Crock Pot Pork Chops and Green Beans

Oh, do I love pork chops!   So when I came across a crock pot recipe using pork chops and no canned or creamy soups or gravy, I was like a kid in a candy store.  Except the super-healthy and wholesome variety of a candy store... 

The process was really very simple.

Recipe: (from Spark Recipes)
5 boneless pork chops
salt and pepper to taste
2 cups green beans, frozen or fresh (I used fresh)
2 strips bacon, cut up
1 cup water
2 tbsp fresh lemon juice

Place pork chops in bottom of slow cooker.  Salt and pepper to taste.

Top with remaining ingredients in the order listed.

Cook 4-8 hours on low. (I cooked for 5 hours.  It probably would have been done at 4.)

Serve with a side of applesauce (homemade, warm, and sprinkled with cinnamon of course), and enjoy!

Nutrition Information:

• Servings Per Recipe: 5
• Amount Per Serving
• Calories: 151.4

• Total Fat: 6.8 g
• Cholesterol: 44.6 mg
• Sodium: 504.9 mg
• Total Carbs: 4.3 g
• Dietary Fiber: 2.0 g

As far as 'health' goes, the sodium is a bit high, thanks to the bacon, but I didn't think the bacon added much to the flavor anyhow, so if sodium is a concern for you, it could probably be omitted.  Or you could not add any salt in the 'salt and pepper to taste' step.  The calorie count is low, and even without the addition of a carbohydrate (rice, potato, bread...), it felt filling to me.

Verdict:
To be honest, I don't think I would make pork chops this way again.  As previously stated, I love pork chops, so while this recipe was edible, there are too many other possibilities out there for me to bother with this one again.  The pork chop was a bit on the dry side (not too bad, but not perfect either).  In my opinion, the green beans were a bit overdone.  One possible change would be to add the green beans in the last hour or two of cooking rather than at the beginning.  But then doesn't that forfeit the 'fix it and forget it' purpose of a crock pot?  The applesauce was easily the best part of the meal... and will be featured in a post all of its own soon.  Stay tuned!

Cincinnati Celtic Fest

Although I don't love living in Ohio, there are a lot of things that I really like about Cincinnati.  One of them is Fountain Square.  Fountain Square is an area of downtown where just about everything happens.  Of course there are several restaurants and bars.  There is great shopping.  There is always entertaining people watching.  One year, we took a carriage ride around downtown leaving from there.  Every winter the city sets up an outdoor skating rink.  There is a big screen TV where you can watch major sporting events.  On summer evenings, the city runs 'drive-in' movies on the big screen.  And all year long, there are special events and festivals on weekends.  Last weekend happened to be Cincinnati Celtic Fest.  Alex was off, the weather was good, and the entertainment was free, so Alex and I decided to check it out.

There was Celtic dancing, Celtic music, food from several local Irish restaurants, and of course Irish beer!

The food was prepared by Claddagh's Irish Pub and Molly Malone's.  Having just eaten at Claddagh's, Alex and I chose the food from Molly Malone's.

I had a Guinness Chicken Sandwich.  It was just average.  I know the food is prepared in a tent, so I am sure it is better at the restaurant.  The best part was the Guinness BBQ sauce.  Not surprising.  There just could have been more on the side.  I love my sauce.  The bun wasn't toasted and was rather dry, so I had to add a lot of ketchup, which just hid the BBQ sauce flavor I really wanted to taste.

Alex had the Banger Sausage Sandwich.  How very Irish sounding.  He enjoyed it a lot.  I wouldn't try it though.  I had 'bangers' in Ireland, and I never really liked their version of sausage.  Again though, the bun could have been toasted, and there could have been more sauce.

The highlight was the hot pretzel with beer cheese.  Of course the pretzel was just a pretzel.... but the beer cheese...  Hot.  Spicy (in a good way).  Cheesy.  Melty.  Yum! I'd track down this Molly Malone's just to get some more of that beer cheese.

All in all, the Celtic Fest was a good time.  We enjoyed the sights, sounds, and tastes of the evening.  If you're ever in Cincinnati, check out what is going on at Fountain Square that weekend.  I bet you'll have a great time!

Three New Recipes in One Night!

Alex invited some of his family that live in the Cincinnati area over for dinner and while I was excited to see them, I was a bit nervous making dinner for people that weren't Alex or my parents who, let's face it, will love me no matter how my kitchen experiments turn out.  I had a menu planned out but was thrown a curve bowl... Months and months and months ago, my mom and Alex convinced me that I had to have pasta bowls and convinced me to fall in love with a specific set from Sur la Table.  I thought I had plenty of time to get them.  I mean, who wouldn't be selling pasta bowls well into fall?  Sur la Table apparently.  Sometime in July they sold out.  Then last week, as my mom and I were checking out the Home Goods store in my area, we saw THEM.

Not only did I HAVE to get the bowls, but I immediately had to re-plan my menu to include pasta.  Obviously.

Quick and Easy Roman Pasta Recipe (from Williams-Sonoma recipe card in-store):
kosher salt to taste
1/2 lb. spaghetti
1/4 cup olive oil
4 large garlic cloves, thinly sliced
1 jar cherry tomatoes (17.6 ounces)
4 large fresh basil leaves, thinly sliced
fennel salt to taste (I didn't have, so I omitted.)
grated cheese for serving

Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil over high heat.  Add the pasta and cook until al-dente according to package instructions.  Drain, reserving 1/2 cup of the cooking water.  Set aside.

In a large saute pan over medium heat, warm the olive oil.  Add the garlic and cook, stirring, until fragrant, about 1 minute.  Add the cherry tomatoes and cook for about 5 minutes, stirring occasionally and gently smashing about half of the tomatoes.  Add 1/4 cup of the reserved cooking water and bring it to a simmer.

Add the pasta and toss together until well combined and warmed through, about 2 minutes, adding more cooking water as needed to create a light sauce.  Sprinkle with the basil and fennel salt.  Serve immediately and pass grated cheese alongside.  Serves 4.

(Diva Note: Although I was serving four people, I doubled the recipe.  Alex counts for 2-2.5 people anyway.  I used Barilla multi-grain pasta, and I added some grilled chicken breasts right before serving.)

Nutrition Information: I put the recipe information in Spark Recipe's recipe calculator and with the addition of the chicken breasts, it comes to around 258 calories per serving.

Verdict:  Definite make-again and a meal worthy of the new pasta bowls.  I am a huge fan of pastas in lighter, olive-oil based sauces, and the use of fresh, smashed cherry tomatoes was an interesting twist in both the preparation and taste of the dish.  I've never cooked with fennel or fennel salt before, so I'm not sure what that would have added, but the fresh basil was delightful to both the senses of taste and smell.  This will likely be kept on hand as a go-to busy weeknight dinner, and it will be keep me going back to Williams-Sonoma looking for more freebie recipe cards!

What did I serve with this pasta?  Well, I was looking for a use for our pizza stone since the guests we were feeding had given it to us as a shower present.  I thought a Tomato, Spinach, and Mozzarella Flatbread recipe found on Spark Recipes would fit the bill.

Recipe:
1 tube Pillsbury thin crust pizza dough
Red Ripe Tomatoes, sliced thinly
8 slices fresh mozzarella cheese (Diva Note: I used a mix of shredded gouda and mozzarella because it's what I had.)
1/2 cup BBQ sauce
2 cups fresh spinach

Preheat oven to 425 degrees.  Open and unroll pizza crust onto pizza stone.  Bake about 12 minutes.

 Remove from oven and top with BBQ sauce, spinach, tomatoes, and mozzarella.  Bake another 6-8 minutes or until cheese is melted.

Cut into 36 pieces.  Serve hot.

Nutritional Information:

• Servings Per Recipe: 18
• Amount Per Serving
• Calories: 89.9

• Total Fat: 4.2 g
• Cholesterol: 9.9 mg
• Sodium: 83.0 mg
• Total Carbs: 8.8 g
• Dietary Fiber: 0.4 g
• Protein: 4.3 g

Verdict: This is a recipe with possibilities if tweaked slightly.  First of all, the pizza dough recommended is a rectangle.  My pizza stone is round.  Messy.  I think a 1/2 cup of BBQ sauce was too much.  And I didn't really measure the spinach, just used enough leaves to cover the surface.  I think the initial 12 minute bake time needs to be shortened a bit too.  The crust was overdone in my opinion.  Not burnt but.... it could be improved.  The flavors were great.  The technique just needs to be refined.

And finally, we finished with a light, fall-inspired dessert: apple crisp (recipe from Spark Recipes), apples direct from Michigan - thanks Mom!

Recipe:
3 medium baking apples, cored and sliced thin
1 tsp cinnamon
2 tbsp flour
2 tbsp sugar

Topping:
1 cup quick oats
1 tsp vanilla
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/4 cup brown sugar
2 tbsp heart-healthy margarine (Diva Note: I used butter.  I realize this changes the nutrition information, but I prefer using small amounts of butter over margarine.)

Mix first four ingredients until apples are coated and place in a 9-inch baking dish.  Mix the remaining ingredients in a small bowl until crumbly and sprinkle over apple mixture in baking dish.  Bake at 325 degrees until apples are soft and topping is golden brown (about 30 minutes.)  Serve warm with vanilla ice cream on the side.

Nutrition Information: (before addition of vanilla ice cream)

• Servings Per Recipe: 9
• Amount Per Serving
• Calories: 131.5

• Total Fat: 3.6 g
• Cholesterol: 0.0 mg
• Sodium: 33.9 mg
• Total Carbs: 24.4 g
• Dietary Fiber: 2.6 g
• Protein: 1.5 g

Verdict: Delicious!  Cinnamon and apple are some of my favorite fall flavors.  It didn't taste 'light' at all even though it came from a website known for its lightened recipes.  Note though, that the recipe claims to serve 9, and you are baking in a 9-inch square baking dish.  Unless each person has only a square inch size serving, the nutrition information per actual serving is way off.  I'd say it more realistically serves 6. 

All in all, I think our guests left satisfied.  I would not, however, recommend going three for three on new recipe attempts for dinner guests...

Claddagh's Irish Pub

One of our favorite discoveries in the Cincinnati area is actually across the river in Kentucky: Newport on the Levee.  Alex and I found it accidentally when he first moved here while we were searching for a movie theater.  Turns out the closest movie theater was across state lines.  The levee has so much more to offer than just an AMC though: shopping, restaurants, an aquarium, street performers, a comedy club, and beautiful river views.  On this trip, we decided to take my mom and aunt to one of our favorite spots: Claddagh's Irish Pub.

One of my favorite things about Claddagh's is the atmosphere inside and out.  If you luck out and get a nice day, nothing beats the river view from their patio.  But if the weather turns on you, the inside is just as welcoming with roaring fires, cozy seating nooks, and a true Irish pub atmosphere (I know, I've been there).

Sadly, while I remembered to bring my camera, I forgot to take pictures of our meals.  Doh!  I'll do my best to recall them...  Alex went with an old standby - fish and chips.  Served hot and crispy with vinegar and ketchup, it is a meal he always enjoys.  My mom and aunt also went with Irish standbys, ordering the Shepherd's Pie.  The beef filling was accompanied by carrots and peas and topped with a golden crust.  It looked fantastic and big enough for two meals.  I ordered off the summer specials menu, choosing Seafood Pie.  This dish included salmon, mussels, and some other kind of fish covered in a creamy sauce.  As a rule, I avoid cream sauces, but this one was worth the indulgence.

By the way, although Alex and I discovered this restaurant 'in Cincinnati' and will always consider it a Cincinnati favorite, they have several locations, including two in Michigan!  So Michigan friends, check them out in Lansing or Livonia.

Trio

Now of course, while we had guests from Michigan, we couldn't stay in and cook every night.  We had to show off some of our favorite Cincinnati finds!  First up was dinner at Trio: a casual fine dining bistro in Kenwood, Ohio.  It has been a favorite of locals for 20 years, and Alex and I were introduced to it by a cousin and aunt of his when he first moved here.  I have eaten there several times and never had a bad meal.

Unfortunately, Alex had to work late this night and couldn't join us, but this gave the girls an opportunity to share a bottle of wine, loads of appetizers, and call it dinner.  Something I always enjoy for its variety.  After some discussion, we decided on the Maryland Crab Cake, Lettuce Wraps, Tomato Caprese Salad, and Wild Mushroom Flatbread.

This delight contained jumbo lump crab, fried eggplant, pineapple-mango salsa, chipotle remoulade, and guacamole, topped with sprouts.

Clearly Trio's chefs have presentation mastered.  And it tasted as good as it looked.  Crab cake can be mushy and a bit fishy, but this was neither.   A mild fish taste with just enough crunch to be satisfying.   Make sure to top your bite with some of the salsa and scoop up a bit of the tangy chipotle sauce!

I'll admit that I was a bit skeptical of the lettuce wraps.  I am a huge fan of P.F. Chang's version of this dish and have never found one that quite measured up.  Again presented beautifully, this lived up to expectations.  The lettuce was cool and crisp. The filling was warm and just spicy enough.  The sweet chili sauce drizzled over the top added just the right amount of sweet and tang for the taste buds.  And for those liking an extra kick, there was a bit of ginger on the side.

The tomato caprese salad was divine.  Everything was chilled just right.  I hate lukewarm mozzarella but likewise hate frozen tomatoes and this dish escaped both of those pitfalls in equal measure.  The 10 year balsamic vinaigrette was a little sweet, a little tart, and a little different than your average.  I would only like to see a bit more basil or slightly larger leaves.

And finally, the wild mushroom flatbread.  The one food Alex really will not eat, without exception, is mushrooms.  This makes me truly sad, and I almost always order mushrooms when out to eat because I can't cook them at home.  This item is not currently on their online menu, so I can't describe it completely accurately here.  But as you can see, it was loaded with green veggies, capers, and several kinds of cheese in addition to the mushrooms.  The flatbread was crispy, the cheese was gooey but not sticky, the mushrooms were perfectly flavored, and the greens added just enough crispness to the dish.  It was an absolutely perfect mushroom dining experience.

And to give the restaurant its full due, not only was the food delicious and perfectly presented, but the service was impeccable.   Drink orders were taken and filled promptly.  When our server got a little backed up, another server jumped right in so that we wouldn't have to wait.  If you've ever done an appetizer dinner, you know that the table can quickly become crowded with the extra plates and movement.  Not here.  Once she knew our intention, the server quickly offered to bring out the appetizers in courses.  I had never quite thought of doing it that way, but it was perfect, allowing us to savor each selection, digest between courses, and never feel crowded or cramped at the table.  They also didn't bat an eye when we asked for a meatloaf dinner to go with our check (poor Alex had to get something out of this experience) and brought it steaming hot with a side salad and extra bread right before we walked out the door.

This is a must-eat Cincinnati experience!

Classic Swiss Cheese Fondue

When you read the recipe below, you will quickly realize that there is nothing 'light' or 'healthified' about it.  I really do try to eat as healthfully as possible, and I am working on eliminating all sorts of negative preservatives, food dyes, and other ingredients.  That said, there are still times for indulgence, and a visit from family is definitely one of them!  My mom and Aunt Nancy made the trip from Michigan to Cincinnati and since my aunt is the one who gave us the fondue pot and cookbook as a wedding present, it seemed the perfect time for the pot to make its debut.

Recipe: (from Not Your Mother's Fondue)
1 cup dry white wine
2/3 cup heavy cream
1 tablespoon all purpose flour
2 garlic cloves, minced
2 teaspoons dry mustard
pinch of nutmeg
8 ounces Gruyere cheese, cubed
8 ounces Emmenthaler (swiss) cheese, cubed
2 tablespoons cherry liqueur (I omitted)
freshly ground black pepper to taste

1. Heat the wine, cream, garlic, flour, mustard, and nutmeg in a large fondue pot over low heat.  When the mixture begins to boil, simmer for 5 minutes or until very slightly thickened.

2. Stir in the cheeses and the liqueur and season with pepper.  Heat, stirring frequently to keep the mixture from sticking to the bottom. (This step takes awhile - 20-30 minutes.)

3. When the cheese has melted and the mixture is thick and creamy, serve, being sure to keep the heat setting at the lowest level.

4. Serve with a selection of dippers.  Suggestions include: French bread cubes, seasonal raw or steamed vegetables such as broccoli florets, carrot sticks, or celery. (Diva Note: I served with the French bread, raw broccoli, raw cauliflower, Parmesan cheese sticks and (at my mom's suggestion) chicken sausage from Trader Joe's - this was a wonderful addition that made it feel like more of a real meal).

Nutrition Information: Honestly, there are some things we're better off not knowing...

Verdict:
The fondue got thumbs up all around (if you like Swiss cheese)!  Although time consuming to make (thank goodness for kitchen helpers), sitting around chatting, dipping your choice of food, and sipping wine with family is an enjoyable and unique dining experience.  Given the list of ingredients, I won't be making it often... but I do look forward to making this and other fondue creations in the future!

Balsamic Chicken (for the Crock Pot!)

Quick, look out your window!  Are pigs flying by?  They should be, because ladies and gentlemen, I have found a recipe containing cooked onions that I will eat.  What kitchen concoction could create this miracle?  Read on...

Recipe: (from Crock Pot Girls)
4-6 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
2 14.5 oz cans diced tomatoes
1 onion, thinly sliced (not chopped)
4 garlic cloves
1/2 cup balsamic vinegar
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
1 teaspoon each: dried rosemary, basil, and oregano
1/2 teaspoon thyme
ground black pepper and salt to taste

Pour the olive oil on the bottom of the pan, place the chicken breasts on top of the oil, and salt and pepper each breast.  Place onion slices on top of chicken then put in garlic cloves and dried herbs.  Pour in balsamic vinegar and top with tomatoes.  Cook on high 4 hours.  Serve over angel hair pasta.

Nutrition Information: This recipe didn't come with specific nutrition information, but I put the ingredients into the Recipe Calculator here.  Great feature!  It comes out to approximately 355 calories per serving (before adding pasta or other sides).  It doesn't contain any clearly objectionable ingredients, and there are lots of health benefits to tomatoes, garlic, and olive oil.

I didn't have any angel hair pasta, so the first night I simply served it with a side of baked sweet potatoes.

Pop on a baking sheet for approximately 40 minutes, sprinkle with cinnamon, enjoy!  So good!

For leftovers the next night, I served over regular spaghetti noodles.

Verdict:
This is a must-make-again recipe!  The chicken was so tender we almost didn't need knives.  The flavors blended well together.  It wasn't an overly heavy meal.  And the onions, you may ask?  My problem with consuming cooked onions stems mainly from their texture.  They're slimy.  And chewy.  And I can't get past that.  I understand the theory of using them to flavor the rest of the dish and willingly cook with them, but I am steadfast about picking them out very thoroughly.  In this case, the onions were almost crispy.  With a flavor identical to the rest of the food that came out of the Crock Pot and a nice crunch instead of slime, they were very edible.  Even for a life-long onion hater like myself.  Side note: while this was delicious the first night, it was not quite as good the second night.  Still edible but not something I would intentionally make a huge batch of hoping for several portions of leftovers.

Battle of the Banana Breads

I've found several recipes lately for quick loaf breads, but since I had a freezer full of too ripe bananas, it seemed that banana bread would be my recipe of choice.  I had two recipes to work with, one traditional and one healthified.  There are many philosophies to work with when healthifying baked goods: sugar substitutes, oil replacements, additions of healthy proteins etc.  The trick is to keep the balance between the dry and liquid ingredients, so for an inexperienced baker like myself, having a recipe is always a good idea.  Since I had so many bananas, I thought I would give both recipes a try, use my husband as a blind taste tester, and determine for ourselves just how well the healthified version of a traditional favorite measured up!

Traditional Recipe: (from Better Homes and Gardens cookbook)
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/8 teaspoon nutmeg
2 eggs, beaten
1 1/2 half cups mashed ripe banana
1 cup sugar
1/2 cup cooking oil or melted butter (I used canola oil)
1/4 cup chopped walnuts (optional - I omitted)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Grease bottom and 1/2 inch up the sides of a 9X5X3 loaf pan; set aside.  In a large bowl, combine flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, and nutmeg.  Make a well in center of flour mixture; set aside.

In a medium bowl, combine eggs, banana, sugar, and oil.  Add egg mixture all at once to flour mixture.  Stir just until moistened (batter should be lumpy).  Fold in walnuts if adding.  Spoon batter into prepared pan.

Bake for 55-60 minutes or until a wooden toothpick inserted near center comes out clean.  Cool on a wire rack for 10-15 minutes before removing from pan.  Cool loaf completely on rack.  Wrap well and store overnight  before slicing.

Healthified Recipe: (from Spark Recipes)
 2 cups flour
3/4 cup sugar
3 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1 egg
3/4 cup milk
1/4 cup applesauce
1 1/2 cups mashed bananas 

Preheat oven to 350. Grease bread loaf pan, unless it's non stick.  Mix all dry indredients into a large bowl, make sure to mix well.  

Mix all wet ingredients in another bowl, make sure to mix thoroughly.

Add liquid mix to dry mix and stir thouroughly.

Put into bread loaf pan and cook for approximately 55 to 65 minutes. I always start checking the colour around 50 minutes, should be a nice golden brown. Insert a toothpick in centre to check if it's done. Toothpick may be moist from bananas, just make sure it's not moist from batter.  (Diva Note: Mine was definitely done at 50 minutes, but I don't have a digital temperature control on my oven, so it could have been slightly high.)

Let bread cool in pans for about 5 to 10 minutes. Run a knife along outside edge to loosen sides.

Looking for something sweet, add chocolate chips, just make sure to add in your calories. This bread is great warm with peanut butter on it.


 Nutrition Information Traditional:
215 calories per slice, 9 grams total fat (1 gram saturated), 27 mg cholesterol, 122 mg sodium, 32 grams carbs, 1 gram fiber, 3 grams protein


Nutrition Information Healthified: (without addition of nuts or chocolate chips)

• Servings Per Recipe: 12
• Amount Per Serving
• Calories: 149.4

• Total Fat: 0.9 g
• Cholesterol: 18.5 mg
• Sodium: 380.9 mg
• Total Carbs: 32.5 g
• Dietary Fiber: 1.3 g
• Protein: 3.5 g

The Verdict:
All I told Alex was that I had tried two different recipes and wanted to know which he liked better.  I gave him no indication of one being healthier or what ingredients had been changed.  The verdict was unanimous: while both seemed to taste identical, the healthified version was more moist than the traditional!  Score a point for healthy eating!  I am a fan of using applesauce to compensate for omitting some egg and oil in baking.  I think it is one of the more natural ways to cut down on calories and fat.  You will notice that regular sugar was used in both recipes.  I'm not convinced that artificial sweeteners are worth the decreased calories.  I don't like the taste, and 'real' has to be better than 'fake' in my opinion.  I'll just have a smaller slice.  Or puff for an extra 20 minutes on the treadmill.  This healthified version of banana bread will definitely become our new traditional.  Next time I'll try adding some chocolate chips or nuts for a bit of a change.  For more information on how to healthify any baking recipe, click here.   

Spaghetti Sauce

Finding, choosing, and experimenting with new recipes has been fun and will continue to be fun for quite some time, but somehow nothing says comfort food like one of mom's tried and true home-cooked favorites.  Friday was a practically perfect autumn day: partly cloudy, 50-60 degrees, light breeze.  And the urge to spend just about all day in the kitchen was practically irresistible.  Every autumn, homemade spaghetti sauce is one of the first things I crave.  Since neither my mom nor I can stand to have the stove going all day during the humid summer, by the time September rolls around, it's been awhile...

The Recipe:
1 cup minced yellow onion
2 cloves garlic, peeled and crushed
1/4 cup olive oil or other cooking oil
1 (2 pound 3 ounce) can Italian plum tomatoes (do not drain)
1 (6 ounce) can tomato paste
1/2 cup dry red wine
1/2 cup water
2 teaspoons salt
1 1/2 teaspoons sugar
1/4 teaspoon pepper
1 tablespoon minced fresh oregano or 1 teaspoon dried
1/4 cup finely grated Romano cheese (optional) (Diva Note: I did not include the cheese in cooking the sauce as I believe the cheese is best served on top of the finished product!)

Saute onion and garlic in oil in a large, heavy saucepan over moderate heat 8-10 minutes until golden brown.

Add remaining ingredients, except cheese, cover, and simmer one hour, stirring occasionally. 

Press sauce through a sieve or puree, a little at a time, in an electric blender at low speed. (Diva Note: For this step, I was able to puree the sauce using my brand new, handy dandy Cuisinart SmartStick hand blender.  And thank goodness.  Those other ideas sound complicated.  And messy.)

Reheat to simmering, add cheese if you wish, and serve hot with any pasta!

Oh and look - the hand blender comes apart and the part that gets messy is dishwasher safe.  Hallelujah!

(Diva Note: You'll notice this recipe makes no mention of adding any meat.  Since there really aren't many pasta sauces worth having without meat, I always add a pound of ground something, in this case ground turkey breast.  Brown the meat of your choice in a separate pan and add it after the pureeing step and about two hours before serving.  Enjoy the smells as it simmers away all afternoon!)

The Verdict:
As we all know, any recipe of mom's is never half as good when someone other than mom makes it.  But I made a pretty darn good substitute if I do say so myself.  Hubby is Italian, and he approved, so that must say something...  I'm looking forward to making it again and probably doubling the recipe.  It freezes perfectly for those cold winter nights that require some measure of comfort but don't quite inspire cooking fever like autumn does.

Magnifico!

Marco's Pizza

Even divas need a night off now and again.  Since our townhouse complex was sponsoring a pizza night, it seemed like a good time to indulge.  Marco's Pizza is a chain (one I hadn't experienced before coming to Cincinnati), the pizzas were brought to a cart in our parking lot, and they were sold at a slight discount from their usual coupon prices.  According to their advertisements, Marco's claims to be better than their competitors because of their fresh ingredients, especially the cheese and the tomatoes in their sauce.

The Verdict:
It's hard to mess up a pepperoni pizza, so this was definitely not bad.  Still, I felt something was missing.  By the time we got it back to our kitchen, it was not piping hot and gooey like a pizza should be.  Luckily, I had anticipated this, so our pizza stone was in the oven ready and waiting to do its job.  Even after warming though, the pizza could have been cheesier.  The sauce was the best part of the pizza, so I was glad it came with an extra container of dipping sauce for my crust.  All in all, I enjoyed indulging in one of my favorite guilty pleasures, but since pizza night is such a rarity, we'll be choosing somewhere else next time.

Incidentally, it's a beautiful fall day with perfect temperatures for cooking and baking.  I'm feeling inspired, so expect much better posts coming soon!

Sweet Potato Salad with Chili Lime Dressing

Sweet Potatoes are a super food!  After really enjoying the previous night's Sweet Potato Barbecue Burgers, I looked up the health benefits of sweet potatoes online.  They have high amounts of Vitamins A and C, fiber, potassium, and iron.  They also contain antioxidants and beta-carotene and help your body produce new skin cells (which equals younger, clearer looking skin!).  They are fairly low in calories.  One sweet potato is about 130 calories depending on size.  And despite the name sweet, are low in actual sugar.  With all of this in mind, and the lion's share of a 2 pound bag of sweet potatoes from Trader Joe's sitting on my shelf, I went online in search of more recipes to use sweet potatoes and came up with this delicious side dish to accompany last night's grilled chicken breasts.

Recipe:

Ingredients:

·      2 pounds sweet potatoes, peeled and cut into 1-inch chunks

• 1/3 cup extra-virgin olive oil
• 2 tablespoons fresh lime juice
• 1 teaspoon chili powder
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
• 1/4 cup finely chopped fresh cilantro leaves
• salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
• 1/2 medium-size red bell pepper, seeded and cut into 1/4 inch dice
• 4 scallions, white and light green parts, finely chopped

(Diva Note: Yet again, I cut this recipe in half, and we still only ate about half of that, so the amounts above should make a decent side dish for 6-8 people)


Directions: 
Place the sweet potatoes in a large saucepan and cover with water. Bring to a boil and cook until just tender, 7 to 10 minutes (don't overcook or your salad will be mushy and falling apart.) Drain and transfer to a large bowl. 

While the potatoes are cooking, make the dressing. Whisk together the olive oil, lime juice, chili    powder, cumin, cilantro, salt, and pepper in a small bowl. Add the red bell pepper and scallions to the potatoes and toss with the dressing. Season again with salt and pepper. Serve warm or refrigerate and bring to room temperature before serving.

Nutrition Information:
This recipe did not come from the same website as yesterday, so full nutrition information was not provided.  However, spark recipes comes with a recipe calculator in addition to its massive bank of recipes.  You can enter information from any recipe and find out just how good (or bad!) it is for you.  Serving size matters of course, so this side dish comes to approximately 200-265 calories depending on your portion.

Verdict:

So good.  Really.  I've actually been thinking about it since last night.  And I don't even like spicy food.  Alex claims not to like cilantro, but he said it was delicious as well.  The dressing definitely has a zing to it.  I took a quick taste before mixing in the sweet potatoes.  And coughed for several minutes.  But when mixed with the starchy, sweet potatoes, the  flavors balance perfectly.  Preparing it was a bit on the time consuming side, so I wouldn't recommend it for a typical weeknight meal if you are exhausted and starving.  But it would be excellent for a weekend barbecue, and in my opinion is worthy of serving for company.  This will go in my permanent recipe collection, and I can't wait to make it again!

Sweet Potato Barbecue Burgers

After a week of cool, gray, and drizzly weather, sunshine returned to Cincinnati!  We decided to take advantage of this beautiful weather with a few nights of grilling and outdoor eating.  Rather than grill our typical chicken breasts or turkey burgers, I went exploring on the internet (and quickly became addicted to several food and cooking related websites, but that's another story).  As I searched, I quickly realized that if I kept cooking purely for taste, I would easily start to put on weight.  Yet I didn't want to cook the same decent low-calorie meals over and over and over....  Where's the fun in that?  And that's when I found it: http://www.sparkrecipes.com/  A website dedicated to creating and sharing a variety of healthy and delicious recipes!   You can search the thousands of recipes by meal category (dinner, breakfast, snack.... etc...), by food category (poultry, beef, vegetarian... etc...), but dietary needs, and several other ways.  You can sign up for recipe of the day e-mails.  There are several articles with ideas on healthifying cooking and baking.  And all of their recipes come with full nutrition information.  Speaking of which, definitely read the nutrition information before committing to a recipe.  Any user can add their recipe to share, which is great in so much as you get an increased amount of ideas and variety.  Not so great when you happen across a recipe that claims one serving registers at 1,000+ calories.  Yes.  I saw that.  And moved on very quickly.   I've already copied several recipes to try in the future, but our first experiment from this website was the Sweet Potato Barbecue Burgers mentioned in the title.

Recipe:

1 1/2 lbs 93/7 extra lean ground beef
200 grams of sweet potato (about half a sweet potato) or yam
4 tablespoons of KC Masterpiece Honey Smoke BBQ Sauce
1 large egg
1 teaspoon each: paprika, onion powder, garlic powder, mustard powder, cayenne pepper 

 (Diva Note: I cut this recipe in half since it makes 10 patties and that is clearly overkill for Alex and I.  Also, I thought I had paprika, but I was wrong, so I omitted it.  And I went light on the cayenne pepper since I am as wimpy as they come in terms of heat-tolerance.)




Combine all ingredients and shape into 10 patties. 1 hamburger is 191 calories. Cook as desired.
 
Nutrition Information:

• Calories: 190.6

• Total Fat: 12.1 g
• Cholesterol: 65.4 mg
• Sodium: 109.1 mg
• Total Carbs: 5.6 g
• Dietary Fiber: 0.3 g
• Protein: 13.7 g 

Verdict: The above information is for the hamburger patties only.  Don't forget to add in bun and condiment choices.  I went for a burger sans bun with extra barbecue sauce on the side for dipping.

The burger itself was juicy, tender, and delicious.  The spices definitely added something to the flavor.  Honestly, I probably could have eaten this patty without any condiments, which is saying something from a self-proclaimed ketchup addict.  I can't say that I could taste the sweet potato per se, which was a bit of a disappointment since I love sweet potatoes, but it is a great way to add a super healthy food to a pretty typical summer meal.

Alex went for the full complement of topping choices, including whole wheat buns, cheese, tomato, and lettuce on both, mustard and ketchup on one, and barbecue sauce on the other.  His does make for a prettier picture, but when it comes to eating, these burgers don't need any help.  We will definitely be making this again!

 

Crock Pot's Maiden Voyage

Oh my Crock Pot...  One of the appliances I have been anxiously waiting to use!  And since the weather today was still gloomy, cloudy, drizzly, and gray, the idea of having the delicious smells of home-cooking wafting about all day was just too good to pass up!  The Crock Pot itself came with an instruction manual/cookbook with lots of delicious options, and my Better Homes and Gardens cookbook has several delightful possibilities as well.  But last week I stumbled across a Facebook page titled Crock Pot Girls and decided to give one of their recipes a try.  (Check it out.  But a word of caution: the page is pretty disorganized, so you'll spend some time hunting.  If you find a good one, cut and paste it into a Word document right away or you may never find it again.  And - the recipes aren't necessarily calorie conscious.  I immediately eliminated all recipes containing what I call Cream of Crap soup.... liters of pop as flavoring... gobs of gravy... etc.... Use your own judgment.)

Recipe:
1 small bag of baby carrots
1 can chunked pineapple (we used 20 oz can)
1/2 large red onion cut in chunks
2 cloves garlic
4 chicken breasts or 6 thighs
1/2 cup teriyaki sauce
salt and pepper to taste

Layer vegetables/fruit/garlic first, then add the chicken on top. Drizzle teriyaki sauce over the chicken and add salt and pepper to taste. Cover and cook on low for 8 hours. We will be serving ours over white rice.  (Diva note: I served mine with brown rice.  White rice and I don't get along.)

 Verdict:
Decent.  But not to die for.  On the plus side, the chicken was not dried out.  The vegetables were fully cooked.  The flavors blended well together with nothing being too weak or too strong.  And my Crock Pot did exactly what it promised when it automatically turned to the 'warm' setting at the end of the cooking time.  On the downside, one of my favorite parts of slow cooking is enjoying the scent all day as the food cooks.  In this case, the smell of the red onion overpowered everything else.  And I don't particularly like onion.  The end product was a little on the watery side for my taste.  Alex liked it and let it soak into his rice.  I would have preferred more of the water to cook off.   And the flavor, while not bad, was not what I would call memorable.  I don't see myself craving this particular meal in the future.  I might make it again as a decent, easy week night meal but certainly not for a special occasion, and I'll try lots of other recipes before coming back to this one.