Double WW Meal - Citrus Garlic Pork Loin and Couscous with Sausage, Almonds and Raisins

Mental note - read the recipe in the morning if you've never made it before.  I started this recipe Monday at 4:30 pm and got all the way to "marinate 1 to 4 hrs".....(Calls BGS - hey hon.....what do you want to pick up for dinner, cause unless you want to eat at 9 pm, we aren't eating the pork tonight......) Luckily, I hadn't unwrapped the pork loin from it's packaging yet.  I just poured the marinade into a ziploc baggie and put it in the fridge.

Citrus Pork - The Players

Today's players: 3 cloves of garlic ( I used pre-chopped from the jar), 1/2 cup of lime juice ( I used freshly squeezed), 1/2 cup fresh grapefruit juice (again, freshly squeezed), 1/2 cup soy sauce (I used low-sodium, as always), 1/2 tsp hot sauce, 1 lb pork tenderloin, 4 cups green beans.

Mince the garlic (see previous comment about pre-minced) and mix with the grapefruit and lime juices - oh and if anyone thinks it's "easy" to juice a lime have them come talk to me.  I nuked those babies for 10 seconds and then rolled them....the stubborn little things did NOT want to give up their precious juice!!!  Ok, moving on - soy sauce, and hot pepper sauce.  Allow the marinade to sit at room temperature for 30 minutes to 1 hour so the flavors can blend.  I did that, the poured the marinade into a ziploc baggie and put it in the fridge.

At 1 pm today, I put the pork loin in the baggie  with the marinade and zipped it up - getting as much air out as possible and then put the baggie back in the fridge inside a pie plate in case anything leaked.

While I was down there I decided to do some prep for the couscous.

I used my little kitchen scale to weigh out 4 oz of turkey sausage and then chopped 1/2 of an onion.

The players for today's side dish are 4 oz turkey sausage - casing removed, 1/2 medium onion - diced, 1/4 tsp ground cumin, 1/4 tsp ground cinnamon, 1/4 tsp dried coriander leaf (ok, here's where things get confusing - coriander is the seed....cilantro is the leaf - so I used dried cilantro leaf), 2 tbsp raisins, 1 cup fat-free chicken broth, 1/2 cup uncooked couscous, 1 tbsp chopped almonds, unblanched, toasted ( I used sliced almonds).

-------------------4 hours later------------------

Preheat the oven to 400º.  While it's heating, transfer the pork loin to a baking dish and pour the marinade into a sauce pan.  Once heated put the pork loin into the oven for about 40 minutes - 20 minutes per pound - and simmer the marinade for 10-15 minutes (it was, after all, surrounded by raw meat).

Back to the couscous....put the 4 oz of turkey sausage in a saucepan over medium heat and and break the pieces up with your spoon (had trouble with this, so I took all the sausage out and broke it up with a fork...much more efficient if you ask me.  After it was broken up, I added it back to the pot).  Once the sausage has had a chance to brown a little, stir in the spices and onion.  Cook this mixture until the onion has softened.  Once the onion is soft,  pour in the chicken broth and raisins and bring to a simmer. Once the broth is simmering, stir in the couscous and cover.  Remove the pot from heat and let stand, covered for about 5 minutes.  At this point I put my steam-bag microwave ready green beans in the microwave for 4 and 1/2 minutes.  Before serving "fluff" the couscous dish with a fork.  At this point you are supposed to sprinkle your toasted almonds on top, but I forgot.  There's always next time.

The end result?? Very tasty.  BGS like both the pork and the couscous.  The pork was a little dry, so maybe i should cover it in tinfoil next time.

All in all, I am very happy about this meal and BGS is too.  And as always, that's what matters most :)

WW - Roast Chicken Breast with Potatoes and Asparagus - Tasty New Chicken Dish

You guessed it...another weight watchers dinner - again with chicken breasts from our freezer (who knows how many I have bought since then not realizing there were chicken breasts trapped in the freezer crying to be released).  I forgot photos..yeah, I'm slacking, I know...Today's Recipe is based on Roast Chicken Breast with Potatoes and Asparagus from  Dining For Two, from Weight Watchers Publishing Group.

Today's players:
2 Tbsp Dijon mustard, whole-grain
1 Tbsp fresh tarragon, or 1 teaspoon dried
1 clove(s) (medium) garlic clove(s), minced - I used jarred minced garlic (in oil)
1 tsp olive oil, or extra-virgin
1 tsp honey
1/2 tsp table salt
1 1/4 pound(s) Chicken, breast, raw, without skin & bone, or with bone
4 small uncooked potato(es), (about 1/2 pound) white, purple, or red potatoes, cut into 1-inch chunks
2 medium carrot(s), cut into 1/2-inch-thick slices
1/2 pound(s) asparagus, fresh
1/8 medium lemon(s), or 2 wedges

To start off, I remembered the wrong recipe and defrosted twice as much chicken as I was I needed...then we didn't have whole-grain dijon....

1.  Preheat the oven to 400º and spray a 9"x13" with cooking spray.  Since I doubled, I had to spray a 7"x9" as well....

1a. Chop the potatoes into 1" cubes and the carrots into 1/2 slices.

2.  Mix the mustard, tarragon, garlic, oil, honey, and salt in a medium mixing bowl.  Add the chicken; toss to coat.

3.  Arrange the chicken, breast-side up, in the baking dish.  Put the potatoes and carrots in the remaining "sauce" and toss to coat.  Arrange the potatoes and carrots around the chicken breasts.  Roast for 25 minutes

4.  While that is roasting, trim and discard the tough ends of the sparrow's grass (aka asparagus) and then cut into appx 2" lengths.  When the 25 minutes is up, add the sparrow's grass to the dish and stir to coat it in the "marinade".

5.  Cook another 12 minutes or until an instant-read thermometer reads 170º and the vegetables are tender.

Ok, here's where the tricky part comes in with my oven.  The chicken was at 170 and the vegetables were "tender"....but the potatoes weren't cooked all the way.  The carrots and sparrow's grass were fine, but the potatoes....not so much.

BGS liked it and I suppose that's all that really matters.  It was very tasty.  All in all a good recipe, but I think next time I might cook the potatoes separate and add more carrots.  Oh....and I won't double the chicken the next time.....it got chewy when re-heated in the microwave.

WW - Chicken, Rice, and Dried Fruit "Salad" - Mixed Review

I'm trying to use things we already have in the freezer - novel concept, I know.  So I pulled out some chicken breasts on Sunday and finally got around to using them today.  Today's recipe is based on the Chicken, Dried Fruit, and Rice Salad recipe from In One Pot, from Weight Watchers Publishing Group 

Chicken, Rice, and Dried Fruit "Salad"

The recipe calls for (how exactly can an inanimate object call for something??) 10 oz roasted chicken - chopped/thinly sliced,1 tsp ground cumin, 1 1/2 tsp saffron - slightly crushed, 1/4 tsp cinnamon, 1/4 c dried apricots - sliced, 1/4 c golden raisins, 3/4 c white rice, parsley, 1 small red onion-chopped, 1 small red pepper - seeded and diced, 3 tbsp sliced almonds, 1 tbsp olive oil, and 3 tbsp raspberry vinegar.

You start by adding the spices (I used turmeric instead of saffron) to a pot of water (chicken broth) and bring it to a boil.  Stir in the rice ( brown rice) and dried fruit (I added cherries). I also added the red onion at this point since I'm not a huge fan of raw onion.  Simmer until all the liquid is gone - abt 20 minutes - watch carefully so the mixture doesn't catch/burn.  Spread the rice mixture on a baking pan to cool to room temp - abt 20 mins.

Transfer the rice mixture to a large bowl and add the chicken, (onion - this is where the recipe says to add it), almonds, vinegar, and olive oil.  Mix well and serve.  Each portion is 1 1/2 cups.  You can also refrigerate it and serve the next day.

I made a few substitutions from the recipe:

1.  I pan-fried the chicken breasts in abt 2 tbsp olive oil....mostly because when I first read the recipe I thought they were talking about one of those roasted chickens from the store and well....that's not the kind of chicken I had on hand.  I was a little confused about what to do with the chicken breast.  The original recipe says  "(chopped) roasted chicken breast, thinly sliced"  ....ermmm...what?  I ended up cubing the chicken breasts and then shredding the cubes.

2.  I used turmeric instead of saffron because well, saffron is just expensive and I didn't want to potentially waste it on a recipe that I am trying for the first time.

3. I added the onion in with the rice because I'm not a huge fan of raw onion....onion in generally really, but raw is just *blech*

3. I added 1/8 c dried cherries, chopped.

4. I used tarragon vinegar instead of raspberry vinegar - that was BGS's choice.  He tasted the rice mixture and then sniffed the raspberry and tarragon vinegar's to see which one he thought was the best pairing.  He chose the tarragon.  (Good thing too, since I mistakenly took the player's photo with the tarragon vinegar)

All in all, I like it.  BGS said it's boring so I sent it home with my dad who stopped for a visit today.

Update: This dish is FAR better the second day when the rice and the chicken have had to fully absorb all the flavors.  Both of my parents loved the dish and my dad asked for the recipe :)

Another Successful WW meal!! - Pork Loin with Pear Chutney

Last night I told BGS that we were having pork for dinner tonight....he said "I don't like pork"....I told him that we had 2 pork loins in the freezer that I purchased prior to him making this decision.  So he caved :)

This recipe starts with 1/2 cup of apple cider vinegar and 1/2 cup of OJ - now there's a pungent combo.....wait..almost forgot....

Tonight's players: yeah, sorry, no pictures tonight...was too focused on getting the meal cooked before BGS got home - anyway....1 2lb pork loin, cinnamon, coriander, cloves and pears.  Combine the liquids and spices in a pot.  Add the chopped pears and cook until the liquid is nearly gone and the pears are soft - remove from heat and let cool.

Place the pork loin in a roasting pan and spoon half of the chutney over the loin. Cook in a 400 (F) degree oven for approximately 20 minutes, or until an instant read thermometer reads 160.

Allow the pork loin to rest for 10 minutes before slicing into rounds.  Spoon 1/4 cup over 3 slices and you have yourself a meal.  I served this with brown rice and green beans.  BGS was happily surprised after he walked into the house at the exact moment that the apple cider vinegar/OJ was it's most pungent.  I was surprised the pork had as much flavor as it did since I hadn't sprinkled any spices on it before cooking it.