Weght Watcher's Hamberger Night.

See, even with Weight Watchers you can have hambergers. I'll take mine with lettuce and tomato pleease.
Ingredients

1 spray(s) cooking spray
1 pound(s) uncooked lean ground beef (with 7% fat)
1 Tbsp Worcestershire sauce
2 tsp minced garlic
1/2 tsp table salt
1/4 tsp black pepper, freshly ground
4 item(s) reduced-calorie hamburger roll(s)

Instructions

Coat a large griddle, outdoor grill rack or stovetop grill pan with cooking spray and preheat to medium-high.

In a large bowl, combine beef, Worcestershire sauce, garlic, salt and pepper; mix well and shape into 4 patties, about 1-inch-thick each. (To retain juiciness, be careful not to overwork the meat.)

Place burgers on hot griddle or grill and cook 5 minutes per side for medium (or longer to desired degree of doneness).

More Salad

More Salads. how about a traditional Cesar Salad. Green crisp, tangy. creamy. Why don't we dive in.

¼ cup mayonnaise

1 tablespoon anchovy paste
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
1½ Worcestershire sauce
1 chopped garlic clove
1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
¼ teaspoon salt
¼ teaspoon pepper
⅛ teaspoon Tabasco sauce
7 tablespoons grated Parmesan cheese
1 head romaine lettuce
8 canned anchovies
Croutons

Directions:

1. To make the dressing: in a small bowl, whisk mayonnaise, anchovy paste, lemon juice, oil, Worcestershire sauce, garlic, mustard, salt, pepper and Tabasco until smooth. Stir in 3 tablespoons of the cheese.

2. Toss lettuce with dressing until evenly coated. Divide on plates; top with remaining cheese and 2 anchovies per plate (optional). Sprinkle each salad with a few croutons.

uh oh spaghetti o's

Let's have spaghetti for diner.  This recipe is easy, because you get to use your crock pot. Everyone loves spaghetti-- kids from 2 to 92.

This is what you need:
1lb of ground meat. at least 80% lean.
1 small onion
1 small green pepper
2 to 3 cloves of  garlic
1 stalk of celery
1 C mushrooms sliced.
1 medium tomato
1 can of diced tomatoes
1 jar of marinara style pasta sauce
2 T Italian seasoning
2 T balsamic vinegar
1 T salt
1/2 t black pepper
1 T seasonings salt like Lawry's

chop the celery, pepper onion mushrooms and onion and tomato. Set them aside.
In a large skillet brown the ground meat. at the seasonings, salt, pepper and vinegar.
Turn on the crock pot to warm. add the jarred sauce the can of tomatoes and the ground meat.
add the onions, peppers, mushrooms garlic and tomato to the skillet you browned the meat in at a little salt. slowly cook until the the vegetables are translucent but still have a little crunch.
add them to the crock pot.
simmer for 4 hours. Sit back relax.
When it is time Serve over cooked spaghetti noodles. yummy
this recipe has many servings so freeze some of the sauce or take it to a party.

Enjoy

I Feel Like Chicken Tonight

I love pasta. It is so easy. this recipe is easy and nice and garlicky. yum!







Grilled Chicken Penne Al Fresco

1 BULB garlic
2 C grape or cherry tomatoes
3 C uncooked mezze penne pasta
3 C chicken broth
3/4 C dry white wine such as Chardonnay (OR an addition 3/4 C chicken broth)
1/2 tsp each salt & pepper (I'll plan to bring my grinders that has our salt & peper)
1 1/4 C lightly packed fresh basil leaves
1 oz Parmesan cheese (block)
3 chicken breasts-grilled.

1. Spray Deep Covered Baker w/ Olive oil using Kitchen Spritzer. Slice garlic into baker using Garlic Slicer. Add tomatoes. Cover; microwave on HIGH 4-5 minutes or until tomatoes begin to burst, stirring after 2 minutes. Crush tomatoes using Mix 'N Chop. Add pasta, broth, wine, salt and black pepper.

2. Return baker to microwave; cover & microwave on HIGH 16-18 minutes or until pasta is tender, stirring after 10 minutes. Meanwhile, coarsely mince basil with Kitchen shears. Reserve 2 Tbsp for garnish. Grate cheese using Rotary Grater.

3. Carefully remove baker from microwave and remove lid, lifting away from you. Add remaining basil, cheese and chicken to baker; mix well. Garnish with reserved 2 Tbsp basil, additional Parmesan cheese and black pepper, if desired.

Yield: 8 servings


Find this recipe and others at ThePamperedChef.com

The Joy of Pasta

More pasta!

How to create love and magic in the kitchen.

Sometimes success in the kitchen depends on being kind of fearless, you can’t be afraid to make a mess, and you have to be willing to throw out the occasional disaster. You can be creative, and have fun. Like anything else you get better with practice. Don't be afraid, have fun. Just pay attention, and you won't set your hair on fire or scare the dog.

How many people were allowed in the kitchen as children? Were you turned away from the door because your mother was fussing about getting dinner on the table, and you needed to occupy yourself elsewhere?

Don’t worry. That other room in your house shouldn't be scary. Your mom did ok, didn’t she? Or was dinner often bad? And you learned early not to complain? Feed the burned beans to the dog?

OK, that part of your life is over. Can you pour milk on cereal? Can you make a cup of tea? Good, that is not scary is it? You can warm up a can of soup? Excellent!

Let us begin….

This week’s recipe is a simple pasta dish.

You need a box of spiral shaped pasta

½ one large onion
1 clove of garlic
½ each red, green and yellow bell peppers
2 cups chopped broccoli
1 cup chopped zucchini
1 cup of sliced mushrooms
1 chopped tomato
1 cups of chicken or vegetable broth
3 Tablespoons of olive oil
Seasoning salt
Italian herb blend
Black pepper

Put the olive oil in a skillet. Chop the onion, garlic, and peppers in to small pieces. Chop the mushrooms if you are not using canned. And chop your tomato. Heat the skillet on medium. Add first the bells peppers, broccoli, zucchini and then the onion, and then the garlic.

Tip: if you put the garlic in first it could burn.

Bring a pot of water to boil. Add salt and 1 tablespoon of the olive oil. When it boils, add the pasta. Add the mushrooms to the veggie mix.

Keep an eye on the vegetables; don’t let them get too brown.

Drain the pasta and add it to the skillet. Add the seasoning salt, Italian herbs and pepper to taste. Now add the tomato and the broth. When the broth comes to a simmer do not boil. Continue cooking until the mushrooms are done, turn off the heat, serve and enjoy. You just made Pasta Primavera!

Beef Stroganoff

Beef stroganoff

Everybody loves a good beef stroganoff. My favorite is a blend of recipes The first I found in an old cookbook called “My Favorite Recipes”, and the second part is my Mom’s.

This is a true definition of comfort food. It is warm and creamy, and can be served over rice, noodles, or even mashed potatoes. I believe the cook book called for egg noodles. My Granny (father’s side) made a stroganoff to serve over both noodles and mashed potatoes.

Ok, I think I got my bubble gum casserole ideas came from a combination of lots of sources--.One of them being Granny.

1 lbs of round steak
Flour, salt, and pepper for dredging
1 lb of sliced mushrooms
1 medium onion
1 clove garlic (2 if small)
1 can cream of mushroom soup
2 cups of beef stock
1 cup sour cream
1 tbls of Worcestershire
1 tbls of Balsamic vinegar
1 pinch herbs de Provence
2 tsp of Lowry’s seasoning salt.

Slice the mushrooms, onion and garlic. Set them aside. Cut the meat into bite sized pieces. Dredge them in the salt, pepper, flour mixture. Heat a large skillet with a little oil. When the pan gets hot, add the meat. Cook on medium heat stirring occasionally for 5 to 10 minutes. Don’t let the flour burn in the skillet.

Take the meat out and set aside. Add the mushrooms onion and garlic. Cook on medium low until some of the moisture has cooked out. Add back the meat. Add the stock and the soup. Cook on low for another 10 minutes. If you are serving this with noodles, now is the time to boil them.

Add the rest of the seasonings, and the sour cream. Turn off the heat stir to combine all the ingredients, cover and let sit until the noodles are ready.

Enjoy


Kimberly
Mistress of the Kitchen

One pot wonders

Caracoles are great. Ever wonder what to do with left over’s? Why not put it all in one big pot. Of course if you do this you have to watch out not over season. Sometimes mixing ethnic spices is a bad idea.

Herbs de Province and oregano don't really go with the plum sauce or the teriyakis of Japanese cooking.

Other times things are good together, like balsamic, Worcestershire and teriyaki can make a wonderfully bold statement in a hearty stew. You just have to experiment.
One experiment I am interest in trying is called a tomato soup chocolate cake. My assumption is that the condensed soup helps the cake stay moist.

Any way we humans have been doing one pot meals since the days of fire pits and the big cauldron hanging in the middle of it.

The French cassoulet is an example. The pot and the family recipe would be handed down from generation to generation. Generally the cassoulet is lamb, pork, partridge. The meat would also depend on the season, and region of France your family was.

Bean casseroles have been around for ever, over course in the old slow cook method, pot in the fire place it took days to make a good pot of beans. How we figured out how to eat a bean. Legumes when picked are as hard as little pebbles, but after washing and soaking for hours then cooking slowly for days, they can almost become pasty as the starch cooks up.


I love to cook in big pots. This way gives you a meal tonight, and tomorrow, and sometimes... it is even better later, because the spices have a chance to marry.

Today's one pot wonder:

Chili

1 pound ground beef, cooked and drained
1 small onion, chopped
1 garlic clove, chopped
1 cup mixed bell peppers, green, red and yellow
1 can of diced tomatoes with green challis added
1 package of frozen corn mixture with onion and peppers added
1 can of refried beans with lime
1 can kidney or pinto beans drained.
Spices:
Sea salt
Fresh ground pepper
Seasoning salt
Ground cumin
Ground chili powder. (I like the Spanish style)
Dash of taco seasoning.
Squeeze of ketchup

Sauté the onion and garlic, then add back the ground beef. Add the corn mixture, the tomatoes, and 1/2 the peppers.
Leave it alone for 30 minutes. Add a little beef broth if it seems too thick, it seems to soupy, take an emulsion blender, and give it a few pulses. Add the rest of the pepper mixture. Cook for another 15 minutes.

This is one of those that are better the next day.

Serve with corn chips, and your favorite beer or soda.

Later Gators

Kimberly
Mistress of the Kitchen
http://dreamingtoday.info