Food goodness

Gina baby, I love ya, whoever you are. Ingredients: 2 tsp butter 1/2 cup shallots, minced [I used a regular onion] 1 clove garlic, minced 2 tbsp flour 1 1/2 cups fat free milk [I used 1%] 2 tbsp parmesan cheese 1/4 tsp nutmeg [more!] 1/4 tsp fresh pepper salt to taste [I will skip this next time; the cheese made it salty enough] 4.4 oz Boursin Light [I actually had some Laughing Cow swiss wedges that I'd intended to use, but I tasted the sauce before I added the cheese and thought it tasted great, so I skipped this] 16 oz bag frozen chopped spinach, thawed and drained of all moisture [I used 10 oz frozen and 6 oz fresh] Directions: In a large saute pan, melt butter. Add shallots and garlic and cook on medium about 5 minutes. Add flour to shallots, mix well and cook one more minute. Reduce heat to low and slowly add milk, whisking well. Add parmesan cheese, nutmeg, salt and pepper and mix well. Add boursin light and mix with until smooth. [I added the fresh spinach here and wilted

I'm generally not a fan of tuna (or of casseroles, really), but this is really good. I've already made it twice in the last month or so. Hearty and comfort-food-tastic. I also love the website it comes from, Gina's Skinny Recipes . She does great modifications, and includes WW points for every recipe. Ingredients: 6 oz no yolk noodles (you can use Ronzoni Healthy Harvest, or brown rice pasta for gluten free) 1 tbsp butter 1 medium onion, minced fine 3 tbsp flour (gluten free use rice flour) 1 3/4 cups fat free chicken broth 1 cup 1% milk 1 oz sherry (optional) [I threw in some white wine] 10 oz sliced baby bella mushrooms 1 cup frozen petite peas (thawed) 2 (5 oz) cans tuna in water, drained 4 oz 50% reduced fat sharp cheddar [I used 2% Cracker Barrel] butter flavored cooking spray 2 tbsp parmesan cheese [yeah, you need more than that] 2 tbsp whole wheat seasoned breadcrumbs [I used panko] Directions: Cook noodles in salted water until al dente, or slightly undercooked by 2

from Real Simple, February 2011 Geoff and I had this last night. Even if pork isn't your thing, the sweet potato hash is particularly good, and worth making to suit some other entree. Serves: 4 Hands-on time: 25 minutes Total time: 25 minutes (Note: it was more like 30-35 minutes for us) Ingredients 1 pork tenderloin (about 1 1⁄4 pounds) 1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon olive oil 1 teaspoon chili powder kosher salt and black pepper 2 tablespoons pure maple syrup 2 medium sweet potatoes (about 1 pound), peeled 2 large shallots, chopped 1 5-ounce package baby spinach, chopped hot sauce (optional) Directions 1. Heat broiler. Place the pork on a foil-lined rimmed baking sheet. Rub with 1 teaspoon of the oil, the chili powder, and ¼ teaspoon each salt and pepper. Broil, turning occasionally and basting with the maple syrup twice, until cooked through, 10 to 12 minutes. Let rest for 5 minutes before slicing. (Note: our pork was in the oven for a longer period of time, and when we pulled it

Adapted from: A Year of Slow Cooking What is it with apricot chicken recipes? Anyway - here's one for the crockpot! Had this for dinner tonight with leftover quinoa. I admit that I left mine in the cooker for too long, so mine was a bit dark in color and the sauce was beginning to burn around the edges. That aside, this was good, and super quick to throw together, and I can definitely see making it again in the crockpot I can set a timer on. 11 oz jar of apricot preserves 1 Tbsp dried minced onion flakes 1 Tbsp dijon mustard 1 Tbsp soy sauce 1/4 tsp ground ginger 1/4 to 1/2 t red chili flakes, optional (I used Aleppo, my new fave) 6 frozen chicken thighs or equivalent body parts (you could probably almost double the amt of chicken and still have enough sauce) Drop the chicken into your crockpot. In a small bowl, mix all the other ingredients and pour over chicken. Cover and cook on low for about 6 hours, high for 4-5. If your chicken isn't frozen, cook for less time.

Adapted from: Closet Cooking Ok, so I very loosely followed the recipe above and just used what I had in the house. The recipe below is the way I made it. The original recipe calls for summer vegetables, and I had winter vegetables on hand. This salad is along the lines of previous grain salads I have posted here in the past, except that I used quinoa here. Use whatever veg you have on hand - zucchini, eggplant, peppers, and summer squash would be good in the summer. I used carrots, beets and butternut squash here. Try marinated artichokes, sundried tomatoes, roasted red peppers, etc. Serve as is or over baby spinach leaves. Ingredients: 1 cup carrots, cut into bite sized pieces 1 cup butternut squash, peeled, seeds removed, cut into bite sized pieces 1 cup beets, peeled, cut into bite sized pieces 1 tablespoon olive oil salt and pepper to taste 1 cup quinoa 5 sundried tomatoes, chopped 1 tablespoon olive oil 1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar 1/2 teaspoon oregano salt and pepper to t

Adapted from: A Year of Slow Cooking I had this for dinner tonight (Todd was eating out with a friend. He's not a fan of squash and this would not have satisfied him for dinner.) I think this would be good as a side dish, maybe as a main dish for lunch... but I wanted something more for dinner. I think this might be good with some raisins in the mix, too. 1 acorn squash 2 apples, peeled, cored, and diced 1 tablespoon butter, melted 2 tablespoons brown sugar 1/3 cup chopped walnuts (or almonds or pecans) 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon Use a 4-quart slow cooker. Cut the acorn squash in half. Scoop out the seeds and discard. Put the squash into an empty slow cooker, skin side down. In a small mixing bowl, combine the cut up apple, melted butter, brown sugar, walnuts, salt, and cinnamon. Scoop this concoction into the acorn halves. Cover and cook on low for 5 hours, or on high for 2 to 3.

Adapted from: Lancaster Farm Fresh CSA recipe blog 3 lb spaghetti squash 2 tablespoons fresh basil 2 cups sliced baby bella mushrooms 1 onion (I used a cup of caramelized onions I already had on hand) 2 diced fresh tomatoes 2 tablespoons fresh garlic 1 cup sour cream 1.5 cups bread crumbs 1 cup parmesan cheese (optional) drizzle of olive oil 1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. 2. Cut spaghetti squash in half and remove seeds. 3. Roast squash face down for 30-45 minutes until tender. 4. While squash is roasting, sauté fresh garlic, basil, mushrooms, and onion until onion is translucent. 5. Mix onion mixture, fresh tomatoes, and sour cream together in a casserole dish. Add salt and pepper as needed. 6. Take squash out of the oven. When cool enough to handle, scoop out insides with a fork into the casserole dish and mix together with other ingredients. 7. Top with cheese and bread crumbs. 8. Place back in 350 degree oven for 15-20 minutes until brown on top.

From Mark Bittman . This is not really a recipe per se but a great way to throw together some things hanging about in your fridge. I just happened to have the ingredients that Bittman suggests and then some. Here's what I used: 1 bag shelled edamame, defrosted if frozen 3 bundles soba noodles 1 pkg baby spinach 1 small red pepper, julienned or finely diced 1 medium carrot, julienned or finely diced 1 scallion, finely diced For the dressing: fresh ginger, minced miso paste tamari mirin juice of one lime toasted sesame oil wasabi paste or chili paste, if desired toasted sesame seeds or chopped cashews, optional Cook noodles according to pkg directions. Whisk together ingredients for dressing in a large bowl and toss with veg. Add cooked and drained noodles and toss to coat until spinach is slightly wilted and ingredients are evenly distributed. Serve warm or cold.

Adapted from About.com . So, I still have mac nuts from our Hawaii trip last year sitting in the nut drawer in my fridge. And I was thinking about making cookies but then remembered that I had a recipe bookmarked for a tropical fruit bread and thought this would be a great time to try it out. Alas, the recipe I bookmarked was gone--having been lost last year when my computer crashed--but I found one I liked and tweaked it a bit to serve my needs. Note: for this recipe I used unsweetened coconut flakes but next time I'll use sweetened. There's only 3/4 C sugar in the whole thing and while it tasted really good, I think I'd like a smidge more sweetness. 2 large eggs 1/2 C coconut milk (I used lite) 1 tsp vanilla extract 1 tsp coconut extract if you have it 1 can (8 ounces) crushed pineapple, undrained 3/4 C sugar 2 1/2 C all-purpose flour (I used 1.5 C white WW and 1 C AP) 2 tsp baking powder 1/2 tsp salt 1/4 tsp baking soda 6 T melted butter 1 cup grated coconut, or use