Food Stuff: Apple Nachos

Take a look at the picture. That is some yummy goodness right there. You can find the recipe here.

Some friends at church have a pool in their backyard. They have been hosting weekly gatherings for folks on Monday afternoons/evenings and it includes finger foods since it occurs during the dinner hours. Beau and Jesse wanted to go yesterday, so I went on the hunt for a fun finger food they could take.

These apples were a hit, especially with my kids before they even left the house. Jesse was calling it apple candy. And I have to admit that I ate that plate in the picture all by myself after my dinner last night. I had planned to share with Molly, but she was more interested in plain old marshmallows.

I used the caramel apple dip to save time. It worked well enough. I plan to make them again using Nutella. Also, I think the marshamallow cream needs to go on last because when I did it first it ended up in a sticky puddle on the bottom of the plate. A gooey, yummy, slightly nasty looking puddle of marshmallow cream, caramel, and chocolate. Mmmmmmm.

A Fine Meal

Last night we had a low key belated Mother's Day/Birthday dinner. My parents and my Uncle Bill came over for a little family time. Mom and I didn't get to celebrate Mother's Day since my parents went to Disney World that weekend. Then we delayed celebrating my uncle's birthday because that day occurred on the weekend that they returned from Disney.

We had a Scotch-English-Irish meal, inspired by a throw-away request from Uncle Bill for colcannon sometime. I had to do the research on colcannon - I had heard of it, but wasn't sure what it was. Turns out is is a delicious mashed potato, cabbage, ham/bacon (I used bacon) dish of Irish tradition. Here's the recipe I used. Of course, with Beau's milk intolerance and my weight loss work, I tweaked the recipe. I used Smart Balance instead of butter (and I reduced the quantity by half!) and I used rice milk. Also, I used bacon instead of ham since it was a side dish. Using ham would make this a lovely one pot meal.

The main dish was this Steak and Guiness Pie. Oh. My. Goodness. This is so good. I pretty much followed the recipe exactly except that I did use beef stock instead of chicken stock. Next time I may add more radishes. I'm not a fan of radishes, but these turned out tender and almost sweet. Delicious. Also, this will be how I make a basic beef stew, with radishes and Guinness.

Since our meal was on the heavy side, I wanted a lighter dessert and opted not to do a birthday cake. Instead, we had Pavlovas with Custard and Berries. I've made these before, when we had dinner with the Sleepy Family. I made the meringues last weekend and stored them in the freezer. Last time, we all decided they were a bit too sweet, so I cut 1/2 cup of the sugar. They were perfect - not too sweet at all. We had both vanilla-coconut pudding and also a chocolate-coconut pudding. And a mixed berry combination of strawberries, raspberries, blackberries, and blueberries that macerated for several hours with a teaspoon of sugar and lemon juice.

I had a blast planning and preparing the evening. It was fun to be in the kitchen again. Not as much fun to clean the house, but Beau did the motherload of cleaning so mega-props go to him for that. Thank you, Beau! It was a good meal. It was a good time with beloved family. The kids loved seeing their Marmie and Pop and Uncle Bill, too.

Until the next time...

Recipes: Mexican Rice with Black Beans and Corn

I started Weight Watchers a couple of weeks ago. I married a guy who likes to eat. I like to eat. We eat well. Very well. It has gotten out of control. And being over 40 and having given birth to two children late in life on top of always already struggling with my weight, maybe you can imagine the problem.

So, I'm counting points. It's rather annoying and also invigorating. But mostly annoying. That said, it works. And it's a plan I can live with long term, which is basically for the rest of my life as long as I'm disciplined. But that's a whole different issue.

Anyway, I'm on the hunt for flavorful, filling, and low points recipes. This one is about 3 points per serving - a serving being 1/2 cup. It's meant to be a side dish. Add some grilled chicken to make it a meal.

Ingredients:

2 cups uncooked white rice
2 cups low-fat, low sodium chicken stock
2.5 cups water
dash salt
2 Tbsp olive oil
1 medium onion, minced
2 Tbsp minced garlic
1 15oz can diced tomatoes
1 4 or 7oz can diced green chilies
1 Tbsp chili powder
1/2 Tbsp cumin
1/2 Tbsp paprika
1 15oz can black beans, drained
1 11oz can corn

1. By whatever method you normally use, cook the rice with the chicken stock, water, and salt.

2. Warm a large saute pan over medium heat. Add oil and allow to get hot. Then add the onions and garlic, being careful not to let the garlic burn. Cook until the onion is translucent.

3. Add the tomatoes and green chilies, including their liquids. Mix a bit and then add the chili powder, cumin, and paprika. Mix all together well, making sure any lumps of the spices are broken down and everything is incorporated.

4. Add the black beans and corn. Include the liquid with the corn. Mix well.

5. Add the cooked rice. It will take some muscle to incorporate the rice with the mixture - you may want to transfer it to a large bowl to mix.

This makes a large batch that will serve maybe 20 half cup servings. I think.