Korean Pork and Slaw

One good thing.... well, two since one of them is having the problem resolved... is that I've been able to get my recipes organized and a meal plan completed for the month.  Since I'm going to continue on with the  WW plan it will allow me to know how many points I have set aside for dinner, therefor making it easier for me to plan out lunch and breakfast.  An added bonus is that it will also keep me on budget :-)

While these chops were good... it was agreed upon that for our tastes it wasn't "great."  So, you may ask, Why am I blogging about them?  Well, because this is a Lets Try blog and some things will be successful and others not so much.  I also believe that not everyone may not have the same taste as us and they may find these to delicious.  Which side will you be on? You won't know unless you give them a try.  

Korean Pork and Slaw

adapted from eatingwell.com

4 servings, 1 pork chop & 1 1/2 cups slaw each | 4 points per serving

Ingredients

3 tablespoons rice vinegar

2 tablespoons plus 1 teaspoon canola oil, divided  (I used olive oil)

3 small cloves garlic, minced, divided

4 teaspoons chili powder, divided

2 teaspoons sugar

1 teaspoon fish sauce or reduced-sodium soy sauce  (I used soy)

1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper (optional)

1 teaspoon lime juice  (We thought it needed more of a tang so made this addition)

6 cups thinly sliced napa cabbage   (I only had red cabbage on hand so used that)

4 radishes, cut into matchsticks

4 scallions, thinly sliced into 2-inch lengths

1/2 teaspoon kosher salt

4 bone-in pork chops, 1/2-3/4 inch thick (about 2 pounds), trimmed  (I used boneless, leaner and what I had on hand)

Directions:

Preheat grill to medium.

Whisk together the vinegar, 2 tablespoons of oil, 1 minced garlic clove, 2 teaspoons chili powder, sugar, soy, cayenne pepper, radishes, lime juice and scallions; toss to coat. Set aside

Take the remaining garlic and 2 teaspoons of chili powder, salt, 1 teaspoon of oil, and make a paste.  I just threw it all in my small Cuisinart.  Divide paste in half; rub each side of the chops with half of the rub.

Grill the pork chops, turning once, until cooked through, it was about 4 minutes per side on our grill. 

Make the slaw: Chop, or slice your cabbage and toss with the dressing.  Serve with pork.  We found that it produced the best flavor when it was a bit with both pork and slaw.

Nutrition

Per serving : 304 Calories; 17 g Fat;  8 g Carbohydrates; 29 g Protein; 3 g Fiber;

Butternut Squash Soup

 I love soup.  Soups are generally on the healthy side, lower in calorie and can be quite filling; what's not to love about that???  One of my favorite soups to make is Butternut Squash.  While I have a favorite recipe for it (YIKES! Can't believe I never blogged about it!!!) I am always up for trying something new.  This recipe included potatoes, along with several other vegetables.  unfortunately it is something I had printed out ages ago and don't remember where it is from.  It is very good and I highly recommend it.  Go on... you know you want to!

Butternut Squash Soup

2 tablespoons butter

1 stalk celery, chopped

1 onion, chopped

1 medium carrot , chopped

2 medium russet potatoes, cubed

1 medium butternut squash, peeled, seeded and roasted

32 ounces chicken stock

salt and pepper to taste

Directions:

Preheat oven to 400°F. Halve the squash lengthwise. Using a spoon, scoop out and discard seeds. Drizzle with a bit of olive oil and sprinkle with salt. Roast in oven for about 30 minutes.  Once cool it is easy to scoop out the squash!

Melt the butter in a large sauce pot, add the celery, onion, carrots and potato; cook until lightly browned (took me about 7 minutes).  Add the stock and bring to a boil; cover and reduce to a simmer cooking for about 30 minutes, or vegetables are tender.  Add the squash and mix.  (For the record, you can do this without roasting the squash.  Peel the squash and cut into cubes; add along with all the other vegetables)

Transfer the soup to a blender and blend until smooth.

garlic, sesame, mushroom green beans

I never thought I liked green beans, until I discovered there was more to them than just what comes out of a can.  Now, I love you dear husband... but really??? Those are just nasty!  In January I noticed that Costco was now carrying 2 pound packages of fresh green beans, thus my love affair began.  This is a recipe that I threw together putting some of my favorite ingredients,

Garlic Sesame Mushroom Green Beans

1 pound prepared fresh green beans

2 teaspoons olive oil

2 cloves garlic, crushed  (or less if desired)

1 tablespoon soy sauce 

1 tablespoon toasted sesame seeds

1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes

1 can mushrooms stems and pieces (Hey, its all I had on hand!)

salt and pepper to taste

Directions 

Preheat a medium sized skillet with olive oil and let it get good and hot.  Add the green beans, stirring constantly, allowing the green beans to blister slightly.  I like my green beans semi-firm, but adjust to your own preference.  Add the remaining ingredients into the pan, with the green beans and allow to get warm.  Top with remaining sesame seeds, if desired

Dilled Carrot Puree

Another recipe from the 5 ingredient 15 minute WW magazine was the Dilled Carrot Puree.  My grand sweetie just gobbled this stuff down!  It got thumbs up on flavor, but we all agree that we would have preferred it, texture wise, with it being a "mash" rather than a puree.  At only 88 calories, this was something I could eat without guilt. It did make a lot and so we had leftovers that got used in rather clever ways.  My mom slathered some across a tortilla, added some turkey meat and cabbage mix.  She's pretty clever at times!

Dilled Carrot Puree
adapted from best of weight watchers; 5 ingredients 15 minutes

1 cup cubed peeled russet potato

1 cup fat free, chicken broth

1/2 onion, diced

1/2 teaspoon kosher salt

1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

1 pound baby carrots

1 1/2 teaspoons dried dill

Place everything but the dill into a 2 quart sauce pan and bring to a boil.  Reduce heat, cover and let cook until carrots and potatoes are tender, about 12 minutes.  remove from heat.

Add half the mixture into a blender ( I love using my vitamix !!!) and process until smooth and pour into a bowl; repeat with remaining mixture. Stir in dill and serve.  Like I mentioned earlier....I won't puree mine again just because texture wise it wasn't favored.  A good mash would work just as well.

Note:  Putting hot foods into a blender takes some precaution.  Be sure not to fill too high and cover the lid with a paper towel to prevent splatters.  Never start off on the highest power.... trust me, this is info from the experienced!

Balsamic Chicken with Roasted Tomatoes

I'm still on a liquid only diet, but thankfully things have been so hectic around here that I have recipes I haven't blogged about.  April and May really seemed to have flown by!  I'm sorry the blog got neglected, but hey... life happens :-)

At the end of April my surgeon told me he wanted me on a 1000 calorie a day diet to lose some weight before the surgery.  He also told me that the recurrence rate for people having to redo the surgery, in ten years, was 90%!  Outrageous!!! No way am I going through this crud again :-(   He then told me that the risk goes down to less than 10% if the person maintains at least a 25 BMI (Body mass Index).  That meant I would have to drop almost fifty pounds to keep my risk factors low.  What a great time to join WW!!!  I joined online and purchased a few cookbooks and just went for it.  Prior to the week of my 2 week liquid diet I had lost 15 pounds.  Hubby hasn't complained about any of the meals so they have husband appeal, too (An added bonus!).

I tried a chicken recipe from a magazine called "The Best of Weight Watchers; five ingredients 15 minutes.

We enjoyed it, but since I used a full chicken with skin left on (hey, its what I had on hand!) the flavor didn't absorb as much through the chicken.  I think that since I prefer to roast chicken with the skin on, I will put some of the mixture underneath the skin.  Keeping the skin on does keep the chicken moist, and yes.... I do remove the skin prior to eating.  Well, most of the time I do :-)  

Balsamic Chicken with Roasted Tomatoes

adapted from best of weight watchers; 5 ingredients 15 minutes

1 tablespoon honey

1 1/2 teaspoons olive oil

1 pint grape tomatoes

1/2 teaspoon salt, divided

3 1/2 pound chicken, butterflied

1 tablespoon grapeseed oil 

1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

1/4 cup Balsamic Vinegar

Directions
Preheat oven to 450 degrees F.
In a bowl, combine the honey, olive oil and tomatoes; mix to coat completely.  Place the tomato mixture on a foil lined baking sheet and bake for about 15 minutes, or until the tomato skins begin to burst.  Remove from oven, sprinkle with 1/4 teaspoon salt,balsamic vinegar, and set aside.

Prepare your chicken:
Make sure the chicken is thawed completely.  Cut the chicken down alongside the backbone and remove the backbone.  Pat dry with a paper towel... this is an important step since you will be putting it into a hot frying pan; This will keep the splatters to a minimum.

On your stove top, heat a large oven safe frying pan on high heat. Add the 1 tablespoon of grapeseed oil and when it becomes very hot- gently place the bird skin side down in the pan.
 Combine the remaining salt and pepper together. Season the top of the bird with the half the salt and pepper mixture. Immediately place the entire pan in oven for 10 minutes. Carefully remove hot pan from the oven, flip the bird over. Generously season the skin side with salt/pepper.                                                                         

 Return pan to oven and roast another 10 minutes. Add the tomato mixture and  resume cooking for another 15 -20 minutes, or until temperature reaches 165 degrees in the breast area.