Pesto Bowtie Pasta

Wow, 2 posts in one day!  Well, I've had a request for this recipe, since it's been my go-to side dish for almost any gathering: cookouts, parties, etc!  It's real simple to make, so I'll just jump right in.  Here's what you'll need:

1 Jar Pesto Sauce (I usually use Classico Pesto Sauce)
12-16oz Box Bowtie or Mini Bowtie Pasta
1 Jar Julienne Cut Sundried Tomatoes (I use these in 8.5oz bottle)
5 oz Shredded Parmesan, Asiago, or Romano Cheese (or a combination)

Add-ons:
Grilled Chicken
Pine Nuts
Walnuts
Cherry Tomatoes
1/2 Cup Alfredo Sauce

This is one of the easiest recipes to make.  Step 1) boil the pasta for about 10-12 minutes or until al dente and then drain and add to a large bowl.  Step 2) pour in the sauce, the sundried tomatoes (including the oil in the bottle), and cheese and stir. Step 3) Profit!  I mean enjoy!

If you care to add in some of the add-ons above, go nuts!  The pine nuts give it a little extra crunch, and adding in some chicken will make it more of a meal.  My only real tip is not to refrigerate this dish.  Even if there are leftovers, if you seal it in some tupperware and place in the cupboard, it will stay good for 3-5 days.  Putting it in the refrigerator will cause the oil to be absorbed into the pasta, and will make this dish incredibly dry and hard to eat.  Of course there's usually not too many leftovers!

Low Carb (Atkins Friendly) Dark Chocolate Mousse

Hey everyone!  Well, it's long since time I've updated this blog, but between preparing for the arrival of the Kitchen Bear Cub and me going on the Atkins Diet 2 months ago I haven't been my normal recipe creating self.  Now normally, I'm not much of a dessert person.  I mean I'll eat it if it's there or whatever, but I generally don't get too many cravings for sweets or chocolate or whatever (maybe caramel, I love me some caramel. . .).  However, on the Atkins diet, where you pretty much can't eat any cakes or fruits or sugar, it's really limiting for what you can eat as a dessert.  With that in mind, I took my (well, Bobby Flay's) dark chocolate mousse recipe and made it nearly carb free!

Here's what you'll need:

1/4 Cup Unsweetened Cocoa Powder (I used the Ghirardeli Unsweetened Cocoa Powder)
1/2 to 3/4 cup Granulated Splenda with Fiber (use 3/4 if you want a sweeter chocolate taste)
2/3 C Heavy Whipping Cream
4 Large or 5 medium Egg Whites Whipped
16oz Heavy Whipping Cream Whipped

Okay, so a few notes on the ingredients.  Look around for the cream with zero grams of carbs per serving (or else the carb count in this recipe is going to go way way way up).  At our local giant I have to get the organic brand for it to have no sugar, or else go to Shoppers and get the Richfood brand.  Secondly, use the granulated Splenda with fiber, because the regular granulated Splenda has a filler that contains carbs (I think less than one gram per teaspoon, but there are 32 teaspoons in a half cup, so do the math).  The granulated Splenda with fiber uses the fiber as a filler and therefore has zero net carbs.  Okay, notes complete, on to the directions!

First off, in a bowl or 2 cup measurer, add in the Splenda, cocoa powder and the 2/3 cup of cream and mix until the consistency is similar to cake frosting.  It needs to be well mixed and soft enough to whip in with the rest of the ingredients, so if 2/3s a cup of cream hasn't smoothed it out, add another tablespoon of cream at a time and keep mixing until it reaches a soft, pliable consistency.  Once that's done, whip the remaining 16oz (2 Cups) of the cream until peaks and valleys form and set aside, about 3-5 minutes depending on the mixer.  Separate the egg whites from the yolks into another mixing bowl and whip with the mixer until it turns a solid white color and forms peaks and valleys as well, another 3-5 minutes.

Once the eggs and whip cream are whipped up, add the chocolate paste to the whipped cream and then add the whipped egg whites on top, and using a whisk, fold the mixture together.  Make sure to scrape the bottom of the bowl and completely mix the 3 groups together.  Once done, either spoon into individual bowls (makes about 6-8 portions) or spoon into a seal-able container and put in the fridge.  If you are not serving immediately, make sure to refrigerate, or else the mousse will wilt and all it's deliciousness will be gone. Serve it with a dollop of whipped cream on top or add some low carb berries like strawberries or raspberries   Yum

As for the carb count, well, it's pretty low.  The only thing in this recipe that contains carbs is the unsweetened chocolate, which, if you use the Ghirardeli chocolate linked above, contains 2 net grams per tbsp.  Since we're using 4 tbsp, that's only 8 grams of carbs for this whole batch of mousse.  Not bad, eh?  Don't get too excited though, there's a ton of fat.  I used the Richfood brand heavy whipping cream, which has 5 grams of fat per tbsp, and well, there are about 26 tbsp of cream in this recipe, so that's 130grams of fat for the whole batch, which is about 16 to 22 grams of fat, depending on how many servings you break it out into.  Don't worry though, on Atkins, that's not that much fat, so enjoy!