Tortellini with Pumpkin Alfredo, Sausage and Parmesan

I *think* some of the calories in this dish are offset by the sauce - it only has three ingredients: pumpkin, Laughing Cow cream cheese wedges, and chicken broth. That's not too bad right?

Anyway, I just made this recipe up, and I probably couldn't replicate it if I tried. But here's what I did.

Pumpkin Alfredo Sauce

Some canned pumpkin - 1/4 cup?
2 Laughing Cow cream cheese wedges
About 1/2 cup low sodium chicken broth, maybe a little less

Heat pumpkin and cream cheese over medium-low heat. Add chicken broth and whisk, whisk, whisk until smooth. Add more broth to desired consistency and season with salt, pepper and a dash of pumpkin pie spice. Toss with pasta, sausage, sage, walnuts and parmesan.

'Breakfast Sandwich'

Waffles, egg, tomatoes, cheddar, bacon and maple syrup-

O, Tortilla Chips

Who can resist the siren song of tortilla chips? They're so good, but so bad.

9 store-bought tortilla chips have 140 calories, 6 grams of fat and 19 carbs. Thatznotgood.

2 (store-bought) corn tortillas have 80 calories, 1 gram of fat, and 16 carbs.

So there you go. If you cut up 4 corn tortillas, you get 24 chips. I'm really bad at math, but I think that comes out to less calories and fat than store-bought chips. I spray them with (no-calorie) cooking spray and broil them on each side for 3 minutes. You have to watch them, they'll burn easily.

Then you can feel less guilty about the cheese.

Lighter Creamy White Bean Dip

And homemade pita chips.

from Food Network.

Chicken, Sweet Potato and Black Bean Enchiladas

I've been craving Mexican food, but just haven't gotten to a restaurant lately. So it was in order tonight and first, I made enchilada sauce. This recipe is the bomb, I will be bookmarking for future reference and using forever. But, pro-tip: don't substitute chipotle chile pepper powder for half of the chili powder (the chili powder you forgot to check to see if you had enough). Cause that shit is h.o.t. Or you can. Just saying.

Anyway, after parcooking the sweet potato and grilling the chicken it's mostly assembly. Here's some really bad pictures of a really good meal:

Beer-Braised Sausages with Warm Potato Salad

Of course I modified the recipe a little: I used brats, omitted the onion, and added garlic and cannellini beans. I also added grain mustard to the salad dressing. And I didn't have any parsley. Why would I? But yeah, pretty awesome meal.

 From Martha.

Waffled Hash Browns...

Kinda just waffle shaped hash browns...oh well. Still good.

Quick and Hearty Beef & Barley Vegetable Soup

Pretty basic recipe, from the back of the barley box. Why did I even have barley in the first place? I don't know, but big 'cleaning out my cupboards' kick right now, so I thought I'd use it up. Anyway, I subbed tomato juice for one cup of water, because I used a fresh tomato not canned, and added some Worcestershire sauce because...I like Worcestershire sauce. And now I have lunch for like, a hundred days. Good stuff. This is the recipe, modified to me.

Quick 'n Hearty Vegetable Barley Soup
1/2 lb. Lean ground beef
1 clove garlic, minced
4 cups water
1 cup tomato juice
1 14.5oz can unsalted whole tomatoes, undrained, cut into pieces
3/4 quick barley
1/2 cup sliced celery
1/2 cup sliced carrots
2 beef bouillon cubes
1/2 tsp. dried basil
1 bay leaf
1 tbsp. Worcestershire sauce
Salt, pepper

In Dutch oven, brown meat. Add garlic. Stir in remaining ingredients. Cover, bring to a boil. Reduce heat, simmer 10 minutes, stirring occasionally.

Crispy Fried Polenta with Salsa

Black bean & corn salsa, an egg & some Greek-yogurt 'sour cream'. It surely can't be the *most* unhealthy breakfast....

Polenta.

It's a thing that is healthier than pasta. Except when topped with Italian sausage ragu and Parmesan cheese.

Welsh Rarebit on Beer Waffles with Bacon and Tomatoes

 From Serious Eats.

Risotto with Pesto and Peas

Slightly modified, of course: chicken broth instead of leek, and no ham, since it was a side dish to grilled pork tenderloin. I also used half the pesto as indicated. Less labor-intensive than some risotto recipes and just as delicious. From Food Network.

Cream Egg Brownies

From Love and Olive Oil.

Mini Cheddar Garlic Biscuits

From Lesley Eats.

Buffalo Chicken Chili with Blue Cheese-Cornmeal Waffles

From Cooking with Michele.

Bought a Waffle Iron

Cinnamon Roll Waffles with Bacon-Apple Frosting (from Serious Eats)

Savory Oatmeal

Steel-cut oats, cheddar, bacon, egg, syrup.