BAKED SEASON FRIES

I've tried french fries experiments in the past, and they've always gone horribly wrong.  I don't own a deep fryer so I've tried baking them in the oven and skillet-frying them.  That latter one was just a mess, and the fries weren't that great.  I didn't think that I would ever try to make french fries again until I stumbled across this little gem: baked season fries.  For some reason, it looked promising to me.

I came home tonight after meeting up with my brother for a staff night out (his job, not mine) and was feeling a bit peckish.  I eyed the two potatoes I bought a few days ago and decided, tonight's the night.

Skinny Baked Seasoned Fries 
Gina's Weight Watcher Recipes 
Servings: 2 • Serving Size: 1 potato • Old Points: 4 pts • Points+: 5 pts
Calories: 198 • Fat: 5.3 g • Protein: 3.5 g • Carb: 36.1 g • Fiber: 4.0 g  Sodium: 22.1 mg

• 2 medium potatoes, russet or yukon gold, washed and dried
• 2 tsp olive oil
• 1 tbsp herbs de provence (or use a combo of dried rosemary, thyme, marjoram)
• 1/4 tsp oregano
• 1 tsp smoked paprika
• 1/4 tsp chili powder
• 1/4 tsp onion powder
• 1/4 tsp garlic powder
• 1/4 tsp fresh cracked pepper
• fresh lime zest 

Preheat oven to 400°. Line baking sheet with foil for easy clean-up. Lightly coat with cooking spray.

Cut each potato lengthwise into 1/4 inch slices; cut each slice into 1/4 inch fries.
In a large bowl, combine cut potatoes and oil; toss well. Add rosemary, thyme, garlic and seasoning. Toss to coat.

Place in a single layer on a lightly greased baking sheet. Bake uncovered for about 25 minutes or until tender crisp, turning once half way through. Remove from oven and serve.


I cooked only one potato because it was late.  Despite the fact that this recipe was supposed to be low sodium and "skinny," I added salt anyways and ate the fries with ranch dressing.  Say what you want, but sometimes, you need just a bit of salt.  To be honest, I wish I had added more.  Nonetheless, the fries came out better than I feared.  They were even a little crispy, though not as crispy as they would have been if we could have deep-fried them.  Mmmmm... clogged arteries...

SLOW COOKER ARROZ CON POLLO

I realized that I used my slow cooker only once - something that I needed to remedy quickly.  I had some chicken thighs in the freezer that I wanted to incorporate, but it seemed only enough for two meals.  That defeated the purpose, in my opinion, since I got the slow cooker in order to make big meals easily that could last for days.

A friend made beer-cooked chicken with herbs de provence a few weeks back when I came over for dinner, so I considered making that.  But after much searching, I settled on arroz con pollo.  I thought about defrosting the chicken thighs I had already and getting some more, but then I thought about having to discard the skins and it grossed me out.  I bought skinless thighs instead and saved the frozen ones for another day.

I based my recipe on the one posted at thenakedkitchen.com.  However, I wondered if all of that would fit in my slow cooker.  I followed most of the instructions and ingredients listed and as usual, I made adjustments where I saw fit.

Ingredients: (Makes 6 servings)

• 1 1/2 cups long grain brown rice
• 1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
• 1/4 cup white wine
• 1 medium onion, minced
• 4 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 green pepper, diced or cut into strips
• 1 red pepper, diced or cut into strips
• 4 medium tomatoes, diced
• 1 tsp oregano
• 1 tsp cumin
• 1/2 tsp chili powder
• 1 quart low sodium chicken broth
• sea salt to taste
• fresh ground black pepper to taste
• 1 – 1 1/2 pounds boneless skinless chicken breast or thighs or a combination of both (if the breasts are large I like to butterfly them to make 2 thinner pieces)
• 1 cup frozen peas, thawed
• 1 lime, sliced into 6 thin wedges (optional)

Preparation:

1. Plug your slow cooker in and set to high. Place the rice and oil in the pot and stir until all the rice is coated in oil. Let the rice heat while you prepare and chop the vegetables.
2. In a saucepan heat the broth to a simmer and set aside. This step is optional.
3. Add the wine to the rice in the crockpot and stir.
4. Add the onions, garlic, peppers, tomatoes, and spices and stir.
5. Add the warmed stock, stir and then arrange the chicken pieces evenly around the slow cooker.
6. Cook on high 3-4 hours or low 5-6 hours depending on your slow cooker cooking times.
7. Once most of the liquid has been absorbed and the chicken and rice are tender add in the peas and cook another few minutes until the peas are warm.
8. Serve with a slice of lime if desired.

I mixed brown rice with white rice.  I don't really like brown rice.  However, I am afraid of getting diabetes from eating a ton of white rice.  I used 2 tomatoes instead of 4, because the idea of wasting all the innards of a tomato disheartened me, but I didn't want to go overboard by including them.  I substituted paprika for chili.  Finally, I used about 2 1/2 cups of chicken stock made with a chicken bouillon.  I went this route because I thought the chicken bouillon would add more flavor (mmmm msg), so I cut down on any salt added to the dish.  I also thought a quart was just way too much liquid.  Someone commented at thenakedkitchen that her rice came out really mushy.  The poster suggested, among other things, cutting down on the liquids.  I figured I could simply add more liquid if needed.

all these veggies make me feel like I'm eating right

looks like mush

Yeah... the poster's suggestion did not help.  I'm wondering if it's because I used white rice as well or if it just cooked too long.  My arroz con pollo came out like porridge.  And it was A LOT.  I'm not sure what type of 6 people this lady was serving, but my meal came out looking like it was enough for 10.  I can't even really comment on the taste because it's like I'm eating baby food.  Guess I'll be eating porridge for the rest of the week... and then some.  I don't think I'll be trying this recipe again.

SKILLET-BAKED MAC AND CHEESE

Over the weekend, I grabbed some hot chicken from Peaches Hothouse with a friend for brunch.  Now I'm not a fried chicken connoisseur, but damnit, fried chicken is amazing!  And though the amount of hipsters frequenting this place is kinda high for my tastes, it serves some damn good chicken. Unfortunately, the mac and cheese is listed as a side only for the dinner menu and not for the brunch menu, though I wondered if they secretly had it but just not on the menu.  I was a bit hungover too so it would have been perfect.  That's ok, I told myself.  I'll just make mac and cheese sometime during the week.

I came across this by Recipe Boy  (by way of The Picky Palate Cookbook) during one of my many sessions of browsing for recipes due to the late-night munchies.  It seemed easy enough.  I'll say this, though: I fucking hate looking at the picture of the kid with the noodle dangling out of his mouth and the paragraph under it that says, "I'm a goofball.  In case you haven't noticed (which is almost impossible), I like to make funny poses." Shut the fuck up, kid.  The only thing worse than a kid who tries to be funny and cute is one who has to point out that he's trying to be funny and cute.

RECIPE:
Serves 4-6

ingredients:
8 tablespoons (1 stick) butter, divided
3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
3/4 teaspoon kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon smoked paprika
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1 1/2 cups milk
2 cups shredded cheddar cheese
1 cup panko bread crumbs
1/2 pound sliced bacon, cooked until crisp and crumbled (about 1 cup)
1/4 cup Parmesan cheese
directions:

1/2 pound elbow pasta

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Spray a 9-inch cast-iron skillet with nonstick spray.

2. Cook the pasta according to package directions, drain, then rinse under cool water to stop the cooking.

3. Melt 3 tablespoons butter in a small saucepan over medium heat. Add the flour, salt, paprika, and pepper and whisk to combine. Slowly add the milk, whisking until smooth and thickened, about 5 minutes. Add the cheddar cheese and stir until smooth.

4. Transfer the cooked pasta to the skillet. Pour in the cheese sauce, stirring to combine.

5. In a microwave-safe bowl, melt the remaining 5 tablespoons butter in the microwave. Add the bread crumbs, bacon and Parmesan and stir to combine. Sprinkle over the mac and cheese, and bake for 25 to 30 minutes, until hot and bubbly.

First of all, that's A LOT of butter.  Fucking diabetes-inducing amount of butter, combined with all that white pasta, cheese, milk, and bacon.  While I am not a healthy eater by any means, I did not want to get taken out by a bowl of mac and cheese with bacon.  I decided it best to half the recipe, especially since I can't do a whole week of mac and cheese.  I used rotelle pasta instead of elbow because I think it holds onto the sauce better (that, and it was what I had on hand).  I used 2% milk in an effort to make myself feel better about eating all of that crap.  Instead of just straight cheddar, I used a mix of shredded cheddar and monterey jack.  Finally, I cheaped out and used regular bread crumbs instead of panko because I just didn't feel like buying it.  

I eyeballed almost everything except for the amount of butter and cheese.  Not because I was an expert or anything in measurements.  Basically, I was just throwing a bunch of shit together and adjusting as I went.  When I topped the pasta off with the butter-bacon-bread crumb-parmesan mix, I thought there were a few things I should have done differently: 1) I would have used a lot more bacon than I did (I cooked three strips); 2) instead of mixing everything together, I should have mixed just the butter, bacon, and parmesan, and then sprinkled the breadcrumbs separately.

Looks like a fancier version of Kraft

I sprinkled some more cheese on top because it looked a little bare

Still looks a bit naked

That turned out to be maybe three spoonfuls too much

Fucking bacon.  So good...

Nonetheless, the dish came out pretty good.  When I took my first bite, I exclaimed, "Shit, that's good!"  I grabbed what I thought would be enough for one serving, and about halfway through, I almost felt as though I needed to go for a jog.  Holy crap, that dish is heavy.  What if I had used regular milk?!  Still... good eatings.