Shloppy Joes

my dear friend Alexis came over recently for a relaxing (ie: lazy) night in and i thought that sloppy joes would be the perfect accompaniment for the trashy tv we were watching.  now i don't know about you but i don't usually have a can of Manwich in my pantry so i had to wing it and i think it turned out pretty great!  paired with oven baked sweet potato fries it was the perfect Saturday night supper.

Sloppy Joe Filling
serves: 3
points per serving: 4

8oz super lean ground beef
1/2 medium yellow onion, finely diced
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 tsp olive oil
1/2 cup low-sodium chicken broth
1/4 cup ketchup
1 tbsp tomato paste
1 tbsp worchestershire sauce
1/2 tbsp white sugar
1 teaspoon chili powder
1/2 teaspoon paprika
1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
kosher salt
pepper

heat olive oil in nonstick skillet over medium heat.  add onion and garlic, season with salt and pepper and cook until onions are translucent.  add ground beef, salt, pepper, chili powder, cayenne and paprika and cook until browned.  add tomato paste and cook for a minute to get rid of raw taste.  add ketchup, worchestershire sauce, sugar and chicken broth.  lower heat to and simmer until sauce is thick and coats the beef.

serve on whatever kind of bread you want (i like an english muffin because it's only 3 points) and enjoy!

from start to finish the entire meal took about a half hour so next time you're looking for some quick and tatsy comfort food give this one a shot!

-V

possibly the greatest stir-fry ever

i think the title of this post says all you need to know.

i happen to count chicken, broccoli and mushrooms in my top 10 favorite foods so of course a stir fry made of all of these things would be my favorite, but i think even if you're not as crazy about them as i am, you'll like this a lot.

Chicken Stir Fry with Oyster Mushrooms and Broccoli
Serves: 2
Points Per Serving: 6

6 oz boneless skinless chicken breast, cut into bite sized pieces
4.5 oz oyster mushrooms, cut into bite sized pieces (almost any mushroom will work though)
5 oz broccoli florets
1 inch piece of fresh ginger root minced
2 small cloves of garlic minced
2 tbsp + 1 tsp soy sauce
1 tbsp agave nectar
1 tsp sriracha
1 tbsp flour
ground ginger
chinese five spice
kosher salt
pepper

marinate chicken in 1 teaspoon soy sauce, sriracha, chinese five spice and ground ginger while you prep other ingredients, just before adding to pan toss with flour.

heat oil in nonstick skillet and saute fresh ginger and garlic being careful not to burn them. add broccoli florets and cook until bright green, add chicken and brown, add mushrooms and cook til slightly softened. once all ingredients reach desired state (vegetables should be soft but still crisp and chicken should be browned and cooked through) add soy sauce and agave, cook until sauce reduces a bit. adjust seasoning to taste.

serve with 1/2 cup of brown rice.

i recommend putting the rice over the stir-fry rather than vice versa because then you use much less rice.

i don't have a picture of this one because every time i make it i eat it before i can remember to take a picture but i promise you, it's great.

also, if you like spicy food add in a chopped up jalapeno when you put in the garlic and ginger and there's your spice!

so good, seriously.

-V

fridge cleaning food

so, something y'all may not know about me is that in addition to cooking normal delightful food (which i happily share with you here), i also make some weird shit.  i think one of my greatest strengths as a cook is being able to open the fridge and make something that tastes good.  i can't promise you it'll be pretty but tasty i can pretty much guarantee.  the recipe i'm about to share with you is a prime example. 

i ALWAYS have sweet potatoes & onions on hand because those things are probably two of my favorite foods.  as for ketchup, ever since i stopped kidding around and started buying 64oz bottles of the stuff, i don't run out of that either.  same goes with tomato paste (i now buy it in these awesome tubes that you just keep in the fridge and then you're never out when you need it) and brown rice.  basically what i'm saying is that i almost always have everything to make this recipe except for the ground beef and the taco seasoning (i'll get to that in a minute).  so a few weeks ago when i had basically no food in the house and was running too low on cash for a full grocery shop, this is what i came up with.

Spicy Taco Beef with Roasted Sweet Potatoes
serves: 1
***points plus value per serving: 11

1/2 medium sized sweet potato, diced
5oz super lean (95% lean, 5% fat) ground beef
1/2 cup cooked brown rice
1/2 medium sized yellow onion, finely chopped
2 tbsp ketchup
1 tbsp tomato paste
1/2 tsp molasses
1 tbsp extra spicy taco seasoning
kosher salt
black pepper
water, if needed
cooking spray

preheat over to 375 degrees.  dice sweet potato into bite sized pieces and place on baking sheet.  spray with cooking spray, season with salt & pepper and roast until tender and browned on the outside.  (i recommend doing this while you're making the taco meat stuff)

heat a nonstick skillet over medium high heat and spray with cooking spray.  add ground beef and cook until it begins to brown, add onions and cook until meat is cooked through and onions are translucent.  add taco seasoning and mix to combine.  add tomato paste, ketchup and molasses and cook until a thick sauce coats the meat and onions.  if the sauce gets too thick you can add a little water to thin it out.  check seasoning and adjust if necessary, you may not need to add any salt or pepper because the taco seasoning is pretty salty, i usually add a little though.  turn heat to low and add in cooked rice, allowing rice to heat through and get coated with the sauce.

place meat & rice mixture on the plate and top with sweet potatoes.  you can serve this with all kinds of toppings.  in this picture i've served it with some shredded cheese, avocado and a dollop of plain yogurt.  these things will add points though, obviously.  when i made it last night i just served it with a dollop of yogurt and it was awesome.

so that's it!  i know it sounds weird and kind of tacky (something about taco seasoning and ketchup is distinctly midwestern no?) but i promise you it's delicious and super flavorful.  it's kind of like a sloppy joe but taco-fied.  with sweet potatoes.  and no bun.  this isn't making it sound any less weird is it?  anyway, try it, you'll like it!

-V

***in December WW changed their system from Points to PointsPlus which is all very complicated and boring if you're not a WW member (or even if you are).  basically, most foods now have a higher points value and i get more points per day to use.  the point of this being on the old system 11 points was a lot but on the new one, it's a totally reasonable amount to spend on a filling dinner. 

happy new year!

well hello!

it has been exactly one month since i've posted , that's a bit too long isn't it?  i certainly think so...

anyway, it's a new year and if i'm to believe what Jennifer Hudson has been yelling at me through my television, it's a new dawn, it's a new day and i'm allegedly feeling good!

i am feeling good though!  to be honest, i had a bit of a rough holiday season.  with an unexpected death in the family followed by a moderately stressful (but wonderful all the same - hi mom & dad!) trip home for Christmas & New Years, i was borderline off the wagon.  i am proud to report though that as soon as Monday January 3rd rolled around i was right back in the game!

so welcome back, i hope you all had a lovely holiday and here's to 2011 being better than 2010 in every way, regardless of how you felt about 2010.

-V