Roasted Cauliflower Pasta

This recipe is very forgiving, and I usually don't measure much and it always turns out amazing.  Also, the cauliflower is awesome even without pasta...

 Roasted Cauliflower Pasta

Ingredients

• 1 head of garlic, cloves separated but not peeled (honestly, I haven't had garlic the last couple times so I just sprinkle a bunch of garlic powder on the cauliflower with the salt and pepper and it's awesome)
• 1 large head of cauliflower, trimmed, cut into florets
• 4½ tablespoons good olive oil, divided
• Kosher salt and black pepper
• ¼ cup minced fresh parsley (optional,but pretty and good)
• 3 Tbsp. toasted pine nuts
• 2 Tbsp. freshly squeezed lemon juice
• 6 oz. linguine (or whatever.)
• parmesan/romano/asiago cheese, shredded

1.) Preheat oven to 450° F. Bring a large pot of water to a boil and add the garlic cloves. Boil for 15 seconds. Fish out the cloves, peel and cut off any brown parts. Cut the largest cloves in half lengthwise. Keep the water simmering.
2.) On a sheet pan, toss the cauliflower with garlic, 3 Tbsp. olive oil, 2 tsp. salt and 1 tsp. pepper. Spread mixture out in a single layer and roast for 20-25 minutes, tossing twice, until the cauliflower is tender and garlic is lightly browned. When the cauliflower is about 5 minutes away from being done, sprinkle some parmesan/romano/asiago cheese on the cauliflower, then season the water with salt and some olive oil. Toss the pasta into the boiling water and cook until al dente. Drain and put pasta in large mixing bowl.
3.) Scrape the cauliflower with garlic and pan juices into large mixing bowl with pasta. Add remaining 1½ Tbsp. olive oil, parsley, pine nuts and lemon juice. Sprinkle with more cheese (to taste). Toss everything together.

Guiltless Alfredo Sauce

Ingredients

2 C low-fat milk
1/3 C (3 oz) low fat cream cheese
2 T flour
1 t salt
1 T butter
3 garlic cloves
1 C grated Parmesan cheese

Directions

Toss the milk, cream cheese, flour, and salt in a blender.

Process until smooth and set aside

In a non-stick sauce pan, melt butter on med-high heat and add garlic. Stand above the pan (but not close enough to scald your face) and inhale. Ahhh…butter and garlic. Okay, now get cooking again. Let the garlic saute for about 30 seconds, you don’t want to burn it. It should be nice and bubbly.

Then add milk mixture to the pan. Stir constantly for about 3 or 4 minutes or until it just comes to a simmer. Keep stirring and let it cook for a few minutes more. It should be much thicker now.

When it’s nice and thickened remove the pan from the heat. Add the cheese, stir it up and then cover immediately. Let stand for at least 10 minutes before using. It will continue to thicken upon standing. Also, if you have leftovers in the fridge, the sauce will thicken almost into a solid. Just re-heat and add a little milk and it will be back to normal again.

source: Our Best Bites

Beach Street Lemon Chicken Linguine

Ingredients:

1 lb. linguini (or Fettucini)
2 T. olive oil
Zest from one lemon
Juice from one lemon
½ c. chopped green onion
¼ c. chopped fresh parsley
Salt and freshly ground pepper
Parmesan cheese

Marinade:
½ c. olive oil
2 cloves garlic, whole
2 T. Cajun seasoning
1/4 c. lemon juice
2 T. minced parsley
1/4 c. brown sugar (or more if you like it a little sweeter)
3 T. soy sauce
2 chicken breasts, sliced. (OR 16 extra large shrimp)

Directions:

Combine the marinade ingredients in a Ziploc bag. Slice thawed chicken (or shrimp). Pat dry and toss in marinade to coat. Refrigerate 1-12 hours (I've not marinated for any time at all and it's still really good). Cook marinated chicken with the marinade sauce in a large saute pan on medium heat until chicken is cooked. If using shrimp, preheat the oven to 450 degrees. Bake for 7-10 minutes. Be sure not to over cook shrimp.

Cook linguini in boiling salted water until done; drain well and rinse noodles. Combine juice of one lemon, zest, olive oil, green onions, and fresh parsley together. Add hot pasta into bowl and toss well. Sprinkle with salt and pepper. Add chicken (or shrimp) with marinade into the large pasta bowl. Toss in parmesan cheese to taste and serve warm.