Hoppin’ John

There have been very few New Years Days in my adult life that I have not eaten black-eyed peas in some form.  I’m not a superstitious person, but I happen to love black-eyed peas, so why tempt fate?  Can always use a little extra luck to start the year, right?  This is the rendition of Hoppin’ John I’ve been using over the years.  It’s been a lot of recipes mish-mashed into one.  This year I admit I lightened it up a little bit with less oil, turkey bacon instead of regular bacon, etc, but it was still excellent.  It may have to make an appearance more than just New Years Day!

hoppinjohn

Recipe!

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Vegetarian Dirty Rice

I love dirty rice, but sometimes I already have a meat-heavy entree and don’t want *more* meat in the rice.  I found this recipe for vegetarian dirty rice a while back, and it was a great accompaniment to our Hoppin’ John for New Year’s Day dinner.  I cut back a lot on oil and did not add butter as the original stated, but this is still not a super WW-friendly recipe.  Worth saving up a few points for it, though!  Recipe below is printed with my changes in fats.

dirtyrice

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Kale, Tuna and Chickpea Salad

This was a quick salad we made for lunch that was quite filling.  Would be an easy thing to take to work as well.  We had this with smoky lemon tahini dressing and it went really well.

kaletunasalad

Recipe!

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Smoky Lemon Tahini Dressing

This was a dressing recipe I found in Bon Appetit, and we really liked it!  Pretty easy to make, and WW friendly at only 1 point a serving (one tablespoon).

  •     1 garlic clove, grated
  •     1/2 cup tahini (sesame seed paste)
  •     1/4 cup fresh lemon juice
  •     3/4 teaspoon kosher salt
  •     1/8 teaspoon smoked paprika

Purée garlic, tahini, lemon juice, salt, paprika, and 3/4 cup water in a blender until smooth, adding water if needed to thin dressing.

 

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Herb and Garlic Roast Lamb

This was our New Year’s Eve dinner, and it was pretty good.  I thought it was a great base (original came from Bon Appetit), but first, I undercooked it a bit and it had to go back in.  Second, I thought the herb rub was *too* herb-tastic.  Next time, I will cut back a bit on the herbs.  Recipe is with portions cut back.  We used a 2-lb butterflied boneless leg of lamb and served it with herb roasted potatoes and almond green beans.

herblamb

Recipe!

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Egg McMuffins

Egg McMuffins are never going to be healthy, but they are about the most delicious breakfast ever.  I found a recipe on Pinterest to lighten them up a little bit, and made a batch of them to freeze and take to work for a quick breakfast.  They’re still not *great* for you, but at about 240 calories, they aren’t as awful as their fast food counterparts!  This can be made with egg whites only if you’d rather, and any kind of cheese you like.  American seems to melt best, though.

eggmcmuffins

Recipe!

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Chicken Cutlets with Dijon Sauce

So after a year in which my exercise levels dipped dramatically and possibly some holiday over-indulgence, I took the plunge and joined Weight Watchers.  Gotta lose some lbs!  This was the first meal I cooked for which I was actually conscious of points, etc.  We thought it was quite good (though the chicken ended up being a little cold due to poor timing on my part), and would definitely make the sauce again.  It would go well with fish, too.  This was a Cooking Light recipe, and I made it with a side of sauteed peppers and sweet potato fries.

chickenmustardsauce

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Herb-Crusted Roast Beef

Roast beef is probably my favorite Christmas dinner.  We don’t have beef too terribly often, and it’s always so festive!  Aside from a kerfluffle involving the meat thermometer counting backwards, it was relatively simple to make, too…and came out perfectly!  Definitely a keeper.  This is a modified Food Network recipe.

roast

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Scalloped Potatoes

I have to admit that in three holiday meals this year, I’ve made scalloped potatoes every. Single. Time.  I just love them.  Especially given that I’m not the world’s biggest fan of spuds, this is a winner.  This is a Cooking Light recipe I got years ago.  I’ve always made it as-written, and am always happy with it.

scalloped

Recipe!

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