Dinner at our house - Ben's Broccoli Cheese Pasta

Let me introduce you to a little friend of mine...


It's a really handy little book. Do real people actual cook dinners using more than 6 ingredients? I guess they do, but quite frankly, I'm not interested. I spend enough time in the grocery store as is. Well, this week we jumped back into this book and cooked a couple dinners worth sharing. How about some pasta? Well, we tried...

Ben's Broccoli Cheese Pasta

8 ounces thin spaghetti (we used whole wheat)
1 tablespoon butter
1/4 cup finely chopped onion
1 can Broccoli Cheese soup (we used Campbell's 98% fat free)
1/2 cup milk (we used skim)
3 tablespoons freshly grated parmesan cheese (we used a sprinkle of fat free mozz)

Cook pasta according to package directions; drain and return to pot. Meanwhile, melt butter in small saucepan. Add onion and saute until soft. Add soup; stir in milk until blended. Cook over low heat until heated through. Pour over pasta; toss to mix. Place on serving platter (um, no.) and sprinkle with Parmesan cheese.

It also suggests adding chicken as a variation. I think next time I might add in some cooked broccoli for more veggies. It was a yummy change to our typical spaghetti nights and we hope we kept it healthy. Let me know if you try it out!

We also made a quiche for the first time this week. It was an adventure.

Dinner at Our House - Chicken and Basil Calzones

We actually had this meal last week but I still wanted to share. It is good for you but it felt like we were indulging in something bad - a true sign of a good recipe! We definitely plan to make this again. It is from Cooking Light. And speaking of Cooking Light, I recently scored a year's subscription to their magazine for $5.

Ingredients

• Cooking spray
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• 1 pound ground chicken breast
• 3/4 cup prepared pizza sauce
• 1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper
• 1/4 cup chopped fresh basil
• 1 (13.8-ounce) can refrigerated pizza crust dough
• 1/2 cup (2 ounces) shredded part-skim mozzarella cheese

Preparation

1. Preheat oven to 425°.

2. Heat a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Coat pan with cooking spray. Add garlic and chicken to pan; sauté 5 minutes or until chicken is no longer pink, stirring to crumble. Stir in pizza sauce and pepper. Reduce heat, and simmer 5 minutes, stirring occasionally. Remove from heat; stir in basil. Let stand 10 minutes.

3. Unroll dough onto a baking sheet coated with cooking spray; cut dough into quarters. Pat each portion into an 8 x 6–inch rectangle. Divide chicken mixture evenly among rectangles; top each serving with 2 tablespoons cheese. Working with one rectangle at a time, fold dough in half over filling, pinching edges to seal. Repeat procedure with remaining rectangles. Bake at 425° for 12 minutes or until golden.

The recipe makes 4 calzones so it was 2 meals for us.

Credit: Cooking Light

Ode to Cranberry Sauce

Oh cranberry sauce, how I love thee. Your color, so rich. Your ridges, so smooth. Your taste, so divine. How did I make it all year without you?

Countdown to the canned goodness: T-minus 18 hours. And to all you can-cranberry-haters out there, I hate you! Haha, ok, just kidding, but keep your comments to yourself.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Dinner at our House - Tuna Cakes

We just got done dinner tonight and I had to jump on the blog to share. This is a cheap, quick, healthy meal that is sure to please many. This recipe is from Kraft (thus all the Kraft ingredients).

2 cans (6 oz. each) light tuna in water, drained, flaked

1 pkg. (6 oz.) STOVE TOP Stuffing Mix for Chicken

1 cup KRAFT Shredded Mild Cheddar Cheese

3/4 cup water

1 carrot, shredded

1/3 cup KRAFT Real Mayo Mayonnaise

2 Tbsp. CLAUSSEN Sweet Pickle Relish

MIX all ingredients. Refrigerate 10 min.
HEAT large nonstick skillet sprayed with cooking spray on medium heat. Use ice cream scoop to add 1/3-cup portions of tuna mixture, in batches, to skillet.
FLATTEN into patties with back of spatula. Cook 6 min. or until golden brown on both sides, carefully turning patties over after 3 min.

Our tips - We used non-fat cheese and reduced fat mayo to cut down on the fat and calories. I hate relish, so we didn't add that in. I used my hands, not an ice cream scoop, to make sure they wouldn't crumble apart in the pan. We also halfed the recipe which resulted in about 3 1/2 cakes. It's no crab cake, but it was pretty yummy.

credit: kraftfoods.com

Organic never looked so good

Joe and I watched this movie last night - wow! "You'll never look at dinner the same way" is an understatement. While the key players in the food industry work on creating their monopoly, the quality of the food we eat is drastically plummeting and most people have no idea. This movie is designed to scare the crap out of you. It worked on me. I highly recommend you check it out - inform yourself - know what you are putting in your mouth.

October Deals & Steals

Happy Halloween! Tonight we are giving out candy to the trick-or-treaters but otherwise, we don't have anything special planned. Anyway, I thought I'd share some of the "deals & steals" I got this month. I must be one of those people that get a high off saving money. I'd say that's probably a good trait as long as I can keep it to things we need. Joe humors this part of my personality and I love him for that. I think I might have even rubbed off a little on him.

1. Yankee Candle BOGO. As I mentioned in a previous post, I stocked up on my fall favorites but at half the cost. I got 2 large jar candles (Pumpkin Spice and Autumn Wreath) for $25. This would have normally cost me $50, had they not been on sale. Sure, you can get no name candles for cheaper than $25 but we all know Yankee has some of the best. Autumn Wreath smells so good!
2. Boot frenzy. I have been feeling the boot trend this season but had been waiting for the right price. So far, I've added 2 pairs to my collection. First, a shorter black slouchy boot from shoebuy.com. They were listed for $36.99 but I got them for $26.63 plus free shipping. There was a one day promotion on the website plus I registered for the first time (well, the first time under this particular email address, haha) scoring an extra 10% off. I have since found the same brand on target.com for $29.99 but you have to spend $50 to get free shipping (they aren't in stores). So, overall I think I did very good!
I also got a taller pair of gray suede boots from oldnavy.com during a 30% off promo. They were originally $34.50 but I got them for $24.15 +tax with free shipping. In the same purchase I also picked up a sweater, scarf, and dress. All four items came out to a total of $68 - not too shabby! Sure, Old Navy is by no means high end but the beauty is, most of you never notice I'm wearing a $25 boot. The jokes on you. And why not when things go in and out of style so fast?
3. I got a pair of skinny crop jeans (perfect for tucking into boots) at the Gap for $5. Yup, $5. I have a Banana Republic credit card and I get rewards for the money I spend. So, I happened to have a $20 off reward with me and found the jeans on the sale rack for $25. They look very similar to the picture below, although these aren't the exact pair. Who can pull off that length? Yuck. I bought them for boots.

4. Restaurant.com is my new best friend. On 9/9/2009 restaurant.com had a 90% off sale. I purchased two $25 gift certificates to two different restaurants for $1 each (it would typically cost $10 each). Last night we used one for the first time and it worked like a charm. We ate dinner at the Chesapeake Grille and Deli (I love me some non-chain food) for $20 + $1 for the gift certificate. Joe got a ribeye steak and I got a crabcake platter. Our bill would have been $45. The beauty of this place is that you don't have to tip because you order when you come in and they only bring you your food. You refill your drinks yourself.
5. Diet Pepsi. The Guidos do not buy soda unless it's on sale. We know a good soda deal when we see one and we will go without before buying it at full price. So, needless to say, when I spotted 12 packs for $2 at Walmart this month, I was in soda buying heaven. Now, correct me if I'm wrong, but that's about as good as it gets. Walmart typically sells them for $4.98 each. We usually buy them when the grocery stores offer 4 for $10 deals but most of the time you must buy all 4 to get the $2.50 price. What a steal!

Yeah, so I might be a little nerdy but I just can't help myself. Finding the best price takes some time and patience but it is worth it in the end. Have you gotten any good deals lately?

Dinner at our House - Crispy Breaded Pork Cutlets

This past week we tried a new dinner. It was an easy way to spice up plain pork chops while still keeping it healthy.

Crispy Breaded Pork Cutlets

1 1/2 cups panko (Japanese breadcrumbs)
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
4 boneless pork loin chops (6 to 8 ounces each)
3 tablespoons Dijon mustard
Coarse salt and ground pepper

1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees. On a rimmed baking sheet, toss panko with oil. Bake, tossing once, until golden brown, 7 to 10 minutes. Transfer to a medium bowl. Reduce oven temperature to 400 degrees.

2. Meanwhile, one at a time, place chops between two large pieces of plastic wrap. Using a meat mallet or the bottom of a small heavy pan, pound to make 1/4-inch-thick cutlets.

3. Dividing evenly, coat pork with mustard; season with salt and pepper. One at a time, dip cutlets into panko, pressing firmly to adhere.

4. Place a rack on a rimmed baking sheet; place pork on rack, and bake, without turning, until opaque throughout, 10 to 15 minutes.


Yum yum!

And speaking of all things pumpkin....

Did you know you can make a yummy fall treat with just a box of cake mix and a can of pumpkin puree? Well, it's true! I used a box of yellow cake mix, pumpkin, and a couple eggs and viola - deliciousness. Apparently, you can forgo the eggs/oil/etc. to make it healthier but I was a little skeptical and added the eggs for good measure.

We've been eating them as muffins - no frosting needed. Next time, I want to try using spice cake mix instead of yellow. I bet a little cool whip on top would also be good. So, if you're in the mood for a simple little fall treat, you can make these little babies in no time.

Top 5s for Fall

In light of it being the second day of October, we wanted to share our most anticipated fall favorites with you . And well, Joe and I don't really agree on why fall is awesome.

Laura's Top 5 Fall Favorites

1. Pumpkin candles. I can't get enough of those spicy fall smells. And thanks to a nice little sale going on at Yankee Candle right now, I will have a few burning in my house ASAP.

2. Cool temps. Who doesn't love saving on the electric bill and keeping the windows open? Bye bye sweaty summer.


3. New clothes. I'm on mission stock up on cool weather must haves: cardigans (check), plaid (check), boots (still looking), cute under cardi tops (check), purple tights (no, I'm not nuts), skinny jeans (one day I'll find a pair I like), etc. etc.

Old Navy, Gap

4. Pumpkin bread, spice cake, pumpkin bars, pumpkin muffins, etc. If you are sadly still in the dark and haven't heard, Paula Deen's pumpkin bars are out of this world yummy. There is no denying that the funny looking orange pumpkin is oh so delicious in so many baked goods. But, *gasp* I've heard there's a shortage of canned pumpkin this year and I'm not very happy about it.


5. TV is back. The Biggest Loser, Project Runway, Glee, Grey's Anatomy, Tyra, Oprah. Amen.

Joe's Top 5 Fall Favorites

1. Football.

2. Flag-football.

3. Basketball.
4. Halloween candy.

5. Cheaper golf.


Did you expect any different?

Dinner at our House - Pulled Pork

We often go grocery shopping without making a list so it's easy to fall back on the old staples when you aren't armed with any new ideas. This weekend, for some reason, I was motivated to look up some new recipes to try and escape the same ol' same ol'. I found a recipe for BBQ pulled pork on sparkrecipes.com. If you've never heard of sparkpeople.com or sparkrecipes.com before you should definitely check them out. They provide a lot of weight loss/healthy living guidance for free. Anyway, this recipe will be appreciated by fellow amateur cooks because it has limited ingredients and it's super easy! You will need....

2 lbs. Pork Tenderloin
1 cup onion, chopped
1 cup diet soda
1 cup low-sodium barbecue sauce
Hamburger buns

Put tenderloin in the crock pot. Mix up other ingredients in a bowl and pour over pork. Cook 4-6 hours on high or until tender. Take pork out, then shred. Put pork back into juice and stir it up. Put it on a hamburger bun, and enjoy! Makes 8 4-oz. servings.

The finished product:

Instead of hamburger buns, we used Arnold Sandwich Thins - only 100 calories for the whole "bun" and they stand up to juicy meats like this pulled pork. This meal was 100% husband approved and we have tons of leftovers for the rest of the week. Try it out!

Dinner at our House - Baked Sweet Potato Fries

I read blogs about home decor, fashion, food...all sorts of things. As you can tell, this blog has no particular focus, and this post will be no different. Joe and I work long days and commute about 40 minutes each way. This leaves us with little motivation to put together decent meals at night. Lucky for our waist bands, we don't live near many restaurants anymore so we try and make sure we eat at home the majority of the time. All of that considered, we tend to stick with some quick and easy meal staples (pizza, pasta, chicken, beans & franks, etc.) but occasionally we will try and spice things up.

I've been wanting to incorporate sweet potatoes into our diet since I've always heard how nutritious they are. Joe is not really a fan of the sweet potato so I attempted to ease him into it. I googled "baked sweet potato fries" recipes and saw that many people commented on how delicious they were and how non-sweet potato eaters even liked them. Bingo! I also agreed to eat steak with them (something I don't agree to very often) so Joe would at least be distracted if the fries were a bust. There are a ton of recipes out there but I decided on one from the blog Sarah's Cucina Bella mainly because I already had these ingredients:

1 - 1 1/2 lb sweet potatoes
1/4 cup olive oil
1/2 tsp kosher salt
1/2 tsp paprika
1/4 tsp cinnamon

Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Line a baking sheet with aluminum foil (preferably the easy release kind).

Peal the sweet potatoes. Cut into strips that are about 1/2 inch wide on each side.

Place the sweet potatoes into a resealable plastic bag. Add oil, salt, paprika and cinnamon. Seal the bag and shake well to thoroughly coat the fries. Spread the potatoes out onto the baking sheet in a single layer.

Cook for 30 minutes, turning every 10 minutes, until slightly browned. Transfer immediately to a paper towel lined plate and serve warm.

We paired them with petite filets. Joe and I really liked them! I'm not making them again, though, until someone buys me a potato cuter - phew! It's a lot of work to cut the potatoes down to fries with just a knife.

I obviously need some practice taking food pictures! And please note, our plates are huge which makes the scale of the food look a little off here. Regardless, you should give this recipe a try, even if you are a little scared of the sweet potato - we are glad we did!