One Teaspoon From Disaster

Fresh squash is plentiful these days, and frankly I'm running out of ideas on how to prepare it.

Here's a recipe that's hard to grow tired of: zuchinni bread. This one, though, is more fall spice-like that dessert-like, although it is still a little sweet. I wouldn't hessitate to serve it with breakfast or dinner. I think this would be great at Thanksgiving, so I froze my extra shredded zuchinni for this very purpose.

A tip: Be sure and spray your loaf pans well. Most of the bottom of one of mine stayed in the pan. I scooped it out and ate it (with a little butter on top), so I'm not complaining. But, it would be nicer to have a whole loaf.

Zuchinni BreadIngredients
2 C. white sugar
1 C. vegetable oil
3 eggs
1 tsp. vanilla extract
2 1/4 C. grated zucchini
3 C. all-purpose flour
1 tsp. baking soda
1/4 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. salt
1 tsp. ground ginger
1/2 tsp. ground cloves
Directions
In a large bowl combine sugar, oil, eggs, and vanilla. Add grated zucchini. Add flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt, ground ginger and ground cloves; mix well.
Pour into two loaf pans with cooking spray. Bake in a 325 degrees for one hour. Cool for at least 10 minutes before removing from pans.

It's rare for a side dish to upstage the entree. The kind of upstaging where you'll eat all of it before touching the main dish, and then go back for side seconds.

French fries, sure. But what else has that kind of power?

Broccoli.

It's hard to believe I know. How do broccoli and fries have anything in common? Well they don't. This is a collection of healthy recipes, afterall.

So no, we're not drowning it in melted cheese. This is even better tasting. All you do is steam the big B and meanwhile whip up a light, tangy yet spicey cashew sauce to go on top. Takes only minutes, and is devoured even quicker.

Broccoli side dish
Ingredients
1 1/2 pounds fresh broccoli, cut into bite size pieces
1/4 C. butter
1 Tbsp. brown sugar
3 Tbsp. soy sauce
2 tsp. white vinegar
1/4 tsp. ground black pepper
2 Tbsp. minced garlic
1/4 tsp. crushed red pepper flakes (optional)
2/3 C. chopped salted cashews

Directions
Steam broccoli until tender but still crisp. Drain, and arrange broccoli on a serving platter.
While the broccoli is cookinMeanwhile, melt the butter in a small skillet over medium heat. Mix in the brown sugar, soy sauce, vinegar, pepper, red pepper flakes and garlic. Bring to a boil, then remove from the heat. Mix in the cashews and pour sauce over the broccoli. Serve immediately.

Here is a deceptively fast dinner. You can whip this tomato and artichoke chicken up in less than 20 minutes, but something about it seems more labor intensive. I’m giving credit to the artichokes.

Because you’re basically boiling the chicken in this marinade/sauce, I recommend puncturing the chicken liberally before adding the whole chicken breasts to the skillet for cooking.

Another tip, reserve some of your artichoke juice. If you want to serve this over pasta, you may want to add juice as the chicken is cooking to maintain the saucy-ness. I suggest doing so. And go with a small amount of Angel Hair. The dinner is more chicken than pasta.

A bonus: Clean-up is easy!

Sun-dried tomato and artichoke chicken
Ingredients:
4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
olive oil
1, 14.5-ounce can diced tomatoes with green peppers
¼ C. sun-dried tomato pesto
1, 14-ounce can artichokes, drained and separated

Directions:
Warm a small amount of olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Pour in tomatoes, stirring for about a minute. Stir in pesto and artichokes; bring to a low boil. Add raw chicken breasts, ensuring they are completely covered (top and bottom) with tomato mixture. Cover, but adjust heat as necessary to avoid burning on bottom of skillet. Chicken should be cooked through in about 10 minutes.