Autumn Penne Pasta w Brussels

Autumn Penne Pasta with Sauteed Brussels Sprouts In A Light Ragu

I'm busy working on my cookbook, so I thought since I'm making this tonight, I would revive it from the archives. Trust me it's good, and if you don't believe me read the comments!

A hearty pasta dish for a crisp Autumn day. Pasta is tossed with sauteed brussels sprouts and a quick meat ragu made light by using lean ground turkey and just enough hot Italian pork sausage to enhance the flavor of the sauce.

I know what some of you are thinking, brussels sprouts???

Trust me on this, prepared right, they are delicious!

My husband almost didn't allow me to add them to his portion claiming how much he dislikes them. He put his fork in my bowl of sauteed brussels sprouts and quickly changed his mind. He claimed I cheated by adding all that garlic to them. Well whatever works : )

In fact, all throughout the meal, he raved about what a great dish this turned out to be. Serve this with Pecorino Romano sprinkled on top and spoonful of part-skim ricotta on top, yum!!

Autumn Penne Pasta with Sauteed Brussels Sprouts in a Light Ragu
Skinnytaste.com
Servings: 8 • Serving Size: about 1 3/4 cup • Old Points: 6 pts • Points+: 8 pts
Calories: 326.1 • Fat: 6.9 g • Protein: 15.7 g • Carb: 54.8 g • Fiber: 8.8 g • Sugar:5.4 g
Sodium: 343.6 mg (without salt)

Ingredients:

• 1 sweet or hot pork sausage link, casing removed, crumbled
• 3/4 lb 93% lean ground turkey
• 4 tsp olive oil, divided
• 4 cloves garlic, sliced thin 
• 10 oz brussels sprouts, weight after outer leaves and stems removed
• 1 small onion, diced small
• 1 carrot, peeled and diced small
• 1 celery stalk, diced small
• 28 oz crushed tomatoes (I use Tuttoroso)
• 1 bay leaf
• pinch crushed red pepper
• kosher salt and fresh ground pepper to taste
• 1 lb high fiber, low carb or whole wheat pasta (brown rice pasta for gluten free)

Directions:
In a large, wide skillet, add sausage and turkey over medium-high heat, breaking up the sausage and turkey as it cooks into small pieces. When completely cooked through; set aside in a bowl.

With a sharp knife, cut the brussels sprouts into thin shreds.

To the skillet, add 2 tsp of oil over medium heat. When hot, add the garlic and cook until golden (do not burn). Add shredded brussels sprouts, salt and pepper and sautéuntil tender crisp, about 4 to 5 minutes; set aside in another bowl.

To the same skillet, add remaining 2 tsp of oil over medium-high heat. Add onion, carrot and celery, stirring well to coat with oil. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the vegetables turn golden brown, about 10 to 12 minutes.  

Add crushed tomatoes, sausage and turkey, bay leaf, crushed red pepper, salt and fresh pepper to taste. Reduce heat to low, cover and simmer about 30 - 40 minutes, or until sauce thickens.

Meanwhile, while sauce is simmering, put a large pot of salted water to boil for the pasta. Add the pasta to the water 10 minutes before the sauce is done and cookpasta al dente.  

Drain and add the pasta to the skillet and toss with the sauce.

Add cooked brussel sprouts, toss and place in a large pasta bowl.

Asian Turkey Meatballs

Asian Turkey Meatballs With Lime Sesame Dipping Sauce
Source: Skinny Taste; Makes 12 meatballs; Serving size 3 meatballs (229.1 calories)

Ingredients:

Meatballs:
1/4 cup Panko crumbs
1-1/4 lbs (20 ounces) 93% lean ground turkey
1 egg
1 tablespoon ginger, minced
1 clove garlic, minced
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro
3 scallions, chopped
1 tablespoon low sodium soy sauce
2 teaspoons sesame oil

Lime Dipping Sauce 
4 tablespoons low sodium soy sauce
1 teaspoon sesame oil
2 tablespoons fresh lime juice
2 tablespoons water
1 chopped fresh scallion

Instructions:
Preheat oven to 500°F.

Mix ground turkey, panko, egg, salt, scallions, ginger, cilantro, 1 tbsp soy sauce, and 2 tsp oil and mix with your hands until combined well. Shape 1/4 cup meat mixture into a ball and transfer to a baking dish that has been sprayed with cooking spray. Repeat with remaining mixture. Bake until cooked through, about 15 minutes.

For the dipping sauce mix together lime juice, water, soy sauce, and remaining 1 teaspoon of oil in a bowl. Add scallions.

Transfer meatballs to a serving dish. Stir sauce, then drizzle meatballs with 1 tablespoon sauce.

Serve meatballs with remaining sauce, about 1 tbsp per person. You probably won’t use all the dipping sauce.

Makes 12 meatballs.

Cowboy Caviar

Cowboy Caviar

from Sheri Denney

Ingredients:

1 can black eyed peas, drained and rinsed

1 can black beans, drained and rinsed

1 can shoepeg corn, drained and rinsed

4-5 Roma tomatoes, seeds removed and diced

2-3 diced avocados, ripe but still firm

4 green onions, sliced thin (I used 1/2 purple onion diced finely because that’s all I had)

around 1/2  to 3/4 cup Zesty Italian dressing

1/2 bunch cilantro, chopped finely

1-2 limes

ground pepper and salt to taste

Instructions:

Drain and rinse the black eyed peas, black beans, and corn. Add to a large bowl. Dice the tomatoes, making sure the seeds and insides are removed. You want to do this to make sure that there isn’t too much liquid in the dip. Add the diced tomatoes and cilantro to the bowl. Slice the green onions finely (or purple onion) and add to the bowl. Dice the avocado and squeeze a little of the lime juice over the avocados so they don’t brown as quickly. Squeeze the rest of the lime juice into the bowl. Add the Italian dressing and stir to coat all the ingredients. Add salt and pepper to taste.

Chill in the refrigerator until cold and flavors have marinated together. This is best served the same day as prepared. Serve with tortilla chips.

No-Fail Dinner Rolls

You’ll need whole milk, all-purpose flour, yeast, sugar, salt, butter, and eggs. Nothing fancy.

Combine milk, 1/2 c. sugar, butter, and salt in a medium saucepan. Heat over medium heat until butter melts. It’s salty. It’s sweet. Yum.

Remove from heat. Allow to cool to lukewarm. I usually rub some ice cubes along the sides of the pan or pop the entire pan in a sink full of ice cubes to cool the mixture down because this step can take forever. This step is really important because if the mixture is too hot, it will kill the yeast.

While the milk mixture is cooling, dissolve the yeast and 1 Tbsp. sugar in warm water. Let stand about 10 minutes. If the yeast hasn’t bubbled, you’ll need to repeat this step–moving on with yeast that hasn’t been activated properly will only end in heartache for you and hate mail for us.

In a large mixing bowl, combine 3 c. flour and milk mixture. Beat on low for 30 seconds, scraping sides of bowl constantly. Add yeast mixture and beat on high for 3 minutes.
Add beaten eggs. Why should you beat your eggs first? Same reason you should combine your dry ingredients before adding them to moist ingredients when making cookies and cakes–it ensures everything is well-mixed and can be evenly-distributed through your dough or batter. If you add the whole eggs, your dough may not be as consistent.

Stir in as much remaining flour as needed to make a soft dough. This dough should be very soft–it will be coming away from the sides of the bowl, but it will still stick to your finger when you touch it. Don’t worry, it will firm up during the rising process. Part of what makes these rolls so good is that they’re so soft and light; if you add too much flour, they will be heavy and dense. Place the bowl in a warm place and cover with a clean towel; allow to rise 1 hour.

Punch down dough. Lightly flour your work surface and turn dough out onto surface. Divide in half.

Spray 2 9×13 glass pans with cooking spray. Roll first portion of dough into a rectangle and then cut it into 12 equal-sized pieces. I like to use a pizza cutter because it has a blade on each side, so it cuts right through dough without sticking to the blade. This dough should be very easy to work with, almost like playdough. Shape each piece into a ball and place in prepared pan. Repeat with remaining dough in the second pan.

Cover with a clean cloth and allow to rise in a warm place for about 30 minutes. When dough has about 15-20 minutes to go (depending on your oven), preheat oven to 375.

Bake for 15-18 minutes or until golden-brown.

When done, remove from oven. Rub a stick of cold butter over the tops of the rolls. You must now eat one. Now. While it’s hot.

Then pop the rest into a bowl and no one will ever know that you cheated.

P.S. Using this filling or these fillings, this dough makes fabulous cinnamon or orange rolls. Just bake at 375 for 15-20 minutes or until golden brown.

MAKING AHEAD:  We have received tons of comments and emails asking about making these rolls ahead, or freezing the dough, etc.  Note that we have never before tried any of these methods so we can’t give you an answer for sure.  You can try freezing the dough after they have been shaped (but before the second rise) and you can certainly try cooking and cooling completely and then freezing.  Just keep in mind we only make these fresh and eat them hot from the pan so that’s all the info we can give you.

Red Lobster Biscuits

Cheddar Bay Biscuits

Source: LettucePray

Ingredients:

Biscuits:

2 1/2 cups Bisquick

4 Tbsp cold butter

1 cup cheddar cheese, shredded

3/4 cup milk

1/4 tsp garlic powder

Butter Glaze:

3 Tbsp butter

1/2 tsp garlic powder

3/4 tsp dried parsley flakes

Instructions:

Preheat your oven to 400 degrees. Lightly grease or line one cookie sheet with parchment; set aside.

Combine Bisquick with cold butter in a medium bowl using a pastry cutter (I just used 2 forks). Don’t worry about mixing too thoroughly; there will be small chunks of butter in the mix about the size of peas. Add cheddar cheese, milk, and garlic powder. Mix by hand until combined, but don’t over mix.

Drop 1/4 cup portions of the dough onto the lightly greased or parchment lined cookie sheet. Bake for 11-13 minutes in preheated oven or until the tops of the biscuits begin to turn light brown.

While the biscuits are baking, melt butter is a small bowl in the microwave. Stir in garlic powder and dried parsley flakes. Use a brush to spread the garlic butter over the tops of all the biscuits. Sprinkle a little kosher salt on the freshly coated biscuits. Makes one dozen.

Need to use up some zucchini? Grate a small zucchini, about 3/4 cup. Strain the grated zucchini in a cheesecloth or some paper towels to get rid of the excess moisture. Add the grated zucchini to the biscuit batter when you add the cheese and milk.

Guac

1) Halve each avocado and remove the pit. 2) Scoop out the flesh with a spoon. 3) Then coarsely chop it.
Slightly mash the avocado then add onion, tomato, cilantro, garlic and some lime. Then salt and pepper to taste.

Guacamole

Source: The Girl Who Ate Everything

Ingredients:

4 ripe avocados

1/2 cup red onion, diced finely

2 roma tomatoes, seeded and diced finely

1/4 – 1/2 cup cilantro, chopped finely

1 lime, juiced

1 teaspoon minced garlic

salt and pepper to taste

(optional) 1/2 jalapeno, seeded and diced finely

Instructions:

Cut avocados in half and remove pit. Scoop out flesh of avocado and coarsely chop it. Place in a large bowl and slightly mash with a fork. I like mine on the chunky side. Add the diced onion, tomatoes, cilantro, and garlic and toss together with the avocados. If you like your guacamole on the spicy side add some diced jalapeno here.

Add the lime juice, salt, and pepper to taste.

Chill until serving. If not serving right away place saran wrap directly against the guacamole so that it does not oxidize and turn brown. Serve with tortilla chips.

Pico De Gallo

Pico De Gallo 
Source: adapted from the Pioneer Woman

Ingredients:
5 plum tomatoes
1/2 large or small onion
1 jalapeno
cilantro
1/2 lime
salt
*Quantities are approximate

Instructions:
Chop jalapenos, onion, and tomatoes in a very small dice. Leave seeds in your jalapenos for a hotterpico. Adjust the amount of jalapenos for your preferred temperature. Next, chop up a nice-sized bunch of cilantro. Disregard the long stems before chopping. Stir together. Add the juice of a half a lime and add salt to taste.