Vegetable Frittata

     Frittatas are just wonderful. There's so much you can do with them. You can pretty much dump anything in a frittata and it will be good. You could probably load one with Cap'n Crunch and have a winner on your hands. Actually, that doesn't sound bad. I may have to give that one a spin. This particular frittata is loaded with veggies and is much healthier, coming in at only 150 calories per serving. Consider that for a second. You could eat the entire damned pan and be out for only 900 calories. That's value! Fair warning, the veggies will build up some water, so you'll need to drain this a bit before serving. As always, any notes or changes are in blue.

Vegetable Frittata
via Betty Crocker: The 300 Calorie Cookbook

Ingredients

• 2 tablespoons butter or margarine
• 1 medium onion (1/2 cup) chopped
• 1 clove garlic, finely chopped
• 1 medium bell pepper (1 cup), chopped
• 2 small zucchini (2 cups), chopped
• 1 small tomato (1/2 cup), chopped
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon pepper
• 6 eggs or 1-1/2 cups fat-free egg product (wow, when they make it sound so appetizing, how can I go with anything else than actual eggs. Maybe I can go find some artificial imitation ersatz margarine substitute, too!)
• 1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese

Directions

1. Heat oven to 350F (180C, Gasmark 4)
2. In a 10-inch ovenproof skillet (cast-iron is perfect here), melt butter over medium high heat. Add onion and garlic; cook 3 minutes, stirring frequently. 
3. Stir in bell pepper, reduce heat to medium. Cook about 2 minutes, stirring occasionally, until crisp-tender (for whatever reason, the term "crisp-tender" just pisses me off to no end. I think maybe it smacks of pretentiousness. It could just be that I'm hateful. Anything's possible). 
4. Stir in zucchini, tomato, salt and pepper. Cook 4 minutes, stirring occasionally.
5. In a small bowl, beat eggs with wire whisk or fork (or chopsticks if you feel like showing off) until blended; pour over vegetable mixture.
6. Bake uncovered 10 to 12 minutes or until center is set. Sprinkle with cheese. Cut into wedges. (Or just stand at the stove and grimly shovel forkful after forkful into your mouth straight from the skillet. I'm not here to judge). 

Good times!

Thai-Style Curry Chicken Soup

     We are always on the lookout for quick and easy weeknight meals. If they are low in calories, even better. If it tastes good, too, that's a bonus. The Betty Crocker 300 Calorie Cookbook yielded a recipe that filled all the criteria! It also filled out stomachs, which was nice. Is this an authentic Thai soup? Probably not by a longshot. However, it's a fair approximation and comes together in under 30 minutes. The curry and jalapeno give it a nice bite. This is a good soup for a cool weeknight dinner. It's also a good way to use up leftover chicken. As always, notes and changes are in blue.

Thai-Style Curry Chicken Soup
via Betty Crocker 300 Calorie Cookbook

Ingredients

• 1 carton (32 ounces) chicken broth (we rustic types don't use broth from a carton. We use real chicken stock we made from real chicken carcasses)
• 3 tablespoons packed brown sugar
• 2 tablespoons soy sauce
• 2 tablespoons rice vinegar
• 2 teaspoons curry powder
• 1 small (about 1/2 cup) red bell pepper, coarsely chopped
• 1 small jalapeno chile, seeded, finely chopped (leave the seeds in if you want extra heat. I went ahead and seeded mine because it was a much larger than the "small" the recipe calls for)
• 2 cups chopped cooked chicken. 
• 2 tablespoons chopped, fresh cilantro (I used 2 teaspoons dried)

Directions

1. In a large saucepan, stir all ingredients except chicken and cilantro. Heat to boiling over medium-high heat. Reduce heat to medium. Simmer uncovered 3-5 minutes or until pepper is crisp-tender.
2. Stir in chicken. Cook 1-2 minutes or until chicken is hot. Stir in cilantro just before serving.

Good times!

Cheese Filled Tortellini Soup

     It's always fun when The Wife takes over in the kitchen. She has gained a ton of confidence in her cooking lately. Generally, she just follows recipes word for word. Lately, she has taken to tinkering with recipes. This soup is one of those instances. I had to work a bit late, so she offered to make some soup for dinner to go along with some Herbed Swirl Bread I had made a couple days before. She nailed it with this soup. The garlic pepper was a great addition and she ended up with a flavorful and satisfying soup. Unfortunately, I don't think I'm off the hook for cooking duties. As always, any notes or changes are in blue.

Cheese-Filled Tortellini Soup
via: Better Crocker: The 300 Calorie Cookbook

Ingredients

• 2 tablespoons butter or margarine
• 1/4 cup chopped celery
• 1/4 cup chopped carrot
• 1/4 cup chopped onion
• 1 clove garlic, finely chopped (she used 1 heaping teaspoon of jarred garlic)
• 6 cups water (she used 3 cups home-made chicken stock and 3 cups of water)
• 2 extra-large vegetarian vegetable bouillon cubes (I contend that no such thing exists. The Wife used 2 regular sized chicken bouillon cubes)
• 2-1/2 cups dried cheese-filled tortellini (The Wife was subbing like a champ. She used a 1 lb. bag of frozen cheese tortellini)
• 1 tablespoon chopped fresh parsley (not happening. 1 teaspoon of dried parsley was used)
• 1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg (after an unfortunate incident following somebody's recipe that used WAY too much nutmeg, she erred on the side of caution and just omitted it)
• 1/4 teaspoon pepper (she just used black pepper to taste)
• Added: 1/8 teaspoon garlic pepper
• Added: 1/4 teaspoon dried basil
• Freshly grated Parmesan cheese, if desired (CHEESE IS NEVER OPTIONAL)

Directions

1. In a 4-quart Dutch oven, melt butter over medium heat. Add celery, carrot, onion and garlic. Cook, stirring frequently, until crisp-tender. 
2. Stir in water and bouillon cubes. Heat to boiling. Reduce heat to low; stir in tortellini. Cover; simmer about 20 minutes, stirring occasionally, until tortellini are tender. 
3. Stir in whatever herbs and spices you're using. Sprinkle individual servings with cheese. 

Good times!

Stir-Fried Broccoli with Crabuluxe

     Once again I turn to the Betty Crocker 300 Calorie Cookbook. As always, I end up infuriated. Not with the food, mind you.  No, what really pisses me off is how these recipes are written. Something about the wording of these recipes just makes me insane. They are just needlessly complicated and ponderously worded. The recipes are generally quite tasty. However, this one was a bit bland and could benefit from a bit of spice. I wound up adding a couple teaspoons of home-made Sriracha. As always, any notes are changes are in blue.

Stir-Fried Broccoli with Crabuluxe
via: Betty Crocker 300 Calorie Cookbook

Ingredients

• 1 lb fresh broccoli
• 2 green onions, with tops
• 1 tablespoon corn starch
• 1 tablespoon cold water
• 3 tablespoons vegetable oil
• 1 clove garlic, finely chopped (feeling lazy. I used 1 tablespoon jarred garlic)
• 1/4 cup chicken broth
• 8 ounces frozen salad-style imitation crabmeat, thawed ("salad-style?" What sort of hoity-toity stuff is that? You're using fake crab meat. Don't try to make it sound fancy. If you must, do what we do and call it "Crabuluxe.")
• 1/4 teaspoon sesame oil
• 1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes or hot sauce of your choice

Directions

1. Peel outer layer from broccoli. Cut broccoli lengthwise into 1-inch stems; Remove florets. Cut stems diagonally into 1/4 inch slices (AHAHAHAHAHA! That was not going to happen. That's just a lot of bullshit work for something that's eventually going to be poop. We just cut the florets off close to the stalk and moved on). Place broccoli stems in boiling water; heat to boiling (THE WATER IS ALREADY BOILING! Why does Betty Crocker insist on constantly fucking with my head?) Cover and cook for 30 seconds. Add florets; heat to boiling. Cover and cook 30 seconds (You know what? No. I'm not doing that. That's more work than I'm willing to commit to. I just chucked the cut broccoli in the boiling water and let it go for about a minute or so). Drain and rinse in cold water. 
2. Cut onions into 1/2-inch pieces. Slice lengthwise in half and set aside (just slice the onions and move it along).
3. In a small bowl, mix corn starch and water; set aside.
4. In wok or 12-inch skillet, heat vegetable oil over high heat. Add broccoli and garlic; stir-fry 1 minute. Add broth; heat to boiling. Stir in cornstarch mixture cook and stir until thickened. Add Crabuluxe, onions and sesame oil; cook and stir 1 minute.

Good Times!

Lemon Chicken with Broccoli

     Chicken and broccoli is just one of those classic combinations that you find everywhere. Those two ingredients lend themselves to dozens and dozens of recipes across numerous cultures. I have no numbers to back that up, but it sounds impressive so just go with it. This recipe is pretty simple and certainly healthy, coming in at around 260 calories per serving. You could probably ditch the crackers and replace it with panko and save yourself a few extra calories. This is certainly a winning work-week dinner. As always, any notes and changes are in blue.

Lemon Chicken with Broccoli
via Betty Crocker 300 Calorie Cookbook

Ingredients

• 2 cups (4 ounces) uncooked bow-tie (farfalle) pasta (naturally, I went with shells instead)
• 1/4 cup crushed round buttery crackers (I will gladly endorse Ritz crackers here for a fat paycheck)
• 1 teaspoon grated lemon peel (I just used an equal amount of dried lemon zest)
• 1 lb boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut into 1/4" strips (it is clear from the picture that I willfully ignored this direction and cut the chicken into chunks. TAKE THAT, BETTY CROCKER!)
• 2 cloves garlic, finely chopped (lazy, as always, I used 2 teaspoons minced garlic from a jar)
• 2 cups frozen broccoli florets or broccoli cuts, thawed and drained
• 1 can (10.5 ounces) condensed low-fat, low-sodium cream of chicken soup (I actually make it a point to use this kind of soup in recipes. Otherwise, the sodium gets totally out of hand and I inflate like a tick)
• 1 cup chicken broth
• 1/2 cup fat-free (skim) milk (Not happening. I can't stand skim. I used 2%)
• 2 tablespoons lemon juice (I hope they meant from a bottle, because that's what I used)
• 1/8 teaspoon pepper

Directions

1. Heat oven to 350F. Spray 13x9" glass baking dish with cooking spray (I used a Corningware dish here just to be spiteful)
2. Cook and drain pasta as directed on package (Really? They could have saved everyone time by just changing "uncooked pasta" to "cooked pasta" up in the ingredients. And don't start any crap with amount changing because of cooking. It would have been just fine. This is just Betty Crocker intentionally giving me shit). Meanhwile, in a small bowl, mix crushed crackers and lemon peel; set aside.
3. Spray 10-inch skillet with cooking spray (I used a 12 inch skillet. I am done with being bullied by a fictional cook); heat over medium-high heat. Add chicken and garlic; cook 2-3 minutes, stirring frequently, until chicken is brown. Remove from heat; stir in pasta and remaining ingredients. Spoon chicken mixture into baking dish. Sprinkle with crumb mixture.
4. Cover with foil; bake 25 minutes. Bake uncovered 10-15 minutes longer or until hot and bubbly. 

Good times!

Crab and Spinach Enchiladas

     After the holidays, I'm glad I have cookbooks like the Betty Crocker 300 Calorie Cookbook.  I'm not one for cleanses or detoxes. I just try to eat more sensibly and get back to my standard 1600 calorie a day intake. Recipes like these enchiladas are great because they are filling, but super-low in calories. Each of these enchiladas come in at around 300 calories. Have two of these and some black beans and a bit of rice and you've got a great meal in the 600 calorie range. As always, and notes or changes are in blue.

Crabmeat and Spinach Enchiladas
via Betty Crocker 300 Calorie Cookbook

Ingredients

• 1 cup chunky-style salsa (if you can use home-made, you'll save yourself some unneeded preservatives and sodium)
• 1/4 cup chili sauce (if you want to do a bit of fusion here, use Sriracha)
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
• 1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro (I used 1 tablespoon of dried. If you can't stand cilantro, you could always swap in parsley or basil)
• 1 pound refrigerated chunk-style imitation crabmeat (as I call it, "Crabuluxe")
• 2 cups frozen cut leaf spinach, thawed and squeezed to drain
• 1 cup (4 ounces) shredded Pepper Jack cheese
• 8 flour tortillas
• 1 cup (4 ounces) shredded cheddar cheese

Directions

1. Heat oven to 350F. Spray 13x9 inch glass baking dish with cooking spray (I can't imagine anything cataclysmic is going to happen if you don't use glass. However, if you use Corningware and subsequently die, please don't blame me)
2. In a small bowl, mix salsa, chili sauce, cumin and cilantro.
3. In a medium bowl, break up crabmeat and combine with spinach, Pepper Jack cheese and 1/4 cup of the sauce mixture. Spread about 1/2 cup of the sauce mixture over the bottom of the baking dish (because spreading the mixture under the baking dish would just be stupid).
4. Top each tortilla with about 2/3 cup of the crabmeat mixture; roll up. Place tortillas, seam side down, in baking dish. Top with remaining sauce. Sprinkle with cheddar cheese.
5. Spray sheet of foil with cooking spray. Cover dish with foil, sprayed side down (I'm going to tell you that if you need to be instructed to put the sprayed side down, maybe you should just order out instead) Bake 35-40 minutes or until thoroughly heated. 

Good times!

Tuna Ranch Melt Pinwheel

     Sometimes you come across a recipe so hilariously Middle Class, it begs to be made. This is the sort of recipe you know will end up at pot lucks or brunches across the Midwest. The ingredients are Middle Class staples: Bisquick, tuna, ranch dressing, American cheese. I kid you not when I tell you the wife and I had to wait a few minutes to eat this because we were laughing so hard when this came out of the oven. In its defense, this recipe is super cheap and easy to make, and comes in at around 250 calories per serving. As always, any notes or changes are in blue.

Tuna Ranch Melt Pinwheel
via Betty Crocker 300 Calorie Cookbook

Ingredients

• 1-1/2 cups Bisquick Heart Smart Mix (that didn't happen. I just used the ALDI brand baking mix)
• 1/3 cup boiling water
• 1 can (12 ounces) chunk light tuna in water, drained
• 1/4 cup ranch dressing
• 3 tablespoons finely chopped green onions
• 1 small tomato, cut into 6 slices
• 3 slices American cheese, cut in half diagonally (I'm going to have to insist you go with American cheese, because this thing looks hysterical when it's done. While Muenster or Swiss would probably taste good, you'd be missing out on the aesthetics of the Road Cone Orange you get with American)

Directions

1. Heat oven to 450F. In a medium bowl, stir baking mix and boiling water until soft dough forms. Gather dough into a ball.
2. Place dough on lightly floured surface. Roll dough into 13 inch round. Place on ungreased 12 inch pizza pan (if you have a pizza stone, it works great here). Pinch edge to form 1/2 inch rim. Bake 6-8 minutes or until light brown.
3. Meanwhile, in a medium bowl, mix tuna, dressing and onions. Spread tuna mixture over crust (don't forget to take the crust out of the oven first). Arrange tomato and cheese slices alternately in a pinwheel pattern on tuna mixture. Bake 1-2 minutes longer or until cheese is melted. Cut into wedges.

Good times!

Summer Garden Chicken Stir Fry guest post from my Wonderful Wife

NOTE: As I am in the classroom for a new school year, my loving wife has picked up a bit of the slack on the Facebook page and the blog. At least until her school year starts. She wrote this post and did all the work on making this meal. She did a fantastic job, and I'm not just saying that so I can continue to sleep inside the house.
   
     As the title of this recipe suggests, this will use up some of your garden’s produce…provided the produce in the recipe is what you grow in your garden. It is also a fairly simple recipe, and that was what I was looking for this past Monday. My husband was working late, and I needed something easy.

Theoretically, this should be easy.

     Unlike my husband, I am not at my best in the kitchen. Want me to teach your child English? Recommend a good book? I can do that, but I’d rather not be evaluated on my culinary skills. So, here is the recipe, and as my husband always does, notes and changes are in blue.

Summer Garden Chicken Stir-fry

via Betty’s Crocker’s The 300 Calorie Cookbook

Ingredients

• 1 lb. boneless skinless chicken breast, cut into 1-inch pieces
• 2 cloves garlic, finely chopped (Not going to happen when I am cooking alone. I used 2 teaspoons of minced garlic instead.)
• 2 teaspoons finely chopped gingerroot
• 1 medium onion, cut into thin wedges (I used a red onion. It was all we had and it made for a nice color combo with the other veggies.)
• 1 cup ready-to-eat baby-cut carrots, cut lengthwise in half (I thought they looked too big, so I cut them lengthwise in half a second time…I believe math teachers would refer to this as quartering. I am not a math teacher.)
• 1 cup fat-free chicken broth (I used a cup of home-made chicken broth.)
• 3 tablespoons reduced-sodium soy sauce
• 2 to 3 teaspoons of sugar (I used two.)
• 2 cups fresh broccoli florets
• 1 cup (3 oz) sliced fresh mushrooms (I didn’t have any fresh mushrooms. Also, I had half a dozen yellow squash in the refrigerator and more threatening in the garden. So, I made an executive decision and substituted yellow squash for the mushrooms – daring, I know. Like the red onion, I thought the color of the squash added something to the dish, and while I’m never sure my food will taste good, I want it to at least look nice.)
• ½ cup chopped bell pepper, any color (I used green as our peppers haven’t ripened to red yet.)
• 2 teaspoons corn starch (I ended up needing four. See directions for details.)
• Hot cooked brown rice, if desired (White rice worked just as well. It’s important to note that the “if desired” portion of the recipe is not included in the calorie calculations. Without the rice, one serving of this dish is 200 calories.)

Directions

1. Heat 12-inch nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add chicken, garlic, and ginger root; cook and stir 2 to 3 minutes or until chicken is brown.
2. Stir in onion, carrots, ¾ cup of broth, the soy sauce, and sugar. Cover and cook over medium heat 5 minutes, stirring occasionally.
3. Stir in broccoli, mushrooms (yellow squash), and bell pepper. Cover and cook about 5 minutes, stirring occasionally, until chicken is no longer pink in center and vegetables are crisp-tender (I think 5 minutes might have been overkill here. The veggies didn't come out as crisp as I would have liked. My chicken pieces were pretty well-cooked by the time I got to this step, so no worries there.)
4. In small bowl, mix cornstarch and remaining ¼ cup of broth; stir into chicken mixture. Cook, stirring frequently, until sauce is thickened. Serve over rice. (Everything had been going exactly as described until I added the cornstarch. And then…nothing happened. No thickening. In hindsight, this might have been due to the added moisture from the yellow squash. In any case, I simply mixed two more teaspoons of cornstarch with a tablespoon of water and added it to the pan. Thickening occurred – crisis averted.)

Good times!

Weekday Meal Project

     I've been doing a lot more cooking than normal lately, and really enjoying it. We've been eating well and not working too hard to make it happen. During that time, I've heard some naysayers claim it's too expensive to eat healthy. I suppose that depends on your definition of healthy. Organic? Yes, that's expensive. We count calories for the most part in my house. We try to keep sodium and fat down, but if you watch calories, everything else falls into place, more or less.
     For a week I made it a point to cook at least four of the five workdays. I wanted to see if I could make quick meals that were not more than 300 calories. I also wanted to do this without breaking the bank. I'm going to tell you what I cooked each night and give an approximate cost assuming you only had the spices on hand. I am basing costs on shopping at ALDI, Wal-Mart and County Market.

Monday: Shrimp Scampi (two servings). 340 calories with rice.
About $3.50-$4.00 per serving.

Tuesday: I had to work late. Bought two 6-inch subs with a coupon. The subs were around 350-400 calories a piece. $5.50

Wednesday: Orange-Teriyaki Beef and Noodles (two servings). 300 calories.
About $3.50-$4.50 per serving

Thursday: Thai Curry Chicken Soup (3 servings). 210 calories.
About $1.00-$1.50 per serving

Friday: Crab and Spinach Enchiladas (4 servings) 265 calories.
About $2.00-$2.50 per serving

     So there you have it. A work week of meals. Good, healthy foods. Total cost? Somewhere in the range of $14.50-$18.00. That's feeding two people, with two nights having leftovers. Only one meal I cooked went over 300 calories, and that was only 40 over. It's not easy to eat right for not a lot of money. You only need to remember one thing.

Shop Smart.

Good times!

Monday Recipe: Shrimp Scampi

     I've been banging on about the Betty Crocker 300 Calorie Cookbook for a good reason. Unfortunately, that reason is not a fat sponsorship deal. It is because the recipes are generally quick, easy and never more than 300 calories. I'm going to hit you with another one I was extremely pleased with. As I've been doing of late, any changes to the recipe will be shown in blue.

Shrimp Scampi

Ingredients

• 3/4 lb. deveined and peeled shrimp, thawed if frozen
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1 medium green onion, thinly sliced
• 1 clove garlic, finely chopped
• 2t chopped fresh or 1/2t dried basil
• 2t chopped fresh or 1/4t dried parsley
• 1T fresh lemon juice (I used bottled)
• 1/8t salt (omitted)
• 2T shredded Parmesan cheese
• 1/4t red pepper flakes
• 1 cup cooked white rice

Directions

1. Rinse shrimp in cold water and pat dry on paper towel. If the shrimp has a tail, remove if desired (we removed the tails to save for shrimp stock).
2. In a skillet, heat oil over medium heat, 1-2 minutes. Add remaining ingredients except Parmesan cheese. Cook 2-3 minute, stirring frequently, until shrimp are pink. Do not overcook the shrimp or they will become tough. Sprinkle with cheese. (I continued to cook another minute or so after adding the cheese. It resulted in a slightly thicker sauce.)
3. Serve over rice

Serves two. 240 calories per serving (340 with 1/2 cup rice)

Good times!

Recipe Monday: Buffalo Chicken Bake

     The wife and I make it a point to count calories when we plan our meals for the day. To make that process easier, I bought a few cookbooks that specifically limit the caloric count of each recipe. One of the better books we've found is The 300 Calorie Cook Book from Betty Crocker. The original recipe is from the "Meals For Two" section: "Bar-b-q Chicken Bake" (p. 309). We made some changes. We doubled the recipe to four servings. We also swapped out the barbecue sauce for Franks Hot Sauce (any Buffalo-style sauce would work). We also used a 4-cheese Mexican blend instead of the reduced fat cheddar. We had no access to Bisquick Heart Smart, so we used our ALDI brand all-purpose biscuit mix.

     The end result was pretty good. You'll panic at first when you see that the biscuit mix barely covers the bottom of the pans. It rises up during cooking to give you a crust that's about 1/2" and fairly crunchy around the outside. Cook it a bit longer if you don't want the middle to be a touch soggy. As always, changes and notes are in blue.

Buffalo-Chicken Bake

Ingredients

• 2/3 cup all-purpose biscuit mix
• 2T water
• 2 egg whites
• 1 cup cut up cooked chicken (we cooked our chicken in some cayenne pepper paste for extra heat)
• 1/2 cup Franks Hot Sauce (or Buffalo-style hot sauce of choice)
• 1/2 cup shredded Mexican 4-cheese blend

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 400F. Spray two 8x4" loaf pans with cooking spray.
2. Cook chicken breasts (doesn't really matter how. Microwave if you want. We fried them in a skillet with our home-made pepper paste). Cut up chicken when done (please try not to poison yourself by not cooking the chicken enough)
3. Stir together biscuit mix, water and egg white; spread half in bottom of each pan.
4. In small bowl, mix chicken and hot sauce. Microwave on high for 1 minute (skip microwaving if you are using the chicken hot from cooking.)  Spoon over batter in pans to within 1/2" of edge; sprinkle with cheese.
5. Bake 20-25 minutes or until golden brown; loosen from sides of pan.

Makes 4 servings (2 per pan), about 265 calories per serving. 

Good times!