A Fast and Easy Four Ingredient Dinner

We have been eating more "Italian" type dishes lately because Italian often includes delicious ingredients such as cheese, tomatoes, cheese, pasta, cheese, and so on.  (I love cheese.  Have a mentioned that?) Like I have said before, I am really not that into Italian food normally but for some reason pasta is hitting the spot these days.

The recipe included below is one that I made last week and again tonight for dinner.  When I made it last week Matt was very skeptical of how it looked and how it would taste.  He actually avoided eating dinner until 9 or so at night because he was that weary.  However, as soon as he took a bite, he said with great surprise, "This is really good."  Of course, those are the words every cook would love to hear.  When he requested it again this week for one of our meals, I was ecstatic.  It is such an easy meal to throw together and also very filling.  And who doesn't love cheese in a dish?  Certainly not me.

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Cheese Tortellini with Broccoli and Browned Butter

3 large broccoli florets (about 1 3/4 pounds)

4 tablespoons butter

1 pound of fresh or frozen cheese tortellini

3/4 cup of grated pecorino romano cheese

Steam the broccoli until very soft and it can be mashed easily with a fork.  After steamed, set to the side in a pot.

While broccoli is steaming, bring a large pot of water to a boil for the tortellini.  Cook tortellini according to the directions on the package.  

Meanwhile, begin heating the butter in a separate skillet.  Let butter melt and cook over the heat until slightly browned and has a nutty smell.  Set to the side.  

While the broccoli is still in a separate pot, mash the broccoli with a large spoon for about 20 seconds.  This will allow some of the broccoli pieces to act like a pesto and cover the tortellini noodles.  

Add pieces of broccoli to the tortellini and mix. Pour browned butter over the broccoli and tortellini and mix.  Add grated cheese and salt to taste.  Enjoy!

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Simple Guacamole = Fiesta Time

This past weekend I was blessed to be a part of a team of women in charge of a sweet friend's baby shower.  Because my friend and her husband have a love of all things international, we decided to throw an internationally themed shower with Olympic games included!   We attempted to make food from all over the world including foods from Thailand, France, Mexico, and Italy.   I was in charge of the Mexican themed food so I decided to go with the standard and beloved Mexican foods: chips, salsa, and guacamole.

I don't mean to brag but I make a mean guacamole.  I actually learned how to make it while I was in Mexico during college.  Unfortunately (and this is seriously one of my most genuine regrets), I did not like guacamole while living there.  However, I did have to make it almost on a weekly basis for the individuals who did want to partake in it's deliciousness (which again, I regret I didn't understand at the time).  One thing I learned is that if you leave the pit of at least one avocado in the guacamole once you have finished making it, it will keep the guacamole from turning brown.  I thought this was an interesting tidbit and have used this knowledge since then.  It does work! 

The guacamole for this baby shower turned out wonderfully.  The bowl was actually scraped clean by the end of the night which is always a good sign.  I would also like to say that my guacamole recipe does not include onions like the traditional recipe.  I do not like raw onions so I leave them out.  But if you do, feel free to add one in.  I am sure it will be delicious.  Enjoy!

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Simple Guacamole

(makes about 3 1/2 cups and serves 10-14)

6 ripe avocados

6 plum tomatoes, diced

1/3 cup chopped cilantro

1 1/2 teaspoons Kosher salt

2 teaspoons lime juice

Cut avocado in half and spoon out into a big bowl.  (If you want to, save one of the avocado pits to put in the finished guacamole to prevent browning.)  Mash avocados with a potato masher or large fork until mostly smooth.   Add diced tomatoes, cilantro, salt, and lime juice to the bowl.  Stir gently until mixed.  Serve chilled and enjoy!

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Palak Paneer: A Vegetarian Indian Dream Dish

Clearly we love paneer in this household.  When looking over past dishes, this cheese is definitely makes regular appearances on this blog. This awesome, filling cheese is a staple in any Indian recipe I attempt to make.  My first question when browsing for Indian recipes, does it have paneer in it?  Yes. Well then yes, please.  Let's try that one.

The other day I was feeling only slightly adventurous when looking for an Indian recipe I could make for dinner.  I wanted it to include paneer (of course) but also didn't want to go with the staple Saag Paneer we have at least once a month.  When browsing on allrecipes.com, I came across Rosy's Palak Paneer.  This recipe was enticing because it included all the Indian flavors I love but added a tomato twist.  In the original recipe, it calls for adding the paneer to the tomato and spinach base and letting the cheese warm that way.  I decided to fry ours up adding a little turmeric and salt.  The extra hit of flavor on the cheese was a very nice addition.

As I am continuing to find, the Indian recipes I try only get better and more flavorful with time.  The night we ate this dinner, the palak paneer was great.  However, the next day, it was truly wonderful.  It always makes me so happy to have leftovers I actually enjoy eating.  This recipe was definitely enjoyable.  If you try it out, I hope you like it too!

Hip-Friendly Chocolate Peanut Butter Swirl Brownies

I have never made a swirled anything.  I thought that if something had a swirl in it (i.e. candy cane, ice cream, or Swirled Desserts) it would be a difficult and even arduous task. (BTW- the word 'arduous' was Matt's addition to this post.  It means considerable physical or mental effort.  I definitely didn't know that before he told me.) When I ran across a Chocolate Peanut Butter Swirl Brownie recipe on WeightWatchers.com, I wasn't quite sure if I was up for putting in the effort it might take to make this recipe.  However, I would like to say that I was very wrong in assuming that this recipe would be an arduous task. (How many times do you think I can use this word before it gets old?)  In fact, this recipe was very easy and beyond delicious in results.   The original recipe from the Weight Watchers website is below the photos.

Here are the recipe adaptions I made:

1) I used all 8 oz of the Neufchatel cheese I had.  The recipe calls for 6oz.  I didn't want 2 oz of the bar just lying around so I used it all.

2) I didn't have apple butter so I used natural applesauce instead.  

3) I used fat free half-and-half. 

4) I used egg whites instead of the fat free egg substitute.  I used 2 egg whites when it called for 1/4 cup of the egg substitute and 3 egg whites when it called for 1/3 cup.

These brownies were so good!  I couldn't believe they were a Weight Watchers recipe.  I made them for a Super Bowl party that we had on Sunday.  No one else could believe they were a Weight Watchers recipe either.  They were that good.  If you need a dessert sometime soon and want to impress people with a swirl and a low WW point value, I would highly recommend giving these a try.  I hope you enjoy!

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Chocolate Peanut Butter Swirl Brownies

recipe taken from WeightWatchers.com

32 servings with 4 points per brownie

6 oz Neufchatel cheese, softened

3/4 cup reduced fat peanut butter

1/4 cup cup fat free egg substitute

3 Tbsp half-and-half cream

1 package regular brownie dry mix

1/4 cup vegetable oil

1/4 cup apple butter

1/3 cup water

1/3 cup fat free egg substitute

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  

Mix cheese and peanut butter in a medium-sized bowl until well combined.  Add 1/4 cup of egg substitute and beat with an electric mixer until incorporated.  Add half-and-half, mixing until creamy and smooth; set aside.

In another bowl, beat brownie mix, oil, apple butter, water, and remaining egg substitute until combined.

Spread half of brown mixture into a 13x9-inch baking pan.  Dollop with half of peanut butter mixture and swirl with edge of spatula or knife.  Repeat with remaining batter and peanut butter mixture to form a second layer.  Bake until a toothpick inserted in center comes out clean, about 30 minutes.  Cut into 32 pieces and serve.

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Bread Machine Cinnamon Rolls

As I have mentioned before, some Sundays I get to make the breakfast treats for the hospitality table at our church.  A couple weeks ago I decided I wanted to make tiny little cinnamon rolls as one of my hospitality treats.  Although I love the taste of fresh bread and think it is one of the best things in the entire world, I hate to wait while the dough is rising.  It just seems like such a process to me.  With that complaint, here is where my sweet and awesome bread machine steps in.

While looking on allrecipes.com for a cinnamon roll recipe, I was specifically drawn to one that allowed me to make the dough in my bread machine.  The reviews for this recipe were out of this world.  People seriously claimed the recipe tasted like a Cinnabon.  Here is the link to the recipe:  Clone of a Cinnabon.  As you can see, even the name reflects the high standard of deliciousness that is set from the very beginning.

The original recipe yields 12 regular sized cinnamon rolls.  While reading it over, I definitely knew that I needed more than 12 rolls to feed our group at church.  I also knew that I couldn't double the dough ingredients because the dough would literally explode out of my bread machine.  Instead of doubling the dough and/or making two separate batches of dough, I decided to just make a regular amount of dough and after it had finished it's time in the bread machine, I would split that dough in two sections.  I then took one of the two sections and rolled it out nice and thin.  Once the cinnamon and butter were spread onto the dough and it was rolled into it's cinnamon bun formation, I would then just make smaller slices in the roll.  This worked out like magic for me!  I ended up splitting and slicing the dough enough to get 50 cute, little cinnamon rolls.  The pictures don't even do justice to how small and adorable they were.

Because I iced the cinnamon rolls at church, I didn't get to take a photo of them.  So instead of actually seeing the iced rolls, imagine tiny little cinnamon rolls with just a good amount of sweet cream cheese icing.  Yum!  These bite-sized cinnamon rolls were quickly eaten up with not even one being left at the end of the service.  My ego was satisfied with this success.  I can't wait to try them again!  I hope you enjoy.

Parmesan-Roasted Cauliflower

I love cauliflower.  I would almost go as far to say that it is my favorite vegetable.  Any time I see a cauliflower dish on a menu, I am immediately drawn to it.  Cauliflower soup. Sign me up.  Steamed cauliflower. Yes, please! Parmesan roasted cauliflower. Give me a large portion of that dish.

In the February 2013 edition of BonAppetit, they have a recipe called Parmesan-Roasted Cauliflower.  As I was looking over the magazine, this recipe immediately stood out to me as a "must-make."  Here's the link to the recipe:  Parmesan-Roasted Cauliflower  Of course, as we have discussed, the recipe was based around cauliflower so I am immediately biased.  However, the addition of the parmesan cheese just solidified the possibility of deliciousness.  Normally I don't love cheese added to my vegetables but parmesan is a different story.  The sharp taste of just-shredded parmesan cheese causes any dish to sing. In my mind, adding it to cauliflower would only enhance the flavor.

As the cauliflower was roasting, my stomach began to rumble at the wonderful smells.  The recipe calls for an onion but I didn't have an extra onion lying around. I just used a shallot in the onion's place.  I also left out the garlic and thyme because I didn't have either of those ingredients.  I was not disappointed by this recipe.  The parmesan and cauliflower combination was spectacular.  The roasted vegetables with the sharpness of the cheese created this amazingly rich and flavorful dish. This could easily be added as a very classy, simple side dish to many types of meals.  I hope you enjoy!

Weekend of Stillness

This past weekend I was sick.  It was one of those annoying illnesses that can sometimes creep up on you.  My symptoms were strange. I felt only a little worn out and exhausted most of the time but I wanted to sleep all the time. My nose was periodically on the fritz and I would have a chill every three to four hours but not any more frequently than that.  It was like my body was having commitment issues with a cold.  I couldn't decide if I really wanted to commit to the cold-like illness or just be healthy like normal.  When I described these confusing symptoms to the symptom checker on WebMD.com (warning: this website can scare the crazy out of anyone), some of my possible diagnoses were 1) a cold, 2) an allergic reaction, or 3) the plague.  Yes, watch out.  I MIGHT have the plague according to the internet.

During one small spurt of energy over the weekend, I decided I wanted to go walk-jogging around my neighborhood.  I am still not sure where this urge came from but I didn't fight it.  When I got back from my slight exercise, my sweet husband was outside smoking his pipe.  The lighting was so perfect that I couldn't help but snap a few pictures.  I haven't been cooking the last couple days due to the illness, so hopefully this will fill some blog space until I am back at it.  I hope you enjoy!

10 Minute Asparagus and Chickpea Dish

This Ten Minute Asaparagus recipe is one that I have been eyeing for quite a while.  It has brown rice, almonds, chickpeas, asparagus.  Clearly all very delicious ingredients.  My only issue was that it called for tahini.  I have never bought tahini and can't seem to find it in the stores for less than $8.00.  While I was home for Christmas, my sweet mother gave me a jar of tahini she had for while but wasn't using.  When she just casually offered me this jar of awesomeness, my world of recipes opened up!

Here's the link to an asparagus, brown rice, chickpea, and tahini recipe I recently tried from 101cookbooks.com:  http://www.101cookbooks.com/archives/ten-minute-tasty-asparagus-and-brown-rice-recipe.html

On Monday nights we often need quick dinners.  Once we get home, get to sit and relax for a minute, do the dishes, and chat, we often only have about an hour before we get to head out again for the evening.  So this quick meal was perfect for a Monday (or really any day of the week).

I had done some of the prep work the night before by cooking the brown rice.  Brown rice is just so great because it tastes just as wonderful reheated as if it was cooked right then.  Sometimes I find with white rice it gets kind of hard and tasteless the next day.  Brown rice does exactly the opposite.  It only gets better with time.  This asparagus and chickpea recipe is also one that only gets better.  It was delicious the night we had it and even better the next two days for lunch.  The tahini dressing just takes it over the top.  If you try this recipe, I hope you enjoy it!