Wild Rice Casserole

This is going to be a new comfort food in my house. It's creamy, hearty, and smells amazing bubbling away in the oven. You can make this with just wild rice or brown rice, or a combination of the two. I followed the author's suggestion and made 1/2 wild rice and 1/2 brown rice. Delicious combination!

Original inspiration: Super Natural Every Day

Serving size: 6 main-course sized portions (could be served as a side-dish as well)

WW: 5 pointsplus per serving

Ingredients:

2 eggs

1 cup (8 ounces) low fat cottage cheese

1/2 cup (4 ounces) low fat sour cream

2 teaspoons Dijon or whole grain mustard (if your Dijon is super spicy, use less)

1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil

10 ounces cremini mushrooms, chopped

1 large onion, finely chopped

3 garlic cloves, minced

1 ounce gruyere cheese, grated

1 teaspoon fresh tarragon or thyme, finely chopped

1 1/4 cups wild rice and/or brown rice (I made mine fresh, but you could use frozen)

sea salt

Method:

Bring a pot of your rice(s), 3 cups of water, and about 1/2 teaspoons of salt to a boil. Let simmer for 45-50 minutes or until the water is all absorbed and the rice is tender.

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Coat a baking dish (about 9" by 13") with olive oil or butter.

In a large bowl, whisk together the eggs, cottage cheese, sour cream, mustard, and 1/2 teaspoon salt.

In a large skillet, combine the olive oil and a few pinches of salt and turn the heat to high. Stir in the mushrooms and then do not touch them again for 5 minutes (until any water from the mushrooms evaporate). Continue to cook the mushrooms until they are browned, stirring every minute or two. Add the onion and cook for a few minutes until they become translucent. Then, stir in the garlic and cook until it becomes fragrant (about a minute). Remove the skillet from the heat.

Add the rice mixture to the skillet and stir until it is combined well, then add everything to the cottage cheese mixture. Mix well and then transfer to the prepared baking dish. Spread the mixture evenly into the baking dish and top with the grated gruyere cheese.

Cover with aluminum foil and bake for 30 minutes. Remove the foil and bake until the casserole gets golden brown along the edges (about 20-30 additional minutes). Serve the casserole hot, right from the oven, with minced tarragon and another sprinkle of grated gruyere, if you want it (extra pointsplus). I served this as a main course with a side of arugula salad with apples, blue cheese, and apple cider vinaigrette. Excellent!

Kale Chips

Smitten Kitchen is the world's greatest food blog. It is official. Deb, the queen of Smitten, is the wonderful person who first introduced me to kale chips. Oh kale chips...how I love thee. Hardly a week goes by without these crispy little super foods accompanying my dinner. They are great with a burger instead of fries. Delish!

Original inspiration: Smitten Kitchen

Serving Size: 2

WW: 2 pointsplus per serving

Ingredients:

1 large bunch of kale (lacinato or curly - it doesn't matter)

1 tablespoon olive oil

salt & pepper to taste

Method:

The secret to this recipe is the olive oil to kale ratio. Too much olive oil makes them limp. I find that one teaspooon of evoo for every 4 ounces of kale works best. I'm very scientific like that. This recipe can be easily adjusted to make enough for 1 or 10. This recipe is for two large portions.

Preheat oven to 300 degrees. Desteam kale and tear into small-medium sized pieces. Wash well and dry.

Toss with olive oil, salt, and pepper (or any other spices you like). Spread in a single layer on a cookie sheet (you might need more than one). Bake for 20 minutes or until crisp. Let cool for about 5 minutes, then serve.

I love topping them with nutritional yeast or parmesan cheese. So good! An easy way to get your WW healthy oils and veggie healthy checks.

Olive Oil Mashed Potatoes

I love mashed potatoes, but they are so bad for you and typically lack any nutritional benefits. This recipe helped me make decadent tasting mashed potatoes, but still get a couple of those good health guidelines met. They are great served with roast chicken!

Original Inspiration: I think I got inspired while watching Everyday Food on PBS
Servings: 2 (double or triple the recipe for more people)
WW: 5 pointsplus per serving

Ingredients:

12 ounces of small red potatoes, skin on (the creamer potatoes work well)
4 teaspoons olive oil (buy the high quality stuff!)
1 teaspoon lemon zest
1 tablespoon lemon juice
salt and pepper to taste


Method:

Steam potatoes for around 30 minutes or until your fork slides out of the potatoes very easily. I am sure that you could also boil the potatoes, but I have always steamed them in my steamer basket on the stove.

The potatoes should be very easy to mash at this point. Add olive oil, lemon zest, lemon juice, salt and pepper. Mash! They look good on the plate garnished with extra lemon zest or chopped chives. So good and you can both of your healthy oil servings for the day!