Use it/Lose it Day One

Okay folks. Here we go. The "Use it or Lose it" personal challenge has begun. Here are the results from day one...

Breakfast: Greek yogurt with granola and bananas

Lunch: pita bread toasted in olive oil and sprinkled with sea salt, sliced cucumbers and bell peppers, with Greek yogurt-onion dip (recipe coming soon).

Dinner: Spanish Black Beans and Rice (recipe follows) with sour cream and cheddar cheese; steamed broccoli

Snack: apple wedges with natural peanut butter

Spanish Black Beans and Rice - 8 Points Plus value (does not include sour cream or cheese)
Serves 6

What You Need:

• 1 cup dried black beans (sorted and rinsed and soaked overnight)
• 1 large onion, minced
• 1 large bell pepper (I chose red), diced
• 1 Tbsp minced garlic
• 2 Tbsp olive oil
• 1 Tbsp salt
• fresh cracked black pepper to taste
• 1 cup chopped tomato

How it's Done:

1. Cook the beans until almost tender. Puree half of them and return to pot.
2. Meanwhile, saute the onion and pepper in olive oil until tender (about five minutes). Add the garlic and cook and stir another minute or so.
3. Preheat your oven to 350 degrees.
4. Stir in the tomato, beans, and rice. Tranfer the mixture to a 2 quart baking dish and put it in the oven. Pour water over the mixture until it's completely covered with water.
5. Bake, uncovered, for an hour to an hour and a half, until rice is cooked through. Add more water as needed.
6. Let cool a few minutes before sprinkling with cilantro or chives or parsley, slicing into squares, and serving.

Getting Back to Business

Thank you for all of your support in this difficult time. I'm getting to a place where my medications are levelling out in my system and I feel pretty good. I've been so sick of being out of commission! It was really nice to get back in the kitchen and create a meal today. I hope you enjoy it! ...and expect more, because I'm ready to get back to cooking!

Spanish tortilla is a potato and egg dish, not a tortilla like we use in Mexican cuisine. Don't worry about all the olive oil you use making it. Once you drain it off, it ends up only being 1/4 of a cup for six servings.

Spanish Tortilla
Serves 6 (5 Points Plus value per serving)

What You Need:

• 1 cup olive oil
• 1 lb peeled and thinly sliced potatoes
• 1 medium onion, thinly sliced
• 8 large eggs, beaten
• salt and pepper to taste

How it's Done:

• Heat the olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat until it glistens. After a few minutes, add the potatoes and onions, turning them over with a spatula to coat evenly. Season with salt and pepper.
• Cook the potatoes and onions, turning every few minutes so as not to allow them to brown. You want the potatoes to soften so that they are easily pierced with a fork.
• Meanwhile, beat the eggs and season them with salt and pepper. Heat your oven to 350 degrees (this is the easiest way to finish cooking the tortilla).
• Once the potatoes are fork tender, drain them in a colander over a bowl, reserving the oil.
• Pour about two tablespoons of the reserved oil back into the skillet and return the potatoes and onions to the skillet. Place over medium heat.
• Pour the beaten eggs over the potatoes. Cook, undisturbed, about eight to ten minutes at medium-low, until the edges are set.
• Slide your spatula around the edges and under the tortilla to loosen it from the skillet.
• Move the skillet to the preheated oven and finish cooking (about ten minutes).
• Slice and serve.