Mac and Cheese

One of Alex's favorite food is Mac and Cheese..its one of those t hings you gotta have sometimes but I just can't bring myself to make it with cream and butter so this is a recipe that I've adapted a bit and every time it changes depending on what I have on hand..and of course its healthy.

20 ounces frozen pureed butternut squash (sometimes labeled winter squash)
3 cups of milk
3 cups of cheese (I like to use at least 2-3 different kinds of cheese)
1 tsp cayenne pepper
1 tbsp Dijon mustard
Salt to taste
Bread crumbs
3 cups frozen broccoli (thawed)
1 lb (1 box) whole wheat pasta (I didn't have elbow so its penne)

Boil your pasta for about 7 minutes, drain and set aside. In a pot add your milk and butternut squash on medium high cooking till completely defrosted and heated through stirring often. Add in the mustard and bring to a slow boil and remove from heat. Add in  your crumbled/shredded (just not a whole block) of cheese stirring and making the 'cheese' sauce. This is where you will use your tasting skills if you want to add cayenne pepper and salt do it to taste and add in more cheese if you REALLY WANT. I recommend if you want a cheesy version to add in some skim ricotta as one of your cheeses which has a rich taste and not a lot of fat. The amount of cheese I used is pictured ... I had feta, pepper jack and monterrey on hand, all crumbled it was probably a little under 2 cups.

Once your cheese sauce is all combined add in the pasta and the broccoli, mix it all up and  pour into your casserole dish. Top with breadcrumbs, I am on a Panko breadcrumb kick so I added those.... Bake on 350 for about 25 mins and broil on lo for about 3 to get the top browned.

The butternut squash gives the mac and cheese the  gooey texture and bright cheese color that is typically cream and tons of cheese and replaces it with a serving of veggies. Not to mention the 'cheesy' broccoli baked inside. MMMM I can't wait for my leftovers at lunch today!

Big Fat Greek Nachos

So it was another Monday night following yet another out of control I think I'm 18 again weekend. So another Hangover meal Monday. This is just the appetizer for the meal and it was so delicious I couldn't.stop.eating.

Greek Salsa:
1/2 lb pitted gourmet seasoned olives (the kind from the bar at wholefoods)
Grape tomatoes
1 cucumber
1 cup spinach (optional)


Tzatziki -cheese sauce
2 cups Greek yogrut
1 tbsp Lemon juice
1 tbsp dill (or to taste)
salt and pepper
3/4 cup feta cheese
2 Cloves garlic, 1tsp diced garlic

1 Chicken Breast (optional)
Greek Seasoning

Homemade or Store bought chips (Pita chips would be perfect too)

To make the salsa, chop up your olives (this is why you really want pre pitted), grape tomatoes & spinach into a bowl. I like to use my salad choppers bc they make me feel like Edward Scissor hands and I can chop up a bowl of salsa in about 4 mins and not make a mess... For the cucumber, dice up on a separate cutting board allowing for some of the water from the cucumber to stay behind... I didn't add spices bc the gourmet olives I bought already had their own spices/marinade so I was off the hook.  Well I did add garlic just because.

For the Tzatziki, mix all the ingredients together add a little oil if you want to make it a little thinner and crumble in the feta in and set aside.

Oh yea while all of this is going on, bake a heavily seasoned chicken breast in the oven for about 15 minutes. I like to use Greek seasoning, goes with the theme.duh. Once that is fully cooked, chop it up. So easy and clean I l.o.v.e.

Now assemble the nachos. I made homemade chips and  they were already semi-warm so my cook time was a little less than lame bagged chips would be... I dolloped the Tzatziki cheese sauce on the chips and spread the chopped chicken. Bake on 350 for a little less than 10 mins or really till the 'cheese' is heated thoroughly, bc it won't melt like typical shredded cheese. 

 Remove from the oven and top with your fresh Greek Salsa  and  FEAST

Fancy Shrimp and Salad

I call this Fancy Shrimp because it really reminded me of a salad I would order off of a yuppie restaurant menu. What you'll need:

2-3 cups dry white wine
1 cup milk
1/4 cup Parmesan cheese (I didn't have this but I recommend it)
2 tbsp Capers
1tbsp chopped garlic or 2-3 cloves fresh garlic
About 20 raw shrimp
1 yellow onion
1 teaspoon cornstarch

Salad:
1 bag of Spinach
1 Tomato
1 Bell pepper

I like to buy frozen raw shrimp with the tails on from Bjs (Costco's cousin) and if I'm in the mood for shrimp I take out a handful, defrost them in a bowl with hot water, take the tails off and I'm ready to go. Butterfly the shrimp: Butterflying shrimp is essentially cutting the shrimp down the back so it has to floppy sides (cooks better and looks bigger!)
"Prepare" your salad, Chop up the tomato, and the bell pepper  and top your spinach with the veggies on your plate. I also added Feta to the salad bc I had no Parmesan cheese and I needed a salty cheese.

Cut up the onion and saute with garlic in olive oil. I like to overcook the onions and caramelize them bc they become sweet and its a nice taste against the white wine and capers. Once the onion is sauteed add your white wine and milk and whisk the mixture. Turn down the heat to low-medium and slowly add the one tablespoon of Cornstarch (this thickens the sauce but its still more watery than an Alfredo sauce) Add in the capers and add your shrimp still on a low heat. Cook the shrimp slowly really stirring it around in the 'sauce.' Add in your Parmesan cheese and pepper to taste. Once the shrimp is lightly pink and the shrimp is no longer gray the shrimp is cooked perfectly

Serve on your salad, I like to spoon extra 'sauce' on the greens/veggies so its sort of a warm dressing.

Buffalo Chicken Lasagna

Yes, it is football season and that mean buffalo EVERYTHING....My obsession has leaked over to my friend  Karen who made these delish buffalo sliders. This is a nice meal to get your Buffalo wing fix while having a hearty meal..

I love this lasagna especially cooking it in the crockpot!

1 Box Whole Wheat lasagna noodles

7 oz skim ricotta cheese (I had to) 

1 cup Greek Yogurt (non-fat) 

1 packet ranch dressing mix or crumbled blue cheese (w/ oregano, basil & garlic powder added to the yogurt/ricotta mixture...) 

1/2 cup Red hot Buffalo Sauce (the plain.. this one has about 4-5 ingredients)

2 precooked chicken breasts shredded

2 bell peppers

1 jar tomato pasta sauce

or  

homemade tomato sauce

• 2 cans crushed tomatoes
• 1 tsp oregano
• 1 tbsp Basil 
• Pinch of Salt and pepper to taste 
• 3 cloves crushed garlic
• Simmer and stir frequently for 15 mins. and more seasoning to taste 

There are two ways to make this, the old school boil the pasta, layer your oven safe baking dish with the lasagna ingredients the bake in the oven at 350 for about 30-45 mins or crockpot it...  

I love crockpotting lasagna especially when making it for a small group..All of the flavors really cook into the pasta once you crockpot lasagna you'll never go back... 

 Crock Pot directions:  

1. Combine your sauce (jarred or homemade) with the red hot and shredded chicken in a bowl. Set aside 

2. Mix together your Greek yogurt, ricotta cheese and Ranch Packet or your greek yogurt, ricotta cheese blue cheese crumbles and oregano etc. (They are both really good options its just a matter of what is lying around.) 

3.Cut up the bell peppers and set aside. 

4. Assemble.....Spoon a little sauce on the bottom of the crock pot, lay down your UNCOOKED lasagna noodles (trust me.) The hardest part about this recipe (and its not even hard) is getting the lasagna noodle to fit in the crock pot. I typically have one long noodle in the middle and the side ones are noodles broken in half, fit however it works for you. The key to crockpot lasagna is that the noodle must be sandwiched between sauce. Layer: Sauce, noodles, sauce, ricotta cheese mixture, bell peppers, sauce, noodles, sauce and so on...repeat.. once you are done, take less than  a 1/4 cup of water and pour over lasagna.  For the top layer I place more sauce, bell peppers and  I like to plop spoonfuls of the cheese/yogurt mixture to give the finishing effect of slices of fresh mozerella!

This is a picture of the finished product mid-serving....

I typically have 4 noodle layers, so it becomes a thick lasagna. Depending on what kind of crock-pot you have cook on your low setting for about 3 hours, checking on the lasagna( I have Warm, Low & High, I cook on Low for 3 hours or warm for 6) 

About two and half hours in stick a knife in the middle of the lasagna and if goes through smoothly and there is no dry noodle cracking sound you are good to go. Turn off the crock-pot take off the lid and let this sit for about 30 mins. Do not skip or else you'll have a  sloppy lasagna.

Ps Soon I will make a mexican lasagna and show the layering in the crockpot...I am new to this recording every step while cooking, sorry!

Salad Bar Pasta Salad

You know what I really like about a salad bar? I can get a little of everything, I want some spinach, I want some beans, but I also need some pasta to fill me up..its an indecisive persons dream lunch. So this was my inspiration behind dinner last night.


Ingredients:
Spinach (as little or as much as you prefer)
1 box whole wheat rotini ( would've loved to use tri-color but this is what we had)
1/2 cup sun dried tomatoes
1 can olives
a little feta (or whatever you have)
1 can garbanzo beans (aka Chick peas)
Basil+Oregano+crushed red pepper
2 cloves of garlic, or a tablespoon chopped
2 Zucchinis
olive oil. duh.


This is a quick meal with very few dishes...

Get the pasta boiling, meanwhile, chop up the sun dried tomatoes, olives, garlic, zucchini. Once the pasta is boiled, drain it and just leave it in the drainer... use the pasta pot to saute your zucchini... add in the garlic, olive oil and zucchini and saute to your liking, I don't over saute bc I like a little crunch however, you can cook them however you would like. I like to add some spices while sauteing the zucchini, oregano, basil and crushed red pepper.

Once the zucchini is complete, turn off the burner, remove the pot from the burner and add in the pasta a little olive oil and the remaining ingredients(make sure to drain the water from the beans). Mix it all up and place it in the fridge (you can serve this hot or cold, I like it cold)
Serve on a bed of fresh spinach and enjoy that this isn't $6.99 a lb like the Whole Foods salad bar!!!

Homemade Tortilla Chips -> Nachos!

I had a revelation while watching 'semi-homemade with Sandra Lee' she made tortilla chips out of CORN TORTILLAS, in her own home! I was hooked. Pretty much since that episode we haven't bought a bag of tortilla chips. The only pitfall (which happens to be a major advantage of making your own) of homemade tortilla chips is that there are no preservatives therefore when you make them, you must eat them, ALL of them. Sealing them up in a Ziploc will help but after about 24 hours they start to go stale.

What you'll need:

For Tortilla Chips:

Corn tortillas (they are smaller than flour, white or yellow, its all the same)

Salt

Olive oil

Nachos:

Chips

Salsa

Cheese

Chili (optional)

Cut up the Corn tortilla into 'chip size' pieces and evenly spread them on greased cookie sheet. Drizzle with olive oil and sprinkle lightly with salt.

Baked at 360 for about 7 mins, take out the sheet and gently mix up the chips, making sure they aren't baking together and to ensure that the chips get an even brown. Bake for another 5 mins or so.

To assemble nachos, simply sprinkle your cheese ( I had shredded cheese on hand and add your salsa ( I had salsa verde.) I also remembered I had a bit of frozen chili I had made about a month ago in the freezer which I defrosted and added to the chips. I spread the chili lightly over the cheese/salsa and chips and popped the sheet back into the oven for another 5 mins.

Part 2 of the hangover meal, Homemade Nachos!

They really were as good as they look

Fish Tenders

My best friend from college got married this weekend, she was beautiful, the scenery was gorgeous and the reception was amazing.....but the hangover was far from it.

Needless to say Sunday morning wasn't cute and to follow neither was Monday. Dragging through Monday all I could think about was a nice 'greasy' dinner. Unfortunately us we don't like fast food so "greasy" food is not as cheap and easy bc I usually try to make it at home. This is the first half of the meal; the second half is nachos with homemade tortilla chips (post to come soon) So really this isn't greasy or fat, but made us feel like we were eating deep fried fish.

4 Flounder Fillets (tilapia and any other white fish for the most part would work)

About a mugful of breadcrumbs, I used panko

Old Bay

1 egg (optional)

The reason I call these tenders is because you see where the line in the middle of the fillet is you can cut along that line and get a tender, instead of a huge breaded fillet..

Before

After

So if you are using the egg, beat the egg in a seperate bowl, dry the tender, dip into egg bowl (gently) sprinkle a little bit of old bay, cover tender with bread crumbs and place on greased cookie sheet. Do not salt the fish if you are using old bay, old bay is salty on its own. When using the egg you guarantee a thick coating of breadcrumbs on your tender so really its your preference.
If you are not using the egg, dry the tender, sprinkle old bay, coat in bread crumbs and place on greased cookie sheet. With this method the tender isn't drenched in breadcrumbs and I prefer it this way when not serving guests.
Bake @ 350 degrees for about 8-10 mins (depending on the thickness of your fish) bring out the cookie sheet, flip over the tenders and place back into the oven for another 8-10 mins. By now the fish should be fully cooked and therefore you can start to broil to get them 'crispy.' I like to broil on LO for almost 10 mins. Again with broiling every oven is different so monitor this process closely and brown to your liking, I did another flip half way through the broiling to ensure both sides were crispy.



Serve the fish tenders with cocktail sauce!
Homemade cocktail sauce recipe:

ketchup +horseradish (not the creamy kind, straight up horseradish)

Zucchini Gratin

This recipe is one I found on thatsfit.com in the 'recipe rehab' section. I like these recipes bc for the most part this is my mentality when cooking always. A few changes and I really like this recipe and decided to serve it with the Chicken sausage polenta bake I made for a few friends.

Ingredients: (lucky for you there are measurements)

1/2 Milk

4-5 Zucchini (yellow/green)

Half tbsp cornstarch

2-3 cloves of garlic

1 tablespoon dried thyme, I used oregano and basil

1 tbsp red pepper flakes

"some" cheese (for topping)

Panko breadcrumbs (and Italian only bc I have both)

Combine milk and cornstarch in a small pot and stir until the cornstarch has dissolved, add garlic and spices and heat over meat heat until the mixture has thickened but before it starts to boil. Its really important to monitor this and continue to stir i like to use a whisk to avoid clumps. Remove from the heat and set aside

Slice the zucchini into thin rounds I would say 1/4 to 1/2 inch.

Spray the casserole dish with Pam layer the zucchini, sprinkle with salt, drizzle some of the milk 'sauce', then add a little breadcrumbs, then begin to layer more slices of zucchini. Think Lasagna. Repeat till you run out. Once at the top layer, sprinkle with breadcrumbs and whatever cheese you have on hand, the recipe calls for Parmesan, I went with feta bc that is what i had.

Lightly spray the top with cooking spray (Pam or olive oil) bake at 350 degrees for 20-25 mins; I like to finish it off with 5-7 min on LO broil to get the top really golden brown and I obvi didn't do that this time.

Chicken Sausage Polenta Bake

I bought a tube of polenta from Trader Joes a while back and never really knew what to do with it. After searching a few recipes I followed none and came up with one a few months back. Alex loved it and it was super easy so I decided to serve it up for some friends last week


2 tubes Polenta (I would use one if only for 2-3 people)
4-5 fully cooked chicken sausage
3 small yellow onions ( I like onions)
Olive oil
1 tsp butter (optional)
2-3 cloves Garlic chopped
Oregano, basil or Sage


Polenta Facts : Polenta was originally and still is classified as a peasant food. ($1.99 at Trader Joes, I'll take two..) Dubbed as 'italian grits' it can be purchased in tube form or a quick-cook ground substance that is boiled with water.

Cut the polenta into 1/2 inch thick rounds and place into greased casserole dish.

Saute the chopped onions (any other veggies, I had left over mushrooms from tuesdays paninis), garlic, and the cut sausage with the basil and oregano. Be generous with the olive oil bc this will become the 'sauce that you pour over the polenta in the baking dish so if its somewhat 'runny' this is preferred. You could also add a tsp of butter for a richer taste.

Now pour the sausage/veggie sauce over the polenta evenly. Lightly top off with your choice of cheese, I had Gorgonzola and feta.

Bake on 350 for 10-15 mins (everything is already fully cooked) then broil on lo for about 5 mins to your liking...



You could always use tomato sauce if you're in a crunch, cut up the polenta, chicken sausage pour the tomato sauce, dunzo.

Skinny-Fat Buffalo Chicken Dip

Skinny-fat is the perfect description, if you are careful about what you eat you'll love this, if you're someone who steers clear of healthy food, you'll love this. Basically this is the bomb.com recipe.

3 cups Non-fat Greek yogurt

1 packet Hidden Valley Ranch mix packet (there is a reduced sodium one)

1 tablespoon of Mayo (optional, I only do this bc I have the olive oil based mayo)

Red hot, lotsssss of red hot

1-2 chicken breasts depending on taste. (I do one)

Slow-cook, bake or boil the chicken doesn't really matter how, but cook it thoroughly so you can fork shred it.

Once the chicken is shredded add red hot...add some more.

Mix the yogurt with the spice packet, mayo(optional) then add the chicken. Mix well. If serving for a big group I like to serve it in a microwaveable bowl, top with a little cheese (to give the illusion of fat) even some breadcrumbs in order for it to have that 'broiled' look, pop in the microwave for a few to melt the cheese......Ta da!!! Skinny-fat dip for all.

Serve with Bread, chips, I like celery (duh). No one will miss the cream cheese, sour cream, and all the jiggling that comes with it, and if they do, they shouldn't' be your friend.

There is also a crescent app variation of this that I've done for parties on the go where I don't want to reheat and want to keep it strictly a finger food, that will be in a separate appetizer post in the future. Stay tuned!

Pesto Chicken Panini

This is a recipe that I have made a few times and every time I do something different and its still awesome. Ingredients used this time:

Chicken

Mushrooms

1/2 bag of fresh spinach

Feta Cheese

Grey poupon

Crushed red pepper

Basil pesto

Salt

Sandwich Thins (any bread)

When cooking mushrooms I learned a trick from who knows where to cook the water out of the mushrooms first. No seasoning, no oil, just a pan, high to medium heat for about 10 mins stirring the mushrooms often. TRUST ME. This will make them tender and not rubbery. You will see the mushrooms 'sweating' shrinking and browning...

BEFORE:

AFTER:

Meanwhile, season the chicken with pesto, salt crushed red pepper and bake for 20-25 mins on 350. If you have no pesto on hand try any herbs in your pantry.. oregano, basil, etc.

Once the mushrooms have 'sweat' the water out you may need to drain some water, this time I didn't have to. Lightly season with salt and pepper. Gently saute the spinach with the mushrooms.

We only had sandwich thins for bread so I went with it. Unless you have a baguette or some hard sort of bread make sure you toast your bread before panini'ing it in your pan. This is to make sure the bread doesn't get soggy and mushy.

I don't have a panini machine so I made them in the same pan I cooked the veggies in, think grilled cheese with some pressure. Place one slice of toasted bread down in the pan , add feta, then spinach & mushrooms and chicken, spread grey poupon on the other slice of bread and top off the sandwich. With the pan on medium-high press the sandwich down firmly with a spatula. Once you see its melting, flip over the sandwich carefully so the insides don't fly everywhere.

Oops!

So I experimented with Pork Tenderloin this weekend.. I looked up a few recipes and really didn't like anything I saw so I made one up with stuff I had in the fridge....


Spinach and Gorgonzola stuffed Pork tenderloin rubbed in basil pesto lightly breaded with Panko Breakcrumbs; served with couscous and veggies.


Sounds fabulous doesn't it? It was, until I remembered I should have taken pictures in order to 'properly' blog about it...oops!


Use your imagination until I post the recipe/pictures in a few weeks when I re-do this fancy looking not so hard to make meal.


Coming up this week Chicken sausage Polenta bake & Easy Pesto Chicken Paninis!

Lefties

So the lettuce wraps were such a hit that lefties turned out to be one cabbage wrap leaf and two handfuls of meat mixture which would be enough for Alex but leave me starving, no thanks. It was a late dinner and the last thing I wanted to do was think/cook. So I looked at the cup and a half of meat mixture and one lonely cabbage wrap leaf and decided I would turn this into Lo-mien.

Recently I picked up some SOBA Japanese Buckwheat noodles from the Asian Market (they have them at Harris teeter but in the asian market for about 1/4 of the price) and have been hooked on them(more recipes to come.) Buckwheat is much better for you and don't leave that heavy feeling in your stomach.

A little health blurb about Buckwheat noodles compliments of Google: Buckwheat is a gluten-free grain that contains no wheat, Soba noodles because of their buckwheat content are a slow-releasing carb. aka skinny girl. full boyfriend.

Just like any other noodle, go ahead and boil them in water for about 7-10 mins the drain the pasta water. Back in the same noodle boiling pot add in your meat mixture leftovers and tear up any left over cabbage wrap leaves add the noodles back in, stir around for about 3-5 mins adding soy sauce/hot sauce anything to liven up the noodles/meat. Then......... you EAT!

PS. You could also make a 'fried-rice' with the leftovers, make some minute brown rice (my Persian mother is probably appalled at my reference to microwaved minute rice) and stir that up with the leftover meat content and soy sauce , etc.

PF Changs at Home!

Last night I threw together a mini Asian Feast. I made lettuce wraps with Cabbage instead, an egg-drop hot & sour soup and egg rolls. Don't get all excited I had help with the soup and the egg rolls.

What you'll need for the Cabbage wraps:
1 head of Cabbage
Hoison Sauce
Any Asian Hot sauce (I had chili paste)
Ground ginger (or Fresh)
Soy Sauce
2 Large Carrots
1/4 lb ground beef
1/4 diced chicken
20 large uncooked shrimp
two handfuls of fresh basil (optional)

Soup:
2 Soup packets (Egg Drop or Hot & Sour or one of each!)
2-3 Eggs

Egg rolls:
Store bought veggie egg rolls
Egg rolls Stacked like Jenga pieces (pictured right)

I swear the meal is much better than it looks, I really didn't even remember to take a pic until everyone had gotten their 2nd serving... oops!

Now the only reason there are three different meats is because I was looking in the freezer and I had one small baggie of beef that wouldn't be enough for any full meal, some Chicken thigh meat that Alex bought that I don't know what to do with and shrimp because to begin with I wanted to only make Shrimp Cabbage Wraps. So really use any meat you want just one, or all three it doesn't matter.

Start to peel off the bigger cabbage leaves, you will use these as your wraps (they are way sturdier than lettuce and iceberg lettuce is like eating air) once you get to the smaller not wrap worthy pieces just chop it up to add to your meat mixture. In the pan you'll have some olive oil, beef, diced chicken, cabbage and shredded carrots. Start to saute probably a good 5-7 mins over medium heat. During this you'll add your hoison sauce (maybe 2 tbsp, a little ginger and add chili paste to taste. I'm a big 'taster' while cooking however be careful tasting when raw meat is involved. Do not add the shrimp until the other meet is thoroughly cooked through.

Meanwhile dice up the shrimp into bitesize pieces, turn down the pan to medium low heat once the meat is fully cooked and do your taste test, also be wary that with time the heat in the chili paste gets stronger. Toss in the shrimp and give it a swirl, shrimp cooks extremely fast and sucks when its overcooked. So if you are preparing this in advance, to turn off the heat, add the shrimp and remove the pan from the burner. This will allow for the shrimp to cook about half way. Once you are ready to eat. turn the pan back on high add your fresh basil, give it a 1-2 min swirl and you will notice your shrimp pinking (perfectly cooked shrimp) and this will also heat it up enough to serve.

To go with the lettuce wraps I took some store bought mini veggie eggrolls that my mom gave me, put them in the oven to cook. I then took them out glazed them lightly with a hot pepper jelly that I had in the fridge to make them delish and not blah placed them back in the oven on the 'Lo" broil setting for about 2-5 mins. Make sure you watch them closely the broil setting on ovens have proven disastrous for me in the past.

For the soup, I have recently discovered a $2 packet mix for egg drop soup or hot and sour soup at the store. Because it was more than just me and Alex for dinner, I added about 4 mugs of water(I told you I don't measure), the two packets, and brought them to a boil. Meanwhile whisk 2-3 eggs (I love eggy soup so I did 3) in a separate bowl, once the soup mixture comes to a boil, remove from heat and slowly stir in the egg as your pour is very lightly from the bowl. It is important to constantly stir in the same direction when adding the egg. The slower you add the egg the thinner the 'egg ribbons' are.

Egg roll Jenga Stacker himself

What am I doing......?!

I'm starting this blog after many of my friends urged me to 'blog my recipes.' I have a disturbing desire to make appealing yet healthy food for those around me. Whether its the daily dinner, the party app or going to a restaurant eating something I love and recreating it at home, I can't stop!

I'm not an exact measuring kind of girl so you'll never see a true baking post unless its 'semi-homemade.' Oh and I have a slight obsession with buffalo sauce.