Running Mama Cooks

I had high hopes for this recipe since I love pumpkin in savory dishes. While it was pretty good, I wasn't as impressed as I hoped to be. I did think that using cottage cheese for a low fat cream sauce was ingenious, so I will be using that technique again.

Creamy Pumpkin Penne
Recipe slightly adapted from Cara's Cravings by way Cook Pray Love

Ingredients:

8 oz whole wheat penne pasta
2 tsp olive oil
1 small onion, thinly sliced
2 cloves of garlic, minced
about 2T chopped fresh sage
1 cooked chicken smoked sausage, sliced
1/2 cup low fat cottage cheese (1% milk fat)
1/2 cup pumpkin puree
1/2 cup nonfat milk
pinch of nutmeg
5oz torn spinach, thick stems removed
grated parmesan or pecorino romano cheese, optional

Preparation:

Heat olive oil in a skillet over medium-low heat. Add onions and cook gently for about 10-15minutes, until softened and beginning to caramelize. Add garlic, sage, and chicken sausage; continue to saute.

Meanwhile, cook pasta according to package directions.

In a blender, combine combine pumpkin, cottage cheese, and milk. Blend until no lumps are present. Add to sausage mixture in skillet and continue to cook over low heat. Season to taste with salt and freshly ground pepper, and a pinch of nutmeg.

Drain pasta and return to pot over low heat. Add sausage mixture and baby spinach, and toss together. Cover for a few minutes to let the spinach wilt. Serve with parmesan cheese, if desired.

ZACH'S RATING - ***

Since another preggo and I indulged in an Olive Garden craving for lunch today, I thought Id keep dinner nice and light. More spinach, what a surprise!!

Spinach BLT Wrap
A Running Mama Cooks Original Recipe

Makes 1 wrap

Ingredients:

1 Spinach, Garlic and Pesto Tortilla (I got them at Wegmans)
4 strips turkey bacon
1 vine ripened tomato, seeded and chopped
1/4 cups shredded asiago cheese
2 tbs Balsamic-Tomato dressing (see below)
1/2 cup cup baby spinach
Cooking spray

Directions:

Preheat a panini press.

Cook bacon until crisp. Arrange bacon, tomato, cheese and spinach onto tortilla. Drizzle with dressing. Spray panini press with cooking spray and place folded tortillas seam side down. Grill until toasty.

Balsamic-Tomato Vinaigrette

Ingredients:

9 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 ½ teaspoons dried oregano
1 ½ tablespoon tomato paste
Salt and pepper to taste (about 1/8 teaspoon each)
3/4 cup olive oil

Directions:

In a blender add all of the dressing ingredients except for the olive oil and process until smooth. Then, while the blender is running, slowly add the olive oil and blend until completely combined.

You are probably starting to see trends in my cooking when it comes to certain ingredients. I have been obsessed with Spinach lately, I cannot get enough of it! Definitely a good craving to have, unfortunately I have also been craving chocolate and peanut better :) This meal came about since I had leftover dressing from making Tortellini Spinach Salad with Balsamic-Tomato Vinaigrette. The dressing was so good I made it again over the weekend. It worked perfectly with the chicken, which instantly smelled amazing once it hit the grill. These wraps turned out great, earning 5 stars from Zach! Grilled Chicken Balsamic Spinach Wraps A Running Mama Cooks Original Recipe Makes 2 wraps Ingredients: 2 Spinach, Garlic and Pesto Tortilla (I got them at Wegmans) 3 thin cut chicken breasts 2 roasted red pepper 1/4 cups mozzarella cheese Balsamic-Tomato dressing (see below) 1 cup baby spinach Cooking spray Directions: Preheat a panini press. Marinate chicken in Balsamic-tomato dressing for several hours. Grill on barbecue or grill pan and slice into strips. Slice Roasted red peppers. Arrange chicken, roasted red peppers, mozzarella cheese and spinach onto each tortilla. Drizzle with dressing. Spray panini press with cooking spray and place folded tortillas seam side down. Grill until toasty. Balsamic-Tomato Vinaigrette Ingredients: 9 tablespoons balsamic vinegar 3 cloves garlic, minced 1 ½ teaspoons dried oregano 1 ½ tablespoon tomato paste Salt and pepper to taste (about 1/8 teaspoon each) 3/4 cup olive oil Directions: In a blender add all of the dressing ingredients except for the olive oil and process until smooth. Then, while the blender is running, slowly add the olive oil and blend until completely combined. ZACH'S RATING: ***** Update - These are one of our usual quick dinners. We have taken to calling this dressing "crack dressing" because its so good! We also add sliced red onion now.

Another winner from Allison. Delicious pasta meal! Loved the spinach, sun dried tomatoes and pine nuts. Yum! It immediately got added to the "favorites" category.

Sausage & Spinach Penne Skillet


1 tablespoon olive oil
1 pound Italian-style turkey sausage, casings removed
3 medium garlic cloves, minced finely
3 1/2 cups water
2 1/2 cups low-sodium chicken broth
1/2 cup oil-packed sun-dried tomatoes, rinsed and chopped fine
1/2 teaspoon salt
12 ounces (about 3 1/2 cups) penne pasta
1 (6-ounce) bag baby spinach
1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese
1/4 cup toasted pine nuts

Heat the oil in a 12-inch nonstick skillet over medium heat until hot and add in the sausage. Cook until lightly browned and no longer pink about 5 minutes. Stir in the garlic and cook until fragrant, about 30 seconds.

Stir in the water, broth, sun-dried tomatoes, and 1/2 teaspoon salt, then add in the pasta. Increase the heat to medium-high and cook at a strong simmer, stirring often, until the pasta is tender and the liquid has thickened, about 15-18 minutes (if you find the liquid is absorbing too quickly and the pasta is still undercooked, add a bit more water in small amounts until the pasta is cooked thoroughly).

Stir in the spinach, a handful at at time, and cook until wilted. Off the heat, stir in the cheese and pine nuts. Season with salt and pepper to taste and serve immediately.

ZACH'S RATING - ****

My Mom came over this afternoon and I made us a light early dinner. I knew this would be right up her alley and I have been meaning to experiment more with cooking fish. This ended up being a big winner!

Lemon Mahi Mahi with Garlic and Thyme
A Running Mama Original Recipe

Ingredients:

2 mahi mahi filets
2 lemons, one sliced, the for juice and zest
1 tbs lemon zest
2 tbs lemon juice
1 tsp olive oil
4 garlic cloves, smashed
5-6 fresh thyme sprigs
salt and pepper

Directions:

Preheat oven to 450

place lemon slices in a small baking dish, covering the bottom. Add thyme sprigs on top. Season filets with salt and pepper and place on top

Drizzle filets with olive oil, lemon juice, and lemon zest. Scatter garlic cloves on top. Cover loosely with foil and bake for 20 minutes, until fish is opaque and flaky.

Serve fish on a bed of garlic spinach (see below)

Ready for the oven:

Nothing better than lasagna, such good comfort food! I really liked this twist on regular lasagna from Gina's Weight Watcher's Blog, they were cute and delicious. Here is the original recipe.

Spinach Lasagna Rolls
Adapted from Gina's Weight Watchers Recipes


Ingredients:

8 lasagna noodles, cooked
10 oz frozen chopped spinach, thawed and completely drained
15 oz part skim ricotta cheese
1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese, plus more
1 egg
salt and fresh pepper
32 oz homemade marinara sauce
8oz part skim mozzarella cheese, shredded

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350°. Combine spinach, ricotta, Parmesan, egg, salt and pepper in a medium bowl. Ladle about 1 cup sauce on the bottom of a 9 x 12 baking dish.

Place a piece of wax paper on the counter and lay out lasagna noodles. Make sure noodles are dry. Take 1/3 cup of ricotta mixture and spread evenly over noodle. Roll carefully and place seam side down onto the baking dish. Repeat with remaining noodles.

Ladle sauce over the noodles in the baking dish and top each one with mozzarella cheese and a sprinkle of Parmesan. Put foil over baking dish and bake for 40 minutes, or until cheese melts. Remove foil for the last 5 mins. Open the oven door and broil until the cheese is browned and bubbly. Makes 8 rolls.

Ready for the oven:

Today was all about culinary challenges for me. I've never made risotto and have honestly been a little intimidated by it. Well, it was not that hard, but definitely a little tedious. The end result? Totally worth it. Super delicious and I really loved this flavor combination. This recipe, from Mary Ellen's Cooking Creations, was excellent. I can see using the base recipe and adding any flavor combo I feel like, which Mary Ellen has done throughout her blog.

I am officially a big risotto fan! It was the perfect compliment to my Parmesan Crusted Tilapia

Risotto with Roasted Red Pepper and Baby Spinach
From Mary Ellen's Cooking Creations

Ingredients

•1 tbsp butter
•1 tbsp olive oil
•1 shallot, chopped
•2-3 cloves garlic, chopped
•Optional: a few dashes of red pepper flakes
•1 c arborio rice
•1/4 c dry white wine
•5 cups chicken broth (or vegetable broth for a vegetarian version)
•1 roasted red pepper, chopped (to roast, put over an open flame until all of the skin is charred. Put in a bowl covered with plastic to sweat the skin off. After 10 minutes, peel the skin to reveal your beautiful roasted red pepper)
•1 c fresh baby spinach
•3 tbsp Parmesan cheese

Directions

•Heat olive oil and butter in a large saute pan
•Add shallots and garlic (and red pepper flakes); stir until tender, about 2 minutes.
•Add arborio rice and stir until coated
•Add the white wine and stir until absorbed
•Add the chicken broth, one ladle at a time, stirring constantly. Add more broth only when all of the broth in the pan has been absorbed by the rice. This entire process takes anywhere from 17 to 25 minutes.
•Near the end, stir in the spinach and red peppers.
•When you add your final ladle of broth, add the cheese.
•Serve immediately.