Food For Thought

June 21, 2010

It’s Officially Summer!

Filed under: Member recipes — Tags: , , — Anne Coleman @ 1:12 pm

Summer begins today, and whether it’s been hot where you’re at for a few weeks or will be heating up soon, Half Hour Meals has just the right recipes to keep your kitchen cool this season.

Start with our fabulous sandwich recipes like Banh Mi, Reuben Wraps, Avocado Crabmeat Sandwiches, and Tuna Tortilla.

Then move on to fresh-as-it-gets salads like Creamy Fruit Salad, Garbanzo Bean & Tomato Greek Salad, Salad of Lost Jewels with Sweet Chili Dressing, Cucumber and Roasted Peanut Salad and Apple and Pistachio Salad. Yum!

Desserts and Drinks? We’ve got those too! Check out Agua de Pepino ~ Cucumber Cooler, Malibu Caribou or The Long Hot Breeze Cocktail for perfect cold summer drinks. Add in Fruit Pizza, Strawberry Ice Cream Cake, No-Bake Chocolate Fudge Tart or Orange Chiffon Dessert for a sweet-cool ending to any summer meal.

May 6, 2010

Retro Recipe: Porcupine Meatballs

Filed under: Quick Meal Tips, Retro Recipes, family — Tags: , — Penny Hawkins @ 10:27 am

Recently I have been in Spring cleaning mode, sprucing up and organizing our big ole’ barn of a house from top to bottom. It’s a lot of work, and not something I look forward to, but my efforts have resulted in some unexpected benefits as well. Not only do I now have clean closets and drawers, but I’ve also uncovered some long-forgotten treasures like the notebook from my 9th grade Home Economics class that I wrote about the other day.

During my recent Spring cleaning frenzy, I was cleaning the home office my husband and I share, and came across another treasure- the Betty Crocker Recipe Card Library that used to belong to his mother. It was given to me by D’s brother after our sister-in-law Kitty passed away, and it’s exactly like the one my mother used to have. This yellow plastic box with recipe cards is vintage 1970’s and chock-full of recipes that are truly a blast from the past.

I started flipping through the slightly-faded cards, and came across so many recipes I remember from my childhood…dishes my mom used to make on a regular basis like Tuna Chow Mein Casserole, Pizza Potatoes, and Foil-Wrapped Dinners. These oldies but goodies are still as delicious today as they were 30+ years ago, and I will be sharing them with you from time-to-time because retro is cool again, and good food never goes out of style!

Today’s recipe is probably my favorite from childhood, mostly because the name appealed to my 10-year-old self more than the actual dish. The Betty Crocker recipe card calls it “Oven Porcupines”, but my mom always called it “Porcupine Meatballs”, a name that never failed to amuse me and my brother. This recipe is 70’s comfort food at its’ best, and tastes just as good now as it did when my mom made it.

Oven Porcupines aka Porcupine Meatballs(adapted from The Betty Crocker Recipe Card Library, copyright 1971, General Mills, Inc.)

1 lb. ground beef
1/2 cup uncooked rice
1/2 cup water
1/4 cup chopped onion (1 small onion)
1/2 tsp. salt
1/8 tsp. garlic powder
1/8 tsp pepper
1 (15 oz.) can tomato sauce
1 cup water
2 tsp. Worcestershire sauce

Heat oven to 350 degrees. In a medium bowl, combine meat, rice, 1/2 cup water, onion, salt, garlic powder, and pepper. Shape mixture by rounded tablespoonfuls into balls. Place meatballs into ungreased 8×8x2 baking dish. Stir together tomato sauce, water, and Worcestershire sauce; pour over meatballs. Cover with aluminum foil; bake at 350 degrees for 45 minutes. Uncover and bake an additional 15 minutes. Serves 4-6.

Note: This recipe can also be prepared in a skillet on the stove. Prepare meatballs as directed. Heat 2 tablespoons vegetable oil in a large skillet; brown meatballs. Drain off fat.  Stir together tomato sauce, water, and Worcestershire sauce; pour over meatballs. Reduce heat; cover and simmer 45 minutes. If necessary, add small amount of water during cooking.

April 26, 2010

Perfect Pasta

Filed under: Quick Meal Tips — Tags: , , — Anne Coleman @ 12:01 am

Perfect PastaGrandmother’s noodles, long thin strands of vermicelli, corkscrew rotini, elbows smothered in cheese – pasta comes in so many beautiful shapes and sizes and each is as versatile as the next.

Whether you’re counting carbs or not, there’s no denying that pasta is an all-time favorite around the globe. From classic spaghetti and meatballs to pad thai there are many cultures that make use of humble pastas to create unforgettable and satisfying meals.

My own use ranges from the very basic tossed with olive oil and sprinkled with Parmesan cheese to a more intense preparation like pierogies. No matter what, I love pasta not only for its range of uses, but the fact that it’s so quick to cook.

Many nights I’ve tossed a pound of cooked pasta with a vegetable or two and a jar of prepared sauce and called it dinner – and wasn’t once questioned about it. Sometimes I would add meat or poultry. The kids love the various shapes and sizes and never tire of it.

This is what we had for dinner tonight and below the recipe is a link to the ‘pasta’ listing here at Half Hour Meals, which is filled with new and delicious ideas you won’t want to miss.

Creamy Pesto and Chicken Pasta
Serves 4
Ready In: 15 minutes (depending on pasta choice)

1 pound boneless skinless chicken breast cut into chunks
1/2 pound pasta
1/2 cup pesto sauce
1/2 cup light cream
salt and pepper to taste

Set water to boil for pasta and coook chicken in a small skillet just until no longer pink. Set aside.
Cook pasta to desired doneness and drain well. Put back into pot and add chicken.
Stir together pesto and cream and toss with pasta and chicken.

Pasta on Half Hour Meals

April 19, 2010

Cooking for One

Filed under: How To, Quick Meal Tips, leftovers — Tags: , — Anne Coleman @ 8:40 am

As the mother of seven, I often find myself daydreaming about cooking just for me. Many nights I have to cook what everyone else likes and set my own wants aside. Conversely, folks who live alone get tired of eating alone. Here are some tips to help you along when you’re dining solo.

1. Enjoy it! Coming from the viewpoint of one who has to cook what others want all the time, I look forward to days when I can cook something that I alone can enjoy. You can experiment to your heart’s content and the only palate you’ll be offending
if you flop is your own.

2. Fresh is best. We all know this one, but when it comes to cooking for one, fresh is more than just good for your health, it’s also good for your wallet. Fresh veggies and fruit that can be bought a piece at a time are perfect for one person. Often a can of food isn’t used by one before it goes bad and fresh food is the perfect solution. It may cost more per ounce or pound, but food that goes bad before it can be consumed is a waste of money – period.

3. If you must buy more, learn to properly store the leftovers. Freezing is often the best option for canned goods that aren’t eaten right away. Stow them in bags with one serving or small single-serving plastic containers that are freezer safe.

4. Buy in bulk – or at least from the bulk bins. A scoop of this or a scoop of that is far easier to manage for a single than bags and boxes meant for families. Check them out for things like nuts, legumes, grains and the like.

5. Don’t let reipes for 4 or mor dissuade you. Make the recipe and portion it out then freeze the leftovers for quick weeknight meals anytime!

6. Use small appliances. A toaster oven is the perfect companion for one. It’s just the right size to heat one or two meals and it’s great for use in warmer months as it won’t heat up the house like a full oven.

7. Plan leftovers. Make a full an of beans knowing you’ll be using the extra in a burrito, or chop a full tomato so you have the leftover on-hand the next morning for an omelet. Thinking ahead saves wasted food and provides a lot more variety.

8. Buy appropriate sized containers. The perfect single-serve dessert fits into a standard ramekin and goes from freezer to oven easily.

9. Eat with friends – even when they’re not in the same room! Grab your laptop and converse away with friends on Facebook, FriedEggs or Twitter while you’re having dinner, or turn on a favorite movie for dinner theater.

10. Eggs. Yep, the perfect little natural single-serve food! The possibilities for eggs are endless, too so you’ll have lots of recipes to choose from.

I made this for myself recently and it was so good I just had to share.

Shrimp and Veggies for One
Ready in 15 minutes
Serves: 1

1 tablespoon olive oil
1/2 cup fresh-frozen green beans
1/2 cup red, yellow and orange pepper strips
1/2 teaspoon minced garlic
1/4 cup white wine
6 large shrimp, peeled and deveined
Sea salt and freshly ground pepper to taste

Heat oil in a small skillet over medium-high heat.
Toss in green beans, peppers and garlic. Stir-fry until veggies start to soften slightly.
Add wine and cook until simmering. Toss in shrimp and over with a lid. Remove from heat and let stand for 5 minutes.

Season with salt and pepper and serve.

April 13, 2010

Member Recipe Review:Breakfast Pot Pie

Filed under: Member recipes, Quick Meal Tips — Tags: , — Penny Hawkins @ 9:04 am

I tried this recipe a while back and I’m sorry it took me so long to get this review posted because Breakfast Pot Pie rocks! I love the name, and it’s comfort food, so what’s not to like? Meat? Good! Cheese? Good! Biscuits and Eggs? Good!

I had to make a couple of adjustments to Goldie’s recipe, but not because the recipe needed it (it’s great just like it is). The first change was because of poor planning on my part…after I started cooking, I realized I was out of Bisquick! (Confession time- this situation was very the reason I wrote my post on “What To Do If You Run Out of…”). A quick scan of the freezer revealed some frozen buttermilk biscuits, so rather than scrap the recipe, I decided I’d try them and see how it worked (they were yummy). The second change was just a small one to keep my hubby happy. My picky eater only like his eggs scrambled, so instead of cracking the eggs and adding them to the pan like Goldie did, I whisked the eggs a bit before pouring them on top of the meat and around the biscuits, and it worked just fine.  

I recommend this recipe highly…it’s perfect for an impromptu “breakfast supper”, or to feed a group for brunch. I thought this was a very creative recipe and I’m jealous I didn’t think of it first! Great job Goldie!

The following pictures and instructions are based on my ingredient changes. For Goldie’s original recipe, click here.

Breakfast Pot Pie (revised)

1 can Roast Beef Hash
1/2 small onion, minced
2 T. butter
1 c. cheddar, shredded
4 eggs
dash Salt & Pepper

 

Heat oven to 375 degrees. Melt butter in an oven-proof pan on top of the stove (for example, you can use your cast-iron skillet, if you have one). Cook chopped onion until opaque, then add canned hash and break it up, stirring to mix.

Flatten a layer of the hash on the bottom of the pan; you’re going to allow this to cook and brown a little over medium heat. Top with cheese; do NOT stir. Turn heat to low.

Place frozen biscuits on top of cheese and hash. Carefully pour eggs on hash and around biscuits.

Bake at 375 for 10 minutes.  Salt and pepper to taste.

March 18, 2010

Corned Beef Hash

Filed under: Quick Meal Tips, leftovers — Tags: , , — Anne Coleman @ 9:33 am

The day after St. Patrick’s Day in our home is always a hash day.  Our heritage is deep with Irish roots and there wouldn’t be a St. Paddy’s Day without corned beef and cabbage. Even with 9 of us, we still wind up with leftovers and I look forward to it. My favorite is hash in the morning topped with an egg – and there are only a few of the others that don’t like day-old corned beef. That’s OK – it’s just more for the rest of us.

This doesn’t take much time at all, and once it’s simmering, cook the eggs for the top and it will all come together at the right time. This amount is good for 4 to 6.

Corned Beef Hash

3 cups of corned beef – cubed
3 cups cooked potatoes – cubed
1 small onion – chopped
beef or other stock – as needed
1 egg per person – cooked as desired – optional

1. In a large skillet, cook onion in a small amount of oil until it begins to soften.
2. Add beef and potatoes and stir well. Cook until potatoes begin to brown and add enough stock to moisten.
3. Turn the heat to low, cover with a lid and let simmer while eggs are being cooked. If you’re not making eggs, cook for about 10 minutes.
4. Remove lid and cook until liquid is evaporated. Salt and pepper to taste and serve topped with a cooked egg if desired.

March 17, 2010

Midnight MeatBall Madness

Filed under: Quick Meal Tips, Trying Something New, Writing — Tags: , — Theresa H Hall @ 4:54 am

Time to go to bed? Nope. Time to try something new in the kitchen. Armed with the determination to make a healthy midnight snack, I opened the refrigerator door to find exactly what I needed. Laura’s natural 92% fat free free range beef patties. There were three left. Yes! I grabbed the package and closed the fridge door. I opened the pantry and took out the pepper grinder, Kosher salt, minced onion, garlic powder, paprika, rosemary and oatmeal. Oatmeal? Yes, oatmeal. I blended the herb and spices with the meat and after I scrubbed my hands and nails, I mixed these ingredients into the meat until it was distributed. I did not add the paprika. That was for later.

Time to turn three patties into six big meatballs. Sometimes you just have to make them. I poured olive oil into my pan which I had heated and reduced the heat to medium. I added the six meatballs to the skillet and listened to them sizzle. I always listen to the sounds my food makes as it is cooking. It tells me when to turn it. I added a little more olive oil by drizzling it over top the meat. In the meantime, I took a small onion, peeled it and sliced it into thin portions. After I turned over the meatballs I then added more olive oil and the dried rosemary leaves. The smell was so intensified by these tiny aromatic leaves that I had to inhale the earthy and romantic scent. I waited until the meatballs were ready to turn on their sides, before adding the rings of raw onion. Two minutes later, I removed the meatballs and set them aside. I sprinkled more salt and then the paprika, to give the onions color and an interesting smokiness. I sauteed them and then returned the meatballs to the skillet, spooning the onions over top. I reduced the heat to low.

I washed and pulled apart iceberg lettuce and patted the leaves dry. Next I spread the lettuce onto the dinner plate and placed the meatballs on top. The onions went on next and I got the

Ricotta cheese from the refrigerator and crumbled some smooth creamy cheese all over the hot food. This was great! Jazz music played low, the kitchen was aglow with the stovetop light and I felt excited about my Midnight Meatball Madness.

No bread? Right. You eat with your fingers. Taking a nice portion of lettuce, the meatball, cheese and onion is wrapped inside. Now you might want to use a knife and fork, but where is the adventure in that I ask? Pick it up. Take a bite and let the juicy goodness permeate your mouth and brain. This is um mm good eating and it is actually healthy for you. Twenty minutes was worth it. Being that is is Saint Patrick’s Day, I feel like the little people made me do it.

Oh, I almost forgot to mention that I have absolutely found the best ever potato chips. This is the third bag in only a week. My husband likes them too. Salt and Pepper on a chip. Fabulous!

March 16, 2010

Member Recipe Review: Pain Perdu (Lost Bread)

Filed under: Member recipes, Quick Meal Tips — Tags: , , , — Penny Hawkins @ 7:39 am

There are lots of reasons to love this recipe, but one of my favorite things about it is the name….Pain Perdu or “Lost Bread”. It conjures up visions of romantic, Casablanca/Indiana Jones-esque movies doesn’t it? Seriously… just because of the name, this recipe “had me at hello”!

Besides the great name, I was attracted to this recipe from HHM member MakeRoux because I really love the whole idea of finding ways to reclaim ”lost” or stale bread, especially in these hard economic times. Can I just throw a shout out to the cook who came up with the idea of soaking stale bread in eggs and milk and frying it up? Brilliant! Whoever it was must have lived in times like these when nothing should ever, ever get wasted, and they sure knew what they were doing!

This is another recipe I made with my grandson recently, although he was mainly interested in the process of soaking the bread in the egg/milk mixture as opposed to the actual cooking part (boys….they like the messy stuff don’t they?). Anyway, when the cooking was done, we feasted like kings and Brandon saw that breakfast is so much more than toaster pastries and cereal. He was crazy about this wonderful recipe and even suggested that next time we stuff the bread with “that cheese I like” (translated to mean cream cheese). Could it be that I have a budding chef on my hands? Only time will tell! In the meantime, I plan to make Pain Perdu again and again, and I hope you do too!

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.

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