holidays

I know it’s not the right season for today’s recipe… but I don’t know that the weather has to be cold to enjoy one of my favorite side dishes!

GREEN BEAN CASSEROLE: Oh yeah… one of my absolute favorite dishes. When I spotted this recipe on Skinnytaste last fall, I HAD to make it, and I was even able to talk Beth into adding it to our holiday menu.

The truth about regular green bean casserole is that it’s wildly unhealthy when you’re making it with the original recipe. All that cream of mushroom soup and those crunchy fried onions really ruin any hopes of the dish being good for you.

When I saw that Gina had tackled this holiday favorite, and figured out a way to make it healthy, I knew it would quickly become a family favorite. And, I was right!

** We made this recipe over the Christmas holidays, so you’ll notice extra special helpers in some of my pictures. Hailey was an amazing sous-chef, and even took some of the pictures you see below. Little Hayden also jumped in to help! Enjoy!

Lightened Up Green Bean Casserole

From SkinnyTaste

Serves 8

INGREDIENTS

For the topping:

1 tbsp olive oil

1 cup shallots, finely diced

1/2 cup seasoned breadcrumbs

1 tbsp grated Romano or Parmesan cheese

1/2 tsp dried thyme (or 1 tsp fresh)

For the green beans:

1 tbsp olive oil

1/3 cup shallots, minced

16 oz sliced mushrooms, (I used cremini)

1/4 cup flour

1 cup reduced sodium chicken stock (or vegetable for vegetarian)

1 cup 2% milk

1/4 cup grated Pecorino Romano cheese

INSTRUCTIONS

1. Boil a large pot of water, when boiling add green beans and blanch for 2 minutes (or 6-8 minutes if you like them softer).

2. Remove from the heat to an ice bath to stop the cooking process.

3. Meanwhile make the topping, heat a medium-sized skillet over medium heat. Add the shallots and sauté about 3-5 minutes, stirring occasionally until golden brown. Reduce heat to medium-low, add breadcrumbs, grated cheese and thyme; sauté until golden brown, about 5-6 minutes, stirring frequently, careful not to burn.

4. Preheat the oven to 375°. Lightly spray a 13 x 9 inch baking dish. Heat oil in a large sauté pan over medium-high heat. Add shallots and sauté 1 to 2 minutes. Add mushrooms, season with salt and pepper and sauté 6-8 minutes, stirring occasionally.

5. Sprinkle flour over the mushrooms, stir constantly for about a minute, then slowly add chicken stock, then milk. Bring to a low boil, and cook stirring occasionally until thickened, about 3 minutes. Stir in Romano cheese.

6. Add blanched green beens and mix well, season with salt and pepper as needed; pour into prepared baking dish.

7. Top with toasted bread crumbs and bake about 30 minutes.

8. Serve to your favorite family members and put a little extra on your plate while you’re at it!

Per 1/8 recipe serving:

CAL 160; CARB 22g; FAT 6g; PROT 7g; FIB 4g; WW Points Plus: 4

Mixing it Up!

Christmas Eve at Mount Vernon

Holy Cole Slaw, Batman

While Valentine’s Day itself was pretty uneventful, I cooked up a plan with some fun with some ladies on Saturday afternoon to celebrate the holiday a little more. What’s funny is that I’ve never really been into Valentine’s Day, but I think all the sweet treats have lured me in this year… they’re just too cute!

With the same group of ladies who I got together with for tea last month, I planned an event centered around the Valentine’s Day holiday. Afterall, everyone deserves to have a Valentine… and I thought it was a great idea for a get-together + gift exchange.

I spent Friday night getting my gift together for the exchange. I had found some fun Pink Hot Chocolate at Sur La Table and paired that with a cute mug from Target. I added in chick flick – - Valentine’s Day (of course), and voila! My gift was born!

Oh wait! What is that cute bag of goodies on the left, you ask??? Well, it wouldn’t be a gift from NTTC if it didn’t have a little something homemade. I did a spin on the Easter Pretzel Hugs I made for my grandpa last year… and transformed them into a REALLY yummy V-Day version made with Dove hearts and pink, red, and white M&Ms. BEYOND DELISH!

The event kicked off at the mall, where we had plans to see a movie. Since Nicholas Sparks had released his latest book-turned-movie on Valentine’s Day, that’s what we planned to see. And, even better… the matinee was only $5! The best!

AND… also amazing, the movie theater had a HEALTHY snack option! Seriously! Have you seen these?

Inside this box was the following: Chiquita Fruit Chips (No Sugar Added), Popcorners Kettle Corn Chips, an Odwalla Trail Mix bar, and a 20 oz. Dasani water! The price tag was a little steep at $7, but what great options… and I had snacks to bring home as well! This DEFINITELY makes me want to choose AMC theaters in the future. So nice to see theaters starting to cater to healthy folks like us!

Now that I’ve told you about my snacks… Let me tell you about the movie!

I adore Nicholas Sparks novels. I just do. They’re cheesy and romantic, but they tug at the heart strings and make me cry every time. I REALLY thought I would make it through Safe Haven without the waterworks starting… but oh no, good ol’ Nick got me again.

I just loved the couple in the story. They had great chemistry and they were pretty cute. Seeing Josh Duhamel’s abs a few times during the movie were also a plus, and even allowed me to forgive him for his 80′s haircut and the ‘stache he was rocking at the beginning of the movie. Julianna Hough was perfect as Katie, and beared a strange resemblance to Lindsay Lohan. I never would have guessed that… but just another observation during the movie.

Overall, it was a sweet story. A little cheesy at times, but definitely worth seeing… Go with the girls though. Leave your man at home. (He’ll appreciate that I just said that, trust me!) I definitely recommend the book, too… you can’t go wrong with Sparks. As my dad says, he’s a fantastic story teller.

The lovely ladies who joined me for the movie… I took the pic, so I’m not pictured as a result.

After the movie, we moved to the food court area to exchange presents! I set a $15 limit for each present, and the ladies got really creative with what they put together.

I ended up picking my friend Alyssa’s bag, and got a mani/pedi kit, a cute nail file, and some Essie polish! LOVE! Considering that my nails looked a hot mess on Saturday, it was the PERFECT gift! Thanks, Alyssa!