It's "officially" summer now, but come on. We've been feelin' it for awhile now. It's way to hot to turn the oven on and even standing over the grill doesn't sound like that great of an alternative.

Rummaging through my recipe box yielded quite a few no-heat, yet delicious, recipes.

The chicken salad in an all-time favorite and I like to serve it in a lettuce cup. (Seems more special.) This fruit salad is also wonderful, thanks to the ginger. And the banana smoothie is no slouch either. (Don't worry if you don't have the wheat germ. That's just a little health bonus.)

Basic chicken salad
Ingredients:
½ c. reduced-fat mayo
¼ tsp. black pepper
1 tsp. soy sauce
1 Tbsp. lemon juice
¾ C. unsalted almonds, sliced in half
1 C. grapes, sliced in half
1 rotisserie-cooked chicken, shredded into bite-sized pieces

Directions:
Bake almonds until lightly toasted. Then, mix ingredients well, adding chicken in last. Serve on lettuce leaves, croissant, bread or alone.

Ginger citrus fruit salad
Ingredients:
Fresh fruit, diced or small slices
2 Tbsp. lemon juice
2 Tbsp. honey
2 tsp. fresh ginger, grated
dash of cinnamon
Directions:
Stir ingredients together and pour over fruit, tossing to lightly coat each piece.

Citrus-Banana Smoothie
2 Tbsp. Wheat germ
2 medium bananas, cut in one-inch slices
1 C. unsweetened orange juice
1 C. plain low-fat yogurt
4 ice cubes
In a blender, process wheat germ until finely ground. Add remaining ingredients and blend until smooth.

Posted by · June 25, 2009 1:03 AM · Comments (0)

Our June theme, which is also in line with our ongoing "recession recipes" theme, is eggs!

Skip the butcher and grab eggs, which don't have to be just for breakfast, you know. Why are eggs considered primarily a breakfast food anyway? Odd.

For quick meals, all of which can be made a day or two in advance and then cooked or assembled just prior to dinnertime, try quiche, egg burritos or egg salad sandwiches.

Easy, cheap, delicious. My only suggestion: maybe don't eat all three in one week. I'm just sayin'.

Aztec quiche
Ingredients:
1 1/2 C. Monterey jack cheese, shredded
1/2 C. cheddar cheese, shredded
2 frozen pie shells (each just a few inches deep)
1, 4-ounce can diced green chilies
1 C. fat free half-and-half
3 eggs, beaten
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. pepper
1/4 tsp. cayenne
1/4 tsp. cumin
Directions:
Sprinkle the cheeses on the bottoms of the pie crusts. Top with the green chilies (don't drain). In a bowl, stir together eggs, half-and-half and seasonings. Pour mixture into each pie crust. Bake uncovered at 325 degrees for about 45 minutes, or until cooked through.

Pan-baked egg burritos
1 ½ tsp. baking powder
¾ C. flour
9 eggs, beaten
1 ½ tsp. salt
1 ½ tsp. sugar
1/8 tsp. cayenne
1 ½ pounds cubed Monterey jack cheese
8 ounces cubed cream cheese
1 ½ C. small curd cottage cheese
1, 12-ounce can Rotel, drained
flour tortillas, medium-sized
Ingredients:
Sift baking powder and flour. In a separate bowl, mix eggs, salt, sugar and cayenne. Add cheeses and butter, and then flour mixture. Mix well. Add green chilies. Bake in a 9- by 13-inch pan at 350 degrees for 45 minutes. Cut into little cubes or rectangles and place in the middle of warm tortillas. Top with salsa and sour cream.

Egg salad sandwiches
Ingredients:
4 or 5 eggs, hard boiled and chops into small pieces
1/2 C. mayo
1 tsp. mustard
1 tsp. garlic salt
2 Tbsp. dill
1/2 tsp. black pepper
Directions:
Mix ingredients, adding eggs last. Can be kept in refrigerator overnight. (Yields 2 to 3 large sandwiches)

Posted by · May 31, 2009 7:18 PM · Comments (0)

Looking for a quick sidedish that's not a garden salad but definitely meets one of your required daily servings of veggies ?

Here's a super fast recipe that's really nothing more than a nice blend of fresh baby spinach, tangy lemon, crunchy walnut and essential minced garlic.

This recipe is easy. My only suggestion is to make this last -- it only takes 10 minutes and is best served hot off the stove.

Walnut spinach sidedish
Ingredients:
1 1/2 lbs. fresh baby spinach
2 tsp. olive oil
1 Tbsp. minced garlic
1 Tbsp. lemon juice
2 Tbsp. walnuts, finely chopped
Directions:
Heat olive oil in a medium sauce pan over medium heat. Add garlic and cook for about a minute. Add spinach; drizzle with lemon juice (add salt and pepper, if desired). Cook for about 10 minutes, stirring frequently. Sprinkle in nuts for last minute of cooking. Serve immediately.

Posted by · May 10, 2009 11:21 PM · Comments (0)

We haven't had a treat in awhile (depending on your definition of awhile; my definition idicates this is long overdue), so here is one of the most delicious cookie recipes I have ever made and three reasons why I love it.

Why chocolate peanut butter sandwich cookies are wonderful:
1. soft yet firm chocolatey cookies remind me of ice cream sandwiches, which I think are billiant
2. fluffy peanut butter icing (speaks for itself)
3. these are esay to assemble yet look beautiful

Be sure to wet your hands when rolling the dough into little balls. It will also help if you've refrigerated the dough for at least several hour prior to balling it.

The baking time is just long enough to whip up your peanut butter icing, just be sure to let the cookies cool completely before icing them. Remember to ice the flat sides and obviously press them together flat-on-flat to make cute rounded sandwich cookies.

Chocolate peanut butter sandwich cookies
Ingredients:
3/4 C. shortening
3/4 C. sugar
2 eggs
1 tsp. vanilla
1/2 C. flour
1/2 unsweetened cocoa powder
1/4 tsp. baking soda
1/4 tsp. salt
sandwhich filling (combine and mix well until fluffy):
4 Tbsp. butter
1/2 C. powdered sugar
1/2 C. peanut butter
1/2 tsp. vanilla
Directions:
Mix until smooth the shortening, sugar, eggs and vanilla. Add dry ingredients. Refrigerate dough for a couple hours before baking. With damp hands, roll dough into balls about the size of a ping pong ball. Place on lightly sprayed cookie sheets, or a top parchment paper. Bake at 350 degrees until cookies are firm but not crispy, about 10 to 12 minutes. Allow cookies to cool completely before adding the peanut butter icing (on the flat sides and pressing together to form sandwiches).

Posted by · May 1, 2009 11:06 PM · Comments (0)

For the month of April, and in light of this terrbile economic crisis, I give you a collection of recipes that serves many purposes:

1. dinner, fast
2. very little after-dinner cleanup
3. budget friendly
4. readily available (no dining out/ going to the drive-thru)

I spent just a few hours, over the course of two days, and have a freezer full of more than a dozen dinners. I made spinach stuffed jumbo shells with marinara, chicken stuffed manicotti with creamy tomatoe sauce, ziti with ground turkey (some in marinara, some in creamy tomato) and cauliflower mac and cheese.

On the first day, I made the two sauces (creamy tomato and marinara) and fillings (ricotta and fresh spinach; ricotta and roasted chicken from the deli) and I browned my ground turkey. On day two, I cooked the pastas and stuffed or assembled them. The mac and cheese is pretty quick and easy, so I did that one all at once.

I used disposable trays (I recycle) and labeled each dinner. This could be even quicker if you bought your sauces, but really, there's nothing to it. The recipes can easily be varied with the type of noodle and fillings. Just use the jumbo shell recipe as a guide. I did this, switching the noodle to manicotti and adding shredded chicken to the cheese mixture. Easy to get creative.

Your future self will thank your past self. Good luck!

Creamy tomato sauce
Ingredients:
½ C. butter
1 small onion, diced
2, 28-ounce cans crushed tomatoes
1 pint heavy cream
Directions:
Saute onion in butter in a large skillet over medium heat. Add tomatoes and cook for 30 minutes. Add cream and cook for another 30 minutes.

Red sauce
For a nice homemade marinara, just cook a little minced garlic on the stove top in some olive oil, and add a can of diced tomatoes. I usually use the ones pre-seasoned with Italian herbs. Then add a can of crushed tomatoes. Add your own fresh herbs to taste, letting the sauce simmer until thickened.

Stuffed Pasta Shells
Ingredients:
1, 12-ounce package jumbo pasta shells
4 C. ricotta cheese
3 C. shredded mozzarella
2 eggs
2 Tbsp. fresh Italian parsley
¾ tsp. dried oregano
3-4 C. marinara sauce
Directions: Cook pasta shells in boiling water for about 12 minutes. Drain and rinse under cool water. Spread out on foil lightly coated with cooking spray. In a large bowl, mix ingredients for filling. Stuff shells with about two spoonfuls. Spread a thin layer of marinara in a 9-by 13-inch pan. Place shells in pan and cover with remaining sauce. Sprinkle cheese on top (parmesan or mozzarella), if desired. Cover with foil and bake at 375 degrees for 50 minutes.

Baked ziti
Ingredients:
1 lb. dry ziti pasta
1/2 onion, chopped
1 lb. lean ground turkey
2, 26-ounce jars spaghetti sauce or homemade marinara
6 ounces provolone cheese, sliced
1 C. sour cream
1 C. mozzarella cheese, shredded
2 Tbsp. Parmesan cheese, shredded
Directions:
Cook ziti pasta according to package directions (al dente). In a large skillet, brown onion and ground turkey in a little olive oil over medium heat. Add spaghetti sauce and simmer.
Meanwhile, spray a 9- by 13-inch baking dish. Layer half the ziti, Provolone cheese and sour cream and some sauce. Add remaining ziti, mozarella and remaining sauce. Top with Parmesan cheese. Cover with foil and bake for 30 minutes, or until cheeses are melted, at 350 degrees.

Cauliflower mac and cheese
2 C. cauliflower
3 Tbsp. butter
3 Tbsp. flour
2 ¼ C. milk
½ tsp. salt
¼ tsp. black pepper
2 C. shredded cheddar cheese, divided, plus more for sprinkling on top
1 package (about 7 C.) firmly cooked pasta (macaroni, spirals, mini shells, etc.)
Directions:
Microwave cauliflower florets with ¼ C. water until tender (about 8-9 minutes). Then, puree until completely smooth. Set aside. Next, melt butter in large pan, adding milk, then flour and salt and pepper. Remove from heat and add 1 ½ C. cheese, stirring until smooth. Add cauliflower puree; stir until well blended. Add cooked pasta; stir until well coated. Transfer mixture into a sprayed baking dish, while intermittently adding the remaining ½ C. cheese. Sprinkle desired amount of cheese on top. Cover and bake at 350 degrees, 25-30 minutes, or until top is slightly browned.

Posted by · April 1, 2009 7:52 PM · Comments (0)