Greek Pasta With Sausage And Cheese

Again, another great recipe from Serious Eats. I absolutely love this recipe for Greek Pasta with Sausage and Cheese. Again, per usual, I made some changes to make this leaner without sacrificing for taste.Ingredients2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil6 ounces sweet Italian turkey sausages, cut into 1-inch piecesKosher salt, to taste8 ounces whole wheat penne pasta1/2 cup white wine1/2 ounce reduced fat blue cheese, crumbled1/4 cup fat free heavy cream substitute (Recipe here)1/4 cup loosely packed fresh oregano leaves1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese, for garnishFreshly ground black pepper, to tasteIn a large (12-inch) skillet, heat the olive...

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Fat Free Heavy Cream Substitute

I found this recipe for a Low-Fat Heavy Cream substitute and with a simple change, I made a fat free version.Ingredients8 ounces non-fat cottage cheese3 tablespoons non-fat powdered milkCombine and stir until well-bended.This turned out to be a great substitute for heavy cream. I used it in a recipe in that I would normally use heavy cream and I didn't notice the difference.You can use this fat free heavy cream substitute in the following:Greek Pasta with Sausage and Cheese &nb...

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Caprese Pasta Salad with Sun-Dried Tomatoes

I had a pasta salad similar to this while I was in Chicago and I thought I would attempt to make it on my own.Ingredients1/2 pound whole wheat fusilli pasta1/4 pounds sun-dried tomatoes roughly diced1/2 pound fresh, water-packed mozzarella, cubed1/4 cup balsamic vinegar1/2 cup olive oil1 clove garlic, pressed through a garlic press1/2 teaspoon Kosher saltfreshly ground black pepper1/2 packed cup basil leaves, washed, spun dry, and sliveredBring a large pot of water to a boil and salt it heavily (it should taste like seawater), then add the pasta and cook until just done.Meanwhile, prepare the tomatoes and cheese and put them in a very large bowl....

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Scallop Ceviche with Avocado

This is my favorite ceviche recipe. It's easy to make, light, and refreshing. In my other post, I included the recipe for red pickled onions. Again, I highly recommend making the onions! The onions can go with this recipe too.Ingredients1 pound bay scallops, quartered1/3 cup fresh lemon juice1/3 cup fresh lime juice1 cup fresh orange juice1 cup finely chopped red onion2 green serrano chiles, seeded and finely chopped1 cup seeded and diced tomatoes1 Hass avocado, peeled, seeded, and minced1/2 cup roughly chopped fresh cilantro leavesKosher saltTostadas to serveCombine all the ingredients except avocado in a nonreactive bowl (I used...

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Octopus Ceviche with Avocado and Red Pickled Onions

Ceviche is one of my favorite summer foods. It's light and it tastes delicious. It's also easy to make. Last weekend, my friend Meatball wanted octopus ceviche. We were in Glendale and no one wanted to go out and attempt to find some. So for Sunday night, I made octopus ceviche for him. I never made this before so I did some researching and came up with the following.I included a recipe for red pickled onions from Border Grill. It's optional, but I highly recommend trying them. They are crazy good.Ingredients for Ceviche1 lb cooked octopus meat1/2 small red onion, thinly slicedJuice of 8 limes 3/4 cups of finely chopped cilantroKosher salt 2...

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Fried Rice with Sriracha and Ham

I found this recipe for Sriracha and SPAM Fried Rice on Serious Eats. I'm not a fan of spam though so I decided to use a slice of fully cooked smoked ham and diced it up. I also changed a few things: eliminated the corn, used reduced sodium soy sauce, and used brown rice instead of white.Ingredients1/4 cup Sriracha3 tablespoons reduced sodium soy sauce3 tablespoons sesame oil 1-1.5 lb slice of fully cooked smoked ham (I like Farmer John's), diced2.5 cups cooked brown rice, cooled (preferably day-old)2 eggs1 clove garlic, mincedSliced green onions, green part only, for garnish In a small bowl whisk together the Sriracha and soy sauce....

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Caramelized Onion Dip

Serious Eats posted a recipe for Michael Schwartz's Caramelized Onion Dip with Thick-Cut Potato Chips. I love onion dip! Normally I make the pouch version that just requires sour cream to be added, however the dehydrated onions always grossed me out. Thus, making this with fresh onions appealed to me. Of course I changed some of the ingredients to make this into a healthier version of the original and I changed some of the quantities too.Ingredients2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil1 tablespoon of "I Can't Believe It's Not Butter" or other butter substitute1 large yellow onion, thinly slicedKosher salt and freshly ground black pepper4...

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Homemade Thin Mints

Oh Girl Scout cookies. In my book, probably the most irresistible cookies ever. Why else do we shell out so much money for these little boxes of cookies? Cakespy did their own homemade version of Thin Mints a few months ago. This, being one of my favorites (and most likely yours too), I attempted making these.IngredientsFor the cookies:2 1/4 cups all purpose flour1/4 cup cornstarch6 tbsp unsweetened cocoa powder1/2 tsp salt1 cup white sugar1/2 cup butter, room temperature1/3 cup milk (any kind)1/2 tsp vanilla extract3/4 tsp peppermint extractFor the dark chocolate coating:10 ounces dark or semisweet chocolate (I used Hershey's Special Dark)1/2...

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Hummus with Wheat Pita Bread

After doing a lot of research and trying out various hummus recipes, I developed this one on my own. Hope you enjoy it!Ingredients1 15 oz can of reduced sodium garbanzo beans (when draining the can, reserve the juice in a cup)3 tbsp. lemon juice2 tbsp. olive oil plus a little more for drizzling after3-4 large garlic cloves, pressed or minced (depends on how garlic-tasting you want it)2 tbsp. tahiniDash of Kosher salt and white ground pepperDash of paprikaCombine the beans, lemon juice, olive oil, minced garlic, tahini, salt and pepper in a food processor and pulse for a few seconds.Add a little (about a couple of tbsp) of the garbanzo juice to...

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Cashew Chicken with Snow Peas on Brown Rice

Some time ago I found this recipe from Big Girls Small Kitchen on the Huffington Post. Looking at the ingredients I thought that it would be pretty simple but the idea of cooking chicken in the microwave made me feel uneasy so I cooked this in a skillet instead. I also changed snap peas for snow peas--love snow peas--and changed some of the quantities of the ingredients.Ingredients2 boneless chicken breasts, skinned & thinly sliced2 cloves garlic, minced4 tbsp reduced sodium soy sauce2 tbsp sherry1 tbsp cornstarch¼ tsp ginger2.5 tbsp oil1 cup snowp peas½ cup unsalted cashewsIn skillet, warm up the oil on medium heat. Combine chicken, garlic,...

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