Popcorn Pleasures

I would say at least five times a week I end my night eating popcorn. I love popcorn. I love the taste. I love the texture. I especially love the half popped, didn't quite make it to a full kernel pieces. I learned while doing weight watchers that 94% Fat Free popcorn was extremely low in points for a huge bowl. This was enough to make popcorn one of my staple snacks. Keep in mind that not all popcorn is created equal. Even the boxes that tend to read "natural" are nigher in calories and fat than the 94% FF kind. I tend to think that the only way popcorn can really be "natural" is popped with an air popper (which I also happen to love but just don't own currently).

I always loved popcorn before WW, but seeing how low in points it was just made me appreciate it that much more. When I realized how it got me through munchies that inevitably come when dieting I knew it was a "dish" I planned on keeping. Nowadays I fully enjoy my nightly ritual and it often helps me to put down the fork at dinner knowing that I do get to eat again later (i'm telling you i love to eat!).

There is an art to popping it via microwave for me. I always hit the popcorn button but then after it's finished I hit the button again and wait until I hear almost no kernels popping anymore. I should mention that this often gives the popcorn a slightly burnt taste...but that's just the way I like it.

I also should mention that I have this habit, knowing how guilt free the popcorn is, to add a little "surprise" as erin calls it, in the bottom of my bowl. This can range from a few MM's to a little piece of a cookie calling my name. I think this helps to indulge my desert craving without completely giving in!

Random post I know but after going back through some of my old posts I realized that I don't blog about some of the items I tend to eat on a daily basis. Since my cooking has been slim lately I thought better to blog about something than nothing (right Caroline :)! So this is the beginning of some slightly mundane but ever present items in my eating repertoire.

Fourth of July Fruit Slaw

I have always loved cook outs. There is just something about being outside, with the sun shining and smelling whatever happens to be on the grill that day. I don't really eat red meat anymore, and even my chicken eating is few and far between...but when it comes to fish I could eat just about anything that swims in the sea, with gills that is! Erin's family had opted to have swordfish (grilled!) for the fourth of July dinner. We typically grill alot of hamburgers and fat free hot dogs at her house so it was a nice change up for the holidays. Since erin's dad is typically in control at the grill, and erin's mom had picked up corn and veggies to add to dinner, I decided to contribute with my own side dish.

As mentioned in the last post erin recently bought me the HG cookbook (hungry girl). This thing is chocked full of recipes for all sorts of taste. She has breakfast, snacks, soups, coffee drinks...you name it. The good thing about this book is that almost all the ingredients are fairly common, and the recipes are often remakes of fatty/high calorie dishes. In keeping with the cookout feel I narrowed in on a Fruity Coleslaw. (i must mention that if you click on this link you only get a picture of the slaw...not the recipe probably due to the fact that they need to sell cookbooks :(

This slaw had tons of ingredients that I love, cabbage (2 kinds), purple grapes, green apple, fat free yogurt, grape juice concentrate and...jicama. Now I had never cooked or seen jicama before (well I had seen it in the supermarket but not really known what it was called) but HG assured me that it was similar to an apple texture and potato taste. It really added to the texture of the slaw more than the taste I would say. I didn't follow the measurements of this recipe because I figured the more cabbage the better. The one problem was figuring out how to mix the liquid into the overflowing bowl of cabbage...opps. The mix also calls to sit in the refrigerator for an hour in order to soak up the grape juice, vinegar etc. to wet the cabbage. I think next time I will definitely plan on measuring all the veggies/fruit to make sure the ratios are better.

Erin's dad is a HUGE fan of the fat filled coleslaw so I knew he would be the big critic of the day. Although it was the 4th I think I earned an 8+ in his ratings. He even insisted on taking the leftovers for lunch the next day.

Skinny Spinny Dip

Where has the time gone? Between working, travelling (for work, don't be jealous), weddings and date days I haven't spent much time in the kitchen. Sadly it hasn't been for lack of want, but rather lack of time! My girlfriend even bought me a few new cookbooks and that STILL did not force me back into the hot kitchen. I must say that I have missed it terribly. I miss the feeling that you get when you create something yummy and healthy that brings ah hmmmmm to the room. SOOOO when the fourth of July came I thought what better day then to state my DEPENDENCE on cooking!

Erin's family had already decided to grill fish that night for dinner and along side that we were going to have grilled veggies and corn on the cob (a staple of summer time in the Northeast). But enough of that menu as my addition to dinner will come in a later blog.

I had just returned from California on business and my eating time clock was all mixed up. I had not really eaten a meal that day and it was already three o'clock (keep in mind that my plane landed at 4:30am so I was fully justified for sleeping in!). I didn't want to ruin my dinner so I decided that it was a perfect opportunity to attempt one of the snacks in my new hungry-girl cookbook! The red sox were playing a day game and I thought everyone loves chips and dip during baseball so I choose the HG Rockin' Restaurant Spinach Dip!

First off the ingredients were super simple to find although I opted to not add the water chestnuts (not a huge fan) and I couldn't find any cheese that was completely fat free so I used the Cabot 75% reduced fat cheese instead. I also used skim milk as opposed to buying a carton of soy just for the recipe! She tends to use Soy in alot of her recipes but I think skim is fine to sub.

I went into the process a bit tentative. I was worried that the cheese wouldn't melt or would taste low fat and that the milk wasn't enough and that the recipe should have been doubled...boy was I wrong. Everything went together perfectly. I guess I will blame my lack of trust on my time away from the kitchen!

I normally would have served it with Guiltless Gourmet chips...but for the 4th we splurged and used the regular tostidos (plus that would have been another trip to a different grocery store...and didn't I mentioned I was already sleep deprived?). The dip was a hit, and extremely low in fat!! It was even good the next day warmed up. The only addition I would suggest next time is perhaps some artichoke hearts. I think it would add another texture and a bit of salt too!

I didn't ask Erin what her rating for this dip was, but never you fear I think that this will be a remake real soon, and I'll be sure to report the number status back!

Baking Bridesmaid

These past months have been filled with 2nd job getting, 2nd job working...and dialing take out. Needless to say while I have been doing some cooking, the recipes have been repeats and certainly nothing exciting to blog about. With that said I do have one creation worth mentioning if only for the great picture to add to show!

I was recently in a wedding of a really great friend of mine, Molly. With the wedding came a shower, weekend planning sessions and a bachlorette party. Each of these weekends brought on plenty of cooking and eating. The shower was mainly catered by a friend of Molly's and the food was incredible (the same women later did her wedding cake). When it came to the wedding planning weekends the bride herself did alot of the cooking and preparing. Molly and I share alot of the same cooking tastes and techniques so I always love eating with her! For her bachlorette party us girls opted to take her out to a nice restaurant and conclude the night with desert back at her apartment...that's where I came in!

Now the shower was just the previous weekend and as mentioned her friend did an amazing job with the food. Molly's favorite cake is carrot and originally that was what I was planning to bake for the bach. party, however i quickly changed my mind when I tasted the carrot cake cupcakes at the shower. Let's just say no healthy options would possibly come close to that heavenly creation. In keeping with the scandalous nature of the party I thought about attempting a red velvet cake. Just the name conjures up love, lust and lusciousness. Of course knowing that the food and drinks would be flowing I began searching for a low fat version to attempt. (would you expect anything different from me?)

You may recall in my valentine post that I attempted red velvet cupcakes from the weight watchers site...they really weren't my favorite and they hardened rather quickly. I wanted to make the cake the night before the party so it was important to me that it would still be tasty the next day. I turned to my trusty Eating Well site and found Red Velvet Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting!

I was excited to try this because my previous experience with Eating Well proves that the recipes taste anything but healthy. This was fairly simple to make, and the double layers made it appear far more difficult than it actually was. I ended up with alot of extra frosting so I frosted the side of the cake as well. The one comment I have on this one is that the cake did not really rise in the pan at all! When you pour the batter in what you see is what you get, so plan accordingly. It was a bit slimmer than I wanted but everyone thought it turned out great.

Molly is a bit of a cake connoisseur (though you wouldn't know it looking at her!), so I was a bit nervous for her to try it. She claimed to really like it! Although I'm not sure if she meant the taste...or the topper :).

Divine Chicken Divan

There are dishes growing up that everyone has in their household that will forever be in your food memory bank. My mom always cooked growing up, so I happen to have quite a few. Its an on going joke with erin that I fully believe that my mom made up many of the recipes that she cooked for us. I would never had imagined her following a recipe. When it comes to making Shepard's pie, that's my mom's! Or strawberry shortcake with homemade biscuits...Betty Crocker who? So when my mom came to visit erin and I in New York I was sure that erin had never had Chicken Divan before. This was a chicken casserole dish that only mom could make. In this case erin actually hadn't heard of it...so it just fueled my theory. Her recipe is composed of chicken, cheeses, cream soups, mayo...all those delicious items that i have since broken free of (well for the most part). So imagine my surprise when I stumbled across Eatingwell.com's version of Chicken Divan.



I really didn't believe that there could be a way to duplicate the flavors in my mom's chicken divan in a healthy way. When I began my break up with certain items, erin had to lose them to, and sometimes that's not fair. So when I brought this recipe home she was more than willing to try it out. It was a hit! So last night when we were faced with what to do with another boring chicken breast...i quickly remembered this popular dish.


I poach the chicken while I prepped the rest of the ingredients, and pre-heated the oven at the same time. The recipe calls for one large leek, but I used two. I love those leeks. They really add a nice flavor without being over powering. My broccoli was frozen so I simply soaked them in some hot water so that they would be thawed by combination time. My one suggestion with this dish is to have all of your ingredients ready. The instructions tell you to constantly stir when combining things and it will make for a much smoother cooking process. The nice thing about this dish is that once assembled it has to cook in the oven for about twenty five mins, so this gave me time to cook some 10 minute brown rice!
The flavors in this are different than my mom's, but delicious and totally worth a try. The amount of calories and fat you save just enhance the dish that much more.

I must say this chicken is simply....divine.

Lovely Lentil Tacos with a Side of Spicy Swiss Chard

When I saw this recipe for Lentil Tacos on Runnersworld.com I could not wait to try it! I have been a huge fan of lentils for awhile and lived on lentil soup throughout the winter. It was so filling and creamy and a great substitute for someone like me who really lost their craving for alot of of meat dishes. Also if you recall I thoroughly enjoy Mexican food and love all the flavors that typically come with that cuisine. It did however take me a few weeks to convince erin of the joys of lentils. She had tasted my lentil soup and found it anything but Mexican. I convinced her that the spices and other ingredients would far surpass the typical blandness (which I happen to enjoy) in a lentil soup. She reluctantly agreed to try them...

Now the first step was getting her past a few ingredients. She isn't a huge fan of celery, she quickly pointed out, but I really didn't want to alter the recipe until I had attempted it once. I assured her that the celery would cook down with the rest of the items and just give more texture to the filling. Also she wasn't completely sold on the raisins but again she decided to give it a try. I started with oil spray instead of the oil called for and I opted to go with the vegetable broth to cook the lentils in. I must point out that I ended up DOUBLING the amount of liquid called for. I added the entire can of veggie broth and approx. 3/4 cup of warm water. As the lentils cooked down I continued to check the tenderness and they definitely required more liquid. All the spices and textured smelled and looked great! We served these up with corn tortillas and topped it with some low fat Mexican cheese and I used some chopped up cabbage as a lettuce substitute. The recipe says that it feeds four, but there were three of us eating (two tacos each)and we had PLENTY leftover. I think this would work great as a nacho topper as well!

As the lentil mix cooked I had found a side dish on eatingwell.com that had some Mexican flavors, but wasn't high in the calories or fat. Normally I would tend to have chips on the side when having tacos, but even the healthier ones (i am a HUGE fan of the guiltless gourmet brand) are no match for my chip craving and I knew I would go overboard given the option. Instead I decided to try Chipotle Cheddar Chard! I have never had swiss chard before but the recipe looked simple and I knew that chipotle was a good flavor to pair with tacos! Now I made a major mistake while cooking that I am going to point out to anyone else who attempts this dish. When you read the recipe it tells you to separate the stems and leaves of the chard. Naturally I just threw the stems away, upon reading the instructions however I saw that you were suppose to cook the onions and stem together and then add in the leaves at the very end. Instead I added the leaves in the beginning and it cooked WAY down and made alot less than expected. It was still really good, but I assume that having the stems in there would have given the dish a bit more substance and quantity! We all went back for 2nds though so it didn't seem to bother us! I doubled up on the chipotle after tasting it and added some salt and pepper. I would also note that the recipe claims to feed 6, but I would say it was more like a serving for 4 (could be that the stems make a big difference). I also think we could have added this right on top of the tacos if those darn tortillas weren't so small.

This turned out to be a really successful, healthy dinner. The tacos were tasty and satisfying, filling everyone up! The side dish, although a bit off on the instructions, was delicious and simple. Both dishes could be used to create one tasty burrito/taco or nachos.

I think that leftovers might be lentil nachos...

Pork-Chop Cutlets Creation

Sometimes I think that cooking is a chore, I'm not gonna lie. For the most part I really enjoy trying new dishes, even after a long/tedious/boring work day. But some nights...the take out menus are calling my name. I say this because I was having just one of those moments last night. My love of cooking went out the window as my pajamas went on. However my wallet and defrosted pork chops did not take kindly to that whim. I am not a waster by any means and having defrosted meat out is by far the best way to ward off the terrible take out monster. I also have to admit that after my lapse of laziness subsided I realized that I had picked a pretty simple recipe and even simpler side dishes.

As I mentioned Erin had opted to take out pork chop cutlets this morning as we hastily decided what to have for dinner. I hadn't cooked in a few days so of course I thought I would be up for the job! I went online to search out some dishes and I must say most of the returns were mainly for pork tenderloins and cutlet creations were harder to find. Some of the menus that kept coming up were "rubs", which to me seemed pretty basic, but the one I chose also created a sauce which is always a plus in case the meats a bit dry :). I also had all the ingredients for this one and of course that is one of my number one rules when cooking on a budget!

These Pork-Chops with Maple-Mustard Sauce seemed to fit the bill where I was concerned. Although we had cutlets I saw that in the list of ingredients it called for "boneless pork-chops", perfect! I decided to serve brown basmati rice and steamed broccoli on the side. My one mistake came early as we were starving and brown basmati rice takes a good 40 mins. to cook. The pork-chops only took about 25 mins total, so I recommend starting the rice a good 15-20 mins. ahead of those. I spent alot of time "watching rice boil" which has a similar effect of watching a tea pot boil...even worse when you are hungry.

The recipe served two, and we had four pieces of pork so I doubled up! I used a combination of whole grain Dijon and creamy Dijon. I also didn't have any kosher salt on hand, so I opted for regular. No surprise I also did not use the oil, spraying the pan with Pam worked out fine. The mixtures of mustard's looked great together and the maple syrup was a nice addition in flavor. It was very savory and sweet at the same time, and I feel like there was almost a bit of spiciness without the heat (is that confusing enough?). There was plenty of sauce left to top the rice with and I will admit we couldn't wait the full 40 mins. for the rice to finish leaving it a bit al dente (just how I like it)!

Okay now erin gave this a 9! A NINE! But I then reminded her of previous ratings and I think that the food induced high has been compromising her ratings system. I am thinking that in the future I should ask her to rate dishes the next day, as well as provide her with previous ratings for comparative analysis...

Then again, its just pork-chops!