Fat Tuesday: Bourbon Street Salmon Pasta

I have to say, I'm pretty pleased with the name of this dish. Perhaps it would have been named differently, but since it was Fat Tuesday, this seemed appropriate. Anything to make the mid-week doldrums a little more fun!

I got the inspiration for this pasta dish from a recipe for Scotch Salmon. I already had all the ingredients except the smoked salmon, which also pleased me. (Don't start thinking I'm easy to please, now)

This whole meal came together in about 30 minutes and provided enough for 3 hearty servings. You easily substitute a different vegetable if you don't like/have peas. Also, I think a jarred sun-dried tomato pesto would have been a nice addition.

Bourbon Street Salmon Pasta
1 1/2 cups farfalle (bow tie) pasta
1 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil
1 Tbsp margarine
1 Tbsp minced garlic
1 1/2 Tbsp flour
1/4 cup bourbon whiskey (I used Brent's expensive Basil Hayden's--shhh)
2 cups chicken stock
2 Tbsp sun-dried tomatoes, chopped
2 Tbsp parsley, chopped
1/2 cup milk (I used skim and it came out just fine, but of course heavy cream would be dreamy)
1 cup frozen peas
1 cup (8 oz) smoked salmon, cut into 1 inch pieces
Salt and Pepper, to taste

Cook pasta according to package directions. Meanwhile, heat large skillet over medium heat. Melt oil and butter, adding garlic when melted. Cook for about 1 minute. Add flour and stir quickly to remove any clumps. Add bourbon, stock, sun-dried tomatoes and parsley, cooking about 3 minutes until slightly thick and bubbly.

Tip: If you don't have bourbon in your house you can substitute 1 tsp vanilla extract or sparkling apple cider!

Add milk, peas and salmon and cook through until peas are cooked. Season with salt and pepper as appropriate.

The sauce before adding the pasta

Drain pasta and add to skillet, tossing to combine.

Colorful and bursting with flavor

This dish doesn't need a lot of extra salt since the stock and smoked salmon provide that flavor. I really enjoyed this, but found myself wishing I'd added some shallots when I added the garlic. I think it needed that slightly onion-y taste.

But overall, I was really happy with my impromptu Fat Tuesday main course. Of course, we had to follow it up with a wonderful Bread Pudding with Grand Marnier Caramel Sauce!

Vegetable, Herb and Goat Cheese Pasta

I found a recipe on the Weight Watchers website, which inspired a meal last week. Their recipe was for Tomato, Herb and Goat Cheese Capellini. However, I already had some angel hair pasta, asparagus, green beans and roma tomatoes. All I needed to complete the dish was goat cheese.

Vegetable, Herb and Goat Cheese Pasta
4 Tbsp reduced-sodium chicken broth
2 tsp minced garlic
1 cup asparagus, cut into 1/2 inch pieces
1 cup fresh green beans, cut into 1/2 inch pieces
2 cups roma tomatoes, diced
8 oz cooked angel hair pasta
3 Tbsp fresh basil, chiffonade
3 Tbsp fresh parsely, minced
1/4 cup semisoft goat cheese, crumbled
Salt and pepper to taste

Heat 1 tablespoon of the broth in a skillet over medium heat. Add garlic and saute 1 minute. Add asparagus and green beans, saute 1 minute. Add tomatoes and cook until just soft, about 2 minutes. Add remaining broth and heat through.

Place cooked pasta in large bowl and add vegetable mixture, toss to combine. Add herbs and goat cheese, toss. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Serve hot or at room temperature. Each serving is about 1 1/4 cups.

Vegetable, Herb and Goat Cheese Pasta

I found a great Drunken Goat Cheese (cured with red wine) on sale at the store, so that's what I used this time. The fresh herbs make all the difference in a dish like this. The flavor of the basil carried most of the weight--the goat cheese just added a bit of tang and creaminess. It was perfect with a nice white wine and a Caprese Salad.

This made 5 servings and counted for about 5 points. Bonus--the addition of more veggies never hurt anyone!

Caprese Salad--a summer staple

Chicken Fried Steaks with Spicy Blue Cheese Sauce

I got home from a work trip and didn't want to go to the store so it was time to create my own mystery basket contest from what I already had. I was actually inspired by a culinary competition I'd seen the night before--I just had to work with the ingredients I already had. You can see my choices below (well there were more choices, but this is where my mind went).

What is a Sirloin Tip Steak???!!! My mom had given me a variety of cuts from a half of beef they'd purchased. Beef cuts have so many different names--so I looked this up and found out that it's from the round. So its a lean cut! Awesome. That also meant it needed some "TLC" and probably shouldn't be grilled up as a normal steak. So I decided to make a sort of chicken fried steak. I put it on top of whole wheat pasta and spinach and then made a spicy blue cheese sauce.

Chicken Fried Steaks with Spicy Blue Cheese Sauce
1 cup cooked whole wheat pasta
2 beef sirloin tip side steaks
1/4 cup flour
1 egg
1 Tbsp water
1/4 cup dried bread crumbs
1/4 tsp crushed red pepper flakes
1/4 tsp garlic powder
Salt and pepper
2 tsp vegetable oil
2 Tbsp blue cheese crumbles
2 Tbsp light sour cream
hot sauce to taste
1 package frozen chopped spinach

Cook pasta and set aside. Place steaks on cutting board, top with plastic wrap and pound thin with a large pan or mallet if you have one. Pound until about 1/4 inch thick and cut each steak in half. Heat oil over medium heat in skillet.

In shallow bowl combine flour and salt and pepper to your liking. In second bowl lightly whisk egg and water. In third bowl combine bread crumbs, garlic powder, red pepper flakes, salt and pepper to taste. Dredge steaks in flour, then egg, then bread crumbs. Place in skillet and cook about 3-5 minutes on each side until evenly golden and 145 degrees.

Meanwhile, heat spinach in microwave. Season with salt and pepper. Mix blue cheese, sour cream and hot sauce in small bowl.

Mound 1/2 cup pasta on plate, top with as much spinach as you'd like. Place two steaks atop pasta and spinach. Top with half the blue cheese mixture.

Makes two servings.

This was absolutely delicious. I also feel like it was a rather healthy version of chicken fried steak--if there ever was one. I sort of mixed it all up when I was eating it. I liked to have a taste of each item in every bite.

I'm making this again--but next time I'll have to go buy the steaks since I used my mystery meat successfully!

A Penne for Your Thoughts

This is one dish I make over and over. It’s affordable, easy to make, freeze-able, and tasty. I’ve made it lots of different ways. This time I had vegetables to use up, so I filled it up with zucchini, squash, onions and tomatoes. The basic formula is pretty much the same, just add in whatever you want and enjoy!

Baked Pasta

4 cups cooked whole wheat pasta (I used penne)
1 pound 95% lean ground beef
2 tsp minced garlic
1 zucchini, cut into “coins” and then quartered
1 yellow squash, cut into “coins” and then quartered
½ yellow onion, thinly sliced
4 roma tomatoes, diced
1 cup light pasta sauce
2 tsp dried basil (or fresh if you’ve got it)
1 tsp dried oregano
1 tsp dried thyme
Salt and pepper to taste
2 cups light mozzarella cheese, shredded

Heat oven to 350°F. Cook pasta and set aside. Brown ground beef in skillet. After 2 minutes, add garlic and vegetables. Cook for 3 minutes. Add spices and pasta sauce. Cook 3 more minutes. In casserole dish, layer pasta, meat sauce and cheese starting with small amount of meat sauce, ½ the pasta, ½ the remaining meat sauce and 1 cup of cheese. Repeat ending with cheese. Bake for 20 minutes. If cheese isn’t browned on top, turn on broiler for 1 minute until cheese is slightly brown and bubbling.

Makes 8 servings. Plugged into my WW recipe builder, it shows up as 5 points.

Building the layers

I've thought about adding some low-fat ricotta cheese to the mix, almost like a lasagna, but it would increase the points. It's good as it is, but I love gooey pasta--this isn't overly gooey.

I made this while my mom was here to visit and she loved it. She said my dad would even like it as long as you didn't tell him what was in it. Funny.