Szechuan Chicken and Veggie Bowl

I recently gave a tour of the hospital campus and it followed with lunch in the cafeteria to continue discussion. Let me add that this cafeteria is amazing, it is not your average hospital food. The special of the day was a Szechuan chicken and I remember thinking to myself that I don't think I've ever actually opted for Szechuan anything, always choosing the sweet and sour, or teriyaki version. I didn't know anything about Szechuan sauce so I asked what it was, the answer? It's spicy. I decided to try it and I found that I really loved the savory heat of the sauce. My mouth was on fire and I loved it.

In forecasting the meal plan for the week, I thought about trying my own version at home for Mr. Max. I took to FoodNetwork.com and came across a few recipes that provided some good base ingredients, then continued with an inventory of our pantry/fridge to create my own recipe based on what I had and combinations I already knew we liked.

The nutrition facts for this meal are found here, calculated at SparkRecipes.com. If you want to try the sauce alone on your own creation, the nutrition facts for the full serving (5 servings worth) of the sauce can be found here.

Grocery List:
Yields 5 servings

• 1 lb. chicken, cubed (about 2 chicken breasts)
• 2 cups broccoli florets
• 1 red bell pepper, chopped
• 1/2 cup yellow onion, chopped
• 2 large carrots, julienned (roughly 3/4 cup of carrot shreds)
• 4 tbsp. Safflower oil, divided (or olive oil)
• 1/4 cup tamari
• 2 tbsp. hoisin
• 1-2 tbsp. Sriracha
• 1 tbsp. agave nectar 
• 1 green onion, finely chopped
• 2 tbsp. unsalted butter, melted
• 2 cloves garlic, minced 
• 3/4 pack of whole wheat Udon noodles   
• 1/2 tsp. red pepper flakes

To begin, start by cooking your chicken in a large saute pan or wok. Everything will end up in the same pot so make sure you have something large enough to put it all in. Using about 2 tbsp. of safflower oil, heat to medium high and then add the chicken chunks to start cooking.

In a pot, boil water and then add the udon noodles. Cook until al dente (about 7 minutes), then drain in colander and set aside.

Once the chicken is almost cooked through, drain the skillet and then add the additional 2 tbsp. of oil. Add your onions, broccoli and bell pepper. Cover and let cook for about 5-6 minutes, allowing the veggies to soften and the chicken to finish cooking, then add the julienned carrot and cover again for an addition 3-4 minutes.

As you wait on your veggies to cook, begin the Szechuan sauce. Combine the tamari, hoisin, sriracha, agave, green onion, garlic and the melted butter in a dish. I rarely ever cook with butter but I needed an agent that would enrich the sauce, providing another dimension of flavor while also thickening it, clearly butter was the answer! When veggies and chicken are done, add the noodles to the pan and toss together with the sauce. Sprinkle with red pepper flakes, I lightly dusted the pan, the sriracha was already working in the sauce but it just needed one more punch.

Plate and serve, using additional green onions as garnish if you prefer. Enjoy!

 

Best Salad Dressing, Ever.

 

I realize this title is a very bold claim. 

Let me rephrase this: if you like a hint of sweet and a punch of heat, if you are trying to get away from consuming fatty oils, if you are looking for a fat-free, sugar-free, practically carb-free salad dressing that you can make yourself... then yes, this is the best salad dressing ever. 

I came across the recipe last summer from Our Best Bites blog. It was a water-vinegar based marinade tossed with cucumbers, red pepper flakes and red onion. I made it as such, then put it on a bed of spinach leaves and paired it with simple chicken kabobs. It made for a wonderfully simple, delicious and nutritious dish!

Fast forward to now and I have my monthly girls-night-in cooking group. With swim suit season officially here, we decided to go with some light favorites with leafy greens and grilled lean proteins. I volunteered to contribute the salad and thought I would use this marinade as a salad dressing. Making a small edit to the original, I nixed the sugar and added a splash of red wine vinegar to the mix instead. Combining a plethora of baby greens, I added this cucumber and sweet/spicy "dressing" with avocado and feta cheese. We served it with chicken and shrimp skewers, the result was fantastic.

This week, I wanted to re-make that salad for Mr. Max in our weekly meal plan, but planned to take another past recipe that we loved and do a little recipe mash-up. For this dish I re-did the skinny Bangin' Good Shrimp originally acquired from Gina over at Skinnytaste. I made some very slight adjustments to her recipe the first time, mainly subbing the mayonnaise for Greek Yogurt to cut down on excess calories and fats, a wonderful result.

The two together were fantastic, it was perfect for a light week night meal, but definitely have a glass of water handy. The nutritional facts for the dressing alone can be found here; this is for a full 4 servings of the dressing, 1 serving would look more like this! The nutrition facts for the whole meal can be found here, both calculated by SparkRecipes.com.The meal combo is low in fat, calories, carbs, high in protein and fiber! Try this salad combo out, or make the dressing alone for your next summer salad and let me know how you like it!

Grocery List:
Recipe amount yields 3-4 servings

For Salad
*denotes ingredients used for dressing only

• *1/4 cup rice wine vinegar
• *1/4 cup water
• *1 tbsp. red wine vinegar
• *1/2 tsp. red pepper flakes
• *1/4 cup red onion
• 1 large cucumber, peeled, de-seeded, chopped (about 1.5 cups cucumber)
• 3-4 cups mixed greens
• 1 small avocado, chopped into small cubes
• 1/4 cup feta cheese, crumbled

For Shrimp

• 1/2 lb. cooked shrimp, tail removed
• 2 tbsp. plain, non-fat Greek yogurt (I used Oikos)
• 1 tbsp. green onion, diced (start chopping from white tips for most flavorful part of the bulb)
• 1 tsp. Sriracha
• 1 tsp. Sweet Red Chili Paste 

Start by making the dressing by combining all italicized ingredients into a small sauce pan, minus the red onion. Bring to a boil and allow to reduce by almost 1/3 cup. This allows the liquids to thicken slightly and become a little more syrupy.

Once reduced, take off the heat and add the red onions. This time around, because I was adding a shrimp with some spice to them, I drained the liquid and discarded of the chili pepper flakes and seeds before adding the red onion. Let sit and cool for about 15 minutes or until room temperature.

 

I chose to get already cooked shrimp on this grocery run. Okay, maybe it was not a cognitive decision, it was done on accident, but it worked to my benefit. It decreased the time to prep the meal, which is always nice! I simply took the cooked shrimp, removed the tails and combined them with the mixture of the greek yogurt, green onions, sriracha and sweet red chili sauce. 

 

I decided to heat this in the microwave for a mere 30 seconds to warm up the already cooked shrimp just a tad.  Adding the lettuce, feta, cucumber and avocado to the bowl, I poured in the dressing and mixed the contents well. Plated the result and topped with the shrimp (5 for me, 7-8 for Mr. Max). 

Thai Chicken Quinoa Bowl

Thai food. This is not something I can say we are very familiar with over here. 

I guess the only time we have made anything that could be considered Thai is when Mr. Max and I first started cooking together. One of our favorite dishes was a delicious chicken curry recipe that I had received in a random junk email from one of the many online subscriptions I had signed up for. The substance of the dish consisted of chicken chunks, red bell pepper, onions and sweet potatoes. Then, there were the combined spices of cumin, chili powder, and yellow curry powder all blended together in coconut milk to create a sauce. When all tossed together it was a tasty treat I served over brown rice. So that was one Thai recipe. Tonight we add number two. 

This dish comes from inspiration over on the How Sweet It Is blog. I was looking for a chicken dish that would be easy to whip up after a Tuesday evening workout, and one that would be more fun to make than a chicken breast with veggies. This dish certainly did not disappoint! How Sweet It Is raves about this Thai sauce, one she uses in various recipes, and I can see why. Girlfriend did goooood. I adapted her original recipe just a bit by excluding the peanuts and the cilantro. I also substituted PB2 for the peanut butter in order to reduce fat and calories where I could.

You can find the nutritional facts for this dish here, calculated at SparkRecipes.com.

Grocery List:
Recipe yields 5 servings

• 1 lb. cooked chicken, shredded
• 1 cup quinoa
• 1 cup carrots, chopped thin
• 1 cup edamame, shelled
• 2 tbsp. sweet chili sauce
• 1 tbsp. rice vinegar
• 1/4 cup lite coconut milk
• 1/2 tbsp. brown sugar
• 1 tsp. PB2 (powdered peanut butter, squeezed of all fatty oils)
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• 1 tbsp. lime juice
• 1/8 tsp. fresh ground ginger root
• 1/4 cup green onion, chopped

To start, cook your quinoa according to package. While that cooks, combine the sweet chili sauce, rice vinegar, coconut milk, brown sugar, PB2, garlic, lime juice and ginger in a bowl. Set aside.

 In a large saute pan, heat the frozen edamame and chopped carrots on low-medium heat to begin to cook and soften. Cook for about 5-8 minutes. When the quinoa is ready, add to the saute pan, followed by the chicken. Take the sauce and toss the contents of the pan to coat well.


Spoon into a bowl, garnish with green onion and enjoy!

Tastefully yours,

Quinoa Pasta with Spinach-Avocado "Pesto"

Have you heard of quinoa pasta?!? If not, then let me tell you a story.

In January, I was sitting at a brunch with new people after we all just finished a yoga class. One of the girls was talking about this pasta and I found myself very intrigued! After nearly 30 minutes of talking about that, kale smoothies, kombucha drinks and yoga inversions, we realized we had just made perfect sound bytes for a Sh*t Yogis Say video parody. While I do not fancy myself as "a yogi" I did have to agree that just happened and we sounded ridiculous. But I learned about a fantastic little secret nugget and I couldn't wait to try it for myself!

 

The next day when Mr. Max and I were doing our weekly grocery shopping, I decided to find it and put it on the meal plan for the week. Since then, we have made it probably a dozen times and let me tell you, this stuff is legit! It tastes like any other given pasta but it contains less fat and much higher in fiber and protein than even whole wheat/grain pasta. You can find it in any grocery store, it is located with the gluten-free and special dietary needs. My one complaint? They don't have a penne version.

Now, onto sharing a recipe for it. I've made a few that are noteworthy and ones I do plan to share, I thought I'd start with this one. It's like, a super food party on a plate. You've got avocado, spinach, and a quinoa based pasta; pair that with a nice, lean protein and that's a delicious and nutritious dish my friends. Okay, I guess I have one more complaint, but that's all, I promise. I do feel the need to provide warning that this cooks much faster than regular pasta, especially the smaller shapes. Pay attention to it and don't let it overcook because it will get mushy.

Nutritional facts were calculated at SparkRecipes.com and can be found here (includes 4 oz. grilled chicken breast). 

Grocery List:
Recipe Yields 4 servings

• 1 ripe avocado, cut in cubes
• 1 cup spinach
• 1 tsp. + 3 tbsp. olive oil
• 2 tbsp. fresh lemon juice
• 3 cloves garlic
• 1 box of Ancient Grains spiral quinoa pasta 

To start, take a pot and will with water. The box tells you to use 4 QUARTS of water, but that is just wasteful when 1 quart (4 cups) of water is more than enough. Add just a little olive oil (about 1 tsp.) into the water to keep the noodles from sticking together. Bring the water to a boil and add the pasta, turning down the heat on the stove to about medium-low. Watch it closely, it will cook in about 4-6 minutes depending on the size and shape. Once al dente, drain and set aside in a bowl.

In a food processor, take the avocado cubes, add spinach, olive oil (3 tbsp.) and garlic cloves. Process until creamy and smooth. If it is too thick for your liking, you can think out with additional olive oil.

Toss the "pesto" with the pasta and serve! It is great on its own or pairs wonderfully with a simple grilled herb chicken breast.

Tastefully yours,

Butternut Squash and Kale Hash

This was the meal that brought me out of my blog sabbatical because I just had to share! One of the fun things about cooking is after you do it long enough, you start to just know how certain tastes are going to meld and blend together. I love how you know you can combine the savory of Worcestershire, tang of champagne vinegar, sweet of agave and the piquant of dijon mustard to create an incredibly tasty glaze, and know that it will all work together. When you can look around your pantry or fridge, then just start mixing, that is when magic happens. And friends, that is the most fun part to reach in your kitchen adventures! 

This meal was inspired by a pinterest post for a sweet potato and kale hash, it was a breakfast dish with a fried egg on top. I have nothing against sweet potatoes, but I do have a love a-ffair with butternut squash so I decided to swap one orange veggie for another, just the way I like it. Mr. Max has been on a big kale kick ever since we did a cooking class in January with a crispy kale dish. I wanted to be able to take his new favorite veggie with my favorite veggie, then add some other stuff and make it a meal. Sounds pretty technical, huh?

I was shooting from the hip with this dish but wrote it down as I went a long so I could remember and hopefully get around to posting.... ta-da! I actually did this time. Nutritional fact breakdown can be found here, calculated at SparkRecipes.com.

Grocery List:
Yields 4 servings

• 10 large Kale leaves, de-stemmed and chopped into large chunks (we operate by, the darker the better! Grab some dino kale to try it out)
• 1.5 - 2 cups Butternut squash, cubed
• 3 tbsp. olive oil, divided
• 1 shallot, minced (about 2 tbsp. worth)
• 3 cloves garlic, minded
• 1 tsp. red pepper flakes
• 1/2 tsp. rosemary
• 1/4 tsp. cumin
• 1/4 tsp. chili powder
• 2 tbsp. shredded Parmigiano Reggiano (approximately)

Start by pre-heating your oven to 450 degrees to roast your butternut squash cubes. Toss with 1 tbsp. of olive oil to coat then sprinkle with the red pepper flakes and rosemary.  Set on a baking sheet lined with aluminum foil (easy clean up process and assists in the crisping), then pop in the oven to roast for 20 minutes. We want these babies to have some brown on them, some color.

When you have about 10 minutes left on the timer for the roasting squash, take 1 tbsp of olive oil and begin to saute your shallots in a large saute pan over medium heat. Once frangrant, add the garlic and saute for about 3 minutes.

Add the kale and the final tbsp of olive oil, tossing in the pan to coat, which will help it cook and crisp. Let it sit for about 2 minutes on medium heat, then move it around the pan again. Right about now, the squash should be ready to take out of the oven. Add it to the pan and combine the two, adding the cumin and chili powder. Turn up the heat to about medium-high (6 or 7 on the dial) and let that kale crisp a little more in all the flavors.

Finally, you will add two large pinches of Parmigiano Reggiano. Give it a stir, fold it together, do what feels right.

Dish it out and serve for a deliciously nutritious, easy weeknight meal!

Served with petite Pork Tenderloin Medallions in a Cider-Dijon glaze

Directions:

Slice a pork tenderloin into 1 inch discs. In a small skillet, mist with cooking oil and set 4-5 slices, not touching one another, on the hot surface. Cover with a lid and let cook for 2-3 minutes on medium-high heat, then flip and cook for another 1-2 minutes. Both sides should have a nice brown marks, medium heat should register to 145 degrees.

As the medallions cook, time to whip up an easy glaze. I combined some of my favorite tastes mentioned in the opening paragraph: 2 tbsp. Dijon mustard, 1.5 tbsp. Worcestershire, 1 cup apple cider, 1 tbsp. champagne vinegar, 1 tbsp. agave nectar, 1 tsp. shallots, 1 tsp. rosemary. Place all of this in a sauce pan over medium heat, when it begins to simmer, bring the heat down to low to allow it to thicken, about 10 minutes total. To serve, spoon over top pork medallions. 

Nutritional fact breakdown for pork and sauce can be found here, calculated at SparkRecipes.com.  

One serving yields four small or three large medallions and 1 tbsp. of sauce. 

Tastefully yours, 

Make a Meal: Spinach-Basil Pesto Pasta with Caprese Chicken Stacks

 

For Labor Day, I had a fun little girls weekend with my two Maids of Honor. Amy and I went southbound 35 to visit Greer for a little time together, just the three of us and one thing I knew I could count on was a fun cooking night. We went to a local farmers market to find inspiration and ended up deciding on an Italian theme. We bought fresh vegetables and Italian peppers, then found a fresh pasta place where we bought three fresh pastas: a fettuccine, a spinach fusilli, and a pecorino-peppercorn cavatelli pasta. For sauces, we bought a vodka sauce from the pasta place then made our own fresh basil pesto. For toppings, we sauteed the fresh farmers market vegetables to toss with pasta and olive oil, then made some easy balsamic chicken chunks. When we put it all together, it was ahh-mazing. See below for our little pasta bar!

 

Fast forward to this week, Mr. Max and I were meal planning.  I was still having some serious food envy of all the leftovers that Greer had, and DVR envy from the ridiculous amount of recorded hours of The Hills, but that's another story. We may or may not have bypassed our Saturday plans to explore Austin so that we could watch 10.5 hours of that reality TV gold.

 

Busted. Name that scene! The "he's a sucky, sucky person" confrontation was one of the best between Lauren and Hiedi, next was the "you KNOW what you did" at Les Duex.

Back to the featured post dish, I was craving some pesto after thinking about the delicious stuff we made over Labor Day and decided to pick up some whole wheat fusilli to revamp my ever-changing chicken caprese. This recipe was quick and easy, I made it on one of my busiest work weeks of the year, meaning I was tired, maybe slightly grouchy and was ready to eat some dinner so I could go to bed. That said, this took all of 20 minutes from prep start to plated finish.

Nutritional facts can be found here.

Grocery List:
Recipe Yields 3-4 servings
For the Pesto Pasta (forgive me, rough estimates I tried to track as I went)

• 1/2 cup spinach
• 1/2 cup basil
• 3 cloves of garlic
• 3 large pinches of Parmesan
• 2 tbsp. pine nuts
• 1/4 cup olive oil
• 1.5 cups spinach, packed
• 2 cups pasta (I made extra for Mr. Max's appetite and a lunch portion)

For the Caprese Chicken

• 3 chicken cutlets (4 oz. each)
• 1 tbsp. olive oil
• Italian seasoning
• 2 tbsp. balsamic vinegar
• 6 thin slices of part-skim mozzarella
• 1 cup cherry tomatoes, halved  
• Balsamic glaze

To start, pre-heat the oven to 425 degrees. Bring salted water to a boil and add the pasta noodles. Cook for about 8-10 minutes or until al dente. 

Next, combine the spinach, basil, garlic, pine nuts and Parm in the food processor and grind. Add the olive oil slowly and continue to grind until you've reached a smooth, desired pesto consistency.

Toss your tomatoes in just a splash of olive oil. Spread the halves over a baking sheet covered in aluminum foil and sprayed with non-stick cooking spray. Roast in the oven for twenty minutes until puckered and slightly browned.

Take your chicken cutlets and cut them in half so you have small, slider size slabs of chicken. Place them in a bowl and toss with olive oil and balsamic vinegar to evenly coat the chicken. Sprinkle with Italian seasoning.

Place the chicken in a foil lined baking dish and place in the oven for 4 minutes to cook. After 4 minutes, remove from the oven, flip and add the sliced mozzarella to the top of each chicken. Cook for another 5 minutes.

 

 

Once the pasta is ready, drain and dry with paper towels. In a large saute pan, combine the pasta with the pesto and add the additional spinach to let wilt over low-medium heat.

Once the chicken is ready, make a bed of the pasta on a plate or bowl and then top with the chicken and scoop of roasted tomatoes, then drizzle with an ever so slight balsamic glaze. In the picture at the very top of this post, I had stacked the chicken with layer of tomatoes between and again on top. In the one below, the two chicken pieces are side by side.

Tastefully yours,

Make a Meal: Soy-Mustard Glazed Salmon with Bok Choy Fried Rice

This dish happened in one of my favorite ways: by accident. I had fully intended to do a different salmon dish based off a recent menu sampling for wedding food. I had sent our chef some of our recipes for the dinner portion but we were having a hard time narrowing down the passed appetizer options that both matched our dinner "theme" and were easy enough to eat. One of the choices he served was a jumbo bacon-wrapped shrimp with a dipping sauce. It was like a barbecue/poblano chutney; there was a sweet tang to it and a subtle smokey heat. We nixed it for an app because it was too high maintenance to consume, not a good finger food, but we just loved the sauce. He told me that since I shared my recipes with him, he would return the favor. He came back with a printed copy of his recipe and I was ready to use it!

I was all set for that until I left my wedding binder (with recipe tucked in the pocket) at work. Arriving home and realizing that, meant I had to come up with another plan.

Enter the Soy-Mustard Glaze Salmon. First of all, I don't really like anything that has mustard in the title. I can do mustard when it is a simple ingredient, an undertone of a recipe, but not as a prominent feature. However, I found this in America's Test Kitchen Light and Healthy 2012 when I was making the Miso-Orange Glazed Fish. I remember this second glaze recipe and decided to try that, since I had all the ingredients on-hand already.

Now let's discuss the bok choy fried rice. My friend Greer had recently asked me how to make bok choy so I had it on my mind. I got brown rice, some chopped carrots for another meal in the week and the bok choy. Max Man was ready to help so I asked him to chop the bok choy to fit the saute pan. I meant in half but didn't articulate that, and sweet man chopped it like lettuce for a salad. As I prepared it, I started to think through how I would pull this off, because it was shrinking like spinach. I looked at the finished brown rice and decided to dump that in the skillet with the bok choy and add the carrots along with other tasty ingredients. Yes, I liked where this was heading.

Nutritional facts for the salmon are located here; 6 WW points per 4 oz. salmon filet. Nutritional facts for the stir-fry are located here; 2 points for 1/2 cup serving of the rice.

Grocery List:
For Salmon - Recipe yields two servings

• 2 salmon fillets (4-6 oz. each)
• 2 tbsp. light brown sugar
• 2 tbsp. tamari (organic, low-sodium soy sauce)
• 2 tbsp. mirin
• 1 tbsp. sherry vinegar
• 1 tbsp. whole-grain mustard
• 1 tbsp. water
• 1 tsp. cornstarch
• 1/4 tsp. red pepper flakes

For Bok Choy Stir Fry - Recipe yields 4 servings

• 1 cup brown rice 
• 2 cups bok choy, chopped
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 tsp. sesame oil
• 1 cup carrots, diced 
• 2 tbsp. low sodium stir-fry sauce 

To begin, let your grilling surface start warming up (if you decide to grill) or heat your oven at 350 degrees. Next, cook the rice according to the package. As the rice cooks, begin your salmon glaze by placing the brown sugar, tamari, mirin, sherry vinegar, mustard, water, corn starch and red pepper flakes into a shallow sauce pan. Let simmer on medium heat and thicken for 5-7 minutes, whisking well.

As your glaze perfects, pan sear the salmon. When you flip the salmon skin down, you are allowing the omegas to permeate down through the rest of the fish, fully getting those vitamins. Thank you Central Market man for enlightening me on that little brain nugget.

 

Once salmon fillets are seared on both sides, prep your cooking method. I use a grill basket and cover with aluminum foil, then place the salmon down. Lather the glaze on the tops of the fish and set on the grill for 15 minutes. 

Oh hey, chopped bok choy!

In a large skillet or chef's pan, let your bok choy begin to wilt with just a splash of oil and garlic. When wilted, add the rice and carrots. Add stir-fry sauce and mix well on medium heat for 5 minutes.

Once the salmon flakes at touch and is a light pink, dish out the stir-fry and top with the fish. Enjoy this taste foodie friends. I'm actually about to make this salmon again. For the fourth time this month but new side dish! 

Tastefully yours, 

Make a Meal: Grilled Chicken Kabobs with Sweet and Spicy Cucumber Salad

 

While I was on the same grocery trip that inspired the Apple Banana Muffins, I also grabbed a recipe card for grilled chicken with cucumber relish while at the meat counter. It sounded light and refreshing for a summer evening so it made it home with me. Like kismet, the next day I stumbled upon another cucumber recipe on pinterest and decided to grab inspiration from each, adapting and combining the two for this dish. The chicken kabobs were easy, the cucumbers were easy, what more can you want in a week night meal? Health and nutrition? You are in luck, because this dish has that too.

I loved the sweetness and kick of heat to the cucumber salad. It was a tasty contrast and something that would work great on its own at a BBQ, a shower or like this for dinner.

Click here for the nutritional facts calculated at SparkRecipes.com and 6 WW points for one serving.

Grocery List:
Recipe yields 4 servings

For Chicken

• 1 lb chicken, cubed
• 4 cloves garlic, minced
• 3 tbsp. Worcestershire sauce

For Cucumber Salad

• 1 cucumber, peeled and quartered
• Salt
• 1/4 cup Mirin (rice wine vinegar)
• 1/4 cup water
• 1 tsp. crushed red pepper flakes 
• 1 tsp. sugar
• 2 tbsp. red onion, minced
• 3 tbsp. feta cheese, crumbled
• Baby spinach (optional for salad greens)

To begin, heat your grilling surface and brush with oil to help prevent the kabobs from sticking. Next, take your cucumbers and set in a colander. This next step I learned from the original recipe, it's very important to season with salt to help dry out the fruit. Otherwise, they will water down the final product. Salt and let sit for about 15 minutes, then pat dry with paper towels.

 

In a mixing bowl, combine the cubed chicken with the minced garlic and Worcestershire sauce. Let marinate for about 10 minutes and then thread bamboo or metal kabobs with about 5-6 pieces of chicken, resulting in about 4 oz. on each kabob.

 

While the chicken is marinating and the cucumbers are "salting," you multitask and move on to the cucumber salad sauce. In a small sauce pan, heat the mirin, water, sugar and red pepper flakes over medium high. Whisk together and let reduce to about 1/3 cup, about 10 minutes.

 

Once reduced, set to the side, add the red onion and let cool to room temperature.

 

Toss with cucumbers and add feta cheese, then place in fridge to serve chilled.

   

Grill the chicken kabobs, about 6 minutes on each side.

 

Once done, bring inside and assemble your plate. We used a bed of spinach leaves to enhance the green factor and add nutrients to the dinner. Spoon the cucumber salad atop the spinach and grab a kabob, dinner is served my friends!

 

Tastefully yours,

Grilled Teriyaki Salmon and Veggie Stir Fry

 

This is an easy two part meal that is both delicious and nutritious! I had started to make a Teriyaki sauce from one of my first posts but right before I placed the salmon into the marinade, I remembered I hadn't tasted it yet. I'm glad I did because something in the ingredients was not good. There was a rancid taste to it so I threw out some things that may have been past their shelf life, oops! Lesson to why you always taste test in the cooking process...and clean out your pantries every few months.

I had used the last of my soy sauce with the bad batch, and threw out my rice wine vinegar and apple cider vinegar. I paced between my pantry and fridge to come up with an alternative and decided to combine ponzu, honey and hoisin, add some sriracha and call it a marinade. Stuck my finger in that bowl, that was a good taste, we can move forward with this goodness.

Nutritional facts can be found here, calculated at SparkRecipes.com; one serving of this whole meal is 10 WW points.

Grocery List:
Recipe yields two servings

• Two 4-6 oz. salmon fillets
• 2 tbsp. low sodium Ponzu sauce (a citrus soy sauce)
• 1 tbsp. Hoisin
• 2 tsp. Sriracha
• 1 tbsp. Honey
• 1 tsp. Ginger
• 1 tsp. Olive oil
• 1 cup mixed vegetables, julienned or chopped (squash, zucchini, bell pepper, carrot)

Start by whisking together the ponzu, hoisin, sriracha, honey and ginger. Make sure that it tastes to your liking and you don't want to add anything!

 

Reserve about 3 tbsp. of it and then use the remaining to marinate your salmon, skin up, in a bowl at room temperature. Let this soak for about 20 minutes.

 

In the meantime, heat your grilling surface. We decided to use the grill, but if you are looking for less complicated cooking methods, you can pan sear or griddle the fillets as well. For the E-Grill, we used a grill pan, covered with foil and coated with non-stick spray. Place your fish on the heat and cook covered for 15-18 minutes.

 

For the veggies, I grabbed a pre-chopped box labeled as an Asian stir-fry in the produce section at Whole Foods. With strips of red onion, yellow squash, zucchini, red bell pepper, yellow bell pepper and carrot, it was perfect for this dish. The veggies were fresh and helped me cut down on at least 15 minutes of chopping. When the fish goes on the grill, it is veggie time. Heat the oil in a skillet over medium and add your veggies. Take the reserved teriyaki sauce and cook into the veggies for about 8-10 minutes on medium heat, until softened.

 

When salmon flakes to the touch and a nice light pink color, it is ready.

 

Pile your stir fry veggies on a plate, top with the salmon and dinner is served!

 

Tastefully yours,