Carrot Macaroni and Cheese

I have been trying to introduce more vegetarian meals to our family dinners since learning about farmforward.com and because I have several friends who are vegetarian who I want to be able to accommodate when we make them dinner. The hard part has been finding a vegetarian recipe where my husband doesn't say, "This would be really good if it had grilled chicken."

I think I finally found a vegetarian meal that I think is a winner. Who doesn't love mac n' cheese? And with the addition of the carrot puree and using whole-wheat pasta, it is a healthier version of the traditional dish.

Make sure not to over do it on the cheddar because it will overpower the carrot flavoring which really makes this recipe unique. Also, rather than discarding all of the orange zest, leave a few bits in and include them in the puree to intensify the orange flavor. It makes a great main dish or serve it as a side.

Adapted From Food and Wine by Jeremy Fox

Ingredients

3/4 pound carrots, peeled and thinly sliced

Zest and juice of 1 navel orange, zest removed in strips with a vegetable peeler

Salt

3 cups penne rigate (9 ounces)

3 ounces sharp cheddar cheese, shredded (1 1/2 cups)

1 tablespoon chopped tarragon

Freshly ground white pepper

Preheat the oven to 350°. In a medium saucepan, combine the carrots with the zest and juice and 1/4 cup of water. Season with salt and bring to a boil. Cover and simmer over moderate heat until the carrots are very soft, about 30 minutes. Discard the zest. Transfer the carrots and any liquid to a blender and puree until very smooth.

Meanwhile, in a large saucepan of boiling salted water, cook the pasta until al dente. Drain the pasta, reserving 1 cup of the cooking water.Return the pasta to the pot. Add the reserved water and the carrot puree and cook over moderate heat, stirring frequently, until the pasta is coated with a thickened sauce, about 5 minutes. Stir in three-fourths of the cheese and cook, stirring, until very creamy, 2 to 3 minutes longer. Stir in the tarragon and season with salt and white pepper.

Transfer the pasta to a medium baking dish and top with the remaining cheese. Bake until the cheese is melted and lightly browned, about 20 minutes. Let stand for 5 minutes before serving.

Rosemary Grilled Orange Roughy With Italian Mashed Potatoes

This recipe is simple to make and tastes great. Orange Roughy is a light tasting white fish and I love that it didn't fall apart in my grill pan. And mashed potatoes without butter and cream are still good. I recommend seasoning the potatoes with a little parsley (Parmesan cheese would be good too). Serve with a side salad to round out the meal.

From Health Magazine
Prep: 15 minutes; Cook: 24 minutes.
Makes 4 servings (serving size: 1 fillet, about 1 cup potatoes)

2 pounds cubed Yukon gold potatoes
2 1/2 tablespoons, plus 2 teaspoons extra-virgin olive oil, divided
1 teaspoon salt, divided
1/8 teaspoon black pepper
1/2 teaspoon grated lemon zest
3/4 teaspoon chopped fresh rosemary
4 (6-ounce) orange roughy fillets
4 lemon wedges

1. Place potatoes in a large saucepan; cover with water. Bring to a boil, and cook 20 minutes or until very tender; drain. Cool, uncovered, 5 minutes. Return potatoes to pan, adding 2 1/2 tablespoons olive oil, 1/2 teaspoon salt, and pepper; mash to desired consistency. Keep warm.

2. Combine remaining salt, lemon zest, and rosemary in a small bowl; grind together with the back of a spoon until very well combined.

3. Preheat grill or grill pan.

4. Brush fillets with remaining 2 teaspoons olive oil; rub evenly on all sides with salt mixture.

5. Grill 2 minutes per side or until fish flakes easily with a fork. Serve immediately with lemon wedges and potatoes.

Zoo Date With Grandma

Easter 2009

We have had such a fun Easter weekend

On Friday we decorated eggs with Stephanie and her son Cal

Samantha and Bella were more interested in the swings than decorating eggs

On Saturday afternoon we went to the train depot in Goleta to see the Easter Bunny - That Easter bunny needs to work a little harder to convince Samantha she is real......

That evening we went out to dinner with Grandma and Papa

After Samantha went to bed, the Easter Bunny got to work

Waking up on Easter morning is so much fun Samantha got very spoiled

Wearing her Easter dress from Auntie Laurie and hat from Grandma and Papa

A trip to the zoo on Easter morning

All the sheep at the zoo looked so cute - they had just been shorn.

After Samantha's nap, she played with all her Easter presents

The artist at work

She has a good teacher

Samantha and Daddy took a break from drawing to learn more words. Daddy is very serious about increasing Samantha's vocabulary. We think she is pretty darn smart :)

The Stone Family joined us for Easter dinner. Samantha and Connor got to sit at the new kids table :)

What a great Easter!

Beach Babe

Spicy-Honey Brushed Chicken

From Cooking Light Magazine

Serves 4

Ingredients
2 teaspoons garlic powder
2 teaspoons chili powder
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1 teaspoon paprika
1/2 teaspoon ground red pepper
8 skinless, boneless chicken thighs (I used chicken breasts)
Cooking spray
6 tablespoons honey
2 teaspoons cider vinegar

Preheat broiler.

Combine first 6 ingredients in a large bowl. Add chicken to bowl; toss to coat.

Place chicken on a broiler pan coated with cooking spray. Broil chicken 5 minutes on each side.

Combine honey and vinegar in a small bowl, stirring well. Remove chicken from oven; brush 1/4 cup honey mixture on chicken. Broil 1 minute. Remove chicken from oven and turn over.

Brush chicken with remaining honey mixture. Broil 1 additional minute or until chicken is done.

A Perfect Sunday

We had such a great day today. The weather was beautiful.

We started off the day at Leadbetter Beach. The Delio Family invited us to the annual Ducati show and picnic. Samantha got to hang out with all her friends while we enjoyed homemade pizza and cupcakes.

After Samantha's nap, we headed down to Chase Palm Park where they have the carousel. Samantha was very intrigued by the colorful spinning horses.

She even started to dance

Samantha got saddled up on her horse


But it was not what she expected it to be


"LET ME OFF THIS HORSE!"


We thought sitting down may be more fun


Not so much

Looking at fish is way more fun

Samantha worked up an appetite at the park and we headed for sushi.

Eating a sushi roll

Miso Soup

What a great day :)