Caramelized Red Onion, and Broccoli Risotto

I have to admit, I'm now on a new risotto kick. Tonight for dinner I made grilled flank steak and I wanted to make a nice risotto to go with it. So I decided that I would try to make a new risotto dish with some of the ingredients I had on hand. The end product was yummy and I will for sure make this again.



WHAT YOU WILL NEED:

1 large onion sliced thin (I like red onions but can be made with any kind)
3 cloves raw garlic minced
4 tablespoons of unsalted butter (2 tbsp for the risotto and 2 for the onions)
1/4 cup dry white wine
3 cups low sodium chicken broth, warmed (I use homemade broth, but you can use canned)
1 cup of milk (I use 2%)
half a lemon zest
1 cup arborio rice
1 cup of fresh chopped broccoli
1/2 cup shredded Parmesan cheese
Salt and pepper to taste

WHAT YOU NEED TO DO:

Caramelize the onions with butter in a pan over medium heat.

Stir until golden brown, and then add your minced garlic, be careful not to burn the onions nor the garlic.

Add the rice; stir for 1-2 minutes.

Add the white wine and stir until it is absorbed.

Add the chicken broth 1 ladle-full at a time, letting it fully absorb before adding more.

When the rice is 75% the way cooked add your broccoli crowns and the lemon zest.

Add milk and once milk is halfway absorbed, add the cheese and the two tablespoons of butter one tablespoon at a time.

Season with salt and fresh ground pepper to taste.

Enjoy!

Grilled Marinated Flank Steak

I know, I have said it before...but this is one of the best recipes I have ever made. This is now my husband and my new favorite steak recipe. My husband isn't a picky eater, in fact he always tells me that dinner is good, but tonight he went beyond that and told me that my flank steak was the best he has ever had, and that includes the steaks from any steak house. He enjoyed it so much that he kept telling me to blog about it so I wouldn't forget the recipe, and he never nags me to go write a recipe down before I forget it. Needles to say, the way he reacted to the recipe totally made my night.

This recipe was inspired by the miscellaneous things I had on hand, and also me wanting to experiment with different things. Lucky for me, it turned out to be a huge success and this new marinade will surely be used over and over again in our home.

FYI... This marinade will be REALLY spicy if you try it...but once you cook the steak you wouldn't taste the heat, what you will taste is the sweetness from the honey with a very mild tang. I hope you all enjoy this recipe, and if you do try it please let me know how it turned out for you.

WHAT YOU WILL NEED:

1.25-1.5 lb Flank Steak
1 Lemon (juiced)
3-4 tablespoons olive oil
3 Cloves of garlic
1/2 Teaspoon of ground cumin
2 Tablespoons of honey
2 Dried whole Pasilla Chili with seeds (this is a mild pepper used in Latin cooking)
1 Tablespoon of soy sauce
1 Tablespoon of worcestershire sauce
1 Teaspoon of roasted red chili paste (any Asian brand)
1 few drops of green habanero chili sauce
Salt and pepper to taste


WHAT YOU WILL NEED TO DO:

Add all the above ingredients (besides the steak, salt and pepper) into blender, and blend until you have created a nice smooth sauce.

Next take your flank steak and trim off excess fat.

Place in a sallow dish and season with salt and pepper.

Add the sauce that you prepared in the the blender and refrigerate over night.

Remove steak from refrigerator 30 minutes before grilling, allow it to come to almost room temp.

Heat your grill on high for about 5 minutes.

Once hot place your flank steak on the grill and cook 3 minutes per side for medium.

Remove from heat and let sit for about 3-5 minutes before serving.

Next step...Enjoy your juicy steak!

Weight Watchers Crock-pot Beef Stroganoff

I have to admit, I had fallen into the rut of making the same few dishes over and over again. Maybe it has to do this the fact that I just wanted to come home after work and make something for the family that didn't involve to much thinking, or maybe, I would rather stick with something I knew, apposed to making something that could be a complete failure and have nothing as a back-up. Whatever the reason was, I had to get out of the funk.

Long story short, I decided it was time to break out the crock-pot, and try a few recipes I had bookmarked. I must say that this was such an easy meal and was a great idea for today. We had so many things that we wanted/needed to do today that it was nice to be able to assemble this meal in the morning and when dinner time rolled around we had our meal made. I will surely keep this recipe and make it again on days that I have a lot going on. I hope you all enjoy it as much as we did! Happy cooking!

Adapted from: The Weight Watchers Magazine
Serving Size : 6-9

WHAT YOU WILL NEED:

1 1/2 lbs beef, (trimmed off fat)
1 cup chopped onion
1 medium red pepper chopped (can be omitted)
8oz of sliced mushrooms (I just chopped them into large chunks)
1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
2 tablespoons dried parsley (I used fresh)
1/2 teaspoon salt
fresh ground pepper
1/2 teaspoon of crushed red pepper flakes (can be omitted)
1/2 teaspoon dill dried (I used fresh)
1/4 tsp pepper
2 cloves garlic minced
1/2 c all-purpose flour
1 can fat-free beef broth
3/4 c low-fat sour cream (I use fat-free)
6 cups of cooked egg noodles

WHAT YOU WILL NEED TO DO:

Trim fat from steak.

Wrap steak in heavy-duty plastic wrap; freeze 30 minutes.

Unwrap steak; cut steak diagonally across grain into 1/8-inch thick slices.

Place steak, onion, and next 7 ingredients in a 3-quart electric slow cooker.

Combine flour and broth in a bowl; stir with a whisk until blended.

Add broth mixture to cooker; stir well.

Cover; cook on low-heat setting for 8 hours or until tender.

Turn slow cooker off; remove lid. Let stand 10 minutes.

Stir in sour cream. Serve stroganoff over cooked noodles.

Per serving: 436 Calories; 8g Fat (17% calories from fat); 38g Protein; 53g Carbohydrate; 133mg Cholesterol; 409mg Sodium

Chicken Cordon Bleu

Being that I work late one night a week, (12 hour day) I needed to find some recipes that could just put in the crock-pot, so that my husband wouldn't have to go crazy making dinner for himself and Jonathan. This Chicken Cordon Bleu was one of the easiest recipes I have ever come upon. I love the fact that it assembles in a matter of minutes, and cooks while I'm out. I promise this recipe will leave them asking for more.

Recipe source: "Fit-it and forget-it" 5 ingredient favorites

WHAT YOU WILL NEED:

4 boneless, skinless chicken breast halves (seasoned with a little of salt and fresh ground pepper)
1/2 lb deli-sliced cooked ham
1/2 lb Swiss cheese sliced
10oz can cream of chicken soup (I prefer to use fat-free)
1 box dry stuffing mix, prepared according to the box.

WHAT YOU WILL NEED TO DO:

Layer all ingredients in the order they are listed above into crock-pot.

Chicken on the bottom, a couple of slices of ham, cheese, cream of chicken soup on top of that, and then top it all off with prepared stuffing.

Cover and cook on low 6-8 hours on high for 3.5-4 hours until chicken is tender but not dry.

Weight Watchers White Chicken Chili

So a few months ago I couldn't get over the amount of food (leftovers), I was tossing each week. I hate wasting, and to see perfectly good meals go to waste upsets me. One day I found myself doing the math and found that, my husband was spending over $2,000 a year on lunches during the week. That total doesn't even include hundreds that I was tossing out at the end of each week. Granted it's not a lot of money, but just picture taking $2,500 dollars and burning it. You would never do that, so why would you toss it into the trash?

This set me on a mission to save money on lunches. My goal was to come up with meals that would leave us with leftovers, so we could at least pack a lunch 2-3 times a week. Needless to say, I haven't tossed much food out over the passed few months and we have saved a few hundred dollars on lunches.

I think the key is making dishes that you like and don't mind reheating. For example soups, chowders, stews, and of course chilies are one of the best things you can make for reheating purposes. This recipe is so good, and packed with flavor, that I found it to be better the second day. I hope you all enjoy it as much as I do.

Happy cooking!

Makes 9 cups

WHAT YOU WILL NEED:

1 pound chicken breasts, diced
14 ounces chicken broth
2 tablespoons (I use unsalted)
1 tablespoon chili powder
2 teaspoons cumin
1 teaspoon kosher salt
Pepper to taste
1 large onion, chopped
1 red pepper, chopped
1 large carrot chopped
2 celery ribs chopped
1 tablespoon minced garlic
8 ounces canned chopped mild green chilies
2 tablespoons flour
28 ounces canned white beans, rinsed
14 ounces canned corn, including liquid (I omitted this because I do not like corn)
14 ounces canned red kidney beans
1 tablespoon vinegar
2 cups fat-free half ‘n’ half
½ cup sour cream (I use fat free)
½ teaspoon Tabasco
Garnish with chopped cilantro (I omitted this because I'm not a fan of cilantro)

WHAT YOU WILL NEED TO DO:

Cook chicken in splash of the chicken broth in a Dutch oven over medium heat until cooked. (If you do not have one, just cook the chicken in a regular pot, it works just as well)

Heat remaining broth in microwave.

Transfer chicken into a dish to hold while you prepare the rest of the chili.

Melt butter with chili powder, cumin, salt and pepper.

Add onion, red pepper, celery, carrot, garlic and chilies; cook until onion is soft.

Stir in flour; cook 1 minute.

Stir in hot broth, chicken, beans, and vinegar.

Cover and bring to a boil, reduce heat to simmer for 90 minutes.

Stir in half ‘n’ half, sour cream and Tabasco; rewarm but do not boil.

Serve and enjoy!

NUTRITION ESTIMATE Per Cup: 261 Cal; 7g Tot Fat; 3g Sat Fat; 32g Carb; 5g Fiber; 1013mg Sodium; 44mg Cholesterol; Weight Watchers 5 points

Peanut Butter Cookies

So as part baking GALS project, I decided I would bake some peanut butter cookies. The reason I decided to do this was because I wanted to bake something different, and try to stay away from the traditional chocolate chip cookie.

I must admit, this was a really easy recipe, and the final product was good. I hope everyone else enjoys them. Like always if you do try this recipe I would love to get your input. Happy baking!

Yields 4 DOZEN COOKIES

WHAT YOU'LL NEED:

1 cup unsalted butter
1 cup crunchy peanut butter
1 cup white sugar
1 cup packed brown sugar
2 eggs
2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda

WHAT YOU NEED TO DO:

To start, cream together butter, peanut butter, and both sugars.

Next beat in eggs.

In a separate bowl, sift together flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.

Stir into batter. Put batter in refrigerator for 1 hour.

Once and hour has passed, roll cookie dough into 1 inch balls and put on baking sheets.

Flatten each ball with a fork, making a criss-cross pattern.

Bake in a preheated at 375 degrees for about 10 minutes or until cookies begin to brown.

Do not over-bake or you will end up having hard dry cookies.

Amount Per Serving (2 cookies) Calories 252, Total Fat 13.6g, Cholesterol,38mg

Turkey Meatballs

I'm not sure if I have mentioned this before, but I hate using ground beef. I think I serve my family enough red meat that I would rather make meatballs with turkey, and have done so for the passed 3 years now.

I know what your thinking..."Aren't the meatballs going to be dry?" Well the answer to that question is NO WAY! In fact I think turkey meatballs are juicier. One of the best things about this recipe is you're saving on calories by using a leaner meat. I promise that no one will notice the difference, and if they do it will be because the meatballs taste better.

You REALLY need to try this recipe. Once you try it, you'll be addicted to turkey meatballs and will never use ground beef again.

This recipe is something that I came up with after years of playing around trying to perfect "the perfect turkey meatball"

This recipe yields a large batch of meatballs


WHAT YOU WILL NEED:
3 slices white bread, crust removed
1/4 cup milk (I use 2%)
2 pounds ground turkey
half a red pepper finely chopped (you can use more or omit all together)
1 large egg
about 3/4 cup of bread crumbs (you might need to add more, read below for more info)
2 tablespoons finely chopped parsley leaves
2 cloves minced garlic,
Salt to taste
ground black pepper
2 jars of your favorite pasta sauce
olive oil, for pan-frying (just enough to cover the bottom of the skillet)


WHAT YOU WILL NEED TO DO:

In a bowl, soak white bread with the milk. Let soak for 1 minute then remove the bread and squeeze out most of the milk.

In another bowl, add ground turkey, parsley, garlic, diced red pepper, egg, and salt and pepper.

Add milk soaked bread tearing it apart, as you add it, mix all ingredients gently. (Make sure not to over mix)

You will note that the mixture is very wet, so you will now add the bread crumbs. If you feel that the mixture is still too wet add more. Be careful not to add to much, you still want your mixture to me moist and sticky.

Form meat mixture into 1 1/2-inch meatballs. I have found that using a pampered chef medium scoop works wonderfully, and saves you a ton of time.

In a large preheated heavy skillet add olive oil and let heat. Add meatballs and cook until you get a nice golden brown color on all sides.

Remove the meatballs to a paper towel lined platter.

Repeat in batches until there are no remaining meatballs.

Add meatballs to the cooked sauce and add salt and pepper, to taste. Cook for 10 minutes.

After the 10 minutes you can serve your Turkey Meatballs over your favorite pasta, or make your own meatball sub. ENJOY!

Barbeque Chicken Pizza

What's better than homemade pizza? Barbeque chicken pizza of course. This has to be the easiest recipe I have ever made. It takes little to no time to make and is by far much better for you than the one you can get from your local pizza place. I can honestly say that you will never go back to frozen pizzas ever again.

I found a recipe on allreipes.com and while I liked it for the most part, I still had to make a few adjustments to make it suitable to my family's needs, and wants. I hope you all enjoy and if you do try it. Please let me know how it turned out. Happy Cooking...or in this case happy baking!

Adapted from http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Unbelievably-Awesome-Barbeque-Chicken-Pizza/Detail.aspx

WHAT YOU WILL NEED:

1 tablespoon olive oil
1 skinless, boneless chicken breast half
1/2 cup barbeque sauce, divided
1 (16 ounce) package pre-baked pizza crust (I make my own Whole Wheat pizza dough, which I will be blogging about in the next few days.)
1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese (I use the fat-free cheese)
1 medium thinly sliced red onion
4-5 slices of cooked bacon diced

WHAT YOU WILL NEED TO DO:

Heat olive oil in a skillet over medium heat.

Once oil is heated, place chicken breast in the skillet, season with salt and pepper, and top with 1 tablespoon barbeque sauce.

Cook 10 minutes, turn chicken over onto the other side.

Now top this side with 1 tablespoon barbeque sauce.

Cook about 10 minutes longer, or until juices run clear.

Cool slightly, and cut into chunks.

Preheat oven to 425 degrees.

Spread barbeque sauce over the pizza crust.

Sprinkle with mozzarella cheese.

Arrange cooked chicken chunks, red onion, and bacon over the top.

Bake 15 minutes, or until cheese is melted and bubbly.

Remove from heat, let sit 10 minutes before slicing.

ENJOY! =)

P.F Chang's Kung Pao Shrimp

My husband and I, love P.F Chang's and a few weeks ago we went out to dinner. He had the Mongolian beef and I had the Kung Pao Shrimp. Like always, dinner was wonderful, and I just wanted to try to replicate it at home. Thus, this lead me to do some research on the internet. Once I found this recipe I was so excited, and or course I had to try making it last for night for dinner.

The outcome was that it tasted just like the real thing. This recipe was so good and easy I could see myself making it over and over again. Hope you enjoy it!

WHAT YOU WILL NEED:

1/2 teaspoon minced garlic
3 ounces Kung Pao sauce
1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper
8 ounces shrimp
1 teaspoon chopped green onion
5 whole chile pods
3 tablespoons of Sesame oil

WHAT YOU WILL NEED TO DO:

Heat wok (smoking), and then add the oil and shrimp.

Separate and velvet for 1 to 2 minutes make sure that you do not overcook the shrimp.

Carefully pour shrimp and oil onto oil skimmer.

Stir fry chile pods and onions; add garlic and Kung Pao sauce. Let cook for about 2 minutes.

Then Add shrimp, toss, and add peanuts and chile flakes.