Sweet and Spicy Glazed Pork Chops

These came out very good, but. . . would have been much better with the edition of 2 chopped scallions, to add a bit of freshness to the dish. Very yummy served with rice and steamed asparagus!

Sweet and Spicy Glazed Pork Chops

2 tsp. fresh ginger, grated
2 large garlic cloves, grated
1/2 tsp. red pepper flakes
3 Tbsp. hoisin sauce
2 Tbsp. honey
1/2 cup teriyaki sauce
4 center cut pork chops (about 1 1/2 lbs?)

• Whisk together first six ingredients.
  
• Pour over pork chops in a large zip top bag.
• Allow to marinate for at least a half an hour (or as long as overnight).
• When ready to cook: Preheat oven to 375F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper, then place a baking rack on top. (This is essential for an easy clean-up!)
  
• Place pork chops on the rack, pouring excess marinade on top, and bake until they are done (can be between 30 and 60 minutes, depending on chop thickness), turning once midway.
• Enjoy!

Chicken Pot Pie

I had some leftover roasted chicken and random leftover vegetables in the fridge that I needed to get rid of, so it seemed a Chicken Pot Pie was in order. This one is really oniony, just because I was in the mood for a lot of caramelized onions, so cut back to half an onion if you don't want onion to be one of the main flavors of this dish.

This recipe makes four servings. I made two pot pies (2 servings each), but you could easily make 4 individuals or one big one. That would be a judgment call on your part I suppose.

If you count Weight Watchers Points, I calculated this as 8 points a servings. (Please recalculate on your own if you want to be sure. I don't count onions or carrots as points, so if you do, your count will obviously be different than mine.)

Chicken Pot Pie

1 tsp. olive oil
1 large yellow onion, quartered and thinly sliced
2 cups cooked chicken, cubed
1 cup cooked carrots, cubed
1 cup cooked potatoes, cubed
1 cup frozen peas, thawed
2 Tbsp. butter
2 Tbsp. flour
1 1/2 cups chicken stock
1/2 cup whole milk
1/2 package low fat bread dough (store bought, from the refrigerated section)
salt and pepper

• Over medium heat, saute the onions in the olive oil (with liberal amounts of salt and pepper) until soft, brown, and caramelized, about twenty minutes. Mix with chicken and other veggies, and put aside.

• To prepare the sauce, melt the butter in a saucepan over medium low heat. Whisk in the flour, and cook for three of four minutes, being very careful not to let the butter brown. Slowly add in the the stock and milk, whisking as you add it in. Let this thicken for five or ten minutes, whisking occasionally so lumps don't develop.
• Pour sauce over chicken and veggies.

• Stir this all together and transfer to lightly greased baking dish(es).
• Unroll bread dough and place over the baking dish.

• Bake at 350 F for 20- 30 minutes, or until crust is golden brown and filling is bubbling.

• Remove from oven and let sit for about 5 minutes before serving.

• Enjoy!
  

Rasberry Almond Bread Pudding

This super quick and easy dessert was inspired by a recipe I saw Nigella Lawson make several years ago. Mine is just a lightened up version. If you want to make this a bit more of a decadent treat, spread the bread with the jam and some mascarpone cheese.

Raspberry Almond Bread Pudding
8 slices whole grain bread
4 Tbsp. low sugar raspberry jam
2 cups light soy milk
3 eggs
4 Tbsp. sugar
1 tsp. almond extract
1 tsp. butter, sliced thinly into little bits

• Preheat oven to 350 F. Grease a glass loaf pan.
  
• Make 4 jam sandwiches. Cut them in half diagonally, to form 8 triangles. Line these guys point side up in your loaf pan.
  

• In a bowl, whisk together eggs, soy milk, sugar, and almond extract. Pour custard mixture over the sandwiches in the loaf pan, then dot the tops of the sandwiches with the butter.

• Let it sit and hang out for a few minutes so the bread can soak up the custard. Then bake for about 45 minutes to an hour, until the custard is set.
• Serve warm for dessert with a bit of whipped cream. (Or for a yummy breakfast the next morning, serve with some butter and maple syrup!)
• Enjoy!

Quinoa Salad

Orange, red onion, and olive oil is one of my favorite flavor combos, because it just screams of summer to me. So that's the direction I chose to go in for this quinoa salad, probably because I am sick of winter. (Hey, if I can't have summer weather, I'll settle for summery foods.)

If you aren't familiar with quinoa, it's a delightful little grain (one of the few "complete foods" on our planet) and very versatile. You can use it hot, much the way you would rice, or cold in a salad, as I have here. Whatever you do use it in, be sure to rinse it very well before cooking. The grain has a bitter coating that you don't want in your dish, but a good rinse in cold water takes care of that.

One more quick note: When you section the orange, do it over the bowl you're using so it will catch all the juice that's going to drip out, then squeeze the juice from the membrane into the bowl as well. This adds a significant amount of flavor and liquid to the dressing. Here's the recipe:

Quinoa Salad
1 cup quinoa, rinsed well
2 cups water
1 cup fresh string beans (cut into bite sized pieces and steamed but still very crisp)
1/2 cup shredded carrot
1 shallot, sliced very thinly (or half a red onion)
1 orange, segmented (don't forget to zest it before you cut it!)
1/4 cup golden raisins
zest and juice of half a lemon
zest of half an orange
1 tsp. red wine vinegar
2 tsp. extra virgin olive oil
salt and pepper to taste

• In a dry hot pan toast the quinoa until dry, golden and slightly puffed. Remove from pan.
• Bring water and a pinch of salt to a boil, add quinoa, cover, reduce to a simmer for 20-25 minutes (until water is all absorbed). Fluff with a fork and and remove from pan. Allow to cool. (This could all be done the night before if you like.)
• When cool, combine quinoa and all remaining ingredients. Season to taste with salt and coarsely ground pepper.
  
• Enjoy!

General Tsao's Chicken

I found this recipe on the Weight Watchers website, and it is amazing! It's all the things General Tsao's Chicken usually is: spicy, sweet, and saucy. Everyone loved it and went back for seconds, so it is a good thing I had the foresight to triple the recipe. The only addition I made to the recipe was a sliced red bell pepper for some color and crunch. Served along side white rice and steamed broccoli, this was much yummier and healthier (only 4 WW Points per cup of chicken and sauce, if you're counting!) than takeout. Enjoy!

General Tsao's Chicken

3/4 cup canned chicken broth, reduced-sodium
1 1/2 Tbsp cornstarch
2 Tbsp sugar
2 Tbsp low-sodium soy sauce
1 Tbsp white wine vinegar
1/2 tsp ground ginger
2 tsp peanut oil (I used olive oil instead, and it was fine.)
2 medium scallion(s), chopped
2 medium garlic clove(s), minced
1/2 tsp red pepper flakes, or 1 dried chili pepper, minced
1 pound uncooked boneless, skinless chicken breast, cut into 2-inch pieces
1 red bell pepper, cut into bite-sized pieces
white or brown rice and steamed broccoli

• In a medium bowl, whisk together broth, cornstarch, sugar, soy sauce, vinegar and ginger; set aside.

• Heat oil in a wok or large skillet over medium-high heat. Add scallions, garlic and pepper (and bell pepper) and cook 2 minutes. Add chicken and cook until browned all over, about 5 minutes.

• Add reserved sauce and simmer until sauce thickens and chicken is cooked through, about 3 minutes.

• Serve chicken and sauce over rice (and steamed broccoli).

Pad Thai (Sort Of) For One

I really felt like Pad Thai for lunch today, so I had to find a way to make it work with what I had on hand. Yam noodles may sound like a pretty obscure ingredient, but they're widely available in Asian markets, and worth looking for. They're fat free, super high in fiber, yummy, and only require heating before serving. They come in these cute little bundles (fourteen per package, to be exact).
Just drain them (they come packaged in liquid), untie those cute little bundles, give them a good rinse, dry them well (I wrap them up in an impeccably clean dishcloth, and let them hang out a bit to accomplish this), and they are ready to be used however you want. Tangent on yam noodles over. (I promise!)

This is the formula I used to make the mock Pad Thai. It came out quite good, just a bit salty, so I recommend replacing half of the Soy Sauce with water. Here's the recipe:

Pad Thai (Sort Of) For One
1/2 package yam noodles (7 bundles), rinsed and dried.
2 Tbsp. soy sauce
2 Tbsp. water
1 tsp. sugar
1/2 tsp. fish sauce
1 Tbsp. peanut butter (I used Reduced Fat Skippy Creamy, but feel free to substitute.)
1 scallion, chopped.
1 egg, beaten
1/2 cup cabbage, cooked (I had some sauteed Savoy leftover, so I used that.)
3 oz. (about 1/4-1/3 cup) firm tofu (I had BBQ tofu leftover, so I used that.)
2 Tbsp. finely chopped toasted almonds

• Heat a pan to very high heat, and coat with a bit of olive oil (I use a mister). Add the egg, and swirl the pan around quickly to make a thin omelet. Cook for only a few seconds on each side, so the egg doesn't get tough. Remove from pan, roll up, and slice into thin strips. Put on the side.
• Microwave the peanut butter for a few second to soften.
  
• Whisk together peanut butter, fish sauce, soy sauce, water, and sugar. Add scallion to this mixture and put on the side.
• In a lightly oiled, screaming hot pan, heat the noodles, cabbage, and tofu until warmed through. this should take no longer than two minutes.
• Add the sauce, allowing to come to a simmer and stir until combined well.
• Add the egg and almond, and serve. (Add a squeeze of fresh lime juice if you like.)
• Enjoy!