Good Earth Tuscan Chicken Pasta - Review

As much as I hate prepared or packaged convenience foods, I do have to keep some on hand for those days when we are just rushing around and my brain can only conceive of calling out for pizza.  Bad for my wallet and not the greatest for our bodies.  Typically, I try to find the least unhealthy things available.  We may resort to this type of thing once a month or two.

Last shopping trip to ShopRite I picked up a box of Good Earth's Tuscan Chicken with penne pasta - a General Mills product.  Sounded pretty decent.  100% whole grain pasta, zero saturated fat, natural flavors, add your own chicken (cuz prepared foods that contain "meat" totally gross me out) and less sodium than a box of mac and cheese at a mere 570mg per serving, not too bad for a packaged meal kit.

My initial thoughts upon opening the box and removing the contents were wow, there is no way this is enough for 5 servings, which is what the box claims to contain.  In preparation, I doubled up on the pasta which I always have on hand and added some chicken sausage in addition to the cut up chicken.

Taste - it was pretty good.  I did go back for seconds and the kids ate it without complaint although my daughter inquired as to what the "green stuff" was (it's parsley).

Prep - fairly easy.  Although, on nights when I need a quick fix, I'd prefer a one pot or one skillet meal.  This required a whopping two as I had to cook the pasta separate from the chicken.  Then, of course, there was a colander involved as well.

Final thoughts - if it was on sale or I had a coupon, I may purchase this again.  I liked that I could use leftover rotisserie chicken meat rather than cooking up some raw as well.  The serving size however is slightly inadequate for our family, so that 570mg of sodium is actually greater based on our actual serving size.  The ingredient list was fully pronounceable, I knew what they were and didn't mind putting said ingredients into my kids.  Overall, a good thing to keep on hand for those crazy nights where dinner plans just weren't made.  This did taste good the second day as leftovers as well.

Calamari & Pasta - RC Week 3

Words cannot describe how much this dish does NOT fit in with my whole attempt at healthy eating, but it looked and sounded so good in the magazine that I just HAD to try it.  So glad I did.  What a fun and tasty recipe that was also surprisingly easy.  And hey, did you know how cheap squid is?  I had no idea.  $7.50 a pound at Whole Foods!  I bet it's like $3 at Shoprite then.  LOL

Here's the wonderful Amalfi Calamari Pasta recipe from Bon Appetit (Warning - one serving clocks in at just over 600 delicious calories):

1 1/4 cups all purpose flour
1/4 cup cornstarch
1 teaspoon coarse kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1 pound cleaned squid (bodies only), cut crosswise into 1/4-inch-thick rings
2 cups olive oil
1 cup canola oil
1 pound spaghetti
1/4 cup (1/2 stick) unsalted butter, diced
3 to 4 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
1/2 cup chopped fresh Italian parsley
Lemon wedges

Line rimmed baking sheet with several layers of paper towels. Whisk flour, cornstarch, 1 teaspoon coarse salt, baking powder, and cayenne pepper in medium bowl to blend. Working in batches, toss squid rings in flour mixture to coat, then place rings in single layer on sheet of foil.

Pour both oils into large skillet; lean deep-fry thermometer on side of skillet, submerging bulb in oil. Heat oil over medium-high heat until thermometer registers 350°F to 360°F. Working in several batches, add squid rings to hot oil and cook until light golden and crisp around edges, 2 to 3 minutes per batch. Using slotted spoon, transfer squid to paper-towel-lined baking sheet to drain.

Meanwhile, cook pasta in large pot of boiling salted water, stirring occasionally, until just tender but still firm to bite. Drain, reserving 1 cup pasta cooking liquid. Return pasta to pot. Add butter and 3 tablespoons lemon juice and toss to coat pasta. Add 3/4 cup pasta cooking liquid and toss. Mix in 1/3 cup parsley. Season to taste with coarse salt and freshly ground pepper, adding more lemon juice and pasta cooking liquid, if desired.

Transfer pasta to large bowl; top with calamari. Sprinkle with remaining parsley. Serve with lemon wedges.  I also added just a small bit of freshly grated Parm to the calamari.

Never would've thought to put fried calamari over pasta.  It worked well.  I love the butter lemon sauce that coats the pasta.  Very refreshing flavors here.

Oh, and if you are lucky enough to have leftovers (we had a bit), don't worry about the calamari getting soggy. I tossed what was left with a few cups of arabiatta (too lazy to check my spelling on that one)sauce and reheated.  This was about two days later and OMG, so wonderfully delicious.  Gotta love when the leftovers taste better than (or just as good as) the original!

Chicken Mac & Cheese - Recipe Challenge Week 2

As mentioned before, this is in no way a diet friendly week.  My girl Rachel likes her cheeses and butter.  To make my waistline a little happier, I did cut a bit of the butter, bacon and cheese from the original recipe and adjusted a few other minor things.

4 slices low sodium bacon, cooked to crisp
1 lb whole wheat penne or elbows
2 pieces skinless, boneless chicken breast
EVOO
1/2 tsp sweet smoked paprika
3 tbsp butter
1 large onion, quartered & thinly sliced
2 tbsp flour
2 tbsp thyme
freshly grated nutmeg
1 cup shredded x-tra sharp cheddar
3/4 cup shredded gruyere cheese
salt & pepper

Heat broiler.

In a large pot, cook pasta to one minute shy of al dente.  Drain and return to pot.

Heat grill pan.  Drizzle chicken with EVOO and season evenly with paprika, salt & pepper.  Grill chicken for about 10 minutes, turning occasionally, until done.  Transfer to cutting board, halve and thinly slice.

Melt butter in medium saucepan.  Add onion and cook until very soft, 15 or 20 minutes.  Sprinkle with flour and whisk for 1 minute.  Add stock and then milk.  Bring to boil and cook, whisking, until sauce coats the back of a spoon.  Add thyme and season with salt, pepper & nutmeg.  Stir in cheeses until completely melted.

Add chicken, bacon and sauce to pasta and transfer to a casserole dish.  Broil until bubbly and browned.  About 5 minutes.

Although this dish left me craving a low cal salad, it was very yummy.  Needless to say, the kids devoured it.

Shroom Pasta - Recipe Challenge Week 2

Week 2 of my recipe challenge brings us to the most recent Rachel Ray magazine.  The difference from last week?  Well, there don't seem to be any "light" recipes here.  In fact, doing my shopping for the week, I ended up with six different cheeses and some ricotta.  I better step up the workouts this week for sure!

Our first stop this week is pasta in a mushroom sauce.  Very, very good.  And the kids were clueless as to the mushrooms and ate it up.  My son had seconds!

2 cups veggie stock (or chicken)
handful dried mushrooms
1 lb pappardelle pasta
3 tbsp butter
3/4 lb cremini mushrooms, thinly sliced
1 large bay leaf
1 small bunch kale
4 shallots, chopped
3 cloves garlic, finely chopped
fresh grated nutmeg
3/4 marsala wine
1 cup light cream
grated parmigiano-reggiano cheese

Place stock and dried mushrooms in a saucepan and bring to a low boil.  Lower heat and reconstitute.  Remove mushrooms with a slotted spoon and chop.

Bring pasta pot of water to boil.  Add salt.  Cook pasta to al dente (Note: since I could not find whole wheat pappardelle, I used only 1/2 lb of that and 1/2 pound of whole wheat rotini).  Drain, reserving some cooking water.

Heat butter in large skillet.  Add cremini mushrooms and bay leaf.  Cook, stirring occasionally, for about 8 minutes.  Add kale, shallots and garlic.  Season with salt, pepper and nutmeg.  Cook for another 7 minutes then stir in the wine (Note: I could not find marsala at my store, do I just used a random red).  Add reconstituted mushrooms and all but 1/4 cup of mushroom stock.  Stir in the cream and cook to reduce and thicken.

Toss the pasta with the sauce, adding reserved pasta water if sauce is too thick.  Top with grated cheese.

It doesn't look like much as since I used light cream instead of heavy, and cut down the butter, my sauce is thinner than depicted in the mag, but there is a lot of flavor in that thin sauce.  I would do this one again!

Flippin' Flop Eggplant Relish - Recipe Challenge Week 1

Our first flop of the week o' Martha.  This "relish" just didn't do it for me served with pasta.  Perhaps it would've been better as a dip or something.  The relish itself tasted pretty good although I did kind of mess up the roasting step - burned some of the tomatoes to the pan and first undercooked the eggplant and then overcooked it.  We just couldn't win here.

But, I think doing it again, the right way, and serving it in a different manner would be pretty good.  To be honest though, I have no intentions of trying.

Here's how the recipe reads in the event you want to give it a try:

Eggplant-Tomato Relish over Pasta

28 ounces whole peeled tomatoes, crushed
2 unpeeled garlic cloves
1/2 tsp ground cumin
1 tbsp olive oil
1 eggplant
1/2 small red onion, diced
salt & pepper to taste
1 lb cooked penne
shredded cheese to top

Heat oven to 450.  On rimmed baking sheet (not too large) stir together the tomatoes, garlic, cumin and olive oil.  Put the whole eggplant on top and roast for about 30-40 minutes or until eggplant is tender when pierced.  Let cool.

Transfer eggplant to cutting board, halve and scrape out flesh, discarding as many seeds as possible (this was quite difficult for me).  Roughly chop flesh and place in bowl.  Peel and chop garlic and add to bowl.  Add onion and seaon with salt and pepper.  Mix together.

For this dish, stir into cooked whole wheat pasta and top with shredded cheese.  Recipe called for feta but I only had mozzarella on hand.
Challenge details here.

So, this was not a big hit and since I know Martha can do no wrong in the kitchen, I'm chalking it up to something I did wrong.  Probably with roasting and disecting that damn eggplant.  Later in the week I added a cup of jarred arabiatta sauce to the leftovers and reheated.  Was much better that day.

Shrimp Fra Diavolo

Hot saucy shrimp and pasta.  What could be better?  Slapping 'em both together and calling it a meal, that's what!

I think I could eat shrimp seven days a week and not get bored.  There are so many ways to use it.  One of my current favs is shrimp in a red sauce, any red sauce, over pasta.  When I found this easy spicy sauce recipe, I knew I had to try it.

Recipe posted on I'll Have What She's Having and modified slightly to amp up the heat factor.

1 lb. shrimp, deveined
1/4 cup olive oil
1 tsp red pepper flakes
1 red chili pepper, finely diced
1/4 cup pancetta, diced
1 small onion, finely chopped
4 garlic cloves, minced
2 cups marinara sauce
salt and pepper, to taste
1 lb whole wheat spaghetti

In a bowl, toss your shrimp with 2 tbsp olive oil, pepper flakes, salt and pepper.  Let marinate for 20 minutes.

Prepare your spaghetti according to package directions, drain and set aside after stirring in a bit of your olive oil.

Get a large skillet very hot and add shrimp cooking until nearly done.  Remove shrimp from pan and set aside.  Add remaining olive oil to pan and saute the onions, garlic, pancetta and red chili pepper until slightly browned.  Return shrimp to the pan and add marinara.  Simmer until shrimp are cooked through.

Toss with your pasta.  So delicious!  Oh, and don't forget the rustic bread to sop up any extra sauce.

Sausage and Arugula Pasta

Isn't arugula fabulous?  I love the somewhat peppery flavor.  Heating it seems to tone down the peppery-ness, but I thought this pasta dish was very good.  The original recipe was found on EatingWell.com.  Oh, and fusilli is my favorite pasta.  It's such a fun shape!

Fusilli with Sausage & Arugula

1 lb whole wheat fusilli
1 lb hot port sausage, casing removed
2 cloves garlic, chopped
3 cups arugula
1/2 cup cherry tomatoes, halved
1/4 cup shredded Pecorino Romano
1 tsp ground pepper
olive oil for pan

Cook pasta to desired doneness, drain reserving 2 tbsp of cooking liquid, set aside.

Cook the sausage over medium heat, breaking it into small pieces, until cooked through.  Stir in garlic, arugula and tomatoes.  Cook until the greens wilt and the tomatoes break down, stirring occasionally.  Remove from heat and set aside.

In a large bowl combine cheese and pepper.  Whisk in the reserved cooking liquid.  Add pasta and toss to combine.  The cheese really makes this dish in my opinion.

A very simple dish that will warm you up this fall.  Serve with some garlicy toasted bread.

Anyone else loading up on yummy pastas and carbs this season?  I just can't get enough lately.

Moroccan Baked Orzo - sorta

Cooler weather + hectic days = casserole!  Well, that and crock pot cooking, of course.  When I saw Lauren's Greek Orzo with Lamb over at Healthy Delicious, I knew I had to try it right away.  Not being a fan of lamb though, I opted for some extra lean ground beef and made a few other modifications.  Oh, and I finally found a whole wheat orzo.  Pricey, but it's the only one I've seen.

Today's Whole Foods haul:

Now, I must say, I have no idea if they serve this sort of thing in Morocco, but the smell of the various spices combining while it was cooking just made me think of all things Moroccan.  You should feel free to call it whatever you like though.  :-) 

Baked Orzo

1 lb extra lean ground beef
1 lb whole wheat orzo
1 onion, diced
4 cloves garlic, minced (or more)
2 tsp dried oregano
4 large tomatoes, chopped
1/2 cup white wine
2 tsp cumin
1 tsp cinnamon
2 tbsp tomato paste
2 cups baby spinach
salt, to taste
asiago cheese, shredded, to top

Heat oven to 375.  Prepare your orzo, drain and set aside.  I mixed in a bit of olive oil so it wouldn't clump.

Cook the ground beef over medium heat until done.  Remove from pan, reserving any cooking liquid in the pan.  Cook the onion and garlic for about 5 minutes in same pan until softened.  Add the oregano, tomatoes, wine, cumin, cinnamon and tomato paste, stirring to combine.  Cook for about 10 minutes until the tomatoes start to form a thick sauce.  Add the beef back in, as well as the spinach and salt.  Cook until spinach begins to wilt. 

Add the beef mixture to the orzo and stir to combine. Spread into baking pan and top with asiago cheese.


Bake for 20 minutes or until top gets bubbly and browned.  This should be enough for 10 or more healthy sized servings.

I will say that my entire house smelled delightful while cooking and for a while afterwards. We really enjoyed this dish. All except the little princess that is (what else is new). But, I made her pick out the meat and pasta to eat.

This would go great with a nice cool cucumber and dill salad, and maybe a little added red pepper flake (note to self).  Next time I have to attend a potluck, this is the dish I'll be bringing - along with the aforementioned salad.

Happy eating!!

It's Been Too Long Veggie Pasta Bake

Hello veggies.  Where have you been?  I'm sorry I've been neglectful and I swear I did kinda miss you, but thank you for coming back to me in such a delicious way.  Gotta love when veggies don't taste like veggies.  This pasta bake tasted like a sinful baked ziti.  I think my favorite part was the eggplant.  Yum!

I did borrow and modify this recipe from another blogger on the healthy living circuit, but I can't for the life of me remember who.  I don't want to not give credit where it is due, so please, if you know where this is from, please let me know so I can link appropriately.  If it helps, I do remember she's a cutie.  That should narrow it down, right?  LOL  In the meantime, I'll keep hunting, but you guys please, enjoy this recipe.  It's delicious and perfect for the cooler weather ahead.

Spicy Sausage and Veggie Pasta Bake

1 zucchini, sliced
2 eggplant, sliced
2 tomatoes, chopped
1 lb spicy chicken sausage, sliced
3 cups marinara sauce
1 lb whole wheat penne
1 tsp balsamic vinegar
1 tsp salt
2 tsp garlic powder
1 tsp red pepper flakes
1 tsp onion powder
1/2 cup low fat mozzarella, shredded
olive oil for pot
grated parm if desired

My fixins':

Heat oven to 400.  In a grill pan over medium heat, grill zucchini and eggplant slices for about 4 minutes per side.  Brown sausage in a lightly oiled pan.  Boil pasta, cook, drain and set aside.

In empty pasta pot heat olive oil over medium heat.  Add tomatoes, spices and vinegar.  Cook for 5 minutes, frequently stirring.  Add sauce and chicken sausages.  Stir to combine.  Cook to just heated through.

In your lasagna pan layer the sauce, pasta, veggies and cheese.  Repeat until all ingredients are used.  Top with grated parm if desired.

Cover with foil and bake for 20 minutes.  Remove foil and broil for 3 minutes or until cheese is bubbly and browned.

Enjoy!

The Good Ole Basics - Healthified

"Going healthy" means giving up flavor, right?  I mean, nothing tastes good unless it's dripping in butter and fat (well, it's true, those things can make almost anything taste wonderful)!

Well, I have found that most of the little things I can do to make my meals just a bit healthier really don't taste much different than the original.  Tonight I wanted something traditional!  Despite the 90 degree temps in my kitchen, I NEEDED pasta, sauce, meatballs and garlic bread.  It had to be done.

Nothing fancy here, just some healthier choices of ingredients.

Meatballs:
1 lb 95% ground sirloin
1 egg
1/2 cup whole wheat panko
1/4 cup fat free milk
2 shots hot sauce
garlic powder, to taste
salt & pepper, to taste

Sauce:
1 large can San Marzano tomatoes, peeled
2 large cans NJ Fresh crushed tomatoes
6 cloves garlic, chopped
1 tbsp olive oil
5 basil leaves
salt & pepper, to taste
red pepper flakes, to taste

Garlic Bread:
1/2 loaf whole grain baguette
3 tbsp olive oil
5 cloves garlic, pressed
1/4 cup parmigiano reggiano, finely shredded
red pepper flakes, to taste

1 lb. whole wheat spaghetti

First thing I did was start the sauce.  I'm sure most of you have a better recipe than this, but I like this one for a basic marinara that I can transform later in the week into different dishes (and pizzas, of course).

Heat olive oil in the bottom of your sauce pot and saute the garlic.  Meanwhile, empty the whole tomatoes into a bowl and squish them into a pulp.  Yay, love this part after a rough day!  Toss the tomatoes (the canned crushed and your newly mutilated ones) and remaining ingredients into the pot, bring to a boil.  Lower heat and simmer.

To start on the meatballs, I just add all the ingredients in a bowl and work them into the meat so that everything is evenly distributed.  My meatballs are pretty "wet" when raw.  I feel that it makes them a little more moist given the low fat content of the ground sirloin.  Form into balls and drop into your simmering sauce.

While the sauce and meatballs simmer away, pass the garlic cloves through a press and into a small bowl.  Mix with olive oil and then brush generously onto the bread.  Sprinkle with the grated parm and a dash of red pepper flake.  Broil until slightly browned crispy on the edges - or to your liking.  By this point I am tearing off a corner and dipping into the sauce pot.  You know, someones got to taste test it!!

Then I just prepare my pasta and by the time that's done, the meatballs are cooked through and we're ready to eat.

Dig in!