Recipe(tried): This Weeks Winners

Here they are....**** This Weeks Winners ****

Saturday Nights Dinner

Meatballs and spaghetti. A natural. But these meatballs have pesto sauce in
them. Gives them a special flavor. This was quick and easy and really tasty:

* Exported from MasterCook *

Spaghetti with Turkey-Pesto Meatballs

Recipe By : Bon Appetit, March 1999, p. 173
Serving Size : 2 Preparation Time :0:00
Categories :
Amount Measure Ingredient -- Preparation Method
-------- ------------ --------------------------------
2 cups chunky tomato pasta sauce
1/2 lb ground turkey
3/4 cup fresh bread crumbs -- * see note
2 1/2 tbsp purchased pesto sauce
1 egg white
1/4 tsp salt
8 oz spaghetti

Spread 1 cup pasta sauce on bottom of heavy medium skillet. Mix turkey,
breadcrumbs, pesto, egg white and salt in medium bowl. Using moistened hands,
form mixture into 8 meatballs. Place meatballs in single layer in sauce. Spoon
remaining sauce over. Bring to simmer. Cover; reduce heat to medium-low and
simmer until meatballs are cooked through, stirring occasionally, about 20
minutes.

Meanwhile, coko pasta in large pot of boiling salted water until just tender but
still firm to the bite.

Drain pasta; divide between bowls. Top with meatballs and sauce.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

NOTES : * From crustless Italian bread.

Risa's notes: When I made this, I didn't have commercially made pesto sauce. I
had homemade sage pesto so I added some dried basil (I had no fresh) to the
meatballs to add that "pesto" flavor you get from the basil. Also, I made the
meatballs a bit too big. Make them a little larger than walnut size and they
should be fine.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Sunday Nights Dinner

Vegetarian. After yesterdays Jamaican Me Hungry thing on TV Food Network, I
decided to make this:

* Exported from MasterCook *

Risa's Jamaican Jerk TVP Casserole/Stir-Fry

Recipe By : Risa Golding
Serving Size : 2 Preparation Time :0:00
Categories : Vegetarian Days

Amount Measure Ingredient -- Preparation Method
-------- ------------ --------------------------------
7/8 cup "Beef" strip style TVP
1/4 cup ketchup
1/4 cup jerk sauce
1 tsp jerk dry seasoning mix
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 cup water -- hot
1 lime -- juice of
1/2 yellow squash -- in strips 2" long
1 yellow bell pepper -- in 2" long strips
3 cloves garlic -- sliced
1/2 jalapeno -- seeded & deveined
2 scallions -- sliced
2 cups cooked rice

In a medium bowl, combine 1st 6 ingredients and 1/2 the lime juice. Set aside.

Place all sliced vegetables in oval casserole. Cover with garlic and jalapeno.
Sprinkle with salt. Drain TVP and reserve marinade.

Preheat oven to 350 F. When hot, pour 1/2 marinade over food in casserole, add a
little water and cover. Bake for 1/2 hour until veggies are tender. Remove from
oven. Heat leftover marinade in a small pan until warm.

To serve, mound some cooked rice on plate. Drizzle some of the leftover marinade
over and put 1/2 the veggie/tvp mixture over rice. Drizzle a little more of the
leftover marinade over. Garnish with some jalapeno slices (or habaneros if you
prefer), some scallions and some sour cream (to ease the burn).

If you want to make this a stir-fry, heat 1 tbsp canola oil in a wok or lg
skillet. Add the harder veggies first (peppers, then squash, then scallions) and
stir-fry for a moment until crisp-tender. Then add the TVP. Mix a little
cornstarch with some water (1 tsp to 1 tbsp) and add the leftover marinade when
the tvp is heated through. Then stir in the slurry a little at a time until the
sauce is thickened. Don't add too much. It should be done and then put it over
the rice and garnish as you wish.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

NOTES : If you want, and you can take it, add more jalapeno or use your favorite
hot pepper. I used very little jalapeno because I was cooking for myself and my
non-chile head hubby. But if you are chile-heads than "kick it up" a bit more.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Monday Nights Dinner

Originally we were supposed to have tomorrow nights dinner tonight but I forgot
to soak the beans last night so we are having what I planned for tomorrow
tonight...got it? Anyway, this is Eggplant Parmesan but made a slightly
different way. From a really good book called Eat Fresh, Stay Healthy, An A-to-Z
Guide to Buying and Cooking Fruits and Vegetables by Tony Tantillo "The Fresh
Grocer" and Sam Gugino. A really great book it is. Very informative.

* Exported from MasterCook *

Eggplant Parmesan

Recipe By : Eat Fresh, Stay Healthy by Tony Tantillo & Sam Gugino
Serving Size : 8 Preparation Time :0:00
Categories : Appetizers Vegetarian Days

Amount Measure Ingredient -- Preparation Method
-------- ------------ --------------------------------
1 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
1 med onion -- minced
1 clove garlic -- minced
1 28 oz can tomatoes (with juice) -- seeded & chopped
1 1/2 tbsp tomato paste
1/8 tsp hot pepper flakes
kosher salt and freshly ground black peppe -- to taste
3 tbsp fresh basil -- chopped
2 med eggplants -- about 2 lb.
olive oil cooking spray
1/4 cup Parmesan cheese -- grated
2 sprigs basil -- or more

Heat oil in a saucepan over moderate heat. Add onion and cook a few minutes. Add
garlic and cook until onion is soft but not browned. Add tomatoes, tomato paste,
hot pepper flakes, salt, and pepper. Stir, bring to a boil, and simmer 20-25
minutes. Remove from heat, add basil and let cool at room temperature. Check for
seasonings.

Meanwhile, trim (but don't peel) eggplants. Cut into 1/4" thick slices. Spray a
nonstick skillet with olive oil cooking spray and cook slices over medium-high
heat in batches until browned, 3-4 minutes on each side. (Add more spray to
skillet - off the heat - or eggplant slices, as needed). As eggplant slices are
done, put them on a serving platter, slightly overlapping each other. Season
slices with salt and pepper.

Pour tomato sauce over eggplant, sprinkle with cheese, and garnish with basil
sprigs.

I serve it with either cooked rice or potatoes or you can go the Italian
restaurant route and use pasta. Also polenta would be good.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

NOTES : Tip from book: As the Italians have long since found out with their
sumptuous antipasto tables, many room-temperature foods taste as good or better
than foods that are hot or cold. That's because the flavors aren't masked by
extreme temperatures at either end of the spectrum.

Note from book: This interpretation of a most cliched dish, inspired by Palermo
restaurant in San Jose, CA, is light and fresh, unlike the heavy and fat-laden
versions in most mom-and-pop Italian restaurants. Serve it at room temperature
as part of an antipasto table (the way it's served at Palermo). You can also
serve it by itself as a first-course for dinner, or as a light entree for lunch.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Tuesday Nights Dinner

* Exported from MasterCook *

Zippy White Chili with Susan's Cornbread

Recipe By : Adapted from C/P Archive at Southernfood.miningco.com
Serving Size : 10 Preparation Time :0:00
Categories : Chilis & Stews

Amount Measure Ingredient -- Preparation Method
-------- ------------ --------------------------------
1 lb dried white beans -- great northern
6 cups fat-free chicken broth
2 cloves garlic -- minced
2 med onions -- chop & divide in 1/2
1 tbsp olive oil
1 4 oz can green chiles -- diced
2 tsp ground cumin
2 tsp oregano
1/4 tsp cayenne pepper -- or more to taste
Hot Sauce -- lots!!!
1 lb cooked poultry (chicken or turkey) -- diced (opt.)
1 8 oz pkg colby/jack cheese combo -- shredded
2 tbsp parsley flakes -- or some fresh

Soak beans overnight in water to cover. Drain.

Combine beans, broth, garlic and onion in 6 qt crockpot. Cook on low 6-8 hours.
Add spices and chicken. Cook another hour. Top individual servings with cheese &
sour cream.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

NOTES : I found this at the Crockpot Archives at Southernfood.miningco.com but
it is not a crockpot recipe. Kind of confusing, isn't it? Anyway, it looked
really good and is. I didn't have dried cannellini or great northern beans so I
used pinto. But it was still good.

I served it with my adapted version of Susan Powter's Cornbread and a selection
of hot sauces on the side.

Other cooking notes: I had already cooked the beans the day before, so I put the
cooked beans and the rest of the ingredients except the cheese in the crockpot
and cooked it for 4-5 hours. I used jalapenos with the canned green chiles and
it wasn't hot enough. To me chili should be hot. This was not. So at the table I
added some Scorned Woman Hot Sauce (hubby used Frank's Red Hot, he has less of a
tolerance to heat) and it was perfect, with some extra slilced jalapenos on top.
Right before serving, I put the cheese on top and covered it (unplugged) and the
cheese melted. It was quite tasty anyway. * Exported from MasterCook *

Cornbread

Recipe By : Adapted from C'Mon America, Let's Eat by Susan Powter
Serving Size : 8 Preparation Time :0:00
Categories : Bread

Amount Measure Ingredient -- Preparation Method
-------- ------------ --------------------------------
1 cup all-purpose fllour
1 1/2 cups cornmeal -- yellow or white
1 tsp brown sugar -- * see note
1/2 tsp salt
3/4 tsp baking soda
1 tbsp baking powder
1 cup buttermilk -- ** see note
1 cup creamed corn
3 egg whites -- beaten ***
2 tbsp honey
1 tbsp Butter Buds
1/2 jalapeno pepper -- chopped
2 tsp anaheim pepper -- chopped

Preheat oven to 400 F.

Combine dry ingredients. Combine wet ingredients. Mix wet and dry ingredients
together. Add chopped peppers. Bake in nonstick 8" baking pan for approx. 30
minutes, or until it springs back when lightly touched in the center. - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Serving Ideas : chili

NOTES : * I used some all natural sugar I had. You can use that or the brown,
not much of a sweetness difference.

** I didn't have already made buttermilk so I used buttermilk powder and water
for the amount needed.

*** I didn't feel like separating eggs so I used Just Whites and water whipped
up in the food processor. So much easier to me.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Wednesday Nights Dinner

I bought a Pillsbury Pizza Crust and it was very impromptu as to what I was
going to do with it. I usually know exactly what I am going to do (I plan it a
week ahead of time) but this time I purposely did it like this. I looked in the
refrigerator. I saw what I had to use - some onions, some pesto, tomatoes,
cheese...I can work with that. This was so good that my 3 year old, who has
never eaten pizza by himself, ate this and loved it. He asked for more the next
day.

* Exported from MasterCook *

Onion, Tomato & Pesto Pizza

Recipe By : Risa Golding
Serving Size : 3 Preparation Time :0:00
Categories : Vegetarian Days Pizza

Amount Measure Ingredient -- Preparation Method
-------- ------------ --------------------------------
1 commercial pizza crust -- or homemade
2 med onions -- sliced
2 plum tomatoes -- sliced
2 heaping tbsp pesto sauce -- whatever flavor
salt and pepper -- to taste
1 tbsp chopped herbs (basil, oregano, sage...)
1/2 26 oz jar pasta sauce -- your favorite
3/4 cup Mozzarella cheese -- shredded*

Preheat oven to 400 F. When oven is hot, place crust on baking stone and
pre-bake for 7 minutes. While pre-baking, put sliced onions in a microwaveable
container, dribble a little water in, cover with plastic wrap and cook on HIGH
for 2 minutes.Then take it out, put it in a medium bowl with pesto sauce, salt
and pepper and chopped herbs. Spread sauce over pre-baked crust, then spread
onion mixture over top. Top that with sliced tomatoes and the cheese.

Bake at 400 F for 15 minutes until cheese is all bubbly.

Serve with your favorite garnishes, such as chopped garlic, oregano, hot pepper
flakes, whatever.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

NOTES : * use whatever cheeses you like or have on hand. I had shredded
mozzarella. If you are trying to lose weight or remain at your present weight,
use low fat or fat free. Whatever.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Thursday Nights Dinner

Made believe it was summertime again. Had Pork Chops to make. Only way I know is
to grill. Didn't have the grill set up outside yet. So whipped out the grill pan
and this is what I did...

* Exported from MasterCook *

My "Grilled" Pork Chops

Recipe By : Risa Golding
Serving Size : 2 Preparation Time :0:00
Categories : Pork Grilling & BBQ

Amount Measure Ingredient -- Preparation Method
-------- ------------ --------------------------------
4 med center-cut pork chops -- washed & dried
salt and pepper -- to taste
Bayou Blast or spice rub -- for rubbing
1 tbsp canola oil
1/2 cup barbecue sauce -- pref. Jim Beam Sauce

Wash the pork chops and dry them with paper towels. Salt and pepper them on both
sides. Rub some spice rub or Bayou Blast in on both sides. Place in a
ziploc-type bag. Refrigerate for several hours.

Heat grill pan. When hot, rub with oil. Take chops out of bag and place right on
grill. Cook until you get nice grill marks, about 6 minutes on one side. Flip
over and cook on other side until juices stop running when pricking chop. Take
off and make a little slice in it and see if there is still red. you can also
use an instant read thermometer. If it reaches 140 F, take chops off pan. Let
sit for awhile. Then take sauce on rub it on both sides and place back in pan
for a moment or so.

Serve with potatoes, salad (or coleslaw) and some more sauce on the side.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Serving Ideas : potatoes, salad
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Friday Nights Dinner

Here, in Jersey, we had lousy weather. Lousy weather always makes me think of
comfort food. To me, the ultimate comfort food is Risotto. Here is a lower fat
version and just as flavorful.

* Exported from MasterCook *

Risotto with Asparagus and Clams

Recipe By : Eat Fresh, Stay Healthy by Tony Tantillo & Sam Gugino
Serving Size : 4 Preparation Time :0:00
Categories : Rice Dishes

Amount Measure Ingredient -- Preparation Method
-------- ------------ --------------------------------
30 littleneck clams -- scrubbed OR
2 cans chopped clams -- soaked in milk*
3 cups water + 3 cups chicken stock -- ** see note
1 tbsp butter
1/2 cup onion -- finely chopped
3 tsp garlic -- minced
1 jalapeno pepper -- seeded & minced***
2 cups arborio rice
2/3 cup dry white wine
2 cups asparagus spears, trimmed of tough ends -- cut in 1"
inch pc.
2 tbsp fresh parsley -- chopped
1/2 tsp lemon rind -- grated
kosher salt and freshly ground blk pepper -- to taste

1) Put clams in a large covered skillet over medium-high heat, shaking a few
times. Remove clams from heat as soon as they open. As soon as they are cool
enough to handle, remove clams from shells, halve (unless very small), and
reserve any liquid. Strain clam liquid through cheesecloth and into a large
saucepan with Chicken Stock and water. Bring to a boil and reduce to a simmer.

2) Put butter in a heavy-bottomed saucepan over medium-low heat. Add onion,
garlic, and jalapeno pepper. Cover and cook gently until soft, about 3 minutes.
Add rice and stir to coat. Add wine, increase heat to medium, and bring to a
boil.

3) Begin adding stock, a cup or so at a time, stirring occasionally while
risotto is at a simmer. After the second cup, add the asparagus. Continue adding
stock as the rice absorbs the previous amount of liquid.

4) When the last cup of stock has been added, stir in reserved clams, parsley,
lemon rind, salt and pepper to taste. When risotto is tender, but still firm,
remove from heat (you may not need to use up all the liquid.) Keep tasting to
see when the risotto is right. It should take about 25-30 minutes.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

NOTES : * I soak seafood and sometimes fish in milk to rid it of any odors. I
got this tip from Cooking Live on TV Food Network and it works beautifully. I
use it with canned foods too to get rid of the canned odor that sometimes
appears.

** I used lobster base and water to come up with the amount needed. I thought it
would give it a richer flavor since there was little butter and no cheese in
this to give the richness you usually have with risotto.

*** I used one jalapeno and you hardly tasted it at all. Felt no heat at all so
next time add more jalapeno or some red pepper flakes for heat.

Other notes: If you are not using fresh clams, obviously ignore the first step
and start the risotto with the 2nd step. Add the clams in the 4th step as it
says. Just make sure to drain them of the milk (if you use that tip.)

I served it with some warm garlic rolls. You can use whatever bread you like. A
salad would also be nice or soup.