Red Pepper Alfredo

Sunday's dinner comes from one of my favorite cook books, Cook This, Not That! The No-Diet Weight Loss Solution (the one with the orange cover, Easy & Awesome 350-Calorie Meals) by the same authors of those yearly books, Eat This, Not That! (David Zinczenko & Matt Goulding).  The recipes in this book are always very simple and never take more than 30-40 minutes to make.  Oh, and they always come out delicious!  This recipe combines roasted red peppers to Alfredo sauce to make Alfredo sauce a little healthier.  I think it tastes better than regular Alfredo sauce because it's not heavy.

Here's what you'll need:
10 oz. dried fettuccine (I used spaghetti.)
1 1/2 tablespoons butter
1 1/2 tablespoons flour
1 cup milk
1/2 cup half and half
3/4 cup chopped bottled roasted red peppers
2 cloves garlic, halved
1/2 cup grated Parmesan
Salt and black pepper to taste

First, bring a large pot of salted water to boil.  Add the pasta and cook until al dente (should be about 30 seconds to 1 minute less than the package instructions recommend).

While that's cooking, melt the butter in a medium saucepan over medium heat.  Stir in the flour and cook for a minute, until the two are fully incorporated.

(Sorry for the dark pictures, I was using the camera on my phone and the lighting isn't good in the kitchen once the sun's gone down.)
Slowly add the milk and half and half, whisking to help prevent lumps from forming.  Add the red pepper and garlic.  Turn heat to low and simmer for 10 minutes.

Pour the mixture into a blender and puree until smooth and uniform in color.  Return to the pan and stir in the Parmesan.  Season with salt and pepper and simmer until the pasta is done cooking.

Drain the pasta and add directly to the saucepan.  Toss to coat evenly and enjoy!

Spaghetti with Fresh Veggies

Ok, this recipe didn't come as one of the step-by-step recipes I usually blog about.  This recipe did come from a cookbook, but it wasn't listed as one of the big recipes in the book.  It came from Chapter Three under, "Perfect your pasta," in The New Abs Diet Cookbook.  The guy that wrote this book wrote the Eat This Not That! books, as well as my favorites, Cook This Not That!  And yes, he also wrote The Abs Diet books.  I started to read one of the books for women on my iPad.  It made a lot of sense and it sounded like a lot of things my trainer has been telling me all along. 

So, here is how to "perfect your pasta:" 

1.  Heat 2 tablespoons of extra-virgin olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat.  Add 2 garlic cloves, sliced thin, and toast lightly.  Next add vegetables chopped into bite-size pieces.  I used asparagus, broccoli, and mushrooms.  You can also use artichokes, zucchini, parsnips, Swiss chard, and cauliflower as the book lists.  Cook for 10 minutes until caramelized.  Season with salt and pepper.  I also used Penzeys' Pasta Sprinkle.

2.  Bring a pot of salted water to a boil.  Add 8 ounces of dried spaghetti (just use your the space between your thumb and pointer finger to measure and that should be enough) and cook for 1 minute less than the shortest time listed on the package.

3.  Drain the pasta, reserving a cup of the cooking water.  Toss the pasta in the pan with the vegetables and cook for 30 seconds.

If the pasta is dry, add a bit of the cooking water.  Toss in chopped fresh parsley, basil, and oregano (or used dried, it works fine too) and serve with grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese (or with what you like). 

 The dinner turned out very yummy and I was happy knowing it was healthy.  :-)