Untried Recipe

I just got this recipe in my inbox from Cooking Light. I will have to try it, since Spaghetti Carbonara is my favorite Italian dish. And, if you subsitute turkey bacon for the regular bacon, it would lighten the dish even more.

Ingredients:

8 ounces uncooked spaghetti
2 cups (1-inch) slices asparagus (about 3/4 pound)
1/2 cup egg substitute
1/2 cup evaporated fat-free milk
2 teaspoons olive oil
1/2 cup chopped onion
1/4 cup dry vermouth (I would substitute chicken stock here)
2 cups chopped skinless, boneless rotisserie chicken breast meat
1/2 cup (2 ounces) grated fresh Parmesan cheese
3 tablespoons finely chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
3/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
4 bacon slices, cooked and crumbled

Preparation:

Cook pasta in boiling water 10 minutes or until al dente; add asparagus during final 2 minutes of cooking. Drain pasta mixture in a colander over a bowl, reserving 1/3 cup cooking liquid. Combine reserved cooking liquid, egg substitute, and milk, stirring with a whisk.
Heat a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add oil and onion to pan; sauté 2 minutes. Add vermouth; cook 1 minute. Add pasta mixture; stir to combine. Remove from heat; stir in milk mixture, chicken, and cheese. Place pan over medium heat, and cook 4 minutes or until slightly thick, stirring frequently. Remove from heat; stir in parsley, salt, pepper, and bacon. Serve immediately.

Yield:

5 servings (serving size: about 1 1/4 cups)

Nutritional Information:

CALORIES 416(23% from fat); FAT 10.8g (sat 3.7g,mono 4.4g,poly 2g); PROTEIN 34.7g; CHOLESTEROL 60mg; CALCIUM 236mg; SODIUM 700mg; FIBER 3.1g; IRON 3.4mg; CARBOHYDRATE 41.9g

Queso Dip

Last night for a party, I made the Pioneer Woman's queso dip. Please, visit her blog and see her lovely photos of the delicious queso. This recipe makes a lot of dip. After nearly 2 hours, over half the dip was gone with only about a dozen party guests. It's that good. And, boy howdy, is it hot. Spicy hot. Make-the-head-under-your-hair-sweaty hot.

Pioneer Woman Spicy Queso Dip

1 medium onion
1 package hot breakfast sausage
1 block Velveeta
1 can diced tomatoes with chilies, such as Rotel
1 can chopped green chilies
1 jalapeno

Heat a large skillet or medium saucepan (I used my le Cruiset pot) over medium-high heat. Spray with Pam to keep the sausage from sticking and burning. Chop one medium onion. Add onion and sausage to the pot. As sausage cooks, break it up with a wooden spoon. While the sausage and onions cook, cube the Velveeta. When sausage is browned, add Velveeta. Stir. Then add tomatoes and chilies, with their juices. Lower heat to medium and allow cheese to melt completely, stirring occasionally. Before serving, add chopped jalapeno to the dip. I take out all the seeds of the jalapeno, because I am a wimp. Even without the seeds, this is one spicy dip. I served it in a crock pot so it would stay warm, and we used scoopable tortilla chips. Delicious.