Simple Brine for Pork Chops

Ingredients:

4 cups Water

1/2 cup Kosher Salt

1/4 cup Sugar

1 Tbsp Ground Pepper

1 Tsp Garlic Salt

4 cups Ice Cubes

Instructions:

Heat all ingredients (w/out ice cubes) in a pan until salt and sugar dissolve.  

Remove from heat and stir in ice cubes.  

Once brine is cool, place pork chops in a ziploc bag and pour the brine over them.  

Leave them overnight in the fridge.  

One Pot Chili Macaroni (7 Points)

Ingredients:
2⁄3 lb lean ground beef
2 medium onion, chopped
1 can (29 oz) Mexican-style stewed tomatoes, undrained
1 can (4 oz) diced green chiles, drained
2 1⁄2 cup tomato juice
2 tsp chili powder
2 can (15.5 oz each) pinto beans, drained and rinsed
1 1⁄2 cup whole wheat elbow macaroni
1⁄2 cup low-fat cheddar cheese, shredded

Instructions:
Coat a large skillet with cooking spray and heat over medium-high heat.

Add ground beef and onion and cook, stirring and breaking up meat, for 10 minutes or until the meat is browned.

Drain off fat.

Mix in stewed tomatoes with juice, green chiles, tomato juice, and chili powder and bring to a boil.

Stir in pinto beans and macaroni, then return to a boil.

Reduce heat, cover, and simmer for 15 minutes or until the macaroni is cooked.

Sprinkle with cheese before serving.

Weight Watchers Points:  7

Adapted from recipe originally posted here.

Instant Pot Taco Pasta

Ingredients:
2 lb ground beef , lean
2 oz taco seasoning
16 oz tomato sauce
1 onion, diced
1 can Rotel, drained
4 C beef broth
16 oz small pasta (medium shells)
3 C shredded cheese (cheddar, mexican blend or cheddar jack)
Sour Cream

Instructions:
Set Instant Pot to saute.

Add the ground beef and break up as it cooks.

Once ground beef is browned, stir in taco seasoning, tomato sauce, beef broth and then pasta.

Cover and seal lid.

Change setting to manual and adjust time to 5 minutes.

Once Instant Pot beeps to show it's done, quick release.

Carefully remove cover and stir.

Turn off Instant Pot.

Top with cheese, put cover back on but don't seal.

Allow a minute or two for cheese to start to melt.

Top with sour cream.

Adapted from recipe originally posted here.

Crock Pot Bowtie Casserole

Ingredients:
2 lbs. lean ground beef
1 onion, chopped
1 clove garlic, minced
1 (15 oz.) can tomato sauce
1 (15 oz.) can stewed tomatoes
1 tsp. oregano
1 tsp. Italian seasoning
salt/pepper
10 oz. frozen spinach, thawed (can also use fresh spinach)
16 oz. bowtie pasta, cooked
1/2 cup parmesan cheese, shredded
1 1/2 cup mozzarella, shredded

Instructions:
Brown ground beef with onion and garlic.

Put in crock-pot and add sauce, tomatoes and seasonings.

Cook for 6-7 hours on low.

Add fresh spinach, pasta, parmesan and 1 cup of the mozzarella and mix well during the last 30 minutes of cooking and turn crock-pot to high.

Add the last 1/2 cup of mozzarella to melt on the top.

Instant Pot Honey Teriyaki Chicken

Ingredients:
4 boneless skinless chicken breasts
1 cup soy sauce
1/2 cup water
2/3 cup honey
2 teaspoons minced garlic
1/2 cup rice vinegar
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
1/4-1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes use 1/2 teaspoon for a more noticeable touch of heat
3 tablespoons corn starch + 3 tablespoons cold water
2 teaspoons sesame seeds
diced green onions, for topping

Instructions:
Place chicken in pressure cooker.

Whisk together soy sauce, water, honey, garlic, rice vinegar, ground ginger, and crushed red pepper flakes.

Pour over chicken.

Place lid on pressure cooker, turn vent to seal. Press "pressure cook" and set timer to 35 minutes for frozen chicken, 30 minutes for thawed. When pressure cooker "beeps" to signal end of cooking time, allow a natural release (aka don't do anything) until the float valve sinks.

Remove lid, transfer chicken to a bowl and shred with two forks.

Use a slotted spoon to remove any pieces of fat in the pressure cooker leftover from the chicken

Set pressure cooker to "soup" setting.

Once liquid comes to a boil, stir together corn starch and water and whisk into the sauce until thickened.

Stir in sesame seeds.

Turn off pressure cooker, transfer shredded chicken back to the pressure cooker and stir to coat in the sauce.

Garnish with chopped green onions and serve over steamed or fried rice.

Recipe Notes
If using very thick pieces of frozen chicken (thicker than 1 1/2 inches) add 10 minutes to cooking time. If you are using very thick pieces of thawed chicken, simply pound chicken to 1 - 1 1/2 inches thickness before proceeding with recipe as written.

Adapted from recipe originally posted here.

Chicken Curry (2 Points)

Ingredients:
2 pounds boneless, skinless chicken breasts
.5 teaspoons salt
.5 teaspoons pepper
3 teaspoons curry powder, divided
3 tablespoons vegetable oil, divided
1 medium yellow onion, finely chopped
4 garlic cloves, minced
1 tablespoon grated fresh ginger
2 cups low sodium chicken broth, best quality such as Swanson
1 tablespoon cornstarch
1 cup frozen peas (no need to thaw)
1/4 cup plain low fat (2%) or whole Greek yogurt (do not use nonfat)
1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro

Instructions:
Sprinkle the chicken evenly with salt, pepper and 1 teaspoon curry powder.

Heat 1-1/2 tablespoons of oil in a 12-inch skillet over high heat until just smoking.

Add the chicken in a single layer and cook, stirring occasionally, until lightly browned but still pink in spots, about 3 minutes.

Transfer the partially cooked chicken to a clean bowl and set aside.

Add the remaining 1-1/2 tablespoons oil to the skillet and set heat to medium.

Add the onions, garlic, and ginger.  Cook, stirring occasionally, until softened, about 5 minutes.

Stir in remaining curry powder.

Add chicken and peas to the skillet, and cover with chicken broth.

Bring to a boil and allow to simmer for about 5 minutes. 

Whisk a small amount of the chicken broth and cornstarch together to dissolve the cornstarch, then add to the skillet.  Bring to a boil, then reduce the heat to medium and cook until the sauce is nicely thickened, about 5 minutes.

Off the heat, stir in the yogurt and cilantro; then season with salt and pepper, to taste.

Serve with basmati rice.

Weight Watchers Points:  2

Adapted from the recipe originally posted here.

Grilled Ginger Lime Chicken (2 Points)

Ingredients:
0.5 cup low-sodium soy sauce
6 tablespoons fresh lime juice
4 teaspoons finely grated lime zest
4 tablespoons finely minced or grated ginger root
4 medium garlic cloves, minced
2 tablespoon honey
2 tablespoon olive oil
2 pound boneless, skinless chicken breasts
4 tablespoons finely minced scallions

Instructions:
In a small glass bowl, combine the soy sauce, lime juice, lime zest, ginger, garlic, honey, and oil.

Remove and reserve 2 tablespoons of the marinade to use for basting when you cook the chicken.

Place the chicken in a plastic zipper bag and add the marinade. Squeeze the air from the bag and close it. Place the bag of chicken in the refrigerator to marinate overnight.

Grill the chicken over medium-high heat for 6 to 8 minutes.

Flip and brush the chicken with the reserved marinade. Grill until the chicken is cooked through, 6 to 8 minutes more.

Weight Watchers Points:  2

Adapted from recipe originally posted here.