Dinner Shortcuts

Today was Suzanne's first day of her new job and the Monday after "Spring Forward" and April has an awful boo boo (Suz: I can't even write about it, let alone talk about it or hear about it) on her arm and did we mention it's Monday??  We were both exhausted by the time we met in April's kitchen, and thankful to have relatively simple recipes with deliciously complex flavors.

Suzanne came across the pasta recipe while looking for something else and April has been dying to try the roasted root vegetables (much to Suzanne and Alden's dismay!).  April's birthday is on Wednesday, so we just had to have cake!

Pasta with Roasted Red Pepper Sauce

adapted from  The Pioneer Woman website

3 medium sweet red pepper

2 Tbsp olive oil

½ medium onion, diced

2 cloves garlic cloves, minced

2 Tbsp parsley, flat leaf, chopped

1 box Smart Taste Penne Pasta
1/2 cup half-and-half cream
1/4 cup shredded parmesan cheese
2 chicken sausage links, sauteed and sliced into coins

Roast red peppers, and then place in a Ziploc bag to allow to sweat. Peel the charred skins from the peppers, then removed seeds. Set aside.

Lightly toast pine nuts in a skillet. Set aside. Puree peppers with pine nuts. Set aside.  Cook pasta according to package directions.

In a skillet or pot over medium heat, drizzle in olive oil. Add diced onions and garlic and cook until soft. Pour in pepper puree and stir together. Add plenty of salt.

Pour in cream and stir to combine. Taste and add more salt, if necessary. Add cooked pasta, and then stir together.

Place pasta into a bowl, top with chopped parsley and plenty of shaved Parmesan.

Serves 6, with a PointsPlus value of 10 each.

Suz's Notes/Shortcuts: I must confess, I took a major short cut with this recipe.  Because red peppers are $2.50 a piece right now and I wasn't really sure how much time I'd have to spend charring and peeling peppers, I bought a jar of roasted red peppers (packed in a brine, not oil) and pureed that. The jar had exactly 3 whole roasted peppers in it, so it was perfect, and cost less than $3. I left out the pine nuts because I don't like them, and pureed the peppers on Sunday night to cut out a step on Monday. The original recipe called for heavy cream, but we substituted half and half to save some calories and fat (you could probably use fat free half and half too). I added a couple of chicken sausage links to up the protein.  Also, I forgot the parsley so we did without, although I'm sure it or some basilwould have added some nice green-ness. If the sauce seems too tight when you add the pasta, add a small amount of the starchy cooking liquid (or another tablespoon of cream...)

Suz: Oh man, this was so good.  I was eating it out of the pot while we were waiting on the garlic toast.  Seriously, I can't wait to have this for lunch tomorrow, and I don't usually eat leftovers. Gorgeous by itself, but the sausage took it over the top. And, including the chicken sausage, it cost less than $10 to make 6 servings!

April: I thought the texture of the sauce was unique and the chicken was a cook compliment to the other spices. My kids loved it. Well they loved the pasta and sauce... not big fans of the chicken.

Roasted Vegetables

from Weight Watchers Turn Around

1tbsp olive oil

3/4 lb small red potatoes, scrubbed and quartered.

1 large sweet potato, peeled and cut into 3/4 inch chunks

4 carrots, sliced

2 parsnips, peeled and sliced

2 fresh beets, peeled and cut into 3/4 in chunks

2 onions, cut into 3/4 inch chunks

1/2 cup chicken broth

1 tbsp tomato sauce

2 garlic cloves, crushed

1/2 tsp dried thyme, crumbled

1/2 tsp salt

1/4 tsp freshly ground pepper

 

1. Preheat oven to 400. Place the oil in a large shallow roasting pan or jell-roll pan (I used two baking dishes 8 by 11s.) Heat the pan in the oven until oil is hot, about 2 minutes. Add the red potatoes, speet potato, carrots, parsnips, beets and onions.

2. Combind the broth, tomato paste, garlic thyme, salt, and pepper in a small bowl. Pour over the vegetables; mix well. Bake, stirring a few times, until the vegetables are tender, about 45 minutes. Serve hot or warm.





Suz: I tried each of the vegetables included in the dish, can you believe it?  I wouldn't either except for the fact that I had April capture it in photos! I remember swallowing pieces of beets whole as a child when my mother would force us to eat them... Still not a huge fan, but they weren't as awful as I had made them out to be in my mind.  On the other hand, the parsnips were delicious - I'm not sure if I've ever eaten one of those before.  The sweet potatoes were nice and creamy and the white potatoes fluffy.  The carrots were all right - I'm not too big on cooked carrots - and I love a roasted onion any day!



Look Mom, I'm eating beets!

 April: I remember gobbling down beets as a child... no yuck. I didn't like them at all. I will make this dish again. It makes a lot. I would half the recipe add more parsnips because they were delicious and take out the beets. It's also a lot of cutting and peeling. Just being honest.

Angel Food Cake with Lemon Honey Yogurt Sauce

adapted from Giada at Home

1 store-bought angel food cake

1 cup plain yogurt

1/4 cup honey

1 tablespoon lemon juice

1 cup of fresh strawberries, sliced

In a small bowl whisk together the yogurt, honey, and lemon juice until smooth. Pour into a serving pitcher.

Cut angel food cake into slices and drizzle with the sauce. Garnish with lemon zest and mint sprigs.

Serves 12, with a PointsPlus value of 4 each.

Suz's Notes/Shortcuts: The original recipe included making your own angel food cake, but I'd rather buy mine at Food Lion on my way home from work! :) I used honey-flavored greek yogurt and added about an additional tablespoon of honey, and increased the amount of lemon juice to about 2 tablespoons plus some lemon zest in the sauce.  I sliced up some strawberries that I found on sale at Kroger and sprinkled them on top of the cake.  It looked beautiful and really took less than 5 minutes to put together.  My kind of dessert!    Strawberries were a great addition, but you could leave them out or substitute a different kind of berries.

Suz: Yum! I didn't realize how much I have come to like lemon - it used to be I didn't care for it at all...Maybe my tastes are changing, or maybe I'm just becoming a grown up (yikes!)... Beautiful and elegant-looking dessert that tastes so good! Loved the tanginess of the lemon and the bit of acidity of the yogurt - it cut down on the sweetness of the cake.

April: This was so nice. I love lemon... nice birthday treat from my girl Suz! Maggie didn't like this yogurt like she did the last one lol It was light and refreshing and tangysweet.