Pan-Fried Tilapia with White Wine and Capers

So, this was very yummy, incredibly yummy, super yummy, the best thing I've tried yet.  Richard says I have to make it again (or he does, one of the two).  I ended up making it with regular butter instead of light (we have so much regular left I can't justify buying light quite yet).  I only had a pound of tilapia, it was 3 fillets.  Between the butter and the difference in the amount of fish my serving ended up 7 points instead of 5 pts.  I made quinoa to go with it and cut down on the amount of that I was going to eat after I realized the butter was adding more points (it might actually have been a little less that 7 since I didn't use 1/3 of the sauce but I calculated it for 1/3).  The zucchini/squash was cooked with just one spray of cooking spray, seasoning salt and a clove of garlic minced (I figured I had the mincer tool out for the tilapia so I may as well use it again and I love garlic).  All in all this was probably my favorite new recipe yet, well this one and the Mahi Mahi one, actually I might like this even better then the Mahi Mahi and that's saying alot.  I really do enjoy my fish.  It will be made again, hopefully in the not TOO distant future.  I'm finding that by increasing the amount of cooking I have been doing that it all seems a bit easier and more enjoyable then it used too be.  And that's a very good thing.
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Pan-Fried Tilapia with White Wine and Capers
From: WW website

Ingredients

1/4 cup(s) white wine, dry
1/4 cup(s) tomato(es), seeded and chopped
2 Tbsp fresh lemon juice
2 Tbsp capers, drained
1 medium garlic clove(s), minced
1/2 tsp dried basil
1 1/2 pound(s) raw tilapia, four 6-oz pieces
1/2 tsp table salt
1/4 tsp black pepper, freshly ground
1/4 cup(s) all-purpose flour
1 spray(s) cooking spray
1 Tbsp olive oil
2 Tbsp light butter
2 Tbsp parsley, chopped
1 medium lemon(s), cut in wedges (optional)

Instructions:

Combine first 6 ingredients, stirring well with a whisk; set aside.

Sprinkle fillets with salt and pepper. Dredge fillets lightly in flour, and coat both sides of fillets with cooking spray.

Heat oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add fillets; cook 3 minutes. Reduce heat to medium; turn fillets, and cook 3 minutes or until fish flakes easily when tested with a fork. Remove from pan.

Add wine mixture to pan; cook 30 seconds, stirring constantly. Remove from heat; stir in butter until melted. Spoon wine mixture over fillets; sprinkle with parsley. Serve with lemon wedges, if desired. Yield: 4 servings (serving size: 1 fillet and 2 tablespoons sauce).  5 points per serving.

Three Bean Turkey Chili

Last weekend we went down and visited the Hoppers and I got this recipe out of one of Valerie's slow cooker books.  Then I tweaked it a bit because it called for things I didn't really want in it.  I was just going to put down the recipe as I did and not tell you how it should have been. But that seemed weird so here are the differences:  I added undrained green beans instead of chilies and it also called for quite a few diced tomatoes which I left out completely and added in a cup of primevara pasta sauce instead.  I think it would have been less thick if I had added a bit more sauce or the tomatoes like it called for since they were undrained.  But it was pretty good this way, chili seems to me to be one of those things that I will just kind of have to play around with until I end up with the perfect mixture for me.

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Three Bean Turkey Chili

1.25 lb ground turkey

1 small onion, chopped

1 can (15 ounces) chick-peas (garbonzo beans), rinsed and drained

1 can (15 ounces) kidney beans, rinsed and drained

1 can (15 ounces) black beans, rinsed and drained

1 can (8 ounces) tomato sauce

1 can (14.5 ounces) green beans, undrained

1 cup primevara pasta sauce

2 Tbsp chili powder

1. Cook turkey and onion in medium skillet over medium-high heat, stirring to break up meat until turkey is no longer pink.  Drain; place turkey mixture in slow cooker.

2.  Add remaining indredients and mix well.  Cover; cook on HIGH 6 to 8 hours.

Makes 6 to 8 servings

6 servings = 8 points

8 servings = 6 points

Richard added in pepper, cajun seasoning and some of the hot chili powder to add a even more flavor.  He also added cheese and saltine crackers to his.  The cheese would add points but it does look like a good addition.

Old-Fashioned Chicken Pot Pie

Last week at the WW meeting the Weight Watchers weekly that they hand out had a recipe that was a make over of an Old-Fashioned Chicken Pot Pie.  I ended up changing it slightly because I didn't cook enough chicken and in the process cut another point off the dinner, go me.  Richard and I are not huge chicken fans anyways so it ended up a good thing for us, another cup would have been way to much for our liking.  The only switch I made was it called for 3 cups chicken and 2 cups frozen veggies,  I did 2 cups chicken and 3 cups frozen veggies (and I adjusted the recipe below for what I actually did, it's not exactly what was called for).  It worked out perfectly, I want to try to make some more of these with different veggies sometime as well, so many possibilities.  Richard and I both felt like we needed more crust, the recipe calls for 4 crescent rolls used on the top for the crust. The package came with 8 rolls so I ended up cooking up the other 4 crescents and we each ate one cut up with our pot pie to add more "crust".  One serving was enough for me, Richard went back for seconds.  If you make it the way I made it, one serving is 4 points, if you go by what they put in it one serving was 5 points.  The crescent rolls are 2 points so all in all it ended up a 6 point dinner for me, and the left overs will make a great 4 point lunch tomorrow!
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Old-Fashioned Chicken Pot Pie
From weightwatchers.com and slightly tweaked by me

2 servings butter-flavor cooking spray
1 tsp butter
1 small onion, chopped
2 cups mushrooms, sliced
1/4 tsp paprika
1/4 tsp dried thyme, crushed
1/2 tsp salt, or more to taste (I used seasoning salt for just a little extra flavor since I can't have pepper)
1/4 tsp pepper (which I left out, gotta love allergies)
3 cups frozen mixed vegetables (recipe called for 2 cups)
1 cup canned chicken broth
2 cups chopped cooked chicken breast (recipe called for 3 cups)
2 Tbsp all-purpose flour
1/2 cup fat-free evaporated milk, divided
4 rolls reduced-fat crescent rolls dough, unrolled

Preheat oven to 375ºF. Coat a 10-inch round shallow baking dish with cooking spray.

Coat a large pot with cooking spray. Add butter and melt over medium heat. Add onion and mushrooms and cook, until tender, stirring frequently, about 5 minutes. Stir in paprika, thyme, salt and pepper. Add vegetables, broth and chicken. Cover and simmer 15 minutes.

In a small cup, combine flour and 1/4 cup of evaporated milk; stir into chicken mixture. Cook over medium heat until thickened, stirring constantly, about 2 minutes. Stir in remaining 1/4 cup of evaporated milk and cook until mixture is slightly thickened, about 2 to 3 minutes more.

Spoon chicken mixture into prepared baking dish. Unroll crescent rolls and arrange dough around inside edge of baking dish to form a border (there will be a hole in the middle). Bake until rolls are golden brown and filling is bubbly, about 15 minutes. Cut into 6 pieces and serve.

This is what one serving looked like in a bowl:

Chicken and Cream Cheese in a Slow Cooker

A facebook friend of mine was looking for something to make in a slow cooker and was given this recipe, it sounded so good I couldn't pass it up.  It's not the lowest point thing ever, but it sounded good and we had somewhere to go after work Wednesday that made having dinner done when we got home a really convenient thing.  I've found the left overs make a great chicken sandwich as well!

Chicken and Cream Cheese in a Slow Cooker
(from someone on facebook)

3 Chicken Breast
1 can of cream of chicken soup (I used the 98% less fat kind)
8 oz cream cheese (I used fat free)
Zesty Itallian dressing mix (I used the regular, not Zesty)
1/4 cup milk
1/4 tsp pepper

Cook on low 8 hrs or high 4 hours Stir Occ.
Shred Chicken and serve over rice
Makes 4 servings (at least that's what I calculated it as)

One serving of the chicken mixture was 7 points, 4 points for a cup of brown rice and 1 point for the green giant microwave frozen veggies with a butter herb sauce.  Making dinner 13 points, which is quite a bit compared to what I normally do but I planned the day for it so it was doable.  I've been eating 1/2 a serving of the left overs as a sandwich at lunch on the 45 calorie bread which makes it 4.5 points for that.  Someone recommended adding a cup of water to the mixture before I cooked it, but it ended up pretty runny, I think leaving the water out would have made a better gravy.  The chicken falls apart barely touching it with a fork and is super tasty, I imagine that the zesty would have added a nice touch but I was worried about how zesty would get along with my allergies.

Nut-Crusted Mahi Mahi

With the holiday season all wrapped up, I'm now back to my new recipe Tuesday dinners.  This week we had Nut-Crusted Mahi-Mahi (4 pts) from the Weight Watchers web site.  This was by far my favorite new recipe I've made so far and probably will be for quite sometime.  To go with the Mahi Mahi I made quinoa (1 cup=4 pts) and a microwave package of Green Giant green beans and almonds (2/3 cup=1 pt).  It made a great meal and I was not too full or too hungry after eating it, that's right; I thought it was just right!  The whole dinner was 9 pts, which considering I had the low point Progresso soup for lunch was perfect for my dinner point usage.

Nut-Crusted Mahi Mahi
from Weight Watchers web site

2 sprays cooking spray
3 Tbsp dry-roasted salted macadamia nuts, chopped
1/4 cup dried bread crumbs, panko (Japanese variety)
2 Tbsp parsley, or cilantro, fresh, minced (I used cilantro)
3/4 tsp table salt, divided
1 pound mahi mahi fillets, without skin
1 large egg white, whipped to soft peaks

Preheat oven to 450F.  Coat a baking pan with cooking spray; place pan in oven to heat.

Place nuts, panko, cilantro (or parsley) and 1/4 tsp salt in a mini chopper or blender; process until combined.  Pour crumbs into a shallow bowl or plate; set aside.

Place fish on a plate; rub 1/2 tsp salt all over fish.  Dip fish in egg white; turn to coat.  Next, dip fish in nut mixture; turn to coat.

Remove pan from oven and place fish on pan.  Roast until center of fish is no longer translucent, about 10 to 12 minutes.  Serve immediately.  Yields about 4 ounces fish per serving.

Makes 4 servings.  Points value is 4 pts per serving.
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I used our blender to "chop" the nuts and then I only cut up the cilantro into smaller bits and blended them in with everything else.   I don't see why I would mince it if I'm just going to blend or chop it in something much more proficient at it then I am anyways.  The recipe also suggests making similar things with any kind of thin fish fillet and any kind of nuts, just remember if you change that up you'll have to figure out the points.  But that's what the recipe builder is for; they really have made figuring out points quite simple on the weight watchers web site!

So yeah, if you like fish, I highly recommend this!  So tasty!