Easy weeknight meals: Meatloaf, shrimp tacos and rotisserie chicken

Start Tuesday's dinner on Monday by roasting garlic for a new favorite recipe: Pasta with Roasted Cauliflower, Garlic and Walnuts. Here's the rest of your simple weeknight meals ideas:

Monday: Old-school dinner
Dust off your mother-in-law’s meatloaf recipe and make your spouse oh-so-happy. Or perhaps dish out some punishment. Serve it with mashed potatoes and steamed broccoli. Green salad with Thousand Island. (While the meatloaf is cooking, roast the garlic for Tuesday’s dish.) (Meatloaf makes me think of the '50s which makes me think of the Donna Reed Show, pictured here. I loved to watch that in reruns. Had a big crush on Dad Carl Betz.)

Tuesday: Blooming pasta
Pasta with Roasted Cauliflower, Garlic and Walnuts (recipe below) isn’t our usual Stir Crazy dish because it takes some time to prepare. If you roasted the garlic last night when you made your meatloaf, you’re ahead of the game.

Wednesday: Rotisserie chicken
It’s not high-brow for sure, but Poppy Seed Chicken Bake will get high-fives from the family. In a large bowl, mix 3 cups cubed cooked chicken, 2 cans condensed soup (make it low-fat, low-sodium), 1 cup low-fat sour cream and 2 teaspoons poppy seeds. Spread the mixture in a shallow casserole dish and cover with a cup of buttery crackers (like Ritz) mixed with a couple tablespoon of melted butter. Layer on some shredded cheese if you’d like. Serve with green salad.

Thursday: Tacos that swim
Load Spicy Shrimp Soft Tacos with shrimp tossed in chipotle peppers with adobo sauce and sauteed in a bit of oil. Garnish with sour cream mixed with cilantro, shredded lettuce, crumbled fresh Mexican cheese and sliced avocado. Spanish rice and fruit on the side.

Friday: Two in one
Cheeseburgers and pizza are at the top of the list for most Americans when it comes to favorite foods. Why not combine them for Cheeseburger Pizzas tonight? Use whatever type of pizza crust you like. Brown ground beef with diced onions; drain well. Mix pizza sauce with ketchup and spread over crust. Layer on meat mixture, then sliced tomatoes and lots of grated Cheddar cheese. (Crispy bacon pieces before the cheese if you dare.) Bake for about 10 to 15 minutes at 350 degrees.

Pasta With Roasted Cauliflower, Garlic and Walnuts
2 heads garlic, papery skins removed, top quarter of heads cut off and discarded
6 tablespoons plus 1 teaspoon extra-virgin olive oil, divided use
1 head cauliflower (about 1 1/2 pounds, see note)
Table salt and ground black pepper
1/4 teaspoon sugar
1 pound pasta
1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes
2 to 3 tablespoons juice from 1 lemon
1 tablespoon fresh parsley leaves, chopped
2 ounces Parmesan cheese, grated (about 1 cup)
1/4 cup chopped walnuts, toasted
Adjust oven rack to middle position, place large rimmed baking sheet on rack and heat oven to 500 degrees.
Cut one 12-inch sheet of foil and spread flat on counter. Place garlic heads, cut-side up, in center of foil. Drizzle 1/2 teaspoon oil over each head and seal packet. Place packet directly on oven rack and roast until garlic is very tender, about 40 minutes. Open packet and set aside to cool.
While garlic is roasting, trim outer leaves of cauliflower and cut stem flush with bottom. Cut head from pole to pole into 8 equal wedges. Place cauliflower in large bowl; toss with 2 tablespoons oil, 1 teaspoon salt, pepper to taste and sugar.
Remove baking sheet from oven. Carefully transfer cauliflower to baking sheet and spread into even layer, placing cut sides down. Return baking sheet to oven and roast until cauliflower is well browned and tender, 20 to 25 minutes. Transfer cauliflower to cutting board. When cool enough to handle, chop into rough 1/2-inch pieces.
While cauliflower roasts, bring 4 quarts water to boil in large pot. Add 1 tablespoon salt and pasta; cook until al dente. Squeeze roasted garlic cloves from their skins into small bowl. Using fork, mash garlic to smooth paste, then stir in red pepper flakes and 2 tablespoons lemon juice. Slowly whisk in remaining 1/4 cup oil.
Drain pasta, reserving 1 cup cooking water, and return pasta to pot. Add chopped cauliflower to pasta; stir in garlic sauce, 1/4 cup cooking water, parsley, and 1/2 cup cheese. Adjust consistency with additional cooking water and season with salt, pepper and additional lemon juice to taste. Serve immediately, sprinkling with remaining ½ cup cheese and toasted nuts.
Serves 4.
Source: Cook’s Illustrated

Making Martha Stewart's cupcakes

To heck with dinner, make cupcakes tonight. I tested two from La Martha's new cupcake book, inspired as always, by the gorgeous photos. She does know how to hire talented people. The photos here are from my baking efforts.

Anyway, I shied away from the fussy decorated cupckes and went for two recipes that call for candy and cookies: York Peppermint Pattys and Oreos. I recommend both, the Mint-Filled Brownie Cupcakes for kids and the Cookies and Cream Cheesecakes for an adult party. (My 14-year-old wolverine will eat them; must be the Oreo at the bottom.)

Here’s my cupcake confession: I misread the cheesecakes recipe in my haste and instead of 2 pounds of cream cheese, I only mixed in 2 8-ounce blocks (just 1 pound). It wasn’t until a day later when I reread the recipe that I figured out why I only got 24 cupcakes instead of 30. Still, even with my goof, the cupcakes were delightful. I didn’t really want 30 of them anyway. Remember that if a couple dozen is enough for you too; halve the cream cheese.

Start baking.

Martha Stewart’s Cookies and Cream Cheesecakes
42 cream-filled sandwich cookies, such as Oreos, 30 left whole, and 12 coarsely chopped
2 pounds cream cheese (4 8-ounce blocks), room temperature
1 cup sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
4 large eggs, room temperature, lightly beaten
1 cup sour cream
Pinch of salt

Preheat oven to 275 degrees. Line standard muffin tins with paper liners. Place 1 whole cookie in the bottom of each lined cup.

With an electric mixer on medium high speed, beat cream cheese until smooth, scraping down sides of bowl as needed. Gradually add sugar, and beat until combined. Beat in vanilla.

Drizzle in eggs, a bit at a time, beating to combine and scraping down the sides of the bowl as needed. Beat in sour cream and salt. Stir in chopped cookies by hand.

Divide batter evenly among cookie-lined cups, filling each almost to the top. Bake, rotating pan halfway through, until filling is set, about 22 minutes. Transfer to wire racks to cool completely. Refrigerate at least 4 hours (or up to overnight). Remove from tins just before serving.

Makes 30.

Source: “Martha Stewart’s Cupcakes” (Potter, 2009)

Mint Filled Brownie Cupcakes
8 ounces semisweet or bittersweet chocolate, coarsely chopped
½ cup unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 cup sugar
¾ teaspoon salt
3 large eggs
½ cup all purpose flour
¼ cup unsweetened Dutch process cocoa powder
12 small chocolate covered peppermint patties, such as York

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Line a standard muffin pan with paper liners. Place chocolate and butter in a heat proof bowl set over a pan of simmering water. Stir occasionally until just melted, 4 to 5 minutes.

Remove from the heat. Whisk in the sugar and salt until mixture is smooth, whisk in eggs to combine. Gently whisk in flour and cocoa just until smooth.

Spoon 1 heaping tablespoon of batter into each lined cup. Place 1 peppermint patty on top, gently pressing into batter. Top with two tablespoons batter, covering patty completely. Bake, rotating tin halfway through, until a cake tester inserted halfway into centers (above mint patty) comes out with only a few moist crumbs attached, about 35 minutes. Transfer tin to a wire rack to cool completely before removing cupcakes.

Makes 30.

Source: “Martha Stewart’s Cupcakes” (Potter, 2009)