My New Favorite Pasta

It is no surprise I love pasta. In fact, if I could only eat one thing for dinner for the rest of my life, pasta would probably be it. It's even better when it is smothered in a creamy Alfredo sauce. For anyone who disagrees, I dare you to tell me one time butter or cream didn't make something taste more delicious. Yeah, think about that for a second. As much as I love this type of sauce, I know it's not the healthiest option, and certainly not something I can feel okay making on a regular basis. 

Anyway, let's move on...

Last night called for comfort food. Whenever hubby works late (but not late enough to completely blow off making dinner), I make pasta. Somehow, pasta is the one food I will happily start cooking at 8:00pm after the tiny is in bed. I don't know what it is. It may be the fact that it always involves olive oil and garlic in a saute pan (read: one of the top 5 smells in the whole wide world), or maybe it's because I drink Chardonnay while I cook it. Either way, it makes the long day totally worth it. I wanted to make a white sauce, but knew that I had a container of ricotta that was about to expire. (I also didn't feel like having a triple bypass after the stick of butter and cup of heavy cream I'd have typically preferred to use.) So I googled "using ricotta in a cream sauce" and this link caught my eye. It inspired me to branch out from my normal heavy white sauce I would have made had the Internet not existed. Not only did this new culinary revelation save me from hundreds of calories, it was simply delicious.

Here was the end result:  

 

Here's what you'll need to serve 2: 

- 2 to 3 tbsp olive oil

- 3 cloves garlic, chopped

- small container cherry tomatoes, cut in half 

- salt and pepper to taste

- 6 to 8 oz low sodium chicken broth (or vegetable broth)

- 6 oz of ricotta

- Red pepper flakes to taste

- Variety of dried herbs to taste (I used thyme and oregano)

- 2.5 cups of your favorite short pasta (I used Farfalle)

- Parmesan cheese for serving

Method:

- Pour yourself a glass of wine (optional, but highly recommended)

- Bring a pot of water to boil and cook pasta according to package while prepping everything else

- Heat olive oil in pan, add garlic, and saute for 1-2 minutes over medium heat

- Add tomatoes and broth and season with a little salt and a good amount of pepper; bring to a low boil

- Reduce heat to low, cover and let simmer until tomatoes are soft (about 10-15 minutes)

- Once tomatoes are soft, sprinkle in some of your favorite dried herbs (I used thyme and oregano)

- When pasta is cooked, drain and return pasta to pot

- Stir ricotta and pasta together

- Add ricotta/pasta to the simmering tomato pan, and mix all together until it is well combined, hot,   everything looks creamy and scrumptious. 

- Place pasta on plate, and top with Parmesan cheese

- Pour another glass of wine, and enjoy! :) 

I served this pasta with a simple arugula salad, dressed in my go-to: Balsamic vinegar, olive oil, and black pepper. I also quickly broiled a piece of buttered Italian bread, because -- quite frankly -- I wanted it and I didn't care if it added 20 grams of carbs before bedtime. It made my whole night. 

Happy Cooking! 

No More Lunchmeat

Lunch is such a hard meal for me. I prefer to save my splurges for dinnertime so I feel compelled to have simple lunches...and nothing's more simple than a sandwich. A slice of whole wheat bread, some low fat protein and a half of an avocado and I've got a pretty healthy, yet substantial, main lunch item. Over the past several weeks, I've been getting my lunch ingredients from Whole Foods. They roast whole turkey breasts, so getting a convenient and healthy option is pretty easy. It's almost perfect, though I have three complaints:

1) It ranges from $12.99-$14.99 a pound

2) It's not organic

3) The rating of Whole Foods Animal Welfare Standard isn't displayed. I know any meat bought at Whole Foods is probably better than most other places, but I still like to know exactly what I am eating. (I try to stick with Step 3 or higher, when at all possible).

Then the lightbulb turned on...

Before my weekly Whole Foods trip, my good friend, Julia, asked me to pick up a turkey breast from the meat department so she could make sandwiches. (Genius! Why have I never considered this?)

After playing 20 questions with the butcher (thanks, nice guy!), I ended up with a pound of bone in/skin on turkey breast. 

Now, here comes the really complicated part - finding 3 whole minutes of active kitchen time to get things going. 

Here's the method/recipe:

- Preheat oven to 325

- Coat turkey breast with olive oil and a sprinkle of salt, pepper, and dried thyme

- Insert meat thermometer into the thickest portion

- Place in a roasting pan and put in the oven

Now...

- Walk away, and come back in about 1.5 hours or once its reached 175 -180 degrees.  

Here's what you'll get at the end: 

Now, all that's left is carving off the meat, and - Voila - here is my first homemade roasted turkey breast sandwich: 

To make this sandwich, just toast one slice of whole wheat bread and spread the best mustard in all the land onto the bread. Then, slice half an avocado on one side, and add a couple ounces of turkey on the other. Finally, add a beautiful piece of red-leaf lettuce. Serve with a nice piece of fruit and "the best pickle in the whole world" (this is a quote from someone at Whole Foods...and it is completely true). 

Now that I've experienced both store bought lunchmeat, as well as homemade, here are the reasons I'll continue to make my own:

- It wasn't that hard or time consuming...and now I have lunch for a few more days, too. 

- It's organic

- It's rated Step 3, according to Whole Foods

- I know exactly what salt and seasons are on the turkey, because I put them there

- It cost $7.99 per pound - almost half the price of the slightly more convenient stuff

- It was fun! 

Enjoy! :) 

Healthy Comfort Food

- Grass fed beef 

- Strained Tomatoes

- Garlic 

- Onion

-Cayenne Pepper

-Chili Powder

-Oregano

-Cumin

-Paprika

-Celery Powder

-Sea Salt

-Spice 

-White Onion

-Pinto Beans

-Kidney Beans

-Cheddar cheese (milk, salt, enzymes, and annatto).

-Whole Wheat Bread (not listing every ingredient - the only thing with more than a couple individual ingredients. I promise it was the "healthiest" bun I could find at Whole Foods)

-Yellow Mustard (Sorry, no individual ingredients here either. I had a choice - to walk to the kitchen for the umpteenth time or write this blog entry.)

Hey, look at that. You can read and pronounce every ingredient. This must be the start to a really healthy meal that tastes not very satisfying healthy, as well.

So here's what I made with these ingredients...

Are you ready?

Is the suspense killing you?

Okay, here it is:

A glorious, delicious chili dog

I paired it with a simple Kale salad and the whole meal was less than 600 calories...and I was so full! 

Here are the recipes: 

Chili Dog (serves 6)

Ingredients: 

- 1/2 chili recipe (I used a variation of this recipe by The Pioneer Woman; basically, I omitted the corn flour and just cut all other ingredients in half.)

- 6 hot dogs, boiled or grilled (I love this brand - organic, and made from humanely raised cows.)

- 6 whole wheat hot dog buns (or get the white ones if you want to live a little...I wish I had), warmed

- 6 oz of cheddar cheese, shredded

- 1/2 medium white onion, chopped

- yellow mustard

Method (also known as, the perfect assembly): 

- Take heated bun and douse with mustard (it's the only way)

- Place HOT hot dog in bun 

- Sprinkle on onions

- Smother with chili

- Top with cheese (I prefer my cheddar unmelted; if you think I am nuts, put it under the chili)

- Take a bite and marvel at the fact that this chili dog is less than 430 calories

Kale Strawberry Salad (serves 2, plus a picky toddler)

Ingredients: 

- 1 bunch Dino Kale

- 5 strawberries

- 2 tbsp EVOO

- 1 tbsp balsamic vinegar

- 1 tsp dijon mustard

- salt to taste

Method: 

- remove kale leaves from ribs and chop to desired thickness

- slice strawberries

- whisk together EVOO, vinegar, dijon mustard and salt

- pour over kale and toss to coat all kale

- add strawberries and gently combine

Isn't she a beauty? 

If this meal teaches anything, it's that comfort food can be healthy, healthy food can be yummy, and it's all about portion control. I used nothing low fat, reduced fat, or sugar free. I used real ingredients that my granny would've recognized (except, I am not quite sure how often she ate kale...thanks trendy food of the day). Oh well - you catch my drift, right? 

Until next time, bon appetit!