Shine a Light on Autism

That’s my nephew, Ben. When he was just two years old he was diagnosed with autism. Autism affects 1 in 88 children in the U.S. One in 54 of them are boys. On April 2nd, join Autism Speaks in celebrating World Autism Awareness Day and Light It Up Blue to help shine a light on autism. You can show your support by:

  • Purchasing special Autism Speaks blue light bulbs and lanterns from your local Home Depot and replace your outdoor lighting with these blue bulbs.
  • Promoting Light It Up Blue by purchasing a Home, Retail, Restaurant, or School kit, in an all inclusive package, with all net proceeds benefiting Autism Speaks.
  • Wearing blue clothing and asking your co-workers to wear blue too. Consider asking your colleagues to donate $5 to Autism Speaks.
  • Hosting a cocktail party and serving blue-themed food and drinks.
  • Helping raise awareness about autism by spreading the word via email, Facebook, Twitter, or your personal blog or website.

Guilt-Free Zucchini “Fettuccine” with White Wine and Lemon Sauce

After my Facebook post about this meal I originally made with shrimp (which I recommend) I had to recreate it to share… except I didn’t have any more shrimp.  Here I used chicken. You can use pretty much any protein you’d like. This recipe is good for one person. Double it for two people.

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1/4 c. Diced Mushroom (optional)
1/4 c. Diced Onion
1 Med. Zucchini
1/4 c. Dry White Wine
1 tsp Lemon Juice (fresh is good too)
1 TBS Butter
Salt and Pepper
(3) Cloves Diced Garlic
2 TBS Olive Oil
Parmesan cheese (Fresh grated is good too)
1 Chicken breast cooked and large- diced or about 8 Cooked Shrimp (pick your protein)

Use a cheese slicer (or a knife) to slice your zucchini

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Then use your knife to slice the slices you just made into fettuccine- looking strips. Set aside.

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Melt TBS butter in a saute pan and add your mushrooms and onion.
Add a dash of salt and pepper. When the onions turn translucent, add the diced garlic.

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When the veggies start to brown a bit and the pan is starting to look dry, deglaze the pan with a splash of wine (about 1/4 c) add the lemon juice and simmer for 1 minute.

Add the Zucchini and cooked chicken or shrimp, 2 TBS of olive oil and salt and pepper again. Gently stir and cover. Cook about 2 minutes until zucchini is al dente and protein is reheated! Uncover, add a few shakes of parm. cheese, stir again and enjoy!

YUMMO!

Stovetop Macaroni and Cheese with Broccoli

This is one of those recipes that’s super easy to make because you should already have all the ingredients on hand. At least, I know I always have cheese and pasta on hand in my house. The original recipe called for adding mascarpone, but I only had Greek yogurt in my fridge. It made the sauce more creamy and also added a bit of a tang to the overall flavor. I also felt that the cheese crisps in the original recipe were an unnecessary step for just a regular dinner at home so I decided against making them. We had steak in the fridge so I served this as a side dish, but you could certainly serve this as an entree.

Stovetop Macaroni and Cheese with Broccoli
adapted from
http://www.foodandwine.com/recipes/stovetop-mac-and-cheese-with-cheese-crisps

  • 4 tablespoons unsalted butter
  • 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
  • 1 teaspoon smoked paprika
  • 2 cups milk
  • 2 cups mild white cheddar, shredded
  • 1 cup sharp cheddar, shredded
  • 1/2 cup Greek yogurt
  • Salt and pepper, to taste
  • 8 ounces elbow macaroni or other preferred pasta (I used Rigatoni)
  • 1 cup frozen broccoli florets

In a large saucepan, melt the butter. Whisk in the flour and paprika and cook over moderate heat until bubbling, about 2 minutes. Slowly add the milk and whisk until smooth. Cook over moderate heat, whisking constantly, until thick and creamy, about 5 minutes. Stir in Both cheeses and cook over low heat until melted. Turn off the heat and stir in the Greek yogurt and season with salt and pepper. Meanwhile, cook the pasta in a large pot of salted boiling water until al dente. About a minute before the pasta is finished cooking, add the frozen broccoli florets to the boiling water. Drain and add to the cheese sauce. Cook over low heat, stirring constantly, until hot and bubbling, about 2 minutes.

Slow Cooker Pulled Pork and Coleslaw

Slow Cooker Pulled Pork

Place the pork, onions, olive oil and spice rub in a gallon-sized ziplock bag and seal. Kneed and shake bag around until the spice rub is completely covering the pork and onions. Marinate in the fridge overnight. In the morning empty the contents of the ziplock bag and add water to the slow cooker. Cover and cook on high for 8 hours. The meat should easily shred with a fork. After shredding, add 3/4 bottle of BBQ sauce, recover and cook on low for 4 to 5 additional hours or until ready to serve. Serve on warm rolls, top with remaining BBQ sauce and coleslaw.

Coleslaw

  • 1 package coleslaw mix or 1/2 a small green cabbage, shredded, 1/2 a small red cabbage, shredded and 1 cup of shredded carrots
  • 2/3 cup mayonnaise
  • 4 tablespoons red wine vinegar
  • 1 tablespoon sugar

Whisk together mayonnaise, vinegar and sugar in a large bowl. Add coleslaw mixture and toss together. (Note: I’ve tried many variations of coleslaw. In the summer I use shredded kohlrabi, green apples and vidalia onions instead of the traditional coleslaw mix for a fresh twist.)

Grilled Cilantro-Orange Marinated Flank Steak with Cilantro Chimichurri

I love cilantro, but most recipes only call for a small amount and, unfortunately, most stores only sell it in large bouquets. It makes it challenging to figure out what to do with all the leftovers and it’s easy to forget about it in a fridge drawer. A great way to use it up is by making a steak marinade and a chimichurri sauce.

Grilled Cilantro-Orange Marinated Flank Steak
adapted from
http://www.eatbetteramerica.com/recipes/healthified-cilantro-orange-marinated-flank-steak/f7f39b84-8d06-4f02-896b-f9dddf4b244e

  • 1 pound beef flank steak
  • 1/3 cup orange juice
  • 1/4 cup snipped fresh cilantro
  • 2 tablespoons red wine vinegar
  • 1 tablespoon olive oil
  • 1 clove garlic, minced
  • 2 teaspoons ground cumin
  • 1 /2 teaspoon whole coriander
  • 1/4 teaspoon salt
  • 1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper

Place steak in a resealable plastic bag set in a large bowl. In a small bowl, stir together orange juice, cilantro, vinegar, oil, garlic, cumin, coriander, salt, and crushed red pepper. Pour over steak in bag. Seal bag; turn to coat steak. Marinate in the refrigerator overnight, turning  occasionally. Drain steak. Grill for 8 minutes. Turn steak. Grill steak for 9 to 13 minutes or until steak is medium doneness. To serve, thinly slice steak across the grain and top with chimichurri. If you don’t have access to a grill or the weather doesn’t allow for grilling, you can just as easily broil the steak on high in the oven.

Cilantro Chimichurri
adapted from
http://eclecticrecipes.com/cilantro-chimichurri

  • a large bunch of cilantro, about 1 cup packed
  • 2 cloves of garlic
  • 1/2 cup olive oil
  • 2 teaspoons red or white wine vinegar
  • 1 teaspoon dried oregano, or 1 tablespoon fresh
  • 1/2 teaspoon cumin
  • 1/2 teaspoon red pepper flake, optional
  • kosher salt
  • pepper

Combine cilantro, garlic, vinegar, oregano, cumin, and optional red pepper flake in a food processor. Pulse until fine. Turn food processor on and stream in olive oil. Season with salt and pepper to taste.

Mushroom-less Beef Stroganoff

Our household HATES mushrooms, but we LOVE beef stroganoff! If you hate fungi as much as we do, this recipe is for you. This is not a recipe we can cook all the time because it’s not very light or healthy, but it is delicious to make for dinner every once in a while.

Mushroom-less Beef Stroganoff

  • 1 lb beef tenderloin strips
  • 1 tablespoon oil
  • 1 medium onion, quartered
  • 1 small clove garlic
  • 1 can condensed beef broth or consommé
  • 2 tablespoons ketchup
  • 1 tablespoon salt
  • 3 teaspoons flour
  • 1 cup sour cream
  • 3-4 cups hot cooked egg noodles

In a food processor, add onion and garlic and pulse until finely minced. In a large skillet over medium heat, add oil, beef and onion/garlic mixture. Season with salt and pepper. Cook and stir until onion is translucent. Reserving 1/3 cup of beef broth, stir in remaining broth and ketchup. Cover and simmer for 15 minutes. In a small bowl, blend reserved beef broth and flour. Add to skillet and heat until boiling, stirring continuously for 1 minute. Add sour cream and stir until combined. Serve over hot egg noodles.

Happy Friday!

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Tex-Mex Macaroni and Cheese

I made this dish for a Mexican-themed potluck at work and it was a hit! I decided to make it the night before and reheat it the day of. It definitely dried out a bit so if you know you want to serve it the next day I would hold off on baking it until the day of the event.

Tex-Mex Macaroni and Cheese

  • 2 cups dry elbow macaroni
  • 1/2 cup red onion, finely chopped
  • 1/2 cup green pepper, finely chopped, seeds removed
  • 1/2 cup red pepper, finely chopped, seeds removed
  • 1 jalepeno, finely chopped, seeds removed
  • 1 tablespoon olive oil
  • 1 teaspoon chili powder
  • Dash of Frank’s Hot Sauce, or other cayenne sauce
  • 1 tablespoon butter
  • 1 tablespoon flour
  • 2 cups milk
  • 1 cup grated Monterey jack cheese
  • 2 cups grated sharp cheddar cheese
  • 1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
  • 1/2 cup reduced fat sour cream
  • Salt and pepper
  • 1/4 cup crushed tortilla chips mixed with melted butter
  • Cilantro for garnish

Preheat to 375 degrees oven. Prepare pasta water, bring to a boil, and cook pasta to al dente. While pasta is cooking, heat a skillet on medium heat and add olive oil. Add onions and peppers and saute until soft, about 5-6 minutes. Add chili and hot sauce, mixing to combine. Turn heat down to low. Heat a small saucepan on medium heat and add butter. Once butter is sizzling, add flour and whisk to create a roux. Cook flour mixture for about 1-2 minutes, whisking continuously. Add milk and turn heat down medium-low. Add cheeses and stir, allowing cheese to melt and and sauce to thicken. It will take about 5-8 minutes for sauce to thicken—keep and eye on it and stir every minute or so to ensure the bottom is not burning. Once sauce is thick, add in pasta and pepper and onion mixture; combine. Stir in sour cream and salt and pepper to taste. Spray a 2-1/2 quart baking dish and add mac and cheese. Top with crushed tortilla chips and cilantro. Bake for 30 minutes, or until cheese is golden.

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