Rotini and Cheese with Broccoli and Ham

serves six

Because you just can't have enough variations on macaroni and cheese. I have in my notes to make sure you whisk in the spices before you stir in the cheese* because as I recall, if you don't you end up with tongue-burning clumps of spices in your pasta. Which is no good if you're trying to convince your two-year-old to just try a bite.


4 quarts water
2 cups uncooked rotini (about 8 ounces corkscrew pasta)
1 (10-ounce) package frozen chopped broccoli
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
2 cups fat-free milk
1 1/2 cups (6 ounces) cubed light processed cheese (such as Velveeta Light)
2 teaspoons Dijon mustard
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
1 cup chopped reduced-fat ham

Bring water to a boil in a large stockpot. Add pasta; cook 5 minutes. Add broccoli; cook an additional 5 minutes or until pasta is done; drain.

While pasta cooks, lightly spoon flour into a dry measuring cup; level with a knife. Place flour in a medium saucepan; gradually add milk, stirring with a whisk until blended. Cook over medium heat 8 minutes or until mixture is thick, stirring frequently.

Remove from heat; stir in cheese and next 4 ingredients* (cheese through pepper). Combine pasta mixture, cheese sauce, and ham.

Couscous Salad

serves 6-8

Yes, indeed, another CL recipe. This is a great side dish when you're serving Greek or Mediterranean foods. Or to take on a picnic during the summer. It tastes great the day you make it, but also as leftovers straight from the fridge! I leave out the scallions and often use a regular cucumber with the seeds removed.

10 ounces couscous
6 scallions, trimmed and sliced
4 Roma tomatoes, quartered
1 seedless cucumber, sliced into half-moons
1/2 cup feta, crumbled
3 Tbs fresh lemon juice
2 Tbs extra-virgin olive oil
salt and pepper to taste

Place the couscous in a large bowl and pour 1 1/2 cups boiling water over the top. Cover and let stand for 5 minutes before fluffing with a fork.

Stir in rest of ingredients.

Buttermilk-Brined Pork Chops

serves four

another CL recipe :) We made this last night and it was SO good. Dave grilled the chops on our grill rather than using a grill pan (which I don't have). After reading the reviews about the end result being salty, I made sure I blotted the excess marinade off the meat before cooking. And I didn't have lemon rind so I used some of my orange peel. We also had only three boneless chops rather than four bone-in chops. It was still delicious.


2 cups fat-free buttermilk
2 tablespoons kosher salt
2 tablespoons sugar
1 tablespoon grated lemon rind
1 teaspoon chopped fresh rosemary
1 teaspoon chopped fresh sage
4 (6-ounce) bone-in center-cut pork chops (about 1/2 inch thick)
2 teaspoons freshly ground black pepper
Cooking spray

Combine first 6 ingredients in a large zip-top plastic bag; shake well to dissolve salt and sugar. Add pork; seal and refrigerate overnight, turning bag occasionally. Remove pork from bag; discard brine. Pat pork dry with a paper towel. Sprinkle pork with pepper.

Heat a large nonstick grill pan over medium-high heat. Coat the pan with cooking spray. Add pork; cook 3 1/2 minutes on each side or until desired degree of doneness.

Sauteed Apples

serves eight

Same song, second verse. Another CL recipe. This one is like the middle of the apple pie. The longest part is slicing and peeling the apples. It says it makes 8 servings, so you would probably cut it down accordingly. Thus, less apples, less time spent peeling and slicing! ☺

2-3 Tablespoons butter or margarine
6 cups sliced peeled Granny Smith apple (about 2 lbs)
½ cup packed brown sugar
½ teaspoon cinnamon (more if you like the taste, like me)

Melt butter in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add apple; sauté 6 minutes or until apple is just tender. Stir in sugar and cinnamon. Cook 1 minute or until sugar melts.

Baked Chile Rellenos

(from Cooking Light)
Serves 5

5 large poblano chiles
cooking spray
2 ½ cups thinly sliced zucchini
1 teaspoon minced garlic
1 teaspoon ground cumin, divided
2 jalapeño peppers
1 (14.5-ounce) can diced tomatoes, drained
1 (8-ounce) can tomato sauce
1 ½ cups (6 ounces) shredded mozzarella cheese
1 cup shredded cooked chicken breast
½ teaspoon salt

1. Preheat broiler.
2. Place poblano chiles on a foil-lined baking sheet; broil 3 inches from heat 8 minutes or until blackened and charred, turning after 6 minutes. Place in a heavy-duty zip-lock plastic bag; seal. Let stand 15 minutes. Peel and discard skins. Cut a length-wise slit in each chile; discard seeds, leaving stems intact. (I chop off the tops, remove the seeds and stuff from the top. I don’t have any stems left, but I find it easier to stuff without tearing the chile.)
3. Heat a medium saucepan over medium-high heat. Coat with cooking spray. Add zucchini and garlic; cook 4 minutes or until crisp-tender. Stir in ½ teaspoon cumin, jalapeño peppers, tomatoes and tomato sauce; bring to a boil. Reduce heat, and simmer 15 minutes. Remove and discard jalapeño peppers.
4. Preheat oven to 350º.
5. Combine ½ teaspoon cumin, cheese, chicken and salt in a bowl, tossing to combine. Spoon about ½ cup cheese mixture into each chile, and secure with a wooden pick. Place stuffed chiles in an 11 x 7-inch baking dish coated with cooking spray; pour tomato mixture over stuffed chiles. Cover, and bake at 350º for 20 minutes. Uncover; bake an additional 10 minutes or until thoroughly heated.

Balsamic Orange Salad

serves four

Another one from a Cooking Light compilation book. Very simple, but it looks pretty impressive. Especially if you garnish with parsley or some other green twig. It does need to be a pretty good balsamic vinegar, though. Not $400 a bottle or anything, but a step up from store brand. Although it'd probably taste pretty awesome with a $400 bottle of balsamic vinegar.

2 Tablespoons balsamic vinegar
2 Tablespoons brown sugar
2 oranges, peeled and cut into ¼ inch slices

Mix balsamic vinegar and brown sugar together. Bring to a boil. Cook until reduced to 2 tablespoons, stirring constantly. (I use my all metal 1 cup measuring cup since I don’t have a tiny sauce pan.) Let it cool just a touch while you divide the oranges onto 2 plates, then drizzle over the orange slices.

Creamy Orzo

serves four

This is a recipe from one of the Cooking Light compilations David and Jackie give me each year. I’ve changed it a bit. I like it because you don’t have to drain the orzo. I haven’t figured out how to do that yet without losing all the pasta through the holes in the strainer. If we’re having a Greek main course, I throw in some feta when I add the salt and pepper. If we’re going Italian, I add parmesan. I cut this one in half for just the two of us with no problem.

1 Tablespoon butter
1 cup orzo
1 ¼ cup chicken broth or stock (or beef, whatever you like)
1 ¼ cup water
salt and pepper to taste

In a saucepan, melt the butter over medium heat. Add the orzo and sauté for 5 minutes, stirring constantly. Pour in the broth and water. Bring to a boil, stirring occasionally. Cover and reduce heat. Simmer for 20 or so minutes until the liquid is pretty much absorbed. Salt and pepper to taste.