Roasted Red Pepper Alfredo

I love pasta and I'm always looking for a new way to fix it. Pasta dishes are usually perfect for quick meals and this one fills that bill. Traditionally Alfredo is served over fettucine. My family prefers thin spaghetti and my market sells a good whole wheat pasta. So I am revisiting this pasta dish today as it happens to be one of my favorites. I hope it becomes one of your favorites too.

Serves 4-6
1 16oz jar of roasted red peppers, drained
4 oz of pancetta or bacon, cubed
1 large onion, diced
3 cloves of garlic
1/2 cup milk
1/2 cup heavy cream
6 oz goat cheese, crumbled
1/2 cup grated parmesan cheese
4 tbsp olive oil
salt, pepper,and chili flakes to taste
8 large basil leaves, rolled and cut into ribbons
1 pd cooked pasta of your choice(reserve 1 cup of pasta water

Heat the oil in a medium sauce pan. Add the pancetta and cook until it begins to brown. Add the onion, cooking until it becomes translucent. Place the red peppers and the garlic in a blender and blend until smooth. Pour the puree into the sauce pan. Add the goat cheese, stirring until it has melted into the sauce. Add the salt, pepper and red chili flakes. Add the cream and milk and parmesan cheese. When heated through, puree with an immersion blender or in a food processor. Remove from heat and set aside. Heat the remaining oil in a large skillet. Add the cooked pasta. When the skillet is hot, pour the sauce over the pasta and add about half of the reserved pasta water. Toss to coat. If the sauce looks too loose add more of the pasta water until it clings to the pasta. Remove from the heat. Toss int the basil and serve. Top with more parmesan if desired.

Chia Breakfast Pudding with Plum and Fig Compote

I have noticed that Chia seed pudding seems to be the latest trend in breakfast offerings. While the health benefits were worth looking into I held off wondering about the taste. Well, I finally bit the bullet and had my first bowl yesterday. I have to say that I was pleasantly surprised. The texture reminded me of a very thick, creamy tapioca pudding. Since I am controlling the sugar, the pudding has the potential to have less sugar than most flavored yogurts. I usually have yogurt for breakfast and trying to find a brand that contains less than 12 grams of sugar has been a challenge. I finally found a non-fat yogurt with only 9 grams of sugar- Siggi's and I used that brand as the yogurt component of this dish. I made a compote of plums for my topping. I like the tart flavor of the plums but you could use any fruit in your compote or just top with a fresh fruit of your choice. I hope you'll give this a try. Healthy food can be delicious!

Serves 2

1/2 cup of Siggi's flavored yogurt
1/2 cup plain non-fat greek yogurt
1 tbsp of honey
1/4 cup chia seeds
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
1 cup plain coconut milk

Place all of the above ingredients in a bowl and whisk until combined. Place in the frig overnight to allow the pudding to thicken.

Plum Compote

3 medium plums, pitted and diced
1 tbsp fig jam
juice of 1 small lemon
juice and zest of 1 small orange
1 tbsp minute tapioca
Honey- to taste if needed

Place all ingredients in a small saucepan. Cook over medium/high heat until mixture comes to a boil and thickens.

Place 1 cup of the pudding in a bowl and top with the warm compote.