Mom’s Club Recipes: Skillet Lasagna and Fennel Salad (and other stuff)
February 14th, 2011 § Leave a Comment
Hi!
First of all: Happy Valentine’s Day! <3 I hope you’re spending the evening with your honey, your friends, or doing something special for yourself. Personally, I feel like curling up on the couch with a bowl of banana soft serve and watching Eclipse. However, I think I’m legally bound to lavish affection on my husband tonight. My work is never done. I keed, I keed, I hope we both can stay up past 9:00 p.m. to watch “Eclipse” together.
Secondly: I hope you had a nice weekend! We took Peter to the movie theater for the first time to see “Gnomeo and Juliet” (not the best animated movie I’ve ever seen, but it was cute).
Operation Consume Popcorn: Accomplished
After the movie, we came home and I made my Comforting Cabbage dish for dinner. It was just as good as I remembered.
"Comforting Cabbage"
Tonight I’m making Orzo Lentil Pilaf. Apparently, somebody is in need of comfort food! I may need to try a vegan macaroni and cheese recipe this week…(yes, I’m still limiting my cow’s dairy intake!)
Undoubtedly, this week is already better than last week when I remained culinarily (real word?) uninspired. I didn’t cook much at all….well, I did make homemade applesauce, but it was nothing to write home about. I got a little overzealous in Trader Joe’s two weeks ago and bought 8 pounds of apples. I had four pounds sitting on the counter last week getting all kinds of wrinkly, and the mere thought of chewing all those apples within a day or two made my jaw tired.
So many apples, so little time...
I first thought I’d make apple crisp, but realized that most of it would probably go to waste since we’re not big sweet eaters here. My second thought was applesauce since it’s multifunctional. We could eat it plain, put it in oatmeal, over pancakes, freeze some for later, etc.
So, applesauce it was. I followed this recipe, but used brown rice syrup instead of sugar. I did learn that an immersion blender is a perfectly suitable way to mash the apples once they’re cooked (my potato masher is practically useless.)
You're useless. Are you even a potato masher? I've no idea.
Now, here’s what you came for, the Mom’s Club recipe of the week. Nancy provided two great recipes this week, and here they are:
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For this recipe I usually make a huge batch of homemade sauce on the weekend, and then freeze individual bags of sauce to thaw and use as needed. This is great for all those lasagna noodles that have been broken and you don’t know what to do with them.
Skillet Lasagna
prep : 5 minutes cook: 30 minutes
1/2 lb ground beef, pork or turkey (or none at all)
2 tbs of balsamic vinegar (omit if not using meat)
2 tsps of Italian seasonings
4 uncooked lasagna noodles, broken into large pieces
1 (14.5) can diced tomatoes with onions undrained, OR I use same amount of home-made sauce
1 cup of bottled roasted red bell peppers, chopped ( I omit because I put peppers in home-made sauce)
3/4 cup of water
5 tsp pesto
1 cup skim ricotta cheese
1/2 cup mozz and parm shred cheese
Cook meat in a large nonstick deep skillet. Add vinegar (to beef) and Italian seasoning. Dollop ricotta over meat, and add shredded cheese. Top with broken noodles, making one flat layer (noodles will overlap a little bit).
Pour tomatoes and peppers over noodles, making sure that noodles are completely covered (or pour sauce over). Repeat 2-3 layers ( top layer should be noodles, just like regular baked lasagna). Add water. Dollop pesto by half tsp over top ( if I don’t have any I just omit). Bring mixture to a boil. Cover, reduce heat and simmer for 30 minutes or until noodles are cooked through. Uncover and sprinkle shred cheese on top. Cover let stand 2 minutes or until cheese melts. Cut into wedges, remove with a slotted spatula.
Fennel Salad ( can’t really get the kids to eat this yet, they get a different salad, but us big people like it)
2 cups thinly sliced fennel bulbs ( about 4 small bulbs)
1 small red onion, thinly sliced
1 cup bottled citrus sections or fresh orange sections
2 tsps olive oil
1/2 tsp kosher salt (I have used sea salt)
1/4 tsp black pepper or to taste
1 tablespoon fennel fronds
Combine first 3 [ingredients] in a large bowl. Add oil and remaining ingredients toss gently to coat.
These recipes have been adapted from CookingLight Superfast suppers.
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(Thanks , Nancy! I cannot wait to try the fennel salad. I actually just bought some at Trader Joe’s – pwa)
Talk to you soon!
Mom’s Club Recipe: Peanut Butter Chicken over Quinoa
January 29th, 2011 § Leave a Comment
Hi! I hope your weekend is off to a great start! Our’s is 
Yesterday afternoon we had Peter’s first parent/teacher conference (he’s doing awesomely) and then we had the best pizza we’ve had yet in Central Massachusetts, at Flats in Worcester. Flats focuses on local, organic ingredients, which is music to my ears (eyes? Whatever. You know what I mean). And they serve up pizza with a thin, crispy crust, which is music to my mouth. (Central Mass is the land of thick crust “Greek-style pizza.” Being from New Haven county, I’m all about the thin crust). Flats also offers delicious-sounding salads, sandwiches, and appetizers/snacks.
We started with the white bean hummus appetizer. The creamy and garlicky hummus was served atop two big crispy romaine lettuce leaves. The hummus delivery vehicles (HDVs) were crostini and crispy wontons. The dish was fresh and delicious. We followed that up with the “Jules” pizza (classic Napoli , thin crust, red sauce, torn basil, fresh mozzarella, sea salt and evoo). It was a little heavy on the evoo, but besides that it was wonderful. It was my first time eating real cheese in nearly a month. It was good, but I can still say that I’ll be limiting my cow’s dairy intake. I might have pizza with cow’s milk cheese once a month. On the rest of our “pizza nights” I’ll stick to veggie/hummus subs or make homemade pizza with Daiya.
Oh, one little touch that I loved was when the waitress brought out the pizza (cut into large, haphazard rectangles) on a ginormous silver tray, she placed the tray on top of a big empty tomato can (you’ll have to use your imagination because I was too busy stuffing my face to take pictures. I know, food blogger extraordinaire over here.) So, the can was a space saver and a reuse/recycle effort! Love it!
If you find yourself in Worcester, go to Flats (and BYOB). The End.
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Onto the real story of the day, here’s this week’s Mom’s Club recipe from Pam:
…Anyway, the recipe that I am going to share today is Peanut Butter Chicken over Quinoa. My son used to be allergic to lots of foods – milk, eggs, wheat, soy, apples, pineapple, spinach, but strangely enough, nuts have always been okay for him. So, for years, I had to cook allergen-free meals, and this one was everybody’s favorite.
Peanut Butter Chicken
2 Tablespoons vegetable oil
1 pound skinless, boneless chicken breast halves, cut into 1-inch cubes* (organic chicken, if possible – pwa)
1 medium onion, sliced
7 fresh mushrooms sliced (I slice them large, so we can pick them out of the children’s portions, as they don’t like mushrooms)
1/8 teaspoon red pepper flakes
1 (14 oz) can diced tomatoes with juice (I like petit cut diced tomatoes)
3/4 cup chicken stock (I use boullion & water if I don’t want to open a carton of chicken stock)
3/4 cup smooth peanut butter
salt and pepper to taste
prepared quinoa
Directions:
Heat oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the chicken pieces and cook until chicken starts to turn white. Add the onion, mushrooms, and red pepper flakes. Season with salt and pepper. Cook, stirring constantly (I just stir occasionally) until onions are translucent, about 5 minutes.
Pour the tomatoes and chicken stock into the skillet, and simmer for about 10 minutes, or until chicken is cooked through. Stir in peanut butter and cook, stirring constantly until the sauce thickens. This should take only a minute or two. If the sauce is not thickening, you may stir in more peanut butter.
Serve over quinoa (or rice or noodles).
*I have also made this recipe using chick peas instead of chicken.
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(Thanks, Pam! I’m definitely going to try this. I’ll probably make two pans – one with organic chicken and the other with chickpeas. Updated to add: while I was putting romaine lettuce leaves in my juicer, I thought that this dish may be a good filling for a lettuce wrap…I’m not sure how thick the sauce is, though…maybe the solid ingredients can be taken out of the pan with a slotted spoon and used as the lettuce wrap filling (along with quinoa) and then the sauce leftover in the pan could be used as a dip? - pwa)
Mom’s Club Recipe: Salmon Burgers
January 14th, 2011 § Leave a Comment
Hello! I hope you’re doing well~
Here’s a Salmon Burger recipe from Sarah:
Salmon Burgers
1 14.75 oz can salmon (I get the wild Alaskan salmon at Trader Joe’s–(Sarah))
1/2 cup egg substitute (I use one egg–(Sarah))
1/2 cup crushed saltines (about 14–I have used whole grain crackers before too–(Sarah))
1/3 cup sliced green onions (I skip this if I don’t happen to have any– (Sarah))
1 tbs lemon juice
1/4 tsp salt and pepper
Let your kids crush the saltines (FUN!) and dump everything into a bowl and mix. If you don’t usually buy canned salmon you just need to open it up and pull out the bones–a little messy but still quick and easy to do. Mix it all up and form four patties. Cook in skillet, medium heat, for about 3-5 minutes a side until just browned.
I serve them plain with rice pilaf and green beans. You could make actual burgers with buns and fixings too.
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(Thanks, Sarah! I haven’t tried these yet, mainly because I don’t care for fish, but I may make them for Pete and Peter. Here’s an article from “Prevention” magazine which discusses the dangers of farmed salmon and recommends using canned salmon, which is almost exclusively wild salmon. I do wonder about the BPA in the cans, though! Nothing is easy when it comes to choosing the “right” food…We can only make educated decisions and hope for the best! – pwa)
(One last thing, no matter what I’m eating, whether it’s a kale salad or a plate of fries, I always say a little blessing in my head like “Thank you for this food and allow it to nourish me as best it can. – pwa)
Have a great weekend!
Mom’s Club Recipes: Pulled Chicken Sandwiches in Slow Cooker
December 3rd, 2010 § Leave a Comment
Before I get to Liane’s recipe, I want to let you know that I baked the Orange Cornmeal Crisps yesterday and…I think I love them. The cookie is buttery and shortbready, yet not too heavy thanks to the crispness of the cornmeal. The glaze is very sweet, so it’s impossible for me to eat more than one cookie. Which is a good thing, I suppose. However, I got to thinking about what could balance the sweetness, and I decided to trying handling them as I handle many of my “problems”: by adding dark chocolate. In this case, dipping the bottom of the cookies in melted 85% dark chocolate.
While the chocolate didn’t exactly balance the sweetness, it did add a nice layer of slightly bitter chocolate flavor. Next time I may skip the glaze altogether and just dip half the cookie in melted dark chocolate. I can say with 99.995% certainty that these babies, glazed or unglazed, will appear at the Christmas party. And they’re Peter approved. He had two for breakfast this morning. What? It’s Friday.
Oh, in addition to the butter and eggs, you should use organic oranges since you’re using the zest. Do you really want pesticides and insecticides in your zest? I didn’t think so.
Now here is Liane’s Mom’s Club Recipe of the week:
I got this recipe from my sister who is a weight watchers lifetime member…. my kids really liked it and so did my hubby – but he said the chicken breast was too dry so next time I did half breast and half thighs ( boneless of course).
It seems too easy but here goes….
Pulled Chicken Sandwiches in Slow Cooker
Ingredients
1-2 lbs boneless chicken breast or thighs
1 small onion
barbeque sauce
Water
Whole Wheat buns
Directions:
- Chop up one onion fine mix it with 3/4 a bottle of favorite BBQ sauce
- Pour over chicken
-Add 1/2 cup water
-Place on Slow for 8 hours
- Just before ready to serve – take two forks and “shred” the chicken
- Place on whole wheat rolls
Just a side note I usually serve this with green beans and french fries….
[I haven't tried this either, although it sounds like an easy and relatively healthy meal. I would just be sure to buy barbeque sauce that doesn't contain high fructose corn syrup and other "junk." The green beans are a nice side, but I'd replace the french fries with roasted sweet potatoes! - pwa]
Mom’s Club Recipes: Leftover Turkey Ideas
November 26th, 2010 § Leave a Comment
I hope you had a wonderful Thanksgiving! Are you taking part in the Black Friday madness? Not us — we got up early and headed out for a diner breakfast and now we’re home relaxing. It’s cold and drizzly here today, so it’s a perfect day for hanging out at home. I think I’ll scrub the house from top to bottom since my husband is home to play with Peter. Or maybe I’ll take a nap. TBD.
So, this week’s Mom’s Club recipes are from Shari:
The Gobble-Good Turkey Casserole was shared with my son by his kindergarten teacher, Mrs. T, last year and it was a hit with all of us, including the kids. It’s particularly easy and satisfying.
Gobble-Good Turkey Casserole
1 can of cream of mushroom soup
1 can of cream of celery soup
1 package onion soup mix
1 cup [uncooked] rice
1 1/2 cups milk
2-3 cups leftover turkey
[Preheat oven to 350 degrees]
Combine all ingredients in large casserole dish. Cover. Bake at 350 for 45 minutes.
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The Turkey (or Chicken) Tetrazzini recipe is from Fan Fare cookbook (out of print now but published by the The Rochester Philharmonic League in 1981). My mom has made it for years after Thanksgiving and is delicious served with cranberry sauce. It’s not the lowest maintenance recipe but is worth the work.
Turkey (or Chicken) Tetrazzini
(from Fan Fare, The Rochester Philharmonic League, 1981)
1 cup diced celery
1 cup diced green pepper
1/2 cup diced onion
1/2 lb. sliced mushrooms
1/2 cup butter
1/4 cup flour
1 cup milk
3/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
2 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp pepper
1 clove garlic, crushed
2T Worcestershire sauce
6 whole chicken breasts, (I use about 3-4 cups of cooked turkey) cooked, skinned, boned and cut in bite-sized pieces 1/4 cup white wine
1 pkg. (8 oz.) spaghetti, broken and cooked
1/2 lb. sharp cheddar cheese, grated
[Preheat oven to 350 degrees]
Cook celery, green pepper, onion and mushrooms in butter until onion is transparent. Blend in flour; add milk, stirring constantly. Blend in [cheddar] cheese, salt, pepper, garlic, Worcestershire sauce, chicken and wine. Stir until cheese is melted. Fold cooked spaghetti into mixture. Place in greased 9 x 13-inch casserole and sprinkle with Parmesan cheese. Bake covered at 350 for 45 minutes to an hour or until casserole is bubbling. 8-10 servings. (I would say 6-8!) Serve with cranberry sauce.
Mom’s Club Recipes: Middle Eastern Stuffed Peppers
November 19th, 2010 § Leave a Comment
This week’s recipe was submitted by Nancy:
Middle Eastern Stuffed Peppers
Can be prepared on the stove or in the crock pot.
Ingredients:
Peppers:
1 lb hamburg*
1/3 c uncooked rice*
1 firm red tomato
3 tblsp tomato paste
2 medium onion chopped ( I only use one – [Nancy])
2 tblsp parsley, dried basil
1tsp salt (I use 1/2)
1/4 tsp black pepper
1/2 tsp paprika
1/2 c water
5 green peppers (cut tops off and keep, clean out inside season w/ salt)
- Mix above ingredients and stuff peppers, place tops back on.
Sauce:
1 can stewed tomato
1/2 tsp salt
1 c chicken broth
- Combine and pour over peppers.
2 tblsp melted butter, spoon over peppers
Bring to boil on stovetop, reduce to slow boil (simmer) for 2-3 hours. Use may also do this with your crock pot but extend the cooking time on high to 5-6 hours, the peppers should be soft not firm when finished. Serve hot with plain greek yogurt or sour cream on top.
This use[d] to be liked by all the family members until recently, my 4 year has decided it looks too “mushy” to eat. Great leftover too:)
[*Note from Nancy: The ground beef and rice are uncooked before being stuffed. The water added to the pot cooks it all together. I use a large sauce pot. I don't know the real name of pans/pots but some would call it a corn or lobster pot so large enough to fit 5-6 peppers in the bottom. Hope that helps. In the recipe it does say how much water and tomatoes to pour over them ("sauce") before boiling/slow boil.]
(I haven’t made this dish yet either! It’s on my list. If you can’t tell, my “recipes to make” list is very, very long. The one thing I will add is if you’re going to use ground beef, try to find organic, grass-fed beef – pwa)
Mom’s Club Recipe: Moroccan Chicken with Chickpeas and Cumin
November 11th, 2010 § Leave a Comment
Here’s a recipe submitted by Shari (click on picture to enlarge):
Source: Not Your Mother’s Slow Cooker Cookbook
Notes from Shari:
A few caveats from my experience:
- I’ve used both boneless and bone-in chicken thighs with equal success and I also think it would probably still be good with chicken breasts
- I had to turn it on “high” for a while to make sure the chicken cooked. I don’t think you can really overcook this meal so go ahead and turn it up if necessary.
- I’ve been very generous with the peanut butter and have added it in before the very end so that the flavor really mixes in.
- Don’t forget to serve with fresh cilantro at the end- YUM!!!!!!!
(I haven’t made this yet, but I plan to very soon! – pwa)
Mom’s Club Recipes
November 5th, 2010 § 2 Comments
I belong to a Mom’s Club and last month five of us decided to start an email recipe swap. We’re all looking for healthy and simple dinners that will make the whole family happy (which in many families is ”Mission: Impossible,” but we have to try, right?)
Luckily, my guys are open to eating pretty much anything…although Peter wouldn’t touch the fancy spaghetti squash dish I made last night. I think his exact words were “no eat dat stuff.” His loss ;-P Now there’s more left over for me. Pete thought it was great, but a little strong in the garlic department. Hey, there’s no such thing as “too much garlic.” It keeps you healthy!
In any case, I’ve asked the other moms’ permission to include their recipes on my blog, and they’ve been kind enough to agree. It’ll be nice to have the recipes in one spot instead of having to search through emails. And since I don’t have a printer hooked up at home, that’s exactly what I’d end up doing.
I’m going to post the recipes verbatim, exactly as they were emailed, but I will provide my comments if I made any replacements/changes.
There will be a mix of vegetarian and non-vegetarian dishes. Some will be family recipes, others will be from a cookbook (and noted as such). I haven’t made all of the recipes myself yet, so some may be posted without any of my insightful commentary or pictures. Ha ha! I’m sure you’ll survive, and possibly be thankful :-)
Today, I’ll share a recipe for pasta fagioli.
I made this dish last week, but I replaced the ground meat with an extra 15-oz. can of kidney beans and I used orecchiette pasta, which made it a really hearty and filling dish.
Sarah’s Pasta Fagioli
Ingredients
1lb. ground beef (I use turkey – sarah) (I replaced with 15 oz. can of kidney beans – pwa)
1 onion, diced
1 large carrot, diced
3 stalks celery, diced
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 28 oz can diced tomatoes
1 15 oz can kidney beans
1 15 oz can great northern beans
1 15 oz can tomato sauce
1 12 oz can tomato-vegetable juice (V8)
1 tblsp white vinegar
1 1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp oregano
1 tsp basil
1/2 tsp thyme
1/2 tsp pepper
1/2 lb pasta (I used orecchiette - pwa)
Directions
Brown beef or turkey Add onion, carrot, celery, and garlic and saute 10 minutes. Add everything else except pasta. Simmer 1 hour. Cook pasta separately and add at the end. Simmer all together as long as you want.
(Note: Since I didn’t use meat, I sautéed the onion in about 4 tbsp. olive oil until translucent, then added the carrots and celery and sautéed for about 10 minutes, then I added the garlic and sautéed for about another 2 minutes. I then added everything else, except the pasta, to simmer for an hour – pwa)
Enjoy!
