~Super Simple Mac & Cheese~

 That's right, easy peasy...no draining, no colanders, less dishes to wash. Plus, it tastes great!

Start with the simple concept of cooking the pasta IN the milk.
 

Let it simmer for about 15 minutes or until tender.

Most of the milk will have absorbed into the pasta.
 

 

Sprinkle with your seasonings...

 

 

Add your shredded cheese...

 

 

And give it a good stir.

 

 

Mmmm...doesn't it look delicious?

Serve it alongside a mound of steamed broccoli. Add a protein if you'd like.

A simple and quick dinner!

 



Easy Mac & Cheese

Makes about 3-4 servings

 

2 c. dry pasta (elbows, rotini or penne)

2.5 c. milk

1 c. shredded cheese (I used a cheddar blend)

1 TBL butter

1/2 tsp. Dijon mustard

scant 1/4 tsp. ground turmeric

1/4 tsp. paprika

pinch of nutmeg

salt & pepper to taste

 

Combine the pasta and milk in a medium saucepan. Cook over medium heat until simmering. Do not boil. Reduce heat to low or med/low and cook for about 15 minutes or until milk is mostly absorbed. Remove from heat.

Sprinkle in the seasonings, butter and cheese. Mix well, adding a splash of milk if needed to create a creamy sauce.

Serve hot.

Note: I don't care for this reheated or leftover. It loses the creamy texture. 

Mac & Cheese with Chix & Broc

What a delicious, satisfying SEVEN point meal...One portion is HUGE and bound to conquer the hungriest of appetites (like mine!).

12 oz. box Ronzoni rotini pasta, cooked/drained

10 oz. (2.5 c.) steamed broccoli

12 oz. cooked chicken breast, shredded or cubed

1 tsp. whipped butter

1/3 c. fresh breadcrumbs*

3 TBL grated Parmesan cheese, divided

2.5 c. skim milk

1/3 c. flour

1/2 c. diced onions

1 c. reduced fat sharp cheddar, shredded

1 tsp. dijon mustard

1.5 tsp. Kosher salt

1/2 tsp. pepper

Oven 375. Spritz a 9"x13" baking dish with cooking spray and add cooked pasta tossed with the broccoli and chicken. Set aside.

In a large saucepan, melt butter. Add breadcrumbs and cook until lightly browned. Stir in 1 TBL of the Parmesan. Remove from pan and wipe clean.

Next, combine milk and flour (in the same pan), whisk over medium/high heat for one minute. Add onions and simmer on low for 2 minutes. Remove from heat and whisk in the remaining 2 TBL of Parmesan, cheddar, mustard, salt and pepper.

Pour sauce over pasta mixture. Toss to coat evenly. Sprinkle with toasted breadcrumbs and bake 20-25 minutes until bubbly.

Divide into 6 portions and chow down on your 7 point, all-in-one meal!

Extra portions freeze well, for a quick lunch later on.

* Fresh breadcrumbs: Try using a light Thomas' English muffin or two. Throw it in a mini food processor for a few seconds and you'll have perfect fresh breadcrumbs!

First Weigh In & Yummiest 2 pt Snack!

I had a great first weigh in!

Yippee!! 5.5 pounds lost.

As resistant as I was to journaling, it helped tremendously and got so much easier. Now, I hate eating anything without figuring points beforehand.

Last night, I had a small gathering and made several WW appetizer recipes. Wow!! Yummy stuff. This was my absolute fave:

~Hot Spinach and Artichoke Dip~

1 TBL light butter

1 cup diced onion

2 minced garlic cloves

Saute onion and garlic in butter until softened. Add:

1- 10 oz. pkg frozen spinach (thawed and squeezed dry)

1- 14 oz. can artichokes; drained and chopped

1- 8 oz. can water chestnuts, chopped

Saute 2 minutes over medium heat. Stir in and blend until melted:

8 oz. reduced fat cream cheese

8 oz. reduced fat sour cream

1/2 c. low-fat shredded sharp cheddar

1/2 tsp. salt + 1/4 tsp. pepper

Spoon into an 11" x 7" baking dish and top with an additional 1/2 c. of low-fat sharp cheddar. Bake at 350 for 18-20 minutes or until bubbly.

I served it with fat-free RyKrisp crackers. 2 crackers = ZERO points and 4 crackers = just ONE point.

Recipe serves 18.

Serving size: a full 1/4 cup!

Biscotti

Ahh, biscotti. The crunchy, oddly shaped, twice baked cookie. I've baked hundreds of batches, selling them to family and friends, to shoppers at the farmers market, giving as gifts, taking to dinner parties. So versatile, so many varieties, so easy to make!

Today, I'm baking Almond Crunch Biscotti, a perennial favorite. It's based on a recipe from the little cookbook: 'Biscotti' by Lou Pappas

Preheat oven to 350

1 stick butter, softened (remove 2 TBL)

3/4 c. sugar + additional 3 TBL

3/4 c. sliced almonds

2 tsp. pure vanilla extract

2 eggs

1/4 tsp. salt

1/4 tsp. baking soda

1 tsp. baking powder

Begin by making the caramelized almonds (adds amazing flavor to the cookies). Be careful if you decide to sample them...very addictive! In a saute pan, melt:

2 TBL butter + 3 TBL sugar

Add the sliced almonds and cook over medium/high heat until deep golden. Cool. Set aside.In a mixer bowl, beat the remaining butter with the sugar and vanilla until fluffy. Add the eggs and mix well. Add the flour, soda, salt and baking powder. Blend until well combined. Stir in caramelized almonds.

Scoop dough onto a parchment lined baking sheet and form into 2 logs, about 12" x 4" each. Bake at 350 for 25 minutes.

Remove from oven and allow to cool for about 15 minutes. Don't turn off oven yet.

Slide the parchment and baked logs right onto a cutting board and cut about 3/4" - 1" thick slices. Make diagonal or straight cuts, the resulting cookies look pretty much the same.

Slide parchment back onto baking sheet and separate slices, placing them (cut side down) on baking sheet. Return to oven and bake for an additional 15 minutes.

Cool completely and store airtight.

Freshly Baked Bread

Several people have mentioned to me how delicious the bread looks in a previous blog post. I want to share with you just how simple the process is~

Artisan Bread in Five Minutes a Day

authors: Jeff Hertzberg & Zoe Francois

If you have ANY interest in baking bread, GET THIS BOOK! Seriously, it's phenomenal! You will get wonderful results every time. Here's the scoop:

1. Into a large, lidded container, measure 4 simple ingredients. Flour, yeast, salt and water. Mix with a wooden spoon. Really. No weighing, no sifting, no kneading. Amazing.

Set aside and allow dough to rise. No punching down, no second risings.

From this:To This:

Place the container into the fridge. Whenever you want bread, just scoop out a ball of dough, fold it over and place it on a wooden peel to rise. Still no kneading or monkeying around with it. Whatever shape you want to make, go with it! Today, Wayne wanted hamburgers for dinner, so I made buns.
Here they are. Risen, slashed and ready for the oven.

Yum! Perfect burger buns.

It truly is that simple. The dough will keep in the fridge for up to 14 days. Tear off a hunk and make whatever size loaf you desire. It sure beats paying upwards of $5.00 for fresh bread.

Pizzelles!

I've wanted a pizzelle iron for a few years now. My friend Ann turned me on to baking them when she brought over her pizzelle maker and we churned out dozens and dozens. It was fun and easy!
Much to my surprise, my son presented me with one this Christmas. Of course, I got busy right after dinner, following a recipe that was included with the iron. They turned out tasty but much too thin and crispy. I tried another recipe, for 'Southern Italian' pizzelles and it was much better. Thicker, less fragile. I prefer more of a 'dough' type batter, than a pourable one. The family loves the anise flavored ones from the store, so that's what I made. They were a hit!
On my bookshelf, I happened to find a cookbook called Waffles and Pizzelles by Donna German. A recipe for oatmeal pizzelles inspired me to create this one~

Oatmeal, Nut and Honey Breakfast Pizzelles:

1 stick butter, melted

1/2 cup honey

1/2 cup brown sugar, packed

1 TBL vanilla

3 large eggs

1 1/2 cups flour

2 cups quick cooking oats

1 TBL baking powder

1/2 cup finely chopped nuts (walnuts or pecans)

Optional: 1 tsp. cinnamon

In a mixer bowl, beat butter, honey, sugar and vanilla until well combined. Beat in eggs. In a separate bowl, combine dry ingredients. Add to butter mixture and mix well. It should look almost like oatmeal cookie dough.

Lightly oil the iron and allow it to heat up. You'll only need to oil it once before you begin. With a cookie scoop (approx. 1 TBL size), place a scoop of dough slightly off center on the iron.

Close the lid and latch. Allow to bake for about 45 seconds. Be your own judge...if you prefer a darker, crispier pizzelle bake a little longer. Remove with a small spatula and place on a cooling rack.

You can really smell the fragrant honey when you open the lid. The nuts get toasty and the brown sugar makes them sweet and golden. Mmmm. The whole session takes about 30 minutes from start to finish and produces about 42 pizzelles. After they cool, package them up and give as gifts. IF you feel like sharing!