Cornish Game Hens

Cornish game hens are just like cooking a whole chicken but in less time so they are perfect for a weeknight meal. The following is a recipe that I made up.

Balsamic Cornish Hens - Serves 4

• 2 Cornish Game Hens


• Olive Oil


• 4 garlic cloves


• A couple sprigs of fresh Rosemary and Thyme


• Dried Oregano


• Salt


• Pepper


• Balsamic Vinegar

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.

Wash and pat dry the hens. Rub the hens with olive oil and sprinkle with the salt, pepper and dried oregano. Stuff the hens with the garlic, fresh rosemary and thyme. Place the hens in a dish and pour balsamic vinegar over then. Insert a thermometer into the thickest part of the thigh without touching the bone and bake for about 45 minutes or until the thermometer registers 180 degrees. Let the hens rest covered with foil for 10 minutes.

WW points: 3 (for half of a hen)

Cranberry Cous Cous - Serves 4-6

• 1 cup whole wheat cous cous


• 1 1/4 cups fat free chicken broth


• salt


• pepper


• almonds


• dried cranberries


• olive oil


• goat cheese

This is another made up recipe so no measuring amounts are attached as you can go by your tastes. Cook the cous cous in the chicken broth according to the packaged instructions. Fluff with a fork and add the almonds, dried cranberries, a touch of olive oil, salt, pepper and goat cheese and stir to combine.

WW points: 3 (for 1/2 cup serving)

Chocolate Cake - Yummy!!

I love baking and having others enjoy the fruits of my labor. After baking cheesecake for Christmas and bringing in the leftovers to work I have decided (much to my co-workers begging) to start a desert of the month club for work. I will bake and they will eat, pretty simple! Chocolate cake is wonderful when it is done right and the recipe below is right. It is from the Ina Garten Barefoot Contessa cookbook and I couldn't be more pleased with her recipe.

Beatty's Chocolate Cake

• 1 3/4 all-purpose flour


• 2 cups sugar


• 3/4 cup good cocoa powder


• 2 teaspoons baking soda


• 1 teaspoon baking powder


• 1 teaspoon kosher salt


• 1 cup buttermilk, shaken


• 1/2 cup vegetable oil


• 2 extra-large eggs, at room temperature


• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract


• 1 cup freshly brewed hot coffee

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Butter two 8-inch round cake pans. Line with parchment paper, then butter and flour the pans.

Sift the flour, sugar, cocoa, baking soda, baking powder, and salt into the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a paddle attachment and mix on low speed until combined. In another bowl, combine the buttermilk, oil, eggs, and vanilla. With the mixer on low speed, slowly add the wet ingredients to the dry. With the mixer still on low, add the coffee and stir just to combine, scraping the bottom of the bowl. Pour the batter into the prepared pans and bake for 35 to 40 minutes , until a cake tester comes out clean. Cool in the pans for 30 minutes, then turn them out onto a cooling rack and cool completely.

Place one layer, flat side up, on a flat plate or cake pedestal. With a knife or offset spatula, spread the top with frosting. Place the second layer on top, rounded side up, and spread the frosting evenly on the top and sides of the cake.

Chocolate Frosting

• 6 ounces good semisweet chocolate such as Callebaut


• 1/2 pound (2 sticks) unsalted butter, at room temperature


• 1 extra-large egg yolk, at room temperature


• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract


• 1 1/4 cups sifted confectioners' sugar
  
• 1 tablespoon instant coffee powder
  

Chop the chocolate and place it in a heat-proof bowl set over a pan of simmering water. Stir until just melted and set aside until cooled to room temperature.

In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, beat the butter on medium-high speed until light yellow and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Add the egg yolk and vanilla and continue beating for 3 minutes. Turn the mixer to low, gradually add the confectioners' sugar, then beat at medium speed, scraping down the bowl as necessary, until smooth and creamy. Dissolve the coffee powder in 2 teaspoons of the hottest tap water. On low speed, add the chocolate and coffee to the butter mixture and mix until blended. Don't whip! Spread immediately on the cooled cake.

WW points: 8 (for 1/20th slice)

Turkey Lasagna

This recipe turned out to be a success and will provide many leftovers for lunch and dinner this week. It is very easy and a nice dish to prepare on the weekend when you have over an hour for dinner. This is a Jennie-O recipe and can easily be cut into smaller servings for less points. The serving on this is pretty large to serve 8.

• 6 uncooked lasagna noodles
  
• 1 - 20 oz. package of lean ground turkey


• 2 garlic cloves, minced


• 1 - 26 oz. jar of spaghetti sauce


• 1 - 15 oz. container of light ricotta cheese


• 1 egg white


• 1 - 10 oz. package of frozen chopped spinach, thawed and drained


• 1/8 teaspoon ground nutmeg


• 1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese
  

Heat oven to 350 degrees. Cook noddles according to package. Meanwhile, in a large skillet, cook turkey and garlic over medium heat until turkey is no longer pink. Add spaghetti sauce and simmer for 10 minutes. In another bowl, combine the ricotta cheese, egg white, spinach, pepper and nutmeg; mix well. Spread about 3/4 cup of the sauce in the bottom of a 13x9 baking dish. Layer half of the noodles over the sauce, top with another 1 cup of sauce and 1/2 of the ricotta cheese mixture. Repeat layers, ending with the sauce. Cover with foil and back for 50 minutes. Remove foil, sprinkle with mozzarella cheese and back uncovered for an additional 5 minutes. Let lasagna stand for 5 minutes before serving. Divide into 8 servings.

WW points: 6 (for 1/8 of the dish)

Steak and Potatoes

Steak is such an easy and quick meal and once you learn how to cook steak the right way it turns out perfect every time. I tried these new potatoes called Alexia Oven Fries (I got the Olive oil, rosemary & garlic variety)

and they turned out to be delicious! All of their products air on the healthy side and this one is no exception. I can't wait to try out more of their products. Often times with steak I wont try recipes but just make up my own and that is what I did below.

Balsamic Steak

Tri-Tip Steak

Salt and Pepper

Garlic Powder

Balsamic Vinegar

Bring steaks to room temperature for about 10-15 minutes. Season steaks with salt and pepper and garlic powder on both sides. Put steaks in a dish with balsamic vinegar and let marinade for at least 5-30 minutes. Place steaks on a hot grill for about 4-5 minutes per side. Let steaks rest for 5-10 minutes before slicing.

WW points - 5 (for 3 oz. of meat)

Lemon Broccoli (also works very well with green beans)

1 Head of Broccoli

1 Tbs. of Butter

1 Tbs. of Lemon Juice

1 tsp. of Lemon Zest

WW points - 1 (for a 1 cup serving)

Steak broccoli until almost tender. Heat butter in a pan over medium-high heat until it starts to foam. Add lemon juice and stir for 30 seconds until combined. Add broccoli and coat it with the juices for about 30 second. Add lemon zest and serve.

Menu for the week from January 12 thru January 18

I usually plan out a weeks worth of meals on Thursday or Friday nights and shop for the items on Saturday morning. I find that this helps me stay on track in terms of dieting and keeps me focused throughout the week. The following is this weeks meals:

Saturday - Steak, potato fries, and broccoli
Sunday - Turkey Lasagna and salad
Monday - Cornish Game Hens, cous-cous, and zucchini
Tuesday - Leftovers and zucchini
Wednesday - Pork chops stuffed with sun-dried tomatoes and spinach, and salad
Thursday - Breakfast for dinner! :-)
Friday - WW Baked Spaghetti and veggies

Check back for recipes and pictures!

New Beginnings

I decided to start this journal to keep track of all of my weekly menus and recipes as well as to track my diet with Weight Watchers. To date since start Weight Watchers in October I have lost a little over 23 pounds! I love the program and wanted to journal about the experiences. I love both cooking and baking and testing out new recipes. I am a cookbook addict and will soon need a whole book case dedicated to my cookbooks! :-)