Last night I decided to bake my bay scallops. It was an easy, fast way to cook them up evenly and perfectly. I paired them with simple brown rice and peas that were flavored with a bit of lemon, thyme and rosemary. It’s a perfect trifecta of flavor that even pleased husband and child. At first the little guy was hesitant of the scallop but he finished every last one (once I promised some oreo cookies as dessert. ;)

Here’s how I made the scallops…

• 1/2 cup (40g) Old Fashioned Oats
• 1/4 cup (25g) parmesan cheese
• 1/2 tsp dried Thyme
• 1/2 tsp dried Rosemary
• 1/2 tsp garlic powder
• 1/8 tsp tsp kosher salt
• 1/8 tsp ground black pepper
• 1 lb bay Scallops

Preheat the oven on broil.

Pulse all the ingredients except the scallops in the blender to make the "breading".

Put the breading in a quart-sized or bigger ziplock bag and add the scallop. They should naturally be most enough have the breading stick. Blow a little air in the bag, seal and shake to coat.

Place the scallops on a cookie sheet lined with aluminum foil, spray with non-stick cooking spray and cook or about 10 minutes. The breading should just start to brown and the scallops will be firm to touch. Don’t overcook them or they’ll be rubbery!

Here’s how I made the rice and peas…

• 2 cups cooked brown rice (I used a store brand 90 second bag)
• 1/4 tsp dried Thyme
• 1/4 tsp dried Rosemary
• 1/4 tsp kosher salt
• 1 lemon (will use juice, zest and wedges)
• 1.5 cups frozen peas

Spray a non-stick skillet over medium heat. Add the rice, thyme, rosemary, salt, and lemon zest. Stir and cook to allow flavors to merge until the rice starts to sizzle a little. Then add the juice from 1/2 of the lemon. Stir and then add the peas. Mix in a cook until the peas are warmed through. About 2-3 minutes.

Serve 1/4 of the rice with 1/4 of scallops and 1-2 lemon wedges for 1 serving.

For me, I pulled out a chicken breast this morning so it would be defrosted when I got home from work. I had no idea what I was going to do with it but I knew it was better then coming home to nothing.

Thankfully this idea popped into my head on the drive home. I had curry. I had yogurt. I had peas. So why not? :) It was tasty, spicy, satisfying and totally something I could not get away with for the family but I knew I’d love it. And I did.

• 1-2 slices of onion chopped
• 1 boneless, skinless chicken breast cut into pieces
• Kosher Salt & Pepper
• 1 tsp red curry Powder
• 1/4 tsp ground ginger
• 1/4 tsp coriander powder
• 1/8 tsp ground red pepper (or to taste)
• 1/2 cup fat free plain yogurt
• 1 cup frozen peas

Heat a non-stick skillet over medium-high heat. Spray with non-stick cooking spray and brown the chicken with the onion. Sprinkle with the spices. If you only have curry, that will work. I just happen to have the others on hand.

Once the chicken is brown and almost cooked thru, lower the heat to medium-low and add the yogurt. You don’t want to boil the yogurt it just bring to a simmer. Cook for about 5 minutes while stirring and coating the chicken. Then add the frozen peas. Cook until the peas are warmed thru.

Here’s the "official" recipe.

• 1 cup cooked bulgur – preferably prepared with veggies ad broth for maximum flavor
• 1/2 cup peas
• 2oz fresh pomegranate seeds
• 1 tbsp low sodium soy sauce
• 1/2 tsp ground ginger
• 1/4 tsp garlic powder
• 1/4 tsp onion powder
• 1/2 tsp dried parsley

Heat a non-stick skillet over medium heat, spray with non-stick cooking spray. Add the cooked bulgur and break apart, cooking for a minute.

Add the peas, stir in. Sprinkle with spices and add soy sauce. Stir, and cook for a few minutes combining the flavors. Add the pomegranate, mix in. Cook for another minute.

Remove from heat and EAT! :)

Remember on my about page how I mentioned sometimes I just cook for me. Well, this is one of those times. Without having to please the husband or the toddler I hit the ground running with leftovers I found in the fridge. Let me just say, right now, as I eat this. I’m SO happy I have a picky husband for the pure fact that I DON’T want to share!

OH MY! SO YUMMY!

I don’t have a "real" recipe as I literally just whipped it up. I snapped a few pictures in case it came out good enough to post, but I didn’t measure anything. So this is just an idea, you can take and run with.

First, the ingredients were a mix of leftovers, pantry items and the pomegranate the toddler and I cleaned this morning. Bear with me as I try to describe.

I had:

• leftover bulgur – The other night I made some bulgur as a side dish by sautéing some onion, peppers and carrots. Then I added the bulgur and chicken broth, brought to a boil, then simmered until done. I LOVED it, the husband and toddler, not completely sold yet, but I’ll keep trying. :~)
• leftover peas – Last night I made Baked Ham with Sweet Potatoes and Carrots with a side of peas (just like the picture!) I always make extra peas, as the toddler and I love them. So I had about a cup in the fridge.
• fresh pomegranate: The toddler and I cleaned a pomegranate this morning and I had about 1/2 leftover. The rest we knocked off in the car on the way to school. By the way, they make great snacks in the kids lunch boxes.
• pantry items: ground ginger, onion powder, garlic powder, dried parsley, low sodium soy sauce, non-stick cooking spray.

Here’s what I did…

Heat a non-stick skillet over medium heat, spray with non-stick cooking spray. Add the cooked bulgur and break apart, cooking for a minute.

Add the peas, stir in. Sprinkle with spices and add soy sauce. Stir, and cook for a few minutes combining the flavors. Add the pomegranate, mix in. Cook for another minute.

Remove from heat and EAT! I’ll admit it, I downed the whole batch. Seriously, it was THAT good!

Update: I posted the official recipe with a video, click here to check it out!

I have to add the husband and the toddler both enjoyed it so I’m not sure what was holding me back. The husband probably could have done without the peas but the toddler devoured his plate and asked for more!

This recipe is how I made it for my family of 3, we had no leftovers except some gravy and peas in the casserole dish. Remember this is a simply idea add more and noodles to increase the number of servings.

• 1 can of healthy request cream of condensed mushroom soup
• 1 can of peas (drained) (I wanted to use frozen but I was all out)
• 8 frozen chicken tenders (I used the ones from the Aldi’s)
• Ground black pepper
• 4 oz whole wheat egg noodles

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.

In a large casserole dish combine the can of cream of mushroom soup with 1/2 can of water. Keep stirring until all dissolved. Mix in the can of drained peas. Place the frozen chicken tenders in the soup pea mixture and sprinkle with some fresh ground black pepper.

Now, I used frozen chicken tenders because that’s all I had. You can of course use defrosted, boneless chicken breast or even fresh bone-in chicken breast with the skin removed. Just adjust the cooking times to be sure the chicken is cooked thru as the tenders are much smaller then breasts. (although they were frozen so the time may actually be the same.

I covered with aluminum foil and baked for 50 minutes. It was perfect, the chicken came out super moist!

Towards the end of cooking (around the 40 minute mark) I removed the aluminum foil and boiled the water for the noodles.

To serve, I topped the noodles with the "gravy" in the casserole dish and steamed some broccoli on the side. Notice I only have a shot of the casserole dish before cooking. I totally forgot to snap an after shot before serving! LOL It looked the same except cooked, if that makes sense. ;~P

As for nutritional information, it’s tough to be exact as everyone will use different amount of the gravy and peas. For my WWP, I just counted the chicken and noodles points and then added 1-2 for the gravy and peas, again depending on how much you ate.

My video has no audio. That’s right ladies and gentleman, my computer crashed while rendering the video and unfortunately the audio track was corrupted. Fortunately the actual video was intact. I was slightly upset as I do these videos in “real time” with no prep, no editing and no second takes (not that you couldn’t tell) ;~P

Sooo what so I do?

I have no other choice but to roll with it. (Or not post it but that would be no fun) So I voiced it over. It’s not a great but at least I can get my idea out there and meet my goal of posting a video.

I’m leaving this idea as just an idea and not calculating nutritional information. I estimate my points at 6 a servings with 4 servings.

The husband, well, he ate it and he likes it but remember he’s not a stew man so it isn’t his absolute favorite.

Me? Well, I can eat the whole friggin’ batch. Seriously, it’s an easy comfort food for me. Let’s just say, we don’t have any leftovers. ;~P

• 8 oz (½ lb) chicken breast cut into chunks
• 1 package of chicken flavored noodles (like Lipton Pasta Sides, Chicken)
• 1 ¾ cup water
• 1 can (15oz) can cream style corn
• 8 oz frozen peas

Brown the chicken in a saucepan sprayed with non-stick cooking spray.

Add the water and noodles, bring to a boil. (Be sure to stir, noodles may stick)

Add the corn and pease, bring back up to a boil, then lower to a simmer for 10 minutes.

Serve!

I’m going to seerate the recipe into 4 servings for ease but as I said the three of is polished it off. If you split it into 3 equal servings it would be 7 WWPs each.

I should say I love having a day now and again that I can experiment freely in the kitchen without worrying about pleasing anyone but myself (and the toddler but he’s WAY easier then the husband!)

So my experiment was a lightly sweetened Asian style salmon stir fry-ish type of meal but instead of serving it over rice or noodles I went with spaghetti squash. It was great! Even the toddler liked it. I actually got him to eat salmon as I think the small pieces weren’t intimidating and they had a light sweetness to them. He also loved the peas, but the squash, not so much. That’s ok, 2 out of three “aint” bad. ;~P

• 1 tbsp low sodium soy sauce
• 1 tbsp (21g) honey
• 2 tbsp water
• 1 tsp ground ginger
• 1 tsp cornstarch
• 2 slices of sweet onion diced (about 100g)
• 1 1/3 cups (170g) frozen peas
• 8oz salmon fillet cut in strips
• 2 cups (310g) cooked Prepared Spaghetti Squash

Whisk the soy sauce, honey, water, ginger and cornstarch. Set aside.

Heat a skillet over medium and spray with non-stick cooking spray. Warm the onion and add the frozen peas. Cook for a minute or two allowing the peas to defrost. Add the salmon and cook for 3-4 minutes only stirring about every minute. If you stir more, the salmon will break up too much. After the 4 minutes pour the soy sauce mixture over, stir in and cook for one minute. It will thicken and just coat everything.

Separate into two servings and scoop over warm spaghetti squash.

My WWPs may be off on this one. When I use the nutritional information for dishes with a lot of “free” veggies my calculations come out a but high. I’d love to hear what you guys calculate.

You come home from work, no plans for dinner and your in the mood for comfort food. What do you do? What DO you DO??

This may solve the problem! It only takes a few minutes to prepare (especially if you have ground beef frozen in 8 oz packages) and, if you have a small family, leftovers are great for lunch!

• 8 oz whole wheat pasta
• 1 small sweet onion, diced (~150g)
• 2-3 cloves garlic, diced
• 8 oz lean ground beef
• 1 – 10.7 can condensed tomato soup
• 1 – 15oz can of peas (not drained) OR 8 oz frozen peas and ½ cup of water
• 1 – 15oz can diced tomatoes
• 1 tsp paprika
• 1 tsp Italian seasoning
• ¼-½ tsp black pepper
• non-stick cooking spray

Bring a large pot of water to boil and cook the pasta per instructions on the package.

While preparing the pasta add the onion and garlic to a non-stick frying pan sprayed with cooking spray. Cook until tender. Add the beef and cook until brown.

When the pasta is finished, drain and return to the pot. Add the tomato soup, peas (with liquid or water), cooked beef, and tomatoes. Stir. Add spices to taste and cook a few minutes on medium heat while stirring.

Serve!

Click here to see the toddler and I make Simple Beef-A-Roni with Peas in a video post