Mac & Cheese

How was everyone's Thanksgiving? Both of mine were delicious. We first ate with Jesse's family and then came to my parents house for round two. Both meals were so different (mashed potatoes & green bean casserole at his house, homemade noodles and desserts from scratch at mine), we were utterly stuffed when we were finally finished.

 Awesome montage of mac & cheese box mixes from here

Continuing my comfort foods made healthy theme, I made macaroni and cheese, one of my absolute favorite meals ever, a bit healthier this time (from Right at Home). I was nervous about the broccoli in this dish, but it was surprisingly good and didn't take away from my mac & cheese! Homemade macaroni and cheese is so much better than the Blue Box--honestly, if you've never made if from scratch, do it! It's worth it.

Ingredients:
8 ounces multigrain elbow macaroni (about 2 cups)
4 Tablespoons flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1 teaspoon onion powder
4 Tablespoons butter
1 cup skim milk
1 cup fat-free half-and-half
2 cups shredded reduced-fat cheddar cheese
2 cups broccoli, chopped into small pieces
2 plum tomatoes, cut into 1/4-inch slices
1/4 cup whole-wheat bread crumbs (my family makes bread crumbs from scratch)




Get Cookin'

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees, lightly grease a 9-by-12-inch baking dish

Cook the macaroni and drain.

Mix the flour, salt, pepper, garlic powder and onion powder in a small bowl. Set aside.

Melt the butter in a large pot over medium heat. Add the seasoned flour whisk constantly until the mixture is thick and smooth, about 2 minutes.

Increase the heat to medium-high. Whisking constantly, gradually add the milk and half-and-half until the mixture is smooth. Bring to a gentle boil and cook, whisking constantly, until the mixture is very thick and smooth, about 5 to 10 minutes.

Reduce the heat to medium. Add the cheese, half a cup at a time, stirring thoroughly each time until the cheese is melted. Remove from the heat. Add the cooked macaroni, stir to combine.

Layer the bottom of a baking dish with the broccoli and tomatoes. Spoon the macaroni and cheese over the vegetables. Sprinkle with bread crumbs and bake in the oven for 30 minutes, until the top is crisped and lightly browned.

Tuna Casserole

I'm so excited it's finally getting chilly in PHX! Right now it's 59 degrees and everybody around campus is walking around bundled up in ASU sweatshirts and sweatpants with a cup of hot coffee in their hand (like Starbuck's Christmas Blend, my favorite!).

Anyways, winter weather means delicious comfort food, like tuna casserole. While I may not eat the tuna casserole served at the dining hall downstairs, I'll never pass up a homemade one. This recipe is from Eat Better America, which "healthifies" traditional comfort food. So, don't feel too guilty about eating this for dinner tonight!

 photo from here

Ingredients:

2 1/2 cups uncooked multigrain pasta (your favorite shape!)

2 teaspoons EVOO
1 medium green bell pepper, chopped 

1 medium red bell pepper, chopped 

1 medium onion, chopped 

1 package (8 oz) fresh mushrooms, chopped
2 teaspoons finely chopped garlic
1 can (10 3/4 oz) cream of mushroom soup (buy the 45% less sodium, condensed 98% fat-free kind)

1 container (8 oz) sour cream (reduced-fat )
2 oz cream cheese, softened (1/3-less-fat kind is best)
1/2 cup fat-free milk
1/2 teaspoon pepper
2 cans (6 oz each) solid white albacore tuna in water, drained
1/2 cup shredded reduced-fat sharp Cheddar cheese 

2 tablespoons grated Parmesan cheese
12 stone-ground wheat crackers, coarsely crushed (about 1/2 cup) 

Frozen peas (I added this to the original recipe, maybe 1/2 of a frozen package?)

Get Cookin'

1  Heat oven to 350°F. Spray 13x9-inch baking dish with cooking spray. Cook pasta as directed on package; drain.

2  In a nonstick skillet, heat EVOO over medium-high heat. Saute bell peppers, onion, mushrooms and garlic until vegetables are tender.

3  Stir in soup, sour cream, cream cheese, milk and pepper until well blended. Stir in tuna, pasta and Cheddar cheese. Spoon into baking dish; spread evenly. Sprinkle with Parmesan cheese and crushed crackers.

4  Bake uncovered 35 to 40 minutes or top is golden brown and mixture is bubbly.

I think this could be converted to a crockpot, I'm going to experiment with that next time I make this!

Spanish White Beans with Spinach

I read a depressing statistic a few days ago: The average American adult gains 10 pounds between Halloween and New Years. Eek. That's a whole jean size. Yuck!

So, I'll be focusing on giving you some healthy alternatives over the next month to help keep us all fitting into our jeans! Today: Spanish white beans with spinach, originally from Gourmet (November 2009 issue).

Ingredients

1 large onion, coarsely chopped

1/2 cup oil-packed sun-dried tomatoes, drained and chopped

6 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, divided

4 garlic cloves, minced

1/2 teaspoon sweet smoked paprika 

2 (19-ounces cans) cannellini beans, rinsed and drained

1 cup water

2 (10-ounces) bags spinach, tough stems removed

Get Cookin'

The original recipe wasn't made for a slow cooker, but I converted it into one to fit into my week. If you don't want to use a crockpot, just sautee the recipe in a pan on the stove--quick and easy, too.

Throw everything into the crockpot for 4-5 hours on low (you're really just letting the onions cook down and allowing the flavors to come together). About an hour before you're ready to eat, add the spinach to the slow cooker.

Salsa Chicken & Black Bean Soup

This is a favorite around my dorm! It's easy, cheap and pretty healthy. Thanks to 365 Days of Crockpotting for this recipe! 

Ingredients:

--1 pound chicken (can still be frozen)
--1 cans black beans (drained and rinsed)
--4 cups chicken broth
--1 cup sliced mushrooms ( I used canned ones)
--1 cup frozen corn
--1 jar prepared salsa (16 oz)
--1 1/2 tsp cumin
--1/2 cup sour cream (to stir in at the end)
-- avocado slices, cilantro (all optional)

Get cookin'

Throw everything except the sour cream, avocado and cilantro into the crockpot and cook on low for 8 hours. If you'd like to thicken the broth use an immersible blender to blend a bit of the beans and chicken. If you don't have one, scoop out 2 cups of the soup and carefully blend in your traditional blender. Stir the mixture back into the crockpot.

Stir in the 1/2 cup of sour cream before serving, and garnish with cilantro and avocado slices.

PHX restaurants to try

I've had a Microsoft Word document on my desktop for a while where I'd add new restaurants I want to try. But, I keep telling people about the list, but then don't think to email it to them (who'd want to read it via email, anyways!). So, here's my incomplete list of must-try PHX eateries.

If you've got another great restaurant in PHX, especially on the light rail, send it my way!

Switch Wine Bar

Hula's Modern Tiki


Postinos Wine Cafe

Hanny's

Blue Nile Cafe 

Luci's Healthy Cafe

Mrs. White's Golden Rule Cafe

Sidebar

Ticoz Resto-Bar

Verde 12/30/2010 update: Sadly, Verde went out of business before I was able to try it. Open less than a year, they closed due to a slow dinner crowd. :(

Pumpkin Recipes

I wish the window for cooking pumpkin was bigger! Trying to fit in all the yummy pumpkin recipes I've found across the web it tricky. Here's an on-going list of new pumpkin recipes to try!

photo from here 

Pumpkin Pancakes
Moroccan Pumpkin and Lentils
Pumpkin Party Mix
Pumpkin Bean Soup 
Pumpkin & Black Bean Soup
Gingered Pumpkin Soup
Iced Pumpkin Cookies
Pumpkin-Bourbon Pudding
Pumpkin Swirl Cheesecake (no-bake!)

Chocolate, Pumpkin Shortbread Bites

I'm so excited it's finally fall (and the weather is in double, not triple, digits)! To celebrate,  next weekend my family is having a pumpkin bake fest. Can't wait. Pumpkin pie milkshakes, caramel pumpkin cupcakes, this recipe...our friends and family are going to love us!


This recipe is from Picky Palate, which always has the cutest holiday snack and dessert ideas. Hope you'll be able to get all your favorite pumpkin recipes cooked before the end of November!


Ingredients

2 sticks softened butter

1 Cup granulated sugar

1/4 Cup packed light brown sugar

1 3/4 Cup all purpose flour

1/2 teaspoon kosher salt

2 Cups canned pumpkin

1/2 Cup granulated sugar

1/2 Cup heavy whipping cream

2 large eggs

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon fresh grated nutmeg

1 Cup chopped chocolate or chocolate chips

Sprinkles of choice if desired

Get Cookin'

1.    Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.  Use an electric mixer cream the butter and sugars until well combined.  Slowly add in flour and salt until dough forms. 

2.    Press into the bottom of an 8×8 inch baking dish, lined with foil and sprayed with cooking spray.

3.    Next, for the pumpkin layer,mix pumpkin sugar, cream, eggs, cinnamon and nutmeg into a mixing bowl until well combined. 

4.    Pour over shortbread layer. 

5.     Bake for 45 minutes or until pumpkin layer is golden brown.

6.    Let cool for 30 minutes then cut into bars. 

7.    Melt chocolate over a double broiler or in microwave until smooth then spread over bars. 

8.    Sprinkle with white sprinkles if desired and serve room temperature or chill until ready to serve.