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:...

Full of good things tucked inside, this make ahead dish holds all the notes of a spectacular grits casserole, the creamy decadence of mac and cheese, and the subtle Tex-Mex twist of roasted peppers. Its full of veggies and about half the fat and calories of typical holiday fare. Double bonus, its GOOD straight out of the oven, AMAZING reheated, perfect for the office potluck, or even your holiday table. Adapted from  Makeover Creamy Macaroni and Cheese from Taste of Home magazine  which was so darn good, I ate two servings in eleven minutes, blowing over a days worth of smart points in one sitting. Damn it. Totally worth it, but still... More about "Worth It" after the recipe. Yield: 5 servings, 9 smart points per serving Ingredients: 1 tsp olive oil 1 red bell pepper, diced (1 centimeter) 1/2 poblano, diced (1 centimeter) 1 cup frozen corn 3/4 cup (90 g) uncooked macaroni (I used Dal Raccolto) 25 g table salt, iodized 2 Tbs unsalted butter (I...

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...

Was it a great summer or what? Guys, so many wonderful books, especially,  Americanah , by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, and The Cooking Gene , by Michael W. Twitty. AND TRAVEL. Washington! Oregon! Arkansas! Kentucky! Mississippi! and back home to Austin, TX. Summer of ADVENTURE, and a slight fluffiness. So, back to Weight Watchers, right guys? Needing to back away from: The craft beer: The coconut cream pie: And the super worth it Mississippi fried deliciousness: This lady jumped back into her meetings. Last week we all dug around the app for new recipes to get back on track for fall. Voila! I ran across their recipe for  Senegalese Peanut Stew with Spinach and Sweet Potatoes , totally in keeping with the theme of Summer of Adventure, but less calories. Win. Win, win, win. AND IT WAS SO AWESOME!!!! Well, mostly. I added a bit more oil, and reduced the cooked time on some of the vegetables (I don't want mushy), switched soy sauce for the salt (ginger...