Ginger-Garlic Shrimp and Chicken

I've continued working on my Asian cooking skills this week with another Weight Watchers recipe that I only tinkered with slightly. The original recipe called for chicken, but since I made it on a Saturday night I used shrimp, which made it seem a bit more special, or "date-night" worthy! (Is it still a date night if you've been married over 30 years? hhmmmm....) AND since I had some leftover grilled chicken, already conveniently cut into cubes, I threw in a few of those for the last minute of cooking. That upped the point total from 6 to 7, if you are a Weight Watchers member, but it was worth the extra point, believe me!

This dinner came together quickly and really was delicious. I subbed sriracha sauce for the sambal oelek chili paste that the original recipe called for, because that's what I had in the pantry. I also used slightly less teriyaki sauce, because I didn't have the lower sodium kind. I added some soy sauce, because I like it, but you can leave that out if salt is a problem for you. My choice for the sliced green onions in the original recipe was to use a plain yellow onion. I scattered a few pieces of green onion over the dish when I plated it. Served over brown rice, it was healthy and good -- good for you and good to eat! Like most stir fry dishes, the key is to get everything prepped and ready to cook. Once you begin to cook, things move really fast. I start my rice about an hour before I am ready to cook the stir fry.  I like to cook brown rice in some of the same low sodium, fat free chicken broth that I use in the stir fry. It's always a 2  to 1 ratio: 2 cups liquid to 1 cup rice. Bring the liquid to a boil, add the rice, cover and turn down to low. Leave it on low heat for about 30 minutes, turn it off and let sit until you are ready to eat.

Ginger-Garlic Shrimp and Chicken
4 servings
1/2 lb. shrimp, peeled and deveined
1/4 lb. cooked, cubed white breast meat chicken
2 T. Teriyaki sauce
1 T. soy sauce
2 tsp. canola or vegetable oil
2 cups small broccoli florets
1 red or green pepper, quartered and thinly sliced
1 large carrot, cut into matchsticks
1 cup water chestnuts, drained and roughly chopped
1/2 medium yellow onion, diced
4 scallions, green part only, thinly sliced, for garnish.
1/2 cup low sodium, fat free chicken broth
1 T. finely chopped fresh ginger root
1 T. minced garlic
1 T. Sriracha sauce (optional, or use less if you don't like spicy)
2 c. cooked brown rice

Place the shrimp, teriyaki sauce and soy sauce in a small bowl, stir to combine. In a large, non-stick frying pan, heat 1 tsp. of the oil. Add the shrimp, which you've fished out of the marinade. Cook them over high heat for about 3 minutes.

Searing shrimp.

Remove the shrimp to a clean bowl and add the other tsp. of oil. Add the green pepper, broccoli and carrots to the hot pan. Stir fry for one minute.

Stir frying the vegetables

Add the onions and stir in. Pour the remaining marinade over the vegetables. Stir for a minute, put a top on the pan and let steam for about 2 minutes, until the veggies are just crisp tender. Add the garlic, ginger and sriracha sauce to the mixture and stir them in. Lastly, add the water chestnuts, chicken broth, reserved shrimp and cubed chicken. Cover to heat through, about 2-3 minutes. Serve over rice, scatter a few green onions over the top. Makes 4 servings, 1/2 cup rice per serving.

Ready to put over the rice. Doesn't that look good? 

Very Veggie Pizza

As part of our ongoing journey to eat healthier, we are forgoing our usual Friday night pizza and switching it up to a Veggies Only pizza. So far, our favorite one for take out is the thin crust vegetarian from Pizza Hut. However, this one, that I made, has been the overall favorite. It hardly qualifies as cooking, more like assembling, so easy to do on a Friday night.

It was super simple to do! We bought a pre-made, thin pizza crust from the supermarket. First, I spread 2 T. pizza sauce over the crust and sprinkled that with 2 T. low-fat mozzarella cheese. Then I topped it with a clamshell of cherry tomatoes, cut in half, some sliced  red onions, a roasted red pepper from a jar, 1/2 a green pepper, and a can of sliced mushrooms. All good for you, right? Then I measured out 2 ounces of feta cheese and crumbled that over the top of the veggies. We baked it according to the directions on the crust, making sure not to overcook it. Using no meat and controlling the amount of cheese is the key to keeping this pizza "healthy" and good for you. I had put so many vegetables on it that we did not miss the cheese. Additionally, we limited our servings to two slices each, but they were so loaded down, that was plenty. Quick, healthy and delicious.

Another favorite way is to make my own crust (recipe here), top it with a little pizza sauce and mozzarella cheese, then pile on lots of peppers -- fresh green, roasted red, drained banana ones from the jar, and a few sliced olives. Not quite as low fat, but very, very tasty!

Lot of Peppers Pizza with Olives

Go veggie with your pizzas! They are really really good!

Quick and Easy Tilapia

Just like everyone else, I am trying to eat a little healthier in the new year. While I never make formal New Year's Resolutions -- I think that sets you up to fail! -- I do want to be a little healthier, a little thinner, feel a little better, etc., for 2012. In the spirit of all things quick and healthy, here is, perhaps, one of the simplest dinners on earth, Baked Tilapia With Tomato Topping.

Easy Baked Tilapia with Tomato Topping and Roasted Vegetables

I must confess that most of the fish I purchase comes frozen from a big, box store near my house. While I know that this may not be the BEST fish I do know that it is an inexpensive way to get more fish into my diet. I buy bags of frozen tilapia and try hard to make dinner taste good and different, so no one gets tired of it. Last night, I took some extra help from the aforementioned big, box store and used a jar of "Bruschetta Topping" on my fish. I drained the topping of excess juice before I put it on the uncooked fish, and then I grated some fresh black pepper on that and gave it a spritz of lime (we were out of lemon, so why not?). It was delish! Baked for 25 minutes at 350 degrees, it met all the weeknight criteria: quick, tasty, healthy, inexpensive and ready in under 30 minutes! Served with some roasted veggies, it was light and I finished my evening feeling very virtuous indeed. Try this next time you are rooting around and eveyone is yelling "What's for dinner, Mom?!?!"