Huevos Rancheros

Tonight for dinner, John had some leftovers he wanted to eat, so I wanted to make a simple dinner for myself. So, I made a Mexican dish called Huevos Rancheros. I thought I was just making up my own version, but according to Wikipedia, I pretty much hit it right on! As I was eating it, I thought of a couple of variations that would be delicious. Adding roasted corn, or avacodo for instance. I know a lot of people put refried beans, I think this would have helped make the meal more substantial for a dinner. Something to think about for next time.

Huevos Rancheros

2 corn tortillas
2 eggs
1/4 of an onion thinly sliced
1/4 of a bell pepper thinly sliced
1/2 cup of cheese
Salsa

In a cast iron (or heavy skillet) sautè onions and bell peppers on very high heat until they start to carmalize. Salt them as they are cooking. In a toaster oven (or your regular oven) broil tortillas until crispy. Place onions and bell peppers on your tortillas. Clean out skillet and fry eggs using cooking spray so they don't stick. Keep the yolks runny as this is delicious as it runs over the tortilla! Place eggs ontop of onions and peppers. Sprinkle with cheese and top with salsa.

Weight Watchers:
2 corn tortillas- 1pt
1/2 cup of light mexican cheese- 2 pts
2 eggs- 4 pts
-Amanda-

Chicken Lettuce Wraps

Yesterday, I got the craving for the Chicken Lettuce Wraps that P.F. Chang (or Pei Wei) makes. There is something about the flavor profile that just has you eating more and more. So, I created some Chicken Lettuce Wraps out of the ingredients I already had in my pantry and refrigerator. Like I said, I had the PF Chang Wraps in mind when I made this, but this is not meant to be a "copy" recipe. This is what I created with the PF Chang wraps as an inspiration point. This recipe isn't for the beginner cook, as I didn't measure anything as I was creating. Sorry! But here is a basic list of ingredients. In order to keep it on the lighter side, I used half vegetables and half chicken.

Chicken Lettuce Wraps

Filling:
Boneless skinless chicken breast
Carrot
Sugar snap peas
Mushrooms (lots and lots)
Water chestnuts
Garlic
Iceberg lettuce for the wraps

Cooking Sauce:
Rice wine vinegar
Soy sauce
Hoisin Sauce
Oyster Sauce
Grated ginger
Seasame oil (just a drizzle, this stuff is strong!)
Sambal (Asian chile sauce)
Splenda

Diping Sauce:
Splenda
Soy sauce
Rice Wine Vinegar
Ketchup
Lime juice
Sesame oil
Sambal
Water (to thin it out)

Mince your chicken breasts. If you start with partially frozen chicken breasts, you will find it much easier to mince. You want everything in this recipe to be a basic uniform size and as small as possible. Chop all of your vegetables and set them aside. Prepare cooking sauce, set aside.

In a wok or large skillet, sautè chicken after applying cooking spray. When chicken is about half way cooked, add all the veggies at once. Stir and continue cooking on high heat. Pour over cooking sauce and cook for an additional couple of minutes. Stirring continuously. Spoon some of the filling in an ice berg lettuce leaf. Drizzle on the dipping sauce. Fold over and enjoy!

Peanut Butter & Banana Sandwich

Is it lunch or is it dessert? Either way, it is kid approved! I grew up on Peanut Butter and Banana Sandwiches and was thrilled to pass on this delicious-ness to my kids. A tablespoon of honey makes it that much sweetier. If you really want to take it to the next level (and push it to the dessert category) grill it with butter on a griddle, like you would a grilled cheese sandwich. Then drizzle chocolate syrup over the top. I don't think it can get any better.

Peanut Butter and Banana Sandwich

2 pieces of bread
1/2 banana (on the ripe side)
3 tablespoons of your favorite peanut butter
1 tablespoon honey

In a bowl mash banana with a fork. Add peanut butter and honey. Continue mashing until well incorporated. Spread over bread and devour. (Licking the bowl is always an option.)

Southern Tomato Green Beans

This is a healthy favorite side dish of mine. A lot of side dishes tend to be loaded with calories, be it with crunchy onion toppings, cheese or cream. This is just simply green beans and tomatoes, it's about as healthy as you can get. I did add a couple tablespoons of crumbled bacon to this dish, since it is for company, but most nights I do without the bacon. To make this dish more authentic, or at least how my Mema would make it, you'd use fresh green beans and cook it in a pressure cooker. She'd probably add a lot more oil too...

Southern Tomato Green Beans

1 tbsp olive oil
2 pieces of bacon (or 2 tbsp bacon pieces, already cooked)
1/2 onion
3 cloves garlic
3 cans of green beans, rinsed and drained
2 cans diced tomatoes
1/2 cup chicken broth
4 sprigs of fresh oregano, or 2 tsp dried
Salt & Pepper

In a large skillet drizzle olive oil to coat pan. If using bacon pieces, don't add them yet, but if you are using uncooked bacon, cook the bacon and then remove from skillet and crumble. Add diced onion and garlic and sautè until onion gets translucent, medium high heat. Add green beans, tomatoes and reserved bacon. Add up to 1/2 cup of chicken stock. Last season with oregano, salt and pepper. Simmer for at least 30 minutes with lid off. Serves 6-8.

Weight Watchers:
1/2 cup = 0pts if you omit oil & bacon

Jambalaya

I asked my husband for a new dinner idea, and one of the things that popped out of his mouth was jambalaya. Knowing that our freezer was stocked with sausage, that sounded like a fine proposition. So after a little research and a little tinkering, this is what I devised. Most jambalayas include shrimp, but since we didn’t have any, I omitted it and we didn’t miss it at all. Feel free to add shrimp, or even chicken, if you like contrast in your protein. It’s a quick, one pot meal that will definitely go into the dinner rotation around here.

Jambalaya

1 lb. sausage, cut into slices (smoked works well, but go with your favorite)
1 small onion, chopped fine
2 cups beef stock
½ cup water (as needed)
14 oz. diced tomatoes (1 can)
8 oz. tomato sauce (1 small can)
1 cup rice (brown or white)
1 tbsp. dried parsley
½ tsp. dried thyme
½ tsp. dried oregano
½ tsp. garlic powder
½ tsp. black pepper
¼ tsp. cayenne pepper (use more if you like a little heat)
¼ tsp. salt

In a soup pot or Dutch oven, sauté sausage and onion until sausage is cooked through. Add stock, water, tomatoes, tomato sauce, rice, and spices. Simmer for 30 minutes, or until liquid is mostly absorbed and rice is fully cooked.

Amanda's Curry Shrimp

By no means is this an authentic curry. Unless I just go super lucky and stumbled upon an authentic recipe by accident. Although my husband assures me that it isn't anything like the curries he's had in England. It does use a curry blend, so therefore, it is my curry. Feel free to substitute chicken for the shrimp, I've made it that way too.

Amanda's Curry Shrimp

1/2 cup raw rice
1/2 onion
1/2 bell pepper
1 large carrot
8-10 button mushrooms
2 cloves of garlic
1 can of coconut milk (I use the light version)
8-10 oz shrimp
3 tbsp curry (whatever blend you prefer)
salt & pepper

Prepare rice according to package instructions (or, I like to substitute chicken stock for water.)

Chop onion into a large dice. Cube the bell pepper into 1" squares. Dice your carrot into small pieces. Quarter the mushrooms. Mince your garlic. Now that all the veggies are prepared, the dish is simple to assemble. In a large skillet, sautè your onions, bell pepper and carrots on low heat. When the vegetables start to get soft, add the mushrooms and garlic. Pour in one can of coconut milk. Add curry seasoning, salt and pepper. Bring to a boil, reduce and simmer for 30-45 minutes. Raise the heat again and cook the shrimp until it just turns pink. Either mix in the rice, or serve over rice. Serves 2 (but can easily be doubled)

Weight Watchers (per serving):
rice- 3pts
coconut milk- 4pts
shrimp- 1pt
carrot- 1/2 pt

Beef Mushroom & Rice

I cannot think of a better name for this. It's basically a homemade Hamburger Helper, or perhaps a Rice-a-Roni. I'm not sure since I never buy boxed meals. I used to eat them when I was a kid and had a few favorites that I like to recreate as an adult. This is a very family friendly meal, I'm not sure I'd serve it for company though! Oh, and please, if anyone has a better title for this meal, let me know!

Beef, Mushrooms and Rice

1/2 lb hamburger meat
1/4 large onion
1/4 green bell pepper
10 button mushrooms
2 garlic cloves
1/2 tsp thyme
1/2 cup raw brown rice (or white)
2 cups beef broth
1 tbsp cornstarch or 2 tbsp flour

Prepare rice according to directions.
Preheat a skillet to medium high heat. Dice onion and bell pepper. Spray with cooking spray and put the onion and bell pepper in the skillet. While that is starting to sautè mince garlic and quarter mushrooms. Add hamburger meat to skillet. With your spoon, break the hamburger meat up and brown it stirring it for a few minutes. Add seasonings: thyme, salt & pepper. Stir in garlic and mushrooms. Let the mushrooms cook for a few minutes. In a small bowl mix beef broth with your thickner (cornstarch or flour). Stir until the thickner dissolves into the broth. Add your cooked rice to the beef mixture. Pour broth over and stir. Bring to a boil and then lower to a simmer. Simmer for an additional 5 minutes on low.

Weight Watchers (per serving):
4% Beef - 3pts
rice- 3pts
Broth- 1 pt
Flour- 1pt

Side dish:
Canned greenbeans