Touchdown Casserole



Photo credit:  footballbabble.com

Well folks, I know it's a big secret, but I'll spill the beans:  next weekend is the Big Game.  Shocking, I know.  I thought I might offer an interesting twist on the typical pizza you might be planning to serve.  Don't get me wrong, I love-love-love pizza. But perhaps after a whole football season of pizza, you might be interested in something a little different.  Well, this casserole is the one for you!   The toppings are what makes it.  On top of the meaty, cheesy pasta you sprinkle spikey, salty olives, pepperoni, and a little extra cheese to top it all off.  Ah, it's wonderful.  Try this soon. 

Busy Mom's Journal: Commitments

I love January.  I love the New Year.  I'm quite sad that January is almost over.  Over the last few years of losing weight and focusing on healthy eating, I have come to look on the month of January as a celebration of healthy eating and healthy habits.  It's a time of recommitment to living a healthy lifestyle.  It's especially refreshing after the November and December.  Don't get me wrong, I love special holiday foods.  Thanksgiving and Christmas are wonderful times for food.  However, as much as the previous two months are given to celebration and excess, the following month is centered around getting your excess back in check...establishing healthy patterns.  Perhaps for the first time.

January is also special for me because January 2008 is when I decided to start losing the baby weight, and then some.  So it's only fitting that this January I am recommiting myself to being healthy.  I am going to try and make it to the "official" Weight Watchers goal weight, and then see what I think.  I'll be honest, I'm quite pleased with my weight (apart from a few extra holiday pounds).  But there's that little part of me that wonders what would happen if I made it to "goal"?  I don't want to give up on the process, especially right before the finish line.  So I'm back.  I'll see what happens, and assess whether "goal" weight is the right one for me, or something else.   

My other commitment, which is new for me, is to exercise.  I have managed to lose 35 pounds so far without excercise.  But quite frankly, it's time to get my butt in gear.  One of my coworkers gave me a free pass to check out a certain exercise class.  I starts with a "J" and ends with an "azzercise".  Very skeptically I decided to give it a try. I've never been a sporty person. In fact, I've never experienced the excercise-related "high" that people talk about.  The rush of endorphines that comes with expending lots of energy.  Never happened.  But at Jazzercise, I did.  I think it's because I pushed myself further than I would have working out on my own.  So I decided to commit to this for a year, and see where it takes me. 

Those are the two commitments I've made.  How are you doing on yours? Did you make any commitments this year? Comment and discuss. 

Back on Plan (plus Green Veggie Burger Wrap recipe)

So...I changed my mind.  I joined Weight Watchers again.  I just couldn't resist.  And I couldn't be happier.  I was hearing such good things from friends about the new system that I couldn't stay away for long. 

My earlier concerns about having to learn a brand new point system after having come so far with the old system? No worries.  This point system is so much better than the old one.  After following it fully for a week, and steeping myself in the new plan, I see how this PointsPlus program gently nudges me toward choosing veggies, fruits, and lean proteins as my first line of defense against hunger before I go for the empty calories of carbs.  I really appreciate that.  Especially when it comes to snacks, I've always been a big proponent of the power of protein.  Perhaps it's the remnants of the Atkin's days.  In fact, to this day, my mother's cure for everything is, "Take some ibuprofen and eat some protein."  I guess I've taken that to heart.  Well, now I can have a hard-boiled egg and a piece of fruit for a healthy, sustaining, and low points snack that will last me until dinner.  God bless Weight Watchers.  This is the plan I want to use to maintain my weight loss. 

I went to the grocery store with my dad and son over the weekend, and I looked down at the full cart and felt such pride.  In fact, I made my dad stop and appreciate it as well.  The cart was filled with fruits, veggies, a few canned goods, and lean proteins.  There was very little processed junk.  I was so proud of the cart, I actually thought about stopping a stranger to admire.  But I didn't. 

In a later post, I'll discuss my goals for the program.  As for the blog, since I'm back on the Weight Watchers plan I will be including approximate PointsPlus values for each of my recipes.

But wait...there's more! I can't leave without offering a recipe.  Here's a quick and easy lunch option:

Overnight Coffee Cake

My sister Trish took this pic. Ain't it festive? 

I owe everything about this recipe to my sister Trish.  She found this gem of a Paula Deen recipe and shared it with the rest of my family.  It's gooey, and caramel-y, and gooey, and buttery, and gooey.  Did I mention it's gooey? Seriously, this is the coffee cake to make all other coffee cakes swoon.  It's sort of a cross between cinnamon rolls and monkey bread, and yet it's better than either of those. 

The best part of this recipe is that it is incredibly easy to make.  You assemble the ingredients the night before without breaking a sweat, and let it rise overnight.  The  next morning, you simply stumble out of bed, pour yourself some coffee (Important:  Do NOT skip the coffee step), preheat the oven, and bake the coffee cake. 

I can't rave enough about how this is the perfect balance between decadent treat and amazingly simple.  Your family and friends will assume you slaved over it, but you'll know that it took mere minutes.  That is, of course, until they ask you for the recipe.  But do everyone a favor and share the recipe.  You never know when someone will make this for you out of sheer gratitude. 

I will be serving this on Christmas morning in my house.  It's the perfect holiday splurge.  That's right, I said SPLURGE. Don't think for a minute that this is a "light" recipe.  It's a real, honest-to-goodness, lip-smacking holiday recipe that you pull out for special occasions.  I fully believe that in order to maintain a healthy eating plan, you need to indulge.  It will keep you sane and you'll be glad you did! 

In the words of my sister when she emailed me the pictures, "I want coffee cake." 

Me, My Blog, and Weight Watchers

If you're a current Weight Watchers member, you already know the "big" news: they unveiled an updated program for weight loss called the Points Plus program.  It's based on the latest science behind weight loss and there are some major changes to the program.  The first thing is that they have changed the way points are calculated.  In keeping with this new method, most foods have increased in points values, except fruits and vegetables: most of those are now 0 points.  Awesome! The daily points target has increased, as have the weekly flex points you get.  In my opinion, the most important change is that Weight Watchers is encouraging members to eat more whole, unprocessed foods, and lean meats (what they are calling "Power Foods") rather than filling our bellies with junk while staying within the points range.  A piece of fruit is a better choice than a 100 calorie snack pack, and now the points values will finally reflect that. 

So...what does that mean for this mom?

A while back, over the summer, I decided that I needed to shake things up regarding my eating plan.  I decided to stop actively tracking my points each day, since I have the system pretty well ingrained into my very being, but instead I would focus on eating an overall healthy plan.  I continue to use points values as a reference for what is a healthy choice or not.  However, I don't track religiously, and I [deep breath] cancelled my Weight Watchers membership. 

That being said, I really don't want to have to learn a new system. I don't want to have to go back to Weight Watchers and pay again to learn a new weight loss system in order to maintain my weight loss.  For that reason, I am going to continue to use the old points system personally.  Should I ever need to lose more than 10-15 pounds again, I will certainly go right back to Weight Watchers and learn the new system.  But for now, the old one works great for me.

So...what does that mean for this blog?

As for the blog, I have decided that I will offer nutritional data on each recipe and let you decide how you use that information.  I will slowly be updating my old posts as well.  I will continue to use this nutritional data to calculate the old points.  Feel free to use the new Points Plus system, or track your calories, or do nothing at all.  Whatever suits you best. 

Sweet Potato, Corn and Black Bean Hash

I originally tried this recipe last winter and loved it.  It has the perfect balance of the creamy sweetness from the sweet potatoes, and the smoky and spicy adobo sauce, and the tangy zip of lime juice.  It's excellent to feed any vegetarians you might have running around the house.  Or how about instituting one meal a week where you eat a vegetarian meal in order to save on the household grocery budget?  This dish is the perfect one to try and win the family over on that idea. 

I served this on a bed of torn baby spinach leaves, extra lime wedges to squeeze over everything, and a dollop of light sour cream on top.  Fantastic! There's really not much more to say about this, other than that it's delicious and healthy.  Life doesn't get much better than that.  On to the recipe!

Pumpkin Pasta with Sausage, Spinach, and Sage

I am a Food Network fanatic.  You're not surpised? Huh.  Well, I know all of the stars on a first name basis.  We're all very tight.  Rachael Ray and I especially go a long way back.  Years ago, when I was living in Los Angeles, her show was on during the time that I would make dinner, so Rach and I cooked together.  We'd chop, stir, and saute together.  It was a wonderful friendship.  Although, to be honest, I have not even ONCE managed to make one of her dishes in 30 minutes.  Go figure. 

One of my all-time favorite pasta dishes is her Pasta with Sausage and Wild Mushroom, from her book 365: No Repeats.  (It's a follow-the-recipe-to-the-letter kind of good.)  I usually make it sometime between Thanksgiving and Christmas, sort of as a splurge dish.  It's rich, creamy, and amazing.  So when I saw that my one of my favorite bloggers, Roni Noone, recently posted a lightened up version of the dish on her website, I heard the heavens open up and the angels sing!  OK, maybe not.  But I knew I would be trying it.  

Of course, being true to myself, I fiddled with Roni's recipe, making it a little bit more aligned with Rachael's recipe.  And I added a few things to suit my own taste.  First, I used fresh sage, rather than the ground sage Roni suggested, because the knew how much of a flavor punch it adds.  It's woodsy and earthy and delicious.  However, if you want to make this dish tonight, go right ahead and use dried sage.  No harm done.  Secondly, I added celery.  I wanted to bulk up the veggie content of the dish, and searched my fridge for something mild and unassuming.  Celery jumped right out at me.  It's adds a mild herbal-ness, that almost turns sweet when it's cooked.  It was the perfect addition. 

ABOUT THE GREEK YOGURT:  Instead of the heavy cream that Rachael uses, Roni substituted non-fat greek yogurt.  But alas, I had only plain non-fat yogurt, not greek style, in my fridge.  My version turned out well enough.  However, greek yogurt is thicker than regular yogurt.  I have a hunch that if you use greek yogurt, you might end up with a more velvety, creamy sauce.  It's just a hunch though.

Broccoli Casserole

This dish has replaced the much beloved green bean casserole on my family's holiday table.  It is super easy to prepare, cheesy and gooey to eat, and versatile, in that you can cook it in the oven or the crockpot.  Since the oven at my house is BEYOND tiny, that's an added bonus.  My mom got this recipe from a coworker.  All I can say is: God bless that coworker!

No, it's not very healthy.  But hey, it's the holidays.  I won't apologize for this dish, and neither should you.  It's not something you eat all the time.  But every once in a while, it's a real treat.

This recipe feeds many.  It makes a 13 x 9 pan FULL of goodness, and a little bit goes a long way.  If you feel this is too much, feel free to halve the recipe and make it in an 8 x 8 pan. But in my house, there has to be enough to feed the family, and then supply two households with leftovers.  So we always go with the big pan. 

Enough chit chat, though.  On to the recipe.  It's almost Thanksgiving, and we've got cooking to do!

Thanksgiving Plan (and bonus Sweet Potato Puff recipe)

 

FYI: This is NOT my table. 

Before I had my son, holidays were a fun time to plan a daring meal and enjoy lots of time in the kitchen with family members.  Now that kids are in the picture, holidays have changed a bit.  I prefer to be in the kitchen less, and spending more time with the kids.  So that means that my menus have had to adapt and change as well. 

This year for Thanksgiving I am focusing on getting as much cooking and prep done ahead of time. Since I have the day before Thanksgiving off from work, I will probably use that day to leisurely do my prepping.  The meal will be simple (for me, that is) but full of the flavors that myself and my family enjoy. 

I'm going to provide links to some recipes (and one actual recipe courtesy of my sister Trish), but I am writing this post more to give you an idea of my plan of attack, rather than my specific recipes.  Every family has their own traditional recipes, and I'm not about to mess with yours! But here's the plan for mine:

Nigella's Pasta with Spinach and Feta

Confession #1: I have a culinary crush.  Her name is Nigella Lawson. I discovered her cooking shows on the Style network almost a decade ago and I was hooked.  What I love about her is how she unapologetically enjoys food--all aspects of food: the cooking AND the eating.  In fact, she was one of the people who helped me get over my fear of failing in the kitchen...[Insert scratching record noise here.] 

Confession #2:  That's right.  I said it.  I haven't always liked cooking.  In fact, for a long, long time I preferred watching cooking shows instead of actually cooking.  The reason for the disconnect was that I was able to enjoy the cooking process when watching someone else cook, but once I got into the kitchen, I felt paralyzed by the fear that I would mess things up. 

Nigella to the rescue! Through her cooking shows and cookbooks, I discovered the secret:  JUST RELAX.  If I relax in the kitchen and focus on enjoying the food, rather than impending doom and failure, I can be a happy and contented cook.  I learned to focus on what I love about cooking: the textures, the sounds, and the aromas.  Now I allow myself to enjoy every step of the process.  Nigella helped me to figure that out. 

Ten years later, I own every single one of her cookbooks, and read them like bedtime stories.  There's something about the way she writes about food that brings it alive on the page.  I also watch every new cooking show she comes out with. Thanks, Nigella, for helping me to RELAX AND ENJOY THE FOOD!

In honor of her, I'm posting a recipe from her latest book, Kitchen: Recipes From the Heart of the Home, all 487 pages of it.  I got it a couple weeks ago and have already read it cover to cover. One chapter, entitled "Off The Cuff," is dedicated to recipes that can be made with kitchen staples (or Nigella's kitchen staples.)  Since she's British, some of her staples aren't as easily available in the U.S, but I was excited when I saw a recipe for Curly Pasta with Feta, Spinach, and Pine Nuts.  Except for the pine nuts, this recipe was full of things I regularly keep on hand.  I did fiddle with the recipe a bit, but not too much.  This is still a very Nigella recipe.

About the feta: Feta cheese is a greek cheese that is wonderfully sharp and salty.  A little bit goes a long way, and it keeps forever in your refrigerator.  Seriously.  I've never seen feta go bad yet.  I'm sure it does at some point, but in my fridge it keeps fresh for months.  I buy a LARGE tub of it at Costco because it's MUCH more economical to buy it in bulk.  I highly recommend it.  The beauty of feta is that it adds the perfect punch of taste for just a point or two.  I love it.  I add a bit to a salad, in a frittata, on top of pasta.  Anywhere and everywhere.

Enough chat.  On with the recipe! 

Busy Mom's Arsenal: Jambalaya

I was making this "recipe" this summer, and wondered out loud to my Dad if this was a post-worthy dish.  After all, I said, it's pretty much a boxed rice mix that I just jazz up to suit my taste.  Is this really good enough to be posted? I asked.  He reminded me about the purpose of my blog in the first place:  A BUSY MOM COOKS.  He said that this sort of "recipe" is exactly what people are looking for-a way to jazz up quick items to make them seem homemade and delicious. 

As usual, Dad was right.  I want you to have a glimpse of what I cook on a busy night, when I'm in a pinch, and seriously can't fathom another salad for dinner.  What do I do? I reach for a boxed jambalaya mix and jazz it up.  I usually use the brand that's on sale.  Sometimes it's Zatarain's, sometimes it's Aldi's brand.  It just depends.  I usually stock up on 3 or 4 boxes at a time, so that the makings of an easy dinner is always in my cupboard. 

About the veggies: As with all of my recipes, the veggies that I have listed are ones that I had in my fridge at the time I made the dish and photographed it.  Please don't let my list of veggies stop you from using what you have in your fridge.  That's the whole point of easy cooking: use what you have on hand.  I've made this with onions and peppers only.  Sometimes I add zucchini or summer squash.  If I'm in a super pinch for time, I might just roughly chop an onion and then add a bag of frozen veggies.  Or canned.  It's so easy.  What you're looking for is a way to bulk up the recipe, stretch it so that it goes further, and simultaneously add to the nutritional value of the dish for you and your family's sakes. 

About the sausage: I used a chicken andouille sausage called Sausage by Amy.  I get it in a 3-pack at Costco.  I keep the packages in the freezer, pull a package out right before I need it, and pop the sausages (still in the wrappers) in a bowl of cold water, with more cold water running over it.  They defrost in about the time it takes for me to chop the veggies.  If for some reason the sausages are still solid inside, I'll pop them in the microwave quickly to finish the thaw. 

About the picture:  This recipe keeps well for a while and also freezes well.  Do what I did in the picture and store your leftovers in small, one-serving containers.  Keep them in the fridge for a few days and reheat for lunches.  Freeze what you don't eat in a few days. 

2 Recipes in One: Hoisin Burgers and Korean-style Lettuce Cups

I've made this recipe twice now.  It's a hit each time.  The burgers are full of flavor.  Gingery and garlicky and yummilicious.  (Yes, it's a word.  My own special word.)  But the clincher is the "special" ketchup.  It's simply a mixture of hoisin sauce and ketchup.  However, when you combine those two ingredients, you suddenly get an out-of-this-world combination that you can't resist dipping anything in.  Veggies.  Fries.  Your fingers. 

So, let's talk about the star ingredient:  hoisin sauce.  Never heard of it?  That's OK.  Just look in the Asian section of your grocery store.  I guarantee it will be there.  It's basically an Asian barbecue sauce.  A little bit packs a savory yet sweet punch, so you don't need much.  Add it to your stir fry and you'll want to kiss my feet.  Seriously.  In the words of my son's favorite show, Yo Gabba Gabba:  "Try it.  You'll like it." 

I adapted this recipe from a Weight Watcher's cookbook called Now & Later.  I love the concept of cooking something once and eating it twice, in different ways.  Let's face it, I really enjoy cooking in large batches.  But having leftovers that are exactly the same all week gets BORING! These two recipes are anything but boring.  In fact, the burgers themselves are so good, you may have to discipline yourself to save a few to make the next recipe.  But trust me.  Do it.  Save a few.  Make the next recipe.  It's like going to P.F. Chang's and getting the lettuce wraps.  Without the tip. 

So here goes.  Two recipes in one post.  Let me know if you love them as much as my family did.  In fact, I think I might make them again this week.  Hmmmm. 

Busy Mom's Journal: Menu Planning

In my house there are three adults and one toddler.  We have sort of a multi-generational arrangement that works quite well for us.  It's my parents, myself and my son.  I am in charge of the food.  Those of you who know me aren't surprised at all by that fact.  I do the grocery shopping, plan the meals, and cook.  It's one way that I can earn my keep and give back to my fantastically generous parents.  So, since I started back to work in August after having the summer off, it's been more and more important for me to have a menu plan for the week.  I'd like to show you what I do.  [Disclaimer: I am NOT a super organized person.  One peek at my bedroom is proof of this fact.  So if I can do this, so can you.]

The Menu
Menu planning is sort of my Friday night ritual.  I think about the week ahead, what we all have planned, and I write out a plan for the meals for the upcoming week.  Here's an example for last week:

• Saturday: Bubble-up Casserole
• Sunday: Leftovers
• Monday: Crockpot Swiss Chicken
• Tuesday: Leftovers
• Wednesday:  Apricot Pork Loin
• Thursday: Leftovers
• Friday: Eat out or Order in

When I'm making my meal plan, I try to keep in mind what sorts of protein I have on hand in the freezer, so that I'm not buying things that I already have.  I also don't include side dishes in my menu plans, because...I guess that would feel a bit TOO planned for me.  But you can do whatever makes you happy.

The Shopping
That leads me to the inevitable grocery list.  Once I've figured out the menu for the upcoming week, I make a grocery list.  When you are trying to eat lots of fresh fruits and vegetables, it's really important to shop each week.  Fresh stuff just doesn't last as long.  I do my best to make a list of everything I need, and stick to the list.  The more impulse buys I make, the less healthy they are and the more expensive. 

I also try and stick to the outside aisles of the grocery store.  I learned in Weight Watchers that when you shop the perimeter of the store and stay away from the middle aisles, you are more likely to fill your cart with healthy food and less likely to fill it with processed junk.  Don't get me wrong, though.  I love me some Golden Grahams, Cocoa Krispies, and ice cream.  But my cart isn't full of these items.  They're just treats.     

The Sales
I check out the grocery circulars every week to see which store has the best sales on what I need and then go to the store with the best deals.  Something that I've learned in my quest to save money is that food goes on sale in cycles.  Things usually go on sale every 3 months or so.  Unfortunately, when it comes to meats, the healthier they are, the more expensive they are.  So, when pork loin was on a crazy sale for $1.49/lb a few weeks ago at my grocery store, I bought a bunch.  My hope was to buy enough so that I wouldn't need any more until the next time it goes on incredible sale.  The same goes with lean ground turkey and beef.  When they're on sale for $1.99/lb or less, I stock up.  This way I am able to feed my family healthy meats at a minimal price.  I don't stock up on a meat unless it's a great sale.  If I run out, I buy small amounts and wait until the next super sale.  

The Bottom Line
Does that sound like a lot of work? It really isn't.  I think it actually saves me time and money because I don't have to agonize each night over what to make for dinner, since it's already planned out.  I also don't make a lot of mid-week trips to the grocery store, since I made a careful list for the weekend shopping.  A few minutes of planning each week are one way that this busy mom is able to work, and still feed my family healthy meals. 

So, now that I've spilled the beans on my strategy for sanity, what's yours? Leave comments.  Discuss. 

Sloppy Joes (with Attitude)

I've got a bone to pick with Lean Cuisine.  They have an add campaign going on right now, where they talk about food myths and then impress upon us the idea that Lean Cuisine breaks those myths.  That's great.  But one of their most recent food myths is this: "Chopping and peeling can be kind of relaxing at the end of a long day." And then the announcer says, "For who?"  I say: ME!!!! I love to come home after a long day at work, as long as my kid isn't screaming, and spend a few (I repeat, a FEW) minutes chopping and peeling.  It doesn't take thought.  Or skill.  Or much of anything.  Just a cutting board, a knife, and some veggies.  This recipe was created on one of those days where I just wanted to make something simple and do a little bit of chopping therapy.  Some women do "shopping therapy," I prefer "chopping therapy."  

As I was searching in the fridge for something else to jazz up the concoction, I stumbled upon steak sauce.  That's when the true inspiration hit.  Now, steak sauce and sloppy joes might sound like an odd pairing.  Let me explain.  I love to make Rachael Ray's Caution Flag Chili. It gets it's flavor base from steak sauce and it's a huuuge hit every time I make it.  So it only made sense to flavor the sloppy joes similarly. 

And like the chili that went before it, the sloppy joes were out of this world.  Savory.  Deep.  A hint of tang.  Perfect!  I've made the recipe two or three times since, and I make sure to follow my original recipe every time, so as to replicate the tastes exactly.  It's that good.  And if you know me, you know that I only reserve actual recipe following for those super dooper special recipes that are so amazing that I can't imagine doing it any other way.  This is one of those recipes.  

A quick note about veggies: The veggies in this recipe were ones that I had on hand in my fridge that day.  I have made this since with other veggies.  Don't make a special trip to the store for this recipe.  That defeats the purpose.  Just use what you have on hand. 

Julie's Cucumber and Tomato Salad

My sister Julie spent a summer in Slovenia on a missions trip a while back.  While she was there, she was introduced to a wonderful summer dish that her host family made.  It was a simple cucumber, tomato, and corn salad with a vinegary dressing.  The family would eat this vegetarian meal with a large loaf of crusty bread to soak up all the sharp juices.  What a great summertime treat! A little bit like the tuna salad-stuffed tomatoes my mom used to make when I was a kid.  Nothing to cook and delicious.  

So, Julie brought home the idea and has replicated the recipe as best she could.  She leaves out the corn, since it's a little bit higher in starch (and points) and she uses a bottled light balsamic vinaigrette for the dressing.  Whenever I go to her house during the spring and summer, there's usually this salad in the fridge.  


When I made it, I kept forgetting to  buy the balsamic vinaigrette at the store.  So I ended up making my own "dressing" with white wine vinegar and extra virgin olive oil.  It was great.  You can use store-bought vinaigrette to make the recipe even easier, or top with my version.  Also, feel free to add any sort of fresh herb to the salad.  Perhaps basil or flat leaf parsley.  

Baked Chicken Dijon with Swiss Cheese

Growing up, the rule in my house was that you ate everything that was put in front of you.  "I don't like this food," was not an excuse.  Except for one food.  Each of us was allowed to have one food which we said we would never eat.  For Julie, it was eggs.  For Trish, it was tomatoes.  For me, well, I begged for it to be chicken.  My mother said no.  Frankly, she couldn't afford for me to not eat chicken, since it was a staple of our menu and relatively cheap.  


For as long as I can remember, I've had a dicey relationship with chicken.  I am still not wild about chicken on the bone.  Especially dark meat.  Blech.  I like chicken breasts, but the sight of them raw is enough to send me running the other way.  There's something about raw chicken that grosses me out.  But I've resolved to overcome this!  So I bought a cookbook called The Big Book of Chicken. What better way to immerse myself in the world of chicken than with a gigantic cookbook dedicated to the ingredient?

The following recipe was the first on my journey to accept chicken as my culinary friend, and it was a resounding success.  My family raved about it.  And it was amazingly simple to create.  Much to my delight, I didn't have to touch the raw chicken too much.  Bonus!  The creamy sauce is flavorful but subtle, and the Swiss cheese on top is buttery, gooey, and delicious.  

The beauty of this recipe is that the sauce is 0 points, so the only thing that will cost you any points is the cheese.  You can adjust the amount of Swiss cheese to the points you want to spend.  If you're feeling decadent, use the entire 2 cups.  If you're feeling a bit more austere, limit the cheese.  It will still be a glorious dish.  

When I served this dish, I knew that the cheese topping was a bit decadent, so I made some sauteed peppers and onions, and steamed broccoli to go alongside it, instead of a starch.  I spooned a bit of the flavorful saucy-broth from the bottom of the baking dish on top of the veggies to serve it.  Don't waste it.  It's fantastic! 

Whole Wheat Chocolate Chip Banana Muffins

Recently my sister Tricia opened my eyes to the glories of muffin baking.  In her quest to fill her and her son's belly with whole foods, she makes a batch of some sort of whole wheat muffin so that she always has a healthy snack within reach.  

I've got to tell you that there is beauty and serenity in the art of muffin baking.  Sounds crazy, I know.  But consider this:  you don't need any fancy equipment.  Two bowls, a wooden spoon, and an ice cream scoop.  That's as fancy as it gets.  The repetitive but mindless activity of filling each well in the muffin tin with thick, fluffy batter is so gratifying!  I LOVE MAKING MUFFINS!  

Think you're too busy to make muffins?  Not a baker?  I tell you you're too busy NOT to make them!  Why don't you stop for a moment and sample what life might be like if you were June Cleaver? Where else in your hectic life do you get the chance to have a Betty Crocker moment in a Lean Cuisine world?  I'm telling you, freshly baked muffins are the ticket!  Besides, after you've made them, your normal life will be waiting right where you left it, but you'll have fantastic muffins to eat for the next few days.  Bonus!

Before I give you the recipe, I must say a few words about the ingredients.  There are a few specialty items that are needed, but once you have them on-hand, the muffin possibilities are endless!  Simply go to Pinch My Salt and search the recipes there for whole grain muffins.  Make a new batch of muffins each week, trying out different recipes.  You'll already have most of the hard-to-find ingredients. You'll be so glad you did. 

1. Bananas:  These aren't exactly hard to find, but you do need to understand one important thing:  the blacker the banana, the better the muffin.  Trust me.  You might be scared to let your bananas ripen to the point of blackness, but believe me, once you taste the muffins made from them, you will kiss my feet.  I buy a bag of discounted, over-ripe bananas from my grocery store and I leave them out for a week or two extra, until they are black all over.  If you want to help this process along, pop them in the fridge.  Store unused bananas in the freezer in bags (just the flesh, not the peels). Thaw them in short bursts in the microwave for your baking delight.
2. White Whole Wheat Flour:  I found this in the baking section of my grocery store.  Hyvee, to be exact.  It is a special type of whole wheat flour that is supposed to be a little bit lighter than regular whole wheat flour.  
3. Low-Fat Buttermilk:  Did you know that buttermilk is naturally low in fat?  Cool, huh?  I now keep a large container of buttermilk in my fridge and use it as needed, mostly for muffins.  It lasts forever.  My sister uses dried buttermilk, which she found next to the powdered milk in her grocery store.   
4. Wheat Bran:  I found this in the health food section of Hyvee.  It was approximately $2. 
5. Flax Seed Meal:  Not called for in this recipe, but used in a lot of other Pinch My Salt muffin recipes.  It is also called ground flax seed and is approximately $2.  Store this in a freezer bag in the freezer, for optimum freshness.

I adapted this recipe from the banana muffin recipe on Pinch My Salt.  My sister suggested that the muffins were too big for a snack, so she recommended dividing the batter to make smaller muffins.  I also increased the quantity of banana, because I like a little more banana punch.  The original recipe calls for pecan meal, which is essentially very finely ground pecans.  Sounds fantastic, but it was so expensive, I decided not to try it.  Instead, I use 1/2 cup of chopped pecans.  Sometimes I just break them up roughly with my hands, or pop them in a bag and give 'em a good whack with something heavy.  This time around I also added some miniature chocolate chips for a chocolate kick.  Feel free to leave them out if you'd like.  Finally, I added some vanilla, cinnamon, and nutmeg to the batter because I can't fathom a muffin without said ingredients.  If you disagree, leave them out.

Ace's Angel Food Dessert

Last summer, my Dad created this dessert.  He's always had a "thing" for pound cake covered in strawberries.   In an effort to lighten that up, he traded the pound cake for angel food cake, added a few bells and whistles, and we've never looked back.  This is our go-to dessert at spring and summer family gatherings.

This post is light on words and heavy on pictures because it was the easiest way to explain how to assemble this recipe.  You'll note some very masculine-looking hands in the photos:  they're my Dad's.  I did a photo shoot with him as the star.  He was in heaven!  In case you were wondering, my Dad's nickname is Ace.  Hence, the title of this recipe.   

Enough chit chat.  On with the recipe...


What you'll need:

• One 8 oz angel food cake loaf.  (If you can't find a loaf, go with the regular ring-style cake)  Pop the cake in the freezer for at least 12 hours before you are ready to make the dessert.  The cake will be a bit more firm, which will help you slice through the cake more easily.    

• 3 lbs of strawberries, hulled and sliced into quarters.  Add 1 tablespoon of sugar to the sliced strawberries and stir them up.  This will allow some "juice" to form.  Set the berries aside while you assemble the cake. 
• Optional:  1 small container of blueberries (sorry, I don't know the size).  These add a bit of color. 

• Lemon curd.  You'll find this in the jelly aisle of the grocery store.  If you've never tasted lemon curd before, it's a creamy and tart lemon custard.  It's absolutely delicious.  In this particular recipe, it enhances the brightness of the strawberries, rather than tasting overly lemony.  This ingredient is the key to this recipe.  DON'T SKIP IT.  
• Strawberry preserves.  My Dad prefers Smucker's Simply Fruit.    
• Cool Whip Light.  For dolloping on top.  
• An electric knife.  The electric knife will help you cut through the angel food cake without smooshing it.  (That's a technical term.  Smoosh.) If you don't have an electric knife, just go with a very sharp, serrated knife. 

Tex-Mex Beef Sammies

Yay! I'm officially back.  The test is done.  I've been celebrating my freedom from studying by trying out some new recipes and revisiting some old ones.  There's tons to post about.  

I'll start with my latest and greatest crock pot discovery:  Tex-Mex Beef Sammies.  This dish is essentially one of the best shredded beef sandwiches I've had: subtly spiced with smokey tex-mex flavors, and topped with an array of fresh garnishes, like guacamole, cheese, and red onion.  Yum!  

What caught my eye about this particular recipe was the use of...wait for it...cocoa powder.  Keep reading now!!  Cocoa powder and/or chocolate is actually an authentically Mexican ingredient.  It adds to the depth of flavor, rather than tasting like meat-flavored hot chocolate.  However, if you have any squeamish family members, I highly recommend that you keep the cocoa powder a secret until you are sure they like the dish.  

I made this recipe for Father's Day.  In fact, I cooked it overnight the night before and kept the crock pot on the warm setting for the rest of the morning.  I figured, what could be better than celebrating the men in my life with a large crock pot full of meat?  To my relief, the family agreed.  This was definitely a winner.  It seemed to suit everyone's taste, since the spice factor is subtle rather than powerful.  If you desire a powerful kick, just chop up a chipotle pepper or two and add to the crock pot before cooking.  It'll be beautiful.  

A note about serving: Make sure you utilize the savory broth (as in beef "au jus") that the meat cooks in when constructing your sandwiches.  In order to do that, I got hoagie rolls from my grocery store's bakery section that could stand up to being dipped into the juices without disintegrating, but weren't so hard that all the meat would gush out the other end of the sandwich with the first bite.  I HIGHLY recommend that you do the same.  Regular hamburger or hot dog rolls will not cut it.  Go for high quality rolls that are slightly chewy on the outside and softer on the inside.  

A final note about points:  I had a bit of trouble calculating the points per serving with my normal on-line points calculator.  When that happens I usually just make an educated guess.  Just know that chuck roast is fattier than leaner cuts (that's why it practically melts in your mouth.)  A 3 oz portion of cooked chuck roast is about 7 points.  Hopefully that will help you gauge your "pointage" for the day.   

Pesto Chicken Pasta

I'm back.  Sort of...

You may have noticed my absence from the blogosphere lately.  Well, there's a reason.  I've been on a self-imposed blog exile (a blogxile, if you will) while preparing for a teaching certification test I will take mid-June.  I've been studying like crazy, and not doing much cooking.  All my free time has gone to study.  In order to stay focused, I have restricted my blogging so that I don't get caught up in the fun of posting recipes when I should really be studying.  But in a few weeks, I'll be done with the test and I'll be back! 

In the meantime, here's a recipe that I've been holding on to, but can't wait any longer to share... 

I recently got a new cookbook by Robin Miller, who hosts Quick Fix Meals on the Food Network.  In her section about pasta, she talks about how one of her children gets up at the crack of dawn, so that's when you will find her boiling up pasta to use for the week.  "Eureka!" thought I.  The reason why I don't make more pasta throughout the week: the big pot that I don't want to have to clean up mid-week.  But if I were to do it when I had a little bit of extra time, and keep the pasta in the fridge for a few days until I'm ready to use it...well, that's just brilliant.  So that's exactly what I did.  The pasta was made during lunch one day, ahead of time, and waited in the fridge until I was ready to make the dish.

Robin also employs a strategy that says cook it once, use it twice.  For example, if she's making chicken breasts for dinner one day, she will make a double batch and set the extra ones aside to use later on in the week in another recipe.  "Genius!" said I.  So the chicken breasts were extra that I made from a dinner earlier in the week.  I love it when I'm ahead of the game.

When it came down to making the actual dish, the main components were ready and waiting for me.  All I had to do was heat up a few things and assemble it all.  Easy! 

About this dish: 

• It is delicious hot or cold.  It would make a great pasta salad to take to a picnic (perhaps minus the chicken).   
• Artichokes would also be an excellent addition to this.  Just chop up a can of drained artichoke hearts (not marinated) and toss them in the pan before the pasta goes in. 
• Finally, feta cheese was a great addition to the dish when I ate it cold.  It really brightened up all the flavors. 
• Oh and by the way...don't skip the salt in this recipe.  I tasted the final dish and thought, "Eh.  Not bad."  Then I salted the dish, tasted again, and thought, "Yowsa! That's a great dish!"  OK, perhaps I didn't say yowsa.  But maybe I did think it.  A little.  Don't laugh!