Coucous Paella

 

Meredith is my hero.  She's a lot of people's heroes.  I love how when she sets a goal for herself, nothing gets in her way.  I'm going to follow her lead and lose some weight.  Now!  She told me that being mindful of your caloric intake is very effective.  You don't realize until you start counting, just how many calories you're throwing in your mouth with "just a handful of that" or "just a slice of that."

So you might think it's a bit funny that I'm starting with a recipe that has chorizo in it.  It's a Spanish sausage, for anyone who might not know.  The first time I ate it, it was inside a pastry with cheese.  Now I can hardly say the word chorizo without drooling.  Somehow I managed to find healthy(?) chorizo recipes that are low in calories, but delightfully delicious.  I made this today and was very pleased.  Though, I have to say, sticking to one serving is a bit of a challenge.  It calls for serving it with couscous.  Due to an ingredient snafu, I ended up using quinoa instead.  In fact, a few weeks ago I had bought single serving quinoa already cooked and packaged.  Genius for packing a lunch or for cooking for one.

I followed the recipe pretty closely.  Didn't use saffron because I don't have any.  I cooked the chicken a bit before putting the broth in.  It was very simple and the tiny bits of chorizo add just the right zing.

http://www.eatingwell.com/recipes/couscous_paella_soup.html

Labor Day Dinner

My new roommate and I decided to celebrate this lazy holiday by being productive. We put together a a watermelon basil salad, mashed some cauliflower, and grilled up some portabella mushrooms on the roof. It was easy to make and to clean up. Nutritionists say that a good way to tell if your meal is healthy or not, is if there's a lot of color on your plate. Look at how colorful that thing is!

For the cauliflower, we used the recipe on the NCC site, but substituted non-fat Greek yogurt for the cream cheese. The yogurt gave it a bit of a sour taste, but in a good way. It kind of reminded me of the mashed potatoes that Lizzy makes, which I love!

We used balsamic vinegar and olive oil on the mushrooms, grilled them for about fifteen minutes, and seasoned with salt and pepper.

For the salad, we tossed some basil and watermelon with olive oil, salt, and pepper, then put in some fresh mozzarella.

We didn't really measure anything. It was pretty easy to eye-ball it. I was surprisingly comfortable without the measurements. Growth mindset! Very successful dinner. Good teamwork. This definitely won't be our last post.

White Chicken Chili

Ingredients

• 1.5 lbs (about 4) boneless,skinless chicken breasts 
• 1 large (48 1/2 oz.) can chicken broth 
• 1 large (48 oz.) Northern white beans, drained 
• 2 cups chopped onion 
• 1-2 cups frozen corn, thawed 
• Garlic to taste 
• 2 heaping tsp. ground cumin 
• 2 tsp. ground oregano 
• 1/4 tsp pepper 
• Olive oil for sautéing 

Directions

1. Sauté onion and garlic in olive oil. 
2. Microwave or oven bake chicken until cooked then dice or shred. 
3. Then add all ingredients and slow cook for 2-3 hours on stove.

Green Beans in Warm Bacon Vinaigrette

Ingredients

• 2 pounds haricots verts, trimmed
• 3 slices bacon, chopped
• 3/4 cup thinly sliced shallots (about 2 medium)
• 1 1/2 tablespoons toasted walnut oil
• 2 teaspoons champagne vinegar
• 1 teaspoon kosher salt
• 3 tablespoons chopped walnuts, toasted
• 1 tablespoon chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley

Directions

1. Cook beans in boiling water for 7 minutes or until crisp-tender. Drain and plunge beans into ice water; drain.
2. Cook bacon in a large nonstick skillet over medium heat until crisp; remove with a slotted spoon. 
3. Add shallots to drippings in pan; cook 5 minutes or until tender. Combine shallots and bacon in a large bowl. 
4. Add beans to pan; cook 3 minutes or until thoroughly heated. 
5. Add beans, oil, vinegar, and salt to bacon mixture; toss to combine. Sprinkle with walnuts and parsley.

Photo and recipe from Cooking Light

Chicken Enchiladas

Ingredients

• 1 lb. boneless, skinless chicken breasts trimmed & pounded if necessary
• Salt & pepper
• 2½ cups of enchilada sauce (store bought or from scratch)
• 1 cup finely crumbled queso fresco or feta cheese
• 1 (4 oz.) can of green chiles
• ½ cup minced fresh cilantro
• 12 (6-inch) soft corn tortillas
• Vegetable oil spray (or you can use vegetable oil in a little bowl with a brush)
• 1 cup shredded cheddar cheese
• Lime wedges (optional)
• Sour cream (optional)

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 350. Pat chicken dry and season with salt and pepper.
2. Combine the chicken and enchilada sauce in a medium saucepan & simmer for 10-15 minutes over medium-low heat. Then flip the chicken over, cover and cook for an additional 10-15 minutes until chicken reaches 160-165 degrees with an instant-read thermometer.
3. Remove chicken from pan and shred into bite-sized pieces. Combine shredded chicken, ½ cup of the enchilada sauce, queso fresco, chiles and cilantro in a bowl. Add salt and pepper if desired. Cover to keep warm.
4. Lightly coat both sides of 6 tortillas with vegetable oil and place on a baking sheet. Bake until tortillas are soft & pliable, about 2 to 4 minutes.
5. Quickly place tortillas on a flat surface and place ⅓ cup of the chicken mixture into each one. Tightly roll each tortilla around the chicken and place in a 9×13 baking dish. Repeat steps 4 and 5 for the remaining 6 tortillas.
6. Increase oven temperature to 450 degrees. Pour 1 more cup of enchilada sauce over the tortillas and sprinkle with the cheddar cheese. Cover with foil and bake for about 10 minutes. Remove foil and bake an additional 3 to 5 minutes to melt the cheese.
7. Serve with remaining enchilada sauce, optional lime wedges and optional sour cream.

Serving size: 2 enchiladas Calories: 420 Fat: 16 g Saturated fat: 8 g Carbohydrates: 40 gFiber: 5 g Protein: 29 g

Recipe from America's Test Kitchen

Fusilli with Asparagus, Peas, and Arugula

Photo from Spoonful of Flavor

Fusilli Pasta with Asparagus, Peas, and Arugula
Yield: about 6 servings


Ingredients

• 4 tsp. olive oil
• 2 leeks, white and light green parts only, halved lengthwise and sliced thin
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 2 tsp. fresh thyme, minced
• 1 cup chicken broth
• ¾ cup frozen peas
• 3 tbsp. fresh lemon juice
• salt
• pepper
• 1 bunch asparagus, tough ends trimmed, and sliced on the bias into 1 inch lengths
• 12 ounces fusilli pasta
• 2 cups baby arugula (or baby spinach)
• ½ cup crumbled goat cheese

Directions

1. Heat 2 teaspoons of the oil in a non-stick skillet over medium heat until shimmering. Add the leeks and cook until softened and beginning to brown at the edges, about 5 to 7 minutes. Stir in the garlic and thyme and cook until fragrant, about 30 seconds.
2. Slowly whisk in the broth and bring to a simmer, scraping up any browned bits. Remove from heat; stir in the peas and lemon juice. Let stand until the peas are heated through, at least 2 minutes. Season with salt and pepper to taste.
3. Meanwhile, bring a large pot of water to a boil. Add the asparagus and 1 teaspoon salt and cook, stirring often, until the asparagus is crisp-tender, 2 to 4 minutes. Remove the asparagus with a slotted spoon and set aside.
4. Return the water to a boil, add the pasta, and cook according to the package directions until al dente. When the pasta is finished cooking, reserve ¼ cup of the pasta water, then drain the pasta and return it to the pot.
5. Add the arugula to the pasta and toss to wilt. Add the leek-broth mixture, asparagus, goat cheese, and remaining 2 teaspoons of oil, toss to combine. Before serving, add the reserved cooking water as needed to loosen the sauce.

Recipe from America's Test Kitchen

Straightforward and Concentrated Margarita

A bit silly for those more experienced in cocktails, but this recipe solves two "problems" for me:

1. I'm not very creative when it comes to thinking up drinks to order - it's either something on the menu or vodka + grapefruit (GREYHOUND) or cranberry juice. 
2. I never really liked margaritas, which I finally deduced was due to the sour mix.

Image via epicurean.com

Equal parts-ish (1-1.5 oz, depending on the size or your shot glass):

• - Patron (or a tequlia of your choosing)
• Silver tequilas are supposedly superior to the regular stuff, at least among major brands in the US.
• - Triple Sec
• - Lime juice (fresh or from one of those plastic limes)
• I've used key lime juice a few times, which gives it a nice kick.

Combine liquids and ice in a shaker. Shake. Pour over ice in a glass. Imbibe.