Spaghetti and Meatballs

A simple and quick recipe that is sure to please! There is nothing fancy here. Just a good classic meatball and sauce. I use a lot of garlic in this recipe, so if you're not a big fan of garlic, feel free to use fewer cloves in both the meatballs and sauce.

1 pound spaghetti
Salt, for past water

Meatballs:
1 pound ground sirloin
4 tsp Worcestershire sauce
1 egg, beaten
1/2 cup Italian bread crumbs
1/3 cup grated Parmesan
4-5 cloves garlic, chopped
Salt and pepper

Sauce:
2 T extra virgin olive oil
1/2 tsp crushed red pepper flakes
5 cloves garlic, chopped
1 small onion, chopped
1 cup beef stock or broth
1 (28 oz) can crushed tomatoes
~10 large fresh basil leaves, torn or thinly sliced
~ 1-2 tsp salt (optional)

Heat a medium pot over moderate heat and add the olive oil, crushed pepper, garlic and onion. Saute for 5 to 7 minutes, or until the onion is soft. Add the beef stock, crushed tomatoes, salt, and basil. Simmer for at least 10 minutes (I prefer to simmer for close to an hour).

While the sauce simmers, preheat the oven to 425 and place a large pot of water on to boil for the spaghetti.

Mix the beef, Worcestershire, egg, bread crumbs, cheese, garlic, salt and pepper in a large bowl. Mix well with your hands. The mixture should be moist, but if it seems too moist, add more bread crumbs. Form 1 1/2 inch sized meatballs and place on a cookie sheet lined with foil and sprayed with cooking spray. Bake the balls for approximately 12-15 minutes, or until they are no longer pink. Serve with pasta and sauce!

Serves 4 (makes about 12 meatballs)

Sautéed Chicken with Chardonnay Sauce

This is another Cooking Light gem that can easily be made on a weeknight. My favorite wine to use for this recipe is Barefoot Chardonnay. The sauce is thin so it's best served over a bed of rice that will prevent you from wasting a drop!

4 (6-ounce) skinless, boneless chicken breast halves
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
2 tablespoons butter, divided
1 1/2 cups thinly sliced mushrooms
1 1/2 tablespoons finely chopped shallots
1 cup chardonnay or other dry white wine
2 cups chicken broth
2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley

Place each chicken breast half between 2 sheets of heavy-duty plastic wrap; pound to 1/2-inch thickness using a meat mallet or rolling pin. Sprinkle chicken with salt, pepper, and flour. Heat 1 tablespoon butter in a large nonstick skillet over medium heat. Add chicken; cook 5 minutes on each side or until done. Remove chicken from pan; keep warm. Add mushrooms and shallots to pan; sauté 5 minutes or until tender. Stir in wine, scraping pan to loosen browned bits; add stock. Bring to a boil; cook until reduced to 1 cup (about 10 minutes). Cut remaining 1 tablespoon butter into small pieces. Remove pan from heat. Add butter, stirring until butter melts. Spoon sauce over chicken. Sprinkle with parsley.

CALORIES 288 (26% from fat); FAT 8.2g (sat 3.5g,mono 3g,poly 0.8g); PROTEIN 41.2g; CHOLESTEROL 115mg; CALCIUM 33mg; SODIUM 309mg; FIBER 0.6g; IRON 1.8mg; CARBOHYDRATE 5.8g Cooking Light, APRIL 2005

15 Minute Halibut with Avocado Salsa

This dish from the World's Healthiest Foods' site is super easy and delicious. Since it's just the two of us we buy fish for two, but make the whole salsa recipe because it's so yummy. My experience has been that you have to cook the fish a bit longer than the recipe suggests.

4 6oz halibut steaks or filets
¼ cup minced scallion
1-2 tsp finely minced jalapeno
6 medium cloves garlic, pressed
1 + ¼ cup TBS fresh lemon juice
3 TBS chopped fresh cilantro
8 cherry tomatoes, quartered
1 medium ripe but firm avocado diced in ¼ inch cubes
salt and black pepper to taste

Mix all ingredients except halibut and 1 TBS lemon juice and set aside.
Heat a non-stick pan over medium high heat for about 2-3 minutes.
Rub halibut with 1TBS lemon juice and season with a little salt and black pepper. Place in hot pan. Cook for about 3 minutes and turn. Cook for another 3 minutes and remove from pan.
Place on plate, and top with salsa.

Red Snapper with Ginger-Lime Butter

This fish is the perfect entrée to ring in the spring. It's very fresh and takes no time to make, a perfect combination! Even though the recipe serves 4, Todd and I tend to eat all of the butter between the two of us, so make sure to judge your love of butter before preparing this zesty topping!

2 tablespoons butter, softened
1 tablespoon chopped fresh cilantro
1 teaspoon minced seeded jalapeño pepper
2 teaspoons grated lime rind
1 teaspoon fresh grated ginger
1/2 teaspoon salt
4 (6-ounce) red snapper or other firm white fish fillets
Salt and pepper to season the fish
Cooking spray
Lime wedges

Combine first 5 ingredients in a bowl. Stir in salt. Cover and chill.

Heat a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Sprinkle both sides of fish with salt and black pepper. Coat pan with cooking spray. Add fish to pan; cook 3 minutes on each side or until fish flakes easily when tested with a fork. Top each fillet with the butter and serve with lime wedges.

Serves 4.

Linguine with Asparagus, Parmesan and Bacon

This recipe came my way via my friend Mariah. All I needed to know was that she was serving me a dish that included bacon and I was in.

3 cups (1-inch) sliced asparagus (about 1 pound)
1 (9-ounce) package refrigerated linguine
5 bacon slices (uncooked)
1 cup chopped onion
4 garlic cloves, chopped
2 teaspoons dried oregano
2 cups grape or cherry tomatoes
3/4 cup chicken broth
1 tablespoon butter
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper object2=">
1/2 cup (2 ounces) preshredded Parmesan cheese
Shaved Parmesan cheese (optional)

Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Meanwhile, cook bacon in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat until crisp. Remove bacon from the pan, crumble and set aside. Reserve 2 teaspoons drippings in pan. Add onion, garlic, and oregano to drippings in the pan; sauté 4 minutes or until onion is lightly browned. Add tomatoes; cook 2 minutes. Add broth; bring to a boil.

While the tomato mixture is coming to a boil, cook asparagus and pasta according to pasta package directions. Drain.

Once the tomato mixture comes to a boil, stir in butter, salt, and pepper; remove from heat. Place asparagus mixture in a large bowl; add tomato mixture. Top with crumbled bacon and shredded cheese. Garnish with shaved Parmesan, if desired.

Serves 4.

Baked Scrod with Breadcrumbs

This recipe is a great weeknight recipe because it takes no time to make! You can alter the crumb to butter ratio to suit your taste.

1 pound scrod
~1 cup plain breadcrumbs
~4 tablespoons butter
2-3 garlic cloves, chopped
1 lemon
Salt
Pepper
Cooking spray

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Heat the butter in a nonstick skillet over medium heat. Once the butter has melted, add the garlic and sauté for 30 seconds to 1 minute, careful not to brown the garlic. Add the breadcrumbs and cook until just toasted/browned.

Wash the fish and pat dry. Place fish in a glass baking dish (coated with cooking spray) and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Squeeze desired amount of lemon juice over the fish. Add the toasted breadcrumbs on top of the fish and cook for about 15 minutes, or until the fish flakes easily with a fork.

Pollo con Mojo de Ajo (Chicken with Garlic Sauce)

A quick and easy meal that's great for weeknights. I really enjoy it with this simple rice and a green. This recipe comes from Cooking Light, which generally recommends using nonstick skillets. I prefer a "stick" skillet in this case because you're making a sauce from the chicken bits leftover in the pan (more flavor!).

4 skinless, boneless chicken breast halves
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1 tablespoon canola oil
1 tablespoon butter
4 garlic cloves, thinly sliced (I love garlic, so I use a couple more)
3/4 cup fat-free, less-sodium chicken broth
2 teaspoons fresh lime juice
1 tablespoon minced fresh cilantro (I leave out because I'm not a big fan of cilantro)
4 lime wedges

Place each chicken breast half between 2 sheets of heavy-duty plastic wrap; pound to 1/2-inch thickness using a meat mallet or rolling pin. Sprinkle chicken evenly with salt and pepper.

Heat oil in a large nonstick/stick skillet over medium heat. Add chicken; cook 6 minutes on each side or until done. Remove chicken from pan; keep warm (I wrap mine in foil).

Melt butter in pan over medium-low heat. Add garlic; cook 1 minute (do not brown). Add broth; bring to a boil, scraping pan to loosen browned bits. Cook until broth mixture is reduced to 1/2 cup (about 4 minutes). Remove from heat; stir in lime juice. Serve sauce over chicken; sprinkle with cilantro. Serve with lime wedges.

4 servings

Baked Pork Chops with Sauerkraut

Todd's mom introduced me to this dish and I now consider it one of my staples. It goes great with one of everyone's staples: macaroni and cheese:)

4 thin cut boneless pork chops (I usually buy 2 thick ones and cut them myself)
1 (14 oz.) can sauerkraut
Salt
Pepper
Cooking spray

Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Sprinkle both sides of the pork chops with salt and pepper. Heat a large skillet on medium-high heat and add all 4 pork chops, turning about every minute or so, just until all sides are browned (do not cook all the way through).

Coat a 13x9 glass baking dish with cooking spray. Place pork chops into dish and cover each chop with some sauerkraut. Put remaining sauerkraut (and liquid) in the dish alongside the chops. Bake for 15-20 minutes, or until cooked all the way through.

Ditalini with Tomatoes, Basil and Fresh Mozzarella

This meal is so simple and delicious that I make it almost once a week. There are a lot of leftovers, which makes my husband happy because he has something to eat when I abandon him for the evening to hang out with friends :) I have found that the type and brand of Mozzarella make a big difference in the consistency of this meal. Mozzarella packaged in water is too soft and turns stringy once added to the pasta. The brand that I have found results in the best consistency is Belgioioso, specifically the Mozzarella in the vacuum-sealed package.

6-8 Roma tomatoes, chopped
Fresh basil, about 10 leaves, sliced into strips
6 garlic cloves, sliced
2 tablespoons olive oil
Salt
Pepper
1 box of Ditalini (small, tubed shaped pasta; Penne works well too)
8 oz. of fresh mozzarella, cut into small cubes

Bring a large pot of water to a boil while you prep the other ingredients.

Heat the olive oil in a large sauté pan or skillet. Add the sliced garlic and cook until fragrant, about 30 seconds to 1 minute. Do not brown the garlic. Add the tomatoes, salt and pepper. I probably add about 2-3 tablespoons of salt, but you can adjust the salt to your taste. Using the back of a large spoon, slightly smash the tomatoes, creating a sauce-like consistency.

Add the pasta to the boiling water. Continue to simmer the tomato sauce until the pasta is ready. Once the pasta is done cooking, add the basil to the tomato sauce and remove the sauce from the heat. Pour the sauce over the pasta, add the mozzarella, stir and serve.

Serves 4-6