Happy New Year!

Wishing you all a Happy New Year! Here's to lots of great cooking in 2007.

Stir Crazy will be on haitus until Jan. 8. See you back that week ...

Janet

Make it a skillet meal

Both of these recipes are from Linda Gassenheimer who writes a column in the Miami Herald and has several healthy cooking cookbooks out. Her thing is low-fat, low-carb and she's quite an accomplished cook herself.

These aren't vegetarian dishes per se but they have no meat in them. Lots of nutritionists say we should try to go meatless a couple times a week.

I am always drawn to the flavors of the Southwest and Mexico and this easy skillet meal with accompanying black bean salad fits the bill.

Happy New Year!!

Southwestern Skillet Pizza
¼ cup fat-free, low-salt chicken broth
½ medium onion, sliced (1 cup)
1 medium garlic clove, crushed
1 small green bell pepper, sliced (1 cup)
¼ pound mushrooms, sliced (about 1 ½ cups)
1 ¼ cups canned crushed tomatoes
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1 cup frozen corn kernels, defrosted
2 medium jalapeno peppers, seeded and chopped
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
¼ pound fresh or dried fettuccine
¼ cup chopped fresh cilantro
2 ounces Monterey jack cheese (about 1/3 cup grated)
Place a large pot with 3 to 4 quarts water on to boil. Heat broth over medium heat in a 10-inch nonstick skillet and add onion. Saute 10 minutes.
Add garlic, green pepper and mushrooms and saute 5 minutes. Add tomatoes, cumin, corn, jalapenos, salt and pepper to taste and simmer gently for 10 minutes.
Meanwhile, cook fettuccini 2 to 3 minutes if fresh, 9 minutes if dried.
Drain and add to skillet. Cook 10 minutes, blending the sauce and noodles together. Remove from heat and add cheese. Cover and let cheese melt for 3 minutes. Sprinkle cilantro on top, cut into wedges and serve. Makes 2 servings.

Black Bean Salad
½ small, ripe avocado 
1 tablespoon lime juice
1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
2 tablespoons fat-free, low-salt chicken broth
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
¼ head Romaine lettuce
1 cup canned black beans, rinsed and drained
Peel, seed and mash avocado in a small bowl. Add lime juice, mustard and chicken broth and blend well. Add salt and pepper to taste. Wash lettuce and tear into bight-size pieces. Place in a salad bowl. Toss with black beans. Spoon dressing over top. Makes 2 servings.

Row-tiss-er-eeee!

Still in that eating light mode. This Greek salad (salad that is Greek, not the one we're used to with the potato salad) would be a flavorful and filling accompaniment to tonight's rotisserie chicken. You can serve it alongside or lay strips of chicken on top.

The dressing comes from the oil in the roasted red pepper.

Fair warning: I'll be out of the office tomorrow so I won't be posting a recipe. Do you still have leftovers left?? See you back on Friday.

Quick and Light Greek Salad
3 cucumbers, halved, seeds removed, and sliced (remove peel if desired)
3/4 cup crumbled, reduced-fat feta cheese (or substitute blue cheese)
1/2 cup sliced, canned black olives, drained
3 cups diced Roma tomatoes (or another type of vine-ripened tomato, or cherry tomato halves)
1/3 cup julienne sun-dried tomatoes, oil only lightly drained off (you want some oil because this is the dressing)
2/3 cup chopped red onion

Add all the ingredients to a salad bowl and gently toss. Cover bowl and chill in refrigerator until ready to serve.

Yield: 8 servings

Nutritional Information: Per serving: 80 calories, 4 g protein, 9 g carbohydrate, 4 g fat (2 g saturated fat, 1 g monounsaturated fat, 0.3 g polyunsaturated fat), 9 mg cholesterol, 2.1 g fiber, 205 mg sodium. Calories from fat: 41%.

Source: www.webmd.com.

One Word: Leftovers

Hope you all had a merry day yesterday. I did. I, probably like many of you, feel like food shouldn't be my big priority today. Slimfast for Breakfast and brought one for lunch too.

If you don't have stacks of leftovers in the fridge and feel like cooking at all, today is the day to whip up a pot of the Zero Point Weight Watchers garden vegetable soup. Why wait until Jan. 1 (or 2) to cut back? Besides, you've got 5 days to shimmy into that little black dress for New Year's Eve!

Cheers!

Weight Watchers Garden Vegetable Soup
2/3 cup sliced carrot
1/2 cup diced onion
2 garlic cloves
3 cups broth (beef, chicken, or vegetable)
1 1/2 cup diced green cabbage
1/2 cup green beans
1 tablespoons tomato paste
1/2 teaspoon dried basil
1/4 teaspoon dried oregano
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup diced zucchini
1. In a large saucepan, sprayed with nonstick cooking spray, saute carrot, onion, and garlic over low heat until softened, about 5 minutes.

2. Add broth, cabbage, beans, tomato paste, basil, oregano, and salt; bring to a boil. Lower heat and simmer, covered about 15 minutes or until beans are tender.

3. Stir in zucchini and heat 3-4 minutes. Serve hot.

An easy-peasy Friday meal

I know it's not even 8 a.m. but Greek food sounds good for dinner tonight. No time to drive to Tarpon Springs so I'll have to whip something up at home. (And aren't you lucky those you who live near some of those great restaurants? OPA! is one of my favorites.)

This quick pasta dish includes much of the flavors of the Mediterranean. I'll chop up some salty kalamata olives to scatter over the top and maybe some fresh basil too.

I'll see you back here on Tuesday. Have a wonderful Christmas and let's hope the weather man has it wrong. I don't want it to rain all weekend.

Cheers!

Greek Pasta with Tomatoes and White Beans 

2 (14.5 ounce) cans Italian-style diced tomatoes
1 (19 ounce) can cannellini beans, drained and rinsed
10 ounces fresh spinach, washed and chopped
8 ounces penne pasta
1/2 cup crumbled feta cheese

Cook the pasta in a large pot of boiling salted water until al dente. Meanwhile, combine tomatoes and beans in a large non-stick skillet. Bring to a boil over medium high heat. Reduce heat, and simmer 10 minutes.

Add spinach to the sauce; cook for 2 minutes or until spinach wilts, stirring constantly. Serve sauce over pasta, and sprinkle with feta.

Source: www.allrecipes.com.

5 ingredients, 30 minutes

Just in case you didn't make the overnight chicken enchiladas last night ...

I know I've already given you a boneless pork chop recipe this week but I think this one is perfect for the hectic last days before Christmas. The recipe is from Patricia Preston Warren of St. Petersburg who sent it in to the 5:30 Challenge column we run in the Times. Patricia serves it with a green salad and rolls.

Easy and yummy. Sounds perfect for a night when wrapping is on the schedule.

Pork and Beans, Italian Style
1 medium onion, chopped
4 boneless pork loin chops
1 (15-ounce) can white beans, rinsed and drained
1 (14.5-ounce) can diced    tomatoes with basil,     garlic and oregano     flavoring
1/2 box (10-ounce) frozen    spinach, defrosted and    drained of excess water

In a lightly oiled large skillet over medium heat, saute onion until softened. Push onions off to side and add pork. Brown chops on both sides and remove to a plate. Add beans and diced tomatoes to skillet and stir to combine with onions. Bring to simmer, add spinach and stir to combine. Lower heat, return chops to skillet, cover and cook for 10 minutes, or until chops are just cooked through.

Serves 4.

Per serving: 301 calories, 30g protein, 34g carbohydrates, 7g fiber, 6g fat, 51g cholesterol, 297mg sodium.

A trick recipe

Okay, today's rotisserie chicken recipe is sort of a rip-off. A rip-off in that if you make it tonight, you can't eat it until tomorrow night. It's like an overnight breakfast casserole but it's spinach chicken enchiladas.

Here's an idea: Buy two chickens and eat one tonight shredded over Caesar salad. Romaine lettuce (don't you love the crunchy ribs?), big garlic croutons and Cardini's dressing (that's my favorite). How easy is that, as Rachael Ray would say. (And as an aside, have you seen her show lately? I think she's gotten better. Not so frenetic.)

With the other chicken, make this and eat it tomorrow.

Spinach Chicken Enchiladas
1 onion, chopped
3 cloves garlic, minced
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 cups cooked chopped chicken
1 (10 ounce) jar four cheese alfredo sauce
1 (.5 ounce) envelope taco seasoning mix
2 cups frozen cut leaf spinach, thawed and well drained
8 (8 inch) flour tortillas
1 cup green taco sauce
1/2 cup light cream or evaporated milk
1-1/2 cups shredded Pepper Jack cheese

In heavy skillet, cook onion and garlic in olive oil over medium heat until crisp tender. Remove from heat and combine in medium bowl with chicken, alfredo sauce, taco seasoning mix, and spinach. Mix well. Divide chicken mixture among tortillas and roll up.

In medium bowl combine taco sauce and cream and mix well. Place 1/2 cup of the taco sauce mixture in bottom of 13x9" glass baking dish. Arrange filled tortillas on top. Drizzle with remaining taco sauce mixture. Cover with foil and chill in refrigerator for 8-24 hours.

When ready to eat, preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Bake the casserole, covered, for 45-55 minutes until hot. Uncover and sprinkle with cheese. Return to oven and bake 5-10 minutes longer until cheese is melted. Serves 4.

Recipes from www.about.com.

Pork chops and stuffing

Here's a dish I concocted on Sunday night that you might like. I call it Pork Chop Stuffing Extravaganza. No, not really. Just a pretty good, quick casserole. I got some inspiration from the back of the Stovetop stuffing box to start.

Here's how it goes:

Spray a 9x13 pan with Pam or some such and then spread half of a packet of Stovetop stuffing on the bottom. Top with about six boneless pork chops, about 3/4 of an inch thick. Put the remaining stuffing in a bowl and add about 1/2 cup water, enough to moisten. Spread that over the chops. In another bowl, mix together 1 can condensed cream of mushroom soup, 1/3 cup sour cream, half a can of cranberry sauce (whole berry or jelly no matter) and 1/2 cup of water. Pour that over the chops and bake at 350 for about 40 minutes. (Even if your people don't like cranberry give it a whirl. There's no pink left after cooking and it just give the dish a faint sweet taste.)

Don't add any salt and look for low-sodium soup. There is plenty of salt in the stuffing.

I served it with roasted Brussels sprouts. I know. Yuck. But I love them.

See you back tomorrow for Rotisserie Chicken Wednesday.

Make it Cuban tonight

Happy Monday, good people. Okay, I went into a Christmas cookie coma last week and completely zoned out about blogging on Thursday and Friday. Please tell me you didn't stave.

I like Cuban food a lot and am a huge fan of the pressed Cuban sandwich. Here's a version, not quite authentic, but tasty nonetheless. (A real Cuban has salami, roast pork and ham. Pork Three Ways our food critic calls it.) The recipe initially called for 1 cup of mayo to be split among four sandwiches but that's way too much. Half of that is plenty.

Cook up some rice and beans (use a Vigo packet if you'd like) and you've got a quick dinner. Plenty of time to keep shopping.

A Sort of Cuban Sandwich

1/2 cup mayonnaise
3 tablespoons Italian dressing
4 hoagie rolls, split lengthwise
4 tablespoons (or less) prepared mustard
1/2 pound thinly sliced deli turkey meat
1/2 pound thinly sliced cooked ham
1/2 pound thinly sliced Swiss cheese
1 cup dill pickle slices
Olive oil
In a small bowl, mix together mayonnaise and Italian dressing. Spread mixture on hoagie rolls. Spread each roll with mustard. On each roll, arrange layers of turkey, ham, and cheese. Top each with dill pickle slices. Close sandwiches, and brush tops and bottoms with olive oil.

Heat a non-stick skillet over medium high heat. Place sandwiches in skillet. Cook sandwiches for 2 minutes, pressing down with a plate covered with aluminum foil. Flip, and cook for 2 more minutes, or until cheese is melted. Remove from heat, place on plates, and cut in half diagonally.

This recipe appears in the Allrecipes "Tried & True Quick & Easy" cookbook.

Easy Chicken Tacos

Boy, if we ever needed Rotisserie Chicken Wednesday it's this week. What a lot of stuff is going on. Last night, we took our photo for the Christmas card. Yes, last night. Sounds late, I know, but with the online digital photo places we had the photo taken and a card designed in about 2 hours. They'll probably arrive by Monday and then we can start addressing. Not so bad, really.

I am thinking of writing one of those awful Christmas letters this year. Not because I have so much stuff to brag about but because 25 years of writing/typing/etc. on a computer has totally ruined my handwriting. It's nearly illegible now. Especially after about 10 cards.

Anyway, make these quick tacos from Real Simple magazine tonight. Refried beans or Spanish rice to go with. Even slices of fresh fruit.

Do I hear the dinner bell?

Chicken Tacos

1 store-bought rotisserie chicken
2 cups store-bought red or green salsa
8 taco shells
1 cup (4 ounces) grated Cheddar or Monterey Jack cheese
8 sprigs fresh cilantro (optional)
1/2 cup sour cream
1 avocado, chopped
1 lime, quartered

Remove the meat from the chicken and shred. Heat the salsa in a skillet over medium heat. Add the chicken and heat until warmed through. Fill the taco shells with the chicken mixture and top with the cheese and cilantro (if using). Serve with the sour cream, avocado, and lime wedges on the side.

Tip: You can use soft corn or flour tortillas instead of crisp taco shells, or leftover roast beef or pork in place of chicken.

Yield:  Makes 4 servings

CALORIES 663.04 (52% from fat); FAT 38.64g (sat 14.34g); PROTEIN 50.59mg; CHOLESTEROL 158.39mg; CALCIUM 340.15mg; SODIUM 1180.98mg; FIBER 7.43g; CARBOHYDRATE 30.58g; IRON 3.32mg

A good soup

I am working on a story for next week's Taste section on soup ideas for Christmas eve and came up with this recipe last night. It's really good and tastes way more fancy than it is.

I want to come up with some ideas for people that don't take all night. I think Christmas eve is the first time we get to exhale during the long holiday season. Give this recipe a try as a trial run if you want somethng simple and don't have a lot of people to cook for. I used low-sodium soups and didn't add anymore since I am trying to cut back on salt.

Shrimp and Scallop Bisque
2 tablespoons butter
2 to 3 slices bacon, cubed
2 small shallots, diced finely
1 cup uncooked bay scallops
1/2 cup uncooked shrimp, chopped in 1/4-inch pieces
1 can condensed cream of mushroom soup
1 can cream of asparagus soup
1 cup milk
1 cup half-and-half
White pepper to taste
Melt butter in medium skillet and add bacon pieces. Saute for about 4 minutes over medium heat until bacon is nearly done. Add shallots, reduce heat and saute until transluscent, about 3 minutes. Do not brown.
Add seafood and cook for about 3 minutes. Take off heat.
In a saucepan over medium heat, combine mushroom and asparagus soups, milk, half-and-half. Let cook for about 5 minutes then add the seafood saute. If you want a thinner soup, add more milk or half-and-half. Season with white pepper and serve when soup is heated through.
Serves 3 for a main dish.
Source: Janet K. Keeler, Times food and travel editor

Gorgeous color and super flavor

This dish looks as good as it tastes. During cooking, the cherry tomatoes sort of explode and the olives implode a bit, releasing their salty flavor. This is quick meal packed with flavors. How can you go wrong with prosciutto anyway?

A green salad and some new red tomatoes will complete the meal. I found this recipe on ivillage.com, which is a great source for food info.

Roasted Cod with Prosciutto, Cherry Tomatoes and Olives
12 ounces cherry tomatoes, halved
2 ounces pitted black olives
2 tablespoons capers, drained and rinsed
Grated rind and juice of 1 lemon
2 teaspoons chopped thyme
4 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
4 cod fillets, about 6 ounces each
4 slices of prosciutto
Salt and pepper
Basil leaves, to garnish

Combine the tomatoes, olives, capers, lemon rind, thyme and oil in a roasting pan and season with salt and pepper. Fit the cod fillets into the pan, spooning some of the tomato mixture over the fish.

Scatter the ham over the top and roast in a preheated oven, 425 degrees F, for 15 minutes. Remove the pan from the oven, drizzle over the lemon juice, cover with foil and let rest for 5 minutes.

Garnish the cod with basil leaves and serve with new potatoes and a green salad. Serves 4.

Source: "15-Minute Feasts" by Tonia George, Sara Lewis and Louise Pickford.

Steak and salad

I am addicted to the blue cheese wedge at Courtside Grill in the Carillon Center on Ulmerton Road. Every time we go there I get it (which has been about five times in the past year). It's a retro combo of ice-cold iceberg lettuce draped with blue cheese dressing ... the kind with chunks of pungent cheese in it.

I am hankering for it right now. I should have gone there on my birthday! Anyway, how about a nice grilled steak tonight ... I like flank cut across the grain in small strips. Pair it with this salad and I'd say that's pretty fine eating for a Thursday night.

Cheers.

Iceberg Wedge with Warm Bacon and Blue Cheese Dressing
1 1/2 cups mayonnaise
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
1 tablespoon coarsely ground black pepper
1 teaspoon hot pepper sauce
1 cup coarsely crumbled blue cheese
Buttermilk (optional)

1/2 pound thick-cut bacon, cut crosswise into 1-inch pieces
1 large head of iceberg lettuce, cut into 6 wedges, each with some core attached
1/2 red onion, very thinly sliced

Mix first 4 ingredients in medium bowl. Add blue cheese and stir until well blended. If too thick, thin with buttermilk by tablespoonfuls to desired consistency. (Can be made 1 day ahead. Cover and chill.)

Cook bacon in large skillet over medium heat until golden brown and beginning to crisp. Arrange lettuce on plates. Spoon dressing over. Using slotted spoon, transfer warm bacon from skillet onto salads, dividing equally. Garnish with red onion.

Makes 6 servings.

Source: www.epicurious.com

Rotisserie Chicken Wednesday

I may have given this recipe to you before but it bears repeating. Chicken pot pies are comfort food for sure and if you can make one using already roasted chicken, so much the better.

This is what I call an eyeball recipe. No specific amounts. If you want more chicken, add it; less veggies, omit them. One can of condensed soup should be plenty for 2 cups chicken.

Chicken Pot Pie

Add chopped rotisserie chicken, sliced mushrooms and frozen mixed vegetables to low fat, reduced sodium condensed chicken or mushroom soup. Top with a reduced-fat biscuit topping or phyllo pastry sheets. Bake for 20 to 30 minutes in 350-degree oven. Basically, everything is cooked except for the biscuits so once those are golden, you're good.

My birthday dinner

Today is my birthday and if my wish came true, I would be at the Cliff House in San Francisco, staring out at the Pacific Ocean and eating cioppino, a tomato-base seafood stew. Alongside would be a giant hunk of sourdough bread.

Here's my favorite recipe for cioppino. It has a lot of ingredients but they are mostly just dumped into the pot. There's not a lot of work to it, though it can cost a pretty penny for all that seafood. Aw, what the heck. It's my birthday.

CIOPPINO
4 large garlic cloves, minced
2 medium onions, finely chopped
1 bay leaf
1 teaspoon dried oregano, crumbled
1 teaspoon dried hot red pepper flakes
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
1/4 cup olive oil
1 green bell pepper, cut into 1/4-inch dice
2 tablespoons tomato paste
1 1/2 cups dry red wine
1 (28- to 32-oz) can whole plum tomatoes, drained, reserving juice, and chopped
1 cup bottled clam juice
1 cup chicken broth
1 (1-lb) king crab leg, thawed if frozen
18 small (2-inch) hard-shelled clams (1 1/2 lb) such as littlenecks, scrubbed
1 lb skinless red snapper or halibut fillets, cut into 1 1/2-inch pieces
1 lb large shrimp (16 to 20), shelled (tails and bottom segment of shells left intact) and deveined
3/4 lb sea scallops, tough muscle removed from side of each if necessary
1/4 cup finely chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
3 tablespoons finely chopped fresh basil
Garnish: shredded fresh basil leaves and small whole leaves

Cook garlic, onions, bay leaf, oregano, and red pepper flakes with salt and pepper in oil in an 8-quart heavy pot over moderate heat, stirring, until onions are softened, about 5 minutes. Stir in bell pepper and tomato paste and cook, stirring, 1 minute. Add wine and boil until reduced by about half, 5 to 6 minutes. Add tomatoes with their juice, clam juice, and broth and simmer, covered, 30 minutes. Season with salt and pepper.

While stew is simmering, hack crab leg through shell into 2- to 3-inch pieces with a large heavy knife. Add crab pieces and clams to stew and simmer, covered, until clams just open, 5 to 10 minutes, checking every minute after 5 minutes and transferring opened clams to a bowl with tongs or a slotted spoon. (Discard any unopened clams after 10 minutes.) Lightly season fish fillets, shrimp, and scallops with salt and add to stew, then simmer, covered, until just cooked through, about 5 minutes. Discard bay leaf, then return clams to pot and gently stir in parsley and basil.

Serve cioppino immediately in large soup bowls.

Makes 6 servings.
Gourmet
March 2002

Happy Monday

Tamale Pie is delicious and so easy to make. This recipe calls for a casserole dish but I'd make it in a 11 by 7 inch pan. You could also make it in two 8x8 pans; eat one and let the other cool, then freeze for later this month when you're too busy to cook.

See you back tomorrow.

Tamale Pie
1 onion chopped
1 green pepper chopped
1 lb ground beef (turkey or something else that's ground)
1-2 tablespoons chili powder
1 can corn, drained
1 14 oz can crushed tomatoes
1 cup corn meal
3 cups chicken broth
1/2 cup cheese
Salt to taste
Brown the meat and add the onion then the pepper. Fry a bit, then add the chili powder. Dump in the corn and the tomatoes and let cook.

Mean while, bring your chicken broth to boil in a seperate pan and slowly add the corn meal as to not get it lumpy. Cook until thickened.

Then, get out a casserole dish, grease it. Take 1/2 of the corn meal goo and put it on the bottom. Then goes the meat mixture. Then top off with the rest of the corn meal mixture and cheese. Back for about 1/2 an hour in a 350 degree oven.

This also freezes well.

Something simple tonight

Make this simple herbed frittata and serve it with a green salad topped with blue cheese crumbles. It's Friday ... you need something easy.

Have a great weekend.

HERBED FRITTATA
1 dozen large eggs
1 cup loosely packed chopped herbs, such as flat-leaf parsley, basil and
tarragon
1/2 cup whole milk
Salt, to taste
Pepper, to taste
4 tablespoons unsalted butter, divided use
1 medium onion, minced
2 tablespoons extra-dry vermouth
1 small tomato, thinly sliced

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Combine eggs, herbs and milk in large bowl; season generously with salt and pepper and whisk well.

In medium oven-proof nonstick skillet, melt 2 tablespoons over medium heat.
Add onion and cook, stirring occasionally until it is softened, about 6 minutes. Add vermouth and increate the heat to high and cook until evaporated, about 1 minute. Reduce heat to medium and add remaining 2 tablespoons of butter. Pour in egg mixture. Neatly arrange the tomato slices on top of the eggs in a single layer.

Cook the eggs undisturbed until the edge just begins to set, about 4 miuntes.
Transfer the skillet to the oven and bake the frittata for 30 minutes or until it is set in the center. Let the frittata stand for 5 minutes, then slice it onto a large plate and serve.
Make ahead: The frittata can be refrigerated for up to 1 day. Serve it warm or at room temperature.

Makes 8 servings.