Zucchini Noodles aka Zoodles

Have you guys had zoodles before? Apparently its a trendy thing right now for healthy eating people. Normally I would not consider myself a health-nut... far from it, really, but since being pregnant, I am eating a more balanced diet than normal. I planted zucchini in my garden for the first time this year, and it is really taking off. I knew that if I only used the zucchini to bake bread that Lee and I would be tired of it quickly, so I gave zucchini noodles, aka zoodles, a try.

Making the zoodles was super easy. Here's what I did:

Preheat oven to 200 degrees. Cut off both ends of the zucchini, and *spiral it. See below for spiraling instructions.

Once my zucchini was spiraled, I lined a baking sheet with parchment paper and spread out the zoodles on it. I sprinkled garlic salt and parsley on them and baked at 200 degrees for 20 minutes. I ate one of the zoodles prior to baking it, and the texture was good. I probably could've gone without baking them if I were in a rush, but I didn't want my zoodles to cool off my sauce, so I baked them.

Here's what my zoodles looked like on my baking sheet. 

I bought this garlic salt and parsley combination from Aldi, and this is what I sprinkled on my zoodles. 

After my zoodles were done baking, I separated them onto two plates for Lee and I, and topped them with grilled chicken and spinach garlic alfredo sauce. I had the sauce pre-made from a few days before, so I just threw some leftover grilled chicken, 2 handfuls of spinach in a skillet with olive oil, and then added my sauce to the skillet until it was all warmed up.

One medium sized zucchini was enough for Lee and I, but we didn't have any sides or bread with it (which we normally would when eating pasta), so I'd say one medium zucchini can feed 2-3 adults.If you're pairing it with my garlic alfredo sauce recipe, I would say you probably want 2 medium zucchini to use up all of the sauce, and that could serve 4-6 adults depending if you're serving your 'pasta' with a side salad, garlic bread, etc.

Here's my final product: Chicken, spinach, and zoodle alfredo.

*I ordered this spiraler from Amazon, and so far I really like it. It is small, so it doesn't take up a ton of room in my cabinet, and spiraling my zucchini was super easy. It also comes with this little brush that makes the spiraler easy to clean. The only downfall is that because it is small, I will not be able to spiral my larger zucchinis unless I cut them into smaller chunks. I haven't tried that yet, but I'll follow up and let you know how it goes once I do.

Garlic Alfredo Sauce

Alfredo sauce... this one is garlicky, rich, creamy, and full of all things good. My sister-in-law introduced me to a similar recipe when she made her lasagna alfredo roll ups for dinner, and I believe she found that recipe here.  The blogger who posted this recipe hasn't posted anything new in almost 3 years, but I'm so glad her blog is still up, because her alfredo lasagna roll ups are divine. Once my sister-in-law made this recipe, I had to copy her ASAP! I'll be honest and tell you that the lasagna roll ups are amazing, but they are a lot of work, so I don't make them very often. More commonly, I just use this alfredo recipe and mix it in with noodles and chicken/seafood. If you have extra time to spend on dinner some night, try the recipe I linked to above. You will not be disappointed. I've adapted her alfredo sauce recipe to my own liking, and have used it to create several of my own recipes. So here's how I do my version of Mmm... Cafe's alfredo sauce:

Ingredients

2 cups heavy whipping cream (1 pint size carton)
2 tbsp. butter
1 tbsp. minced garlic
1 heaping tbsp. pesto
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. pepper
1/2 tsp. garlic powder
3/4 cup shredded Parmesan cheese
1/4 block cream cheese (2 oz.)
Garlic salt to taste... I use a garlic salt grinder, so I don't have a measurement on this one

*I highly recommend a garlic sea salt grinder... I usually buy mine from Aldi's but I haven't seen them there lately, so I've also purchased from Wal-Mart. I also recommend using a fresh pepper grinder if you can.

*This makes a batch of sauce to serve a pasta dish to 4-6 adults. 4 adults if you like your pasta more saucy.

Start by melting your butter in a large skillet on the stove on medium heat. (While you're making your sauce, you may want to also bring some water to a boil and cook up your pasta so your sauce and pasta can be done cooking at the same time.) Add your cream cheese to the melted butter and let it melt as well, whisking the butter and cream cheese together. Whisk in all of your seasonings: minced garlic, pesto, salt, pepper, and garlic powder. Next, whisk in your heavy whipping cream. You will need to whisk until thick- probably about 8-10 minutes or so. The whisking is the worst part, but the sauce is so good that it's totally worth your time. Last, add in your Parmesan cheese, turn off your burner, but let your sauce sit on the hot burner for about 3 minutes while it thickens up.

Then you can add your sauce to meat and pasta, veggie noodles, put it on a pizza crust, use it as a bread dip, or anything else that sounds good! I love to double this recipe and make two batches of sauce. I'll use half of it for pasta one night, put the other half in the fridge, and make an alfredo pizza with it later in the week.

Enjoy!

Grilled Chicken Linguine Alfredo

Chicken, cheese, bacon, noodles, bread.... What more could you possible ask for? 

Lee is a huge fan of pasta... I could make it 3 or 4 nights a week and I really don't think he would get tired of it. His favorite meal is lasagna, and I do love lasagna, but I like to switch things up every now and then, and replace the red sauce with Alfredo. This week I made Alfredo with linguine noodles and grilled chicken, and it was de-lish! Here's how I made it:

Ingredients

2 slices thick cut bacon

2/3 block of Asiago Cheese, shredded or grated

2 cups Italian blend cheese

1/2 cup milk

1 square of seasoned butter

1 tablespoon of flour

1/2 tablespoon of minced garlic

1/2 tablespoon of pesto

2 chicken breast

4 oz. linguine noodles

To start, decide how you want to cook your chicken. I grilled mine because I loved the flavor the grill gives the chicken, but you could bake yours or cook it in a skillet. I thawed my two chicken breast, and threw them on the grill (mine were plain, but you could season yours with garlic or Italian seasoning if you wanted). 

While my chicken was grilling, I made my sauce. To start your sauce, cook your two bacon slices in a large skillet on medium heat. Once the bacon is cooked through, remove the bacon from the pan, but leave the grease. Throw in your butter and let it melt. Then thrown in 1/2 of your Asiago cheese and mix it in with the butter and grease using a whisk. Once your cheese is melted and mixed in with the grease and butter, add 1 cup of Italian cheese and 1/4 cup of milk. Whisk it all together and then whisk in your flour.

At this point, bring a separate pan of water to a boil and throw in your noodles. I like linguine, but you could use any type of noodle you like. Cook the noodles to your preferred texture and drain the water.

While your noodles are boiling, check your chicken. About this time, mine was done and I brought it inside and just covered it in foil and set it aside. If its still cooking, finish your sauce and check it again later.

Back to your sauce:  Now add your garlic and pesto. Then add in the last of your milk (1/4 cup),  2nd half of your Asiago cheese, and your last cup of Italian cheese. The reason I don't just dump all of the cheeses and other ingredients in at once is because by putting in a little at a time, this helps me get my texture just right.Once you add your garlic and pesto, you can taste your sauce and see if you like the texture. If your sauce is too thick, add some more milk, or leave out some of the second round of cheese. If its too runny, add a little more flour and cheese.

I like my Alfredo pretty thick. This is what mine looks like when I make it. 

Once you get your sauce the texture you want, mix in your noodles. Chop up your grilled chicken and bacon into bite size pieces and stir the meat in as well. I do this all in the same skillet I made the sauce in.

Final product! 

Cook up some garlic bread, throw together a salad, and dinner is served! This recipe serves 4 adults as an entree, or 6-8 adults as a side.

*Note: By using all of the ingredients above, your sauce will be pretty thick. It will be more of a coating to your noodles rather than a runny sauce. Kind of like the Carbonara at Olive Garden... YUM! My favorite! 

Dinner is served! 

Italian Meatballs

Italian Meatballs... yum! 

On Monday this week, I made pasta and Italian meatballs. Pasta is Lee's favorite food, and I scored some huge brownie points with this recipe! I had never tried meatballs before, because I assumed they were a hassle to make, but guess what? They are so easy! Here's how I made them:


Ingredients
1 lb ground pork sausage (or if you prefer, use ground beef, turkey, or chicken)
1/2 cup Italian bread crumbs
1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese
1 heaping tablespoon of pesto
1 tablespoon of minced garlic
1 teaspoon of Italian seasoning (Or if you just use Italian sausage instead of plain sausage, you can omit the Italian seasoning)
1/4 cup shredded Italian Cheese for each 2 plates you serve

Start by pre-heating your oven to 400 degrees. Mix your sausage, bread crumbs, Parmesan, pesto, garlic, and Italian seasoning together in a bowl. Line your cookie sheet with aluminum foil for easy clean up (optional). Spray your foil with cooking spray. Form your sausage mixture into golf ball size meatballs, and place on your cookie sheet. Bake them for 15-20 minutes, or until cooked through. This recipe makes 12 or so meatballs, depending how big or small you make them.

While my meatballs were baking, I boiled some pasta, drained it, and added pasta sauce to the noodles and cut some veggies for a salad. When Lee and I made our plates, we sprinkled some Italian cheese on top.  These meatballs take about 10 minutes to assemble, 20 minutes to bake. So in 30 minutes or less you can have dinner on the table. That sounds like a win to me!

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