(49) Pasta Carbonara with Asparagus

As I mentioned before, I have zero sense of taste/smell right now. I wish I could give an accurate review of this recipe, but I can't! So I'm recording this for posterity sake and going to have to revisit this one at a later date! If anybody makes this, please let me know what you think! (sorry for such a worthless opener!)

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Pasta Carbonara with Asparagus

Source: Cooking Light, MAY 1997
Yield: 4 servings (serving size: 1 1/2 cups)

2 1/2 cups (1-inch) diagonally sliced trimmed asparagus
6 tablespoons grated fresh Parmesan cheese, divided
1/4 cup skim milk
1/4 cup egg substitute
2 tablespoons chopped chives
1/4 teaspoon salt
8 ounces uncooked farfalle (bow tie pasta)
2 bacon slices
3/4 cup chopped onion
2 garlic cloves, minced
Freshly ground pepper
Chopped chives (optional)

Bring water to a boil in a medium saucepan; add asparagus. Cook 3 minutes or until crisp-tender. Drain; set aside.

Combine 2 tablespoons cheese, milk, egg substitute, 2 tablespoons chives, and salt in a small bowl; set aside.

Cook pasta according to package directions, omitting salt and fat. Drain well; set aside.

Cook bacon in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat until crisp. Crumble bacon; set aside. Add onion and garlic to bacon drippings in pan; sauté 5 minutes or until tender. Remove from heat; stir in asparagus and bacon.

Combine pasta, milk mixture, and asparagus in a large bowl; toss well. Divide evenly among 4 shallow bowls; top each serving with 1 tablespoon cheese. Sprinkle with pepper; top with chives, if desired.

CALORIES 321 (17% from fat); FAT 6.2g (sat 2.8g,mono 2g,poly 0.8g); IRON 3.4mg; CHOLESTEROL 10mg; CALCIUM 188mg; CARBOHYDRATE 50.8g; SODIUM 437mg; PROTEIN 15.8g; FIBER 3.8g

(11) Bacon-Cheddar Corn Muffins

This recipe had mixed reviews on the Cooking Light website. I wanted to try the muffins, however, and form my own opinion. This is a 3 star recipe. It was fine. We'll eat them, but they're not great. I would not serve these to company. I needed a really strong bacon flavor and didn't get that at all. What you get is a standard corn muffin. Nothing wrong with that, just not what I signed up for!!

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Bacon-Cheddar Corn Muffins

Yield: 12 servings (serving size: 1 muffin)
Source: Cooking Light Magazine, July 2007

Use extrasharp cheese for the most intense flavor. These muffins are great for breakfast or with soup; split and toast leftovers.

Cooking spray
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour (about 6 3/4 ounces)
1/2 cup yellow cornmeal
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup fat-free milk
2 tablespoons lemon juice
2 tablespoons butter, melted
1 large egg
1/2 cup (2 ounces) shredded extrasharp cheddar cheese
4 center-cut bacon slices, cooked and crumbled

Preheat oven to 400°.

Place 12 paper muffin cup liners in muffin cups. Coat liners with cooking spray; set aside.

Lightly spoon flour into dry measuring cups; level with a knife. Combine flour and next 5 ingredients (through salt) in a large bowl; make a well in center of mixture.

Combine milk and juice in a medium bowl; let stand 2 minutes (milk will curdle). Add butter and egg; stir well to combine. Add to flour mixture, stirring just until moist. Stir in cheese and bacon. Spoon batter evenly into prepared muffin cups. Bake at 400° for 17 minutes or until muffins spring back when touched lightly in center. Remove muffins from pans immediately; place on a wire rack.

CALORIES 142 (30% from fat); FAT 4.8g (sat 2.6g,mono 1.5g,poly 0.3g); IRON 1.1mg; CHOLESTEROL 30mg; CALCIUM 88mg; CARBOHYDRATE 19.1g; SODIUM 342mg; PROTEIN 5.2g; FIBER 0.6g

(2) Crisp Mashed Potato Cakes

Back in the saddle again, kind of.... I tell you, I would like to claim mommy brain sometimes. If you have kids, you know what I mean. I was cooking, talking to my husband, singing songs with the baby, fixing her food, etc etc. So I wasn't 100% focused on cooking. I totally failed to cook the green onions. OOPS. I realized it as I was putting the tray in the oven. We don't mind raw green onions, so it was fine.

These were DELISH. Let me make a few suggestions. First, don't make them too big. Secondly, don't be tempted to over cheese them. I know, I know, I wanted to just PILE the cheese in, but that would equal disaster. Also a good shortcut - I used my favorite refrigerated mashed potatoes (please note that nobody is paying me anything for saying this!! I just love these!):

The recipe suggests that you flip them. I flipped one and was like "no freaking way". So I didn't flip any of the others. That's FINE. They needed browning, so I gave them a minute or two under the broiler before I brought them out. I hope you'll try these. They are delish and something different for a side dish!

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Crisp Mashed Potato Cakes

Yield: 6 servings (serving size: 1 potato cake)
Source: Cooking Light Magazine, November 2007.

Cheddar cheese, bacon, and a panko coating make these a satisfying side dish.

Cooking spray
1/2 cup chopped green onions
2 cups mashed potatoes, chilled
2 tablespoons shredded extrasharp cheddar cheese
1/8 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1 center-cut bacon slice, cooked and crumbled
3/4 cup panko (Japanese breadcrumbs)

Preheat oven to 425°.

Heat a large nonstick skillet over medium heat. Coat pan with cooking spray. Add green onions to pan, and cook 2 minutes or until tender, stirring occasionally. Remove from heat.

Place mashed potatoes in a medium bowl. Stir in onions, cheese, salt, pepper, and bacon. Divide potato mixture into 6 equal portions, shaping each into a 1/2-inch-thick patty. Place panko in a shallow dish. Dredge patties in panko. Place patties on a baking sheet coated with cooking spray. Bake at 425° for 12 minutes. Carefully turn patties over; bake an additional 12 minutes or until golden.

CALORIES 122 (16% from fat); FAT 2.2g (sat 1.1g,mono 0.5g,poly 0.1g); IRON 0.3mg; CHOLESTEROL 6mg; CALCIUM 40mg; CARBOHYDRATE 22g; SODIUM 290mg; PROTEIN 3.6g; FIBER 2g

(108) Bacon and Brown Sugar-Braised Collard Greens

I might live in Florida, but I was raised in Virginia - Southern Virginia, to be exact. I grew up eating collards and Smithfield ham and biscuits and corn pudding and all those other yummy southern dishes *drool*. I don't normally make collards following a recipe, but I had pulled this one out to try.

I made a few changes - I added 3 cups of water when the collards started cooking. I also added 2 more cups of water at the 1 hour mark. I cooked them 2 hours on a really low simmer. They were fine at 1 hr, but in my opinion, collards are one of those things you can't cook too much!!

PS: They were spicy, so if you dont like the heat, cut the red pepper down to 1/4 tsp or less!

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Bacon and Brown Sugar-Braised Collard Greens

Yield: 8 servings (serving size: 1/2 cup)
Source: Cooking Light, JUNE 2007

Cooking collard greens in a lightly sweetened braising liquid curbs their bitter bite. This Southern-inspired side dish is great with grilled pork chops and corn bread.

2 bacon slices
1 cup chopped onion
1 garlic clove, minced
2 cups water
1 tablespoon brown sugar
2 tablespoons cider vinegar
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon ground red pepper
1 (16-ounce) package prewashed torn collard greens

Cook bacon in a Dutch oven over medium-high heat until crisp. Remove bacon from pan, reserving drippings in pan. Crumble bacon; set aside. Add onion and garlic to drippings in pan; cook over medium heat 5 minutes or until tender, stirring occasionally. Stir in crumbled bacon, 2 cups water, and next 4 ingredients (through pepper). Gradually add greens. Cover, reduce heat, and simmer 1 hour or until tender.

Calories 60 (42% from fat); Fat 2.8g (sat 0.9g,mono 1.2g,poly 0.4g); Iron 0.2mg; Cholesterol 4mg; Calcium 90mg; Carbohydrate 7.2g; Sodium 208mg; Protein 2.3g; Fiber 2.4g

(103) Warm Brussels Sprouts with Apples and Red Onions

If you like Brussels sprouts, this is a recipe for you! Quite tasty and easy to make once you've got everything chopped!! I didn't buy applewood bacon because I'm cheap! Regular bacon worked fine.

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Warm Brussels Sprouts with Apples and Red Onions

Source: Cooking Light, NOVEMBER 2007
Yield: 8 servings (serving size: 1/2 cup)

Slice the Brussels sprouts to help them cook quickly, then splash them with a warm bacon vinaigrette. Use the best bacon you can find for this recipe.

2 slices applewood-smoked bacon
2 cups diced peeled Granny Smith apple
1/2 cup thinly sliced red onion
1 garlic clove, minced
2 tablespoons water
2 tablespoons cider vinegar
3 cups thinly sliced Brussels sprouts (about 1 pound)
1 teaspoon stone-ground mustard
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

Cook bacon in a large nonstick skillet over medium heat until crisp. Remove bacon from pan; crumble. Add apple, onion, and garlic to drippings in pan; sauté for 5 minutes or until lightly browned. Add 2 tablespoons water and vinegar to pan, scraping pan to loosen browned bits. Add Brussels sprouts; cook 5 minutes or until tender, stirring frequently. Stir in mustard, salt, and pepper. Remove from heat. Sprinkle with bacon. Serve immediately.

Calories 54 (25% from fat); Fat 1.5g (sat 0.5g,mono 0.6g,poly 0.2g); Iron 0.9mg; Cholesterol 3mg; Calcium 28mg; Carbohydrate 8.4g; Sodium 228mg; Protein 3g; Fiber 2.6g