Holiday Hot Chocolate

Hershey's hot chocolate made on the stovetop is a winter tradition in my family.  Snow days, cold saturdays, and especially Christmas morning.  So naturally, being Christmas Eve, I had to make a batch for Mike and I this morning.  Sorry Hershey's but I have now switched to Trader Joe's Cocoa (you know me and all natural) so I had to look up the recipe online.  You can find it here: http://www.hersheys.com/recipes/5265/Hot-Cocoa.aspx.  There are quite a few variations possible, but being Christmas, I went with the mint cocoa.  Amazingly delicious!  Merry Christmas everyone!
 
Ingredients
1/2 cup sugar
1/4 cup Cocoa
Dash salt
1/3 cup hot water
4 cups (1 qt.) milk
3/4 teaspoon vanilla extract
3 Tablespoons crushed candy cane or 1/2 tsp mint extract

 

Directions

Stir together sugar, cocoa and salt in medium saucepan; stir in water. Cook over medium heat, stirring constantly, until mixture comes to a boil. Boil and stir 2 minutes. Add milk; stirring constantly, heat to serving temperature. Do Not Boil. 

Remove from heat; add vanilla and peppermint. Beat with rotary beater or whisk until foamy.  Serve immediately.

Salsa Bean Soup

Soups are good, especially when it's chilly outside and your husband keeps the thermostat below 60...Just kidding, we don't keep it that low...yet.

This soup is an easy one and it's pretty quick, too.  The ingredients are few and simple, but it does take a little bit of thought.  The salsa has to be picked carefully because it can affect the consistency of the soup, and potentially the taste, too.

We typically use olive oil where recipes call for vegetable oil.  While vegetable oil is generally cheaper, we just don't keep it on hand and just like the taste olive oil gives our food a little better.  We typically chop or mince our own garlic rather than use the bottle type.  It's an ingredient we use pretty often, so we almost always have some on hand.  While we prefer fresh cilantro and lime juice, we've used dried cilantro and the lime juice from one of those little plastic limes - the recipe comes out just fine.  We almost always use organic black beans and organic salsa.  We prefer the ones from a certain Michigan-based grocery chain.  (Sorry, to a certain Cincinnati-based grocery chain.)

1 teaspoon vegetable oil.
1 tablespoon (bottled) minced garlic
2 cups water
1/2 teaspoon chipotle chili powder
2 (15 oz) cans black beans, rinsed and drained
1 (8 oz) bottle or jar of salsa
1 tablespoon fresh lime juice
1/2 cup chopped fresh cilantro
shredded Monterrey Jack Cheese

Heat oil in a large saucepan over medium-high, add garlic; saute 1 minute.  Stir in water, chipotle powder, beans and salsa.  Bring to a boil; reduce heat, and simmer 1 minute.

Place 3 cups of black bean mixture in a blender; process until smooth.  Return pureed mixture to pan.  Stir in lime juice; simmer 10 minutes.  Remove from heat; stir in cilantro.  Sprinkle each serving with cheese.

While the cheese is a must, we sometimes sprinkle some crushed tortilla chips (blue corn, of course!) over top.  Mix it up with different kinds of salsa - we typically stick to the more "traditional" recipes, avoiding the "corn and bean" varieties or the fruity varieties.  The chunkier salsa (Pace or Chi-Chi's) varieties will produce a thicker soup than the more runny or thinner types (Newman's Own).

OK, admittedly, putting a soup in blender was a little weird at first.  But it really did make the soup much more smooth than we could have ever gotten it without using the blender, so it was worth being weirded out by it.  

The clear beer choice might be Dos Equis (XX), but that's not what Mike would recommend.  Negra Modelo or Modelo Especial may be a better choice with this soup.  Although, a glass of water (with lime, of course) or milk does the job, too.

Risotto with Sausage and Greens

If you are a Costco member, you should definitely try to get a copy of A Decade of Cooking the Costco Way.  My sister-in-law gave us a copy this weekend.  I am not really a cookbook person and I can tell you there are about 25 recipes I want to try right away.  Tonight I let Mike pick, and he chose Risotto with Sausage and Greens.  We had some amazing risotto on our Italy trip this fall and Mike has been working on perfecting his risotto technique since.

This recipe is by Mary Ann Esposito, host of the TV show Ciao Italia.  Risotto takes some patience (and lots of stirring) but the reward is worth it!

Ingredients:
1/2 pound spinach, stemmed and washed
3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil, divided
1 clove garlic, minced
1 small onion, peeled and diced
1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes
1/2 pound Italian sausage, casings removed
1 1/2 cups Arborio rice
1/2 cup  dry white wine
2 cups hot tomato juice
2 1/2 to 3 cups hot chicken broth
1/2 cup grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese
salt and black pepper

Drop the spinach into a pot of boiling water and cook just until wilted.  Drain, cool, squeeze dry and coursly chop.  Set aside.

Heat 1 1/2 tablespoons of the oil in a medium skillet and add the garlic and spinach.  Cook for 2 minutes over medium heat.  Transfer the mixture to a bowl and set aside.


In a large heavy-bottomed saucepan, heat the remaining 1 1/2 tablespoons olive oil over medium heat.  When it is hot, stir in onion, red pepper flakes, and sausage.  Cook, breaking up the sausage until the onion softens and the meat begins to brown slightly.  Stir in the rice and mix to coat the rice well.  Pour in the wine and stir until it evaporates.

Begin adding the tomato juice in 1/2-cup increments.  Cook and stir, allowing the rice mixture to absorb each addition before adding more.

Add the broth in 1/2-cup increments, continuing to cook and stir until mixture is creamy and the rice is still firm but cooked through. You may not need all the broth.  Stir in the spinach and grated cheese.  Season with salt and pepper to taste and serve immediately.  Makes 6 servings. 

Notes: Heating the tomato juice and chicken broth prior to adding to the rice helps the mixture keep a more even temperature (not losing heat each time more liquid is added).   Also, alternate greens such as swiss chard or beet greens can be substituted for the spinach.

Vegetable Quiche

For some reason quiche sounded good for dinner this week.  I tried this recipe and was not dissapointed.  Now I'm really not sure why we dont have quiche more often....so easy!  I made my quiche with zucchini, spinach, tomatoes, mushrooms, and onions but you can do whatever you feel like (or have on hand).  And for the cheese I used cheddar and monterey jack.

Bisquick Crustless Quiche

Heat oven to 350 degrees.
Butter or spray a 9 or 10 inch pie plate
In a skillet, saute vegetables of your choice in a little oil.

In a 4 cup measuring cup . . .
Beat 3 large eggs.
Add 1/2 cup bisquick.
Add 1 1/2 cups milk.
Add 1/2 teaspoon salt.
Add 1/4 teaspoon pepper.

In the pie plate, put your veggies, then 1 1/2 cups cheese of your choice.
Pour the bisquick, milk and egg mixture on top.
Bake for 50 minutes.

Strawberry Shortcake

Summer strawberries are irresistible! And what better way to enjoy them than with a little shortcake and some vanilla ice cream.  This recipe is from Cooking Light (my favorite recipe source if you havent noticed!).

Ingredients
3 1/2 cups halved strawberries, divided
1/3 cup sugar
1/3 cup orange juice
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 teaspoon lemon juice
1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
3 tablespoons sugar
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/8 teaspoon salt
3 tablespoons chilled stick margarine or butter, cut into small pieces
1/2 cup low-fat buttermilk
Cooking spray
Vanilla Ice Cream

Whole strawberries (optional)


Preparation
Combine 1 cup strawberry halves, 1/3 cup sugar, orange juice, vanilla, and lemon juice

in a bowl, and mash with a potato masher. Stir in 2 1/2 cups strawberry halves. Cover and chill.

Preheat oven to 425°.
Lightly spoon flour into dry measuring cups; level with a knife. Combine flour, 3 tablespoons sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in a bowl; cut in margarine with a pastry blender or 2 knives until mixture resembles coarse meal. Add buttermilk, stirring just until moist (dough will be sticky).

Turn dough out onto a lightly floured surface, and knead lightly 4 times with floured hands. Pat dough into a 6 x 4-inch rectangle. Cut dough into 6 squares. Place 1 inch apart on a baking sheet coated with cooking spray. Bake at 425° for 12 minutes. Cool on a wire rack.

Split shortcakes in half horizontally using a serrated knife; place each bottom half on a dessert plate. Spoon 1/4 cup strawberry mixture over each bottom half. Top with shortcake tops; spoon 1/4 cup strawberry mixture over each top. Top each serving with ice cream; garnish with whole strawberries, if desired.

Cooking Light
JUNE 1998

Oven fried Zucchini Sticks

Looking for some new ideas to use up your garden's abundance of zucchini? There was a whole feature on msn.com yesterday and this recipe looked very intriguing. We tried it tonight, and it was delish! A nice side dish, and a welcome change from grilled zucchini (which we have been eating A LOT)!

cooking spray
1/2 cup(s) whole-wheat flour
1/2 cup(s) all-purpose flour
2 tablespoon(s) cornmeal
1 teaspoon(s) salt
1/2 teaspoon(s) freshly ground pepper
1 1/2 pound(s) zucchini, (about 3 medium), cut into 1/2-by-3-inch sticks
2 egg whites, lightly beaten

Directions

Preheat oven to 475 degrees F. Coat a large baking sheet with cooking spray. Combine flours, cornmeal, salt and pepper in a large sealable plastic bag. Dip zucchini in egg white, shake in the bag to coat, and arrange, not touching, on the baking sheet. Coat all exposed sides with cooking spray. Bake on the center rack for 7 minutes. Turn the zucchini and coat any floury spots with cooking spray. Continue to bake until golden and just tender, about 5 minutes more. Serve hot.

Chilean Country Style Ribs

One Saturday not too long ago, I was flipping through the channels and came across Steven Raichlen's Primal Grill on PBS.  It may be my new favorite show.  Even Sara sat down to watch and commented that a few of the recipes looked pretty good.  Steven Raichlen is widely considered THE authority on grilling meat, specifically barbecueing.  Check out the links above for his show and his blog - the Barbecue Bible.

This recipe is dedicated to a friend who recently celebrated a big birthday.  That friend happens to be one of only a handful of people I know personally who have actually been to Chile.  Maybe he'll be kind enough to try out our recipe and let us know how it compares to the food he had while he was there.

Per Mr. Raichlen, this recipe is good for a weeknight barbecue - when you want some ribs, but don't have a lot of time to smoke them for a few hours.  He claims these can be ready in as little as 15 minutes.  It took a bit longer for me, but even still, it was short enough to accomplish during the week.  And I don't yet (YET, I say) own a smoker or charcoal grill, so these are more up my alley.  Did I mention they were very tasty??

Ingredients

1 large, luscious ripe red tomato - peeled, seeded, and diced, juices reserved
1 small sweet white onion, diced
1/4 green bell pepper, finely chopped
1/2 to 1 jalapeo pepper, seeded and minced (for a hotter pebre, leave the seeds in), or more to taste - we used serrano peppers because we're growing those in the garden!
1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro
1 clove garlic, minced
1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
1 tablespoon red wine vinegar, or more to taste
Coarse salt (kosher or sea)
Freshly ground black pepper
About 2 pounds country-style pork ribs (see Note)

Note: Country-style ribs come both bone-in and boneless, either way, youll need about 2 pounds.



Directions
Shortly before you are ready to grill, place the tomato and its juices in a nonreactive mixing bowl. Add the onion, bell pepper, jalapeo pepper(s), cilantro, garlic, olive oil, vinegar, 1/2 teaspoon salt, and 1/2 teaspoon black pepper, but do not mix. Cover the bowl until you are ready to serve.  Being the somewhat unprepared cooks that we are, we didn't have the vinegar.  Personally, I think it would have MADE the pebre, but Sara disagrees. 

Set up the grill for direct grilling, building a 3-zone fire, and preheat the hot zone to high. If a flare-up occurs you can move the ribs to the cooler or unlit parts of the grill.  On the show, Raichlen recommended testing the temperature of the grill by placing your hand over the grilling surface and seeing how many "Mississippi's" you could count  before you had to pull your hand away.  For this recipe, the grill should be scorching hot, which is approximately equal to two "Mississippi's". 

Generously season the ribs on both sides with salt and pepper.

When ready to cook, brush and oil the grill grate. Arrange the ribs on the grill over the hot zone and on a diagonal to the bars of the grate. Cook the ribs until nicely browned on both sides and cooked through, 3 to 5 minutes per side, giving each rib a quarter turn after 1-1/2 minutes to create a handsome crosshatch of grill marks.  This is where my experience differed a bit from Raichlen's instructions.  I'm not sure I had my grill hot enough, which is hard to imagine, or maybe the ribs we bought were thicker than what he was using, but my ribs took a bit longer to cook.  Could have also been the other stuff on the grill.

From left: pork ribs, zucchini, sweet potatoes.

Transfer the ribs to a platter or plates and let rest for a few minutes. Stir the pebre well, adding more salt and/or vinegar as necessary; the mixture should be highly seasoned. Spoon the pebre over the ribs and serve at once.

 As you can see, we added a few side dishes: grilled zucchini and grilled sweet potato staws.  We've mentioned the sweet potato straws / fries before.  They're pretty easy.  Start with a whole sweet potato.  We can usually get by on one for the two of us, but occasionally we'll use two, especially if they're small.  Cut into long thin strips, douse with olive oil and your favorite spices (ours are garlic powder, chili powder, salt and pepper), and toss on the grill until those sexy grill marks start to show up.  I like start them before the meat because they typically take a bit longer than whatever I'm grilling, especially pork or chicken.  But in the even they do finish early, I place an oven-safe plate on the upper rack of my grill and pile them up there to keep them warm until the rest of the food is ready.  This is especially helpful for the smaller fries, which tend to get burnt pretty quickly.

Hope you can find a nice Tuesday or Wednesday to give these ribs a try.  Country-style pork ribs should be pretty easy to find in the refrigerated meat section at your neighborhood grocery store.  If you can't find them, I'm sure there will be a friendly meat counter attendee waiting to help you.  Enjoy!

Zucchini Ricotta Pasta

If you're like us, your garden is exploding with zucchini right about the end of June.  If you're smarter than us, you (a) likely have a list of family and friends at the ready to take some off your hands and (b) pick them before they get bigger than your dog.

Good thing we like zucchini!  This meal is pretty quick and pretty easy to make.  It has a pretty tame flavor, so it's safe for those who aren't crazy about spicy food or wild flavor combinations.  Granted, you are free to spice this up or add any kind of strange spices or extras as you feel necessary, but we like this just as it's presented below, and we think you will, too.

Ingredients
1 (16-ounce) package penne (we use whole wheat)
3 garlic cloves, peeled and chopped
2 pounds small zucchini, halved lengthwise and cut diagonally into 1/2-inch slices (about 7 cups)
1/4 cup (1 ounce) grated fresh Parmesan cheese, divided
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
1 tablespoon chopped fresh or 1 teaspoon dried marjoram
3/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
1 cup part-skim ricotta cheese

Preparation
Cook pasta and garlic in boiling water 7 minutes; add zucchini, and cook 3 minutes. Drain well. Place pasta mixture in a large bowl. Add 2 tablespoons Parmesan, oil, marjoram, salt, and pepper; toss well to coat. Drop ricotta by tablespoonfuls into pasta mixture; toss well. Sprinkle each serving with Parmesan.

This recipe makes a lot of food.  So invite over some adventurous friends, open a cheap bottle of white wine and have a nice, informal dinner party.  Or, if you're thrifty like us, pack up the leftovers and take them to work for the next week or two!

Recipe courtesy of Cooking Light, August 2000

Antipasto Salad

Our good friends Eric and Lisa came over for a cookout a couple weeks ago and brought this delicious salad.  Lisa was kind enough to share the recipe to be featured as a guest post!  Now is the time when gardens are finally starting to ripen so maybe you have many of these ingredients already handy at home!  The dressing is so easy - there really isn't any reason to substitute with store bought here.  Unfortunately, we forgot to get a picture of the salad all put together but it looked as good as it taste.  You will just have to trust us on that one! We enjoyed the salad with grilled chick thighs, grilled squash, and couscous. 

Salad Ingredients:
6 cups torn lettuce leaves
4 ounces hard salami, julienned
4 ounces pepperoni, julienned
6 ounces provolone cheese, julienned
1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese
2 medium tomatoes, chopped
Chopped red, yellow, green peppers to taste
1 can artichoke hearts, chopped
1 tablespoon minced fresh oregano

Dressing Ingredients:
1 (8 ounce) can tomato sauce (no salt added)
1/4 cup vegetable oil
1/4 cup red wine vinegar
1 teaspoon sugar
1 teaspoon salt or seasoned salt
1 teaspoon dried oregano
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
1/4 teaspoon pepper

DIRECTIONS
Place the lettuce on a large serving platter or bowl. Arrange the salami, cheeses, and veggies over top. Sprinkle with oregano. In a blender, combine the remaining ingredients; cover and process until smooth. Drizzle over salad or serve on the side.

Easy Pita Pizzas

This meal really doesn't even need a recipe, just the idea. We love this as a quick summer meal on the grill, or you can make it any time of year in the oven. This is Sara's go-to staple when she knows Mike isn't coming home for dinner!

Ingredients:
Pita (we prefer wheat)
Little bit of tomato sauce
chopped veggies (peppers, onions, tomato, anything you have on hand)
Mozzarella cheese
Spices (oregano, basil, crushed red pepper, rosemary, be creative)

top your pita with sauce, veggies, cheese, and spices. Bake on the grill or in a 400F oven for 10-15 minutes. Serve with a salad or some applesauce to round out this very easy to make (and cleanup) meal!

Pork Chops with Peach Salsa

We were on vacation last summer when we found this recipe.  Sara's exact quote upon finding this in the free Pigeon Forge, TN magazine was "This is the classiest thing to come out of Pigeon Forge!" 

OK, so my wife wasn't a huge fan of the touristy town with it's shopping malls, putt-putt courses and go-kart tracks.  She's more of a hiking and biking kind of gal, which I wholly appreciate.  Luckily, she also likes pork chops - or pork cutlets as the case may be tonight.

The recipe is a two-parter: first the salsa and then the pork chops.  And both are super easy. 

The Salsa:
1/4 cup chopped red onions
2 medium fresh peaches, peeled, pitted, coarsely chopped
1 Tbsp chopped fresh basil
3 Tbsp chopped green pepper
1 Tbsp lime juice

Combine all salsa ingredients in a medium bowl.  Cover; refrigerate at least 1 hour.

First, we didn't have a good green pepper, so we substituted...mango, naturally.  And I cut up a whole mango, which yields a little more than 3 Tbsp.  So maybe our version is more like Mango-Peach salsa?  Second, we refrigerated for about 20 minutes, and it was fine.

The pork:
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper
1/4 tsp garlic powder
1/4 tsp crushed dried basil
4 (3/4-inch thick) pork chops

Heat gas grill on medium or charcoal grill until coals are ash white.  Meanwhile, combine salt, pepper, garlic powder, and basil in a small bowl; sprinkle both sides of the pork chops.  Place chops on the grill.  Cover; grill, turning once, until desired doneness (10 to 15 minutes). Serve the chops topped with salsa.

I treated this like a rub and found I needed about twice as much as they suggested.  We also used pork cutlets because it's more expensive as a "chop", and I think Sara feels she gets cheated by paying for the bone. 

Now for the grilling.  I exclusively use gas.  Not because I think gas is superior or charcoal is inferior.  I just don't own a charcoal grill...yet.  Maybe next summer, or if I can get one cheap this fall.  Eventually, I will build one out of bricks and stones and it will be magnificent.  Until then, I have a pretty sweet gas grill, so I'll use the heck out of that.  When it comes to cooking meat, I am of the school of thought that it is best to sear the meat on each side and then let it cook to the desire temperature.  This locks in the moisture and flavor of the meat, making every bite juicy, tender and oh-so-tasty.  My cousin disagrees, preferring the "low and slow" method (which is actually more of a charcoal method - even though he's using gas, too).  This will be settled in a later post.  Finally, I have fallen in love with our food / meat thermometer.  It's just a simple OXO brand thermometer, but it comes with a handy storage sleeve that has a rotating dial with all of the recommended internal temperatures for your favorite cuts of meat.  It's really handy.  I cooked these pork cutlets to 160 deg F and they were PERFECT. 

This recipe cooked up very nicely and pretty quickly, too.  We made macaroni and cheese (organic, of course) as a side dish.  We hope you can give it a shot this summer, and, please, come back and tell us what you did differently, if anything, and how it turned out.  Enjoy!

Coconut French Toast with Grilled Pineapple

To kick off Summer 2011, we decided to grill out for breakfast. And it awesome.

The June 2011 issue of Cooking Light featured a special section that focused on grilling. Mike was very interested. This recipe sounded like the perfect way to kick off the summer. And it's super easy.

Ingredients
1 cup light coconut milk
1/4 cup sugar
1/4 cup fat-free milk
3 large eggs
1 (12-ounce) loaf French bread, cut into 15 slices
Cooking spray
10 (1/4-inch-thick) slices peeled pineapple
1/2 cup flaked sweetened coconut

Te recipe recommends preheating the oven to 200 degrees and to use that as a means for keeping the toast warm prior to serving. That's cool and all, but you can do that on the grill, too. Prepare the mixture by combining the first four ingredients in a shallow dish and mixing with a whisk. Keep in mind that this recipe is for 5 servings, so if you plan on cutting back in the amount of bread you will prepare, you can reduce the ingredients of the mixture accordingly. We used a "coconut drink" instead of coconut milk, so we skipped the real milk, and the mixture was plenty for the 7 slices of bread we made with enough for maybe a few more. But we also used "Vienna" bread (from Meijer), so our slices were a bit bigger. The intent of this recipe is for bread that is probably 2-3" in diameter.

Once the mixture is prepared, soak each slid of bread in the mixture for approximately 1 minute, being sure to coat each side fully. Place each slice onto your medium-high heat skillet that you've prepared with cooking spray. It won't take long for each slice to be toasted golden brown on each side (you should only flip once). Place the finished slices on a cookie sheet in the oven (or on the indirect side of the grill). When you're about 1/3 of the way thru your bread slices, you'll want to make sure you start the pineapple on the grill. The grill should be on medium to medium-high heat. (We should note that a "grill pan" on the range top can also be used in place of firing up the grill, but who would do that?) We did not prepare the pineapple in any fashion before placing it on the grill. Pineapple will grill quite nicely, you'll find, with the natural sugars caramelizing in very neat "grill marks" in each side. When it starts to get a little soft and it is marked nicely, you'll know it's ready. The recipe recommends 2 minutes on each side.

We served the french toast slices with powered sugar and pure maple syrup. You can also sprinkle with coconut flakes. We drizzled the pineapple with pure honey (locally harvested, so as to help Mike with his allergies...we hope). Sara didn't feel the French toast needed syrup, as the coconut mixture makes it pretty sweet by itself. The recipe can be paired with the classic orange juice or maybe a breakfast blend of coffee, fair trade of course.

So we hope this recipe can brighten up your next lazy weekend morning. Enjoy!

Condiment Corner: Cheese

Inspiration from this post came from a text I received from my cousin and the conversation that subsequently followed.

"Break out the cheese and the mustard.  It's grand salami time!"

For context, Miguel Cairo had just hit a grand slam to give the Cincinnati Reds a comfortable lead over those lovable losers, the Chicago Cubs.  I called my cousin to inform him that the most common form of that phrase is, "Break out the rye bread and mustard, Grandma.  It's grand salami time!"  This is commonly credited to Dave Niehaus, the recently deceased former announcer for the Seattle Mariners.at least according to a Google search for [mustard and rye bread grandma].  My cousin disagreed saying that "cheese is the universal condiment".  That made me think.  First, "Is that true?"  Second, "Is that really healthy?"  (See what my wife has done to me?  Not complaining, just making an observation.)

So is cheese the universal condiment?  A quick search for [most popular condiment in America / World] will likely lead you to ketchup, salsa or mustard.  I'm pretty sure we can chalk up the salsa answer to Seinfeld.  He may have single-handedly boosted for the salsa sales around the world with one scene in his iconic TV show (see the Seinfeld episode titled "The Pitch", if you're unfamiliar).  But that still doesn't answer the question.  It does have it's own blog, fromageblog.com, which is pretty impressive.  Being or not being the most popular condiment doesn't define whether it's universal.  By "universal", I'm assuming my cousin meant it can be put on any food in any setting.  I think aside from desert - unless you include cream cheese - he could be on to something.  It could be diabetes, heart disease or even just plain obesity, but he could be on to something. 

I mean think about it, is there anything you definitely WOULD NOT enjoy a little more with just some cheese added?  French fries?  Baked potato?  Hamburger?  Coney?  Refried beans?  Rice?  Steamed broccoli?  Any kind of broccoli for that matter?!  Vegetables in general?

OK, you get the point.  Now onto question two: "Is that really healthy?"

I think the answer is generally, "no".  If you consulted a dietitian (aside from the one who told my cousin to "put ranch or butter on everything" to help her legitimately underweight child gain weight), I'm pretty sure they'd tell you one of the easiest ways to cut DOWN on calories and fat, is to eliminate or reduce the amount of cheese you add to stuff.  But that doesn't mean we can't add cheese to stuff.  I think, like anything, moderation is the key.  This isn't earth-shattering news, people.  I still love cheese.  And I'm willing to try just about any kind of cheese on just about anything...at least once.

Condiment Corner: Balsamic Vinegar

If you haven't noticed, I'm going to stretch the definition of "condiment" a little with this series. I love balsamic vinegar. This should not be confused with my love for balsamic vinaigrette, especially the kind made at little, family-run Italian restaurants. I'm talking pure brown goodness on some fresh Roma tomatoes, fresh mozzarella cheese and lightly toasted bread. I like it drizzled on grilled veggies, mixed into hamburgers and as a marinade for chicken. There are only a few recipes where Sara willingly lets me use balsamic vinegar, so I have to sneak it in whenever I can. For example, our favorite summer appetizer, grilled summer squash and zuchini, is even a little better, in my opinion, with some balsamic vinegar sparingly drizzled on just before it hits the grill. Another favorite appetizer, mini caprese baguettes - tiny slicse of French bread with a slice of fresh tomato and a thick slice of fresh mozzarella - is just that much better with a few drops of balsamic vinegar.

Sara disagrees, but I will forgive her. Just as she forgives me when I sneak it into a recipe.

Pepper Jack, Chicken, and Peach Quesadillas

Found this recipe in the August issue of Cooking Light magazine last summer and it quickly became a warm weather favorite. I suggest grilling a little extra chicken with a meal earlier in the week and saving for some for these quesadillas.  We prefer chicken thigh because it is more flavorful but breast works just fine.  You can also use rotisserie chicken to make this
recipe even easier. We think you will love the combination of flavors in this summer specialty. 

Quesadilla Ingredients
1 teaspoon honey
1/2 teaspoon fresh lime juice
1/2 cup reduced-fat sour cream
4 (8-inch) flour tortillas
3/4 cup (3 ounces) shredded Monterey Jack cheese with jalapeño peppers
1 cup chopped cooked chicken breast or thigh
1 cup thinly sliced firm ripe peaches
4 teaspoons chopped fresh cilantro
Cooking spray

Directions:

1. Combine honey, lime juice and sour cream in a small bowl, stirring well with a whisk. Cover and chill until ready to serve.
2. Place tortillas flat on a work surface. Sprinkle some cheese over half of each tortilla; top each tortilla with chicken, peaches, and 1 teaspoon cilantro. Fold tortillas in half.
3. Heat a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Coat pan with cooking spray. Place 2 quesadillas in the pan, and top quesadillas with a cast-iron or other heavy skillet. Cook 1 1/2 minutes on each side or until tortillas are crisp and lightly browned (leave cast-iron skillet on quesadillas as they cook). Remove quesadillas from pan; set aside, and keep warm. Repeat procedure with the remaining quesadillas. Cut each quesadilla into wedges. Serve with sauce.

Suggested Side:  Spinach  Salad with Cumin Vinaigrette
Combine 1 tablespoon fresh lime juice, 1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil, 1/8 teaspoon salt, 1/8 teaspoon freshly ground pepper, and 1/8 teaspoon ground cumin in large bowl.  Top with  fresh baby spinach and 1/2 cup thinly sliced red onion.  Toss gently to coat.

Rum Raisin Bread Pudding

Sara's sister Andrea made this amazing bread pudding for Mother's Day.  It was so good, we asked her if she would like a guest feature on the blog.  Here is her version of Rum Raisin Bread Pudding.  Yum Yum Yum

Ingredients:

½ tablespoon butter

1 apple, peeled and thinly sliced

1/4 cup raisins

1 tablespoon rum

1 pinch ground cinnamon

9 slices Pepperidge Farm cinnamon raisin bread, crusts removed, cut into 3/4 inch cubes

2/3 cup brown sugar

1/3 cup white sugar
3/4 cup skim milk
1 cup lowfat evaporated milk

1 tablespoon ground cinnamon

1/4 cup butter
2 eggs
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

Preheat an oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Grease a 9 inch round cake pan.

Melt 1/2 tablespoon of butter in a small skillet over medium heat. Stir in the apple, raisins, 1 tablespoon rum, and pinch of cinnamon. Cook until the apples are soft. Toss apples with bread cubes, and spoon into prepared pan.

Combine brown sugar, white sugar, 3/4 cup skim milk, evaporated milk, 1 tablespoon cinnamon, and 1/4 cup butter in a small saucepan over medium heat. Cook, stirring, until butter is melted. Allow to cool slightly and pour over bread cubes and apples.

Whisk the eggs and 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract in a small bowl. Pour egg mixture evenly over bread and apples. Cover pan with aluminum foil; bake in preheated oven for 40 minutes. Remove foil and bake until pudding is puffed and lightly browned, about 10 additional minutes.

Let cool for five minutes and serve with whipped cream if desired.

Condiment Corner: Pesto

Ok, so I'm a little behind on this feature. So let's get back on track with a little info on pesto.

Pesto is something my wife introduced me to a few years ago. I was a little skeptical at first, but it was italian, so how bad could it be? Turns out its delicioius. We put it on a lot of stuff now from grilled cheese to bread to pasta dishes. We've made our own, but, honestly, that's expensive and the store-bought stuff is pretty darn good. If you read our blog regularly, you'll probably see it mentioned. I know we already shared our fancy grilled cheese recipe that features pesto.

Our favorite kind is a combination of pine nuts and basil leaves with hefty portions of olive oil and usually some garlic...geez, that sounds a lot like a bunch of stuff Sara and I love already. Mix it up in a blender and spread it on your favorite stuff - bread, pasta, veggies - whatever. There is a great recipe on the back of the bag of pie nuts that Costco sells, but (1) you need a membership and (2) it sells for like $20!

Do you have a favorite pesto dish? Share it in the comments. Do you have a favorite condiment? Send us an email or a message on facebook and we'll be in touch.

Spinach and Ricotta Pizza

I don't know where Sara finds some of these recipes, but this one is fantastic.  And if you make this for friends or families, it is all but guaranteed to come out of the oven looking just as good as it tastes, making you look like a gourmet chef!

This is a three-part recipe - so it does take a little planning, but it's pretty quick to put together - so stick with us.

The Crust.  This is possibly one of the best crusts I've ever had.  Pizza chains have a hard time competing with this crust, and it's a lot better than the store-bought versions available at Kroger and Meijer.  Here's the major part of the planning - this crust is best when it's allowed to rise all day.  So whip it together in the AM before work, or on a Saturday before you get started cutting the grass or headed off to the ball games, cover it and place it in a warm spot in the house - nature and chemistry will take care of the rest.

2 cups whole wheat flour
1 cup all purpose flour
1/2 t instant yeast
1 t salt
2 T olive oil

Combine the flours, yeast and salt in a large bowl.  Stir in 1.5 cups of water.  The dough should be relatively sticky and wet, like biscuit batter.  If not add a little more water.  Scrape down the sides of the bowl, cover and put in a warm spot for 6 - 12 hours.

Pizza Sauce.  This is a pretty easy and really tasty sauce.  I'm a big sauce guy - that's why I love LaRosa's and probably why I loved those Tostino's pizzas Grandma used to make for us.

1 T of water
2 T chopped fresh basil
1.5 T olive oil
2 t dried oregano
1.5 t sugar
1 t minced garlic
1 (14.5 oz) can petite diced tomatoes (undrained)
1 (6 oz) can tomato paste

Combine all ingredients in a medium bowl and stir with a whisk.  Set aside.

The Pizza.  Now the fun starts.  You've got your crust, you've got your sauce, the oven is preheating to 500 deg F, and you've got the ingredients below.  Let's make a pizza!

1 T olive oil
3/4 cup pizza sauce (above)
2 T grated fresh Parmesan
1.5 cups loosely packed baby spinach leaves
1 t minced garlic
1.25 cups mozzarella
1/3 cup ricotta cheese

Coat a 12" pizza pan with cooking spray- we have a 16-18" pan with 1/4" holes all over it that works really well, probably from BB&B.  We put a piece of foil on the rack underneath in the oven, just in case anything drips.  Dust your hands with flour and fold the dough over in the bowl a few times.  It will be sticky, but use only as much flour as you really need.  Pull the dough into the shape of your pan - you can try tossing it like the Papa, but we don't recommend it unless you previously worked for the Papa (John's) or at Dewey's.  We like it a little thicker at the edges, but really pretty even throughout.  Press onto the pan and drizzle with 2 T of olive oil - we use a brush to spread it around evenly.  Spread the sauce evenly on the dough, leaving a 1/4" edge for the crust - feel free to adjust to your preferences.  Sprinkle with the grated Parmesan.  Top evenly with spinach leaves and garlic.  The spinach can be whole or chopped per your preference.  We usually make sure the pizza sauce is almost hidden by the spinach.  Sprinkle the mozzarella over the spinach.  Spoon teaspoon fulls of ricotta over the mozzarella.  Bake at 500 deg F for 12 minutes or until the mozzarella melts and the ricotta starts bubble and slightly brown and the crust starts to brown.  Let stand 5 minutes (if you can stand it) before cutting. 

This pizza is always full of sauce and has such a great combination of cheese flavors.  The ricotta by itself wouldn't add much, but when combined with the mozzarella and Parmesan, it really makes for a great flavor and texture combination.  With just the two of us, we can usually eat half for dinner and save the second half for a pair of lunch portions, which Mike will undoubtedly try to steal both of during the following week.

Condiment Corner: Hot Sauce (by William Gillen)

In our first guest post, William Gillen has put together his thoughts on his favorite condiment: Hot Sauce.  Hope you like it!

Often times, when searching for the proper spice to enhance my favorites dishes, I find myself at a loss.  The old standbys of salt, pepper and to a lesser extent, cinnamon just do not seem to tackle the job as they used to.  But I’ve noticed one addition to my garnish collection that has never let me down.  A dab from my favorite hot sauce can turn any banquet from a mere firecracker to a volcanic eruption of flavor.

Added to any poultry, steer or seafood snack, the right hot sauce puts the kind of life into a dish that you might only expect to find at a backwoods Creole festival, deep in the swampland of Louisiana. 

Many a morning has found me dribbling a smidgen of a habanero-fueled hot sauce into a cup of black coffee.  At first it may sound a bit off the level but after a few trial weeks, I found it to be an invigorating approach to jump-start any day.

So as a recommendation for those looking for more than just a little spice in life, take a trip down the hot sauce isle of your local market and prepare to enter a new fortress of flavor – each level more sensational than the next.

Cumin-Spiced Chicken with Chunky Tomato Sauce

Sara made the mistake of letting me make this one night while she chatted it up with our neighbor, Jane.  I got to use the cast iron skillet.  I love the cast iron skillet.  This is a fun recipe with plenty of opportunities to personalize and have some fun.

Ingredients:
Cooking Spray (aka olive oil)
4 (6-oz) skinless, boneless chicken breast halves
3/4 teaspoon ground cumin, divided
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 (10-oz) can mild diced tomatoes and green chilles, undrained
3/4 cup (3 oz) preshredded reduced-fat Mexican blend cheese
2 Tbs chopped fresh cilantro

1. Preheat broiler. Remember to set your rack so that the food will be approximately 8 - 9 inches from the burner.

2. Heat a large ovenproof skillet (hence the cast iron) over medium-high heat; coat pan with cooking spray.  Sprinkle both sides of check evenly with 1/2 teaspoon cumin and salt; cook 6 minutes on each side or until done (I typically find it's closer to 8 minutes, but it's definitely going to depend on the thickness of the chicken breasts and how evenly your skillet heats).  Remove chicken from pan; keep warm.  We'll toss it into the microwave on a plate.

3. Add 1/4 teaspoon cumin and tomatoes to pan; cook 1 minute.  We typically use Rotel.  Return chicken to pan; spoon tomato mixture evenly over chicken.  Sprinkle evenly with cheese; broil 2 minutes or until cheese melts. Top with cilantro.  If you don't have fresh cilantro, we recommend using a small amount of dried cilantro in the tomato mixture.

We took the recipe from myrecipes.com.  The website recommends serving the chicken with a side of Chili-Lime Corn on the Cob.  We'll feature that sometime this summer along with some other varieties of grilled corn on the cob that we've come up with on our own.  On this night, we served it with an old stand-by for us: sweet potato fries.  They're also quick, easy and so tasty!  You'll have to check back later for that recipe, though.

Enjoy!

A thought on family...

For those of you who know my family, these past two weeks have been quite a test.  And for those of you that know Sara and I, you know family is very important to us.  As my boisterous brother-in-law once put it, our family practically has a family reunion once a month.  It's typically because of a birthday or a holiday...and when we don't have those nice excuses, we just get together just because.

On Thursday, April 14 (otherwise known as Pete Rose's Birthday, a former family holiday), Mike's Grandpa, Albert Senger, died.  He had suffered a stroke just two weeks prior (on another family holiday: Reds' Opening Day), and he had a rough two weeks leading up to his passing.  My Grandmother, Evelyn, was really strong through the whole thing, despite losing her husband of 68 years, and she has 4 daughters, a son, twelve grandchildren, and four great grandchildren to help her remember all of the wonderful memories of Grandpa.  While we're typically eating when we get together, there's really only a few recipes I associate with the Senger family: cheesy potato cassarole and Denise's deviled eggs.  I'll see if I can get my aunt to write something up on one or both of those recipes - they're great treats for those family holidays like Easter and Christmas.  My other food-related memories of Grandpa Senger are mock turtle soup, liver and onions (one of HIS favorites - not mine) and campfire food.  My brother requested a campfire food recipe week for this summer, so I'll try to come up with at least one of Grandpa's old treats (which were probably prepared by Grandma and just "fired" by Grandpa) for that week. 

This morning, my Grandmother, Rosella Kuhl, passed away after almost exactly 94 years of life.  Her birthday is tomorrow.  If you knew my grandma or ever met her, you'd have probably seen her in pink, her favorite color.  We'll all be wearing pink this week in her memory.  My best food-related memories of Grandma Kuhl are probably hot dogs (which she called weiners and served split in half on a slice of bread), coffee, vanilla ice cream (she always managed to get my favorite kind, it seemed, and it was always perfectly creamy - and she let us make coke floats, orange soda floats, or whatever we wanted), or Bran Flakes.  I'm not saying my Grandma wasn't a good cook, but I honestly only knew her during her last 30 years, and I'm sure she was pretty tired of cooking at that point, having raised 3 kids and seen nine grandchildren and, by the end, 12 great-grandchildren come through her doors.  And Grandpa had pretty simple tastes - cereal or toast and coffee for breakfast, a sandwich for lunch, and a simple dinner like chicken and rice or ham and beans.  These two lived through some rough times, mind you: the depression, the big flood(s) of the Great Miami, my mom's teennage years, etc.

So losing those two major parts of our family in the past 10 days has sent a bit of a shock through the family.  But we're strong, and we're close, and we're making it.  We know that both Grandpa and Grandma are much better off now, reunited with lost friends and family, safe and comfortable, free of the pain, suffering and frustration that seemed to interrupt their lives the past few weeks and months - years for Grandma, really.  And while we miss them terribly - and will in the coming weeks probably more than we even know right now - we have such great memories of both of them. 

Some of my favorite ways to remember both of them are their laughs.  Grandpa Senger was quick to make a joke or give you a hard time about something and then share a laugh with you about it.  His laugh was short and brought the corners of his mouth up in this big smile while his shoulders bounced slightly.  Grandma Kuhl had more of a fully body laugh when she really got going.  This was typically after a Grandpa Kuhl wisecrack or a silly, off-the-wall comment by Leo, my cousin's husband.  My favorite was when Grandpa would be teasing her about something and she would laugh and tell him "Oh, stop it!" while waving her hand at him, typically with a tissue in her hand - she always had a tissue in her hand.

So, if you think of it, say a quick prayer for my parents and their siblings, but more importantly, make sure to call your parents and grandparents and tell them you love them.  They never get tired of hearing that, I'm sure.

Condiment Corner: Mustard

Mustard.  I've loved mustard since I was a kid.  I'm not sure why I ever even tried it, but once I did, there was no stopping me.  As a kid, I kept it simple: whatever mom had in the fridge, which was typically French's classic yellow in that super big yellow squeeze bottle.  I mostly had it on my hot dogs and hamburgers, occasionally on my french fries.  My sister actually turned me on to one of my favorite applications of mustard: on pork chops.  And while watching America's Test Kitchen recently, I learned that mustard and mustard-based glazes and sauces are actually a preferred pairing with many pork cuts - they're very complimentary flavors.  Who my sister was such a culinary whiz way back then?  A side note on the socially acceptable use of mustard: per popular conventions, it is only acceptable to put ketchup on a hot dog until age 10, afterwhich mustard is the socially acceptable condiment.  Words to live by, if you ask me.
At some point during my grade school years, most likely while spending one of many spring breaks at my grandparents' house, Grandpa Kuhl introduced me to the delicious variation that is...Gulden's.  Grandpa may not have been classy (read "pompous") enough for Grey Poupon, but he did like his Gulden's.  He would lay it on thick on one half of his sandwich, whether it was bologna or turkey or ham...or a weiner (as Grandma Kuhl would say).  After one taste, I knew that regular yellow mustard just wouldn't cut it any more.  Of course, it took a while to win my mom over - and by a while, I mean until my sister moved out for college, and I was pretty much the only one eating mustard.  In the meantime, I was only able to get my Gulden's fix when I visited Grandma and Grandpa.
Now that I'm older  and can buy my own groceries (or at least beg my wife to buy them for me on her next trip to the store), I've found that the world of mustards is pretty wide open.  Some of my favorite varieties include those by Jack Daniels.  I really like the "brown" mustards and some of the nicer, thicker types are pretty good, too.  But the best mustard I've found is one I've only found on a rare occasion: Cleveland Stadium Mustard.  It comes in a little glass jar with a pretty plain logo - red with white scrip letters.  It even has its own website - www.stadiummustard.com - where you can order it by the case.  And while it pains me to say that Cleveland has done something better than Cincinnati or even Dayton, at least it's not Heinz!

BONUS POST! Pesto and Tomato Grilled Cheese with Roasted Red Pepper Tomoato Soup

In honor of Grilled Cheese Month, we've decided to put up a bonus post to share our own little grilled cheese creation: Pesto and Tomato Grilled Cheese.

We love tomato.  And we really like this pesto by Buitoni.  So why not combine them with one of our favorite meals, grilled cheese and tomato soup.  Aside from that one time Mike's mom burnt him with a super hot grilled cheese sandwich, we have such great childhood memories of this simple comfort food.

Our favorite version uses sourdough bread, like that sold at Trader Joe's or Findlay Market or your neighborhood bakery.  Tonight's version uses TJ's wheat bread.  We take the easy way out for the cheese, just buying pre-sliced cheddar cheese slices.  Sometimes we'll get crazy and buy white cheddar!  Yeah, crazy.

We spread a thin coat of butter on the outside the two slices of bread for each sandwich.  On one slice, we spread a thick layer of pesto on once slice.  The other slice receives two slices of cheese with two thin slices of tomato in between.  Placed together in the skillet, the sandwich is just browned on either side...like we really need to tell you how to cook grilled cheese...

The soup we're having tonight is from Costco and is easily our favorite variety of tomato soup: Pacific Natural Foods Roasted Red Pepper with Tomato Soup.  Sara's parents buy it in bulk and we buy a few cartons off of them each time.  We've tried versions from TJ's and some other places, but we haven't found one that compares.

What's your favorite grilled cheese recipe?

Chickpea Burgers with Ricotta Sauce

Here's a vegetarian option that's a great winter meal when you're hankering for a burger and it's too cold to fire up the grill.  We're not going to pretend like these burgers taste like beef burgers - or even turkey burgers, for that matter.  That's not the point.  These burgers taste pretty good, though.  They're not super filling, which can be a good thing, and you can dress them up with either your favorite burger toppings, or as detailed below, with some non-traditional toppings.

The sauce is a new one for us.  We feel it needs a bit more flavor, which could mean adding some parmesan cheese or some cilantro while it's in the blender.  We want to try this recipe again with a Greek taztziki sauce - something with a bit more tang, but not a whole lot more body.  We like the thickness and texture of the sauce, we just wanted more flavor.

We used regular panko - and yes, we actually used panko.  We felt it was worth trying the real panko the first time since the panko has a much different texture than just typical breadcrumbs.  Regular or italian breadcrumbs would work, if those are all you have on hand, or if you just prefer those to the harder-to-find and possibly more expensive panko.

2 cups canned chickpeas, rinsed and drains
1/4 cup chopped flat-leaf parsley
1 clove garlic, minced
1 teaspoon cumin
1 teaspoon coriander
1 teaspoon chili powder
Freshly ground black pepper
1 egg
1/4 cup plus 2 teaspoons whole-wheat panko (japanese bread crumbs)
Cooking spray
1/3 cup part-skim ricotta
2 tablespoons nonfat plain yogurt
4 whole-wheat hamburger buns
cucumber, thinly sliced
red onion, thinly sliced
tomato, thinly sliced
spinach leaves, rinsed

Preheat the broiler to high.  In a large bowl, combine chickpeas, parsley, garlic, and spices; season with pepper.  Partially mash the chickpea mixture; stir in egg and 2 tablespoons panko and shape into 4 patties.

Spread remaining panko on a plate and dredge patties in it.  Place patties on a baking sheet coated with cooking spray (we placed foil under the burgers to make clean up easier).  Broil 8 to 10 inches from heat for 4 to 5 minutes per side.  Be careful here not to put the burgers too close to the broiler burners.  If you have extra panko on your cookie sheet, expect it to burn - and don't be surprised if you smell something burning when you open the oven door.  Watch the burgers, especially at the very end since a broiler can burn food in a real hurry.

Puree ricotta an yogurt in a blender or food processor.  This is where we would suggest adding some parmesean or reggiano cheese to boost the flavor of this sauce.  Serve burgers on buns with cucumber, onion, tomato, spinach and ricotta sauce.  We actually used some toasted, homemade whole-wheat bread Sara had made a few days prior (that's a great, easy recipe we'll share in the future). 

A vegan version can be made by substituting tahini for the egg, and tofu cream cheese for the ricotta sauce.

We paired our burger with some applesauce and homemade french fries.  We'll cover the french fries another time.

The beer pairing is really up to your mood, but I think a subtle amber ale or lager, such as Hudy Amber or Yuengling Traditional Amber Lager, would be a pretty good match with this meal.  Let the burger and it's dressings be the focus and the beer just serve as background.

(recipe source: Shape Magazine)

Molten Chocolate Spiced Cakes

We have made this recipe a few times at special dinners and received rave reviews!  Posting on the blog was a special request from Linda, so I was forced to make this dessert for dinner tonight so I could take a picture :)  This is definitely not healthy or low-cal, but its probably better than a restaurant dessert, right?......

Ingredients:
4 oz. semi-sweet baking chocolate
1/2 cup (1 stick) butter
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 cup powered sugar
2 eggs
1 egg yolk
6 Tbsp flour
1/4 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp ground ginger
1/8 tsp ground cloves

Microwave chocolate and butter in large microwavable bowl on HIGH 1 minute or until butter is melted.  Stir with wire whisk until chocolate is completely melted.  Stir in vanilla and sugar until well blended.  Stir in eggs and yolk.  Stir in flour and spices.  Pour batter into 4 (6-oz) buttered ramekins.  Place on baking sheet.
Bake in preheated 425 degree oven 13 to 15 minutes or until sides are firm but centers are soft.  Let stand 1 minute.  Carefully loosen edges with knife.  Invert onto serving plates.  Sprinkle with additional powdered sugar.  Serve immediately. Makes 4 servings.

I found this recipe in cooking light on an add for McCormick Spices. The recipe calls for 1 Tbsp red wine (add with vanilla and sugar) but I havent had a bottle of wine open any of the times I made this recipe so I havent tried that yet.  I can tell you, its definitely not  required!

Smarter Fettuccine Alfredo

Pasta alfredo is a guilty pleasure...but with this recipe you dont have to feel quite as bad about indulging once and a while!  A great thing about this dish is that we usually have all the ingredients already in the fridge/pantry.  And it whips up pretty quickly!

Ingredients:
8-oz fettuccine
1 1/4 cups chicken broth
4 tsp flour
1/3 cup cream cheese
3 Tbsp parmesan cheese
1/4 tsp ground nutmeg
1/8 tsp pepper
2 Tbsp chopped fresh parsley

Cook pasta as directed on package.  Meanwhile, combine broth and flour in medium saucepan. Stir in cream cheese, 2 Tbsp parmesan cheese, nutmeg, and pepper.  Cook 2 minutes,  stirring constantly with a wire whisk until mixture boils and thickens.  Drain pasta and toss with the sauce.  Dish out and top with remaining parmesan cheese and parsley.

You can add some cooked chicken strips to this if you want, but we usually just serve with a salad and some crusty bread.  Freshly grated parmesan cheese is best, but the parmesan style cheese from the grocery works too.  And if you dont have fresh parsley, substitute with dried.

Oven Roasted Pork Loin Back Ribs

Sara had the idea to have pork ribs for dinner tonight.  I wasn't going to argue with that.  So I had to figure out how I was going to cook them with the grill still being put away for the winter.  After browsing a different suggestions online, I settled on making up a quick rub and using a combination of low-and-slow roasting in the oven and a finish under the broiler.

About 2 hours before I planned to put them into the oven, I rubbed the pork ribs down - both sides - with the rub mixture.  I found a recipe referred to as a Kansas City rib rub online:  

• 1/2 cup brown sugar
• 1/4 cup paprika
• 1 tablespoon black pepper
• 1 tablespoon salt
• 1 tablespoon chili powder
• 1 tablespoon garlic powder
• 1 tablespoon onion powder
• 1 teaspoon cayenne

This would make a pretty large amount of rub, and since I have bad luck with keeping rubs for longer than a week or so, I reduced the quantities.  And I didn't exactly measure them, either.  I probably used about half of each quantity listed above.

I wrapped up the ribs in foil and placed them in the fridge until about 30-45 minutes before I was ready to put them in the oven.  I like to let the meat sit out a short while before cooking to allow the meat to reach room temperature.  I pre-heated the oven to 250 deg. F (I like to use the convection feature of our oven) and, once it reached that temperature, placed the ribs, still wrapped up in foil, on a cookie sheet about 8-9 inches below the broiler element (in preparation for the finishing stage).  I set the timer for 1 h and 15 minutes.  At the half-way mark, I checked the moisture level of the ribs, planning on sprinkling a little beer into the foil packet if they were a little dry.  Turns out they were not, so I just flipped them over and set them back in the oven for another hour and fifteen minutes. 

After 2 and a half hours in the oven, I took the ribs out of the oven and opened up the foil to apply the barbecue sauce.  We like Bulls-eye barbecue sauce because it's made without high fructose corn syrup - we're pretty sure it could be the only one available at the major retailers.  We haven't checked at Trader Joe's.  I drizzled the barbecue sauce over the ribs in pretty thick layer on one side only. 

Meanwhile, I set the broiler to 450 degrees (if your boiler doesn't have a temperature setting, it shouldn't matter a great deal, but I would probably choose a medium or low setting if available).  I placed the ribs into the oven, again about 8-9 inches from the boiler element.  I left the ribs under the broiler for about 15 minutes, until the barbecue sauce started to bubble evenly across the whole rack.  (If your broiler doesn't have a low or medium setting, be sure to watch the ribs carefully so as not to burn them.)

After about 15 minutes under the broiler, I used a meat thermometer to check the temperature of the ribs.  I like to see about 160 deg F, but be sure to keep the thermostat away from the bones to get an accurate reading.  Don't forget about the ribs' "built-in meat thermometer" - the rib bones.  Generally, the ribs are in pretty good shape if the meat pulls back from the bones so that about an inch of bone is showing.  A real thermometer is always a safe bet, though.

I let the ribs sit open in the kitchen for another 10 minutes or so before serving them.  I like to serve them warm, but not hot.  Just before serving them, I cut them into 5 - 6-inch racks.

As sides, Sara and I decided on macaroni and cheese and sweet potato fries.  The mac and cheese was just out of a box - Annie's all-natural (made in the USA).  The sweet potato fries are a bit of a homemade concoction.

• 1 large sweet potato
• ~2 tablespoons olive oil
• 2 parts chili powder
• 2 parts garlic powder
• 1 part salt
• 1 part pepper

Pre-heat the oven to 400 deg F.  Cut the potato into french-fry like strings.  Toss them in a bowl with olive oil and the other ingredients.  Spread the fries on a foil-lined cookie sheet.  Cook the fries for a half-hour, flipping them at the half-way point.

We also threw together a quick spinach salad with tomatoes, red onion and cucumber.  The dressing was a mixture I threw together the night before.  We bought some awesome Balsamic vinegar at Trader Joe's, so I used that as the basis for the vinaigrette.  I used approximately 3 parts Balsamic vinegar, 2 parts olive oil and dashes of dry oregano, dry basil, dry rosemary and garlic powder.  I probably put too much of each spice in, but it tasted pretty good.  If you intend to make your own, play with the proportions of the vinegar and oil according to your tastes and how strong your vinegar is.

This is about as close as Sara and I come to "down home cooking".  The only thing missing - and probably only because we didn't think of it, and because of a lack of oven space - was corn muffins.  This was a bit of a spur-of-the-moment meal, but it was so delicious, so I just had to share it.  If you make your own, come back and let us know how it came out and what personal twists you put on it!

Sausage and Spinach Soup

We found this recipe online when looking for some tasty soups.  This soup cooks up pretty quick and it's filling, too.  We've used Italian turkey sausage,mild and hot Italian sausage and recently chorizo.  The recipe suggests 10 oz, but this can obviously be varied to meet your needs / tastes.  We avoid the encased sausage when we can - the cases are hard to remove and typically just make a mess.  And the non-encased sausage typically crumbles better.

We use fresh garlic, also, not the bottled minced kind in the recipe.  Interestingly, we don't typically have fresh basil or oregano in the house - especially during the winter, when we typically eat soups - so we use the dried versions and reduce the quantities somewhat.  We DO typically have fresh cheese to grate.

Fresh spinach is must - the frozen stuff, just doesn't cut it.  Not much else to say about that.

We don't typically drink wine with this, but the recipe we found recommends a "crisp, medium-bodied" wine, such as a California pino grigio.  We would recommend a beer...OK, Mike would recommend a beer...something crisp and medium-bodied, like a Dortmunder Gold from Great Lakes Brewery or Sam Adams Boston Lager.

Sausage and spinach soup served with a toasted baguette.

10 oz. sweet turkey Italian sausage
cooking spray
1 cup pre-chopped onion
2 teaspoons (bottled) minced garlic
1/2 cup water
1 (15 oz) can cannelloni beans, rinsed and drained
1 (14.5 oz) can organic stewed tomatoes, undrained
1 (14 oz) can fat-free, less-sodium chicken broth
2 cups baby spinach
1 tablespoon chopped fresh basil
2 teaspoons chopped fresh oregano
grated fresh Romano cheese

Remove casings from sausage.  Cook sausage in a large saucepan (think soup pot) coated with cooking spray over high heat until browned, stirring to crumble.  Add onion and 2 teaspoons garlic to pan; cook for 2 minutes.  Stir in 1/2 cup water, beans, tomatoes, and broth.  Cover and bring to a boil.  Uncover and cook for 3 minutes or until slightly thick.  Remove from heat, and stir in spinach, basil and oregano.  Ladle soup into bowls (typically makes 4 bowls) and sprinkle each serving with cheese.

This soup is delicious.  And we can usually get a few helpings of leftovers out of it, too.

Easy Bean Enchiladas

This is an old standby-very easy and quick.  Leftovers taste even better for lunch the next day :)

Ingredients:
1 can refried beans (I use meijer organic)
1 can enchilada sauce (red)
4 large tortillas
mexican cheese

Preheat oven to 350.  Spread 1/4 of the beans on each totilla and roll into an enchilada.  Pour some sauce to coat the bottom of glass baking dish.  Place the 4 enchiladas in the pan, seam down, and cover with remaining sauce.  Top with cheese.  Cover and bake 30 minutes.  Serve with yellow saffron rice and guacamole.

Chili Soup

This is Mike's mom's chili soup recipe, with some modifications by us of course :)

Ingredients:
1 lb ground beef (or turkey)
1 can diced tomatoes
1 can Brooks Chili Beans (I use hot)
1 can tomato sauce
1 can beer
chili powder to taste
uncooked spaghetti (about the size of a quarter)

Brown beef and drain.  In large saucepan, combine all ingredients and simmer at least 1 hour.   About 1/2 way through, add the spaghetti and cook until tender. Serve with corn muffins.
You can make this in a crock pot and simmer several hours (or all day).  I usually double this recipe because it makes great lunch portions and freezes well (two pounds of beef and large cans of the rest of the ingredients)
Our friend Megan's advice on a great pot of chili: use beer, and simmer all day.

Pasta with Sausage, Pepper and Onions

This is one of Mike's favorite dishes.  I created it after seeing him order it time and again at various italian restaurants.  This is also an easy one and makes great leftover portions for lunch!

Ingredients:
2 italian sausages (turkey regular)
1 green pepper, chopped
1 large yellow onion, chopped
1 clove garlic, chopped, optional
crushed red pepper
1 jar pasta sauce
12-16 oz wheat penne pasta, cooked

Boil water and cook the pasta.  Cook sausage in large skillet over medium-high heat.  You can either take it out of the casing and brown or just saute the whole link and slice when almost cooked.  Add the peppers, onions and garlic.  Saute 2-3 minutes.  Add the pasta sauce and crushed red pepper and heat through.  When the pasta is ready, add to the skillet and toss together with the sauce.  Top with fresh grated parmesan cheese. 

Spicy Beef Noodles

For our first recipe, something easy and very flavorful.  You can add more or less red pepper to your desired spice level. 

Ingredients: 
1 lb lean ground beef (or turkey)
1 red bell pepper, diced
1 green bell pepper, diced
2 carrots, shredded
2 garlic cloves, minced
2 tsp grated fresh ginger
1 cup beef broth
1/4 cup peanut butter
2 tbsp soy sauce
1/2 to 1 tsp dried crushed red pepper
8 oz whole wheat spaghett, cooked
1/4 cup green onions, sliced
2 tbsp toasted sesame seeds
chopped peanuts, optional

Cook beef in large skillet over medium-high heat until browned.  Add peppers and next seven ingredients (to the crushed red pepper) and saute 6 to 8 minutes until vegetables are tender.  Toss beef mixture with hot pasta, green onions, sesame seeds and peanuts. Serves 4 to 6

(adapted from a recipe by Laura's Lean Beef)

Time for dinner!

Mike and I are on a mission to prove that eating healthy can also be DELICIOUS. We plan to post one or two recipes a week, although if we don't have any good dishes in a certain week we won't waste anyone's time. Not all will be super healthy-we all deserve a spluge once and a while! We try to use organic and natural foods and our goal is to find fairly easy recipes that still have lots of flavor and health benefits! We attempt to minimize the use of processed foods and to reduce our meat consumption by subbing in lots of veggies, beans, etc.

We encourage readers to share ideas, comments, variations and inputs on coking techniques. We have no formal cooking training, athough we did watch Julie and Julia once!

We think you will agree, you don't have to sacrifice good flavor to eat healthy. And in the words of my wise father, "if you can eat like this at home, why go out?!"
we hope you will enjoy our kitchen tested recipes! Bon appetit!