Tuesday, June 30, 2009

GRILLED VEGETABLES



Grilling vegetables on the grill is one of the best things about summer time. I am a huge fan of veggies and it’s been quite a chore to get my husband to eat them…so I combined a few of my favorite recipes to come up with this flavorful mix of grilled veggies.

Grilled Vegetables
Points Value: 1
Preparation Time: 15 minutes
Cooking Time: 10 – 15 minutes
Level of Difficulty: Easy
Servings: 4


Ingredients:
1 Red Bell Pepper
1 Yellow Bell Pepper
1 Orange Bell Pepper
1 Yellow Squash
2 Zucchinis
3 tablespoons of Light Olive Oil
1 tablespoon of Balsamic Vinegar
1 teaspoon of Minced Garlic
½ teaspoon of Oregano
Salt
Pepper

Instructions:
1. Slice up vegetables and place them into a mixing bowl.
2. Mix the oil, vinegar, garlic and oregano in a small bowl. Combine the marinade with the vegetables and toss to coat. Salt and Pepper the vegetables to taste.
3. Salt and Pepper the vegetables to taste
4. Place the vegetables in the microwave for 3 to 5 minutes to pre-cook.
5. Place the vegetables into either aluminum foil or grilling basket, and place onto grill.
6. Cook the vegetables until tender, tossing them frequently.

Ingredients…


Tossed and coated…



Ready for the grill…



Final Product…


CLICK HERE for a printable version of the Grilled Vegetable Recipe.

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Monday, June 29, 2009

PRODUCT REVIEW: Mrs. Dash Grilling Blends



I love this time of year…grilled food is the BEST! Since we eat a lot of chicken in our household we are always looking for new ideas for chicken breast marinades. I am a big fan of Mrs. Dash Original on my vegetables; since I had to give up salt a while back this was a great alternative and gives a good burst of flavor. So you can imagine how excited I was to see that Mrs. Dash had come out with grilling blends! I always like to marinade the meat before we put it on the grill so I combined 3 teaspoons of light olive oil, 1 pound of boneless skinless chicken breast and 1 capful of Mrs. Dash Chicken Grilling blend. Let it marinate in the fridge for about 20 minutes and fire up that grill. Grill the chicken as you normally would and you have a fantastic tasting piece of chicken. I ended up serving this chicken with a side of Grilled Vegetables (don’t worry…I’ll post that recipe soon!). What a healthy and tasty meal! Below are some pics for you…

Ingredients…


Chicken cooking on the grill…


Final product…


Happy grilling!

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Friday, June 12, 2009

FLANK STEAK STIR-FRY WITH ASPARAGUS & RED PEPPERS



I found this recipe online at Simply Recipes and it sounded yummy! I had some fresh asparagus that I needed to use and I thought this was the perfect recipe to try out. However, I did modify the original recipe just a touch to make it a bit more Weight Watchers friendly. I opted for light olive oil, low-sodium soy sauce and brown rice. Which brought the point value down to six; FANTASTIC! Below is the recipe that I used.

Flank Steak Stir-Fry with Asparagus & Red Peppers
Points Value: 6
Preparation Time: 15 minutes
Cooking Time: Approximately 35 minutes
Level of Difficulty: Medium
Servings: 4

Ingredients:
3 Tbsp Light Olive oil
1/2 lb asparagus, trimmed, cut on the diagonal into 1 1/2 inch lengths (about 1 1/2 cups)
1 lb of flank steak, sliced in half lengthwise (along the grain) and then cut into thin strips, 2 inches long and 1/4 inch wide (put the steak in the freezer for 15 minutes before slicing to make it easier to slice)
1 red bell pepper, seeded, de-ribbed, and cut into thin strips 2 inches long and 1/4 inch wide
2 teaspoons of cornstarch dissolved into 3 Tablespoons of water

All Purpose Stir Fry Sauce
3 Tbsp Low-sodium soy sauce
1 tsp finely chopped, peeled, fresh ginger
1 small clove garlic, minced
1 green onion, including green tops, chopped
1/2 tsp chili oil

Instructions:
1. While you are chopping the ingredients in preparation, bring a small saucepan of water to boil. Parboil the asparagus pieces for 2 minutes, drain, rinse in cold water, drain, and set aside. If you are planning to serve this dish with rice, in a separate pan, prepare 2 cups of brown rice, following the instructions on the rice package.

2. Prepare the All Purpose Stir Fry Sauce by combining the ingredients in a small dish, and set aside.

3. Stir-fry the asparagus in a wok (or a thick-bottomed pan with at least 2" sides that can take high heat) in 1 Tbsp of oil, on high heat, for about 2 minutes until lightly browned. Remove asparagus from pan and set aside.

4. Add another 1 Tbsp of oil to the pan and stir fry the beef strips, in 2 batches, for 2-3 minutes until browned but still pink inside. Return the first batch of beef to the pan and add the bell pepper. Stir and toss over high heat until just beginning to wilt, 1-2 minutes.

5. Quickly stir the cornstarch liquid and add it to the pan along with the stir fry sauce. Cook until sauce thickens, 1-2 minutes. Return the asparagus to the pan, toss to evenly coat and serve with steamed brown rice (unless you are going low-carb, in which case, leave out the rice).

Recipe Source:
Modified from the Simply Recipes Website

Ingredients…


The beef cooking…


The final touches…


Final product…


This recipe was very good. I was unable to find chili oil, so I decided to use roasted bell pepper oil…which seemed to be a good substitute. A good filling meal!

CLICK HERE for a printable version of the Flank Steak Stir Fry Recipe.

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