Meatless Monday-thanks Cathy

So, I tried to post this and it disappeared and now I am annoyed. For dinner tonight I made a deliciouse, nutritious, comforting, everyting you want in a macaroni and cheese dish, without the guilt. So how did that happen?? With butternut squash of course. I got the idea to make this from my dietitian friend, Cathy. Dietitians are always talking about food. So, off I went, home to look up the recipe on the Cooking Light site. Behold, there it was and I had most of the ingredients. Since I would improvise anyway, that was not holding me back, I had the squash, I had cheese ( cheddar not guyere) and I was ready to go.
Most recipes want the cook to peel and cube a hard squash. This is a pain in the neck in my world, so I say no to that. I have 2 methods of dealing with a squash #1 lazy method is to use frozen. #2 with a fresh squash I like to microwave it for about 10 minutes, being sure to put several vents in it with a knife. You do not want a squash to explode in your microwave - it is not nice at all. This method softens the squash inside, so that it can be seeded and scooped out - easy peasy.
I also added a kick to the original recipe by using some cayenne pepper.

Creamy Macoroni and Cheese with Butternut squash

1 medium sized butternut squash softened or 1 pound of frozen, thawed squash
1.25 cups reduced sodium chichen broth
1.5 cups fat-free milk
2 tsp minced garlic
1/2 tsp ground black pepper
1/2 tsp cayenne pepper or to taste.
2 TBSP greek yogurt, fat free (lite sour cream would work too)
1.25 cups- 5 ounces cheddar cheese
1 ounce rted parmigean cheese, divided
1 pound cooked pasta - rice pasta for gluten free

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Prepare 13x9 baking pan with cooking spray.
2. Combine squash, broth, milkm garlic and black pepper and cayenne in a medium saucepan, bring to a boil and simmer for 10 minutes, until squash is totally cooked. Remove from heat and blend using an emmersion blender.
3. Add cheddar cheese, 1/2 of parmesean and the yogurt, mix well.
4. Combine the sauce with the pasta and spread into prepared pan. Top with remaining parmesean cheese.
In my world wheat pasta and rice pasta is made, the sauce is divided among the two pastas.
5. Bake for 25 minutes until bubbly and browning on top.
Serve with another veggie, like broccoli.

Yum -- Thanks Cathy

Easy Peanutbutter Noodles

I have quite a pile of recipes that I have played with over the past few months. I could say that I have been so busy, no time. But I must confess, I have found lots of time for wasting time. My muse has left me for a time. Let's see if she has come back for a bit.

It's been a time of transitions with one daughter moving out and the second soon to be. It's been a time of change in body, mind and soul. In times like these cooking and meals often come as an afterthought. I was doing really well for about two weeks. My daughter and I did menus for the week, and agreed that who ever came home first would get the meal started. This, again, was great for 2 weeks. Then I was winging it again. Last week I made dinner all of 2 times. I hear myself telling my patients that they need to plan, plan, plan. The little voice in my head is saying" hypocrite".

So I have a few easy meals, that I have been making often lately. One is my meat sauce with tons of veggies, another is the chicken and pineapple in the crockpot (see previous blog). Third is Peanut Butter Noodles. I found a good base peanut sauce and went from there, this is what I ended up with. Easy and quick. Gluten free and vegetarian. I have made this with chicken as well.

Peanut Butter Noodles

1 cup low sodium chicken or vegetable broth

3 tbsp minced ginger

6 Tbsp soy sauce

7 Tbsp chunky peanut butter

3 Tbsp honey

4 tsp hot chili paste

4 cloves garlic, minced

1 package firm tofu - cubed

1 red pepper chopped

2 Tbsp canola oil

1/4 cup chopped green onions

1 cup frozen green peas, cooked

1. Combine first 7 ingredients in a bowl.

2. Heat oil in a skillet. Add red peppers and saute until slightly softened. Add tofu (Add cubed chicken if using) Saute for 3-5 minutes. Add sauce and cook until heated through.

3. Add green onions and peas.

Serve over gluten free rice noodles, udon noodles, spagetti or egg noodles.