Jerk Style Cornish Hens with Wasabi Sauce

Is it just me or does everyone else also have a tendency to plan to complete more than they can possibly accomplish in a certain period of time? In business we’re taught that one should always under-promise and over-deliver but what about when it comes to our own personal lives? Why don’t we do that with ourselves? I find I’m constantly over-promising and under-delivering to myself when it comes to my own personal to-do lists. For example, one day last week, I planned to do prep my vegetable beds, plant tomatoes, prepare a recipe and photograph it for a future blog post, do the laundry from our 3-week vacay, get in a little knitting and have dinner ready when M came home. What in the hell was I thinking? I was SO far off on my timing and I barely got the veggie bed cleared and prepped and a load of laundry done before it was time to start dinner!

Perhaps the concept of having big goals and having more than we can accomplish on our own list keeps us going. Maybe we need those infinite to-do lists to keep us from falling off track or getting lazy. I would really like to think of it this way but since I tend to be pretty hard on myself, whenever I don’t complete that darned list it feels like a failure. Even if I make a short list, all those extra things I “should” be adding to it are still creeping around in my silly little mind.  It would be nice, just for one day, to have a list that I fully complete plus a little extra that wasn’t already on it. Perhaps I need to just let go and realize that I can’t be a one-woman-wonder all the time. Perhaps I should stick with my short list and add in those extra “shoulds” when I can. Perhaps I should just chill the @*%^ out…

On that note, how about a simple recipe that will make you look like a one-woman (or man) wonder? It’s plenty spicy and spicy food does get the blood pumping, which might help me cross off another thing on that blasted list!

Jerk-Style Cornish Hens with Wasabi Sauce

www.barbaracooks.com

Servings: 4 • Size: ½ hen with ¼ cup sauce • Weight Watcher Points+: 10*

Calories: 391 • Fat: 25g • Carbs: 7g • Fiber: 0g • Protein: 35g

Sugars: 4g • Sodium: 570g • Cholesterol: 170mg

Ingredients:

• 1 cup fat free greek yogurt
• 1 ½ teaspoon minced dried onion
• 1 teaspoon garlic powder
• 2 teaspoons wasabi paste
• ½ teaspoon dried parsley flakes
• ¼ teaspoon mustard powder
• 2 whole Cornish game hens
• 2-4 Tablespoons jerk seasoning (I like Walkerswood, made in Jamaica)

Directions:

Mix together the yogurt, minced onion, garlic powder, wasabi, parsley flakes and mustard powder. Cover and refrigerate 1 hour.

Heat grill on medium low to 375 degrees. Cut the hens in half, rinse with cool water and pat dry. Rub 2-4 Tablespoons of the jerk seasoning on each of the halves, depending on how spicy you like it (taste a small amount of the seasoning first). Really wanna get that seasoning in there? Rub some in between the skin and breast meat.

Place the hens on the grill skin side down. Close the lid and cook 15 minutes. Turn and cook, covered, an additional 15 minutes or until thermometer inserted in thickest part of the meat registers 165 degrees.

Serve with ¼ cup of the wasabi sauce for dipping and a cool drink to take off the spicy edge.

*The sauce on its own is 1 Points+ per serving. Wanna save 3 Points+ per serving? Remove the skin before eating. Although you can, I don’t recommend removing the skin before cooking. Since this is a dry rub, the meat can dry out easily without the skin.