Spaghetti Squash

Spaghetti squash became a staple a regular staple this past year. Recipes of note include a stir fry and spaghetti squash gratin.

Juicing

I did my first juice cleanse last March and became hooked! Blue Print Cleanse is my favorite company and I have another one scheduled for this February. This is a photo of my final real meal before my first cleanse. Lots and lots of greens.

The BEST Brussel Sprouts

My new go-to vegetable has become brussel sprouts. They are so good and easy to make!
I recently made roasted brussel sprouts and cauliflower to take to book club and it was a huge hit! I am now required to bring them every month!

Ingredients:
- brussel sprouts
- cauliflower
- olive oil
- Parmesan cheese, grated
- salt and pepper

Directions:
- Preheat oven to 450 degrees F.
- Wash vegetables. Cut brussel sprouts into quarters and chop cauliflower in small pieces.
- Toss vegetables in oil, cheese, and salt and pepper. [I used probably 1 tbsp olive oil and 1/4 cup Parmesan for a large bunch of vegetables]
- Line baking sheet with foil and lay vegetables in one layer.
- Roast for 15 minutes, flipping once half way through.

This so easy and delicious! The amount of oil and cheese is totally a preference thing. Definitely recommend!

Another First - Fritatta!

I got to use my brand new cast-iron skillet this morning and it was a success! I've been wanting to make this recipe for Spinach & Artichoke Fritatta from In Good Taste Blog for a very long time! It was originally posted on that site a year and a half ago and I remember finding it and drooling just reading it. One weekend I was even tempted to buy a cast iron skillet to make it, but then decided against it. This morning, though, I finally made it! And it was definitely worth the wait!

Ingredients:
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 1 small onion, sliced
- 4 eggs, beaten
- 4 egg whites, beaten
- 1/2 cup canned artichoke hearts, chopped
- 1 cup fresh baby spinach, washed and stems trimmed
- 1/4 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese (I used pecorino)
- salt and pepper, to taste

Directions:
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
- In a small skillet, heat 1 tbsp olive oil over medium-high heat and sautee onions until they've started to caramelize into a deep, golden-brown color. Remove from heat and set aside.
- In a separate bowl, combine eggs and egg whites. Beat lightly until eggs are fully combined; stir in spinach artichoke hearts, onions, and half of the cheese into the mixture until all ingredients are blended.
- Spray skillet with PAM and pour egg mixture in. (The recipe said to use a 10" skillet. Mine is 12" so that's what I used).
- Place skillet on stove top over medium-high heat and cook until the bottom of the fritatta has set but the top is still jiggly.
- Top with remaining Parmesan cheese and place in oven. Bake for 20-25 minutes, until the fritatta is set and begins to brown.

This makes about 4 servings at 5 PointsPlus/serving and is delicious! I topped mine with a little bit of sour cream and salsa. And it even tasted good cold! So excited to have my new skillet and for breaking it in with this awesome brunch recipe!

Mmm... straight from the oven and ready to dig in!

A Simple Salad

With only a couple weeks left in 2010, I find myself wanting to get as many new recipes under my belt as possible. This weekend, for example, I knocked off three!

First off the list was this awesome Asparagus, Pecorino and Red Onion Salad from The Food Network. It was so extremely easy to make and so delicious! When I finally get through all my new recipes to make, this will definitely be one that I repeat!

Ingredients:
- 1 bunch asparagus, tough bottom stems removed
- 1/2 medium red onion, finely diced
- 3/4 cup coarsely grated aged pecorino cheese
- 1/2 red wine vinegar
- 1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
- kosher salt

Directions:
- Cut the asparagus, including the tips, into very thin slices crosswise and place in a medium bowl. Add the red onion and pecorino and toss to combine. Dress with the vinegar, olive oil, and salt and toss again. Refrigerate.

As the original recipe says, the salad should be heavily dressed as the vinegar sort of cooks/tenderizes the asparagus. It's also best to let the ingredients sit for at least an hour so all the flavors blend together well.

I let mine sit in the fridge overnight and when I tasted it today, it was great! Perfectly pungent with the sharp cheese and everything tasted great together. I would definitely recommend this as a good dish to bring to a dinner party, it's easy to make and easily portable. It's also pretty healthy. My ingredients vs. the original are a little smaller in portion size, since I'm cooking for one, so the value for my entire recipe is 7 PointsPlus and you can get at least 2-4 servings from this. Definitely a good dish!

Quinoa for the first time

Friday night a friend had a potluck Shabbat dinner so it was another great opportunity to make a new recipe. I decided to bring a side dish and opted for something in the rice or potato family. After looking through alllllll my bookmarked recipes I decided to try my hand at quinoa (pronounced keenwah) and boy am I glad I did! It was super easy and super healthy. This recipe is from Weight Watchers, but I altered it a little. The original recipe said it served 8 and our dinner was going to have 14 people so I made it bigger and also added in mushrooms.

Ingredients:
1 1/2 tbsp olive oil
1 large onion, minced
1 medium garlic clove, minced
1 1/4 cup quinoa
2 cups vegetable broth
1/4 tsp crushed red pepper flakes
4 cups spinach, chopped
1 cup mushrooms, chopped
salt and pepper

Directions:
- Heat oil in a large saucepan over medium-high heat.
- Add onion and garlic; cook, stirring frequently, until onion is tender, about 3-5 minutes.
- Add quinoa to skillet; cook, stirring frequently, until quinoa starts to turn golden brown, about 2 minutes.
- Add broth, black pepper, and red pepper flakes to pot; bring to a boil.
- Cover skillet and reduce heat to low, simmer for about 15-17 minutes.
- Stir in spinach and mushrooms, cover skillet and cook until spinach and quinoa are tender and liquid is absorbed, about 5 minutes.
- Season with salt.

The final product was great! The red pepper flakes gave it a little kick, which I enjoyed though I may have gone a little overboard on them. Everyone at dinner seemed to enjoy the dish too! And it is super healthy! The original recipe yields about 1/2 cup a serving and is about 1 pt/serving. This tasted great hot, warm, and cold and I think quinoa may be one of my new go-to meals.

A Twist on An Old Favorite

As previously posted I'm a big fan of broccoli salads. I posted one twist on the recipe earlier this year and now have made another! I've had this recipe for a Raw Vegetable Salad With Yogurt-Feta Dressing (again from Everybody Likes Sandwiches) bookmarked for a long while now and I finally got a chance to make it! The reason? Book club! It was easy to prepare the night before and easy to transport the night of.

Ingredients:

1 head of broccoli, torn into florets and chopped small

1 carrot, diced

1/2 red pepper, chopped (I actually used a whole very small one)

1/4 red onion, finely diced

1 Granny Smith apple, diced

3 tbsp fat free plain yogurt

3 tbsp crumbled feta cheese

juice and zest from 1/2 lemon

1 garlic clove, minced

fresh ground pepper

2 tbsp dried cranberries

3 tbsp chopped pecans

Directions:

- In a serving bowl, combine the first five ingredients (through apple).

- In a small bowl, mix together the yogurt, feta, lemon juice and zest, garlic, and pepper to create a dressing.

- Taste and adjust ingredients, if needed.

- Toss dressing over vegetables and mix in cranberries and pecans.

I read in the comments that it was better to make this the night before (which I intended to anyway) because it lets all the ingredients mesh together. The end result was great! It was definitely a new good twist on an old favorite. The above picture is pre-pecans, which I added the next day. All in all another success!

Broccoli Salad Revised

One of my go-to recipes, before I actually cooked, was a cold broccoli salad. You know the kind, made with a mayonnaise/vinegar/sugar dressing with raisins or craisins, cashews, and the like. Well I found the following recipe for a Broccoli Crunch Slaw from Everybody Likes Sandwiches (which is quite true, who doesn't like sandwiches??)

Anyway, looking for a quick, healthy, good, different dinner I decided to make this new twist on an old favorite.

Ingredients:
- 1 large head of broccoli
- 1/4 red onion, diced
- 1/4 c roasted almonds, chopped
- 1/4 c dried cranberries
- 2 tbsp Greek yogurt (I used 0% fat)
- 2 tbsp mayo (I used fat free)
- juice from 1/2 lemon
- dash of hot sauce
- squirt of honey
- salt and pepper to taste
(FYI - the dash and squirt terms are straight from the original)

Directions:
- Use a large knife to thinly chop up the broccoli into a rough slaw. Dump into a medium sized bowl along with the red onion, almonds, and cranberries.
- Put the remaining ingredients into a small jar with a lid and shake.
- Taste and adjust seasoning if necessary.
- Pour onto broccoli slaw and toss until everything is coated


The final verdict? Just ok. It was tasty, though I think I prefer cashews to almonds and I would've liked it to have been a little sweeter. Maybe I should've added a dash or pinch of sugar. I got a heaping 3 portions out of this, making it about 2 pts/serving.

Pasta Palooza

In celebration of Memorial Day I attended a friend's barbecue, of course. Trying to find a new recipe and something appropriate for a bbq I decided to make Deli Style Macaroni Salad via Coconut & Lime.

Ingredients:
3/4 cup low fat mayonnaise
1/4 cup white wine vinegar
2 1/2 tbsp sugar
2 1/2 tbsp Dijon mustard
1 medium onion, diced
2 stalks celery, diced
2 carrots, grated
1/2 tsp celery seed (I actually didn't use this)
salt
pepper
16 oz cooked macaroni (I used whole wheat mac)



Directions:
In a small bowl, whisk together mayo, celery seed if used, vinegar, sugar, mustard, salt and pepper. In a large bowl, stir together the onion, carrot, and macaroni. Combine in large bowl. Refrigerate overnight.

This was really good! Definitely a hit at the bbq and it wasn't too strong of a flavor as pasta salad can sometimes be. Also, healthier by using low fat mayo and whole wheat macaroni. Couldn't really figure out points, since I'm not sure how many servings this would be, but it can't be that bad. And we got a lot of servings out of this!

Soup for the Soul

Kicking off my resolution in high gear... on Sunday, January 3 I made vegetable soup. Adding the facts that I don't eat meat and Chicago temps are brutally cold right now, this seemed like the perfect way to start my resolution.

The recipe is from Weight Watchers, but I think it's safe to say that it's favorable to anyone! The exact recipe is below, but ingredients which I did not use are in [ ] and anything I added is noted. So here you go, a truly hearty and healthy soup to warm the soul.

Zero Point Vegetable Soup (Servings - 12)

1 medium onion(s), diced

2 medium carrot(s), diced

1 medium sweet red pepper(s), diced

1 medium stalk(s) celery, diced

2 small zucchini, diced

2 cup(s) green cabbage, shredded

[2 cup(s) Swiss chard, chopped] instead I added 1 cup white mushrooms, diced

2 cup(s) cauliflower, small florets

2 cup(s) broccoli, small florets

[2 tsp thyme, fresh, chopped]

6 cup(s) vegetable broth

2 Tbsp parsley, or chives, fresh, chopped

1/2 tsp table salt, or to taste

1/4 tsp black pepper, or to taste

2 Tbsp fresh lemon juice, optional (from WeightWatchers.com) Instructions: Put garlic, vegetables, thyme and broth into a large soup pot. Cover and bring to a boil over high heat; reduce heat to low and simmer, partly covered, about 10 minutes. Stir in parsley or chives; season to taste with salt, pepper and lemon juice. Yields about 1 cup per serving.