cookin' skinny

Hey friends! I apologize for the slow food posts lately. I promise I have a good excuse!

I've been in the process of building a new company that conveniently involves all my passions — web design & cooking! The idea spawned from my love of cookin' skinny. I'm not a health nut or dietician, but I like to eat things that leave my body feeling nourished and healthy. I love taking a recipe that's traditionally bad for you and changing it up to make it better for you without sacrificing on flavor! And the best part is sharing it with others.

I also wanted to do this to challenge people to take the time to cook and share a meal with their friends and/or loved ones at least once a week. I know how busy I am during the week and I'm sure you're the same way, but sitting down and sharing just ONE meal per week is such a boost for my morale. The dinner table has a way of making everyone smile and laugh. I love that about food :)

So! After lots of thinking and planning, Cookin' Skinny was born! It's a subscription website that sort of resembles an online magazine. Mostly we'll feature healthy recipes, tutorials, ideas, tips with step-by-step pictures, wine pairings and basic nutritional information. We'll also have entertaining ideas — recipes, party print-outs, decorating ideas and more! Even a recipe box to save your favorites! Ahh I'm so excited!!!!

Like all new businesses, I hit some speed bumps along the road, but things have come together in way I never could have imagined — it's way better than I ever would have guessed! Funny how things work out like that.... Needless to say, this project is very near and dear to my heart and I want to see it grow and be successful. It's such a blessing to find something I have a passion for and even more so to see it turn into (possibly??!) a career! For now, this project is taking over my life, so please bare with me while it's getting up and running, I promise it'll be worth it!

Thanks for supporting me and reading my blog over the past two years and I hope you join us on Cookin' Skinny when we launch this November! For now, I'd love it if you joined us over at Facebook or Twitter to stay updated on what's happening and of course hear about the launch!

welcome back mac

Well, we're baaaaaaaaaack!

It's crazy how fast it went by, but at the same time, I feel like we left months ago. The trip was a blast (details, suggestions and pictures coming soon)! I could have stayed for at least another month, but I have to admit, I seriously missed cooking. Sounds lame? I actually was surprised at myself how much I just wanted to be in my kitchen with my chef's knife and a basket of fresh produce by the end of the trip. Maybe it was all the great markets here that got me fired up, but either way, I made up for lost time over the weekend.

I cooked nearly all day on Saturday testing some fall soup recipes, and again on Monday. Monday was only half successful. I made a really awful cake that ended up in the trash can after I tasted it. Hate that.

You'd think I'd had my fill of stoves, ovens, pots and dirty dishes, but what I'd really been looking forward to was a good home-cooked dinner with some of my girlfriends! Vino. Homemade mac n' cheese. Fresh Salad. That's my kind of menu! Now, don't get me wrong, I loved spending time with Rob, but I've missed my gal pals and gossiping about girly things just isn't up is alley (thankfully). Plus, he hardly even likes cheese! What a weirdo.

Our dinner was delicious. I mean, how can gooey cheddar, crunchy breadcrumbs and pasta be bad? Yea. It can't ... as long as you don't go the Velveeta route. To top things off, Texas has finally backed off on the heat, which always puts people in a good mood! We had a blast catching up, telling stories and laughing. Gah, love these girls! It's good to be back :)

Mac n' Cheese, serves 8

• 3 Tbsp butter
• 1 shallot, minced
• 3 cloves garlic, minced plus 2 cloves smashed
• 3 Tbsp flour
• 2 1/4 cups whole milk
• 6 sprigs thyme
• 3 cups sharp cheddar, I used a mix of white and orange
• 1/2 cup grated parmesan
• 1 tsp dry mustard
• 1/2 tsp cayenne pepper
• 1/8 tsp nutmeg
• 1 1/2 lbs fusilli pasta, any short curly pasta works
• 5 slices of thick cut Canadian bacon or ham
• S&P
• Pam non-stick spray

Crunchy Topping

• 1 cup panko breadcrumbs
• 2 Tbsp butter, melted
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/4 tsp black pepper
• 2 tsp dried parsley

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. 

In a large pot, bring water to a boil, season water with salt and cook pasta according to directions. You want your pasta al dente because it cooks more in the oven. In a small saucepan combine milk, 2 smashed garlic cloves and thyme and simmer to infuse flavors, do not boil. Meanwhile, melt butter over medium heat in a separate large pot. Add shallot and cook for several minutes until tender. Add garlic and cook for another minute. Whisk in flour and cook for a couple of minutes to make a roux. Strain solids out of milk and whisk milk into the roux. Add dry mustard, cayenne and nutmeg. Bring to a slow boil, then lower heat and simmer until sauce coats the back of a spoon. Remove from heat and stir in cheeses and Canadian bacon. Season with salt and pepper — I always find that it needs more salt than you think. Stir in drained pasta and mix well so that everything is coated. 

Combine all breading ingredients and stir to mix evenly.

Spray Pam in 8 individual ramekins and scoop equal portions of mac in each. Top with a little bit of extra grated cheddar and the Panko topping. Place ramekins on a baking sheet and cook for 25-30 minutes until the tops are lightly browned.

quinoa pilaf

One of the more recent issues of Bon Appetit had a whole section on Turkish food. I was intrigued because most of the things they were showing I'd never tried to make, much less, even eaten. They had a bunch of recipes and I decided on a few to try. The za'atar seasoning on chicken kebabs and harissa as a nice sauce. So now that I had the protein covered I needed a side.

I've been meaning to try quinoa for some time now. I always see it in the healthy eating magazines and blogs, but just hadn't gotten around to trying it. It seems Mediterranean enough, right? Well, actually, I'm not totally sure, I'm still new to Turkish cuisine.

It went with the chicken very well. After trying it, I'd say it's sort of like cous cous, but not as dry, which I prefer. Quinoa is versatile too! You can serve it hot or cold and add pretty much whatever you want to give it the flavor you're wanting.

Next time I think I'll try a cold version with tomatoes, basil and onion in my attempts to learn more about quinoa! Any other good recipes I should try?


Spring Vegetable Quinoa Pilaf, serves 4 as a side

• 3/4 cup quinoa
• 1 Tbsp olive oil
• 1/2 bunch of asparagus
• 1/2 cup red onion, finely diced
• 1 zucchini diced
• 1 garlic clove, minced
• 1 1/2 Tbsp freshly chopped oregano
• 1/2 cup chicken broth
• 1/8 cup pine nuts
• S & P to taste

Bring two cups of water to a boil, add quinoa, lower heat and cover. Simmer for 15-17 minutes, or until tender. Drain off any excess liquid and set aside. In a skillet heat olive oil. When hot add onion and sauté for 4 minutes. Add asparagus & zucchini and cook for another 4-5 minutes until veggies are tender crisp. Add garlic and oregano and cook for 30 seconds. Add broth and heat. Once hot, stir in quinoa and add nuts. Fluff with a fork and serve hot.