Asian Flank Steak

I've made this as an appetizer and as a main dish.  The trick is to marinade the meat for at least 8 hours but it's well worth it!  The original recipe calls for this to be an appetizer on skewers but I've served it without them.  I "grill" them on our stove top with a grill top and it works out perfectly!

Ingredients:
1 1/2 lbs flank steak, sliced thin1 1/2 cups reduced sodium soy sauce (Use Tamari for Gluten Free)2 cloves minced garlic1 tsp fresh ginger1 tsp sesame oil1 lime, juice of


Directions:
Soak wooden skewers in water about 30 minutes to prevent burning. Marinate the steak in all the ingredients for about 1 hour or more. 
Heat your grill pan or grill a few minutes on each side until browned and cooked though.
Makes about 24 skewers.

Discard marinade and thread the sliced steak onto the skewers.

4 Points Plus points per serving (4 skewers per serving)

Shrimp & Scallops over Herbed Basmati Rice

I really love carbs and have been finding ways to incorporate them, in moderation, on WW.  I found this recipe and thought it sounded good.  I've never had basmati rice before but it turned out very tasty!  We put some sauteed shrimp and scallops over top it and made a meal.

Ingredients:
2 tbsp margarine
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 tsp shallots, minced
3/4 c basmati rice, uncooked
1-1/2 c water
1/2 tsp salt
1 tbsp Italian Seasoning
3 tbsp freshly grated Parmesan cheese
1 tsp olive oil
Dry scallops
Shrimp, peeled and deveined
Old Bay Seasoning

Directions for the Rice:
Melt 1 tbsp margarine in a sauce pan over medium high heat
Add garlic & shallots and saute for about a minute
Add in rice & stir well
Add in water and bring to a boil
Cover & lower heat to simmer for about 15 minutes, or until liquid is absorbed
Top with grated cheese

Directions for Scallops and Shrimp:
Melt 1 tbsp margarine in a pan.  Add olive oil.  Place shrimp in pan & cook for a couple minutes per side.  Dust each side, while cooking, with a little Old Bay.
Remove shrimp from pan and set aside.
Place pan over heat and get very hot.  While pan is getting hot, salt & pepper each side of the scallops.  Add scallops to pan and cook each side approx 2-3 minutes per side.

Combine shrimp, scallops and rice and serve.

Rice = 5 Points Plus points
Scallops = 2 Points Plus points for 3 oz
Shrimp =  3 Points Plus points per 3 oz

Rice Krispie Treats - Mini Footballs

We were invited to the neighbor's house to watch the Super Bowl.  I wanted to bring something fun for the kids (and adults) to enjoy.  I found these rice krispie treats on Pinterest and fell in love with them!  They are so easy to make and were a hit for the party!

Ingredients:6 cups Cocoa Krispies Cereal 1 bag of Mini Marshmallows1/2 cup Margarine1 tsp Vanilla ExtractCookie Icing*

Directions:

1. Melt the margarine in a large pot over medium heat. When melted, add the marshmallows and continue to heat until they are completely melted as well.

2. Add the vanilla extract the remove from heat. Next, stir in the Cocoa Krispies Cereal.

3. Allow the cereal mixture to cool for a few minutes, then begin scooping medium sized spoonfuls onto wax paper.

4. Coat your hands with non-stick cooking spray, then begin molding the cereal into football shapes. (I taught our boys to make a round shape then pull the ends to a point with your thumb and pointer finger.)

5. Allow the footballs to completely cool. Then go back and draw the football seams with the cookie icing. (*Feel free to use your favorite cookie icing recipe, however I found the Betty Crocker Cookie Icing to work perfect for this!)

Roasted Balsamic Pork Tenderloin

With the  new year came a new philosophy on my cooking / eating.  I joined Weight Watchers and am determined to get back to my "pre pregnancy" weight.  So far, so good!  So, the next few recipes are some of my favorites from WW or sites that I  have found that have healthy meals.  This pork recipe is from the WW community website.  It's a good weeknight dinner and tastes delish!

Ingredients:

2 tbsp balsamic vinegar

1 tbsp olive oil

1 tbsp fresh thyme, finely chopped (I used dry)

2 tsp Dijon mustard

2 cloves garlic, minced

1/2 tsp pepper

1 lb pork tenderloin

Directions:

Combine first 5 ingredients in a large zip lock bag.  Place pork in bag and refrigerate for at least 4 hours, but up to 24 hours.

Preheat oven to 475 and spray cooking pan with Non Stick spray

Place pork in pan (discard marinade) and cook for approximately 25 minutes, or until internal temperature reaches 160 degrees

5 Points Plus points per serving 

Crescent Rolls

I'm so far behind on updating the blog but I'm going to try to get a few up here today.  This one is from our Christmas dinner (yes, it's been that long!).  I had regular dinner rolls from the store for Christmas Eve and didn't think they were great.  I had a little extra time on Christmas day so I found a recipe to make my own crescent rolls.  They were really good and so wonderful right out of the oven!  I highly recommend the bread flour instead of regular all-purpose flour for these!

Ingredients:

3/4 c milk

1/4 c sugar

1 egg

1/2 tbsp salt

1 tbsp active dry yeast

1 cup of warm water

4 1/2 to 5 cups all purpose flour

1/2 cup of butter

Instructions:

In a microwave safe bowl combine the milk, sugar and 1/4 cup of the butter and microwave for a couple minutes until the butter melts. If it didn't melt completely that's ok.

In another bowl add the water and the yeast. Stir the yeast a little bit and let it sit until it foams.

In the bowl of your mixer, start with 4 cups of flour, add salt and mix. In the milk mixture crack the egg and mix. Add this mixture to the flour and the yeast mixture as well.

Using the dough hook mix for a couple minutes and add the remaining flour. The dough will be sticky. If you don't have a mixer you can do all this by hand.

Place the dough in an oiled bowl, cover it up with a clean kitchen towel or plastic wrap and let it rest until it doubles in size. Normally I turn my oven on to 200 F degrees for a couple minutes so that the oven warms up, then I turn off the oven and place the bowl with dough in there for an hour or so until the dough has doubled.

Once the dough is ready cut it in 2 pieces. Roll each piece into a circle about 14" in diameter. You should have 1/4 cup of butter left, softened. Spread the top with 1/2 the butter. Using the pizza cutter cut the circle into quarters first, then each quarter into thirds. Roll up each piece.

Repeat with other piece of dough. Place the rolls onto a buttered pan.

Preheat oven to 350 F degrees.

Let the rolls rest until the edges touch, they should almost double in size.

Bake for about 15 or 20 minutes until golden brown.