Spaghetti Squash with White Cheese Sauce

I asked and you responded, “what generally unhealthy dish would you like to see transformed into something healthy and delicious?”  The response was unanimous, Mac and Cheese.  So today I bring you the first ever “Transformation Tuesday”  where I turn a generally unhealthy dish into something healthy and yummy. Today I transformed Traditional Mac and Cheese into Spaghetti Squash with White Cheese Sauce.

The result was a delicious, gluten-free, vegetarian dish that packs way less calories, fat, carbs and sodium than any macaroni and cheese dish you will eat at a restaurant!

The Cheesecake Factory Macaroni and Cheese SIDE DISH packs 51 grams of fat, 1309 calories, 768 milligrams of sodium and 92 grams of carbs, and that’s just the side dish to the main course!!

My dinner portion of Spaghetti Squash with White Cheese Sauce comes in at 275 calories, 12 grams of fat, 335 milligrams of sodium and 10 grams of carbs for a 1 cup serving. Even if you double the serving size to 2 cups, you will still save 759 calories and 27 grams of fat!

Just to make the picture even more clear, if you are counting Weight Watcher points, one side of macaroni and cheese at The Cheesecake Factory counts for 25 points, while my dish weighs in at only 4 points!

Prep Time: 15 minutes
Cook Time: 45 minutes

Ingredients (serves 4)

• 1 large spaghetti squash
• 1 tbsp olive oil
• 1 tsp black pepper
• 1 tsp kosher salt
• 1 cup part-skim mozzarella (shredded)
• 1/4 cup parmesan cheese (shaved)
• 1/4 cup ricotta cheese
• 1/2 cup goat cheese
• 1/4 cup soy milk
• 1/4 cup fresh basil leaves (to garnish)

Start by cutting the spaghetti squash in half lengthwise, remove the seeds and brush with the olive oil then sprinkle with the salt and pepper.  Place cut side down on a baking sheet and roast in the oven at 400° for 45 minutes.

Remove from the oven and watch this how-to video on what to do next!

Once all of the spaghetti squash has been added to the sauce, separate into four bowls and top with the fresh basil to serve.

Now it’s time to dig in!

♣ Vegetarian Option: This recipe is vegetarian.

♦ Gluten Free Option: This recipe is gluten-free.

♥ All pottery seen on the littleleopardbook can be purchased by visiting www.longaberger.com/muffetbond or e-mailing keepsakebl@sbcglobal.net.

A Girl with a Plan, a Blog and a Craving for Adventure

“You cannot always wait for the perfect time, sometimes you must dare to jump. Life is all about risks and it requires you to jump. Don’t be a person who has to look back and wonder what they would have or could have had.” – Don Kel 

I’m jumping into a new social experiment in blogging that involves a summer of travel and I need your help, read below to find out just what this all means!

As I approached (and gracefully passed) my quarter life mark the usual life events began to occur, friends got married (Congratulations Marin!), friends had babies (Love you Eli!),

friends graduated college, friends got new jobs, friends advanced in their careers, friends moved away and friends moved closer and I…. made food!

My life is an ever-changing adventure, and I wouldn’t have it any other way!

Growing up, my parents (the greatest in the world in my book!) always told me to go for it, to live my dreams and to never miss out on an opportunity. I took their advice, probably even further than they expected (and maybe wanted me to) sometimes!

When I was 21 I started my first business and I loved every minute of it, but at a certain point I realized that it was not what I wanted to do for the rest of my life. That is when the crazy adventure that is, my life in LA, began.

I really had no plans in LA, but just to try something new. And something new is what I got.  I went back to school, I traveled, I made new friends and I began the ever amazing journey that is the Little Leopard Book.

The Little Leopard Book began as an actual notebook I wrote in when I first moved to LA. I wrote in the book about things that made me happy, what my goals were and what I was doing to achieve each of those goals.

Today’s post is a culmination of all those things. Over the last year I’ve realized that the things that make me the happiest and most fulfilled are:

• People – meeting them, talking to them, being around them. I love fun people, people with interesting stories, adventurous people and my favorite, the positive people
• Traveling -  “The world is a book and those who do not travel read only one page.” – St. Augustin
• Adventures – Everything from half marathons in the mountains to hiking at the beach to camping in the woods, I’m always up for a new adventure!
• Food – I’m pretty sure if you’ve ever read my blog before, you can pretty much figure this one out!
• Cooking – This is my escape, when I’m in the kitchen I’m the most creative, the happiest and the most at peace than anywhere else!
• Writing – What a release!  Writing for me is therapy. Everything from jotting down notes, to writing stories, writing recipes and writing about my adventures, I love the way the written word can resonate with people so uniquely and reach people on different levels!

I have combined all of these and come up with my latest plan for life.

The Plan:

I will be traveling to cities everywhere from the US, to Mexico, to Canada and anywhere else someone invites me!  I will be staying with friends, family, friends of friends and cooking for them.  Yup, you heard me right, I stay at your house = I cook for you! I would say the trade-off works pretty well right? In each city I want to experience a new adventure, whether it be sky diving, mud runs, swimming with dolphins or anything in between, I’m up for it!  I’ll be interviewing chefs, bloggers and interesting people in each city and trying the best and most intriguing restaurants each one has to offer!

Here’s where you come in:

• Where should I go? Tell me where you live or where you’ve visited that I must go and see!
• What should I do?  What adventure should I experience in this city? Do you all have the largest Jazz festival outside of New Orleans, do you have a beer festival that would put Oktoberfest to shame, do you have a secret adventure spot that only the locals know about?
• Where should I eat? Who has the best pizza, most interesting menu, biggest pancake I’ve ever seen?
• Who should I interview?  Are you a chef, do you know a chef, do you own a restaurant, are you a fellow blogger, are you “in” with the chef at your favorite restaurant or are you just an interesting person with a story to tell? Tell me who to talk to!

The good news:

I’ll be recording everything on the Little Leopard Book (not the original, this one, the virtual one ) and sharing my adventures, recipes, interviews and restaurant reviews with all of you!

The goal:

• The book.  At the end of the summer I will publish my first “food and travel” book!
• The people. I want to meet you!  You can view a calendar of my travel here! If I’m coming to a city near you, lets meet for coffee or a pint!  I’d love to hear your story!
• The adventures. Adventures = Stories and “Stories are the creative conversion of life itself. They are the currency of human contact.” — Robert McKee                                                                                                                                                         Join in the adventure by helping me complete one of my Summer Bucket List items!
• The food.  In the words of my girlfriends OBVI!

I need your help in this adventure!!! Comment below, message me on Facebook, tweet me on the Twitter, Instagram me (@whitneybond), tag me on Pinterest in a destination or adventure picture I have to try, befriend me on Yelp so I can see your reviews of places, share this with your friends, family, fellow bloggers, join the adventure with me!

In the end, my goal is to say this every day of the summer:

“Each day I am thankful for friends that turned into family, dreams that turned into reality and likes that turned into love.” – Unknown

Strawberry Mini Pies

In continuation with my obsession of strawberry season I made my Mom’s amazing strawberry pie into scrumptious mini pies!

While my cooking passion comes from my Dad, my baking skills definitely come from my Mom!  She makes the most beautiful and delicious pies you have ever seen and this recipe is no exception!

This recipe also marks a milestone for LLB, it’s the first post including images from my new Canon SLR! I’m still in the process of learning all the amazing things it can do, but loving the results so far!

Ingredients (makes 12 mini pies or one 9″ pie)

Crust:

• 1 1/4 cups graham cracker crumbs
• 1/4 cup sugar
• 5 tbsp butter (melted)

Pie Filling:

• 6 cups strawberries
• 3 tbsp corn starch
• 1 cup sugar
• 2 tbsp lemon juice

Prepare the crust first by combining the graham cracker crumbs, sugar and melted butter in a small mixing bowl.

Mix until it forms a buttery, crumbly texture.

Now press the crust mixture into the bottom of a dozen lined muffin tins or mini pie plates. Both the super cute Mini Pie Plates and Red Re-Usable Silicone Baking Cups can be found at World Market!

Place the mini pie crusts in the refrigerator while preparing the filling!

Begin by washing the strawberries then remove the top and hull them. Hulling simply means cutting out the inside white part of the berry.

Reserve a dozen of the best looking little berries to top each mini pie!

Slice the rest of the berries in half and place in a large skillet and mash.  I use a muddler to mash the berries, but a spoon, fork, your hands, pretty much anything will do!

Mash until you have a thick, slightly chunky berry consistency.

Now add the corn starch to the mashed berries, then the sugar.

Mix together then move the skillet to the stovetop over medium heat.

Once the strawberry mixture begins to bubble reduce the heat slightly and allow the berries to cook down to a dark, thick consistency.

Remove the mixture from the heat and add the lemon juice.

Allow the mixture to cool.  Once cooled, add a heaping tablespoon to each mini-pie.

Top each mini-pie with one of the reserved whole strawberries.

Allow the pies to cool inside the refrigerator for approximately one hour.

Oh my gosh, I’m not sure what I love more, the cuteness of my mini-pie or the amazing picture quality of my new Canon!

You can also use this recipe to make one 9″ whole pie. Make the crust the same way, just press it on the bottom and edges of the pie plate. Top with the strawberry mixture, then top with the whole strawberries and voila!

What’s prettier, roses or strawberry pie? I’m leaning towards strawberry pie at this point!

♣ Vegetarian Option: This recipe is vegetarian.

♦ Gluten Free Option: The pie filling is gluten-free.  You would only need to substitute gluten-free graham cracker crumbs for the crust.  Whole Foods carries a graham style cracker by Kinnikinnick which can be crushed into crumbs and used. Yay for gluten-free dessert!

♥ All pottery seen on the littleleopardbook can be purchased by visiting www.longaberger.com/muffetbond or e-mailing keepsakebl@sbcglobal.net.

Blue Cheese Stuffed Burgers with Homemade Roasted Red Pepper Aioli

I don’t think it’s normal for a main dish to come as an afterthought to side dishes, but around my kitchen it seems to be happening a lot lately!  I started with the Buffalo Potato Wedges and decided they would be a great addition to a burger. But being the little leopard book I could not let the main dish be trumped by the amazingness of the side, so the 1/2 lb grass-fed blue cheese stuffed burger with homemade roasted red pepper aioli and topped in avocado was born!

Let’s start by making that scrumptious homemade roasted red pepper aioli!

Ingredients (makes 1/2 cup)

• 12 oz roasted red peppers
• 2 garlic cloves
• 1/3 cup fat-free plain greek yogurt
• 1 tbsp grapeseed oil
• 1 tbsp olive oil
• 1/4 tsp sea salt
• 1/4 tsp black pepper

Now chop the peppers and garlic.

Next, add the chopped ingredients to a food processor or blender.

Puree the ingredients, then add the greek yogurt.

I used fat-free plain greek yogurt in place of mayonnaise which is traditionally used in aioli’s.  I thought the sauce was just as good, if not better with the greek yogurt and saves you 26 fat grams and 213 calories per 1/3 cup!

Now add in the olive and grapeseed oils, salt and pepper. Blend together and the aioli is ready to go!

Oh my gosh, how good is that going to be on top of the mouth-watering burgers you’re now ready to prepare!

Ingredients (makes 2 burgers)

• 1 lb grass-fed ground beef
• 2 tsp steak seasoning
• 1 tbsp worcestershire sauce
• 4 tbsp blue cheese
• 2 ciabatta rolls
• 1 avocado
• homemade roasted red pepper aioli

First of all, let me point out a very important part of the ingredient list and that is the grass-fed ground beef!

The flavor of this meat is so amazing that you’ll never go back to the other stuff! If there’s not a Trader Joes in your area check your local farmers market, or even a lot of traditional grocery stores carry grass-fed these days!!

Start by pre-heating the grill to medium-high heat. Now get the burgers ready to grill by adding the steak seasoning to the ground beef.

Next, add in the worcestershire sauce.

Now separate the beef into two equal patties.

And it’s time to get stuffing!! Start by carving out a large, deep hole in each burger.

Place 2 tbsp of blue cheese in each burger.

Now wrap the beef tightly around the cheese so that you don’t lose any of the yummy cheesiness out of the middle while the burgers are on the grill!

It’s time to start grilling!

A little trick of the trade: a lot of people like to press their patties down with a spatula but that is a no-no!  Pressing down on the beef continually throughout the cooking process will press all those yummy juices out of the burger and dry it out… and nobody wants that!!! So let’s stick with using the spatula for one thing: flipping!

There’s something about those beautiful grill marks that just makes me so happy!

Now it’s time to slice the ciabatta rolls in half and add to the grill to toast.

Cook to your liking then remove from the grill and get ready to assemble the masterpiece!

Oh my gosh the juiciness, a little of the blue cheese peaking through, I can not tell you how hard it was to take all these pictures and not take a bite!!

I now added more blue cheese on top.  For two reasons:

1. It looks good in pictures,
2. I have a mild(ly serious) addiction to the smelly cheese!

Next, add the sliced avocado on top.

Now it’s time to drizzle that delectable homemade roasted red pepper aioli all over the beefy work-of-art!

Add the buffalo potato wedges on the side and you’ve got one incredible lunch!

Can I take a bite already??? My gosh! I’m cutting it open… getting closer!!!

Oh yeah, that’s a lot of cheese!!!! Excuse me while I devour this amazing piece of “food-art”!

♣ Vegetarian Option: Sub veggie ground protein for the ground beef.

♦ Gluten Free Option: Use gluten-free rolls or buns. Make sure the worcestershire sauce is gluten-free, Lea &Perrins is a gluten-free brand!

♥ All pottery seen on the littleleopardbook can be purchased by visiting www.longaberger.com/muffetbond or e-mailing keepsakebl@sbcglobal.net.

Buffalo Potato Wedges

In continuing with my Buffalo sauce addiction I am here to share with you another new recipe!

This one came from the  simple fact that I had a large bag of potatoes and the buffalo sauce in the refrigerator was staring me  down, so I brought the two harmoniously together in this yummy new side!

Ingredients (serves 4)

• 2 lbs baking potatoes
• 3 cloves garlic (crushed)
• 3 tbsp olive oil
• 2 tsp steak seasoning
• 1/4 cup buffalo sauce
• 3 tbsp butter

Start by pre-heating the oven to 400° and cutting the potatoes into wedges.

Next, add the potatoes to a mixing bowl and add the crushed garlic, olive oil, steak seasoning and buffalo sauce.

Toss everything to coat then arrange the potatoes in an even layer on a rimmed baking sheet or in a 9 x 13 baking dish. Chop the butter into small cubes and place throughout the potatoes.

Now place the potatoes in the oven for 40-45 minutes. The potatoes are done when fork-tender and the sauce has reduced.

I’ve served these as a side dish with both Baked BBQ Buffalo Chicken  and Blue Cheese Stuffed Cheeseburgers!

They can also be served as an appetizer with toothpicks and blue cheese dressing for dipping.

♣ Vegetarian Option: This recipe is vegetarian.

♦ Gluten Free Option: This recipe is gluten-free.

♥ All pottery seen on the littleleopardbook can be purchased by visiting www.longaberger.com/muffetbond or e-mailing keepsakebl@sbcglobal.net.