Side Dish

Butternut Squash Mac & Cheese

Leah Short — Sat, 26 Jan 2019 14:41:43 +0000

What’s comfort food for you? A hearty stew? A brothy soup? For me, it’s macaroni and cheese and I had no idea how good it could be until I stumbled on this recipe for Butternut Squash Mac & Cheese! Yeah, it sounds a little weird, but trust me. Roasted butternut squash adds such a depth of flavor, slightly sweet, but complements the Parmesan and sharp Cheddar beautifully. Once blended, it makes this mac and cheese some of the creamiest mac and cheese on the planet.

Cube your butternut squash and roast in the oven. I can’t say enough about roasted veggies. It really brings out the best of their flavor and those crispy bits…

Blend it! Here’s where the magic happens. Greek yogurt and nonfat milk help keep the calories low, but the creamy texture high.

It may be a tinge healthy, but we’re not leaving out the cheese! Salty Parmesan and sharp Cheddar, yes please and thank you!

If it’s cold where you are (and if it isn’t, where are you? can I come? ), a big bowl of this is all you need to get through winter. Cold weather dinner luxury. You won’t be able to get over the creamy, cheesiness of the sauce. I never want to have regular mac and cheese again!

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Rosemary Parmesan Polenta

Leah Short — Wed, 20 May 2015 13:21:32 +0000

Look at that simple bowl of polenta. Unassuming, nothing fancy, but oh how your eyes can deceive you! This Rosemary Parmesan Polenta is one of those dishes that I want to faceplant in and eat my way out. Yes, to all zee carbzzz! I served this with the Sausage, Cannellini, and Tomato Ragout and together…sweet, sweet harmony. Plus they don’t blow our your calorie budget. You can have both!

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Clean Slate: Quinoa Salad with Zucchini, Mint, & Pistachios

Leah Short — Thu, 19 Feb 2015 21:33:15 +0000

In my previous post, I mentioned how I’m cooking from the Clean Slate cookbook and seeing if I actually enjoy clean eating. Before, I assumed clean eating meant bland eating, and I’ve learned that’s absolutely not the case! For breakfast I’ve tried Barley with Pineapple, Coconut, & Flaxseed. It sounds unusual but tasted so good! Next up was trying something for lunch. I picked this Quinoa Salad with Zucchini, Mint, & Pistachios because it’s all of my favorite ingredients and I usually have most of them on hand.

So, how’s it taste?

Another hit! I loved the combination of flavors in this salad, plus it was really easy to put together. Instead of cooking the zucchini in a pan, next time I’ll roast it and increase the amount. I love, love, love roasted vegetables, especially zucchini so the more the merrier! I really like the contrast of textures with the quinoa and crunchy pistachios. The pistachios also gave it some saltiness. The mint and lemon brighten the salad, while the scallions gave it a touch of subtle heat (and more crunch!). I took this salad to work for lunch several days in a row and the leftovers were just as tasty, although I will warn that the quinoa continues to soak up the oil and lemon juice so it can get a bit dry.

Even with such simple ingredients, this was really filling for lunch. I’m finding out clean eating is really tasty eating! The dishes you see in the pictures above are part of the Martha Stewart Collection white dishware available exclusively at Macy’s. Fantastic dishware for everyday use, plus they’re dishwasher and microwave safe!

Yield: 4 servings

Quinoa Salad with Zucchini, Mint, & Pistachios

Ingredients:

1 1/2 cups water
1 cup quinoa, rinsed & drained
coarse salt & freshly ground black pepper
2 tbsp. extra-virgin olive oil
1 zucchini, thinly sliced
1 garlic clove, thinly sliced
3 scallions, thinly sliced
1/4 cup roasted salted pistachios, chopped
grated zest and juice of 1 lemon
1/2 cup packed fresh mint leaves, chopped, plus more for garnish

Directions:

1. Bring the water, quinoa, and salt to a boil in a medium saucepan. Reduce heat, cover and simmer until liquid has been absorbed and quinoa is tender but still chewy, about 15 minutes. Transfer to a large bowl; fluff with fork and let cool.

2. Heat oil in large skillet over medium-high heat. Add zucchini; cook, stirring occasionally, until tender and golden, about 7 minutes. Add garlic; cook until fragrant (do not let brown), about 30 seconds. Season with salt and pepper, and add to quinoa.

3. Stir in scallions, pistachios, lemon zest and juice, and mint. Season with salt and pepper and serve.

per serving: 286 calories, 13g fat, 36g carbs, 8g protein, 5g fiber

Source: Clean Slate by the editors of Martha Stewart Living

Disclosure: I received a copy of Clean Slate: A Cookbook and Guide: Reset Your Health, Detox Your Body, and Feel Your Best and the Martha Stewart Collection white dishware at no cost. All opinions expressed here are solely my own, as always. This post contains affiliate links.

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Rustic Squash Tarts

Leah Short — Mon, 12 Jan 2015 18:19:23 +0000

This Rustic Squash Tart is one of those recipes I love because it’s so unique and the presentation is really pretty. It looks like you put a lot of effort into it, but it’s really quite easy. Well, other than peeling butternut and acorn squash. It’s unique because the top is savory with the two squashes covered in herbs, but hidden underneath is a layer of spiced, sweet pecans. It sounds really odd, I know, but it just works. Baked in a flaky puff pastry, this tasty side will steal the show.

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Corn Casserole

Leah Short — Wed, 07 Jan 2015 16:34:08 +0000

I know this time of year people are looking online for healthy foods and ways to get back in shape after the holidays. Trust me, I’m doing the same thing. As much as I’d love to give you that, I’ve got a list of yummy eats I enjoyed that I’m dying to share with you. I figure this is the good stuff that got me in this wanting to eat healthier predicament, so it must be worth sharing, right? Let’s start with Corn Casserole. I’ve made this creamy, cheesy, insanely delicious casserole for years. However, I’ve never made it with the bell peppers until now. Hello, favorite casserole ever!

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Mushroom Cornbread Dressing

Leah Short — Fri, 19 Dec 2014 15:19:59 +0000

I can’t believe it’s taken me years to get this Mushroom Cornbread Dressing on the blog. This is my absolute favorite dressing and we have it almost every year. I say almost because I like to change it up, but nothing so far beats this recipe. It’s the perfect texture with cornbread, mushrooms, green onions, and almonds. Of course I slather it with cranberry sauce, too. I just love everything in this dressing! It’s also easy to halve if you don’t want to make the full recipe.

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Goat Cheese Mashed Potatoes

Leah Short — Mon, 08 Dec 2014 17:07:53 +0000

Oh mashed potatoes how I love thee! I’ve eaten a huge bowl of mashed potatoes and called it dinner on many a night. Not because I was too lazy to make something or there was nothing in the house, but because they are delicious and versatile. Add any kind of cheese, herbs, even ranch dressing and it’s pretty much the best thing ever. I made these Goat Cheese Mashed Potatoes for Thanksgiving and they were the star of the show. You know why? Because they are the exact opposite of anything healthy. Goat cheese, butter, sour cream, and milk. You could use half-and-half or cream for the milk, but I had to draw the line somewhere!

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Tilapia with Fennel-Yogurt Sauce & Red Pepper Couscous

Leah Short — Wed, 10 Sep 2014 15:13:14 +0000

I’m coming off of 10 days of glorious vacation! It’s a little challenging to get back into the swing of things with getting up early for work, getting ready for work, driving to work, being at work. Sensing a theme here? Yeah, I’m happy to be employed, but I sure do miss being on my own schedule, which most days didn’t include wearing makeup or heels. Getting used to my work schedule isn’t the only thing challenging me. It’s also going back to not eating the house down. No more Doritos, no more Devil Squares. Luckily I’ve got this fantastic, low calorie dinner that tastes like I’m still on vacation. This Tilapia with Fennel-Yogurt Sauce paired with Red Pepper Couscous makes me feel like I’m still splurging, but is much kinder to my hips than all those Doritos!

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Ranchero Corn

Leah Short — Thu, 17 Jul 2014 11:43:08 +0000

I’m pretty sure I’ve mentioned our running joke about always having corn in the house, so whenever someone says “What are we eating with it?” the joke is always “Corn!” Ok, maybe you have to be there. I was looking for a side for our 4th of July menu and saw this Ranchero Corn recipe and instantly knew I wanted it. It furthers our joke and it has bacon AND ranch dressing. My mouth was watering just thinking about it. I love it when you look forward to a side as much as the main dish. I also wanted something really simple to put together so I could spend more time enjoying the festivities and not cooking.

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Creamy Tomato Soup

Leah Short — Mon, 31 Mar 2014 13:39:42 +0000

Last week I brought you a recipe for mac and cheese that I just adore. It’s a bonus that it’s low calorie, too. I promised to share with you another tasty low calorie dish that I eat with the mac and cheese. This Creamy Tomato Soup is low enough in calories that a small bowl of it is the perfect companion to those cheesy macaroni noodles. This is such a simple recipe, but has a lot of savory flavors that go so well with the creamy mac and cheese. One serving is about 74 calories and that’s perfect to pair this with almost any entree!

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