Raspberry-Mint "Custard"

One of the staples I buy at the supermarket every week is fat free yogurt. Mixed with some dip mix - it is a tasty and healthy accompaniment for veggies. It's a great thickener for sauces. And a nice way to cool down anything spicy ( like curries or chili)

So the other night I was making our nightly dessert (Sugar free Jello. I need something sweet after dinner and this 1 point dessert that comes in scads of yum flavors like Black Cherry and Streawberry Banana just does just fine!), when I had an idea.

I mixed fat free yogurt with 1 packet of Pure Via (my go-to sweetener), a drop of vanilla extract and some chopped mint. That - combined with the jello and set to chill, took on a silky custard-y texture not to mention the match made in heaven pair of raspberry and mint.

Of course if you already have fat free vanilla yogurt just go ahead and use that and omit the Pure Via and vanilla extract from the recipe!

It is not only cute (the bright pink "custard" accented by a bright green mint leaf) but it tastes amazing, refreshing and oh yeah, 2 points a serving!!

Raspberry Mint "Custard"
2 servings, 2 pts each.
1/2 cup fat free yogurt
1 packet Pure Via or other non caloric sweetener
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
1 tbsp mint, chopped finely
1 package raspberry Sugar Free Jello


Combine the yogurt, sweetener, vanilla and mix. Pulse in a food processor until well blended. Refrigerate.

Prepare the jello as directed on the box and refrigerate for 1 hour. After 1 hour combine with yogurt mixture and blend well. Pour into serving bowls and chill for another 2-3 hours until firm.


Garish with mint and enjoy!



Serve in a wine glass or margarita glass for an extra festive dessert!

Print PDF

Light Dijon Dill Crusted Salmon

Last week I bought a pound of salmon to engage in The Night of Cucumbers, but only needed half of the large filet. So I froze the rest for a later date.

That date turned out to be TODAY.

I wanted to use the abundance of fresh dill I had and I knew it would go just perfectly with some dijon mustard, some lemon and a spattering of panko breadcrumbs (all of which I had in the kitchen). With an eye towards keeping this dish Weight Watchers friendly, I measured and calculated and lo! This delicious fish is a mere 6 points a serving when served with a 1/2 cup brown rice per serving and whatever steamed vegetables you like (I used snap peas).

It's also super easy to double, triple, whatever as you see fit.

Light Dijon Dill Crusted Salmon
2 servings, 5 pts each

2 tbsp panko bread crumbs
2 tbsp fresh chopped dill
1 tbsp grated lemon rind + a few wedges of lemon
2 tbsp dijon mustard
salt and pepper
2 4 oz salmon filets
1 cup cooked brown rice

Preheat oven to 350.

Combine the first three ingredients and set aside.


Place salmon skin side down on a pan lightly sprayed with fat free cooking spray. Salt and pepper a bit.




Spread mustard evenly over the fish.



Press breadcrumb mixture into mustard until well coated.



Cook for 20 minutes or until salmon flakes easily.



Serve with brown rice and whatever steamed veggies you like!

Print PDF

Chinese Chicken Salad

I have fond memories of chicken salad.

6 years ago - when Adam and I lived in a one bedroom apartment and I was just getting into cooking, I would make chicken salad every Wednesday night. Adam had just started playing hockey as an adult, and would have practice on Wednesday nights and the abominable hour of 10PM. So clearly he would need a lot of protein and energy to stay up late and skate and score goals and whaveter else they do out there on the ice.

So every Wednesday like a dutiful girlfriend I would defrost some chicken breasts, break out the mayo and celery and whatever else I had on hand that day that might be good and make a chicken salad to serve over a bed of lettuce. And even if I knew I would be busy on Wednesday, I would make the chicken salad on Tuesdays and keep it in the fridge for him. It was a tradition and I kept at it for an entire hockey season. Then when next season rolled around they weren't having regular practices and the chicken salad on Wednesdays tradition kind of tapered off. I must say I think it is NO coincidence that not long after I stopped making chicken salad on Wednesdays, he broke his ankle at a hockey game

There is power in rituals! Especially if the ritual occasionally resembles a Waldorf salad with chicken in it. Yum!


Now for the second part of the lead in which has nothing to do with hockey. I am of late, obsessed with sesame oil. A tiny amount of this amber colored aromatic goes a LONG way in adding flavor to Asian recipes. A little mixed with some rice vinegar is amazing on salads. A few drops in a marinade brings meat to new depths. It's just great!!!

So when I found this recipe for Chinese Chicken Salad, that invoved both my long lost chicken salad, and sesame oil - I pounced on it. This is a fantstic make ahead meal as the longer you let it chill in the fridge, the more the flavors blend. If you're going to have it the same night let it chill at least an hour before serving.

Chinese Chicken Salad
Serves 4, 5 pts each

2 cups cubed cooked chicken
1 red pepper sliced
1 8 oz can sliced water chestnuts, drained
6 scallions, cut into 1 inch pieces
1.5 cups cellophane noodles
3/4 cup fat free yogurt
1 tbsp smooth peanut butter
1 tbsp sesame oil
1 tbsp rice vinegar
1 clove garlic, minced
Spring mix/Romaine/Whatever green you like


Prepare the cellophane noodles

Place the dried noodles in a bowl and pour boiling water over them. Let sit for 2-3 minutes then drain.

Whisk the yogurt, peanut butter, oil, vinegar and garlic together until well blended.

Stir in the noodles, chicken and vegetables except greens.





Cover and chill for at least one hour. Serve over a bed of greens!

Print PDF

Pink Shoe Loves: Perrier Pampelmousse Rose

I love sparkling water.

It's refreshing. It's invigorating. And these days there are so many flavors to choose from - there is a sparkling water for every mood! I am partial to Perrier (especially the mandarin orange). I not only love the bottles (so easy to re purpose when you remove the label - as vases, a cute way to serve water at parties, or fill with your favorite mixed cocktail to bring over someone's house)

I like to have a few bottles on hand whenever I have guests over - either to mix in drinks or to serve over ice in glasses. A few weeks ago I was preparing for to have Andy and his roommate Jen over for dinner. While picking up some last minute items on the way home from work I noticed a flavor of Perrier I had never noticed before "Pampelmousse Rose" which is French for Pink Grapefruit.




I picked up a bottle of that as well as the lemon and served both that night. The Pamplemousse Rose was incredible! The perfect hint of grapefruit - a tiny bit on the sweeter rather than tart side. With a spritz of lime it is an ideal alcohol free summer drink!!

It's also great with a glug of Grey Goose and a slice of lime over ice.

Look for it the next time you are in the market for some sparkling water - you will be pleasantly surprised!

Print PDF

Crustless Broccoli and Cheese Quiche

While hunting for the perfect crustless quiche recipe I decided to combine a few Weight Watchers quiche recipes and come up with my own. This is delicious and you will never believe it's only 3 points a serving.

It's the kind of breakfast that you feel great after eating!

Crustless Broccoli and Cheese Quiche
4 servings, 3 pts a serving
2 eggs
1 egg white
1/4 cup fat free sour cream
3/4 cup dry fat free milk
1 package frozen chopped broccoli, thawed
1 medium onion, chopped
1 garlic clove, minced
1/2 cup shredded fat free mozarella
1 tbsp reduced fat parmesan
2 tsp olive oil
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp ground pepper

In a pan over medium heat cook the onion, garlic and olive oil for 5 minutes/ until the onion is soft. Add the broccoli and cook for 3 more minutes. Set aside.

In a medium bowl combine the eggs, egg white, sour cream, evaporated milk. Mix well. Stir in cheeses, salt and pepper. Stir in cooled onion and garlic and broccoli. Spray some fat free cooking spray into a pie plate and pour in the batter. Cook for 30 minutes.



Enjoy!



What's great about this is you can put whatever you want in it. The next morning I made another version of this using 1 can of diced tomatoes with Italian herbs, drained instead of the broccoli and threw some chopped basil in the mix as well. Love how versatile this recipe is and how tasty it contines to come out.

Print PDF

Pan Bagnat (Soaked Bread)

A sandwich recipe. How droll.

Is that what you are thinking? I hope not because while this is technically a sandwich, I suppose, it tastes like a lot more than that. And involves a little more time and effort. But it is WELL worth it. You will want to prepare it the night before you plan to eat it. Then the next day you can just come home from work, throw together a salad to have with it and voila! A delicious summery meal!

Pan Bagnat
Serves 4, 3 points each.
2 large tomatoes, peeled, "spit" removed and chopped
1/4 cup chopped parsley
1/3 cup shredded fat free mozarella
2 scallions, thinly sliced
1 8 oz baguette (day old)
2 tbsp balsamic vinegar
1 tsp olive oil

First things first here is an insanely easy tip for peeling a tomato.

Cut an X on the bottom.



Place into a couple of inches of boiling water.



Wait for the skin to split (about 20 seconds).



Remove with a slotted spoon and run under cold water. The skin comes right off!



Cut the baguette lengthwise and scoop out all the bread *tearing it into small pieces) leaving mostly crust.

Combine all of the ingredients and mix with the pieces of bread.



Now stuff back into the "shell" of the baguette,




and wrap tightly with plastic wrap.



Referidgerate for 24 hours so the flavors blend and the bread softens a bit.

Then unwrap, slice into 4 pieces, and serve.



I served mine with a salad of Romaine, Carrots, Cucumbers, Scallions, Fat Free Feta and a little vinaigrette (for a total of 2 more points). So tasty!!



For a party - you could even use an entire long baguette, double the recipe for the filling and then slice it into small , appetizer size portions secured with a toothpick!

Print PDF

The Night of the Cucumber

With bathing suit season a breath away, I (and Adam inadvertantly since he eats what I cook!) have gone back on Weight Watchers for kicks and giggles!

I decided to do the online option since the new mobile app makes it so easy to keep track of points on the go (and even has a built in point calculator!). Not to mention I just love WW recipes. There are thousands of them and I feel like every day I have a new favorite. In this case my new favorites are what I made last night. A night I will refer to as years go by as The Night of the Cucumber.

I was at Stop and Shop the other day and they had simply gorgeous cucumbers. A good size. Firm. Vibrant green. I bought a few and decided to plan a meal around them. After consulting my WW cookbooks I decided to go with Poached Salmon and Cucumbers with a side of Cold Cucumber Soup.

Now, I had never poached a fish before and was a little dubious about how it would come out (overcooked fish is an abomination). But the broth used to poach the salmon is so flavorful - it gives a rich taste to the fish without adding any extra calories. And poached cucumbers? Might sound a little off but once you try them you will fall in love. They miraculously retain their crispness and impart a delicious bright and grassy flavor to the dish. It screams SUMMER.

And since I have been wanting to do a cuke soup for a while anyway - I decided to serve that on the side. Cuke Two Ways, if you will. The soup was incredibly easy, cool and refreshing. And went deliciously well with the salmon.


Poached Salmon and Cucumber
Serves 4, 5 pts a serving
1 lb salmon
1 cucumber, peeled, seeded and sliced thinly
2 cups vegetable or chicken broth
½ cup white wine
2 tbsp fresh dill (or more if you love dill, which I do)
Salt and pepper
1 tbsp lemon rind
2 cups brown rice

In a large pan – bring to a boil the broth and wine. Add the dill, lemon, salt and pepper and let simmer for 20 minutes to let the flavors blend.



Feel free to taste it and adjust the seasonings as you see fit. I added a bunch more dill because I LOVE DILL.

Add the cucumbers and let cook for 2 minutes



Add the salmon, skin down, and simmer in the broth, covered, for 5-7 minutes.


(I only used 1/2 the fish since it was just for adam and I and I dont like fish leftovers. O froze the rest of my salmon for another time!)

Serve over rice with cucumbers and broth spooned on top.



Cucumber Soup
4 servings. 2 pts a serving.
3 cups low fat plain yogurt
2 cucumbers, peeled, seeded and chopped
2 tbsp fresh dill
1 tbsp fresh mint
1 tbsp fresh chives
1 tbsp lemon juice (optional)
½ tsp salt
1/4 – ½ cup water.

Blend all ingredients but the water. Taste and adjust herbs/seasonings to suit you. Add water and stir until desired constistancy. Chill 1 hour. Serve with some chopped dill or mint on top.



A delicious, easy to prepare, filling and healthy springy/summer dinner! (All for a mere 7 points total!)

Print PDF

Caramelized Onion and Spring Spinach Lasagna

I can be somewhat one-track minded at times.
When I get it in my head that I want to do something. I have to do it. I MUST do it. This is especially true of recipes. Sometimes I come across one and I just have to make it. Immediately. Something about it just cries out and challenges me. This is precisely what happened yesterday when a coworker left a printout of a vegetarian lasagna recipe on my desk with a note “thought you would like this”. As I perused the ingredients I became inttigued. Caramelized onions? Gorgonzola? Spinach and basil?

I just had to do it.

So yesterday after work I went food shopping and when I got home I set about on my task. Now, something I had not considered is how labor intensive this recipe is. I mean it is doable on a weeknight but it is definitely not something you would just throw together quickly. And it is definitely a multi-pan project.

All of the hard work pays off though in the creation of the perfect spring lasagna. The sweetness of the caramelized onions is balanced nicely by the earthiness of the Portobello caps. The spinach and basil ricotta mixture just screams spring and the Gorgonzola sauce is frankly To Die For. Even Adam who loves his meat did not miss it in this dish, and in fact had two large servings.

So. Freaking. Good.

Caramelized Onion and Spring Spinach Lasagna
Adapted from this recipe

9 whole wheat lasagna noodles
4 large white or yellow onions, sliced thinly
4 medium Portobello mushroom caps, gills removed
½ cup red wine
Salt
4 cups spinach
2 cups fat free ricotta
1 cup chopped basil
2 cups fat free milk
Oluve Oil
4 tbsp all purpose flour
3 oz Gorgonzola cheese

Preheat oven to 350.

Cook the lasagna about 2-3 minutes short of what the box calls for. You want the noodles to be al dente. Drain and place in a bowl covered in cool water (Awesome trick to keep them from sticking together while you work!)

In a large pan heat 2 tbsp of olive oil over medium heat. Add the onions and cook until golden brown and very soft. Should take about 30 minutes of slow but if you would like to hurry it up turn the heat up to medium high just keep an eye on it so it doesn’t burn.



Once the onions are done, add the mushroom caps and cook for another 4 minutes.



Then add the wine and 1 tsp of salt and cook until all liquid is absorbed. Remove from heat and let cool slightly.




In a food processor, blend the ricotta, spinach and ½ c basil until smooth. Add a tsp of salt. Set aside.



Next, get a medium saucepan and heat 2 tbsp of olive oil on medium high heat. Stir in the flour and whisk constantly until foaming. Gradually stir in milk, constantly stirring until thickened to the consistency of gravy (2-3 minutes).



Stir in gorgonzola and whisk until melted. Remove from heat. Will thikcin as it stands.

Now comes the fun part. Assembly

Ladle about ½ a cup of the white sauce in the bottom of a 13 x 9 pan. Then layer three of the noodles.





Spread 1/3 of the spinach mixture on top.




Then 1/3 of the onion mixture.


Then ladle on ½ a cup more of the white sauce. Repeat this process 2 more times, finishing with the white sauce. Sprinke the remaining ½ cup chopped basil on top.

Bake for 30 minutes.



And revel in the delight of this vegetarian masterpiece!!

Print PDF