Baked Butternut Squash

I'm a big fan of any kind of squash so I get pretty darn excited to find a new squash recipe to try out.  This one turned out delicious and it looked so pretty and colorful on the dinner table!

A few of the ingredients

Most of the items I had in the house, which in my opinion makes for a good recipe.  The only thing I had to buy was some parsley because my plant outside has been waterlogged by the autumn rains.  

Peeling the squash

Cut the squash in half and clean out the seeds.  Cut each half into 1" thick slices and take the peel off. Arrange the slices in a 9 x 13 baking dish that's been sprayed with cooking spray, overlap the edges to get all the pieces to fit.

Arrange them so they all fit and will cook evenly

Preheat the oven to 375.

Melt 1/4 cup of butter along with 2 minced cloves of garlic in a saucepan and cook until the garlic is soft. Remove from heat. 

In a small bowl mix together 1/4 cup Panko breadcrumbs and 1/3 cup Parmesan cheese, combine together then mix in 1 Tbsp of the melted butter. 

Brush the squash with the remaining melted butter/garlic mixture.

Sprinkle with the breadcrumb mixture.

Check out this action shot!

Bake uncovered for 35 - 40 minutes or until the squash is tender.  Raise the oven temperature to 425 and bake another 5 - 10 minutes until lightly browned.

Remove from the oven and sprinkle some fresh parsley on top before serving. 

Yum! 

Recipe serves 6 and is just 7 Weight Watcher points per serving.

Brined Pork Chops

I'm a good cook.  I know what goes well together, I love experimenting with new flavors and ingredients, I can follow a recipe or make up my own with great success.  One thing though I've never been able to do, no matter how often I try and how many different recipes I find, is to make moist, juicy pork chops.

Until now...

Success with bon appetit!

Locally farmed pork

Make the brine by bringing 2 cups of water to a boil then add 1/2 cup salt,  1/2 cup white sugar, 1 tsp juniper berries,  1/2 tsp whole black peppercorns, 5 halved cloves of garlic and 1 sprig of thyme.  Stir to dissolve the salt and sugar.  

Transfer to a bowl large enough to hold your pork chops and add 5 cups of ice cubes to the boiling brine. Stir until all the ice is melted then add your pork chops. Cover them and let sit in the fridge for 8 - 12 hours.

I didn't go into this recipe with high hopes, as evident by my blurry, quick snapped photos

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

Remove chops from the brine and pat dry.  Heat 2 Tbsp oil in a large cast iron or any oven proof pan on medium-high heat.  Cook the chops on one side in the oil until they begin to brown  (3 - 4 minutes).  Turn them over and cook the other side until it begins to brown (2 - 3 minutes).  Continue to cook the chops in the pan, flipping them every 2 minutes until they are a deep golden brown.  The recipe says 10 - 12 minutes but depending on the thickness of your chops it may take less or more time, just watch they aren't getting over done.  

When your chops are nice and golden on both sides move your pan into the oven and roast them about 10 minutes.  Turn them every 2 minutes to prevent them from browning too quickly.  Remove them from the oven when they get to  135 degrees.  ( They will continue to cook during the next steps)

I didn't have a cast iron pan so I put them on a cookie sheet after they were browned in the frying pan

Drain the fat from your pan and place over medium heat.  Add 3 Tbsp butter, 2 minced garlic cloves, and another sprig of thyme.  Baste the chops as the butter cooks, cook until butter is foamy (2 - 3 minutes)  Remove from the heat and let the pork chops rest 15 minutes before serving.

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Next time I may omit the oven step and continue to cook them in the cast iron pan.  It seemed to be an extra step that you could do without.  On the other hand though, these chops pretty much melted in your mouth and had such an amazing flavor that I'm cautious to mess with a successful recipe!

Weight Watcher points per pork chop - 10 points

Sunny Days & New Habits

I have a friend who lives overseas who messaged me on the weekend to see how I was surviving our Canadian winter...

My backyard April 2016

I just sent her this picture and told her all was well haha!  What a beautiful Spring we've had here on the west coast.

Today marks my 4 weeks of following Weight Watchers and I'm down another 1.2lbs.  After 4 weeks that brings my total weight loss to 13.1 pounds!  My goal, at the beginning, was to work on the habit of tracking my meals and being more aware of what I was putting in my body for the first 4 weeks then slowly introduce more activity into my lifestyle.  I'm not yet the early morning workout person I hope to be so evening workouts are what I'll start with.  Good long walks with my dogs, yoga classes, setting up my home gym with my treadmill, elliptical and captains chair along with some cardio and body weight activites are where I will start.

I keep seeing this post pop up on my Facebook and Pinterest and thought I'd give it a try

I used to own a dehydrator but found it was one of those things I thought I'd use a lot more than I actually did and it was just taking up counter space.  Using a dehydrator would be much simpler but I did these 'old-school' in my oven.  

I bought a pound of strawberries, cut the stems off, sliced them in half and sprinkled a little bit of salt over them all.  I preheated the oven to 250 degrees and set my timer for an hour.  One of the posts I read said the oven door would need to be opened every 30 minutes to allow the air to circulate.  I thought propping the door open a bit would do the same thing and it saved me from having to set my timer for every 30 minutes. 

I remember seeing my Aunt do this years ago when she would make her Baked Alaska :)

After 1 hour

After 2 hours I flipped them  

After 3 hours 

They were almost done but I wanted them a little drier out so I put them back in for another 45 minutes

They tasted just like the berries in Special K Red Berries.  They were a good treat but for 4 hours work I felt a little ripped off.  I will do this again but I'm going to try frozen strawberries next time.  This was a lot of time spent to end up with just a little yogurt container full of berries.  Frozen berries will be cheaper and I'll try 4 trays in my convection oven to see how that works.  

Off to work on my meal plan for this week :)

Enjoy! 

  

Monday Morning Check In - Week 3

I love how a little sunshine and warm weather makes me quickly forget about the rainy, cold winter we had. So far, April has been a lovely month.  Some beautiful riding weather, our 6 month long house renos are almost done and Weight Watchers is going great!

A few weeks back I brought Penelope out of her winter storage, always one of my favorite things to do when Spring comes. Last year I put over 10,000 kms on her and I've been busy planning some good trips for this year already.  I think this year I'll stay in BC and explore where I live.  Besides, I'm still recovering from my 3 weeks in the US last year and that damn poor Canadian dollar!

Yesterday some friends and I had a quick little ride around town, I always have such a great time with the ladies I ride with!  Some days I wish we lived in a bigger city so there was more road to ride on.

Last week I picked up a sick bug and near the end of the week I started sounding like and old man who's been a heavy smoker for 60 years!  The frustrating thing is that I feel fine but I sound like I should be quarantined.  I laid low on the weekend and worked on getting better with the help of David's Tea and my doTERRA essential oils.  I was introduced to these fabulous essential oils a few months ago and I've been pleasantly surprised at how many uses I find for them.  At least 3 or 4 times a day I find myself using them, either to clean with, cook with, rub on sore muscles, help with cramps or adding to my diffuser.  You can get more info on them here.

I had been weighing in on Mondays but I've switched to Sundays now.  It's much easier for me to get to my mom's to weigh in on a Sunday rather than a Monday when I'm at work.  I find that doing the on-line Weight Watchers I miss being accountable to someone when I weigh in so I make sure to do it in front of someone. I have still been faithfully tracking my food on the Weight Watchers app I have and was very happy to find I was down another 4 pounds yesterday!  That bring my weight loss in the first three weeks up to 11.9 pounds!  Yay me!  

                        

I've been experimenting with dinner bowls this past week.  start with fresh greens then add a grain such as quinoa, brown rice or couscous.  Add a protein; chickpeas, tofu, chicken or nuts.  Then some veggies, my favorite so far was fried leeks, onions, bell peppers and swiss chard.  You can add a little kick with some chilli flakes, cayenne pepper or grated ginger.  Sprinkle some sesame seeds or feta cheese on top.  I like to add the dressing onto the greens before I add the rest of ingredients.  I simply mix some grainy mustard with cider vinegar and drizzle that on top.  

I just found a yummy looking Buddha Bowl recipe this morning with Roasted Garlic Tahini Dressing that I'm dying to try.  The dressing looks simple to make and having it made ready to go in the fridge will be a treat when I'm cooking dinner.  

Week 2 Done and I'm Still Smiling :)

I just had my weigh in for week 2 and I'm down 1.2 pounds.  I was of course hoping for a bigger number but what with me still struggling with my Vodka coolers I'm not surprised!

I'm using the new app to track all my meals and weight.  It's been relatively easy to remember to track, I even used it at the grocery store last night to scan UPS codes to choose foods with the least points.  I love that feature!  There was such a difference between bacon, the points ranged from 7 up to 12 for just 2 pieces (gone are the days of me eating 6 pieces of bacon for breakfast :o )  Now I can easily find out which is the better choice.

I picked up a new cookbook on the weekend and I'm so happy with the purchase.  'Weight Watchers Family Meals'.  I had a hard time decided what meal to cook from the book so in typical Jo-Al fashion, I cooked for 6 when it was just boyfriend and I eating lol.

I choose the Warm Spinach Salad with Bacon, Chicken and Feta (5 points) with a plate of Sweet & Spicy Drumettes (4 points) along with a side of Whole Roasted Cauliflower with Moroccan Spice (1 point).

Seriously, would you have been able to choose from those three? 

I've always wanted to try roasting a whole cauliflower and it couldn't have been easier!  I tried finding a recipe I can link here for you but they all had far too many steps.  Here's what I did...I just peeled the outer leaves off, cored it, and topped it with a mixture of 1/3 cup of greek yogurt and 2 TBSP Moroccan spice.  I baked it at 400 for just under an hour. Depending on the size of your cauliflower it may need longer to cook, just stick a knife in it to check if it's done.  I mixed the yogurt and spice together and spooned it on top.  You can actually use any spice you enjoy if you don't have Moroccan spice.  

It was so tasty I wanted to share the photo again.

This coming week I'm going to continue working on my water intake and keep up with my meal tracking.  I feel a good Week 3 is coming.  

Weight Watchers Week 1 Complete!

Today was my weigh in day and I'm happy to say I'm down 6.7 pounds!

There's a few things I'm going to work on for Week 2 like drinking more water and less Vodka coolers.
The weather is warming up and I can feel summer is headed our way, to me that means drinks on the patio and BBQs.  I'm still working out how I can make my patio party nights Weight Watchers friendly, it will take a bit more planning but I'm positive I can do it.

I found some great YouTube channels that are amazing and helpful and give me encouragement and support. A lot of my meal ideas this first week came from Overcomingemily, she has some fantastic meal ideas and her videos are full of tips and shopping trips to help you out.

Tonight's dinner is Garlic Chicken and Broccoli

and Roasted Cauliflower with Parmesan Cheese

Doesn't that look delicious!?  And at 5 points a serving how can I go wrong!

3 Months Into 2016

I'm know I'm not alone in deciding to make a lifestyle change in January and wake up one day to realize it's almost April and I'm still waiting to start that change!

Weight Watchers worked really well for me years ago after my son was born so I signed up to get back on the plan.  They have a new program which is a bit different than what I remember but it's still the basic idea of each food being assigned a point value and based on your weight you're given a maximum number of points you can eat each day.

I signed up last week but took the weekend to plan some meals and clear out my fridge so today is my Day 1.  (If I'm honest I actually was waiting to get through Easter and all the good candy before I started!)

My most loved breakfast is Red River cereal which is like oatmeal but has a nuttier flavor. It's a blend of Wheat, Rye and Flax and it's delicious. The reason I like Weight Watchers so much is that I can continue to eat some of my favorite things and I don't feel like I'm giving up all the good stuff.  As long as you count your points you're good!

I took to Pinterest to plan lunch and found Breakfast Scrambled Egg Pizza




By the time I drive home from work and take the dogs out I don't have a lot of time to cook before my lunch break is over and I need to head back to work so this was an easy, quick idea.




Dinner is going to be Moo Shu Beef, another quick easy recipe.  We're still working on our house reno's so anything I can cook fast after work and get out to the new place is what I'm after these days!


Planning meals is a huge things for me.  I've tried to plan on the fly and come up with ideas a few hours before I have to cook but that sets me up for failure.  My goal by the end of April is to be in the habit of having a week worth of meals planned out the Sunday before.  Sounds to me like a good reason to spend more time on Pinterest!

Chicken & Wild Rice Casserole

There's nothing nicer to warm up to this time of the year than this hot, quick and easy home made meal.  My Chicken & Wild Rice Casserole will surely become be a favorite as soon as you try it!

I like this recipe because it uses ingredients I always have in the house.  Anything I can make without having to hit the grocery store first is good for me.

1 1/2 c. uncooked Wild Rice - this Lunberg CountryWild rice is delicious!  It smells amazing when cooking and has great colors that will make any dish you're cooking look even tastier.

1 Yellow Onion, chopped
3 Celery stalks, diced
1 Tbsp Butter
1 can Cream of Chicken Soup
1/3 c Sour Cream or cream cheese, whichever you have on hand
1/2 c Chicken Broth + more to cook your rice
3 Chicken Breast, cut into small, bite sized pieces
Parmesan Cheese to sprinkle on top.
Salt & Pepper
Thyme or Rosemary, whichever you prefer


Cook the rice according to the package but replace the water with chicken broth, it will give your casserole a richer flavor.
With about 15 minutes of cooking time left on your rice you can begin cooking the chicken and the other ingredients.
I use 2 frying pans and get everything done at once.  Chicken cooking in one pan and the rest cooking in the other pan.

Sauté the onions and celery in the pan with the butter until soft, about 12 minutes.

In your second frying pan cook the chicken with a little splash of Extra Virgin Olive Oil. ( if you only have one pan to use, cook the chicken first)

Add the chicken to the celery mixture.  Mix in the soup, sour cream, chicken broth, salt and pepper, and seasoning.  Stir together well.

Once it's all combined, add to your casserole dish.  This lovely orange le creuset dish is our yard sale find from a few years back!  It gets used a lot in the winter.

Preheat the oven to 400

Before it goes in the oven sprinkle the dish with Parmesan cheese.  These cheese petals from Costco are a treat if you can find them.

You can never have too much cheese.





30 minutes later...

Quick, easy, delicious.
Enjoy!

Scrumptious Sausage Rolls

It's Christmas time!  Time to make my world famous sausage rolls (world = my household) 

I could make these any time of the year but the build up to getting these only at Christmastime adds to the incredible deliciousness of them.

These are so easy to make and the recipe doubles and triples very well.

Start by preheating the oven to 425 and line your baking sheets with parchment paper. 
Beat an egg until frothy and add it to the bowl your pork is in.  To the bowl also add your breadcrumbs, onion powder, garlic powder, dry mustard powder and fresh parsley.

 Mix with your hands until thoroughly combined. 

Roll out your puff pastry until it's around 12" x 14".  I just roll it until it looks like I can get three rows of pastry out of it.  

 Place your sausage filling down the center of the pastry.

Brush one side of the pastry with a bit of water to seal the edges and roll the pastry over to make a tube, pressing the edges together to seal well. 

Cut each strip into 1" pieces.

Brush with an egg wash (1 egg beaten well with 1 Tbsp water) and poke two vent holes in the top.  Sprinkle the top with sea salt.
Bake 15 - 20 minutes or until they are golden brown.

This was 20 minutes in (ignore the dirty oven :o) I left them in for a few minutes longer to get nice and golden brown.

They're best served warm.  I put mine in the fridge in a well sealed container and before serving I'll put them in a preheated oven for 5 minutes.  

I've made two double batches already and I have 4 more pounds of pork thawing in my fridge right now to make more!  

This year boyfriend got a local pig and the taste of sausage rolls make from pork that is only 2 weeks old is INCREDIBLE! Buy local whenever you can.

MERRY CHRISTMAS! 

Scrumptious Sausage Rolls

1 egg
1 lb ground pork
1/4 c bread crumbs
1 tsp each of garlic powder, onion powder and dry mustard powder
2 Tbsp fresh parsley, chopped into small pieces
1 box Tenderflake Puff Pastry
1 more egg for the egg wash + 1 Tbsp water

Preheat the oven to 425 and line your baking sheets with parchment paper.  

In a large bowl add the pork, bread crumbs, garlic powder, onion powder, dry mustard powder and parsley.  Mix well.  

Roll out the puff pastry until its approximately 12" x 14", enough to cut three strips.  Place your sausage mix down the middle of the puff pastry sheet.  Brush one edge of the pastry with a little water to seal the edges.  Roll the pastry over to make a tube and press well to seal the edges.

Cut into 1" pieces and poke two vent holes in the top with a toothpick.  Place on your baking sheets and brush with egg wash and sprinkle with sea salt granules (not ground salt)

Bake for 15 - 20 minutes until they are nicely golden brown.

Comment below and let me know how yours turn out :)  

Clean Eating! Thai Curry Meatballs

I love trying new recipes and this one was so tasty I need to share it.  It's also egg and wheat free so it's good for our clean eating plan!

You can make these meatballs ahead and freeze them for up to 3 months in a well sealed container.  This was my first time trying this recipe so I didn't modify it much but next time I'm going to make smaller meatballs and serve them with some rice noodles rather than the brown rice I served them with this time.

Meatballs:

2 lbs ground turkey (I used a mix of bison with a little turkey to make 2 lbs)
1 c zucchini, shredded and liquid squeezed out
1 Tbsp fish sauce
1/4 c green onions, finely chopped
2 Tbsp basil, chopped
2 tsp fresh ginger, grated
2 minced garlic cloves
1 tsp red curry paste
2 Tbsp coconut milk
1/8 tsp hot pepper chilli flakes

Combine all the ingredient and mix with your hands thoroughly.  (make sure the meat is completely thawed or your hands will get VERY cold, lesson learned, lol) 

Make 28 meatballs, lay them on a cookie sheet and set them aside while you mix the sauce.

Sauce:

1 1/2 c coconut milk
3 Tbsp tomato paste
1 tsp red curry paste
1 tsp fish sauce
1/8 tsp hot pepper chilli flakes
5 - 6 kaffir lime leave (optional)

In a small bowl, whisk all the ingredients together and set aside.

Preheat a large skillet on medium-high.

Cook meatballs until browned on all side, don't worry about cooking them all the way through.  They finish cooking in the sauce.

Add the sauce, reduce heat and simmer uncovered.

Cook for about 20 minutes.  Your kitchen will smell AMAZING by this point and your family will come asking when dinner is ready.  Tell them the longer they wait the better they'll taste.

I had decided too late to make rice to serve with the meatballs so mine sat simmering for about 30 minutes while I cooked up some brown rice.

1 meatball with 2 tsp of sauce = 50 calories 1.3 g fat.

I loved learning that you can substitute the egg that is usually in meatballs to hold them together with grated zucchini.  I'm going to try that with meatloaf and hamburgers from now on.

Happy cooking!