Poached Pears in a Cranberry-Brandy Sauce

I love lazy Sunday lunches (with lazy Sunday desserts!)  On a quest towards healthier living, I created this healthy dessert, and I do have to say, it was lovely!  It's made in the crock-pot so it's super simple to put it in and forget about it until you're ready to eat.

Poached Pears in Cranberry-Brandy Sauce by Joie de vivre

Ingredients:

 

Yeild:  8 servings

1 1/2 cups cranberries

8 pears, peeled, halved and cored

2/3 c. water

1/2 c. white sugar

1/2 c. brown sugar

1/4 c. brandy

zest and juice of 1 lime

Whipped cream, to serve

Directions:

1.  In the insert of a 6 qt. crock pot, combine the cranberries, pears, water, sugars, brandy and zest and juice of lime.  Stir gently to coat the pears.

2.  Cover the crock pot and cook on LOW for 4-6 hours until the berries have burst and the pears are tender.

3.  To serve, give each person two pear halves and some sauce.  Pass the whipped cream to top.

Weight Loss Weekly

Weight loss weekly is a weekly collaboration between me and three other bloggers who are trying to lose weight.  Join us every Monday as we discuss our strategies, successes and failures on our journeys to lose weight.

This week, Sunny from That Extra 20 Pounds asks:  "What are some secrets to staying on your diet while eating out?  What are your favorite restaurants to eat at when you're watching your weight that help you stay on track?"

My main order when I am eating out and trying to stay on track is soup.  A big bowl of steaming soup is usually inexpensive, lower in calories (than other offerings) and is probably higher in fiber.  Of COURSE sometimes there is just no getting around the lure of a hamburger, but if I order soup, it's easier for me to stay on track.  

I don't have a particular restaurant that I like to frequent, but I do tend to go for quieter restaurants.  When a restaurant is too bright or has loud music, I tend to eat faster and higher calorie things.  Hand in hand (it seems) with quiet restaurants are restaurants that are more expensive.  I tend to favor restaurants with a slightly higher price menu when I am dieting because the higher price tag means I am not going to wolf down my food.  Instead, I'm going to relax, enjoy each bite and enjoy the atmosphere.  Obviously I can't frequent restaurants that are more expensive, they are just easier for me to stay on track.

I also like ordering hot tea as my beverage in restaurants.  Restaurants will often serve hot tea in it's own little teapot.  The act of pouring the tea and keeping my cup full, keeps my hands busy and away from the bread basket!

Do you have any special tricks for eating out?  Please share!

My Weight Loss Weekly Collaborators are Nurit, Giyen and Sunny.  Check out the restaurant tips they have!

Nurit from Family. Friendly. Food.

Giyen from Bacon is My Enemy

Sunny from That Extra 20 Pounds

No-Knead Pizza Crust

Everyone is on the No-Knead bread wagon right?  You know, the bread making technique made famous in the NY Times?  It creates flavorful, crusty breads letting time do the work for you.  So when the King Arthur Flour blog posted a No-Knead Pizza Crust, it went to the top of my "must make" recipe list.

This recipe did not disappoint.  It did indeed take time, but it created the best homemade pizza crust I've ever made.  It was firm but had great texture and taste.  Don't let the "time factor" steer you off of this recipe.  There was probably only about 5-7 minutes of hands on time.  The rest of the time was waiting while the little yeast workhorses did their thing.

No-Knead Pizza Crust adapted from King Arthur Flour blog

Ingredients:

3 cups bread flour

1/4 tsp. instant yeast

1 1/2 tsp. salt

1 1/2 - 2 c. warmish water

Directions:

1.  The night before you want to make pizza, mix together all of the ingredients, stirring just to combine.  The mixture will resemble cottage cheese.  

2.  Cover the bowl with Saran Wrap and let it rest overnight until right before you are ready to bake the crust.

3.  When ready to bake the crust, pre-heat your oven with a pizza stone inside to 450 degrees F.  Heavily flour your counter and scrape the "dough" out onto the counter.  Heavily flour the top and use a dough scraper to fold the dough over a few times.  It will be very, very wet and soupy.

4.  Place a square of parchment onto a pizza peel or the back of a cookie sheet.  

5.  Pat the dough out onto the parchment into a circular shape until it is about 1/4 inch thick.

6.  When your oven is pre-heated, slide the dough, parchment and all, onto the pizza stone.  Spray the crusts and the inside walls of your oven with water to create steam and shut the door quickly.  Bake the crust for about 16 minutes.

7.  Remove the crust from the oven and put your pre-cooked toppings on top.  I used tomato paste, mozzarella cheese and pepperoni slices.

8.  Slide the pizza back into the oven for another 8 minutes until the toppings are hot and the cheese is bubbly and starting to brown.