Fried Wild Rice

Have you ever thought about stir frying wild rice?? I haven't...until today!  This is a simple twist on traditional fried rice, and like many recipes you find on EAT ME, it can be customized based on what is in your fridge. I experimented with an interesting spice combo and I think the dish turned out great.

Servings: 2

Size: About 1 1/4 cup

Points Plus: 5pp

Level of Difficulty: Easy

Prep Time: 10 minutes

Cooke Time: 25 minutes

Rating: 4 stars - Very Good

Ingredient List:

1 box wild rice

1 egg

1/2 cup peas

1 cup raw onion, cut in long stips

1 cup raw carrot, diced

1 garlic clove, chopped

Salt & Pepper to taste

Dash of red pepper flakes, curry powder, garlic powder & cinnamon

Low sodium soy sauce, optional

Directions:

Cook rice according to package directions.  Prep veggies. Spray a medium sized wok. Start with carrot and  sautee about five minutes.  Add onion and sautee for 3 minutes more.  Add peas, garlic and spices and sautee for about 2 more minutes.  Remove wok from heat and spray a small sautee pan.  Scramble egg and cook it until, well, it resembles a scrambled egg! Add scrambled egg to veggie mixture and return to stove. When rice is cooked add one cup to veggie mixture and sautee for about one more minute.

Tip:

A dash of cinnamon is an excellent addition to curry.

XOXO - Katie

Scallion, Egg & Tomato Sandwiches

Looking for a quick lunch idea?  These sandwiches are easy to make and don’t take too many ingredients. I took a Skinnytaste recipe found here, and made some modifications.  I substituted reduced fat cream cheese in for the mayo and used English muffins instead of sandwich rolls.  We almost always have English muffins on hand so these were an easy change – I rarely buy sandwich rolls.  These would make a great light dinner on nights when it’s hot and you don’t want to turn the oven on!

Servings:  2

Size:  2 open-faced English muffin halves

Points Plus: 6pp

Level of Difficulty:  Easy

Prep Time: 20 minutes

Cook Time:  n/a

Rating: 3 stars - Good

Ingredient List:

2 English muffins

2 Tbsp. cream cheese, 1/3 less fat

Tomato

Scallions, chopped

2 hard-boiled eggs, sliced

Salt and pepper

Directions:

Hard boil the eggs, let them cool before slicing.  Toast the English muffins.  Spread about ½ Tbsp. of cream cheese on each English muffin half.  Wash and chop the scallions and slice the tomato.  Assemble each open faced sandwich by putting scallions first, then tomato and finally egg on top.  Season with salt and pepper to taste.

Tip:

Of course you can assemble the sandwich any way you like, but after making these the first time I switched up the order to follow the directions above.  My ingredients were all over the plate instead of staying put on the sandwich.  By starting with the scallions, they will stick to the cream cheese instead of falling off.  The weight of the egg also helps hold the tomato slices in place too.

XOXO Megan

Bacon Wrapped Filet Steaks

It is finally, maybe, grill season! This recipe is a fun and creative take on grilled filet, and helps you get in a veggie serving.  Impress your guests with these bacon wrapped filet stacks, that can be customized for your taste.  Also, who doesn't love meat wrapped in meat?  I actually barely ever cook with meat, but I will for sure make these again this summer.

Servings: 2

Size: 1 steak

Points Plus: 5

Level of Difficulty: Medium

Prep Time: 10 minutes

Cook Time: 40 minutes

Rating: 4 - Very Good

Ingredient List:

2, 4 oz lean and trimmed uncooked filets

4 slices uncooked reduced fat bacon

1 vadallia onion

1 green pepper

1 tomato

Salt & pepper

Toothpicks

Directions: 

Turn your (outside) grass grill on low. Salt and pepper steaks and seat aside.  Slice green pepper, onion and tomatoes in half inch slices.  Take two pieces of bacon and set on your work surface in an X.  Place one filet in the center of the bacon.  Top with onion slice, green pepper and tomato.  Bring bacon up around filet like a present ribbon, and secure on top of filet with a toothpick.  Repeat with second filet.  Place on grill and cook on low heat without flipping for 40 minutes (depending on how you like your steak).  Enjoy!

Tip: 

If you want you bacon crispy, consider placing under a broiler for a few minutes after removing meat from the grill.  For a few more pp add a piece of cheese to the top after cooking.  YUM!

XOXO - Katie

Leeks Vinaigrette

Have I ever told you how much I looooove onions?  It might sound weird, but they are my 100% absolutely FAV vegetable of all time.  So when I found a recipe for braised onions (leeks) created by the Bon Appetit Test Kitchen I HAD to try.  This is a really tasty and unique side dish for any onion lover. And don't fret, leeks are a lot milder than say, white onions, and in this dish they are transformed into a salty, mustardy (is that a word), eggy combo.

Servings: 6

Size: 1/6 of recipe which is about 1 cup although long leeks are really hard to measure.

Points Plus: 4pp

Level of Difficulty: Medium

P:rep Time: 20 minutes

Cook Time: 25 minutes

Rating: 4 - Very Good

Ingredient List:

6 medium to large leeks

3 T. olive oil, divided

1 T. light butter

1/2 t. kosher salt & ground pepper, divided

1/4 c. dry white wine

1 c. water

1 c. chicken stock

5 sprigs fresh thyme

2 T. chopped flat-leaf parsley, divided

1 T. Dijon mustard

1 T. white wine vinegar

2 hard-boiled eggs, whites and yokes separated and chopped

Directions:

Heat oven to 425°. Trim dark-green tops from leeks, leaving root end intact. Remove tough outer layer. Starting 1" above root end, halve leeks lengthwise. Wash leeks, making sure to clean all sand from between layers. Dry slightly on paper towels.

Heat 1 Tbsp. oil and butter in a large, deep ovenproof skillet over medium heat. Add leeks, season with salt and pepper, and cook, turning occasionally, until light golden in spots, about 5 minutes. Add wine and cook until almost all liquid is absorbed, 3–4 minutes. Add 1 cup water, chicken stock, thyme, and 1/2 tsp. salt. Bring to a boil. Transfer skillet to oven. Bake until leeks are tender, about 20 minutes.

Meanwhile, whisk 1 Tbsp. parsley, Dijon mustard, vinegar, and remaining 2 Tbsp. oil in a small bowl. Season vinaigrette to taste with salt and pepper.

Transfer leeks to a platter, drizzle with vinaigrette, top with eggs, and garnish with remaining 1 Tbsp. parsley.

Tip: 

For a reason unknown to me, leeks are a really dirty veggie and a little tricky to clean.  Watch this video for a quick tutorial to make leek cleaning a breeze!

XOXO Katie

Chocolate Chip Scones

Scones are one of my favorite breakfast foods!  A warm scone and cup of coffee is perfect for a Saturday morning.  Here’s a great recipe I found on Skinnytaste for a lightened up version of chocolate chip scones.  The recipes calls for two kinds of flour – if you choose to just use all-purpose flour know that the pp value will increase. 

Servings:  12

Size:  1 scone

Points Plus: 5pp

Level of Difficulty:  Medium

Prep Time: 20 minutes

Cook Time:  20 minutes

Rating: 4 stars – Very good

Ingredient List:

¾ cup cold buttermilk

¼ cup sugar

2 tsp. vanilla extract

1 large egg

1 cup all-purpose flour

1 cup white whole wheat flour

1 Tbsp. baking powder

½ tsp. salt

3 Tbsp. chilled butter (it must be cold), cut into small pieces

¾ cup chocolate chips

Cooking spray

1 large egg white, lightly beaten

1 ½ tsp. sugar

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 375°.  Combine the buttermilk, ¼ cup sugar, vanilla and egg in a bowl, stirring with a whisk.  Spray a baking sheet with cooking spray.  In a large bowl, combine the flour, baking powder and salt.  Cut in chilled butter with a pastry blender, or you could use a fork, until the mixture resembles coarse meal.  Gently fold in chocolate chips.  Add the milk mixture, stirring until just moist.

Place dough on a floured surface and knead lightly four times with floured hands.  Form dough into a 9-inch circle on the baking sheet, about a ¾ inch thick.  Using a knife, cut dough into 12 wedges (make sure your cuts going all the way through to form 12 scones). Brush egg white over the top of the scones and sprinkle evenly with sugar.  Bake until golden, about 18-20 minutes depending on your oven.  Serve as warm scones with coffee!

Tip:

Cutting in the chilled butter into your flour mixture takes patience!  Keep at it and your dough will soon resemble the crumbly, coarse texture that is needed for scones. 

XOXO Megan

Harvest Quinoa Salad

As you know, I love mixing quinoa with a variety of things.  Below is one of my favorite blends.  It is the perfect mix of sweet and salty, and can be eaten as a full meal of just a side.

Servings: 4

Size: 1/4 of salad

Points Plus: 7pp

Level of Difficulty: Easy

Prep Time: 10 minutes

Cook Time: 20 minutes

Rating: 3 stars - Good

Ingredient List:

1 cup uncooked quiona

2 cups vegetable stock

2 T. apple cider

1/3 c. craisins

1/3 c. sliced almonds

1/3 c. chopped celery

1/3 c. light feta

1 apply sliced

Salt and pepper to taste

Directions:

Add quinoa, veggie sotck and apple cider to rice cooker.  Turn rice cooker on and cook until rice cooker says quinoa is done!  Put cooked quinoa in a bowl and mix in craisins, almonds, celery, feta and salt and pepper to taste.  Eat and enjoy hot OR cold.

Tip:

Cook your quinoa in a rice cooker, adding just a tad more liquid than suggested (usually when cooking quinoa it is a 1:2 quinoa:liquid ratio.  I love how it comes out using the rice cooker, my quinoa normally turns out soggy when cooking on the stove!

XOXO Katie

Southwest Chopped Salad

This salad is full of flavors and bright colors!  I love all the colors throughout; it definitely reminds me of summer.  I found the original recipe on Pinterest and I adapted it slightly by adding in some avocado.  The recipe calls for a homemade cilantro-lime dressing found here.  It sounded DELICIOUS, but I had to opt for a store-bought dressing for a few reasons. 

1. I’m moving soon and have already packed up my blender. 

2. Although the recipe says to make the dressing in either a blender or food processor, I really think it would work best in a food processor and unfortunately I don’t have one.  Hopefully sometime soon I will have this kitchen tool since it’s on my wedding registry :)

Servings: 6

Size:   1/6 of the salad

Points Plus: 5pp

Level of Difficulty:  Easy

Prep Time: 20 minutes

Cook Time:  n/a

Rating: 3 stars - Good

Ingredient List:

Large head of romaine lettuce

1 large orange bell pepper

5 green onions

1 pint cherry tomatoes, quartered

15 oz. can black beans, drained and rinsed

15 oz. can of corn, drained

1 medium avocado, diced

Directions:

Wash and finely chop the romaine, bell pepper and green onions.  Wash and quarter the cherry tomatoes.  Open the cans of black beans and corn, drain and rinse. Dice the avocado.  Add all ingredients into a large bowl, stir to combine.  Toss salad with your desired dressing and enjoy!

Tip:

Don’t underestimate the size of the bowl you need to mix up this salad!  There are lots of veggies in this recipe and you will want a bowl big enough that you can really fully mix all the ingredients in.  Also, a little tip for really brining out the flavor or your avocado. Sprinkle some salt on top of your salad with fresh avocado - the salt will really heighten the taste of the avocado - yum!

XOXO Megan