Moroccan Lamb with Couscous

For Valentine’s Day I gave Judy a trip to Morocco, in a manner of speaking.  What I did was to prepare a wonderful dish from that part of the world for our dinner.  It was delicious and quite romantic.

The PointsPlus value per serving is just a little higher than what we normally prepare, but that includes the Couscous. So don’t be afraid of trying this incredible dish yourself.

From our kitchen to yours.  Enjoy the adventure.

Ingredients

Moroccan Lamb with Couscous

5 tsp Olive Oil

1 ¼ pounds Leg of Lamb, trimmed, boned and cut into 1-inch cubes

1 tsp Kosher Salt

1 tsp Black Pepper, freshly ground

1 Large Onion, halved and thinly sliced

5 cloves Garlic, thinly sliced

½ tsp Paprika

½ cup Apricots, dried, halved

½ cup pitted Prunes, dried, halved

14 ½ oz can Tomatoes, whole, peeled

½ cup Cilantro leaves, coarsely chopped

2 Tbsp Lime juice, fresh

2 cups Couscous, cooked

Instructions

In a large saucepan with a tight fitting lid, heat the Oil over high heat. Swirl to coat the bottom of the pan. 

Season the Lamb with Salt and Pepper and cook until browned, about 5 minutes. Set aside on a plate.

Reduce the heat to Medium. Add Onion and Garlic; cook stirring occasionally, until softened, about 4 minutes.  Add Paprika, Apricots, Prunes, Tomatoes and 3 cups of water.  Bring to a boil; reduce heat and simmer for about 25 minutes, partially covered to reduce and thicken sauce.

Return Lamb and any accumulated juices to pan and cook until heated through, about 3 – 5 minutes.  Add Cilantro and Lime juice.  Additional Cilantro, if desired, may be used as a garnish.

About 5 minutes before Lamb is done prepare Couscous according to package directions.  Basically you will boil water to which you have added 2 Tbsp of Butter and ¼ tsp Salt.  When water boils add Couscous.  Remove from heat and let sit about 5 minutes. Fluff with a fork, and serve.

Yields 4 servings. PointsPlus value per serving, including Couscous is 12. Prep time is about 30 minutes. Cooking time is about 30 minutes. Level of difficulty is Easy.

Photo by Barry Baruh

Lemon Chicken with Broccoli

We’re still picking fruit from our citrus trees to incorporate into these recipes.  Tonight we brought in fresh lemons to go with some Chicken Breasts and Broccoli we already had in the fridge.

What we created was a mouth watering dish with a sauce that is thick, bubbly and oh so lemony.  And, this dish comes with a big bonus, it has a PointsPlus® value so low that you can have a double serving with absolutely no guilt whatsoever.  Sound too good to be true?  Try it.

From our kitchen to yours.  Enjoy the adventure.

Ingredients

2 Tbsp Whole Wheat flour, or all purpose flour

½ tsp Kosher Salt

¼ tsp Black Pepper, freshly ground

12 oz. uncooked Chicken Breast, boneless and skinless, thinly sliced

2 tsp Olive Oil

1 ½  cups Chicken Broth, fat-free, low sodium, divided

2 tsp garlic, minced

2 ½ cups Broccoli, uncooked, small florets

2 tsp Lemon zest, or more to taste

2 Tbsp Parsley, fresh, chopped

2 Tbsp Lemon juice, freshly squeezed

Instructions

On a plate, combine 1 ½ Tablespoons of flour, ¼ tsp of Salt and Pepper; Add Chicken slices and turn to coat.

Heat Oil in a large non-stick skillet over medium-high heat.

Add Chicken and cook, turning as needed, until slightly browned and cooked through, about 5 minutes.  Remove Chicken to a plate.

Put 1 cup of Chicken broth and Garlic in the same skillet; bring to a boil over high heat. Scrape browned bits from the skillet, add Broccoli; cover and cook about 1 minute.

In a small cup, stir together the remaining ½ cup of chicken broth, ½ Tbsp of flour and ¼ tsp of Salt.  Add to skillet and bring to a simmer over low heat.

Cover and cook until Broccoli is crisp/tender and the sauce has thickened, about 2 minutes.

Stir in the Chicken and Lemon zest and continue to cook until heated through.

Remove skillet for heat and incorporate Parsley and Lemon juice.  Toss to coat.

Yields 4 servings.  PointsPlus value per serving is 4.  Prep time is about 10 minutes.  Cooking time is about 10 minutes.  Level of difficulty is Easy.

Weight Watchers and PointsPlus are registered trademarks of Weight Watchers Intl. Inc.

Recipes shown may not be exactly the same as those found on any website. Judy and I tend to "tweak" each recipe we feature, to some degree, incorporating our own unique tastes and ideas. PointsPlus values, however, are accurate. 

Photo by Barry Baruh

Shrimp and Snow Pea Stir Fry in Orange Sauce

Judy and I have been living in Palm Desert, Ca. for about two months now and we are loving every minute.  We’ve been playing some golf, hiking the mountain trails, taking long walks, going to the gym and cooking.  After a year, we’re still maintaining our goal weight and we are still Weight Watchers Lifetime members.

We have several citrus trees just outside the kitchen door, so we have been enjoying a lot of fresh Tangelo and Lemon juice as well as some wonderful Pink grapefruit.

Here’s a recipe for a delicious stir fry with Shrimp and Snow Peas in a sauce we made utilizing our fresh citrus.  It’s crisp, fresh and fruity.

From our kitchen to yours.  Enjoy the adventure.

Ingredients

Shrimp and Snow Pea Stir Fry

1 spray Cooking spray

4 medium uncooked Scallions, thinly sliced

2 Tbsp Ginger root, freshly minced

2 Tbsp Orange zest.  We were able to use our fresh Tangelos for this.

5 medium cloves Garlic, freshly minced

3 cups Snow Peas, ends trimmed

8 oz uncooked Shrimp, peeled and deveined, 

25 count

2 cups uncooked Bean Sprouts

1 cup Orange juice, freshly squeezed recommended. Or Tangelos if you can get them

2 Tbsp low sodium Soy sauce

1 ½ Tsp Honey

1 ½ tsp cornstarch

1 ½ cups Rice Vinegar

1 tsp Sesame Oil

¼ tsp Red Pepper Flakes, or to taste

Instructions

Coat a large non-stick skillet or Wok with cooking spray; heat to smoking over high heat, about a minute or two.

Toss in Scallions, Ginger, Orange zest and Garlic.  Stir and toss constantly for about 30 seconds.

Add Snow Peas and continue tossing until crisp/tender, about 2 minutes.

Add Shrimp; continue cooking, and tossing, until the shrimp turn pink and are firm, about 2 minutes.

Add Sprouts, Orange Juice, Soy sauce and Honey. Toss until it bubbles, about a minute.

In the meantime, combine Cornstarch with Rice vinegar in a small bowl.

Stir in Cornstarch mixture and continue cooking until sauce has thickened somewhat, about 30 seconds.

Remove Wok or pan from heat and drizzle Sesame Oil over the dish.

Yields 4 servings. PointsPlus value per serving is 4. Prep time is 20 minutes. Cooking time is 9 minutes. Level of difficulty is Moderate.

Weight Watchers and PointsPlus are registered trademarks of Weight Watchers Intl. Inc.

Recipes shown may not be exactly the same as those found on any website. Judy and I tend to "tweak" each recipe we feature, to some degree, incorporating our own unique tastes and ideas. PointsPlus values, however, are accurate. 

Photo by Barry Baruh