freestyle

Cuban Style Red Beans and Rice

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Most of the time when people talk about red beans and rice, the Cajun version is what comes to mind, at least for me. The flavors of this Cuban version are unique and amazing.  Not your standard red beans and rice!  You can adjust the heat by choosing mild, regular or hot Ro-Tel tomatoes and adjusting the amount of cayenne pepper.  The addition of cilantro and the hint of lime are perfect.  I’m thankful that I have a family that enjoys the adventurous recipes that roll across our table.  This one is a keeper.    ~Kathy

1 c. bell pepper (any color), chopped

½ c. onion, chopped

3 cloves garlic, finely minced

2 (16 oz.) cans light red kidney beans, drained and rinsed

1 (10 oz.) can diced tomatoes with green chilies (Ro-tel), undrained

1 c. broth (vegetable or fat free chicken broth, water will also work)

1 tsp. salt

1 ¼ tsp. cumin

¾ tsp. oregano

¼ tsp. black pepper

¼ tsp. cayenne pepper

1/3 c. cilantro, chopped

2 T. fresh lime juice

3 c. hot, cooked rice; for serving

Add bell pepper, onion, garlic, beans, tomatoes, broth and seasonings to the pot of a slow-cooker; stir well.

Cover and cook on low 4 hours.  Add cilantro and squeeze in lime juice.  Serve over rice.

 

Roasted Garlic Hummus

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I LOVE hummus.  I often eat it for lunch or a snack with homemade pita chips.  My favorite hummus flavor is roasted garlic.  For years, I bought the prepackaged kind but, in an effort to cut down on the grocery bill, I have started making many of the snacks I used to just buy.  Making it yourself is WAY cheaper and just as good (or better!).  You can store it in the fridge for up to 5 days so it makes a great snack throughout the week!  ~Erin

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Ingredients:
  • 1 (16 oz.) can garbanzo beans (a.k.a. chick peas)
  • 1-2 tsp. fresh lemon juice (I admit I don’t really measure the lemon juice, I just squirt some in.)
  • 3 tsp. extra virgin olive oil, divided
  • 1 head of garlic
  • ½ tsp. cumin
  • ¼ tsp. salt (or more, to taste)
  • 2-3 T. water, depending on how thick or thin you like it
  • Optional: more olive oil and/or dehydrated garlic for garnish

Instructions: 

  1. Cut off the pointy end of the head of garlic, to expose the cloves.
  2. Place it in the center of a double layer of foil & drizzle it with 1 tsp. olive oil.
  3. Wrap the head of garlic with the foil, enclosing it completely.
  4. Roast in the oven at 400°F for 30-40 minutes, or until it feels soft when squeezed. You can also roast it in the air fryer at 400° for 20 minutes, if you are lucky enough to have an air fryer. I love mine! (I’ll share more about it another time.) Set aside to cool.
  5. Drain and rinse the garbanzo beans. Remove the skins by pinching them between your fingers.*
  6. When the garlic is cool, squeeze it all into the bowl of a food processor. Make sure you don’t accidentally drop in the papery garlic skins.
  7. Add the garbanzo beans, lemon juice, remaining 2 teaspoons of olive oil, cumin, salt.
  8. Blend until well combined, scraping the sides often, adding a Tablespoon of water at a time, until the hummus is smooth.
  9. Garnish each serving with a drizzle of olive oil and a sprinkling of dehydrated garlic, if desired.

WW Freestyle Info.: This makes about a cup of hummus. Each ¼ cup serving is 1 point.

*It helps loosen the garbanzo bean skins if you shake them around in the colander while rinsing them. Then pinch the beans between your fingers and the skin should slide right off. This is a bit time consuming but removing the skins will make your hummus so much smoother. It’s a great activity for the kids! I mean, why do we even have kids if not to do the jobs we don’t want to do?! That’s a joke… sort of. Pretty sure my dad didn’t have to get up and change the TV channel ever in his adult life. Clearly, I’m showing my age. We had no remote but we only had 4 channels so, luckily, the manual channel surfing didn’t take long. I digress.

Mahi Mahi Blackened Fish Tacos

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I love, love, love a great fish taco, but I do not love the heavy, breaded fish restaurants too often throw into them.  This perfectly light and spicy blackened mahi mahi, on the other hand, can hold its own against the veggies for the perfect Mexican-flavored blend that a fish taco should have.

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Mahi mahi is in fact, by far my favorite ocean fish.  It’s a really lovely light mild flavor, and it’s a thicker fillet than most readily available fish, so it doesn’t get lost in a flavorful recipe like this one.  It is a little more expensive than some alternatives in my land-locked Oklahoma, but its quality makes it well-worth the extra dollar or two for me, depending on the market, for that just-right taco every time.

This recipe is the perfect mix of spicy blackened fish, veggies, & lime juice.  It tastes like summer, and I’m all for anything that makes me feel like I’m on a beach somewhere!

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Your mahi mahi should have this lovely golden coloring once it’s cooked up in the blackening seasoning.

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Ingredients:
  • 12 oz. mahi mahi fish fillets (fresh is always ideal but I got mine frozen at the grocery store and they were great)
  • 1 T. olive oil
  • 6 Ole Extreme Wellness high fiber low carb tortilla wrap (8 inch)
  • ½ c. yellow onion, chopped
  • ½ c. pico de gallo (fresh pico de gallo can usually be found in the produce sections of major grocery chains)
  • 2 c. cabbage, shredded
  • ½ c. cilantro, rough chopped
  • 2 limes for juice
Blackening Ingredients:
  • 1 ¾ tsp. packed brown sugar
  • 2 T. smoked paprika
  • ½ tsp. cayenne pepper
  • 1 ½ tsp. garlic salt

Instructions: 

  1. If mahi mahi is frozen, thaw completely.
  2. Mix blackening ingredients together in a small bowl and set aside. Reduce cayenne pepper if you prefer less heat; ½ tsp. makes for a rather spicy blackening.
  3. Once thawed, pat fish dry so that seasoning will stick.
  4. Sprinkle blackening seasoning onto a plate (a plate with a lip is best so it’s less likely to make a mess) to lay fish in and coat thoroughly. Flip and coat the second side of each fillet well.
  5. Heat olive oil in a medium sized skillet. Add fish and cook on medium heat until cooked through — approximately 4 minutes on each side, flipping only once. Fish will be an opaque white color and will flake easily when cooked (internal temp should reach 145° F).
  6. Set cooked fish aside. Because there is very little oil in the pan already I do not recommend setting on a paper towel-lined plate, as it may remove too much of the blackening.
  7. Chop the fish into bite sized chunks once it’s cool enough; each taco will need about 1.5 oz. of fish.
  8. For each taco, I pile the Ole Wellness Wrap with a healthy sprinkling of yellow onion, then a small bed of cabbage, followed by the fish chopped into bite-sized chunks, a healthy serving of pico de gallo, and a good-sized pinch of cilantro sprinkled across the top. Finally, I drizzle it all with fresh-squeezed lime juice to taste.

WW Freestyle Info.: Each taco is 3 points. Enjoy!

Greek Yogurt Pancakes

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When trying to keep my family, and of course myself, eating anything that resembles healthy food, it seems that breakfast is one of the hardest meals to conquer. A person can only eat so many eggs and the variations I’ve tried of whole wheat, protein packed pancakes and other goodies have been met with less than enthusiastic reviews. Now that our friends at Weight Watchers have made nonfat Greek yogurt zero points on the new Freestyle program, I’ve re-invented my classic sour cream pancakes into a healthier breakfast option. My teenage sons didn’t even notice I’d changed the recipe. I’d say that’s a success! And they’re only 1 point each on Weight Watchers Freestyle! ~ Tracy

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Ingredients:

  • 2 c. plain nonfat Greek yogurt
  • 1 c. all-purpose flour
  • 2 tsp. baking soda
  • 1 tsp. salt
  • 4 eggs, slightly beaten
  • ½ c. low-fat milk (1%)
  • 1 tsp. vanilla

Instructions:

Pour Greek yogurt into a medium sized mixing bowl or the bowl of electric stand mixer. Combine all dry ingredients and add to yogurt. Mix just until dry ingredients are incorporated into the yogurt.

Combine eggs, milk, and vanilla. Add to yogurt mixture and mix until well combined.

Cook in sprayed skillet or griddle pan until each side is golden brown. You can gauge when to flip each pancake when bubbles begin to form on the uncooked side.

WW Freestyle Info.: Makes 14 pancakes at approximately 5 in. diameter each. Each pancake is only 1 point.

Southwest Chicken Spaghetti

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I had tried several recipes for this over several years and was starting to think I just didn’t like chicken spaghetti. Some were too soupy, others were swimming in cheese, and many were just flavorless.

I finally just scrapped every recipe I had ever tried and started over with my own.  This has a touch of a kick from the Ro-Tel that you can customize to your own taste (substitute some petite diced tomatoes instead!) but also just a really nice flavor from the Ro-Tel, green onion, garlic, and cilantro…It’s cheesy but not just a giant blob of Velveeta.  This is finally, finally, finally, it!  Hope it’s just right for you too.  One more note:  This makes a LOT of food (14 one-cup servings) but you could easily cut the recipe in half if you have a smaller crowd to feed.  ~Robin

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Ingredients:

  • 16 oz. Barilla whole grain pasta spaghetti
  • 2 lbs. boneless, skinless chicken breast, cooked and shredded
  • 16 oz. Velveeta cheese, chopped into 1” cubes
  • 4 cans (10 oz. each) of Ro-Tel tomatoes & green chilies, drained (I use original but if you aren’t into spice, you could use mild too)
  • 1 ½ c. green onions, chopped (reserve ½ c. to garnish the individual servings)
  • 2 to 3 tsp. garlic salt to taste
  • ¼ c. cilantro, finely chopped
  • 2 oz. of Kraft 2% mild cheddar cheese (for topping)DSC_0209

Instructions: 

Cook the spaghetti according to package directions; drain.

Preheat oven to 350°F.

While noodles are still hot, add Velveeta and stir until melted.

Add shredded chicken, 1 c. chopped onions, drained Ro-Tel, garlic salt, and cilantro; stir until combined.

Spread the mixture in a 9×13 baking dish and sprinkle cheddar across the top.

Bake at 350°F until bubbly and hot throughout (25-30 minutes).

Sprinkle servings with additional green onion if desired.

WW Freestyle Info.:  Makes 14 one-cup servings at 7 points each.