A meal!!

Scallops and Basmati Rice with some veggies of course. Total the meal was 10 pts, which is pretty good for a Dinner meal! We did it for Lunch because my Grandmother was in town, and she really wanted me to cook. My brother had been begging for 2 things...Scallops and Risotto..the Risotto will come another time. Scallops were for Yesterday!

Scallops with Chipotle-Orange Sauce

Yield

4 servings (serving size: about 4 1/2 ounces scallops, about 1 tablespoon sauce, and 1 tablespoon onions) (pts. per serving: 5)

• 2 tablespoons butter, divided
• Cooking spray
• 1 1/2 pounds large sea scallops
• 1/2 teaspoon paprika
• 1/4 teaspoon salt, divided
• 1/2 cup fresh orange juice
• 1 tablespoon finely chopped canned chipotle chile in adobo sauce
• 1/4 cup chopped green onions

Preparation

Melt 1 tablespoon butter in a large skillet coated with cooking spray over medium-high heat. Sprinkle scallops with paprika and 1/8 teaspoon salt. Add scallops to pan; cook 3 minutes on each side or until browned. Remove from pan, and keep warm.

Add orange juice and chile to the pan, scraping pan to loosen browned bits. Bring to a boil, and cook until reduced to 1/4 cup (about 1 minute). Add 1 tablespoon butter and 1/8 teaspoon salt, stirring with a whisk until smooth. Serve the sauce with scallops, and garnish with the onions.

Nutritional Information

Calories: 218 (29% from fat) Fat: 7.1g Protein: 28.9g Carbohydrate: 8.1g Fiber: .4g Cholesterol: 72mg
Iron: .6mg Sodium 488 mg Calcium: 47mg

Citrus-Scented Rice

Yield

Makes 4 servings

Ingredients

• 2 cups chicken broth
• 2 tablespoons butter
• 1 tablespoon orange zest
• 2 tablespoons fresh orange juice
• 1 teaspoon lemon zest
• 1 cup uncooked basmati rice
• 3 tablespoons chopped fresh basil
• Garnishes: orange and lemon slices, orange zest, and lemon zest

Preparation

Stir together chicken broth, butter, orange zest, fresh orange juice, and lemon zest in a large saucepan; bring to a boil over high heat. Stir in basmati rice; cover, reduce heat to low, and cook 20 minutes or until liquid is absorbed and rice is tender.

This one didn't have the nutrition facts, but the nifty Weight Watchers site has this cool tool
called Recipe builder!! you put in the ingredients and measurements and it gives you the points value!! for this one it is 5 pts!

the out come..Scott did not like the Rice. I loved the rice, Mom!! (omg!!) Loved the Rice, Grandma Loved the Rice!! Robby (step dad) is unsure about the rice lol..they simply don't know how to eat new things. This rice was fantastic!! SO good!! The scallops were a hit all the way around. My next time I will add at least 1-2 more chili's to the recipe..just not enough heat for us ;). Either way it was a great meal!! Very light and filling and wonderful. I would definitely use these for an evening meal with company!

Apple Oatmeal Cookies..

I found a recipe for Apple Oatmeal Cookies to help use up my Apple Pile. It looked like it was a bit healthy, and I tweaked it to make it a bit more still.
I have the original recipe below. What I did was.. used 1/2 cup white flour 1/2 whole wheat flour, instead of Shortening (eww!!) I used equal amounts of unsalted real butter. And I increased the Apple by 1/2c.

• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
• 1/2 cup shortening
• 3/4 cup white sugar
• 2 eggs
• 1 cup rolled oats
• 1 cup diced apple without peel
• 1 cup chopped walnuts

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
2. In a large bowl, cream together the shortening and sugar. Beat in the eggs until well blended. Combine the flour, baking powder, cinnamon, nutmeg, and salt; stir into the sugar mixture until well blended. Fold in the walnuts, oats and apples. Drop dough by spoonfuls about 2 inches onto ungreased cookie sheets.
3. Bake for 12 to 15 minutes in the preheated oven. Let cool on wire racks.

Calories: 69 Total fat: 3.3g Cholesterol: 12mg Sodium: 50mg Total Carbs: 8.9g Dietary Fiber: .4g
Protein: 1g (this is for the original recipe, not with my changes, am still figuring out how to do that!! but..as is..the points for weight watchers are 2pts per cookie!! so my little tweak can't possibly change much if anything maybe..1 more point, still not bad!!)
]Now..what I noticed of the cookies.. great texture!! but lacking in flavor. I would definitely increase the cinnamon and nutmeg greatly, maybe even a little vanilla..I have even thought of decreasing the white sugar and using some brown sugar. Something, will play with it for sure!!

Healthy Apple Crisp!

Ok on a mission to do things that will fit in the points value of Weight Watchers I thought I would post the first thing made with Points in mind.
We went as a family to Glen Oak Apple farms Yesterday and Picked up 2 huge bags of apples. How many ways can we take a healthy apple and make it bad..SO MANY WAYS!! so I went looking. And on the Weight Watcher Site I found a recipe for one that was only 4 pts. YAY!! well.. looking at it one thing was left out that My mother and I both love about a Crisp and that is the oatmeal! so.. taking that nutritional information and worked out the points and tweaked the recipe to give you a 6 pt apple crisp! Here is the link to the original http://www.weightwatchers.com/food/rcp/index.aspx?recipeid=134331
(Though I believe you have to be a member to use it. )
here is 6pt Apple Crisp:

• 4 large apple(s), peeled, cored, cut into 1/8-inch slices (6 cups sliced apples)
• 2 tsp fresh lemon juice
• 3/4 cup(s) packed light brown sugar, divided
• 2 Tbsp Minute Tapioca, or other brand
• 1 tsp ground cinnamon
• 1/4 tsp ground nutmeg, or freshly grated nutmeg (fresh preferred)
• 1/4 cup(s) all-purpose flour
• 1/2 cup(s) Oat meal
  
• 4 Tbsp butter, melted

• Preheat oven to 400ºF. Place rack in bottom third to middle of oven.
  
  
• In a large bowl, toss together apple slices, lemon juice, 1/4 cup of sugar, tapioca, cinnamon and nutmeg; let stand for about 30 minutes.
  
  
• Spoon apple mixture into an ungreased 9-inch square baking dish, or glass or ceramic pie plate; cover loosely with aluminum foil and bake for 30 minutes.
  
  
• Meanwhile, to make topping, in a small bowl, combine flour and oat meal with remaining 1/2 cup of sugar (I also added an extra sprinkle of cinnamon!!); mix until completely blended. Add melted butter; work in thoroughly with fingertips.
  
  
• After pie has baked for 30 minutes, remove from oven and discard foil. Sprinkle topping over apples and bake, uncovered, until apples bubble and topping turns golden, about 35 to 45 minutes. Cool at least 2 hours before serving. Slice into 8 pieces and serve. Yields 1 slice per serving.

I am typing this as it bakes now..and wow does it smell amazing!!!
and..wow was it a hit, I think this will be the only Apple Crisp recipe I will ever use!! the only thing that would up the awesomeness of it would be some nuts in the topping, and vanilla ice cream haha..but those would both up those points!!