Creamy Mac & Cheese

Put away the boxed mac and cheese! This mac and cheese is quickly assembled on the stove top and is incredibly flavorful with no artificial flavors. It's really as simple as boiling pasta and adding ingredients to a pot.

First, the pasta is boiled and drained (remembering to reserve a bit of the pasta cooking water in case you need to thin the sauce). The pasta is returned to the pot and you add minced onion/garlic. Next, stir in your favorite cheese with a little milk, butter, and yogurt. Yes, yogurt! It's the secret ingredient that makes this dish light and creamy. You stir until the cheese is melted and you are ready to serve. Really, there is no excuse to not try this mac and cheese!

LESSON LEARNED: Use your favorite cheese. I used cheddar and Parmesan.

Recipe for Creamy Mac & Cheese

Roasted Red Pepper & Pistachio Pesto

There is one word to describe this sauce: FLAVORFUL!

This quick pesto uses only 6 ingredients and is quickly assembled using a food processor or blender. It is nutty from the pistachios, sweet and smokey from the roasted red pepper, salty from the Parmesan cheese, and tastes bright and fresh from the basil.

We tossed cheese tortellini with the pesto and it was FABULOUS!

LESSON LEARNED: Make a big batch of this pesto. It keeps in the refrigerator for at least a week.

Recipe for Roasted Red Pepper and Pistachio Pesto

Honey Roasted Golden Beets

Every week I try to make a point to buy and eat a new ingredient. I think this is a good way to become familiar with different types of food and I love creating new recipes. This week I picked up a bunch of golden beets. I don't think that I've had the red varietal of beets, so this almost counted as a double new ingredient. :)

I first tasted the beets raw and they tasted tangy and had a similar taste to other root vegetables such as carrots. I thought if I thinly sliced them, toss the beets with yummy flavor boosters (olive oil, honey, cinnamon, salt), and roast until cooked through, I might get my husband to taste them. I was right! As they were baking, the house started to smell like cinnamon and he came to the kitchen to investigate. Ha! My plan worked!

LESSON LEARNED: Adding familiar flavors to unfamiliar ingredients encourages other people to taste them.

Recipe for Honey Roasted Golden Beets

Roasted Tomatoes

This is my absolute favorite way to eat tomatoes in the middle of winter! They are so DELICIOUS and SIMPLE to prepare. I sliced Roma tomatoes in half and sprinkled them with salt/pepper and olive oil. Then, I roasted them in a low temperature oven until they appeared dried out and smaller.

The tomato flavor is very concentrated and tastes 1000 times better than their fresh counterpart during the winter months. Sometimes I used cherry tomatoes (they just take less time to bake) and sometimes I drizzle them with pure maple syrup (they are additively sweet like candy). You could toss them in pasta or on top of a salad. There are so many possibilities!

LESSON LEARNED: This is such a simple preparation, but the results make you look like a culinary genius!

Recipe for Roasted Tomatoes

Spice-Roasted Cauliflower

My love of roasting vegetables continues! First, it was these roasted brussels spouts and now it's cauliflower. This is the perfect side dish for any dinner and it only requires a few ingredients. Cauliflower florets are tossed with olive oil, salt, cumin, and cayenne pepper. After they are cooked for 50 minutes in the oven, the cauliflower becomes brown, crunchy, and so DELICIOUS! The cauliflower is sweet, smokey, and slightly spicy. I think I could eat a whole bowl by myself :)

LESSON LEARNED: Roasting vegetables make them extra delicious! You could easily change up the spices and the vegetables. There are so many possibilities!

Recipe for Spice-Roasted Cauliflower

Spinach Lasagna

Oh man! This is comfort food at it's best. This lasagna is super creamy and cheesy with layers of Parmesan bechamel sauce, pureed cottage cheese, and shredded Fontina cheese. Spinach, garlic, and shallots add to the flavors of rich lasagna.

This isn't a traditional lasagna with layers of meat and tomato sauce. My husband was skeptical at first when I said I was making lasagna sans tomato sauce. But, as I assembled the lasagna and the aroma of it baking filled the house, he quickly became a believer in the yummy-ness of this type of lasagna. The hardest part of the lasagna is waiting for it to cool after it bakes. You definitely need to let it set so you can cleanly cut a piece out of the pan. It WILL be a big mess if you don't wait - not that I know from experience or anything like that :)

LESSON LEARNED: Even though this lasagna isn't what you typically think of when you say lasagna (or as psychologists would say "your schema of lasagna"), it tastes wonderful!

Recipe for Spinach Lasagna

Orecchiette with Roasted Brussels Sprouts

A lot of people that I know don't like Brussels Sprouts. I think I'm on a one-women mission to slowly change their ideas about this under utilized vegetable. I've already converted my mom and husband!

Most people think of boiled Brussels Sprouts, but they have so much more potential. One of my favorite ways to prepare them is roasting. This is simply tossing them with olive oil, salt, and pepper and baking at a high heat until they are brown and crispy. The browner, the better. However, if they turn completely black, you've probably burnt them :)

This simple dish combines roasted Brussels Sprouts with a creamy pasta sauce. The sauce is flavored with garlic, scallions, and wine (or chicken/vegetable broth). I used little "ear shaped" pasta, but any short round pasta shape you have on hand would work.

LESSON LEARNED: Roasting Brussels Sprouts is simple, easy, and makes this vegetable taste delicious!

Recipe for Orecchiette with Roasted Brussels Sprouts

Black Bean Patties with Corn Relish & Avocado Cream Sauce

Every once in a while, I prepare something for dinner that is completely different than what we typically make. This is one example. I thought this recipe sounded really good and my husband was pretty skeptical. Looking back, I probably shouldn't have framed it as healthy and vegetarian. :)

However, that statement accurately describes this dish. There are 3 components: black bean patties, a corn relish, and avocado cream sauce. You can easily prepare all three components ahead of time and they all keep very well in the refrigerator. The black bean patties have a TON of southwest flavor from cumin, roasted red pepper, and a chipotle chili. The relish really "brightens up" the dish by combining charred corn, tomatoes, jalapeno, and lime juice. Finally, the avocado cream sauce is slightly tangy from sour cream and cools down some of the heat from the chilies. It's really best to get a bit of everything in one bite!

After I made the meal, I thought the black bean patties could easily be made smaller and turned into an appetizer for a dinner party. I thought the dish was good, but it was a pretty big portion. As for my husband, he ate about half and made himself a sandwich :)

LESSON LEARNED: If you scaled down the size of the patties, this would be a perfect appetizer.

Recipe for Black Bean Patties with Corn Relish & Avocado Cream Sauce