Yogurt Banana Split

No, I am not eating ice cream for breakfast, but this does look a little like an ice cream sundae, right? It’s just a sliced banana topped with plain yogurt, some high fiber generic O’s and a drizzle of peanut butter. It’s perfect for either breakfast or lunch, and you can make it pretty in a bowl at home or go for the portable container version. Who needs those fast food yogurt parfaits?

Baked Pasta Casserole with Spinach and Almonds

This is not a creamy macaroni and cheese; it’s a far more elegant dish with plenty of crunch from the almonds and fresh taste from the lemon zest. In fact, there’s not much sauce at all, but the casserole holds together well. The original recipe is here, and I tried to lighten things up further by reducing the almonds to 1 cup, increasing the fresh spinach to a full 10 oz. bag, and using reduced fat mozzarella cheese. It’s the lemon zest which contributes the most to the flavor, so be sure not to skip it.

Bulgur Risotto with Corn and Shrimp

SELF is one of my favorite magazines, and this month’s issue featured an article on whole grains. One of the recipes was this Bulgur Risotto with Corn and Shrimp, which I thought was an interesting idea. I used peas in place of the red pepper, and skipped the cilantro. The recipe was very easy to make, but I made one big mistake, I forgot to peel the shrimp before adding them to the pan! I had to peel them in my dish, which was a pretty messy affair. It was still a good meal which I would make again, but I’ll remember to peel the shrimp first. The risotto and vegetables would make a great dish on their own, although I’d recommend using chicken or vegetarian broth instead of water.

Chana Masala

After my very lame curry a few weeks ago, I promised a more authentic Indian recipe. I am so glad I did – this was the first Indian dish I made that actually resembled something I would order in a restaurant. It was much spicier than my usual fare, I think my eyes were watering at one point, but it was just so good. I served it over brown rice instead of traditional basmati, but it would have also been good with naan.

At first glance, this recipe may look intimidating, but let’s break it down. You need oil, onions, garlic, tomatoes, and chickpeas – ingredients you might even have on hand now. Then you need fresh ginger, a chili pepper, and a lemon which are all supermarket basics. Next come the spices: coriander, cumin, cayenne pepper, turmeric, cumin seeds, paprika, and garam masala. I had two in my cabinet already, got a few in the spice bin at Whole Foods for less than $1, and skipped the turmeric and cumin seeds. And once you have everything all measured out, the recipe comes together very quickly!

Chicken Pot Pie Filling

What to do when there’s nothing good in the refrigerator except some boring leftover chicken…. But then it was transformed into chicken pot pie filling with just a package of frozen mixed vegetables and a can of Cream of Chicken soup! I followed this recipe for the filling, and skipped the biscuit crust. I am sure it would have been good that way, but I seem to have a lot of whole wheat bread floating around which was good for scooping. With a pinch of salt and pepper, this was a warm and tasty dish.

Wings!

You can’t have people over for the big game without some wings! Messy to eat, yes, but so good. I can’t take credit for this recipe though, it came from someone who wasn’t even at the party, but thankfully let us in on the secret. The wings cooked for plenty of time, but the sauce didn’t get as thick as expected. It didn’t matter in the end; these wings were tender and had an excellent flavor. Get out the napkins…..

5 lb. chicken wings
2 c. soy sauce
1 c. brown sugar
1 can of beer

Place all ingredients in a pot, bring to a boil and then reduce the heat, cooking for about 45 minutes. When the sauce is like molasses, they’re done. You should stir throughout the cooking, but be careful because as the wings get cooked the meat will start to fall off the bones and it can end up being a mess.

-Recipe courtesy of Mike Rosa

Spinach Artichoke Dip

It may come as a surprise that I have never made my own spinach artichoke dip. I’ve enjoyed plenty of restaurant and homemade versions, but never got around to trying to make it myself. I used a fairly basic recipe, although I substituted freshly grated Parmesan. The dip was good overall, but I’ve had versions which were slightly creamier so next time I will use just a bit more cheese.

Football Cookies

I had a lot of fun helping to cook for a Superbowl party this weekend, and since I am not really into football, it’s all about the food (and socializing!) anyway. This week will feature many of things we made, but I had to post about dessert first. My friend Susan made these cookies using a fairly standard sugar cookie recipe, but clearly the decoration sets them apart. I’ll be sure to remind you about these when football season rolls around again….

Cara Cara Orange

It’s been a while since I highlighted something new from the produce market, but this week I picked up a Cara Cara Navel Orange. It promised to be pink, and I figured that would definitely brighten up a long winter week. Although the sections looked like pink grapefruit, the taste was all orange. It was a fine orange, but nothing special. Although, it did make me think about sometime very soon when I can visit an actual orange grove…..