Food For Thought

March 8, 2010

Fast, Frugal and Good for You – Beans

Filed under: Member recipes, Nutrition, Quick Meal Tips — Tags: , , — Anne Coleman @ 9:39 am

Beyond the egg, another of what I like to think of as a ’superfood’ is beans. Not only are beans frugal and versatile, but they’re good for you. Beans are very low in fat, cholesterol free, high in protein and full of fiber.

Although beans can take some time to cook from their dry state, canned beans are a fine alternative and one of the fastest fixes for any dish.  But, what do you do with them beyond chili and soup? Here are a few ideas and some links to recipes right here at Half Hour Meals.

Bean Dip – Think outside the box (or can) here. While classic bean dip with pintos is delicious in its own right, white bean dip with a Mediterranean flair is so good (and easy) that you’ll turn to it again and again. Combine a can of drained white beans such as cannellini with a clove or two of garlic, sea salt and olive oil and blend until smooth. Add fresh herbs like basil or thyme for different flavor combinations and add a bit of grated Parmesan for real depth of flavor. Serve with toasted pita wedges or a baguette for a great first course of light lunch.

Beans and Pasta - While the combinations here are endless, I really like light colored beans like garbanzos or cannellini beans with angel hair. Toss together with lemon juice, olive oil, garlic, a bit of red pepper flakes and cooked shrimp. Light, refreshing and packed with protein.

Bean Patties – Black beans combined with breadcrumbs, cilantro, lime juice, cayenne pepper and a little shredded Monterey jack cheese, shaped into small patties and fried lightly are one of the best ‘burgers’ around.

Use your imagination – and if you’re still stumped, check out the many bean recipes here at Half Hour Meals: Beans

March 1, 2010

Ten 30-Minute Cookbooks

Filed under: Quick Meal Tips, Recommended Cookbooks — Tags: , — Anne Coleman @ 9:48 am

There’s no doubt Half Hour Meals is a fabulous quick-cook resource, but we’re certainly not the last word on 30-minute meals. Here are 10 fabulous cookbooks to add to your collection of fast food finds.

1. Dawn Hall - Notice how this isn’t a book, but rather a category Dawn’s signature formula is 7 ingredients and 30 minutes. Each and every one of her books is one you’ll want to have in your collection. Super-Simple 30-Minute Menus is just one of her books that tackles the time issue.

2. Rachael Ray – Likewise, Rachael focuses on getting dinner done in 30 minutes or less. All of her books are worth a look, but her 30-Minute Meals book continues to be a favorite.

3. Diabetic Meals in 30 Minutes or Less by Robyn Webb – People can get bogged down quickly when trying to ome up with meals for special health issues. This book gives you two for one!

4. The 30-Minute Vegan by Mark Reinfeld and Jennifer Murray – Yes, you CAN have your vegan cake and eat it, too – in under 30 minutes!

5. The South Beach Diet Quick & Easy Cookook by Arthur Agatston- Yep, even South Beachers can get their meals done in under half an hour.

6. The 5:30 Challenge: 5 Ingredients, 30 Minutes, Dinner on the Table by Jeanne Besser, Susan Puckett – I think that title is self-explanatory and one you don’t want to miss!

7. 30 Minute Asian Meals by Marie Wilson – Asian from a restaurant always seems so fast, but duplicating it at home can be anything but quick. This book is your rescuer!

8. Pillsbury 30-Minute Meals – Pillsbury is a name you can trust, from products to advice, and this book has 230 recipes in it – a sure hit!

9. Bon Appetit 30-Minute Main Courses – From the editors of the all-things-delicious food magazine, this is a book with main courses that are a little more special than your everyday fare.

10. Ciao Italia Pronto!: 30-Minute Recipes from an Italian Kitchen by Mary Ann Esposito – Quik Italian? Yes! This book, from one of the most influential Italian cooks ever, is one you need to have on-hand.

February 25, 2010

My Top-Ten Time Savers in the Kitchen

Filed under: Quick Meal Tips, Time Saving Tips — Tags: , — Anne Coleman @ 12:39 pm

Everyone has certain things that help to save time with various tasks, from laundry to studying to cooking. I’m no different, with 9 people in our family, there’s a lot going on in a day and I need all the help I can get.

This list is by no means comprehensive, but it is the 10 things that I find most helpful in getting meals on the table in a timely fashion.

1. Pasta – The most versatile food ever, its a great filler, stretcher and all-around fabulous food. Quick to cook and goes with just about anything. Not to mention its a favorite of the kids. Boxed mac and cheese makes it into this list, too. I try to buy organic, but if I can’t, I don’t beat myself up over it. Any mom will tell you how much of a life-saver it can be. A pound of ground beef and a bit of tomato with a box of mac makes the best ‘beef-a-roni’ ever – just ask my kids.

2. Jarred pasta sauce – I’m not big on cans and boxes, but when it comes to pasta sauce and tomatoes – the canned and jarred varieties are excellent choices for many things. Straight up on pasta or used as a base for chili, soups and stews, it makes dinner prep so easy and the end result is always delicious.

3. Rice – Sort of a sister to pasta, another great filler and base. Fried rice from leftover cooked rice is so fast and chicken with rice is an old stand-by here that everyone loves. It cooks in a mere 20 minutes and even plain buttered rice is a great addition to any meal.

4. Frozen meatballs – homemade or store-bought, the uses are endless. Soup, chili, subs, curry and good old spaghetti and meatballs are all big hits here. Cook time is quick and the flavor is always consistent.

5. IQF Chicken breasts – Individually Quick Frozen chicken is always, always in my freezer. It thaws quickly and we all know the uses for chicken are endless.

6. Frozen veggies – Next to fresh, frozen veggies are the best choice and as they are already pre-blanced they cook really quickly and augment any meal in just the right way.

7. Pre-packaged 1 pound bags of ground beef – I buy ground beef on 5 to 10 pound packages and separate into one pound segments to freeze. Once they’re separate, they thaw easily and I even cook from frozen for things like sauce and chili – just keep an eye on it and stir often.

8. Boxed or canned stocks – When I don’t make my own stock and freeze in 4 cup containers, I rely on boxes or cans of stock. Any sauce or soup is prepared really quickly when all you have to do is open and pour.

9. A small hand grater – Not exactly a Microplane zester, but close. When I need garlic minced and don’t have time for chopping by hand, this is my best friend. I use it for everything from citrus zest to garlic to nutmeg grating and it works perfect every time.

10. Food processor – I went for years without a food processor and chopping and slicing got to be a real chore. When my husband bought me one with a wide-mouth tube, I was in heaven. It takes second to slice fresh veggies and anything that needs to be pureed is finished faster than you can read this sentence.

What are your favorite time-savers in the kitchen?

February 23, 2010

More Uses for Too-Ripe Bananas: “Banana Cubes”

Filed under: How To, Quick Meal Tips, Trying Something New, Uncategorized — Tags: , , , — Penny Hawkins @ 2:09 pm

I am always on the lookout for new ways to use up food rather than throwing it away, and it makes me feel great when I can avoid waste. One of the foods I have the hardest time with is bananas. It seems I am always fighting against them for some reason…those suckers just get ripe faster than I can use them and I hate throwing them out! But, as you may recall from my last post about using “too-ripe” bananas, there is only so much banana bread one family can stand!

Not buying them is not an option for us…my hubby, the triathlete, has one almost daily in his smoothies, and my youngest grandson will eat them until you make him stop (or until he…well…you know). I have tried estimating how many we need for the week and purchasing accordingly, but most weeks I either run out or get stuck with 2 or 3 “too ripe” bananas!

So, what can I do with those darn overly-ripe bananas? Some people say to stick them in the freezer whole and use them for banana bread in the future. Now maybe it’s just me, but there is something about seeing those lifeless, blackened bananas in my freezer that just creeps me out! However, I really like the idea of freezing them for later, so I came up with this solution….banana cubes!!

As I mentioned before, my hubby has a protein smoothie almost every day, and I always put a banana in it.  So, I decided to see if I could mash the ripe bananas into a kind of puree and freeze them in ice-cube trays. Well, I tried it and it worked beautifully! Just put the bananas in a dish, mash them up with your potato masher, spoon them into an ice-cube tray and freeze! I freeze them in sets of two per baggie and just pop them into the blender with my other ingredients. They work like a charm, don’t turn brown, and help make his smoothie cold, thick and delicious!

 

 

So next time you wonder what to do with those pesky “too-ripe” bananas, try making some banana cubes and using them in a cool, refreshing smoothie! Here is my smoothie recipe:

Daryl’s After Workout Smoothie

8 oz. cold soy milk (or regular milk)
1 (4 oz.) container soy yogurt (or your favorite yogurt)
3-4 whole frozen or fresh strawberries
2 banana cubes (or 1 whole banana)
1 scoop vanilla-flavored protein powder

Add all ingredients to blender and pulse on puree setting until blended. Enjoy!

February 18, 2010

Highlights from Our Tweet Event

Filed under: Community Discussions, Quick Meal Tips — Tags: — Anne Coleman @ 9:02 am

Yesterday was the first-ever Half Hour Meals Tweet Event – and we definitely had fun. If you missed it, you can check out the conversation HERE at Twitter. Not only did we have some great food conversations, but the even landed on a page of the LA Times Food section! Check that out HERE.

Special thanks to my co-hosts, Penny and Theresa from here at Half Hour Meals, and to our biggest contributors to the conversations – @atastythought and @waylandcook – thanks so much for taking part! Give them all a follow, won’t you? Don’t forget to also follow @HalfHourMeals to keep up-to-date with all we have going on here and also check out our Fan Page on Facebook.

Stay tuned for our next Tweet Event date and a chance to become a co-host, too!

February 10, 2010

Fast and Easy Madeleines

Filed under: Baking Tips, How To, Member recipes, Trying Something New, Writing — Tags: , — Theresa H Hall @ 9:25 am

One of the most delightful things I learned to prepare while attending culinary school was this recipe. Madeleines are traditional petit sponge cakes from the northeastern regions of France. If you do a little research you can find the cool history surrounding this confection. They are also referred to as cookies.

They even have their very own adorable baking container. The Madeleine Pan is found in speciality stores that cater to the serious and professional cook. It is one piece of metal, and sometimes comes with a non-stick coating. The one I own is stainless steel and is a good weight. The lighter a baking instrument, the more the possibility exists of burning or uneven baking. The Madeleine Pan is similar to a muffin pan and has a dozen half-shell shaped depressions. As you can readily see in the picture of these petit cakes, the sides showing are actually the bottoms, the tops being rather dome shaped and smooth.

There are many variations for this recipe and you can even bake Savory Madeleines. In one restaurant where I once worked for a short time, they served Thai and Asian fusion foods. The pastry chef there taught me to prepare them with sesame oil and other spicy flavorings, and I have to admit they were very good to eat.

These little sponge cakes present well, and you must always remember to grease and flour your pans between every batch. If you have a deep container for flour, such as a floor container, like they use in big kitchens, you can dip your pan into the flour and pull it out to find it is evenly covered. When you pipe your batter inside the prepared shell pan, squeeze evenly from base to tip and back down again. Because the batter will expand while baking, you only fill the shell 3/4 full. As soon as the cakes are a golden brown color, they are done. Wearing a heavy oven mitt, remove the pan from the oven and tap the side of the pan to release all of the little Madeleines. They will jump out of their baking container. Shake confectioners sugar over top right away and take a bite.

These cakes are well received because they are light, airy, are full of flavor, whichever you decide to use, and you or your guest need only eat one. They are smaller than a cupcake and may be iced or not. You can store them in your freezer for up to a month, and take them out as you need them. You can pipe fillings into them and dip the ends of the bottoms in chocolate. Sprinkle decor on them and ship them to your friends and relatives as gifts. People love Madeleines. Look at everyone’s smiling faces!

This recipe can be made ahead of time and refrigerated for several days. Pipe the batter and bake as you need them. Baking time is perhaps 8 to 10 minutes. Watch them closely because if you over bake them they will be dry and no good.

Madeleines

This cookie has its very own cookie pan.  The characteristics are a shell on the front and a hump on the back.  You can make the batter, and take it out to use as needed, for up to a week.  Take out, warm up the batter to room temperature and pipe. Grease and flour the pans.

8 oz  butter softened

8 oz   sugar

1 tsp   vanilla

1 tsp   lemon zest (or any kind or zest or flavorings)

4   large eggs

1   egg yolk

12 oz  all purpose flour

a pinch of salt

2 1/4 tsp  baking powder

—————

Finish with 10 X sprinkled on top

1) Cream butter, sugar, zest and salt.

2) Sift baking powder and flour together.

3) Alternate adding the dry ingredients and then eggs, a little bit at a time to incorporate; ending with the dry.

4) Stir until well combined.

5) Pipe batter into Madeleine pan with #5 tip, and fill about 3/4 full. Start at the base, go up, and come back.

Bake 375º for 8 to 10 minutes.  They will puff up a bit and be brown on the backside.  Remove from pans immediately by tapping the mold onto a mat, and they will fall out.

Serve plain, with 10 X sugar, a lemon glaze or with tempered chocolate. Be sure to let the edges show.  Serve fresh out of the oven in a warm container.

Freezes nicely.

Just remember once you have made these a few times and see how easy they are to make, put your own spin on them with flavorings, sweet versus savory, for your next meal.

February 9, 2010

Mix-n-Match Casseroles

Filed under: How To, Quick Meal Tips, leftovers — Tags: , , , , — Penny Hawkins @ 2:40 pm

I’m a huge fan of any kind of casserole, after all, what’s not to like? They’re easy to put together, I usually have the ingredients on-hand in my pantry or fridge, and most of them use only one pot or pan (ok…two if you have to cook pasta or rice). So, unless you or someone in your family is one of those people who hate their food mixed together, or (yikes!) someone who hates the foods on their plate to touch each other, casseroles are just plain easy, delicious, and a busy cooks best friend! (No offense intended to the mixed-food-hating, no-food-on-the-plate touching people, you can’t help how you feel…I just don’t get it)

One of the things I love most about casseroles is that I can make them with whatever I have on-hand in the fridge and pantry, mixing and matching ingredients to build a casserole around my basic ”formula” that I adapted from a recipe I found in my mother’s recipe box. I do this so often, that over the years I’ve come up with a chart of sorts that helps me mix-n-match my ingredients based on what my family likes best.

The following chart gives you an idea of how you can mix-n-match pretty much whatever you have on-hand to create your own fabulous casserole. The rules are simple: make your base, choose 1 item each from the sauce, meat, veggie, and starch choices, combine with base, add anything you want  from the optional add-ins, top with your choice from the toppings selctions, and bake! That’s it…one pot, no hassles, and you don’t even have to cook the rice or pasta first. How easy is that? You can mix-n-match your own fabulous and delicious casserole tonight! Click on this Mix-n-Match Chart to get started (you can print it!).

Note: You can “plan” these casseroles ahead  by cooking extra meat and freezing or refrigerating it for later use. I often do that with ground beef or chicken, by cooking extra portions than freezing it in one lb. or one cup portions so I can grab-n-go!

February 8, 2010

Incredible Eggs

Filed under: Member recipes, Nutrition, Quick Meal Tips — Tags: — Anne Coleman @ 9:33 am

2_7_10 012Eggs are one of the oldest and most widely consumed food sources on the planet. Dense with nutrients (Protein, Choline, Lutein, Vitamin A, Vitamin D and Folate to name just a few) and low in calories (70 per egg) the egg is a powerhouse of nutrition in a tiny and very versatile package.

Used for everything from leavening, to thickening to a full-out protein source, the abilities of the egg are astounding – and boy, do they taste good! From omelets to souffles and everything in-between, it’s not hard to find a way to incorporate eggs into your diet, and it certainly doesn’t hurt that they’re budget-friendly, too.

Simple recipes like the 3-Egg Omelet (pictured) filled with any of a thousand ingredients (the one above uses Ricotta and Parmesan cheeses blended with black olives, green onions and grape tomatoes) and a quick-fix for breakfast lunch or dinner, it’s just one egg recipe you’ll turn to again and again.

How about Scrambled Egg Towers, Garden Frittata, Wild Mushroom, Spinach and Gruyère Frittata, Duck-centric Breakfast (a whole different breed of egg!), or Breakfast Pot Pie – each unique and each delectable.  A quick search on Half Hour Meals turns up plenty and there are more to come. Check out these delicious egg recipes and more under our Recipes tab.

February 4, 2010

A Week of Half Hour Meals Part 2

Filed under: Member recipes, Quick Meal Tips — Tags: , , — Anne Coleman @ 8:56 am

garlicbread 026Last week I posted about making meals for my family completely from Half Hour Meals, and I did. Not only was everyone satisfied, I had no naysayers at all and we’ve added a few recipes to our usual nightly repertoire as well.

Here’s what we had, in no specific order:

Carbonara Pizza – This one went over hugely here. Not only were there no leftovers, I’ve already had requests for more. I used the cheaper bacon alternative, but other than that there were no changes made and it was perfect.

Arroz on Pollo – Another hit with returns for seconds (and thirds for some!) and one more added to the family recipe pile.

Grandma Nucci’s Meatballs – (pictured) This is now my go-to meatball for pasta dishes. This was the most delicious meatball I’ve had, hands-down! Bursting with flavor and a mere 5 ingredients, it doesn’t get any simpler or tastier.

Penne Pasta with Pesto – Two of my absolute favorites together – and the pesto recipe was perfecto! The kids loved it as well and it’s gone into our rotation, too.

Sticky Lemon Chicken – So good! Yet another go-to for a quick chicken recipe and one that everyone liked. Any side dish would go well with this, but we made the recommended mashed potatoes and peas & carrots.

Barbecue Bacon Burgers – OK, so I’ve been doing things like adding potato chips to my sandwich for years, but who’da thunk to add them to a burger? I’ve been asked to ‘please only make this burger from now on’ , and I think I’ll oblige! Very tasty and something you can serve for family or company.

That was our week  - and next time we’ll do meals from appetizer through dessert and report on that, as well. Please give one or two of these a try, they’re very worth it!

February 2, 2010

Member Recipe Review: Crockpot Chicken

Filed under: Member recipes, Quick Meal Tips — Tags: , , , , , — Penny Hawkins @ 11:45 am

It’s been a little while since my last comfort food recipe review, and before IMG_0424ya’ll get the idea that somehow my comfort food obsession has passed (as if!), I decided it was time to go in search of another HHM member comfort food recipe to review. So, I clicked over to the recipes tab here at HHM and  began my search with the help of the handy categories links.

The criteria? I wanted a recipe that was a “set it and forget it” one-pot meal, and it absolutely had to include gravy or sauce! Hmmm…I remembered seeing a “Meal of the Day” a week or so ago that had appealed to me, but where was it? Thinking it had been a chicken dish, I clicked on the “chicken” category link, and after a minute of searching, there it was… on page 4…Ashley’s Crockpot Chicken!!!

Besides being easy and delicious, one of my favorite things about this recipe is that it uses ingredients that I already had on hand because they are pantry staples. I was literally able to decide to make this recipe on the spur of the moment, and get it in the crockpot in 10 minutes without going to the store! Now I don’t know about ya’ll, but that’s my favorite kind of recipe! Did I mention it was delicious? Just like Ashley described, it reminded me of everything I love about Thanksgiving dinner!

So if you’re looking for spur-of-the-moment inspiration for dinner this week, give Ashley’s Crockpot Chicken* a try…it’s fantastic! 

*this recipe has been husband-tested, and beancounter hubby gave it a 10 out of a possible 10.

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