New Year's Resoluton Time - AGAIN

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

I trust everyone had a happy and safe holiday! 

We went to the most wonderful wedding on New Year’s Eve.  I met another cooking blog author.  Look for me to link to her page in the coming days!

On New Year’s Day, I made the most wonderful pork roast.  I am sorry now that I didn’t capture it on camera. I had not intended to blog about it.

Okay --

Boston pork, roasted slowly at 375° (3 hours), seasoned simply with Sea Salt, black pepper, garlic and onion powder.  It was surrounded by sauerkraut and cabbage. 

I served it with pirogues and onions. 

The next day, I took the leftover pork, sans kraut.  I put it in the Crockpot along with mild and medium picante sauce, taco seasoning, bottled minced garlic, lime juice and TEQUILA! 

Talk about an international weekend! 

“One for the pot, one for the cook.”  -  Julia Child

At any rate, I promise a do-over within the next few weeks.  I’ll capture it all in a pictorial. 

MK'S REAL BLOG --- Drum roll, please:

It’s that time of year again; the time when we delude ourselves into actually thinking we’re going to accomplish even one of our New Year’s resolutions. 

My blog tonight is not about the past.  It's about the future. 

One of the most popular, of course, is diet and exercise.  I’ll admit it.  I slacked off on the exercise over the holiday and during the recent cold spell here in sunny Florida.  Today I was back in the saddle; cussing up a storm at my Jillian Michaels DVD at 7 AM.



Skinny Lasagna, ready for my oven.



My mother-in-law is having surgery tomorrow.  I wanted to make her something “homey” for dinner tonight, while at the same time, staying true to my diet.  I came up with “skinny” lasagna. 

My secret is in the sauce and in the cheese.  Of course, everyone knows you can replace the beef with turkey, and the white noodles with whole wheat. 

There are even great no boil whole wheat noodles on the market now!  BTW - use a smaller pan.  You'll use less noodles.  I use only two across when I make it in this pan.  (10 noodles, total).

No fat cheese, that’s a no-brainer, right?   Part Skim is good if you're not too concerned about weight.  There are lots of fat free cheeses on the market today that have full flavor. 



A Fattening Sauce Turns Skinny



The REALLY (UNNECESSARY INTENSIFIER) decadent part of the lasagna is always the Béchamel Sauce.  In case you don’t know a traditional Béchamel is a white nutmeg sauce. In addition to the nutmeg, it’s generally made with -- 

Everybody sing!

FIVE TABLESPOONS OF BUTTER

FOUR TABLESPOONS OF FLOUR

THREE CUPS WHOLE MILK

“Two turtle doves and a Part- ridge -.”  Sorry.  

You get the point. It’s delicioso, but darn fattening!  It's creamy.  The sauce adds this rich, flavorful yum to any lasagna.  I only - usually - make it on special occasions. 

I actually love my mother-in-law.  She's more like a friend to me.  She is nervous about the procedure, and I wanted to give her a really nice meal.  She can't eat or drink after mindnight until who knows when tomorrow.  Tonight was worthy of Béchamel.

I used only one and 1/2 tablespoons of butter and one and 1/2 tablespoons of flour.  I used two cups of 2% Milk, and I added just a tablespoon of Fat Free Parmesan Cheese at the end.  Traditional, no, but it saved us tons of calories -- and me from having to visit with Jillian again tomorrow.

On the "Just for Cooking” community page on Facebook, we’re starting a discussion thread especially for healthy cooking.  If you’re interested in sharing your ideas, join us!