Lemon Basil Bowties with Chicken

Oh.My.Gosh. This pasta dish tasted AMAZING! I saw this recipe over on Chelsey's blog, originally from Rachael Ray. Seriously, this tasted SO GOOD! I added chicken to make it a one-dish meal. I also threw all the ingredients into my WW online recipe builder to figure out the points per serving. I can't wait to make this dish again!

2 1/2 cup(s) bowtie pasta
Zest of 1/2 to 1 lemon, plus juice
2 tsp olive oil
4 oz Chicken breast, skinless, boneless, raw, cubed
2/3 cup(s) 1% low-fat cottage cheese
1/4 cup(s) pine nuts, toasted
1/4 cup(s) fresh basil, roughly chopped

Cook the pasta in a large pot with 1 tsp olive oil until al dente.

In a saucepan, roast the pine nuts until golden brown. Remove the pine nuts. Add 1 tsp olive oil, the cubed chicken and lemon juice to the pan. Add salt and pepper to taste and cook until chicken is no longer pink.

Strain the pasta and return to the pot. Add the cottage cheese, toasted pine nuts, lemon zest, basil and chicken and stir until all ingredients are incorporated and the cheese is starting to melt. Serve immediately.

WW Points per Serving (half of recipe): 11 points

Critters!

Exactly one month ago we received the keys to our new house. Let me tell you, living on a pond has been quite an adventure over the past month! Below are some pictures of the fun things we have seen. There was NOTHING like this at our apartment in East Lansing!

First, there was the painted turtle that I almost ran over on my way home from work. Coming up to it, I thought it was just a leaf blowing across the road. When I was almost on top of it, I realized it was a turtle! I braced for impact and surprisingly missed the little fella! So I slammed on the breaks, u-turned it and pulled over on the opposite side of the road with my hazards on. With each passing car I covered my eyes, waiting to hear a crunch of the little turtle under someone's tire.

Thankfully, he got his wits about him and turned around to scoot back to the embankment. I waited for traffic to clear, then ran across the street and scooped him up. I finished the rest of the ride home with the turtle in the car. When I got home, I showed him to Matt and we decided to let him go in the pond.

The release!
Now he will be happy in his new home!
These are the baby robins that have a nest under the deck. Mommy comes and feeds them all the time. They are so cute!

We found this little guy on our front window before heading to bed one night.

Matt found this guy out front when mowing the lawn yesterday. Good thing he was paying attention so he didn't run him over!

It has been a joy discovering all of the wildlife in our own backyard. I can't wait until the weather warms up and we can sit out back in the evening and enjoy our little paradise.

First Home-Cooked Dinner at the New House

Just had to post this, as it was our first dinner at our new house. Matt seasoned the filet mignon and cooked it perfectly to my liking, medium rare. I sauteed some mushrooms and onions. We served it with some pan-cooked yukon gold potatoes and some fresh Michigan asparagus. The asparagus was A-MAZ-ING! So fresh, with a slight sweetness. Welcome home!!

Mother's Day Wrap Up

We had a fantastic Mother's Day at our new house. My parents drove in from Detroit area to spend the afternoon with us. And we had a visit from one of Matt's groomsmen and his fiance, Jen and Jeremy, who were in town from Indianapolis for the weekend.


For the menu, I prepared (with help from my mommy!) Sicilian Grilled Cornish Hens with Basil Aioli, Risotto with Grilled Eggplant and Artichokes and a Creamy Cucumber Salad. Matt's mom brought her famous cookies for dessert (Snickerdoodles and Chocolate Chip, this time). We all went for a nice walk around the pond after dinner and then gave our moms plants for their gardens as gifts. All in all, it was a wonderful day. To top it off, the Red Wings won 4-1 against Anaheim.
Sicilian Grilled Cornish Hens (recipe adapted from epicurious.com)
1/2 cup fresh lemon juice
1/2 cup chopped fresh Italian parsley
1/4 cup olive oil
6 garlic cloves, minced
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
4 rock cornish hens, defrosted

Whisk lemon juice, parsley, olive oil, garlic, 1 teaspoon salt, and 1/2 teaspoon pepper in medium bowl. Place 2 cornish hens in each of 2 resealable plastic bags. Divide lemon marinade between bags. Seal bags, releasing excess air. Turn to coat hens with marinade. Chill overnight if possible, turning bag occasionally.

Prepare barbecue on medium heat.Remove the cornish hens from the marinade. On a cutting board, with the breast side up, gently push on the breastbone of the bird to slightly flatten it, creating a larger surface area for grilling.

Place hens, breast side down, on the grill. Cover for 4 minutes. Turn the chickens, cover and grill for an additional 4 minutes. Turn hens again and reduce heat to medium-low. After 10 minutes, turn again. Grill until instant-read thermometer inserted into thickest part of thigh registers 180°F (per the instructions on the package of the cornish hens).

Transfer chickens to work surface; let rest 10 minutes. We cut the hens into four pieces. First down the breastbone and then again in half, leaving half of the breast and the leg as one portion and the other half of the breast and the wing as another portion.

Basil Aioli

3/4 C lite mayonnaise
1/3 C finely chopped basil
1 Tbsp. fresh lemon juice
1 1/2 tsp. garlic, minced or crushed
1/2 tsp. grated lemon zest

Combine all ingredients in a bowl. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Cover and refrigerate for at least one hour to allow flavors to develop. Can be made up to two days in advance.

Risotto with Grilled Eggplant and Artichokes (using Mary Ellen's perfected risotto recipe)
1 Tbsp butter
1 Tbsp olive oil
1 shallot, chopped
2-3 cloves garlic, chopped
1.5 C arborio rice
1/2 c dry white wine
8 cups chicken broth, heated
1 eggplant, grilled and diced
1 can artichoke hearts, roughly chopped
1/2 C grated Parmigiano Reggiano

Heat olive oil and butter in a large saute pan. Add shallots and garlic; stir until tender, about 2 minutes.

Add arborio rice and stir until coated. Add the white wine and stir until absorbed.

Add the chicken broth, one ladle at a time, stirring constantly. Add more broth only when all of the broth in the pan has been absorbed by the rice. This process of adding broth takes anywhere from 17 to 25 minutes. Taste as you go along so you don't over or under cook the rice. When you add your final ladle of broth, add the eggplant, artichoke and cheese, and stir until broth is completely absorbed. Serve immediately.

Creamy Cucumber Salad (adapted from cdkitchen.com)
4 seedless cucumbers
1 pint grape tomatoes, halved
1/2 C lite Miracle Whip

1/4 C half and half cream
4 Tbsp. sugar
1/2 tsp. celery seed
1 tsp. dried dill weed

Peel the cucumbers and then use the vegetable peeler to slice the whole cucumber very thin. Basically, discard the peels and then "peel" the whole cucumbers until you havea bunch of cucumber ribbons. Pat dry thoroughly with paper towels to remove excess moisture.

In a large bowl, combine the cucumbers with the tomatoes and the rest of the ingredients. Chill or at least one hour before serving to allow flavors to combine.

Everyone said they enjoyed everything. Here's our parents, eating at our makeshift dinner table (aka inlaws' card table) while our real table gets refinished. Happy Mother's Day!!

Happy Friday!

Courtesy of: http://asbojesus.wordpress.com/2009/05/07/719/

Traverse City Chocolate Festival

Let's start with a recap of the chocolate fest since, in the move across town, I can't seem to locate my camera to computer plug and my telepathic skills just aren't able to transfer the pictures off my camera and onto the computer.

My good friend John Jessup from the Traverse City Convention and Visitors Bureau picked me up from Grand Traverse Resort last Sunday and took me to Downtown TC for the Traverse City Chocolate Festival. First, we stopped at one of my favorite shops, Fustini's Oils and Vinegars. I must give them a plug, as they have some of the finest offerings in flavored olive oils and balsamic vinegars. If they allowed it, I would literally pour the Red Apple Balsamic Vinegar right from the spout into my mouth. *drool*

Back to the Chocolate Fest... I was in awe of the City Opera House, which has been renovated over the last seven years. The gold inlays in the ceiling and wraparound balcony were truly a sight to see. Picture me with my jaw dropped, looking up at the ceiling until John snapped me out of the trance.

I was also intrigued by the number of chocolatiers that have made their home in Northern Michigan. It made much more sense when I saw the local wineries that participated in the festival, showcasing their port and other sweet, dessert wines. Chocolate + Wine = Match Made in Heaven

One of the highlights was watching a demonstration from a local chocolatier, whose name escapes me at the moment, making fresh truffles... and then she passed them out for all to taste. I suppose this is why I have forgotten which shop she represented. I was too mezmerized by the explosion of fresh, warm chocolate melting in my mouth to see which company she was from.



Another highlight was talking to one of the creators of True North Vodka from the Grand Traverse Distillery. I mean, I know a little bit about wine, but am clueless about vodka. I learned so much about the production of this fine spirit. They use only rye grown in northern Michigan to make their vodka and are distributing in all Meijers and working on a deal with Costco. They were sampling a chocolate vodka, made with cacao beans which rested on the bottom of the bottle. Thankfully, they only sampled about a half an ounce. By the time we visited them, my cheeks were already red from all of the chocolate and wine we were trying.

Some of the chocolatiers in attendance included:

• Charles Layton Chocolates
• The Chocolate Den
• Chocolate Exotica
• Forest Confections
• Grocer's Daughter Chocolate
• Jacques Torres Chocolate
• Kilwin's
• Here's a list of other vendors that participated

I certainly had a wonderful time and left with quite the sugar buzz that kept me going for the rest of the afternoon and into the evening, when my conference began.

A BIG thank you goes out to John for introducing me to this fun (and yummy!) festival. As the weather warms up, I can't wait to chronicle the other festivals and events that Matt and I attend. I promise to take pictures of any future events. I was counting on the TC Chocolate Fest website to have more photos that I could borrow for this post, but I came up short.

OK, back to looking for my camera cord...

One Month Hiatus

My co-worker and I on the course at Grand Traverse Resort in Traverse City, MI

Dear friends, I confess to being a horrible blogger for the last month. Let's start with what's happened since April 5...

• Easter
• We closed on our house
• We renovated our house
• We moved into our house
• We lost a dear friend, Chris Keene
• I turned 27 years old
• I went to Traverse City for 5 days to manage/coordinate the largest event I plan all year (this is the main reason for the lack of blog entries)

All of that aside, I am getting the internet hooked up at our house today (yippee!!!), so here's a list of what's in store in the upcoming entries:

• Easter Treats
• House pics before and after renovations
• VRT - you, too, will be amazed
• The garden
• The furniture
• Traverse City Chocolate Fest
• John's blogging quest

Much more coming VERY soon!!!