I found this recipe for Skinny Chicken Parmesan from Feeding My Temple on pinterest a while back. It annoys me when I see “skinny” in the title of recipes, but it’s a fast way to know that somebody’s made an attempt at making a healthy dish.

As per usual, I made some modifications.

The recipe is simple: Bread your meat, pour sauce over it, top with cheese and bake. And for you people counting points, it’s 7 points + per serving — her recipe makes 8 servings.

Since I can’t eat gluten, I used our trusty food processor to crush up some corn flakes and rice krispies to use instead of bread crumbs.

Also, I don’t use fat free cheese. When they make fat free and reduced fat things, they add filler. Usually filler is something you don’t want to eat. Unless there is a MAJOR difference in fat or calories, I always choose the real deal.

I also recommend buying the bricks of cheese and making your own shredded cheese. Why? Two reasons: It’s cheaper and there’s less preservatives and salt in it that way. When they prepackage shredded cheese, all sorts of junk goes into the cheese to keep it from clumping together or drying out.

Okay, now that I’ve preached to you about the dangers of reduced fat, fat free and fake stuff, I’ll share a secret with you. The real reason we shred our own cheese (well Mark’s real reason anyway): We add a clove of garlic to it. Adding a clove to the cheese while shredding it pretty much infuses the cheese with the garlic.

He might kick my butt for sharing this secret … he seems to think it was HIS idea. But I bet there are other garlic lovers out there who’ve been doing this or something similar for years.

Ah, yes. Garlic cheese.

Bread your meat … put it in the oven with some sauce and cheese over it, and bake.

YUM.

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I’m ringing in 2012 by going to the Bears vs. Vikings showdown at noon today (aye carumba!).

Who will win? It is a tossup. When I bought the tickets I thought the Bears were sure to win … but now I don’t know. It’s sure to be an interesting game!

Happy 2012 everybody! If you’re suffering from a hangover and/or from watching football, why not try making one of these football-friendly comfort foods?

Amazing chili 
Greek Turkey Burgers and Coleslaw 
Best Chocolate Chip Cookies Ever
Nutter Butter Knockoff Blizzards
NACHOS.

Also, in case you’re wondering, I did NOT dye my hair red again. I snagged this pic from my facebook from last year. However, it is about this same length again! 

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I found this AMAZING chili recipe from Smitten Kitchen a while back. And we made it a few times, but recently we decided to change it up. Mostly because both of us had a rather expensive month and that beans were cheaper than hamburger. But that is beside the point.

chimesified Chili (modified from Smitten Kitchen’s chili)
2 large onions, chopped (about 3 cups)
1/4 cup olive oil
3 T minced garlic (if not using fresh — if fresh, use 3-4 cloves)**
2 carrots in a small dice
2 lbs 93 lean ground beef*
1/4 cup chili powder
1 tablespoon ground cumin
2 tablespoons paprika
1 tablespoon crumbled dry oregano
1 t red pepper flakes
2 8-ounce cans tomato sauce
1 1/4 cups broth (we used chicken because that’s what we have)
3 tablespoons cider vinegar
3 12-oz cans kidney beans, rinsed and drained
2 green bell peppers, chopped
Tabasco or hot sauce to taste
2 roma tomatoes, chopped (optional — we used because we needed to use these up)
Sour cream, shredded cheddar and pickled jalapeños (optional, to finish)

*I would go 1.5 lbs next time
** We LOVE garlic. Go easy here if you’re not a fan.

In a large pot, heat the oil over moderately low heat and cook the onions in it for 5 to 10 minutes, until softened. Add the garlic and carrots and cook for one minute more. Raise the heat to medium and add the beef, stirring and breaking up any lumps until it is no longer pink, about 10 minutes. Add the chili powder, cumin, paprika, oregano and pepper flakes and cook for another minute. Add the tomato sauce, broth and vinegar and simmer the chili, covered, for 35 to 40 minutes. Add the kidney beans, bell peppers, tabasco (I sub this out for salt due to salt content in hot sauce) and pepper to taste and simmer for an additional 15 minutes, until the bell peppers are tender.

Should look like this … YUM.

I also love that my spicy threshold has gone waaaaaay up since I discovered that spicy things don’t make my tummy hurt (it’s gluten). Yay jalepeños.

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Remember that time WAY back at the beginning of the summer when we hit the Ames Farmers Market and brought home some really great pasta?

Yeah … I barely remember it either. Regardless, we made a really great pasta dish with the tomato cracked pepper pappardelle that we picked up.

This was before I figured out that gluten is what makes me sick. But after I figured out that broccoli doesn’t make me sick anymore. You can imagine that since then we’ve been eating a LOT of broccoli to make up for the past 6 years of me not eating broccoli, which I love dearly and missed so much. And yes, that means that we made this several months ago and I’m just now blogging about it.

It also means that I don’t remember EXACTLY how much of these ingredients I put in, but I can guesstimate for you. It’s a pasta toss. There’s really no way too add too much or too little of anything to mess it up. Except if you add too much of my secret ingredient, but we’ll get to that.

First, look how beautiful this pasta was! Glorious.

For this pasta toss you need 1 boneless skinless chicken breast, 1/2 of an onion, 1-2 cloves of garlic (WE LIKE GARLIC. You can omit because there’s garlic in the alfredo already) 1 green pepper and 1 c broccoli (frozen or fresh). You also need a jar of pre-made alfredo sauce (I approve of Newman’s Own). And of course, PASTA. You can use whatever pasta you like, but a thicker noodle is best for this creamy dish.

Saute the veggies in a bit of olive oil until mostly cooked. Remove and place aside.

Cook chicken over medium until no longer pink. Toss the veggies back in to combine.

Now for the fun part. The super secret ingredient is: BOOZE. Imagine that.

Oddly enough it’s brandy. The idea of adding brandy or whisky to alfredo sauce came up when I was in college and was making a pasta sauce. I wanted to make it “fancy” so I asked my roommates if they had booze I could put in it … referring to a white wine or something of the sort. All they had was Southern Comfort. So I went for it. I was 20 and hadn’t tasted the finer things in life yet — like cheap hard liquor. So by crazy happenstance it turns out that whisky or brandy is really good in alfredo. But only 2-3 T of it. It gives the sauce a different flavor and pulls out the sweetness of the onion.

Pour about 1/2 to 3/4 of the jar of alfredo in with your veggies and chicken. Add the booze. Add less if you used 1/2 a jar of alfredo. More if you used 3/4 of a jar of alfredo. Toss to combine.

So now that you know my secret, we can move on. Cook your pasta according to directions (FYI this pasta sticks together hardcore bad. So watch it while cooking if you use this one.).

Drain pasta and add to the veggies and chicken. Toss until coated.

Serve warm … with additional booze if desired.

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A belated happy birthday to me: Margarita time. I had my birthday party last night since I’ve been over-scheduled all month (and into next month too … ugh). What better way to celebrate than cheap [awesome] Mexican food and MARGARITAS.

I didn’t realize it was ISU’s homecoming yesterday until the game let out and everybody got stuck in traffic. Mark, Matt and Katie (front 3 in the photo below) got stuck holding a table for 10 at La Fuente — fending off mostly drunk or hungover college kids who didn’t believe they were SERIOUSLY using all 10 chairs (yes, we are sure we’re using them!).

[me and katie]

[mark and matt]

[coree (my sister) and her friend ayla]

[steph and nathan]

[kelly and danielle]

MARGARITAS! Matt doesn’t believe me that the regular margaritas have more booze in them. They’re kind of gross, but they’re full of tequila, which I guess is probably why they are kind of gross.

After La Fuente we all came back to our place and played Apples to Apples and had some awesome flourless chocolate chipotle cake (recipe coming soon!).

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I somehow miraculously created a 3 point per slice pizza.  And yes, I’m talking weight watchers points.  At the suggestion of my friend Kelly, I’m going to start trying to add points when I can.  I’ve asked Mark to help since he’s on WW and I have no clue how the system works. I just try to make things as healthy as possible.

This pizza = magic.  I love goat cheese.  If I could, I would marry a 6’1″ tall mound of it.  Maybe not, but that would be delicious.

Recipe you say?  Okay, I may not have one, but I have a guide.  Well, to get the points correct, you have to do a 1 point pizza crust.  Mark is the pizza crust genius, and I don’t know what all he puts in the crust.  However, I can tell you that you have to roll it out crazy super thin to get it down to one point. Then pre-bake for 5 minutes.

Once you have your crust … you need to assemble.  Slice tomatoes thin and add some sliced onion and minced garlic.  Sauté until a lot of the moisture is gone from the tomatoes.  Spread tomato mixture on top of your pre-baked crust. Sprinkle some chevré on top and add fresh basil leaves. Bake for 10-12 more minutes and serve.

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I volunteered at the fair last week and I’m sad to say I didn’t have much time to walk around and do anything there but volunteer. But, on my way out I found the Fair Square booth.

A Fair Square is apparently a giant rice krispie treat on a stick. For only $2 — which is a crazy deal in the world of $7 corn dogs and fried foods on a stick. Also — not fried!

So I got one for lunch. Not my best decision, but much better than a corn dog!

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Last month was crazy. Here is a sneak peek at things that happened before I get to blogging about them …

… Mark’s brother Nick’s birthday in Stillwater …

… Mark’s 25th birthday in Chicago …

… awesome new fabric …

… moving …

… a really awesome project for Drake …

... and LOTS and lots of food.

(asian lettuce wraps)

(chicken strips with honey mustard and sweet corn)

(kung pao chicken)

(stovetop creamy mac and cheese made with REAL cheese)

(chicken, broccoli and mushroom alfredo with pappardelle’s tomato cracked pepper pasta)

(tomato, basil and chevré pizza)

so hopefully I will have some time to share these experiences with you!  And of course all the recipes.  I will also try to start sharing points plus numbers with you at the suggestion of Kelly.

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We bought some English muffin bread a while back at the farmers’ market, but I thought I’d see about making some on my own.

I’ve been making this weekly for the past month so Mark can make his egg sandwiches for breakfast. And I’ve been working on making it better every time. This recipe is for one loaf and comes from cooking during stolen moments.

English Muffin Bread

3 c. flour
2 1/2 t. yeast (or 1 packet)
2 t. sugar
1 t. salt
1/8 t. baking powder
1 c. milk
1/4 c. water
Corn meal, for dusting the pan

1. In a mixing bowl, combine 2 c. flour, yeast, sugar, salt and baking powder. Mix for 1 minute.

2. While flour is mixing, pour milk and water into a small saucepan. Heat over low heat until warm, about 2 minutes. Pour into mixing bowl and beat for 2 minutes.

3. Add remaining cup of flour, 1/2 a cup at a time, and mix for 3-5 minutes (or knead by hand for 5-7 minutes). Dough will be somewhat sticky.

4. Grease a loaf pan and sprinkle with cornmeal. Spread dough into pan, cover and let rise for 45 minutes.

5. Bake at 400 degrees for 20-25 minutes, until golden brown.

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At least once a month my apartment fills with the delicious aroma of sautéed onions and garlic.  You can bet that one of those aroma-filled days is a sauce-making day. It’s become a monthly tradition to make a giant pot of marinara to last for the upcoming few weeks. Freeze, thaw and create. The marinara we make is an excellent base for just about anything — chicken, sausage, shrimp, beef, turkey, veggies — you name it. We’ve even used it as a pizza sauce in a pinch.

Oh, and when I say “we” make, I really should probably say Mark makes. It’s really his baby. I would like to try this with fresh tomatoes sometime. Hopefully sometime I will have a garden with which to do such experimentations.

M. Cecconi’s Marinara

2 T olive oil
1 large onion, diced
3-4 garlic cloves, minced
4 large cans of diced tomatoes
Italian seasoning
crushed red pepper
salt and black pepper

In a very large pot, heat olive oil over medium.  Add garlic and sauté for 2-3 minutes.

Toss in onion and sauté for 3-5 more minutes.  Add salt and pepper to taste (usually a teaspoon of each).

After onions turn glossy, add tomatoes and stir. Add Italian seasoning (usually 2-3 tablespoons) and a dash of crushed red pepper*.

Reduce heat to low and put lit on pot. Let simmer for several hours, stirring occasionally. Once the sauce has been cooked to the consistency of your liking, let cool and pour 1-2 cups at a time in a blender and blend to a consistency of your choice (I like mine chunky, so I blend half the sauce and mix in the rest). Separate into smaller containers and freeze until use.

*If you like spicy, add 1 teaspoon. If not, go with 1/2 teaspoon. It won’t taste very spicy until after the sauce has been simmered and blended.

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