Pasta with Creamy Red Pepper Sauce

This is one of my very favorite pasta dishes.  It is quick (ready in under 30 minutes, with minimal chopping)!  But it is also a little elegant and different, with rich and full Mediterranean flavors  I make this often for a weeknight meal, but, now that I think of it, I wonder why I haven't served it to guests.  Wouldn't it be fabulous in one of those cool Mediterranean style pasta bowls that I always covet from Williams-Sonoma?

This is another Ellie Krieger recipe, but it's from an earlier book, The Food You Crave.  And I definitely crave this dish often!

Sweet and Spicy Grilled Cheese

So this is how you make grilled cheese for dinner and still feel like a proper adult: you pack in spicy pepper jack cheese, sweet caramelized onions, and fresh tomato, and pack in between nutty whole wheat bread.

This is another recipe from Ellie Krieger (from The Food You Crave) that highlights her strategy of using full fat ingredients with a high amount of flavor, allowing you to use a smaller portion.  I have really learned a lot about healthful cooking from following her recipes.  The texture of the cheeses on this sandwich is amazing, and by choosing strongly flavored pepper jack and extra-sharp cheddar, you can get away with using a lot less cheese.  The sandwiches still come out at 350 calories each!  I think that I may be passing up that fat-free cheese a little more often!

On a rainy day (and we've had many in the Boston area), try this with Cream of  Roasted Tomato Soup.