Red Pepper Pesto

I have never tried pesto before—the stuff made with fresh basil, pine-nuts and olive oil—although it sounds interesting. But I found this recipe for Roasted Red Pepper Pesto the other day and thought I'd try it out, and it's really tasty!

I wonder what "Pesto" means anyway? Uncooked, blended-up, pasta topping? Whatever it may mean, this was delicious.

ROASTED RED PEPPER PESTO

3 large red bell peppers, roasted *
4-6 unpeeled garlic cloves (4 medium-size or 6 smallish)
1/4 cup ricotta cheese
1/2 cup parsley leaves, packed
1/2 cup shredded parmesan cheese (use fresh, not the dried-out powdery stuff)
1 tsp. dry thyme leaves (or 1 Tbsp. fresh)
2 Tbsp. extra-virgin olive oil
salt and pepper, to taste

Place garlic cloves into a small frying pan over medium-high heat. Toast them about 7 minutes, until they darken in color.
Remove garlic from the frying pan and peel. [You can snip off the root-ends of each clove with scissors and then just squeeze the garlic out by pinching from the top of the clove.]
Cut the roasted red peppers into about 2-inch pieces.
Put all ingredients into a food processor (or blender, if you don't have a food-processor) and process until smooth. [I did mine 1/2 at a time, because my processor is small. Also, it won't get 100% completely smooth. Just smooth-ish.]
Stir in salt and pepper, to taste
Now it is ready to serve over the top of your favorite pasta. I served mine with additional parmesan for sprinkling on top. :-)

Makes about four servings—depending on how much you like with your pasta. I think this would also make a marvelous sandwich spread to go with roast beef.

*To roast red bell peppers:
Slice off the tops and bottoms of the peppers.
Cut down one side of the pepper and spread the pepper open.
Remove seeds, and remove stem from top of pepper.
Lay all the pepper pieces skin-side-up on a baking sheet.
Place under a hot broiler and cook until the skin blackens—about 5-7 minutes. You may need to rotate the pan every now and then to make sure all the pepper pieces get blackened.
Remove from oven. Place peppers into a bowl and cover tightly with plastic wrap; let sit for 15 minutes.
Peel the skins from the peppers.
Now they are ready to use. Yum!
(They're delicious on sandwiches, too!)

Better Than Fried Chicken

OK. I have to admit that I am on a healthy, light-cooking kick. This is nothing new; I've been doing this kind of thing for years. But, aside from that, deep-frying anything is a big, total pain—especially chicken (which never seems to get cooked all the way through). And this is a really good recipe. I'm sure it would work beautifully with fish, too.

Use four split chicken breasts, or a whole, cut up chicken. If the breasts are big I will often cut them in half. Absolutely use the Panko crumbs—they give it a nicer texture than regular, fine bread-crumbs. [You can find them in the bulk-bins at WinCo. I've also seen them in boxes in the Asian food aisle at other stores.]

OVEN-FRIED CHICKEN

1 whole chicken [see note, above]
3 large egg whites
1 Tbsp. Dijon mustard
1/2 tsp. thyme
1/4 tsp. garlic
1/8 tsp. cayenne pepper
6 oz. panko bread crumbs
2 oz. dry wheat bread crumbs
a dash or two of Season-All (optional)
2 1/2 Tbsp. vegetable oil

Preheat oven to 425.
Place a wire rack on top of a baking sheet and spray it with cooking spray.
Mix the egg whites, Dijon mustard, thyme, garlic and cayenne pepper together in a shallow bowl.
Mix the panko crumbs, wheat bread crumbs, Season-All and vegetable oil together in a shallow dish.With your left hand, dip a chicken piece into the egg mixture.
With your right hand, dip the eggy chicken piece into the crumbs, pressing to make sure they stick.
Put the piece on the prepared rack, and repeat the process with the rest of the chicken pieces.
Spray the tops of the chicken pieces with cooking spray.
Bake until golden-brown and the meat is no longer pink, about 50-60 minutes.
Serve immediately.

Salmon-Noodle Soup

Sounds weird, huh? But it's pretty darn good and way easy to make. It's good with shrimp too—I mean, instead of the salmon; or I suppose you could use chicken. But I really like the salmon in it. Yum!

SALMON-NOODLE SOUP

6 cups water
1 tsp. salt
1 pkg. Oriental-flavor Ramen noodles
1 1/2 cups broccoli florets
1 celery rib, thinly sliced

10 oz. cooked salmon, broken into small pieces [you can use canned salmon, if you'd like]

Oor 3/4 lb. medium-size raw green shrimp, peeled and deveined
2 cups diagonally-sliced carrots

2 cups snow peas or sugar-snap peas

4 green onions, sliced [use the green and white parts]

1 tsp. peeled and grated fresh ginger

1 medium garlic clove, finely chopped

1/2 tsp. sesame oil

soy sauce (optional)

Make sure all your veggies are peeled, chopped, sliced, and grated ahead of time—this cooks fast!

Bring water and salt to boil in a medium-large-ish size pot.
Add the noodles, but NOT the seasoning packet. Also add the broccoli and celery at this time and cook for 2 minutes.
Add the salmon or shrimp (or some of both, if you want). And add the carrots, peas, green onions, ginger, garlic clove, sesame oil, and now the seasoning packet, too. Cook for 1 minute.
Stir in a dash or two of soy sauce, if desired.
Serve immediately.

Yum-yum!

Accidental Applesauce

Every year, for Thanksgiving, I bake an apple pie. For Jason. He loves apple pie and since I am a nice mom, I make it for him once a year, on Thanksgiving.

Well this year I blew it. I overcooked the apples (enough for two pies!) and had to make them into applesauce. It turned out to be the best applesauce I've ever had! Really! And I already liked applesauce.

And, yes, I did buy more apples and I still made apple pie. And it was delicious.



ACCIDENTAL APPLESAUCE

I don't really like Granny Smith apples, which are traditionally used in apple pies (I'm sure this is because they are too sour to just eat them). So I use several different kinds of apples in my pies—these are the ones I chose this year:

8 honeycrisp apples
4 Granny Smith apples
4 Jonagold apples
4 Braeburn apples

You also need:

2 Tbsp. lemon juice
about 1 cup water
sugar, to taste (I probably used 3/4 to 1 cup)

Peel, core and slice all the apples. This takes forever!
Put them into a great, big pot and toss with the lemon juice.
Add the water.
Cover the pot and put it on the stove, over low heat.
Go to your sister's house (or a friend's house) and forget all about the apples for about an hour. When the lightbulb goes on, call your kids and shriek into the phone, "Turn off the stove! Yes, the burner where the apples are."
Hurry home; check out the apples. Are they too mushy to use in a pie? Good.
Use your magic wand to blend it all into applesauce.
Stir in sugar, to taste.
Put the applesauce into smaller containers and refrigerate.
Eat it before it grows mold (within a week or so).

Makes about 3 quarts of really delicious applesauce!

Veggie Lasagna

Yesterday was Bruce's birthday; he is 40 (and better than ever!). We had a surprise dinner party--and, yes, he really was surprised! (Thanks, Family!) Once again, I used a house full of guests as guinea pigs to try out a new recipe; a vegetable lasagna, this time. The lasagna got praised all over the place, so here is the recipe. Well, I didn't have a sauce recipe--I just kind of made up my own, but I'll do my best to give you something.

And now, here is the recipe:

VEGETABLE LASAGNA

Sauce:
1 tsp. olive oil
salt
1 small onion, finely chopped
2-3 cloves garlic, finely chopped
1/8 tsp. crushed red pepper
2 (28 oz.) cans whole tomatoes

left-over roast beef, a piece about half the size of your fist should do it (optional, but it makes a yummy sauce)

1 cup chicken broth
about 2 Tbsp. basil, or to taste
1/4 - 1/2 tsp. oregano (optional)
other herbs (thyme, sage, marjoram, rosemary, etc.) to taste (optional)
1 bay leaf
2-3 Tbsp. tomato paste
1 can (8 oz.) tomato sauce
1/2 can black olives, drained

Cheese Filling:
1 lb. fat free ricotta cheese
3 cups shredded reduced-fat mozarella cheese
1/2 cup shredded Parmesan cheese
1 Tbsp. basil
1/2 tsp. salt
1 large egg
black pepper
nutmeg

Veggie Filling:
1 lb. mushrooms, cleaned and sliced thin
2 tsp. olive oil
3/4 tsp. salt
12 oz. zucchini, slice 1/4-inch thick
1 (10 oz.) package broccoli florets, thawed to room temperature

Lasagna:
*12 no-boil lasagna noodles (look for Ronzoni or Barilla)--about an 8-oz. package

*I made my lasagna the day before I baked it, but I think the noodles absorbed too much liquid by the time they'd sat in the sauce overnight and then baked for two hours. (Yes, two hours--I made a double-sized lasagna, and it needed more time to cook after being completely refrigerated. For a regular-sized one [like this recipe], I'd cook it for about 1 hour and 15 minutes after it's been refrigerated.) Anyway, if you want to prepare your lasagna a day ahead I would recommend using regular noodles. Boil them for about 9 minutes and drain them well before you assemble the lasagna. Refrigerate over-night and don't forget to cook it longer than 45 minutes. :-)

Sauce: Combine olive oil, 1/2 tsp. salt and onion in a large sauce-pot and cook, covered, stirring occasionally, until soft and translucent, about 8 minutes. Add garlic and crushed red pepper and cook about 30 seconds. Add one can of tomatoes; squish the tomatoes with a potato-masher. Blend or process the other can of tomatoes until almost smooth; add to the sauce. Add the roast beef, chicken broth, basil, bay leaf and any other herbs. Reduce heat, cover and simmer until meat is tender enough to shred with a fork; 3-4 hours. Remove the beef from the pot, shred it and return it to the pot. Remove the bay leaf. Add the tomato paste, stirring until it's completely blended in. If the sauce has reduced a lot, add some tomato sauce to it. Stir in the olives.

Cheese Filling: Mix the ricotta, 2 cups of the mozarella cheese, Parmesan cheese, basil, egg, salt, pepper and nutmeg together until thoroughly combined. [I find that this is easiest to do if you just stick your hands right in it and mix it like you would do cookie dough.]

Veggie Filling: Combine mushrooms, 1 tsp. olive oil and 1/4 tsp. salt in a large, non-stick skillet. Cook over medium-low heat until the mushrooms have released their liquid, about 8 minutes. Remove the cover and continue to cook until all of the liquid evaporates, about 5 minutes. Transfer mushrooms to a bowl; set aside.

Add the remaining teaspoon olive oil to the skillet and return to high heat until just smoking. Add the zucchini and cook, stirring often, until well browned, about 3 minutes. Transfer to a separate bowl; set aside.

Squeeze as much liquid out of the broccoli as you possibly can. Chop into small pieces; set aside.

To Assemble and Bake: Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
Lightly spray a 9x13-inch baking pan with cooking spray. Pour about 1 1/2 cups sauce into the bottom of the pan. Lay 3 lasagna noodles on top of the sauce, spaced evenly apart. Put about 1/3 cup cheese filling on each noodle and spread evenly over the noodles [I use my fingers to spread it around--easier.] Scatter the mushrooms evenly over the cheese filling, then spread about 1 cup of the sauce over the mushrooms. Repeat this layering two more times, substituting the broccoli and the zucchini for the mushrooms. (Each vegetable has its own layer.)

Lay the last three noodles on the top; spread the remaining sauce evenly over the noodles, making sure to cover the edges. Sprinkle the remaining 1 cup of mozarella cheese over the top.

Spray a piece of foil with cooking-spray and cover the lasagna tightly. Place the pan on top of a rimmed baking sheet (to catch any stuff that spills over) and *bake for 45 minutes. Let cool for 15 minutes before cutting and serving.

Delicious!

Oven "Fried" . . .

In keeping with my goal to drop 35 pounds (actually it's 30 now!) I have a tip for breaded, fried foods. You know, like onion rings or fried zucchini, or fried fish; the stuff that tastes sooooo good, and is soooooo fatty! I've tried breading and baking stuff before, only to get a soggy mess. But this really works and tastes great too. Although you may want to wait for cooler weather before you try it—you do need to use a very high temperature oven.

BREADED, "FRIED" . . . ANYTHING!

4 slices white bread, torn into 1-inch pieces*
1 Tbsp. butter, melted*
salt and pepper
1/4 cup flour*
2 large eggs*
1 Tbsp. light mayonnaise*
seasonings of choice, to taste
chicken or fish or zucchini or mushrooms or onion rings or . . .

*You may need more of these things, depending on how much "anything" you're cooking—this amount works for about four 4 to 5-ounce pieces of chicken.

Prepare ahead of time: Pulse bread, butter, salt and pepper in food processor to make medium crumbs. Transfer to a baking sheet and bake at 350 degrees about 15 minutes, stirring twice during baking time. Crumbs should be brown and dry. Set aside until ready to use.

Prepare (slice, dice—whatever, and pat dry) your veggies, chicken or fish. [You can also do "fried" mozarella this way, but you have to freeze the cheese sticks first and then work fast when you're breading them. Also I don't know that this qualifies as a low-cal food. But it is healthier than plain old deep-fried mozarella!]

Preheat oven to 450 degrees.

Put the flour into a shallow bowl. In another shallow bowl, mix together the eggs, mayonnaise and your choice of seasonings. [I find that "Season-All" is great for this stuff.] Put the bread crumbs into another shallow bowl.
Spray a large cookie sheet with cooking spray. Dredge your fish, chicken or veggies in the flour. Dip the floury food into the egg mixture. Coat the eggy mess in bread crumbs, pressing crumbs onto the food, and then place on the prepared cookie sheet.

Turn oven heat down to 425 degrees. Place cookie sheet in oven. Bake fish about 20 to 25 minutes, turning once halfway through. Bake large chicken pieces about 40 minutes, turning a couple times during cooking. [Smaller, boneless chicken pieces will work better and don't have to cook as long.] Cook veggies about 10 to 15 minutes, turning over once.

Serve hot. Yummy!!

Light Blueberry Muffins

You are thinking, "How good can that be?" Incredibly, amazingly, tantalizingly good! I love, love, love the people at Cook's Illustrated---at least I love their magazine, their website and their recipes. So I bought their cookbook, The Best Light Recipe a year or two ago. These muffins are really terrific--ya gotta try 'em! Did I mention that they are delicious?

BLUEBERRY MUFFINS

2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour (Yes, I do like unbleached flour better. At first I couldn't tell a difference, but now I really do think it tastes better than bleached flour. It makes your bread a prettier color too.)
1 cup cake flour
1 Tbsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. salt
1 cup sugar
4 Tbsp. butter, softened
2 large eggs
2 tsp. lemon juice
1/2 tsp. vanilla
1 1/2 cups plain low-fat yogurt
2 cups blueberries

Heat oven to 375 degrees. Spray your muffin tin with cooking spray. [I think Cook's Illustrated uses a bigger muffin pan than I own--this recipe fills 1 1/2 of my tins.] Whisk the flour, cake flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt and 1/4 cup of the sugar together in a medium bowl; set aside.
Beat the remaining sugar and the butter together on medium-high speed until light and fluffy, 3 to 5 minutes. Add the eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Beat in the lemon juice and vanilla.
Beat in 1/3 of the flour mixture on low speed, until just incorporated; follow with 1/3 of the yogurt, scraping down bowl as needed. Repeat this process two more times, just until you've mixed in all the flour and yogurt. Do not overmix.
Gently fold blueberries into batter. Divide batter evenly among the muffin cups. Bake until golden---25 to 30 minutes, rotating the pan halfway through. Cool muffins in pan for five minutes, then flip them onto a wire rack to cool for 10 more minutes before serving.

Quick & Easy Fruit Smoothies

This tasty treat is actually pretty healthy, and relatively low-fat. And did I mention it's very tasty? Can't beat that!
I don't actually measure the stuff I put into these, so this is an approximation:

QUICK & EASY FRUIT SMOOTHIES
Makes enough for 2

Freeze some milk in an ice tray
---about 6-8 milk-cubes
3/4 to 1 cup frozen fruit (or 1 large banana, sliced and frozen---peel it first!)
1-2 Tbsp. sugar
vanilla (optional) to taste
additional, non-frozen milk

Put frozen milk cubes, frozen fruit, sugar, vanilla and a little non-frozen milk into the blender. (How much milk? A dribble. The kind of dribble your four-year-old makes when she's pouring her own cup of milk.) Blend until smooth. If it's too thick, add a little more of that non-frozen milk.
Cool, easy and delicious---healthy too!