Thai Chicken Zucchini Noodles

There's a lot of back story for this recipe. Let's start with the fact that I joined Weight Watchers this week.  There was a deal through work and I decided that I needed something to get back on track.  I've done the calorie counting thing before, and I've been trying to recently but pretty much falling off the wagon every day.  Weight Watchers is along the same lines, but you're in a group and they keep track of your weight every week.  I figured the addition of competition was worth the $30 to try it out for 12 weeks.

Today is day 2.  Day 1 was not good.  I stayed under my 30 points, but I was angry.  Why was my chai latte (150 calories) worth 8 points and nearly 1/3 of my daily allowance?  Why didn't the calories burned during my 4-mile run add back in so I could eat more?  By dinner time I was HANGRY.  

Day 2 wasn't much better.  Seriously who brings a double chocolate cake to an 8am staff meeting?  There's another 9 points for the 1/2 of a 1/2 of a piece I ate.  F@&%.  

With only 9 points remaining for dinner I decided it was a good night to try out my spiralizer on this zucchini recipe.  Fruits and veggies are technically free in WW.  That also makes me angry, but I wasn't about to argue. 

INGREDIENTS

• 2 tablespoons of grape seed oil
• 2 boneless, skinnless chicken breasts, cubed
• 2 tablespoons of grape seed oil (or canola oil)
• 2 zucchini, spiralized
• 1 large carrot, spiralized
• 1 red pepper, julienned
• ⅓ cup of bean sprouts (or not)
• ¼ cup of fresh cilantro, diced
• ¼ cup of green onions, diced
• sesame seeds (for garnish)

Spicy Peanut Sauce:

• 1 garlic clove, minced
• 4 tablespoons of peanut butter
• juice of 1 lime
• 3 tablespoons of soy sauce
• 2 tablespoons of fresh cilantro, diced
• ½ teaspoon of ground ginger
• ¼ teaspoon of red pepper flakes

 DIRECTIONS

1. In a small bowl, whisk together garlic, peanut butter, soy sauce, lime juice, ground ginger, and red pepper flakes. Set aside. 
2. Heat a large skillet to medium high heat. Add oil and chicken.  Season with salt and pepper. Saute until cooked through.  Cut into bite sized pieces if not small enough already.
3. In the same large skillet over medium high heat, add 2 tablespoons of oil, zucchini noodles, carrot noodles, and red pepper. Flash stir fry for 2 minutes, stirring constantly.  Or a bit longer if you want your noodles more like pasta.
4. When cooked to desired tenderness add back in chicken, green onions, and spicy peanut sauce. Toss till all noodles are coated.
5. Serve and garnish with sesame seeds.

 

VERDICT

We were pretty leary about this recipe.  Ok, so I wasn't.  But my husband was.  He watched me spiralize all the vegetables and wondered what he was going to eat for dinner that would actually fill him up.  

After we finished dinner I mentioned that the sauce could also be used over rice or pasta.  His comment:  "why would you want to change a recipe that tastes so good already?"

So I guess the veggies were a hit.  9 Weight Watchers SmartPoints, and about 350 calories per serving.  And I'm no longer Hangry.

  

Credit:  Edited from Healthy Joyful Eats

Pasta with Roasted Cauliflower

 

Can you believe that I had never eaten Cauliflower until a few years ago?  As much as I love fresh veggies, cauliflower was never something I was willing to try.  Now it seems you can't go anywhere without seeing this versatile veggie turned into something else (pizza crust, mashed potatoes, Buffalo wings).  

I clipped this recipe out of a newspaper and tried it for dinner this week.  It was a hit for 3 out of 4 of us.  The newly picky child declared that the breadcrumbs on top were "nasty."  So you can go ahead and skip that if you prefer.  For me, the bread crumbs were an unexpected treat!

Not a pretty picture of it, but it tasted better than this very yellow picture shows!

Ingredients

1 head cauliflower

3 TBS olive oil, divided

1/2 tsp salt, divided

Freshly ground black pepper

12 oz pasta We get our fancy pasta from Aldi.  I KNOW.  Aldi.  It's cheap and SO good!

2 TBS butter Or a little less- you'll have to be the judge as you cook

1/2 cup Panko bread crumbs

6 garlic cloves, thinly sliced

1/2 tsp anchovy paste yup, totally skipped this ingredient

1/8 tsp crushed red pepper

2/3 cup Romano or Parmesan cheese

1/4 cup shredded mint It's not summer, so we skipped this too.

Instructions

Preheat oven to 500.

Slice cauli into bite-sized pieces.  Season with olive oil, salt, and pepper.  Roast 10 minutes, flip and bake another 5-10 minutes until tender and browned.

Cook pasta according to directions.   While pasta is cooking melt 1 TBS butter in a skillet.  Add panko and cook 3 minutes, stirring frequently.  When browned, take off heat and pour into a small dish for later.

Heat 1 TBS butter and olive oil in skillet.  Add sliced garlic and saute until golden.  Add red pepper and cauliflower and mix well.

Drain pasta, reserving 1/2 cup cooking water.  Add cauliflower mixture and mix well.  Add cheese and heat for 3 minutes.  Add more pepper to taste.

Pour into bowls and serve topped with toasted panko.

Verdict

A bit of a process, but well worth it.  Loved the taste and texture of this dish.  And we didn't miss the mint and anchovy paste at all.

He likes it!

 

 

Wendy's Asian Salad Dressing

 

We all know we're supposed to avoid fast food.  When I can't, I'm a big fan of the salads at Wendy's.  Especially the spicy Asian Chicken Salad.  Here's a quick recipe for the delicious dressing:

1 ¹⁄₂ tablespoons rice vinegar

2 teaspoons brown sugar

1 ¹⁄₂ teaspoons sesame oil

1 ¹⁄₂ teaspoons soy sauce

1 pinch garlic powder

1 tsp Thai Chili Sauce

 

Cajun skillet flounder

Oh hey.  Look.  It's 2016.  And my last post was in 2015.  In May.  That's pretty bad.

 Last time I posted I was still unemployed.  That was a pretty rough period.  Since then I landed an awesome job and have been busy.  And apparently not cooking for my family much.  Or at least not posting when I do.

So let's get back into the habit, shall we?

We'll start off with a Skinny Taste recipe that was quick and easy. 

 

Ingredients:

• 1 tsp olive oil
• 4 (6 oz) pieces flounder fillets (or any white fish such as tilapia)
• 3/4 cup onion, chopped
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 3/4 cup diced green bell pepper
• 2 1/2 cups tomatoes, chopped
• 1 tbsp Cajun spice seasoning

Directions:

In a deep skillet, saute onion and garlic in olive oil on medium heat for a few minutes until soft. Add tomatoes, peppers and spices, stir and cook until tomatoes are soft, about 2-3 minutes.  

Lay fish fillets in the sauce, cover and cook on medium-low until fish flakes easily, approx 10 minutes. To serve, place fish on plate and spoon sauce on top. Serve immediately.

That's it.  Quick and easy, and extremely flavorful.  We added some hot steamed rice to soak up the juices and some roasted cauliflower for extra veggies.