Totally American

The Franwich is Taking the World by Storm!

September 20, 2011 By Fran 6 Comments

Franwich-Sandwich

There’s a culinary craze going on and it’s called The Franwich. I didn’t make up the name. I’ve simply eaten this simple sandwich as my breakfast each workday since February and it’s begun to catch on with colleagues, friends and family. A whopping 10 people call this one of their go-to breakfasts. Wow! The Franwich is taking the world by storm!

How did this humble sandwich gain popularity? The Franwich found its name at work one day. I made it for a friend each morning — we had the “ultimate” set up; a cheap toaster, a fridge and a place to put it all together. Others began to see us indulging in the low Weight Watchers points (6 – 7) and low calorie breakfast and wanted in. One by one the sandwich began to make its way into other’s breakfast routines and the craze was born — for all 10 of them. Shew! It’s exhausting being part of something viral.

People have been known to steal the Franwich from their colleague’s desks, for crying out loud! Before we know it there will be rioting, chaos and anarchy on the streets, all due to the simple Franwich! Help save us all by making your own.

It’s not a complicated deal; just a Pepperidge Farms Deli Flat, the Arnold’s Brand works equally as well, two slices of Boar’s Head Salami and a slice of Boar’s Head Provolone with a schmear of dijon mustard. This 6 Weight Watchers Points breakfast is easy to make, is filling and commuter friendly.

Sometimes when I’m feeling really crazy I’ll sub Bagel Flats, and no, they’re not going to replace my beloved New York style salt bagels — then again, salami and provolone won’t be my “last meal on earth” in place of Bagels and Lox.

On occasion when I’ve felt like a Franwich instead of a breakfast tortilla on the weekend, I’ve stepped up the Franwich with a leaf of basil or onion and tomato slices.

I can be so fancy.

And I’ve been known to carry Franwich fixin’s when traveling, just like I did this past weekend when I headed to the beach with friends. Not only was I able to stay on track with breakfast, but another friend got to have the Franwich experience.

There has even been a time or two that the Franwich has made it into my dinner line up. I think next time I’ll put the salami in a pan for a minute to crisp it up and top the whole thing with a poached egg for a truly decadent Franwich experience.

Next up, marinara sauce and cheese.

What are your ideas for a new Franwich in keeping with a no more than 6 Weight Watchers points or about 200 calorie sandwich?

Filed Under: All, All Posts, Totally American Tagged With: Bread, Dijon Mustard, Provolone Cheese, Salami, Sandwich, Weight Watchers

Decadent Single Serve Brownies on a Weight Watchers Plan

September 3, 2011 By Fran 8 Comments

I have a confession to make. I ate the whole thing. It’s not what you think. At first blush, this looks like a decadent home made brownie with a scoop of ice cream made in my kitchen.

In reality it’s a decadent brownie with a scoop of, um… I can’t believe I am going to type this … French Vanilla Cool Whip!! Yes, ladies and gentlemen, I said Cool Whip!

And the brownie? Not one of my decadent pound-of-butter brownies here. You’re looking at a treat made from Trader Joe’s Reduced Guilt Brownie mix.

And all this for just 5 Weight Watchers points — approximately. The brownie package says it serves 12 and the nutritional breakdown calculates 4 points per serving, but I have a feeling I can make 24 brownies from this box which means in reality this dessert (with the Cool Whip) comes to just 3 points.

I won’t know until I’ve made the entire box, but I like to estimate high — just to be safe.

I’m not going to stress about the fact that I used a box and a tub for this dessert. I’m working on the next 35lbs. of this weight loss journey and when it comes to dessert, I am just not at the point where I want to be mixing and stirring, melting and chopping the evil temptress — Dark Chocolate.

I’ve been relying on prepared desserts from the freezer aisle these past 6.5 months while making most of the rest of my meals from fresh ingredients, but at a recent Weight Watchers meeting my partner in crime spoke up and mentioned the “No Pudge Fudge” brownie at Trader Joe’s. The name has changed, but the results are the same. A rich chocolate brownie that is fat free. What? She told us that the mix is delicious and a brownie fits well within the plan.

Well, since Trader Joe’s is on our agenda every Sunday after the meeting I was anxious to get there and pick up a box. I’ve held onto it for quite a few weeks not knowing how I was going to make a pan of brownies and resist the urge to have more than one.

And last night, after giving in and pulling the box from the pantry, I learned just how to manage this mix. The total Weight Watchers Points Plus value for one brownie is just 4. It’s the same as a Weight Watchers frozen dessert or a small slice of a fresh fruit tart. But there’s a bonus with this mix, something that makes it so easy to stay on track.

With no more kitchen equipment than a tablespoon, a small ramekin and a microwave oven, you can have a single, warm brownie in less than a minute!!

Yes, you heard that correctly … less than a minute!

It’s simple. Measure 2 tablespoons of mix, 1 tablespoon of vanilla yogurt in a small bowl until fully combined. Scrape every last drop of the chocolaty goodness into a small ramekin and cook it in the microwave on high for 45 seconds.

Be careful. The ramekin will be hot. You can either eat it right out of the ramekin or turn it over, tap it on a plate or a cutting board and it will slide right out. The instructions don’t tell you to spray the ramekin with baking spray, but I did, just for safe measure.

These brownies have a kind of macaroon texture once they begin to cool. They get more chewy and if you wait too long they are downright crunchy so get it out of the oven, garnish as you like and dig in! It’s just the right amount to cure your craving for a hot-out-of-the-microwave chocolate treat.

Pick up a package and enjoy your 4 point, 120 calorie brownie tonight!

Filed Under: All, All Posts, Totally American Tagged With: Brownie, Cool Whip, Dessert, Low Calorie, Mix, Trader Joe's, Weight Watchers

Have You Had a Plumcot?

August 17, 2011 By Fran 1 Comment

Over the course of the past few years I’ve run across a few varieties of fruit that I’ve never heard of before, like the Plumcot. Before I reached into the bin at my the supermarket and picked it up, I had no idea what a Plumcot was. It looked like a golden colored plum which I figured was a hybrid of a plum and an apricot and this made it very intriguing. I put three in my cart and as I strolled around the market finishing my shopping, I thought about what I’d do with it.

That’s when a Plumcot Tart came to mind. This dessert is so quick and easy you can whip one up and have a warm Plumcot Tart for a weeknight dessert.

I was having a friend over for dinner and knew it would be the perfect end to a simple summer dinner. We didn’t need anything complicated to finish the meal. This tart was just right.

I adapted a Weight Watchers Apple Tart recipe by adding a few spoonfuls of my version of Apricot Compote and I used less sugar. I found the recipe in a Weight Watchers cookbook a few months ago, and while I can’t find a copy of it, I was able to recreate the dessert with ease. There are just few ingredients, as you’ll see in the recipe below.

The definition of a compote is fruit stewed with sugar or in a syrup and sometimes with a splash of alcohol, but mine had none of that. I had a container of perfectly ripe apricots and needed to do something with them so I put them in a small saucepan, unpeeled and let them simmer until they broke down.

Once they began to slump in the pan I scooped out the pits and threw them away. After tasting the fruit I decided it needed just a bit of sugar so I added 1/2 packet of Truvia. I’d never used it in baking before and didn’t want to ruin the fresh fruit flavor. It was that perfect sweet-tart flavor. If you don’t want to use a sugar substitute or real sugar, a 1/4 cup of fresh orange juice will give you the sweet lift you’re looking for. Cook until you can mash the fruit and you’re done. And a bonus for those of you with babies — stewing fruit in this manner (without the sugar substitute) makes quick baby food. Buzz it in a food processor or with a stick blender and you have a treat your child is not likely to turn their nose up at.

So, as the tart was finishing up in the oven I got a wild hair and decided a few spoonfuls of that sweet-tart Apricot Compote needed to become part of this tart. I guess I was just a little off my game. It tasted incredible, but the apricots would have been just as delicious and more visually appealing on the bottom of the tart shell, and as I was spreading the compote on the plumcots I realized my mistake. I have one more shell left in the freezer, and more stone fruit on the counter, so I’ll make another and share it with neighbors! Oh yes, I know my limits.

The rest of dinner was delicious as well. We feasted on Mexican flavored Chicken Burgers using my friend Stephanie of Copycat Recipes’ Taco Seasoning recipe, Corn on the Cob with Queso Fresco and Cilantro and a Stacked Caprese Salad inspired by David Leite’s Tomato and Basil Tower post. I wasn’t true to that recipe either, but loved how it looked in his post and made it my own by slicing an heirloom tomato into thick “steaks” and layering with fresh mozzarella and basil. A little good quality extra virgin olive oil, a drizzle of quality balsamico (tradizionale, if you can spring for it), freshly cracked black pepper ground Himalayan salt and we had a summer vegetable to round out the meal. Next time, I’ll try it the way the recipe intended — blanching and peeling the tomato and no cheese, but this version worked well. Truth be told, I just plain forgot that step! Ah people … don’t let your brain turn to mush, ok?

Ok, you caught me! I decided to make it my way one more time this week to have with dinner and I have to be honest, I like the resistance and the slightly tart zing that lies just beneath the skin. Next week I’ll hit up the farmers market and find a beautifully round specimen to blanch. Promise. Oh, and I’ll plate it more beautifully. My poor tomatoes are a little sad.

Plumcot and Apricot Tart

Prep time: 15 mins

Cook time: 40 mins

Total time: 55 mins

Serves: 6

A stone fruit tart like this is the perfect ending to a refreshing summer meal.

Ingredients

1 frozen Puff Pastry sheet, thawed
3 tablespoons Apricot compote (optional)
4 tablespoons granulated sugar, divided
zest of 1 Lemon
2 Fresh Plmucots, cut into wedges

Instructions

Separate 1 tablespoon of sugar and place in a bowl.
Spray the bottom of the tart pan with baking spray.
Carefully unfold the pastry sheet and roll it to fit your tart pan. A removable bottom tart pan that is 9″ square or a rectangular pan like I have will work with one pastry sheet.
Lightly flour your work surface and a rolling pin and roll the pastry to overhang the rim of the pan slightly.
Using your rolling pin, roll off the extra dough.
If using apricot compote, brush the fruit on top of the dough.
Sprinkle with1 tablespoon of sugar.
Place plum slices in the pan, lining them up, evenly.
Set aside.
Mix the remaining sugar with lemon zest and sprinkle on top of the plumcots. The sugar will clump, but once it begins cooking, will melt into the tart.
Bake at 400º for 40 minutes or until the crust is golden brown and the plums are cooked through and bubbling.
The plum cots will likely give off a lot of liquid, but will “gel” during the end of the cooking time.
Allow to cool before serving.

Serving size: 1/6th Calories: 102.3 Fat: 0.8g Carbohydrates: 18.1g Fiber: 0.1g Protein: 0.7g

Notes

One slice of this tart will cost you just 3 Weight Watchers points 102.3 calories

Filed Under: All Posts, Chicken, From Mexico, Totally American Tagged With: Apricot, Baby Food, Chicken Burger, Compote, Diet, Dinner, Fruit, Low Calorie, Tart, Tomato Stack, Tomato Tower, Weight Watchers

A Kind of Peanut Butter Pie for Mikey

August 14, 2011 By Fran Leave a Comment

By now you’ve probably seen the outpouring of Peanut Butter Pie memorials for Mikey, Jennifer Perillo’s husband. Jennifer is well known in the food blogging world and the number of pies — captured in mages, both photos and video, and words in her husband’s honor has been mind-boggling.

I don’t know Jennifer, and don’t know much about her, but what I do know is that this food blogging community has long arms and big hearts. When asked what could be done to help during this difficult time, Jennifer’s response was a request for people to make her husband’s favorite Peanut Butter Pie and reach out and share it with people you love.

There have been pies of all shapes and sizes. Tributes in words, images and videos to make your mouth water and your eyes tear. It’s been a few days of giving back to someone so many of us don’t know, but feel the need to reach out and to participate and to give back in a community event such as #apieformikey.

If you haven’t seen it yet, this incredible video will help you understand the spirit of the community.

I’m never one to back away from a community event. But I did not go to the store to pick up the ingredients to make a pie. I didn’t want anyone to think I was blowing off this important event so I took out one of my Weight Watchers standbys — the frozen Peanut Butter Cup dessert. Not because of any self-serving Weight Watchers weight loss goal or reason, but because I too am in mourning.

Without going into long detail, I lost a dear friend on Wednesday evening. In the 15 years I’ve known him we’ve been colleagues, compatriots, friends, and buddies and I wish there were more years in our future. But there can not be so I am going to celebrate his life and our friendship in a separate post, later this week, when I can honor a friend I miss to the point of tears and sometimes sobbing whenever I think of him.

But I want to make sure I don’t diminish Jennifer’s loss and heartbreak, so I’m offering this little piece of the current me. It’s not home made. It’s not free of the packaged, processed foods I’d normally write about here, but I hope that Jennifer finds the corners of her mouth can turn up just a little and she can be comforted by my thoughts for her and her family with my version of a thin Peanut Butter Pie offering.

Filed Under: All Posts, Totally American Tagged With: Loss, Mourn, Peanut Butter, Pie

Bays English Muffins for Anytime

July 30, 2011 By Fran 2 Comments

A few days ago I received a package from the Bays English Muffin folks. Bays was one of the sponsors at the BlogHer Food conference in Atlanta in May. I eat English Muffins sometimes. They used to be a staple in our kitchen for breakfast when growing up and now that I’m working on losing weight, they’ve become a regular in my kitchen too. I’m not a cereal eater and sweet breakfasts aren’t my thing. A home made Belgian waffle, especially a savory one is something I like on weekends, but while I work hard at losing weight, it’s not something I indulge in right now.

My carb choices for breakfast are Deli Flats, a half a bagel or an English Muffin. All come in at between 3 and 4 Weight Watchers Points Plus values or between 100 and 140 calories. Not a bad point or calorie distribution for breakfast with something light on top.

Bays muffins are not kept in the bread aisle and that’s probably why I was not familiar with them. They’re kept in the refrigerated section and in my local Harris Teeter, they were right there below the eggs. I never look down. No, seriously, if I’m reaching for eggs, I’m intent on finding a container with no broken shells and other than perhaps looking to the left to see the Cream Cheese display, I just don’t look down.

I’d never have known to look in the refrigerated section if the Bays rep hadn’t told me when I stopped by their table at the conference. In any event, my muffins came neatly packed in a box and I broke them out the very next morning for breakfast. Nothing complicated, just a toasted English muffin and an ounce of Italian Black Truffle Cheese from Trader Joe’s. Hey now! I had a package in the fridge and who says black truffles can’t be eaten at breakfast?!

Anyway, I made a ThinRecipes version of a Maine Lobster Roll using shrimp last night. It was darn good, although the bread wasn’t authentic and any true “Mainer” scoff at it, dinner was fabulous and I didn’t feel at all deprived. These English Muffins are somehow fresher tasting than the brand I usually buy and I like that they aren’t quite as “wholly.” They are a little more dense which is, I suspect, why this brand of English muffin is 4 points rather than the typical 3 points, but I like a more dense bread and this does the trick for me. Look at how beautifully golden brown the edges are. What’s better than a crispy edge to an English Muffin?

They held up well to the shrimp and it made a great dinner after a busy workday.

I had a happy accident in the kitchen while making this sandwich on a baguette last weekend, one which I think you will probably be interested to hear if you’re trying to find ways to lower your point or calorie intake.

I was rushing around the kitchen in that whirlwind of ravenous dinner desperation. I didn’t even take the time to change into more comfortable clothes after rushing in after work, putting my bags down and getting to the work of making dinner. Who has time for relaxing when a meal is in the very near future? Clearly, I had no time.

I pulled out all the ingredients and got to chopping and cleaning. I chopped the shallots, olives and parsley and set it aside. Next, I cut the 4 large shrimp into chunks and put them in a bowl. The mayonnaise, a delicious olive oil and lemon emulsion with perhaps a bit too much lemon was perfect for shrimp. In goes a tablespoon and one more time. WHAT?! WHY would I have done that? Now what was I going to do. This perfectly calculated Weight Watchers Points dinner was suddenly adding up to be not so frugal in points. hmmm… Shrimp lives in the ocean. It gets cleaned when being peeled and deveined. What harm can another rinse do to it? I’d just start over. I gave it a quick rinse and low and behold, not all of the mayo came off. I put it back into the bowl, added the shallots and olives and low and much to my amazement, it was PERFECTLY dressed! Not too much mayo, not too little. Well seasoned and lemony, the shrimp flavor was able to shine through. Wonderful!

And just when I thought I’d been so clever and invented a great new way to save on Points or calories, my Sunday morning friends at Weight Watchers let me know that Lisa Lillien, of Hungry Girl fame recommends this method too! Looks like I’m in good company.

Writing this post, I suddenly have a classic craving. I’ve got eggs, Canadian bacon and more muffins in the fridge calling my name. Eggs Benedict, anyone? Not me. With this week’s weigh-in just 36 hours away, there’s no hollandaise in my near future. Rather, I’m feeling a crispy toasted English Muffin with a beautifully poached egg on top.

And we’re back! Before I leave you I thought I’d show you how I woke up and got over my Eggs Benedict craving, sans hollandaise. Who needs the sauce when you have a perfectly poached egg like this? A small one ounce round of Canadian Bacon, a quick Salsa Fresca and one beautifully Poached Egg on top of an English Muffin and you’ve got a delicious 7 point or 279.5 calorie breakfast.

Breakfast anyone?

**NOTE: Bays English Muffins provided me with the English Muffins. This is not a sponsored post, nor was I compensated for this post. The opinions are my own and are for information purposes only.

Filed Under: All Posts, Totally American Tagged With: Bays English Muffins, Hungry Girl, Poached Egg, Shrimp

Pickled Shrimp Recipe for a 4th of July Treat

July 4, 2011 By Fran 6 Comments

From the torn and tattered pages of a book of recipes I started collecting when I was a young married woman, I revived the Pickled Shrimp recipe my mom used to make for dinner parties this morning to take to a 4th of July barbecue later this afternoon.

It’s a simple recipe. Just one bowl and a few steps, especially if you pick up already peeled, deveined and cooked shrimp. And if you click on the image, you’ll see that I didn’t even write any steps for making the dish. It’s that simple.

This recipe, in this book, has been following me around the world for decades and I had no idea where it originated. The recipe next to the hand written Pickled Shrimp recipe is a mystery as well, although I suspect it comes from Gourmet Magazine.

So I picked up the phone and called my mom and found out it’s from the original Gourmet cookbook which I don’t have any longer. I brought it to Goodwill a couple of years ago when I found myself with the two most recent volumes which is a shame, because I just looked for the recipe to see if it traveled with Gourmet through the years and like the magazine, the recipe has gone by the wayside. I’m just happy I have my hand written copy!

I usually cook my own shrimp, but when walking through Trader Joe’s for my weekly after Weight Watchers meeting visit, I spied bags of already cooked shrimp in the freezer section and said to myself — Self, break out of that — have to cook every part of a dish yourself — frame of mind and skip a step! The shrimp might actually be good — as good as or perhaps better than what you can do!

And so I did. Thee bags of peeled, deveined and cooked shrimp ended up in my basket and this is what I have to say — WOW! What a great thing these bags of shrimp are! I didn’t see what the count was, but these are large shrimp and not having to peel, devein, clean, boil and do the dishes was a real luxury.

You’ll need a bit of time since you need to “pickle” the shrimp, but the prep time is minimal and you may have all of the ingredients in the house already. Don’t confuse this with ceviche. The shrimp is not “cooked” in the vinegar. I am not sure, but I think the oil would prevent the “cooking” process, so the recipe calls for already cooked shrimp. It also has a different texture.

And finally, I’m not paid to plug Trader Joe’s, although that would be pretty damn cool, but let me just tell you — this shrimp was cooked so well. The package notes that they have come up with a new way to peel and devein shrimp by using a kind of pin or probe to pull out the veins. This made me SO HAPPY! I have a thing about shrimp veins and when I devein I remove both. Yeah, yeah yeah. I know it’s not necessary to remove both, but come on, each look unappetizing, don’t they? Anyway, the process Trader Joe’s uses means you don’t end up with butterflied shrimp. They are whole, in one piece. A beautiful thing.

If you need already cooked shrimp, run to Trader Joe’s and pick up a bag. Hell, go there now and make this recipe! It’s always a crowd pleaser and it’s perfect for a summer party or dinner appetizer.

Pickled Shrimp

Recipe Type: Appetizer

Prep time: 15 mins

Cook time: 8 hours

Total time: 8 hours 15 mins

Serves: A crowd

Pickled Shrimp is so easy to prepare. If you’re having company, put it together, throw it in the fridge and a before the guests arrive, pull it from the fridge, just in case the oil has congealed a bit. Pull out the tooth picks and serve to hungry guests to get the evening started.

Ingredients

1 large Onion
Shrimp, peeled, deveined and cooked
3 – 4 Bay Leaves, fresh or dried
1 cup Olive Oil
3/4 cup White Vinegar
5 teaspoons Celery Seeds
3 teaspoons Salt

Instructions

Using a mandoline or knife, slice onion thinly, but not paper thin and set aside
In a serving bowl (I like to use glass because it shows well) place a layer of shrimp
Add a layer of onions and a bay leaf
Sprinkle celery seeds and salt
Start with the shrimp layer again and continue layering until you’ve used all of the shrimp
Finish with a layer of onion
In a bowl, whisk the olive oil and vinegar
Pour over the shrimp, cover and refrigerate for a minimum of 4 hours
Serve with toothpicks

Serving size: 4 Shrimp

Notes

This dish feeds a crowd so the vast amount of olive oil is not negligible, but is not consumed in amounts that will put you over the edge. I hesitate to put a Weight Watchers Points Plus value because much of the oil is left sitting in the bowl but after building the recipe using WW’s eTools, the Points Plus value for 4 shrimp came up at 7. I estimated high and think it’s probably more like 3 points, but to be safe, call it 7. These are large shrimp weighing about 3 ounces for 4 pieces.

Filed Under: All Posts, From the Sea, Totally American Tagged With: Cook, Food, Fourth of July, Pickled Shrimp, Recipe, Weight Watchers

A Thin Recipe Week in Review with a Video

June 20, 2011 By Fran 7 Comments

This was a colorful week. In many respects. It started with a bit of an experiment. An egg poached in a plastic bag dropped into a pot of water. Good idea. Poor execution. You’ll see in the video below that I had to do a bit of trim work to try to make the egg look like, well … an egg rather than a white tube with a yellow spot. I prefer the texture of an egg poached the traditional way — in a pot of boiling water.

Mid week, a spectacular double rainbow accompanied me on the way to work and while friends tell me it marks an auspicious occasion, I’m still waiting for that propitious event. I’ll let you know when it happens. I hope you plan to follow me for a while — I have a feeling it might be a while.

In other news, I had a date with the scale this morning, as I do every Sunday morning and I decided I’d better go light for dinner the night before.

Another crack at a quinoa cake with a poached egg and my new favorite condiment — Peruvian Aji Verde (recipe below) hit the spot, although I’m still not in love with the quinoa cake thing. I think I’m hoping it will have the taste and texture of a potato pancake, but it’s missing a fairly important component… frying in oil!

After the weigh-in breakfast ensued. It wasn’t a heavy Sunday brunch affair. Those meals are a thing of the past, but somewhere in the week I apparently overdid it because I managed to put on 4/10ths of a pound. ACK! Stop that now! It could be worse. To date, I’ve lost an average of 1.1 lbs. a we ek! Sure, more would be great — better even, but I’m still smiling and feeling so much better.

I decided to continue on the lean eating after the weigh-in and during my usual trip to Trader Joe’s after the meeting I picked up an interesting Vegetable-Rice Bento Box from the frozen food department. It wasn’t the best Japanese food I’d ever had … ok, maybe it was among the worst Japanese food I’d ever tested, but it satisfied my hunger. I’d finally broken down and eaten at the Sushi carousel at the mall the day before and while it is a cool idea, it was obviously mall food and while not great, like the bento box, my 4 small plates satisfied me without an overabundance of food. I’d forgotten to take a look at the rate sheet and had no idea how much I was paying for each plate. The waitstaff tallies the number of plates in each color category to come up with your total and I didn’t want to spend a ton on lunch in either points or dollars since I was a big points-spender at breakfast before heading to the mall.

A home made waffle and a bit of maple syrup accompanied by a couple of rashers of turkey bacon added up to a whopping 11 point breakfast. That left me with just 18 points for the rest of the day. Not a killer. Just something to keep in mind and I guess it was just too much for the day before a weigh-in, although really … does a gain happen in real time? Right, I don’t think so either. That waffle and syrup may yet find their way to the scale.

I’d say it was a deliciously colorful week and I’m looking forward to what next week will bring.

Have you had Aji Verde? How about Peruvian food? It’s my current favorite cuisine!

Peruvian Aji Verde

Recipe Type: Condiment

Prep time: 10 mins

Cook time: 2 mins

Total time: 12 mins

This tangy, slightly spicy sauce is great with just about anything.

Ingredients

1 large bunch fresh Cilantro
1/4 cup Flat Leaf Parsley
1/2 small Onion
3 fresh Jalapeño Peppers, ribs and seeds removed
2 tablespoons Extra Virgin Olive Oil
2 teaspoons Cider Vinegar
Zest of 1 Lime
Juice of 1 Lime
1 teaspoon Sea Salt
1 clove Garlic
2 tablespoons Water

Instructions

Blend all ingredients in a blender, food processor or mortar and pestle until smooth. Add more water, a teaspoon at a time if necessary.
Refrigerate unused sauce.

Serving size: 2 tablespoons Calories: 14.2 Fat: 1.4g Carbohydrates: 0.8g Fiber: 0.1g Protein: 0.2g

Notes

This sauce is so versatile, you’ll find yourself using it on almost everything once you’ve gotten a taste of it.

This condiment has a Weight Watchers Points Plus value of 1. Be careful, you’ll find yourself wanting to drink it!

For added body, add 2 tablespoons mayonnaise. Surprisingly, the addition of mayo will not increase the points value. The calories will just about double, however to 32.2.

Filed Under: All Posts, Breakfast, From Asia, From the Sea, Internationally Inspired, Side Dishes, Totally American Tagged With: Aji Verde, Breakfast, Cook, Dinner, Food, Lunch, Peru, Recipe, Video, Weight Watchers

Is Turkey Bacon SPAM in Disguise?

June 12, 2011 By Fran 4 Comments

I think I just ventured into uncharted territory. At least uncharted in my world. Is there such a thing as smoked SPAM? Is there such a thing as turkey SPAM? Well, if there isn’t, someone’s playing a cruel joke on me because I am here to tell you that when I took a closer look at the turkey bacon on my cutting board this morning, I could have sworn I was looking at thin slices of SPAM and I don’t eat SPAM! I may have had SPAM a long … long … long … long … hell, there aren’t enough elipses to span the amount of time it’s been since I’ve had the pressed pig.

I honestly don’t know why it was in the house that one time when I was growing up. It was clearly an accident. It had to have been the late 60’s or very early 70’s. I think my mom may have been in her experimental phase. You know, kind of like Picaso in one of his phases. I mean, my mom is a phenomenal cook, an artiste in her presentation and creativity. She took some cooking classes in the city to learn how to make Chinese food when it was nothing more than Americanized dishes served in dark restaurants with red flocked wall paper and drinks in Buddha cups with umbrellas in them.. So SPAM would not have been in our culinary lexicon. I don’t remember how the SPAM was served. I just have a vague recollection of that rectangular can in the house.

I think it’s some kind of mind over matter memory blocking thing, but I’ll tell you this, I’ve avoided it since. Even when I lived in the Philippines and the grocery stores had an aisle full of SPAM in a variety of flavors, next to the aisle with macaroni and cheese in the blue box and the one with various flavors of tuna packed in oil, I didn’t give into the can. And surprisingly, the temptation of the bright and shiny new SPAMJAM restaurant in the Glorietta Mall in Makati never had enough allure to get me to go in and spend p99 ($0.50) on the Rice Combo #1. I wasn’t feeling it. But that’s ok. It meant I left a lot for others to have and believe me, the love of SPAM in that part of the world is big, so I didn’t leave anyone unhappy with my reticence.

But all this talk about SPAM leads me to the burning question. Is Turkey Bacon a thinly disguised recipe for SPAM with a different name? Look at it. There’s nothing about this turkey bacon that says turkey and the only thing that says bacon is the artificial smoky flavor. I think turkey bacon is SPAM of the poultry variety and I need to get to the bottom of this mystery.

I might have to take a trip to one of the SPAM centers of the world and spend a couple of weeks researching SPAM. I could jet off to Hawaii and do some important SPAM research, however it seems silly to fly all the way to Hawaii and never leave the US to research the SPAM mystery. I think this calls for a trip to the Philippines. But in the meantime, I made another ~~SPAM~~ turkey bacon breakfast to use up the rest of that funny looking “bacon” I had in the fridge. I’ve got a real itch to cure some of my own bacon again, but that would be like tempting the devil. It’s so crazy good that I’d be taunting myself.

This time I tried an egg poaching method that a friend at work told me about. I probably won’t be doing that again.

My friend uses this method on camping trips and it makes sense. Crack an egg into a Ziploc bag and slide it into a pot of boiling water and in a few minutes you’ve got a creamy poached egg. Yep, it works, but … it looks um… not like what you’d expect. I like the texture of an egg slid into a pot of simmering water that’s been swirled with a spoon into a tornado-like vortex so that the egg white covers the yolk and results in a custard-like finish better, but we’re not here to talk about the texture of eggs.

We’re talking turkey bacon and it’s similarity to SPAM. I don’t know why I care? Well, yes I do. The Weight Watchers Points Plus value for Turkey Bacon is just about the same bacon and if I can have a choice, I’m going with bacon. Sorry. That’s just how it is. The value is close enough to warrant a Pig intervention as far as I’m concerned! So, I used the last of the turkey bacon and put that experiment to rest. I’m all for weight loss and eating more healthy, but with the infrequency with which I’m eating anything with the word bacon in it, I’m happy to give up the processed bacon that comes from nowhere close to a pig’s belly.

Turkey Bacon — 2 slices = 2 points
Bacon — 2 slices = 3 points

This would be a delicious recipe to pull out that home made Aji Verde Sauce to brighten up your breakfast!

Turkey Bacon & Egg Breakfast Tortilla

Recipe Type: Breakfast

Prep time: 10 mins

Cook time: 20 mins

Total time: 30 mins

Serves: 1

Turkey bacon lends the smoky flavor of regular bacon to these breakfast tortillas.

Ingredients

2 slices Turkey Bacon
1 ounce, low fat melting Cheese (Cheddar/Colby/Jack)
1 tablespoon Onion, diced
1 small ripe Tomato, chopped
1/4 lime or 1 teaspoon lime juice
1/2 teaspoon Chili Powder
About 10 cooked beans or about 1/10th of an ounce — almost any bean will work. I used cranberry beans, but pinto or black beans work well also
4 sprigs Cilantro, torn
1 Corn Tortilla

Instructions

Heat a saucepan to boiling.
Crack an egg into a ziptop bag and seal. Use a bag that says microwave or heat safe.
Cook the turkey bacon in a hot skillet until browned. You can cook until crispy, but in this dish, it’s not absolutely necessary. I use a grill pan which gives the bacon defined grill marks.
Remove the turkey bacon to a cutting board and chop. There’s no need to wash the pan at this point.
Add the turkey back to the pan with the beans and cook for 3 minutes, stirring to heat through on medium heat.
Meanwhile, chop the tomato, onion and cilantro and chili powder together and add the lime juice and combine.
Crisp the tortilla over a flame or under the broiler. Be careful to watch it to make sure you only char the tortilla in spots, not burn it all over to a blackened crisp.
Heat the skillet on low and add a few pumps of olive oil spray to the pan.
Place the charred tortilla in the pan.
Sprinkle the cheese on 1/2 of the round.
Add the turkey bacon and top with tomato-onion-cilantro mixture.
Cook until the cheese begins to melt. If you want, using a spatula, carefully fold the tortilla in half and continue cooking.
In the meantime, reduce the boiling water to a simmer and add the bag with the egg.
Cook for 4 minutes or until it achieves the desired texture in simmering water.
Turn the tortilla when the egg has been simmering for 2 minutes.
Gently slide the poached egg on top of the tortilla and serve.

Serving size: 1 Calories: 308 Fat: 11.5 Carbohydrates: 42.1 Protein: 21.9

Notes

The Weight Watchers Points Plus value of this flavor-filled breakfast is between 7 and 9 points — depending on which site you use. I use both Weight Watchers and Spark People. I use Weight Watchers to initially build the recipe and Spark for more in-depth nutritional details. Spark is always a bit higher in the points conversion.

Any kind of tortilla works, but I don’t skimp on flavor or texture and corn tortillas are my go-to

Add any kind of vegetable you like. I didn’t add jalapeños this time, but peppers or salsa verde or salsa roja are a fabulous addition.

And please, let me know what you think — Turkey Bacon, is it SPAM in disguise?

Filed Under: All Posts, Featured, Totally American Tagged With: Aji Verde, Breakfast, SPAM, Tortilla, Turkey Bacon

Run for the Roses with a Kentucky Hot Brown in Your Hands!

May 1, 2011 By Fran 2 Comments

What is a Kentucky Hot Brown?

I’m so glad you asked. A friend of mine, Leah, has been talking about the Kentucky Hot Brown for the three and a half years I’ve known her and we’ve been trying to get together in my kitchen so that she can teach the uninitiated (me) how to make one for just about as long. The Hot Brown was created at the Brown Hotel in Louisville in 1923. You can get all the details at Bunkycooks’ site where she goes into great detail about the history of the decadent sandwich with a story, beautiful photos, video and a recipe.

It’s not a complicated recipe and chances are you have all the ingredients in your kitchen right now, but there was just something about having a Louisville native in the house to show me how to do it right that made it special — my friend Leah, a right proper Kentuckian, she is. There’s no way not to have fun when Leah’s around and as a bonus, the fact that eating something as rich, creamy and oozing with cheddar cheese as this hot sandwich can be done within the boundaries of a weight loss program surprised the heck out of me.

One serving is all you can have, but it’s so satisfying, so rich and filling that you’d be hard pressed to overeat something like this. Think of it as a kicked up cheese fondue sandwich with tomatoes and bacon. Oh! Oh! I got you there, didn’t I? Bacon — it hit you hard, didn’t it? The beauty of it is that two rashers of bacon will cost you just 2 Weight Watchers Points Plus values and we used 5 for the 6 serving Hot Brown!

Yes, you CAN have bacon and not feel guilty about it. No need to substitute some fake food product to help you satisfy your smoky, salty bacon craving. Pair it with a 7.5 point Mint Julep and you’ve got a pretty high-falutin’ Derby delicacy. I can do without a 7 point drink, but for those of you that want to celebrate in style, how’s that for good news?

Before the recipe, check out the making of a Kentucky Hot Brown with Leah. For authentic Derby music, check out Run for the Roses by Jackson Browne.

Kentucky Hot Brown

Prep time: 15 mins

Cook time: 35 mins

Total time: 50 mins

Serves: 6

Putting together a rich, delicious Kentucky Hot Brown is easy, but so rich you’re going to want to invite a group of friends over to help you eat the finished product.

Ingredients

3 tbsp unsalted Butter
3 tbsp all purpose Flour
1- 1/4 cups whole milk, heated to just take the chill off
2 cups shredded Cheddar Cheese
5 slices Italian Bread
8 ounces sliced or cubed cooked Turkey Breast
5 slices cooked Bacon
2 small Tomatoes, Sliced
1/4 cup grated Parmesan Cheese

Instructions

Preheat oven to 350º
Melt butter in a saucepan or a skillet on medium heat.
When melted and bubbling, add flour, stirring constantly. Cook until flour is fully incorporated, whisking for a few minutes until no lumps appear and the sauce is thick. *Note — This is a roux. For a New Orleans style dish, you’ll continue cooking until it becomes a chocolate brown, but for a lighter sauce or gravy, you’ll just want to cook until the flavor of the flour has decreased.
Slowly incorporate the milk, whisking constantly. The mixture will begin to thicken.
Add cheddar cheese and stir until fully melted. *NOTE: This is a Béchamel sauce or a “Mother” sauce. It’s sublime in lasagne and if you’re making baked Macaroni & Cheese, or Nachos this will be what you need to get your cheese to melt and not become a lump once it hits the cooler air outside of the oven.
In an oven proof baking pan or casserole dish, place bread slices in one layer.
Add turkey.
Spoon finished cheese sauce to cover the entire pan.
Place in hot oven and bake for 20 minutes. The cheese sauce on the side of the pan will be golden brown.
Pull the casserole out of the oven and top with bacon and tomatoes.
Sprinkle grated parmesan cheese on top and put back in the oven.
Continue baking for 15 minutes.
Remove from oven and let rest for 10 minutes before serving.

Serving size: 1 6th Calories: 419 Fat: 25.1g Carbohydrates: 24.3g Fiber: 1.4 Protein: 23.9g Cholestrol: 83.2g

Notes

This decadent sandwich will cost you just 11 Weight Watchers Points Plus values! Serve it with a side of fruit and you’ve got the perfect lunch or supper.

Leah and I are planning a Matzo Ball Soup get together soon, so be sure to watch out for that one! The soup takes a long time to make, so we’ll make other food as well and it might be time to fire up the broadcast and show you how it’s really done in the kitchen on Justin.tv just like the “old days”. It’s been a long time. I’ll let you know via Twitter and Facebook if that’s the plan and you can “come into my kitchen” and watch us cook via live streaming video.

Filed Under: All Posts, Main Dishes, Totally American Tagged With: Cook, Derby, Food, Kentucky Hot Brown, Run for the Roses, Sandwich

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