10.09.2012

AWITLOL - Day 6

Ah, Pinterest.
How crafty you make me think I am.
And how much time you help me to waste when I could be teaching myself to be crafty.

But let's talk about Pinterest as a source for recipes! Really, just type in whatever you're looking to make, however you're trying to cook (gluten-free, dairy-free, butter-laden), or in my case, "Weight Watchers." You'll likely come up with dozens to hundreds of pins from other pinners who have found these tasty posts on blogs, websites, or other pinners boards.

See here, if you're not familiar...



This could very quickly turn into a list of all the things on Pinterest that I want to try but haven't had time yet. So instead, just let me tell you that as much as I love browsing on Pinterest, its so useful to me as a meal planning tool. Whenever I come across a recipe I'd like to try (wait for tomorrow's post for a list of favorite blogs and sites), I "pin" it to my board "Food I Want To Eat." (I also have a "Weight Watchers" board, but these two are overlapping more and more.) Then, on Saturday or Sunday, I browse through the pins and pick out three or four that I'd like to try that week. I try to plan for at least one meal in each of these categories: pasta, vegetarian, seafood, poultry, beef/pork. Variety is the spice of life. Or maybe its pepper.

Today, my meals and two Pinterest recipes!

Tuesday
Breakfast

  • Get Balance Fiber Cereal from Aldi (1 cup)
  • Skim Milk (1/4 cup)

Lunch

  • Grapes (1 cup)
  • Pizza (1 slice)
  • Pumpkin Muffin

Dinner

  • Cottage Pie (1 serving)

Snacks

  • Fall Fruit Compote (1/2 cup) with 1 teaspoon brown sugar
  • Cheeze-It Crackers (1/2 serving) *this falls under the category of "so not worth the points." Two points for 14 little crackers? I think not.*
  • String cheese

Cottage Pie
Borrowed from SparkPeople
My take on the recipe - it was just okay. The egg yolk wasn't enough to keep the potatoes together and there really wasn't any gravy/sauce to speak of. Maybe I'd add some Worcestershire sauce next time...

Ingredients
2 russet potatoes, peeled and diced
1 egg yolk
12 ounces lean beef (I used 90/10)
1 cup onions, diced
salt & pepper
1 teaspoon chili powder
1 teaspoon garlic powder
2 cups carrots, shredded
1 cup green beans, chopped
1/2 cup frozen corn
2 Tablespoons tomato paste
1 cup low-sodium chicken stock

Directions
Preheat oven to 375.

Place the potatoes in a medium saucepan, then cover with cold water. Cover the pot with a lid, bring to a boil and then reduce to a simmer. Cook for 10-12 minutes, until the potatoes are soft.

While potatoes are simmering, prepare the filling. Place a large saute pan over moderate heat, add the beef and onions, and cook until the beef is no longer pink. Add the carrots, beans, spices, and tomato paste, stir to combine, and simmer for 2-3 minutes. Add the stock and corn, then stir to combine. Place the meat and vegetables into a casserole dish and set aside.

Drain the potatoes and mash well, using a potato masher or ricer. Add the egg yolk. Spread on top of the meat mixture. Bake 10 minutes, until the potatoes are browned. 

Serves 4 (7 points)



Fall Fruit Compote

Pretty close to a Weight Watchers recipe
This we loved! Its really tasty with a little brown sugar (like I had), it would make a bowl of oatmeal fabulous, and I bet it would be really good with a scoop of vanilla ice cream (which I did not have). Adjust the recipe to accommodate the size of the fruit you have.

Ingredients
2 medium apples, cut into 1/2" dice
4 small pears, cut into 1/2" dice
1/3 cup orange juice
1/2 dried cranberries (these added lots of points but not a lot of flavor)
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground ginger
1/2 cup water
1 teaspoon orange zest
1 orange, peeled and cut into 1/2" dice

Directions
Combine all ingredients, except orange zest and orange, into a sauce pan. Cook over medium-high to high heat until most of the liquid is gone, about 20 minutes.  Add orange zest and orange sections. Cook until heated through, stirring occasionally, about 2 to 3 minutes.

Makes 6 - 1/2 cup servings (3 points)

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