Okay, so this is adapted from an Everyday Food magazine recipe partly because I had different ingredients in my fridge and partly for a friend who is looking for good flavor but low cholesterol. Queue veggies. Change the veggies up to anything you prefer or in season. Snap peas and basil would work well here! Enjoy.

Spring Pasta
Adapted from Everyday Cooking May 2012

Ingredients:

* 7 oz small pasta (such as fusilli or bowtie - I used Barilla Plus bowties)
* 1/2 cup skim milk
* 2 oz (1/2 cup) Parmesan cheese, grated
* 10 oz baby spinach
* 10 oz peas, fresh or frozen thawed
* 3-4 green onions chopped
* salt and pepper to taste
* 1 tsp olive oil


Directions:

1. Bring salted water and olive oil to a boil in a large stock pot.

2. Add pasta and cook one minute less than directed on the package.

3. Add peas and cook 30 seconds

4. Wilt in spinach and onions for a few seconds then drain the whole lot in a strainer reserving 1/2 cup of the pasta water.

5. Leave the veggie and pasta mixture in the strainer and put the pot back on medium high heat.

6. Add milk and bring to a low boil.

7. Add veggie and pasta mixture back to pot and cook for 2 minutes. Add the pasta water back in to how thin you like the sauce.

8. Add in Parmesan to the mixture and stir.

9. Serve hot and enjoy. (Or if you are the partner of someone on a Cholesterol diet...with grilled chicken!)

Serves 4 (or three and a dog)

Nutrition: Calories 312.8, Total Fat 6.2 g, Saturated Fat 3.1 g, Cholesterol 12.1 mg, Total Carbohydrate 44.4 g, Dietary Fiber 7.7 g, Protein 20.5 g

In attempt to diversify my cooking I've subscribed to several new food magazines, "Everyday Food" and "Cooking Light." This recipe is adapted from a Cooking Light magazine.

Pasta Pork Bolognese
Adapted from Cooking Light, April 2012


Ingredients:

* 9 ounces refrigerated fettuccine
* 2 teaspoons olive oil
* 1 pound lean ground pork
* 1/2 cup grated carrot
* 3 garlic cloves, minced
* 1/3 cup Shiraz
* 1 2/3 cups lower-sodium marinara sauce
* 1/2 cup chopped fresh basil, divided
* 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
* 1/4 teaspoon black pepper

Directions:

1. Cook pasta per directions. Drain.

2. Heat olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add pork, carrot, and garlic; sauté 6 minutes or until pork is done.

3. Add wine; cook 1 minute.

4. Add marinara, 1/2 cup basil, salt, and pepper; bring to a simmer. Pour sauce over pasta.

This is really a base recipe to mix and match to your own choosing. I like to use whatever leftovers items I have from a week of recipes. Its the best recipe I know of to make the most out of bits and pieces.

Ham, Cheddar, and Spinach Frittata
Adapted and Lightened from Real Simple Magazine

Ingredients:

1 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
2-3 yukon gold potatoes (about 3/4 pound), peeled and thinly sliced (use the slicing function of your food processor or a hand mandolin to achieve even slices)
1/2 large white onion, thinly sliced
1 small carton of egg beaters (swap amount should be between 6-8 eggs on the package)
2 large eggs
kosher salt and black pepper
1 10-ounce package frozen chopped spinach, thawed and squeezed of excess liquid
4 ounces reduced fat Cheddar, grated (1 cup)
4 ounces thinly sliced reduced sodium deli ham, cut into 2-inch pieces

Directions:

1. Heat oven to 400° F.

2. Heat oil in a large ovenproof nonstick skillet over medium heat.

3. Add the potatoes and onion and cook, tossing occasionally, until the potatoes are tender, 12 to 15 minutes.

4. Meanwhile, in a large bowl, whisk together the eggs, egg beaters, ½ teaspoon salt, and ¼ teaspoon pepper. Mix in the spinach, Cheddar, and ham.

5. Add the egg mixture to the skillet, stir once, and transfer the skillet to oven. Cook until the eggs are set, 15-20 minutes.

6. Serve warm with a side salad.

Hey everyone. I'm not able to post this recipe until it is officially published. Its part of the new steamy kitchen cookbook that I get to test! WHOOT! Stay tuned for the next awesome cookbook by steamy kitchen.

Dinner tonight was delicious and cheap. Picked up 4 frozen salmon fillets at Walmart for 4.50. Defrosted them and made this. Try it.


Baked Dijon Salmon Fillets
By: Nichole Baer

Ingredients:

* 4 fillets salmon
* 4 tablespoons prepared Dijon-style mustard
* salt and pepper to taste
* 1/4 cup Panko crimbs
* Pam Olive Oil


Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C). Line a baking sheet with foil.

2. Place salmon skin-side down on foil.

3. Spread a layer of mustard on the top of each fillet, and season with salt and pepper.

4. Top with Panko, spray each fillet with PAM.

5. Bake the oven for 17 minutes, or until salmon flakes easily with a fork.

Here is my most recent addiction!

Cheesy Potato and Bacon Soup
By: Nichole Baer

Ingredients:

2 tablespoon butter
1 cup chopped yellow onion
3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
3 cups chopped red potato (about 1 pound)
2 cups skim milk
1 cup fat-free, lower-sodium chicken broth
1 cup water
1 cup (2 ounces) shredded reduced-fat sharp cheddar cheese
1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
6 strips of bacon, cooked and crumbled
salt and pepper, to taste

Directions:

1. Melt butter in a large soup pot over medium-high heat.

2. Add onion to pan; sauté 5 minutes or until onion is tender.

3. Sprinkle with flour; cooking one minute stirring onion mixture constantly.

4. Add potato, milk, broth, and 1 cup water to pan; bring to a boil.

5. Cover, reduce heat, and simmer 10 minutes.

6. Add 1 cup reduced-fat sharp cheddar cheese and black pepper; cook until cheese melts, stirring frequently.

7. Stir in bacon bits and check the seasoning, add salt and pepper to taste. Enjoy!

I love chicken soup in all its forms. But I hate used canned broth in my soup. Normally when I make my own broth I use scraps accumulated over a few weeks of cooking. However I recently was out of town for a long period of time and didn't have any scraps to use. Combine that with a really unhealthy craving for chicken soup and I was kind of screwed. Enter the method of making chicken soup my mom employed in her working two jobs, having three kids, and attending school days. The trick is to make the soup in two stages. For tools you only need a large stock pot, a larger strainer, a very large bowl, cutting board, knife, and wooden spoon.


Nichole's Chicken Corn Soup
One Pot Method


Ingredients:

* 1 fryer chicken about 4-6 pounds, rinsed and neck/gizzards removed
* 1-2 pounds of chicken backs or chicken legs
* 12 cups of water (or enough to cover)
* 1 cup parsley, don't bother to chop
* salt
* pepper
* 10 peppercorns
* 2-3 bay leaves
* 1 medium yellow onion, cut in quarters
* 6 carrots
* 5 celery stalks
* 2 cups yellow corn
* 3 hard boiled eggs, diced finely
* 3 garlic cloves
* 1 tbsp canola oil

Directions:

1. Heat a large stock pot to medium hot with oil. When oil is hot add chicken backs or legs. Let brown flipping occasionally for about 10 minutes.

2. Add whole chicken, onion, 3 carrots, 3 celery stalks (leaves and all), parsley, peppercorns, bays leaves, garlic cloves (smashed) and enough water to barely cover. Bring to a boil and reduce temperature to low and cover.

3. Cook for about 45-50 minutes skimming foam and fat off the top at least twice.

4. Set a large strainer over an even larger bowl (it should be able to hold over 12 cups of liquid). Remove whole chicken and place on a cutting board or lipped baking pan to cool. Let cool for 15 minutes.

5. Strain the pot into the strainer. Lift strainer out of the bowl and add strained liquid back into the stock pot. Bring up to a boil. Add remaining carrots (sliced into rounds), rinsed corn, remaining celery stalks (sliced), and eggs.

6. Remove chicken legs from strainer and add to where you put the whole chicken. After 15 minutes of cooling time, shred chicken and remove skin. Add shredded chicken to the stock pot.

7. Heat for about 15 minutes. Check for seasoning adding salt and pepper as needed. Serve hot with crusty bread to soak up the loveliness.

For the lack of a better term I'm going to call this recipe griddle cakes. What it really means is pancakes with a good chunk of my kitchen ingredients in them. :D


Nichole's Griddlecakes

Ingredients:

* 1/3 cup cornmeal
* 1 cup unbleached all purpose flour
* 1 cup old fashioned oats
* 2 bananas, well ripened
* 1 tbsp white sugar
* 1 cup skim milk
* 2 tsp baking powder
* 1/2 tsp kosher salt
* 1 tsp cardamon
* 1/2 tsp nutmeg
* 2 eggs
* 1 and 1/2 tsp vanilla extract

Directions:

1. Mash the bananas in a large bowl. Add the dry ingredient and stir to combine.

2. Make a well in the middle of the dry ingredients and add all the wet ingredients.

3. Stir until just barely combined. Don't over work the batter or it will be tough.

4. Heat a skillet to medium high. Test the skillet by dropping a few drops of water on it. If they "dance" the skillet in ready.

5. Scoop about 3/4 cup of the batter on the skillet and swirl the batter to push it out. Flip the griddlecake when bubbles form and pop around the edges and in the center of the cake. Check the griddlecake after about 30 seconds by lifting the cake up with a spatula to check to see if done. When done remove the cake and repeat.

6. Serve hot with butter and maple syrup!

So I like cheese...a lot of cheese. Only one problem, I'm lactose intolerant. However, I don't let that stop me. If I'm going to eat cheese, I'm going to go big....tons of cheese. And of course, pay for it later. :D

There are two basic ways to do Baked Mac n' Cheese, you can layer in the pan and let it cook or you can cook the mac n' cheese in parts and put it together to "blend" in the oven. I'm a fan of the second, while it creates more dishes than I necessarily like without a dishwasher, the result is much more creamer than the layer version.


Nichole's Baked Mac n' Cheese
Adapted from Mark Bittman's Baked Mac n' Cheese
How to Cook Everything


Ingredients:

* 16 ounces elbow noodles
* 2 cups fresh grated white extra sharp cheddar
* 1/2 cup parmesan
* salt
* pepper
* 4 tbsp unsalted butter
* 4 tbsp white flour
* 1/4 cup italian bread crumbs
* 1/4 cup panko
* 2 1/2 cup skim milk (I used Smart One's Lactose Free to reduce intolerance)
* 2 bay leaves
* olive oil spray

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F and spray a 9 by 13 pan with olive oil spray.

2. Bring a pot of salted water to boil for macaroni and cook noodles 1 minute less than directed. About 8 minutes.

3. At the same time, heat at medium low heat a sauce pan. Add milk and bays leaves. Bring milk to just above room temperature and then take off the heat.

4. Grate Cheddar and Parmesan cheese into separate bowls.

5. Take finished elbow mac off the stove and rinse the pasta to stop the cooking. Place pasta in a third heat proof large bowl.

6. Rinse the pasta pot and put back on the stove at medium heat. Melt butter and then whisk in flour to create a roux.

7. Sprinkle Parmesan,salt and pepper on cooked pasta.

8. Discard bay leaves from milk mixture and the add milk slowly to roux whisking to prevent lumps. Then slowly add cheddar to milk mixture.

9. Slowly mix cheddar mixture into pasta mixture. Stir together until well incorporated. Add pasta mixture into prepared pan.

10. Sprinkle with panko and bread crumbs. Spray bread crumbs briefly with olive oil spray.

11. Bake mac n' cheese for 20 minutes. Serve pipping hot.

So as mentioned in the last post I thought it would be fun to post two different versions of the same recipe. This version is mine, lightened up and with some added spices that I enjoy.


Mom's Famous Banana Bread - Nichole's Version

Ingredients:

* 3 ripe bananas
* 1/2 cup unsweetened applesauce
* 1 and 1/2 cup Splenda
* 2 large eggs
* 1 cup white flour
* 1 cup whole wheat flour
* 1 tsp baking soda
* 1/2 cup walnuts, chopped (optional)
* 1 tsp ground cardamon
* 1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
* 1 tsp cinnamon
* sugar for dusting

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 F degrees.
2. Cream bananas, applesauce, splenda, and eggs.
3. Slowly add flour, spices, and soda until well mixed.
4. Slowly fold in the walnuts if so desired.
5. Grease two medium loaf pans and fill 3/4 full of banana mixture.
6. Lightly sprinkle white sugar on top of the uncooked loaves
7. Bake in the oven for 50-60 minutes or until a toothpick leaves clean.