A few recipes for you.

As I stated before I've switched to the Weight-Watchers Core Plan, which has made life both easier and more difficult. Last night we had Ivayla's Curried Chicken (except with veggies for me) and it was delicious. I served it with Apple and Potato Curry Soup (which mind you is a bit of an acquired taste!) and a Spinach Salad with this dressing:

Susan's Lite Goddess Dressing

Make this dressing more like the original by increasing the tahini a tablespoon at a time, until it tastes the way you like. Remember that the fat and calories go up as the tahini increases!

6 ounces lite firm silken tofu (1/2 pkg. of Mori-Nu)
1/4 cup water
1 1/2 tablespoons cider vinegar
2 tablespoons lemon juice
2 teaspoons low-sodium soy sauce
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon sesame oil
1 tablespoon tahini
2 green onions, white parts removed, chopped
1 tablespoon chopped fresh parsley, packed
1 large clove garlic

A few things to keep in mind: I know a lot of you guys don't eat tofu. We don't do it on a regular basis ourselves, but we had some that needed to be used. You could use a base of canola oil if you wanted to...but realize that it's going to skyrocket the calories. You do not taste the tofu in this. Tofu - unless kept solid - merely works as a base for recipes. I make a mean Tofu Chocolate Mousse and get rave reviews on it. Also, we did not have Apple Cider Vinegar, so we used Red Wine Vinegar. You could probably use regular vinegar. We used olive oil mixed with sesame seeds to replace the sesame oil. While it was good we wanted it tangier, so we plan on increasing the vinegar and lemon juice. Overall, however, it was very, very good. The best part? All but the tahini is core and the overall points for the sauce (serving size 2tbs) is 1 weight-watchers point. So...YUM.

Tofu & Peas/Chicken & Peas

This is an incredibly easy, delicious, and filling dinner to make. The recipe calls for garam masala, but I really hate the taste. I've made this so many times and it's always gotten rave reviews.

Ingredients:

• 1 Large Onion - chopped
  
• 1 Package firm tofu, cubed/2lbs chicken thighs, cut up/2lbs chicken breast, but up (I recommend thighs if you're using chicken)
• 2.5 Cups (or a regular sized bag) frozen green peas
• 3 garlic cloves (or however many you like.)
  
• 3 tbs. olive oil
• 15.5 ounces Canned Diced tomatoes
  
• 2 tps. garam masala if you're using it.

Instructions:

• In a large skillet heat the oil and garlic cloves. When it's heated, cook the chicken or tofu. If it's chicken, place it in the skillet and sauté it until it's golden brown. For tofu, keep flipping it until it's golden brown on all sides. The recipe originally called for frying it in 2 cups of olive oil...obviously not so healthy.
• After the chicken/tofu is golden brown, add in the onions and sauté until soft. Add in the tomatoes (undrained!), peas and garam masala, cover and simmer for 10 minutes.

This is an incredibly hardy and filling dish, plus it's pretty to look at. Everyone who has tried has liked it, and my family is full of picky eaters who don't "that foreign stuff" I cook. When I cooked it with chicken I used bone-in thighs, which made it much heartier. Darker meat also tends to give more of a taste to the meal than white meat, however I'm prejudiced. No one in my family likes white.