Reduced-Fat Macaroni & Cheese

Anyone who knows me knows that I LOVE macaroni and cheese - sometimes I think it may be boarding on an unhealthy addiction. I love to try new recipes, experiment and of course eat it! (And share the leftovers with my office-mates.) I try to make my macaroni and cheese as "healthy" as possible; no heavy cream or half and half - I usually use skim milk and/or chicken broth and thicken the sauce with a flour and magarine roux. So when I found a recipe that claimed to reduce the fat but kept the creaminess I had to give it a try. The recipe also uses ricotta and parmesan cheese which is new to me (I usually use sharp cheddar).  So here we go!

Reduced-Fat Macaroni and Cheese

(Adapted from Cook's Country)

Ingredients

1/2 cup shredded cheddar cheese

(optional - use reduced fat cheese)

1/2 cup grated parmesan cheese

1/2 cup part-skim ricotta cheese

1 lb pasta

(the originial recipe called for 1/2 lb of pasta but in my option the sauce to pasta ratio would have been way off)

3 tablespoons margarine

4.5 tablespoons flour

1 tablespoon powdered mustard

(I also added a couple tablespoons of spicy mustard to amp up the tanginess)

2.5 cups skim milk

 

Instructions

Cook the pasta and set aside - preheat oven to 400 degrees - in a large sauce pan melt the margarine - once melted add the mustard powder and flour - whisk until combined and bubbly - add the milk and turn up the heat until the sauce begins to slightly boil - thicken until it is about the consistency of heavy cream - reduce heat and add the cheddar, parmesan and ricotta cheeses, mix until smooth - combine the pasta and cheese sauce - place in a greased 8 x 8 or 9 x 13 pan - bake at 400 degrees for approximately 25 - 30 minutes.

  

 

This recipe definitely produced some creamy macaroni and cheese!  The ricotta was a big hit with my coworkers but to me the dish lacked some of the spicy and tanginess that I have grown accustomed to with my 'go to' mac and cheese recipe.  Using shredded parmesan was also a good choice - I could definitely taste it and it lent a unique flavor to the dish.  Regardless - it's mac and cheese and who doesn't love pasta smoothered in a cheese sauce?!  I give this recipe a solid 6 out of 10, it didn't blow me away but is definitely something I would make again!

Revisiting Vegetarian Three Bean Chili

I love using my crock pot, especially in the winter when one of the best ways to end a lazy Sunday is with a bowl of soup or chili.  In the past I have been notorious for eating too much vegetarian chili - but I love it, it freezes well, is healthy and will really fill you up!  So I decided that this past Sunday would be perfect for day for veggie chili!  A couple people have asked for my recipe so here it is!

Vegetarian Three Bean Chili

3 cups dried beans (approximately) - 1 cup kidney, 1 cup black and 1 cup

1 large zucchini

1 large onion

2 large peppers (1 red and 1 green)

2 cans (1 - 30 oz and 1 - 10 oz) of petite diced tomatoes

1 (10 oz) can tomato sauce

1/4 - 1/3 dark chili powder (approximately - or less if desired)

2 tablespoons crushed red pepper

Instructions

Combine the beans and place them in a large bowl - cover with water and let them soak over night - in the morning drain and place in a crock pot - chop the zucchini, peppers and onion and add to crock pot as well - add the tomatoes, tomato sauce, chili powder and crushed red pepper and mix well.

Cook on low for approximately 10 hours or high for approximately 6 hours.

Stir occasionally.

Serve with Saltines or corn bread - top with cheese, sour cream or whatever you like!

Soaked beans ready for the crock pot!

Peppers, onion and zucchini! 
(Using frozen peppers - when peppers are in season I buy a ton and then slice and freeze them for later use)

Chopping the zucchini!
PS - Doesn't my new iPhone 5 take awesome pictures?!  Such a step up from the 3G!

 Of course I was too busy eating the final product to remember to take a picture - but I promise it was super delicious!

My OTHER Blog

I am also blogging for my company - Policy Research Associates - in a series called 'Confessions of a PRA Newbie'!  My first blog was just posted the other day and I plan on continuing the series throughout 2013!

 

Check it out HERE

 

I'm Obsessed

With my new spin shoes!!  I have been spinning for years and fell in love with it the summer after I graduated college.  I was done with throwing and weight lifting and was looking for a great cardio workout that wasn't always running.  So one day I tried a spin class on a whim and was absolutely HOOKED! 

I typically take one to two spin classes a week at Gold's Gym and then probably another one to two times a week I workout on the spin bikes at the YMCA (they have spin bikes on the cardio floor - which is pretty rare).  I have also spun for charity in the past and plan on doing the 'Pedaling Toward a Pink Cure' event again in March.  So all in all I LOVE spinning! 

Over the years I started to notice that everyone who was a pretty serious spinner or spun multiple times a week used cycling shoes, but I never thought to buy a pair because you can spin in regular running shoes and they just seemed somewhat uneccessary.  As I started to sping more and more and become more serious about it I began to really want a pair, but again I didn't buy them - they were just the type of thing that I wanted but  would never buy for myself.

Then came Christmas!  I had mentioned to Adam (probably multiple times) that I wanted spinning shoes and one day I even showed him a pair at EMS.  Well, all my mentioning paid off and when we celebrated our Christmas I was given a brand new shiney pair of spinning shoes!  They are Pearl Izumi Cycling shoes and they are absoluetly fabulous!  We got universal clips put on them two weekends ago and I have been spinning ever since!  I never thought cycling shoes would make much of a different but I was totally wrong - they make all the difference in the world!  With spinning shoes you can more easily pull up on the bike and make fuller rotations, your legs work harder because less of your foot is 'on' the pedal, they make the overall ride ten times smoother and it may sound corny but you just become one with the bike!  Either way - I am totally hooked and will never go back to spinning without them.

Awesome new spinning shoes!

Creamy Crock Pot Potato Soup

The other night I made a dinner that was so simple I am convinced that even a monkey could have pulled it off!  It literally took me five minutes to put together and it was delicious!  This is also a great weeknight meal because you put everything in the crock pot and then leave it to cook all day.  And thanks to my amazing new crock pot everything cooked evenly and was super delicious!  Here's the recipe.

 

Creamy Potato Soup

(adapted from Plain Chicken)

 

30 oz bag of frozen shredded hash browns

6 cups chicken broth

1 can cream of chicken soup

2 tablespoons onion flakes

1 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon pepper

1 block (8 oz) light cream cheese

 

Instructions

Mix together everything except the cream cheese ~ cook in the crock pot on low for 8 - 10 hours ~ about 20 minutes before serving add the cream cheese, mix and allow to melt ~ top with shredded cheese, bacon or sour cream (optional - I ate it plain and it was delicious)
 

My awesome new crock pot!  Love the countdown timer - I don't think I'll ever get one without the timer again!

Goals for 2013

This year I thought I would write down my New Year's Resolutions 'Goals for 2013'.  I don't really do 'resolutions' but I like the idea of setting goals, so last night I sat down and thought - what would I like to accomplish in the upcoming year and I was able to come up with a few.  So here they are!

 

Be healthy - good food and good workouts

Be a great girlfriend and friend

Read more books

Blog more
Try more new recipes

Run a 10K, 15K or half marathon

 

Being more healthy always seems to be on the 'goal' list but it's an ongoing process.  I try to be as healthy as I can but it can be difficult.  For 2013 I want to keep up with my workouts, eat better and hopefully run a longer race. 

 

Ever since graduating from my Master's program I have been trying to read more books - it can be a challenge with the iPad, TV and all the other (wonderful) distractions but I want to maintain, if not increase my reading. 

 

Blog more!  I feel like I have been doing a good job of keeping up with my blog in the past six months and I want to keep that going! 

 

I am always looking to try new recipes and over the past couple of months I have definitely been experimenting more in the kitchen and I want to keep that up as well. 

 

Lastly, I would really like to run a longer race.  So far my longest race has been a 4 miler, along with a bunch of 5Ks and 3.5 milers but I would really like to challenge myself to run a 10K, 15K or half marathon.  I know there is a big difference between a 10K and a half marathon but given that I am really into spinning right now (and not logging the miles on the payment/treadmill) I am going to leave race goal open, for now - all I know is that I would like to train for and run a longer race.

 

So here's to a fabulous 2013!

Creamy Jambalaya Pasta

The other night I decided to give creamy jambalaya pasta a whirl.  I don't normally cook with shrimp, even though I wish I did more.  (I'm always afraid I'm going to over or under cook it.)  I used a cross between the recipes posted by Plain Chicken and Steamy Kitchen but in the end it turned out really well!  A little spicy, a little sweet and tons of creaminess! 

 

Creamy Jambalaya Pasta

Instructions

1 lb pasta (I used bow ties)

1 lb smoked turkey sausage

1 lb shrimp (I used fully cooked)
 1 pint heavy cream
2 tbs olive oil
2 tbs minced garlic
½ cup chopped onion
1 tbs cajun seasoning (plus extra for seasoning)
1 tbs smoked paprika seasoning
 1 tsp salt
1 cup white wine

 6 tbs tomato sauce
2 tbs chicken stock
  Parmesan cheese

 

Instructions

Season the turkey sausage and shrimp with cajun seasoning ~ cook the pasta and set aside ~ in a stock pot or dutch oven heat the olive oil and cook the turkey sausage ~ once cooked at the onions and cook until translucent ~ add the garlic and cook until fragrant ~ add white wine and allow to reduce by half ~ once reduced add the heavy cream, cajun seasoning, smoked paprika, salt, tomato sauce, chicken broth and shrimp ~ heat and allow to thicken and reduce by a third ~ once the sauce is ready add the pasta and mix well ~ serve and top with a little grated parmesan cheese.  Enjoy!

 

Creamy Jambalaya Pasta
(This picture is not mine - it came from Plain Chicken - but mine looked very similar!)

This dish was delicious and got thumbs up all around!

Oh and since THIS was such a hit the first time around - I ended up making it again the other night!