragon, grated orange zest, about 1/4 c (more or less) of olive oil, salt and pepper.  you will not need to use all of this dressing, maybe half or less.  add just a bit of dressing to start and taste…

keep leftover dressing in fridge, great for salads, as a marinade for chicken or fish, or just drizzle on top of grilled chicken.

healthy low point stuffed chicken cutlet

Splurge on the weekend and eat really healthy during the week!  I cannot be on a diet 24/7, it just wont work for me.  I am a lover of food and the kitchen and nothing will ever change that, so I try to incorporate balance in my eating and cooking lifestyle.

I am actively on weight watchers.  I am trying to lose about 10 lbs by spring!  So far, I have lost 5 (it’s been almost 2 weeks).  So, here is a quick and easy (and very yummy!!) recipe.  You can use whatever you like, whatever you have in the house.  This recipe is never the same, I always change according to what I have in the house, or what looks fresh in the market.  Sometimes spinach and feta, or basil and tomato, or mozzarella or goat cheese or… just a sprinkle of pecorino (a big calorie saver)!  This time, I had leftover broccoli rabe with cannelloni beans from dinner the night before, and that is what I used to stuff my chicken breast!  I also had the laughing cow light cheese triangles…so i used 1/2 of one in each cutlet!  (only .5 point)!!

BTW, my husband who is not on WW loves this recipe too!

Ingredients:

• thin sliced chicken cutlets (4, 3 1/2 ounce cutlets)
• 3 egg whites
• tbls mustard
• 1 tbls parsley (fresh or dried)
• salt and pepper
• spinach (box frozen, squeeze out moisture, or use fresh leaves (uncooked)
• sundried tomatoes (6 pcs)
• pignoli nuts (or walnuts, pecans, chestnuts…)
• 2 laughing cow light swiss or garlic (use just 1/2 per piece of chicken)
• 1/4 tsp grated cheese (peccorino or parmesan) for sprinkling on chicken
• 1 tsp grated cheese to be added to breadcrumb mixture
• 1/4 cup seasoned breadcrumbs
• 1/4 cup unprocessed bran

Preheat oven to 350.  Spray glass dish with olive oil.  Combine egg whites, parsley s&P in a bowl.  Whisk.  Add chicken.  Separate plate combine breadcrumb, bran and 1 tsp of grated cheese, mix.  Dip chicken in breadcrumbs.  Layer tomato, spinach, cheese and pignolias, roll up and secure with a toothpick.  Bake in oven for about 45 minutes.  Each one is about 4 -5 points on WW (depending on which cheese you use)!

BPC (blueprint cleanse unboxing)

pumpkin pie

My 6 year old son is a HUGE fan of pumpkin pie. Last week we made a pie together, and almost every night for a week he enjoyed a slice after dinner.  So tonight, he asked if we could make another.  I happily obliged.  As I set out to make our pie from my stockpile of Libby’s canned pumpkin, my little guy said…”Wait!”  Can we use real pumpkin?  We have a bunch outside on the front step!”  So we set out together to make our pie from fresh pumpkin.

I do love having canned pumpkin on hand, it is one of the top 10 super foods!!  I like to add it to cakes and brownies and omit the fat.  My kids also love pumpkin bread and cupcakes, so I like having it available.

Making pie from fresh pumpkin is more nutritious and actually quite simple.  Make sure that you use the small sugar pumpkins.

First, we scrubbed our pumpkin clean. Then I cut it down the middle with a long serrated knife.  We scooped out all the stringy fibrous  material and seeds with a sturdy ice-cream scoop.  (You can save the seeds and roast in the oven with melted butter salt and brown sugar).

Quarter the pumpkin, place it on a baking sheet with some butter and brown sugar and a little salt.  Roast it in a 350 oven (i cranked up the convection).  Let it roast until it is tender, about 35-40 minutes or so.

Let cool.  When you can comfortably handle the pumpkin with your hands, peel off the skin and discard.

Puree the pumpkin in a Cuisinart, blender…or whatever you have.

Preheat oven to 425…mix together:

1 3/4 cups of pureed pumpkin

3/4 cup sugar

1 tsp salt

1 tsp cinnamon

1 /4 cloves

1/4 allspice

1 tbls vanilla extract

2 eggs

1 1/2 cups of heavy cream

1  9″ deep dish pie shell

Mix it all together simply in a bowl with a wire whisk…that’s it!!  Pour into pie shell and bake at 425 for 15 minutes, lower temp to 350 for 40-50 minutes

fresh produce makes me smile

i happen to be incredibly blessed to live just a couple of miles from a local farm. it’s family owned and operated and the setting is just breath taking. i went yesterday, i was craving fresh healthy produce….after a weeks vacation, away from my kitchen, entrenched in an “all you can eat fest” of heavy unhealthy food my… body was craving real nourishment! as a mommy to 2 little ones I was desperate to get some quality food into their little bodies!!

my purchases included: lettuce, heirloom tomatoes that were absolutely sweet and juicy! zucchini, string beans, peaches, plums (green and black), apricots, corn and fresh cut flowers.

i made an italian giambotta (not exactly the way my mom used to make it, i omitted the potatoes) it’s sort of a vegetable stew with onions and garlic and zuchnini and stringbeans stewed with tomatoes. i also made cod (3 different ways for varieties sake…)on the grill in foil (i prefer parchment but was not sure it could handle the direct heat)

a visit to the farmstand is uplifting and oh so healthy!

dinner tonight

i need to lose 15-20 lbs…trying to eat healthy.  so I make  a lot of fish.  mostly salmon ( i know, not the most dietetic of fish!!).  tonight i bought steelhead trout, which is very similar to salmon.  i believe it comes from california.  they belong to the family salmonidae which includes all salmon, trout, and chars…the flavor is a bit fuller than salmon, more gamey, not in a bad way…i’m glad i poached it…it is a nice clean way to cook fish.  i like to eat it simply… with a bit of fresh lemon or just a drizzle of soy.

if you like to poach fish, a poacher is great.  I love mine…i use it often.  I fill it 1/4 way with water then i add a cup or so of white wine..slice some onion, lemon a bay leaf some pepper corns (this is called a court bouillon)…add the cleaned fish.  set poacher across 2 burners and cook for about 15-25 minutes or so (check often).  so easy.

the broccoli rabe was excellent.  really, it was, this one is a keeper.  i started by washing and roughly cutting the leaves…added them to boiling salted water for just a minute or 2.  drained them and added them to an ice bath.  sauteed garlic, pine nuts and raisins salt and pepper add the greens back to the pan!…yum!!  

steelhead trout

court bouillon

all clad poacher

dairy free, egg free, nut free…tasty? or taste free?

i am experimenting with one of my favorite chocolate chip cookie recipes.  i am trying to convert it into a wheat-free, dairy-free and egg-free cookie.  i used oat flour and brown rice flour, Ener-G (egg replacement), brown and white sugars, and a canola based butter substitute.  I also added some dairy free chocolate chips that actually tasted great straight from the bag.

my first batch did not work out – my recipe did not translate exactly.  the flour did not hold up to the amount of sugar and the result was a thin deflated tweel.  so for the second batch i added more oat flour.  hmm pretty yummy!  i think they are still a bit too sweet -and kind of dry and powdery…my 5 year old however really likes them, he helped himself to two cookies!