Quick Meals

I haven't had the time, appetite, or opportunity to cook much this past week, but I did try out two fast food network recipes, and  I will definitely add them to my repertoire.

Harvest Moon Macaroni and Cheese
http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/rachael-ray/harvest-moon-macaroni-recipe/index.html

I used vegetable stock instead of chicken stock.  As much as I like the idea of frozen butternut squash, fresh is definitely better.  You can also lighten it up easily.  I think I'll make macaroni like this from now on.  No need to bake for 45 minutes, when you can just broil it and get a nice crunchy cheese topping.  Naturally, it did not take only 16 minutes to make this, but rather 30.

Sole with pesto cream
http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/quick-fix-meals-with-robin-miller/sole-with-pesto-cream-recipe/index.html

This was great and easy, but I definitely made a few changes.  First, I drained the pesto so that there wasn't much oil left.  And second, I used nonfat evaporated milk instead of cream.  I also bought a bell pepper and roasted it, which was the hardest part of the meal.  Luckily, I have a gas stove, so I could monitor the roasting process, but I felt like this addition was key to adding to the taste of the dish.  I managed to find a good deal on sole, which is not nearly as cheap as tilapia, but I would not recommend substituting tilapia for sole.  Try swai instead.  It is a bit more delicate like sole.