Shrimp & Cheesy Grits

I cannot seem to wake up today - I've had coffee, tea and some fruit, all of which normally snap me out of it, but no such luck. On top of being tired I am cold! It hasn't gotten above 55 in San Francisco - brrrrrrrrr! Ok, the point of all this complaining? When I'm cold and tired I crave comfort food. I want something to stick to my ribs and send me off to sleepy land and tonight that something is Shrimp & Grits. The grits are creamy and filling and I love me some shrimp!

Shrimp & Cheesy Grits
The Stuff:
2 1/2 cups chicken broth
1 cup quick cooking grits
3/4 cups reduced fat cheddar cheese
1 tablespoon nonfat plain yogurt

1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
2 tablespoons tapatio - this gives it a nice kick
2 pinches or grinds of black pepper
1 pound cooked medium or large shrimp

This is the brand I use

1 clove garlic minced
1 teaspoon each salt, pepper and ancho chili powder (or chili powder if you don't have ancho)
1 tablespoons olive oil


The How To:

• Thaw, devein and peel the shrimp, set aside

• In a large sauce pan bring the chicken broth to a boil
• Whisk in the grits, tapatio, garlic powder and ground pepper
• Lower heat to low, cover sauce pan and cook for 8 minutes or until grits thicken
• While grits are cooking heat olive oil in a large saute pan
• Add garlic and cook on high for about a minute, reduce heat to low
• Toss shrimp with salt, pepper and ancho chili powder
• Stir shrimp into pan and cook for 2-3 minutes, keep on low

•  Remove lid from grits and stir in cheese and yogurt

• Scoop grits into bowl, top with shrimp, serve with a side salad and you have dinner!

Weight Watchers Friends: 1/2 cup grits 4 pts, 5 oz shrimp 4 pts


Enjoy!

Coffee Crusted Steak

I have not been blogging lately - sorry to my 11 followers - I know this makes you sad :)  BUT, I am making it up to you by giving you a yummy, yummy steak recipe. I serve this along side a salad, grilled onions and mashed 'taters. 

Coffee Crusted Steak

The Stuff:

Round Steak

Olive Oil

Butter

Coffee

Garlic powder
1/8 cup brown sugar

Salt & pepper

1 small onion sliced

Salad, which ever kind floats your boat
Dressing (this is what I use): 

• Juice from 1 meyer lemon
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1 small shallot
• Cracked black pepper
• Small drizzle of honey or agave nectar
• Mix ingredients, pour over salad

The How To:

• Take the steak and trim off fat
• Rub with salt, pepper, coffee, garlic powder and brown sugar

Big piece of meat!

• And really I mean coffee! It adds a nice taste and when its cooking it smells so good! Set steak aside and let it marinate for a bit
• Meanwhile, heat a big pan on medium heat and add 1 tablespoon of butter and 1 tablespoon of oil
• Once hot, add onions and cook until caramel colored - they will be so, so sweet and delish!

• Remove onions and set aside
• In same pan add 1 tablespoon butter and 1 tablespoon of olive oil
• Once hot, turn heat to medium low and add steak 
• Cook on each side for about 7 minutes for medium rare
• Take out steak and put on a cutting board to rest for 10 min

• While steak is resting make a salad, I just did a simple avocado, tomato and mixed greens then added dressing

• Slice meat against the grain in 1/4 inch pieces, place in center of salad plate

• Dish up with grilled onions and side of mash potatoes, the potatoes aren't totally necessary but I am a meat and potatoes kinda gal :)

Weight Watcher Friends: 3oz meat 3p+ (this is with ALL fat trimmed), track your points for the type salad you make

Enjoy!!

Baked Salmon & Roasted Purple Potatoes

Salmon is one of my all time favorite things to eat! Served with a salad and potato or rice and you have a delish meal in 30 minutes. Tonight I chose purple potatoes because they were super cheap at Farmer's Market and they are so pretty.

The peach jalapeño salsa pictures here will be
blogged about another day. It didn't come out quite like I wanted it to,
 it was yummy but not blog ready :)

Baked Salmon:


The Stuff:
2 salmon fillets
1 teaspoon olive oil
dash of salt & pepper
Juice from one lemon
parchment paper
small baking dish


The How To:

• Preheat oven to 350
• Put parchment paper inside the baking dish, you can use foil, but cooking with aluminum foil is not recommended
• Top with olive oil
• Place salmon on oil 

• Sprinkle with s&p and lemon
• Fold sides of parchment over salmon

• Bake for 15-20 minutes, make sure not to over cook, it will cook a little when you pull it from the oven

Roasted Purple Potatoes


The Stuff:
Purple potatoes
2 teaspoons olive oil
S&P
Garlic Powder
Baking Sheet


The How To:

• Preheat oven to 400
• Cut potatoes into quarters

Look how pretty they are

• Pour olive oil on to baking sheet
• Add potatoes in a single layer

These look to be swimming in olive oil - they aren't

• Sprinkle with s&p and garlic powder
• Bake for 15 minutes then flip, bake another 15 minutes

Weight Watcher Friends: Salmon: 1/2 fillet 7 p+, purple potatoes: 4 oz 3p+

Sweet Potato Coins

Sweet potatoes are the new black - or erm, something like that. But, seriously, they are all the rage - from sweet potato gnocchi to, of course, sweet potato fries. I made these sweet potato coins for Thanksgiving and have been waiting for an opportunity to make them again and tonight is the night! They are crunchy on the outside and soft on the inside - the perfect balance of crunchy, soft, sweet and salty. 

Sweet Potato Coins 
The Stuff:
3 small sweet potatoes
1 tablespoon olive oil
Dash salt & pepper


The How To:

• Preheat oven to 450
• Coat a baking sheet with cooking spray
• Pour the olive oil on the sheet making sure its fully covered
• Sprinkle salt & pepper for taste

Note: I used to roast veggies by putting them and the olive oil and the seasoning into a bag and shaking until fully coated, but putting the oil directly on the pan and then adding veggies is best, trust me. You still get great roasted veggies but without the weight of the oil. Trust me, its great!

• Slice sweet potatoes into quarter inch coins, leave peel on

• Place on prepared baking sheet

• Bake for 15 minutes, take out and flip over
• Bake an additional 15-20 minutes until both sides are browned

Weight Watcher Friends: 4th serving 2p+

Blueberry Coffee Cake

I love cake! I'm calling this coffee cake, because it reminds me of the Starbucks Blueberry Coffee Cake, but really its like a blueberry bread - either way it is pretty darn yummy! This would be delicious served with cool whip, or vanilla ice cream! 

Blueberry Coffee Cake

The Stuff:
Cooking spray to evenly coat a 9inch round pan
1 1/2 cup flour
3/4 cups light brown sugar
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1 tablespoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup fat free sour cream
2 tablespoon vegetable oil
1 cup unsweetened applesauce 
1 cup blueberries

The How To:

• Preheat oven to 350. Coat pan with spray
• In a large bowl stir the dry ingredients together, break up any brown sugar clumps
• In a small bowl mix the wet ingredients together
• Whisk the wet mixture into the dry mixture until combined, do not over mix, definitely don't use a mixer you make it too dense

Pour and Mix

All Mixed

• Pour batter into the prepared pan

• Bake about 40-45 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean

• Makes 16 servings

Enjoy!

Weight Watcher Friends: 1 serving is 3p+

Tomato Sauce with Onion & Butter

I always feel a little nervous cooking for people, especially when its a recipe I've never tried. This was the case last night when I cooked for 3 great friends. I was nervous to get their feedback - but apparently I had nothing to worry about - they loved it!

We drank wine, one friend made a fantastic spinach salad, we ate yummy cheese and finished the night with salted caramels - hello heaven! This recipe comes highly recommended from just about every food blog out there so I had to give it a try. The best part? There are only 3 ingredients! I love recipes like this. It does take a little time but the final result is scrumptious!  

Easy Pasta Sauce

The Stuff: 
28oz can whole tomatoes
5 tablespoons of unsalted butter
1 onion peeled and quartered

The How To:

• In a big pan add all ingredients and bring to a low boil on medium heat

• Reduce heat to low and simmer for 45 minutes

• During cookling process, stir occasionally and crush tomatoes against the edge of the pan, the juice should start to thicken up
• The blogs have said to take the onions out and toss them - such a waste! I say serve them up and enjoy the sweetness 

• Serve with your favorite pasta

Note: The recipe says It will make 4 servings but to be honest I felt that it made more like 2 maybe 3. I would double the amount of tomatoes to get a full 4 servings and then maybe, just maybe some leftovers.

Weight Watcher Friends: 4p+ for a 1/4 of the sauce, more for the pasta you use.

Shredded Chicken Enchiladas

Enchiladas are one of my favorite things to eat! I used to think they were hard to make, but in reality, they are super duper easy! Use this easy shredded chicken recipe as your filling and you have enchiladas in 30 minutes or less. 

Shredded Chicken

The Stuff:
2 frozen chicken breast
Jarred salsa, I use Pace Picante
1/2 cup chicken broth
1 teaspoon cumin
Salt & pepper
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1 teaspoon chili powder

The How To:

• Place frozen chicken breast into the crock pot

  

  Pretend these are breasts, not tenders

  
• Top with salsa until completely covered - about a 1/2 to 3/4 of a 16oz jar

• Add spices
• Cook on low for 8-10 hours

• Take chicken out of pot and place on cutting board
• Take two forks and shred

Note: You can also use this chicken recipe for a number of things - burritos, tacos, nachos, sandwich, pasta, soup, salad etc etc. 

Enchiladas:

The Stuff:

Cooking spray

8 reduced carb whole wheat tortilla, I use La Tortilla Factory 

1 16oz can red enchilada sauce

2 1/4 cups reduced fat cheese

Sour cream, cilantro and green onions for serving

The How To:

• Spray casserole dish until covered with cooking spray
• Pour enough enchilada sauce to cover bottom of dish
• Take 1 tortilla and top with 1/8 cup of shredded chicken
• Top chicken with 1/8 cup cheese and some of the salsa from the crock pot

I forgot to take a picture of my whole wheat tortilla,
this is Mike's, bu t you get the idea

• Lay Enchilada, seem side down, into the prepared casserole dish
• Complete until all 8 tortillas are filled & lined up

• Top with remaining cheese & enchilada sauce, use salsa in crock pot too, its got lots of yummy flavors

• Bake for 10-15 minutes or until the cheese is melted
• Top with sour cream, cilantro and green onions (extra pts)

This doesn't look super appetizing because I am not
 a food photographer, although I want to learn. Just know they are delish!

Weight Watchers Friends: 1 enchilada is 4p+, I suggest eating two

3-Bean Chili

Another crock pot favorite - chili! Once a week I go meat free for the day. One of the dishes I make on veggie day is vegetarian chili which is loaded with protein and lots of yumminess!

This week its cold and damp so there is nothing like curling up with a hot bowl of chili - ok, there are lots of things that are that great, but I am painting you a picture - go with it. Chili is an easy dish, remove and add where you see fit. The list of ingredients is humongous, but you get a lot of great flavors so bear with me.

3-Bean Chili
The Stuff:
1 can each black, kidney and white bean, drained and rinsed

The Beans!

1 medium onion chopped
3 cloves of garlic minced
2 tablespoons chili powder
2 teaspoons cumin
1 teaspoon black pepper
1 teaspoon of chili pepper
1 teaspoon oregano
1 cans diced tomatoes
1 can diced chilies
1 can tomato sauce


The How To:

• Put all ingredients into a crock pot and stir, top with a pinch or two of salt



Yes those are large pieces of chopped onion,
you can make yours smaller, I jut love onion
 and like it in bigger chunks!

• Cook on low for 10-12 hours
• Serve with shredded cheese, chopped onion and/or cornbread

Weight Watcher Friends: 2/3 cup 4p+

Chocolate Cream Pie & Sweet Potato Fries & Dip

Since I make dinner all the time, The MR is making me dinner tonight - his little gift for Valentine's Day. I'm not to big of this "holiday", to me its just another day. I do think spending a little one on one time with my love and reminding each other why we love each other is important, though. I know we should do this the other days of the year, but come on, lets be honest and real, it doesn't happen everyday . So, The MR is making me steak! And um, yeah, just steak, he's a boy and veggies tend to be an after thought. I've agreed to make the salad and sweet potato fries. And, a yummy chocolate cream pie for dessert!

Sweet Potato Fries

The Stuff:
3 medium sweet potatoes cut into the same size strips

1 teaspoon chili powder
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon olive oil

The How To:

• Preheat oven to 450
• Coat a cookie sheet with olive oil
• In a ziplock bag mix spices and sweet potatoes, shake until coated
• Arrange sweet potatoes onto cookie sheet in one layer

• Bake for 20 minutes, flip and bake an additional 10 minutes or until crispy
• Makes 3 servings

Dip
The Stuff & The How To:
Combine 1/4 cup low fat sour cream with 2 teaspoon cumin, 1 teaspoon paprika and 1 teaspoon chili powder. Dip away!

Chocolate Cream Pie
The Stuff:
1 package of prepared sugar-free chocolate pudding (I use the cook & serve kind, but the instant would work just fine. Make sure cook & serve is cooled before using)
1 package of reduce fat graham crackers processed into fine crumbs in food processor
1/4 cup light butter, melted
2 bananas sliced
8oz container of cool whip
Chocolate Shavings (optional)

The How To:

• In a bowl mix graham cracker crumbs and butter and form a ball
• Push ball down into a pie pan sprayed with Pam
• Make sure sides are covered with crust and bottom has no holes
• Line 1 banana on the bottom of pan
• Refrigerate for an hour or so

• Top with pudding
• Top with last banana
• Top with cool whip and chocolate shavings
• Cool overnight if posssible, if not, at least an hour
• Cut into 10 slices

Enjoy!


Weight Watcher Friends: Sweet potato fries 4p+, dip 1 tablespoon 1p+, 1 slice of pie 4 p+