Mini Lasagna Bites

Basically, follow one of my other lasagna recipes, except for the following:

• Use a cookie cutter round to punch out 4 cup-cake sized circles out of each strand of lasagna noodle
• Use these circles to layer the lasagna and bake each mini-lasagna in a cupcake pan

Enjoy :)

Cream of purple potato soup with bacon and chives

Alright.  As evidenced by this picture, there's a lot more going on than just the soup, but pretty much everything else was super easy and/or doesn't necessarily justify its own post.  Plus, a lot of it I've made before and you can find in other postings on my blog.

Actually, the same is really true of the soup.  I'm pretty sure I should have a cream of potato recipe on here somewhere.  The only difference here is subbing in regular potatoes for purple ones, add in some bacon (I used turkey bacon), and a couple tablespoons of chive cream cheese.

That is all. :)

Capellini with Fire Roasted Blush Sauce

This might be one of the favorite things I've made so far.  That or I was extremely hungry when I ate it.  Regardless, I'll definitely be making it again!

Ingredients:

• 1/2 box of capellini (angel hair pasta)
• About 1/3 C cream (I used heavy, but I'm sure light or even condensed milk would have been fine)
• 3 T margarine (or butter; I used some reduced fat smart balance or something like that)
• A few shakes of salt, pepper, red pepper flakes (not necessary but I had it on hand), onion and garlic powders
• 1/3 C parmesan cheese (I used kraft's 1/3rd less fat brand)
• 1 can of dice "fire roasted and garlic" tomatoes

Directions:

• Cook the pasta as directed, reserving the remaining liquid, and set each aside (toss the pasta with a bit of the remaining liquid and some olive oil so it doesn't stick)
• Put the diced tomatoes in a medium sized pot along with dashes of salt/pepper/sun-dried tomato flakes/onion/garlic to taste and cook on medium high heat until most of the liquid is gone
• Add the butter and cream; cook for another 2 minutes
• Add the parmesan cheese gradually while stirring
• Add the sauce to the pasta, toss, and serve!

More-Ethical Non-Chick-Fil-A Sandwich!

To make the chicken...

Ingredients:

• Chicken: A lil bit of boneless, skinless chicken (I prefer dark meat so I got thigh meat)
• Breading Dry: plain bread crumbs plus some salt, pepper, cayenne pepper (if you want it a bit hot), paprika, onion powder, garlic powder, and anything else you want "to taste".  Don't worry, when frying things you can't really go wrong
• Breading Dip: Splash of egg beaters and cream (many recipes call for buttermilk; I bought some but it came sour...didn't seem right to do that to a chicken)
• Frying Material: Some vegetable oil..like...1/3 C

Directions:

• Chicken: Put a piece big enough for the sized sandwich you want into a plastic ziplock bag (if you want to be more creative, put it in with some pickle juice for an hour or so), or otherwise between two sheets of plastic wrap.  Then take a mallet to it (or other such object, feel free to get creative), and pound it a bit until it's as thin as you'd like (I prefer more surface area between my chicken and its breading/fried area..think it tends to taste better)
• Mix the breading "dry" seasonings in a bowl
• Mix the breding "dip" (eggs and cream) in a separate bowl
• Take another ziplock bag (small one will do) and put the dry seasoning into it.  Then dip the chicken into the breading dip, then once well coated, put into the ziplock bag with the dry seasoning.  Shake until well coated.
• Take a frying pan and put the oil in, on medium heat
• Then put the chicken in. Fry on each side for about 2 minutes or until it reaches the "goldeness" that you prefer
• Put that jazz on a roll or some bread with your favorite fixings (I put some pickles and mayo) and you got yourself a"rainbow friendly" chicken sandwich!

Steak and Pasta

So, I normally don't eat/cook with red meat, but this was an exception.  I had a similar store-bought version back in the day that was amazing, so I decided as an end of break treat I'd make some of this.

Ingredients:

• Pasta of your choosing (I used fettucine, of the "veggie delight" brand variety)
• A slice or two of steak, cut into bite size pieces (I like to use meat cutting scissors)
• About 1/4 C diced yellow onion
• About 1 C milk (I used skim and a few splashes of light cream; condensed skim milk would work well, too)
• About 1/3 C parmesan cheese
• 2 T butter or margarine
• About 2 T sundried tomato pieces (sold in the spice aisle)
• Salt, pepper, cayenne pepper, and blackening seasoning to taste

Directions:

• Cook the pasta separately and set aside to drain
• Simmer the onions in the butter in a sauce pan for about 2 minutes
• Add the garlic for about 30 seconds
• Add the milk, cream, spices, parmesan cheese, and sundried tomato and allow to lightly boil for about 5-7 minutes or until desired consistency is just about reached
• Add in the steak and cook until your desired steak "doneness" 
• Combine all with pasta and enjoy!

Avocado Crab Cakes

This is very much an approximation but...

Ingredients:

• 1 small can of crab meat
• 2T vegetable oil
• Cooking spray
• About 1/3 C Plain breadcrumbs
• About 1/4 C mayo (I used Hellman's light)
• Half an avocado
• 1/4th C chopped yellow onion
• Seasonings: I used a little each of: salt, pepper, paprika, cajun seasoning, old bay, lemon juice, dill, and a bit of onion soup mix

Directions:

• Mix it all up (except for the oil and cooking spray)
• Make into small patties, then fry in the 2T vegetable oil, flipping after about 3 minutes OR place on aluminum foil sprayed with cooking spray and bake in a conventional or toaster oven for about 8-10 minutes, flipping halfway through
• That's kinda it; pretty easy!

I also happened to pair this with mashed blue potatoes.  Worked out well :)

Fettuccine with Zucchini and Cashew Pesto Sauce

I'm gonna keep this simple because otherwise I'll never actually post.

Basically, I've been on a huge veggie puree kick.  Most recently, I decided that I must be able to make some sort of sauce out of zucchini.  Not WITH zucchini, but OF zucchini...like as a base.

And so I did.  It is entirely vegan (not that I personally care as I am not vegan myself, but could be helpful to note) with the exception of the sprinkle of parmesan cheese I chose to put on top.

No cream. No cheese.  No butter...but still REALLY good, even good for you!

Ingredients:

• Handful of diced onion
• 1 small zucchini, diced (but sticks would work fine)
• Handful of Kale
• Small handful of basil
• Handful of cashews (I used unsalted)
• A few splashes of olive oil
• Package of vegetable fettuccine
• T pureed garlic
• Salt, pepper to taste

Directions:

• Make the pasta, reserving about 3/4C of the pasta water (I cooked my pasta with some garlic to add flavor)
• Sauce:
• Saute up the zucchini and onions with garlic, a splash of olive oil, salt, and pepper, for a good 10 minutes or so (zucchini should be very soft)
• Once done, add kale, basil, cashews, and sauted zucchini/onion to a food processor (mine is a super awesome, really easy to use and clean mini) and puree that jazz  
• Mix the pasta, reserved pasta water, and pureed sauce and eat!

Brussels and Kale Salad

I've always been a bit afraid of brussel sprouts...well at least ever since observing Calvin's disdain in one of the many Calvin and Hobbes comic books I own.  He's a pretty reliable source. Despite this, more and more my friends have been poking and prodding me to try them.  I had to admit, raw at least, they do look pretty cute...like little heads of lettuce.

Then it struck me.  I like lettuce...in salads...SALAD!

And thus the idea for this salad was born.  It's real simple...basically just sub in some raw brussel sprouts and kale for lettuce and keep all the rest of the fixings as you like.

Here's what I did.

Ingredients:

• Handful or so of raw brussel sprouts, cut in half (although you can break em up more if you like)
• Couple handfuls of kale
• Croutons (I chose the casesar variety)
• Handful of dried cranberries
• Handful of glazed walnuts
• Splash of creamy caesar dressing (I like Newman's Own)

How to:

• Just toss it all together.  Like I said, pretty simple.

And there you have yourself a pretty dang healthy salad that is also good.  Using regular lettuce you miss out on a lot of nutrients, and the same is true of cooking kale and brussels so...try this and win.

Veggie Lasagna Alfredo

Basically, follow my last lasagna recipe, but use whole wheat lasagna, add basil and spinach (put through food processor along with some zucchini and squash) to the ricotta, and substitute the tomato sauce for my butter bean alfredo sauce, adding in some halved cherry tomatoes.

Pretty damn good.  Check it out!

Butter Bean Fettuccine Alfredo

If you have a food processor or blender, then this is really easy (and a much healthier version of what might be one of your favorites).

Ingredients:

• 1/3 box of fettuccine (I used garden delights variety to get more veggies in)
• 1/2 C nonfat half and half
• Splash of skim milk as needed
• 1-2 T pureed garlic 
• Sea salt/pepper to taste
• 2-3 T parmesan cheese (more or less as you prefer)
• 1-2 T margarine 
• 1/4 small white onion, chopped
• 1/2 can butter beans (can also use white beans, either way)

Directions:

• In a pot, boil the fettucinne for about 7-8 minutes, then drain and set aside
• Puree the butter beans in a food processor with a splash of milk
• In a sauce pan, saute the onions and garlic on low heat for about 1-2 minutes with the margarine 
• Add in half and half, salt/pepper, and parmesan cheese, and bring to a low boil, stirring every few minutes
• Add in the butter beans, stir, and continue the low boil until desired consistency is met
• Combine all ingredients and serve

Lite Pot Pie Spins

Looking for lite and/or creative spins on traditional pot pie?  See below

Ingredients: 

• About 6 fingerling potatoes, diced
• About 1/2 medium yellow onion, diced
• Handful of chopped scallion
• About 8 baby carrots, chopped
• About 1/2 can sweet corn
• 2 chicken (or vegetable) bullion cubes
• 1-2 T reduced fat margarine (of some variety, I think I used smart balance)
• 1/3 C or so of fat free half and half
• Splash or two of skim milk
• 1-2 T dry chicken gravy mix (truly optional)
• 1/4 package of wonton wrappers (yes, wonton wrappers! only 15 cal each...although if you're too "chicken" to test it out, there are reduced fat pilsbury biscuits as another option)
• 2-3 T whole wheat flour (also optional)
• Salt/pepper to taste

General Directions:

• Preheat oven to about 350
• In a pot, saute the onions with some nonfat cooking spray (not sure how even the butter flavor variety has absolutely no calories, but it does the substitute trick) and salt/pepper to taste
• Add in the carrots and potatoes with some margarine
• Add in the nonfat half and half as well as skim milk, and bring to a boil; cook for about 5 minutes
• Add in the scallions (and whole wheat flour and 1-2 T dry chicken gravy mix) as well as the sweet corn, and cook for another 5 minutes or until desired consistency is reached
• Add salt/pepper, etc. to taste

Pick Your Own Adventure Directions:

If you want mini pot pies...

• Spray a mini muffin tray with nonfat cooking spray (I forgot to do this; you're welcome for the reminder)
• Fill each compartment of a mini-muffin tray with one wonton wrapper, then spoon pot pie mixture into each
• Bake at 350 for about 10 minutes

If you want pot pie lasagna...

• Put a layer of the pot pie mixture into a shallow baking pan
• Put down a layer of wonton wrappers on top
• Repeat until you top with wonton wrappers, then spray that layer with some nonfat cooking spray
• Bake in oven for about 15 minutes

*Note: If you really want to put the chicken in, go for it.  But honestly?  I didn't miss it a bit!

Lite Cheese Lasagna

Lasagna's pretty good, but it's often made in ways that aren't that good for you.  Want a lite alternative?  Try this:

Ricotta:

• Half container of low fat ricotta cheese
• Half container of nonfat ricotta cheese
• 2-3 T of nonfat half and half
• 1/4 C egg beaters
• Sprinkles of garlic powder, onion powder, sea salt, pepper, and rosemary leaves

Sauce:

• 1 can whole peeled plum tomatoes (crush up by hand, include the juice)
• 1/2 can tomato paste
• Handful of fresh basil leaves
• About 1/4th an onion, diced
• 1-2 T pureed garlic 

Noodles:

• About 1/4th a box of lasagna noodles

Veggies:

• Sliced zucchini
• Sliced yellow squash
• Diced onion
• Diced carrots
• Nonfat cooking spray
• Salt/pepper/garlic to taste

How To:

• In a bowl, combine the two types of ricotta, nonfat half and half, spices, and egg beaters; mix well
• Separately, in a sauce pan, begin to saute the onions and garlic with some nonfat cooking spray, salt, and pepper for about 1 minute
• Add the tomato paste, and continue to cook on low heat for about 3 minutes
• Add the plum tomatoes and cook on low heat for about 20 minutes, then add in basil and continue to cook for about 5 more minutes 
• Separately, boil the lasagna noodles for about 8 minutes (you want them al dente, slightly undercooked, since they'll cook more when you bake the whole thing in the oven), then drain and set aside
• Pre-heat the oven to about 350
• Separately, in a frying pan, begin to saute onions on low heat with nonfat cooking spray for about 1 minute.  Add in the carrots next and saute for about 7 minutes, then add the zucchini and squash along with salt/pepper/garlic to taste.  When finished, add to the tomato sauce
• In a baking pan (since I did a small batch, I used a bread/loaf pan), put a layer of your sauce
• Add a layer of the noodles
• Add a layer of sauce/veggies
• Add a layer of ricotta mixture
• Repeat until you're about 1-2 inches away from the top of the pan, then add a layer of sauce and top with some light, part skim mozzarella cheese
• Bake for about 20-30 minutes until bubbly and the cheese is melted
• If you'd like, sprinkle with some parmesan cheese and add some fresh basil to the top

Move Over, Chobani

Want to make your own low cal versions of your favorite yogurts and/or want good tasting/good for you greek yogurt for cheap?

Yea, I did too.  It's real easy, and goes like this:

• Get a tub of fat free store brand plain greek yogurt
• Put about 5 T into a bowl
• Add a LITTLE sugar/honey/sweet and low; whatever your preferred sweetener is 
• Add a little vanilla extract if you want
• Add some fruit (I put some strawberries and bananas into you food processor for like 10 seconds)
• Mix it all up
• Call it a day.

*Note: I also crumbled a bit of graham cracker and mixed that in.  For one of my batches, I put it in the freezer.  If you stir "vigorously" about every 45 minutes about 3 times, you have yourself some killer fro-yo!

Veggie Couscous with cashews and queso fresco

Very simple, very good. Check it.

Ingredients:

• 1 3/4 C water
• 1 C couscous (I used a sundried tomato/spinach tri-colored blend)
• 1/2 C chopped baby carrots
• 1/4 C salted cashews
• 1/2 C chopped tomatoes
• 1 T butter or margarine
• 1-2 T olive oil
• Salt, pepper, and garlic to taste
• 2 cubes chicken or veggie bouillon

Directions:

• Bring about 1 3/4 C water to a boil with the olive oil, butter, 2 chicken or veggie bouillon cubes, carrots, cashews, and tomatoes
• Boil contents for about 8 minutes or until carrots are just about done
• Add in couscous and stir quickly
• Remove from heat and cover, letting stand for 5 minutes
• Uncover, add salt/pepper/garlic to taste, and add in queso fresco; stir

Voila!

Fried Shrimp with Citrusy Sauce

I'm not going to go into detail about the fried shrimp part since by "made" them I mean I took them out of the freezer, onto a baking sheet, and into a toaster oven.

Since I had no cocktail sauce and didn't want to just hit up the ketchup, I decided to get a little creative with some mayo and a few other items.

Sauce Ingredients: (in no specific proportions)
About 3 T mayo (I prefer Hellman's)
A dash of lemon/pepper spice
A few dashes of some "Mrs. Dash Carribean Citrus"
A small dash of old bay
A small dash of garlic
1 tsp remoulade sauce

Mix it all up and pair with some seafood, such as fried shrimp. Why didn't I think of this before??

Crab Rangoon

No, I have not been slacking; I have just not had internet at home for the past...3-4 weeks or so.

How do I survive, you ask?

I make some food. Like this.




Ingredients:

• 2 cans crab meat (minced, lump, whatevs)
• 1 8 oz container of cream cheese (I prefer Philadelphia and whipped or else one with scallions)
• 1 package wonton wrappers (can usually be found in the fridge/freezer section of most grocery stores believe it or not)
• 1/2 a small white onion, chopped
• Dashes of things like salt, pepper, garlic, old bay, sesame seeds...things like that
• About 2 tsps or more of soy sauce (to taste)
• A splash or so of sesame oil if you have it, but not completely necessary

Directions:

• In a large bowl, combine all aforementioned ingredients (except for the wonton wrappers)
• Lay out the wonton wrappers and put a small dallop of the dip inside each
• line the perimeter of each wonton wrapper with a dab of water
• Seal each pouch (there are many ways of doing this, but on easy way is to match diagonal corners and pinch together...basically you don't want any holes through to the dip exposed if possible
• Drop the little uncooked rangoons into a deep fryer for about 30 seconds to 1 min each

Ta da...crab rangoon. They pair well with things like duck sauce and/or garlic black bean sauce.

Many thanks to my sous chef, Sarah!

Zuppa Toscana

Ingredients:

• About 4 red skin potatoes, chopped up
• 1 small yellow onion, chopped
• 2 cubes chicken bullion
• 1 cube vegetable bullion
• Splash of french onion soup broth
• 1/2 package of sweet Italian turkey sausage
• 2 handfuls of kale
• 3 glugs of olive oil
• 2 T margarine
• 1 or so T of chopped garlic
• 1/2 cup of light cream
• Salt, pepper

Directions:

1. Take sausage of of casings and break apart
2. Bring the chopped potatoes to a boil in a pot with enough water to cover the potatoes and add in the bullion cubes and french onion soup broth
3. In a saute pan, add olive oil, butter, and onions and saute for about 2 minutes
4. Add in garlic, saute for about 30 seconds
5. Add in sausage (plus salt and pepper to taste) and cook until just about done
6. Once potatoes are just about done, add in sausage and light cream
7. Cook until sausage is done
8. Add in kale as well as salt/pepper to taste
9. Serve :)

Chocolate Oatmeal Pumpkin Muffins and Marble Loaf

Half me, half box.
Muffins:

Ingredients:

• Packet of oatmeal chocolate chip cookies
• About 3/4ths C of butter
• 1/2 C brown sugar
• Sprinkle or two of pumpkin pie spice
• Half can of pumpkin

Directions:

• Mix cookie mix, butter, sugar, brown sugar, and pumpkin together
• Put into cupcake pan
• Bake for about 10-15 min

Marble Loaf:

Ingredients:

• Packet of oatmeal chocolate chip cookies
• About 3/4ths C of butter
• 1/2 C brown sugar
• Sprinkle or two of pumpkin pie spice
• Half can of pumpkin
• Hershey's syrup

Directions:

• Mix all ingredients except for the hershey's syrup
• Put mix into a loaf pan
• Pour out lines of hershey's syrup
• Take a knife and swirl the syrup perpendicularly
• Bake on 375 for about 20 minutes

Jewish Penicillin (i.e. Matzo Ball Soup)

This was about half me, half box, but damn it; those boxes know what's up.

Ingredients:

• Box of matzo ball soup mix (w/ bullion)
• 2 eggs (I used egg beaters)
• 2 T vegetable oil
• Half bag of baby carrots (chopped)
• Small red skinned potatoes (chopped)
• Small onion (chopped)
• 1/4th a ready-made roasted chicken (shredded into bite-sized pieces)

Directions:

• Make matzo balls as directed (using mix, eggs, and vegetable oil); set aside
• Boil water with chicken bullion, then add in carrots, potatoes, and onions; cook for about 7-8 minutes
• Add in matzo balls, cover immediately and reduce heat to low, then allow to simmer for about 15 minutes
• Add in shredded chicken and continue to simmer with lid on for another 5 minutes

Ta da

Jewish penicillin. Easy as...pie? Not quite sure pie is actually easy come to think of it, but whatevs; this is.

Meatball Eggplant Pesto Sub

This was pretty amazing. Not sure why I haven't done it before.

Ingredients:

• 3 frozen turkey meatballs, sliced in thirds
• 3 small pieces of frozen breaded eggplant
• slices of fresh mozzerella
• 2 dollops of ricotta cheese
• Sprinkle of parmesan cheese
• 1-2 T pesto sauce
• 3 T tomato sauce
• 1 sub roll

Directions:

• Pre-heat toaster oven to about 425
• In a small bowl, heat frozen turkey meatballs in microwave on high for 1 min
• Cut the meatballs in thirds, add tomato sauce, stir, and heat again on high for another 30 seconds; set aside
• Put about 3 small pieces of frozen breaded eggplant on a lightly oiled baking sheet then into the toaster oven for about 8-10 minutes (or until crispy)
• Slice fresh mozzarella
  
• Open up the roll, add the meatballs and eggplant, layering with mozzarella cheese
• Pre-heat a george foreman (if you have one...which I highly recommend)
• Add dollops of ricotta cheese and spread. Sprinkle with parmesan cheese
• On opposite side of roll, spread pesto
• Put together the half of the subs, then cut in half
• Put halves into george foreman and close as much as possible; heat for about 30 seconds-1 min or until toasted

The end. If you don't have a george foreman, it's not the end of the world, but it does make the sub more panini-like and also easier to eat (since it's thinner and you just stacked this thing up)