Chicken with Pineapple Salsa

Another really nice dish from the Feb 2012 edition of Weight Watchers Magazine, I think next time I make this dish I will substitute the chicken for pork, I did have fun bashing the chicken though! :) enjoy! 


SERVES 4 
Pro Points 6 


Ingredients
3/4 cup (195g) chopped canned pineapple in natural juice, drained
1 long fresh red chilli, finely chopped
1 small red onion, thinly sliced (I forgot to put it in!) 
2 tbs small fresh mint leaves 
2 tbs small fresh basil leaves
1 tbs olive oil 
1 tbs lemon juice
1 tsp Dijon mustard
1 garlic clove, crushed 
400g baby (chat) potatoes, halved 
200g snow peas, halved
200g green beans, halved
4 x 150g lean chicken breast fillets, fat trimmed (I used thigh pieces as that is what I had) 

Method 

Combine pineapple, chilli, onion, mint and basil in a small bowl. In another small bowl, whisk olive oil, lemon juice, mustard and garlic. 

Place potato halves in a medium saucepan and cover with cold water. Bring to the boil over high heat and cook for 15 - 20 minutes or until just tender. Add beans and snow peas and continue to cook for 2 - 3 minutes or until tender. Drain and then transfer to a large bowl and drizzle over lemon dressing, tossing gently to combine. 

Meanwhile, flatten the chicken, on a board with a meat mallet (can you believe I don't have one?? how have I ever managed without one?? so I bashed it with my big wooden rolling pin and I think it got the message lol) until even in thickness. Lightly spray a large non stick frying pan with oil and heat over moderately high heat. Cook chicken for 2 - 3 minutes each side or until browned and cooked. (again I had Daniel cook this on the BBQ, I am getting good at this getting out of doing the cooking lark hehe) 

Serve chicken with pineapple salsa and potato salad. 

Barbecued Beef with Lentil Salad

There are a few things I can say about this dish lol the first is that I looked at the recipe and went hhmmm lentils....dunno...ok I will give it a try! and I am glad I did! The second thing I would say is that the meat was REALLY expensive! AU$45 a kilo! but it was SO SO delicious, and I don't see why you couldn't substitute pork or chicken in this recipe to make it a lot more cost friendly :) the 3rd thing is that Daniel got to cook it on the BBQ and that means I didn't have to cook it lol yay! I really didn't think that Daniel would be into the lentils, but he actually really loved the salad so this dish will be going on rotation in our house :) This recipe is also from the Feb 2012 edition of Weight Watchers Magazine 

SERVES 4

Pro Points 8

Ingredients 

600g lean beef eye fillet, fat trimmed

400g can brown lentils, rinsed & drained

1/2 small red onion, thinly sliced

80g sun-dried tomatoes, chopped

2 cups (40g) baby spinach leaves

1/3 cup fresh flat leaf parsley leaves

1 tbs olive oil (I didn't add) 

2 tbs balsamic glaze

Method

Preheat a BBQ or char-grill pan over high heat. Lightly spray beef with oil and season with salt an freshly ground pepper. Cook for 2 - 3 minutes each side or until browned, then reduce heat to medium and cook for a further 6 - 8 minutes for medium or until cooked to your liking (I LOVE my beef rare) Transfer meat to a plate, cover with foil and rest for 10 minutes before thinly slicing. 

Place lentils, red onion, tomatoes, spinach and parsley in a medium bowl, mixing well to combine. Drizzle with olive oil (I didn't add olive oil as the sun-dried tomatoes had enough on them) and balsamic glaze, tossing gently to combine. 

Serve barbecued beef with lentil salad 

Roasted Vegetable Deep-Dish Quiche

We thoroughly enjoyed this vegetarian dish, it took a bit longer to cook than what the recipe advises so just keep an eye on it when cooking. It also used 2 sheets of pre-made pastry sheets instead of the 1 as in the recipe. This recipe also comes from the Feb edition of Weight Watchers Magazine. 


SERVES 4 
Pro Points 8 

Ingredients


1 sheet reduced fat shortcrust pastry, partially thawed (I used 2) 
500g Jap pumpkin peeled, cut into 2cm pieces 
1 medium red capsicum, thickly sliced
1 medium red onion, thickly sliced (I cut into wedges) 
120g cherry tomatoes, halved (oops I used a whole punnet 250g)
6 eggs, lightly whisked
1/3 (80ml) cup light cream (I used the Philadelphia 60% reduced fat cream for cooking) 
2 1/2 cups baby spinach leaves
1/3 cup (65g) reduced fat fresh ricotta cheese
2 tbs fresh thyme leaves


Method


Preheat oven to 200c or 180c for fan forced, lightly spray a 20cm round springform pan with oil, then line base and sides with pastry. Trim edges, then refrigerate for 10 minutes.


Place pumpkin, capsicum and red onion on a baking tray, drizzle with olive oil (I sprayed) and scatter the thyme over the top (I added the thyme to the recipe) season with sea salt and freshly ground pepper . Cook for 35 - 40 minutes or until vegetables are softened & Caramelised. Remove and allow to cool.


Reduce oven to 180c or 160c fan forced. Place eggs and cream in a medium bowl, mixing well to combine. Add roasted vegetables, cherry tomatoes, spinach and ricotta and gently mix to combine. Season with salt and pepper. Pour mixture into pastry shell and bake for 30 - 35 minutes (I found it took 45 minutes) or until quiche is cooked and golden.


Serve with a big green leafy salad. 

Lemon Mussels with Shoestring Fries

Daniel and I both love going out for Chilli Mussels! one of our all time favourite dishes :) This is a bit of a variation that I found in The Feb 2012 Weight Watchers Magazine, I added a couple of things, we really enjoyed them :) Now it will be Mussels at home on a regular basis.


SERVES 4 
Pro Points 7 

Ingredients 
4 small desiree potatoes, peeled
1 tbs olive oil
1 medium brown onion, finely diced (I used red onion as that is what I had) 
2 garlic cloves, crushed
2 tbs grated lemon rind
1 seeded and finely diced red chilli
1 cup diced tinned tomatoes
1/3 cup lemon juice
2 kg pot ready mussels
1 cup (250ml) white wine
1/3 cup fresh fat leaf parsley leaves

Method


Preheat oven to 200c or 180c fan forced. Cut potatoes into thin fries and place on large baking tray in a single layer. Lightly spray with oil and bake, turning occasionally for 20 - 25 minutes or until golden. 


Meanwhile, heat olive oil in a large saucepan over medium heat and cook onion for 5 minutes or until softened. Add garlic, lemon rind and chilli, cook for 1 minute until fragrant. Add mussels, white wine and diced tomatoes & lemon juice stirring until well combined.Cover and cook for 5 - 6 minutes, shaking pan occasionally until mussels have all opened. 


To serve sprinkle mussels with parsley and serve with lemon wedges and shoestring fries. 

Parmesan & Thyme Veal with Red Coleslaw

I really enjoyed the veal in this recipe, I could live without the coleslaw as I am not a cabbage fan, next time I would add steamed vegetables, but overall it was very nice. Again this recipe came from the Feb 2012 Weight Watchers Magazine. 


SERVES 4 
Pro Points 7 


Ingredients 
1/3 cup (80g) Weight Watchers Mayonnaise 
2 tbs lemon juice 
300g white cabbage, thinly sliced 
200g red cabbage, thinly sliced
6 green shallots, thinly sliced
1 small red onion, thinly sliced
1/2 cup fresh flat leaf parsley leaves 
4 x 35g slices wholemeal bread (I used multigrain as it is what I had)  
1/2 cup (40g) finely grated parmesan cheese
2 tbs fresh thyme leaves (I added oregano & parsley as well) 
1 tbs Weight Watchers Canola Spread
4 x 125g lean veal leg steaks
Lemon wedges to serve

Method


Combine mayonnaise and lemon juice in a medium bowl. Add both cabbages, both onions and parsley leaves, mixing well until combined.


Preheat grill to high. Place bread, parmesan, thyme and canola spread in food processor and process until coarsely chopped. Preheat a large non stick frying pan over high heat. Cook veal on one for 1 - 2 minutes then transfer to a baking tray. Top with breadcrumb mixture and cook under the grill for 2 -3 minutes or until breadcrumbs are golden brown. 


Serve veal with coleslaw and lemon wedges.