Tag Archives: cheese

Saucy

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I’m so sick of the typical red sauce in pasta dishes. Legit I get acidity these days from eating too many tomato based sauces so I figured I would try and mix it up in case anyone else out there is just as over it as me. I wanted to do an alfredo like sauce but hopefully keep it figure friendly as well. Luckily there are so many skinny variations out there in the world wide web and I found this yummy cauliflower based one! I legit roast cauliflower on the reg and even make the Indian sabzi version of it all the time so now thatI can utilize it in one more way is #winning in itself. Anyway, next carb craving try this sauce over marinara and don’t tell me if your pasta doesn’t sing!

  • 1 medium head of cauliflower (approx. 450g)
  • 1 large yellow onion
  • 2 cloves of garlic (ok I did 3 obvi)
  • 1 tbsp. of butter
  • 5 cups or 1.2 L of broth (chicken is what I did but vegetable is fine)
  • 3/4 cup of milk (or almond milk)
  • 1/2 tsp of salt (I added a pinch of black pep too).

Cut the onion & garlic into thin slices and sauté in butter for about 20 minutes or until caramelized. Boil the cut up cauliflower florets until tender in the broth (Save a 1/2 to 3/4 cup for the sauce) . Combine milk, broth, cauliflower, and veggies and blend until smooth. I added a tbsp. of grated pecorino romano because sauce should have cheese IMO.

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FYI makes about 3 cups of sauce.

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Tip: If sauce is too thick, loosen with broth when reheating.

Happy Eating, XO

Sweatpants Casserole

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Now that its legit creeping into Winter from Fall we need some oven friendly meals to not only warm up our kitchens, but also our bellies. This is the perfect Sunday night dinner because it makes a large quantity for whomever you have over for football or its great as leftovers for work the next day. Its cozy, creamy, cheesy and just so flavorful. Its perfect to eat with a warm pair of sweats. Let’s face it, sweat pants hide everything and after eating this decadent casserole, a forgiving pair of pants will be a need more than a want. Goes well with the food coma you will have after this heavy meal. I was gluttonous enough to pair it with meatloaf. Such a perfect dinner!

  • 1 medium onion diced
  • 2-3 cloves of garlic minced
  • 1 tbsp. butter
  • 1 28 oz. bag of shredded has browns, thawed
  • 2 cups sour cream
  • 1 20 oz. can of cream of chicken soup
  • 1 packet of dried ranch mix
  • 2 cups of shredded sharp cheddar cheese
  • s&p to taste
*I did a few dashes of hot sauce as well
**Optional for topping the casserole is French’s fried onions, adds a nice crunch & flavor, but breadcrumbs or crushed cornflakes would work fine
Sautee the onions, garlic, salt & pepper with a little bit of butter until translucent. Mix the sour cream, ranch mix, soup, cheddar, potatoes, and onion mixture. Smooth out an even layer in a nonstick pan and spread with hot sauce and fried onions to taste.
Bake at 350 degree’s for 50-60 minutes based on depth of your pan & layer of cheesy potatoes.
Happy Eating, XO.

Squash It!

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Squash Gratin, or as some may refer to as Squash Casserole, is a great way to utilize fall produce for a yummy side dish. There are many variations out there, but I gotta say this came out so tasty during the test run, I barely tweaked it. Also if you don’t have creme fraiche, sour cream will do just fine.

  • Pinch of cayenne pepper
  • 2 cloves of garlic, minced (the seasoning has some garlic powder in it but I love the flavor of fresh too)
  • Salt & pepper to taste
  • 1-2 tbsp. of veggie seasoning (herb & seasoning blend from McCormick’s)
  • 1 sleeve of ritz crackers, crushed
  • 2 yellow squash, sliced in rounds
  • 1 medium onion, finely chopped
  • 3 zucchini, sliced in rounds
  • 3 eggs
  • 7.5 oz. Crème Fraiche (or sour cream)

Layer the sliced squash and zucchini rounds in a non stick baking dish. Pour over the cream, eggs, onion, and spices mixture, evenly coating all the veggies. Sprinkle with the crushed crackers and cheese. Bake at 350 degrees for 30-40 minutes (based on how deep your dish is) but then broil for 5 minutes to get the crust to crisp & the cheese to melt.

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PS I know I forgot to crop out my feet, but honestly, my toes look cute so whatever 😛 Obviously Jess is the true photog of this relationship, not I.

Happy Eating, XO.

Enchiladas

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Listen, bikini season is over and there is a chill in the air…I say we have an ooey gooey decadent dinner! Some good old stick to your ribs (And maybe love handles) comfort food. These chicken and cheese enchiladas have even won over a non-Mexican food lover like myself! Hope you enjoy & remember to post pictures with the #damndelish tag!

  • 3 tbsp. butter (I know that’s a shit ton, I didn’t say this was diet friendly)
  • 8 oz. of sour cream (keeps getting better 😛)
  • 3 tbsp. flour
  • 2 cups of chicken broth
  • Hot sauce (I did a couple of splashes of the Chalula’s chili garlic)
  • Onion powder (optional, I’m just a seasoning whore)
  • Garlic powder (optional again, just going for robust flavor)
  • 1 bag of shredded Mexican cheese (think Colby jack, Monterey jack, etc.)
  • 1 shredded rotisserie chicken
  • 1/2 – 1 cup of salsa – eyeball the salsa, its not apart of the original recipe and I just added it to the chicken & cheese mixture. (Note on what kind to use: preferably one that is low in water content and packed with onions & green chilies. I don’t want to brand plug anyone, but I think Rotell’s tomatoes & chilies, again not name dropping #jussayin’.)
  • Chopped black olives (I left these out, but some people commented on the original recipe that they added them. I might try it next time.)

Mix the shredded chicken, half the cheese, and the salsa and set aside. In the mean time start the roux of the butter and flour. Stir in the chicken broth to loosen the sauce up. IMPORTANT, let this cool before folding in the sour cream. IF you don’t, it will curdle the sour cream, essentially: sauce is ruined. Anyway while the sauce is cooling pre sour cream, you can assemble the enchiladas in you oven safe pan. Fill the tortillas with the mixture evenly, roll, and lay seam side down in a line.

Bake at 350 degrees for 20 minutes and then broil for 3 minutes, be careful not to burn. Note: Let it cool before serving.

Happy Eating, XO.

Soup obsession continues…

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For all you haters who think soup isn’t a meal, wait till you try this one. It’s so filling I can guarantee you wont need anything else! There is a starch, a protein, some veggies, etc. Its a meal in a bowl so save your judgments for something else.

Yo on a real tip- grab a big soup pot/pan! Ideally, like a dutch oven type cookware move. Don’t pull a me and start in something too small for all the ingredients and have to transfer to a bigger item half way through. Its going to mess up your whole soup making mojo. Trust me.

  • Chop a medium to large yellow onion into small pieces
  • 3 tbsp. of minced garlic
  • 2 tbsp. of grated parmesan cheese
  • 4 tbsp. of light cream
  • salt & pepper to taste
  • 1 can of diced tomatoes
  • 1 box of low sodium chicken broth
  • 1 package of uncooked, raw, store bought cheese tortellini
  • 1 bag of kale
  • 1/2 bag of spinach
  • 1 package (about 1-1.5 lbs.) of spicy Italian chicken sausage (remove meat from casing and create mini meatballs so they can cook evenly in the broth).

Anyway, once you have figured out your cooking vessel, sweat the onions and garlic with salt, pepper and some olive oil for about 10-15 min on high heat. Add the can of diced tomatoes (whole can, with liquid) and the chicken broth. Once the liquids are brought to a boil, reduce heat and add cheese & cream while stirring add in “meatballs”. Raise heat back to high to bring liquids to a boil again and add the greens. Simmer for 10-15 min (greens will be wilted and meat will be cooked) before adding the tortellini, let that cook for 5-7 min (once they rise to the top of the soup, cut the heat & serve).

Total cook time should be about 45 min, prep is very short max 5 min.You will have multiple meals out of this recipe so its worth the time.

Happy Eating, XO.