Back In Action

Well it certainly has been a while since I've posted, and I apologize. In the last several months I guess you could say I was going through something, and now the dust has finally settled. So with all of this I'm not going to be able to post as often as I once was able to. My goal now is to try to post at least once a week and to continue to post weekly menus. It definitely feels good to be back in action :)

Quaker Baked Breakfast Cookies

Lately I have been obsessed with a certain chocolate cereal, but I have found a new obsession.

I can't seem to get enough of Quaker's Baked Breakfast Cookies. Most who know me know that I don't like crunchy cookies, but these particular cookies are soft and chewy. They are especially super when you warm them up for a few in the microwave. For 3 points a piece these are my new favorite breakfast/snack :)

Menu (7/9/07)

This menu is really sparse due to the husband traveling a lot for work. Hopefully things will be back to a regular schedule within the next couple of weeks.

Sun: Pasta with sauce
Mon-Wed: the husband out of town
Thurs: Pumpkin Pancakes, turkey sausage, and fruit
Fri: Fend for selves
Sat: Fend for selves

Sun: Mango Chicken Stir-fry
Mon-Fri: The husband out of town
Sat: Fend for selves

Menu (6/21/07)

Menu (6/21/07)

Sun: Picnic chicken, picnic macaroni salad
Mon: leftovers
Tues: Whole-grain nectarine pancakes, turkey sausage
Wed: Quick chicken tagine
Thurs: leftovers
Fri: fend for selves
Sat: fend for selves

Sun: Pulled turkey sandwiches
Mon: leftovers
Tues: Peppery Zucchini Pasta
Wed: leftovers
Thurs: Hot dogs, pork n beans, steamers
Fri: fend for selves
Sat: fend for selves

Best Black Beans

As of late I have been in a rut with my side dishes. More often than not I would serve rice or steamed vegetables with my main dish. I decided I wanted to switch up my sides a little bit and thus began my search. I found this black bean recipe at allrecipes.

Best Black Beans (4 servings at 1 point a piece)

Ingredients:

1 can (16 oz) black beans
1 small onion, chopped
1 clove garlic, chopped
1 tbsp chopped fresh cilantro
1/4 tsp cayenne pepper
salt to taste

Directions:

In a medium saucepan, combine beans, onion, and garlic, and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to medium-low. Season with cilantro, cayenne, and salt. Simmer for 5 minutes, and serve.

The thing I loved about this dish was how it basically jazzed up a plain ol' can of black beans with very simple ingredients. The cayenne pepper definitely added a kick to the beans, and if you aren't a fan of spice I would definitely recommend cutting back the pepper a bit.

Goat Cheese Salmon

I have been looking around for some new salmon recipes for a while with no such luck. Recently I came across this very interesting recipe at allrecipes. The husband and I tried goat cheese for the first time a while ago and were excited for another chance to cook with it.

Goat Cheese Salmon (4 servings at 6 points a piece)

Ingredients:

4 salmon fillets
1/2 cup herbed goat cheese
1/4 cup prepared Dijon mustard mayonnaise blend
salt and pepper to taste

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Lightly grease baking dish.

2. Arrange the salmon fillets in the baking dish. Make small incisions in each fillet, and stuff with equal amounts of the herbed goat cheese. Spread equal amounts prepared Dijon mustard mayonnaise blend over each fillet. Season with salt and pepper.

3. Bake salmon 15 minutes in the preheated oven, or until easily flaked with a fork.

When I made this dish I mixed 2 tbsp of each the Dijon mustard and fat-free mayonnaise together. I didn't spread the mixture on the salmon very heavily and had plenty to go around. The husband and I were big fans of this dish. We loved the mustardy/mayo mix with the goat cheese. The husband liked this one so much he has already asked me to make it again ;)

Grilled Chicken and Tapenade Sandwiches

The husband and I particularly like to have sandwiches when the weather starts to get warm. In June's edition of Cooking Light I found this refreshing sandwich.

Grilled Chicken and Tapenade Sandwiches (4 servings at 7 points a piece)

Ingredients:

1 1/2 cups diced seeded tomato
2 tbsp finely chopped pitted kalamata olives
1 tbsp chopped fresh basil
1 tbsp chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
2 tbsp balsamic vinegar
1 tbsp chopped fresh oregano
1/2 tsp minced garlic
1 tsp oil
1 lb skinless, boneless chicken breast
1/2 tsp kosher salt, divided
1/2 tsp freshly ground black pepper
Cooking spray
1/4 cup (1 oz) crumbled reduced-fat feta cheese
4 (2-oz) ciabatta sandwich rolls, halved

Directions:

1. Combine first 8 ingredients in a small bowl. Toss gently to combine. Let stand 15 minutes.

2. Prepare grill.

3. Sprinkle chicken with 1/4 tsp salt and pepper. Place chicken on a grill rack coated with cooking spray; grill 6 minutes on each side or until chicken is done. Remove from grill. Let stand 5 minutes before slicing thinly.

4. Add cheese and remaining 1/4 tsp salt to tomato mixture; stir gently to combine. Arrange sliced chicken evenly on bottom halves of rolls. Top each serving with one-fourth of tomato mixture, and cover with top halves of rolls. Serve immediately.

I of course omitted the olives for the husband. Even without the olives the tapenade was delicious. It added so much flavor to the chicken. The tomatoes, balsamic vinegar, and feta cheese, were a great combination that made a great and exciting sandwich.

Chicken Breasts Pierre

I was having trouble finding a new dish to try, so I hopped over to All Recipes to take a look around. Within an instant I found this recipe. It sounded too interesting with it's array of flavors to pass up.

Chicken Breasts Pierre (6 servings at 7 points a piece)

Ingredients:

6 skinless, boneless chicken breast halves
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 tsp salt
1 pinch ground black pepper
2 tbsp reduced-fat butter or margarine
1 (14.05 oz) can stewed tomatoes, with liquid
1/2 cup water
2 tbsp brown sugar
2 tbsp distilled white vinegar
2 tbsp Worcestershire sauce
1 tsp salt
2 tsp chili powder
1 tsp mustard powder
1/2 tsp celery seed
1 clove garlic, minced
1/8 tsp hot pepper sauce

Directions:

1. In a shallow dish or bowl, combine flour, 1/2 tsp salt, and ground black pepper. Coat chicken breasts with flour mixture. Melt butter in a large skillet over medium heat, and brown chicken on all sides. Remove from skillet, and drain on paper towels.

2. In same skillet, combine the tomatoes, water, brown sugar, vinegar, and Worcestershire sauce. Season with salt, chili powder, mustard, celery seed, garlic, and hot pepper sauce. Bring to a boil; reduce heat, and return chicken to skillet. Cover and simmer for 35 to 40 minutes, or until chicken is tender and no longer pink, and the juices run clear.

When I made this, I managed to burn my sauce a little bit. Definitely make sure you simmer on a LOW heat, and check on it fairly often. But even with a burnt sauce, the chicken was still delicious. It had a nice tangy taste to it, and I loved the bites with pieces of tomato in them :)