Spaghetti Squash Shrimp Scampi

Found this recipe at cookinglight.com and followed it to a T - other than I took the tails off before sautéing them, the recipe just says peeled and deveined but their picture has tails on...I don't like dealing with pulling off the tails when they are mixed in with sauce. Very easy recipe with not very many ingredients, what's not to like? Saute shrimp in half olive oil half butter, season, add spinach until it's wilted, then toss with cooked spaghetti squash strands. Yum.

Ingredients:

1 (2.5-lb.) spaghetti squash

Cooking spray

1 1/2 tablespoons unsalted butter

1 1/2 tablespoons olive oil

1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper

3 garlic cloves, minced

8 ounces large raw shrimp, peeled and deveined

5 ounces fresh baby spinach

3/8 teaspoon kosher salt

Step 1

Preheat oven to 375°F. Trim off squash ends. Cut remaining squash into 1 1/2-inch rings; scoop out and discard seeds and membranes. Arrange rings on a foil-lined baking sheet coated with cooking spray. Coat rings with cooking spray. Bake at 375°F for 45 minutes or until just tender. Cool slightly. Cut through each ring and open slightly to reach strands; carefully scrape out spaghetti-like squash strands.

Step 2

Heat butter and oil in a medium skillet over medium-high. Add pepper and garlic; cook 30 seconds, stirring constantly. Add shrimp; sauté 2 minutes or until almost done. Add spinach, tossing until spinach wilts. Add squash strands; sprinkle with salt. Toss gently to combine.

Click here for the source.

Skillet Chicken and Veggie Pot Pie

So I realize this is like the 3rd food thing I've posted in a row, and I don't normally do that...but Tuesday 1/23 is NATIONAL PIE DAY!!!!! I love pie. Pie is right up there with donuts, wine, and bacon. And the fact that national pie day is tomorrow is just screaming for me to make a pie ;) I made this early just so you can enjoy it for national pie day if you want!!

I've been sticking to the whole "no sweets/added sugar" thing this month and that means making a berry or apple (or coconut, or chocolate cream, or Cathy's strawberry pineapple - I'm going to share that one with you at some point, it's so good!) would just be too hard. But I'm thinking national pie day could also be a savory pie, right? I saw this recipe on cookinglight.com and since "light" is in the title I thought I'd give it a try.

Right off the bat I'll say that their picture and mine is 100% different. I actually thought I was going to post this recipe as a "fail" just based on the pictures. But then we ate it and I have to say, it tastes really good. Really really good. Dave laughed at how mine looked until he tried it - he actually said "ok, I hate to say this, but it's really good. It just doesn't look like the picture". Get past the fact that it looks nothing like their picture (I'm fairly certain that even though the recipe calls for refrigerated pie crust they used something else! Either homemade crust or puff pastry or something...)

Ingredients:

• 2 Tablespoons olive oil, divided
• 3 (6 oz.) boneless chicken breasts
• 1 teaspoon kosher salt, divided
• 1 teaspoon black pepper, divided
• 3 cups unsalted chicken stock, divided
• 1/2 cup flour
• 1 1/2 cups chopped onion
• 1 cup sliced carrot
• 2 teaspoons minced garlic
• 4 cups coarsely chopped turnip greens or kale
• 1 pound turnips, peeled and cut into 3/4-in. cubes (about 3 cups)
• 3 Tablespoons fresh parsley, chopped
• 1/2 pkg. refrigerated piecrust
• 1 large egg white, lightly beaten

1. Heat 1 tablespoon oil in a 10-inch cast-iron or other ovenproof skillet over medium-high. Sprinkle chicken with 1/2 teaspoon salt and 1/2 teaspoon pepper. Add chicken to pan; cook 6 minutes on each side. Place chicken on a cutting board; let stand 10 minutes. Shred into large pieces.

2. Combine 2 1/2 cups stock and flour in a bowl, stirring with a whisk. Add remaining 1 tablespoon oil to pan. Add onion, carrot, and garlic; sauté 6 minutes. Add remaining 1/2 cup stock, scraping pan to loosen browned bits. Stir in turnip greens; cook 1 minute. Stir in remaining 1/2 teaspoon salt, remaining 1/2 teaspoon pepper, and flour mixture. Add turnips; bring to a boil. Reduce heat, and simmer 15 minutes or until vegetables are tender. Stir in chicken and parsley. Remove pan from heat.

3. preheat oven to 425'

4. Arrange piecrust over pan, folding edges under as needed. Cut slits in dough to allow steam to escape. Brush with egg white. Bake at 425°F for 20 minutes. Cool 10 minutes.

I can never remember which is a turnip and which is a rutabaga.
Thank goodness they label this stuff now at the grocery store!
Here is a turnip before (r) and after I peeled it with a vegetable peeler (l).

on the stove before adding the crust

I served it in wide shallow soup bowls thinking it was going to be too runny for a plate,
but it actually came together and thickened up while baking. It's just the crust on top
 that's not as pretty as it should be!

here is the photo that accompanied the original recipe on cooking light. I kind of knew that mine wasn't going to look like this - totally false advertising on their part. Don't let that stop you from making this healthier version of chicken pot pie though!! It tastes really good! 

recipe found here. 8 servings, 297 calories each, 11.9 fat, 28g carb

one year ago: make reserved signs for a wedding or party
two years ago: Brooke made a pencil holder

Chicken and Tortellini Salad

Found this recipe at cookinglight.com - we don't eat pasta very often but this caught my eye and then I was craving pasta of course...I am SO glad I made this. Hit the spot, easy to make, and it's really good.

Ingredients:

1 (9 oz.) package refrigerated cheese tortellini, cooked according to the package directions.
8 ounces shredded rotisserie chicken (skinless and boneless), about 2 cups
1 garlic clove, finely chopped
1/8 teaspoon kosher salt
3 T. extra virgin olive oil
1/2 teaspoon grated lemon rind
2 T. fresh lemon juice (note I didn't have a lemon so just used bottled juice and no rind)
1/2 teaspoon granulated sugar
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
3 cups baby arugula
1/3 cup thinly sliced shallot (note I omitted that 'cuz Dave doesn't like onions)
3/4 ounce shaved parmesan cheese, about 1/4 cup

Directions:

In a small bowl combine garlic and salt, mash together to form a paste (note I did not do this, I just used garlic salt). Add oil, rind, lemon juice, sugar, and pepper; stir with a whisk.

Place tortellini and chicken in a large bowl. Add 2 Tablespoons dressing and toss to coat. Gently fold in arugula, shallot, and remaining dressing. Sprinkle with parmesan.

4 (1 1/2 cup) servings. Per serving: 400 calories, 18g fat, 27g protein, 35g carb, 3g fiber


one year ago today: copycat purple drink

Zucchini Pie

Well it's that time of year...zucchini, zucchini, zucchini! Last week I posted a great Zucchini Lasagna recipe from The Italian Dish (click here for that post), and today it's Zucchini Pie - different than the lasagna for sure (waaaay less cheese for starters!) but just as good. Fun to have different ways to switch up eating our summer veggies.

Ingredients:

• 3 pounds zucchini (about 5 for me)
• 1 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt, divided
• 1 1/2 T. olive oil
• 1 pint grape tomatoes, halved
• 2 T. chopped fresh oregano (I used 1 T. dried)
• 5 garlic cloves, minced (I only used 1 t. minced)
• 7 large eggs
• 2/3 cup 1% low-fat milk
• 1/4 cup flour
• 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
• 2 1/2 ounces shredded part-skim mozzarella cheese (about 2/3 cup)
• 2 ounces grated parmesan (about 1/2 cup)

Directions:

1. Using a spiralizer, cut zucchini into noodles, or cut zucchini into long noodles using a julienne peeler.  Place zucchini in a colander in sink. Toss with 1 teaspoon salt and let stand 20 minutes.
2. Heat oil in a large skillet over medium-high. Add tomatoes, oregano, and garlic; cook, stirring often, until tomatoes are wilted, 3-4 minutes. Remove mixture from pan and cool slightly.
3. Preheat oven to 375'. Place half of zucchini noodles on a clean kitchen towel, wrap towel around zucchini and twist/squeeze until all liquid is extracted (note: I did this a little differently by taking small handfuls of zucchini and pressing them between my hands over the sink to get out a lot of the liquid, then put in paper towels and squeeze some more, repeat with all of the zucchini).
4. Whisk eggs in a large bowl until lightly beaten. Whisk in milk, flour, pepper, and remaining 1/2 teaspoon salt. Add tomato mixture, cheeses, and zucchini; toss.
5. Wrap bottom of a 9" springform pan tightly with foil; coat bottom and sides with non-stick cooking spray. Pour egg mixture into pan. Bake at 375' until set in the middle, 50 minutes to 1 hour. Cool 10-15 minutes. Remove sides from pan; cut zucchini pie into 6 wedges. 

serves 6 (or 3 if you're like us!). It's great hot, at room temperature, and cold. 

calories 267, fat 14.8g, carb 17g, fiber 3g

the recipe came from Cooking Light

we had it with pesto chicken (click here for my fave pesto recipe - so good!)

Creamy Roasted Tomato Soup

I love tomato soup. Love, love. This reminds me a little bit of spaghetti sauce, but not in a bad way - it's really good and worth making. It's an easy recipe (which I always love) and since I've never made tomato soup before (other than Campbells haha!!) I didn't know what to expect - I think roasting the tomatoes first added a much different flavor than traditional tomato soup which is where the spaghetti sauce comparison comes from I think.  The recipe says it serves 8 but no way it made that much - I got probably 4 cups...but it's so low calorie that I can eat all 4 cups if I want with no guilt!

roast the quartered tomatoes tossed with olive oil
and spices for about an hour at 375'

remove the cheese rind before blending