Friday, May 20, 2011

Another winner...from Weight Watchers?!

Remember when Weight Watchers recipes were like this?

For those of you who haven’t busted a gut over the recipe cards from the mid-1970s, you must follow the link above and look at all of them. And then go buy the woman’s book. The pictures are scary and the commentary is some of the most hilarious stuff on the internet.

But now back to the recipes.

I remember when ‘diet food’ was scary. It was nothing to look forward to; it was something to endure until you reached your goal weight. Then when you did reach your goal, you went back to real food with real flavor and gained it all back.

Some of us have discovered over the years of our adulthood that changing the way you eat in order to lose weight can be exciting and flavorful. Like the crock pot recipe we tried this week.

Since we loved last week’s effort so much, we went back to the Weight Watchers site for more. This time I found Jerk Turkey Soup. Looking at the list of spices, I thought we might have another winner here. And this soup was indeed full of win.

I throw caution to the wind this week. If I’m not supposed to share, they’ll send me a cease and desist. Until they do, I’m sharing. :o)

Jerk Turkey Slow Cooker Soup (from Weight Watchers)
¼ tsp allspice
¼ tsp cayenne
½ tsp ground ginger
½ tsp garlic powder
½ tsp black pepper, divided
½ tsp salt
1 lb turkey breast, cut into 1 inch chunks
1 clove fresh garlic, minced
1 medium onion, chopped
14.5 oz can diced tomatoes with green chiles
15 oz can black beans, drained and rinsed
2 cups canned chicken broth
1 tbsp fresh lime juice
2 tbsp fresh cilantro, chopped

In medium bowl, combine allspice, cayenne, ginger, garlic powder, ¼ tsp black pepper and salt. Add turkey and toss to coat. Let stand for 15 minutes. (since I usually do all my prep the night before, I tossed the turkey in the spices and let it sit in the refrigerator overnight. The result was worth it.)
Place turkey in crock pot, then add garlic, onion, tomatoes, beans, broth and remaining ¼ tsp pepper. Cook on low setting for 6 to 7 hours. Stir in lime and cilantro, let sit for 5 minutes. Yields about 1 ½ cups per serving. 6 servings.


Sounds yummy, yes? It really was delicious. And for you who know the WW points system, it is only 4 points per serving on the new system! Plenty of room for a nice slice of crusty, Mille Grane bread from Essential Bakery to go with it.

I was so thankful for this soup, not only because it was both light and delicious, but also because the cayenne in it made my throat feel so much better while I was sick this week.

We liked it so much that we’re going to try the spice mixture in our easy chicken soup (meat from one grocery store rotisserie chicken, one bag of frozen mixed veggies, one 32 oz. box of chicken broth…dump in a pot and let simmer for about 30 minutes. Could use some spicing up, right?).

The only real disappointment was that, even though I measured the servings according to the recipe, we only ended up with 5 servings. Maybe there was more evaporation that expected because the soup ended up cooking for 10 hours instead of seven.

So yeah…Weight Watchers has changed. And we’re going back for more. Next week, Greek-style turkey meatballs and artichokes.

2 comments:

Ian said...

I made a kick-ass pot roast the other night that could probably work in a crock pot if one spent some time figuring out the details. Japanese inspired flavors, with part of the stock replaced with mirin and soy, and the typical potatoes replaced with daikon. (Shitakes for button mushrooms, as well.)

Maia Strong said...

That does sound tasty! And with the hubs being out on a few over-nights next month, plus me having Sunday matinees, this may have to go into my crock pot some day soon.