Thursday, January 20, 2011
I wanted to make some kind of homey/warm/comforting side dish to go alongside the Quinoa Chicken Meatloaf. Because our main dish was so healthy, full of protein & low in carbs, I knew we could splurge a bit on the side dish. Even still, I just can’t go all the way with a full fat version. And you know what, after one taste of this mac & cheese, I really don’t see the point. It is still begins with a béchamel sauce which adds so much depth & flavor, but by using lighter cheese products, lowfat milk, and minimal butter you save a lot of calories & fat . Growing up, my family’s version of mac and cheese was noodles, butter, velveeta, and milk. And that was fine for then, but my expanded culinary horizons long for more! The gorgonzola cheese in this recipe (which is something I’m not a big fan of on it’s own), adds such a uniquely rich tang. The cheddar contributes the classic mac & cheese orange color and sharp flavor. The swiss & parmesan round it out. I recommend not leaving out the sage, as it lingers in the background, but definitely adds flavor. I actually made the original recipe even healthier by using whole wheat bread for the breadcrumbs, whole wheat macaroni noodles, nonfat milk, and reduced fat swiss, because that’s what I had on hand. This my friends, is non-guilty comfort food!
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Macaroni & Four Cheeses
adapted from Cooking Light
Yields: 8 servings (I successfully halved this recipe)
Ingredients:
1 pound uncooked medium elbow macaroni (whole wheat is a great choice!)
1 (1-ounce) slice white or wheat bread
2 1/2 cups 1% low-fat milk (nonfat is fine)
2 bay leaves
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
1 cup (4 ounces) shredded reduced-fat extra-sharp cheddar cheese
1/2 cup (2 ounces) shredded Emmenthaler or Swiss cheese (reduced fat works also)
1/2 cup (2 ounces) grated fresh Parmesan cheese
1/2 cup (2 ounces) crumbled Gorgonzola cheese
3/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
Cooking spray
2 teaspoons minced fresh or 1/2 teaspoon dried rubbed sage
2 teaspoons butter or stick margarine, melted
Directions:
Preheat oven to 400°.
Cook pasta in boiling water 5 minutes or until almost tender. Drain and rinse with cold water. Place pasta in a large bowl.
Place bread in a food processor; pulse 10 times or until coarse crumbs form. Set aside.
Bring milk and bay leaves to a simmer in a small saucepan. Remove from heat; cover and let stand 5 minutes. Discard bay leaves. Lightly spoon flour into a dry measuring cup; level with a knife. Place flour in a small bowl; gradually add milk, stirring with a whisk until well-blended. Return milk mixture to pan. Cook over medium heat until thick, stirring constantly with a whisk. Remove from heat. Add cheeses, salt, and pepper; stirring until cheeses melt. Pour cheese sauce over pasta; stir well. Spoon mixture into a 13 x 9-inch baking dish coated with cooking spray. Combine breadcrumbs, sage, and butter in a bowl; toss with a fork. Sprinkle breadcrumb mixture over pasta mixture.
Bake at 400° for 20 minutes or until thoroughly heated.
**Nutritional info from original recipe, my changes made it a bit healthier, but I'm too lazy to calculate it myself.**
Calories: 397; Fat: 11.3g (sat 6.6g,mono 3g,poly 0.7g); Protein: 20.7g; Carbohydrate: 52g; Fiber: 1.6g; Cholesterol: 32mg; Iron: 2.7mg; Sodium: 624mg; Calcium: 425mg
Monday, January 17, 2011
Recently I saw some fellow Nashville food blog friends (Leah of So How’s It Taste & Beth of Eat.Drink.Smile) discussing meatloaf. I suggested they try the Buffalo Chicken Meatloaf, if they were looking for a variation on your standard meatloaf. Of course that got meatloaf on my mind. Even if this sounds dorky, I love meatloaf. Besides the Buffalo Chicken version, I have a standard Turkey Meatloaf recipe I’ve made many times (hmm… perhaps I should consider updating the picture…). Meatloaf is such great comfort food, especially in these cold winter months. Whaddya know a little bit later in the day I was browsing Tastespotting and saw a Quinoa Turkey Meatloaf. Lawd, if that doesn’t have “Erin make this” all over it, I don’t know what does. As it were, I also caught a sale on ground chicken, so meatloaf it was!
I personally really liked this meatloaf, and The (soon-to-be my) Mr did too. I gauge his opinion based on whether or not he went back for seconds, and if he ate leftovers the next day. He did both. Now, the consistency is a bit different than your standard meat loaf. Of course cooked quinoa is quite a bit moister than breadcrumbs or ground oatmeal (which is what I usually put in meatloaf). It seemed to hold together better than the Buffalo Chicken version did too. The cumin & jalapeno definitely added some unique flavor. I think there are many variations you could do with spices on a quinoa/poultry loaf. I’m really glad I made this, as it was delicious, healthy, comfort food. I haven’t figured out the nutritional info on this, but considering the ingredients I’m betting they’re really good! High in protein!
*I’m adding this to both the Chicken & Turkey categories, because obviously you could use either one.
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Quinoa Chicken Meatloaf
Ingredients:
Canola spray
2 Tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
1 large onion, finely chopped
1 medium jalapeño, seeded and finely chopped
1 Tbsp ground cumin
1-1/2 cups cooked quinoa (1/2 cup quinoa cooked with 1 cup of water)*
1 lb ground chicken
1/4 cup chopped fresh basil
2 Tbsp tomato paste
1 Tbsp tomato ketchup
1 large egg
1 tsp coarse sea salt
1 tsp fresh black pepper
Directions:
Preheat oven to 375°F. Coat a 9-inch loaf pan with cooking spray, and set aside.
In a small frying pan, heat the olive oil over medium heat. Add the onion and jalapeño to the pan, and cook, stirring frequently, for 3-4 minutes, until the onion is soft. Stir in the cumin, and cook for one minute. Remove from heat.
In a large mixing bowl, combine the onion mixture and the remaining ingredients. Mix thoroughly, and transfer to the loaf pan. Bake for one hour. Turn the oven off, and let the meatloaf sit in it for 10 minutes. Then, remove from the oven, and let the meatloaf cool for 5 minutes before slicing and serving.
Wednesday, January 12, 2011
Butterscotch. Bourbon. Bars. I still remember the day in English class we learned about alliteration. I may have hated English, and disliked a great many of my English teachers, but this is one concept I caught onto. You may have noticed, while I’m not the best writer, I do enjoy playing with words here & there. Don’t you just hate it when you realize later in life something you HATED learning in school you actually use/like/need in the real world?! (Don’t even get me started on mathmatical expressions. In high school I sat in math class learning expressions thinking “Screw this, I’ll never see this again in the real world. I’m going to work in television.” Yeah… expressions do pop up here and there as a video editor. 😛)
I digress. Butterscotch Bourbon Bars certainly rolls off your tongue in a fun way, doesn’t it? But ya know what’s more fun for your tongue? Eating these. I promise you that. These bars have quickly moved to the top of the list in my Brownies & Bars category. The #1 spot previously occupied in my heart, mind, and tummy was either the White Chocolate Macadamia Nut Bars, or the Cocoa Brownies with Peanut Butter Chips. But you know what both of those are missing? Alcohol, most importantly BOURBON. You don’t have to be a bourbon lover, and you don’t have to be a lush to enjoy these. There’s only a mere 2 Tablespoons in it, and I’d say most of the alcohol bakes out. These do retain the subtle, yet complex, bourbon essence I enjoy so much.
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Butterscotch Bourbon Bars
adapted from frites & fries
Yields: 9 servings (So you may want to double and bake in a 9x13 pan!)
Ingredients:
1 c. (generous amount) unbleached all-purpose flour (pssst, I used 1/2 cup all purpose & 1/2 cup whole wheat pastry flour, you know, to make these "healthier")
1 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. salt
1 c. light brown sugar
1 egg
1/4 c. unsalted butter, melted
2 tbsp. milk
1 tsp. vanilla extract
1/2 c. butterscotch chips
2 Tablespoons bourbon (we love Bulleit)
Directions:
Preheat the oven to 350F. Mix the flour, baking powder, salt, and light brown sugar together. In another small bowl, whisk the butter, milk, vanilla, and egg. Pour the liquid mixture into the dry batter. Add in the bourbon and then fold in the butterscotch chips.
Pour the batter into a greased 9” square pan (I lined mine with parchment paper for really easy removal). The batter may seem dry because it doesn’t spread across the pan easily; use a spatula to cover the entire pan with the cookie batter. Bake for about 20 minutes; use a toothpick to test the center. The toothpick should not be completely clean but with very small bits of cookie dough on it.
Monday, January 10, 2011
As I’ve mentioned here multiple times, I love having a blog to share recipes I enjoy with others. But, recently I enjoyed the opposite perk when a reader shared a recipe with me because she thought I’d enjoy it. And she was right! So thanks Jacey, for sharing this recipe with me. 🙂
I’m not sure how I missed this one, as I subscribe to Bon Appetit, and this recipe appeared in the December 2010 issue. Over the weekend, I saw my friend Beth tweet that she was making this soup as well. That was a good kick in the rear to hurry up and write this post. I’m still fairly new in exploring lentils, but so far, I’m definitely a fan. I found this soup hearty, warm, and filling. The curry is not too overpowering if you’re worried about the 2 tablespoons of curry powder. In fact, next time I might add more. Just as Jacey promised me, the addition of the pureed chickpeas really helps to fill you up. I love a good vegetarian soup. I often ate this with a 1/2 a grilled cheese sandwich. Perfect for a cold winter day!
And be sure to check out Beth’s take on this soup over at Eat.Drink.Smile. She’s told me she made a couple variations.
I’m going to enter this in Branny Boil’s Over’s Charity Souper Bowl! For every entry she’s donating $1 ASPCA. And of course, mine is in honor of the newest member of our family, Jesse. 🙂
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Curried Lentil Soup
Ingredients:
3 tablespoons olive oil, divided
1 medium onion, chopped
1 medium carrot, finely chopped
2 large garlic cloves, chopped, divided
2 tablespoons (or more) curry powder
1 cup French green lentils
4 1/4 cups (or more) water, divided
1 15- to 16-ounce can chickpeas (garbanzo beans), drained, rinsed
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
2 tablespoons (1/4 stick) butter
2 green onions, thinly sliced
1 lemon, cut into 6 wedges
Ingredient Info
French green lentils are small, dark green, and speckled with black; they can be found at some supermarkets and at specialty foods stores.
Directions:
Heat 1 tablespoon olive oil in heavy large pot over medium heat. Add onion and carrot; sprinkle with salt and pepper. Cook until onion is translucent, stirring occasionally, about 4 minutes. Add half of chopped garlic; stir until vegetables are soft but not brown, about 4 minutes longer. Add 2 tablespoons curry powder; stir until fragrant, about 1 minute. Add lentils and 4 cups water. Sprinkle with salt and pepper. Increase heat and bring to boil. Reduce heat to medium; simmer until lentils are tender, about 30 minutes.
Meanwhile, puree chickpeas, lemon juice, 1/4 cup water, remaining 2 tablespoons olive oil, and remaining garlic in processor.
Add chickpea puree and butter to lentil soup. Season to taste with salt, pepper, and additional curry powder, if desired. Add water by 1/4 cupfuls to thin to desired consistency. DO AHEAD Soup can be made up to 1 day ahead. Cool, cover, and refrigerate. Rewarm before continuing.
Divide soup among bowls. Sprinkle with thinly sliced green onions and serve with lemon wedges.
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