But, when it comes to cooking, I am a novice. You will never find me guest hosting on your favorite television cooking show. I am an expert at winging it, throwing things together and well..getting lucky. Recipes? Sometimes. I get frustrated with measuring. When I'm hungry, I want to eat.
My first step? I determine what is available. What's in the refrigerator, the freezer? What do I need to eat before it goes bad or gets freezer burned? Let's face it. Food is expensive. I don't want to waste it. Next step...is it something I really want to put in my body? Is it fuel or is it just naughty?
Our refrigerator doesn't hold much of the naughty stuff anymore and, if it does, it isn't mine. Take a look in your refrigerator. Be honest. Are there naughty foods in there? I'll admit it. The naughty food in ours is the chocolate chip cookie dough (my son's). Teenagers... He's at the age now when he eats everything in sight. So, when he has cookies, he knows he has to have a tall glass of milk. Its a trade off. You win the battles worth winning.
Anyway, last night our youngest was off with his friends (paintball and pizza), his dad was still on his work trip, and I was alone looking for something to cook for my dinner. This night was all about choices. Cook healthy? To be or not to be.
So, in the interest of keeping it simple, I followed the steps. What was available? What did I need to eat? Fresh foods included green peppers, red peppers, and baby portobello mushrooms. What was available frozen? I was looking for chicken tenderloins, but we were out. I found a bag of cooked, peeled and de-veined shrimp. So far, so good. Maybe a stir fry? I searched in the cabinet for a yummy sauce. I found an unopened bottle of Pampered Chef Thai peanut sauce, one hundred calories in two tablespoons. So, what I had in front of me...was it fuel or naughty? Okay, maybe the peanut sauce was a bit naughty but I love anything peanut. What if I played with it, watered it down a bit? Then I wouldn't use as much.
Let the experiment begin.
I pulled out the big skillet (at least I think its called a skillet). Its the one with the glass cover. In a separate bowl, I poured the two tablespoons of peanut sauce, then mixed it with about a half cup of water, just enough to cover the veggies in the skillet with a rich light brown sauce. I poured in 1/2 sliced green pepper, 1/2 sliced red pepper, and half of the container of sliced baby portobello mushrooms (washed). The shrimp was pre-cooked. It would go in last. The smell was wonderful. After the veggies were cooked to the point that made me smile (cooked but still a bit crispy), I added the shrimp and let it simmer. Mmmm.
A plateful of food. It was very filling. I didn't even need to rice.
I checked this morning. Even with the peanut sauce, what I ate was under 300 calories. Cook healthy. To be or not to be? I think so. Who needs a chef? I am a kitchen scientist. I don't need an apron. Where's my lab coat?
http://www.pamperedchef.com/ordering/prod_details.tpc?prodId=27471&catId=12&parentCatId=12&outletSubCat=
Next time, we try chicken stir fry, a new completely different mixture of yummy veggies, and the pampered chef ginger wasabi sauce...Mmmm..spicy. : )
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