Easy Peasy Mac & Cheesy

I have finally found a stove top Macaroni & Cheese recipe that measures up to the "Blue Box."  I'm so thankful to "Confections of a Foodie Bride" for the most important tip: American cheese.  I know most of us bloggers like to think of ourselves as a step beyond the processed cheese food product, but lets face it, I can't exactly pretend I'm so food-snobbish when I'm looking for a replacement recipe for Kraft Mac & Cheese, right?  While I used the American cheese tip, I kind of combined the recipe with my standard white sauce technique instead of using the Greek yogurt, mostly because I completely forgot to get any at the store before making this recipe.  I really liked how this came out with my non-fat white sauce mixed with American cheese, lots of peas and some cubed ham.  A very easy, but filling recipe, especially when using whole wheat pasta as I did here.  I made this on a night that the husband wasn't around, but I was really surprised to find that he enjoyed the leftovers as much as I did.  I guess some flavors from our childhoods have universal life-long appeal, and American cheese is one of those flavors.  I couldn't stop eating my little slices of American cheese (I bought thick slices in the deli section and thinly sliced those slices instead of shredding, since we have no blocks of American cheese for sale)!

Stovetop Macaroni & Cheese with Ham & Peas (Inspired by Confections of a Foodie Bride)
8 oz macaroni or short pasta of your choice (I used whole wheat rotini)
8 oz American cheese, grated (or sliced as described above)
1 Tbs Unsalted Butter
1 Tbs All Purpose Flour
1 Cup fat free milk
1-1 1/2 cups frozen peas, thawed (I threw mine in with the pasta for the last couple minutes)
1/2 cup diced ham
Cook pasta according to package directions until al dente (throwing in peas to thaw for last 2-3 minutes of cooking time).  Meanwhile, in a medium saucepan, melt butter and add flour, making a roux.  Cook for about 1 minute.  Add milk and stir continuously and vigorously to ensure no lumps.  When sauce just comes to a boil, it will be thickened.  Add cheese gradually, stirring well until melted before adding next handful.  Pour over drained pasta/peas, add ham, and mix well.  Season with salt and pepper and serve warm.  Makes about 4 servings.

Raising French Babies and Grating Soft Cheeses

I have wanted to make a white lasagna for a while now, but needed both inspiration and a break from the cycling season to make such a fattening dish. Inspiration arrived in the way of a Plow to Porch basket that included both early season zucchini and spring spinach. Both sounded like delicious additions to a white chicken lasagna. I was excited to use my new food processor to grate the mozzarella cheese, but forgot the helpful hint of freezing this cheese before grating. It is a little too soft to grate straight out of the fridge and when I turned on the processor, it managed to get sucked through the shute as though it was a science fiction "blob" character. Of course, the sound that this made alerted the husband. When he asked "what the heck was that?" I was able to respond with a quote from one of my favorite cycling season Radioshack commercials: "I'm raising French babies and grating soft cheeses, as is the custom here!"

**This commercial is based on Lance Armstrong's fictional assistant Alphonse, who sneaks onto Lance's bike while he is out of town and pretends he is an overweight Lance, riding to victory. My favorite Radioshack commercial. The actual line from the commercial is: "They're raising French babies and throwing soft cheeses as is the custom here" in a faked British accent.

This ended up being a tasty meal and a good chance to experience the new Philadelphia Cooking Creme product. I used their Italian Herb flavor as an addition to the bechamel sauce to add a little thickness and flavor, and I appreciated the more complex flavor it added. I think I will be using this product again, since we like cream cheese, but not too much, and this cuts some of the cream cheese heaviness for us (I am not affiliated with this product in any way, by the way).




White Chicken Lasagna (my own creation)
7 No Boil Lasagna sheets
2 cooked skinless chicken breasts, diced (I used rotisserie chicken)
1 Tbs butter
1 Tbs flour
1 cup milk
1/2 cup Philadelphia Cooking Creme
1 tsp olive oil
1/2 cup diced onion
2 cloves garlic, minced
6 oz spinach, roughly chopped
1/2 pound zucchini, shredded (about 3 small or 2 medium)
8 oz low fat ricotta cheese
1 cup mozzarella cheese, shredded
1 egg
1 Tbs fresh or 1 tsp dried basil
1/2 cup grated parmesan cheese
1/2 tsp fresh ground black pepper
Preheat oven to 350. Heat a large saute pan over medium high heat. Add onion & garlic and cook until golden. Add spinach and zucchini and cook until spinach is wilted. Mix in cooked chicken and remove from heat. Meanwhile, cook the bechamel sauce by melting the butter in a small saucepan. Add flour and cook about 1 minute. Add milk and stir constantly until no lumps are noticeable and sauce begins to bubble & thicken. Add cooking creme and stir to combine. Sauce will be thick.

In a medium bowl, mix ricotta, egg, parmesan, basil & pepper. In a 13" x 9" baking pan sprayed with cooking spray, add about a 1/2 cup of bechamel sauce. Layer about half of the lasagna noodles (I did 3 facing vertically), then spread with about half of the ricotta mixture. Add a layer of about half of the chicken/veggie mixture, then top with about half the remaining bechamel. Repeat these layers, then top the entire dish with an even layer of mozzarella cheese. Cover with foil and bake about 30 minutes. Remove foil and bake another 5-10 minutes more until cheese starts to turn golden.

Kale, Sausage & Beans Pasta

I commented last night to my husband that I sometimes feel like the vegetable delivery basket I get every week leaves me as a "Chopped" contestant. For those that don't watch Food Network, we love this show, which asks chefs to use a very strange ingredient combination to create a full meal (appetizer, main, dessert). After each round, one contestant is "chopped" for their poor performance and another weird list of ingredients is chosen for the next course. Sometimes the ingredients I get in our "Plow to Porch" delivery are really weird to me. I definitely never even tried kale prior to our subscription, and now it is one of the leafy greens we enjoy often. I had heard that kale & sausage goes well together, and I know that greens and white beans are a great combination. This was a dish that I came up with using the "secret ingredients" of kale, white beans, turkey sausage and green garlic. I really enjoyed this dish and the leftovers have been a really great lunch dish.


Kale, Sausage & White Beans (my own creation)
1 green garlic (it's kinda like a big green onion), white & light green only, diced
1 small red bell pepper, diced
2 tsp olive oil
1/2 lb Turkey Sausage, removed from casings
1/2 lb kale (mine was purple), chopped
1/2 cup chicken stock
8 oz small pasta (I used whole wheat medium shells)
1/2 cup heavy cream
1/2 cup + 3 tsp milk
1 tsp cornstarch
1 can white (canelloni) beans, rinsed & drained
salt & pepper to taste
Cook pasta according to package directions. Meanwhile, heat oil in large saute pan over med-med high heat. Add diced garlic & pepper. Cook until garlic starts to carmelize, about 5 minutes. Remove veggies to a bowl, leaving as much of the oil behind as possible. Add turkey sausage, mashing into small pieces, and cook until no longer pink. Remove turkey to vegetable bowl. Add chopped kale and stir until coated with the sausage/veggie oil, then add chicken stock and cover. Cook for 5-7 minutes until kale is soft but still keeps some of its bite. Add all contents in the veggie/sausage bowl and drained beans and heat through. Create a well in the middle of the saute pan and add heavy cream. In a separate bowl, mix cornstarch with 3 tsp of milk. Stir to disolve, then add this mixture along with the rest of the milk to the saute pan. Stir very well until bubbly and thickened. Mix in with all the veggies and cook for 3-5 minutes more until desired consistency is reached. Add salt & pepper to taste, then add pasta and toss to combine. Makes 4 very filling servings.

Cajun Chicken Pasta

I have a coworker who is also into cooking and always comes to me for ideas when she's cooking dinner for friends. If I can't come up with something on my own blog, I almost always head over to Annie's Eats. Annie is an amazing blogger and just a fantastic all around inspiration. When my co-worker tried Annie's Cajun Chicken Pasta, she raved about it and brought in some leftovers for me to taste. Nothing but yum! This is a recipe that I wouldn't make on a regular basis, and not in the midst of a heavy race week due to the heavy fat content, but this made a really great special occasion dinner (celebrating the first part of the season being done, yay!). This is a restaurant quality meal. I made mine a little too spicy, so I will cut back on the Cajun /Creole Seasoning next time, and the Tony's Creole Seasoning that I used was really salty, so I cut way back on the salt called for in the recipe. I also had some Spinach that I was looking to use up from my Plow to Porch delivery, so I tossed that in and I don't think I would have liked this as much without it. This is probably going to be my favorite new recipe of the year!

Cajun Chicken Pasta (from Annie's Eats)
Ingredients:

For the chicken:
1 large boneless, skinless chicken breast, cut into bite-sized pieces
Salt and pepper
Cajun seasoning

For the pasta:
8 oz. bowtie pasta (I used whole wheat corkscrews)
Kosher salt

For the sauce:
1 tbsp. butter
1 tbsp. olive oil
1 red bell pepper, seeded and coarsely chopped
1 green bell pepper, seeded and coarsely chopped
1/4 cup yellow onion, chopped
3/4 tsp. kosher salt (I used 1/4 tsp)
Freshly ground black pepper, to taste
1/4 tsp. garlic powder
1/2 tsp. Cajun seasoning
1/4 tsp. ground cayenne pepper
1 bag baby spinach, roughly chopped
1 cup half-and-half
1/2 cup heavy cream
1 tbsp. cornstarch
1 tbsp. water
3 scallions, chopped
To cook the chicken, heat a small amount of butter or olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Season the chicken pieces with salt and pepper, and a generous sprinkle of Cajun seasoning. Add to the skillet and cook until lightly browned and cooked through. Transfer to a plate and set aside.
Bring a pot of salted water to boil. Cook the pasta according to package directions. Drain the cooked pasta and set aside.
Meanwhile, return the skillet to medium heat and heat the butter and olive oil until the butter has melted. Add the bell peppers and onion to the pan. Mix in the salt, pepper, Cajun seasoning and cayenne pepper. Cook until the vegetables are tender, about 6-8 minutes. Add the half-and-half and heavy cream to the pan and bring to a simmer. In a small bowl, whisk together the cornstarch and water, and add to the skillet once the cream mixture has started to bubble. Allow to cook until thickened, about 5 minutes. Add spinach and stir into sauce until wilted.
Add the cooked pasta and chicken pieces to the pan. Stir well to combine and cook at medium-low heat just until the chicken is warmed through. Adjust the amount of Cajun seasoning if necessary to suit your tastes. Stir in the scallions. Serve immediately and top with additional Cajun seasoning, if desired. Makes 4 servings

Linguine with Vegetable Sauce

I made this dish shortly after having oral surgery. I won't go into details since this is a food blog, but I was not eating up to my normal standards during my recovery. However, at this same time, I happened to notice a Macy's ad for a ridiculously low priced food processor. This is the one kitchen tool I had always done without, because while I think it is super cool, I can't justify the cost, since I can technically do all the things it can do (it just takes forever by hand!). At the sale price from Macy's, plus a gift card, plus my Macy's card discount, I really couldn't pass this deal up! The day I purchased it, I was watching the Cooking Channel and Mark Bittman happened to be using a food processor to cook this Lavender Pasta. Well, I didn't have any lavender leaves lying around, but I loved the idea of bulking up the pasta with a sauce made from veggies - all of which I could prep using my new toy! I definitely altered this a bunch, but I really loved this pasta. So much flavor and super easy, and that was just what this "Mac & Cheese and Mashed Potatoes" surgery recovering girl needed!

Linguine with Vegetable Sauce (my own creation, inspired by Mark Bittman)
8 oz linguine pasta
2 tsp olive oil
1 medium onion
2 shallots
1 clove garlic, minced
2 medium carrots
1 medium zucchini
1 medium red bell pepper, core & seeds removed
1/4 cup white wine
1/4 cup heavy cream

Cook pasta according to directions. Heat oil in large saute pan over medium heat. Chop onion, shallots and garlic in food processor. Add to oil and cook until lightly golden. Meanwhile, shred zucchini, carrots and bell pepper in food processor. Add to pan with onion mixture and cook until soft, about 5-7 minutes. Deglaze with white wine. Allow wine to cook off, about 1 minute. Add cream and stir until smooth. Toss sauce with pasta. Serve with freshly grated parmesan cheese. Makes about 4 servings.

Homemade Pesto with Roasted Tomatoes

I have mentioned in a past post that I have been trying to plan meals that involve "cleaner" eating. A major part of that has been signing up for Plow to Porch, a fantastic local organic fruit & vegetable delivery service here in Santa Barbara. I have a very good friend that taught me that eating locally is actually, in general, better/more helpful for the environment than eating organic. I live in Santa Barbara. It doesn't get much easier to eat locally than here. We have a ton of Farmer's Markets (including one that is about a block and a half from home, twice a week), and there are a lot of local farmers growing great things. I even went to high school with twins who were growing up on one of the bigger local farms. So why do I need a special service to eat locally? I hate making decisions! I needed someone else to tell me what looks good week to week and then I could plan my meals from there. I have been so happy with the service so far. It is similar to a CSA (community supported agriculture), but without the season long commitment, and with delivery to boot!


My first box arrived a few weeks ago, and I decided to immediately cook up this homemade pesto with Roasted Heirloom Cherry Tomatoes and Green Garlic. I roasted the tomatoes & garlic in a 400 degree oven until they were just starting to get color. Meanwhile, I placed a large bunch of basil, a 1/4 cup olive oil and 1/4 cup of chopped walnuts into my Magic Bullet and blended the heck out of it all. When the garlic and tomatoes were done, I added the whole head of green garlic cloves into the pesto as well (green garlic is much more mellow than regular, especially roasted) and blended that up. There was not very much pesto sauce, maybe a couple Tablespoons, and I was worried there wouldn't be enough when I added it to my pasta & chicken. That problem was solved when I poured the tomatoes and their sweet juices into the mix. The juices thinned out the sauce a little (and added so much sweetness!). This was a delicious meal, although the husband thought I used too many tomatoes. Funny, because I could have doubled them and still wouldn't have had enough for me, they were so delicious and sweet! I'm so excited for the fruits & vegetables we get to enjoy with Plow to Porch!



Pesto with Roasted Tomatoes & Green Garlic (my recipe)
1 large bunch basil
1/4 cup + 2 tsp olive oil
1/4 cup walnuts
1/4 cup parmigiano reggiano cheese
1 pint cherry tomatoes (mine were rainbow heirloom)
Salt & Pepper to taste
1 head green garlic
12 oz boneless chicken breast, cubed
1/2 lb short cut whole wheat pasta (like bowties or rotini)
Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Cook pasta according to directions. In 9" x 13" roasting pan, mix tomatoes, salt & pepper and 2 tsp olive oil. Cut the top off green garlic head and toss into roasting pan. Roast until juices are flowing and tomatoes and garlic are just starting to carmelize, about 20 minutes. Meanwhile, blend basil, walnuts, parmigiano cheese & olive oil in food processor, blender or Magic Bullet until very smooth. Add cooled garlic, separated into cloves and blend well. Cook cubed chicken breast in nonstick skillet until cooked through. Add chicken, pesto, tomatoes and tomato juices into drained pasta and combine well. Serve immediately or allow to cool and serve as a cold pasta salad.

Chicken Riggies

This is a dish I had never heard of until I had entered the food blogging world. Apparently, Chicken Riggies is a pasta/chicken/peppers dish that originated in upstate New York, which is pretty much as far away from Santa Barbara as you can get in this country, so no wonder I haven't heard of it! After learning of its existence from Elizabeth's Cooking Experiments, I search around on Allrecipes a bit to see some of the other variations that exist. Apparently, it is a very personalized dish, and many households have their own take on the specifics. I decided I would stick pretty closely to the version on Elizabeth's blog, but that I would roast the peppers first to mellow out some of the heat (I'm afraid of raw peppers sometimes) and to deepen the flavor. Of course, because of the roasting, the flavors were a little too mild for my liking, so next time I make this, I will probably double the peppers and I probably won't roast the red pepper for a little texture contrast. I will probably also remove the heavy cream, because although it was delicious as always, I don't think it added enough to the picture to really make up for the calorie bomb that heavy cream always is.

Chicken Riggies

1 lb rigatoni (I used whole wheat penne)

1 TBSP olive oil

1 TBSP butter

2 cloves garlic, minced

3 shallots, diced

2 chicken breast halves, cubed

salt and pepper to taste

1 red bell pepper, roasted & chopped

1 jalapeno pepper, roasted & diced

1 Poblano pepper, roasted & chopped

1 (28 oz) can tomato sauce

1 (14 oz) can diced tomatoes, drained slightly

3 TBSP dry sherry

3/4 - 1 cup heavy cream

Cook pasta to al dente. Drain & set aside.Melt butter & heat oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add garlic and shallots and saute until almost soft, then add peppers and chicken, season with salt and pepper. Saute for 8-10 minutes, or until chicken is almost cooked through.Reduce heat to low and add tomato sauce and sherry and simmer about 10 minutes. Stir in cream and simmer for 10 minutes more. Toss all with hot, cooked pasta and serve.

Veggie and Sausage Stuffed Shells

I love stuffed shells. They are a little bit labor intensive, but they are one of my favorite "American-Italian" meals. My problem is that my husband does not like traditional stuffed shells (although Mexican Stuffed Shells are among his favorite meals). He has found them too heavy and doesn't like the thick ricotta taste. While reading my "Cook Yourself Thin" cookbook, I saw a recipe for stuffed shells that bulked up the flavor by using zucchini. By the time I had decided to finally make stuffed shells with this technique, I had lost this cookbook, so I just decided to wing it by adding an appropriate amount of shredded zucchini and spinach to the usual ricotta mixture. I used about half of the normal ricotta with these adjustments, but I also added some crumbled cooked turkey sausage to the mix to add another boost of flavor. These were really good, and definitely kept that creamy taste and texture that I love, while remaining light and not as cheesy for my husband. I would probably even be okay with making them without the sausage for a vegetarian meal, but I'm not sure if my husband would agree. I'm planning on using zucchini a lot more this summer, since it is so good when it is in season, and it is easy to add to pastas for a little healthy vegetable kick! The funny thing is that when I finally found my cookbook, I had actually stuck to the recipe pretty closely, even though it had been months since I had looked at it. Good photographic recipe memory, I guess!

Stuffed Shells with Veggies and Sausage (inspired by Cook Yourself Thin)

1 box jumbo shells

1/2 lb turkey sausage, casings removed

1 tsp olive oil

2 cloves garlic, minced

2 zucchini, shredded

1 bag baby spinach, roughly chopped

1 egg

1 cup skim ricotta cheese

1/2 cup grated parmigiano reggiano cheese

1/4 tsp ground nutmeg

1 jar pasta sauce

1 cup mozzarella cheese

Cook pasta to package directions, drain. Heat oil in large saute pan. Cook sausage & garlic over medium high until no longer pink. Remove to large bowl with slotted spoon to cool, leaving juices in pan. Add zucchini and spinach. Cook until spinach is wilted, about 2 minutes. Drain very well, pressing out as much water as possible. Add to sausage in bowl and let cool. Add ricotta, egg, parmesan and nutmeg and stir well to combine. Pour about 1/2 cup of sauce into 13" x 9" pan. Stuff cooked shells with 2 Tbs filling and place in pan. Top with remaining sauce. Cover and bake in preheated 350 degree oven for 25 minutes. Remove foil and top with mozzarella. Bake for 5 minutes more or until cheese is melted and bubbly.

Creamy Taco Pasta

This recipe has been hugely popular in the blogging world the last several weeks. It has been advertised as a homemade Hamburger Helper. When I saw that, I knew I would be making it, but also knew that I wouldn't be telling the husband about it being a Hamburger Helper sub! I love HH and usually make it for one of my meals if my husband is out of town for a week. I can't make it when he is home because he really, really dislikes the stuff. I think one of the reasons he doesn't like it is because ground beef is really heavy on its own, and then you add all sorts of processed, not-good-for-you stuff and it is just wrong! So I knew he would like this meal as long as I made it with ground turkey, since all the ingredients are identifiable and not as processed (though not necessarily good for you). I really enjoyed this fresh, and found that it tasted pretty good as leftovers as long as you added some additional liquid before microwaving.

Creamy Taco Pasta (as seen on Annie's Eats and LOTS of other places, original from Delish)

1¼ lbs. ground turkey

8 oz. dry pasta shapes

1 small onion, chopped

1 clove garlic, minced

1 (14 oz.) can diced tomatoes, drained

1 Packet Taco Seasoning (or use 4 Tbs homemade)

3 oz. cream cheese

½ cup sour cream

Salt and pepper

Shredded cheddar cheese (optional, I omitted)
Bring a large pot of water to boil. Cook pasta according to the package directions. Drain, set aside. Meanwhile, in a large skillet or sauté pan, cook the ground turkey over medium-high heat until no longer pink. A few minutes before the turkey is cooked through, add the chopped onion to the skillet. Once the turkey is cooked through, mix in the garlic and cook until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Mix in the diced tomatoes and taco seasoning and let simmer over medium heat for about 5 minutes. Stir in the cooked pasta, cream cheese, sour cream and continue stirring until the cream cheese is melted and the sauce is well blended. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Simmer over medium-low heat 3-5 minutes to reduce the sauce a bit. Remove from the heat and top with shredded cheddar cheese, if desired.

Scallops Pasta with Tomato Cream Sauce

I had a bag of Bay Scallops from Trader Joes, and I had no idea what I wanted to do with them. I just knew that I wanted to do a pasta dish. After searching a little online, I found this recipe and blended it a little with what I pictured in my head. This was delicious. I would order this at a restaurant, it was perfect for my tastes. Bay scallops are a little bit sweeter than Sea Scallops, and they are smaller, so they cook faster (and are even easier to overcook, so be careful!). I'm really excited that I've been able to try cooking scallops at home. They are a nice alternative to the usual protein choices that I make. For those of you who don't like seafood, I would imagine this recipe would taste pretty good with chicken as well.



Scallops Pasta with Tomato Cream Sauce
1 small bag Bay Scallops, thawed and drained
1 Tbs Butter
1/2 cup white wine
1 large shallot, diced (about 2 Tbs)
1 clove garlic
1 cup heavy cream (I used nonfat 1/2 & 1/2)
1 small can (14.5 oz) crushed tomatoes
1/4 to 1/2 tsp crushed red pepper flakes
2 Tbs chopped fresh basil (I used 2 Trader Joes basil cubes)
1/2 lb whole wheat linguine pasta
Cook pasta according to package directions. Rinse and pat the scallops dry. Heat the butter in a medium saute pan over medium heat. Add the scallops and saute for one minute. Add garlic, shallots and wine. Cover and simmer for 5 minutes or until scallops are done. Remove scallops from pan with slotted spoon, reserving liquids. Add tomato, cream and pepper flakes and reduce by half. Add basil and scallops and toss with hot pasta. Serve with parmesan cheese.

Turkey Sausage Pasta Bake

As this blog may show, I am a sucker for casseroles. I love their comforting nature and I especially love that they make good leftovers. I am always on the lookout for casserole recipes that don't have condensed cream soups, so this recipe from What's Cooking in the Orange Kitchen was perfect for a delicious weeknight meal. I halved this recipe, and this still made several servings for lunches during the week. Since I love turkey sausage, I will definitely be making this one again soon. Since I added a bell pepper, I found it had a lot of the flavors of an Italian sausage, peppers & onion sandwich. Yum!

Turkey Sausage Pasta Bake
1 (1-pound) package uncooked ziti (short tube-shaped pasta)
1 pound hot turkey Italian sausage links
1 cup chopped onion
1 bell pepper, chopped (I added)
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 tablespoon tomato paste (I used a little more)
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
2 (14.5-ounce) cans petite-diced tomatoes, undrained
1/4 cup chopped fresh basil
Cooking spray
1 cup (4 ounces) shredded fresh mozzarella cheese (I used a little more)
1 cup (4 ounces) grated fresh Parmesan cheese (I used a little less)
1. Preheat oven to 350°.
2. Cook pasta according to package directions. Drain the pasta, and set aside.
3. Remove casings from sausage. Cook sausage, onion, pepper and garlic in a large nonstick skillet over medium heat until browned, stirring to crumble. Add the tomato paste, salt, pepper, and tomatoes, and bring to a boil.
4. Cover, reduce heat, and simmer 10 minutes, stirring occasionally.
5. Combine cooked pasta, sausage mixture, and basil. Place half of the pasta mixture in a 4-quart casserole coated with cooking spray. Top with half of mozzarella and half of Parmesan. Repeat layers. Bake at 350° for 25 minutes or until bubbly.

Healthier Fettucine Alfredo

I love restaurant Fettucine Alfredo. I so rarely order it because it is so bad for me. One restaurant we go to serves it as a side to a chicken dish I like, and I usually get it with the pasta sauce on the side so that I can dip a small amount of sauce onto the pasta and keep it a little lighter. I haven't tried making Fettucine Alfredo at home because we used to eat it when I was younger, and I didn't like the grainy taste that came from the cheese not melting well enough into the cream. Not to mention, the home made version is often not that great for you either! I found a recipe in my Cooking Light cookbook that I thought looked promising, but I wanted to make it more like my childhood memory (we always had peas & ham added in) and I wanted it to be pretty veggie heavy, so I added pancetta, peas and broccoli. This was very tasty, and only had a little bit of grainy taste from the cheese. We will definitely make this again.

Fettucine Alfredo with Pancetta, Peas and Broccoli (adapted from Cooking Light)

1 Tbs Butter

1 1/4 cups Half & Half

3/4 cup grated fresh parmesan cheese (I used half American Parmesan, half parmigiano reggiano)

1/2 tsp salt

1/4 tsp fresh cracked pepper

2 oz diced pancetta

1.5 cups frozen or fresh broccoli

1 cup frozen peas

3/4 lb dried fettucine pasta

Cook Pasta according to directions, adding broccoli and peas in the last 3 minutes of cooking. Meanwhile, melt Butter in medium saucepan. Add pancetta and cook until fat has rendered and meat is just starting to brown. Remove pancetta from pan with slotted spoon, reserve. Pour fat mixture out until only about 1 Tbs remains in the pan. Add half & half, cheese salt and pepper. Cook, stirring constantly, for about 3-5 minutes or until cheese has melted completely into the sauce. Add Pasta/veggie mixture and reserved pancetta. Toss well, serve hot. Makes 4-6 main servings.

Pizza Pasta

I have been in the mood for casseroles lately, probably because the weather is slowly cooling off a bit (although we have still had days in the 80s in the last week!). This pasta casserole that I found from Lemons & Love looked really great, so I bought all our favorite pizza toppings and whipped this up. The husband was rather skeptical beforehand, but really, really liked this dish. He was rather impressed with how much pizza flavor the dish had. I brought my leftovers into work and picked out all the mushrooms (I tried to make half with, half without the shrooms, but some got into my side), and my boss ate all the mushrooms. He too, commented on how pizza-like the flavor was. This was a fun one to make that I'm sure I will be repeating, but not in the middle of the bike season: it isn't very good for you, as it has a lot of cheese! I'm excited to try this with some of our other favorite toppings.

Pizza Pasta

1/2 lb short pasta (I used whole wheat macaroni)

1 jar pasta sauce (I used about 3/4 jar of Ragu, since I needed to use an opened jar)

1 cup mozzerella cheese, grated

1/2 cup grated parmesan cheese

Your favorite pizza toppings:

I used - 1/2 lb mild Italian turkey sausage

1 green bell pepper, roughly chopped

1/2 pack mushrooms, sliced thin

about 20 or so sliced pepperoni, cut in half

1 Tbs fresh chopped oregano (or 1 tsp dried)

Preheat oven to 350. Cook pasta according to package directions, undercooking by about 2 minutes. Meanwhile, remove turkey sausage from casings and saute in skillet, breaking up into small pieces and cooking until no longer pink, about 5 minutes. Drain if needed. Add remaining veggies (bell pepper and mushrooms) and cook until just softened (I did these separately to keep the mushrooms from contaminating the good stuff, ha!). Add pepperoni and cook until fragrant, about 1 minute. Add pasta sauce, oregano and cooked "toppings" to pasta and mix to combine well. Pour 1/2 the pasta mixture into a 13x9 casserole dish. If you are attempting a "1/2 & 1/2" style pizza, place toppings separately at this stage on 1/2 of the mixture, reserving one or two as markers for the top so that you know which side is which. Top with about 3/4 cup of mozzerella cheese, then top with the rest of the pasta mixture, then the rest of the mozzerella and parmesan. Bake uncovered for 15-20 minutes or until cheese is melted & bubbly. Allow to cool before serving. Makes about 6 servings.

Easy Fall Dinner - Ravioli with a Pumpkin Cream Sauce

This is a great easy meal that comes together really quick, but still tastes decadent and homemade. I'm not one to shy away from prepared freezer meals (particularly from Trader Joe's, my favorite for freezer meals), but this comes together just as quickly and just feels like it was made with more love than a meal that is poured into a pan and heated up. I based this on a recipe from a restaurant here in town that is no longer around (Zaffiro, which was originally Pascucci's, which still exists in their downtown location). Our absolute favorite dish at this restaurant, which both the husband and I would order nearly every time, was the Spicy Sausage Ravioli with Butternut Squash sauce. The way the spicy and sweet would play off each other was just fabulous. I wanted to recreate this at home, so I picked up some Italian Sausage stuffed prepared ravioli (not spicy, but I think there are some spicy brands on the market these days). For the sauce, I had heard that Trader Joe's carries a seasonal pumpkin butter that can be made into savory soups & sauces. I combined about a 1/4 cup of the pumpkin butter with about a 1/2 cup of heavy cream (I said it was decadent! You can use lighter dairy products) and spiced it up with about a 1/4 tsp ground sage (I'm afraid of ground sage, so I didn't use much. The store was out of fresh) and 1/4 tsp freshly grated nutmeg. I served this sauce over the cooked raviolis and topped with finely chopped candied walnuts, also from Trader Joe's. I finally topped everything with grated Parmigiano Reggiano cheese. The entire meal takes about 15 minutes, is really filling and just plain makes us happy!

Cauliflower Mac & Cheese

My fabulous stepmom taught me a lot of my cooking skills, and also helped me to develop many of my standard "loves" when it comes to food. One of my favorite vegetables is cauliflower and I never would have learned to love it if it wasn't for her teaching me how to make a basic cheese sauce to go over the top of it. When I was a kid, I would eat a good cheese sauce by the spoonful, with a little cauliflower to accent the flavor of the sauce! Unfortunately, cauliflower nears the top of my husband's list of most disliked foods, so I don't get to enjoy it unless he's not around. I thought I would just roast some while he was on his work trip and eat it with something simple, but then I got the idea for a baked macaroni & cheese with roasted cauliflower added in. What a concept! It was like my favorite cheese sauce & cauliflower mixture from my childhood, but with pasta added in! I think if I get the chance to make this again, I'll add some spices in to make it a little more suitable for my adult palate, but I encourage those with kids to do creative things like this to introduce kids to vegetables that are a little plain normally.

Cauliflower Macaroni & Cheese (by me!)

1 Tbs butter or margarine

1 Tbs Flour

1 cup nonfat milk

1 cup (or more) shredded cheddar cheese

Fresh cracked pepper

1.5 cups cauliflower florets

1 cup elbow macaroni

1/4 cup seasoned breadcrumbs

1/4 cup panko breadcrumbs

cooking spray

Spray cauliflower lightly with cooking spray or olive oil and roast in 350 degree oven for 20-25 minutes or until golden. Remove and set aside. Cook elbow macaroni according to package directions, but leave a little bit undercooked. Meanwhile, make cheese sauce by melting butter in a saucepan, adding flour and cooking for about 1 minute. Slowly add milk, stirring constantly. Allow to come to a slow boil. After the sauce is lightly boiling & thick, add shredded cheddar cheese to taste. Add fresh cracked pepper to taste. Add roasted cauliflower to sauce, mix well to combine. Add to cooked macaroni and stir, then pour into an 8" x 8" casserole dish. Top with bread crumbs and panko. Bake at 350 for 15 minutes. Remove and spray with cooking spray, then return to oven for another 5-10 minutes or until top is golden brown. Makes 4 side dish servings or 2 large main dish servings.

"Just the Way I Like It" Pasta

The husband and I spend very few nights apart. We are really blessed that neither of us has to travel for work much, and we spend most of our overnights out together, since we enjoy the same sorts of things. Once a year, however, he has to go to the Specialized Dealer Event, or as I like to call it, "Camp Kool-Aid," where they ride all the latest and greatest Specialized bikes and come back begging for new bikes for themselves (nice job, Specialized!). I miss the husband terribly during the week he is gone, especially since it means we can't watch the Tour de France together for a whole week! One good thing, however, is that I get to make all the foods that I like that he doesn't. For this pasta, I went all out. Just about everything in it is something that he wouldn't normally eat, from the dark meat chicken to the sun dried tomatoes (and he calls ME a picky eater!). I really loved this dish and look forward to making it again when we have to be apart next time.

My Favorite Things Pasta

1/2 lb boneless skinless chicken thighs (most fat removed), cut into bite size pieces

1 small onion, diced

1/2 small red bell pepper

1 clove garlic, minced

1 tsp olive oil

1/2 can artichoke heart quarters (not marinated)

3 heaping Tbs sun-dried tomatoes with oil

1/2 container light refrigerated alfredo sauce

1/4 cup milk

1 package fresh refrigerated pasta

Parmigiano Reggiano Cheese

Saute garlic, pepper & onion in oil until golden. Add tomatoes & oil and add chicken pieces and cook until well done, about 7 minutes. Add artichoke hearts and stir to heat through. Add alfredo sauce and milk until sauce is consistency of your preference (I wanted a lighter sauce, so I used about 1/4 cup of milk). Meanwhile, cook fresh pasta according to package directions. Toss heated pasta with sauce and top with Parmigiano Reggiano cheese to taste.

Makes 4 servings

Lime Chicken Pasta

I tried this pasta recipe a couple of weeks ago but haven't had a chance to blog about it. We've been busy with races, and I unfortunately had to go to NYC for a funeral of a co-worker. I will miss my friend Yvonne, who bravely battled breast cancer for 3 years. While I was very glad I was able to go and honor my friend, it feels good to be back home. This recipe was good, but I am not a fan of sauces thickened with cornstarch. I think this recipe could be adjusted to be a good margarita pasta.


Spicy Garlic Lime Chicken
(from Amber's Delectable Delights)
1 cup chicken stock
1.5 tbls lime juice (adjusting amount to your liking)
1 tbls corn starch
3 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp black pepper
1/8 tsp cayenne pepper
1/4 tsp paprika
1/4 tsp garlic powder
1/4 tsp onion powder
1/4 tsp dried thyme (I omitted since I didn't have)
1/4 tsp dried parsley
2 boneless skinless chicken breasts (cut into bite size pieces)
1 tbls butter
1 tsp of olive oil
8 oz pasta (I used whole wheat rotini)
1 cup broccoli florets
Optional - Parmesan cheese for topping
1) Bring pot of salted water to a boil. Cook pasta according to package directions. During the last 5 minutes of pasta cook time add the broccoli into the boiling water. Drain.
2) Mix together all the sauce ingredients (chicken stock and cornstarch) and set aside.
3) Meanwhile, heat butter and olive oil in saucepan over medium heat. Coat chicken pieces with all spices and add to heated pan. Cook chicken until no longer pink. Pour the sauce ingredients into the pan with the chicken and bring to a simmer. Let simmer until chicken is cooked through and sauce has thickened.
4) Toss cooked broccoli and pasta with the chicken and sauce. Sprinkle with parmesan cheese if desired and serve

Asparagus, Tomato and Chicken pasta

I apologize for the lack of posting lately, but April is my busiest month of the year. We are going to so many bike races that take up our entire weekend that I have had no time to even go to the store, let alone meal plan! So far, we've been to San Diego & Santa Ynez/San Luis Obispo, and this weekend, we're headed to Monterey for a really big race. After that, we have yet another Santa Ynez race. I'm trying to keep up with posting one new recipe a week, but we'll see if I'm able to pull that off as the rest of the month gets even crazier!

This was a meal that I came up with on my own because I was missing going out to dinner and wanted to make something that was better than what I could order out. I love pasta & chicken, and asparagus is one of my favorite veggies (and in season right now, yay!), so I came up with this dish. It was good, and the pictures came out great, but I have to agree with my husband that there was something missing here. I'm not sure whether it was more herbs, spices, or another flavor layer, but I need to tweak this one a bit in the future to make it perfect. Nonetheless, it was a good basic recipe and I look forward to making it good enough to replace going out soon!



Asparagus, Tomato and Chicken Pasta Toss (by me!)
12 Oz Boneless Skinless chicken breasts cut into bite size pieces
1/2 bunch asparagus, trimmed of woody part and chopped into 1-1.5" pieces
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 medium onion, diced
2 Tbs Olive Oil
1/2 cup nonfat milk
1/2 cup fat free 1/2 & 1/2
1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley
1 Cup grape tomatoes
1/4 cup white wine
3 Tbs AP Flour
1 Tbs Butter (or I Can't Believe It's Not Stick)
1/4 Cup grated Parmigiano Reggiano Cheese
1/2 lb Whole Wheat short pasta (I used Penne)
Cook Pasta according to package directions. Meanwhile, cook onion, garlic & asparagus in 1 Tbs oil until tender. Add tomatoes and cook until they just start to split. Remove to a bowl. Coat chicken pieces in flour, reserving excess flour. Add remaining Tbs oil and cook chicken until no longer pink, about 5 minutes. Remove chicken to bowl. Add Butter and reserved flour and cook about 1 minute. Add wine & scrape up bits from bottom of the pan. Add milk and 1/2 & half while continually stirring. Add Parsley and Parmigiano cheese and stir to combine. Add veggies & chicken and stir to coat with sauce. Pour cooked pasta into sauce mixture and toss well to combine. Makes 4 servings.
Nutrition Info: Calories: 445.3, Fat: 10.1g (Sat: 1.9, Poly: 1.3, Mono: 5.8), Carbs: 57g, Fiber: 7.2g

No Mushroom Veggie Lasagna

I've always wanted to try making Vegetable Lasagna, but have had trouble because nearly every recipe I have found includes lots of mushrooms. I don't have too many foods that I dislike, but mushrooms are pretty high up the list. So this weekend, I decided to just wing it and create my own recipe. The confidence that I'm getting from trying so many new recipes with this blog is really what made this recipe come together. I loosely based the recipe off a Cooking Light recipe, but I pretty much just used it for proportions and cook time and the rest was up to me! I used all the vegetables we like the most and also used whole wheat lasagna noodles and low fat mozzerella, so this ended up being a very hearty and healthy meal. I did slightly overcook it because I was on the phone with my mother in law, who I haven't spoken to in a while and lost track of time a bit. The pictures came out a little dark looking because of that, but other than that, I wouldn't change a thing!

Vegetarian Lasagna

1 Tbs olive oil

1 medium onion, diced

1/2 yellow bell pepper, diced

3/4 cup diced zucchini

2 cloves garlic

3/4 cup chopped broccoli

1 bottle jarred tomato pasta sauce (we love Ragu)

15 oz low fat or fat free ricotta cheese

1/2 tsp dried basil

1/2 tsp dried oregano

1 cup low fat mozzarella cheese

9 whole wheat lasagna noodles, cooked & cooled according to directions

Preheat oven to 375. Heat oil over medium high heat in large saute pan. Saute veggies, starting with onion, then zucchini, then peppers, then garlic, then broccoli, allowing about 1-2 minutes in between each before adding in the next veggie. Veggies should be just getting some color to them when done. In medium bowl, mix ricotta with dried herbs (or substitute fresh). Add about 1/2 cup pasta sauce to 9" x 12" baking pan and spread evenly. Add remaining sauce to veggies and mix to combine. Lay 3 cooked lasagna noodles over the sauce in the baking pan. Top noodles with about 1/2 the ricotta mixture and smooth as evenly as possible. Top with 1/3 (about a cup) of veggie mixture and spread to even out. Top with 3 more noodles and repeat layers, ending with pasta topped with last 1/3 of veggie mixture. Top with mozzarella cheese and cover with foil. Bake covered for 30 minutes, then remove foil for last 15-20 minutes. Makes 6 very filling servings.

Nutrition Info: Calories: 382.3, Fat: 11.7g (4.5 Sat, 1.5 Poly, 3.9 Mono), Fiber: 7.8g, Carbs: 51.8g

Chicken Piccata Pasta

I love Chicken Piccata when it is done right. Our local italian fast food place, Presto Pasta, makes a delicious Piccata that is saucy, lemony and buttery. I decided I wanted to make this at home, but I've had a hard time finding a recipe that has the right mix of wine, butter, lemon and capers. So I decided to just wing it, but started with Rachael Ray's Base recipe (here). What I came up with was not exactly as good as Presto Pasta's, but it seemed to look better than the Rachael Ray recipe, and my husband and I decided that we would not adjust the ratio at all, just increase all of it to make more sauce. Here is what I came up with:



Chicken Piccata Pasta
12 Oz Chicken Tenderloin, cut into bite size pieces
2 Tbs All Purpose Flour
1/2 tsp garlic powder
1/4 tsp onion powder
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper
2 Tbs Butter or butter substitute
2 cloves garlic
2 Tbs lemon juice
1/4 Cup white wine
1/2 cup chicken stock
6 oz uncooked pasta
2 Tbs capers, drained
2 Tbs chopped fresh parsley

Cook pasta according to package directions. Combine Flour, garlic powder, onion powder, salt & pepper in ziploc. Shake to mix. Add chicken pieces in small batches and shake to coat. Reserve remaining flour. Cook chicken over medium high heat in 1 Tbs butter until browned, about 5 minutes. Remove from pan. Add remaining butter and garlic and cook for 1 minute. Add reserved flour mixture and cook for 1 minute. Add lemon juice, wine & stock. Cook, stirring frequently to scrape up bits from pan. After sauce thickens, add chicken back in, then add capers. Stir to combine and simmer until heated through. Serve over cooked pasta and top with fresh chopped parsley. Makes 2 large servings (as shown in the picture)

Nutrition Info when made with "I Can't Believe It's Not Butter": Calories: 462, Fat: 8.9g (2.2 Sat, 2.3 Poly, 2.1 Mono), Carbs: 44.4g, Fiber: 6.6g