Frank Said Don't Tell

Children change everything. Winter used to mean Christmas (YAY!!!!) and Parties (YAY!!!) and fake holidays where everyone eats appetizers (Super Bowl!!! The Oscars!!!). After children, winter is that, AND a seemingly endless cycle of sick. It's better now that they are older, but still. December-March means cough, booger-nose, tummy troubles, fever, repeat. Small children tend to cough right into your mouth, without even trying! Whomp-whomp, everyone is sick. But don't worry. I have soup. Lazy soup. Lazy soup with things you might have lurking in your fridge and pantry. Also, its very low in Smart Points, 1 point for a giant, comforting bowl. I kinda winged this recipe. HOWEVER, the base is straight out of Americas Test Kitchen's (ATK) Family cookbook. Their recipe (for chicken pot pie p. 323) involves sautéing onions in butter then splashing in dry sherry to deglaze, and that shit is delicious. Per ATK's recommendation, you've got to use this sherry though:...

Y'all, I love vegetables, but can you carve one into a pasta shape, and pretend its a noodle? I tried. Many different sauces. Many different vegetables. Not ever close to tasting like pasta. Nope. However, this recipe's sauce pairs well with the carrots, bringing out their natural sweetness, which further compliments the ginger/garlic notes in the coconut sauce. Bonus, no spiralizer needed, just use a regular vegetable peeler to make carrot ribbons. Not noodles, but tasty way to incorporate more veggies into your diet. This happens to be my favorite vegetable peeler. OXO brand from Williams Sonoma, not the one from Target. I hate how brands have different models at different price points at different stores. It's a trick, like vegetable noodles. Recipe modified (very little) from  Thai Turkey with Carrot Noodles  over at Emily Bites. Also, when I made this, I had some extra kale I needed to use up. DON'T ADD KALE. NOT GOOD. I'm all for using up what...

I usually make this with acorn squash, but the delicata squash looked like this, too pretty to pass up. AND y'all, the skin is edible. Pick it up like a little squash taco! I don't really sports, but I think this might win your next tailgate. Could it, maybe, even look a little footballesque? Laced with just enough toasted pecans and parmesan to make it special, this is our go-to healthy celebration of squash season. This recipe evolved from Greens with Spicy Lemon Cumin Oil out of Russ Parson's treatise on vegetables, How to Pick a Peach . If you are new to cooking and eating vegetables in season, this book is an excellent resource, and a great read. Its still on my shelf, eleven years later. Yield: 2 servings/8 smart points per serving as a main OR 8 servings/2 smart points per serving The photo shows one dinner portion or four side servings. Ingredients: 1 10 oz package chopped frozen spinach, thawed and drained 1-2 winter squash, size and hunger ...

Warning, there are no chips, or cheese, but we like NOT-chos enough to eat them once a week. The richness of the avocado, the earthy black-eyed peas, and the spicy-sweet char on the peppers scratch the nacho itch without the uh-oh after. After the recipe are some thoughts on how to eat healthy, without giving up the tastes you love. Yield: 2 servings/5 smart points per serving Ingredients: 1 small avocado, diced or sliced fat free greek yogurt, to taste 1 can black-eyed peas 1.5 C frozen corn 1 poblano chopped into 1 inch pieces 6 small sweet peppers or 2 red bell peppers chopped into 1 inch pieces 1 Tbs olive oil Directions: 1. Preheat oven to 400° and line sheet pan with foil. 2. Toss peppers with olive oil and spread on sheet pan. 3. Roast at 400° for 30 minutes. Remove from oven and scrape pan with spatula to free any charred on peppers. Set aside. 4. Bring small pan of water to boil and add corn. Cook according to di...

I grew up on Zatarain's seasoning mix, but several years ago, on some sort of quest for authenticity, I found Emeril's recipe for  red beans . Very tasty, except. SO. HEAVY. Ham hocks? Bacon grease? Tasso? Smoked sausage? ALL OF THESE. I'm not a dock worker. Plus, beans shouldn't give you angina or meat sweats. So, I killed the grease and the ham hocks. HEB doesn't sell Tasso, but I did have an over abundance of ham in my freezer. And I love turkey sausage. It was my main gateway meat during my return to omnivorism. I like Butterball Everyday Smoked Turkey sausage. It tastes more smokey, with less spice, nice and clean. And cheap. Other than that, same spices, and authentic flavor. This freezes beautifully, and after prep is complete, not very labor intensive. Also, I can get my four year old to eat this, as long as I pick out the sausage and green pepper. Apparently that shit is toxic to preschoolers. At some point I'll figure out how to make this in the...

First of all, I'm really sorry its snowing. You and I know its April, but according to the sad posts on my Facebook feed, in the midwest, its looking more like February. Are you tired of soups and stews? Here's a classic comfort food recipe with, maybe, enough of a twist to reignite your enthusiasm for the white stuff. No? To help you maintain your sanity then. The Twist: I'd never heard of Ranch Style Brand BeansⓇ until I'd moved to Texas. My Aunt, a 1960's Texas transplant, insisted I add some to my first pot of non-vegetarian chili. Now, I use turkey, as ground beef still skeeves me out, but the Ranch BeansⓇ contain a healthy dose of rendered beef fat, which will add a nice depth of flavor to your chili. A word of advice, seriously, don't taste the beans on their own, as they are weird, and sour, and gross. But they do make delicious chili. Adapted from The America's Test Kitchen Family Cookbook, "All-American Beef Chili", changed slig...

So, I promised a friend this recipe, like, two months ago... Well here goes! This soup can be hot AF if you're not careful. Maybe you like that (Frank), maybe not (me). Hopefully I'll remember to include directions to help mitigate any "Ass of Fire" or "Go Blind While Taking Out Contacts" situations. I started with this recipe on  Homemade Hooplah  after googling "White Chicken Chili Recipe". I do Weight Watchers and I wanted something tasty and healthy... so I could pair it with bacon grease based cornbread, because, and why I'll never be a size zero. ANYWAY, the recipe: Chicken Poblano Soup 6 poblano peppers (If you know how to tell how hot these fuckers are, please share your knowledge) 1 2-gallon ziplock bag 6 cups unsalted chicken stock (I use boxed) 3 chicken breasts 1 gallon ziplock freezer bag (if using sous vide) 2 Tbs Extra Virgin Olive Oil 2 large sweet onions 2 cloves garlic, minced 1/2 tsp cayenne pepp...