It is wintertime and comfort foods are in.  Try this recipe and add a salad on the side.  This is simple and a crowd and kid pleaser.  Top with marinara or a meat sauce, whichever you prefer.  Once you make this, the variations are endless!
   




Preheat oven to 350 degrees

• 1-10 oz frozen chopped spinach thawed and drained
• 4-5 garlic cloves peeled and minced
• 1- 15 oz part skim ricotta cheese
• 1/2 lb grated mozzarella cheese
• 2 eggs
• 1 T dried basil
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/4 tsp pepper

Marinara Sauce in jar or make your own (we like a no meat sauce on these)

Cook shells per package instructions.  Mix all other ingredients in a bowl and stuff shells.  Spread marinara sauce over the pasta shells, sprinkle with parmesan cheese (also mozzarella if you like) and bake in a covered casserole about 25 minutes or until heated through.

This easy to make side can transform any simple main course presentation to elegance and sophistication.  Prepare this for company or at home any night of the week.  

My husband teases me that I count everything instead of measuring by the pound.  For this recipe, I like to bundle three asparagus stalks per person by wrapping them in a slice of prosciutto; so I count... :) Bundle more if you’d like.

Ingredients:

• Olive oil (enough to generously coat asparagus)
• Medium to thick stalk asparagus (I like 3 per person)
• Package of thinly sliced prosciutto or deli sliced thin (you need a slice for each bundle)
• Salt to taste

Preheat Oven 400 Degrees

Ingredients:

• 3 T olive oil
  
• 1 lb. fresh whole green beans, ends trimmed
  
• 1 cup thinly sliced onion in ring form
  
• 10 medium whole garlic cloves peeled
  
• 1 T balsamic vinegar (sometimes I skip this)
  
• Salt and pepper to taste
  
• 3/4 c toasted pine nuts
  

Preheat Oven 400 degrees

Step 1
Toss beans, onion and garlic in a bowl with the olive oil, and little salt

Step 2
Spread all ingredients listed in step 1 on a baking sheet

Step 3
Roast 20 minutes, then check for desired tenderness, while stirring, tossing and shaking and roasting in 5 minutes     intervals, until you like the texture

Remove the beans from the oven and drizzle with vinegar.  Top with the toasted pine nuts and salt and pepper to taste.  I love this recipe.  The texture will be much different than cooking green beans the traditional way.  Enjoy!

Of the many recipes we have tried for flank steak, we think this one is the best!  Serve with potatoes and a green salad.

Serves 4-6

Ingredients:

3-4 cloves garlic, minced
1/4 c olive oil
1/4 c firmly packed brown sugar
2 T red wine vinegar
1/4 c soy sauce
1 tsp Dijon mustard
1 tsp freshly ground black pepper
1 whole trimmed flank steak (1 1/2 - 2 lbs)
Salt to taste

Step 1:
Mix all the marinade ingredients except for the salt in a bowl.

Step 2:
Gently score your flank steak on both sides.

Step 3:
Add flank steak to large zip top freezer bag and pour marinade over the steak.  Seal, shake and refrigerate for at 6 hours or overnight.

Step 4:
Take steak from marinade, salt and pepper on both sides to taste. Prepare your grill while your steak sits at room temperature for about 15 minutes.

Step 5:
Grill over high direct heat for 5 to 6 minutes per side for medium-rare, or until desired doneness.

Step 6:
Transfer to clean plate and cover lossely with foil; let rest for 10 minutes before cutting into thin slices agaianst the grain.  Serve.

Use left over meat in a stir fry or fried rice later this week.  The soy and brown sugar flavoring makes it fit right in.  If you are really in a pinch later in the week, throw leftover meat on top of a salad.

Health Inspires.

Made with skin on red potatoes, the natural taste and texture is rich and creamy without the cream.  I have skipped the sour cream for years now and use skim milk all the way.  They taste great either way!  Using olive oil instead of butter makes for a delicious and healthy way to enjoy your mashers.  

Ingredients:

6 red-skinned potatoes, about 2 lbs, unpeeled and quartered  
2 T olive oil
2 cloves of garlic, freshly minced
1/2 c sour cream
1/2 c warm milk
1 T apple cider vinegar or add more to taste
Salt and pepper to taste

Step 1:
Place cleaned and quartered potatoes in a saucepan, cover with cold water, and bring to a boil.  Reduce heat to simmer for about 25 minutes or until tender.  Drain well.

Step 2:
While potatoes are boiling, add olive oil and garlic to a saucepan and saute for a short time, about 2 minutes (do not overcook).  

Step 3:
Place garlic and olive oil in a bowl and add the potatoes.   Mash potatoes and olive oil/garlic together with a fork or potato masher.

Step 4:
Add sour cream, slowly add milk as you mash, then add vinegar and season with salt and pepper.  Add more milk if necessary for desired consistency.  Serve immediately.

Health Inspires.

Apple Cider Vinaigrette

• 3 T apple cider Vinegar
• 1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil
• 1 tsp. oregano
• 1/4 tsp sea salt
• 1/8 tsp fresh ground pepper

Whisk all ingredients together


Dijon and Lemon

• 2/3 c olive oil
• 1/4 cup lemon juice (3 T...about one large lemon)
• 1/4 cup water
• 1 T Dijon mustard
• 1 clove garlic minced (optional)
• Herbs to taste

Whisk all ingredients together


Simple Lime

• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 lime zested and juiced
• 1/2 tsp salt

Whisk all ingredients together


Greek

• 3 T freshly squeezed lemon juice
• 1 T red wine vinegar
• 1/4 tsp dried oregano
• 1 garlic clove minced 
• Sea salt or Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
• 1/4 c extra virgin olive oil

Whisk all ingredients together

Directions for All Smoothies:
Thoroughly blend all ingredients together, adding ice cubes or cold water, or unfiltered apple juice until the smoothie reaches desired consistency. Don't be shy to make and create your own! My kids know every time we make a fruit smoothie, it is "The best fruit smoothie I have ever made!".

Tips for Delicious Smoothies:

• Using frozen fruit eliminates need for more ice and water and makes a thicker smoothie
• Try creating your own.  Mangos or peaches add a nice flavor, and pineapple adds sweetness
• Slice and freeze your extra ripe bananas to use for making fruit smoothies
• Adding a handful of fresh spinach to your smoothies increases your antioxidant intake, nutrition and just makes you feel like you are doing something good for yourself
• Adding a 6 oz container of Chobani yogurt has been a crowd pleaser.  It adds protein without protein powder and a nice creamy texture  Depending on the fruit ingredients, we have used blueberry the most, then strawberry, mango and peach yogurts
• When you add protein powder, your smoothie will taste different and expand so some smoothie recipes produce portions from one to two smoothies.  Experiment with and without to 

Banana Berry Blast
Makes two

• 1 banana
• 1/2 cup blueberries
• 1/2 cup strawberries
• 1/2 cup apple or cranberry juice
• Optional-add 6 oz blueberry Chobani Greek yogurt (taste creamy and yummy for kids) or, protein powder
• Ice cubes and cold water to your desired consistency

Lean and Green
Makes two

• 1 banana
• 1/2 c frozen mangos
• 1/2 c frozen peaches
• One or two handfuls of fresh spinach
• Ice cubes and water to desired consistency
• Protein powder optional

Peanut Butter, Chocolate Banana
Makes one fruit smoothie (better than a milkshake!)

• 1 frozen sliced banana
• 1 T unsweetened cocoa powder 
• 1 T natural peanut butter 
• 1/2 cup skim milk
• Ice cubes to desired consistency 

Pumpkin Pie
Makes one

• 1 banana
• 1/2 cup pumpkin puree
• 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
• 1/8 tsp ground ginger or all spice 
• Ice cubes and water to desired texture
• Protein powder optional, handful of spinach optional

I was walking through Whole Foods and this was their taste demonstration in the produce department.  I immediately bought the ingredients I needed, and made it that night to go with our dinner.  It was easy and I have never sweetened walnuts like this.  I learned something new!  Yum!



*Ingredients:

• 1 c walnuts
• 1/4 c honey, divided
• 5 oz. mixed baby arugula & spinach
• 6 abate fetel pears (don’t let this scare you...try any pear)
• 1/4 c fresh lemon juice
• 1/2 c apple-juice-sweetened cranberries
• 1/4 tsp. sea salt

With your well stocked panty and fridge, you may not even need to make a special trip for this recipe.  Use what you got!  

Method:
Preheat oven 350 degrees. Drizzle 2 T of the honey over the walnuts and mix to coat evenly.  Arrange walnuts in a single layer on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper, and bake in the preheated oven for 7-8 minutes, until golden brown.  Remove from oven and set aside to cool.

Meanwhile, blend together the remaining honey with the lemon juice and sea salt.  Slice pears into the 1/4” slices and place them in a bowl. Pour the lemon honey mixture over the pears and allow them to sit for a couple of minutes before pouring it over the greens.

Add cranberries and walnuts and toss together until well mixed.

Serves 6


*Note:
Of course, I didn’t follow the recipe, because that is what I do. Because I enjoy greens and my husband does not enjoy the “sweet” ingredients in his salads, I made the bulk of this salad with the arugula and spinach, I used only 1 pear cut up in pieces- not 6, and sprinkled in the other ingredients to taste.  What is important here is to note the simplicity of the salad dressing, and that a healthy salad dressing is easy to make.  Parmesan cheese slivers would be great on this as well as blue cheese.  Make the portions bigger and serve with your choice of protein; salmon, chicken or steak.

If you are a fan of traditional Greek Salad and you are not sure if you like quinoa or have never tried it;  this will make you a quinoa-a-holic!

Step 1 | Dressing:

• 3 T freshly squeezed lemon juice
• 1 T red wine vinegar
• 1/4 tsp dried oregano
• 1 garlic clove smashed and finely chopped to a paste
• Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 1/4 c extra virgin olive oil

Whisk dressing ingredients together.
Let sit at room temperature while you prepare the salad.

Step 2 | Quinoa:

• 1 cup Quinoa
• Kosher salt and pepper

Rinse quinoa in a strainer until the water runs clear.  Combine quinoa, 2 cups water, 1 tsp salt and 1/4 tsp pepper in a small saucepan, bring to a boil and cook until water is absorbed and quinoa is tender, about 15 minutes.

Transfer quinoa to a bowl and fluff with a fork and let sit for five minutes to cool slightly

Step  3 | Add all these ingredients:

• 2 cups red and yellow grape tomatoes halved
• 1 cup pitted Kalamata olives
• 2 green onions (green and pale green part thinly sliced)
• 2 pickled cherry peppers diced
• 1 small red onion (halved and thinly sliced)
• 1/2 English cucumber (cut into small diced pieces)

Step 4 | Feta for sprinkling

Cover and refrigerate for at least 1 hour and up to 8 hours before serving.  The longer it sits, the better the flavor.  Just before serving, transfer to a platter and sprinkle feta on top.

Variations:  What is in your refrigerator?  The first time I made this recipe I used carrots, diced pepperoncinis, tomatoes, cucumbers, some kalamata olives and sprinkled it with Feta.  Yum!  His dressing is so delicious that you can add any of your salad favorites.  Be creative!