"Garden" salad

From my lovely lettuces, I had a lovely salad. Strawberries, carrots and my baby lettuce, with a vinaigrette I threw together:

Walnut Oil
Red Wine Vinegar
Dill
Basil
Parsley
Salt
Pepper

Whisk together. Toss into salad. Yum!

I can grow things!

Yum! I'm thinking salad for lunch?

Protein Power Chili and cornbread

This chili has an amazing 25+ grams of protein per 1.5 C serving. Can't beat that.

1 can black beans
1 can kidney beans
1 can diced tomatoes
1 cup frozen corn
1/2 Textured Vegetable Protein
1 roasted green chili
1/2 C red lentils
1 tsp olive oil
1 onion, diced
garlic powder
cumin
salt
pepper
onion powder
paprika
4 C veggie broth or water

Saute onion in olive oil. Add the rest of the ingredients. Cook for at least a half hour, mine has been on the stove on low for about 4 hours now, adding liquid as needed. Yum! Serve with soy cheese and a corn muffin (recipe in archives).

Meatless Meatloaf and Rosemary Carrots

This was so tasty. I forgot to take a picture of is, though, sorry. The recipe is by Renee on allrecipes.com.

• 1/2 (14 ounce) package vegetarian ground beef (e.g., Gimme Lean TM)
• 1 (12 ounce) package vegetarian burger crumbles
• 1 onion, chopped
• 2 eggs, beaten
• 2 tablespoons vegetarian Worcestershire sauce
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/3 teaspoon pepper
• 1 teaspoon ground sage
• 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
• 2 teaspoons prepared mustard
• 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
• 3 1/2 slices bread, cubed
• 1/3 cup soymilk (plain)
• 1 (8 ounce) can tomato sauce
• 4 carrots, cut into 1 inch pieces
• 4 potatoes, cubed
• cooking spray

---

DIRECTIONS:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
2. In a large bowl combine vegetarian ground beef, vegetarian ground beef crumbles, onion, eggs, Worcestershire sauce, salt, pepper, sage, garlic powder, mustard, oil, bread cubes and milk. Transfer to a 9 x 13 inch baking dish and form into a loaf. Pour tomato sauce on top.
3. Place carrots and potatoes around loaf and spray vegetables with cooking spray.
4. Bake 30 to 45 minutes; turn vegetables. Bake another 30 to 45 minutes. Let stand 15 minutes before slicing.

Pts: Well, the meatloaf makes about 6 servings, and the bread I used for the crumbs was 1 pt for 2 slices, so maybe 1 pt total? and then 2 pts for the Earth balance. So good.


Rosemary Carrots

Carrots, cut into small sticks
some fresh rosemary
2 tsp Earth balance

Melt earth balance in a frying pan on med. heat. Add carrots and rosemary. Cook until carrots are cooked but not mushy. (Yes, this means you get to taste them every few minutes. :-)

Curry and Chapati

This is an adapted recipe from a family friend:

Curried Chikken

3 T Earth Balance or other vegan "butter"
1/4 c minced onions
1 1/2 tsp curry powder
3 T flour
3/4 tsp salt
3/4 tsp sugar
1/8 tsp ground ginger
1 c vegetable broth
1 c milk
2 c. Quorn tenders
1/2 tsp lemon juice
3 to 4 c cooked brown rice
Melt butter over low heat in heavy saucepan. Saute onion and curry in melted butter. Blend in flour and seasonings. Remove from heat . Stir in chicken broth and milk. Bring to a boil, stirring constantly. Boil 1 minute. Add Quorn and lemon juice. Heat.
Spoon curry over the rice then sprinkle accompaniments over the top.

Accomp: chutney, tomato wedges, raisins, slivered salted almonds, chopped slated peanuts, sauteed onion rings, pineapple chunks, sieved hard-cooked eggs, vegan bacon bits, sweet-sour pickles, currant jelly, flaked coconut, India relish, sliced avocados.

On my table, you see: Mango chutney, diced tomato, chapati, raisins, diced cucumber, curry, hardboiled egg, walnuts and diced apple.

Mango Chutney (my own recipe)

2 mangos, chopped finely
2 TBSP brown sugar
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp crushed red pepper
1/2 tsp fresh grated ginger
1/2 C apple cider vinegar

Combine ingredients in a pot. Bring to boil. Reduce heat, cook on low for 20-30 mins, stirring occasionally to prevent sticking. If mixture is too thick, add water or fruit juice.

Chapati

2 C whole wheat flour
1 C water
1 tbsp cumin


Combine. Make 1" balls. Roll out balls on flour. Put in a hot pan (no oil) for 30 seconds or less on each side. Then, on gas stove, set chapati on the burner directly above flame. It should immediately begin to "poof". Flip, let it poof on the other side. Serve warm.

Pts: each chapati should be about 1 pt. The chutney is about a half point for a tsp, maybe less. The curry is about a point for a serving. Yum!

Pea Salad!

1 frozen package of peas
4 table spoons of mayo or salad spread
4 boiled eggs
8 oz cheddar cheese
1/4 onion (optional)
Dill
Parsley

Cook the frozen peas according to package directions. Hard boil 4 eggs. Drain peas and let cool. While eggs and peas are cooling, cut cheese into small 1/2 inch cubes. Slice eggs up into small pieces using a knife or egg slicer tool. Dice onion. Mix all ingredients together and mix well. Salt and pepper to taste. Refrigerate before serving, it tastes better chilled!

It was super yummy. I only made about a half recipe, and used a lot less cheese. I also used up a couple of the eggs I dyed at my boyfriends house on Sunday. Yay!

Pts: 2 for the cheese.

BBQ Seitan Chicken and Stirfry zucchini

So, I picked up some vital wheat gluten at the market, and thought I'd try making some seitan. I used a recipe from seitan-worship.com, for the chicken-style one.

POULTRY PIECES: CHICKEN-FLAVORED SEITAN

Makes 8 pieces Preparation Time: 10 minutes Cooking Time: 45 minutes

2 cups raw gluten

1/2 teaspoon cumin, ground

3 cups water

1/2 teaspoon coriander, ground

1 tablespoon nutritional yeast

1/4 teaspoon garlic powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon tarragon

1/2 teaspoon celery seed

1/4 teaspoon rosemary

1/4 teaspoon sage

1/2 teaspoon turmeric

1/4 teaspoon thyme

2 teaspoons corn oil

Divide raw gluten into 8 pieces. Using a meat mallet, pound these pieces into the shape of boneless chicken breasts. In a saucepan, combine water with all remaining ingredients to form a poultry-flavored broth. Add raw gluten pieces to broth.

Cook gluten in broth over medium heat for 45 minutes without boiling. Slow cooking allows the poultry flavoring to penetrate the gluten. If the broth is allowed to boil, the texture of the poultry pieces will become spongy, but if cooked slowly, it will resemble chicken breasts.

Poultry pieces are best when dipped in batter or flour and then fried in oil. However, they can be diced or chopped immediately for use in soups or salads.

I then put Gunnison River BBQ sauce (an old family favorite) on top of the "chikken" and put it in the over for a half hour.

2 tbsp. vegetable oil
1 onion, chopped
1 garlic clove, chopped
2 c. ketchup
1/4 c. vinegar
1/2 tsp. dry mustard
2 tbsp. sugar
1 tsp. chili powder
Dash of cayenne
2 tbsp. Worcestershire sauce (use vegetarian sauce, so it doesn't have yukky anchovies in it)
1 tsp. salt

Heat the oil in large saucepan and saute onion for 5 minutes. Add garlic and saute 1 minute more. Add remaining ingredients and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer for 30 minutes, stirring occasionally. Store, refrigerated, in covered glass container.

The squash was just sliced thin and sauteed with diced onion in olive oil.


Verdict: The chicken was yukky. I think I should have cooked it in a BBQ style broth instead of the one I did. I dunno. I'll have to experiment more with it, since this was the 1st time I had ever made it. Squash was excellent though.

Another Polenta Lasagna

but with Trader Joe's Meatless Meatballs instead of veggies. (Only had onions and tomatoes, so I just made marinara with them instead of having deficient roasted veggies.) Quite good.

See recipes several posts below.

Pts: 2 pts for the parmesan grated on top.

Strawberry &Watercress salad; Asparagus and leek potato salad

I was invited to my boyfriend's parents' house for lunch today, and brought two dishes to share. They both turned out really good!
No pictures though, sorry. (I took them over there unfinished, and put them together right before we ate).

Strawberries and Watercress Salad



1 large bunch watercress
About a pint of strawberries
About 6 or 7 chives, chopped
A small handful of pine nuts, toasted

For the dressing:

1 teaspoon balsamic vinegar
1 teaspoon sherry wine vinegar
Salt
Freshly ground black pepper
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
1 tablespoon walnut oil

Place all the salad ingredients in a wooden salad bowl. In a small bowl, whisk together all the dressing ingredients, making sure the result is well seasoned. Depending on the sweetness of your strawberries, you may need to add a bit more vinegar to balance sweet and tart. Dress and toss the salad just before serving.

However... i put my pine nuts in the toaster oven, went to do my hair and forgot about them. Came back, and I had little black nuts.. looked kind of like deer poops. So we had pecans instead. And my salad was to feed 8, so I added some green leaf lettuce, and doubled everything else.


Asparagus and Leek Potato Salad

2 tablespoons Dijon mustard
1 tablespoon red wine vinegar
1/4 cup canola oil
Salt and freshly ground pepper
3/4 pound small fingerling potatoes (I found purple potatoes at the farmers market- SO PRETTY!)
2 medium leeks, white and tender green parts only, split lengthwise then cut crosswise into 1-inch pieces
1/4 cup snipped chives


In a large bowl, whisk the mustard with the vinegar. Whisk in the canola oil in a thin stream and season with salt and pepper. Bring 2 medium saucepans of salted water to a boil. Add the potatoes to one and cook for 20 minutes. Simultaneously, cook the asparagus and leeks in the other saucepan for 5 minutes. Drain and pat dry; add to the vinaigrette. Drain the potatoes and slice 1/2 inch thick; add to the bowl. Add the chives, season with salt and pepper and gently toss the salad. Serve warm.

Very very tasty! and healthy, too! No points because the oil on my salad was my oil for the day... of course... all the other things we had to eat were a little less WW-friendly. Oh well. It was good, and it was only one day.

No posts lately

I've been crazy stressed with a project I was working on, so I would just throw something together, or graze when I was hungry. However, I did discover a really good new drink.. And try it before you scorn..

Diet caffeine-free cola mixed with tazo Passion tea. Sounds weird, but tastes so good.

Curried Chikken Couscous

As my dad hates couscous (don't ask me why), I never had it as a kid, and I've never really used it. But it's on Core, so I bought a box, and decided, tonight was the night to make it. So, I went searching, and found a trove of recipes on NearEast.com (which is a couscous manufacturer). I adapted this one to make :

Curried Chikken Couscous

1/2 C Quorn Tenders
2 teaspoons curry powder, divided
2 tablespoons Extra Virgin Olive Oil, divided
1/2 chopped onion
2 C veggie stock
1 C broccoli flowerets, or just cut up broccoli works fine (I had a bag of frozen broc. pieces, so i've got bits of the stem in. works fine, tastes fine, just isn't as pretty
1/2 C chopped red bell pepper ( I just tossed in the Trader Joe's Melange a Trois)
1/3 C raisins
2 tsp firmly packed brown sugar
1/2 C Plain Couscous

In a small saucepan, simmer quorn pieces in about a half cup veggie broth, and 1 tsp curry powder.
3. Heat remaining olive oil in skillet. Add onion; sauté 2 minutes, stirring frequently. Add remaining broth, broccoli, red bell pepper, raisins, brown sugar, remaining 1 teaspoon curry powder, and to skillet; bring to a boil. Stir in couscous; cover. Remove from heat; let stand 5 minutes. Toss couscous lightly with a fork before serving.

WW points on Core: .5 for the Quorn, 2 pts for the raisins, and .5 for the brown sugar.. Recipe makes 2 servings, so 1.5 total.

Roasted Veggie Freeform Lasagna

Inspired by a recipe from the BackStage Bistro in Chicago.

Polenta:

2 C Water (The original recipe said use milk, but I wasn't sure how the soymilk would make it taste, so I used water)
2 tablespoons olive oil, plus extra for oiling pan, and for sauteing
Salt and freshly ground pepper
1/2 C cornmeal
1 tsp Earth Balance
2 tablespoons grated Parmesan
1/2 C whole wheat flour for dredging.


Lightly coat a sheet pan with olive oil and set aside. Bring the water and olive oil to a boil in a large pot. Add salt and pepper, and then sprinkle in the cornmeal, stirring continuously with a wooden spoon or heavy whisk to avoid lumps. Reduce the heat to medium and continue cooking, stirring frequently, for about 15 minutes, or until the polenta pulls away cleanly from the sides of the pot. Season, to taste, again with salt and pepper. Fold in the butter and Parmesan.

Turn the polenta onto the prepared sheet pan and smooth it out. Cover it with plastic wrap, and put it in the refrigerator until it is quite cold, preferably overnight. Using a 4-inch round pastry cutter, cut the cold polenta into 4-inch round cakes.

Heat a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add enough olive oil to coat the bottom of the skillet, and let the oil heat. Dust the polenta cakes with flour, add them to the pan in batches, and saute until crispy and golden brown. Serve the polenta cakes with marinara sauce and roasted veggie, layering like free-form lasagna as desired.

Marinara:

1 Can dice tomatoes
1 can tomato paste
1 small onion, diced
3 cloves garlic, minced
olive oil
Basil
Oregano
Thyme
Salt
Pepper

In a saucepan, saute onion and garlic in olive oil until translucent. Add herbs, then tomatoes and paste. Let simmer for 30 mins, adding water to desired consistency.
You may add red wine, parmesan, and other spices to your taste.

Roasted Veggies:

Eggplant
Zucchini
Red onion
Red and/or Green Pepper
any other vegetables

Cut veggies into chunks, making them all approximately the same size. Pam a large cookie sheet, then spread the veggies out onto it. Spray a bit more Pam onto the veggies, then sprinkle with salt and pepper.

Roast in the oven at 400 for about 20 mins, stirring/turning the veggies halfway.

Edit: I fed this to my boyfriend when he stopped by after work. He loved it! Even microwaved it was amazing. He said he likes the new "Gourmet Ana". :-)

Migraine

I had a migraine yesterday, so I was unable to cook anything. I had oatmeal in the morning before it hit and my boyfriend brought me a veggie burger in the evening.

Leftover Day

For the life of me, I can't remember what that thing is called, but it's from Australia, I believe.
Anyways. Fridge was too full, so I ate leftovers all day. The shepherd's pie was even better today.

Shepherd's Pie and Braised Leeks

We used to have shepherd's pie when I was a kid, and I basically used my mom's recipe. The braised leeks are a new thing, one I saw today while watching Discovery Home channel, the show Chef at Home with Chef Michael Smith, and they just looked so good I had to try them (even though they aren't so WW friendly.) They were absolutely delicious. I will definitely be making them again, but I'll try and adapt the recipe to be more WW (and vegan) friendly.

Vegetarian Shepherd's Pie

1 C reconstituted TVP
1 bag frozen mixed vegetables
5 small yukon gold potatoes
1 TBSP flour
1 1/2 C vegetable broth
1 tsp Earth Balance margarine
2 TBSP fat free sour cream
1 egg yolk
Salt
Pepper
Paprika
Onion Powder
Garlic

Boil the potatoes in their skins until tender. Mash, and let cool slightly. Add the sour cream and 1/2 C vegetable broth. At this point (hopefully your broth was cool or cold) add the egg yolk. This is the topping of the pie.
Make a vegetable gravy- combine the Earth Balance and flour in a small saucepan, and gradually add vegetable broth until it's a nice thick sauce.
Cook the frozen veggies in a bit of warm water. Once they're hot, add some salt and pepper, and onion powder and garlic to taste. In a deep baking dish, combine the TVP, veggies and gravy. You may want to add some more salt and pepper, as the TVP can be a bit bland. On top of the mixture, spoon the potatoes to cover the dish. Sprinkle with paprika, and put in the oven on Broil for about 10 minutes.

Braised leeks

2 tablespoons of butter
2 tablespoons of olive oil
4 leeks, white bottoms only, roots still attached, halved lengthwise
1 cup of Pinot Noir or other red wine - I used Merlot
2 cups of vegetable broth
Salt and pepper

Preheat a large sauté pan over medium-high heat. Add the oil and butter and when it foams, add the leeks, flat side down. Pan roast for a few minutes until the face browns and softens. Add the red wine and broth and season with salt and pepper. Cover with a lid, reduce heat and braise at a slow simmer for 30 minutes, until leeks are very soft and braising liquid has reduced and thickened to a sauce-like consistency.

Wonderful. I only made 2 leeks (they were almost out at the market) and I ate them both, they were so good.


WW points on core: the shepherds pie is 0 pts, because the very small amount of Earth Balance and flour spread out to be something like .2 pts.. Now the leeks.. 2 TBSP butter is 6 pts, a cup of wine is 2 pts and 2 TBSP of olive oil is 7 points. However, I didn't use quite as much butter and olive oil for mine, since I only had 2 leeks instead of 4. But I ate both of them, although a lot of the sauce was left in the pan. So, I'm saying about 7 pts for the leeks. Well worth it though, well worth it.

Stock Day!

That's right, I'm making vegetable stock! Super easy, and much better than the store bought stuff (especially the overly salty boullions and soup bases.)

3 carrots, sliced into chunks
3 small onions
4 stalks celery plus any celery leaves
5 cloves garlic
1 tsp whole peppercorns
3 bay leaves
a couple stems of fresh parsley
A lot of cold water

In a stock pot, put all of your veggies and spices. Put enough cold water in the pot to completely cover the veggies plus about 3 cups.
Bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer for 1 hour.
Remove from heat, and strain ( a wire strainer is best, but you can use a collander if it has very small holes.)
Put into a container and refridgerate. You can also put it into ziplock baggies and keep it in the freezer. In the fridge, stock should keep for about 2 weeks.

Mmmm my house smells great!

Leftovers and an early Seder, and Brown Rice Pudding

I had leftover tempeh salad today for lunch, I added some more pickle relish to it and it was a little milder.
Tonight I'm going to an early Passover Seder put on by the university I used to go to (since Passover falls during finals for them, they have it early), so no cooking tonight, but I will post one of my favorite recipes:

Brown Rice Pudding

1 C cooked brown rice
1-2 C vanilla soy milk
1 TBSP maple syrup
1/8 C raisins
1 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp nutmeg
1 tsp vanilla

In a saucepan, put cooked rice and enough soymilk that your rice is floating in it. Add all other ingredients, bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer for about 5 minutes until thickened slightly. (It will thicken more once it cools.)

All quantities are adjustable. I like to make extra rice when I'm having stir fry, and then make up some of this for desserts/breakfasts. If you don't want to use the points, use plain soy milk, splenda or SF maple syrup, and leave the raisins out.

It's a point for a TBSP of syrup, a point for the raisins, and around 2 pts for a cup of the vanilla soy milk.. A cup of rice makes about 2 servings, so 2 pts a serving.

Mock chicken or tuna tempeh salad

Yes, this is a baby rhino. Isn't it cute? I was literally about a foot away from it.


Recipe courtesty of Justcallmejulie on recipezaar.com

16 ounces soy tempeh
1/4 cup sweet pickle relish (I use Cascadian Farms organic sweet relish)
1/4 cup finely chopped celery - use the heart
1/4 cup finely chopped red onion
1/4 cup finely diced red bell pepper
1/4 cup raw sunflower seeds
1/4 cup finely diced green peppers
1/4 cup scallions sliced into little rings - only the white and very light parts
2 tablespoons tamari
2 tablespoons finely chopped flat leaf Italian parsley
2 tablespoons lemon juice
1/2 teaspoon finely minced fresh garlic
1 teaspoon cumin
1 teaspoon dried dill
1 cup vegan mayonnaise (I recommend Vegenaise non-dairy vegan mayonnaise)
8 servings

45 minutes 45 mins prep

1. Prepare the tempeh first breaking it into chunks and steaming it over boiling water for about 15 minutes.
2. Set aside and allow to cool.
3. Assemble the rest of the ingredients in a large bowl adjusting the amounts according to your preference.
4. Finely crumble the cooled tempeh into the bowl and combine with the chopped vegetables.
5. Add the mayonaise last.
6. Chill before serving.
7. Serve as a sandwich spread – hearty wheat bread is nice, or serve as a dip with organic stone ground tortilla chips.
8. Serving size is relative.

The onion flavor was a bit strong, but putting pickles and avocado inside the pita mellowed it a bit. I left out the sunflower seeds because I didn't have any, and used soy sauce instead of tamari. Really good, and extremely filling- I put WAY too much filling into the pita. I also didn't have any Veganaise, but I did have fat-free mayo, so I used that.

WW points on core: Veganaise is 3 pts for 1 TBSP. I used ff mayo, which is core. 1 pt per whole pita. So, 1 pt for me!

Quick and Easy Lunch

Well, I'm still tired from earning my 15 APs yesterday, so I wanted something easy that wouldn't take too long. Looked in the fridge.. and came up with:

Chikken Pesto Pasta

1/2 C Quorn tenders (only used half a bag for the teriyaki, so I had those ready to go)
1/4 C vegetable broth
3/4 C Whole Wheat pasta, penne, rotini, etc work the best
2 TBSP pesto (my recipe below)
1 tsp grated parmesan cheese

Cook whole wheat pasta, according to package directions. In a small saucepan, simmer your Quorn in the veggie broth. (I find they can be a little dry, this totally eliminates that problem and makes them extra tasty and juicy.) Let the Quorn absorb most/all of the broth. (This should only take about 5 mins, less maybe, I didn't time.) Once they've absorbed the broth, add your pesto. Stir it around, making sure it "melts" and coats all the pieces of chikken. Once your noodles have cooked, immediately add them to the chicken/pesto mixture. Toss so that the noodles get pesto on them too. Grate a little bit of parmesan over the top and enjoy.



Now, I had pesto in the fridge from a batch I made in the beginning of March, so I could just throw it in. However, it's pretty easy to make, and in the fridge, covered with some olive oil, it keeps FOREVER. (Well, until you eat it all up, at least.)

4 C basil leaves
1/2 cup pine nuts
1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese
1/3 cup olive oil
5 clove garlic clove(s)

Blend the garlic, pine nuts and basil in the food processor. Slowly add the oil, so that it goes through the whole mixture. Once it's fairly smooth, add parmesan cheese and blend that in. Put into a tupperware, make the surface level, and cover with a few tsp of olive oil. Keep it in the fridge, on the top shelf, and the olive oil on top will solidify, making it easy to scoop past to get your pesto out to enjoy. Always cover the pesto with the olive oil, and it will keep, as I said, FOREVER. (The part in contact with the olive oil may turn a darker green, but don't worry, that's normal, and nothing to worry about. Eat it all!)

WW points on core: 1 pt for the pesto (pine nuts and parmesan, the oil is my healthy oil for the day), and 1 pt for the chocolate soy milk... I'm loving Soy Slender chocolate soy milk- sweetened with splenda, so it's just 1 pt! Total: 2 pts.

Yes, that is a bird on my head...

( A lorikeet, to be exact.) The boyfriend and I went to the San Diego Wild Animal Park all day, so for lunch, a veggie burger and for dinner, (on the way home) "Tofu Delight" with brown rice at the Iron Wok. It was pretty tasty. I'll cook tomorrow, promise!

Teriyaki "Chicken"

This was inspired by my boyfriend. He occasionally eats lunch at Wahoo's FIsh Tacos. They apparently have a teriyaki beef meal, which he enjoys the flavors of, but not the beef. (He's a "sort-of, sometimes" vegetarian.) I bought a bottle of teriyaki sauce from the market, but the ingredients made me less than happy- Teriyaki is supposed to be soy sauce, mirrin or sake, and sugar. This bottle had no sugar! (I added some). Anyways, recipe:

1/2 package Quorn "chicken" tenders
1 bottle teriyaki sauce (make sure yours has sugar, or at least high fructose corn syrup)
1 large sweet yellow onion
1 head broccoli
1 red pepper
15 or so white mushrooms
1 can baby corn
1 cup brown rice
1/3 cup "healthy" oil, you choose.
1 green onion, sliced very thin

Cut all veggies into bite size pieces except the onion. Cut the onion into rings, discard "core". In separate bowls, marinate the chicken and onions for about 30 mins. Start the rice cooking, follow directions on package. Once the onions have finished marinating, heat a large frying pan with about half the oil. Once a drop of water bounces and sizzles, throw in the onions and a small portion of the teriyaki sauce. These will need to cook for about 15 mins. In another pan, with the rest of the oil, stir fry the veggies. You may find that your pan is too small, in that case, (as I did), do half at a time. The trick to successful stir-frying is to not crowd the vegetables, or they'll begin to steam themselves and get mushy. You want them to fry. Once the onions are almost cooked, dump the chicken into the onion pan, and let them cook together. You'll want to add a fair amount of the sauce along with the chicken. Once everything is cooked, combine rice, vegetables, onion/chicken mixture, and let the sauce cover everything. Mix it up a bit, toss on plates, and top with the green onions.

(And i know what you're thinking... Rice? There's no rice in your picture, Ana... I know. I burned the rice, because I got distracted by my onions, and forgot to turn off the pan. So, saving the day as usual, I dug in the cabinet for one lonely packet of ramen noodles, boiled them up, drained then, and tossed them in with the veggies.)

I usually suggest modifications to a recipe, but you know what? This was perfect, I wouldn't change a thing. Oh yeah, and my beverage was Raspberry Ice crystal Light.

WW pts on core: 1 pt for the sauce, the oil is spread out through the recipe so it just ends up being your healthy oil for the day, and i'll count points for my ramen, but if you have rice, you won't have to. So 1 pt total.

Leftover lunch

Just the corn chowder and the penne for lunch.. Something good for dinner tonight tho!!