October 29, 2013

Guys, Parsnips are like, really good

October 29, 2013/ sherri d'alessandro

So, this fall, I've been buying different types of squash to try. I saw this guy at Foodies yesterday and thought he might be tasty so I looked up who he was and come to find out... he's available year-round. Sigh. Oh, his name is Carnival Squash. He was hard to chop up, too.

Anyway, I was still excited to try him so I carefully (using 3 different types of knives) chopped him up into pieces and then left a 1/4 of it in the skin. Drizzled all of the 'meat' with extra virgin o/o, cinnamon, & salt. Popped it in the oven at 425.

Then, I remembered I also picked up some Parsnips. My sister does a roasted mix of root vegetables at Thanksgiving and I remember digging these guys. So, I peeled & chopped them and added them to the baking sheet with just extra virgin and salt.

WELL, the squash was OK, I like butternut and spaghetti much better. BUT, the parsnips were awesome! They kind of taste like a mix between a potato and a carrot. Baking them this way made them crunchy, too (I really like my root vegetables prepared this way)

Obviously, I did my research and parsnips are really high in potassium, folate, vitamin C, and vitamin E!

(The chicken was prepared grilled and tossed in buffalo sauce - I felt like eating orange food tonight... or something)

Parsnips... who knew?

Have a GREAT hump day! xo

October 28, 2013

Quick, Creamy Protein Pasta

October 28, 2013/ sherri d'alessandro

I don't know about you guys, but, dinners need to be made in a flash these days. Sox in the ALCS and now the World Series (Whoo!) at 7:30pm every night calls for some quick dinners or take-out. The meal I made tonight takes basically no prep time and can be made in between commercials breaks! Oh, and it's pasta (so it's comforting for all this stress) AND it's JAM PACKED with PROTEIN and other health benefits.

I needed some serious recovery fuel after boxing tonight and this meal has got it all.

It took all of 23 minutes and that includes the time it took to wait for the water to start to boil.

Yup, it's late. The game's already on and I'm s t a r v i n g g g.

Need: Barilla Protein Plus Pasta, Organic Cottage Cheese, Garlic, Lemon Rind/Juice, Arugula, Crushed Red Pepper, Extra Virgin o/o, Salt, & Parmesan. Cottage Cheese has 15g of Protein in every half cup! Barilla Protein Plus has 10g of Protein for every 2 oz. Arugula is high in vitamins C, A, & K and also minerals iron, calcium, and potassium. Garlic is a superfood... mega antioxidant, high in selenium, manganese, B6, C, and calcium.

Get your ingredients ready in a saute pan: garlic, extra virgin, crushed red, lemon juice, salt, and crushed red pepper.

While the pasta is boiling. Turn on that saute pan and get the sauce heated up. Once the pasta is fully cooked, add it to the pan and toss on some cottage cheese. I know it seems weird, but, the cottage cheese melts down and it creates a really creamy protein-rich sauce.

Mix it up and then add in the arugula. Be generous, it softens down to tiny pieces (you could also use baby spinach).

Toss on some Parmesan and mix it up.

23 minute later and you're done! Easy easy.

Top it with a little more Parmesan and Lemon Rind and enjoy!

Have an awesome week! xo

October 11, 2013

Fall Scenery

October 11, 2013/ sherri d'alessandro

As previously mentioned, this Fall has been gorgeous. Here are some iphone scenes to perk up your Friday afternoon before the long weekend. One and a half hours and counting...