Spaghetti Carbonara

Spaghetti Carbonara
From Lifetime's "Cook Yourself Thin"
http://www.mylifetime.com/on-tv/shows/cook-yourself-thin/recipes/spaghetti-carbonara


Serves 4
Calories per serving: 412
Calories per serving garlic bread: 78

For the spaghetti
3 slices bacon
1 teaspoon olive oil
1 small onion, diced
1/3 cup low-fat (1-percent) milk
1 large egg
8 ounces spaghetti
1 cup frozen peas
1 1/2 ounces Parmesan cheese, finely grated (6 tablespoons)
1/4 cup sliced fresh flat-leaf parsley
Salt, to taste
Pepper, to taste

For garlic bread
1 whole-grain baguette, sliced
1/2 garlic clove
Olive oil
Chopped basil

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

2. Cook the bacon in a large skillet over medium heat, turning occasionally until browned and crisp, about 6 minutes. Drain pan and dry bacon on paper towels; keep the skillet on the heat. Add the oil and onion, and cook, stirring occasionally, until softened and translucent, about 3 minutes. Remove from the heat. Whisk together the milk and egg in a large serving bowl until well combined. Stir in the onion.

3. Bring a large saucepan of salted water to a boil. Add spaghetti, and cook according to the directions on the package.

4. While pasta is cooking, slice baguette thinly on bias. Place slices on sheet pan. Lightly rub with flat side of garlic clove, and brush on a little olive oil and sprinkle basil. Place into oven on top rack for 5 to 7 minutes, until golden.

5. Two minutes before the spaghetti is done, stir in the peas. Drain and immediately transfer to the milk mixture. Toss until the pasta is well-coated. Add the cheese, parsley, 1/2 teaspoon salt and 1/4 teaspoon pepper, and toss well. Crumble the bacon into small pieces over the spaghetti, and toss. Serve immediately.

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Ok -- this one was ...pretty good.
1. A little bland - so I needed to add more salt and pepper. I also think that next time I'll sautee up some garlic with the onions for a little flavor kick.
2. After you cook the bacon, drain the excess fat off (I did it in a little bowl to cool and then toss) but don't wash the pan or anything. When you cook the onions - you want that extra flavor from the bacon that's still in the pan.
3. I didn't do the garlic bread because I had garlic bread that I bought on sale from the grocery store. BUT sometimes when I do the whole "rub bread with garlic" trick it doesn't really work right. Instead, I use some garlic powder. So brush with olive oil first, then garlic powder, then the basil.
4. I didn't have peas, but I did have broccoli. So I used that and it worked just fine. I added fresh broccoli to the pasta pot about a minute before it was done(so after about 5-6 minutes of cooking) and it was perfect.
5. Again, me and the whole "I need protein with my pasta" thing. I sautee'd up Keilbasa and served with it. Pretty good. Chicken or shrimp would have worked too.
6. The sauce. I was really afraid the heat from the pasta would scramble the egg/milk mixture in the bowl. But it didn't!! I drained the pasta and let it sit there for a second as I got out the bread and plated it. Then I poured the pasta/broccoli into the bowl and started mixing. Just like the directions say -- it turned into a creamy texture. I was really surprised and REALLY happy!

Penne alla Not-Ka

Penne Alla Not-Ka
From the show "Cook Yourself Thin"

http://www.mylifetime.com/on-tv/shows/cook-yourself-thin/recipes/penne-alla-not-ka

This is the low cal version of the dish "Penne alla Vodka" and let me tell you, it was GOOOOOOD. Not just "oh this is really good for being healthy" -- I mean GOOD! It was a little spicy but I loved that about it. The recipe calls for only a half a bag of pasta for 4 servings, which at first, I laughed and said, "That's how they got the calories so low -- you can have like 4 noodles each!" But surprisingly, this made enough for 3 people and 2 lunches. However, I also served garlic bread and a salad -- so that helped with the portion sizes too (and brought the enitre meal's calorie count up). This would be really good to make someone who's sick or something. A good "take to someone's house" dish.

Here's the recipe and then under it - I'll tell you my changes.



Serves 4
Calories per serving: 371

2 teaspoons olive oil, plus extra for serving
3 cloves garlic
1/2 cup chopped red onion
3/4 teaspoon salt
1 14-ounce can diced tomatoes or whole tomatoes in juice, pureed in a food processor
Pinch red pepper flakes
8 ounces penne
1/4 cup heavy cream
6 tablespoons evaporated nonfat milk
1/3 cup grated Parmesan cheese
1/4 cup shredded fresh basil
1/8 teaspoon black pepper

1. Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil for the penne.

2. In a large saucepan, heat the 2 teaspoons oil with the garlic over low heat until the garlic begins to brown, about 3 minutes. Add the onion and 1/4 teaspoon salt, cover, and cook until the onion is softened, about 2 more minutes. Add the tomato, 1/2 teaspoon salt and the red pepper flakes. Bring to a simmer, reduce the heat and simmer very gently 10 minutes. Stir in the cream and evaporated milk and simmer 1 more minute.

3. Meanwhile, after the sauce has cooked 5 minutes, add the penne to the boiling water and cook until just shy of al dente, about 6 minutes. Drain, reserving about 1/2 cup pasta water. Add the drained penne to the saucepan and simmer until the penne is al dente, 1 to 2 minutes, adding a little of the pasta cooking water if the mixture is dry. Stir in 1/4 cup of the Parmesan, along with the basil and black pepper.

4. To serve, divide pasta among 4 serving bowls. Drizzle each serving with 1/2 teaspoon olive oil, and sprinkle with the remaining Parmesan.


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I bascially follwed the recipe to a T. Here's a couple tips and changes that I made ( which also up'd the calorie count, do beware of that)
1. I LOVE garlic and the cloves I had were on the smaller side- so I used 5 cloves, not just 3. Which probably attributed to the spiciness.
2. I didn't measure out the onions - I just did a half a red onion and that was perfect.
3. Basil -- first off - USE FRESH BASIL. It's like $2 at the grocery store and makes ALLLLL the difference in dishes. Secondly, I didnt' measure out the basil either - I just picked 5 or 6 good size leaves and cut them up to add in. Reserve a little bit and garnish each dish with it at the end. The heat will brown the leaves a little when you add it to the pasta -- so some pretty green on top looks nice.
4. I have a wierd thing of just eating pasta without protein - so I added some grilled chicken. That was good but probably not even needed. The dish offered up a lot of flavor and the penne is pretty hearty, so next time I'm going to exnay the chicken.

Cook Yourself Thin

This is my newest obession -- Lifetime's show called "Cook Yourself Thin" -- I LOVE IT!

It's not really a new idea of cooking TV. Take one woman who wants to loose weight and 3 cute little, skinny chefs and show woman #1 how to loose a dress size in 6 weeks. Pretty Basic....... but I can't get enough.

This show reaffirms another "firm belief" that I have. Which is cooking doesn't have to be fattening. You don't have to use gobs of butter or fattening oils to make something taste good. That you can make simple changes to almost any dish to make it healthier and just as good. I just don't know all those tricks and LOVE that this show gives 'em to me! I'll be making a lot of their meals and letting you all know how I like 'em and what...most likely, changes I made to them.