Scallop and Vegetable Stir-Fry

One of the many things Weight Watchers has always been good at is coming up for ways of making cooking quick and easy. A few years ago, the cookbook "Shortcuts" came out, and my husband and I have used it extensively. Still do!

Those are not Foofy cuisine, but quick and easy satisfying meals for those days when you just don't have time for anything else.

Scallop and Vegetable Stir-Fry

4 servings, 4 P+/serving

Ingredients

2 tsp canola oil

1 1/2 pound sea scallops

1 tsp dark asian (dark) sesame oil

1 12 oz bag assorted fresh vegetable cut for stir-fry

1 TBSP minced, peeled fresh ginger

2 garlic cloves minced

1 1/2 TBSP reduced-sodium soy sauce

1- Heat a large nonstick skillet or wok over medium-high heat until a drop of water sizzles on it. Add the canola oil and swirl to coat the pan. Add the scallops and stir-fry just until opaque in the center; about 3 minutes on each side (do not overcook!). Transfer to a plate.

2 Heat the sesame oil in the skillet. Add the vegetables and stir-fry just until tender; about 1 minute. Add the ginger and garlic; stir-fry just until fragrant, about 1 minute. Stir in 1/4 cup water and cook, covered, until the vegetables are crisp-tender; about 1 minute. Stir in the scallops and the soy sauce; cook, uncovered, stirring frequently, until heated through, about 30 seconds. Serve at once.

Note: It always cracks me up when a recipe says to serve "at once", I feel like I have to run to the dinning room as soon as I turn off the fire. "Quick, quick! It has to be served AT ONCE!" ;o)

Source: Shortcuts, Weight Watchers, p. 27

Chicken and Broccoli with Black bean sauce

I have so many cookbooks that it takes me some time to work my way through new ones. Last spring we got the Fresh Fabulous, Fast cookbook here at Weight watchers, and I am now working my way through it. Here's my favorite so far:

Chicken and Broccoli with Black bean sauce

4 servings, 6 P+/serving

Ingredients

3/4 pound chicken tenders, cut lengthwise into 1/4 inch slices

4 cup small broccoli florets

1 red bell pepper, thinly sliced

1/2 cup plus 2 TBSP water

2 TBSP black bean sauce

1 tsp sugar

1 (8.8 ounce) package cooked brown rice (about 1 3/4 cups)

1- Spray a large wok or skillet with nonstick spray and set over medium-high heat. Add chicken and stir-fry until browned and just cooked through, 2-3 minutes. Transfer to plate.

2- Add broccoli, bell pepper*, and 1/4 cup of the water to wok; stir-fry until vegetables are crisp-tender, about 3 minutes. Add chicken, black bean sauce, sugar, and remaining 2 TBSP water; stir-fry 1 minute.

3- Heat rice according to package directions for microwave. Serve chicken and vegetables over rice.

* You can add more vegetables to this and bump the volume and the taste!

Source: Fast, Fresh, Fabulous Weight Watchers p. 129.

Garden Vegetable Soup Variations

If we think basic recipe when following the Weight Watchers program, what do we think of?

Yup! The 0 PointsPlus soup! Here's a few variations found on the website. The possibilities are endless. Feel free to modify!

Fresh vegetable soup
12 servings, 0P+/serving

Ingredients
2 cloves garlic, minced (medium)
1 medium onion, diced
2 medium carrot, diced
1 medium sweet red pepper, diced
1 stalk celery, diced (medium)
2 small zucchini, diced
2 cups green cabbage, shredded
2 cups Swiss chard, chopped
2 cups cauliflower, small florets
2 cups broccoli, small florets
2 tsp thyme, fresh, fresh, chopped
6 cups vegetable broth
2 Tbsp parsley, or chives, fresh, chopped
1/2 tsp table salt, or to taste
1/4 tsp black pepper, or to taste
2 Tbsp fresh lemon juice, optional

Instructions
Put garlic, vegetables, thyme and broth into a large soup pot. Cover and bring to a boil over high heat; reduce heat to low and simmer, partly covered, about 10 minutes.

Stir in parsley or chives; season to taste with salt, pepper and lemon juice. Yields about 1 cup per serving.

Asian-Inspired Vegetable soup

12 servings, 0 P+/serving

Ingredients
2 cups bok choy, chopped
2 cups chinese cabbage, chopped
3 cloves garlic, minced (medium)
1/4 cup ginger root, thinly sliced and julienned
4 small raw oyster mushrooms, chopped
2 cups scallion, chopped
1 cup canned water chestnuts, sliced
1/2 cup sweet red pepper, thinly sliced
1/4 tsp crushed red pepper flakes
6 cups vegetable broth
2 cups snow peas, stringed
2 Tbsp low-sodium soy sauce
1/2 cup cilantro, finely chopped

Instructions
Put bok choy, Chinese cabbage, garlic, ginger root, mushrooms, scallions, water chestnuts, red pepper, red pepper flakes and broth into a large soup pot; stir to combine. Cover and bring to a boil over high heat. Reduce heat to low and simmer, partly covered, for about 10 minutes. Toss in snow peas during the last 3 to 4 minutes of simmering.

Stir in soy sauce and cilantro. Yields about 1 cup per serving.

Mexican-Style Vegetable Soup
12 servings, 0P+ serving

Ingredients
2 cups green snap beans, fresh, cut into bit-size pieces
3 cloves garlic, minced (medium)
2 small zucchini, cubed
14 oz canned diced tomatoes, Mexican-style preferred
1 medium spanish onion, chopped
1 medium green pepper, chopped
1 cup chopped tomatillos
1 medium jalapeٌno pepper, finely chopped (don't touch seeds with bare hands)
1/2 medium poblano chile, finely chopped
1 tsp fresh oregano
1/2 tsp ground cumin,
6 cups vegetable broth
1/2 cup roasted red peppers, water-packed (about 2 peppers)
1 Tbsp canned chipotle peppers in adobo sauce
1/2 cup cilantro, fresh, chopped
2 Tbsp fresh lime juice
3/4 tsp table salt

Instructions
Place green beans, garlic, zucchini, tomatoes, onion, green pepper, tomatillos, jalapeno, poblano, oregano, cumin and broth into a large soup pot. Puree roasted peppers with chipotle in adobo sauce in a blender or food processor; stir into soup. Cover and bring to a boil over high heat; reduce heat to low, and simmer, partly covered, for about 10 minutes.

Stir in cilantro, lime juice and salt. Serve. Yields about 1 cup per serving.

Italian-Style Vegetable Soup
12 servings, 0P+/serving

Ingredients
2 cups escarole, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced (medium)
1 cup onion, chopped
2 cups spinach, baby leaves
2 small zucchini, cubed
1 medium sweet red pepper, chopped
1 medium fennel bulb, thinly sliced
6 cups vegetable broth
28 oz canned diced tomatoes, preferably fire-roasted
1/4 tsp crushed red pepper flakes
2 tsp fresh thyme, finely chopped
1 tsp fresh oregano, finely chopped
3/4 tsp table salt
1/4 tsp black pepper
1/4 cup parsley, fresh, chopped
1/4 cup basil, fresh, leaves

Instructions
Put escarole, garlic, onions, spinach, zucchini, red pepper, fennel, vegetable broth, diced tomatoes, red pepper flakes, thyme and oregano into a large soup pot. Cover and bring to a boil over high heat. Reduce heat to low, and simmer, partly covered, for about 10 minutes.

Stir in salt, black pepper, parsley and basil. Serve. Yields about 1 cup per serving.

See how easy that is? Fat free broth, 0 P+ vegetables, and fat free seasonings. One basic recipe, endless possibilities!

New Food: Lemon Cucumber

This is not a recipe, but rather an add-on to this week's posting.

I tried something new and I wanted to share! My friend and partner in crime for my Friday meetings, Sally Waters, had told me about these little guys, which I had never seen or heard of. When Dan and I went to the Farmer's Market at the Ferry Building yesterday (Saturday) I decided to keep an eye out for lemon cucumber and found some.

Cucumbers are tricky because they don't really cook very well. I think the best way to enjoy them is to throw them in a salad. I decided to keep it very simple, so that we could enjoy their full flavor.

I chopped the cucumbers and halved tiny tomatoes (see above how tiny they are!) I got from the Civic Center Farmer's market Wednesday.

Look how pretty it looks all chopped up together!

I wanted to find something that would compliment the flavors well, and I remembered that I hadn't yet tried the Raspberry-Balsamic vinegar I got at the Stonestown Farmer's last Sunday.

I didn't want to put too much vinegar as to not overwhelm the taste of the cucumber in there, so I put only 2 tsp.

Add a little salt, pepper, and you've got a simple, delicious salad! The idea was to have some leftover for dinner, but the whole thing went for lunch. Victory!

I think those little dudes (the cucumbers) are very seasonal, but I think they are worth the efforts. Cucumber taste fresh already, but I think these have this light summery freshness to them which made this simple salad all the more enjoyable.

Thanks to Sally for giving me a heads up on those, I will get them again!

P.S. Little shameless plug, (it's my blog, I can! ;op) Sally has her own line of skin care products which I cannot live without now. It's called Birdy Botanicals. Give them a look, they have saved my highly allergic skin!

Cotelettes de porc a la jamaicaine

This recipe is simple, quick and gives a lot of taste to simple pork chops. I have used the same recipe on chicken with great results.

The recipe calls for oven baking, but I've done it on the grill too. It's just one of those easy, good for everything recipe!

Cotelettes de porc a la jamaicaine (Jamaican style pork chops)

4 servings, 5P+/serving

Ingredients

4 boneless pork chops (about 1 lb total)

1 TBSP soy sauce

1 TBSP orange juice

1 TBSP olive oil

2 cloves garlic, minced

3 green onions, minced

1 tsp Jamaican pepper

1 tsp dried thyme

1/4 tsp salt,

1/4 tsp pepper

1/4 tsp ground ginger

1 pinch cayenne pepper

1- Make little cut on the side of each chop of about 1 inch. In a bowl mix all remaining ingredients. Rub the mixture on each pork chops and put in an oven safe dish in one layer.

2- Cook pork chops for 18 minutes or so at 375 F, or until they are golden but still pink inside, turning once.

Source: Coup de Pouce, Au menu ce soir, p. 36

Apple-Fennel slaw

This recipe is a creation of mine. I was looking for a good fennel salad, and was tired of my usuals, so I experimented. I'm not beyond bragging, this was really good!


I've shared it on Facebook already, but thought I'd share it here for posterity (HA!)


Apple -Fennel slaw
6 servings, (recipe builder says 1p+/serving, but that counts the apple and fennel. I protest!)
Ingredients
2 granny smith apple, thinly julienned
1 fennel bulb, cored, thinly julienned
2 TBSP lemon juice (or so)
2 TBSP apple cider vinegar, divided
1 (generous) TBSP dijon mustard (I use whole grain, it's prettier)
1 tsp olive oil
1/2 packet stevia (or 1 tsp sugar)
1/2 TBSP (or more) poppy seeds
Salt & pepper to taste


Mix 1 TBSP of the vinegar with the lemon juice and pour over the apple juliennes as soon as they are cut (to keep from browning). Put in a big bowl


Mix the mustard, the remaining vinegar, the oil and the stevia in a little bowl, pour over the slaw. Add poppy seeds, salt and pepper and toss well.


Source: My own brain, please credit said brain if you're going to reuse ;op

Eggplant-Chicpea Curry

I have entirely too many cookbooks, and I am purging them every once in a while. I do however have a very extensive and, if I say so myself, well researched vegan cookbooks collection.

This recipe is from a favorite of mine: Appetite for reduction from Isa Chandra Moskiwitz. Isa's recipes are sometimes a little complicated and out there, but her cooking is very creative, and inspiring.

This recipe is one of the simplest most satisfying "whole meal" that I've gotten out of that book.
Don't let the cooking time and long instruction get to you, it is very easy to make and a good way to deal with eggplant when one feels a little intimidated. :o)

Eggplant-Chickpea Curry
6 serving, 4 P+/serving

Ingredients
1 tsp oil
1 small white onion, chopped finely
3 clove garlic, minced
1 TBSP fresh ginger, minced
1/4 tsp red pepper flakes (optional, spicy!)
1 pound tomatoes, chopped roughly (about 2 cups)
2 pound eggplant, cubed (3/4 inch)
1 tsp salt
2 tsp mild curry powder
2 tsp garam masala
1 tsp ground cumin
1 cup vegetable broth
1 (15 ounces) can chickpeas, drained and rinsed (1 1/2 cup)
Chopped fresh cilantro, for garnish (optional)


Preheat a 4-quart pot over medium heat. Saute the onion in the oil for about 5 minutes, until translucent. Use a little nonstick cooking spray if needed. Add the garlic, ginger, and red pepper flakes (if using), and saute for another minute. Mix in the tomato, eggplant, and salt, and cook, stirring constantly, for about a minute. The tomato should deglaze the pan (if not I cheat and throw in a TBSP or a little more vegetable broth).

Mix in the curry powder, garam masala, and ground cumin. Add the vegetable broth, stir and cover the pot. Bring the mixture to a slow boil and cook with the pot covered for about 40 minutes, stirring occasionally. The eggplant should be mostly broken down by this point. Add the chickpeas and cook uncovered for another 10 minutes,stirring for about a m inute at first (to further break down the eggplant) and then occasionally.

Taste for salt and serve garnished with cilantro.

Source: Appetite for Reduction, Isa Chandra Moskowitz p. 230.