Pine Nut and Garlic Couscous

This dish is a great side to a hearty meat such as pork or beef. 

Ingredients:
1/4 Cup of Pine Nuts
1 Tsp Olive Oil
3 Cloves of Garlic
1/2 Cup of pearl couscous
1 Can of chicken broth
1/4 cup of grated or crumbled Parmesan cheese

Preparation:
In a stainless 2qt saucepan, bring 1 can of chicken broth to a boil.  Mince up garlic and place in small skillet with oil and pine nuts over low heat. When garlic begins to brown, remove from heat and set aside. 

Add couscous to boiling broth and allow it to come back up to a boil. Once it has begun to boil again, reduce heat to low and add in garlic pine nut mix and Parmesan cheese. Let simmer for 8 - 12 minutes. If there is any remaining broth, strain through a strainer. 

Serving: 

Serve along side beef or pork. In order to scale up, add 1/2 cup of couscous per serving and for 4 add 1 additional can of water to the broth mix. 

Ditalini & Peas

This soup is another quick and easy comfort food. 


Ingredients: 
1 Red Onion
1 Small Can of sweet peas
1 Can of Chicken Broth (vegetable broth if you are allergic to chicken)
56 Grams of Ditalini
Spray Olive Oil*
Kosher Salt*
Cracked Black Pepper*
Parmesan Cheese*


Preparation:
This can be cooked in either a dutch oven or a stainless steel saucepan depending on cooking time. The dutch oven will also cook down the broth quicker than the stainless so if you would prefer a more brothy soup, use the stainless. 


Heat pot over medium high heat with spray of olive oil.  Dice onion into 1/4" dice and add to pot, season with salt and pepper. When onion turns translucent, add in broth and increase heat to high. When it comes to a boil add in the ditalini and peas and stir frequently. 

After about 25 - 30 minutes, the pasta will be finished cooking and should expand in size. 


Serving:
Serve in soup bowl with parmesan cheese topping. 

Nutrition Info:
This scores 7 Weight Watchers Points Plus points. 

Pasta Fagioli

This is a simple soup to make when you need an easy yet home made/comfort food. 


Ingredients: 
1 Red Onion
122 grams of Cannelloni Beans
1 Can (12oz) Chicken Broth (substitute Vegetable broth if you are allergic to chicken)
56 grams of Ditalini
1 tbsp Safflower Oil
Kosher Salt*
Black Pepper*
Italian Seasoning*


Preparation:
This can be cooked either in an enamel pot (dutch oven) or in a stainless steel saucepan. The dutch oven will keep the soup hotter and reduce faster. 


In one of the above cooking vessels, heat up oil under medium high heat.  Dice onion into 1/4" pieces and mix into pot.  Season with salt and pepper and stir frequently until onions become translucent. Pour in 1 can of broth and 1 can of water, cover, and increase heat to high.  When liquid boils, add beans and ditalini and stir periodically to ensure that neither beans nor pasta sticks. 


Keep covered and heat on high for 25 - 35 minutes stirring occasionally until soup reduces down and becomes thicker. (approximately 45 minutes total cooking time). 


Remove from heat and let pasta absorb broth. 


Serving:
This serves 1 as prepared above and is best served with Parmesan cheese or crackers (or both). 


Nutrition Info: 
This dish is a fairly healthy one, the beans add fiber and make it filling without adding less than healthy other ingredients. This scores an 11 on the Weight Watchers Points Plus. 

Bacon and White Cheddar Mac & Cheese

This is a very rich dish and substitutes butter for rendered bacon fat in the roux, the white cheddar helps to smooth out the


Ingredients: 
3 strips of lean pork bacon
1 Tbsp Flour
1/2 Cup of Milk
12 oz of sharp white cheddar cheese
164 Grams of Penne
Kosher Salt*
Panko Breadcrumbs*
Italian Style Breadcrumbs*


Preparation:
Chop bacon into 3/8" or smaller bits (including fat) and put into a 2 qt nonstick saucepan over medium heat. Allow fat to render out and bacon to crisp.  Once fat has rendered (approx 2 - 3 tsp) mix in flour and stir together to form the basis of a roux. Once incorporated, lower heat to low and mix in milk and stir together until well mixed.  Increase heat to medium and stir in cheese until a cheese sauce forms (all cheese will be melted in).


In a stainless 2qt saucepan, heat water on high heat until it begins to boil. Add in salt (should taste like the sea) followed by penne. Cook penne just until it has completely cooked and still has enough bite. Drain pasta and add the drained pasta to the sauce and mix together. Cover pot and keep heat at medium until cooked through.


Serving:
This dish makes 3 servings, suggested serving is topped with panko or Italian style breadcrumbs (and or garlic salt).

Foccacia Bread

This Italian flat bread can take on properties of a pizza or can spin off with a variety of different toppings. Listed below will be the most common toppings. 


Ingredients: 
1 1/4 Tsp Active Dry Yeast (1 package contents)
3/4 Cup of warm water (should be between 100 - 105 degrees F)
2 Cups of White Flour
1/2 - 3/4 Cup of Whole Wheat Flour
3 Tbsp Olive Oil
1 Tsp Kosher Salt
1/2 Tsp of Sugar


Spicy and Savory Toppings:
1 Medium Red Onion
1 Medium Plum Tomato
1/4 Cup of Parmesan Cheese (Fresh grated 24 month aged cheese preferred)
1 Clove garlic


Smoky and Savory Toppings:
2 1/2 Cups of Cremini Mushrooms
1/2 Cup Gruyere Cheese
3 - 4 Strips of Bacon


Preparation:
In a stand mixer, mix together yeast and water until bubbles form (indicating the yeast is active).  Once well blended, add in flour, 1 Tbsp of oil, salt and sugar. Mix together with a dough hook until a solid ball forms. (if its too sticky add additional white flour). Once The dough ball has formed and is not sticky, let the ball rise in a large covered bowl in a warm dry place for about 2 hours. 


Slice onions thinly, rough chop tomatoes and mince up garlic for toppings. 


Preheat oven to 450 - 500 degrees. 


Flatten out dough ball into a shallow baking dish and with fingers poke shallow holes in the top. Cover with the remaining 2 Tbsp of olive oil and coat with toppings. 


Bake for between 12 and 17 minutes (bottom needs to be crisp, toppings need to be cooked through).  


Serving:
Cut into strips approx 1 1/2 - 2 inches in width and 3 - 4 inches in length. Best served with oil and Italian seasonings as a dip.  

Pork Tostadas

This is an easy to make dish for a quick flavorful dinner 


Ingredients: 
3 4" corn tortillas
1 1/2 Cup of Soybean Oil (any light oil such as safflower or canola will suffice)
1/2 lb of ground pork (This recipe also works with http://www.skinnytaste.com/2012/04/slow-cooker-pulled-pork.html quite well)
1 Red Onion (small)
1 Red Pepper (small)
3 - 4 sprays of olive oil (if not using a Misto, use about 1 Tbsp of oil)
8oz of shredded Mozzarella cheese
1/4 - 1/3 Cup of Barbecue Sauce (http://raygasnick.blogspot.com/2012/05/simple-and-tasty-barbecue-sauce.html) 
Kosher or Sea Salt*
Black Pepper*
Paprika*
Cumin*
Coriander*


Preparation:
Preheat oven to 375. 


Dice up onions and peppers into small (less than 1/4" dice). Heat a non-stick skillet over medium heat with the olive oil until it gets warm. Drop in diced onions and peppers and let them sizzle until they become translucent and soft. Flatten and season ground pork with salt, pepper, paprika, cumin, and coriander to your liking. Add pork to the skillet and break up into small pieces with a spoon. Pork will turn white when cooked so continuously break it up so that all sides cook evenly.  Pour in barbecue sauce, stir together and reduce heat to low and cover. 


In a 2 qt stainless saucepan (gets hotter than nonstick) heat up the oil until it is between 275 and 325 degrees. Drop in one corn tortilla and fry until crispy (flipping as needed).  Once the tortilla has crisped, remove and place on a paper towel covered plate (lightly salt).  Repeat this process two more times with the other two tortillas. 


On an oven safe tray, place 3 tortillas and cover lightly with cheese. Pour heaping spoonfuls of the pork mixture onto the cheese and cover with remaining cheese. Bake for about 10 - 15 minutes or until cheese has melted. 


Serving: 
Serve hot and eat like a flat taco (do not try to cut it up as it will not cut well). 

Simple and tasty barbecue sauce

This sauce goes great on nearly any form of meat especially pork, steaks, and depending on who you ask, garlic bread, risotto and even cole slaw. 

Ingredients:
1/2 Cup of light brown sugar (dark will work as well)
1/2 Cup of Heinz Ketchup
1/3 Cup Makers Mark Bourbon
2 tsp Hickory Liquid Smoke
1/4 Cup of Balsamic Vinegar

Preparation:
In a 2 qt stainless saucepan (non-stick will work but I find that the sugar caramelizes better in stainless) mix together brown sugar and ketchup over medium/high heat.  When the mixture starts to bubble, add liquid smoke and bourbon incorporating all ingredients together. Using a grill lighter, ignite the alcohol (carefully) and stir until the flames have subsided. Lower the heat to medium and pour in the balsamic vinegar and stir frequently until the sugar begins to caramelize (you will see a lot of small bubbles).  Reduce until it thickens and should coat the back of a spoon when dipped. 

Serving:
Serve warm or cold. 

Nutrition Info:
For the average serving of about a tablespoon, this is a very light sauce.