Tuna Casserole

Hello! How was everyone's weekend? If you're from the east chances are you spent a lot of time shoveling off your car! Talk about snow! We ended up spending our entire weekend inside with the family, which turned out to be really nice. Of course, it was also nice to get out of the house this morning and back to the gym!

Ever since we've been home from our Christmas vacation I've been working hard to use up a lot of the food that's been sitting in our deep freezer and pantry. For some reason this has lead me to making quite a few classic meals that I grew up on. Maybe it's convenient to what we have, or maybe I'm just a bit homesick, but either way it's been really enjoyable for the whole family. My "meat and potatoes" husband is especially enjoying it.

I'm not a huge tuna casserole fan, but I really love this recipe. I think because it's not too gloppy or creamy and it's got a great tangy flavor. I actually found this in a diabetic cookbook that I received as a gift after being diagnosed with gestational diabetes when I was pregnant. I think what really makes this recipe is the mustard and just the right amount of sour cream and mayo that holds it all together well, but still gives it shape. If you are at all a fan of tuna casserole, give this a try!

Tuna Casserole
Adapted from The Type 2 Diabetes Cookbook

Ingredients

2 cans water-packed tuna
6 ounces uncooked egg noodles
1/2 cup celery, chopped
1/3 cup chopped green onions
1/3 cup thawed green peas
2/3 cup light sour cream
1/2 cup lowfat mayo
3 teaspoons prepared mustard
1/2 teaspoon thyme
1/4 teaspoon salt
dash Worcestershire, optional
dash hot sauce, optional
1 cup shredded Monterey Jack cheese

Directions

1. Drain and flake tuna, set aside.

2. Cook and drain noodles according to directions.

3. Preheat oven to 350, combine noodles with tuna, celery, green onions and peas. Blend all remaining ingredients, except the cheese. Pour into a greased 2 quart casserole pan and top with shredded cheese. Bake at 350 for 30 minutes, until cheese is melted and bubbly.

Serves 5: Serving size is 1 cup

Per Serving: 350cal, 15g fat, 18g prot, 20g carb

Points per Serving: (The recipe didn't have fiber, so I'm going to guess 2g fiber) 8points

CEiMB: Curried Chicken Salad

I think one of the best things about being in these food clubs is that it pushes me to make things that I would honestly never make on my own. This is a prime example of that, but I'm so glad I did! Curry and I aren't necessarily on bad terms, we just don't exactly see eye to eye. Every once and a while Curry and I will get together and have a decent enough interaction, but then it will be a long time before we get together again, making our next encounter fairly awkward. Luckily, we were both in a good mood yesterday and had an absolutely wonderful time.

I loved this salad! It made for such a perfect lunch and I can't wait to have it again. I made a few minor adjustments to the recipe. Rather than poaching my chicken in broth, I just roasted an entire chicken and chopped the breast meat. It came out so juicy and full of flavor. I also used a red curry paste rather then curry powder, since it's what I had. It had a slight spice and heat to it, but nothing overwhelming. The cilantro brightened the whole dish, the red grapes added a delicious sweetness with every bite, and the almonds brought in great crunch. I also squeezed lime juice over the whole thing for a bit of tang. I'm definitely a lot more sold on Curry, hopefully we'll be hanging out a lot more from now on.

Thanks to Sarah's Kitchen Adventures for hosting!

Curried Chicken Salad
Original Recipe by Ellie Krieger

Ingredients

1 cup low-sodium chicken broth
1 cup water
1 1/4 pounds boneless skinless chicken breast halves, no more than 3/4-inch thick
1/4 cup sliced almonds
1/2 cup nonfat plain yogurt
2 tablespoons mayonnaise
1 teaspoon curry powder
1 cup halved red grapes
1/4 cup chopped cilantro leaves
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
5 ounces mixed greens (about 5 cups lightly packed))
1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
1 teaspoon lemon juice

Directions

Bring the broth and water to a boil in a medium saucepan. Add chicken to broth and simmer, covered, for 8 minutes. Turn the heat off and let chicken stand in the cooking liquid, covered, until cooked through, about 20 minutes. Remove the chicken from the broth and cool completely in the refrigerator. Cut into 1/4-inch dice. Toast the almonds in a small dry skillet over medium-high heat until fragrant and beginning to turn golden, 2 to 3 minutes.

In a large bowl, stir together the yogurt, mayonnaise, and curry powder. Fold in the chicken, grapes and cilantro and season, to taste, with salt and pepper.

In a large bowl, toss the greens with the oil, lemon juice and salt and pepper, to taste. Arrange the greens on 4 individual plates, top with a scoop of the chicken salad and sprinkle with the almonds.

Serves 4: (serving size: 1 cup chicken salad and 1 1/4 cups greens)

Per Serving: Calories 325; Total Fat 14 g; (Sat Fat 2 g, Mono Fat 6 g, Poly Fat 5 g) ; Protein 37 g; Carb 13 g; Fiber 2 g; Cholesterol 85 mg; Sodium 175 mg

Points per Serving: 7

Broccoli Salad

When I lived in Idaho, one of my favorite places to go to lunch was a place called 5th Avenue Bagelry. They made the best sandwiches, with fantastic unique ingredients, and killer drinks. But one of my favorite things to get there was their broccoli salad. It was fresh broccoli tossed with all sorts of goodies like bacon (BACON!), sunflower seeds, craisins, and a sweet tangy dressing. There was no end to how much of this salad I could eat! Luckily, it's very easy to make and is a guaranteed crowd pleaser. It's a great dish to serve in the summer for barbecues, but also good for when it's freezing outside and you need a little taste of summer to give you hope! Definitely try this salad, it's great with just about any dinner.

Broccoli Salad
Slightly Adapted from Allrecipes

Ingredients

1 pound bacon
4 cups broccoli florets
5 green onions, chopped
1/4 cup sunflower seeds
1/4 cup dried cranberries
1 cup mayonnaise
1/2 cup white sugar
6 tablespoons red wine vinegar
1/2 shredded cheddar cheese

Directions

1. Place bacon in a large skillet. Cook over medium-high heat until evenly browned. Cool, crumble, and set aside.

2. In a large bowl, toss together broccoli, green onions, sunflower seeds, dried cranberries, and bacon.

3. In a small bowl, mix together mayonnaise, sugar, and red wine vinegar. Toss with vegetables to coat. Add cheese and toss again, lightly. Cover, and chill until serving.

Brisket

My husband was raised in Texas, which has given him a taste of good old southern food. One particular thing he asks for quite a bit is brisket, a cut of meat that I'm not very familiar with, and definitely never cooked before. So finally a few Sundays ago we thought we'd try our hand at some good old southern brisket. We found a lovely cut at Costco (I love Costco, I really do), and I found a recipe for a marinade at Recipezaar. Now, from what I understand brisket is normally dry rubbed and then smoked, but we thought we'd try something different. We cooked it in the oven for about five hours. We went about our business while it was cooking, and when we walked into our apartment complex (mind you, we live on the second floor), we could smell the brisket in the lobby! And it smelled GOOD! I made two briskets and I shredded the first one, which I thought it would be okay since it was practically falling apart after being cooked for so long. Not a good idea, it was tough, stringy and dry after I shredded it. Slice it, against the grain, and it will be juicy and rich with a great bark on the outside. I'm definitely sold on brisket now, but I do think next time I'll be more traditional and make it with a dry rub.

Brisket
Recipezaar

Ingredients

4-6 lbs beef brisket trimmed
2 tablespoons liquid smoke
2 tablespoons soy sauce
1 teaspoon garlic powder
2 teaspoons celery seeds
1 teaspoon pepper
2 teaspoons worcestershire sauce
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1 teaspoon onion powder
1/2 teaspoon salt

Directions

1. Mix ingredients and cover both sides of meat. If you do this with your hands, you may want to use gloves so you don't smell like liquid smoke for four days, it's strong stuff!
2. Wrap in foil and seal.
3. Marinate overnight in refrigerator.
4. Bake in 300°F oven for 5 hours, or at 275°F for 6 hours. May cover with barbecue sauce during last hour, leaving uncovered. I suggest Sweet Baby Ray's!

I served this with a broccoli salad, which I will post later and these mixed fingerling potatoes, that I also found at Costco. They are white, red and purple little potatoes that are so good coated in olive oil, herbs and roasted. Look for them next time you're there, they're so fun!

CEiMB and HBi5

Normally I'm supposed to post Craving Ellie in My Belly on Thursdays, but yesterday my brain was only functioning at 50%. The night before I thought I'd act like a college student and stay out half the night with some girlfriends, great times, but I'm left braindead the next day! So, it wasn't until noon today that it hit me "I never posted CEiMB!" My apologies to the folks in the group, but hopefully my "two-in-one" post will make up for it.


This week for CEiMB we made Emerald Stir Fry with Beef, hosted by Alyssa's Two Bites. Now, I enjoy a good stir fry, but I do have to be careful not to make them too often because my husband tends to think that they all taste the same, and he's just not that crazy about them.

I made quite a few changes with this stir fry. I used green beans and a frozen veggie mix in place of the sugar snap peas and asparagus. I also added a little sugar to the sauce to sweeten it a bit. It was good, everyone was pleased, but I do think I have to side with Glenn and agree that it did taste about the same as every other stir fry I make. A delicious dish, just not that exciting. Maybe we'll do shrimp or scallops next time? That might mix it up a bit. You can find the recipe here.

And now for HBi5. The starter this week was a bit different, calling for more things like honey and eggs and I liked it! I made the loaf of bread, which got eaten very fast. It was sweet, soft and great with sandwiches, especially my all time favorite one.



And I made the hamburger buns. The tops were brushed with a bit of butter and sprinkled with a bit of garlic salt, my favorite condiment! To fill them we made our favorite burgers ever. The recipe comes from one of my Weight Watcher cookbooks and they are fantastic. Ground beef mixed with a whole variety of veggies and seasonings, then we just grill them on our Foreman. They have a ton of flavor and would satisfy anyone, whether they're dieting or not!



Mushroom BurgersWeight Watchers New Complete Cookbook

Ingredients

2 teaspoons olive oil
1/2 red or yellow bell pepper, seeded and finely chopped
1/2 onion, finely chopped
2 tablespoons minced carrot
2 tablespoons minced celery
2 garlic cloves, minced
2 cups finely chopped mushrooms
3/4 pound lean ground beef
1 tablespoon steak sauce
salt and pepper

Directions

1. In a medium nonstick skillet, heat the oil. Saute the bell pepper, onion, carrot, celery and garlic until the onion is translucent, 8-10 minutes. Add the mushrooms; saute until the mushrooms brown and the liquid evaporates, about 8 minutes. Cool to room temperature.

2. Spray the broiler racl with nonstick cooking spray; preheat the broiler. In a medium bowl, combine the mushroom mixture, beef, steak sauce, salt and pepper. Form into 4 hamburgers. Broil the burgers 3-4 inches from heat, 5-7 minutes each side, or grill in Foreman Grill.

Serves 4

Per Serving: 153 cal, 8g fat, 3g sat fat, 44mg sod, 1g fiber

Points per Serving: 4

Unfortunately I waited too long to do my apple strudel bread, and the starter wasn't good anymore, drat! I will definitely try it another time though! I'm excited to see how the rest of you clubbers did and have a fantastic weekend ya'll!

Roast Chicken with Balsamic Bell Pepper

I think I speak for all Cooking Light subscribers when I say that this month's edition is awesome! So awesome in fact that my mom called me last night just so we could discuss this month's magazine, I'm not kiddin' when I say that we love our food. One of the first questions she asked me when she called was "have you tried the roasted chicken with balsamic peppers?" my answer, "heck yes I did!" This dish, while maybe not the most photogenic dish, far exceeded my expectations of how I thought it was going to turn out. The chicken is juicy from being roasted, the peppers are so tangy and bright from the balsamic vinegar, and the potatoes are smooth and mild and bring this whole dish together. I just made regular mashed potatoes, but CL suggests making mashed potatoes with Mascarpone cheese, which is what my mom did. She said that it really added to the potatoes and made them fantastic. I also really liked pouring the tangy balsamic sauce over the potatoes, an unlikely combination, but very addicting and hard to stop eating! I think you'll love this dish!

Roast Chicken with Balsamic Bell Peppers
Cooking Light Jan/Feb 2010

Ingredients

3/4 teaspoon salt
3/4 fennel seeds, crushed (I just did this in my mini food processor)
1/2 teaspoon black pepper, divided
1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
1/4 teaspoon dried oregano
4 (6 oz) boneless, skinless, chicken breast
2 tablespoons olive oil, divided
2 cups, thinly sliced red bell pepper
1 cup, thinly sliced yellow bell pepper
1/2 cup thinly sliced shallots (about 1 large)
1 1/2 teaspoons chopped fresh rosemary
1 cup chicken broth
1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 450.

2. Heat a large skillet over medium-high heat. Combine 1/2 teaspoon salt, fennel seeds, 1/4 teaspoon black pepper, garlic powder and oregano. Brush chicken with 1 1/2 teaspoons oil sprinkle spice rub over chicken. Add 1 1/2 teaspoons oil to pan. Add chicken; cook 3 minutes, or until browned. Turn chicken over; cook 1 minute. Arrange chicken in an 11x7-inch baking dish coated with cooking spray Bake at 450 for 10 minutes, or until done.

3. Heat remaining olive oil over medium-high heat. Add bell peppers, shallots, and rosemary; loosen brown bits. Reduce heat; simmer 5 minutes. Increase heat to medium-high. Stir in vinegar, 1/4 teaspoon salt, and 1/4 teaspoon pepper; cook 3 minutes, stirring frequently. Serve bell pepper mixture over chicken.

Serves 4: 1 breast half and 1/2 cup bell pepper mixture, potatoes not included

Per Serving: 282cal, 11g fat, 35.9g prot, 8.8g carb, 1.9g fiber, 94mg chol

Points per Serving: 6

Steak Tips with Peppered Mushroom Gravy

Happy Monday my friends. You know, usually I don't care for Mondays, but so far I'm having a great day. I just got a wonderful workout, and despite the rain, I'm in a great mood. How was everyone's weekend? Ours was very nice, and we finally made it out to Whole Foods. Oh my goodness, talk about a foodie's playland! We weren't there for very long on account of my boy not being as excited about roaming up and down every aisle of a grocery store as me, but I got a good idea of what they had, and we'll definitely be going back!

I remember making this dish on a particularly hectic night, and it turned out to be the perfect remedy for all the chaos. It's quick and easy to make and its so rich and warm with a lot of great flavor. It's also a way for someone who is watching their calories (me) to get in a nice fix of steak! And of course those meaty baby bellas don't hurt either!

Steak Tips with Peppered Mushroom Gravy
Cooking Light Jan/Feb 2010

Ingredients

2 cups uncooked egg noodles
1 lb top sirloin steak, cut into 3/4 inch pieces
1 tablespoon butter
2 tablespoons finely chopped shallots
8 oz baby bellas, sliced
1 teaspoon minced garlic
1 tablespoon low-sodium soy sauce
3 tablespoons all purpose flour
1 1/2 cups beef broth
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
1/4 teaspoon salt
3 fresh thyme sprigs
1 teaspoon fresh thyme leaves (I used all dried thyme)

Directions

1. Cook noodles according to directions with no salt or fat.

2. While noodles cook, heat a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Coat pan with cooking spray. Add steak; saute 5 minutes, browning on each side. Remove from pan; cover.

3. Melt butter in pan over medium-high heat. Add shallots and mushrooms; saute 4 minutes. Add garlic; saute 30 seconds. Stir in soy sauce. Sprinkle flour over mushroom mixture; cook 1 minute, stirring constantly. Gradually add broth, stirring constantly. Add pepper, salt, and thyme sprigs. Bring to a boil; book 2 minutes, or until thickened. Return beef to pan; cook 1 minute or until thoroughly heated. Discard thyme sprigs. Garnish with thyme leaves, if desired.

Serves 4: 3/4cup beef mixture and 2/3 cup noodles

Per Serving: 344cal, 12.5g fat, 27.3g prot, 28.7g carb, 1.7g fiber

Points per Serving: 8