I'd never heard of vegetable "pasta" before I ran across this recipe. It sounded really good so I decided to try it. One does not need a spiralizer to make veggie pasta. I went to Bed, Bath, & Beyond and go a julienne peeler and it worked perfectly.
The recipe I used is Running to the Kitchen's Zucchini Pasta with Avocado Cream Sauce. The only substitutions I made were 2% milk instead of almond or rice milk, and grape tomatoes instead of cherry tomatoes. This was delicious all on its own, or it would be a perfect healthy summer side. Enjoy!
I meant to post this after I first made it, but forgot to take a picture. So, here's last night's dinner.
Starting from the top left: a pear, marinated grilled chicken strips, and the star of the show, Greek mac 'n cheese. Thanks once again to Allen of the Cole's Slaw blog for his mac 'n cheese recipe. I made the following substitutions:
Macaroni --> Brown rice macaroni
Butter --> EVOO
Sharp cheddar --> Reduced fat feta
Milk --> 2% milk
Added chopped kalamata olives
Needless to say, it is fabulous. If anyone tells you feta cheese doesn't melt, they just don't know how to do it.
Now to decide on what my next cooking adventure will be...
Lamb is one of the few red meats I'm "allowed" to have, and even that sparingly. I picked up some lamb meat for kabobs last week, and made them on Friday night. The first step was marinating the lamb. A friend of mine, Allen from the Cole's Slaw blog, gave me this recipe for a general meat marinade on the grill:
Marinade for the Grill
1/3 C vegetable oil (I substituted EVOO. Canola oil will work, too)
1/4 C Soy sauce (I substituted low-sodium tamari)
1/4 C Lemon juice
1 tbsp Mustard
2 tbsp Worcestershire sauce
1 tsp Garlic powder
1 tsp Salt
1 tsp Pepper
This is a really good base marinade. Since I was doing lamb, I added some chopped fresh rosemary. You can add or vary spices and herbs for the meat being cooked and/or to suit your tastes, or even add a splash of balsamic vinegar (suggestion from Allen). I marinated it for a few hours.
After marinating, I skewered the lamb on bamboo skewers (soak them in water for 1/2 hour before cooking so they don't catch fire), and interspersed some crimini (baby bella) mushrooms, red onion, sweet peppers, and pineapple. I grilled this on my stovetop grill, which I don't really recommend. I thought it would be a neat thing, but it doesn't cook very evenly and the smoke is horrible. If you are grilling them on a charcoal grill, cook over direct heat. 12 minutes total should do, turning them a few times. Don't overcook! Dry lamb is nasty. I also basted them with the marinade. Serve over brown rice. No need for other veggies unless you so desire. Enjoy!
Yes, I've been gone for over a year. However, due to some very concerning blood panels, and therefore doctor's orders, I'm back on the Mediterranean Diet. I've just started again, so not much to tell yet. However, I did make a yummy lunch today.
Brown rice, smoke salmon, baked eggs with basil and feta cheese, and a mixed green salad with goat cheese and balsamic vinaigrette dressing. Tonight I'm making a version of my Vegetarian Beans and Rice.
I'll keep you all updated as things progress.
