Broiled Tilapia Gyros

From Cooking Light



Ingredients:
Fish:
1 1/2 pounds tilapia fillets
1 1/2 tablespoons olive oil
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1/4 teaspoon salt
Cooking spray

Tzatziki:
3/4 cup plain 2% reduced-fat Greek yogurt
2 teaspoons chopped fresh dill
1 1/2 teaspoons fresh lemon juice
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 garlic cloves, minced

Remaining ingredients:
4 (2.75-ounce) Mediterranean-style wheat flatbreads (such as Toufayan)
1/2 cup vertically sliced red onion (about 1/2 small onion)
1 ripe avocado, peeled and cut into 12 thin slices
1 medium tomato, thinly sliced
1/2 small English cucumber, thinly sliced (about 1/2 cup)

Directions:
1. Preheat broiler.

2. To prepare fish, brush fish with oil; sprinkle with 1/2 teaspoon pepper and 1/4 teaspoon salt. Place fish on a broiler pan coated with cooking spray. Broil 6 minutes or until fish flakes easily when tested with a fork or desired degree of doneness.

3. To prepare tzatziki, combine yogurt and next 5 ingredients (through garlic) in a food processor or blender; pulse until smooth.

4. Spread 2 tablespoons tzatziki in the center of each flatbread. Divide fish evenly among flatbreads. Top each serving with 2 tablespoons onion, 3 avocado slices, 2 tomato slices, and about 6 cucumber slices; fold in half.

Comments:
A couple steps, but overall not too hard. I left some stuff out, but it seemed to be ok. Of course, I don't know firsthand, but Adam didn't complain!

Vietnamese Turkey (Chicken) Wraps

From Weight Watchers New Complete Cookbook



Ingredients:
3 tbsp fish sauce
2 tbsp lime juice
1 tbsp sugar
1/4 to 1/2 tsp red chile paste
1/4 cup water
2 carrots, cut into matchstick size pieces
1 cucumber, seeded and cut into matchstick size pieces
2 tbsp finely chopped onion
2 tbsp rice vinegar
2 tsp peanut oil
10 oz boneless, skinless turkey breast, cut into thin strips
2 cups hot cooked rice
2 heads Boston lettuce, cleaned and separated into leaves
1/2 cup whole mint leaves
1/2 cup whole cilantro leaves
3 tbsp unsalted, dry-roasted peanuts, chopped

Directions:
1. To prepare the dipping sauce, in a small serving bowl, whisk together 2 tbsp of the fish sauce, the lime juice, sugar, and chile paste with the water; set aside.

2. In a medium nonreactive bowl, combine the carrots, cucumber, onion, and vinegar; let stand 20 minutes. Drain, discarding the vinegar, and place in a medium serving bowl.

3. In a large nonstick skillet or wok, heat the oil. Saute the turkey until no longer pink, 1-2 minutes. Sprinkle with the remaining tbsp fish sauce and place in a medium serving bowl.

4. To assemble a wrap, spoon about a tbsp each of the rice, turkey, and cucumber-carrot mixture into a lettuce leaf; top with 1-2 mint and cilantro leaves, sprinkle with peanuts and fold the lettuce leaf over to enclose the filling. Dip into the sauce.

Serves 4. POINTS Value per serving: 7

Comments:
I skipped the fish paste because that just sounds gross. Used chicken rather than turkey, iceberg instead of Boston, but kept everything else pretty much the same. I was not too impressed. I ate one lettuce wrap and then gave up on it - they were too messy! I ate the chicken with some rice and the dipping sauce. That was really good.

Middle Eastern Salad Wraps

From Weight Watchers New Complete Cookbook



Ingredients:
2 tbsp tahini
2 tbsp plain fat-free yogurt (I used Greek)
1 tbsp lemon juice
2 1/2 tsp EVOO
1 small garlic clove, minced (I just used a garlic olive oil)
pinch salt
2 tbsp water
2 tomatoes, cut into 8 wedges each
1 cucumber, halved lengthwise and thinly sliced
2 tbsp finely chopped fresh parsley
1 tbsp finely chopped fresh mint
1/4 small onion, thinly sliced
8 tortillas

Directions:
1. To prepare the dressing, in a small bowl, whisk the tahini, yogurt, lemon juice, oil, garlic, and salt with the water.

2. In a medium bowl, combine the tomatoes, cucumber, parsley, mint, and onion. Drizzle with the dressing; toss to coat.

3. To assemble the wraps, soften the tortillas according to package directions. Divide the salad among the tortillas. Fold up the bottom edge of each tortilla, then the left and right sides to enclose the filling.

Serves 4 (2 wraps each). POINTS Value per serving: 4

Comments:
I admit, I didn't eat this. Adam had picked the recipe and it didn't appeal to me at all. Plus, I had filled up on fresh strawberries from our local farm stand. (Eee! I love strawberry season!)

Adam said this was very good. I'll take his word for it. The dressing is kind of runny so perhaps halve that part unless you like runny wraps.

Spicy Chicken Shawarma

From Cooking Light



Ingredients:
2 tablespoons finely chopped fresh parsley
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper
1/4 teaspoon ground ginger
1/4 teaspoon ground cumin
1/8 teaspoon ground coriander
5 tablespoons plain low-fat Greek-style yogurt, divided
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice, divided
3 garlic cloves, minced and divided
1 pound skinless, boneless chicken breast halves, thinly sliced
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
1 tablespoon tahini
4 (6-inch) pitas, halved
1/2 cup chopped cucumber
1/2 cup chopped plum tomato
1/4 cup prechopped red onion

Directions:
1. Combine first 6 ingredients in a large bowl; stir in 1 tablespoon yogurt, 1 tablespoon juice, and 2 garlic cloves. Add chicken; toss to coat. Heat oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add chicken mixture to pan; sauté 6 minutes or until browned and done, stirring frequently.

2. While chicken cooks, combine remaining 1/4 cup yogurt, remaining 1 tablespoon lemon juice, remaining 1 garlic clove, and tahini, stirring well. Spread 1 1/2 teaspoons tahini mixture inside each pita half; divide chicken evenly among pita halves. Fill each pita half with 1 tablespoon cucumber, 1 tablespoon tomato, and 1 1/2 teaspoons onion.

Comments:
I skipped the coriander and tahini, but followed everything else. These are a teensy bit spicy. Ok, a lot spicy. But remember, I'm a wuss. Adam really liked this and ate the leftover chicken plain. The prep on this is what takes the most time. The actual cooking is minimal. This also ended up sitting for about 20 minutes or so after it was done (aah, the unpredictability of life...) so we ate it lukewarm, which seemed the perfect temperature to not melt the yogurt but also not be gross and cold.

Red, Green, and Bleu Salad

From The Biggest Loser Cookbook



Ingredients:
2 medium plum (Roma) tomatoes, seeded and chopped
1/2 medium cucumber, seeded and chopped
1/4 cup red onion slivers
2 tbsp crumbled gorgonzola cheese
2 tsp light balsamic salad dressing
salt & pepper to taste

Directions:
Combine all ingredients in a medium serving bowl and toss well.

Comments:
Adam made this and ate it while I was at work so I have no idea how it went. He did say it was easy to make but he didn't dig the dressing he used. He also said it got very soggy if you let it sit around too long so it's best to make it and eat it right away. He also peeled the cucumbers but that's more of a personal preference thing - the skin can be bitter sometimes.

Fresh and Colorful Jicama Slaw

From The Biggest Loser Cookbook



Ingredients:
1 English cucumber, seeded and cut into thin 1"-long strips
1/2 pound jicama, peeled and cut into thin 1"-long strips
2 medium carrots, peeled and cut into thin 1"-long strips
6 tsbp chopped cilantro
5 tbsp lime juice
1 tbsp EVOO
1 1/2 tsp red pepper flakes
salt & pepper to taste

Directions:
In a mixing bowl, combine all ingredients. Toss gently to mix. Serve immediately or refrigerate for up to 3 days.

Comments:
So, jicama. What is that? This is jicama:



Looks like a turnip on steroids, but it has a texture kind of like a carrot and tastes kind of sweet. Adam compared it to sweet peas. It's very versatile and is pretty good for you. Just for a point of reference, that one in the picture was about 1 pound. I only used half of it for this recipe.

For this recipe I used a regular cuke - what's the point of spending extra money on an English one when you're SEEDING it (I also peeled it.) I also left out the cilantro. I'm not planning on eating this one so I used all the red pepper the recipe called for even though it seemed like a lot. Hopefully Adam likes it. And if he doesn't it's his own fault because he picked it out. :)

Salmon Delight Burgers

From Everyday With Rachael Ray



Ingredients:
1/2 cup plain yogurt
2 tablespoons chopped fresh mint
Salt
1 cucumber, peeled and sliced
1 pound salmon fillet, skinned
3 large eggs, 2 hard-boiled and sliced
1/4 cup vegetable oil
4 brioche rolls, split and toasted
1 bunch baby spinach (about 2 cups)

Directions:
1. In a small bowl, combine the yogurt and mint; season with salt. In a medium bowl, add the cucumber and sprinkle with salt; let stand for 15 minutes, then transfer to paper towels to drain.

2. Meanwhile, slice the salmon lengthwise into ¼-inch-wide strips, cut in half crosswise, then cut into ¼-inch pieces. In a medium bowl, beat the raw egg with ½ teaspoon salt. Stir in the salmon.

3. In a large, nonstick skillet, heat the oil over medium-high heat. Add the salmon mixture in 4 mounds; gently press to form 4 patties. Cook, turning once, for 6 minutes.

4. Place a salmon patty on each roll bottom; top with 2 tablespoons yogurt-mint sauce, some cucumber, sliced hard-boiled egg, spinach and a roll top.

Comments:
I left out the yogurt-mint sauce since Adam didn't want it. I also tried to halve this since I wasn't going to eat it, but I ended up with a lot less salmon meat than I thought I would after I skinned it so the burger itself ended up very eggy. I even drained a lot of the egg off through my fingers as I put the meat in the pan to cook, but it still ended up kind of sad-looking. Oh well. He ate it. Even though I screwed up the hard-boiled egg thing again. It's kind of pathetic that I can't get an egg to a decent hard-boiled state. I suppose if I liked them I'd have more of an incentive to figure it out...

(Indian) Chicken Salad Pockets

From The Biggest Loser Cookbook



Ingredients:
1 1/2 tsp mayo
1 tsp lime juice
1/2 tsp curry paste
3/4 cup chopped grilled chicken breast
1 1/2 tbsp seeded, chopped cucumber
1 1/2 tbsp chopped red onion
1 whole wheat pita, cut in half
2 leaves lettuce

Directions:
In a medium bowl, combine the mayo, lime juice, and curry paste. Whisk to blend. Add the chicken, cucumber, and onion. Mix well.

Spoon the mixture evenly into the pita halves. Add the lettuce.

Comments:
I don't do curry. So that's why the "Indian" is a parenthetical. These were pretty good. I had issues with the pita pockets (can you see the one tearing on the side?), but I can't really blame that on the recipe. It's pretty good the next day too. I put the lettuce in first so that's why you can't really see it in the picture.

Adam Cooks: Steak Salad Stuffed Pockets

From EatingWell.com via Yahoo! Food



Ingredients:
1/4 cup lemon juice
3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
2 teaspoons Dijon mustard
1/4 teaspoon salt, or to taste
Freshly ground pepper to taste
1 pound top round steak, 1 1/2 inches thick, trimmed
4 cups romaine lettuce, chopped
1 medium cucumber, diced
1 large tomato, diced
8 small (4 inch) whole-wheat pitas, split open

Directions:
Position rack in upper third of oven; preheat broiler.

Whisk lemon juice, oil, mustard, salt and pepper in a large bowl. Place steak in a shallow dish and pour half the dressing over it. Let marinate at room temperature, turning once, for 10 minutes.

Meanwhile, prepare the salad by adding lettuce, cucumber and tomato to the remaining dressing in the bowl; toss to coat.

Transfer the meat to a broiling pan. Broil for 5 minutes on each side for medium-rare, or until it reaches desired doneness. Transfer to a cutting board, let rest for 3 minutes, then slice thinly against the grain. Mix the meat with the salad and fill each pita. Serve immediately.

Comments:
Bwahahaha! He set the smoke alarm off again!

Anyway, these were good. A nice, all-in-one meal. He decided to go with flatbread rather than pita pockets and I think I would have stuck with the pockets. It was kind of difficult to eat with all the stuff falling out. He points out that he didn't have that problem due to his huge hands. I'm resisting making an ape comment here. I'm so restrained... Anywho. Outside of the mess, they were a great meal.

Beef Kebabs with Yogurt Sauce (Take Two)

From Everyday with Rachael Ray (also seen here)



Ingredients:
1 1/2 cups plain whole-milk yogurt
1/2 cup grated English cucumber, wrung out in a kitchen towel
1 teaspoon dried dill
2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
Salt and pepper
1 1/2 pounds ground beef
1/2 cup chopped flat-leaf parsley, plus whole leaves for garnish
1 1/2 tablespoons ground cumin
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
Warm pita bread, for serving

Directions:
1. Soak 8 wooden skewers in water. In a small bowl, combine the yogurt, cucumber, dill and half the garlic; season to taste with salt and pepper. Refrigerate.

2. Preheat a grill or grill pan to medium-high. In a medium bowl, combine the beef, remaining garlic, chopped parsley and cumin. Add salt and pepper to taste. Divide the beef mixture into 4 sections. Roll each section into a 6-inch log. Thread each log lengthwise onto two parallel skewers. Wrap your index finger and thumb around the log and lightly squeeze from top to bottom to make 4 indented rings. Rub the beef kebabs with olive oil and grill for 6 to 8 minutes on each side, or to desired doneness. Top each kebab with the yogurt sauce and parsley leaves and serve on a pita.

Comments:
Didn't follow the recipe this time since I knew they wouldn't work out on the grill (see previous entry referenced above for the disaster of my last attempt at this recipe.) I formed the meat into meatballs and baked them in the oven. It worked out well. And I got the cucumber in this time so that was good too.

Greek Goddess Salad

From The Biggest Loser Cookbook



Ingredients:
3 tbsp minced parsley
4 pitted kalamata olives (left out)
1 cloved garlic, minced
4-5 tbsp lemon juice
1/2 medium cucumber, seeded and chopped
1/2 medium red or orange bell pepper, chopped (left out)
1 medium tomato, seeded and chopped
1/3 cup finely chopped red onion
1 ounce crumbled feta cheese
1 small grilled chicken breast

Directions:
In a serving bowl, combine the parsley, olives, and garlic. Whisk in 4 tablespoons lemon juice. Add the cucumber, bell pepper, tomato, onion, and 3 tablespoons of the cheese. Toss to coat. Taste and add up to 1 tablespoon more lemon juice, if desired. Scatter the chicken over the salad. Top with remaining cheese.

Comments:
This is not my thing - I'm not a fan of feta. Adam flagged this recipe and I made it. That's how it works around here. :) He seemed to like it.

Cucumber Boats

From Taste of Home Annual Recipes 2001.



Ingredients:
Cucumbers
canned chicken
hard boiled eggs (left out - yuck)
cheese
celery
mayo
pickle relish (left out)
lemon juice
chopped onion (left out)
salt

Comments:
Altered this recipe a little since neither of us like tuna and that's what the original recipe called for. Also left out some stuff I find gross in chicken salad. The cucumber made the whole thing kind of juicy and runny. It was easier to eat in small sections than in one big piece. Tastes good and is pretty good for you to. Yay! I got some ginormous cucumbers at a farmer's market in Door County. Delicious!