Random Recipe – Not Everything Is A Winner…

So I started the recipe topic because I believe that eating healthy is not as hard as it seems.  There are plenty of fast, yummy, and nutritionally awesome (or at least acceptable because, come on, we can’t be angels all the time) things to make.  Most of the time, our culinary creations turned out yummy.  I wish I had a picture of the delicious curried shrimp and veggies over noodles I made on Saturday – it was awesome.  But it’s ok, because I will SOOOO make it again, and I think I really got the curry marinade down.

Last week, however, we definitely learned that there are some things you just can’t do, and not every recipe is a winner.

We have had “shifty bobs” on the meal plan for a few weeks now.  Technically, the first week it was shish kabobs, and then Zliten made it into “shifty bobs” because it sounded cooler.  So it has been said, and they shall henceforth be referred to as such.  Whatever they are called, they kept getting pushed to the next week because it’s too cold for the grill, or meat wasn’t thawed, or it was a lot of work, or whatever reason.  Finally, last Wednesday was shifty bob day.

Zliten lovingly put the meat, pineapple, and veggies into the marinade around lunchtime to soak up the goodness.  When I got home from work, they went on the grill, and came off looking like sex on a plate.

However, when we started to eat them, the beef was…mealy, and falling apart.  We both ate a bit, looked at each other, and said…”does this taste funny to you?” So, shifty bobs went into the shifty trash can, and we decided to make big mcveggie burgers instead.  They were super good.

So you get a double recipe in one, as well as a warning – do not let your pinapple mix too long with your meat!!!  It’s way too acidic to get along with your meat for extended periods of time.  Add it right before you grill or marinade the veggies separately.

Shifty bobs:

-Cubed beef (or chicken, or shrimp, or actually any meat you want)

-Bell peppers

-Onions

-Pineapple (optional, this is the first time we’ve made it with it)

Marinade:

-Stir Fry Sauce (kikoman ginger garlic is what I use)

-Rooster Sauce (give it a nice big squeeze)

-Newman’s Own Sesame Ginger Dressing (Lite)

-Garlic Powder

Take your meat and veggies, put them in the marinade for 30 minutes minimum (can be longer, as long as the pineapple is quarantined).  Skewer them, throw them on the grill, and we served it with rice.

Big McVeggie Burger:

-Two slices of bread, I used 40 calorie wheat bread.

-Two veggie burger patties, I used Gardenburger California Style.

-Two slices of fat free cheese (believe me, it’s fine for this, I usually hate fat free cheese too)

-Secret Sauce

-Sliced Pickles

-Diced Onions

-Shredded Lettuce

(Not so) Secret Sauce:

-A squirt of ketchup

-A squirt of mustard

-A dollop of low fat ranch

-A dollop of relish

Grill veggie burgers on grill surface of your choosing.  Toast bread.  Apply condiments in this order – bread, secret sauce, pickles, patty, cheese, patty, cheese, onions, lettuce, secret sauce, bread.

It’s not quite a big mac but it’s really yummy.

Calorie count for the shifty bobs varies depending on what meat you use, but the marinade and veggies don’t add much calorie-wise.  It’s well under 500 calories for a good few skewers even with a heaping cup of rice.  The faken-burger was about 400.

Even  if things don’t turn out quite right – at least cooking is always an adventure!