Roasted Sweet Potato and Chorizo Lasagna

 There is nothing like a hot, gooey pan of lasagna.  Nothing!  Sometimes though, you want that guilty pleasure without all the guilt.  I created this recipe to satisfy Dave's cheesy needs and my urge to be healthy and low carb, it worked great both of us.  Success!

Like any lasagna, it takes a few steps to put together but it's completely worth it.  I'm most excited about the leek yogurt sauce- so tasty I'll be using this over and over again. Bottom line is you can have hot and gooey indulgence and maintain your bottom line.  Go ahead, indulge and be fat and happy!

Tips and techniques:  Leave out the chorizo if you are looking or a vegetarian option.  Use whatever veggies you have on hand.

Roasted Sweet Potato and Chorizo Lasagna with Leek Yogurt Sauce

2 cups each of fresh cauliflower, broccoli, green beans, cleaned and cut into large-bite size pieces
1 large sweet potato- sliced about 1/2inch thick
2 large leeks, cleaned and sliced into 1 inch pieces
3 cloves garlic
1 shallot, sliced
dry white wine or broth
1/2 cup greek yogurt
2 cups cottage cheese
2-4 oz goat cheese
Fresh grated Parmesan cheese
1 cup shredded cheese (mixture of cheddar, mozzarella,)
1/2 cup of chorizo (sauteed)
1/2 cup bread crumbs
salt and pepper

Toss the cauliflower, broccoli and green beans with olive oil, salt and pepper, lay on a sheet pan covered with tin foil. Roast in a 450 degree over until crisp-tender.  You want the veggies to have some browned-roasted areas to them, but don't over roast or they will be too mushy.  Roast the sliced sweet potatoes on a separate pan and the leeks on a separate pan.   Set aside

Leek Yogurt Sauce:
Once the leeks are roasted, add them to a sautee pan with a drizzle of olive oil.
Add in the chopped shallots and garlic, fresh ground black pepper and a little seasoning salt- sautee until garlic and shallots are tender.   Add 2-3 cups broth or white wine (or broth) and simmer about 10 minutes.
Place all the ingredients in a blender, blend until smooth.  Add the yogurt.  If your sauce is too thick, simply add more wine or broth.  Return to pan and keep warm

Choose your baking dish, I used 4 individual ramekins, but you can easily make one larger dish.  Spray the dish with pam,  Begin by layering the dish with the roasted sweet potatoes to cover the bottom like you would with lasagna noodles.  Add a layer of roasted veggies (use up all of your veggies), sprinkle with cooked chorizo.  Spread a  layer of cottage cheese, crumble a little goat cheese and  a thin layer if shredded cheese.  Pour about 1/4 of the leek sauce over the layers. 

Top with a final layer of potatoes, pour more of the leek sauce over the potatoes. Toss the bread crumbs with the Parmesan cheese, salt and pepper.  Sprinkle over the potatoes.  Bake in the oven at 400 degrees until the edges are bubbly (about 20 minutes).  Remove from the oven and let it the lasagna rest before serving.  Serve the remaining sauce on the side.

Seared Pear with Dried Fruit and Chocolate Drizzle

Stanley's Fruit Market had the cutest little pears last week that just couldn't be passed up.  They were Seckel pairs, like baby little Bartlett's, only sweeter.

After taking down a few with my teeth, I decided to make a little treat out of them.  It's simple and sweet with a hint of savory.  Great for a light dessert or an afternoon treat.  If you use a larger, or normal, size pear, you will probably find 1/2 of a pear per person is enough.  It's a yummy fat and happy treat! 


Seared Pear with Dried Fruit and Chocolate Drizzle
2 baby pears (or 1 large)
4 tbls each of dried blueberries and dried cranberries
2 tbls thinly sliced shallots
2-3 fresh thyme sprigs
2 tbls white wine
fresh black pepper

Toast a handful of pumpkin seeds
Warm 4 tbls of dark chocolate

Cut 2 baby pears in half, remove core

Add 1 tbls butter to warmed fry pan, over medium heat, sear pears in the butter, cut side down for about 3 minutes.

Add 4 tbls dried blueberries and 4 tbls dried cranberries.  Continue to sautee for about 2 minutes.

Add 2 tbls thinly sliced shallots and 2 or 3 thyme sprigs, sautee until the shallots are tender, about 2 minutes (careful not to burn them).  The pear should be nicely seared by now, remove pear, add 2 tbls white wine. Add about 10 turns of fresh black pepper, toss the berries a couple of times,  simmer for a minute.

Arrange the pears on a plate, spoon on the berries and sauce.  Drizzle with chocolate,  top with toasted pumpkin seeds and serve immediately while warm. (serves 2)

Sweet Potato Biscuits

Sweet potatoes are so good for you, why not find more ways to work them into your diet.  I had made a sweet potato mash to serve with a sauteed tilapia the other day and ended up with about a cup of left over potatoes.  The next night I was making a chorizo soup and wanted to incorporate these left overs somehow.  I've heard about sweet potato biscuits but haven't made them prior to this.  Here's the recipe I came up with- I'm quite happy with it.  The orange and apple are super flavors with the sweet potato without being too sweet and also cuts down on the use of dairy.  Many recipes out there call for cinnamon or nutmeg spices, I wanted to keep the biscuits on the savory side but I do think the spices would be a great addition if you planned to use these in a dessert.  Enjoy them with a soup, a stew or simply with jam or honey- they are filling, nutritious treat that will keep you fat and happy!

Tips and Technique:  The heavy potatoes keep this biscuit from rising to much so keep them a smaller size when you cut them out so they don't end up as a large, heavy hockey puck.

Sweet Potato Biscuits

2 cups flour, sifted
1 Tbl baking powder
1 Tbl sugar
1 tsp salt
8 Tbls cold butter, cut into tiny pieces
1/2 cup applesauce
juice of 1 orange
3/4 - 1 cup mashed sweet potatoes

Mix together the dry ingredients, add the butter.  Using either a pastry cutter or your fingers- work the butter into the flour until pea sizes form.  Add the remaining ingredients and stir by hand just until the dough comes together. You may need more or less juice depending on the humidity in your area and the size and juiciness of your orange, add this in slowly a few tablespoons at a time, just until the dough comes together.  You don't want to over mix biscuit dough.

Pat out the dough on the counter, use a round cookie cutter or small juice glass to cut out the biscuits. Place on a lightly greased baking sheet- bake at 400 degrees for about 20 minutes or until the bottom lightly browns.

Spicy Spinach Egg Drop Soup

We've been on vacation for 2 weeks sailing around the BVI's - doesn't it just sound cool? A wonderful trip- but it's taking me another week to get back to reality of work and exercise and blogging!  I've been cooking since we got back, but I can't even remember what...apparently I'm still on Island time.

This soup is a really super, super simple.  It's not completely a true, classic egg drop recipe, but what recipe of mine is?  It's always about making what you have work, or working with what you have.

I had thought about adding some sausage or chorizo to this for a slightly heartier soup, but I'm still on Island time and forgot.  Doesn't mean you can't though- even some left over roasted chicken would work well.  The eggs offer great protein on their own and it's just fun to see the strands firm up. I used chili oil as a final topper- it gives great flavor and the little floating orange pools of oil are so pretty.  Give this a try for a simple asian-esque soup.

Tips and Techniques:  Lightly whisk the eggs with a fork before adding to the soup; slowly pour the eggs through the tines of the fork to help create the thin strands. Whisk the soup in one direction using chopsticks.  If you want your spinach to be more firm, add it in after the eggs.  Do not continue to cook the soup or the eggs strands will become rubbery.


Spicy Spinach Egg Drop Soup

Sautee in olive oil for 3 minutes or until onions begin to soften:
1/4 finely diced red onion
fresh ground pepper

Add, continue to simmer another 3-5 minutes
2-3 thinly sliced, large crimini mushrooms
2 tsp ground ginger (if you have fresh, use about 2 tbls of thin slices)
dash of cayenne pepper

Add, simmer for 10 minutes
4 cups of broth (can use vegetable or chicken broth)
2 tbls soy sauce

In the meantime, scramble 2 eggs in a bowl and have 3 cups of fresh spinach ready
Remove the pan from the heat.
Add the spinach, push down.  Now add the eggs, slowly pour them through the tines of the fork, in about 3 batches.  Stop  to the stir the soup (in one direction, just once or twice around) using chop sticks.  Repeat until eggs are all in the soup.

Taste for salt (or soy sauce) and pepper- add if needed.
To serve - add a small drizzle of chili oil to each bowl.
Enjoy!

Pumpkin Butter Biscotti

 A few weeks ago I made pumpkin butter, a lot of it.  Who know how much two little baking pumpkins would produce!  Now I'm looking for ways to use up this pumpkin butter - not that we aren't enjoying it just as it is on simple toast and biscuits, but there is something to be said for diversity.  Plus, I haven't been making any treats for Dave lately so this was the perfect opportunity to transform pumpkin love.

There are thousands of biscotti recipes out there and everyone has their own preference whether it's hard and crunchy or softer and chewier - my preference is for the way biscotti was originally created.  It should be a hard substance meant to withstand long travels and for dunkin'.  So what makes mine better than the others?  I like it.  You make yours' your way and I'll make mine my way.  One big difference can be the use of actual butter; the butter will make a softer biscotti as well as less cooking time and the cookie will not last as long.

I'm not saying this is the end-all-be all biscotti recipe.  I think each flavor requires tweaking; what works for this pumpkin butter biscotti may not work for an anise biscotti.  I also think you could substitute apple butter for the pumpkin, or use a pumpkin puree.  Taste the dough though, to see if it needs extra spices- I made my pumpkin butter quite heavy on the ginger for that extra kick! Oh, and I used pearl sugar on top (a strange ingredient sent to be by loyal readers!) as a tasty and decorative topping.

One of the other reasons I made up this recipe is for Dave to have an optional quick breakfast bar in the morning. To keep it on the healthy side, I used oats, whole wheat flour and pecans.  Since there is no butter in this recipe- it's not a bad option. Sure there is sugar, but call it a trade off!  How often can you use one food item as a breakfast item, a bread or side dish, an appetizer or a dessert? It's a rare fat and happy transformer treat!

Tips and Techniques: Store in the freezer for a fast snack, side or dessert anytime!  The biscotti are easier to handle if you make two small loafs out of the dough rather than one.

Scrumptious Pumpkin Butter Biscotti with Chocolate and Pecan Chunks
1 cup wheat flour
1/2 cup oats (use the old fashioned version, not the quick cooking)
3/4 cup white sugar
3/4 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp vanilla
1 egg
3/4 cup pumpkin butter (or pumpkin puree)
1 Tbls Soy Cream (or regular cream)
1 tsp ground ginger
pinch of nutmeg
pinch of salt

crushed or chopped pecans (roughly 1/2 cup)
chopped chocolate (I prefer bittersweet, but you could use basic semi-sweet chocolate chips), roughly 1/4 cup
Pearl sugar (for topping decoration)

Sift all the dry ingredients into a big bowl.  Mix together the egg, vanilla, pumpkin butter and soy cream, stir into the dry ingredients to combine.   Add the pecans and chocolate.  The dough will be really sticky.  Sprinkle 1/4 cup flour on the counter.  Lightly roll/knead the dough into the flour. Let me repeat, the dough is super, super sticky- do the best you can, just to incorporate the flour.

Cover a baking sheet pan with parchment paper.  Divide the dough in half and form 2 logs on the pan.  Sprinkle with pearl or raw sugar, more nuts or even more chocolate.  Bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes, or until the biscotti is firm in the middle.  Remove from oven, let rest for 15 minutes.  Turn the oven down to 225.  Slice the biscotti, lay each piece back on the parchment lined pan.  Return to the oven for about 1 hour.  Test the cookies, you might want to take them out early for slightly chewy cookies or leave them in longer for the extra crunchy cookies.

Curied Carrot, Squash and Kale Soup

The weather in Chicago has been forecast as freezing fog for the past 4 days - who knew fog could freeze?  Seriously. 
I had no interest in leaving the house to venture through this freezing fog for a grocery store run.  That means working with whatever is in the fridge or pantry.  I found  a bag of kale, 1/2 of a butternut squash and a small acorn squash.  Clearly this was a soup waiting to happen.

Not wanting just a typical squash soup, I decided to add a hint of curry to the flavors-  just enough without overpowering.  Sautee the kale first, then set aside while the squash cooks, adding the kale back in after you have pureed the soup.  Dave even liked it, and based on the name- he was none too interested at first.  I'm excited for this soup for another reason other than the great simple flavor, I have a friend with a quite a few dietary limitations. This soup should enable her a healthy and satisfying meal - Kiran, let me know if this is suitable (it should be the first of many recipes to come for you!)

Enjoy the simplicity of this dish with a big hunk of bread and a glass of sparkling water.  It totally beats hanging out in freezing fog!

Tips and tricks:  if you feel the need for meat, add a crumbled sausage while sauteeing the kale.  The sausage will hold up really nicely to these flavors.  If you want a little hint of decadence, crumble a little bit of goat cheese on the top


Curried carrot, Squash and Kale Soup

Sautee the Kale first:
Heat olive oil in a medium saucepan, add:
4 cups of  chopped Kale, rinsed (do not dry the kale, leave some water on it to help it cook)
Fresh ground pepper
1 tbls dried thyme
Sautee about 10 minutes, less if you like crunchier kale. If the pan is too dry, add a few tablespoons of water
remove from pan and set aside

In the same pan, add another tablespoon of olive oil.  Add:
1/2 cup diced red onion
Sautee for a few minutes

Add:
1 garlic clove, chopped
1 tbls ground thyme
dash cayenne
1 tsp yellow curry

Continue to sautee until the onions are softened, stir often.  The seasonings may begin to stick to the bottom of the pan, that's okay.  Again, if the pan is too dry here, add in another drizzle of olive oil.

Add:
1/2 butternut squash, peeled and chopped
1 small acorn squash (or use all butternut), peeled and chopped
1 large carrot, chopped
1 chicken or vegetable bouillon cube (optional)

Sautee for a few minutes and add enough water to just cover the veggies, roughly 1 or 2 cups.  The water will deglaze the pan and get all the spices off the bottom (you could also use a coconut milk here too.). Simmer until the squash and carrots are softened.  Use an immersion blender to blend smooth (or place in your blender, carefully blend). Add more liquid if the soup is too stiff.

 Add the kale into the soup and heat through.  Serve.

Baileys Ice Cream

And yet another ice cream recipe- I can't help it, homemade ice cream is soooo delicious and easy to make.  This is not a crazy flavor, but I think if you look around, the ingredients will set it apart from any other Baileys recipe.  The use of the brown sugar and the Grand Marnier combine to create a tremendously intense flavor.

Do note that with all the liquor in this recipe, the ice cream will not get as hard as others.  The key is that you can use it directly from the freezer, you won't need to let it soften at all.  Or, go ahead and let it soften and use it as a shake!

It's a superb ice cream that will give you a boost,  Don't hesitate, make this today, it's a super fat and happy treat.

Bailey's Ice Cream

2 1/2 cups cream
1/4 heaping cup of white sugar
1/4 cup (heaping) brown sugar
vanilla bean, sliced and scrapped
3 eggs
pinch of salt
1/4 cup coffee beans
1/2 cup Baileys
2 Tbls Grand Marnier

Heat the cream, the scraped vanilla  and bean, the coffee beans and the brown sugar over medium heat.  Do not boil, stir occasionally.

While the cream is warming, whisk the eggs yolks and the white sugar until they turn pale a fluffy.

Temper the yolks with the warm cream by adding a little bit of the cream to the yolks, about 1/2 cup at a time, until the yolks are warmed.  Pour into the cream, add the salt and continue to cook over  medium heat, stirring until the custard becomes thick and coats the back of the spoon .  Add the Baileys and the Grand Marnier, remove from heat.  Cool in an ice bath. 

If you have the time, let the custard mixture sit in the refrigerator over night to help set up the custard and to let the flavors meld.  Leave the vanilla and coffee beans in the custard, remove before freezing.  Follow your ice cream machine manufacturers directions.

Cherry Farro Salad

What do you make when you have been on the road for 10 days, you need something healthy and the fridge is bare?  This is when I turn to my pantry and canned goods.  Farro is a wonderfully nutty option over rice, it's similar to barley with a little firmer texture.

Now, a lot of people would scoff at the use of the canned beans, but they are great in a pinch!  I keep them on hand at all times for their ease.  But if you have the time for the overnight soaking of dried beans, do it! It will yield a slightly better bean.

The cherry vinaigrette really makes the difference here.  By blending the cherries, you will have a pink dressing with little pieces of cherry that permeate the salad, imparting wonderful bites of sweetness.  I do suggest soaking them first to plump them up a bit.  Next time you're in a crunch for dinner, look to your pantry and see if you can't come up with a fat and happy meal!

Tips and Techniques:  Substitute barley or rice if you don't have Farro.  This salad comes together super easy.  It can be the main dish, or a side to supplement meat or fish.  Store it in the fridge for up to 4 days, but serve it at room temperature for the best flavor.


Cherry Farro Salad

2 cups cooked farro
1/2 can black beans, rinsed and drained
1/2 can corn, drained
1 shredded or diced carrot, medium sized
1/4 cup diced red onion
1/4 cup diced water chestnuts
3 - 4 tbls toasted sunflower seeds
1/4 - 1/2 cup crumbled aged cheddar

1/4 cup dried cherries or craisins
1/2 cup grapeseed oil
2 tbls red wine vinegar
1 tbls dijon mustard
salt and pepper to taste

Begin by soaking the cherries in the grapeseed oil for at least 15 minutes, set aside.  Cook the farro according to package directions. In the meantime, place the black beans, corn, carrot, red onion and water chestnuts in a bowl. Add the farro, sunflower seeds and the crumbled cheddar and lightly toss.

Mix the vinaigrette- place the cherries and oil in the blender, add the red wine vinegar, mustard and salt and pepper. Blend on high for one minute.  Pour half of the vinaigrette over the salad ingredients and toss; adding more vinaigrette only as needed. Add salt and pepper as needed for taste.  The cherries will be chopped into tiny pieces and will offer little sweet bites to the salad- simply delicious.