"Noodles"

I can’t tell you how much I enjoyed all of you squealing with delight for me. I am sending you all big air kisses and hugs! It means a lot to me that you all want to know more. So, when it gets more interesting I will dish. And for the record: nothing new is afront (yet).
Lets get serious.
I have an obsession. Carbs. and Cheese. I am still waiting for the world to introduce a bread and cheese diet. This will be a diet that I never break. But if its not bread that I crave, its pasta. More specifically, NOODLES. Noodles are quite amazing. They are like a blank canvas and offer you to do whatever you want to them to create your gourmet masterpiece. Pesto. Tomatoes. Cream sauce. Hell, even butter. They all lend themselves to noodles and create parties in your mouth.
When my coworker mentioned she made her own alfredo sauce the other day I was taken back to the time when I went out and bought a noodle wanna-be at the recommendation of Hungry Girl. My first impression was “eh”… and I was immediately inspired to try this dish again, only make it MY way.
I like the thin variety of noodles. I found the spaghetti but really wanted the angel hair. Oh well. Its been 2 years since I have had these “noodles” and I had forgotten all the wonderful things about them…

Like their stats. Basically, you can eat an entire package for 50 calories and less than 3 grams of fat. Sign me up!

But the funniest part comes when you open the package. It suggests a thorough rinsing and a quick zap in the microwave to “reduce the authentic aroma”. Thats a nice way of saying “these noodles smell FUNKY”

They look like ramen. I am slightly turned off by the “authentic aroma” but continue to press on. I rinse and drain the “noodles” for about 5 minutes, then heat them for 60 seconds. When they are done i pat them dry and set them aside.

I was gonna make alfredo sauce.

with shrimp! and baby bellas!

and BROCCOLI! this is so exciting. I cannot contain myself. Okay I can contain myself – im a liar.

I add one wedge of laughing cow cheese and stir it up with the rest of the “kids”.

I added a generous shake of garlic powder and parmesean cheese and slowly added in a little bit of skim milk (maybe 1/4 cup) the mushrooms and broccoli were adding their own touches of water here and there so the sauce thickened up nicely and without adding so much milk. I added a touch of salt and pepper and let the sauce simmer for 5 minutes.

I served it atop my bed of “Noodles”.

The texture of the noodles a bit different from regular spaghetti noodles. Its got a bit of a bite to it and maybe might be a little gummy? I cant describe it. But if you add a decent sauce to it and throw in a copious about of veggies, you can definintely get over the texture and actually feel like you are eating a massive bowl of pasta.

Would i recommend? Yes, noodle lovers. This is a great substitute for the box of pasta you are dying to eat. I reccommend the thinner noodles as the texture is more obvious in the linguine shaped ones but totally gonna keep making this!

If you could create your own diet that would help you lose weight, and it can be ANY thing in the world and would still allow you to lose weight, what would it be?

I already said it- BREAD AND CHEESE.

"Creamed" Spinach

Work has been KA-RAZY. I was working the two for one. Two responsibilities for One person.
It made the days fly by and the meals scarce.
I forgot to eat breakfast… so around lunch I was ravenous (and noisy in the tummy) and decided to get something hearty…
FALAFEL! The deli by my office offers the freshest deli falafel ever- Maoz is too far to consider when I’m covering two shifts so the deli stuff had to suffice. It really wasn’t a bad deal either. They fry the falafel patties fresh to order. I got a whole wheat pita with falafel, creamy hummus, pickled cabbage, lettuce, tomato, hot sauce and a drizzle of tahini. It was the perfect balance of

textures and flavors. I ate till I was satisfied and was ready to conquer the rest of the day.

I came home to a lovely box on my door step from AsainFoodGrocer.com. Thanks to them and Foodbuzz, I received $30 worth of free groceries! the catch? Recipes to try for you all to see!

I got a nice mix of things to make several different dishes.

-Miso (miso soups, glazes, marinades, dressings, etc)

-wasabi peas- for snack-a-lackin

-pocky- because you GOTTA have pocky!

-sushi rice, Nori and wasabi paste (for sushi- duh)

-Udon, dashi, and dried veg – for yummy soup!

-tofu for the miso soup

OH YEA! Lots of blog-tastic opportunities to come!

Couldn’t wait to dig into the POCKY. Its a thin butter cookie stick dipped in milk chocolate. The best snack for those that want a little taste of something sweet.

So…

After my big lunch and my snack attack when i unpacked the groceries I wanted something light. But comforting. but light at the same time.

I used to collect cookbooks and one of my favorite ones is the 1980 version weight watchers holiday cookbook. It has collected quite a bit of dust over the years because since the 80′s making stuff “Light” is a lot easier than it was then; thank you shortcuts! My coveted recipe, the one with all the water stains, and the dog eared page is the creamed spinach. The process is not lenghty but its got ingredients that you wouldn’t necessarily keep in your kitchen… But this recipe is from the Thanksgiving menu. It has fat free cheeses, garlic, fresh spinach, and some blending is required… seems like a lot of work for a weeknight, IMO.

but I have found a short cut!

I started with a bag of fresh spinach and cooked it down to fit in this pot.

Once it was cooked, i drained it and ran a knife over it to chop it up. (I didn’t chop PRE-cooking because I didn’t want to stain my pot with green)give it a good squeeze with some paper towel to remove some moisture. Then i whipped out my secret ingredient:

Garlic. Laughing Cow.

One serving of spinach plus one wedge of garlic flavored laughing cow cheese.

Mix it all around. Add some salt and pepper and a dash of Parmesan cheese.

INDULGE!

Super easy. No blending. And quick comfort food that wont bust the zipper in your pants (oh, yeah, did i mention that i am walking around with a broken zipper? Thank Goodness for long sweaters!)

Happy Eating!

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