We're Back!

Kevin and I are back from our trip to the States. We went to Seattle (where his family lives) but my mom and sister were able to fly up from Orlando for a few days. They had never been to Seattle before so we had a good time showing them around, as well as getting to see a good friend get married.

It seemed like a quick visit because a few days into the trip, I had my gallbladder taken out, and spent the rest of the time recovering. I've been needing this for awhile now (since 2006) and went for a surgery consult and the doctor fit my surgery in the next day. The gallstones were bigger and more plentiful than the 3 year old ultrasound showed so one of my incisions is much bigger than I expected. I'm still sore but no longer taking painkillers after the plane ride over here, which wasn't as bad as I thought it would be.

I'm still trying to figure out how this will affect my diet. I've been told it could go numerous ways. So for now I'm trying to eat as low-cal, low-fat, low-sodium, and sugar free as I can and gradually add things back and see what happens. I don't know if this will make cooking easier or harder, but I do expect to be cooking more because I won't be finding these foods by eating out. So hopefully, more blog updates soon!

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.

No, I Haven't Abandoned Ship

However, I have briefly abandoned the kitchen. Kevin and I got back from Europe this past weekend and he left again Tuesday to head to Zurich for some training. I've been eating sandwiches and drinking smoothies all while reading nonstop on my Nook. I am starting to crave cooked food so I'm sure there will be a real domestic update soon. It's just so much easier to let my "domestic duties" fall by the wayside when I'm here alone.

I know.. excuses, excuses. :)

Quick and Easy Vegetable Fried Rice

With the possibility that I could be leaving on Sunday to join Kevin in both Paris and Rome for two weeks, I've been trying to eat up everything in my refrigerator without having to go grocery shopping. I had some cooked brown rice leftover so I decided to whip up some fried rice. Kevin's makes some amazing fried rice and so I tried to make it without really knowing what he puts into it and it ended up pretty good.

Easy Vegetable Fried Rice

• 3 cups of cooked brown rice
• 1 1/2 tbsp of olive oil
• 2 cloves of garlic
• 1 red onion
• 1 cup broccoli chopped, cooked
• 1/2 cup shredded carrots
• 1 egg, whisked
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp white pepper
• 2 tsp light soy sauce

In a frying pan, heat olive oil. Saute onion and garlic for 2-3 minutes. Add rice and continue to cook until a little sticky.

Move rice to one side of frying pan then center empty side over burned. Scramble egg while chopping into tiny bits. Mix together.

Add salt, pepper, broccoli, and carrots. Mix thoroughly and cook for another 5-7 minutes. Add soy and continue to mix. Turn off heat and serve hot.

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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!