Thursday, May 19, 2011

Spicy Shrimp Fried Rice

This is another winning recipe from Gina's Skinny Recipes (www.skinnytaste.com). That girl is good! The only issue I have with the recipe is that it was sorta, well... wrong. The ingredients didn't match the cooking instructions. The ingredient list doesn't include paprika, chili powder, and some other spices; however, those spices are included in the instructions without the measurements. So I kiiinda overdid it with those ones and Mike and I almost burned our tongues out of our mouths. Note to self: A little bit o' chili powder and red pepper flakes go a loooong way. Luckily I Googled 'How to cool down spicy food' and found a secret weapon that I added and made the rice edible.

Clearly I need to take a class in food photography

WW Points Plus: 8 per serving (1/4 of the recipe)

Ingredients:
  • 3 cups brown rice cooked
  • 1 lb large shrimp, peeled and deveined (peeled weight is .75 lb)
  • 2 egg whites, scrambled
  • 1 whole egg, scrambled
  • 1/2 onion, chopped
  • 2 cloves garlic, diced
  • 5 scallions, chopped, whites and greens separated
  • oil spray
  • 1 tbsp sesame oil with cayenne pepper
  • 1 tsp crushed red pepper flakes (or more to taste)
  • 4 tsp soy sauce (or more to taste)
  • 1 tsp Asian fish sauce - I didn't have this, so I just omitted it. Bet it would be even better with.
  • salt and fresh pepper
Gina's Instructions:
In a bowl, season shrimp with cayenne pepper, chili powder, paprika, salt, pepper and garlic powder. (<-- Huh? Those aren't in the list. I'd say use 1/2 tsp of each.)

Scramble eggs with a drop of water and season with salt and pepper. In a hot wok, spray a little oil and cook the eggs. When cooked, remove from pan and set aside.

Let the wok get really hot. Add sesame oil and saute onions, scallion whites, garlic and hot pepper flakes for about 1-2 minutes. Add shrimp and saute until no longer translucent. Add rice and cooked egg along with soy sauce and fish sauce, mixing well for about 2 minutes. Add greens of the scallions and serve.

Can I just say that I love having green onions growing in my yard? Have I said this already? lovelovelove.

Oh! Almost forgot... The secret ingredient for cooling down superspicy food after it's already cooked:
Worked like a charm and you couldn't taste the honey. Genius! You're welcome. :)   Or did you know that already?

Wednesday, May 18, 2011

Quick Chicken & Black Bean Burritos

Got this out of my Just 5: 125 Recipes with 5 Ingredients WW cookbook. It's a good one. Although you have to add some extra ingredients to make it really good. So, it's a Just 5 + 2 ingredients recipe.

Not the most flattering picture, but you get the idea. It was sooo good. Trust!

Per serving (1 burrito): 8 WW PointsPlus

Ingredients:
3/4 lb skinless chicken breast cut into bite-sized pieces
1 15.5 oz can of no salt added black beans - rinsed and drained
4 7-inch flour tortillas
8 tbsp fat free salsa
4 tbsp shredded low fat Mexican cheese blend
+  A few dashes of your fave hot sauce
+ Cilantro (Added after I took the pic)

EDIT: I also added some onions in with the chicken and black beans.  High recommended.

Instructions:
1) Spray non-stick skillet with PAM & set over medium-high heat
2) Add chicken and cook until browned (about 6 minutes)
3) Add beans and cook, stirring occasionally (about 2 minutes)
4) Warm tortillas according to package directions
5) Place tortilla on flat surface and spoon 1/4 of the chicken mixture down center, top w/ 2 tbsp of salsa, 1 tbsp of shredded cheese, a couple of dashes of yummy hot sauce, and a few shredded pieces of cilantro
6) Fold sides of tortilla over filling and roll up.

It was super easy. Great for weeknight meals. And with a Corona Light.

Monday, May 9, 2011

House update

Latest purchase: Master bedroom ceiling fan. The Stratford II. 
http://www.hunterfan.com/Products/Ceiling-Fans/The-Stratford-Five-Minute-Fan-28686/   Let's hope it is indeed a Five Minute Fan.


We're not in the room yet. We want to be, but we've had some expenses come up that sucked up the new carpet monies. So, Molly is learning patience. And making peace with the fact that Mike is not in fact a secret millionaire.

WW Honey-Glazed Salmon

So, I'm trying to eat foods that bring my high cholesterol number down. I have never been a fan of salmon, but figured I'd try it again since it is a great weapon against high LDL numbers. This dish was definitely yummy, but needed some sort of additional flavor kick. Not sure what that would be. The old standby... hot sauce? Or spicy mustard?

Excuse the brokenness of the fish. I was trying to see if it was flaky and done, but it was fighting me.


9 Points Plus per serving. Yield: 4 servings (serving size: 1 fillet)

Instructions:
  • Preheat broiler.
  • Combine first 7 ingredients, and stir well with a whisk.
  • Place fillets on a broiler pan coated with cooking spray. Brush with honey mixture; cook 12 minutes or until fish flakes easily when tested with a fork, basting frequently with honey mixture. Yield: 4 servings (serving size: 1 fillet).
Ingredients:

2 tbsp honey   
1 tbsp fresh orange juice

1 tbsp fresh lemon juice
1 tbsp hoisin sauce
2 tsp dijon mustard
1/4 tsp salt and 1/4 tsp pepper

4   6 oz salon filets (I actually did my maf wrong at the store and got two 6 oz filets and cooked those up. Oops. It was a lotta fish.)

1 spray PAM

P.S. I served it with green beans tossed with sesame oil and a little bit of coarse salt. Yum!