We started cooking early (about 2:30), figuring that we'd eat whenever we got everything ready. It was nice to have the luxury of time - we had some cocktails and guacamole and made our dishes at a fairly leasurely pace. And still we ended up eating dinner at 4:30. It worked for me, since I didn't eat lunch today. But I think I might need a snack later...
Pomegranate Vodka Cooler
adapted from the WeightWatchers Website
1/4 cup fresh lime juice
2 Tbsp grenadine, syrup
4 cups seltzer, sugar-free, raspberry-flavor
4 oz vodka
1 1/2 cups Pomegranate Juice
Combine the pomegranate juice, lime juice, vodka and grenadine in a large pitcher. Gently stir in the raspberry seltzer. Serve over ice. Yields about six 1 cup servings.
Suzanne: I played with this recipe a little - added a little more pomegranate juice and maybe a little more vodka... It came out fantastic - a new favorite for me! :)
April: I drank too much. Very tasty, and it makes a lot!
Kick-It-Up Guacamole
from WeightWatchers Hit the Spot: 140 Savory, Crispy, Spicy & Sweet Recipes You'll Love
2 Hass avocados, halved, pitted, peeled and cut into 1/2 inch pieces 1/3 cup mild or medium chunky fat-free salsa
3 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro
2 teaspoons lime juice
1/8 teaspoon ground cumin
1/8 teaspoon salt
Coarsely mash the avocados in a medium bowl. Add the remaining ingredients and stir until combined. If not serving right away, press a piece of plastic wrap directly onto the surface to prevent the guacamole from browning. Refrigerate up to four hours. 1 Point per 1/4 cup serving
Suzanne: Delicious. We had this with the Utz Baked Tortilla Chips. Too good. Definitely a keeper!
April: Guaca-guaca gone. Seriously, John, Suzanne and I ate it all.
Ultimate Onion Rings
from WeightWatchers Hit the Spot: 140 Savory, Crispy, Spicy & Sweet Recipes You'll Love
1/3 cup all-purpose flour 1 cup low-fat buttermilk
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
1/2 cup plain dried bread crumbs
1/2 teaspoon Old Bay Seasoning
2 large sweet onions, cut crosswise into 1/2 inch rounds and seperated into 32 rings
Preheat the oven to 450 degrees. Spray two large baking sheets with nonstick spray. 
Add the onion rings, a few at a time, to the flour and shake to coat. Dip the rings, one at a time, in the buttermilk mixture, then coat with the breadcrumbs, transferring the rings as they are coated to the prepared baking sheets. Bake until golden and crispy, about 20 minutes. Makes 4 servings with a Points value of 2. Suzanne: I had to cut the onions for April because she has sensitive eyes. Mine, on the other hand, are eyes made of steel. Some of the rings were better than others, I'm not sure why. I think I'll save up my points for the next time I want onion rings instead.
April: Besides the fact that I cried without ever cutting the onions, I would probably put less breading on them and cut them thicker. I wouldn't cook them at such a high temp because they seemed to dry out (and I turned the oven down 25 degrees.
Zucchini Fries
from the WeightWatchers Website
4 spray olive oil cooking spray
1 tsp Italian seasoning
1 1/2 Tbsp all-purpose flour 3/4 tsp table salt
3/4 cup panko bread crumbs
2 medium zucchini, about 7-inches each, cut into 16 “fries”
2 large egg whites, whipped until frothy (almost soft peaks)
Preheat oven to 425ºF. Coat a baking sheet with cooking spray. In a small bowl, mix together Italian seasoning, flour and salt. Place bread crumbs in another small bowl.
Dredge a zucchini fry in flour mixture and then dip into egg whites; dredge in bread crumbs. Place coated zucchini on prepared baking sheet and repeat with remaining ingredients; liberally coat with cooking spray.
Roast, turning once, until desired crispness, about 12 minutes. Yields about 8 fries per serving.
Suzanne: I loved these. They'd be great dipped in marinara.
April: It was good, I liked them just the way they were - not squishy, firm. Seasoning was not too spicy but not too bland.
Grilled Buffalo-Style Chicken Bites
adapted from WeightWatchers Hit the Spot: 140 Savory, Crispy, Spicy & Sweet Recipes You'll Love
8 teaspoons (2 tablespoons plus 2 teaspoons) Louisiana-style hot sauce
4 taspoon canola oil
1/2 teaspoon salt
8 celery stalks
1 cup plain fat-free yogurt
1/4 cup reduced-fat blue cheese
1 tablespoon chopped fresh parsley
Toss the chicken, hot sauce, oil and salt in a medium bowl until coated.
Cut the celery in half, then crosswise to thirds. Stir together the yogurt and blue cheese in a serving dish.
Saute the chicken strips in a large pan coated with Pam cooking spray; cook the chicken just until cooked though, about two minutes on each side.
Arrange the blue cheese dressing, celery sticks, and chicken strips on a platter. Sprinkle the dressing with the parsley. Serves 6 with a Points value of 4 each.
Suzanne: Chicken was very good. The dressing tasted like exactly what it is: blue cheese in some plain yogurt. We tried adding a little mayo and some salt and pepper. It helped some, but it still tasted like yogurt.
April: Chicken was spicy but not too spicy. I didn't like the blue cheese dressing at all.
Lemon Raspberry Cheesecake Bars
adapted from Tyler's Ultimate
1/8 tsp ground cinnamon
9 whole reduced-fat graham crackers
4 Tbsp butter, melted2 eggs
2 medium lemons, zested and juiced
1/2 cup sugar, for filling
1 1/2 cups raspberries
8 oz light cream cheese, 1 pkg, softened
8 oz fat-free cream cheese, 1 pkg, softened
For the base:
Grease the bottom of a 9 by 9-inch baking pan with butter. Then place parchment paper over the top, pressing down at the corners. In a food processor, process the sugar, cinnamon and graham crackers until you have the texture of bread crumbs. Add the melted butter and pulse a couple of times to fully incorporate. Pour into the lined baking pan and gently pat down with the base of a glass. Bake in the oven for 12 minutes until golden. When done set aside to cool.
For the filling:
Add cream cheese, eggs, lemon zest, lemon juice and sugar to the food processor and mix until well combined. It should have a smooth consistency. Pour onto the cooled base and then cover with blueberries. They will sink slightly but should still be half exposed -- as the cake bakes they will sink a little more and break down.
Bake in the oven for 35 minutes or until the center only slightly jiggles. Remove from the oven and cool completely before refrigerating for at least 3 hours. Once set, remove from pan using the parchment lining and slice into 12 rectangular bars.
Suzanne: Nice and lemony. I don't love whole raspberries like this. According to the recipe, they were supposed to sink more into the cheesecake and break down. Probably would have liked that a little better. Also, next time I won't use any fat free cream cheese - I'll switch it out for all reduced fat cream cheese. There was a thickness that I think came from the stabilizers used in the FF cream cheese. Overall, still very good cheesecake, I'll make it for my mom next time I'm home.
April: Delicious. I really really really liked it. I got what Suzanne said about the texture, but the taste was great.
Tomorrow is Alden's first day of preschool! April is running around trying to make sure everything is ready for the morning - his bus comes at 6:45am... I am preparing for a crazy next few weeks - between my events and other ones that I have to go to for work, I'm not going to have a free weekend until the end of October. But it looks like we'll still be keeping up our Monday night dinners.
Fall is coming, whether or not we're ready for it. This weekend was a nice preview of the lovely weather we have to look forward to - it was actually coole enough to exercise outside! Have a great week and we'll see you back here next Monday with some recipes that hopefully won't leave us all stuffed...
No comments:
Post a Comment