Weight Watcher Wednesday: Zucchini Risotto with Sun Dried Tomatoes

This is a fabulous dish of deliciousness.  Really it does not get any better than this.  Well, maybe with all fresh vegetables from the garden.  For sure I will be making this in the summer.  And it would be so nice on the grill.  It's a meal in itself but I dont see why you couldnt add a grilled piece of chicken along side.  For me, I was totally content just having the risotto.

Zucchini Risotto with Sun Dried Tomatoes
Recipe adapted from Weight Watchers New Companion Cookbook; WIley Publishing, Inc.

3 1/2 cups vegetable broth/stock
1 tablespoon olive oil
1/2 cup tomato juice
1/2 cup onion, chopped
4 medium zucchini, chopped
1/2 dry white wine
1 1/3 cups Arborio rice
16 sun dried tomatoes, snipped into small pieces with kitchen sheers
1/2 cup finely chopped parsley
1 tablespoon fresh marjoram or 1 teaspoon dired
2 tablespoons parmesan cheese
1/4 teaspoon pepper

Bring tomato juice and veegtable broth to a boil in a seperate pan.  Cover and keep on low simmer.

In a fairly large sauce pan or a stock pot, saute the onion in oil until soft.  Add chopped zucchini and wine.  Cook five minutes.  Add the rice cook and stir one minute. 

Add a cup of the stock mixture, sundried tomatoes, parsley, pepper, marjoram and cook stirring untilt he moisture is absorbed.  Add broth 1/2 cup at a time.  Repeat this step of adding broth until the rice is tender.  Stir in the parmesan.

1 1/2 cups is 360 calories.

Weight Watcher Wednesday: Southwestern Style Chicken Stew

This past Sunday we had this for dinner along with some cornbread!  Delicious.  I loved it.

Southwestern Style Chicken Stew

6 thighs, skin and fat removed
1 cup dried Pinto or Northern beans
1 cup corn
1 bay leaf
1 teaspoon cumin
1 clove garlic, minced
1 onion, chopped
1/4 cup cilantro
2 pints (4 cups) salsa

Soak beans overnight.  Or if you are in a hurry like I was- soak them for an hour and then simmer them in some water until nearly tender.  Add chicken, cumin, bay leaf, onion and garlic.  Put enough water in the pot so that the chicken is covered.  Simmer stew until the chicken is falling off the bone.  By that time your beans should be perfect.  Add salsa and at the last minute add cilantro.  (Boiling cilantro will remove a lot of its flavor). 

about 250 calories for 2 cups

Weight Watcher Wednesday: Chicken Curry

Photo courtesy of Weight Watchers

Yes, I am still having trouble with getting into Google- blog comments, google docs, any of it.  It is a royal pain in the neck.  In order to get onto my blog I have to sign in and out and in and out and so on and so forth.  If any of you have any suggestions I would appreciate it.  I am pretty sure it has to do with my search proxy.  One of these days I will figure it out or I will end up having to pay someone to do it for me. 

What I can do now is tell you about WW's Chicken Curry.  It is very flavorful.  Which of course is how curry should be.  I did enjoy this one and if I were eating these all the time this one would probably be a regular.

There is quite a bit of chicken in this one.   I have to say one of the best parts of any of these meals are the sauces that go with them.  Except for the salmon one, I loved them all and they are very plentiful in the package.

If you like the idea of chicken curry and would like to make your own, you might want to try this one.  Sounds delicious.  View source here.

Chicken Curry

½ cup plain low-fat yogurt
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 tablespoon curry powder, I like to use a garam masala mix
1 inch piece of ginger, grated
¼ teaspoon salt
1 dash ground red pepper
1 ½ lbs chicken parts, skinned
2 teaspoons vegetable oil
½ cup chopped tomatoes
1 bay leaf


In bowl, combine yogurt and seasonings; add chicken parts, turning to coat. Let stand at room temperature for 30 minutes to one hour.

In a skillet heat oil; add onion and saute until lightly browned. Add tomatoes and the bay leaf - let simmer for 5 minutes; add chicken and marinade mixture and stir to combine.

Bring mixture to a boil. Reduce heat, cover and let simmer, turning once to twice, until chicken is tender, about 30 minutes; remove bay leaf before serving.

Triple Chocolate Cheesecake

I made this Triple Chocolate Cheesecake for a Valentines get together of our quilting guild.  I had to make chocolate as we met last on Valentines Day.  Me and the other ladies had chocolate and heart shaped pretties on our mind as well.  You should have seen the spread and silly me I did not get a pic.  What I can share with you is a picture of the last remaining piece that I went home with and the recipe.  The recipe being the main thing as you now can taste this lusciousness for yourself.

Please bear with me if I have not been commenting on blogs because I still have an issue with logging onto them.  I can look at pics but I am unable to leave comments or frankly do anything on blogger like docs.  Eventually, I will figure it out.



Triple Chocolate Cheesecake
adapted from this recipe at Pink Parsley

Crust:

1 1/2 cups chocolate cookie crumbs
1/3 cup butter, melted

Cake:

4 (8-ounce) packages of cream cheese, softened to room temperature
2 1/2 Tbs all-purpose flour
scant 1/4 tsp salt
4 eggs
1 1/2 cups sugar
7 oz semisweet chocolate, chopped and melted
1 heaping cup mini semisweet chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. For the crust: Combine crumbs and butter. Press on the bottom and up the sides a little of a 9-inch spring form pan.

For the cheesecake: Beat cream cheese until smooth. Add flour and salt. Gradually beat in sugar. Add eggs one at a time, beating after each addition. Add melted chocolate. Stir in chocolate chips.

Pour mixture into prepared crumb crust. Bake at 450 degrees F for 10 to 12 minutes. Reduce heat to 300 degrees and bake 40-50 minutes longer, or until filling is barely set in middle. Remove from oven and let stand at room temperature 1 hour. Then refrigerate for several hours or overnight. 

Weight Watcher Wednesday: Wild Alaskan Salmon Review

Picture courtesy of Weight Watchers

My second meal of the ones I received from Weight Watchers was this Wild Alaskan Salmon with a Brown Rice Pilaf. I was real curious to give it a go, straight away.  The overall flavor was fair and the fish was definitely on the dry side.  I would imagine that it would be pretty difficult to package fish and it turn out to be a stellar fish.  I had a hard time getting past the desire to smother it in tartar sauce which would be totally counter productive.  Instead I used up a some sweet and sour sauce that I had lying around and it did the trick. I will say that it was not overly fishy though.

Full Disclosure:  I was not monetarily compensated for this review.  I did receive this packaged meal from Weight Watchers as a sample. 

Thai Jasmine Rice

I want to let you know that I have had some difficulty connecting to Google.  I am not sure what is happening.  Every once in a while I get lucky and get in. Be patient I will do my best to get past this little glitch. 

One of the ladies in my group that meets monthly prepared this amazingly wonderful meal.  I finally remembered to bring my camera.  It was in the afternoon so there was some beautiful light streaming in.  It was all so perfect for these pictures, how could I pass that up?

 

Asian Slaw

Thai Jasmine Rice
Recipe adapted from Menu Magazine; Wegmans

2 Tbsp Wegmans Basting Oil
1 pkg (8 oz)  onions, chopped
1 pkg (8 oz)  Jasmine Rice Blend
2 1/4 cups Thai Culinary Stock
salt and pepper to taste
1 pkg (1 lb) shrimp, uncooked and cleaned
1/2 bunch green onions, sliced thinly on the bias


Add basting oil to braising pan on MEDIUM-HIGH. Add onion; cook, stirring, 3-4 min, until onion begins to soften.

Add rice; cook, stirring, 2-3 min, to toast rice. Add stock; season to taste with salt and pepper. Bring to a simmer on HIGH; cover. Transfer to oven. Cook 10 min.

Remove from oven. Arrange shrimp on rice; lightly season with salt and pepper. Cover; return to oven 5 min, until internal temp of shrimp reaches 130 degrees.

Remove from oven; let rest 10 min. Sprinkle with green onions; stir to combine.

And just in case you are dreaming of Spring...

Brussels Sprout and Mustard Toss

These lovelies... yes, I said lovelies, are wonderful, tasty, delicious, sweet, tender and yummy.  Contrary to popular belief Brussels sprouts are so good.  I wish I could have all of you taste them with an unbiased tongue.  Put aside all the negativity regarding Brussels sprouts.  These babies are delicious.

Remember and important equation in the taste of vegetables... ROASTING = DELICIOUS.

Honestly I could have just eaten these for dinner.  Actually I did.  My daughter stole half of my lamb burger away from me and I ate more of these and more of these.  So dang, good.

The Brussels Sprout Mustard Toss
Sounds like a dance doesn't it?

2 pound bag Brussels sprouts
1/4 cup oil
2 tablespoons Dijon mustard
salt and pepper to taste
2 tablespoons red wine vinegar

Toss Brussels sprouts with oil and spread them in an even layer on a baking sheet.  Roast in an oven at 375F until they are golden.  I like doing at a lower temperature, than say, 425F- it seems to bring out more of their sweetness.  Once they are done, move to a large bowl.  In a small bowl, whisk together vinegar and mustard.  Pour the mixture over the sprouts and add salt and pepper. Sit back, relax and enjoy ever savory mouth full.