Mascarpone Pasta with Peas and Carrots

My 21 pound one-year old could eat her body weight in pasta.  This isn't a joke.

After giving her a very good sized bowl at dinner, she signed "more".  So, I walk over to the stove, and scoop more pasta into her bowl.  A short time later, she signs "more" and deliberately points over to the pot sitting on the stove.  3 bowls later, she starts signing again, and pointing.  I had to draw the line.  I mean, her stomach was going to explode.

I've never had issues with sneaking vegetables in to my little one's diet.  Thankfully, she will eat nearly anything I put in front of her, but this pasta dish could hide nearly anything.  I put chicken in this pasta as well.

The best thing about this?  It is homemade (ie no powder cheese sauce here) and it really takes less than 15 minutes to put together.  I simplified a Giada recipe I loved that just took a bit more time than I wished to spend.  The end result, a very happy baby belly.

Mascarpone Pasta with Peas and Carrots
recipe derived from: Giada De Laurentiis

Ingredients:
3/4 pound small pasta, I used fiori
6 oz mascarpone cheese
6 oz cream cheese
1 cup freshly grated parmesan (not from the can...)
1 cup low sodium or homemade chicken stock
2-3 large carrots, pealed and chopped into bite sized pieces
1 cup frozen peas
salt/pepper

Directions:
Boil two pots of water.  One pasta pot, and one medium sized saucepan.  In the pasta pot, boil the pasta with salted water until soft or el dente (depending on your taste or who you are serving).  Drain most of the water out (reserve about 1/4 cup of pasta water).  Meanwhile, in the medium saucepan, boil the carrots.  Once the carrots are soft, add the frozen peas and cook for about a minute.  Drain.

In the pasta pot with the pasta, add the chicken stock, mascarpone and cream cheese.  Stir until melted and smooth.  Add vegetables and top with parmesan.  Season with salt and pepper.

Beef and Broccoli

We are finally bringing red meat back into our diet. Mainly, because we had leftover tenderloin that needed to be eaten!

I found this recipe in my Women's Health Magazine a few years ago while reading poolside in Napa. Ahhh...those were the days! Most times I do that, I end up losing the recipe or throwing it out because lets face it, I am probably not going to make it. But this time, the recipe made it back in my suitcase unscathed. I'm so glad it did!

This is truly a great take on the beef and broccoli you would get at a great chinese restaurant...but way better. The best part, it literally takes 10 minutes (minus the wait time for the brown rice--thats 50 minutes). You could always make the rice ahead of time OR Trader Joe sells brown rice that takes 5 minutes I think? Anyway...its easy and I am all about an easy dinner these days. Trying to make dinner with an infant strapped to your ankle can be a bit tough!

A few notes: Black bean paste is in the asian isle (not mexican isle). It's actually NOT black beans, but soy beans. I found something that was similar (I wasn't able to find what the recipe called for which is made by Ming Dynasty) but it seems to work well. I use water not broth, and a smidge of red vermouth. I used ground ginger tonight because I ran out of my ginger stub I normally keep in the freezer...AND I left out the onions since my husband is allergic. It's good to know that leaving MOST of the ingredients out, the recipe still turns out!

Black Bean Sauce I used

This is the measurements and ingredients I used:

1- 8 oz beef tenderloin

1/2 cup water

2 T red vermouth

2 T balsamic vinegar

1/2 teaspoon ground ginger

2 T black bean sauce w garlic

3 garlic cloves

1 large bunch broccolini

short grain brown rice

For the original recipe and directions, click here.

Homemade Halibut Fish Sticks with Pickle Caper Tartar Sauce

Bon Appetit has had my toungue wagging all week with amazing recipes that have not let me down. This recipe was so easy and so quick....perfect for a weeknight (or the weekend...whatever).

I know what you're thinking. Fish sticks? Really?

Really. Let me explain.

This is NO freezer burned, cardboard, bottom feeder, tasting fish sticks....let me assure you. (Sorry Van de Kamps...I'm sure you are really nice people, but I just don't see myself ever eating a frozen fish stick).

Instead these are crispy from panko bread crumbs, and flaky halibut dipped in homemade tartar sauce. Heaven. That's what these are. They are just plain good. Really, really good.

I used my Le Creuset pan for these because it gets really hot and helps get these things get extra crispy.

If you think fish sticks are a great concept, it is. But wait until you move onto the homemade tartar sauce: pickles, capers, lemon zest....sounds good, doesn't it?

I just made a few changes to the tartar sauce. To cut the fat, I used half low-fat mayo and half non-fat Greek yogurt. I also added lemon and lemon zest. To me, when I eat fish, I need lemon.

Check out the recipe at Bon Appetit!

Here is my version of the tartar sauce:

Tartar sauce:

1/4 cup low-fat mayonnaise

1/4 cup nonfat Greek yogurt, such as Fage

1 dill pickle, coarsely chopped, such as McClure's

1 tablespoon pickle juice

1 tablespoon fresh dill, finely chopped

1 tablespoon fresh chives, finely chopped

2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice

1 tablespoon lemon zest

Directions:

Mix together in a medium sized bowl. Refrigerate until ready to use.

Coming soon: HOMEMADE YOGURT!! I know you have probably heard me talk about wanting to make my own in the past. Now I have the chance--plus, I'll even review the product as well! Stay tuned!

Grilled Chicken with Grilled Peaches and Chipotle Peach Sauce

It's amazing what 2 hours on the beach, ALONE, can do for you. For me, I was able to catch up on my Bon Appetit magazines. I don't think I've focused on a single thing for more than 10 minutes since I became a mom. So I made up for lost time....and salivated over every single thing I wanted to make. I was sure to make a mental note of everything I wanted to try.

This was one that caught my eye. Since my husband has been giving chicken the 'stink eye' lately, I was sure this would get the thumbs up.

I didn't really make any changes except for pair it with jasmine rice, and grilled zucchini (I halved my chicken breasts because they were large). Don't be discouraged if it looks too fancy. Fancy does not mean difficult. The dressing took about 5 minutes hands on time. I made it ahead of time so dinner prep was really simple. Start to finish, the meal took about 30 minutes.

For the recipe, click here!

Halibut Fish Tacos with Peach Avocado Salsa

When I became pregnant last year, I had sworn off fish for months. Not by my choosing but of by choice of my woozy stomach. Unfortunately that lasted well past 'fish season' so I missed out on nearly the entire thing. Fortunately though, my normal tastes and appetite have reappeared (probably times 100 these days because I'm nursing). But because of this, the choices I make are so much more important.

While wandering the market near my house, I decided I would make fish tacos. My first choice in the past would have been to make these with mahi mahi, but since I was told it was previously frozen (something that just don't do with fish), I settled on what was delivered and cut that day, halibut. I was skeptical because halibut, while meaty, is very flaky. I worried that it wouldn't really stand up in a fish taco.

I was proved wrong, very wrong. Not only was this the perfect choice, halibut was the perfect accompaniment to the peach and avocado salsa! It gave these fish tacos a very delicate bite!

You've got to try these things! Fish tacos are one of my all time favorite summer meals. It's fresh, it's fast, and it's healthy!

Halibut Fish Tacos with Peach Avocado Salsa

Recipe by: Cafe Coco

Ingredients:

1 lb halibut filet

1/2 avocado, diced

1/2 peach, diced

1 jalapeno, diced

1/2 lime juiced

1 tablespoon cilantro

2 oz. feta cheese

white corn tortillas

salt/pepper

canola oil

olive oil

lime wedges

Greek Yogurt (I use fat free)

To prepare the halibut: pre heat cast iron skillet on grill. Add a few tablespoons of canola oil. Season fish with sea salt or kosher salt and pepper. Drizzle with olive oil. Cook skin side up for 4 minutes. Flip and cook another 4 minutes or until cooked to desired doneness. Cover with foil for a few minutes. Then flake off the meat for the tacos.

To prepare the salsa:

Add avocado, peach, jalapeno, lime juice, and cilantro to a medium bowl. Toss lightly. Season with salt and pepper.

To assemble tacos:

Warm tortillas (I just put mine in the microwave for 10 seconds in a damp paper towel.) Top with halibut, salsa, and feta. Garnish with Greek yogurt and lime wedge.

Chicken Piccata

Lately, my husband hasn't been the biggest fan of chicken. I'm not sure what brought on this new aversion, but I personally love chicken.

I think chicken is one of the most versatile things to create a dish, plus it's an inexpensive purchase at the grocery store. Since I am all about easy these days, I took my inspiration from Ina Garten's Chicken Piccata.

To save myself time and stress I prepped the chicken ahead of time while little "G" took her nap. So when dinner time came along, my hands on time was very minimal--with exception of standing near the stove to flip the chicken.

I pretty much followed Ina's recipe to a "t" with exception of the white wine. We don't drink white wine (only red), so I couldn't see opening a full bottle of white when I knew for sure it would go bad. So I used vermouth instead. Let me tell you, vermouth has been my best friend lately (no...I'm not drinking it). I've been using it to substitute white wine in a ton of dishes and it's worked rather nicely. I also doubled the recipe for the sauce. There just didn't seem to be enough with her recipe.

I served it with baby roasted potatoes* and steamed baby carrots. Turns out, my husband loved it despite his new found dislike for chicken. The bonus: the dish is super easy...with ingredients I always have on hand plus it's pretty impressive looking!

For the recipe, click here!
Alterations: Use vermouth instead of white wine and double the sauce recipe. I also added capers to the sauce. I added chicken/poultry seasoning, salt/pepper, and parsley to the bread crumb mixture.

*The baby roasted potatoes I just washed, and put on a roasting pan with olive oil, salt/pepper and put in the oven at 400 degrees for about an hour.

Shrimp with Cheddar Polenta and Cilantro Pesto

Since I've become a mom, I've learned that I have very limited time to make dinner. (not to mention limited hands!). BUT we still have to eat and I need to put food on the table. So you will probably find many more 'mom inspired' meals around here! (Don't worry, I still hope to keep baking!)

I found this on the "Cuisine at Home" website. I get the magazine and I must say its great. All the recipes are very good, but family friendly, and pretty easy. I love all the step by step photos they provide--I love a good visual!

Speaking of good visuals, can you believe the photo?? My husband actually took it--he's getting better at this every day! And he took it with my new cannon rebel 15mega pixel camera. How is that for a 'push prize'? I love it and I hope it helps enhance the blog!

Anyway, I prepped the shrimp ahead of time and popped them into the refrigerator until my husband got home from work....and the rest of the meal came together in 5 minutes. Yup...5 minutes. How great is that?? The key: buy quick cooking polenta.

I didn't quite follow this recipe for the polenta on this recipe. Follow the package instructions on the quick cooking polenta, I used Colvita 5-minute quick cooking polenta. I added whatever cheese I had in the fridge--a little sharp cheddar and a little parmigiano reggiano. You could use whatever you have on hand.

Good meals DON'T have to take you hours!

Enjoy!

For the shrimp recipe, click here!
-Alterations: Toss ingredients with shrimp. Saute on medium/high heat in a heavy bottomed skillet with olive oil. Cook until pink on one side and flip. This should only take about a minute a side if that. Keep an eye on them. You want them to be in the shape of a C NOT and O. O=overcooked! You don't want that.

For the cheddar polenta recipe, click here!
-Alterations: Use quick cooking polenta. Add whatever cheese you have on hand!

Shrimp and Hominy Soup

I’m back from my long hiatus! I spent the early part of this week visiting my sister and loving her 3 little kids. I love being an aunt ;).

On another note, it’s finally beginning to look like spring where I live and all I can think about is making something that screams fresh.

I’ve been living the life of comfort food for all of the 6 winter months (Winter is supposed to be 3 months, isn’t it? Michigan apparently didn’t get the memo.) It’s finally time for light meals and leisurely nights on my patio with a glass of Oberon or pinot noir in hand. What could be more fun than that?

This soup is light and so fresh tasting that my mom labeled it “The best soup she has ever eaten”. I can’t take all the credit though, my neighbor ‘A’ brought her leftovers for this soup over a few months ago and when I finally twisted her arm for the recipe—there is no stopping me now. I made a few changes; you can certainly do the same for your tastes.

This would also be a perfect match for your “Cinco de Mayo” party!!

Shrimp and Hominy Soup
Recipe derived from Bon Appetit November 2000

Ingredients:
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 finely chopped carrot
2 finely chopped celery stalks
3 garlic cloves, minced
1/4 teaspoon dried oregano
4 cups chicken stock
1 15-ounce can golden hominy, drained
1 can crushed tomatoes with juices
1 teaspoon chopped canned chipotle chilies, seeds removed
½ pound uncooked small shrimp, peeled, deveined
1/2 cup chopped fresh cilantro
Lime wedges
Avocado
Greek Yogurt

Directions:
In a large soup pot or large cast iron pot, heat olive oil over medium heat. Add carrot, celery, and dried oregano and sauté for about 10 minutes. Add the garlic and cook for an additional minute. Add broth, hominy, tomatoes and chipotle chilies. Bring to a light simmer, reduce heat to low and cover and simmer for 30 minutes. Add shrimp and cook until pink on the outside and opaque in the center, about 3 minutes. Add fresh cilantro. Serve with lime wedges, slices of avocado and low fat Greek yogurt.

Healthy Dinner Alert: Black Bean Tacos

With these chilly temperatures we are getting in the Detroit area this week my mind is focused on one thing, spring! I think I am in for a long wait.

The good thing is I can take myself away in an instant with the food that I make. These tacos scream warm weather but, thankfully, can be made any time of the year.

I found these in none other than my Bon Appétit magazine. I’ll admit, I initially skipped over reading about these because there was not a picture right next to the recipe (DOH!), until my friend from California called me to say “Oh my, Court! I just made the black bean tacos from Bon Appétit and they were so good, I am making them again today for lunch!” So when I needed something quick to make for dinner that required me NOT to leave my home in these arctic temperatures…I knew these were the tacos for me.

I love these tacos for 3 reasons: They are super quick, they are actually very healthy, and….drum roll…they are delicious!

Bonus: This is a great hearty meal for you vegetarians that even a meat lover will rave about!

Black Bean Tacos
Courtesy of: Bon Appétit magazine, February 2009 issue

1, 15-oz can black beans, drained and rinsed. (I used fresh black beans)
½ teaspoon ground cumin
5 teaspoons olive oil, divided
1 tablespoon fresh lime juice ( I added zest of the lime also)
2 cups coleslaw mix
2 green onions, chopped (I omitted but that is just my preference)
1/3 cup fresh cilantro, chopped
4 white or yellow corn tortillas
Hot sauce

Directions:
In a medium sized bowl, mix cumin and beans together. Partially mash the beans.

In a separate medium sized bowl, whisk fresh lime juice and olive oil. Add coleslaw, onion, and cilantro. Toss to coat. Season with salt and pepper.

Heat a large skillet and add a few tablespoons of olive oil. Add tortillas in a single layer onto the skillet and add about ¼ of the bean mixture. Cook for about a minute and then fold over the tortilla. Cook on each side for about a minute each. Plate the tacos, then fill with the slaw mixture and feta cheese. Serve with hot sauce. You can also add yogurt or sour cream, sliced avocado and sliced jalapenos.

Back in the kitchen again....

I’m sad.

My apron has been hung on its lonely hook for 2 ½ days, exactly.

That never happens.

Although I have been posting, I have a confession to make. I stock piled recipes.

I know. I’m guilty.


I do have an excuse that involves a bum mixing arm due to surgery earlier this week but I’m feeling better than expected. After being tortured by watching non-stop food network all week, I just couldn’t take it anymore so I decided to mask my pain by making something. Watching someone else do something I would rather be doing is the equivalent of going to the mall and not being able to buy anything.

Torture. Pure torture.

Seriously though, cooking is the only thing medicinal that works because my mind has been kept awake at night not only on trying to find a comfortable sleeping position but tormented on lists upon lists of things I want to make.

It’s so funny because if I think about going back to my regular job, I would have to say I would be in too much pain to sit at my desk. But when I think about ‘working’ in my kitchen I would have to say any pain would have to be excruciating to keep me out of it. I’m totally addicted.

To prove my neurosis with my kitchen, I worried so much that the pain would keep me couch bound that I even stockpiled meals. I couldn’t bear my husband and I going hungry (or god forbid make him stop on his way home from work to pick something up) so I made my meals Sunday and either froze them or kept them in the fridge, all ready to go with their specific instructions. Why? Because…I’m good like that. *laugh*

I can’t tell you all the days I came home from work running like a chicken with my head cut off figuring out what to make, then stopping at the store, and then rushing to get dinner on the table before the night was over. When I was making all these meals on Sunday I couldn’t help but kick myself for not thinking of this earlier! DUH! Make meals on the weekend and save them…then you always have this stuff on hand. The best part is your kitchen is only destroyed once. Think of it as those new trendy ‘prep a meal’ places I see popping up everywhere.

So here are some quickie recipes for anyone that is super short on time or for those that just work a ton and don’t have time to cook during the week.

Lasagna, Enchilada Pie, and Chicken Pot Pie

Instead of a MASSIVE post...Ill post the recipes separately so they are easy to find on the search.

For now...my battle wound from the nurse who couldnt find a vein. I now have a tingly arm, 3 days after.