Pasta with Asparagus

I love love love Gina at www.skinnytaste.com. I've made several of her recipes before, which were really yummy. I also really enjoy using her recipes to prove to Kevin that "diet" foods can taste good. But last night I was craving an actual cooked meal, and even though Kevin was gone, there was some asparagus I needed to use up and I remembered one of her dishes that I have been wanting to make.

Pasta with Asparagus (my changes are in italics)

• 1 lb thin asparagus, cut into 2" pieces, tough ends trimmed
• 6 oz uncooked pasta
• 1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
• 3 cloves garlic, crushed (used 5 cloves)
• salt and fresh cracked pepper (used 1/4 tsp each of salt and white pepper)
• 1 large egg yolk
• 1/4 cup freshly grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese (used Romano)

In a large pot boil 4 cups water with salt. When boiling, add asparagus and cook 3-5 minutes, until tender crisp. Drain asparagus in colander reserving 1 cup liquid before draining.

Fill pot with salted water, cover and boil for pasta. When water boils cook pasta according to package directions for al dente.

Meanwhile, in a sauté pan heat olive oil. Add garlic and cook until golden, add asparagus, salt and pepper and sauté about 1-2 minutes, tossing with oil and garlic.

In a small bowl combine egg yolk, Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese, 1/4 cup reserved asparagus liquid, salt and pepper. Mix well. After pasta is drained return to pot and mix with egg mixture. Cook on medium-low about 2 minutes, until sauce thickens and sticks to pasta. Toss in asparagus and mix well. Adjust salt and pepper to taste. If pasta seems too dry add more reserved liquid a tablespoon at a time.

Serve with additional grated cheese. 

Serves 4.

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This was a nice light pasta, yet very filling. The original recipe didn't specify an amount of salt and pepper so I tossed in a little then added a little bit more to my serving. I didn't want to ruin the whole thing by making it too salty, which I have done before. :-/ I'll definitely make this dish again when Kevin is home... it was delicious and so quick and simple! The leftovers were pretty good too, which I find is rare for non red sauce pasta dishes.

A Lighter Alfredo Type Dish

I had every intention of making me some yummy Murgh Makhani (butter chicken) for dinner this evening. Thank goodness I tried the sauce before adding the chicken because it was HORRIBLE. And into the trash can it went. So I went though my bookmarks to find something I could make with already cooked cubed chicken and found a lighter chicken alfredo from Weight Watchers. I took it step lighter due to what I already had in the kitchen and came out with a not quite alfredo, but pretty yummy dish. And let it be known that I halved everything in this recipe except the cheese because I wasn't paying attention. :P

A Lighter Alfredo (my changes are in italics)

• 6 medium garlic clove(s), peeled and smashed with a knife
• 1 pound(s) uncooked boneless, skinless chicken breast, washed, patted dry, four 4 oz pieces (mine were cubed)
• 1 tsp table salt
• 1 tsp black pepper, freshly ground
• 1 spray(s) cooking spray
• 1/2 cup(s) canned chicken broth (had to make some from a bouillon cube)
• 1/4 cup(s) heavy whipping cream (used extra light 3%)
• 1/4 cup(s) whole milk plain yogurt, Greek-variety (used regular lowfat)
• 1/8 tsp table salt, for cooking pasta
• 8 oz uncooked whole-wheat pasta, fettuccini (used elbow macaroni)
• 1/2 cup(s) grated Parmesan cheese, Parmigiano-Reggiano suggested (used romano)
• 1/4 cup(s) parsley, fresh, flat-leaf, finely chopped, divided (omitted)

Heat a large, heavy skillet over medium heat.

Rub garlic over chicken; reserve garlic. Season chicken with salt and pepper and rub in seasonings with your hands; set aside.

Off heat, coat skillet with cooking spray and then set over medium-low heat. Sauté garlic until fragrant, about 1 minute. Add chicken and cook until golden, flipping once, about 5 minutes per side.

Meanwhile, in a small bowl, combine broth, heavy cream and yogurt; pour over chicken and scrape bottom of skillet with a wooden spoon to incorporate seasonings. Simmer chicken gently, turning once, about 30 minutes.

While chicken is cooking, bring a medium pot of salted water to a boil. Cook pasta according to package directions; drain.

Remove chicken from cream sauce and set aside. Add Parmesan cheese to cream sauce and mix until well-combined. Add cooked pasta and 3 tablespoons of parsley; toss well. Serve pasta topped which chicken and rest of parsley. Yields about 3 ounces of chicken and 2/3 cup of pasta/sauce per serving.

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I'd like to say that the picture is after it set out for 30 minutes or so. I was so hungry I forgot to take one before I dug in. It's definitely not the creamy alfredo that I love, but it was pretty good and definitely satisfied any alfredo craving I had. I'm sure it would have been creamier had I halved the cheese like I did the rest of the recipe. And I'll leave you at that because I really need another bowl. :)

High Fiber Sugar Free Bran Muffins

I've been looking for a recipe for these that doesn't taste like crap or is super high in calories. I was thinking that I would have to modify an existing muffin recipe when I found an article for someone who was looking for the same thing who luckily, already experimented to find something that works. Yay! Less work for me! I was hoping it would be completely from scratch, but since I already had some FiberOne cereal laying around, I figured why not? I plugged these babies into my WW recipe calculator and guess what? ONE point! (Unless you add raisins or nuts or something. Then they're two points.) So without further ado, I give you "I Can't Believe These Are Healthy" Bran Muffins.

High Fiber Sugar Free Bran Muffins (my changes are in italics)

• 1 1/4 cups of Whole Wheat Flour
• 1 1/2 cups of Bran (used FiberOne)
• 1/2 cup of Oatmeal, not the instant kind
• 1 cup of granulated Splenda
• 1/2 cup of Non-Fat Dry Powdered Milk
• 1 1/4 cups of Skim Mil
• 1 Egg (large)
• 1/4 cup of Canola Oil (used applesauce)
• 1 TBSP Baking Powder (yep, that's tablespoon)
• 1 tsp Baking Soda
• 1/2 tsp Salt
• Non-fat Cooking Spray for pan
• I added 1/2 tsp each of cinnamon and nutmeg

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

Stir together flour, splenda, powdered milk, baking powder, baking soda and salt (and cinnamon and nutmeg) in a small bowl. Set aside.

In a large mixing bowl, combine bran cereal, oatmeal and skim milk. Cover bran and oatmeal with as much of the liquid as possible and let stand for about 5 minutes, or until most of the liquid is absorbed.

Once bran is softened, add egg and oil, beat well. (You don't need an electric mixer, wooden spoon works fine) Add the flour mixture, stirring "only" until combined. DO NOT OVER MIX! Batter will be lumpy. Put even amounts of batter into 6 muffin tins (I used 12 to get them to 1 point) that you coated with non-fat cooking spray.

Bake at 400 for 20-25 minutes or until golden brown.

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I'm not a huge fan of bran muffins but I wanted to find an easy way to get more fiber in my diet. And for a bran muffin, I think these are the best I've ever had. They are fluffy, they rise, and they don't have a cardboard feel or taste like bran muffins usually do. They're super filling too. Eat one or two of these for breakfast (or a snack!) and you're good to go!

Jambalaya!

Kevin and I were craving something with a little spice but wanted to make something other than the normal Indian food we usually eat when we're wanting something spicy. I remembered seeing a recipe at Weight Watchers which unfortunately is unlinkable because they don't like to tell non-subscribers how many points something is. We ended up changing quite a bit of the recipe due to what we already had and a few mistakes on my part. Oopsies.

Chicken Jambalaya (my changes are in italics)

• 2 1/2 oz raw turkey sausage, chopped (used pre-cooked)
• 1 large onion(s), chopped
• 1 medium celery, stalk, chopped (omitted because it's expensive here right now)
• 1 small green pepper(s), chopped
• 1/4 tsp cayenne pepper, or to taste
• 1/2 tsp dried thyme
• 1 tsp table salt
• 1/2 tsp black pepper, ground
• 2 medium garlic clove(s), minced
• 2 medium chicken breast, cooked, skinless, cubed (about 2 cups)
• 28 oz canned tomatoes, whole, plum, peeled with juice (used 5 fresh tomatoes, peeled)
• 2 cup(s) fat-free chicken broth
• 1 cup(s) uncooked white rice, long-grain (used brown basmati rice)

Coat a large, nonstick saucepan with cooking spray. Over high heat, sauté sausage until crispy on edges. Add onion, celery and green pepper; sauté until tender.

 Reduce heat and stir in cayenne, thyme, salt, pepper and garlic; sauté until garlic is fragrant.

Stir in chicken, tomatoes, broth and rice. (I cooked rice separately because brown rice cooks longer.) Bring to a simmer, cover and let cook until rice is tender, about 20 minutes. (I wasn't paying attention and added all the broth even though I was cooking rice separately, so I let it simmer/boil uncovered for about 45 minutes.) Serves 4.

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This was a joint effort between Kevin and I, so I can't take all the credit. It was my first time blanching, peeling, and coring tomatoes so now I can add that to the experience. I should also say that our jambalaya had paprika in it as well because I mistook it for the cayenne. But it was sooo good and I'm glad I have some leftover so I can eat it again. A nice change from the Indian we usually eat!

Easy Peasy Banana Cream Pie

I can't cook/bake very well, but I'm almost embarrassed to post this because it's so easy (which I will admit, is my kind of cooking). But I thought I'd share anyway because who doesn't love a 2.5 point piece of pie?

Banana Cream Pie

• packet of fat free sugar free banana cream pie pudding mix by Jello
• 1 3/4 cup of skim milk
• 2 small bananas
• reduced fat pre-made graham cracker crust
• Cool Whip Free

Line graham cracker crust with sliced bananas.

Whisk milk and pudding mix together for about a minute. Pour immediately into pie crust. Refrigerate for one hour (three for a firmer pie).

Cover top with Cool Whip Free. Cut into 8 slices.

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My pie was a little gooey because Kevin couldn't even wait the full hour before taking it out of the refrigerator, ready to cut into it. I was at least able to hold him off long enough to put the Cool Whip on. Still pretty yummy, gooey-ness and all.

A Lighter Enchilada

It's hard to find good Mexican food here in Dubai, and it's almost impossible to find "healthy" Mexican food anywhere. When I came across this recipe for chicken enchiladas at skinnytaste.com, I figured it would be worth a try.

Chicken Enchiladas (my changes are in italics)

For the sauce:

• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• 1-2 tbsp chipotle chilis in adobo sauce
• 1-1/2 cups tomato sauce
• 1/2 tsp chipotle chili powder (used cayenne)
• 1/2 tsp ground cumin
• 3/4 cup fat free chicken broth
• kosher salt and fresh pepper to taste

For the chicken:

• 1 tsp vegetable oil
• 8.5 oz (2 breast halves) cooked shredded chicken breast
• 1 cup diced onion
• 2 large clove garlic, minced
• 1/4 cup cilantro
• kosher salt
• 1 tsp cumin
• 1/2 tsp dried oregano
• 1 tsp chipotle chili powder (used cayenne)
• 1/3 cup chicken broth
• 1/2 cup tomato sauce
• 8 (6-inch) reduced carb whole wheat flour tortillas (used 8 inch tortillas)
• 1 cup shredded low fat Mexican cheese (used full fat Mexican cheese)
• Nonstick cooking spray

In a medium saucepan, spray oil and sauté garlic. Add chipotle chiles, chili powder, cumin, chicken broth, tomato sauce, salt and pepper. Bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to low and simmer for 5-10 minutes. Set aside until ready to use.

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

Heat the vegetable oil in a medium skillet over medium-high heat. Sauté onions and garlic on low until soft, about 2 minutes. Add chicken, salt, cilantro, cumin, oregano, chili powder, tomato sauce, chicken broth, and cook 4 to 5 minutes. Remove from heat.

Spray a 13 by 9-inch glass baking dish with non-stick spray. Put 1/3 cup chicken mixture into each tortilla and roll it. Place on baking dish seam side down. Top with sauce and cheese. Cover with aluminum foil and bake in the oven on the middle rack for 20-25 minutes. Top with low fat sour cream or scallions if you wish. (Extra points) Makes 8 enchiladas.

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In this recipe, I had to sub some ingredients for what I already had in the kitchen. I failed to notice that 6-inch tortillas were required and I had bought 8-inch ones instead so this recipe barely eked out seven enchiladas, and they were very scanty ones at that. So because of the extra carbs and the full fat cheese, it made these 4 points each instead of 3 points like the original recipe states. Still, not too shabby!

As for flavor, these were pretty good, although a bit too much cilantro for my taste (though Kevin liked it). When I make these again, I'll use a little bit more chicken, a low fat cheese so I can make them cheesier without sacrificing points, less cilantro, and of course, the smaller tortillas.

I should probably also mention that while cooking this, I had a beer can fall out of the fridge and explode everywhere, I dropped several sauce covered utensils on the floor, and had a lecture from my husband about not using a steel spoon to stir ingredients in a Teflon skillet.

Why Does Your Smoothie Look Like That?

Today was a lazy day. Well, all my days are lazy, but this one was lazier than most. I went out the past two nights. Trivia with Jen and Jeff and some of their friends on Wednesday night, which was awesome but definitely not enough "American" questions. Then last night I walked over to Barasti (a restaurant/bar on the beach that we're lucky enough to live right across the street from) to meet up with Houri and Stefanie for a girls night. So today I was tired and it ended up being a completely unproductive day. For days like this, I really like to make a green smoothie for lunch (which I happen to have a lot when Kevin is out of town). For those of you who don't know what a green smoothie is, it's a smoothie in which you "hide" your greens, such as spinach, lettuce, chard, or kale. I use spinach because it has a light flavor and my smoothie still tastes fruity. Kale, on the other hand, is a bit more difficult to hide.

My Green Smoothie

• 1 cup of frozen strawberries
• 1 medium banana
• 1/2 cup of pineapple juice
• 2 big handfuls of baby spinach

It's super filling and has four servings of fruits and vegetables in it. (The pineapple juice doesn't count.) Some people take one look at it and are grossed out because it's a lovely shade of greenish brown. Don't let the color stop you from tasting the deliciousness that is a green smoothie. Yum!

One Ingredient Italian Ice

The AC in our building is broken and our apartment is a sweltering 84 degrees. I thought now would be as good of a time as any to try a really cool (literally!) summertime dessert I came across a few days ago at Stephanie Cooks. Enter Italian ice. Italian ice that has only one ingredient and is easy on the waistline!

Italian Ice

•  Fresh, chopped, frozen fruit (I used watermelon)

Place the frozen fruit pieces in a food processor.

If you want it to be choppy, like slushy ice, hit pulse a few times until the fruit it chopped up and resembles Italian ice.

If you prefer it more smooth, let the food processor run for about 2-3 minutes or until smooth like soft ice cream.

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My first attempt came out a little soupy (see picture), but I ate it anyway. It was still pretty great and I am SO glad I found this idea. It's as easy as pushing a button on a blender, which suits me perfectly. It was a wonderful relief to the no AC situation and I can tell you now it's going to be a staple for us this summer. I'm going to see if I can make a prettier batch tomorrow. :)

Low Fat Mac and Cheese

Kevin leaves for Munich for two weeks tomorrow, so for dinner I wanted to make something that would yield a lot of leftovers that I could eat while he's gone. Cooking for one is such a pain. I've made this recipe from RecipeZaar once before (yes, I do realize it's sacrilegious to make low fat macaroni) and we ate it for leftovers for two or three days afterward. So if you make this, be warned... it makes a lot of macaroni.

Low Fat Mac and Cheese (my changes are in italics)

• 1 tbsp unsalted butter 
• 3 tbsp unbleached all-purpose flour (used whole wheat)
• 1 tsp dry mustard (used regular mustard.. Kevin says it's close enough)
• 1/2 tsp paprika 
• 1/2 tsp kosher salt 
• 1 1/2 cups nonfat milk 
• 1 cup nonfat sour cream 
• 1 egg, lightly beaten
• 2 cups shredded reduced-fat cheddar cheese
• 4 cups cooked elbow macaroni, from about 2 cups dried (used whole wheat penne)
• 1/4 cup corn flake crumbs or dried breadcrumbs (used FiberOne last time, omitted this time)

Coat 2 quart casserole with nonstick spray. Preheat the oven to 350°F.

Melt butter in medium saucepan. stir in flour, mustard, paprika, and salt. slowly pour in milk, whisking continuously until there are no lumps in the flour. continue to stir with whisk, raise the heat, and cook until milk bubbles and thickens.


Remove from stovetop and stir in sour cream, egg, and cheese.

Toss macaroni and the cheese mixture together in a bowl and then pour it into the casserole. Top with the cornflake crumbs. Set in the oven and bake for 20 minutes (I did almost 40), or until bubbling around edges.

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So yummy! Not Stouffer's, but I don't think anything will match that. :) We're pepper fans so we eat this with a bit of black pepper on top, which I think makes it even better.

Guilt Free Banana Bread

Kevin asked me to make banana bread today. Let it be known that he is not fond of diet foods, yet the only banana bread I've made for him is this recipe from Hungry Girl. Granted, each time I've made it I have had to substitute a few ingredients due to what I had or could find.

Banana Bread (my changes are in italics)

• 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
• 1 1/4 cups whole wheat flour
• 3/4 cup Splenda No Calorie Sweetener (granulated)
• 1 1/2 cups mashed ripe bananas (about 3 bananas)
• 1/2 cup fat-free liquid egg substitute (used 1 egg and an extra banana)
• 1/2 cup no-sugar-added applesauce (used regular applesauce because I can't find sugar-free here)
• 2 tsp. baking powder 
• 1 tsp. vanilla extract 
• 1/2 tsp. cinnamon
• 1/2 tsp. salt

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. 

In a large bowl, combine both types of flour, Splenda, baking powder, salt, and cinnamon (in other words, all dry ingredients). 

In a separate bowl, mix together the mashed bananas, egg substitute, applesauce, and vanilla extract (all the wet ingredients). 

Add this mixture to the bowl with the dry ingredients, and stir until just blended. 

Spoon batter into a large loaf pan (about 9" X 5") sprayed with nonstick spray. 

Bake for about 50 minutes, or until a knife inserted in the middle comes out clean. Allow to cool slightly, and then cut into 8 slices.

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I think this recipe does a pretty good job cutting the calories and fat out of a normal banana bread recipe without sacrificing much yummy goodness. If you make this exactly as it says, it's only 140 calories per slice!