Meals for 1: Parmesan Pesto Pasta

I have found myself eating alone a lot lately on nights when I am not working late, and Sean is at one of his night classes.  I came up with this quick, easy, and yummy meal for one.  This can easily be modified to make for however many people you need to feed.  I think the best part is that the clean up is so easy.  You use one pot, one bowl, one spoon, one fork, and a colander.

Serving Size: 1

Cooking Time: 15 min         

Ingredients:

• Whole Wheat Rotini Pasta (or any short fat noodle you like: penne, fussilli, bowtie, etc...)
• Frozen Broccoli (or fresh)
• Pesto (I like to freeze mine in its container so I can just scrape off what I need)
• Parmesan Cheese (from the plastic container you can just sprinkle on, or fresh)

Cooking:

Bring water to a boil.  Add in one serving of pasta (I just put enough in to almost fill up one cereal bowl, but this can vary depending on how hungry you are).  Cook al dante according to package (about 9 minutes) stirring occasionally.  After about 5 minutes, add in frozen broccoli, and continue boiling for the remaining 4 minutes, stirring occasionally.  Drain pasta and broccoli in colander.  In the meantime, scrape off about 1 spoonful (I used a large spoon) of frozen pesto into bowl.  Heat in microwave for about 10 seconds.  Add pasta/broccoli to bowl.  Toss with spoon you used to scrape pesto into bowl until pasta is lightly covered in pesto.  Dust (somewhat heavily) the parmesan cheese completely on top of the pasta.  Toss until pasta is evenly covered.  Enjoy!

Tips:

You may think this isn't enough pesto.  For me, it is.  I like that there is just a subtle hint of that delicious pesto flavor.  If this isn't enough for you, feel free to add more.  There is no wrong way to make this.

You can add chicken to this recipe to add some protein and make it more of a meal.

Baked Parmesan Kale Chips

I am posting this GREEN healthy recipe in honor of St. Patty's Day in a few weeks!


Ingredients:

• 1 bunch kale (12 oz after removed from stems)
• 1 tsp olive oil (spray)
• a sprinkle of sea salt or kosher
• 1/2 cup shredded Parmesan cheese

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350°F. Lightly spray two large baking sheets with oil.

Wash and thoroughly dry kale. Remove the leaves from the thick stems and tear into bite sized pieces. 

Place on baking sheets, spray with olive oil and sprinkle with salt.

Bake about 10-12 minutes, turning and moving them around as they shrink to make sure they evenly crisp up.   

Top with shredded parmesan cheese, keeping a close eye on them, bake an additional 5 to 6 minutes until the edges are crisp but not burnt. Time will vary depending on your oven.



Servings: 6 • Serving Size: 1/6th • Old Points: 1 pt • Points+: 1 pt
Calories: 50.2 • Fat: 2.8 g • Protein: 3.6 g • Carb: 3.4 g • Fiber: 1.1 g • Sugar: 0.7 g
Sodium: 126 mg (without salt)

(I got this recipe from skinnytaste.com, a great website with easy, healthy recipes!)

RUTH SMITH'S FAMOUS COOKIES

This recipe claims to make 75-100 cookies, but at my house, the raw dough gets eaten before that can ever be proven!!! ~Carolyn

Preheat oven to 400 degrees or 375 convection

Cream:
2 c. soft butter
2 c. brown sugar
2 c. sugar

Add:
4 eggs

Add:
1 t. salt
2 t. baking powder
2 t. baking soda
2 t. vanilla

Add:
5 c. flour
then 2 more cups of flour=7 cups (dough should not be too sticky to handle)

FOR OATMEAL COOKIES

Add:
3 c. flour
4 c. instant oats (instead of 7 cups of flour)

Now comes the fun optional part...

2-4 chopped up Hershey bars with a bag of milk chocolate chips
or
2 bags milk chocolate chips
3 c. nuts (pecans, almonds or walnuts)
3 c. raisins
3 c. coconut

I would only add 2-3 of the above, or it might not be doughy enough, you know?

Form golf ball sized balls (I use a large cookie dough scoop) and place on cookie sheet 2" apart. Mash slightly. Bake 6 minutes or until lightly browned.

Pumpkin Pie Milkshakes

Make these.  Today.  They are incredible.

Pumpkin Pie Milkshake
Recipe by Our Best Bites

1/3 C pumpkin, canned or homemade1/4 – 1/2 C milk
1/4 t vanilla
1/2 t cinnamon
1/16 t cloves (just use a 1/8 t measure and fill it half way, or do a pinch)
1/16 t nutmeg
2 T brown sugar
2 C vanilla ice cream
1-2 graham crackers

Pop everything but graham crackers in a blender. Start with 1/4 C milk and then slowly add more if needed to make the blender process it all. I used somewhere between 1/4-1/2 C.

Sprinkle with crushed graham cracker crumbs before serving.

Mini Puffed Oven Pancakes

Made these this weekend and my family LOVED them.  They are like mini german pancakes.  Mini size makes everything better right?  I used a regular sized muffin pan (fill cups half full of batter) and doubled the recipe.

Mini Puffed Oven Pancakes with Berry Sauce
recipe by ourbestbites.com 

Ingredients
3/4 cup flour (*see note below)
3/4 cup milk
2 eggs
1/8 teaspoon salt
2-3 tablespoons butter, melted
powdered sugar

Berry Sauce
6 large frozen or fresh strawberries
3 tablespoons berry jam
optional: sugar if needed, to taste

*Since so many have made these and love them, I didn’t want to alter the recipe from its original posting.  however, since making these more often, I have found I prefer the texture of the finished puffed pancakes when I decrease the flour to 1/2 cup.  Try it both ways and See how you like it!

Instructions
Place mini muffin pan (or cast iron skillet) in oven and heat to 400 degrees.  While oven is heating, place flour, milk, eggs, and salt in a blender and blend until smooth.  Carefully remove the pan from the oven (don’t forget it’s hot!) and quickly spray the wells with non-stick spray, or brush with melted butter.  But we’re going for quick and easy here so I just grab the spray.  (If using cast iron pan, coat entire pan surface with butter).  Fill muffin wells 3/4 full with batter.  Place pan in oven and bake for 15-20 minutes, until puffed and slightly golden on top.  Remove puffs and place on plate or platter.  Drizzle with melted butter and sprinkle with powdered sugar.  Drizzle with berry sauce and top with cool whip or whipped cream, or serve with sauce and/or maple syrup for dipping.

Quick and Easy Berry Sauce

If using frozen berries, place berries and jam in a microwave-safe bowl and heat for  about 1 minute.  Use a fork to stir and mash everything together (cut strawberries if necessary), or place everything in a blender and pulse a few times until desired consistency is reached.  Add sugar to taste for sweetness and a few teaspoons of water or juice only if needed for consistency.

Yields about 24 mini muffin pancake puffs

Light Lemon Jello

2 (3 oz) boxes lemon jello
2/3 cup sugar
1/4 tsp salt

mix together in a bowl and add

2 cup boiling water
1 (12 oz) can frozen lemonade - thawed

Stir until Jello is dissolved.  Refrigerate until syrupy, about 30 - 45 minutes.  Stir every ten minutes to make sure its not setting

Beat
1 pint whipping cream

Then fold whipping cream into jello mixture.  Pour into 9 x13 glass dish and refrigerate several hours or over night.

Optional: Serve with fresh berries

Twice Baked Potato Casserole

Twice Baked Potato Casserole

(Recipe from Sippity Sup)

Serves 8-10

INGREDIENTS:

• 5 lb russet potatoes
• 10 sli bacon
• 8 oz cream cheese
• 0.5 c unsalted butter, melted
• 1 c sour cream
• 0.25 c chives, minced
• 2.5 c cheddar cheese, grated
• 2 t kosher salt
• 0.5 t pepper

---

DIRECTIONS

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Peel potatoes, and cut into 1-inch chunks. Place in a large saucepan, and add enough cold water to cover by about 2 inches. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat, and reduce to a simmer. Cook until tender and easily pierced with a paring knife, about 20 minutes. Transfer to a colander to drain; return to pan, cover, and set aside.
2. Meanwhile, heat a large skillet over medium heat. Add bacon, and cook until crisp and browned, turning once. Transfer to paper towels to drain; let cool, and crumble into pieces.
3. Using a fork, mash the potatoes in pan until light and fluffy. Add the cream cheese, butter, and sour cream, and stir until combined and smooth. Add the chives, 2 cups cheddar cheese, half the bacon, salt, and pepper. Stir until well combined.
4. Transfer to a buttered 3-quart baking dish. Top with remaining 1/2 cup cheddar cheese. Bake until top is slightly golden and potatoes are heated through, about 30 minutes. Remove from oven; garnish with remaining bacon. Serve immediately.

FINALLY chocolate chip cookies

I don't know what my problem is, but I have not been able to make good chocolate chip cookies...ever.  Seriously, they are always too flat or too hard or too disgusting.  I found this recipe on pinterest and FINALLY they worked out.  Jack came home from being on overnight call and the first thing he said was, "Oh, you learned how to make cookies!"  So here is the recipe, I have to post it here so I don't lose it!

1 cup butter

1 cup sugar

1/2 cup brown sugar

2 eggs

2 teaspoons vanilla

2 1/4 cup flour

1 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 12 ounce bag semi-sweet chocolate chips

preheat oven to 375* . cream together butter and sugar. beat in eggs and vanilla. in a seperate bowl, combine flour, salt, and baking soda. gradually beat into butter/sugar mixture. add chocolate chips and stir in. spoon and drop onto ungreased cookie sheet. bake 9 minutes.

Grilled Chicken Kebabs with Romesco Sauce

I got this delicious recipe from my mother in law, Ruth.  It has a spicy red sauce you can put on the kebobs if you choose, and it is sooooo good.

Servings: 4

Ingredients:

• wood skewers
• 2 lbs chicken breasts cut into 1.5" cubes
• 1/2 cup chopped fresh cilantro
• 1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil (divide 1/4 cup & 1/4 cup)
• 2 tablespoons fresh lime juice
• 2 teaspoons plus 1 tbsp. mined garlic
• 1 teaspoon coarse kosher salt
• 1 teaspoon smoked Spanish paprika (pimenton)
• 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• 3/4 cup peeled roasted red peppers (canned or fresh)
• 1/3 cup whole almonds or hazelnuts
• 1 slice crusty bread, toasted and cut into cubes (usually uses big sourdough from grocery store)
• 1 tablespoon sherry vinegar/red wine vinegar
• 2 bunches green onions, root ends trimmed

Preparation:

1.  If using wood skewers, soak in cold water at least 30 minutes before using.  In a large bowl or resealable plastic bag, combine chicken, cilantro, 3 tbsp. olive oil, lime juice, 2 tsp. garlic, salt, smoked paprika, and pepper.  Toss to coat, then marinate, chilled, 25 minutes. (Really good if you marinate the night before)

2.  Meanwhile, put roasted peppers, nuts, bread, vinegar, remaining 1tbsp. minced garlic, and 1/4 cup olive oil in food processor and whirl until pureed; sauce will be thick.

3.  Preheat a gas or charcoal grill to medium-high (you can hold our hand 1 to 2 in. above cooking grate only 3 to 4 seconds).  Thread chicken onto skewers, discarding marinade.  Drizzle green onions with remaining 1 tbsp. olive oil.  Lay skewers on grill (cover if using gas) and cook 4 minutes.  Turn skewers over, then lay green onions on grill.  Cook 4 minutes, until chicken is browned and cooked through and onions are charred in places.

4.  Serve hot, accompanied by sauce. Best served over cilantro lime rice.

picture via myrecipes.com

Tikka Masala

Another yummy recipe from Cynthia.  Serves 4 - 6

Chicken Tikka Masala (4-6 people) 

(Note the pictures have larger portions as I was tripling the recipe. Also this recipe is fairly simple even though there are quite a few steps.)

The Chicken

• 1 tsp tumeric
• 1 tsp ground coriander
• 1 tsp ground cumin
• 1/2 tsp cayenne pepper
• 2 tsp salt
• 4 chicken breast

• 1 cup plain whole-milk yogurt (If I'm feeling healthy I go low-fat)
• 2 tbsp vegetable oil
• 2 medium garlic cloves minced (when cooking for a lot I always buy the pre-minced garlic)
• 1 tbsp grated ginger 

Chicken Prep

1. Combine tumeric, coriander, cumin, cayenne, salt in small bowl
2. Rub both sides of chicken with spice mix
3. Cover chicken with plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes
4. Whisk together yogurt, oil, garlic, and ginger cover and put in fridge

Masala Sauce

• 3 tbsp vegetable oil
• 1 large onion
• 4 medium garlic cloves minced
• 3 tsp fresh ginger
• 1 fresh serrano chile minced
• 1 tbsp tomato paste
• 1 tbsp garam masala
• 28 oz diced tomatoes 
• 3 tsp sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 2/3 cup heavy cream

Sauce Prep

1. Heat oil in large pot (best if you have a dutch oven) over medium heat until simmering. Add onion and stir frequently until light golden (6 to 8 minutes)
2. Add garlic, ginger, chile, tomato pastes, and garam masala. Continue stirring until fragrant (3 minutes)
   Add crushed tomatoes, sugar, and salt; bring to boil
3. Reduce heat to medium-low, cover, and simmer for 15 minutes, stirring occasionally.
4. Stir in cream and cilantro and return to simmer

Cooking Chicken

1. While sauce simmers, adjust oven rack to about six inches from heating element and heat broiler (I tried the grill for the first time and it worked great)
2. Use tongs to dip chicken into yogurt mixture and place on broiling pan. 
3. Broil chicken until thickest part reads 160 degrees (about 15-20 minutes)
4. Don't forget to flip chicken halfway through
5. Cut chicken in to cubes and stir into sauce
6. Stir in cilantro

Indian Rice Serves 4-6 people

Ingredients

• 1 1/2 cup basmati rice or long-grain rice
• 2 1/2 cups water
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 tsp pepper
• 3 tbsp salted butter
• 1 medium onion
• 1 cup peas

Rice Prep

1. Rinse rice: Put rice in a bowl and add enough water to cover the top by about two inches. using hands gently swish the grains to release the starch. Carefully pour off water, leaving rice in bowl. Repeat about 5 times or until the water is basically clear. 
2. Bring 2 1/2 cups water to a boil along with salt and pepper, cover
3. Meanwhile, heat butter in a large saucepan over medium heat until melted
4. Add onion and saute until softened but not browned (3-4 minutes)
5. Add rice and stir to coat grains with butter
6. Cook until edges of rice grains begin to turn translucent (3 minutes)
7. Stir hot seasoned water into rice and return to boil
8. Reduce heat to low, cover and simmer until all liquid is absorbed (20 minutes)
9. Remove from heat and remove lid and place a kitchen towel folded in half over teh saucepan and replace lid
10. Let stand for 10 minutes
11. Add a cup of heated green peas to rice