Justin & Meredith Winokur's Kitchen Cooking Notebook

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Chicken and Asparagus over Pasta with a Mustard "Cream" Sauce -- back to top

My goal was to cook at Meredith's without buying anything new and this was the end result. The main focus was the "cream" sauce. My original attempt was a bit of skim milk, water, and dry skim milk powder at a much higher concentration. Still getting used to gas, it boiled by accident so I had to try again but this time with just powder and water. I was fairly successful. After mixing the powder and water for a bit over medium-low, I added some whole wheat flour, some grated parmesan and then a lot of dijon mustard. Whisking it made it all come together nicely and I ended up with a fairly thick sauce. It was a bit gritty but that is to be expected. If I made a "cream" sauce again, I will use evaporated milk, but I didn't want to go and buy it.

The asparagus was cut into pieces and steamed. I sautéed the chicken with just salt and pepper.

The entire sauce as 7 points for the milk powder and 1 for the cheese. There was also some leftover so I will say 3/person. The chicken is 3-4 and the pasta is 3.

Original Wordpress ID and Date: 400, 2010-09-14_203059

Pasta Ai Frutti Di Mare (fruit of the sea) -- back to top

Very easy, very fast, and very good. We bought a frozen seafood combination of calamari, bay scallops and shrimp. We sautéed it, with broccoli and grape tomatoes (very good) with a some seasonings including parsley, salt, pepper and garlic powder. The ice/water on the seafood made it cook a bit too much while waiting for it to boil away, but it was very good. And very easy! I will definitely be getting some more of the mix to keep on hand.

Seafood (per person)...3

Whole Wheat Pasta...4

Original Wordpress ID and Date: 447, 2010-09-23_200412

Sautéed Cod over Homemade Beet Pasta with roasted Beets and Potatoes -- back to top

This was a good meal largely inspired by this blog post but with some serious changes. The thing is that their pasta recipe calls for 7 egg yolks though we would have halved it anyway. And it just doesn't sound healthy at all. We made the concession of just using white flour but that was too much egg. So we used egg beaters. Also, even though we had beets (which we roasted later), we did not have time to roast them first so we used canned and then puréed them. Well, still, it all came together strangely. I had to play with the dough a lot to get it the right moistness but it was a very, very streachy dough. After letting it rest for about 35 minutes we started rolling and cutting.

This dough was okay to roll but it did not want to be cut. We had to manually tear the cuts apart. And it was still very, very streachy. I also thought it would all stick but thankfully, in the boiling water, it came apart. I used a lot of salt in the water which did add a nice flavor to the pasta. It ended up fine and tasted good.

We basically followed their lead on the cod but it came out a bit salty. Also, despite our best efforts, it stuck to the pan a little bit. It was thankfully not over cooked but it was salty. Meredith liked it more than I did. Also, we used chives as a garnish/side.

Meredith found a few recipes and made a white wine sauce sans cream/milk, etc. It was okay but very thin. I like the shallot and leak scraps in it. I though they were good even if the sauce was thin.

Finally, we combined the beets we were going to use with some purple majesty potatoes and roasted them with olive oil, garlic and seasonings. It was funny because they were very hard to tell apart until you were in a different light. They were also good.

I had an interesting observation when making this. I have noticed that every time I have made pasta (not including ravioli), the seemingly straight strands twist a lot after coming out of the water. If you look back, this is fairly evident from the pictures. Today, while eating, I remember reading a thing about different dough kneading techniques and one of the things they said about using the stand mixer (my preferred method), was that it creates twisted gluten strands. I wonder if that is what was happening in the pasta and the twists cause them to curl in the heat of the water. Of course, I could imagine the twists counter acting each other but maybe a trend prevails. Just a thought. Maybe next time I will just use the food processor and compare. In that case, it is fully kneaded in like 3 minutes which seems too fast but we will see.

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Original Wordpress ID and Date: 1006, 2011-02-19_222259

Balsamic Chicken with Pasta and Broccoli -- back to top

I made a balsamic chicken marinade but it was a long time ago and I do not recall the recipe. I thought we had more chicken but I was wrong so to stretch the dish, we added whole wheat pasta and steamed broccoli. It was pretty good and the chicken came out pretty nicely. We had some leftover parmesan cheese which we put on too

Original Wordpress ID and Date: 1160, 2011-05-02_121443

Homemade Blush Sauce and Pasta with Scallops -- back to top

This meal was quite an experiment. We made pasta by hand using the standard recipe (halved). We made a blush sauce basically by exactly following the vodka sauce recipe also on that page except with extra basil and water in place of vodka (to save calories). We again used fat free evaporated milk for cream and smart balance.

We pan seared sea scallops and added them to the sauce as well. It was a big meal but good! If we do it again, we will use a seafood mixture and maybe cook it longer so that the sauce becomes infused with the flavor of the seafood.

Original Wordpress ID and Date: 1366, 2011-08-28_161839

Pasta with veggies and Artichokes -- back to top

The intention of this meal was carb-loading before the Tour Du Port. We sautéd onions, added some frozen corn,peas and then fresh spinach. We then added whole wheat pasta and sprinkled some cheese on top (I forget the type of cheese).

We also had artichokes (not pictures). They were pretty old but good. I think it was my first time eating them not canned. We used a fat free ranch made with ranch powder a greek yogurt (beats the extra sweet bottled stuff) and a truffle-salt and garlic greek yogurt dip. The ranch was good. We didn't love the other very much.

Original Wordpress ID and Date: 1446, 2011-10-08_142200

Mediterranean Chicken Stew with Cinnamon Quinoa -- back to top

This is based on the recipe below. I pressure cooked some chicken breasts and shredded it instead of using rotisserie (obviously, much less chicken). Also, since I pressure cooked it, I used the broth from that instead of chicken broth (well, this is more real chicken broth). I skipped the olive and the lemon juice. Instead of couscous, I used quinoa (and again, less of it). I cooked the quinoa with chicken broth (not from the pressure cooker). I used the orange juice in the quinoa but skipped the lemon in the chicken.

Overall, I liked the meal a lot but there wasn't really any new flavors. It kind of reminded me of most other tomato-like meals. Though, I let it cook to be pretty dry which was different. Again, like yesterday, it had chickpeas which I am getting kind of tired of it now. So, good, but nothing too special.

Mediterranean Chicken Stew with Cinnamon Couscous (from The Kitchn)

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Original Wordpress ID and Date: 1968, 2012-05-15_214008

Pasta-Tuna Creation -- back to top

We were going to order in, but decided to save the time, money, and calories. Plus, this got rid of more stuff in the pantry. I basically cooked whole wheat shells (about6 oz or three servings). Then I added a can of 97% fat free condensed chicken soup, a can of black beans, a can of tuna, and some steamed broccoli. Then I added a bunch of spices, some grated low fat cheese and salt. Stirred it up and made this. It was alright. A bit strange I guess and not overly flavorful but it got the job done.

Original Wordpress ID and Date: 1996, 2012-05-29_071541

Zucchini Fritters and Pasta -- back to top

I made zucchini fritters at least starting out with the original recipe. It was actually a bit thick before I added anything else, but then I remembered the baking powder. Except, I accidentally added corn starch. That made it even thicker! I think I may have used a bit too much flour. It was a little bit more like pancake batter. As I said, it was thick before but it made very few despite using two whole zucchinis.

I also made a small side of pasta (using the "plus" kind that is whole grain and more protein). I added some cheese, butter spray and lots of Penzeys Sandwich Sprinkle. It was also pretty good!

I could have stretched it to two meals but since I didn't need lunch the next day and since the fritters are low, I just did it as one.

Original Wordpress ID and Date: 2014, 2012-06-15_214832

Mustard and Pepper Pasta -- back to top

I was making Moussaka but it took way too long and I didn't want to wait. So I am having that tomorrow (see that post). So, then I wanted to go to a meal I planned later in the week from Serious Eats (I will come back and link to my own page of it later), but I apparently didn't have tuna. So, here is what I did: I took pasta (the Plus kind that is multi-grain and extra protein). While it was cooking, I took some olive oil and a heaping scoop of whole grain mustard and put it in the pan. I then added some fire roasted green peppers and then a scoop of hoagie spread. Finally, I added a wedge of laughing cow cheese. I added the pasta to the pan (a trick to get better flavor). Then, I added a bit of the pasta water I reserved (another trick to coat it). Finally some black pepper!

It was actually pretty good. Had a nice bit of spice. I do not know if it was from the hoagie spread or what, but it was good. I would definitely make it again. It would have been even better with the tuna.

Original Wordpress ID and Date: 2024, 2012-06-17_220655

Mustard and Tuna pasta -- back to top

I tried to make the thing I made here except I actually used tuna. Of course, I was in a hurry and didn't really follow any directions. It was okay. Not great. Better the first time without the tuna. I bet the first one would have been better with tuna. I do not know what I did differently.

I also had a reheated mini-moussaka from the other night.

Original Wordpress ID and Date: 2071, 2012-06-28_221243

Salsa Tilapia and Pasta -- back to top

I made a really simple meal. I just baked tilapia with hot salsa for 30 minutes at 350. As a side, I made a small amount of the Plus type pasta with butter spray and Penzeys Sandwich Sprinkle. Simple, easy, fast prep and relatively fast overall.

Original Wordpress ID and Date: 2095, 2012-07-05_082856

Shrimp and Kale Pasta -- back to top

I kind of just threw this together. I sautéd some kale for a bit, then took it out of the pan and cooked shrimp. I resisted the urge to actually add oil and just used pam. While the shrimp was cooking, I threw in a bunch of crushed red pepper. Finally, as it was nearing completion, I added back the kale and let everything cook together. As the pasta was almost, but not completely done, I threw it in to let all the flavors meld. I also added salt, pepper, garlic powder and probably some other seasonings.

It ended up being pretty good and certainly eclectic looking. It probably could have used a big heaping thing of garlic but I didn't feel like chopping it. What I really loved was that it was a lot of food for very few points. There was half a pound of shrimp (which is a large serving) at 5 points and 1.5 servings of pasta (the "plus" kind with whole grain and extra protein) for about 7 points. Figure 1 point for the pam (if that) and I had a nice sized meal for 13 points (plus).

Original Wordpress ID and Date: 2136, 2012-07-24_110219

Kale and Tuna-Shrimp curry pasta -- back to top

First, the kale chips since they were better. I used dino/Lacinato/Tuscan kale. I cut off the stems but kept the leaves long. I used olive oil pam and and sprayed a tray, layed the kale on it, then pammed it again. I then sprinkled salt. Cooked them for 20 min @ 300°F. They really did crisp nicely, though I think they may have burned a bit. I like them a lot though they got rather "dust" as I ate them. I would definitely do it again. I wonder how it works with regular kale. Not that there is much to say about the kale, but I based it on this

I also made a rather awful tuna/shrimp/pasta concoction. I basically mixed canned tuna, canned shrimp (very tiny ones) and pasta with a lot of seasonings including curry powder. It was a dry higher-than-I-would-like point meal. Not to be done again without some improvement!

Original Wordpress ID and Date: 2161, 2012-07-31_140656

Pasta All'Ubriaco and Broiled Zucchini with Yogurt-Dill Sauce -- back to top

First the pasta: I was inspired by this recipe on Serious Eats, but it is basically making pasta with half of the water as red wine. I did that and tossed it in an olive oil, garlic and dried parsley mix. I heated some olive oil with chopped garlic. As it started to sizzle, I added parsley. I eventually added the pasta when it was al dente and a bit of water. I topped it with grated (micro planned) Ricotta Salata since that is all I had. It was very, very good though I honestly do not know if the wine contributed anything but color. Maybe a little bit. I used two (three?) Buck Chuck shiraz so I didn't mind that I poured most of it.

I also made broiled zucchini and broccoli with a yogurt dill sauce from the recipe below. I basically followed it for the zucchini except I got the pan hot before going into the broiler to try to get some more color. I also sprinkled dried dill on it since that appears to be what they did in the picture. I used broccoli too since I didn't have much zucchini. I made the sauce with the ingredients listed (but with fat free greek yogurt) though I kind of just winged it on the amounts of everything. And again, dried dill.

It came out pretty good. Strangely sweet but that wasn't bad. I would definitely make it again. And I had leftover sauce which was good when I dipped it with cucumber.

Broiled Zucchini with Yogurt-Dill Sauce (from The Kitchn)

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Original Wordpress ID and Date: 2212, 2012-08-17_222115

Beets and Beet Greens Pasta -- back to top

I basically made use of the beet bunches. I chopped the beats and cooked them on the stove like I was making hash browns. Meanwhile, I sautéd the stems to soften them, then added the leaves. Mixed it all together and added 1.5 servings of the "plus" type pasta (extra protein and fiber). I grated some rosemary and olive oil toscano on top.

Overall, it was very good. The meal was well-balanced and had a good mix of carbs and protein Also pretty low in points. The one note is that I needed to wash the leaves better. I did wash them but it was a bit gritty.

Original Wordpress ID and Date: 2258, 2012-09-21_222815

Pasta with all kinds of stuff -- back to top

This was a classic what-can-I-make-with-normal-stuff-I-have. Basically, I sautéed some onions, then I added a can of tuna. I then mixed in about 1.5 servings (~3oz) "Plus" pasta. I added hot sauce, pepper relish (hoagie spread), and spicy mustard. Finally, I used some laughing cow and a bit of low fat mexican blend. I added some of the pasta water to help give it moisture, and to steam it all.

It ended up being pretty good. I didn't calculate the points, but it is presumably a bit high. But lots of protein (from the tuna) and carbs (I was doing a 100+ mile ride the next day)

Original Wordpress ID and Date: 2291, 2012-10-05_111544

Pasta with Squid and White Beans -- back to top

This was inspired by the recipe below. I followed the idea pretty closely, or at least the idea. Dealing with squid is gross! They are just really strange. And I had to clean out the body part to get rid of the sand and stuff. I was careful to make sure it was well defrosted and then I blotted it dry. However, when I added it to the oil, so much water came out that I had to let it steam and cook out for a while. I was worried that it would be overcooked and rubbery, but it wasn't too bad. I also added a lot of other seasonings but I do not remember what they were.

The meal was pretty good and it made a lot! I used the full lbs of squid but less pasta (and I used the "plus" kind). I even had enough left over for breakfast the next day (I know, squid for breakfast; GROSS!, but it was fine)

Pasta with Squid and White Beans (from Serious Eats)

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Original Wordpress ID and Date: 2792, 2012-10-26_200255

Tuna Salsa pasta -- back to top

I wanted something quick and easy. I do not remember everything I did but I made a sauce with salsa, garlic and tuna (for flavor and protein. I added the pasta and used some of the water to incorporate it. I aslo added two wedges of laughing cow

Original Wordpress ID and Date: 2825, 2012-11-09_101429

Chicken-Pasta-thing and Curry Roasted Cabbage -- back to top

This was another of my pasta-skillet-stuff creations. I pressure cooked a small chicken thigh and shredded it. I added that to well sautéd onions and garlic. I added the pasta and some water (from the pasta). I intentionally undercooked the pasta since it would keep cooking as I blended everything I added a laughing cow, some Franks Red Hot, some Sriracha and a buch of other stuff (I do not remember all). It was extremely good! Lots of flavor and pretty easy. Though with shredding the chicken in the mixer and the pressure cooker, there was a lot of cleanup for such a simple dish.

I also made the roasted cabbage from here but I added curry powder. It was pretty good as usual. I didn;t take a picture of it.

Original Wordpress ID and Date: 2855, 2012-11-30_202302

Garlic and Pepper Pasta and Curry Roasted Cauliflower -- back to top

I made some strange type of pasta with garlic and peppers. I used a lot of garlic (with this tip), and I sautéd onions and poblano peppers. I added the pasta and a small can of chicken. It was okay. Despite a huge amount of garlic and even using oil with it, yet it was still not very garlicky I am not sure what I am doing wrong.

I also made the roasted cauliflower from here. It was very good, but I think I let it go a bit too long. I had to not eat a bunch of the little bits, but that is not a big deal. I'll definitely do it again, but I'll cook it less.

Original Wordpress ID and Date: 2926, 2012-12-22_221644

Pasta Mustard Tuna thing -- back to top

This was basically my standard type of pasta meal I like to make before a bike ride. I basically put mustard with pasta and a can of tuna. I used white wine to reduce it all together (though I used too much and the pasta got over done)

Original Wordpress ID and Date: 3024, 2013-01-11_093314

Laughing Cow Pasta -- back to top

I made a quick pasta thing. I cooked the pasta (3 oz, 1.5 servings) and put it into the dish with a laughing cow wedge. I then added sprinkle cheese, Penzeys sandwich sprinkle, garlic powder and dried minced onion.

It was pretty good and fairly quick. However, I do not think it was really enough food. May have been better with a side.

Original Wordpress ID and Date: 3121, 2013-02-01_090005

Soy Chorizo Salsa Pasta -- back to top

I was trying to make something out of leftovers and other things I had around so I came up with this meal. I started by browning half an onion. I then added 1/3 of the soy chorizo (from the other day), and I dumped in a bunch of salsa. In the mean time, I cooked up 1.5 servings of "Plus" pasta. As that was almost done, I added two wedges of laughing cow. I mixed in the pasta and topped it with half an avocado.

It was actually really good and super simple. Probably mediocre in terms of points but I didn't calculate it specifically.

Original Wordpress ID and Date: 6237, 2013-06-30_211933

Salsa Pasta and Curry Roasted Cauliflower -- back to top

For the pasta dish, I used about 2.5 servings of pasta mixed with a large (4 servings) can of chicken (from Target). I sautéd the chicken for a little bit with a can of green chillies. I then added the (very al dente) pasta and a bit of salsa. I stirred it up and put the lid on to let the pasta steam-cook a bit more. I served it sprinkled with cheese.

There is a little bit of heat to it. I do not know if it is the salsa (Pace Hot) or the peppers. But either way, there was quite a bit of flavor. And super easy! The points are below. About 19 for the whole thing. I'd say I had about 11 for dinner and 8 for lunch the next day.

I also made curry roasted cauliflower using the standard recipe. I spread it amongst two trays. I also added the seasonings to it on the tray. That worked well enough though there were pieces with too much seasoning and some without.

Item

x

Cal

Fat

Carbs

protein

fiber

per

Total

Pasta

2.3

190

1.50

38.00

9.00

4.00

5.01

11.73

Chicken

4

60

1.00

0.00

11.00

0.00

1.26

5.05

cheese

2.00

2.00

Total

684.46

7.51

88.89

65.05

9.36

18.78

Original Wordpress ID and Date: 6516, 2013-08-20_211123

Pasta in a simple Salmon "cream" sauce -- back to top

This was a pretty simple meal. I started by cooking 1.5 servings of "Plus" pasta. While that was going, I sautéd a tbsp of garlic. I then added a pack of salmon (5 oz). As I mixed that, and checked on the pasta, I lightly microwaved 2 wedges of laughing cow. I added a tiny bit of almond milk to the salmon (instead of cream) and then, when it was almost done, I added the pasta along with the laughing cow. I then seasoned with salt, pepper and crushed red pepper. I tossed until the almond milk had largely cooked down. Topped with parmesan cheese

It was pretty good. The salmon wasn't incredible, but it did the job. I didn't calculate it out, but I think the whole meal was pretty low. Good carb source from the pasta and protein from the salmon

Original Wordpress ID and Date: 6551, 2013-09-06_203328

Chicken Pasta with a "fried" egg -- back to top

I quickly threw this dinner together because I was hungry but pretty exhausted from brewing all day. (I also totally goofed and forgot to take a picture before breaking the yolk). I cooked a bt under 1.5 servings of pasta. Meanwhile, I sautéd garlic then added two small cans of chicken and then canned green chili peppers (I had to slice them). I also added two wedges of laughing cow. I brought it together with the pasta, added a tiny bit of pasta water and put the lid on to melt the cheese. I "fried" an egg and topped it with that.

It was a fast but pretty good meal. Similar to what I did the other day. The nice thing about it is that I can keep everything I need for it (minus the egg) in the pantry and ready to go.

Original Wordpress ID and Date: 6573, 2013-09-08_205631

Salsa Pasta with Poached Eggs -- back to top

I threw this together with what I had and what Meredith brought with her. I made about 3 servings of pasta. While it was going, I sautéd an onion and a red pepper. I then added two small cans of chicken. I added the pasta, some of the pasta water, a bit of salsa and finally some 4-cheese blend.

I also poached eggs using the technique where you strain the very wet part out of the eggs. I guess these were fresh enough that there was very little of the wet part. I did cheat a bit and I used some vinegar in the water. I overcooked them a bit but there was still some runniness to it.

For a thrown together meal, this wasn't bad! (Next time, I'll skip the chicken. You barely tasted it and there was enough protein from the eggs)

Original Wordpress ID and Date: 6826, 2013-10-25_235641

Frutti Di Mari with Zucchini (and regular) noodles -- back to top

We made Frutti Di Mari (Fruit of the sea). As with just about every time before, we used the mixed seafood from Trader Joes.

Reading through some older posts (2010-09-23, 2010-11-01, 2011-05-09), I knew to expect problems with liquid from the seafood. I followed what I mentioned in the later of those posts and partially steamed them first. Just enough to get them fully defrosted and having shed all of the liquid.

For the rest, I started off by sautéing a finely diced onion in olive oil. I let that go for a while and then added a ton of heirloom grape tomatoes (They were really old and somewhat shriveled but they worked fine). All the while, I was adding salt, pepper, some garlic powder, and some crushed red pepper.

I put the garlic in and then the seafood to finish cooking. Followed by a huge handful of zucchini noodles and some lightly cooked al-dente pasta¹. With the pasta, I had also reserved some liquid and added a splash of that.

I let it finish cooking down just enough to evaporate the liquid and thicken it. I topped mine with parm cheese though Meredith skipped it.

I think this was probably the better Frutti Di Mari we've had! I liked all of the flavors and the simplicity. I also liked the mix of real pasta and zucchini noodles. It helped bulk it up without being too many calories.