Just so we’re all clear on the standings here (G/S/B/total):

1.		United States	9	15	13	37
2.		Germany	10	13	7	30
3.		Canada	14	7	5	26

Alright, now that we have that cleared up haha, I wanted to also add an exert from a page I was reading in research of this blog. Its from MSN.ca, and is discussing what was purchased for the Olympians at the very beginning. I thought it was interesting to look at

“So what exactly are the athletes eating out there in Vancouver and Whistler? Just a few examples of whatVANOC has purchased just at the start of the games: 36,540 eggs, 42,440 liters of 2% milk, 28,140 liters of skim milk, 77,800 lbs of bananas, 86,664 Granny Smith Apples, 70,104 Golden Delicious Apples and 11,000 lbs of pasta.” (http://lifestyle.ca.msn.com/health-fitness/diet/ee-article.aspx?cp-documentid=23468426)

Thats a lot of food!

Back to the blog. For Desert: A fast Fruit Parfait, and for Dinner: A firecracker shrimp Pasta

3 Minute Parfait (no.. seriously)

3/4cup vanilla low-fat yogurt

1/4cup blueberries and raspberries (each)

2TBSP honey

3TBSP chopped almonds

You can do this one of two ways: Layer the parfait Yogurt, Berries, Honey,Yogurt, Berries, Honey, Almonds, OR just pile it yogurt, berries, honey almonds. Whatever’s faster for you Its as easy as that.

A Golden Finish: Firecracker Shrimp Pasta

1 OR 1.5 cups peeled/cooked frozen shrimp

1/2 TSP Chili flakes

2 cloves chopped garlic

1cup Snowpeas (in pod, halved)

1/2cup chopped rapini

1/2cup chopped cherry tomatos

100g WHOLE GRAIN Pasta per person (a very healthy choice)

1/4cup oil

Begin by starting boiling water for pasta, and heating pan with oil for the shrimp. Follow pasta package cooking directions, adding 3TBSP salt to the boiling water. Add in the snow peas and rapini to the pasta water 4 minutes before the pasta is finished. In the frying pan (about 5 minutes before the pasta is finished, the same time you add the snow peas and rapini to the pasta) add the garlic, chili pepper flakes, salt, pepper and shrimp to the pan. Cook for about 3 minutes on each side. Drain pasta and veggies, and then toss everything together quickly in the shrimp frying pan. Add more oil to coat the pasta if there isnt enough in the pan already. Season with more salt and pepper if desired.

Enjoy my loves!

I shall return soon!

liss

THE Pesto Recipe

2cups basil leaves

1/2cup Parmasan Cheese

1/2cup Almonds

4TBSP Sun dried tomatoes (add more or less to taste)

3cloves Garlic

1/2cup Good Olive Oil (or more depending on desired thickness)

1/2TSP Salt

1TBSPPepper

OPTIONAL: for heat,add 1/2TSP- 1TSP red pepper flakes.

1 Bag Meat or cheese tortellini (Or make your own, Im not that ambitious after a long day though)

Cook Tortellini according to instructions, and blend all other ingredients together in a blender. If you dont have a blender (understandable of course), add almonds, basil, sun dried tomato and garlic together and chop together in a large pile. Make sure to finely chop these together. Then in a bowl, mix that with the oil, and Parmesan. Heat a small amount of oil in a large pan, add tortellini t brown slightly and add desired amount of pesto to pan. Mix well and heat thoroughly. Serve hot, or as a cold pasta salad!

Enjoy my loves!

Liss

Liss’s Version of  Mac and Cheese Florentine

1 package frozen Spinach, defrosted and wrung out in a towel

1/2cup Milk

1/2cup Chicken Broth (you can substitute broth for stock (the yellow powdery stuff) but just watch the saltiness)

2 TBSP Butter or Margerine

1/4TSP Cinnamon or Nutmeg (omit if you don’t have this, it just warms it up a bit)

1cup Mozzarella (or substitute with any other white cheese you have)

3TBSP flour

3 Garlic cloves, chopped

1 Chicken breast, cubed small.

In a small frying pan, fry chicken cubes with salt and pepper and one garlic clove until cooked through. Set aside and begin cooking pasta. In a pot, warm a small amount of oil (to keep the butter from burning) and 3TBSP of butter. Heat until melted, then add the garlic, and good until lightly browned, 1minute. At this point, add the flour, and make a roux. When this paste-like mixture warms through and becomes a light brown colour, add the milk and chicken broth and let simmer for 5-6 minute or until it thickens. Add Salt and pepper to taste, then melt in the cheese. Make sure the spinach is day and wrung out, because it will make the sauce runny if the spinach is wet.  Chop and add the spinach to the cheese mixture, and then toss in pasta when it is cooked through. Add chicken and mix well.

Another variation, pour mac and cheese into a greased casserole pan and top with more cheese. Bake for 15 minutes.

Im going to start introducing more comforting recipes because the winter is creeping up on us and its time to start fattening up! This means you skinny boyfriend! This recipe is a good one if you need to make food stretch, and tastes good as a cold pasta salad the next day!

Liss

Cannelloni

FILLING: will fill ~8 cannelloni, maybe up to 10
- 1 chicken breast, cooked & shredded
- 1/4 C fresh, shredded parmesan cheese
- 1 C ricotta cheese
- 1/2 C shredded mozzarella
- 1 Egg, beaten
- 1 garlic clove, minced or use garlic press
- 1 T chopped fresh basil (maybe a little more than 1 T)
- 1/4 t pepper
- 1/2 t salt

SAUCE:
- 1 1/2 C jarred marinara (you could make your own, but this is faster and tasted great)
- 1/2 C cream
- 24 grape tomatoes, smashed up a bit (I pulsed in the blender a few times)
- 1/4 – 1/2 C shredded asiago cheese

SHELLS:
Ideally I suppose you make your own pasta, roll it into thin sheets and cut into rectangles. Yeah, THAT’S gonna happen around here….so, I tried two readily-available pastas.

Barilla No-Boil Homemade Style (Flat) Lasagna Noodles: These were PERFECT. Boil 3 minutes, CAREFULLY remove from the water (it’s easy to crack them in the middle, so be gentle!). Filling them is a cinch…just lay the rectangle out portrait (you know, tall-wise), lay your filling across the noodle near the end, then roll up! (I had a few cracks when I took them out of the water, but the noodle overlaps itself when you roll it up, so it wasn’t a problem) Pictured RIGHT.

Manicotti Shells: I also tried manicotti shells. They didn’t taste quite as good, and they’re harder to stuff. So, I will definitely do the flat, no-boil lasagna noodles from now on.  Pictured LEFT.

DIRECTIONS:
Mix filling ingredients.

Mix sauce ingredients and warm on the stove (doesn’t need to cook too long or get too hot).

Spray a rectangular casserole dish or metal cake pan with spray oil. Stuff cannelloni (see noodle descriptions above). Place stuffed cannelloni in the pan. Cover with sauce.

Bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes. Mangia!

http://thisweekfordinner.com/2009/04/09/cannelloni/

A little background on my weekend, Trent’s homecoming was this weekend, and in true Student Style (see, healthy student ) a little beer was in order. However, feeding three people is not as easy as you might think, especially three very hungry, slightly inebriated people. So, last night I cooked up a batch of my homemade Pasta sauce and the best garlic bread I think I’ve ever made. That recipe is below here, because it deserves a blog all to itself. Tonight, my recovery and comfort dinner is of course pasta, but I decided to experiment. Its grocery week, and Im scrounging for ideas, but it seems I stumbled on something incredible. I wanted to call it HEY-I cooked-with-Philly-like-Albert pasta… but you can see why Ive chosen not to haha, so lets dub this Creamy turkey and wilted greens pasta. Clearly Im on a wilted greens kick, but when you have a 5L bin of something, you make due! Follow along and Eat well!

Creamy Turkey and Wilted Greens Pasta

**Let me put this into perspective. This meal is 236 calories, everything is fresh and it tastes homemade. A Lean Cuisine (which I do eat for lunches to maintain my diet) has calorie counts anywhere from 240 – 300+ calories. **

4 loosely packed Mesculine Mix                     – 0 calories

2 cloves Garlic, chopped                                   – 0 calories

3TBSP Olive Oil                                                      - 50 calories

100g or 1/2 cup dried pasta of choice (per person)                         – 120 calories

1/2 cup Turkey Breast, chopped little         – 26 calories

2TBSP Herb and Garlic Cream Cheese         – 40 calories

1TSP oregano,

Salt and pepper to taste

In a frying pan, heat oil and garlic together. Add turkey and cook until everything is heated thoroughly. Add the mesculine mix and cook until everything is warmed through, and the mesculine is just slightly wilted. You want the mesculine to still be slightly uncooked, because the pasta will make it wilt even further. When this mixture is ready, transfer to a bowl and let sit while you use the same pan to heat the Cream Cheese into a warm sauce. Add the turkey and mesculine back into the frying pan and stir until the cream cheese is thoroughly mixed in. Add oregano, salt and pepper. When your pasta is ready, strain and add to frying pan, mixing well. Serve Hot.

Garlic Bread Bagels

3 cloves chopped garlic

3TBSP margrine or butter

1TSP each Pepper and Oregano

3 Bagel halves, Toasted

1/2cup Grated Mozzerella

While bagels are toasting, mix together garlic, margerine, pepper, and oregano in a bowl. Slather the margerine mix on the bagels thick, and cover each in grated cheese. Pop in them into the microwave until the cheese is melted. Serve hot!

So come on and have dinner with me tonight, the more the merrier!

Liss

Perfect Pesto

1cup whole fresh basil leaves

1/2cup olive oil

3 cloves Garlic

1/4cup mozzarella cheese

In a food processor or blender combine all ingredients and blend until a smooth paste. Add more oil if the paste is too thick, and salt and pepper to taste. To serve, mix hot pasta of choice in 3 heaping tbsp or more to taste of the pesto. Stir until evenly distributed.

Summertime Tomato Bruscetta

4 plumb Tomatoes, diced small

3 cloves Garlic

1/2 White Onion

1/4cup chopped Basil

1/4 Olive oil

Salt and pepper to taste

Finely chop garlic, and onion and combine with oil and diced tomatoes. Mix thoroughly, while adding basil, salt and pepper. Serve at room temperature or chilled.

Another Summertime Pasta Variation

Mix 1/2 cup bruscetta mix to 100g/person hot pasta and serve. The bruscetta makes a sweet, light, healthy sauce and when the pasta heats the bruscetta, the tomatoes and basil wilt into a almost-creamy sauce.

Take it one step further by…

Using the pesto as a marinade!  Rub pesto on chicken or pork, and cook your preferred way. I enjoy these on the mini George-Foreman, but their delicious pan fried as well. Serve this over the bruscetta pasta.

These summertime recipes make even the coldest winter night a little warmer. The price is reasonable, the quantity will last for days, and is perfect for cold pasta salad lunches.

Liss

Liss’s Mac and Cheese

2 Cloves garlic

1 cup Snow Peas

1cup Asparagus

1cup Pasta (for two people)

1cup Mozzarella Cheese

salt and pepper to taste

3tbsp salt in pasta water***

In a pot, boil the pasta until par cooked, about 4 minutes from being done. While the pasta is cooking, chop garlic, and cup up snow peas and asparagus. Toss the vegetables, not including the garlic, into the water 5 minutes before the pasta is finished and continue cooking for 5 minutes. Strain pasta, reserving a 1/2 cup of the pasta water and veg and let sit while you add oil and garlic to the still-hot pot and cook until the garlic is golden brown. Add the strained pasta and vegetables to the pot with the garlic, as well as the grated cheese, and pasta water. I find adding the cheese in slowly is helpful, and stir very well so that the water and cheese become a sauce, instead of goopy cheese bits. Salt and pepper to taste and enjoy!

This pasta is literally 3 small dishes, and 5 items, 15 minutes maximum. Try it tonight, it may become your favorite mac and cheese version

Liss

Liss’s Mediterranean Pasta

1 Zucchini, peeled into ribbons (Use a potato peeler)

1/2 cup Green or Black Olives

2 cloves Garlic, chopped finely

1 tomato, chopped

6 Sun dried tomatoes, cut up roughly

1/2bag Baby spinach

1/2 cup Gardinera (pickled vegetables,

100g Orzo Pasta

1/2 cup olive oil

Salt and pepper to taste

Begin by starting pasta. In a small separate pot, begin by heating 1/2 your oil. Add garlic, spinach and zucchini, and cook until wilted. Add chopped tomatoes and take off heat until pasta is almost done. To the pot add the sun dried tomatoes, olives and gardinera, until heated through. Next, add cooked pasta to the pot with the vegetable mix, and the extra oil. Mix thoroughly, and serve warm.

Enjoy!

Liss

For all Pasta Recipes remember that a Main Course portion should be about 100 grams. If you dont have a scale, ( a kitchen scale you can find at walmart for cheap), take a look at the box and make an educated judgement as to the portion. For example, if you have a 900g box of pasta, boil 1/9th of the package.

My Fresh Tomato Pasta Sauce

Note: If you choose to make this with FRESH tomatoes, Canned Whole or Diced Tomatoes, you will need a Blender.

• 1 can Crushed, Diced or Whole Tomatoes.  OR 4 Whole Tomatoes, Quartered and Blended
• 1/4 cup Olive Oil
• 2 Heaping TBSP Oregano
• 4 lrg basil leaves OR 2 TBSP dried basil
• 3 lrg cloves Garlic
• Optional: for a more tomato-tasting sauce, add 1 tbsp tomato paste.
• Salt and Pepper to taste.

Chop garlic finely and add all ingredients into one pot. Cook on medium heat until the sauce heats up. There is no need to cook for very long because the tomatos do not need to cook, but just to heat up.

My Guess-recipe for Nanna’s Sauce.

*The Beauty about this recipe is it can be made two ways. Both are delicious, But if you have the time I recommend using the longer recipe.

Ingredients

• 1 can tomato sauce (I use either Hunts or Bravo, and these go on sale for .97 cents sometimes so keep an eye out)
• 4 cloves fresh garlic, THICKLY SLICED (you should get 4-5 lrg slices from 1 clove)
• 1/2 can Tomato Paste
• 1/2lb Ground Pork
• 1 tsp butter
• Salt and Pepper to taste

FOR EASY VERSION: Replace sauce and tomato paste with your favorite bottled sauce

In a large pot, add a small amount of oil and brown ground pork making sure to break it all down into small bits. When the pork is cooked through, put into a seperate bowl and set aside.

In the same pot, add butter and brown garlic, making sure not to burn the garlic or butter. Both should be light brown. When garlic is cooked, add the pork back and stir thouroughly.

Add Tomato paste and sauce to pot, with oregano and Salt and Pepper to taste (If you’ve chosen the quick eats way, here is where you would add your bottled sauce – and dont think its bad to do this, Everyone’s busy and it still tastes just as good! )

Keep the sauce on a low simmer anywhere from 5 minutes to 20 depending on your time allowance, serve hot over pasta

Sausage Oregano Pasta Sauce

• 1can tomato sauce (I use Bravo)
• 2 sausages, uncooked
• 1/4cup  Extra Virgin Olive Oil
• 3 TBSP Oregano
• 3 cloves garlic, chopped fine
• Salt and Pepper to taste

Slice uncooked sausages and chop garlic. In a large pot heat oil and add sauces slices. Cook for 3 minutes, or until the outsides are slightly browned, and then add the Oregano and Garlic.

Keep cooking until the sausage is done all the way through, then add the can of sauce of the pot. Simmer until heated (about 5 minutes). Add salt and pepper, and extra oregano if desired at this time

These are three great sauces that I cook almost every week. My boyfriend and I like cooking these sauces because the more people that work at something, the better it seems to taste. I like to make large pots of these sauce, and keep them in the fridge. The Tomato Sauce keeps for about a week, and the other two up to 3 days. Although all have similar recipes, they each have their own special Quality. The first sauce is very fast, healthy and tastes very fresh, even when tomatos are out of season. The pork sauce is a meaty, wholesome meal, good for the winter dinner and good for sharing, and the Sausage Oregano is delicious because its a little more spicy and bold, but still very satisfying.

I hope you enjoy these recipes as much as I do!

Liss

Summer time pasta

100g whole wheat spaghetti (100grams is the measurement for one persons worth portion of pasta, any shape or size.)

1/2 container cherry tomatos, halves and squished in the bottom of a large bowl

1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil – When picking olive oil, for cooking and frying choose a yellow, and for raw eating choose a greener coloured oil.

6 large basil leafs coarsely chopped – Chop roughly with a large knife or rip and tear the leafs. You can also keep a pair of scissors handy and just roughly cut herbs.

1 thinly chopped clove of garlic -I know that grocery stores HAVE pre-chopped garlic, but for .99 cents you can buy a 5 pack of real garlic that will last you at least a month when stored in the fridge. I prefer the raw.

Feta Cheese to taste

salt and pepper to taste

Add 3 TBSP salt to a large pot of water and bring to a rolling boil. Adding salt in the water before cooking the pasta gives the pasta the taste of the ocean, which is how the Mediterranean cook theirs.

when water is at a full boil, cook pasta until cooked to your desired texture. Make sure to read the label on the pasta box, this amount of time is usually accurate, I usually add about another 2 minutes just in case.

In a large bown, squish up the halved tomatos, add the olive oil and Basil (roughly chopped) to the bowl.  Add chopped garlic to the bowl as well. Crumble preferred amount of feta into bottom of bowl.

Strain your pasta and add right to the bowl. The idea is that the heat from the pasta will heat and release the flavors of the basil and garlic, and keep the tomatos still tasting fresh.

Hope this satisfies even the  Hungeriest of Appitites tonight!

-liss