July 31, 2010

Make way for another guest chef in the house! Our own Rachel Ward is working on her Personal Progress, so she's doing two weeks' worth of meals for us. She wanted Chicken Fettuccini Alfredo, so I set about looking for an easier, cheaper (spent all our money in Greece) alfredo sauce. Here's what we came up with. The picture doesn't do it justice; it's not too shabby, if we don't say so ourselves!

Rachel's Alfredo Sauce
1/2 c. butter
1 t. minced garlic
8 oz light cream cheese
1 1/2 c. milk
4-6 oz parmesan cheese
1/8 t. black pepper
dash or two of nutmeg
Melt butter, saute garlic. Add cream cheese, whisking constantly, until smooth. Add milk a little at a time, whisking. Stir in parmesan cheese and pepper and nutmeg. Remove from heat when it's desired consistency. It will thicken; thin with milk, if desired. Toss with hot pasta. Can top with grilled chicken. Note: We used 12oz fettuccini and had leftover sauce. We might try a 16oz box of pasta next time.
4 stars



For dessert, Rachel fixed Tropical Parfaits, which she found on the cover of the August Family Circle magazine. With our recent fondness for Greek yogurt, this was right up our alley!
4 stars

Tropical Parfaits (Rachel renamed it "Fruit Yummy-ness")
1 ripe mango, peeled, pitted and diced
1 cup pineapple chunks, diced
1 cup raspberries
1 cup blueberries
2 kiwifruit, peeled and diced
2 T. honey
1 1/2 c. 2% Greek yogurt (although we used nonfat)
2 T. honey
6 T. sweetened shredded coconut
6 rolled cookes like Pirouette
In large bowl, combine all the fruit with the honey. Stir gently to combine. In a medium bowl, shisk together the yogurt and 2 T honey. Chill until layering. Toast coconut in small nonstick skillet over medium heat, stirring occasionally. Remove from heat and cool.
Spoon 2 T. fruit into bottom of an 8oz glass. Top with 1 T. yogurt and a little coconut. Repeat layering one more time, finishing with coconut. Garnish with a cookie. Repeat with 5 more glasses. Makes 6 servings.

July 29, 2010

We did some nasty yardwork tonight, so we rewarded ourselves with Rachael Ray's Black and White Shakes on p. 19. We think they tasted just like Wendy's frosties -- all full of frozen yumminess.

4 stars

Black and White Shakes - Rachael Ray

1 cup chocolate syrup

2 pints vanilla ice cream

2 quarts skim milk

1 tray ice cubes

In a blender, for each shake, combine 3 squirts of chocolate syrup (about 1/4 cup), 1/2 pint vanilla ice cream (3 scoops), 2 cups skim milk, and 4 ice cubes. Blend on high until smooth and icy. Serve with straws in a tall glass.

Makes 4 shakes

July 18, 2010

Hello again! We're back from yet another vacation, this time a family reunion in Tennessee and then visiting the grandparents in Athens, Greece! We all had a great trip, but were definitely ready to get home. Anyways, since my sisters and I have our church girls' camp this coming week, mom and I figured we should do a couple new recipes before I leave.

So we got home, slept some (oh the joys of jet lag), and I flipped through the Rachael Ray book and put my finger on a random page. It landed on the page of Roquefort, Pear and Walnut Toasts, Chicken Paillard on Baby Greens, and the Citrus White Wine Spritzer.

The Roquefort, Pear and Walnut toasts were my mom's favorite. She's already talking about making them for a dinner party sometime. This appetizer was so out of the ordinary that even my little sister's curiosity got the better of her and she tried it. The sweetness of the pears perfectly balanced out the sharp taste of the blue cheese. Even though it's not 5 stars, we think it's worth listing here:

Roquefort, Pear and Walnut Toasts
1 baguette, thinly sliced on an angle
a wedge of lemon
1 pear, quartered lengthwise and thinly sliced
3/4 lb Roquefort cheese, crumbled (we used regular bleu cheese)
1 c. walnut pieces
Preheat broiler to high. Arrange 12 slices of baguette on broiler pan in a single layer. Toast lightly on each side. Squeeze lemon juice over the pear slices to keep them from browning. Place a slice of pear on each toast and top with cheese crumbles and walnut pieces. Return pan to broiler 6 inches from heat and broil toasts 2-3 minutes to melt cheese and toast walnuts. Be careful! Walnuts burn so easily! Transfer to plate and start snacking!
4 1/2 stars



The Chicken Paillard was very tasty. The sauce needed some salt, but together with the baby greens and the chicken was a great main dish. If you ever make this, definitely try a piece of the chicken with the salad and sauce together. It was a strangely good combination.

4 1/2 stars



Now for the Citrus White Wine Spritzer, obviously we had to do a little substituting for the Wine Spritzer . . . but everyone liked it with white grape juice. In glass goblets it looked really pretty.

4 3/4 stars (we're getting a little picky here, mom thought it wasn't very interesting)

CITRUS WHITE WINE SPRITZER
(makes one serving)

2 thin lemon slices
2 thin lime slices
1/2 cup Pinot Grigio, other dry crisp white wine, or white grape juice
1/4 cup lemon-lime seltzer

In a large stem glass, arrange slices of lemon and lime among ice cubes to fill the glass. Pour the white wine (or white grape juice!) and seltzer over fruit and ice. Stir with straw and serve.