Pork Stir Fry with Collard Greens

So normally with meals like this I don't follow a recipe because over many years stir fry has become second nature....well and honestly who can't make a tasty stir fry?  Anyways I made this one because it is a low fat and healthy recipe, which lets admit stir fry's can get a little heavy sometimes.  Once again I used pork, this is because I was at my parents house waiting to watch the second Suns vs. Lakers game (go suns) and I got bored and wanted to make them dinner...and as usual they already pulled meat out of the freezer that morning to eat for dinner and yes it was pork.  I swear I don't normally eat this much pork.  So here it is:

Serves 4
Adapted from Cooking Light

The Ingredients
1 package (about 4 ounces) uncooked rice noodles
2 1/2 tablespoons soy sauce
1 pound lean pork chops, thinly sliced
1 cup fat-free chicken broth
1/4 cup hoisin sauce
1 tablespoon cornstarch
5 teaspoons sesame oil
1 bunch of collard greens, chopped
3 carrots, sliced
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 tablespoon ginger, grated or jar
1/2 cup green onions, chopped
1/2 cup cilantro, chopped
Sriracha sauce

The Process
1.  Prepare rice noodles according to package. When noodles are done mix in 1 teaspoon sesame oil, 1/2 tablespoon soy sauce, and cilantro.

2.  In a small bowl combine pork and 1 tablespoon soy sauce and set aside.

3.  In medium mixing bowl combine remaining 1 tablespoon soy sauce, chicken broth, hoisin sauce, cornstarch, and whisk until smooth.

4.  In large skillet heat 1 tablespoon sesame oil over medium-high heat.  Add pork mixture to skillet, saute for 3 minutes or until browned then remove pork from skillet.

5.  Add remaining 1 teaspoon sesame oil to same skillet and add collard greens, carrots, ginger, and garlic, saute about 2 minutes.

6.  Add pork to skillet once more and stir in broth mixture, simmer about 3 minutes or until thick while stirring occasionally.

7.  Remove from heat and stir in green onions.  Serve pork mixture over noodle mixture.

Nutritional info:
Calories:395, Fat:9.6g, Sat. Fat:2.1g, Carbs:43.7g, Protein:28.1g, Fiber:2.4g

I will say while I did enjoy the dish I don't prefer sweet things and hoision sauce is definitely sweet.

Picture from: http://www.sunset.com/food-wine/asian-noodle-recipes-00400000039678/page10.html

Breakfast Casserole with Turkey Bacon

This recipe intrigued me the minute I found it.  Not only does it contain some of my favorite breakfast foods, but it is healthy!  I normally don't eat heavy breakfasts unless I go out to eat or it is a brunch.  But once again this was up in Hood River when my mission was to make sure my grandparents were well fed, so here it is:)

Serves 4 (it's deceiving)
Adapted from Cooking Light

The Ingredients
6 turkey bacon slices
1 cup red onion, chopped
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 (30 ounce) package frozen shredded hash brown potatoes
1 cup sharp cheddar cheese, grated
1/2 cup green onions, chopped
1/2 cup fat-free sour cream
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
1 (10ish ounce) can of condensed 98% fat free cream of mushroom soup, undiluted
Cooking spray

The Process
1.  Spray cooking oil in large skillet and turn to medium heat, add turkey bacon and cook till crisp.  Take turkey bacon out of pan and set aside.

2.  In same pan add red onion and garlic and cook for 5 minutes, stirring often.  (Add more cooking spray when needed throughout cooking process).

3.  Then add potatoes to skillet and cover and cook for 15 minutes, stirring occasionally.

4.  Preheat oven to 350F, and spray 11 x 7 cooking dish with cooking oil.

5.  In a big bowl combine crumbled turkey bacon, 1/2 cup sharp cheese, green onions, sour cream, salt, pepper, and soup and mix well.

6.  When potatoes are done add them to large bowl with mixture from above, mix well but gingerly.

7.  Put potato mixture into cooking dish and sprinkle the last 1/2 cup sharp cheese over the top.

8.  Cover dish with tin foil and bake for 30 minutes.  Remove tin foil and bake for another 30 minutes until slightly crispy and brown on top.

It was really really tasty!  Not to mention it kept me going all morning.  Here are some nutritional facts:
Calories:293, Fat:10g, Sat Fat:4.8g, Carbs:41g, Protein:12.2g, Fiber:4.7g
So you can see for such a delicious breakfast casserole it is pretty darn healthy

Picture from: http://www.cookinglight.com/food/top-rated-recipes/five-star-casseroles-00400000039138/page7.html

Stuffed Pork Chops

So this recipe came about in Hood River visiting my grandparents.  Whenever I go visit them I insist on making them dinner for several reasons.  First my grandmother thinks that 1 Cornish game hen can feed 4 people, second they are from the Midwest so spices don't exist in their cooking world, third I really don't want to eat more of that gnarly elk my grandpa caught 2 + years ago, and fourth they love any and everything I make.  My grandmother also swears that she doesn't like garlic, so every time I cook I make sure to put a generous portion of garlic in and she doesn't even notice....funny how the brain works.  Anyways this was a delicious dish.....not bad for you but also not super healthy because my grandparents could afford to gain some weight.

Adapted from Giada
Serves 4

The Ingredients
3 cloves garlic, minced
6 sun-dried tomatoes, diced
1 (10 ounce) bag of frozen spinach, thawed and excess water squeezed out
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
1/4 teaspoon dried thyme
1/4 cup (2 ounces) goat cheese
1/3 cup reduced-fat cream cheese
4 pork chops (from the loin on the thicker side)
1 can (8ounces) chicken broth
1/2 lemon, zested
2 tablespoons lemon juice
2 teaspoons Dijon mustard
Olive oil for pan

The Process
1.  Heat up olive oil in a medium skillet over medium heat.  Add garlic and cook 1 minute.

2.  To the skillet add sun-dried tomatoes, spinach, salt, pepper, and thyme.  Cook and stir for about 2 minutes.  Transfer mix to a medium bowl.


3.  In bowl with mixture add goat cheese and cream cheese, mix well and set aside.

4.  Cut pockets into the thickest part of each pork chop and season with salt and pepper.  Stuff 1/4 of cheese mixture into each pork chop and set aside.

5.  In small bowl combine chicken broth, lemon, lemon zest, and Dijon mustard, mix well.

6.  Heat up big skillet with fair amount of olive oil in it over medium-high heat.

7.  When skillet is hot add pork chops and half of the broth mixture and cover.  Cook each side for 6 minutes or until done.  When chops are flipped to other side add rest of broth mixture and cover again.

So as you can see this recipe could be on the lighter side but is still semi-healthy considering the contents.  So sit back and enjoy.  I accompanied these with roasted asparagus and a simple salad.

Picture from: http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/giada-de-laurentiis/pork-chops-stuffed-with-sun-dried-tomatoes-and-spinach-recipe/index.html

White Bean and Chicken Enchiladas

So for cinco de mayo I always love to cook for the occasion.  I also always seem to end up making fish tacos...so I decided this year I wanted to switch it up and have an extra healthy version of cinco de mayo.  This month of may I have been trying extra hard to eat very healthy while working out a ton because may 27th I am going to Hawaii with my wonderful boyfriend.  I am excited because we are attending a wedding and creating havoc outdoors.  I will not be sun tanning (waste of time) but I will definitely be swimming and yes it would be nice to at least look good in a bikini especially when I know that the minute my white skin is exposed people will be blinded....but that is a fact about myself that I accepted a long time ago.  Anyways hence the extra healthy recipes....so here we go

Serves 4 (2 enchiladas each)
Adapted from Cooking Light (but I definitely changed it quite a bit:)

The Ingredients
2 tablespoons fat-free sour cream
1 (15ouce) can cannellini beans, drained and rinsed
1 cup shredded pepper jack and sharp cheddar cheese
2 tablespoons canned and chopped green chiles
2 tablespoons sliced green onions
1 1/2 tablespoons fresh cilantro, chopped
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1 (10ounce) can enchilada sauce
1/4 cup water
8 (6-inch) yellow corn tortillas
1 small roast chicken, shredded
Cooking spray
Salt and pepper to taste
Tapatio (optional)

The Process
1.  Shred all chicken and set aside.

2.  In a food processor combine: sour cream, white beans, 1/2 cup cheese, chiles, onions, cilantro, cumin, and salt and pepper to taste.

3.  In a medium skillet combine 1/3 cup enchilada sauce and 1/4 cup water. Turn to medium-low heat.  Dip tortilla in the sauce mixture to soften then set aside on a plate; do this with all tortillas.

4.  Preheat oven to 350F degrees and spray cooking spray in large glass baking dish.

5.  Begin assembling enchiladas place one tortilla in pan add about 3 tablespoons bean mixture down center of tortilla followed by a small handful of shredded chicken.  Roll up tortilla and place seam side down in pan. Repeat with the other 7 tortillas.

6.  Once all 8 enchiladas are lined up in the dish pour rest of enchilada sauce from can over the top and sprinkle the rest of cheese over the top too!

7.  When oven is preheated put enchiladas in oven for 30 minutes or until bubbly.  I also broil them for a minute or two to slight brown the tops.

Please enjoy!

Might I add this meal was accompanied by a wonderful Mexican salad my lovely friend erin made...together we created heaven.  Oh and I made blackjack margaritas to go along with our feast, naturally.

Here is some nutritional info (I believe these numbers are pretty accurate...but I did use real cheese not reduced fat so I upped the fat a little to compensate):
Calories:380, Fat:10g, Sat. Fat:2g, Carbs:70g, Protein:24g, Fiber:7g

Picture from: http://find.myrecipes.com/recipes/recipefinder.dyn?action=displayRecipe&recipe_id=224927

Defeated

So last night I attempted to make risotto with brown rice... I do realize it is best to use actual risotto or a starchy rice but I thought hey let me try to make a semi-healthy risotto.  After an hour and 15 minutes of stirring I decided that I would eat some crunchy cheesy brown rice.  So not only did the risotto defeat me but I tried a new recipe for a "Greek-Style" roast chicken.  There was quite a process involved not to mention the long hours of waiting while the chicken slowly cooks away in the oven and it was flavorless.  I tasted a slight hint of citrus but when I rubbed the chicken down with eight plus spices I thought for sure flavor was on my side.  Anyways I just needed to share because I am cooking away with my little extra free time in between semesters but this time I was indeed 100% defeated.  The color label indicates my embarrassment...just sayin' :)

Peanut Sauce

So in a search for a peanut sauce that was spicy enough and healthy enough I came upon this recipe.  Of course I changed it a little, as I always do with ever recipe I cook and with this one the spice is definitely more pronounced in my version:)  So here it is:

Serves 4
Adapted from Cooking Light

Ingredients
1 cup reduced-fat creamy peanut butter
2/3 cup water
6 tablespoons lime juice
2 tablespoons soy sauce
4 teaspoons brown sugar
2 teaspoons hot paprika
3 teaspoons Sriracha sauce

The Process
1.  In a medium bowl mix peanut butter, water, lime juice, soy sauce, brown sugar, hot paprika, and Sriracha sauce.  Mix well with a whisk until smooth and creamy, no lumps.

Nutritional information with 2 chicken skewers and 1/4 cup sauce:
Calories 424, Fat 15.5g, Sat. Fat 3.2g, Protein 47.2, Carbo 23.7g, Fiber 2.7g

So as we can see this is not the lowest fat dish ever!....but think about how fattening this dish is at restaurants....that is where you now know you can feel good about eating this dish:)
Dedicated to my friend Jim! he loves this stuff!

 Picture from: http://kitchenscoop.com/recipes/thai-style-peanut-sauce/

Chicken Satay

This is a dish that I absolutely love and have made several times because of it!  Also this is the dish that created a fight between an un-named boyfriend of a friend and me.  It was over the pronunciation of the dish and yes I said it backwards (satay chicken), but the point was that I was generously providing and making this dish at the time and yes he was about to consume it as well....douche bag!  And there are many other reasons why I dislike this person, but this is just one example of him being ungrateful...as usual.  Anyways I can't not think of that story every time I make it...which yes slightly ruins this most wonderful dish a little every time for me.  Anyways this time that I made the dish it was for my wonderful friend Alaina's birthday party.  The theme of the party was food on a stick potluck...so I immediately thought of my wonderful (with a slight reminder of a bastard) chicken satay, and here it is....not to mention it was a hit.

Serves 4
Adapted from Sunset Magazine

Ingredients
4 skinned and trimmed chicken breasts
1 cup soy sauce
4 tablespoons minced ginger (from a jar)
2 tablespoons rice vinegar
2 tablespoons sugar
4 teaspoons Asian red chili paste
a bag of wooden skewers (soak for 20 minutes before use)

The Process
1.  Rinse chicken breasts and pat dry.  Slice diagonally across the grain into 1/4-inch think strips.

2.  In a very large zip-lock bag, mix 1 cup water, soy sauce, ginger, rice vinegar, sugar, and Asian red chili paste, and chicken.  Let marinate for at least 3 hours and up to a day.

3.  Take meat from marinade, thread onto skewers and discard marinade.

4.  Heat oven to broil.  Spray a pan with oil and place skewers on pan.

5.  When oven is hot place skewers in oven and broil for 12 minutes or until done.

This would also work very well on the grill, but as I am not YET a grill master I cannot and will not tell you how long to leave on the grill....but I'm sure you can figure it out.  Also I made a peanut sauce with this, it follows in the next recipe. And yes this is a low fat meal...just look at the ingredients...they explain themselves.

Picture from: http://kambergerchronicles.blogspot.com/2009/01/happy-new-year-year-of-ox.html