Butternut Squash Macaroni and Cheese

Fall is by far my favorite season! One the many reasons for this is that it is harvest time for some amazing fruits and vegetables!  Being on this healthy cooking kick, I decided to take advantage of the fact that squash is in season.  Sure, it is typically used less in cooking than peppers, onions and broccoli, but much to my surprise, it can be used in so many ways.   I was tentative to try out a "mac and cheese" with butternut squash as the main component of the sauce, however, it ended up being a great meal for the family to enjoy as we watched the Bills crush the Dolphins on a Sunday afternoon!

Main Ingredients
2 cups elbow macaroni 

1 small onion

1 butternut squash

3/4 cup milk

1 cup shredded cheddar cheese
Chicken broth

Directions: 

1. Cook the pasta.
2. Sauté the onion in a pan with butter. 

3.  Cook the butternut squash (cut into cubes) in boiling chicken broth until soft.  

4. In a blender, puree the cooked squash with the sautéed onions, milk, and 1/2 cup of chicken broth.

5. Mix the pureed sauce with the cooked pasta and 1 cup of shredded cheese until the cheese is melted.

Full directions are available on the "Pinch of Yum"website, where I found this unique recipe!
Note: I altered some parts of the recipe slightly to make it my own. 

After tasting this, I would have to say, this twist on a classic comfort food was my most successful yet! Considering this recipe only contained one cup of cheese, while most mac and cheese recipes call for about four, it was incredible how much it still tasted like the traditional dish!  If I were to make some suggestions on how to create some more flavor in this recipe, I would encourage the addition of spices.   I topped mine with crushed red pepper, black pepper and parmesan cheese!  I will definitely use this recipe again and would highly recommend that you try it out too!

Cauliflower Crusted Pizza

This week, I decided to take on a recipe that I have been very curious about: Cauliflower Crusted Pizza.  After deciding on my recipe, I was flipping through "Wegmans Menu Magazine" and found an article in which they named cauliflower "This Season's Veggie Superstar." I can't argue with that one, Wegmans does know best :).  As far as health benefits go, cauliflower has vitamins and minerals that cannot be matched by traditional pizza dough.  A serving of cauliflower provides 100% daily value of vitamin C and 200% of vitamin K.  It also carries antioxidants believed to protect against diseases. After learning this, I became even more excited to tackle this week's healthy recipe!

The final product :)

Cauliflower Crust Ingredients
1/2 cups cauliflower, grated
1 large egg
1 1/4 cups shredded mozzarella cheese
2 tablespoons grated parmesan cheese

To create the crust, I started by breaking up the cauliflower using a grater.  Following that, I warmed up the cauliflower in the microwave for about 7 minutes and then let it cool. Once cool, I mixed the cauliflower with one egg, mozzarella cheese and parmesan cheese. The final step before cooking was to spread the mixture in a thin crust on a pan.  Note that it is important to fully pre-cook the crust at 425 degrees until golden brown before adding the toppings of your choice to ensure that the crust is not soggy. Once the pizza is full of delicious toppings, cook for another 10 minutes.  Check out the full directions here!

Personally, I love vegetables, so this recipe didn't scare me one bit. The pizza ended up tasting delicious too!  My sister, however, is a little more picky. Although she was hesitant to try it, she really enjoyed it.  I think this will reassure you picky eaters that taking risks in the kitchen is definitely worth it.  Plus, is there anything that can beat a healthy pizza?

Oven-Baked Mozzarella Sticks

With it being the first week of NFL Football, I was itching to make a delicious appetizer to accompany the occasion.   Yes, football is an occasion in my household!  We are still beaming over the Buffalo Bills win this week.    I decided that Monday Night Football would be a great night to test out a new recipe, and the first thing that came to my mind was mozzarella sticks.  I have a weak spot for mozzarella sticks, and everyone who knows me, knows this to be true.  But let's face it, deep fried strings of cheese aren't the healthiest.  I, however, found a recipe that is!  By using skim mozzarella cheese and using the oven instead of a deep frier, I cooked some delicious 43 calorie mozzarella sticks, and was pleasantly surprised with the outcome.

Ingredients
12 sticks part-skim mozzarella string cheese
1 large egg
1/4 cup flour
1/4 cup Italian seasoned breadcrumbs
1/4 cup Panko breadcrumbs
2 teaspoons parmesan cheese
1 Tablespoon dried parsley (or basil)
Nonstick cooking spray
Marinara sauce for serving



I started by freezing the cheese sticks for 30 minutes.  Following that, as pictured above,  I cut them in half and then rolled them in flour, dipped them in whisked egg yolk, and covered them in a mix of breadcrumbs, parmesan cheese and dried basil.  After freezing again, I put them in the oven, at 400 degrees, for 5 minutes on each side.  Full directions are available on "The Comfort of Cooking Website", where I found this simple and easy recipe.


Although my mozzarella sticks didn't look quite like the ones on the original recipe, as they never quite do, they definitely had the flavor!  If you decide to make these tasty treats, I would suggest cutting the cheese so it is thinner.  I would also suggest breading the sticks very heavily, so that the cheese can fully melt inside before the outsides get golden brown.

Don't get me wrong, I will still indulge in some deep fried mozzarella sticks when given the next chance, but this recipe definitely opened my eyes to the healthy possibilities that are out that when it comes to cooking!

Thanks for reading!
-Jamie

Welcome!

Hello,

Welcome to my blog!  Being a lover of all things food related, I decided to take on the challenge of finding healthy recipes for some of my favorite comfort foods.   With football season just starting, and fall approaching, I don't think there could be a better time to learn some new ways to spice up my weekend cooking, but with a healthy twist.  Follow along as I cook and share easy recipes for those looking to indulge in some delicious food, without feeling so guilty after eating it!

Check out my Facebook page titled "Healthy Meal Makeovers", as well.  Here I will share the links to each blog post and I will provide other healthy cooking tips.  Stay tuned, as my first recipe will be posted this upcoming week!

Thanks,

Jamie Corbett