Steakhouse Style Creamed Spinach

Here's a recipe from Chef Keith Snow. I modified it a bit to reduce fat. I substituted heavy cream with half and half and I used low fat cream cheese instead of regular cream cheese. I also added extra salt.

You can find the original on his site: http://www.harvesteating.com/public/921.cfm?sd=63

Ingredients
2 package organic frozen spinach
1/2 Cups organic heavy cream (Replace with half and half or fat free half and half)
1/2 Pounds organic cream cheese (Replace with low fat or fat free cream cheese)
1/8 Teaspoons fresh nutmeg
1/2 Cups minced onion
2 whole garlic cloves, minced
1/8 Teaspoons salt (I used about 1/2 teaspoon)
1/8 Teaspoons black pepper


Directions:
1. In a sauce pan over medium heat, add 2 tbs of butter or olive oil, saute onions for 2 minutes. Add garlic, cook for 1 minute.

2. Add spinach and the rest of the ingredients, stir well, reduce heat and cook for 20 minutes.

3. Keep warm until service.


Original full recipe at http://www.harvesteating.com/public/921.cfm?sd=63

Includes video instructions.

Substitutions:
Heavy Cream
Serving Size 1 cup, whipped (120.0g)
Calories from Fat 400
Calories: 414

Half and half
Serving Size 1 cup (242.0g)
Calories from Fat 250
Calories: 315

Half and half fat free
Serving Size 1 cup (242.0g)
Calories from Fat 30
Calories: 143

Fat and calorie data available on:
http://caloriecounter.net/foods/?a=search&fdgrp_cd=100&q=half+and+half

PENNE, TOMATO AND OLIVE CASSEROLE

Our friend Vito stopped by today to help us with some projects around the house. I put this together for the boys and they ate the whole thing! (Well, I had my fair share too!)

Ingredients
1 pound penne
1 container grape or cherry tomatoes (about 1-1/2 cups)
½ cup kalmata olives (rough chopped)
½ cup fresh chopped basil
½ cup fresh chopped parsley
1 glove garlic minced (I prefer the frozen garlic cubes)
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
Crushed red pepper flakes
½ cup grated parmesan cheese
½ cup slice mozzarella

Heat water for pasta. Slice tomatoes in half and gently squeeze out seeds into a bowl to discard. Remove pits from olives and rough chop. Rough chop basil and parsley. Finely mince garlic or use the cubed frozen garlic which incorporates nicely into dishes.

Preheat oven to 400.

Cook penne just until it begins to soften. Noodles should still be slightly hard. Drain pasta. Reserve 2 cups of pasta water.

In large saucepan add olive oil and heat. Add a sprinkling of crushed red pepper flakes and let them heat up. Add tomatoes and garlic and stir. Add olives, stir. Add basil and parsley and incorporate. Add penne into pot and add about ½ to 1 cup of pasta water. Heat up mixture so pasta continues to cook, but only al dente. Add more water as needed.

Grease a 9 inch baking dish or casserole dish with butter or non-stick spray. Add pasta. Sprinkled mozzarella cheese and grated cheese over top.

Bake for 15 minutes or until cheese browns on top. Remove from oven. Allow to cool slightly, then serve.

This recipe is Vito tested and approved!

Servings: Two hungry guys and one hungry girl.

Thanksgiving Day Vegetable Soup

We’re eating with my husband’s family today and being Italian they don’t make a traditional Thanksgiving Day dinner. Usually it’s an endless spread of appetizers, soup and then meat and potatoes. I decided since I was going to indulge in Italian meats, rich appetizers and desserts all day, I should make myself something healthy to eat for the days to follow. I grabbed all the veggies in my refrigerator this morning and put this soup together.

INGREDIENTS
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
3 small russet or yellow potatoes diced
2 large carrots diced
½ medium red onion diced (about ¾ cup)
3 stalks of celery diced (use one inner stalk (s) and leaves and two large exterior stalks)
3 cloves garlic minced
½ flat leaf parsley- rough chopped
2 cups of escarole sliced thin
Fresh ground pepper
1-1/2 teaspoon sea salt (add more for taste as needed)
½ teaspoon ground cumin
Low Sodium chicken stock (free range/organic) 32 oz.
Grated Parmesan cheese

In a Dutch oven (Le Cruset 5-1/2 qt. round), add 2 tablespoons of olive oil and two tablespoons of butter. On low heat melt butter, and then add potatoes. Stir so they are well coated and cook over medium heat for 3-4 minutes. Add carrots, stir and cook for 2 minutes. Add diced celery and diced onion and cook for 2-3 minutes. You want to get all these veggies roasting in the oil and butter. If they stick to the pot, that’s good, just scrape them away with a wooden spoon. All that roasted stuff on the bottom of the pan will add great flavor to the soup.

Add minced garlic and stir. Add ½ cup parsley rough chopped, and stir. Add 5 turns of fresh ground pepper, cumin and sea salt and stir. Add chicken stock and escarole. Stir and loosen and incorporate any of the browned coating from bottom of pan. Bring soup to a low boil and then reduce heat to low and simmer for 45 minutes.

After letting soup simmer, give it a taste. Add more salt as needed. Ladle into soup bowls and garnish with fresh grated Parmesan cheese.

*Add additional water or broth if you want more liquid.
*This recipe adds very little salt to start. Adjust salt to taste or dietary requirements.
*Omit butter to reduce fat content.

Servings: 4-6

Tips: Save the ends of your Parmesan cheese. Add a rind to your soup before simmering. The cheese will melt and add a nice nutty flavor to the soup.

Stock- Trader Joes makes a low sodium, organic chicken stock

Luke's Roasted Squash, Port & Cream Soup

Luke is a broadcast editor in New York. When he's not crafting a film or television project, he puts on his chef's hat. Coming from the UK, his dishes are rich and hearty.

Luke's recipe:

"Here's my roasted squash, port & cream soup: (the measurements aren't too specific I'm afraid, as it's mostly done by sight!)

1 butternut squash, halved, seeded, scored and seasoned (pepper & olive oil), roasted for 50 mins or so.

Then I make my stock separately, which whatever is around the kitchen....but usually I start with garlic, onion and olive oil as the base, mixed with some regular chicken broth. If I have some ginger around, I might put some of that in too. Then once that's going, and the squash is done, I scoop that into the stock mixture, and leave that on the boil for a bit. Then I blend that, and return it to the pot, and add some port wine (a good glug of it) and some heavy cream to smooth it all out a bit, and that's about it.

Probably not too healthy once I've written it down and seen what's in it. But it's good for the winter months!"

Comforting Soup (Vegetable)

Hearty, warm and delicious. .. this soup is great for cold weather or a Sunday night when you just want to chill and snuggle-up on the couch with something comforting.


Ingredients
3 tablespoons olive oil
1 small yellow onion diced- approx. 1 cup
1 ½ cup diced carrots
1 ¼ cup celery diced (add leaves and some stalk from inner plant)
1 ¼ cup diced zucchini
3-4 cloves of garlic roughly chopped
1 can stewed tomatoes (14.5 oz)
1 can white kidney beans or navy beans (15 oz)
4 cups organic free range chicken broth (32 oz)
1 cup chopped escarole
½ cup flat leaf parsley
Fresh ground pepper
Sea salt
Chopped basil- optional

Heat oil in large dutch oven. Over medium heat, cooks carrots, zucchini, celery and onions until slightly brown. Add garlic and stir. Add stewed tomatoes and beans. Let mixture cook together over low heat. Add chicken stock and stir. Rough chop parsley and add. Add 8 turns of fresh ground pepper. Add about a teaspoon of sea salt. (Adjust salt to your personal taste.) I like to add fresh basil or one or two of the little frozen basil cubes you can get at the grocery store. Simmer for one hour.

I like my soup thick, like a stew, but you can add more water or chicken stock if needed.

Chicken and Lemon Borsellini Soup

I found a package of Chicken and Lemon Borsellini while grocery shopping, and I knew I just had to make something with it. I decided to create a soup that was light and could carry the yummy texture of the little pasta pouches filled with chicken.

In this recipe, you can add more or less pasta, lemon, garlic, cheese, salt and pepper to get the desired flavor.


Ingredients
1-1 1/2 cup chicken and lemon borsellini
1 cup vegetable stock
1 cup chicken stock low sodium
1 scallion stalk
1 clove garlic minced (Frozen cubed garlic blends best)
2 squeezes of of fresh lemon juice (or to taste)
Lemon rind grated
3 tablespoons grated Parmesean cheese
Handful of loosely chopped parsley
Kosher salt (about 2-3 teaspoons)
fresh ground pepper

Slice up scallion and mince garlic. Bring water, vegetable and chicken stock to a simmer. Add garlic, scallion, 1/2 parsley, 1-2 teaspoons of salt and about 1/2 teaspoon of fresh ground pepper. Bring to a low boil and add borsellini. (Add a bit of water is more liquid is needed) The pasta only needs to cook for two minutes so keep it on a very low boil or simmer until pasta floats to the top. Remove from heat. Cut a lemon in half. Grate some lemon rind into broth and then add two squeezes of lemon juice. Stir and taste. Add more if necessary. Take a taste and season with more salt and pepper as desired. If you used low sodium stock you may have to add more salt to get desired taste.

Spoon into bowls and top with remainder of grated cheese and parsley. Eash dish should be filled with pasta sitting in an inch or two of broth.

Servings: 2

Couscous and Mediterranean Veggie Medley

My hubby asked about this dish tonight, which means he really liked it. I needed to quickly add a veggie dish to our meal tonight and whipped this up. It turned out yummy.



Ingredients
1 box pre-packed couscous
1/2 cup large grape tomatoes
1/2 cups frozen haricot vert (small think green beans)
1/4 cup large Kalmata olives
2 tablespoons extra virgin oil olive
1 clove garlic
red pepper flakes
sea salt (ground)
Fresh ground pepper

Prepare couscous according to box directions. I chose the kind with garlic and pine nuts. But you could toast your own pine nuts and add it yourself.

Slice grape tomotos in half and set aside. Remove pits from olives and rough chop. Finely chop garlic. In small pot heat 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil. When hot add red pepper flakes and let cook until you begin to smell the pepper. Add tomatoes and green beans. Heat up on high heat, until beans are thawed and crisp. Add garlic and olives. Keep mixture cooking and stir until garlic is distributed thoroughout. Reduce heat and let some of the liquid evaporate. Add salt and fresh ground pepper to taste. Stir.

When liquid has thickened a little remove from heat.

Spoon a large serving of couscous onto each plate and then add the veggie mix to the side of it. It's a delicious combo.

Servings: 2

Mount Kilimanjaro and Ginger Tea

This morning as I drank my coffee I watched Ann Curry on the Today show report on how she is adjusting to altitude and preparing to complete her climb up Mount Kilimanjaro. She was at 15,300 feet and sounded much better than the day before when she was fighting altitude sickness.

Back in 1997, I made the same struggle up that mountain. No matter how much training you do (I ran 4-6 miles every other day for 6 months, and it sucked!), no matter how many herbal supplements and aspirin you take, you have no idea how you body will handle the climb until you get there.

At 16,000 feet making our final ascent I was as sick as a dog and suffering from the beginning stages of frost bite. My friend Bridgette climbed along seemingly unaffected. Then at 18,000 I got my burst of energy while she was puking her guts out.

What did keep me going on our 6 day trek, as we climbed higher and higher from camp to camp, was ginger tea. Yes, simple, homemade ginger tea. Every day our guides made it for us. We even packed it into thermoses and carried up the mountain with us, stopping to sip on it and nibble crackers to fight off nausea. There's something about ginger that's warm and comforting. It helps fight nausea and it gives me a little boost of energy too.

Here's how to make it.

Fresh ginger

Lemon

Honey

Hot water

Grate or chop up as much ginger as you want to use. More to make your tea stronger, less for a mild taste. Bring a pot or kettle of water to a boil. Remove from heat and add ginger. Let this steep for at least 10 minutes. Pour into a mug and add a little lemon and honey.

So Ann, my advice to you... get your Sherpas to beg, borrow or steal some ginger and get that tea brewin'.

White Bean and Escarole Soup

My friend Pam came by on Sunday night and she brought me a gift. A jar of her delicious, homemade White Bean and Escarole soup. I love escarole and it's jam-packed with great nutrients.

Here's her recipe:

Ingredients
1 medium chopped onion
5 cloves of garlic chopped
4 tablespoons olive oil
1 leek cleaned and chopped
1 32 oz can of plum tomatoes
1 can or organic white beans (drained and washed)
½ head chopped escarole
4 chicken or vegetable Knorr vegetable bouillon packets (powder)
Grated parmesan cheese (optional)
Add enough good water to cover

Sautee onions, garlic and leeks in olive oil until golden brown. Add tomatoes, canned beans, chopped escarole. Cook until escarole is done – maybe about 20-30 minutes. Sprinkle grated parmesan cheese over soup when done. Delicious!

Parsley & Basil Pesto Pasta with Seared Shrimp

I found a recipe in Cooking Light that I really liked, but I added a few of my own modifcations. The CL recipe called for all parsley in it and only walnuts. My version adds shrimp, basil, pine nuts and red pepper flakes into the mix.

Ingredients

3 cups parsley leaves (flat leaf)

1/4 cup chopped walnuts

1/4 cup pine nuts

3 tablespoons olive oil

1/2 teaspoon Kosher salt

1/2 teaspoon freshly ground pepper

pinch red pepper flakes

3 cloves garlic minced

1 pound spaghetti

15 shrimp medium size

First, make the pesto and defrost your shrimp if they are frozen.

Pesto: Combine all ingredients in food processor and blend until smooth. I find that you have to add a coinsiderable amount of olive oil to the mix in order to get the leaves to process.

3 cups parsley leaves (flat leaf)

1 cup basil leafs
1/4 cup chopped walnuts
1/4 cup pine nuts
1/2 teaspoon Kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground pepper
2 cloves garlic minced

olive oil as needed

Once you have the mixture, place it in an air tight container and cover the top with a small amount of olive oil.

In a large non-stick pot, heat 2-3 tablespoons olive oil. Once the oil it hot add a sprinkle of red pepper flakes. Once you begin to smell the flakes cooking (may be about 10-20 seconds) add shrimp and reduce heat to medium. Let shrimp begin to cook a bit and then add one clove of minced garlic. Stir so the garlic gets distributed on the shrimp. Turn off heat, so shrimp don't over cook and set pan aside.

Bring pasta water to a boil. Remember to salt your water. Cook 1 pound of spaghetti.

Rough chop about 1/4 or less of walnuts. You can use your own judgement here on how much walnuts you want in your dish.

Remove shaghetti from heat just before it is done. You want it almost al dente. Transfer it into the pot with shrimp to finish cooking. I do this by scooping it out with a pasta ladel. You can also use a regular collander but be sure to save some of the pasta water. This will help thicken your sauce. Combine shrimp and pasta and begin to add pesto. Stir it in bit by bit over medium heat until you get the desired amount of sauce. Add small amounts of pasta water as you go. This will help distribute the sauce and finish cooking the pasta. Once the pasta is al dente (about 2-3 minutes) sprinkle walnuts on top and combine. If you like you can also sprinkle on some parm cheese. Enjoy!

Substitutions:

Whole wheat or organic pasta

Skip basil and use only parsley

Cherry Jubilation Over Vanilla Ice Cream

OK- this recipe isn't healthy at all, but damn, it sure tastes good and it's really fun to make if you want to entertain your guests.

This is a version of Cherries Jubilee I picked up at a buffet. (Yes, Rapunzel does hit a buffet every now and then.)

Ingredients

Premium vanilla ice cream
1/2 bag of frozen cherries
2-3 tablespoons brown sugar
2-3 tablespoons butter
1/4 cup orange juice
1/2 cup or more brandy of your choice (some people prefer a cherry brandy, but I've tried VSOP or Grand Manier would be great too!)

Serves 4

One hour before making this dessert, place 1/2 bag of frozen cherries in a bowl and let them defrost at room temperature.

Heat non-stick frying pan on medium heat. Add butter and melt. Add brown sugar and melt into butter. Add cherries and stir until warm.

Turn off flame. Pour brandy over mixture (about 1/2 cup). You can light the brandy using the flame from your stove or use a stick lighter to ignite the brandy. As alcohol burns, gently shake pan to disburse flame throughout cherries. Once flame had burned out, add orange juice to taste. Put heat back on a reduce mixture until sauce thickens a bit. Let cool slightly.

Set-up four dessert bowls (or I like to use clear glass coffee mugs). Add two scoops of vanilla ice cream to each. Spoon cherries over ice cream and serve right away. The ice will melt fast under the hot cherry mixture, so it's best to let the cherries cool down a little. The mix of the creamy melting ice cream and cherries is decadent!

Garnish with your favorite little cookies or a chocolate biscotti. YUM!

Simple Sophisticated Asparagus Appetizer

Here's an "appy" I served up at a recent gathering. It's easy, healthy and tastes great.

Ingredients
1 bundle of small asparagus
Parmigiano Reggiano
olive oil
Adobo seasoning (homemade or store bought)
Kosher salt
pepper
4-6 appetizer plates

Wash asparagus and dry in a soft towel. Spread veggies out on a cookie sheet. Sprinkle with olive oil, Kosher salt, fresh ground pepper, Adobo seasoning or any of your other favorite spices (cumin, red pepper flakes, etc...). Gently toss asparagus so they are fully coated. Let them marinate in oil and spices for 30 minutes.

Heat up grill or grill pan. Sear the asparagus. You want them to get nice and brown on the outside, but still be slightly crisp. We're going for flavor without killing all the nutrients!

Remove from grill and cool slightly. Grab your favorite appetizer plates. Place a small bundles of asparagus on each plate. (This recipe will usually feed 4-6 guests.) You want each guest to have at least 5-6 asparagus. Using a sharp knife or veggie peeler, carve-off paper thin slices of your Parmesan cheese wedge. I like to criss-cross 2 thin strips over each bundle of asparagus.

If you don't have a cheese wedge, you can sprinkle the bundles lightly with grated cheese.

Serves 4-6 guests

Delish Caponata Appetizer

Here's a little homemade caponata recipe I whipped up for my girl friends. It's fresh, healthy and easy to make too.

Ingredients

1 medium zucchini
1 red bell pepper
10 calmata olives
1 clove garlic
parsley
olive oil
Adobo seasoning (store bought or home made)
sea salt
pepper
Italian bread or baguette


Slice zucchini and peppers in thin strips length wise to grill. Heat up outdoor grill or use a grill pan. If using a grill pan, coat pan with non-stick cooking spray. Lay zucchini and peppers flat on grill or pan. Sprinkle with a little olive oil (do this prior to putting on grill) Adobo seasoning, salt and fresh ground pepper. Grill on both sides until well browned but not too soft in the middle. You want a little crunch and texture left in your veggies.

Remove peppers and zucchini and allow to cool for 2-3 minutes. Once cool rough chop zucchini and peppers and place into a small pan. Remove pits from olives and rough chop. Add olives to pan. Snip in from fresh parsley. Add add additional olive oil, salt and pepper to taste.

For this recipe I prefer to use a small load of whole wheat Italian bread. Slice bread into think slices (bruchetta style) and toast or broil in oven on cookie sheet.

Once the bread is done, warm up the caponata on the stove. You want to warm this up just enough to get the olives warm. Be careful not to over cook it.

I like to arrange each portion on small plates for all my guests. One each plate plate three slices of the toast fanning out. Add to it a nice portion of the caponata. I like to give my guests a small fork so they can choose whether to place the caponata right on the bread, scoop it up or take alternate bites of the bread and veggies. Salute!

Servings: 4

Substitutions: Italian multigrain bread holds more nutritional value. You can also use any Italian style loaf or baguette.

*Created from scratch and out of hunger.