Sunday, October 25, 2009

Pan seared bacon wrapped asparagus

If you are like most people, you probably don't care much for asparagus. Oftentimes, when I go out to a dinner, and asparagus is served, it is left behind on my plate. Haven said all this, you must be wondering why then, I would be sharing with you an asparagus recipe. Here's why.... recently I made some dietary changes, which included adding more vegetables to my diet. As you can imagine, it is pretty easy to get bored of vegetables. To conquer this potential problem, I try new vegetables as often as I can (case in point, Jicama!).

My philosophy on food is pretty simple... with the right spices and combination of ingredients, almost any food can be made delicious. In order to achieve this, I looked up a few recipes and decided on this simple and delicious one.

Ingredients
5 or 6 asparagus spears
2 slices of extra lean turkey bacon
Black pepper to taste
Butter flavored cooking spray (any kind is fine)

What to do
Wrap 2 to 3 asparagus spears in each slice of bacon (fasten ends with toothpicks)
Sprinkle with black pepper
Heat up a pan on medium heat
Spray bottom of the pan with cooking spray
Place asparagus in the pan and sear on each side until bacon is slightly crispy (should take about a minute on each side)



Serve with your favorite protein dish... and enjoy!

p.s - serve alongside a fillet of Tilapia fish cooked as you like, for a healthy meal
p.p.s - WW friends, this recipe serves one, for a total of 1 point!

Wednesday, October 7, 2009

Tandoori Chicken Skewers

Let's take another trip to India.

I know it was not that long ago we did so, with my tandoori fish recipe, but.... here's the great thing about buying a jar of any marinade. You can use it in many dishes.

So... here's what I did.

- I picked up about a pound of boneless chicken thighs (about 2 thighs). Chicken breast works great too, but I think dark meat is more flavorful. I chopped it into bite sized pieces.
- I added 2 tablespoons of tandoori mild paste (Pataks Original makes a great one).
- Then, salt and black pepper to taste.
- I left it to marinade for about 45 minutes then skewered it (about 7 skewers).
- I heated up the broiler and placed the pan with the skewers, about 7 inches away from the broiler.

Keep an eye on the skewers, rotating/turning every 3-5 minutes. It is ready to eat in about 15 minutes (plus another 5 minutes if you insist on letting it cool down).

Enjoy with naan bread, basmati rice, your favorite salad, or on its own as a snack. YUMMY!!!!

p.s - here's a tip - soak wooden skewers in water for about 15 mins to prevent burning under the broiler.
p.p.s - each skewer is only 1 weight watchers' point.