Garlic Butter Spaghetti with Roasted Romaine Salad

Serves: 2

Prep Time: 20 min
Cook Time: 30 min
Est. WW pts: 8

1 ½ cups cooked spaghetti

1 roma tomato

2 garlic cloves

1 Tbsp butter

1 tsp parmesan cheese

2 Tbsp blue cheese

3 slices bacon

4 large romaine leaves

¼ red onion

½ shallot

Balsamic vinegar

Prep:

1)      Mince garlic and shallot, place in a small bowl

2)      Dice red onion, set aside

3)      Dice roma tomato, remove the caviar and juice; leaving only the flesh and set aside

4)      Chop bacon into ½ inch slices and set aside

5)      Rinse romaine and place on a cookie sheet that has been greased with cooking spray

Cooking:

1)      Set oven at a high broil

2)      Place a saucepan on stove and set on medium heat. Add bacon before pan starts getting hot, this will allow some of the fat to render down

3)      When bacon starts to brown, add red onion. Continue to cook until onion has caramelized; remove from heat and place in a bowl.

4)      Wipe out saucepan used for bacon and place back on stovetop. Add ½ Tbsp butter, shallot and garlic. When garlic begins to brown add roma tomatoes.

5)      Place romaine in oven, watching for the outer edges to start browning

6)      Once the tomatoes have softened add remaining butter, season with salt and pepper and add pasta. Toss until everything integrates.

7)      Remove romaine from oven.

To plate:

1)      Place 2 romaine leaves to one side of the plate, picking up the edges in the center to form 2 boats.

2)      Sprinkle bacon mixture and drizzle the oil produced.

3)      Sprinkle about 1 Tbsp of blue cheese and drizzle with balsamic vinegar.

4)      Take about ½ of pasta mixture in between tongs, when starting to lower on plate, slightly turn the tongs to make the pasta swirl and lay on itself.

5)      Sprinkle pasta with ½ tsp parmesan cheese.

Tomatoes and oregano make it Italian; wine and tarragon make it French. Sour cream makes it Russian; lemon and cinnamon make it Greek. Soy sauce makes it Chinese; garlic makes it good. ~ Alice May Brock

Spicy Tuna Steak with Cool Cucumber Salad

Serves: 2

Prep Time: 20 min
Cook Time: 10 min
Est. WW pts: 6

1 tsp wasabi paste

1 Tbsp water

2 tsp soy sauce

10 oz tuna fillet

2 tsp olive oil

1 Tbsp mirin

2 tsp rice vinegar

1 tsp pickled ginger juice

1 tsp pickled ginger, squeezed out and minced

1 oz broccoli sprouts

1 small salad cucumber, diced

2 medium radish, finely sliced

½ small ‘baby’ yellow bell pepper, diced

¼ shallot, finely sliced

Prep:

1)      Combine wasabi, water and soy in a bowl.

2)      Place tuna steak in bowl to marinate (approx. 10 min per side)

3)      In a medium bowl, place sprouts, cucumber, bell pepper and shallot.

4)      Place mirin, vinegar, ginger juice and ginger in a small bowl and mix together.

Cooking:

1)      Heat a medium saucepan with olive oil on medium/medium high heat.

2)      Sprinkle tuna with black pepper and place tuna steak in pan.

3)      Flip tuna after about 3 minutes, the outside should have a nice browned color.

4)      After another 3 minutes, remove and let reset on a cutting board. If you prefer your tuna closer to medium/medium rare, leave in pan an additional 1-2 minutes per side.

5)      While tuna is resting, combine mirin mixture and vegetables.

To plate:

1)      Slice tuna steaks into 6-8 pieces and fan on opposite corners of a plate.

2)      Place a drained handful of salad mix on empty corners of plate.

3)      To garnish plate, you may add a side of wasabi paste and pickled ginger to the center of the plate.

The only time to eat diet food is while you’re waiting for the steak to cook. ~Julia Child

Mom's Bread Pudding

Serves: 9

Prep Time: 15 min
Cook Time: 40-45 min

Est. WW pts: 6

4 cups of day old bread

2 cups milk

¼ cup butter

½ cup splenda

2 eggs

¼ tsp salt

½ cup raisins

1 tsp cinnamon

Prep:

1)      Break bread into pieces in a large bowl

2)      Microwave butter and milk until hot

Cooking:

1)      Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease 9 x 9 oven safe baking dish.

2)      Place broken bread in a large bowl, layering raisins occasionally to make stirring easy

3)      Pour butter and milk over bread

4)      Lightly scramble eggs, add splenda, cinnamon and salt, stirring well and pour into bread mixture.

5)      Stir bread mixture well until all bread is moist and most of milk has been absorbed

6)      Pour into baking dish and sprinkle with cinnamon

7)      Bake 40 – 45 minutes or until a toothpick inserted comes out clean

To plate:

1)      Slice into squares and place one serving in a bowl

2)      May be topped with milk and sugar, whipped cream and or maple syrup

Life is uncertain.  Eat dessert first.  ~Ernestine Ulmer

Orange Roughy with Roasted Broccolini

Serves: 2

Prep Time: 20 min
Cook Time: 15 – 20 min
Est. WW pts: 7

½ pound Orange Roughy fillets

8 spears Broccolini (also known as aspiration)

½ cup panko

1 orange

1 egg

1 tsp olive oil

Salt & Pepper

Prep:

1)      Preheat oven to 350 degrees and use cooking spray to grease two cookie sheets

2)      Wash orange and zest flesh making sure not to include any white rind set aside

3)      Squeeze about ¼ cup of orange juice, set aside

4)      Scramble egg in a bowl with ½ of the orange juice

5)      On a plate, mix panko, orange zest and salt & pepper

6)      Rinse and pat off the roughy

7)      Dredge roughy first in egg mixture then panko mixture and place on a cookie sheet

8)      Place Broccolini in bowl. Add remaining orange juice, oil and salt & pepper to taste

9)      Move Broccolini to second cookie sheet

Cooking:

1)      Place both cookie sheets in oven and bake for 15 minutes

2)      Remove Broccolini from oven and flip

3)      Place oven on a low broiler for about 5 minutes or until fish begins to brown or until internal temp is 145 degrees.

To plate:

1)      Place 1 filet on plate and 4 spears of Broccolini

2)      May be enjoyed with tartar sauce, malt vinegar or any of your favorite dipping sauces.

Fish is the only food that is considered spoiled once it smells like what it is.~ P. J. O'Rourke

 

 

 

Margherita Pizza

Serves: 4

Prep Time: 30 min
Cook Time: 30 min
Est. WW pts: 8

Prepared refrigerated pizza dough

4 oz can tomato sauce

1 head roasted garlic

3 oz medium moisture mozzarella ball

⅛ cup grated parmesan cheese

5-6 basil leaves

1 medium roma tomato

Corn meal

Prep:

1)      Preheat oven to 350 degrees and place pizza stone in oven.

2)      Remove garlic cloves from head while trying to keep their shape, set aside.

3)      Slice mozzarella ball into ¼ inch slices, set aside.

4)      Roll basil leaves lengthwise and chiffonade, set aside.

5)      Slice tomato into ¼ - ½ inch slices, pat with a paper towel to remove some moisture and set aside.

6)      Lightly sprinkle pizza tray with corn meal.

7)      Manipulate pizza dough to form a small disk, roughly the size of the pizza tray. Place pizza on tray.

Cooking:

1)      Place pizza tray in oven and bake the dough for 5 minutes.

2)      Remove dough from oven and let cool for a few minutes.

3)      When dough has slightly cooled, top with tomato sauce. Smear sauce to edge, only leaving about ½ inch for crust.

4)      Top pizza with basil, garlic, tomato slices, parmesan and mozzarella.

5)      Bake pizza for 20-25 min or until cheese begins to brown.

To plate:

          Cut pizza into 8 slices and serve.

Cold beer and pizza are spiritual.  ~Betsy Cañas Garmon

Potato Leek Soup

We used Tabasco and Montreal seasoning (left) and Tabasco, Parmesan cheese and bacon bits (right) for garnish.

Serves: 4

Prep Time: 20 min
Cook Time: 40 – 50 min
Est. WW pts: 7

1 leek

1 ½ lb potato

¼ cup Italian dressing

½ Tbsp dried rosemary

2 cups water

1 cup chicken broth

½ package cream cheese

½ tsp onion powder

Prep:

1)      Preheat oven to 400 degrees

2)      Chop leek into 1-2 inch pieces and place in a bowl. Fill the bowl with water. Swish leeks to remove any sand. Let sit for a few minutes.

3)      Rinse and peel potatoes. Dice into ½ inch pieces.

4)      Remove leeks from water gentle, not to stir up the sand on the bottom; and place on a paper towel to drain.

Cooking:

1)      Toss potato, leek, rosemary and Italian dressing in a bowl. Place on a greased baking sheet.

2)      Put baking sheet in oven and cook for 30-40 min or until potatoes are fork tender.

3)      Place 1 cup of water, broth and cream cheese in a large saucepan. Cook for a few minutes or until cream cheese has started to break down.

4)      Add vegetables to saucepan.

5)      Blend soup in a blender until smooth.

6)      Return to saucepan; add remaining water and onion powder.

To plate:

Serve 1 ¼ cups in a bowl with your favorite toppings or plain…either way, it’s great!

Soup is liquid comfort.  ~Author Unknown

Jalapeno Cheese Beer Bread

Makes: 4 mini loaves (12 slices per loaf)

Serving: 2 slices

Prep Time: 45 min
Cook Time: 35 min
Est. WW pts: 4 pts

3 ¼ cups all purpose flour

1 Tbsp baking powder

1 tsp dry mustard

½ Tbsp Italian dried herbs

¾ cup fat free sour cream

1 cup room temp light beer

¼ cup V8

½ Tbsp Worcestershire sauce

1 beaten egg

1 cup shredded firm mozzarella cheese

½ cup shredded provolone cheese

1 cup shredded sharp cheddar cheese

½ cup pickled jalapenos (we used bread and butter jalapenos)

Prep:

1)      Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

2)      Dice the jalapenos and set aside.

3)      Make sure all cheese is shredded, if bought in large pieces, shred all cheese and place in a bowl. Set aside ¼ of cheese mixture into a small bowl to top loaves.

Cooking:

1)      In a small bowl, beat the egg. Add beer, sour cream, V8, Worcestershire and mix until combined. The sour cream will still be lumpy.

2)      In a large bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, dry mustard and herbs. Add cheese and jalapenos and stir until cheese and jalapenos are coated in flour mixture.

3)      Add wet mixture to dry mixture and stir until combined. Do not over stir.

4)      Spoon mix into greased loaf pans.

5)      Sprinkle remaining cheese on top of each loaf.

6)      Bake for 35 min or until cheese on top is melted and golden.

To plate:

This bread is great with homemade meatloaf (as a slider sandwich) or just simply warm and topped with butter.

Good bread is the most fundamentally satisfying of all foods; good bread with fresh butter, the greatest of feasts!  ~James Beard

Bread and Butter Pickles

Makes: 2 pints

Prep Time: 2 hours 15 min
Cook Time: 20 min
Est. WW pts: 0

1 cup white vinegar

1 cup cider vinegar

1 cup artificial sweetener (Splenda®)
3/4 cup water

1 tsp mustard seed

1 tsp celery seed

Pinch of saffron

1 ½ tsp pickling salt

 ½ tsp dried minced onion

8 pickling cucumbers
(For best results add Pickle Crisp - 1/8 tsp per Pint)

Prep:

1)      Using a mandolin, thinly slice cucumbers. Place in canning jars. Add 1/4 tsp dried onion to each jar.

Cooking
In a small saucepan, add remaining ingredients. Bring to a boil.

4)      Simmer until sugar is dissolved and spices start opening up, approx. 15 minutes.

5)      Add liquid from saucepan to cucumbers making sure to cover the cucumbers.

6)      Seal immediately. Wait until jars have cooled before placing in the refrigerator.

7)      Cucumbers will begin to pickle within a few hours. Wait about 2-3 days for best taste. Will keep for 4-5 weeks in the refrigerator.

My tongue is smiling. ~Abigail Trillin