Old Favorite: Havarti Dill Smoked Salmon Risotto

This was one of our favorite recipes back when I first started Weight Watchers, and in the spirit of my post on my personal blog about wanting to get back into that mindset, I thought I'd post it here even though I don't have photos. And I think I'll make it again soon. After all, it is delicious.

Havarti Dill Smoked Salmon Risotto: Makes 2 servings; 7 WW points per serving

Ingredients

• 5 1/4 oz milan-style risotto mix, with seasoning packet [Instead of risotto mix, I just use about a cup of risotto rice and cook it in low-sodium chicken broth instead of water, and add spices--lemon pepper, basil, oregano, a couple chili flakes, a bit of onion powder--and a splash of lemon juice to make it flavorful]
• 2 cups water [or chicken broth--see above]
  
• 2 tbsp dill, fresh, chopped
• 2 oz smoked salmon, diced
• 1 oz havarti cheese, about a 1/4 cup, grated
• 1/8 tsp black pepper, or to taste
• 1 tsp dill, or 2 small sprigs, for garnish

Instructions

• In a saucepan combine rice and seasoning mix [or, in my case, all the stuff I mentioned in my parenthetical aside above] with water [or, like I said, chicken broth]. Bring to a boil; cover and simmer for 15 minutes.
• Stir in dill, salmon, pepper, and Havarti. Cover and let stand 5 minutes.
• Serve in shallow bowls, garnished with dill sprigs.

The verdict: Well, I suppose this is obvious since it's an old favorite and all, but OMG yum. And plus, it's so easy to make! Seriously, you just dump a bunch of stuff in a pot, wait, and eat. And it is delicious, and the risotto is almost creamy, so it feels like it's much worse for you than it actually is. Bonus!

Old Favorite: Thai Coconut Chicken

I found this recipe months ago, on a Weight Watchers recipe blog that I've been following ever since. I'd link to it, but I just tried to go there and Blogger informed me that the blog had been removed. I'm not sure why, since it was there yesterday, but for now I'll just reproduce the recipe with my modifications, and if the recipe blog ever comes back, I'll add the link then.

Anyway, this recipe is one of our favorites, and one of the only ways that Torsten likes chicken. I modified the recipe to make it a bit lower-calorie, and the result is a slightly soupier version of the original recipe. I actually like it that way, and have also found that if you soak the rice in the sauce for a few minutes before serving, it becomes much less liquidy and much more like the original.

Thai Coconut Chicken: Makes 4 servings; 8 WW points per serving

Ingredients

• 1 pound skinless chicken breast, sliced into bite-size pieces
  
• 1/2 cup chicken broth
• 1 (13 1/2 ounce) can light coconut milk [The original recipe called for regular coconut milk, which has about triple the fat and calories of light coconut milk. Light coconut milk is not as creamy as regular, but the trade-off is totally worth it. Also, the 8 points per serving is assuming you use light coconut milk; if you use regular, the points are much higher.]
• 1/2 to 1 tablespoon Thai red curry paste
• 1/4 cup fresh basil leaves, shredded
• 1/2 cup frozen English peas [I don't like peas, so I leave this out.]
  
• 1/2 cup canned water chestnuts
• 2 to 3 tablespoons fish stock
• 1 to 2 chicken bouillon cubes
• 2 tablespoons brown sugar
• 2 limes, quartered (optional)
• 3/4 cup uncooked white or jasmine rice [I only use this much to keep down points. If you aren't particularly worried about that, I'd use a bit more rice.]
  

Ingredients

1. In the bottom of a pot, stir together the red curry paste and a little coconut milk to combine.
2. Saute the chicken until cooked through.
3. Add the rest of the ingredients except the rice and simmer for about 10 minutes (or until the peas are cooked and the sauce has reduced and thickened to desired consistency).
4. Serve over hot rice with lime wedges. [This is where I mix the rice and curry together and let it sit for five to ten minutes so that the rice will absorb some of the liquid--you can see the difference in the two photos I've linked to.]

The verdict: This is one of our absolute favorite dishes. We have it at least once every two weeks and we never seem to get sick of it. The flavor is delicious and could pass for coming out of a restaurant, in my humble opinion. The cooking method keeps the chicken tender and moist, and the coconut milk makes the sauce nice and creamy. Plus, it's super easy to make--you essentially just dump a bunch of ingredients in a pan and stir. I do not plan on removing this dish from our rotation any time soon.

New Recipe: Garlic Cream Shrimp

Last night, we had some shrimp that we had to cook but neither of us was in the mood for the enchiladas I was going to make with it. So I decided to go out on a limb and attempt to modify a shrimp recipe that I had been eyeing in order to make it work with the limited ingredients we had on hand.

Bad. Idea. Rule number one of experimental cooking: Rice and pasta are not interchangeable. But I think the original recipe might have been tasty, so I'm going to post it here.

Garlic Cream Shrimp: Makes 4 servings; 10 WW points per serving

Ingredients

• 12 oz uncooked rigatoni [We didn't have rigatoni so I used rice instead. DO NOT RECOMMEND. To get the amount, I calculated the equivalent WW points of 12 oz. of rigatoni and came up with 1 3/4 cups of uncooked rice.]
• 1 medium onion, chopped
• 3 medium garlic cloves, minced
• 1 large sweet red pepper, chopped [I skipped this because I don't like peppers.]
• 4 Tbsp reduced-fat sour cream
• 1/4 cup wine, white, dry [We didn't have white wine so I used chicken broth instead, and added extra to try to keep the rice moist.]
• 1 pound shrimp, medium, flesh only or 2 lbs, peeled and deveined [I used one pound of shrimp, weighed with the shells on. I guess that's less than the recipe actually calls for. Whoops.]
• 4 medium scallions, chopped [We didn't have scallions so I just used a bunch of dried herbs and spices to add flavor.]
• 2 Tbsp parsley, chopped [We didn't have this either, so I used fresh basil instead.]

Instructions

1. Cook rigatoni according to package directions. Drain and set aside.
2. Coat a nonstick pan with cooking spray, heat and add onions, garlic and pepper.
3. Cook for 2 minutes, lower heat and stir in sour cream and wine.
4. Add shrimp and cook until pink. [I also added some seasoning, and then fresh basil, at this point.]
5. Stir in rigatoni, scallions and parsley and warm through.
   

The verdict: Oh my god, sticky and mushy like risotto gone wrong, and super bland despite all the spices I added. Only copious amounts of shredded Parmesan and ground pepper salvaged this meal. But if I'd made it using the original recipe and put it over pasta, as directed, it could potentially have had merit. The white wine would have given it a bit more flavor, and the pasta wouldn't have absorbed all the sauce the way the rice did. Still, I don't think we'll be trying this recipe again. If anyone does try the original recipe, please let me know how it turns out!