Brussels Sprouts Salad

Cool temperatures, rainy days, this is soup weather. 

So naturally, I made salad for dinner. DUH.

As much as I love the fall for its soup weather, I am totally swooning over this fall salad!

Brussel sprouts, red pears, white wine vinegar and pancetta, OMG are you drooling yet?

This is truly one of the best salads I have ever made, everything about it is perfection. 

Served with some fresh out of the oven French bread, I am still smiling from this meal.

You guys, did I mention that it is incredibly easy?  Because it is!

This is totally one of those dishes that is super impressive to people, yet anyone could throw it together.  Bring this to your next potluck, everyone will think you are a gourmet chef. 

Doesn't that sound like fun?

Or just make it for yourself, you have to, try it, NOW!

ENJOY!

Salad with Pancetta, roasted Brussels sprouts and pear

1/2 lb brussels sprouts, trimmed and quartered lengthwise

1/4 cup olive oil

S&P

3oz thinly sliced pancetta 

1/4 cup white wine vinegar

1 head Boston lettuce torn into bite size pieces

1 firm ripe red Bartlett ear, halved, cored and thinly sliced

2 oz ricotta salata cheese, thinly sliced

Preheat oven to 425, with racks in upper and lower thirds.  On a rimmed baking sheet, toss brussels sprouts with 2 T oil; season with S&P.  

Bake on upper rack until tender, 18-20 min, tossing once. On another rimmed baking sheet, arrange pancetta in single layer.  Bake on lower rack until golden brown, 10-12 min.  Transfer to a paper towel lined plate to drain.

In a large bowl, whisk together vinegar and remaining 2 T oil; season with S&P.  Add lettuce, pear and brussels sprouts; toss to combine. Divide among four plates and top with ricotta salata and pancetta. 

Serves 4.

Baked Potato Soup

We have been eating out A LOT...shame shame, slap my hand, I know.

After my birthday dinner on Monday, I said no more eating out, which I then said again after I ate out on Thursday night, and again after I ate out last night...WHOOOOOPS.

Anyway as I was sitting here sniffling and trying to decide what to cook I came across a potato soup recipe and decided it would be PERFECT for this cool fall evening.

It was super tasty and ridiculously easy.  I halved the recipe because I didn't have enough potatoes, it was perfect for 2 people. Try it!

ENJOY!

Recipe from the Tasty Kitchen Blog!

Baked Potato Soup

• 4 whole Extra Large Baked Potatoes Or 8 Regular Baked Potatoes                                                6 slices Bacon, Diced
• 6 Tablespoons Butter
• ½ whole Onion, Chopped
• 2 cloves Garlic, Minced
• ⅓ cups All-purpose Flour
• 4 cups Chicken Stock
• ½ teaspoons Sea Salt (or To Taste)
• 2 teaspoons Ground Pepper, Or To Taste
• 2 Tablespoons Olive Oil
• 3 cups Shredded Cheddar Cheese
• 4 whole Scallions (Green Onions), Sliced
• 1 cup Greek Yogurt

Scoop the white insides out of the baked potato skins. Roughly chop the white insides and set them aside. Chop potato skins and set aside.

In a large stock pot brown the diced bacon over medium heat. Once it’s crispy, remove bacon from the pan and drain off the grease.

Add 4 tablespoons butter to the brown bits at the bottom of the stock pot. Add onion and continue to cook over medium heat until onion is caramelized. Add minced garlic and flour. Stir flour until absorbed by the butter and cooked, about 1-2 minutes.

While stirring, slowly add chicken stock to the flour mixture to prevent lumps. Bring to a simmer then turn heat to low. Add the insides of the diced baked potato. Add sea salt and pepper. Cover pot and continue to cook over low heat.

In a large saute pan add 2 tablespoons of butter and 2 tablespoons olive oil over medium-high heat and heat until all of the butter is melted. Add the chopped potato skins and fry them until crisp and heated through.

Add 1/2 of the crumbled bacon, 2 cups of cheddar cheese, 2/3 of the scallions and Greek yogurt into the pot of soup. Stir well and continue to cook over low heat until heated through and cheese is melted.

Serve soup topped with remaining bacon, cheedar cheese, scallions and crisp potato skins.

Margherita Pizza with a Twist

Because I've been slacking lately, I had to share this with you.

Long story short, my parents were here, it was my birthday and I've done NO grocery shopping. 

So after work today I stood in the grocery store, overwhelmed with NO CLUE what to make for dinner.  This doesn't happen often, and well when it does...I pick up the first thing I see.  This time it was pizza dough. I threw some fresh mozzarella and basil into my basket as well before checking out.

When I got home I added some grape tomatoes and pepperoncinis...Tadah!

So even when you are totally lost, have no fear...

you can still make a meal that is worth serving someone.  Just use your creativity!

Some real food will be coming soon!

ENJOY!

Margherita Pizza

1 store bought ball of pizza dough (or homemade if youre ambitious)

1/4 cup marinara sauce

8oz fresh mozzarella cheese (sliced)

1/4 cup basil leaves, torn

handful of grape tomatoes cut in half (or slice up a whole tomato thinly)

pepperoncinis roughly chopped (optional)

Preheat oven to 400.

Roll out or stretch dough to fit your pan.  Spread sauce over dough, leaving some space bare around the outside to form a crust.  Place mozzarella slices on top of the sauce and then top with the rest of the ingredients as desired.  Bake for 13-15 minutes or until crust is brown and cheese is melted.

Another Enchilada Recipe

I know this isn't the first enchilada recipe that I have shared with ya'll.

But, seriously, this is not a joke, it is THE BEST!

In fact, so far, this is the best enchilada recipe I've ever tried.

And its "lighter", pffff who would ever believe that!?!

And check out the Logan Rating to see if he agrees...

The only other thing that is even worth taking up more of your time, with which you should be spending making these, is that I added about twice the amount of cumin and chipotle peppers than the recipe called for. NOW GO!  COOK!

ENJOY!

Lighter Chicken Enchiladas

3 boneless, skinless chicken breast halves (6-8oz each)

S&P

2 T vegetable oil, such as safflower

2 garlic cloves, minced

1/4 cup all purpose flour

1 tsp ground cumin

1-2 T minced canned chipotles in adobo

1 can (14.5) low sodium chicken broth

1/2 cup water

8 corn tortillas (6 in), warmed

1/2 cup grated Monterey Jack cheese (2 oz)

In a large skillet, bring 1 inch water to a boil.  Add chicken, and season with salt; cover, and reduce heat to medium-low.  Simmer 5 minutes; remove skillet from heat.  Let chicken steam, covered, until cooked through, 12-14 min.  Transfer chicken to a medium bowl; when cool enough to handle, shred with two forks.

While chicken is cooking, in a medium sauce-pan, heat oil over medium.  Add garlic; cook, stirring, until fragrant, about 1 min.  Add flour, cumin, and chipotles to taste; cook, whisking, 1 min.  Whisk in broth and the water; bring to a boil.  Reduce to a simmer, and cook, whisking occasionally 5-8 min; season with S&P. 

Transfer 1 cup sauce to bowl with chicken, toss to combine.

Preheat oven to 400.  Spread 1/4 cup of remaining sauce evenly in a 8inch square baking dish (or whatever you have).  Fill each tortilla with chicken mixture, dividing evenly; roll up tightly, and arrange, seam side down, in baking dish.

Cover with remaining sauce, and top with cheese.  Bake until cheese is melted and sauce is bubbling, 15-20 minutes.  Let cool 5 minutes before serving.

Serves 4.

Logan Rating: *****

Pesto Pasta

There is just something about a simple pesto pasta.  

Flavorful, yet light, easy to make, yet complex flavor.

LOVE LOVE LOVE Pesto!

This is mostly the same as any pesto recipe, except it uses walnuts instead of pine nuts.

I couldn't really tell much of a difference, but it was good all the same. 

The nice addition of lemon juice added a bright taste also.

Whole wheat pasta made for a healthier version of this classic, of course you could always just use while pasta if you are feeling indulgent. 

ENJOY!

Whole Wheat Spaghetti with Lighter Pesto

S&P

8oz whole wheat spaghetti

Lighter pesto (recipe below)

fresh basil leaves, torn for garnish (optional)

In a large pot of boiling salted water, cook spaghetti until al dente.  Reserve 1/2 cup pasta water, drain pasta and return to pot.

Toss pasta with pesto, adding reserved pasta water a little at a time to create a thin sauce that coats spaghetti (you may not need all the water). Season with salt and pepper.  Serve immediately, garnished with basil if desired.

Lighter Pesto

3 cups firmly packed fresh basil leaves (2oz)

3 T walnut pieces

3 T grated parmesan cheese

2 garlic cloves, peeled

1 T fresh lemon juice

3 T water

S&P

3 T olive oil

In a food processor, combine basil, walnuts, parmesan, garlic, lemon juice, and the water; season with S&P.  Puree until a paste forms.

  

With motor running, add oil in a thin stream.  Process until very smooth, about 1 minute.  

Pesto can be refrigerated in an airtight container, with plastic wrap pressed onto the surface to prevent discoloration, up to 3 days.  Or freeze in an airtight container up to 6 months.

Logan Rating: ****

Chicken Pasta Salad

Somehow, all the 'in progress' photos from this meal were deleted.  Don't ask me how, but they are gone.  So this is what you get, just finished product photos. Luckily this is an easy recipe, so the photos of the process are really quite unnecessary anyway. 

This is a cold chicken pasta salad, which is actually quite good warmed as well...so you can eat it either way, whichever your taste buds prefer more.

I liked it cold, Logan liked it hot...you choose.

This recipe calls for greek yogurt (which is what makes it lighter than your average pasta salad), and as I went to grab the Greek yogurt from the fridge I realized I made an epic mistake while grocery shopping.  Aren't those the worst kinds of mistakes, really?

Instead of plain yogurt I bought vanilla!!!!!!!! EPIC FAIL!

You can't put vanilla yogurt in a pasta salad!

So after grieving for a minute and attempting to ask a neighbor to save me, I put on my big girl pants, sucked it up and began to think of a solution.

It was about 6pm and this meal had to be finished before Logan left for work at 6:45pm (he works nights).  So a trip to the store was out of the question.

After almost settling with mayonnaise, because I just couldn't think of anything else I saw the ricotta cheese.  I mixed some ricotta with a little bit of 2% milk and it had a very similar texture and consistency as yogurt. SUCCESS! 

And to my surprise it actually tasted really good too!

I plan to someday make this recipe as it was intended to be made, but for now I will just bask in the glory of my success. 

Try it with yogurt!  Don't buy vanilla!  And let me know!

ENJOY!

Pasta Salad with Chicken, Raisins, and almonds

2 T unblanched almonds

1 lb boneless, skinless, chicken breast halves

S&P

8oz whole wheat penne or other short pasta

1 cup plain low fat yogurt

1/2 cup golden raisins (optional, but highly recommended)

1/2 cup coarsely chopped parsley (I can't believe I actually used parsley)

1 T finely grated lemon zest, plus 2 T fresh lemon juice

Preheat oven to 350.  Spread almonds on a rimmed baking sheet; toast in oven until darkened, tossing once or twice, 10-12 min.  Let cool, then coarsely chop.

Place chicken in a large saucepan and cover with water.  Bring to a boil, season with salt and reduce to a bare simmer.  Cover and cook 5 minutes. Remove pan from heat and let chicken stand, covered, until cooked through, 12-14 min more.  Remove chicken from liquid.  When cool enough to handle, shred into bite size pieces.

Meanwhile, in a large pot of boiling salted water, cook pasta until al dente according to package directions.  Reserve 1/4 cup pasta water.  Drain pasta then rinse under cold water to stop the cooking, drain well.

In a large bowl, stir together pasta, chicken, yogurt, raisins (if using), parsley, almonds, and lemon zest and juice.  Thin sauce with reserved pasta water if necessary.  Season with S&P.  

Serve chilled or at room temp.

Serves 4.

It is all I can do most days to keep my cat (Olive) from jumping into my photo shoots and eating all the food on the plate. -pictured above

Logan Rating: ***

Skinny Pumpkin Muffins

Have I mentioned to you all that it is FALL!?!

And that I LOVE FALL!?!

I have? twenty times? OH, good, cause I DO!

I saw this recipe here and I knew immediately I had to make it.

Pumpkin is a great way to make things moist and delicious without adding tons of fat and oil.

These muffins definitely lived up to my expectations.  They were so incredibly moist and flavorful, they really didn't even need butter, which makes them even better for you!

You will be totally missing the mark if you don't make these, everyone with love them.  

A perfect taste of fall!

ENJOY!

*Click the link above for the recipe!*

Makes 12 muffins.

Logan Rating: *****

Grain Salad with goat cheese

This could be a light lunch, or a side dish or maybe even an afternoon snack.  

With flavors that are similar to a Caprese salad, I cannot get enough of this tasty treat, which also happens to be pretty darn healthy as well.  Whole grains, veggies, and a little goat cheese and vinegar to top off the flavor explosion that goes on in your mouth.  

Bold statement, I know, but it is true.  

I was unsure if I would like this and I definitely didn't think Logan would like it at all.

But I do, and he did, and you will!

ENJOY!

Mediterranean Grain Salad

1 1/3 cups medium-grind bulgur

S&P

2 2/3 cups boiling water

1 pint grape tomatoes, halved

1 1/2 cups loosely packed fresh flat leaf parsley, coarsely chopped 

(Or Basil if you are a parsley hater like myself)

2 small shallots, minced

1/4 cup red wine vinegar

2 T plus 2 tsp olive oil

4 oz fresh goat cheese, crumbled

In a heatproof bowl, combine bulgur, 1 tsp salt and boiling water.  Cover and let stand until tender but slightly chewy, about 30 min. 

Drain bulgur in a fine sieve, pressing to remove liquid; return to bowl. Add tomatoes, Parsley (or basil),

shallots, vinegar, and oil.

Season with salt and pepper, and toss.  Serve topped with cheese.

Serves 4. 

Logan Rating: ***

Drool Worthy Dinner Rolls

Excuse me, really quickly, while I wipe the drool from my chin.

OK that's better.

I cannot even begin to explain to you how absolutely delicious these rolls are.

Browned and crusty on the outside, light and doughy on the inside, taste homemade.

The best part?  THEY ARE NOT!  Well besides the fact that they are put in the oven after letting the frozen dough thaw. Yeah that's right, I said frozen!  

Why would I ever make rolls from scratch, when I can have these!?! 

Again...drooling...

Make these.  That's an order.

ENJOY

Dinner Rolls

Rhodes frozen dinner rolls.

olive oil

sea salt & pepper

fresh rosemary

Follow package directions to thaw dough and let it rise.

Once risen, brush with olive oil and sprinkle with S&P and rosemary.

Bake according to package directions.

Devour! 

Logan Rating: *****