Gross Negligence

I am horrible! I can't believe I let updating this blog lapse so long!! My dears (probably non-existent readers) I apologize. I am going to start updating this stat.

To make this easier, I am changing the focus of this blog a little. I figure expanding it's focus will make it more encompassing of my life in general, and thus easier to keep writing. I will continue to use it not only as a sounding board on healthy cooking, but also on my weight loss journey (and occasionally life in general).

Taking a page from another's blog I've come to love (Mama Laughlin) I'm going to try to do an update every Monday at least. Her's are labeled MILF Mondays ( a busy Mom with two kids under the age of 2 and works full time!) when she updates us all on her weight-loss journey after not one but two pregnancies, and the difficulties in trying to accomplish that goal with everything else going on in her life. However, I lack the main qualification to be a MILF (mainly the "M" part) so I'll have to think up another name in the near future.

Meal Plans Interupted

All my careful menu planning for the week was delightfully interrupted by an unexpected treat at my local Mejier grocery store - produce discounts! I love the harvest time of year. The stores have so much fresh food available that sometimes they can not sell it all, and if you go at the end of the day, you'd be surprised what gets discounted! I found four giant just gorgeous red bell peppers for only a buck - total - and have now decided that Santa Fe Crock Pot Chicken is going to have to wait another night or so. Stuffed Peppers - turkey style - are coming tomorrow night! Hopefully I'll remember to take pictures of the process this time instead of the end result (which, by the way, would be the reason for a lot of the recipe omissions on here). I feel like I can't do them justice without pictures!

Spicy Grilled Cajun Shrimp & Veggies

From BakeSpace.com, this was by far the easiest recipe we've ever made. Well, when I say "we", in this case I actually mean my wonderful husband, Justin. I was at a group workout class after work, and was far too exhausted when I got home to do much of anything! But when I got home, he had done all the prep and was ready to grill! It was a wonderful treat and Yes, ladies, major brownie points were awarded :)


I can't believe how good it was, especially for such a simple recipe! Here's the link to the original recipe: Bayou Shrimp & Veggies with Creole Mustard Sauce . 


There were a few things I did differently (there always are). Instead of using 16 Jumbo uncooked shrimp, I simply bought a bag of 36 frozen regular cocktail shrimp, pre-cooked. I do not care for the de-veining process, and it was also cheaper than the jumbo shrimp. Secondly, I discovered that if the sauce is just too insanely spicy, it helps to cool it down with either some fat free sour cream or my favorite sour cream substitute, fat free greek yogurt! Also, the veggies and shrimp do not really require the oil, if they are juicy, but if you feel they need it, only a minimal amount is necessary. The Misto sprayer works wonders for that! 


Here's the recipe with my revisions included:

Shrimp & Veggie Kabobs 

• 36-40 Pre-cooked Cocktail Shrimp
• 1 medium zucchini, sliced into 1/2 in. pieces
• 1 medium yellow squash, sliced into 1/2 in. pieces
• 1 red bell pepper, seeded and cut into 1 in. pieces, or long strips 
• 1 Tbsp Mrs. Dash Extra Spicy Seasoning Blend
• 1 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil
• 6-8 Bamboo skewers

Creole Mustard Sauce

• 1/4 c water
• 1/4 half and half cream
• 1 capful Mrs. Dash Extra Spicy Seasoning Blend
• 2 Tbsp Dijon mustard
• 1/4 c fat free greek yogurt or fat free sour cream - if desired

Place shrimp in fridge to thaw at least 8 hours in advance. The night before works well. Place the skewers in a dish of water to soak for at least 20 minutes prior to grilling to avoid charring. Slice the zucchini, squash, and bell pepper, set aside. In a large bowl, add all the shrimp and vegetables together. Spray with olive oil and add seasoning blend. Fold over repeatedly to coat the food evenly. Remove skewers from liquid and alternately thread two shrimp with zucchini, squash, and bell pepper. Set finished skewers aside. Start the grill to give it a few minutes to reach temperature while you make the sauce.

Creole Mustard Sauce directions: Combine all ingredients (save the sour cream or yogurt) in a small saute pan and simmer over high heat for 2-3 minutes until thick. Remove from heat and set aside. If you wish to add in either the yogurt or the sour cream, you can do so now. 

Grill the skewers on medium heat on a pre-heated grill, turning once or twice, for 4 to 5 minutes. As the shrimp are already cooked, you only need to heat and soften the kabobs so that the seasoning will penetrate. 

When finished, plate, and enjoy! I highly recommend having a glass of skim milk (organic is delicious and creamy) on standby; this is a really spicy plate!

Chicken & White Bean Enchiladas with Green Chile Sauce

Confession: I've never made Enchiladas before. In fact, I'd have to say fajitas are the most "Mexican" food I've ever tried to make. But that was part of the reason I decided to do this cooking challenge, right? To expand and push my skill level and comfort zone. And let me tell you, as easy as these were to make - I've never had better enchiladas before!! I don't usually like a ton of cheese and greasy sauce, so enchiladas that were heavy on both never appealed to me. Plus - I don't like refried beans. Never have. They are against nature- yuck!

But this recipe that I found on Skinnytaste.com eliminates all of those barriers for me, and I loved these. My husband now insists we have another permanent addition to the recipe box! I altered the recipe slightly for convenience and to taste - for example, I didn't have any chicken bullion, so I used some plain chicken stock instead; and I eyeballed my use of jarred jalapeno slices since my husband likes it spicy. I also subbed in a can of Great Northern White Beans instead of Navy Beans.

Here's the link to Gina's original recipe: Chicken Enchiladas with Green Chile Sauce. I've put the one that I used last night, with variations included, below:

Chicken and White Bean Filling:

• 1 tsp olive oil
• 1/2 cup minced white onion
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 can (4.5 oz) chopped green chiles
• 15.5 oz can Great Northern white beans
• 8 oz cooked shredded chicken breast
• 1/2 c chicken stock - reduced sodium
• 1 Tbsp cumin

Green Chile Enchilada Sauce:

• 1 tsp butter
• 1/2 cup chopped white onion
• 2 tbsp flour
• 1 cup fat free chicken broth
• 7 oz can chopped green chile
• 2 jalapeños, chopped (I used jarred - about 10 slices)
• salt
• 1/2 cup light sour cream

• 3/4 cup reduced fat Mexican cheese
• 8 medium low carb tortillas
• chopped fresh cilantro or scallions (or both!) - not having any of this on hand, I didn't use it. But I think it would be delicious!

Preheat oven to 375°.


For the Filling:
In a medium pan, heat olive oil on low. Add onions, garlic and saute until soft, about 2-3 minutes. Add green chiles, beans, water, bullion, and cumin. Mix well and cover.Simmer on low 15 minutes. Remove cover, add chicken and cook an additional 5 minutes, or until it thickens and liquid boils down. I simmered for only 10, then added the chicken, mixed well, sprinkled some salt and pepper, and let simmer for another 10 before removing the cover to reduce. I wanted to the chicken to really get a chance to absorb the flavor. Set aside.

Green Chile Enchilada Sauce:
In a large nonstick pan, melt the butter over medium heat. Add onion and cook, stirring occasionally, until the onion softens and starts to turn translucent, about 3-4 minutes. Add flour and stir well. Cook for 1 minute, stirring constantly. Slowly whisk in the chicken broth. Whisk until the sauce becomes smooth. I added about 1/3 c of broth at a time, whisked, then added more. Cook over medium heat until the sauce boils and thickens, about 4-5 minutes. Add green chiles, jalepeños, and salt to tatse. Cook another minute then remove from the heat. Stir in the sour cream.

Spread about 1/4 cup of the enchilada sauce on the bottom of a 9x13" baking dish. My sauce was thick, not runny, so it didn't spread without a rubber spatula. I did like this though. With the thicker sauce, it didn't feel like the tortillas would be swimming in it. Fill each tortilla with 1/3 cup of the chicken/white bean filling. Roll the tortillas and place seam side down in the prepared baking dish. Continue filling remainder of the tortillas. I had two tortillas left over from a smaller pack that I used so the pictures are little funny. Gina's are beautiful!

Pour the enchilada sauce over the top of the enchiladas. Top with cheese. Cover with aluminum and bake 20-30 minutes, until the enchiladas are hot and the cheese is melted. Twenty minutes was enough for mine. Remove from oven and top with fresh cilantro or scallions.

Apology!

I promise, dear readers who I adore, I have not abandoned you!! I have not done as many recipes as I would like, but I have dropped a few lbs!

One of the recipes that I did try and LOVED was a recipe for marinated top round steak with onions and tomatoes sauteed in a baslamic vinaigrette. I didn't take pictures - though I should have. The steak was beautiful and tender. My husband has declared it a new favorite.

The Skinny Cook Challenge

I have let something that was once not just a "part" of me, but one of things I took the most pride in and so much joy out of, whither away. I have stopped cooking.

It started about 3 years ago, after my husband proposed. I wanted to lose weight for our wedding, and believe it or not, those Italian family recipes that were my main staples were not condusive to dropping the poundage. The lasagna alone had over 3 lbs of cheese in it! I didn't know how to make anything else that didn't require lots of noodles, cheese, sauce, or high sodium meats. What little I knew that wasn't straight out of the Italian cookbook was "Yooper" based food - and if you're familiar with the area, you'll know that lard or Crisco is a favorite ingredient.

So we decided to get regimented on our eating habits; and I'm ashamed to say that for the best part of the last 3 years our standard fall back for dinner was a family pack of boneless skinless chicken breasts. I'd do a bunch of different marinades, freeze them by the dozen, and we'd take one out a day, grill both breasts, and steam a random pack of veggies in the microwave. Once every week, some beautiful steaks would find there way into our rotation. It sounds sort of sad now, even though it did taste good.

Even after the wedding, we realized how much money we'd been saving by relying on this for dinner instead of buying different ingredients each week and we continued. But somewhere our original goal was abandoned...and we've both gained a LOT of weight back. Now, it's not the chicken's fault (haha). Other factors contributed - like the complete collapse of our work out schedule and the tracking what we are eating has become the cliche Alka-seltzer commercial (you know, "I can't believe I ate the whole thing").

So this time, we're going to try a different approach. I want to see if I can foster my skills to not only get my cooking back to par, but expand my vocabulary. In the world of cooking, I want to be not just fluent - but multi-lingual! And as if that weren't enough, I want to prove to myself that I can find delicious recipes that fit into one or more of the following categories: Low Cal, Low Fat, or Low Carb. I really enjoy creating and crafting. I love having people ask for my recipe or advice or request that I bring something to a meal.  I want to bring that back into my kitchen and my life.

To start off what I've titled The Skinny Cook Challenge, I've been doing research on different recipes that appeal year round or on holidays, are relatively easy to prep, will have some left overs (money saver), and/or take advantage of fresh seasonal ingredients. Once I have a good list ready, I plan on attacking 1 or 2 recipes per week and posting the results with notes and pictures accompanying the original recipe. Credit for the recipe origin will be given! If you have any recommendations or comments, please let me know! I'd love to see how this project could grow.