DerHusker

I'll be following this thread for your interpretation of an RV. To me this will always be the quintessential R Veeeeeeee!

With the wife and I on the Weight Watchers plan, I’ve been avoiding some of my favorite Mexican dishes. Now that I think about it, this really isn’t necessary if I’m carefully what I choose and how I prepare the dishes. Take fajitas for example. A protein, seasoning and some veggies. Made with boneless, skinless chicken breasts and not much oil the fajitas themselves are only 1 point per serving. I can live with a diet that includes chicken fajitas, can’t you? Well, that leads me to the sides. Made carefully many of the sides are 0 to only 2 points per serving. Follow along with me and I’ll show you how I prepared everything. The night before I mixed up some blue corn masa to make up some tortillas. (This is the one item I couldn’t cheat on to lower the point value. 3 tortillas = 5 points) I also got out the onion and bell peppers to cut up and mixed up the fajitas seasoning. Ingredients: 1/2 Tbsp. Chili Powder 1 tsp. ground cumin 1 tsp. smoked paprika 1 tsp. garlic powder 1/2 tsp. onion powder 1/2 tsp. granulated sugar 1/4 tsp. black pepper 1/2 tsp. kosher salt to taste 1/4 tsp. Chipotle pepper 1/4 tsp. Oregano The next day started out by making a batch of my Mexican rice. (1 Point per serving) Started out by sautéing the veggies. I measured out 2 cups of Brown rice, 1/2 tsp. of salt and 1 tbsp. of OO and put this in the rice maker. I now added 1 cup of Clamato Picante juice and 3 cups of chicken stock. Next, I added the veggies to the pot. I closed the lid and pressed start. Here are the results. Next up was the Guacamole. (2 points per serving) Cut up 1 medium Hass avocado. Now I added 1 tbsp. of light mayo, some granulated garlic, 5 heaping tbsp. of my Pico de Gallo, some fresh squeezed lime juice and mixed this up and covered. Next up were some frijoles. I sautéed some diced onion, 1/2 a jalapeno, some bell pepper and corn and then added two kinds of black beans. (0 points per serving) I now got out 3 boneless skinless breasts and coated them with the fajitas seasoning. I took them and the cut-up veggies out to my gas grill side burner. Now I needed to make the tortillas, so I rolled up 6 balls of masa about the size of a golf ball. I flatted them a little to make them easier to press out. I was some issues with the masa sticking to the press so had to experiment with dusting the bottom with some of the blue core masa. I heated them up on a C.I. griddle, very lightly sprayed with some OO. Next I sprayed my 12” Camp Chef C.I. skillet with some OO. After it was heated it up I put the 3 breast in and cooked them for 8 minutes per side. Once they were cooked I removed them to a cutting board and was left with the fond. I dumped in the onions and bell peppers and let them start to cook. While them were cooking I sliced up the chicken. Now I dumped in the chicken and stirred it in and continued to cook until the veggies had soften. Now I brought it all in and plated it up with a Modelo Negra. Here is a shot once I took it inside to eat. Gratuitous side shot close ups. OMG!!! This was so delicious! Thanks for looking.

In my wonderings though the grocery store I happen to spy 1 lb. of ground turkey on sale for $.99 but it needed to be used or froze by the 10th. I wasn’t sure what I was going to make with it but since both my wife and I on doing the Weight Watcher’s thing, I decided to put it in my cart. My first thought was to mix it into some pasta sauce I still had sitting in the pantry for meat sauce. I then pointed the pasta sauce and it was off the charts high, so I rethought what else I could make. My wife suggested Turkey Chili. I liked that idea so that’s what I went with. I searched the web for recipes and combined around 3 of them to come up with this one. Here are most of the ingredients. 1 ½ Tablespoons Olive Oil 1 lb. Pounds 93/7 Lean Ground Turkey ½ Yellow Onion (Diced) ½ Red Onion (Diced) I Poblano Pepper (Diced) 1 Red Bell Pepper (Diced) 1 ½ Teaspoons Minced Garlic 1 6 Oz. Can Diced Green Chiles 1 15 Oz. Can Corn 1 15 Oz. Can Crushed Tomatoes 1 15 Oz. Can Tomato Sauce 1 15 Oz. Can Chili Beans 1 15 Oz. Can Black Beans 1 15 Oz. Can Dark Red Kidney Beans 1 15 Oz. Cannellini Beans 1 15 Oz. Can Chicken Broth 2 Tbsp. Chili Power 1 Tsp. Cumin ½ Tsp. Crushed Red Pepper ½ Tsp. Chipotle Pepper Power ½ Tsp. Black Pepper ½ Tsp. White Pepper ½ Tsp. Salt ¼ Tsp. Cinnamon I diced up all the onions and peppers, mixed up the spices and got out my enameled Dutch oven. I placed the OO in the D.O. and put it on the side burner of my Gasser. I put the Turkey in once it was heated up. I cooked it until just slightly brown. Next, I added the Poblano pepper, onions, Bell pepper and garlic. I covered this and cook it for 10 minutes stirring occasionally. Once the veggies had softened, I added in the rest of the ingredients and mixed everything together. I brought this to a boil and then covered. I turned the burner to low and let the chili simmer for 30 minutes, stirring occasionally. Here it is after cooking. Here it is in a bowl, garnished with onion, cilantro, some lime and some Non-Fat Greek yogurt. This was delicious and only 3 points per serving. (A serving = 1 cup. This was a large bowl, so it was a double serving so 6 points) Eating like this makes me forget I'm losing weight.

My wife and I have been cooped up in our house for 2 weeks so we decided to take a drive just to get out. We drove down to Downtown San Diego to see what things were like and found a virtual ghost town. This video shows us driving up 5th in the Gaslamp District. Normally there would be thousands of people on the sidewalks and bumper to bumper traffic. Pretty surreal!

Mmm! Tri-Tip!!

Thank you Rob. It was. Thank you Chris.

I’m really getting into wok cooking. Here a cook I did last Sunday for Dinner. Here are most the ingredients. Ingredient List: 2 Tbsp light soy sauce 1 Tbsp oyster sauce 1 Tsp Siracha 1 Tbsp butter 2 eggs, beaten, seasoned with salt 2 Tbsp cooking oil (I used Sesame) 2 cloves garlic, chopped (approximately 1 1/2 tsp) 1 1/2 tsp chopped ginger 1/2 cup small diced onion (approximately 1/2 of medium size onion) 1 boneless skinless chicken thighs (approximately 4 to 5 oz) (I used Chicken Breast) 1/4 cup carrot, small diced 2 cups cold jasmine rice, or brown jasmine rice, recommended a day old (I used Cauliflower Rice) 1/4 cup frozen peas, optional (I added Celery) 4 green onions, chopped sesame seeds for garnish salt and pepper I heated up the wok and put in 1 tbsp. of sesame oil. I then put in the ginger, garlic and onion and let them start to soften. Next was the carrots. (Cooked for approximately 1 minute) Next was the chicken. (Cooked until it was opaque) Next was the celery including some leaves. (Cooked for approximately 1 minute) Now I added the rice and the sauce. (Mixed it together and cooked for approximately 1 minute) Next, I moved the mixture aside and added another tbsp. of sesame oil and added the beaten eggs. (Cooked until it had mostly formed solid. Approximately 1 minute) I then mix everything together. (Cooked for approximately 1 minute) And finally, I added the green onion. I cooked it for approximately 30 seconds and served. Sorry no plated shot but this was delicious! Thanks for looking.

Our lemon tree is loaded with lemons, so I looked up things to cook with lemons. Chicken Scallopini uses lemon juice so I looked up a recipe and came up with this. Ingredients: 2 Chicken Breasts (Boneless & Skinless – Cut in half) 1/4 tsp. salt 1/4 tsp. black pepper 1/4 cup Flour 1/4 cup Italian bread crumbs 1 tbsp. butter 2 tbsp. capers 1 tsp. minced parsley (and some for garnish) 1/4 cup fresh lemon juice 1/4 cup dry white wine (I used Chardonnay) Cooking spray for pan I started out covering my counter with plastic wrap and got out 2 boneless / skinless breasts. I cut them in half horizontally, seasoned them with salt and pepper and covered them with plastic wrap. I pounded them out to approximately ¼” thick. I dredged them in a mixture of half flour and half Italian bread crumbs. I spray my non-stick pan with a little red pepper olive oil and pre-heated it over medium high heat and placed in 2 pieces of chicken. I cooked it for 3 minutes and flipped them. (You can see the red and golden potatoes cooking on the back burner) Once all 4 pieces were cooked, I put 1 tbsp. of butter and 1/2 tsp. of flour in the pan. I mixed them together and than put in the capers, parsley, lemon juice and white wine. I let this cook down for approximately 2 minutes. Once it started to reduce, I put the chicken back in and gave each piece a good coating while they reheated. Here it is plated up with the potatoes and some green beans. This was so good! Thanks for looking.

And breakfast today = Another (although slightly different) Mexican Egg Skillet. Here it is plated.

OK I guess I should read the entire thread before responding. I now see where you said you didn't get a normal looking Tri-Tip. Sorry for pointing out something you already knew.

Oh and another thing to know. It's important to crave the Tri-Tip properly for the best results. Tri-Tip can be slightly tricky as the gain changes direction. Here is a You Tube video that explains it better than I ever could. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gmxHmuV4vTU

Arthur, I just happened to open and read this thread and since I'm an avid loving of Trip-Tip I thought I'd weight in. 1. Let me start off by saying that I'm not trying to come off as criticizing you or your method of cooking it. 2. The German version of Tri-Tip doesn't look like a Tri-Tip as we know them here in SoCal. (see the pics below for what they should look like) Tri-Tip was a cut of meat that started out here in Santa Maria California. That makes it somewhat of a regional cut of meat that isn't always available in every other region. 3. Since what you had wasn't really Tri-Tip, you shouldn't judge what it's like based on your results. Having said the above let me post the way I cook them. If you can get a real Tri-Tip, I'd think you can cook it this way and get the good results I usually get. Tri-Tip - My Way I’ve cooked a Tri-Tip many times. This is the way I do them and they turn out great every time. Here are the ingredients: I smear on some Worcestershire sauce, then some fresh ground salt, fresh ground black pepper, some steak seasoning and finally some fresh minced rosemary from my garden. Wrap it up for an 8 hour rest in the fridge. Shortly before the 8 hours are up I prep my kamado for 2 zone cooking and lite it up. After taking the Tri-Tip out of the fridge, I put a couple of Pecan chunks on the charcoal and placed the Tri-Tip on the indirect side. (Kamado temp should be approx. 275-300) Here it is after the Maverick says the I.T. is 112 to 113. (No more than 115) I take it off and loosely tent it with foil and open up the vents for searing. Once the thermometer reads at least 500 degrees (more like 650 on the grate) I place it on for 3 a sear minute sear. Here’s a pic without the flash. After 3 minutes I flip it and took this pic with the flash. Bring it inside and let it rest for 10 minutes. I then cut it in half along the seam so I could cut it against the grain. (See the way the grain is running?) Sliced And that’s Money! Thanks for looking.

Thanks Jeffie. And FYI: The wheat toast is the gluten.

The wife and I are doing the Weight Watchers program so I’m eating quite a bit differently that I did in the past. This was cooked inside on the stove top, but thought I’d share it anyway. (As it was delicious!) Ingredients: cooking spray (I used some Red Pepper infused OO spray) 1 medium Golden Potato, Diced into approximately ½” pieces ½ cup onion, chopped 1 medium poblano chile, seeded and diced. (Mine was small so I added some Bell Pepper I had left over) 1 cup corn 1 cup black beans, drained 1 cup zucchini, Diced into approximately ½” pieces (I used a Mexican Squash) 1 tsp cumin (I used ½ tsp of Fajita seasoning and ½ tsp of cummin) 1 pinch salt, or to taste ½ cup, green variety (I used 2 Tbsp of the Hatch Chile and 4 tbsp of Herdez salsa verde - plus extra for garnish) 4 large eggs 2 Tbsp fresh chopped cilantro (for garnish) Here a pic of most of the ingredients I used. I started out by dicing up the potato and putting it in a slightly sprayed Non-Stick skillet to start cooking. Once it started to brown, I put the onion, poblano and bell peppers. Once it started to sweat, I added the black beans, corn, squash and seasoning. I let this cook for approximately 6 to 7 minutes. After that I stirred in the Hatch chilies and Salsa Verde and let that cook another minute. I then made 4 depressions in the mixture and crack the eggs in them. I covered the skillet to help the tops of the eggs cook. And afterwards I plated it up with some wheat toast. As I said, this was delicious and except for the toast, it was zero points for the Purple Program we’re on! Thanks for looking.

As both the wife and I are doing the Weight Watchers program, I looked in our fridge and pantry for something that would align with what we’re to be eating. I finally settled on Kung Pao Chicken. Chicken and Veggies plus some spice is just what the WW program ordered so that is what I went with. Now here is the kicker: We’re on a self-insolation order here in California due to COVID 19. We’re still allowed to go to the store to replenish essential supplies but obviously this cook wasn’t essential. So, I went thru what I had on hand and I came up with what I believed would an acceptable list of ingredients. Here’s a couple of pics of the Ingredients I ended up using. I ended up using the following: Marinate Ingredients: 28 oz. boneless skinless chicken breast cut in 1” cubes. (2 large breasts) 1 tbsp. Shaoxing wine. (I used Rice Wine Vinegar) 1 tbsp. light soy (I couldn’t believe I was out of soy sauce so I used Ponzu) 2 tsp. baking soda 1 tsp. cornstarch Sauce Ingredients: ½ cup low sodium chick stock. 5 tbsp. light soy (I used Ponzu) 2 tbsp. Chinese black vinegar (I used Balsamic) 2 tbsp. Shaoxing wine. (I used Rice Wine Vinegar) 2 tsp. dark soy. (I used Fish Sauce) 2 tsp. Hoisin sauce (I used Oyster sauce) 2 tbsp. sugar. (I left this out due to WW) 1 tbsp. Samba Chili sauce 1 tsp. Fish sauce 1 tsp. cornstarch Stir Fry Ingredients: 4 tbsp. cooking oil – divided 1 ½ tbsp. minced garlic 1 tbsp. minced ginger ½ red bell pepper diced into 1” pieces. ½ green bell pepper diced into 1” pieces. 8-10 dried chilies. (I used 1 serrano, 1 jalapeno and 1 yellow and heat level was just about perfect) 1 tbsp. Sichuan Peppercorns. (I added a pinch of red pepper flakes) 4 green onion stems (cut into 1” pieces) ½ cup roast/unsalted peanuts (I didn’t have any so these were omitted) 2 tsp. sesame oil In addition to the above I added the following: ½ large carrot diced into 1” pieces. ½ medium yellow onion ½ medium red onion 1 stalk of diced celery 1 ½ zucchinis diced into 1” pieces. Here is the Wok out on my Gas Grill side burner. I heated it up and added in 1 tbsp of Chili Oil and 1 tbsp of Sesame Oil. I put in the marinated chicken breasts and cooked it until everything started to brown. I removed the chicken and set it aside while I started cooking the veggies. 2 tbsp of Sesame Oil and added the diced carrot first since they would take the longest to cook. After approximately 2 minutes I then added the chili peppers, then the onions, the bell peppers, the sauce, and finally the zucchini. Once they had cooked for approximately 3 minutes, I added the chicken back in and cooked for another 3 minutes. After that I added the green onion in for the last 30 seconds. I had previously made up a double batch of half Jasmine Brown Rice and half Ancient Grains. I heated some of this up and placed it on a plate like SSV did. Here are a few pics of everything plates up. This was delicious and the wife thought it was “awesome!” Thanks for looking.