(lower fat) alfredo sauce

danny and i love this recipe. we've tried store-bought at it is yucky. this is super easy and delicious. c/o cooks.com.

1/2 cup cream cheese, softened
1 cup milk 0-2 %
3 tbsp. freshly grated Parmesan cheese
1 clove garlic
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. pepper (more or less, to taste)
3 tbsp. dry parsley or 1/2 cup fresh

put everything in a blender and blend till smooth.

tips:

usually we double this-it freezes well, so then you have an even faster dinner for later and you don't have a random half cream cheese.

we also sometimes add flour if needed, but today danny just upped the heat and it thickened well.

if you use neufchatel cheese (the lower fat cream cheese) and skim milk, even better for you.

it's gotta be higher quality parm. the green shakey can just doesn't cut it.

enjoy!

easy peasy pork chops

6 pork chops (boneless or bone-in)

2/3 c brown sugar (mmm)

1/2 t pepper

2 t salt

2 t dry mustard

2 t paprika

2 t sage

2 T water

(psssst sometimes we don't have those so i'll use some thyme, rosemary, marjoram or whatever herbies we have on hand)

place pork chops in a 9x13.

mix everything else together. add more water if needed to make it a glaze thin enough to pour. pour over choppies.

bake at 350 uncovered for 45-50 minutos.

eat.

we like to have it with rice and broc usually.

no pasta spaghetti with easy bolognese sauce

I've never been a huge fan of meaty spaghetti but this recipe won me over. No slimy, hard to eat noodles... Plus you get your veggies in a pretty cool way.

Serves 4-5

Sauce:

1 lb lean ground beef (grass fed if it's on sale)

1/4 lb center cut low sodium bacon

1- 32 oz jar of your favorite pasta sauce (we like Cucina Antica- tomato basil variety- it's about as close to the real deal aside from making your own)

1 garlic glove, minced

1 Tbsp dehydrated onions

Dash of your favorite herbs ( we added some extra basil and oregano)

"Noodles":

2 medium sized spaghetti squash

Method:

Preheat oven to 350. Halve squash lengthwise and remove seeds. Add salt and pepper if you like. Place cut side down and bake for 30 minutes. Check at about 25 minutes to make sure squash is not over-cooking. If it over cooks, you'll have mush...yuck! You should be able to use a fork to pull the squash away from the skin and will come out looking like stringy noodle

While squash is cooking, brown meat and bacon together in a large sauce pot. Add garlic, onions and herbs while cooking. Break meat apart, making sure bacon is in bite-sized pieces. After meat is cooked throughly, drain remain oil and add sauce. Let sauce and meat come to a boil and simmer until squash is ready.

After squash is done, remove meaty parts with fork to create a lovely bed of noodles, cover with sauce, and enjoy!

Breadless Cauliflower and Mushroom Stuffing

This recipe is from www.marksdailyapple.com

Ingredients:

• 3/4 cup butter (or olive oil)
• 1 pound crimini mushrooms, cut in half
• 1 leek
• 2 stalks celery
• 1 head cauliflower, broken into florets
• 1 cup hazelnuts
• 2 lemons
• 1 teaspoon lemon zest
• 2 garlic cloves
• 1 tablespoon fresh thyme
• 1/3 cup roughly chopped parsley
• 1/2 teaspoon salt

Instructions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.

In a sauté pan over medium heat, melt 1/4 cup of butter and sauté mushrooms, leek and celery for about 5 minutes, until the mushrooms soften a bit. Combine with cauliflower florets in a 13×9 inch rimmed baking pan.

In a food processor, combine hazelnuts, juice of one lemon, lemon zest, garlic, thyme, parsley, salt and 1/4 cup of melted butter.

Pulse until the mixture is well-blended and the hazelnuts are in tiny pieces, but it’s not nearly as smooth as a paste.

Spoon the mixture on the top of the cauliflower and mushrooms and mix well.

Bake for 45 minutes at 350 degrees, stirring occasionally. Raise the heat to 375 degrees and bake another 35-45 minutes, stirring several times so the stuffing does not burn or stick to the pan. It is these last 35-45 minutes that are crucial to finishing the dish. The hazelnuts will brown and lose moisture, becoming caramelized and a bit crunchy again.

This stuffing can be baked a day ahead and then covered and re-heated before serving. Right before serving, squeeze the juice of the remaining lemon top and add more salt if needed.

best butternut squash bisque ever.

A sweet, zesty delight on cold winter evenings.

Ingredients

1 tablespoon olive oil or butter

2 to 3 pounds butternut squash, peeled and diced into 1-inch chunks

3 large carrots, chopped (I ended up using more squash instead)

1 medium onion, chopped 1 tablespoon minced fresh ginger (1-inch pieces)

2 quarts chicken broth

1/8 cup grated orange zest (I recommend more like a Tbsp instead)

1 small bunch parsley, chopped Pinch of ground nutmeg Sea salt, to taste Ground pepper, to taste

1-2 lbs thawed, cooked, deveined/de-tailed shrimp (optional)

Method

Heat olive oil or butter over medium heat in a large sauce pot. Sauté squash, carrots, onion, and ginger for 3 minutes, until they are lightly browned. Add broth and orange zest, and bring to a boil. Lower to a simmer and cook uncovered for 35 to 40 minutes, until vegetables are tender. Add parsley, nutmeg, and salt and pepper. Purée soup with a hand held immersion blender or in a food processor until smooth and creamy. Top each bowl with delicious shrimp or just enjoy plain.

Delicious BBQ pizza

I am no Archie, but Danny and I have spent many weekends making pizza. This was by far the best we have had.

You'll need:
1 3/4 C Flour
3/4 C water
1 packet yeast
2 tsp sugar
1 tsp lawry's seasoning
3 chicken tenderloins (or one breast)
1 small can pineapple chunks
cinnamon
head country BBQ sauce
shredded colby jack cheese (however much you prefer on a pizza)

Put pizza stone in oven at 500 degrees.

Warm 3/4 C water in the microwave in a 2 C measuring cup to 115 deg F (now that you all have your thermometers from Christmas) the temperature of the water is very important, so take the temperature, you won't regret it.
At 115 F, add the packet of yeast and  1 tsp of sugar. Mix well. Place back in microwave (do NOT turn the microwave back on, the concept is that you want it in a warm place to rise, so the micro should be nice and warm from you previously heating the water) allow to rise for about 10 min until it reaches 1 1/2 C.

While yeast is rising, mix 1 3/4 C flour, 1 tsp lawry's seasoning, and 1 tsp sugar.
Cook and shred chicken.
Drain the can of pineapple and dust it with cinnamon (this tastes amazing)

Add yeast/water to the flour mix and stir well. Once it forms something that resembles dough, add flour so its not too sticky and knead for at least 10 minutes.
Cover dough and allow to rise for abt 10 minutes.

Make dough into a pizza shape. Take pizza stone out of oven and put crust onto it. Pour head country over the top, add chicken, pineapple, and cheese to taste.
Bake until crust is a little golden and cheese is melted. We baked it at 500.

Wisconsin Cauliflower Soup

I know.. cauliflower is disgusting. This soup however, is sooooooo delicious!! I tried it at Zupa's on Saturday and have been dreaming about it ever since. So, I decided to make it for dinner tonight and it was equally tasty and infinitely cheaper.

You'll need:

1/4 C butter
1 med yellow onion chopped
1/4 C flour
1/2 tsp salt
2 C milk (i used skim and it was great but i have a feeling that the more fatty the better)
1 can chicken broth
1 head cauliflower cut into about 1 inch pieces
1 tsp dijon mustard (I didn't have this so i subbed it with some Lawry;s seasoning)
1 C cheddar cheese
1 C pepper jack cheese

In 4-quart saucepan, melt margarine or butter over medium heat. Add onion and cook until golden, about 10 minutes, stirring occasionally. Stir in flour and salt; cook 2minutes, stirring frequently. Gradually stir in milk, chicken broth, and 1 1/2 cups water; add cauliflower and heat to boiling over high heat. Reduce heat to low; cover and simmer until cauliflower is tender, about 10 minutes. In blender (with center part of blender cover removed to allow steam to escape), blend cauliflower mixture at low speed in small batches until very smooth. Return cauliflower mixture to saucepan; heat over medium heat until hot, stirring occasionally. Remove saucepan from heat; stir in mustard and cheese until melted and smooth.
Eat with delicious bread or bread bowl