Review and Pictures of Honey-Mustard Pork Chops

Here it is, what we had for dinner, Honey-Mustard Pork Chops, baked potato, garden salad and homemade applesauce.  I would me these pork chops again.  I think the honey mustard would even be good on chicken done this same way.  Nolan ate the pork chop with no complaints.  Maura doesn't like mustard so not surprisingly didn't like these.  I really liked the flavor and they were easier than I thought.  Chris is yet to try them because he just walked in from work.  I will let you know what he thought later.

Review and Picture of Black Bean and Sweet Potato Quesadilla

Chris and I were the only ones that ate this.  I made bacon and cheese quesadillas for the kids.  So, we think that this needs something.  I think if you used refried black beans (I think Meijer carries these) and sautee'd the sweet potato with onion and garlic before adding to the quesadilla, it would help.  If I make these again, I will try that way and let everyone know how it turned out.

Tonight's Dinner (Black Bean and Sweet Potato Quesadillas) brought to you by the 9 pounds Chris and I lost this week!!

This was on my weekly menu and the only thing I could make for tonight since it doesn't need to have any part of it thawed or prepared in any other significant way.  Sundays are busy for us so I am hoping this will be the perfect pairing to the hustle and bustle that goes without saying on this night of the week.

You will need:
1 sweet potato peeled, cut into small squares and boiled and drained. 
1 can black beans, rinsed and drained. 
1/4 shredded 2% milk cheese or a combination of these.  I am using 1/8 cup of Mexican and 1/8 cup Colby & Monterey Jack.  
2 tortillas of your choice per quesadilla.  I am using the Tumaro's Salsa tortillas this time.

Nutritionals:
1/4 cup sweet potato- 1 WW point
1/4 cup black beans-1.25 WW points
1/4 cup cheese- just Mexican 2.5 WW points, just Colby & Monterey 2 WW points, 1/8 cup each 2.25 WW points.
Tumaro's Salsa Tortillas (substitute your brand here, use point calculator under "Things that get me through the day" to find your WW points.)  Mine are 1.5 WW points each for a total of 3 WW points.

Total for my quesadilla is 7.5 WW points.
Lay tortilla flat, top with 1/4 cup sweet potato, 1/4 cup black beans, 1/4 cup cheese.  You may mash beans or potato if you prefer.  I want a little more give to my bite.  Cover with other tortilla.
Bake at 350 degrees until the cheese is melted and it is heated through.
 I use a pizza cutter to divide it in quarters after they come out of the oven.  You could eat all four pieces or just two depending on your appetite and point allowance and what you are serving with.
I will serve this with Knorr Chicken flavor rice (It works out to 7 WW points per cup so 3.5 WW points per 1/2 cup) and a vegetable.

Honey-Glazed Pork Chops for Monday night!! (Recipe included)

This recipe was taken from the WW New Complete Cookbook.  Thanks to my BIL, Al for supplying us with some pork.  He went feral pig hunting a few weeks ago and shared this bounty with us!


What you will need:
4 teaspoons honey
1/4 cup Dijon mustard
1 tsp. cider or wine vinegar
1/4 tsp salt
Freshly ground pepper, to taste
4 (5 oz.) bone-in loin pork chops, 1 inch thick. 

Nutritionals as follows;
honey- 2.6 WW points
Dijon mustard- 0
vinegar- 0
pork chop- 4 WW points each
Here are the listed nutrionals from recipe book- 178 calories, 7g fat, 2g carb., 0 fiber and 26 g protein.
I entered the listed nutrionals from the cookbook into the new WW calculator and it totals 4.5 WW points per chop.  I am thinking of doubling this recipe since we have about 1.5 pounds of meat to use.
I will accompany the pork chops with homemade applesauce (free) and potatoes.

1. To prepare the marinade, in a small saucepan over low heat, heat the honey until it liquefies.  Stir in the mustard, vinegar, salt and pepper: cool to room temperature.
2. Place the pork chops in a gallon size plastic bag; add the marinade.  Seal the bag, squeezing out the air; turn to coat the chops.  Refriegerate, turning the bag occasionally, at least 8 hours or overnight.  Remove the chops from the fridge 30 minutes before broiling.
3. Preheat the broiler.  Discard the marinade.  Place the chops on the broiler rack and broil 3-4 inches from the heat until cooked through, 6-7 minutes on each side.
I was planning to have these tonight (Sunday) but didn't read through the entire recipe first (bad mistake) and didn't realize I needed them to marinate overnight so... Dinner is half done for tomorrow.  :)  I will post pic after making this tomorrow along with a review.

Weekend

I am taking a break for the weekend.  But I will try my best to post two new recipes tomorrow.  Now, whether I post pictures or not is another issue.  Have a great one!

I got this cookbook from my BFF Jaime the first time I tried WW.  It has served me well.  I have used it lots and there are REAL recipes in there for a REAL family that we all like.  There is a newer version out now that probably has the NEW point system but I still like this one and just convert points myself since I usually adjust the recipes anyway.

Results are in PLUS pic of Steak Fajitas!

Chris gave the steak fajitas a 7/10.  The kids didn't like the peppers.  I thought it was good and filling.  I think if we would have had salsa, that would have been a good thing.  I would make these again or even try them with one pound of chicken instead.

Take the poll and let me know what you want to see. Tonight is Steak Fajitas!!!

I am using the WW Chinese Pepper Steak Wraps recipe as a base for my own variation.

Recipe
1 TBSP dry sherry
1 TBSP reduced-soudium soy sauce
1 TBSP corn starch
4 tsp peanut oil
1 tsp sugar
1/2-1 tsp chili sauce, chili oil or dried red peppers
1 pound round steak, visible fat trimmed, sliced as thin as possible.  (The WW cookbook suggests freezing the meat for 20 minutes prior to cutting.  Since mine is being thawed, I will cut it when pliable).
1 green and 1 red bell pepper, seeded and thinly sliced.
1 medium onion, thinly sliced
 (In the winter, I buy this pepper and onion blend in the frozen veggie section at Kroger or Meijer.  It is perfect for fajitas! 
4 fat free 6 inch fajitas (I am using Tumaro's Gourmet Tortillas Salsa flavor.  They are 96% fat free and were purchased at Meijer by the deli.)

1. To prepare marinade, combine sherry, soy sauce, cornstarch, 2 tsp. of the peanut oil, sugar and chili paste, chili oil or dried chili peppers  (I am thinking at this point that if you use the chili oil, you could omit one tsp. of the peanut oil here. IF so, adjust points to reflect.) and beef to a gallon sized plastic ziplock bag.  Seal the bag, squeeze out the air, turn to coat the beef.  Refrigerate, turning bag occasionally, at least one hour.  Drain, reserving the marinade.
2. In a large non-stick pan, heat the 2 tsp. of peanut oil.  Add the beef and saute' until barely pink, 1-2 minutes.  Transfer to a plate.
3. In the skillet saute' the peppers and onion until soft, about 8 minutes.  Add the reserved marniade after 4 minutes and cook until it evaporates.  Return beef to the pan and cook stirring until heated through.
4. Divide the beef and veggies into 4ths and then fill one or two tortillas and enjoy!

Nutrional breakdown for my version;
sherry- 0
soy sauce-0
cornstarch- 2.5 WW points
peanut oil- 4.6 WW points
sugar-1.5
chili sauce- 0
 chili oil- 1.5 WW points
 or pepper flakes- 0
steak- 26 WW points
peppers- 0
onion- 0
Total WW points for the above is 34.6- 36.1.   This will depend on whether you use the chili peppers or chili sauce or chili oil. Divide this above into 4 servings which would be 8.65-9 WW points for each 1/4 pound of steak mixture.  Then you will need to add your tortilla points in depending on the brand etc. 
1 tortilla- 1.5 WW points (for the ones I am using, mentioned above.  These are low carb tortillas).

IF you omit 1 of the tsp. of peanut oil and use the 1 tsp of chili oil in it's place for the marinade; peanut oil total would be 3.45 WW points and 1.5 WW points for the chili oil so...  4.9 WW points.  This would change the total recipe (before tortillas) to 34.9 WW points, hence 8.73 WW points per  1/4 mixture.

So, this meal would be 11.65 WW points with two of my fajitas. I will serve this with rice and salsa.
white rice is 2.5 WW points for 1/2 cup or 5 WW points for 1 cup.  Most salsa would be free.

Pictures and review will be posted tonight!

Tonight's Meal is brought to you by Yoga and Dinner with a Friend

I won't be cooking tonight since it is Yoga night and I am going out to dinner afterwards with my friend Jennifer.  So....  Chris and the kids will have leftovers.

I still want to leave you with a recipe for today but I won't have pictures until the next time I actually make it and take a picture.

Stuffed Pasta Shells Florentine

1 10 oz. pkg. chopped spinach, thawed and drained  0 WW points
1 c. (4oz.) part skim shredded mozzarella cheese  6 WW points
1 c. part skim ricotta or your choice of cottage cheese, details follow;
(part skim ricotta 9  WW points
fat free cottage cheese  3 WW points
1% fat cottage cheese 4 WW points
2% fat cottage cheese 5 WW points
reg. fat cottage cheese 6 WW points)
1 egg white 0 WW points
1/4 tsp. ground nutmeg
1 TBSP. grated parmesan .5 WW points, you could double this to 2 TBSP. for 1 WW point if you want
16 oz. jumbo shells, cooked and drained.  It is 5 WW points for every 2oz.  I usually count the total shells in the box and divide by 8.  That will give you how many shells per 2 oz.  (I REALLY think measuring pasta by ounces is a hard way for people to figure out diets, should be by shell).
1 15 1/2 oz. jar of spaghetti sauce.  I usually use my homemade sauce but if not, I go for a marinara.  It is 2 WW points per 1/2 cup.  Just find the total cups, should be about 4 cups per jar.  And that makes it 8 WW points per jar.
So, total WW points for this recipe is 57.5-63.5, depending on what cheese you use, cottage or ricotta.  That makes it 7.2(just say 7)-7.9 (or 8) WW points per 2 oz. serving.  Don't quote me but I think 5 shells was a serving.
Heat oven to 375 degrees
Stir spinach, mozzarella cheese, cottage (or ricotta) cheese, egg white, parmesan cheese and nutmeg until well blended.
Fill each pasta shell with heaping TSBP. of spinach mixture.
Place shells in large baking dish, I think I use a 12x8
Spoon sauce over shells
Cover with foil
Bake 30-40 minutes.
YUM!!  This makes a lot and will freeze easy or make good lunch leftovers.  I apologize for not having all the nutritonals down pat on this but I am out of shells.  I know that under the old WW's scale it was 1 WW point per filled shell which was a very healthy serving.
I would serve this with a salad and Arnold's sandwich thins made into garlic bread using I can't believe it's not butter spray and garlic salt in the toaster oven.  I think it is 1 WW point for both halves of the thin.  (Also, I saw that Kroger carries their brand of these thins but I didn't check out price or nutritionals.  I usually buy my Arnold's thins at Sam's Club and freeze them).

Easier Chicken Marsala Review and Pic

Here it is!  This was a delicious 11 WW point meal.  It was very filling.  I served the chicken to the kids without the sauce and mushrooms.  Both of them liked the chicken a lot.  They both also ate the tops of the asparagus (which by the way, come on, is the best part).  And this is just so easy.  This is the first time that I used the sliced baby bella mushrooms and I think I liked it a little better with them than regular sliced white mushrooms but even canned mushrooms would work in a pinch.

One of my favorites, Easier Chicken Marsala (recipe included)

I love this recipe! I can't remember where I first saw it but I know that I adjusted the recipe to fit WW's the last time I was going strong with it.
Ingredients
1/4c. all purpose flour (2 WW points)
1/2 tsp. garlic salt (free)
1/4 tsp. ground black pepper (free)
1/2 tsp. dried oregano (free)
 1 pound of chicken cut into 4 even pieces (16 points total recipe)
1 TBSP olive oil (3 WW points)
1 TBSP. butter (3 WW points)
1 cup fresh sliced mushrooms (free) I am using sliced baby bellas this time.
1/2 cup Marsala wine (2 WW points), (find this near the vinegar at Meijer at least).
There is a total of 26 WW points in this recipe. If you divide it by 4, one piece of chicken and some mushrooms and wine for each person, it will be 6.5 WW points per serving. I will serve this with mashed potatoes and steamed asparagus tonight. Sometimes I serve it with pasta but since I had pasta last night, I want to do something different.
Easier Chicken Marsala Recipe
1. In a medium bowl, stir together flour, garlic salt, pepper and oregano. Dredge chicken in the mixture to coat. 2. Heat olive oil and butter in large skillet over medium heat. Fry the chicken in the skillet for 2 minutes or until lightly browned on one side. Turn the chicken over and add the mushrooms. Cook about 2 minutes until other side of chicken is lightly browned. Stir mushrooms so that they cook evenly. 3. Pour wine over chicken, cover and simmer for about 10 minutes. This is very tasty and easy! You could double or triple this recipe if serving to a larger family of course. And as long as you just have 1 piece of chicken etc. it will be the same points.
Enjoy!

Review of Chicken Piccata, Would I make this again?

I ended up using Gemelli pasta. I really like this one because it collects the sauce in just the right way for lots of dishes and the kids think it looks cool.
I would make this again but I could do without the lemon juice. And honestly I could eat it without the chicken. It was so filling and I am just not the biggest of meat eaters.
Hubby,Chris- (34/male) Two big thumbs up!
Maura, daughter (6) so so She said she liked it all except the spinach part.
Nolan, son (3 3/4) He really liked the chicken and really disliked the spinach aspect of the dish.

Spinach Chicken Piccata (recipe included)

Spinach Chicken Piccata
Serves 4, Prep. time 10 minutes/Total time 30 minutes.

1 to 1 1/4 pounds boneless, skinless chicken breast.
1 TBSP. olive oil
salt and pepper to taste
1/4 cup all purpose flour
1 TBSP. chopped garlic or to taste
1 package (12 oz.) frozen leaf spinach
8 oz. sliced mushrooms
2 cups grated zucchini (optional)
1 cup fat free milk
1/3 cup lemon juice
4 cups cooked whole wheat penne pasta
1 TBSP capers, drained and rinsed well
1/4 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese

Cut the chicken into 1-inch cubes. Set aside.
In a large non-stick skillet, heat the olive oil over medium heat. When hot, add the chicken and cook until lightly browned and no longer pink. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Sprinkle flour over the chicken, stir it in and cook about one minute. Add the garlic, spinach, mushrooms and if using, the zucchini.
Continue cooking until the spinach is wilted and mushrooms are partially cooked. Add the milk and simmer until the sauce thickens, stirring periodically. Stir in the lemon juice and simmer about five minutes.
Place one cup of cooked pasta in a serving dish and top with the chicken mixture. Sprinkle each serving with a few capers and top each with about one TBSP. of Parmesan cheese.
I got this recipe from the Detroit Newspaper and it was provided by Elaine Stewart.
Their listed nutrionals are:
579 calories, 12g fat, 9 fiber. This would be 10 points under the old scale and 14.5 points on the new scale.

I am making some slight adjustments in order to lower the points and for convenience. My version has 11.75 WW points on the new scale.
I omitted the zucchini and capers. I am using 2% fat milk (because that's what I have) and just one pound of chicken. I will use whatever pasta I have on hand and it will be 5 WW points for 1 cup. You could half the serving size of pasta or both pasta and sauce to lower points further.

Here is my point breakdown for this meal:

3 oz. chicken=3 WW points, so 1 pound would be 16 WW points in total recipe
1 tsp. olive oil=1 WW point so 1 TBSP. would be 3 WW points.
2 TBSP flour=1 WW point so 1/4 cup (or 4 TBSP.) would be 2 WW points.
1 cup of 2% fat milk=3 WW points.
salt, pepper, garlic, spinach, mushrooms and lemon juice are free 0 WW points.
1/4 cup Parmesan cheese=3 points
Total recipe WW points= 27
You will divide this by 4 for 6.75 WW points
PLUS 1 cup of pasta of your choice, whole wheat is 4 points and reg. is 5 points for one cup.
Enjoy!!
This would also be great MINUS the chicken, with the zucchini or any other veggies of your choice added in.

Tacos for Tonight

Here is what we had and a breakdown of nutritionals;

Old ElPaso Stand'n Stuff yellow corn taco shells (2)=130 calories, 6g fat and 1g of fiber. This makes for 3 WW points on the old scale and 3.5 WW points on the new scale.

1 pound of beef. We get our beef from a grain fed cow farm each year. This is healthier, we know what the cow is fed and we know the farmer. I like NOT buying beef from the grocery store but to each his own.
WW says 1/4 cup of beef with 20% fat or more is 4 points and 2 points for the new scale. I used their measurements and rounded up just in case. I always drain the meat and rinse it with very hot water.

Tony Chachere's Creole Red Beans and Rice Dinner Mix. I followed the directions but didn't add the optional meat. It made appx. 3.5 cups and it was 85 calories, .5g fat and 4g of fiber. This is only 1 WW point per 1/2 cup so 2 WW points for a whole cup under the old scale. It would be 2.3 WW points on the new scale for a half cup so 4.57 for a whole cup under the new scale. This was VERY good and filling. I could even imagine eating it as a chili or soup. It has a soupier consistency.

Meijer brand 2% milk (reduced fat) Mexican cheese blend. For a 1/4 cup serving; 80 calories, 6g fat and 0 fiber. It was 2 points under the old WW and 2.5 points on the new WW scale.

Meijer brand reduced fat sour cream. I just don't like fat free anything so I usually compromise but going for reduced fat. This was 2 TBSP for a serving and there are 35 calories, 2g fat and 0 fiber. It is 1 WW point on the old scale and 1 WW point on the new scale.

I ate one taco with 1 TBSP. of sour cream, 1 TBSP. of cheese and 1/8 cup of beef. The other shell broke but I ate it the same way but I did top the open shelled taco with some of the rice and beans. It was good. The rice is spicy. I usually have salsa on hand but I didn't today. I served the rice and beans in a bowl b/c it greatly resembled soup.

I served this with cut up strawberries and blueberries.

My dinner total was 11 WW points according to the old scale.

WWWhat's Cooking?

This is my first post to what I hope becomes a successful trip into healthy eating and weight loss. I will post my meals daily on this site complete with calories, fat and fiber information. I want to use this Blog as a tool to weight loss success. This blog will be a one stop view of easy to follow, healthy meals.