Hungry Girl’s Girlfredo Pizza

I am a loyal reader of Hungry Girl, but the Girlfredo Pizza is the first recipe I’ve tried from her site. The Alfredo sauce made with Laughing Cow cheese really sold me! I made a few changes to the recipe: omitted the mushrooms, doubled the spinach, and added a chopped piece of Canadian bacon. I also used the whole wedge of Laughing Cow cheese, mostly because I didn’t read the recipe closely enough the first time.

The crust ended up too thick because I didn’t spread it out enough in the frying pan, but otherwise it browned nicely without sticking. The rest of the recipe was very easy and quick – by the time the pizza came out of the oven, cleanup was done. And as I expected, it was the topping I really liked best. I would definitely use the Alfredo sauce to make homemade pizza again. The crust was decent, but I liked it just as much as a pita or Sandwich Thin which wouldn’t require dragging out the food processor. I will definitely try other recipes from Hungry Girl soon.

Beef and Bok Choy Hot Pot

I finally got a chance to try this recipe and it was fantastic. Sadly, the picture does not do it justice. The flavor of the fresh ginger and garlic was amazing, and while the cinnamon may seem a little out of place, I really think it enhanced the overall taste. I used a top round cut of beef which became very tender. If you want this to be more like a soup, just add some extra broth.

1 c. water
2 c. beef broth
2 T rice vinegar
3 T soy sauce
1/2 t cinnamon
1 lb. beef stew meat, cut into bite-sized pieces
1 bunch scallions, chopped
1 garlic clove, minced
1 T minced peeled fresh ginger
3 c. thinly sliced bok choy
3 medium carrots, thinly sliced
4 oz. buckwheat soba noodles, cooked and drained

Combine first 5 ingredients, stirring with a whisk; set aside. Add beef to a large pot, and cook on medium-high heat, browning on all sides. Add broth mixture, scallions, garlic, and ginger; bring to a boil.

Cover, reduce heat, and simmer for 1 hour and 30 minutes or until beef is tender. Stir in bok choy and carrot, and cook 15 minutes or until tender. Serve beef mixture over noodles.

-Adapted from Cooking Light

Spaghetti Squash Pancakes

After my initial success with spaghetti squash, I was ready for another experiment. If you remember, I struggled to cut the squash in half, but this time I asked a staff member in the produce department to cut it for me, and he was happy to help. Problem solved!

There are many different recipes for spaghetti squash pancakes, and they can be made sweet or savory. My friend Lee came over for the experiment, and brought some amazing strawberries and blueberries which we used as toppings, along with plain yogurt. The pancakes were very enjoyable, and reminded us of potato latkes. Now you have two great reasons to try spaghetti squash!

4 c. cooked spaghetti squash
2 T whole wheat flour
2 eggs
Salt & Pepper
4 t olive oil

Mix squash, flour, eggs, salt, and pepper and form into patties. Heat oil in a large frying pan, and cook the pancakes on medium heat for about 10 minutes on each side.

Carrot and Parsnip Mash

There was one lonely parsnip in my vegetable drawer, and I needed a quick side dish. I threw together this recipe, and it was a colorful alternative to mashed potato.

1 medium parsnip, peeled and cut into 2″ pieces
2 medium carrot, peeled and cut into 2″ pieces
Splash skim milk
Salt & Pepper

Boil parsnip and carrots for about 20 minutes, until soft. Drain and mash with a fork. Add a splash of milk, salt, and pepper, and mix well.

Mushroom Mac & Cheese with Mustard Greens

The moment I saw this recipe for Mushroom Mac & Cheese, I knew I wanted to give it a try! I made a few changes, and used 8 oz. each of baby bella and crimini mushrooms, and reduced the amount of pasta to 6 oz. I used regular mustard, and of course, I wimped out on the red pepper flakes. I did add black pepper to the top though. Overall, this was very easy to make, and so much tastier and healthier than anything that comes out of a blue box.

Chicken Stir Fry

There are a lot of complex stir fry recipes, many of which suggest using separate pans for the meat and vegetables. I understand that this method prevents overcooking the vegetables, but really, I am too lazy to wash all those dishes. So I kept this as simple as possible, and steamed the sugar snap peas separately in the microwave. I thought it turned out great! Here it is, served over brown rice:

12 oz. boneless, skinless chicken, cut into small pieces
1 (10 oz.) package sugar snap peas, steamed
2 T soy sauce
2 T rice cooking wine
1 t minced garlic
1 t corn starch
Dash ground ginger
Dash ground red pepper

Spray large frying pan with cooking spray. Place chicken pieces in pan, and cook on medium heat until chicken is cooked on the outside. Whisk soy sauce through red pepper in a small bowl, and add to the pan with chicken. Continue cooking until chicken is cooked through. Add vegetables and toss to coat, cooking for 1 minute.

Lentil Soup with Balsamic Roasted Winter Vegetables

This soup was amazing! I loved the balsamic flavor, but you could also taste all the wonderful vegetables. There is nothing I would change, except perhaps cut the recipe in half since it makes a lot of soup.

1 large sweet potato, peeled and cubed
2 parsnips, peeled and cubed
2-3 carrots, peeled and cubed
1 T olive oil
4 T balsamic vinegar, divided
4 slices Canadian bacon, chopped
2 shallots, diced
1 red onion, diced
1 t minced garlic
1/2 t black pepper
1/4 c. dry white wine
1 c. dried lentils
6 c. broth
6 c. Swiss chard leaves, torn into small pieces

Combine sweet potato, parsnip, carrot, 3 tablespoons vinegar, and oil in a large bowl; toss well. Arrange vegetable mixture in a single layer on a large foil-lined jelly-roll pan; bake at 375° for 30 minutes or until lightly browned, stirring occasionally. Set aside.

Cook Canadian bacon in a large pot over medium-high heat for 5 minutes. Add shallots and onion; cook 15 minutes or until golden brown. Add remaining 1 tablespoon vinegar, garlic, and pepper; cook 1 minute. Add wine, scraping pan to loosen browned bits. Add lentils, and 4 cups broth to pan. Bring to a boil. Cover, reduce heat, and simmer 30 minutes. Add remaining 2 cups broth and roasted vegetables to pan, and simmer 15 minutes, uncovered. Add chard, and cook 5 minutes or until wilted.

-Adapted from Cooking Light

Nourishing Muffins

There are a lot of recipes around the Web for reduced calorie muffins, similar to Vitamuffins. I will definitely do a product review of these at some point, but today I wanted to bake! I had 2 ingredients I really wanted to use: fresh blueberries (on sale this week at Stop & Shop) and oat bran. I didn’t want to use an artificial source of fiber or a large quantity of sugar substitute. So, I did some recipe combining, and overall I liked the result. The muffins are not very sweet but they have a nice texture.

1 1/2 c. uncooked oat bran
1/2 c. white flour
1/2 c. whole wheat flour
1/2 c. granulated brown sugar
1 t baking soda
1 t baking powder
1 egg
1 c. skim milk
1/2 c. unsweetened applesauce
1 t vanilla extract
1 medium zucchini, grated
1 c. blueberries

Combine egg, milk, applesauce, and vanilla in a small bowl. In a separate, large bowl, combine oat bran, flours, sugar, baking soda, and baking powder, and mix thoroughly. Gradually add the wet mixture to the dry mixture until thoroughly mixed. Stir in the zucchini and blueberries. Pour into 12 lightly sprayed muffin cups. Bake about 20 – 25 minutes at 350F.

Coming Attractions

A 3 day weekend means more time for cooking! I don’t have a recipe worthy of sharing with you today, so I thought I would make a list of the recipes that I want to try sometime soon. I won’t be able to make all of these this weekend, but I’ll do my best!

Lentil Soup with Balsamic Roasted Winter Vegetables
Homemade Vitamuffins
Beef and Bok Choy Hot Pot
Mushroom Macaroni and Cheese with Mustard Greens
Crockpot Spinach Casserole
Chicken and Peapod Stirfry with Brown Rice
Spaghetti Squash Pancakes

Ricotta Gnocchi

My cooking club had a Northern Italian dinner last weekend, and I made Ricotta Gnocchi. The recipe is copyrighted, but it was a pretty simple combination of flour, ricotta, and egg. I boiled the pasta, and then tossed the gnocchi in butter and fresh Parmesan. They were pretty heavy, but delicious! I would definitely attempt fresh pasta again, and I’ll try to get a better picture next time.