Recipe for Butternut Squash and Chicken Apple Sausage Pasta

Well, we're back from a long vacation and visits to see family.  After weeks of very little cooking, it's hard to get back in to the groove but I'm trying!  I thought I had misplaced my mojo for looking at what's in the pantry/fridge and throwing something together but I was pleased with how this turned out. Even though we don't have a real "Fall" here on Maui, cooking with butternut squash always makes me feel like we do. 

Recipe for Scallops with Creamy Pesto Pasta-Secret Recipe Club

The blog I got to snoop around on this month for the Secret Recipe Club was Lisa's Cook Lisa Cook.  Lisa and her family (husband and daughter) live in the Atlanta area, near where I used to live and where I still have family.  She's a transplant from New England, her hubby from across the Atlantic, and their daughter all the way from China.  Lisa also writes another blog about their life as an adoptive family.  But on to this recipe-it comes together pretty quickly so best to be organized.  I used a commercial pesto sauce and it was fine but I do think this would be amazing with the fresh taste of homemade pesto-next time!  Lisa also used lemon pepper pasta which I could not find so I used my favorite multi-grain and added a generous squirt of lemon to the sauce.

Recipe for Whole Wheat Spaghetti with Sesame Salmon and Spinach

Here's a great recipe for when you want to get something on the table quickly but you want to stay on the healthier side of things.  In under thirty minutes you can put this dish together, serve it, and be ready to receive the accolades that will surely be sent your way!

Recipe for Salsa Turkey Pasta

Mr. ELEB is training for a half marathon and wanted a bit more carbs in some of our meals.  We both like whole grain pasta so I created another baked pasta recipe inspired by my December Secret Recipe Club recipe.

Recipe for Lemony Salmon and Dill Toss

I've been determined not to gain weight over the holidays and so far so good (**I've actually lost a couple of lbs**). We've been eating a lot of meals like this one with the occasional treat/big meal thrown in. I've stayed away from most of the baking and treats that are prevalent in the cooking/blogging/magazine/recipe world right now. Honestly, we haven't missed them and if we have to have a little bit of a treat, I still have some of the Sans Rival cake in the freezer!


I've been instructed to tell you first off that this gets the Mr. ELEB seal of approval.  OK, done, now I'll share the recipe with you!  I was inspired by a recipe from Prevention Magazine to make this dish.  They used canned salmon though and I wanted to use fresh. I also used whole wheat pasta where their recipe called for regular white pasta.


I think this would be fine with canned salmon but if you can get fresh, why not?  My grocery store had some beautiful sockeye salmon so that's what I used.

I love putting tasty healthy food on the table in under thirty minutes!

Recipe for Simply Baked Pasta-Secret Recipe Club

Mmmm.  Little pillows of ricotta cheese (no not mashed potatoes!) on top of whole grain pasta, sauce, pepper jack cheese, beef - what's not to like?  That's what I thought when I was browsing through Stacy's blog Every Little Thing and saw her "wing it" recipe for baked pasta.  She was in the midst of an exercise to eat on $60/week and threw this together based on what she had on hand.  Perfect-I do that a lot too, probably why I was drawn to this recipe.  It's Secret Recipe Club time!  

Recipe for Cheesy Chicken Penne Pasta. Secret Recipe Club!

It's that time again!  I'm really enjoying the opportunity to participate in the Secret Recipe Club.  It is a collection of bloggers who secretly pick a recipe from another's blog and cook and post about it.  Not only is it fun to spook around on someone else's blog but it is also a treat to see who had your blog for the month and what they picked to cook.

Buon Appetito from Eat Little, Eat Big, Foodbuzz, and Barilla Tortellini



Clockwise from top left:  Prosciutto Wrapped Pesto Tortellini with
Asparagus; Shaved Asparagus with Tangy Vinaigrette, Parmesan and Pine Nuts; 
Tortelloni Frittata; Crema Moka with Crispy Tortellini.

La Specialita' della Casa:

• Prosciutto wrapped pesto tortellini with asparagus
• Shaved asparagus dressed with a tangy vinaigrette, Parmesan cheese, and pine nuts
• Tortelloni frittata with sausage and spinach, topped with marinara sauce and basil
• Crema moka-layers of chocolate and coffee flavors with a crunchy tortellini surprise

Recipe for Veggie and Orzo Salad



My pantry gets out of control sometimes.  I don’t where all the stuff comes fromJ.  Recently, while having a clean and sort in there I came across a package of orzo that “showed up” a few weeks ago.  When I think orzo, I think Greek pasta salad so I put this together based on what I had on hand.  It turned out to be quite tasty and held up well in the fridge for a couple of days.

Makes 6 generous servings, each approximately 233 calories, 6 grams fat, 38 grams carbs, 3.5 grams fiber, 8.5 grams protein, 6 WW Points+

Recipe for Prosciutto Wrapped Pesto Tortellini with Asparagus

Ah, Italy.  The wine, the beautiful people, the amazing scenery and of course, the food.   This little appetizer was inspired by thoughts of Italy and of spring.  The fresh, local asparagus is heavenly tucked inside prosciutto with a nice surprise of soft pillows of cheese tortellini bathed in pesto…am I making you hungry?

Recipe for Pimiento Mac-N-Cheese

I wanted to do something with pimiento cheese as part of the Master’s party we threw last week (if you aren’t Master’s followers, pimiento cheese sandwiches are a major food draw at the golf course).  I knew the other ladies were bringing pretty healthy stuff so I figured I could splurge a bit and do a mac-n-cheese.  Plus a lot of the guys generally don’t get too much in the way of carbs at home (don’t feel too sorry for them, they eat plenty well!).   Well, the March edition of bon appétit (which, par for the course, arrived here on Maui in early April, just in time for the party) featured a yummy looking mac-n-cheese on their cover, made with pimiento cheese, so I was “good to go”.

Recipe for Beef and Lamb Pastitsio

Oh my!  I try not to be too OTT about recipes but this one is amazing.  I served it to friends and family and everyone loved it, even my friend who is not a fan of lamb (I believe he had seconds).  The original recipe called for all lamb but I wanted to be sure my friend would eat it so I described the recipe to him and we agreed half lamb and half beef would work.  I used local Maui Cattle Company lean ground beef and lean ground lamb. 

The seasonings-nutmeg, oregano, cinnamon, and cloves-give a really unique flavor to the dish.  Go and buy some if you don't have them-they make this Greek version of lasagna so good.  And, bonus, your house will have an amazing smell while you are cooking!

Recipe for Salmon and Peas in Parmesan Wine Sauce

There is an old adage “don’t use cheese with fish” so if you are a purist you won’t like this recipe.  We, however, loved it!  I’m always looking for new fish recipes and hadn’t come across anything lately that really impressed me, so I went with my gut and pulled this together.  It took less than thirty minutes from start to finish and it will definitely be in the rotation going forward.

Makes 4 servings, each approximately 344 calories, 16 grams fat, 13 grams carbs, 3 grams fiber, 32 grams protein; 8 WW Points+     (plus whatever pasta you use)