#cookingwithwren

[wrennefer]

Sunday is waffle day, right??

I’ve never made waffles before, and we only have a cast iron waffle maker so I’m really pleased with how these turned out!

Made with almond flour and used banana extract in lieu of vanilla since we were out. Interesting taste but I may stick to regular flour next time for a fluffier texture.

The syrup is Walden Farms 0 calorie pancake syrup. 😁

[wrennefer]

A clip from my second installment of cooking Weight Watchers meals! You can see the full video here! This was really good! Thanks so much for watching and I appreciate the support! Please subscribe and stay tuned for more videos!

Recipe for Soy-Lime marinated flank steak:

Serves 4

¼ cup reduced sodium soy sauce

2 tsp grated lime zest

2tbsp fresh lime juice

1tbsp grated peeled fresh ginger

2 garlic cloves, minced

1 tsp honey

½ tsp chili-garlic paste

1lbs flank steak, trimmed

2 tsp olive oil

Combine the soy sauce, lime zest, lime juice, ginger, garlic, honey and chili-garlic paste in a large zip-close plastic bag; add the steak. Squeeze out the air and seal the bag.

Refrigerate, turning the bag occasionally, at least 4 hours up to 1 day

When ready to serve, preheat the broiler

Remove the steak from the marinade; discard the marinade. Pat the steak dry with paper towels. Rub the oil on both sides of the steak and place on the broiler rack.

Broil 5 inches from the heat, turning once, until an instant-read thermometer inserted into the steak registers 145° (f), 8-10 minutes, or to desired degree of doneness.

Transfer the steak to a cutting board and let stand 5 minutes. Cut across the grain into 12 slices.

Per serving (3 slices): 208Cal, 7g Total Fat, 2g Sat Fat, 83 mg Chol, 176mg Sod, 1g Carb, 0g Fib, 33g Prot, 6mg Calc

PointsPlus Value: 5

[wrennefer]

Soy-lime marinated flank steak recipe from the Weight Watchers 50th anniversary cookbook! Keep an eye out for the blog I did about making this! It was super tasty, I’m definitely making it again!! 5sp for 3 slices, yummm!

Serves 4 1/4 cup reduced sodium soy sauce 2 tsp grated lime zest 2tbsp fresh lime juice 1tbsp grated peeled fresh ginger 2 garlic cloves, minced 1 tsp honey 1/2 tsp chili-garlic paste 1lbs flank steak, trimmed 2 tsp olive oil Combine the soy sauce, lime zest, lime juice, ginger, garlic, honey and chili-garlic paste in a large zip-close plastic bag; add the steak. Squeeze out the air and seal the bag. Refrigerate, turning the bag occasionally, at least 4 hours up to 1 day When ready to serve, preheat the broiler

Remove the steak from the marinade; discard the marinade. Pat the steak dry with paper towels. Rub the oil on both sides of the steak and place on the broiler rack. Broil 5 inches from the heat, turning once, until an instant-read thermometer inserted into the steak registers 145° (f), 8-10 minutes, or to desired degree of doneness.  Transfer the steak to a cutting board and let stand 5 minutes. Cut across the grain into 12 slices.  Per serving (3 slices): 208Cal, 7g Total Fat, 2g Sat Fat, 83 mg Chol, 176mg Sod, 1g Carb, 0g Fib, 33g Prot, 6mg Calc PointsPlus Value: 5

[wrennefer]

I made chili from scratch in the instant pot! Sssooooo good! Only 2 smartpoints is also a bonus! 🤤

[wrennefer]

Making Apple cider today! Videotaping for my cooking channel on YouTube as well! It’s simmering now and then it needs to be strained by hand. I’m determined to use as many of the apples we harvested in as many recipes as I can!

[wrennefer]

The first air fryer fritzed before we even got to try it but trial #2 after exchanging it was a success!!!

[wrennefer]

Tried out a new recipe today! My weight watchers weekly pamphlet came with a recipe for chicken piccata with creamy zucchini noodles/zoodles so I gave it a shot. Videotaped it too so keep an eye out for that video! Had a few setbacks, like the zucchini being too big to spiralize, and then not getting enough drainage, but overall we were pretty pleased with the end result!

Chicken piccata with creamy zoodles

2 SmartPoints per serving 

1 large zucchini

1 large yellow squash

4 (4 oz each) skinless chicken cutlets

3/4 tsp salt, divided

1/4 plus 1/8 tsp black pepper, divided

2 tbsp flour

4 tsp olive oil

1 shallot, finely chopped (1/4 cup)

1 small lemon, thinly sliced

1/4 cup plus 2 tbsp chicken broth, divided

3 tbsp fresh lemon juice

2 tbsp capers

2 tbsp chopped fresh parsley

2 tbsp nonfat plain greek yogurt

2 tbsp chopped fresh basil

Spiralize zucchini and squash; set aside

Sprinkle chicken with 1/2 tsp salt and 1/4 tsp pepper. Spread flour on wax paper; coat chicken in flour, shaking off excess.

In large skillet, heat oil over medium-high heat. Add chicken; cook until browned and cooked through, 3 to 4 minutes per side. Remove chicken, cover and keep warm.

Add shallot and sliced lemon to skillet. Reduce heat to medium and cook, stirring, until shallot is golden, 1 to 2 minutes. Add 1/4 cup broth, lemon juice and capers. Bring to a simmer, scraping up browned bits from bottom of pain. Cook 1 to 2 minutes. Stir in chicken and any accumulated juices and parsley; cook until heated through, about 1 minutes. 

Meanwhile, in another large skillet, bring remaining 2 tbsp broth to boil over medium-high heat. Add zoodles; cover and cook, stirring once, until crisp-tender, about 2 minutes. Remove from heat; drain liquid. Stir in yogurt, basil and remaining salt and pepper.  Yields 1 chicken cutlet, tbsp sauce, and 1/2 cup zoodles per serving. 

[wrennefer]

Used the recipe for lemon bars I found in the Weight Watchers 50th Anniversary cookbook, these are soooo good! I cut them into 64ths for bite size pieces so it’s 3 points for 4 of these snack sized bars. Yummm 🤤

Ingredients:

2/3 cup + 2tbs all-purpose flour

1/3 cup animal cracker or vanilla wafer crumbs

1 cup + 2tbs sugar

3 tbs unsalted butter or margarine

2 large eggs

2 egg whites

2 tsp grated lemon zest

1/2 cup fresh lemon juice (about 3-4 lemons)

1. Place the oven rack in the center of the oven; preheat the oven to 350° (f). Line an 8 inch square baking pan with heavy duty foil, extending 2 inches beyond the sides (this creates a 'handle' so that the bars can easily be lifted out of the pain. Spray the bottom and sides of the foil with nonstick spray.

2. To prepare the crust: stir together 2/3 cup of the flour, the animal cracker or wafer crumbs, 2tbs of the sugar, and the butter in a medium bowl until the consistency similar to wet sand. Pat evenly into the pan to form a crust. Bake until firm, about 12 minutes.

3. Whisk together remaining 1 cup sugar and the remaining 2 tbs of flour in a medium bowl. Add the eggs, egg whites, lemon zest and lemon juice, and whisk to thoroughly combine, about 1 minute. Pour over the hot crust and return to oven. Bake until golden and set in the center, about 30 minutes.

4. Cool completely on a rack. Lift out the bars, holding onto the foil ends and place on a cutting board. Cut into 16 squares.

Per serving: (1 bar) 119 Cal, 3g Total Fat, 2g Sat Fat, 32 mg Chol, 2mg Sod, 21g Carb, 0g Fib, 2g Prot, 6mg Calc

PointsPlus Value: 3