(Almost) Instant Mac and Cheese (and Healthier Too)

Baked cod, roasted tomatoes, asparagus and quick mac and cheese with cauliflower.

I came up with this side dish tonight to go with some baked cod (frozen cod from Costco) with roasted tomatoes, and asparagus.

I put the cod and the halved tomatoes in a casserole and drizzled all with olive oil, sprinkled the tomatoes with salt, pepper and oregano and the cod with black pepper and Italian style bread crumbs.

That all went into the oven at 375, for about 20-25 minutes (depending on the thickness of the fish) and I got a pot of water boiling and put the asparagus in a skillet with a little butter and white wine, ready to go on the fire.

I had about 1/3 box of quick-cook Ronzoni penne pasta (which cooks in 3 minutes) and when the cod was close to being done, I got the pasta into the pot to boil while the cauliflower (which was last night's leftover - roasted in the oven with olive oil and garlic, so I knew it would go good with pasta) was in the microwave to reheat - also 3 minutes.

When the pasta was done, I put the asparagus on to cook in the skillet on high heat for just a few minutes.

I drained the pasta, put in two heaping tablespoons (+/-) of plain non-fat yogurt and approximately 3 heaping tablespoons (+/-) of grated Romano cheese, added in the cauliflower with its garlicky sauce and tossed the whole thing together.

Easy and healthier mac and cheese

The fish was done and so was the asparagus. All in less than 30 minutes. Rachael Ray, eat your heart out.

Not Your Grandma's Moussaka

Not my grandma's moussaka - mine only made parmigiana.

This is a variation on a theme: Given that the garden has offered up a small bounty of eggplant and the given the fact that I am no Greek, I am still going to call tonight's dinner "moussaka".

I am a bit lazy, and always trying to find shortcuts. So here goes:

Take a couple of Italian eggplants and a few Japanese eggplants, peel them leaving just a little of the skin. I halve the Italians lengthwise, slice them all in about quarter inch slices, toss them with some olive oil in a roasting pan with salt, pepper, chopped garlic. Put them in the oven at 400 for about 30-35 minutes, tossing once during the cooking. (Most recipes call for frying the slices - which would take time - this way you can get the other ingredients ready while the eggplant is in the oven.)

2 Italians and 3 Japanese

Sautee a diced onion, a couple of small chopped cubanelle peppers and a diced hot pepper in a little olive oil.

Remove the mixture and into the fry pan put a pound of ground beef and a pound of Italian sausage meat.

After the meat is cooked through, drain off the grease, return the onion mixture to the pan, add a can of tomato puree, a little water, chopped fresh basil, fresh parsley, and fresh oregano. A little salt and pepper. Let the meat cook in the sauce for thirty minutes or so.

Roasted Eggplant

Meanwhile make the béchamel sauce.

My philosophy used to be "more is better" and I and Leon would certainly eat more. We are watching things now since Leon has lost over fifty pounds and I was down thirty. So my new philosophy is "less is almost as good." So I went a little easy on the béchamel which in some moussaka recipes is a layer of  up to a half inch. Compared to that, mine is a drizzle.

2 tablespoons of butter, melted and hot in the saucepan, whisk in 2 tablespoons of flour until the flour forms a paste. 

Slowly add 1and 1/2 cups of 1% milk (I don't bother warming the milk - I'm lazy). Continue to whisk until the sauce thickens.

Add a dash of nutmeg. Remove from heat. Add about 1 cup of grated parmesan cheese. (Don't add the parmesan while the sauce is over the heat or you will produce a congealed mess.)

(Of course I didn't get a photo of the finished béchamel)

Distribute the tomato meat sauce over the roasted eggplant. Top with the béchamel, a little crumbled low fat feta and some Italian flavored breadcrumbs. 

Moussaka usually has a thick layer of Béchamel (calories)

Bake in the oven at 350 for 45 minutes or until heated through and bubbling hot.

Serve with a salad - tonight is green bean salad.

Steam the fresh green beans just until barely cooked. Rinse in ice cold water. In a bowl mix a little olive oil, a dash of balsamic vinegar, some chopped garlic and toss in the cooked green beans. You can add some fresh tomatoes if you like. Chill in the fridge or serve at room temperature.

We are foregoing the crusty Italian bread tonight - (carbs and calories), but it would definitely be my choice.

Pollo alla Giardiniere - Gardener's Chicken

While Chicken alla cacciatore may be hunter's style, as a gardener, I've adopted the basic recipe to reflect what's currently abundant in my garden - green beans, yellow squash, peppers, basil, parsley, tomatoes. This gardener's chicken recipe stretches a few chicken parts into a big pot of stew.

The recipe is consistent with our style of eating (or the style which we try to adhere to) which stresses an abundance of fresh vegetables over meat and starches. Perhaps you would use more chicken or fewer vegetables. Which is perfectly OK as proportions are optional.

I started by frying/cooking four chicken legs and thighs in a large skillet with a little olive oil, salt and pepper, garlic powder. Saute the chicken and cook, covered, until the chicken is cooked through and can be removed from the bone.

Remove the chicken parts from the pan, and bone the chicken if you like (just makes it easier to eat).

Drain the grease from the pan and add a little olive oil, a large sliced onion, then add 4-6 Cubanelle or Bell green peppers, cut up. Cook a bit, ten minutes or so, stirring occasionally.

Wash and clean some green beans - here's a mixture that I picked today including flat Roma, stringless green beans, slender Italians. Add to the pan.

 Add some fresh basil

And some fresh parsley.

Add some chopped celery, some carrots, chopped fresh garden tomatoes to the beans and onions and peppers. Cook covered on low heat for a bit - maybe five to ten minutes, or till heated through - don't let the veggies over-cook. Add salt to taste - easy though - stay healthy.

 Dice up a couple of cloves of garlic and add to a different skillet with some olive oil.

Cut op and add a yellow squash or a green zucchini squash. Cook for  a few minutes, stirring frequently.

Combine everything into a big stew pot. Add some peeled plum tomatoes.

Let the stew simmer together for maybe thirty to forty-five minutes or so, so the tomatoes cook into a light sauce, but not so much as to turn the veggies into mush. It's nice to have a bit of crunch left in the beans and squash. Season with salt, pepper to taste while cooking. Easy on the salt.

Serve with a little crusty bread or rolls.

Dinner's ready!

Cauliflower - with a different slice

I am tempted to call this Cavolfiore alla Parmigiana - a variation on a theme - although my Google search brings up Italian-based website recipes all of which include tomato. This is "plain" - no sauce.

Alla Parmigiana, to my mind means the egg-dipped breaded, fried (or baked or sauteed) vegetable (eggplant) or meat (veal, chicken, even pork cutlets) with parmesan cheese sprinkled on top - whether or not it gets baked again in a casserole with tomato sauce and more cheese.

I've done this before, (Cavolfiore alla Nonna) but this version is prepped a little differently. The pieces are easier to bread and fry when sliced like this and they look nice on the plate.

Take a head of cauliflower and put it whole into a deep sauce pan with a little water on the bottom and steam it for about 4 or 5 minutes until just barely cooked, not too tender.

Remove the whole cauliflower and slice it into slices not much thicker than 1/2 inch. These hold together fairly well. If pieces break off, no problem, just proceed with dipping, breading and frying the smaller ones as with the larger pieces.

Dip the slices in beaten egg, dredge in flavored bread crumbs and fry in olive oil (or place on a cookie sheet sprayed with oil, and bake at 375 in the oven) until the slices are golden brown; if frying, turn to brown on both sides.

This method will soak up a fair amount of oil; baking will use a minimal amount of oil.

Remove from pan or oven and sprinkle with grated parmesan (Parmigiano Reggiano) cheese.

This makes a great antipasto or contorni. Can be served at room temperature. We had it tonight along with a bought roasted chicken from the market. (At $3.99 on sale for an already cooked whole chicken, who can go wrong?)

Leon made a pineapple upside down cake for dessert.

Dinner's Ready!

Buon Appetito!