Sweet Chili Brussels Sprouts

We tend to get into a real rut with side dishes, typically leaning towards a steamed green vegetable or roasted root vegetables. So, when we were figuring out what to have with a roast chicken this week Matt said he wanted different. We remembered the brussels sprouts Matt's mom had served at Thanksgiving, that everyone loved, and decided to try to replicate them.

Actually, it ends up these were super easy to make and super tasty too. The chili sauce give the brussels sprout the perfect mix of sweet and sour flavor. A touch of soy sauce cuts through the sweetness a bit. Make sure to cook the sprouts until golden brown to bring out their nutty flavor.

Sweet Chili Brussels Sprouts

1/2 T olive oil
3 c brussels sprouts
1 T sweet chili sauce
1/2 T soy sauce

Stir the sweet chili sauce and soy sauce together, set aside. In a large skillet or wok, heat the oil over high heat. Add the brussel sprouts. Stir while cooking until the sprouts are golden brown. Remove from the heat and stir in the sauce mixture.

Makes 2 servings
Approximately 110 calories per serving

We served the brussels sprouts with a serving of forbidden rice and 3 oz of chicken for a 420 calorie dinner. This was one of those meals where everything tasted really good mixed together.

If you are not reading this post in a feed reader or at http://agoodappetite.blogspot.com OR at http://agoodappetite.com then the site you are reading is illegally publishing copyrighted material. Contact me at katbaro AT yahoo DOT COM. All recipes, text and photographs in this post are the original creations & property of the author unless otherwise noted. © 2007-2013 Kathy Lewinski

Smoked Salmon Pasta

Here's a pasta that comes together in about 15 minutes and yet is still nice enough to serve to guests. It was a great busy Sunday night dinner for us.

A good deal of the flavor in this dish comes from the smoked salmon, so I would suggest getting the a good one. Or you could smoke your own like we do. The rest of the dish is composed of classic salmon pairings; cream cheese, capers, red onion and dill. It's creamy with a little crunch from the onions and briny bited from the capers. We use skim milk and light cream cheese to keep the calories around 400 a serving, but we don't lose any of the creamy richness.

Smoked Salmon Pasta

4 oz medium shell pasta
1 teaspoon olive oil
1/2 c chopped red onion
2 t all-purpose flour
1/2 c skim milk
2 oz light cream cheese
4 oz smoked salmon, flaked
2 t capers (Matt thought the amount was just right, I'd add more next time)
2 T chopped fresh dill

Cook the pasta according to directions.

While the pasta is cooking, heat the olive oil in a skillet over medium-high heat. Add the onions and cook until translucent. Sprinkle in the flour, cook while stirring for 1 minute. Slowly stir in the milk until slightly thickened and bubbly. Turn heat down to low and stir in the cream cheese until melted. Add the salmon and capers. Stir and cook until everything is hot.

When the pasta is done, stir about 1/2 cup (use more or less to get the sauce to a consistency you like) of the pasta water into the sauce. Drain the pasta and stir into the sauce.

Serve with dill sprinkled over the top.

Makes 2 servings
Approximately 415 calories per serving

If you are not reading this post in a feed reader or at http://agoodappetite.blogspot.com OR at http://agoodappetite.com then the site you are reading is illegally publishing copyrighted material. Contact me at katbaro AT yahoo DOT COM. All recipes, text and photographs in this post are the original creations & property of the author unless otherwise noted. © 2007-2013 Kathy Lewinski

A Lighter Cocktail

Alcohol is one of those things we've cut back on since we've decided to count our calories. We haven't given it up completely, but it's now a treat once or twice a week. Matt is typically happy with a beer, but I like a refreshing Gin and Tonic (with Hendrick's Gin, of course). The problem is tonic is quite high in calories. Sure I could use a diet tonic, but have you tasted diet tonic? It's really gross and I don't like the chemicals used in diet sodas. (It's hard enough to find a regular tonic water that doesn't contain high fructose corn syrup.) Then I discovered this at World Market.

Fever Tree Naturally Light Tonic Water

This tonic has only 49 calories per 8oz serving (about 45% less than regular tonic)and uses fruit sugars as a sweetener. Their regular tonic contains 9g of sugar while this one only has 4.8g. Best of all it taste great. I would drink this even if I wasn't watching my calories.

Let's face it a cocktail is never going to be diet food, but now I've found an easier way to work one into my day.

If you are not reading this post in a feed reader or at http://agoodappetite.blogspot.com OR at http://agoodappetite.com then the site you are reading is illegally publishing copyrighted material. Contact me at katbaro AT yahoo DOT COM. All recipes, text and photographs in this post are the original creations & property of the author unless otherwise noted. © 2007-2013 Kathy Lewinski

Dal with Kale

Things continue to go well on our "diet." We are learning to portion better, lighten our existing recipes and are trying lots of new ones too. We are seeing some success too, Matt has lost 17 pounds and I'm down 8. Not too bad for 6 weeks in.

This is a new dish for us to make. Matt ordered some Bob's Red Mill Red Lentils after trying a Campbell's Golden Lentil with Madras Curry Soup. He loved the flavor of the soup wanted to experiment with making his own versions. This one is much more stew than soup, but had the flavors he was looking for.

Matt made his own curry seasoning for this dish. I think it was an excuse to use things like the charnushka he picked up at Penzeys. The flavor was really great and it made the house smell amazing. You get a lot of very satisfying food for the calories with this dish. Plus it made great lunch leftovers.

Dal with Kale
1 c red lentils
14 oz can crushed or diced tomatoes
1 t turmeric
1/2 T olive oil
1 c chopped yellow onion
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 t mustard seed
1/2 t black onion seeds (charnushka)
1/2 t ground fenugreek
1/2 t ground cumin
1/2 t ground coriander
4 oz chopped kale leaves, blanched for 1 minute in the microwave
salt

Put the lentils, 2 1/2 c water, tomatoes and turmeric and a large pot. Bring to a simmer. Cover, but leave the cover open slightly. Let cook for 30 minutes or until the lentils are done.

Meanwhile, heat the olive oil in a skillet over medium-high heat. Add the onion and sauté until it starts to get translucent. Add the garlic and sauté for one more minute.

Crush the mustard and onion seeds to a powder. Add to the onion and garlic with the remaining spices. Sauté a minute or two until fragrant. Add to the lentil mixture. Stir in the kale and heat through. Taste for seasoning and add salt as needed.

Makes 5 servings at 183 calories per serving.
We served it with jasmine rice at 160 calories per serving and chicken samosas from Trader Joe's.

If you are not reading this post in a feed reader or at http://agoodappetite.blogspot.com OR at http://agoodappetite.com then the site you are reading is illegally publishing copyrighted material. Contact me at katbaro AT yahoo DOT COM. All recipes, text and photographs in this post are the original creations & property of the author unless otherwise noted. © 2007-2013 Kathy Lewinski

Chicken and Olive Stew

I was looking through the freezer the other day to see how many chickens I had left when I stumbled on a package of boneless chicken thighs. I pulled them out with the idea of doing some sort of one pot, Mediterranean-influenced dish.

The star of this dish ended up being the Kalamata olives, their brininess just adds a brightness to the sauce. Enhanced with a little white wine, fresh thyme and some garlic, it makes me think of warmer climates, but is still perfect for a cold winter Minnesota night.

Chicken and Olive Stew

1/2 T olive oil
4 boneless skinless chicken thighs, cut into large pieces
1 c chopped yellow onion
1 clove garlic, minced
2 T white wine
1 T white wine vinegar
1 14.5 oz can crushed or diced tomatoes
15 pitted Kalamata olives, cut in half
1 t fresh thyme
1/4 t dried parsley
salt & pepper

In a heavy pot, heat the olive oil over medium-high heat. Add the chicken and brown on all sides. Add the onion and sauté until translucent. Stir in the garlic and sauté for 1 more minute. Add the wine, vinegar, tomatoes, olive, thyme and parsley. Bring to a boil. Cover, reduce heat and simmer for 10 - 15 minutes, until the chicken is cooked through. Remove the top and let simmer until the sauce has reduced. Taste for seasoning adding salt and pepper as needed.

Serve over hot rice or noodles.

Makes 3 servings
332 calories per serving without rice or noodles (You can reduce the calories by using chicken breasts instead of thighs, but we like the flavor of thigh.)

If you are not reading this post in a feed reader or at http://agoodappetite.blogspot.com OR at http://agoodappetite.com then the site you are reading is illegally publishing copyrighted material. Contact me at katbaro AT yahoo DOT COM. All recipes, text and photographs in this post are the original creations & property of the author unless otherwise noted. © 2007-2013 Kathy Lewinski