mac and cheese interruption

I interrupt this regularly-scheduled blogging about healthy meals to bring you . . .

Mac and Cheese!  Homemade mac and cheese and I were at odds for years -- every recipe I had ever tried turned out greasy, stringy, lumpy, or otherwise unappetizing.  Cook's Illustrated, THANK YOU!  (Here is an approximation of the recipe . . . I wouldn't recommend making the changes the blogger made, though, as the evaporated milk and American cheese are both kind of crucial to keeping the sauce creamy and smooth.)  I followed the printed recipe nearly to a T, including the buttery, parmesan-rich crumb topping, (which the blogger did not add . . .) and added about 3/4 lb baby spinach to the pasta water at the end of cooking for an attempt at adding some nutrition to what I would otherwise consider to be homemade junk food. :)  (I also forgot to add the pasta water to the sauce, because I forgot to reserve any.  Does anyone else have this "problem" remembering to reserve pasta water?)  John has already requested this (sans spinach) for part of his birthday dinner . . . must be good!  ;)

I think my favorite part about this recipe, however, is that it's reasonably simple, especially for a Cook's Illustrated version.  (I often find their recipes unnecessarily complex, and only a little bit better than a much simpler version.  Not so with this one!)  The breadcrumb topping is whizzed up in a food processor, and the sauce is made in the same pot in which the noodles were boiled -- after draining, of course.  :)  No knife or cutting board required!  I love the meditative effects of veggie-chopping just as much as the next healthy eater, but sometimes, it's nice to throw a few things together and call it done, ya know?

This recipe makes a HUGE amount, (I believe the printed recipe says it serves 8, but we get more like 10 to 12 servings at our house,) and holds well as leftovers.  (Another flaw with most macaroni and cheese recipes . . . they are often awful leftover, but not this one!  Stays creamy and delicious all week long.)  I believe this would also be delicious after freezing, then thawing and baking -- score!

Enjoy!

400-calorie dinners (v)

I had the opportunity to travel to Seattle last week for training for work -- so much fun!  I had a chance to eat at Veggie Grill three times, (it was a block away from my hotel, and well, there were so many things on the menu I wanted to try!) at Chaco Canyon with Victoria and Brent, (isn't meeting fellow bloggers you've "known" for years so much fun!), and at Chutney's Bistro with my friend Christine!  Add on the hotel breakfast daily, and a "Snowball" from Trophy Cupcakes and well, it was a tasty trip.  :)

(Victoria, what was the name of the ice cream place we went to after dinner?)

Needless to say, I wasn't counting calories while I was away.  I rarely travel, so I figured I'd give myself a vacation from that, too!  I could see how hard it would be to eat healthfully for frequent travelers, though!

Now that I'm home, I'm back at it!  Three more 400-calorie dinners for you today . . .

MORE pizza:

Half whole-wheat Artisan Bread in 5 crust, topped with olive oil, minced garlic, an entire 10-oz package of frozen spinach, dried tomatoes from last summer's garden, part-skim mozzarella, and feta.   Popeye would be jealous, vampires would run screaming.  :)  216 calories per slice!

The classic soup-n-sandwich:

Creamy Tomato-Basil Bisque, with a half grilled-cheese on the side.  332 calories as-is, (sandwich made using one slice of whole-wheat bread and an ounce of sharp cheddar, cooked in cooking spray,) or you could increase your sandwich portion to a full-size if you were looking for a larger meal.

And, my new favorite meal:

Twice-Baked Sweet Potatoes with Leeks and Sausage.  I used two links of leftover homemade kielbasa instead of the suggested Italian pork sausage; super-delicious!  I had a feeling these stuffed sweets were going to be delicious, but I had no idea they would be quite so . . . incredible.  Creamy, sweet, savory, cheesy, hearty, and filling, but still a calorie bargain at 265 calories per potato half.  Add a huge side salad for a light supper, or enjoy two potato halves for a heartier supper.

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Do you try to eat healthfully when you travel, or do you indulge more?

400-calorie dinners (iv)

Life is uncertain . . . dessert first!

I know I've read a bunch in the blogosphere over the past few years about "sugar addiction" -- what are your thoughts?  I like to believe that I have a much healthier relationship with sugar these days than in years past, but honestly, I don't see myself ever giving up sugar in its entirety.  Treats are just too special a part of my life, and I love to bake!  For example . . . 

John's Valentine's Day present, which he actually finished off before Valentine's Day.  (Whoops.  Next time, I'll know better!  Bake closer to the actual holiday.)  Husband has a weakness for chocolate and peanut butter, and I thought these cookies would be the perfect way to use up some of the Hershey's Kisses that Santa left for me in my Christmas stocking.  (Confession: I really don't much care for chocolate, especially milk chocolate!  Weird, I know.)  Natural peanut butter gave these cookies a rich, crumbly, sandy texture that was . . . incredible.  At 117 calories each, these still fit nicely into my healthy eating plan!

Since the peanut butter-chocolate kiss cookies didn't last that long, I baked another batch of cookies this weekend . . .
















I'm typically not a huge fan of "light" desserts -- I feel like flavor and texture are often sacrificed, and I'd rather eat less of the "real" thing.  However, I tried swapping in a half-cup applesauce for half a cup of butter in my favorite oatmeal cookie recipe, (I did leave one stick of butter in tact,) because I believe oatmeal cookies are best when soft and slightly cakey.  HUGE success.  I also used all whole-wheat pastry flour instead of AP, which I believed also paired well with the applesauce -- whole-grain treats can get a little dry and "wheaty," in my opinion, but the extra moisture from the applesauce is a big help.  At only 86 calories apiece, they certainly don't taste "light" or lacking in anything!

And now, more 400-calorie meals we've enjoyed this past week:

Cream of Wild Rice Soup:

A Minnesota classic, which we served at our wedding just under a year ago, vegetized by doubling the mushrooms and adding a little cubed seitan instead of chicken.  (Does anyone besides me find too much seitan to be overpowering?)  The result is a nutritious, warm, comforting, and filling supper, perfect for a bitter cold evening.  (Of which we've had many this winter!  Sigh.)

Breakfast Burrito:

Fill a whole-wheat tortilla with 2 oz refried beans, 1/2 oz cheese, 4 oz shredded Yukon gold potato (hashbrowned-up using a little olive oil cooking spray in a cast-iron skillet,) one egg over-easy, home-canned salsa, and a little sour cream ... perfect for a weekend brunch or a speedy weeknight supper!

Black Bean and Cheese Enchiladas:

Ok, so, one "light" food I REALLY don't believe in is reduced-fat cheese.  I mean, c'mon . . . cheese is fat!  What the heck is reduced-fat cheese anyway?  I slightly adapted this recipe, choosing to use 6 oz full-fat Monterey Jack instead of the 8 oz reduced-fat cheese called for.  This meal is relatively quick to prepare, given you're making your own homemade enchilada sauce, and even more delicious leftover.  (Somebody at work is always curious about what I have for lunch!)

Polenta and Roasted Veggies:

I threw this together one evening last week when John was working late, and boy, did he miss out!  (He was able to enjoy leftovers for lunch the next day.)  I decided to roast the veggies instead of pan-sauteeing, which freed up my attention to whip up the polenta.  Although the blue cheese does lend the polenta an unusual, slightly grayish color, this was one heck of a flavorful, colorful, healthy meal!

Stir Fry:

I find that most of the calories in stir-fry actually come from the rice . . . bummer.  Keeping my rice portion down to a 1/2 cup left room on my plate for loads of broccoli and tofu!  I had been wanting to try this recipe for "Chipotle-Orange Broccoli & Tofu" for some time.  It was . . . just okay.  The tofu and broccoli were delicious, but the sauce was nothing special.  Bummer!  I think my biggest complaint was that the citrus flavor wasn't at all present!  You'd think that something with "orange" in the recipe title would be citrusy . . . notsomuch.

Spinach and Artichoke Stuffed Portobello Mushrooms:

Like artichoke dip?  You will LOVE these.  Seriously, make them tonight!

And, Quiche:

I typically cut my quiche into six slices; eight slices makes for more sensible portions for me these days.  (If you still want to enjoy a heartier portion while keeping an eye on your calorie intake, I'd recommend a crustless version -- pastry is kind of a calorie-bomb, unfortunately.)  This meal was a cinch to prepare, thanks to a homemade pie crust stashed away in the freezer and some pre-roasted sweet potatoes.  John loves quiche 'cause he loves eggs, and will take care of these leftovers before I can blink an eye most weeks.

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Off to make a pizza!  :)

the dough also rises

Ha, ha.  Pardon my ridiculous title -- let's just say I've been baking up awesome yeast breads lately!

Yesterday, I made Whole-Wheat English Muffins!  My second time with this recipe was a definite success -- like anything, the more you practice, the better/faster/more efficient you get.  While English muffins are slightly fussy, they are totally worth the extra time and effort in the kitchen.  Far more delicious than store-bought muffins and full of nutritious ingredients you select, at a fraction of the cost!

Step 1: Prepare dough

If you are familiar with how to make pizza crust or any other type of yeast bread, you can easily make English muffin dough.  It is a basic whole-wheat dough, using a blend of whole-wheat and all-purpose flours, enriched with milk, a little honey, and a little melted butter.  P.S. I don't have a big stand mixer, so I do my kneading by hand, which has always worked fine for me.

Step 2: Shape and allow to rise again

The biggest change I've made from the recipe as written has been shaping my English muffins using slightly smaller portions -- I have good success with 3 oz dough per muffin, (yes, I use my scale,) which makes 15 or 16 muffins from the linked recipe, instead of 12.

Step 3: Skillet-browning
















The recipe mentions that the two characteristics of an English muffin that make them unique are the dusting of cornmeal, and the turn in the skillet.  Possibly the most time-consuming part of the process, (cooking 5 minutes per side,) this takes a bit if you don't have a large griddle to cook a whole baking sheet-full at once.  I will likely return to using my griddle next time, although I always love using my cast-iron frying pan.

Step 4: Bake!

This recipe suggests a final trip into a 350 degree oven for 5 minutes; my muffins seemed more done after 10 minutes.  They were a little crowded on the baking sheets, and I think my oven runs cool, so that definitely explains it.

Have you ever made English muffins?  What did you think?  I have a feeling these will become a standard piece of my baking repertoire, especially since they freeze beautifully, too.

Here are a few other things I've baked and cooked this weekend:

Buttermilk Scones

An incredibly simple, delicious recipe, using just enough butter for richness without becoming heavy, these scones seem infinitely adaptable, and will be a frequent repeat at our house.  I added some dried cranberries this time; chocolate chips and almonds for sure next time!

Irish Oatmeal Bread

My go-to sandwich bread, I decided to bake up a couple of loaves this weekend, while I had the flour and yeast out for the English muffins, and stock up my freezer with healthy, homemade, whole-grain carbs.

One of our favorite dinners - Quiche!

I rolled out a homemade pie crust and filled it with the above recipe, adding about 2 cups finely chopped fresh spinach.  John and I both love quiche, and it makes such a great, light meal -- perfect leftovers for work lunches, too!

And last but not least, tempeh reubens:

Storebought rye bread, thousand island dressing, swiss cheese, sauerkraut, and "Seasoned Tempeh," from Moosewood Restaurant Cooks at Home.  A mighty fine sandwich for a cool, rainy Sunday!

And, I better run . . . Monday morning always creeps up on ya, doesn't it?  Hope you had a good weekend, too!

vacation eats

Merry Christmas!  I've had a lovely holiday week filled with eggnog, cocoa, cookies, movies, board games, reading, ice skating, snow shoeing, and lots of delicious food!

"Red Lentil Soup with Greens," from Moosewood Restaurant Simple Suppers:

One of my favorite quick and easy soups of all time, because it is light without being watery, nutritious yet totally delicious, making a perfect winter lunch with a side of lightly buttered naan.

Cranberry Bread:

A family recipe I've altered slightly -- here's my version!

CRANBERRY BREAD:

yield: one 9-inch loaf

Combine dry ingredients:
2 cups flour
1/2 tsp salt
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda

Toss with dry ingredients:
2 cups fresh or frozen cranberries
1/2 cup raisins

Combine wet ingredients:
1 cup sugar
1 egg
1/4 cup melted butter
1/4 cup water
1/2 cup orange juice

Add dry ingredients to wet, and stir together just until combined.  Bake at 350 for about an hour, (longer if your cranberries were frozen,) or until a toothpick inserted in the center of your loaf comes out clean.

"Black Beans with Pickled Red Onions," from Moosewood Restaurant Simple Suppers:

I ate huge quantities of this meal several days in a row this past week, and am still not sick of it.  :)  I love black beans, I love the simple seasonings on these black beans, and I love the gorgeous, tangy pickled red onions!  I love a little acidity with beans, and these pickled onions are practically perfect!

Homemade pizza #1:

Half whole-wheat homemade crust, organic pizza sauce, mozzarella, parmesan, onion, garlic, cremini mushroom, green bell pepper, and sliced black olives.  Delicious for lunch, and delicious leftover for breakfast the next morning!

Christmas Eve supper:

I was looking for something light yet substantial to serve for supper on Christmas Eve, as I had a long evening ahead of me!  (Hour-long rehearsal followed by 2 hour church service starting at 9 pm . . . !)  I settled on Basic Quiche, hasselback sweet potatoes, and Vegetarian Southern-Style Collard Greens.  A delicious, nutritious, filling, hearty, yet light meal that fueled me through a long evening of singing!

Christmas breakfast tradition growing up always included "Baby Jesus Coffee Cake:"

My mom would make this cake yearly, and stick a candle in it while we sang "Happy Birthday" to baby Jesus.  I still make the cake, but skip the candle.  :)

"Baby Jesus" Coffee Cake
yield: one 8-inch pan (double to make a 9X13 pan)

Streusel ingredients:
1/4 cup sugar
14 cup flour
3/4 tsp cinnamon
2 tbsp butter

Dry ingredients:
1 cup flour
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp baking soda

Wet ingredients:
1/2 cup butter, softened
3/4 cup sugar
1 egg
1/2 tsp vanilla

Additional ingredient:
1/2 cup sour cream (I used sour cream I cultured myself!)

Directions:
1. Cut the butter into the streusel ingredients until crumbly.  Reserve.
2. Combine the dry ingredients.
3. Cream together the butter and sugar.  Add the egg and vanilla, and stir until well-combined.
4. Add the dry ingredients and sour cream to the wet ingredients alternately, beginning and ending with the flour.  (I recommend 1/3 the flour, 1/2 the sour cream, 1/3 the flour, remaining sour cream, remaining flour.)
5. Spread half the batter in a greased 8-inch baking pan.  Sprinkle over half the streusel, then carefully spread over the remaining batter.  (I like to dollop out the batter in small spoonfuls, as it is kind of thick and hard to spread over the streusel.)  Top with the remaining streusel.
6. Bake at 325 for about 40 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center of the cake comes out clean.  Cool before cutting and serving!
(P.S. this freezes beautifully, if you want to make it several days in advance and pull out to thaw on Christmas Eve!)

Plated, with cheesy eggs and fruit:

Homemade pizza #2:

"Christmas pizza" this time, topped with broccoli, roasted red peppers, and more sliced olives.  

And Spanikopita for Christmas dinner, a new John & Catherine tradition:

My version, loosely based on the recipe from The Cheese Factory Restaurant Cookbook . . . 

Filling:

1/2 cup heavy cream

2 eggs

1/2 tsp dried basil

1/2 tsp dried oregano

1/2 tsp dried dill

zest of one lemon

1/2 tsp salt

1/2 tsp pepper

1/8 tsp cayenne

1/8 tsp nutmeg

1 onion, chopped, and 1 clove garlic, minced, softened in 1 tbsp olive oil

5 10-ounce packages frozen spinach, thawed and squeezed dry

1 pound feta, crumbled

Additional ingredients

1 pound filo, thawed

1 stick butter, melted

Directions:

1. Whisk together the cream, eggs, zest, herbs, and spices.  Stir in the onion/garlic mixture, spinach, and feta until thoroughly combined.

2. Lightly butter a 9X13 baking dish.  Begin layering sheets of filo, 4 at a time, building up a "crust" around the sides.  Butter the tops of the filo, then continue layering until you've used at least half of the filo.  (Cover the remaining filo with a damp towel while you are working.)  Add the filling, spreading evenly.  Layer the remaining filo, buttering every-other, until you get to the last 10 sheets.  Layer the remaining 10 sheets, buttering each.

3. Cut the pie into 12 pieces.  Bake at 325 for about an hour, or until the top is evenly golden brown.  Allow the pie to rest for 10 minutes before re-cutting and serving!

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Hope you had a Merry Christmas!

pumping up the produce

As I wrote earlier in the week, I am trying to make an effort to eat more produce these days -- specifically, more veggies!  I tried to center our meals around veggies this weekend, and chose Moosewood Restaurant Simple Suppers as my "focus cookbook."  (Do any of you ever do that when you are meal planning?  Sometimes when I'm overwhelmed by ideas and options, I choose one cookbook and select only recipes from it for upcoming meals.)

Breakfast Saturday morning:

How to have French toast nearly effortlessly on Saturday morning?  Slice the bread and set it out to dry before you go to work on Friday morning.  Friday night before bed, make a custard, (I used 4 eggs, a cup of milk, a tablespoon of sugar, 1/2 a teaspoon of vanilla, several dashes of cinnamon and nutmeg, and a pinch of cardamom,) and soak the bread in the fridge overnight.  With these simple jobs done, all you have to do is get up and fry up your toast!  Yum.  I made us a beautiful fruit salad for the side.

Saturday supper:

Since butternut squash is John's favorite soup variety, I figured I better try the recipe for "Thai Butternut Squash Soup" from my focus cookbook.  I was really pleased with the results!  I made a couple of small modifications, (I roasted a whole squash instead of using frozen puree, used more spinach, and used the whole can of coconut milk and less water,) and we both loved this.  (I especially loved the salty, savory little "tofu croutons!  Tasty delicious.)

Sunday lunch:

"Magic Kale Salad" with pan-fried tempeh.  A repeat, for good reason!  Felt so good to eat a huge plate of greens!

Sunday supper:

A favorite from my focus cookbook this week, "Saucy Hungarian Eggplant."  I haven't made this in ages, and what a shame!  Light yet hearty, this stew is totally nutritious, flavorful, and also helped me take advantage of the GIGANTIC bag of bulgur I bought from Costco not too long ago.

It wouldn't be a quiet weekend without a baking project!

I really felt like baking today, although I wasn't ready to start my Christmas cookies quite yet.  :)  I searched the interwebs for a somewhat healthy muffin recipe full of holiday flavors, and ended up adapting a recipe for molasses spice muffins . . .

Whole-Wheat Gingerbread Muffins
Yield: 24 mini-muffins plus 8 standard muffins

Ingredients:
1 stick butter at room temperature (I used salted)
1/2 cup granulated sugar
2 eggs
1/2 cup buttermilk
1/2 cup molasses
2 cups whole-wheat pastry flour
1/2 tsp baking soda
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp nutmeg
1/2 tsp ground ginger
pinch cloves

Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 350
2. Cream butter and sugar.  Add eggs, buttermilk, and molasses, and stir until smooth.
3. Combine the flour, baking soda, and spices.  Stir into the wet ingredients just until combined.
4. Fill muffin liners 1/2 to 2/3 full.  (These puff up a lot, thanks to the buttermilk/baking soda reaction!) Bake mini-muffins for about 15 minutes, standard muffins for about 24 minutes.  Cool, and store tightly covered at room temperature (or in the fridge, if you don't think you'll eat them in a few days.)

Lately, I've been enjoying scooping some of my muffin batter out into my mini-muffin pan, and taking those to work.  I love to bake, but we can't always get through a full batch of muffins before "the fuzz" gets to them.  :(  My coworkers have been enjoying the somewhat healthy, homemade "mini-treats" I bring occasionally!  A great solution to my "problem," and a win-win for everyone!

Happy Thanksgiving!

I think Thanksgiving might be my favorite holiday.  The perfect excuse to have an all-out cooking and eating extravaganza!

This year was no exception . . .

BREAKFAST:

Light and simple, and easy to make ahead.  Not that I didn't want to spend my day cooking on Thanksgiving; rather, I didn't want to spend my day washing dishes!  I did much of the prep in advance, which was a very smart idea, in my opinion.  We enjoyed Pumpkin Muffins (using my favorite baking ingredient . . . buttermilk!) and a beautiful fruit salad with some fresh mint from the garden for breakfast.  I used half whole-wheat flour in the muffins to increase their nutritional value a little bit; otherwise followed the recipe as written.  These muffins are FANTASTIC!  They call for very little oil, yet are moist and tender from the pumpkin and buttermilk.

LUNCH:

I decided we'd snack on a variety of appetizers for lunch, as we were possibly expecting company and didn't know what time they would show up . . .

Brie topped with Double Cranberry Chutney . . . so delicious!  I always want to make cranberry for Thanksgiving, but always end up with a huge amount of it leftover and never know quite what to serve it with.  This was perfect!

Deviled Eggs!

Veggies!  (With hummus, not pictured)

Spanakopita Triangles:

Using Ali's recipe as inspiration, I ended up simplifying a little bit . . . used one egg, one package of spinach, feta, juice and zest of half a lemon, and a little salt and pepper for the filling.  Perfect!  Now, what to do with all that leftover filo?

DINNER:

The big feast!  I really wanted to make everything, but I didn't want TONS of leftovers, (since I was likely cooking for just John and I,) so I selected my recipes, cut them in half (or sometimes in quarter,) and made most everything in 8-inch loaf pans.  Bonus feature?  Our entire dinner fit in the oven at once, even though John only has one rack in his oven!  Woo-hoo!

(P.S. I made everything, except for the mashed potatoes and gravy, in advance, covered the unbaked things with foil, and froze.  Everything thawed and baked up beautifully!)

Spiced Sweet Potato Casserole:

One of the most important parts of Thanksgiving dinner, in my opinion.  :)  I love, love, love this version from Cooking Light -- it is subtle in its spiciness, just sweet enough (although I do cut down the sugar to 1/4 cup in the full-size recipe,) and lively from the orange juice concentrate.

Creamy Corn Pudding:

This pudding may join the ranks with sweet potato casserole and compete for most important role!  We always had some kind of corn pudding in my family for Thanksgiving, and even though most people don't think to add it to their Thanksgiving repertoire, I want to keep a bit true to my heritage, ya know? This recipe is INCREDIBLE.  (With all that butter and heavy cream, why not?)  ;)  Slightly sweet, creamy and comforting, like a softer, smoother cornbread.  Mmmmmm.

Mashed potatoes and gravy:

I mashed my local yellow potatoes with garlic, butter, buttermilk, chives, salt, and pepper.  They were so flavorful on their own, they almost didn't need gravy!  (I said this to John, and he replied, "no, no, no."  Ha!)  A big batch of mushroom gravy on the side -- 2 tbsp butter, 2 tbsp olive oil, plenty of sliced mushrooms, 1/4 cup flour, 2 tsp soy sauce, and 2 cups mushroom broth.  Simple and VERY delicious.  A perfect vegetarian gravy, in my opinion!

Caramelized Onion and Herb Stuffing:

This has been a repeat my last several Thanksgivings, for a couple of reasons . . . first, it is super-delicious and super-easy, but most importantly, no sage!  I don't care much for sage, especially in stuffing, and it's hard to find a recipe without it.  This recipe is a keeper for me!

Creamed Spinach Casserole:

A new recipe this year, and a good one -- both John and I love spinach, and this was a simple casserole to prepare in advance.  Rich but not heavy, and a beautiful burst of intense dark green on the plate!  (I switched out the traditional cheddar for white cheddar in my version, otherwise prepared the recipe as written.)

Nutloaf:

This may be the best vegetarian entree for holiday meals EVER.  Rich, filling, and "meaty," delicious on its own, smothered in gravy, dolloped with cranberry chutney, or leftover on a sandwich with ketchup.  :)

My plate:

And don't forget about dessert!

John requested pecan pie this year, and although it's not my favorite, I was happy to oblige.  I tried this recipe from Real Simple, and although I generally find pecan pie too sweet, both John and his roommate were happy gobbling down slices.  They reported it was lighter and less dense than many pecan pies they have had, and his roommate stated it was the best she's ever tried!  Score!

Hope you had a wonderful holiday and enjoyed some time off from work with important people.  Now, I better get started planning my Christmas cookie baking!  ;)

last weekend

A couple of meals . . .

Four-cheese lasagna with spinach and artichokes:

Whole-wheat buttermilk pancakes, fruit salad, and breakfast sausages:

That's all for now . . . busy getting ready for the best cooking holiday of the year!  Stay tuned . . .