Jerry Timms

Once in awhile I like to cook a really large dish, with lots of ingredients. Anyone can whip up some chicken and vegetables, but what’s really satisfying is to create a recipe with enough ingredients that the final meal becomes so much more satisfying than merely the sum of its parts. Kind of like families, whomever yours happens to be.

Calories: 285 (24 g protein, 18 g carbs, 13 g fat)

Jerry’s Family Size “Serves Your Top 8″ Eggplant Lasagna

2 large eggplant
1 bag Morningstar Meal Starters imitation ground beef
8 oz. sliced baby bella (crimini) mushrooms
15 oz. part skim ricotta
8 oz. Kraft 2% Italian blend (mozzarella, provolone, parmesan) shredded cheese
1 jar marinara sauce
Garlic to taste
Ground red pepper to taste

Slice the eggplant very, very thin. If you don’t, then it won’t cook all the way through and it will taste like you’re eating eggplant, not lasagna. Spray a large baking pan with Pam, and put down a single layer of the eggplant. Now, my favorite part about making lasagna is experimenting with different layers of pasta (eggplant is being substituted in this case), meat (another healthier substitute here), sauce, vegetables, cheeses and seasonings. So try the rest on your own. And if you end up with an awkward combination in the end, then try something different next time until you get it right. (I’ll give you a hint, though…it works best if you end up with a layer of the shredded cheese on top, and some sauce just below that.)

Bake everything in a 350° oven for about an hour, or until the cheese on top is slightly browned and bubbling.

Serves your top 8.

I invented this salad a couple years ago. Normally I’m not a big salad person, but I love cucumbers! There are virtually no calories in this, and it goes great with a light meal or as a snack on its own. Tastes fantastic when the weather is hot, or anytime you’re just trying to cut calories. I’m eating it right now and it’s delicious!

Calories: 24 (1 g protein, 5 g carbs, 0 g fat)

Jerry’s Big Cucumber Salad

1 Big cucumber
1 Lemon
Apple cider vinegar
Sea Salt

Wash the cucumber, slice it really thinly, and empty into a tupperware bowl (or any medium sized container that comes with a tight fitting lid). Squeeze half a lemon onto the cucumber slices. Pour on a dash (or about 2 tablespoons) of apple cider vinegar. Plain white vinegar will do in a pinch, I just prefer the unfiltered apple cider variety since it’s the healthiest.

Sprinkle on a large pinch (about 1/2 teaspoon) of sea salt. Slice the other half of the lemon and toss the slices in the bowl. Now, put the lid on the bowl and shake everything for about a minute. You’ll notice a really interesting reaction as the salt and acid draws some of the water out of the cucumber slices, and they start to turn transparent.

Empty everything onto a plate and serve. Makes about two servings. Now isn’t that refreshing?

This may sound a little unusual, but brussel sprouts are my favorite vegetable.  I never had them as a kid, not even once.  I guess my parents didn’t like them…we mostly had Italian things like zuccini.  And pasta.  Lots and lots of pasta.  I was in my 20’s when I finally tried brussel sprouts, and have been hooked since.  I call them “single” because I’ve been taking advantage of a new wave of single serving microwave steam-in-the-pouch vegetables at the store.  They are a lot more convenient when cooking for one.  A little more expensive maybe, but you won’t get freezer burn on the rest of the bag that you don’t cook.  I’m gonna stop right now before I sound any more domestic.

Calories: 160 (27 g protein, 9 g carbs, 2 g fat)

Jerry’s wingless hot wings & single (but not desparate) brussel sprouts

1 whole chicken breast
1 Tbsp. wing sauce (most are vinegar based and have only 5 calories)
1 Bird’s Eye brussel sprouts single serving pouch

Spray some Pam on a frying pan and cook a chicken breast thoroughly.  Remove it from the pan and coat it with the wing sauce.

Microwave the brussel sprouts according to package directions.

Put everything on a plate, and sit in your creepily silent house eating and thinking about where being picky has gotten you.

Yeah it seems these days like even a pickle is an indulgence, but you can’t forget to eat protein if you’re weight training. And none of that soy stuff, either…you need high quality animal protein! This recipe uses all natural yogurt, which has the added benefit of various bacteria cultures. I made this for lunch today and I think it turned out pretty good, so enjoy!

Calories: 130 (23 g protein, 5 g carbs, 2 g fat)

The White Party Egg White Salad

4 boiled egg whites (just remove the yolks after boiling)
2-3 Tbsp. plain unsweetened yogurt (I used Mountain High brand)
3 Vlasic ‘No Sugar Added’ sweet gherkin pickles, chopped (these tiny pickles are sweetened with Splenda and have less than 2 calories each)
Dash of the pickle juice
Dash of garlic salt
dash of ground red cayenne pepper

The preparation of this is really easy, because after the pickles are chopped you just mix everything into a bowl. You could spread this on celery, but mine apparently went bad in the fridge - so I just ate it all with a spoon!

Sorry if it seems like this is turning into a recipe blog, but I find that if I plan on posting my dinner recipe, it forces me to come up with something more delicious and healthy than what I normally cook. I ate this after work today, and it was delicious. The secret to a good low-calorie shrimp fettuccine? No Fettuccine!

Calories: 239 (39 g protein, 7 g fat, 3 g carbs, 2 g fiber)

Chef-Boy-Are-Jerry’s Shrimp Fettuccine

14 Black Tiger Shrimp, 26/30 ct.
Big Handful frozen broccoli and cauliflower (approx. 1 cup cooked)
1 tbsp. butter
Trader Joe’s Lemon Pepper (with Lemon Flakes - you knew that was coming)

Saute the vegetables in the pan with butter until almost cooked. Add the shrimp and cook until entirely pink. Don’t overcook shrimp, or else they get all gross. If you don’t see any gray left then you’re fine. Grind some lemon pepper over the whole thing to taste, and toss a few times.

This is important! Use a slotted spoon to remove the shrimp and vegetables from the pan (most of the butter will drain out of the spoon and remain in the pan) and place in a serving bowl.

Enjoy!

It seems that a new favorite pastime has developed after a night of drinking with friends - to go to the local Bertos and get a bacon, egg and cheese breakfast burrito. The BB’s there are so good, it’s literally my new favorite thing I’ve ever eaten! However, they are laden with calories and so I was on a mission today to replicate a healthier version. This version is not exactly like the infamous one, but it’s really good and would make a relatively healthy (but very satisfying) breakfast.

Approximate calorie count: 400

Jerry’s Guilt-Free BB

2 slices bacon
3/4 cup Southwestern flavored Egg Beaters (equiv. to 3 egg whites)
1/8 cup Kraft fat free shredded cheddar cheese
1 Tortilla
Butter Flavored Pam

Fry the bacon in a pan until most of the fat is cooked off, and drain in a paper towel. Empty the grease from the pan and wipe the pan with a paper towel.

Spray the pan with Pam and cook the egs until done. Combine the eggs and bacon in a tortilla, sprinkle with the cheese, and wrap tightly.

Enjoy!

After an afternoon of running errands, I made a chicken dish for dinner that was just too good not to share! This is a variation of a dish I made last week, only tonight it was about 100 times better after some strategic changes. And best of all, it only took about 15 minutes to prepare. Enjoy, and let me know how you like it.

General Timms’ Chicken

1 Lb. boneless chicken thighs (yes you need to use thighs - if you substitute breasts you are going to be really disappointed!)
1 bag fresh stir fry vegetables from Trader Joes (bok choy, snow peas, sugar snap peas)
1 tbsp oyster sauce
1 tsp garlic powder
canola oil
white cooking wine
lemon pepper & sea salt

Heat your seasoned wok on very high heat for about 10 minutes, and coat the inside with about 1 tbsp canola oil. If you don’t have a wok, go down to your local asian market and get a carbon steel wok for about $10. And make sure you season it, or everything will stick to it and you’ll get upset! While the wok and oil are heating, pound the chicken thighs with a heavy cleaver until it’s in very small irregular pieces (don’t cut the meat with a knife - get yourself a good cleaver if you don’t have one - again, one can be purchased at your asian market very inexpensively).

Throw the chicken in the wok and cook for about 5 minutes. Sprinkle some garlic powder over the top of the chicken and mix well. Pour in a couple splashes of cooking wine, and continue cooking for about 5-10 more minutes, or until you’re pretty convinced the chicken would be safe to eat (don’t over cook!). Doesn’t this smell good? Everything should be all bubbly now. Add the oyster sauce and mix well.

Empty the bag of vegetables over everything, and toss for about 5 minutes, or until the bok choy reduces and turns a very dark green. Sprinkle lightly with lemon pepper and sea salt (I used a combination seasoning from Trader Joes that has lemon flakes, pepper and sea salt all in one container that has a built-in grinder - $1.99!). Mix again and serve!