Sorry, I know it's been a while but here is another recipe.  I really liked this, it was a lot richer than most Alfredo sauces.  Add salt in the last step to changed the flavor and make it sweet.  Delicious! 

Cuts the fat in half.  Before it's 75 g fat, after 10.4 g fat.

Cuts the calories drastically too:  1,220 down to 336

Try it!

Rocco DiSpirito's Lightened Fettuccine Alfredo

Makes 4 servings
Forget the cream: DiSpirito makes a rich but nutritious Alfredo sauce with Greek yogurt.



Ingredients

8 oz. whole wheat fettuccine

1 tbs. butter

3 garlic cloves, minced

2 tsp. cornstarch

Pinch ground nutmeg

3/4 cup low-fat, low-sodium chicken broth

3/4 cup grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese

3/4 cup 5% Greek yogurt

Salt and freshly ground black pepper



Directions

1. Bring large pot of salted water to a boil. Add fettuccine and cook according to package directions, 9 to 11 minutes; drain.



2. While pasta is cooking, melt butter in large sauté pan over medium heat. Add garlic and cook until fragrant, about 2 minutes.



3. Meanwhile, combine cornstarch and nutmeg in small bowl. Whisk in chicken broth until smooth. Pour mixture into sauté pan, raise heat, and bring sauce to simmer, whisking occasionally. Whisk in ½ cup cheese until melted. Remove sauté pan from heat and whisk in yogurt until sauce is smooth.



4. In large bowl, toss fettuccine with Alfredo sauce. Season with salt and pepper to taste if desired. Top pasta with remaining ¼ cup cheese and serve.

Rocco DiSpirito's Lightened Fettuccine Alfredo

What better time to start a change than now?

My parents got us a fruit and vegetable basket for Easter, with it I'm going to experiment with different recipes for dinner in order to become healthier. My goal is to post one meal a week and share with you my journey through cooking healthier more nutritious meals. Let me know if you try it and how it went over with your family.

Day 1

Dinner:
For those of you who don't know me, I have a major sweet tooth; if it wasn't for that I would most likely eat really healthy. So when I caught a glimpse of the show "The Doctors" showcasing Chef Rocco Dispirito's new cookbook "Now Eat This" and his famous low calorie FRIED CHICKEN, flourless healthy BROWNIES, AND 147 OTHER FAVORITE RECIPES UNDER 350 CALORIES each. I just had to experiment and try it. So I've decided that tonight's dinner would start with 3 of his recipes. 



Why I choose these recipes:  1) I haven't had fried chicken in forever, it's "fattening" so finally an excuse to eat it and it's not all that bad for me either!  2) I needed a recipe with cauliflower as it was one of the many items in the basket we recieved, plus who doesn't love mashed potatoes - I had to try it!  3) A brownie that's actually good for you....it's self explanitory.  Bon Appetit

Flash-Fried Finger-Lickin' Chicken

Ingredients:

• 3 cups low-fat, low-sodium chicken broth

• Salt

• 4 skinless, bone-in chicken thighs

• 2 quarts grapeseed oil

• 1 ½ cups whole wheat flour

• 1 tablespoon sweet paprika

• 1 ½ teaspoons celery salt

• 1 tablespoon freshly ground black pepper

• 1 teaspoon salt

• ½ teaspoon cayenne pepper

• 2 cups low-fat buttermilk

Directions:

1. Heat the chicken broth in a medium saucepot over high heat, seasoning it generously with salt. Add the chicken thighs to the pan and bring the broth to a simmer. Cover, and reduce the heat to low. Simmer gently until the chicken is tender, about 40 minutes. Remove the thighs from the liquid, pat them dry, and set them aside on a platter; cover with foil to keep them warm.

2. While the chicken is cooking, pour the grapeseed oil into a large pot with high sides, and bring it to 400 degrees F over high heat. Set a wire rack in a rimmed baking sheet or over several layers of paper towels (for draining the chicken). In a shallow dish, combine the flour with the paprika, celery salt, black pepper, 1 teaspoon salt, and the cayenne. Use a whisk to thoroughly combine the ingredients.

3. Combine the warm chicken thighs with the buttermilk in a large bowl, coating them completely. Dredge the thighs in the seasoned flour. Then dip the thighs in the buttermilk and dredge them in the seasoned flour once more, to double-coat the chicken. Shake off any excess flour.

4. Fry the chicken, 2 pieces at a time, in the hot oil until deep golden brown, 30 seconds to 1 minute. Drain on the wire rack, and serve immediately.

Reviews:  Based on a 5 star rating system.
REVIEW: ***** Absolutely delicious!  I loved the chicken, it was very moist and crispy.  I had a few pieces that were darker than the golden pieces which ended up with a different texture but it was just as good!  We even did fried shrimp with the same batter, it too was wonderful!  I put in 1/2 of the paprika it called for because it said "sweet" paprika and I had just the regular spice.  We also didn't find grape seed oil at a regular grocery store, so we used carnola oil instead.  My only issue with it was that it was a little spicy, I believe the culprit was the cayenne pepper, next time I think I'll put in 1/2 of what the recipe calls for.  Over all it was fast and easy not to mension a new favorite of mine!

*** Drew's Review - The chicken was awsome.  Cooking it in broth makes the meat incredibly tender and juicy.  One of the reasons that fried chick is so great is because of how juicy it is, but this method doesn't loose any of that.  Now I need to find a way to make healthy gravy and waffles so I can have fried chicken and waffles...a dish I haven't had often, but it is delicious.  In fact I'm writing this review 2 days after we had this and we made it again tonight.

Better Than Mashed "Potatoes"

Ingredients:

• Nonstick cooking spray
• 2 ½ cups roughly chopped cauliflower

• Salt and freshly ground black pepper

• ½ cup Greek yogurt

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 450 degrees F. Line a baking sheet with foil and spray it with cooking spray.

2. Spread the cauliflower out on the prepared baking sheet. Season it with salt and pepper to taste. Top the cauliflower with another sheet of foil, and roll up the edges to form a sealed package.

3. Roast the cauliflower for 20 minutes. Remove the top foil, being careful of the steam, and continue roasting the cauliflower until it is tender, another 15 to 20 minutes.

4. In the bowl of a food processor, combine the cauliflower with the yogurt. Puree until the mixture is smooth. Season with salt and pepper to taste, if desired, and serve.

REVIEW: ***** w/out step 4, after step 4 **I sampled this early (after step 3) and loved the way it tasted roasted!  It too was super simple!  At the time we weren't sure we even had a food processor so I manually mashed them with the yogurt and wasn't too impressed with the outcome, I wonder if it would have been a lot better if it was creamed together?  Or just mashed the cauliflower without the yogurt.  However, I will make the roasted cauliflower again as it too was a favorite, so next time, I'll just skip step 4 as it's worth making.

***Drew's Review - I'm not a huge cauliflower fan to begin with, so I was a skeptic.  I tried one of the roasted bunches after it came out of the oven and I agree with Amy that it was really good.  Once it was mashed it just lost somthing.  If we try this again I hope it will be better if we use the food processor that we found.

Brownies

Ingredients:

• Nonstick cooking spray

• 1 ½ cups canned black beans, rinsed and drained

• ½ cup unsweetened cocoa powder

• 1 tablespoon espresso powder

• ¾ cup egg substitute

• 2 tablespoons low-calorie sugar-free chocolate syrup, such as Walden Farms

• 2 tablespoons reduced-fat sour cream, such as Breakstone's
• 1 tablespoon unsalted butter, melted
• 24 packets Truvia (84 g) or 8 tablespoons granulated Splenda
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Spray an 8x8-inch glass baking dish with cooking spray.

2. Combine the beans, cocoa powder, espresso powder, and egg substitute in the bowl of a food processor. Process until the mixture is smooth, about 2 minutes, scraping down the bowl halfway through.

3. Add the chocolate syrup, sour cream, butter, Truvia, and vanilla. Process until all of the ingredients are combined, about 1 minute.

4. Pout the batter into the prepared baking dish, and smooth the top with a spatula. Bake for 28 to 30 minutes, turning the dish halfway through the baking time. A toothpick inserted in the center will come out with soft batter clinging to it.

5. Let the brownies cool completely in the baking dish on a wire rack. Then cut into 12 squares and serve. Refrigerate any leftovers.

REVIEW:  * (will re-do) I followed this recipe to a "T".  We did substitute  egg substitute for real eggs (3) and didn't use the expresso powder.  I wondered what I did wrong because they didn't really have any flavor and the doctors on the show went for 2nds.  This morning we discovered that we bought a certain kind of splenda that was equivilant to sugar so that messed up the conversion posted as we should have doubled the amount we used.  All in all though, I was impressed that the bean flavor wasn't really noticable unless you knew a head of time.  The reason I wanted to try this was because of all the health benifits and fiber that legumes have masked by the taste of chocolate, sounded too good to be true.  By the way...don't eat these warm, cool them in the fridge first, they're better this way.  I'll have to make them again, next time with the correct amount of sweetner as I'm sure they are much better than they turned out.

***Drew's Review - These brownies tasted an awfully lot like what I imagine a chocolate sponge with no sugar would taste like.  They were dry and and not sweet.  Not my favorite.  However, like Amy said, we did try to substitute some ingredients.  We will have to try this again because we are both in love with the idea of healthy brownies, even if we are not in love with how they taste...yet.

Jackson's Pictures & Christmas Memories

Jackson's First Christmas

Hot Chocolate, delicous treats, songs with sweet melodies, lights sparkling from roof top to roof top, and the smiles that mysteriously gleam on strangers faces, are just some of the warm,wonderful things I love about Christmas!  This year was a particularly wonderful Christmas!  Andrew and I had the house decorated early, we blared Christmas music throughout the house, had a cozy fire in the fireplace, and sipped hot cocoa on cold winter nights while Jackson nestled sleepily in his swing. 

This year I took on a few big projects.  I made a calendar, helped my V.T. partner do the 12 Days of Chirstmas kits for 3 families and made 3 more for Andrew to give to his H.T. families, burned copies of a beautiful Christ Centered D.V.D. for family and friends (thanks Valerie), made snowman suckers and even with all of the chaos that typically surrounds this season, we still managed to take Jackson our on a few Christmas outings.  We went to our Primary Christmas Party, we viewed the Temple Lights and lights around our neighborhood and dressed Jackson up in a Santa outfit for photo's, we even got family photo's taken (thanks Ashley).

During the days preceeding Christmas I'd atempt to wrap gifts during the day while Jackson happily grabbed at bright ribbons and bows that aligned the floor, but the most impressive and ineteresting item he wanted was the wrapping paper I was working with.  It was about around the 7th of December that Jackson's smiles began to apear and it was around Christmas time that he broke into all out grins and coos, melting our hearts and making the days and nights a little brighter!  Even with a cold he'd smile through his tears and curl up in your arms for a sweet baby nap.  He's truly a wonderful beautiful baby boy, and we are both amazed at the miracle that is our sweet son.  I think his Christmas cold has been harder on me than him, every sniffle and gasp makes me whince I hope he feels better soon, I never knew worrying would be so much a part of parenting...Overall this was a wonderful Christmas, Jackson was a very very good boy this year (all of 2 months) and so he had quite a bundle of toys, clothes and surprises!


4 Crazy Nights
Once December started Christmas never seemed to lasted long enough, it felt like all clocks lost a minute every hour and the sun sank halfway before the day even would begin, but now I find that I am fullfilled with my need for Christmas and even happy to begin a bright new year and end the old one.  It all started last year when Andrew and I decided to put ourselves through a fast paced Christmas to make sure we got everything in, and that included both families and a lot of driving.  This year we did it all again.  Andrew and I try to visit both families for Christmas and so we decided to have a Christmas Marathon or 4 days of Christmas!


December 23nd Day 1
Andrew and I got the finishing touches on our Christmas done, we then packed up Jackson and delivered some last minute gifts to friends.  We visited my friend who taught second grade with me, she just got a new home and her parents were out so we visted and she was able to meet Jackson for the first time!  We came home and fed Jackson, who drifted off to sleep.  Andrew and I took a breather and just enjoyed the time we had with one another.

December 24th  Day 2
This is the day we decided to have Christmas in Casa Grande with just the 3 of us.  It was Jackson's first experience with all of the wonderful mysteries that lay bundled under the tree and away in his stocking.  Andrew and I layed in bed realizing that Jackson was sound asleep and us, like two children awaiting santa, talked ourselves out of bed and into the main room before the sun was up.  We awakend the baby bright and early and began sorting the gifts under the tree.  Andrew grabbed the video camera and I recored him open his gifts as Jackson drifted off to sleep again in his swing. 

Andrew got many different things but amongst them was a video game he had wanted, a giant tool chest for the garage, a wood working bench, church clothes and golf putting kit and a separate gopher that made comments about how well you did or didn't do while golfing.  We switched and with Jackson now dozing in my lap, took turns opening all of his toys and items, my favorite was when I was trying to open a gift for him that had a soft bouncing frog that rang "Boing" every time I jostled the box, Jackson's eyes would fly open, and widen as he'd stare with amazement at the talking box.  We surrounded him with his new toys and he'd look at them and drift in and out of slumber. 

Andrew then video'd me, he had me open a blessed new vacume (much needed - our old one's wheel would fall off and it wouldn't suck up anything unless you used a hand tool), and then I opened a gift that had a poem in it, which sent me on a scavenger hunt of poems, each time gaining a small gift along the way.  I was up a ladder, on top of our fireplace, in the garage in bins, in the office in cupboards, under our bed and outside inside of the grill, when Andrew handed me a camera that he said was broken.  It looked nice to me, but I think was was going for the latter effect, when he handed me another clue that lead me to a beautiful Nikon Camera, one that I really wanted to have to capture memories and photo's of our family!  I have everything I need for it too, each gift was an additon to use for the camera, a stand, extra battery,8g memory card, card transfer, and many other gadgets to use!  I was soooo excited!  I cried!  I had no idea he had done something like that, it was the begining of a beautiful day indeed!

Stockings!  Santa loved to hide the stockings of our youth.  Each Christmas morning I'd awaken to the pitter patter of my brothers feet rummaging throughout the house for their stockings.  I'd always ask them for hints because even from my room I could hear their excited chatter shortly followed by the groan of finding someone elses stocking.  I knew they were aware of everyone's stocking location but their own.  Sometimes they would give me hints, at others I was left to my own devices.  Either way, I always loved the excitement that the stocking hunt brought to our home.  The year Andrew and I married, I did this for him as well.  It was a lot of fun.  So this year he was prepared and hid mine in a great location, it was a miracle I even found it.  He's too smart though, he found his pretty quickly.  We took turns opening our stockings and the baby's stocking.  Mine were full of wonderful things, I got two sets of play tickets, Guys & Dolls and Mary Poppins at Gammage!  I love plays and can't wait to see them!  Jackson got binkies and toys, a favorite being a mini stuffed animal, a polka-dotted puppy dog and Andrew got a polo tie and some of his favorite Rees'es Christmas candies and other things.  All of us had an orange in our stocking, it's another tradition that I believe is in both of our families.

That evening about 4 we drove to Andrew's parents house for their Christmas Eve festivities.  We had a beautiful dinner with family and both sets of Andrew's grandparents as well as some families from their ward and friends.  After delicous dinner the kids played a round of Christmas Bingo, while we gathered for a wonderful talent show where each child got to share something special with us.  Afterwards, Andrew, Jackson and I were able to play the parts of Mary, Joseph and baby Jesus, as others read and sang in the Nativity program.  The children had fun dressing up in the clothes to be the wise men, angel and shepards.  It was a sweet experience and is a great tradition focusing on the reason for the season.  Dessert was served with hot cocoa.  We are then all sent outside for a caroling, I mean kazooing!  Everyone goes Kazooing with kazoo's that look like trumpets and horns, to houses in their neighborhood, humming out Christmas songs and finishing with a grand "We Wish You A Merry Christmas" song.  When we return every guest leaves and it's just Julie, Dallas and the kids and grandkids.  Then we all gathered in the living room and opened a Christmas Eve gift.  We all recieved nice brand new pajamas for Christmas night.  After which we head down stairs for a Christmas Movie (The Muppet's Christmas Carol) and then said goodnight.

December 25th Day 3
Christmas morning is a lot of fun as well.  We all awaken and open gifts, lots of wonderful things, Jackson got his first John Deere Wagon!  Andrew and I got loaded up with many wonderful things as well and some items for our food storage which is nice to have and to collect!  Following gifts we headed for the kitchen, coffe cake, and a variety of wonderous goodies awaited.  Next to each plate was a popper wrapped in various bright Christmas colors.  We each took our seats and the popping persued!  Inside of each popper was a tiny toy, some got whistles, others got bells, or bowling kits, but in each little gift was a paper crown and a small piece of paper with a joke and a quiz.  Everyone from Great Grandparents, to children wore the crowns (myself included) and read their jokes and trivia pieces.  This was my first experience with the poppers and breakfast Christmas morning at the Petersen's home and I have to say that I really enjoyed it!

We ralaxed most of Christmas day with the movie 'Up' and a nap.  Jackson wasn't feeling well at all, so we tried to make him comfortable and calm.  That evening we went over to Grandma and Grandpa Petersen's home (Dallas' parents).  There was the ham sandwhich dinner, gift exchanges and a white elephant gift exchange game!  Everyone loved seeing the baby, he had even started to act as if he felt better at this point, we were relieved because he was really starting to worry us earlier.  We opend and recieved a lot more wonderful gifts!  Jackson got his first Suns outfit and even a cup with his name on it!  He recieve many other wonderful things as well as both of us!  The white elephant gift exchange was so much fun.  People each grabbed and exchanged the nice gifts for ones they'd prefer, it was a lot of fun to see what everyone got!

That night (9 ish) we drove to Buckeye to visit my Grandma Jean and wish her a Merry Chirstmas!  We arrived to see Landon & Heather, and our aunt Phyllis there as well.  It was nice to visit with her and all of them, she had lots of goodies left over and we snacked and visited for a while.  We went to my parents that night and unloaded and settled in for bed. 

December 26th Day 4
The next morning we ate mexican borito's and got ready for the day!  Everyone arrived and we had a really nice Turkey Lunchion, followed by sorting and opening piles and piles of wonderful gifts!  Jackson got a lot of wonderful toys including an animated Toy Story Buzz & Woody characters, lots of toys, a bunch of rattles and clothes!  Andrew got a rachet tool that multi tasks & the New Super Mario Wii game, as well as lots of other items.  We got lots of food storage, a quilt and blanket, a New Years kit, lots of movies and a silverware holder too!

Afterwards Andrew, Jackson and I went to see my Grandma Pat.  We visited for a while and exchanged gifts, Jackson got a really soft teddy bear that is about as big as he is!  Grandma got to hold him for a while and then we had to say our goodbyes and headed back to our faimlies home.  There, we walked in and a card game was insuit.  The men were glad to see Andrew, they kid-napped him for a game of Super Mario Bro Wii.  We all settled into the living room with the babies and had a nice visit with an occational "Yeah!" from the men downstairs while playing their games.  We stayed late and left tired but fullfilled.  Chirstmas was beautiful and fun, Jackson had a delightful time and got to see everyone, it was a wonderful firsts Christmas!       




Dec. 28th 2009
Today we broke out Jackson's bouncer and put him in it.  He loved it!  Every time he bounces it sings, he could barely touch the floor but when he stretches his legs he can touch and bounce up and down.  He grabs the book, carrot and corn.  It was fun to watch him play, he was so content and having so much fun that he wore himself out!  He fell asleep in it!  It was adorable!  We are so excited as he begins this new phase!