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"What's Cooking Tonight"

WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 27, 2008

Salmon Rice Newberg

¾ of a cup of uncooked, long grain, white rice

Instant chicken bouillon or chicken bouillon cubes

1 can of salmon, a little less than a pound

½ cup of milk

Prepared yellow mustard

Parsley

Dry onion flakes

Pepper

Poultry and fish seasoning

Garlic powder granules

You will need a medium size oven proof baking dish and you will need a cover, or aluminum foil to cover the dish.  I use a small glass 8 by 8” cake pan. You will also need a small sauce pan.  Start by preheating the oven to 350 for even thorough baking.  Put a kettle of water on to boil, you’ll need 1 ¾ cups.  Now in the baking dish pour ¾ cup long grain white rice, 2 teaspoons of chicken bouillon powder, or 2 chicken bouillon cubes unwrapped, 2 teaspoons of parsley, 1 teaspoon of dry onion flakes, and a pinch of black pepper.   Add 1 ¾ of boiling water from your tea kettle, pour in a teaspoon of olive oil, stir your flavors until the bouillon is dissolved, cover and pop into the oven for 25 minutes.

While the rice is cooking open 1 can of salmon and dump what’s in the can into a colander.  Rinse the fish gently under hot tap water, removing soft, fatty portions and small bones. Shake the colander slightly then set it aside.

In a small sauce pan, melt 2 tablespoons of butter then remove the pan from heat, whisk in 2 tablespoons of flour, slowly whisk in another half cup of milk, and then season it with a tablespoon of prepared yellow mustard, a teaspoon of dry onion flakes, a half teaspoon of garlic powder granules, your favorite fish and poultry seasoning, and a pinch of pepper.  Whisk the flavors together and then set the light Newberg sauce aside.

After 25 minutes take the rice out of the oven and carefully remove the cover, keeping the heat away from you, stir in the salmon, it will break apart and stir in evenly, then stir in the Newberg sauce, cover and return to the oven another 35 minutes.

Tuesday, August 26, 2008

Jamaican Turkey Tenderloin and Sweet Potato Stew

1 Tablespoon olive oil

1 medium onion chopped and peeled

2 teaspoons garlic granules or 1 garlic cluster separated, peeled, and chopped

1 ½ pounds turkey tenderloin cut into bite size pieces

½ teaspoon salt

½ teaspoon ground nutmeg

¼ teaspoon pepper

2 medium sweet potatoes, peeled and cut into pieces that match the size of the turkey

2 dried bay leaves

2 cups of water

2 chicken bouillon cubes, unwrapped

In a Dutch oven, cook garlic and onion in the oil 5 minutes. Sprinkle turkey with salt, nutmeg, and pepper. Stir the meat into the onion mix- cook and stir until the pink in the turkey disappears, about 6 minutes. Stir in the remaining ingredient, heat to boiling, then turn down the heat, cover, and let the stew simmer 20 minutes until you can pierce the potatoes with a fork.

Monday, August 25, 2008

Italian Spinach & Tomato Pie

1 recipe of your favorite pie crust

1 3oz package of cream cheese

1 tablespoon basil pesto

1 box of frozen spinach, drained

1 red onion peeled and chopped

1 tomato thinly sliced

½ cup of shredded mozzarella cheese

Basil

Start by preheating your oven to 375.  Spray a large cookie sheet lightly with your favorite cooking spray. Thaw and drain one package of frozen spinach. On a clean cutting surface, rinse, then thinly slice one tomato, peel and chop one red onion, and shred ½ cup from a brick of mozzarella cheese. Now, roll out your favorite pie crust recipe, arrange the pie crust in the middle of your prepared baking sheet. In a small bowl, soften one small package of cream cheese and stir in 1 tablespoon of basil pesto.  Using the spoon, spread the cream cheese blend on the pie crust leaving 1 inch free all the way around the outside edge.

Dump the package of spinach into a colander, and use the back of a large spoon to squeeze away as much of the liquid as you can. Spread the drained spinach over the cream cheese, layer that with your chopped onion, layer the thinly sliced tomatoes over the onion. Sprinkle the shredded cheese evenly over the top.  Turn over the open edge of the crust all the way around, folding an inch over the layered edge of the pie. Using a pastry brush, brush the crust lightly with olive oil, sprinkle with basil, and place the pie in your preheated oven for 40 minutes.

After 40 minutes the crust and mozzarella cheese should be a deep golden brown. Remove from the oven and cool 15 minutes before cutting into serving size wedges.

FRIDAY, AUGUST 22, 2008

Bray Pepperoni Pizza Bake

Prep. 20 min.                Total 50 min.

1 lb. very lean ground beef

1 small onion

2 jars pizza sauce (about 4 cups)

2 cups baking mix (I use Jiffy mix or Bisquick)

1 cup milk

2 eggs

1 ½ cups shredded cheese

1. Heat oven to 350˚.  Cook beef and onion and a 12” skillet over medium-high heat 5 to 7 minutes, stirring occasionally, until beef is brown.  Drain. 
2. Stir in pizza sauce and pepperoni, heat until hot.  Spoon into ungreased rectangular baking dish.
3. Stir baking mix, milk and eggs in a medium bowl until blended.  Pour evenly over pepperoni mixture. 
4. Bake uncovered 30 to 40 minutes or until crust is light brown.  Sprinkle with cheese and serve. 

8 servings

THURSDAY, AUGUST 21, 2008

Mallory’s Low Fat Grilled Cheese Served with Glorious Guacamole

Slices of whole wheat bread

Slices of fat free cheese

2 tomatoes, both seeded, one sliced and one chopped

1 avocado

lemon juice

light or fat free mayonnaise

garlic flakes or granules

onion flakes

dry chicken soup mix

basil

For this recipe you will need a large, non-stick skillet. On a clean cutting surface, rinse, quarter and seed 2 tomatoes, chopping one into small bits and slicing the other into length-wise strips: half and then scoop the soft, green fruit from each half of a ripe avocado (remember- a ripe avocado is not green on the outside, but nut-brown and quite soft to the touch) tossing the large, inside pit and the outside peel.

Mixing the glorious guacamole first, mash the avocado in the bowl with a fork and stir in the tiny bits of chopped tomato- we will use the slices later for the sandwich, so just let them be for a moment. Now, season up the mix with 2 teaspoons of lemon juice, 1 teaspoon of garlic granules, 1 teaspoon of onion flakes, 1 teaspoon basil, ½ teaspoon of dry chicken soup mix, and 2 tablespoons of light of fat free mayonnaise. Take your time and mix the flavors well, then cover and refrigerate until ready to serve.

Now, spread on side of 4 slices of whole wheat bread with a low fat butter replacement. Put 2 slices, spread side down in your cold skillet. If 2 don’t fit easily, just grill the sandwiches one at a time. Now, assemble the sandwich by unwrapping one slice of fat free processed cheese- centering the cheese slice on top of each slice of bread in the skillet. Add a single later of tomato slices- it works best if the tomato is very dry, and add another slice of bread, dry side down against the tomato and spread side up. Sprinkle each sandwich with a pinch of salt.

Now turn on the heat under the pan, if you are using gas, the flame should just touch the bottom of the pan- low to medium electric heat. Using a sturdy spatula, grill on one side, then turn carefully to grill the sandwich on the other. You can turn the sandwich more than once, so it works best if the cheese melts just a bit before you turn it- it holds the sandwich together and makes it easier to turn. When the sandwiches are a nice, deep brown on each side, remove to a plate, add a handful of baked nacho or potato chips and a side of guacamole dip. WONDERFUL!

WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 20, 2008

Festive Taco Bake

1 pound lean ground beef

1 can chili beans in sauce (undrained)

1 can tomato sauce

2 tablespoons picante sauce or salsa

2 to 4 teaspoons chili powder

1 teaspoon garlic powder

2 cups broken tortilla chips

8 medium green onions, sliced (1/2 cup)

1 medium tomato, chopped (3/4 cup)

1 cup shredded Monterey Jack cheese

1. Heat oven to 350˚.  Cook beef in 10 inch skillet over medium-high heat 5-8 minutes, stirring occasionally, until brown; drain.  Reduce heat to medium.  Return beef to skillet.  Stir in beans, tomato sauce, taco sauce, chili powder and garlic powder.  Heat to boiling over medium heat, stirring occasionally.
2. Place tortilla chips in ungreased 1 ½ quart casserole.  Top with beef mixture.  Sprinkle with green onions, tomato and cheese. 
3. Bake uncovered 20 to 30 minutes or until hot and bubbly.  Arrange additional tortilla around edge of casserole if desired.

4 servings

TUESDAY, AUGUST 19, 2008

Minnesota Main Course Potato Mash

1 onion

4 fresh clean potatoes

A hand full of green onions (chopped)

Sour cream (fat free is fine)

Cheddar Cheese (grated-fat free is fine)

Milk (skim is fine)

Flour

Olive oil

Salt

For this recipe you will need a Dutch Oven or large sauce pan with a cover…

On a clean cutting surface, scrub 4 good size fresh, un blemished potatoes until free of all garden dirt or shipping residue. Don’t peel the potatoes. Now, cut the cleaned potatoes into quarters, then each quarter into 4 for a total of 64 potato chunks and set them aside. Peel, rinse and chop 1 onion, and chop 7 or 8 green onions, from the top of the stem to just about the root ends.

Pour a half cup of milk (skim is fine) into a small mixing bowl and slowly wisk in 3 tablespoons of flour, 1 tablespoon at a time until blended smoothly-no lumps- set that aside as well.

On the stove top, add 2 teaspoons of olive oil to your Dutch Oven and sizzle up the onions over low to medium heat, about 5 minutes, stir in 3 cups of milk (skim is fine) and your potatoes along with 1 ½ teaspoons of salt. Turn up the heat, stir and heat to boiling, then cover and simmer over low heat for 20 minutes until the potatoes are tender. Your milk will curdle, that’s ok, it will smooth out with the next step, give your flour/milk mixture one final swish with the wire wisk and add to the hot potato mix, stirring until smooth. Let it simmer just a little over low heat until the mix thickens.

Now, if you have your grandmother’s old fashioned potato masher that her mother brought over from the Old Country, you have the perfect tool for the next step, if not a fork works pretty well too, gently smash the cooked potatoes slightly and stir, adding the green onions along with 1/3 cup of sour cream (fat free is fine) and ¼ cup of cheddar cheese (fat free is also fine.)

Do not over stir, just a little mix is fine, then serve immediately with a sprinkle lemon pepper and light cheddar cheese and green onion garnish. Add a side of fresh bakery bread and some crispy baby carrots…absolutely wonderful! J

MONDAY, AUGUST 18, 2008

Savory Italian Chicken Manicotti

1 jar (26-30 ounces) tomato pasta sauce

¾ cup water

1 teaspoon garlic salt

1 ½ pounds chicken breast tenders (uncooked and not breaded)

14 uncooked manicotti shells (8 ounces)

2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese (8 ounces)

Chopped fresh basil leaves

1. Heat oven to 350 degrees. Mix pasta sauce and water in medium bowl. Spread about one-third of the pasta sauce into an ungreased rectangular baking dish, we use a glass cake pan …
2. Sprinkle garlic salt on chicken. Insert chicken into uncooked manicotti shells, stuffing from each end of shell to fill. Place pasta shells on pasta sauce in baking dish. Pour remaining pasta sauce evenly over shells, covering completely.
3. Cover with aluminum foil and bake about 1 hour or until shells are tender. Sprinkle with cheese. Bake uncovered 5 minutes or until cheese is melted. Sprinkle with basil.

7 servings

Friday, August 15, 2008

Salmon Dill Pockets

½ pound thawed, deboned, salmon fillet with all skin removed, cut into 1 inch squares

1 recipe pit crust or one pre-made refrigerated pie crust

dill weed

olive oil

lime juice

garlic granules

prepared yellow mustard

parmesan cheese

Start by preheating your oven to 350. Get a glass cake pan to bake our Salmon pockets in. On a clean cutting board, rinse and cut ½ pound of thawed, deboned, salmon fillet with all skin removed into squared chunks an inch by an inch. Dry on paper towel. Now, roll out one recipe of your favorite pie crust, or you can do what I do, cut 1 premade pie crust from the refrigerated section of Hugo’s Family Market, into 9 sections- the outside edges will be rounded and that is fine. Arrange the 9 squares in your cake pan and place one square of salmon on each pastry square. In a small bowl, wisk 1 tablespoon of dill weed with 2 tablespoons of olive oil, 2 tablespoons of lime juice, ½ teaspoon of garlic granules, 2 teaspoons of regular yellow mustard and 2 tablespoons of parmesan cheese. Drip a teaspoon of dill sauce over each salmon square and fold the pie crust, corner to corner, over the top of each serving. Place the dish into the pre-heated oven for ½ hour, until golden brown. Serve sections two or three on a plate with the sauce and a side of microwaved fresh beans with salted nuts and giant green, pimento stuffed olives. Absolutely wonderful!