The Great Onion Fiasco of 2006
In a supreme effort to get fit and also save money by eating at home, I actually planned out some low-calorie/low-fat menus for the week. This is not easy as very few recipes are for single people and as much as I love cooking I rarely do it.
So Monday after work I forced myself into the YMCA and had a bracing workout and then rushed home to make dinner. Of course, by this point I was very, very hungry and had to steel myself against reverting to my baser instincts, i.e. boiling some Ramen noodles and having a meal ready in 3 minutes.*
I flew into the kitchen, exercising extreme self-discipline to not stuff anything and everything into my mouth, pulled out the recipe, and began to put it all together. I was making Sloppy Joes, or “Healthy Jo’s” as the cookbook referred to them.
I threw the meat in the skillet to begin browning and then turned my attention to the next item - ½ cup of chopped onions. I got excited because this meant I finally got to use my Pampered Chef cutting board and my Pampered Chef Handy Dandy Food Chopper. I got it all out, stuck the onion under the chopper, and pressed down.
In hindsight, it would have been a better idea if I had perhaps cut the onion in two or fours, as it was far too big to chop all at once. The result was that the entire onion mass became embedded up in the chopper and refused to move.
At this junction, I realized my meat needed some attention as I forgot to turn the exhaust fan on and it was burning and the kitchen was beginning to fill with ground beef smoke. After taking care of that, I grabbed a kitchen knife and attempted to extricate the onion from the chopper. No go. So I took the chopper apart and then tried to cut the onion into smaller pieces so it would come out. This was a little more successful, but the onion pieces somehow became airborne during their bid for freedom and landed pretty much all over the kitchen.
And then I inadvertently pushed the chopper into my hand.
That was extremely painful as the chopper blades were quite sharp and now I was bleeding over the onion I had worked so hard to rescue. This resulted in running my lacerated finger under the cold tap, chucking the bloody onion, and starting again with the other half.
I realized I could have skipped the YMCA entirely and used my food preparation as my workout. I was sweating just as hard.
But the end result? Entirely worth it. They were the BEST Sloppy Joe’s, made with the toil of my blood, sweat, and onion-induced tears. I leave you with the recipe:
1 lb. lean ground beef or turkey
½ cup chopped onions
1 8oz. can of Hunt’s Tomato Sauce
½ cup of chunky salsa
1 T of Splenda Brown Sugar substitute
6 Low calorie hamburger buns
Brown meat and onions in skillet. Add tomato sauce, salsa and brown sugar substitute, stirring well. Let simmer for 15 minutes, then spoon out onto hamburger buns. Serves six.
If you are doing Weight Watchers, it’s only 6 points per serving, including the bun.
*While I realize this is not exactly a meal, I really do like Ramen noodles.
So Monday after work I forced myself into the YMCA and had a bracing workout and then rushed home to make dinner. Of course, by this point I was very, very hungry and had to steel myself against reverting to my baser instincts, i.e. boiling some Ramen noodles and having a meal ready in 3 minutes.*
I flew into the kitchen, exercising extreme self-discipline to not stuff anything and everything into my mouth, pulled out the recipe, and began to put it all together. I was making Sloppy Joes, or “Healthy Jo’s” as the cookbook referred to them.
I threw the meat in the skillet to begin browning and then turned my attention to the next item - ½ cup of chopped onions. I got excited because this meant I finally got to use my Pampered Chef cutting board and my Pampered Chef Handy Dandy Food Chopper. I got it all out, stuck the onion under the chopper, and pressed down.
In hindsight, it would have been a better idea if I had perhaps cut the onion in two or fours, as it was far too big to chop all at once. The result was that the entire onion mass became embedded up in the chopper and refused to move.
At this junction, I realized my meat needed some attention as I forgot to turn the exhaust fan on and it was burning and the kitchen was beginning to fill with ground beef smoke. After taking care of that, I grabbed a kitchen knife and attempted to extricate the onion from the chopper. No go. So I took the chopper apart and then tried to cut the onion into smaller pieces so it would come out. This was a little more successful, but the onion pieces somehow became airborne during their bid for freedom and landed pretty much all over the kitchen.
And then I inadvertently pushed the chopper into my hand.
That was extremely painful as the chopper blades were quite sharp and now I was bleeding over the onion I had worked so hard to rescue. This resulted in running my lacerated finger under the cold tap, chucking the bloody onion, and starting again with the other half.
I realized I could have skipped the YMCA entirely and used my food preparation as my workout. I was sweating just as hard.
But the end result? Entirely worth it. They were the BEST Sloppy Joe’s, made with the toil of my blood, sweat, and onion-induced tears. I leave you with the recipe:
1 lb. lean ground beef or turkey
½ cup chopped onions
1 8oz. can of Hunt’s Tomato Sauce
½ cup of chunky salsa
1 T of Splenda Brown Sugar substitute
6 Low calorie hamburger buns
Brown meat and onions in skillet. Add tomato sauce, salsa and brown sugar substitute, stirring well. Let simmer for 15 minutes, then spoon out onto hamburger buns. Serves six.
If you are doing Weight Watchers, it’s only 6 points per serving, including the bun.
*While I realize this is not exactly a meal, I really do like Ramen noodles.
posted by Lisa | 7:41 AM
3 Comments:
OOOWWWWWW!!! I cringed just thinking about this!! Hope you're OK!! :)
I am fine, thanks! I only have a tiny BandAid - but finger cuts hurt!
I have a severe hunger monster that comes out when my hunger has to wait or goes unchecked for that long. I bow to your strength of not giving into the ramen temptations. Although, I've heard of people purchasing houses by the money they saved eating Ramen.
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