Tradition... Moderation... Simplicity

Tender Pork Loin and Tomato Couscous

Posted By Vicky on February 21, 2010

It was a last minute decision to stay in for dinner, and therefore to skip the grocery store. I had the double challenge of coming up with something quick, requiring little effort, whilst having the ingredients on hand.. that would make for a nice Sunday night. I managed surprisingly well. Sorry, not gonna be the most interesting nor original blog entry… But, I’m just thrilled to have any time to cook at all right now… and I’ve even less time to write about it.

Pork loin was purchased a few days ago with the lazy intent of throwing it into a crockpot with some low sugar BBQ sauce for an all day simmer. I decided I wanted to roast it tonight instead. First stop, of course, was RecipeZaar where I did a search for pork loin recipes. Organized the results by rating and snagged the top rated recipe. This process is rarely a let down if you’re in need of ideas. http://www.recipezaar.com/Honey-Roasted-Pork-Loin-29493

I tweaked it a little. Mine looked like this:

Ingredients
2.25 lbs pork loin, boneless
salt and pepper
1/4 cup sugar free breakfast syrup
2 tablespoons Simply Orange w/ Pineapple
2 tablespoons olive oil
1/2 teaspoon thyme
1/2 cup low sodium chicken broth

I was even lazier with the directions…

Preheat the oven to 375.
Set the pork loin in a roasting pan and season to taste with salt and pepper.
In a separate bowl, mix together the syrup, juice, oil and thyme. Drizzle over pork.
Add the broth to the pan.
Bake 60-75 min. (Recommend internal temp of 150 to be safe.)
Baste frequently. The more you baste, the better. I basted two or three times, and it was good ’nuff, but I think it could have been better had I been a little less lazy.

I didn’t bother to reduce the sauce down. A thinner consistency went a longer way at probably less calories. The leftovers are also marinading in it.We didn’t have any fresh produce to speak of (ok maybe an onion, but did I mention I was trying to be lazy lol) so I cheated with some canned goods. I brought 1 cup of low sodium chicken broth to a simmer, quickly stirred in 1 cup of dry Couscous, removed from heat and let that sit for 5 min or so. Then, I stirred in some chopped tomatoes from a can. It was one of those “made for chili” varieties that sported a few green chilies and a little kick.

I layered the pork over the Couscous mixture, drizzled some pork baste over the whole thing, and served it just like that. If I use the leftover couscous mix for anything other than to serve with the pork leftovers, I’ll probably add a tsp of olive oil to moisten it up a bit.

It has been a wonderful weekend.

My small plate.

My husband's plate.

Tomato Laden Couscous!

Very tasty for not much work!

Category: General | No Comments »
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Eastern Light Oyster Stew

Posted By Vicky on December 16, 2009

Brrr-rrr-rrr! Are you cold? I am freaking freezing! Therefore, I’ve been on a soup kick! I tried my hand at lightening up an oyster stew recipe, and I was very pleased with the result. Warmed my tummy, it did!

Plump buttery oysters in a creamy broth.

Ingredients
16 oz oysters shucked with liquor retained
4 cup fat free half & half
4 tablespoons margarine
salt, to taste
fresh ground pepper, to taste
old bay, moroccan rub, or whatever spice you like to kick it up a notch!

Directions

In a medium to large pot, cook oysters in their liquor until they look plump and firm and the edges start to curl a bit.
Turn heat to low. Add half & half, margarine, salt and pepper.
Turn heat back up just a little, bring to just shy of a simmer, and heat the stew through. Do not boil. Stir occasionally.
Best served immediately but will keep for a day or two in the fridge in a sealed container.

Sure, you can shuck your own fresh oysters. I’m way too lazy to do that, so I found a pint of fresh shucked oysters… liquor and all. Liquor is the liquid inside an oyster’s shell and is a key component of the stew’s flavor.

A pint of fresh shucked oysters.

The oysters just poured into the pan.

Simmer the oysters right in their broth. At first, it is hard to imagine that these will become plump and juicy… but they do, and you will know it when you see it. They’ll appear a bit more sturdy, and the edges will start to curl up just a bit.

Plump and yummy!

Once they’re firmed up a bit, turn down the heat and add in the rest of your ingredients. Kick the stove back up a bit and heat the stew until it is warmed through and uniform. You shouldn’t boil it, but I did bring it almost to a simmer.

Creamy and warm winter treat!

Add whatever spices you like. Traditionally, Old Bay is the way to go. I had a Pampered Chef moroccan spice blend I wanted to try, so in it went. Wonderfully different! At the point, the stew is really open to interpretation. Add herbs and spices… serve it with oyster crackers… make it special! We had ours just like you see it here. Plain and simple!

About 1/2 cup makes a serving, and this recipe yielded approximately 5 cups. To make a more traditional batch, use milk or cream where I used fat free half & half. Real butter would replace the margarine.

I made this yesterday. Just took a taste of it cold from the fridge, and it kept just fine. Can’t wait to heat up some more for lunch tomorrow!

Hello little Wonderland Oysters! Into the pot with you!

My Sweet Prince holds his lunch up for us to see.

Wonder how this would do in a slow cooker? I’ll have to try it!

Find this recipe in my SparkRecipes recipe box.

Category: Protein Recipes, Recipes | No Comments »
Tags: Low Sugar, Protein, Seafood, Shellfish, Soup, Stew, Under 15 Carbs

RecipeZaar Membership

Posted By Vicky on December 16, 2009

* NOTE: I have found my two RZ buddies. As I should have figured there would be, I’ve been made aware of a thread pertaining to this very topic over in the RZ forum. (Thanks to The_Swedish_Chef!)

http://www.recipezaar.com/bb/viewtopic.zsp?t=320730

Greetings. It’s been a bit since I’ve blogged about food. Time has been a real issue for the last few weeks. I do have a couple good things in the hopper, and as soon as I get a chance… you will be hearing about them!

Meanwhile, my RecipeZaar membership is about to expire. It costs $24.95 per year for a premium membership whether renewing or buying new, but there is always a “sale” going on… buy 2, get 1 free. That’s 3 premium memberships for a total of $49.90. If 3 people split this cost, it comes to $16.63 per person. I was wondering if anyone has been thinking about going premium and wants to share in this deal with me?

I believe we only need to trade email addresses… I would provide you with my PayPal associated e-mail addie so you can send me the $16.63, and you would provide me the email address with which you want your RZ account to be associated. (Existing members who want to renew/extend would give me the one they already use!) Once I get payments from two people, I would then buy the three memberships. You get an email from RZ saying “someone has bought you a membership”, and then you would login and start updating your member info. I need no other personal info, and I would not have any access to your account. Having said all that… I still only feel comfortable doing this for people with whom I’ve had legitimate interaction, or for people with an established RZ account whether premium or not. Apologies, but bloggers see tons of underhanded attempts at all sorts of mischief. This caveat is to protect both you and me.

You can contact me for this with a comment here, an email via RZ’s messaging system, a message on Facebook, or a direct email if you have my addie. Do whatever is the most comfortable for you. Posting your email address publically is not advised. First come, first served. When I’ve interacted with, and received money from, two interested people I will update the top of this post and also attempt to reply personally to anyone who has contacted me.

OH… when you contact me, please note whether you are willing to have me match you up with two other interested people to do this deal if you don’t get to me in time! :) I will take the next three WILLING people and email you each other’s contact info as a group.

I have ABSOLUTELY NO affiliation with RecipeZaar other than being a premium member and a huge fan. I wish I did, as I have recruited many new members for them over the past few years! :)

To contact me on RecipeZaar: http://www.recipezaar.com/member/429104

To contact me on SparkPeople, send a message to PrairieHarpy.

Contact me on Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Tradition-Moderation-Simplicity/190076701310

Read about the benefits associated with a premium account: http://www.recipezaar.com/members/premtour.php

RecipeZaar

Couple more notes… I think you can send me the email addie of anyone, so if you want to buy someone’s Christmas gift…

Lastly, I’m reminded that PayPal is going to scrape a few cents off each payment I get. I’m still saving money and really not bothered… but if you’re feeling charitable, round up your payment to an even $17 and that should cover it. (I don’t care, really. Love to share, and don’t feel like looking up percentages and doing math. lol)

Category: General | 2 Comments »
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Seared Tuna with Wasabi Butter Sauce

Posted By Vicky on December 9, 2009

Been promising to get back to some healthier recipes. Being short on time, and needing to eat healthier this holiday season, I turned to my old friend RecipeZaar and found this recipe for Seared Ahi Tuna Glazed With Wasabi Butter. Of course, I made a couple of changes… mostly born from lack of time and laziness. This whole thing took just 15 minutes or so to whip up, and the Return On Investment was well worth it.

My man's plate. Yum!

Ingredients
1 large tuna steak, big enough to serve 2 or 3 people
2 tablespoons sesame chili oil
salt and fresh ground pepper
1/2 cup butter
3 tablespoons low sodium soy sauce
2 tablespoons creamy horseradish sauce, wasabi
3 green onions, sliced
1 lemon, juice of

Directions

Drizzle sesame oil on both sides of the tuna steak. Season with salt and pepper.
Combine remaining ingredients in a small sauce pan. Heat over low heat until butter is melted, stirring occasionally to prevent scorching.
While sauce is heating, heat a heavy frying pan on another burner with high heat. Place tuna in pan and sear until crispy and brown. Turn and sear on the other side. About 2 minutes per side if you like it rare. Up to 5 if you like it well done.

Just a big ole thick tuna steak!

For starters, I bought just enough tuna to feed my husband and I. I wound up with leftover sauce, but I don’t mind. It is good! To sear the tuna, you want the pan pretty darn hot before you put the tuna in. Notice that you drizzle the tuna with the oil, and then you put the tuna in the pan. You don’t heat the oil in the pan. I think this is key to getting the nice crispy brown outside without burning anything.

One incredibly flavorful sauce.

I used real butter here. I believe regular butter is fine when not consumed alongside a lot of white carbs. I think your favorite margarine would probably be ok here, if that is what makes you happy. I doubt it will taste quite as good as real butter would, but I don’t think it would completely ruin the effort. There are 28 reviews of this recipe over on RecipeZaar. I bet at least one of them touches on the subject. You can get LOTS of info and ideas by reading through the recipe reviews.

As always, I used low sodium soy sauce. Now, for the wasabi, I did not use the more traditional tubed stuff. I happened to eyeball a Manischewitz Wasabi Style Horseradish sauce on the grocery store shelf. Who knew? Looked interesting and was cheaper per ounce. And guess what? It worked very well in this recipe. I would not recommend it for a bonafide sushi sit-down, but to add flavor to sauces or sandwiches… it’s pretty darn neat!

My side-plate-sized lovely salad.

I sliced up the tuna and piled it on top of fresh spinach and sliced tomatoes to form a lovely salad. I drizzled the sauce, in moderation, over the whole thing for a nice dressing. Added a little fresh ground pepper over top. It was a delicious dinner.

My buddy, TJ, gave me a link to an alternate recipe that looks well worth trying. Maybe next week!

Category: Protein Recipes, Recipes | 2 Comments »
Tags: Fish, Low Carb, Low Sugar, Protein, Tuna

Nothing but bookmarks!

Posted By Vicky on December 5, 2009

Awhile back, some friends of mine asked me to export my bookmarks to them. Forgot I had done this until my friend Erika found them again today. My list has grown substantially since this one was created!

DISCLAIMER: I do not necessarily agree with, approve, or endorse the contents of each website listed here. Many of them are sites I have skimmed just long enough to deem worthy of a bookmark so that I may return later for further perusal.

Feel free to question me about the extent of my experience with particular sites, recipes, products, etc.

A note about recipes: I love to take traditional recipes and lighten them up or at least make them sugar free. Do not assume that I make a recipe AS IS nor that it is safe for you to do so. Be wise and wary, as always!

If you see a site that is owned by you or contributed by you and you would like some sort of credit or plug, by all means let me know. If you see unacceptable content I somehow overlooked, please let me know that too!

Enjoy!

Cooking Reference

Cook’s Illustrated – Lighter Guide
Cooking Techniques & Ingredient Guide – Wegmans
Ingredient Subs – Barry Farm Foods
Joy of Baking
Kraft Foods Cooking School
Land O’Lakes Ingredient Substitutions

Fitness

Exercise Playlists – SparkPeople
Intro to Exercising with Resistance Bands
SparkPeople

Food General Reference

Almond Flour & Meal Info
Low Carb Products & Ingredients
Organics 101 – Allrecipes
Protein in nutrition – Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Rainier Cherries
Reducing the Fat Content of Regular Ground Beef
Turkey Info
Vanilla – Joyofbaking.com
Wegman’s Lower Carb
Weight Loss Diets