Darn You Alton Brown

So I just happened to catch Alton Brown the other night -- all skinny and bossy and full of information -- and he had these rules to follow. Seemed easy enough. I went out, bought sardines and almonds, and have been trying to follow his advice ever since.

I can't say that my weight has changed, probably because when he says alcohol once a week I take that to mean alcohol, more than 2 glasses of wine, once a week.. but I do FEEL healthier -- and that's what it's all about.

So I posted the list on the fridge, and the family reviews my "stick to it"-ness periodically

The List
Everyday
- Fruits
- Whole Grains
- Leafy Greens
- Nuts
- Carrots
- Green Tea

3 times a week
- Oily Fish
- Yogurt
- Broccoli
- Sweet Potato
- Avocado

Once a week
- Red meat
- Pasta
- Dessert
- Alcohol

NEVER!
- Fast Food
- Soda
- Processed meals/frozen dinners
- Canned soup
- "Diet" anything

Mexican Lasagna

Okay, I had to post this one because my husband said it was awesome and dipped back into the dish a stunning THREE times during the meal. I got the recipe from the Food Network web site -- word of warning, it takes about an hour in the oven to cook -- but I made it with leftover chicken and ingredients I had on hand.

12 oz. cooked chicken, cut into cubes
1 c. salsa
8 oz. sour cream
1 1/2 c. mexican cheese
1 t. chili powder
1/4 t. cayenne pepper
1 can chopped green chilies

combine in a bowl and set aside.

Cut tortillas into wedges and line bottom of 10x10 dish (sprayed with non stick spray)
top with 1/2 of the chicken mixture
add another layer of tortilla pieces
top with second half of chicken
top with 1 c. of mexican cheese

Bake, covered by foil for 30 minutes at 350 degrees. After 30 minutes, remove foil and bake another 30 minutes.

Here Comes the Comfort Food -- Baked Potato Soup

It's been bitterly cold here -- just plain gross weather. At the end of an extended winter break where we've eaten too much, drank too much, and helped ourselves to just about everything we've wanted to ingest, I decided we needed one last hurrah before we buckle down to salad and fruit and water.

I'm also starting to think that soup on Sunday is a good idea. So, on a bitterly cold, ugly Sunday before we go back to the grind, what a better thing to prepare but Baked Potato Soup! This recipe is so bad -- it called for a cup of sour cream at the end, but I just couldn't do it. It's got potoatoes, cheese, milk, flour, butter -- BACON... but it was universally accepted by the family, and will be a "make again."

My apologies to those health nuts out there -- but here goes:
Baked Potato Soup
(From Fix It and Forget It Cookbook)

4 large baked potatoes
2/3 c. butter
2/3 c. flour
6 c. milk
¾ tsp. salt
½ tsp. pepper
4 green onions
12 slices bacon, fried and crumbled
2 c. shredded sharp cheddar cheese

Melt the butter in a large stock pot. Add the flour and stir, heat for a minute or two. Slowly add the milk and stir constantly until soup thickens. Add salt, pepper, potatoes, onions and bacon. Stir and heat through. Right before serving, slowly add the cheese.

Brussel Sprouts

Thanksgiving has come and gone, and I have lots of stuff to write about -- but the thing I liked best (and probably one of the easiest things I made) was roasted brussel sprouts. Simply delicious. I think I'll roast cauliflower next...

I bought two containers of fresh sprouts, and cut them in half (and trimmed the ends, if necessary)
Tossed with olive oil, salt and red pepper flakes
Roasted at 400 degrees for about 15 minutes
Cooled and popped in the fridge overnight, reheated for dinner on Thursday.

Yum, yum, yum.

Roasted Butternut Squash with Cinnamon

Butternut Squash is one of those things that I hated as a kid, but love now. So I can sort of understand the turned up noses and gagging sounds when I try to feed it to my audience. However, since I'm in charge, everynow and then, I'm going to serve it up and let them whine all they want.

I swore I would never be "that kind of mom" but I have to admit, we had our little friend Tommy over and I made this for dinner. We not only forced him to eat it, we also asked him to rate it. Amazingly, Tommy gave it a 2.5 out of 5. And even more amazingly, my oldest son told me he liked it the other day. You could have knocked me over...

Anyway, I couldn't take a picture because we ate it all. Next time...

This recipe is from Cooking Light, October 2004 issue -- it was just a simple side dish in an article about pork chops, but it jumped out at me.

Roasted butternut squash

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Coat a nonstick baking sheet with cooking spray. Arrange 4 c. (1/2 in.) diced butternut squash in a single layer on pan, sprinkle with 1/2 t. salt, 1/4 t. groundcinnamon, and 1/4 t. ground nutmeg. Coat squash with cooking spray. Bake at 400 degrees for 10 minutes, turn with a spatula. Bake an additional 10 minutes or until squash is soft and begins to brown.

Best Macaroni and Cheese EVER

I love love love love macaroni and cheese. My mother used to make it with velveeta and milk -- but of course I had to find a much more difficult way to make it. We got this recipe at a family fair years ago, a cheese company was one of the exhibitors. I only make it occassionally, because I would eat it all the time, and there is no redeeming nutritional qualities to this dish. Maybe that's why it's so good.

I think the kids could go either way with this dish. Not sure the husband likes it so much either. Who cares? If Mom is happy, everyone is happy.

Macaroni and Cheese
2 c. macaroni
3 T. each butter, flour
1/4 t. dry mustard
Pinch of cayenne pepper
1 dash of Worcestershire sauce
2 c. whole milk, heated
4 c. (16 oz.) shredded sharp cheddar cheese, divided
1/2 c. buttered bread crumbs

Cook and drain macaroni. Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees.

In a saucepan, over medium heat, melt butter. Whisking constantly, sprinkle flour over. Continue whisking while cooking until a thick,smooth paste with a nutty aroma forms, about five minutes. Add mustard, pepper, Worcestershire. Whisking througout, gradually add milk. Cook until thickened and bubbly.

Reduce heat to low and whisk in 3 cups Cabot Sharp Cheddar Ccheese until melted. Stir in macaroni until well coated. Pour into a 2 1/2 quart casserole dish (coated with non-stick spray). Sprinkle remaining cheese over evenly and top with crubs. Bake until hot throughout, bubbly and golden on top, about 20 minutes.

Perfection!

(The picture was taken with my groovy new camera -- birthday gift. I think my blogging career is really going to take off now!)

Pumpkin Praline Muffins

I've discovered the secret to a happy marriage! I'm going to write an article for Cosmo... it's not what you are thinking. Drumroll, please. The secret to a happy marriage is baking. As long as we have pies and cookies and muffins at the ready, my husband is a happy man. So, as the butter softens on the counter downstairs, I thought I'd share the latest confection I created in the name of marital bliss...

Pumpkin Praline Muffins

Praline Topping
3 T. butter, cut into pieces
1/3 c. flour
3 T. light brown sugar
1/3 c. finely chopped pecans

Muffin Batter

1 c. whole wheat flour
1 c. all purpose flour
1/3 c. sugar
2 t. baking powder
1 t. baking soda
1 t. pumpkin pie spice
1/4 t. salt
2/3 c. canned pumpkin
1/3 c. unsulfured molasses
1/3 c. canola oil
2 eggs
1/4 c. milk
1 t. vanilla extract

1. Combine all the topping ingredients in a small bowl and use your fingers to rub them into a crumbly topping. Set it aside. Heat the oven to 400 degrees and grease the bottoms of 12 muffin cups.

2. In a large bowl, whisk together both flours and the sugar, baking powder, baking soda, pumpkin pie spice, and salt. In a medium bowl, mix together pumpkin, molasses, oil, eggs, milk and vanilla extract. Stir the pumpkin mixture into the dry ingredients just until the batter is blended.

3. Divide the batter among the muffin cups and sprinkle on the praline topping. Then bake the muffins for 15 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center of one comes out clean. Let the muffins cool in the pan on a wire rack for 5 to 10 minutes before removing them.