Mushroom broccoli Alfredo (light)

I could have named this dish Alfredo with broccoli and mushrooms, or broccoli mushroom Alfredo, but I chose to use mushrooms as the lead as a nod to my husband.  He loves mushrooms.  Its his favorite fungus.  Although I use a guiltless Alfredo sauce recipe from Our Best Bites, I make this dish my own by adding in a lot of sauteed mushrooms and their juices as well as some roasted broccoli.  The result is really, really good, and again, this recipe is versatile because you could add whatever you want to the sauce recipe to make a meal.  I have added sauteed red peppers and spinach.  I have served it with salmon.  It is very versatile and very easy.  Enjoy.

Guiltless Alfredo sauce
2 cups lowfat milk
1/3 cup (3 oz) lowfat cream cheese
2 TBS flour
1 tsp salt
1 TBS butter
3 garlic cloves, minced
1 cup grated parmesan cheese (not the powder stuff)

1 lb preferred pasta of choice
1 lb broccoli florets
8 oz-1 lb sliced mushrooms
olive oil
salt and pepper to taste


To make sauce:
In a blender or food processor, blend the milk, cream cheese, flour, and salt until smooth and set aside.  In a large saucepan, melt butter on medium-high heat and add the minced garlic.  Saute the garlic for about 30 seconds, stirring constantly so it doesn't burn.  Add the milk mixture to the butter and garlic and stir constantly for about 3-4 minutes until it comes to a simmer.  Keep stirring and let it cook for another 2-3 minutes until the sauce thickens.  Remove from heat and whisk in the grated cheese.  Cover the pan and allow the sauce to stand for about 10 minutes before using.


Preheat oven to 400 degrees.  Place the broccoli florets on a baking sheet, drizzle with a little olive oil and sprinkle with salt and pepper.  Roast for about 15 minutes or until the broccoli starts to get just a little bit of char on the edges (but it should still have a nice bright green color).  When the broccoli is finished roasting, turn out on to a cutting board and roughly chop (if you want smaller pieces)

While the broccoli is roasting, make the pasta according to package directions, and begin the mushrooms.  Heat a little olive oil in a very large saute pan (mushrooms like to have their room!) over medium to medium high heat.  Add the mushrooms to the pan and sprinkle with some salt to allow the mushrooms to release all their awesome juices.  Saute until the mushrooms are nice and tender and golden brown, stirring occasionally (up to 5-10 minutes depending on how many mushrooms you are cooking).  When the mushrooms are done, add the Alfredo sauce right into the mushroom pan and gently stir.

When the pasta is finished cooking, drain the pasta water and add the mushroom Alfredo sauce and the chopped brocooli right into the pasta pan.  Test the finished pasta for seasoning.  I like to add a good amount of fresh cracked pepper to my pasta at this point, but its up to you!

Tilapia with Mango salsa

So this is one of those 10% moments, if you count fish as meat. If you don't count fish as meat...which never made sense to me...because then what is it....vegetable?...mineral? But however you define it, fish is definitely our preferred meat/protein, and we try to include fish into our diets at least once a week.
This is one of my favorite ways to prepare fish because Tilapia is generally the least expensive fish to buy, and mango salsa tastes good on everything. Also, you could use this recipe and make it elegant with risotto and broccoli (as pictured) or you could totally just create fish tacos with it or pair it with rice and beans! The salsa, by the way, is just a rockin salsa! You could prepare it alone and just have a date night in with a bag of chips! And mangos are in season right now (I think).

Tilapia with Mango Salsa

Basic Tilapia
1 lb Tilapia fillets
1 TBSP olive oil
lemon juice from half a lemon
2 cloves garlic, minced
salt and pepper to taste

optional seasoning:
fresh chopped or dried basil to taste, or
chili powder and cayenne pepper (for more southwestern flair)

Mango Salsa
1 large ripe mango, peeled and chopped
1/2 red bell pepper, diced
1/4 cup minced red onion
1 cup cherry or grape tomatoes quartered
1 jalapeno, minced (seeded if you want less heat)
1/2 cup chopped cilantro
2 TBSP lime juice
salt and pepper to taste

Prepare the mango salsa by combining the mango, red bell pepper, red onion, tomatoes, cilantro, and jalapeno in a bowl.  Add in the lime juice and season to taste with salt and pepper.  Refrigerate until ready to use.

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Rinse fish and pat dry.  Line a baking sheet with tinfoil and spray with cooking spray.  Place the fillets on the sheet and drizzle with olive oil and lemon juice, then season with the garlic, salt, and pepper. At this point you can choose to add either basil or a combination of southwest seasonings depending on how you choose to serve your fish. Bake for 8-12 minutes (depending on the thickness of your fillets).

Serve the fish fillets topped with the mango salsa.

Southwest Stuffed Peppers

I have been out of town with my family for the past week.  On our vacation, we had the opportunity to eat at a real vegetarian restaurant in Victoria, BC called "Rebar" and it was awesome!!  The funny thing is that as we were considering where we should eat, I found myself thinking the same stereotypical anti-vegetarian thoughts that I usually make fun of: "Will I feel satisfied?," "Will the food be weird?,"and "I think there is a Fatburger down the street..."  Richard and I ordered an amazing curry dish and an almond burger with sweet potato fries.  We left feeling full and awesome!
This recipe is not from that restaurant. I picked this recipe because I had some leftover rice and this is my go-to recipe for leftover rice. I combine rice, beans, tomatoes, corn, cheese and some awesome spices and bake them in bell peppers.  And when I feel like it, I smother them in enchilada sauce before baking.  Did you know that rice and beans together make a complete protein? I am not sure WHY that is good, but I have been told that it is, so I repeat that rice and beans together make a complete protein.  And this is a versatile recipe because you could put pretty much any combination of ingredients inside that pepper and it will probably taste good.

Southwest Stuffed Bell Peppers (adapted from Our Best Bites)

4 large bell peppers (whatever is cheapest, but red tastes best)
1-2 cups rice or quinoa (I just add however much I want proportionately in the mixture)
1 TBS olive oil
1/2 onion diced
3 garlic cloves, minced
2 tsp chili powder
1/2 jalapeno (or a whole one, if you like more heat)
4 oz canned mild green chilies (or 1 canned chipotle chili, if you like more heat)
1 can black beans, drained and rinsed (I sometimes add two cans)
1 cup frozen corn kernels
1 14 oz can diced tomatoes
2 green onions, chopped
1 cup of grated cheese (cheddar, jack, colby...whatever)
1/2 cup chopped cilantro
juice of half a lime
salt and pepper to taste
red enchilada sauce (optional)

 Preheat oven to 350. Slice the tops off of your bell peppers and remove the insides.  Boil the whole peppers in a large amount of water for about 3-4 minutes.  Remove from water, drain, and set aside.

Heat oil in a large skillet over medium high heat.  Add onions, garlic, jalapeno, and any chilies and cook until softened (about 5 minutes).  Add corn, beans, green onions, chili powder, and salt and pepper.  Cook for another 5 minutes and then remove from heat.  Add in rice, tomatoes, cilantro, and cheese.  Stir to combine, and then add in the lime juice.  Adjust the seasoning to taste, adding in more salt or spices if you want.  Divide the mixture between the bell peppers.  At this point, you can put a little more cheese on top, or you can smother the peppers with enchilada sauce and then add more cheese on top-- however you like it.

Bake for 25 minutes in prepared oven.  Tonight we had them with a dollop of sour cream and some fresh pineapple on the side.  Yummm.

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Thai Curry Soup

I know this is the second soup I have posted, but I live in Seattle.  It rains here.  We eat soup-- especially if it is delicious soup that makes you feel like your basement apartment could be a basement apartment in Thailand! It is a coconut curry based soup with lots of spinach and mushrooms and rice noodles and is finished in under half an hour.  The curry paste is the only specialty item, but you can find curry paste in most supermarkets.  Ask someone (preferably someone who works at the store) if you can't find it.

I posted the second picture to show you how I work this soup into an entire meal (because Richard and I eat a lot).  The post on fresh Vietnamese Spring Rolls will be forthcoming in the near future, but for now, I want to concentrate on the soup.  And while it doesn't have any meat in it, it is a soup where you could easily add meat if you desired. In fact, the original recipe called for shrimp, and I think that chicken would work just as well.  That is one of my tricks of vegetarian cooking.  Just take a favorite recipe and take the meat out or replace it with something else-- usually more vegetables or tofu or noodles or beans-- whatever.  However, if your favorite meal is steak...I can't really help you there.

Thai Curry Soup

4 oz vermicelli rice noodles
1 TBSP olive oil
1 clove garlic, minced
lemon zest of most of a lemon
1 TBSP grated fresh ginger
2-3 tsp red curry paste (depending on how much heat or spice you like)
4 cups chicken broth (but I am sure you could use vegetable broth)
2 TBSP soy sauce
1 TBSP white sugar
1 can coconut milk (I use the light coconut milk)
1 cup sliced mushrooms.
1 10 oz bag baby spinach
2 TBSP lime juice
1 TBSP fish sauce (optional)
1/2 cup chopped cilantro
2 green onions, thinly sliced

Bring a large pot of water to boil.  Add rice noodles and cook for about 3 minutes.  Drain and rinse well with cold water and set aside.

Heat oil in large sauce pan over medium heat.  Stir in garlic, lemon zest, and ginger and cook for about a minute.  Add the curry paste and cook another 30 seconds.  Add in 1/2 cup of the chicken broth and stir just until the curry paste dissolves, then pour in the remaining chicken broth along with the soy sauce and sugar.  Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to medium low, partially cover and simmer for about 20 minutes.

Stir in coconut milk, mushrooms, spinach, lime juice and cilantro.  Increase heat and simmer for about 5 minutes until the spinach and mushrooms have cooked.  I like to add a little fish sauce at this point, because I believe almost everything is better with stinky fish sauce, but don't sweat it.

Turn off the heat and add in the cooked rice noodles and serve the soup garnished with a little sprinkle of sliced green onion.

Note: (the recipe called for minced lemon grass which can be hard to find, but I have found lemon zest and fresh ginger to be a decent substitute so that is what I use)