Prosciutto and Smoked Gouda Panini

I love The Biggest Loser.  Well, I love it and hate it...but that's another story.  Just go with me for a minute.

Bob and Jillian talk to the contestants about healthy food choices.  The food these people eat is appalling--in quantity, ingredients...everything!  However, one contestant said she often feeds her 2 kids "pizza because it's $5 and ready quickly."  Bob responded, "I can't compete with that."

He has a good point.  While $5 pizza is obviously not the healthiest option in the world, it's quick, easy, tasty, and inexpensive.

I had a crazy week, so I looked to Cooking Light for some quick and easy meals--and this one fit the bill. This meal might not be inexpensive, but it sure is easy and tasty.  3 ingredients?  Sign me up.

Ready to cook

 Yummy goodness.

This meal probably doesn't reheat well--but since it only takes 3 minutes to assemble, we just made the sandwiches again a few nights later "from scratch." 

And now...the husband is hooked on smoked gouda.  We definitely just bought 1.5 pounds at Sam's Club.  I guess there are worse addictions...

Pork Medallions with Cherry Sauce

I've learned a lot from marriage.

Our wedding day, May 2007

• Men don't change (see this post)
• Some people (my husband) will never gain weight (see this post)
• Other people's needs matter more than my own
• I can't pretend I'm always altruistic--I'm the baby of the family, and sometimes I'm just too self-centered to take good care of my husband. I do try, though!
• Pork isn't so bad.

Obviously these are not listed in order of importance.

Before we were married, I had only eaten pork once, and it was too salty for my taste.  All of this "the other white meat" stuff fell on deaf ears--I was not interested in eating pork.

The husband, it turned out, loves pork.  So, in trying to be a good wife (see point number 3, above) I decided to try making pork for him.  The first time--not so good (I used this recipe, and it just wasn't for me.)  The next time I was a fan.  Since then--we've eaten it on many occasions, including a Christmas Eve and Christmas dinner that we hosted at our humble home.  Turns out pork has some good things going for it--and I can buy pork tenderloin super cheap at Costco. :)

When flipping through Ellie Krieger's The Food You Crave, I was instantly drawn to the Pork Medallions with Cherry Sauce.  This sounded similar to the Cooking Light pork dish that won me over, so I figured we may as well try it out.

I've never bought dried cherries before--I always cheat and use Cherry-flavored Craisins (don't judge, I know they're so artificial, but we love them!).  I figured I should try these with the real deal though, so I splurged.

The recipe is certainly easy enough--and is on the table in less than 30 minutes!

Pros:
*Quick and easy! (less than 30 minutes)
*Easy to find/keep on hand ingredients
     (and relatively inexpensive)
*"Hands-off" enough so you can prep the side dishes/veggies while the pork cooks

Cons:
*Sauce texture is kind of funky--it's mainly dried cherries with some vinegar
     --I tried pureeing it when we reheated the leftovers, and that helped
*Taste = just okay

I wanted to love this recipe--but it turns out I just don't love dried cherries.  I'd like to say I'll revisit this in the future---but I don't think so.  I did like the fact that you cook the pork in a stainless (or not nonstick) pan--I forgot how wonderful those browned bits are that go in the sauce.  I'll definitely be using my stainless saute pan more in the future!

Nutritional Info:
Calories: 245
Total fat: 9 g
Cholesterol: 92mg
Sodium: 380 mg
Carbohydrates: 31 g
Protein: 8.5 g
Fiber: 0 g

Stuffed Turkey Burgers

We all have a perfectionist inside of us.

Before all of you laid-back people start to disagree with me, I want you to think for a minute: there is some aspect of your life in which you demand perfection.

Maybe you insist on making the bed because your spouse doesn't tuck in the sheets right.  Perhaps you dry clean everything because even after years of practicing, your ironing is sub-par.  Maybe some of you set your alarm earlier than necessary because you need to make your make-up and/or hair just right.

Some of us are more in-tune with our inner type A personality--and I happen to be one of them.  The husband--not so much.

Today, we both realized his "baby" that he won't trust to anyone:

burgers.

As I begin to get out the ingredients for today's burgers, I notice he's hovering more than usual.   "Do you need something?"

"No."

"Okay, well I need to get started on the burgers."

I chop the peppers, grate the cheese...and see he's still standing there.  Hmm.  This is unusual.  Then, it hits me.

"Would you like to make the burgers?"

He smiles and nods, sheepishly.  The inner control freak is screaming inside of me, "I need to make these burgers! It's my blog!"  But...the key to marriage is compromise, and let's face it--the husband doesn't make requests too often.

I concede.

I will now chronicle his steps in the kitchen to create Ellie Krieger's stuffed turkey burgers.

**Note: I'm not a completely insensitive wife.  Every time a recipe requires grilling, I happily allow him to do it.  In our house, he's King of the Grill, and I like it that way.  So of course he was going to cook the burgers--I mean, I'm not trying to strip his manhood away or anything.

Step 1: Chop peppers, grate cheese, and form 8 patties.

Step 2: Top 4 patties with cheese and peppers; top with a "clean" piece.  Seal two patties together and sprinkle with salt and pepper.

**Note: we added our favorite seasoning for burgers: Susie Q's Santa Maria seasoning.  It's basically a slightly fancier garlic salt.

Step 3: Grill to perfection.

I don't know your take on turkey burgers, but here's mine in a nutshell:
Turkey burgers are nowhere as amazing as beef burgers.

There, I said it.  I know, I know--red meat is so much higher in fat and cholesterol, and I generally try to limit my intake...but so far, turkey burgers have been a sad substitute for the 'real thing.'

Until today.

I officially have faith in Ellie Krieger after today's meal.  I'm sure there will be ups and downs, as with any relationship--but today's burgers were so good that I now eagerly anticipate the next month of cooking with her recipes.  Because yes, as previously mentioned--I am type A and already have my next 4 weeks of meals planned out.

Prep time: 15 minutes

Cook time: 10 minutes

Pros:
*quick and easy
*delicious!
*kid friendly--I think
*satisfying and low-calorie
*the anal burger-person in your life will probably volunteer to make dinner

Cons:
*Husband says using previously frozen ground turkey would be tough to work with--so make sure you use fresh.  (Not a huge "con" in my book...but worth noting)

Go buy fresh ground turkey today--you won't be disappointed!

Here's the recipe, which is from The Food You Crave: Luscious Recipes for a Healthy Life



Nutritional Info: (per burger patty)

Calories: 256

Total Fat: 7g

Cholesterol 56g

Sodium 630mg

Protein 43mg

Carbohydrates 5g

Fiber 0g

Balsamic Chicken with Baby Spinach and Couscous

I love one-dish meals.  Protein, whole grain, and vegetables in one meal?  Sign me up.  Well-rounded meal on the table in 20 minutes?  Definitely.

This dish didn't sound overly exciting to me, but I figured I'd try it.  Let's face it--while I like veggies, sometimes there isn't much time to get dinner on the table, and side dishes fall by the wayside.  The opportunity to make a balanced meal in a short amount of time is definitely appealing--I mean, you get 8 grams of fiber in this dish--that's 33% of what you need in a day.  Bonus!

The recipe is an easy one:

Prep ingredients

Cook chicken

Cook spinach

**Note: I would skip this step in the future.  As previously mentioned, I prefer raw spinach to cooked spinach--but thought I'd follow the recipe for the first time.

Prepare sauce

While the sauce was simmering, I quickly cooked my couscous.

Start to Finish: 20 minutes
Pros:
*quick and easy--virtually no prep
*one dish meal--bonus!
*very flavorful
*inexpensive ingredients
*easy to find ingredients
*uses pantry staples--should be able to whip this meal up at the last minute, without a trip to the store
*reheats beautifully--I liked it better the next day, but that could have been because I knew it was good and wasn't nervous about eating it!

Cons:
*none really--it isn't the most exciting of dinners, but it's a great, easy meal for those nights when you just need to get something on the table!

Will I make this again?  Sure.  It wasn't a "wow" meal, but it gets the job done!


Balsamic Chicken with Baby Spinach and Couscous
Ellie Krieger, The Food You Crave

Ingredients

nocoupons

• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 3 cloves garlic, chopped
• 2 (8-ounce) boneless, skinless chicken breasts, halved
• 8 ounces baby spinach
• 2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
• 1/3 cup low-sodium chicken broth
• 1 cup low-sodium canned chopped tomatoes with juice
• 2 cups whole wheat couscous, cooked

Directions

Heat a large saute pan over medium-high heat. Add the olive oil and heat. Add the garlic and cook for 1 minute. Add the chicken and cook about 4 minutes per side, or until cooked through and juices run clear. Remove the chicken and set aside. To the same pan, add the spinach and cook just until wilted, about 1 to 2 minutes. Remove from the pan and set aside. Lower the heat to medium and add the balsamic vinegar and chicken broth to the pan and stir, scraping the bottom of the pan to remove any browned bits. Add the tomatoes, bring to a simmer and cook 3 to 5 minutes.

Place the couscous in a serving bowl. Top with the spinach, chicken and balsamic-tomato sauce.

Nutrition Facts
Nutritional Analysis per serving
Calories: 353
Total Fat: 6 g
Protein: 34 g
Carbohydrates: 42 g
Fiber: 8 g

Oven-Fried Chicken

As a California native, fried food has never been a part of my diet.  As someone who has always been interested in health—and a girl whose thighs grow just from looking at food—I don’t eat fried food.  This served me well for 24 years—until I fell in love with a man from the Midwest. 

Allow me to go back in time to my childhood for just a moment.  My mom taught me many wonderful things—if you don’t have anything nice to say, don’t say anything at all (still working on it!), write thank you notes as soon as you receive a gift, life isn’t always fair, etc.  These ideas made sense to me, even at a young age, but there was one point my mom drilled into me didn't make sense until many years later:

          “Men don’t change.”

You know the saying “you can take the girl out of the country, but you can’t take the country out of the girl?”  Well, you can take the boy out of the Midwest, but you can’t take the Midwest out of the boy.  My mom was right—men don’t change.  My husband is incredibly easy to please, and always compliments me on what I feed him—but now we’re in Texas and fried food is everywhere!  He’s in heaven.   I see the ecstasy on his face as he bites into chicken-fried steak (which I hadn't even HEARD of until we moved here) and feel torn: I want him to be that happy when eating my food, but I refuse to deep fry food.  What’s a healthy girl to do?

Solution: Cooking Light’s oven-fried chicken.  With a mere 4.4 g of fat (only 1 g of saturated fat), it’s clearly a healthier alternative to fast food fried chicken (which Cooking Light cites at 24 g of fat). 

Sure, KFC has perfected their breading over the years—but this is still a good piece of “fried” chicken, and it doesn't clog your arteries.

This is one of our stand-by recipes--it's tasty, quick, and easy.  Whenever I don’t know what to make, my husband will request this at least 75% of the time.  With only a fraction of the fat of regular fried chicken, I’m happy to oblige.

Here’s the run-down, so you can decide if you want to add this chicken to your dinner repertoire:

Step 1: Marinate chicken in buttermilk for 1 hour

Step 2: Mix flour, cumin, red pepper, white pepper, and salt.

Step 3: Dredge chicken in flour mixture twice, spraying with cooking spray after each 'breading'.

Step 4: Bake

Prep time: 1 hour , 10 minutes (Active prep: 10 minutes)

          This is one of the easiest recipes ever—and while the chicken does need to marinate for an hour, it takes all of 60 seconds to dump buttermilk over chicken in a ziploc baggy. 

Cook time: 30 – 40 minutes

Start to finish: 1 hour, 40 minutes

Pros:

*Inexpensive

*Mostly pantry ingredients—no need to run to the grocery store, unless you don’t have buttermilk on hand.

*Incredibly easy to prepare, and very low-maintenance; while the chicken baked, I whipped up buttermilk biscuits, cooked broccoli and asparagus, sliced cantaloupe, and prepped the strawberries for our strawberry shortcake dessert.  

*kid-friendly—but perhaps cut back on cayenne pepper

*very few dishes!

Cons:

          *does not reheat well—breading gets soggy

                    --Perhaps if you have a toaster oven it would work better?

          *although easy, it does take an hour and a half--not an option when you walk in the door at 7:00

         

NOTE: Parchment paper is essential!  I resisted the last few times I made it, and had an issue each time with the breading coming off the chicken.  Don't skip out on the parchment paper!

          **Also: don't skip spraying the chicken with cooking spray and dredging it in flour again.  I've been lazy in the past, and it just doesn't work as well.  Besides, who wants to skimp on breading???

Oven-Fried Chicken

Cooking Light, April 2002

Marinating in buttermilk results in tender, juicy chicken, and double breading gives a crisp crust. For a smoky taste, use ground chipotle pepper in place of the ground red pepper.

Yield: 4 servings (serving size: 1 breast half or 1 thigh and 1 drumstick)

Ingredients

• 3/4  cup  low-fat buttermilk
• 2  chicken breast(about 1 pound), skinned            (I only used chicken breast)
• 2  chicken drumsticks (about 1/2 pound), skinned
• 2  chicken thighs (about 1/2 pound), skinned
• 1/2  cup  all-purpose flour
• 1  teaspoon  salt
• 1/2  teaspoon  ground red pepper
• 1/4  teaspoon  white pepper
• 1/4  teaspoon  ground cumin       (I use a heaping 1/2 tsp--we love cumin)
• Cooking spray

Preparation

Combine first 4 ingredients in a large zip-top plastic bag; seal. Marinate in refrigerator 1 hour, turning occasionally.

Preheat oven to 450°.

Combine flour, salt, peppers, and cumin in a second large zip-top plastic bag. Remove chicken from first bag, discarding marinade. Add chicken, one piece at a time, to flour mixture, shaking bag to coat chicken. Remove chicken from bag, shaking off excess flour; lightly coat each chicken piece with cooking spray. Return chicken, one piece at a time, to flour mixture, shaking bag to coat chicken. Remove chicken from bag, shaking off excess flour.

Place chicken on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Lightly coat chicken with cooking spray. Bake at 450° for 35 minutes or until done, turning after 20 minutes.

Nutritional Information

Calories:263 (15% from fat)

Fat: 4.4g (sat 1.2g,mono 1.1g,poly 0.9g)

Protein:38.4g

Carbohydrate:14.9g

Fiber:0.8g

Cholesterol:110mg

Iron:2.2mg

Sodium:754mg

Calcium:73mg

Elaine Magee, Cooking Light, APRIL 2002