Pineapple Sweet & Sour Chicken with Jasmine Rice

Food Category: PG, High-5
Difficulty: Easy

Pssst. Here's what is keeping this meal from being Bum Lovin': I pan fried (not even spritzed with evoo & baked!) lumpias, wrapped them in foil & kept them in a warm oven until ready to serve. They were so good!

Start the cooking prep by marinating 3 chicken breasts for at least one hour.

Chicken Marinade

Thinly slice 3 chicken breasts & 1/2 of an onion. To the chicken & onion add:

• 2-3 T of sweet chili sauce (It's in the picture below on the far right - purchased at the commissary.)
• 2 T of pineapple juice (from an 8 oz can of pineapple chunks)
• 2 T of soy sauce
• 2 t sesame oil
• 1 clove crushed garlic
• few shakes of run-of-the-mill chicken seasoning

Stir Fry Veggies

• Cut 2-3 large carrots into thin strips, not quite Julienne
• Stir fry in a bit of evoo for 3-4 minutes
• Add 2 cups broccoli florets & continue to cook until almost tender crisp
• Add 2 cups of cole slaw mix & stir fry for 2-3 more minutes
• Season with salt, pepper, sesame oil & soy sauce
• Remove from pan and set aside

(If using frozen broccoli, cook in the microwave & toss with the other veggies at the end of the cooking process.)

Stir Fry Chicken

• Add a bit more evoo to the pan over high heat
• Toss in the marinated chicken and stir fry until cooked through
• Remove chicken from the pan, leaving the juices
• Set chicken aside

Sweet & Sour Sauce

Mix together with a wire whisk:

• 1/4 c Splenda Brown Sugar Blend
• 1/2 c vinegar
• 1/2 c pineapple juice (the rest of the juice of the 8 oz can)
• 2 T soy sauce
• 1/2 c water w/1 teaspoon chicken granules (or 1/2 c chicken broth)
• 2 heaping T of cornstarch
• 1-2 t sesame oil
• 1-2 T sweet chili sauce

Bring pan juices to a boil & add the sweet & sour mixture. Cook over medium high heat until the sauce begins to thicken. Add the pineapple chunks & remove from heat.

Serve with Jasmine Rice, cooked in a rice cooker & lumpias, either pan fried or spritzed & baked!

Leftover potential: Straight up leftovers for lunch. To reheat the eggrolls, wrap in foil and bake in the toaster oven until heated through. Remove foil & bake for a few more minutes to crisp them up.

Teriyaki Chicken & Stir Fry Veggies

Food Category: PG, High-5, Bum Lovin'
Difficulty: Easy

Stir Fry Teriyaki Chicken

• Marinate 3-4 servings of chicken breasts in Teriyaki-Garlic sauce for 3-4 hours.
• Slice chicken into thin strips & pat dry with paper towels.
• Sprinkle with ground ginger.
• Stir fry with evoo over medium-high heat with thin slices of onion & one garlic clove.
• At the very end of the cooking process, season with Teriyaki sauce, sesame oil, salt & pepper.
• Once chicken is browned, remove from pan, cover to keep warm & set aside.

Stir Fry Veggies: Zucchini, Carrots, Sugar Snap Peas

• Slice one large zucchini into half-moons.
• Sautee in evoo until tender crisp.
• Season with sesame oil, soy sauce, salt & pepper.
• Remove zucchini from pan & set aside.
• Add more evoo to the pan & sautee sliced carrots until about half cooked.
• Add sugar snap peas & continue to cook both the carrots & peas until tender crisp.
• At the end of the cooking process, season with sesame oil, soy sauce, Teriyaki/garlic sauce, salt & pepper.

Serve with rice cooked in the rice cooker.



Leftover potential: Straight-up leftovers work. Also, everything will keep well in the fridge for a few days. You can stir fry the whole kit & kaboodle to make fried rice. Veggies & chicken can be frozen and later added to soup.

Minestrone with Tortellini

Food Category: PG, Bum Lovin, High-5
Difficulty: Easy

The minestrone soup I make is very similar to this recipe on Allrecipes. With the following exceptions:

• one medium onion
• chicken broth or granules in water, not just water
• large can of crushed tomatoes instead of sauce
• red wine is never optional
• add one can of Northern beans
• frozen green beans, not canned, and double the amount
• season with dried thyme, oregano & basil
• tri-color cheese tortellini instead of shell pasta
• & I don't spray anything with evoo, what's that all about anyway?

garnish with freshly grated parmigiano/reggiano & fresh basil

Leftover potential: This soup will hang in the fridge for a few days & should freeze well, although I never have. Just keep the pasta and the soup separate until ready to serve.

Pork Gyros & Garlic Potatoes

Food Category: PG-13, bordering on Food Porn
Difficulty: Easy

Pork Gyros

• season thinly sliced pork loin with prepackaged Greek seasoning
• or a combination of: oregano, crushed garlic, salt & pepper, paprika, mint
• in a tiny bit of evoo, sautée one thinly sliced onion until tender crisp
• add pork and continue to stir fry until the meal begins to crisp
  

If you need the basics of cooking gyros, try this recipe.

The Rose's Garlic Potatoes

• wash, peel & thinly slice potatoes into circles
• deep fry until golden brown
• drain excess oil & season with salt or pommes frites seasoning (all purpose seasoned salt)
  
• top with fresh minced garlic & chopped parsley

Tzaziki

• line a colander with paper towels & place over a bowl
• place approx. 20 oz of low fat plain yogurt on the paper towels
• refrigerate for several hours to drain excess water from yogurt
• mix 3 parts drained yogurt with 1 part light sour cream
• crush 2 cloves of garlic & mix with a bit of salt to make a paste
• add paste to yogurt/sour cream
• finely grated 1/2 cucumber, and drain all excess liquid by squeezing between paper towels
• 2 splashes of red wine vinegar
• 1 splash of olive oil
• few shakes ground black pepper

If that is way too confusing for you, this looks like a decent alternate recipe. I don't know for sure, but I'm going out on a limb here and declaring it not as good as mine.

Salad

• mix of red tipped lettuce & spinach leaves
• sliced red onion
• cherry/grape tomatoes
• sliced Greek peppers
• Kalamata olives
• seasoned crumbled feta
• sliced cucumbers
• Greek salad dressing or other oil/vinegar dressing

Flat Bread

I used warm Naan bread because I can't find decent pita bread. Any kind of yummy flat bread would work great.

The Rose, located in Giebelstadt, Germany, is my absolute favorite restaurant in the World. For those of you who have eaten there, you know what I'm talking about. I've been on a mission for several years now to duplicate some of our favorite menu items.

So far, I've totally mastered the tzatziki & the garlic potatoes. If you are located in Germany, you can find frozen Bratkartoffeln at any store. Deep fry those. This is exactly what The Rose uses to make their food porn potatoes. If you must use real potatoes (like me) use small ones with a diameter no bigger than 2 inches.

My gyros tonight were made with pork loin that was packaged with gyros seasonings. Any commissary in Europe should carry them. It's the stir fry pork loin, gyro style w/onion. If you are in the States, you probably have lots of options for pulling this tasty meal together.

Just make sure that you take the time to drain off all excess water from both the yogurt & the cucumbers. Tzatziki is supposed to be very thick & creamy, not runny & watered down.

This meal is wonderful with an opening shot of Ouzo, followed by a medium Greek red wine. My favorite is Imiglikos. That's a #80 on The Rose's Menu.

If you want to lighten up this meal, skip the potatoes or make oven fries instead. The tzatziki is made with a low fat superfood, and you just can't go wrong with that. The salad is a bowl of total health & the pork is a lean white meat. Skip the bread or serve with the low fat, whole grain flat bread. This meal could be very Bum Lovin' under the right circumstances.

HausFrau Wisdom: To remove obnoxious odors (like onion & garlic) from your hands, rub them over a stainless steel sink or carefully along the flat side of a knife.

Leftover potential: Tossing leftover meat & tzatziki in with leftover salad makes a great entree salad for lunch. We never have leftover potatoes. If you do, you might want to seek counseling. Seriously.

The only way to add to my perfection would be if BB Lady would come over tonight locked and loaded with a warm pan of baklava for dessert.

That's a hint. We are all awaiting your recipe over on Strudel.

Stir Fry Chicken & Veggies

Food Category: PG, Bum Lovin', High-5
Difficulty: Easy

Stir Fry Chicken

marinate 2 chicken breasts in soy sauce
cut into tiny bite size pieces
stir fry in olive/canola oil
season with teriyaki garlic sauce
remove from pan, set aside

Stir Fry Veggies

stir fry broccoli florets & sliced carrots in oil
remove from pan

stir fry frozen Mandarin veggies in oil
when cooked, toss back in the broccoli & carrots
season with teriyaki garlic & soy sauce

Rice

plain old white rice cooked in the rice cooker

Leftover potential: Straight-up leftovers for later in the week. Extra meat & veggies can be frozen & added to soups later. Leftover rice can be re-invented into fried rice w/meat, veggies & scrambled eggs.

Fillet of Fish

Food Category: G-Rated, High-5, Bum Lovin'
Difficulty: Easy

Fish

Totally out of the box Gorton's:

• Garlic & Herb Crunchy Breaded Fillets
• Garlic Butter Grilled Fillets

Tartar Sauce

• Light Miracle Whip and/or Light Mayo
• dill pickle relish
• lemon juice
• finely grated onion
• pepper & lemon herb seasoning

Oven Fried Potato Wedges

• sliced unpeeled potatoes into skinny wedges
• toss with evoo & season with salt, pepper, garlic & onion powder, seasoned salt or pommes frites seasoning
• bake at 400F for 20-30 mins, turning frequently until desired crispness

Broccoli & Carrots (both fresh & steamed in microwave)

I don't measure anything when making the Tartar Sauce. Just throw ingredients together until it looks/tastes good. However you mix it up, it will taste mucho better than the kind in the jar.

To speed up the baking time for the potatoes, place unseasoned potato wedges in a microwave safe bowl & cover with plastic wrap. Microwave on high for a few minutes. This little bit of precooking will pull a lot of the water out of the potatoes. Don't overcook potatoes in the microwave - you want the potatoes to still be "hard" to the touch - just with less water. Drain water, pat potatoes dry with papertowels. Then add olive oil and seasoning & bake in the oven. These potatoes are really good sprinkled with parmesean cheese right before serving.

For a healthy dessert:

Orange-Pineapple-Banana Smoothies

• frozen bananas (peel and freeze in chunks)
• frozen pineapple (freeze either fresh or canned - reserve the juice)
• 1 orange, zest first, then peel & remove seeds

Blend orange zest & whole orange with just enough skim milk, orange juice or pineapple juice to get the blender going & pulverize the orange. Add frozen fruits & more liquid. Again, just enough liquid to keep the blender going. You may have to stop frequently and spoon the frozen masses down to the blades & add small amounts of juice or milk.

You want the smoothies so thick that you have to spoon them out of the blender & eat with a spoon (not straw!).

Hello, my name is HausFrau and I am hell on blenders, but I make awesome smoothies.

The fruits & veggies & grilled fish are all totally bum lovin'. If you are dieting, just be careful with the breaded fish, the potatoes & tartar sauce.

Leftover potential: Tartar sauce will keep in the fridge for a few days. Straight-up leftovers are an option. Potatoes can be added to omlettes. Veggies can be frozen for soups later. Fish can be used to make fish sandwiches for lunch. Leftover smoothies are yuck -- so bottoms up!

Grilled Cheese & Vegetable Soup

Food Category: PG, High-5
Difficulty: Easy

Grilled Cheese

• whole wheat, whole grain bread (I bought mine fresh from the local bakery!)
• I can't beleieve it's not butter - light
• Provolone, extra sharp cheddar, monterrey jack
• garlic powder

Vegetable Soup

from the fridge:

• corn on cob
• celery
• carrots
• onion

from the freezer:

• leftover: mashed potatoes, peas, corn, some kind of meat, mixed veggies (corn, baby carrots, asaparagus), more mixed veggies (broccoli, carrots)
• prepackaged frozen spinach
• leftover gravy

from the pantry:

• can tomoato paste
• can beef broth

season with salt, pepper, garlic & onion powder, basil

Here's a note about my Freezer Ziplock Veggie Bag: for leftover veggies that would otherwise be wasted, I toss them into a frezer bag. By not tossing that last little bit of peas/carrots or potatoes or the leftover grilled veggies, you can fill up a freezer bag fairly quickly. The veggie bag can be the foundation for the best soups you will ever make.

Leftover potential: This meal is actually leftovers in action. Soup will keep in the fridge for a few days. I suppose you could freeze the soup (if no potato chunks or pasta), but I won't. Those veggies have been hanging out in my freezer long enough as it is.

Asian Salads

Food Category: Bum Lovin', High-5
Difficulty: Super Easy

Asian Salads

The Salad Part:

• mixed salad greens
• spinach
• pineapple (fresh or canned)
• mandarin oranges
• cucumbers
• shredded carrots
• sliced green onions
• sugar snap peas
• shredded cabbage
• tri-color bell peppers

The Protein Part:

• tuna, I highly recommend Starkist Tuna Creations Sweet & Spicy
• or seasoned chicken breast

The Good Stuff:

• sprinkle of cashews
• sprinkle of sesame seeds
• sprinkle of ride noodles
• Newman's Own Sesame Ginger Low Fat Dressing

And, because you are being so darn good for dinner, how about some dessert?

Peaches & Cream

• slice/wedge two fresh peaches
• add to heated butter & brown sugar (as little as possible) in a non-stick skillet
• cook until yummy
• add splash or two of brandy or amaretto & cook alcohol down
• sprinkle with cinnamon
• serve warm over low fat vanilla ice cream or yogurt

SuperFood Note: spinach, red/yellow peppers, tuna & yogurt (even the frozen kind, if it has live cultures) are all SuperFoods that help fight again cancers & heart disease

Leftover potential: leftover salads are totally yuck & leftover dessert? what's that?

Philly Cheese Steak Sandwiches

Category: PG-13, High-5
Difficulty: Easy

Cheese Steaks

sautee tri-color peppers in evoo for a few minutes
add sliced onions & continue to cook until translucent & yummy
remove veggies from pan & sit aside

cook 3 servings of sirloin beef steak in the skillet
add any of the following to beef up the flavor:

• Worchestshire sauce
• steak sauce
• hamburger seasoning
• salt/pepper
• garlic powder

When the meat is cooked, add the veggies back to the pan.

Build sandwiches with meat/veggie filling & provolone cheese, preferrably on bread/rolls that have been lightly toasted on a stove-top grill.

You can also toss open-faced sandwiches into an oven with only the top burner on to make the cheese all bubbly & delish.

Serve with:

• Side Salad
• carrot & celery sticks, sliced cucumbers
• individual bags of chips

The prepackaged beef steaks have quite a bit of sat fat. I always cook the meat and remove as much of the fat as possible - either by draining, rinsing with hot water and/or patting with paper towels. I use 3 servings of meat to make 4 sandwiches. The more veggies: onions/peppers, the less meat needed to fill a sandwich.

I can only get full-fat provolone. Maybe you can find reduced-fat and save a few calories.

I also make my Philly Cheese Steaks with worthless white bread steak rolls or a French baguette. If you are looking for a healthier alternative, I'm sure you can find a higher fiber roll (especially if you are in the States).

The more veggies in the sandwich & the bigger the side salad, the healthier the meal. 3 cups total of sauteed onion/peppers, salad and raw veggies equals the 5-a-day requirement.

If you stick with individually packaged chips & limit yourself to one bag, this meal is not that bad calorie wise.

Careful with the meat, cheese, chips & salad dressing. Especially if you aren't planning on a food porn night.

Leftover potential: Any leftover meat/veggie mixture can be used for omlettes, quesadillas, fajitas, stirfry or frozen & tossed into soups later.

Tortilla Soup & Cheese Quesadillas

Food Category: High-5, Bum Lovin', PG-13
Difficulty: Easy

Tortilla Soup

sautee onion, celery, tri-colored peppers & sliced carrots until tender crisp
add chicken broth (homemade, canned or flavor granules)
bring to a boil & add remaining ingredients, your choice as to which ones & how much:

• zucchini & yellow squash
• beans (pinto, black, kidney)
• corn (canned or frozen)
• green chiles (to taste, remember they are flavorful)
• crushed or diced tomatoes (or Rotel if you skip the chiles)
• leftover peas, green beans & mashed potatoes work well with this soup too
• leftover fajita meat & chopped up grilled veggies
• leftover chicken or turkey

seasonings/spices:

2 cloves of freshed minced garlic
cumin
chili powder
roasted red pepper seasoning
Sazón (1-2 packets)
salt/pepper
onion & garlic powder
envelope of taco seasoning if you don't have the other stuff in your kitchen

Cook the soup on low until veggies look good to you. You may also finish this up in the crockpot.

I usually make this soup broth-based to keep the calories down. The beans add the most calories, but it's all good carbs & fiber. You can add cheese/velveeta to the soup based on personal preference. Leftover fridge/frozen mashed potatoes thicken up the soup, but with added calories.

When serving the soup, top with crushed tortilla chips (like Tostitos), shredded cheese (we like cheddar & pepper jack), sour cream & fresh cilantro. Certainly, the toppings add lots of flavor, but pack quite the punch to the fat/calorie content (thus the PG-13 rating). You have been warned.

I'm making a double batch of this soup to cover us for dinner tonight & a Mexican Potluck tomorrow. Soups are usually better the next day, so it's not like the Potluck people are getting the scraps. I'll just reheat in the crockpot.

Cheese Quesadillas

Laze-E won't touch my soup & Man will want something more Manly.

These will be simple quesadillas, only slightly more difficult than nuking the flour tortilla & cheese. Spray tortilla with olive oil & heat on a med-hot skillet. Flip, add cheese, fold over. Flip to the other side and serve.

Leftover potential: This soup does well in the fridge & freezer. The most flavorful way to reheat quesadillas is by wrapping in foil and tossing in a toaster oven. Microwave works too, but only use half-power.

Oven Baked Chicken & Rice

Food Category: Southern Comfort, PG
Difficulity: Easy

Chicken & Rice

3 cups of uncooked rice (not Minute Rice)
1 can (reduced fat) cream of mushroom soup & one can of water
1 can French onion soup & one can of water
add water to total about 4 cups of liquid
pour into a casserole dish (I used my 9X13 stoneware)
one piece of chicken per person
dot with pats of butter (or not)
cover with foil
bake at 350-400 until done

I made this with 3 boneless, skinless chicken breasts (had one leftover) with all the visible fat removed. You can use dark meat & bone-in, but defintely use skinless to cut back on the bad fat.

I cooked the dish at 350F for about an hour, then turned it up closer to 400F for about 20 mins. I have a small European size oven & your cooking times may vary. Start checking on doneness (texture of the rice and temperature of the chicken with a meat thermometer) at about 45 mins.

Chicken and rice was served with:

corn on the cob (this happened to be fresh)
sauteed asparagus (frozen) seasoned with evoo, lemon juice, salt/pepper, lemon herb seasoning

If you cut back on the butter & practice portion control, this can also be a weight friendly meal - as far as overall calorie consumption. And, yes, we eat carbs.

I happened to wash this meal down with a nice glass or two, I lost count of Spätelese, but iced tea works, too (for any & every meal, in my opinion).

Leftover potential: the rice dish heats up nicely in the microwave to eat as straight-up leftovers. I don't recommend freezing because the texture of the rice gets all funky. For leftover veggies, there's always the option to freeze them & add to soups later.