A Fresh Start

Jon and I recently started Weight Watchers, and so far, it is going really well.  What does this mean for our blog?  You will notice that our portions are slightly smaller, we eat more veggies (0 points), and less carbs (many points).  We will also include the point count for those of you who are also on Weight Watchers or just want to have a better idea of the nutritional value of our food.  Just to put things in perspective, I get 26 points each day, while Jon gets 41.  So far, we've LOVED what we've been eating and we've been under our point limit every day.  The best part?  I don't have to give up chocolate!


Chicken Sauté with Caramelized Ginger Sauce
Cooking Light
8 Points


Key Ingredients: Chicken, ginger, bok choy, soy sauce, and garlic chili paste

  When I first read this recipe, the ingredients for the chicken sauce sounded a lot like the one for Spicy Stir-fried Sesame Chicken with Green Beans and Shiitake Mushrooms.  Since this one is much healthier, I suggested we try it.  It was really different, but just as delicious.  The meat was so juicy and full of flavor.  Jon and I also realized how much we both love bok choy.  We'll definitely be making this dish again and bok choy more often.


Linguine with Genoese Pesto
The Silver Spoon
13 Points

Key Inregients: Linguine, basil, olive oil, romano cheese, paramesean cheese, garlic, and green beans

We changed this recipe quite a bit.  It actually calls for potatoes, but we cut that out altogether.  We also doubled the amount of green beans.  The result?  We liked it just as much as the original recipe!  Potatoes are great, don't get me wrong.  But adding that would increase the number of points in this dish by 4.  And the pasta satisfies our cravings for starch.

Sautéed Tuna and Green Onions Stalks on Romaine

Cooking Light
9 Points

Key Ingredients: Tuna, baby romaine, green onions, orange juice, chili garlic sauce, and sesame oil 

We actually made this dish before we started our new diet (or rather, our new"way of life").  This is a very fresh and fulfilling salad.  We both love tuna.  But the best part of this dish is definitely the dressing.  It has a great asian flavor.  I have a feeling we'll be making this a lot in the future.

Azula Wants my Brownies



Key Ingredients: Azula holding my Fiber One Chocolate Fudge Brownies



Risotto 1

First of all, we are very sorry for only posting once in April.  Last month, I was out of town for 14 days and Jon was out for 4.  Well, what about the other 12 days of the month?!  Have no fear, we will update you quickly on a few delicious recipes that we cooked while we were MIA (and we also have another post ready and waiting for tomorrow, so don't go away!)

For this post, we are going to talk about risotto!  We named this one Risotto 1 because we cook risotto so often that we know this is only the first of many.

Risotto is a very special dish to us because it was after cooking risotto with my family that Jon was inspired to begin his cooking frenzy.  And look how far we've come!

Risotto with Smoked Bacon and Tomato

Potatoe & Rice, by Barker, Mansfield, and Ingram

Key Ingredients: Bacon, sundried tomatoes, onions, chives, and parsley

This is a dish that I often request for my birthday dinner.  It is the most delicious thing I've ever eaten in my life.  I'd have it all the time it were just a bit healthier.  Before I describe the dish in detail, I want to mention that the title is misleading because this dish doesn't call for fresh tomatoes, but for sundried tomatoes (double yum).  You cook the bacon in the oil of the sundried tomatoes, which makes the whole house smell delicious.  Then there is the typical risotto protocal (heat chicken stock in one pot, cook onions, then rice in the other and begin adding the stock slowly to the rice/onions).  This is such a great dish that I'm salvating just thinking about.  Jon also made this for his family Christmas day.  I wasn't there, so I'm mad at him now for telling me that (I had forgotten, I guess).

Risotto with Bacon, Baby Zucchini, and Bell Peppers

Potatoe & Rice, by Barker, Mansfield, and Ingram



Key Ingredients: Bacon, zucchini, wild mushrooms, bell peppersgarlic, cream, and dry sherry



This is not my favorite risotto.  Although it has cream and is, therefore, fattier than the other risottos listed here, it isn't as rich or fulfilling.  But it's still quite good.  How could you ever go wrong with bacon?  Funny fact: Jon calls Azula "baby zucchini."  Once when I said that it was time to add the baby zucchini to the pot, he yelped and exclaimed he'd never cook our baby zucchini!  It was a good laugh.

Cream of Tomato Risotto

The New Basics, by Julee Rosso and Sheila Lukins



Key Ingredients: Canned tomatoes, onions, and rosemary



This is the first risotto I ever ate when I was a child.  My family and I instantly fell in love with this classic Italian dish, and this easy recipe has been a staple of my life ever since.  This is definitely the easiest risotto we've ever made.  I know it's crazy, but Jon and I don't even own The New Basics cookbook, we look it up online (although at this point, we have it memorized).  For more information about Google Books and intellectual property, please visit my brother's blog. 

A Gift from Uncle Cosmo

Key Ingredients: Azula in a Zabar's bag

Key Ingredients: Cosmo in a plastic bag

Cosmo sent Azula a Zabar's bag from New York.  She loves it.  Cosmo also sent a picture of himself in a bag to show her how it's done.