Supernatural Botanicals

There’s a reason why most hot wings taste so ridiculously delicious…it’s because they’re fried.  Not to worry, though, there’s a way to do hot wings better. Instead of frying the wings, blast them at 450 degrees on a cookie sheet in the oven.  Use a cookie sheet with edges, as the wings will produce liquid. Line the tray with tin foil first for easy clean up.  Lay the wings in a single layer, then blast them in a 450 degree oven until cooked thoroughly, about 20-25  minutes.  At the very end of cooking time, place them right under the broiler and blast them for an extra minute to get the skin good and crispy. Immediately place them into a bowl and drown them in Red Hot hot sauce.  The regular recipe calls for butter and Red Hot, but you can eliminate more calories by omitting this step.  The hot sauce will still stick to the wings. Go easy on the bleu cheese dressing, but heavy on carrot sticks and celery, and you’ll have a skinnier post-Superbowl victory dance.

Sam Zien, aka Sam The Cooking Guy, has a fantastic cookbook out called Just a Bunch of Recipes.  I picked mine up from the library, but can already tell, this will need to be a purchase for me; this will definitely be added to my massive cookbook collection.  It’s comprised of great recipes, everyday recipes, with a healthy twist.  His recipes are nutritious and healthy, but not painfully so.  Not to mention, Sam is a riot to watch or read.  It’s a fun book.  Thumbs up!

If you think Olive Garden and Taco Bell when you think of ethnic foods, you’re missing the boat…the boat to the Mediterranean, that is.  I’ve been cooking lots of Mediterranean dishes this summer, from Greek pizzas, pastas, meats, and even desserts.  This is one of my favorite go-to pasta recipes.  It’s perfect for a quick dinner or lunch, great to stuff into Chinese carryout cartons for a picnic, or even a late night picnic in bed. 

The tomatoes, the basil, the garlic, it all brings such a great combination of flavors to the party.  Quick and simple, and won’t blow your daily caloric intake budget, either. 

Pasta with Sun-Dried Tomato Pesto and Feta Cheese

Yield

4 servings (serving size: 1 cup)

Ingredients

• 1  (9-ounce) package refrigerated fresh linguine
• 3/4  cup  oil-packed sun-dried tomato halves, drained
• 1/4  cup  loosely packed basil leaves
• 2  tablespoons  slivered almonds
• 2  tablespoons  preshredded fresh Parmesan cheese
• 1  tablespoon  bottled minced garlic
• 1/2  teaspoon  salt
• 1/4  teaspoon  black pepper
• 1/2  cup  (2 ounces) crumbled feta cheese

Preparation

Cook pasta according to the package directions, omitting salt and fat. Drain through a sieve over a bowl, reserving 1 cup cooking liquid. Return pasta to pan.

While pasta cooks, place tomatoes and next 6 ingredients (through black pepper) in a food processor; process until finely chopped.

Combine tomato mixture and the reserved 1 cup cooking liquid, stirring with a whisk. Add to pasta; toss well to coat. Sprinkle with feta.

Nutritional Information

Calories:

300 (30% from fat)

Fat:

9.9g (sat 3.3g,mono 3.9g,poly 1.6g)

Protein:

12.3g

Carbohydrate:

42g

Fiber:

4.3g

Cholesterol:

61mg

Iron:

3.1mg

Sodium:

570mg

Calcium:

141mg