Pasta Alfredo with Yellow Squash and Bacon

Ingredients

8 oz. shaped pasta (rotini, fusilli, penne)
4 slices of bacon, roughly chopped
4 medium yellow squash, quartered lengthwise and thinly sliced crosswise
6 cloves of garlic, minced
1/2 cup heavy cream (can also use 2% or whole milk)
1 cup grated Parmesan cheese
freshly ground salt and pepper

Cook pasta according to al dente package directions. Reserve one cup of pasta water when draining. Return cooked pasta to pot.

While pasta is cooking, in a large skillet over medium heat cook bacon until browned and crisp. Transfer to a paper towel-lined plate to drain. Leave the bacon drippings in the skillet.

Heat skillet with bacon drippings over medium-high heat. Add squash and garlic and season with salt and pepper (to your taste). Toss well. Cover and cook, stirring occasionally until squash begins to soften. Uncover and cook until liquid is evaporated and squash is tender.

Add cream and cooked pasta to skillet, toss well. Cook until cream begins to thicken. Remove from heat. Stir in Parmesan cheese and enough reserved pasta water to create a sauce that coats the pasta. Serve topped with bacon and more Parmesan cheese.

***Squash could be substituted or combined with other vegetables for added flavor and color. Examples are zucchini, broccoli, peas, mushrooms, and red pepper.

***Grilled chicken would make a very flavorful topper for this dish. Marinate skinless, boneless chicken breasts overnight in a zesty Italian dressing. While cooking this dish, grill the chicken, slice into strips, and place on top of the pasta.

Zesty Chicken

Ingredients

1 cup lime juice
1/2 cup olive oil
4 cloves of garlic, minced
1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes
4-6 skinless, boneless chicken breasts, trimmed of all fat
salt (to your taste)

Whisk together the lime juice, olive oil, garlic, red pepper flakes, and salt. Pour into a large Ziploc bag. Add in the chicken and toss to coat. Seal bag and allow to marinate at least 8 hours (best overnight).

When ready to cook, remove chicken from bag and discard the leftover marinade. Grill chicken until no longer pink.

Kerri's Guacamole

Ingredients

2 avocados
3 cloves of garlic, minced
1 Tablespoon red onion, minced
splash of lemon or lime juice
1 Tablespoon of medium salsa
salt (to your taste)

Wash and dry the avocados. Cut each in half. Scoop out the pit and the insides. Place the insides into a food processor. Add all other ingredients. Pulse until mixed and the avocado is ground to your texture preference.

Serve and enjoy!

Tip: Invest in the special avocado tool. It makes scooping the pit and insides out a breeze!

Pulled Buffalo Chicken Sandwiches

Ingredients

Chicken:

4 skinless boneless chicken breasts (this recipe uses them straight from the freezer)
2 cans low fat, low sodium chicken broth
1 can of water (using chicken broth can)
1/2 of a large yellow onion, cut into 3 wedges
1 teaspoon of minced garlic
1 bay leaf

Place all ingredients in crock pot. Cook 2 hours on low. Turn heat to high and continue to cook 4 more hours. Remove chicken from crock pot, wash crock pot, return chicken to crock pot. Shred chicken using two forks, removing any fat. Continue with sauce recipe below.

Sauce:

1 can of Campbell's Healthy Request Cream of Chicken soup
1/2 can of water (using soup can)
20 Pringles, smashed
salt and pepper to taste
Tabasco to taste

Add all ingredients to shredded chicken in crock pot. Heat on low until heated through. Serve and enjoy!

Extra tip: Top the buns with the meat and place, open-faced, on a cookie sheet. Sprinkle with crumbled bleu cheese and broil until cheese is melted. Add some lettuce, red onion, and/or tomato, close the sandwiches, and enjoy!

Cucumbers with Homemade Dressing

Mmmm, the garden is flourishing. Time to blog some fresh-picked and super-easy recipes!

Ingredients

5-6 small to medium cucumbers, scrubbed and sliced
1 teaspoon Kosher salt
1/8 cup sugar
1/2 cup apple cider vinegar
1 teaspoon dill weed
1 teaspoon minced garlic

In medium bowl combine cucumber slices and salt. Toss to coat. Add Splenda and toss again. Add cider vinegar, dill weed, and garlic. Mix well. Allow to sit for about half an hour or more to fuse flavors. Enjoy!

***If you like them sweeter, add more Splenda.
***If you like them more sour, add more salt.
***Some lovely additions, in no particular combination: diced red onions, feta cheese, grape or cherry tomatoes, croutons, and/or diced red pepper.

Baked Tortellini

There is NOTHING better than a baked pasta dish with really good tomato-based sauce.

Ingredients

1 bag of frozen cheese-filled tortellini
1 pound of extra-lean ground sirloin
2 Tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil
1/4 of a yellow sweet onion, finely diced
6 cloves of garlic, minced
1-12 oz. can of tomato paste
6 cups of tomato sauce (I use our's from our garden)
2 Tablespoons of Splenda (or 1 Tablespoon of white sugar)
1 Tablespoon of Italian seasoning
salt and pepper to taste
1/2 cup of grated Parmesan cheese
1/2 cup shredded mozzarella or provolone cheese
non-stick cooking spray

Preheat oven to 350. Spray a 2-quart baking dish with non-stick cooking spray.

In a large saucepan cook the tortellini according to the al dente directions on the package. Drain and reserve the saucepan.

While the pasta is cooking, brown the sirloin in a skillet. Use a metal potato masher to break into small pieces while cooking. When cooked through, remove to a plate covered with a paper towel.

Using the tortellini's saucepan, heat the olive oil over medium-high heat. Add the onions and cook until tender, about 3-4 minutes. Add the garlic and saute until aromatic, about 1-2 minutes. Add in the tomato paste, mix everything, and allow to heat for about 3-4 minutes. Using a wire whisk, add in the tomato sauce, salt, pepper, Splenda (or sugar), and Italian seasoning. Allow everything to simmer for about 10 minutes to infuse flavors.

Add the tortellini and sirloin to the sauce and mix well. Toss in the grated Parmesan and mix. Transfer to the prepared baking dish. Sprinkle with the shredded mozzarella cheese. Bake for about 10-15 minutes, or until cheese is bubbly.

***WHY SUGAR? My grandmother taught me this trick. If you are using home-made tomato sauce, straight from your garden, it is sometimes bitter. Adding just a little sugar to the sauce helps remove the bitter taste.

***This also applies to dishes using home-grown peppers, except use brown sugar instead of white.

Cheesy Ham and Broccoli Bake

With our extra-busy life, and with the weather being too cold and rainy to fire up the grill, I have been experimenting with casseroles.

This is an excellent way to use leftover ham (from holidays). It also MAKES great leftovers for lunch the next day (or two).

Ingredients

1 box of bowtie pasta (I use whole wheat)
2 Tablespoons unsalted butter
2 Tablespoons flour
1 Tablespoon spicy brown mustard
2 cups of 2% milk
1 handful of 2% shredded sharp cheddar cheese
1 small handful of 2% colby jack cheese cubes
1 handful of shredded part-skim mozzarella
1 bag of frozen broccoli florets, slightly thawed
1/2 pound of ham, cut into cubes
salt and pepper to taste
non-stick cooking spray

Preheat oven to 350. Spray a 2-quart baking dish with non-stick cooking spray.

Cook noodles according to the al dente directions. Drain.

Using the pasta pot, melt the butter over medium heat. Add the flour to the melted butter and mix well. Whisk the mustard and milk into the flour-butter mixture and bring to a simmer. Simmer until thickened. Toss in the cheeses to melt.

Combine the noodles, broccoli, and ham with the cheese sauce. Sprinkle with salt and pepper. Mix gently.

Transfer to the prepared baking dish. Bake for 15 minutes to warm everything, stir, and bake for 5 more minutes.