Sloppy Joes

Ingredients:

• 1 tbsp canola oil
• 1 medium onion, finely chopped
• 1/2 green bell pepper, ribs and seeds removed, finely chopped
• 1 celery stalk, finely chopped
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• Coarse salt and fresh ground pepper
• 1 pound ground beef
• 1 can (15 ounces) tomato sauce
• 1/4 cup ketchup
• 1 tbsp Worcestershire sauce
• Hamburger buns

Preparation:

1. In a large skillet, heat the oil over medium-high heat. Add the onion, bell pepper, celery, and garlic; season with salt and pepper. Cook, stirring frequently, until the vegetables are softened, 5 to 7 minutes.
2. Add the ground beef to the skillet. Cook, breaking up the meat with a wooden spoon, until it is not longer pink, 6 to 8 minutes.
3. Stir the tomato sauce, ketchup, and Worcestershire sauce into the beef mixture in the skillet. Simmer until thickened, stirring occasionally, 6 to 8 minutes.
4. Season the mixture with more salt and pepper, as desired. Spoon onto the buns and serve immediately.

Planning Ahead:

• Sloppy Joe mixture keeps in the freezer for up to three months. Freeze individual portions, then defrost as needed.

Courtesy of Great Food Fast by Martha Stewart

A Fall Favorite...

Fancy Mac!!

Pat and I love, love, love this recipe this time of the year. It is great comfort food... maybe only somewhat healthy but certainly hearty. Cheese. Mmmm....

Yield: 6 servings

Ingredients

· 1 (7 ounce) can chipotle chilies in adobo sauce

· 1 tbsp. butter

· 2 cloves garlic

· ½ c. finely chopped green pepper

· ¼ c. finely chopped onion

· 1 (14 ounce) can of diced tomatoes and chilies

· 4 c. cooked macaroni

· 2 c. shredded sharp cheddar cheese

· 1 c. low fat cottage cheese

· 1 c. milk

· ¼ c. parmesan cheese

· 1 egg, lightly beaten

· Bread crumbs

Preparation

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Set aside 1 tbsp. adobo sauce from can and remove 2 chilies; finely chop to measure 1 tbsp. Melt butter in a stock pot on medium-high heat. Add chopped chilies, onion, bell pepper, and garlic; cook 4 minutes. Sprinkle with flour and cook 30 seconds. Reduce heat to medium and add tomatoes. Cook 3 minutes or until thickened. Add reserved 1 tbsp. adobo sauce, pasta, and remaining ingredients—stir to combine. Spoon pasta into a prepared baking dish (2 quart) and top with bread crumbs (if desired). Bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes or until bubbly.

Black Bean & Cheese Enchiladas with Ranchero Sauce

I am starting to realize that most of the recipes that I post include black beans and come from the Cooking Light Magazine. Hmmm.... either way, here is another great one that we just tried last night. Pat, Dan, and I loved it.

Total Time: 1 hour, 10 minutes
Serves: 6 (according to Cooking Light [i.e., normal] portion sizes.... 3-4 according to Pat portion sizes:)

2 dried ancho chilis, stemmed and seeded (I did not use these, I just used ancho chili powder)

2 c. water

2 tsp. olive oil

1 c. chopped yellow onion

5+ cloves garlic

1/4 tsp. kosher salt

2 c. vegetable broth

2 tbsp. chopped fresh oregano

2 tbsp. tomato paste

1/2 tsp. ground cumin

1 tbsp. fresh lime juice

1/8 tsp. ground red pepper

1 (15 ounce) can of black beans, rinsed and drained

2 c. shredded Mexican cheese

3 thinly sliced green onions, divided

12 (6 inch) corn tortillas

6 tbsp. sour cream

1. Preheat oven to 400 degree.

2. Combine chilies and 2 c. water in a saucepan; bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer 5 minutes. Remove from heat; let stand 5 minutes. Drain chilies in a colander over a bowl, reserving 1 c. cooking liquid. (I totally omitted this entire step and used extra veggie broth and ancho chili powder.... I could not find dried ancho chilies)

3. Heat oil in a medium saucepan over high heat. Add onion; saute 1 minute. Reduce heat to medium; add garlic and salt. Cook 5 minutes or until golden, stirring occasionally. Add broth and next 3 ingredients (through cumin); cook 8 minutes or until thickened, stirring occasionally.

4. Pour onion mixture into a blender; add chilies and reserved liquid (this is where I added the ancho chili powder... and I just dumped a bunch in and didn't measure it and about a cup of veggie broth). Remove center piece of blender lid (to allow the steam to escape); secure lid on blender. Place a towel over the opening in lid. Blend until smooth; stir in lime juice and red pepper.

5. Combine the beans, 1 c. cheese, and half the green onions in a bowl. Spread 1/2 c. sauce in the bottom of a 9x13 inch glass or ceramic baking dish coated with cooking spray. Warm tortillas according to package directions. Spoon 3 tbsp. bean mixture down center of each tortilla; roll up. Please, seam-side down, in prepared dish. Pour remaining sauce over filled tortillas. Top with the remaining cheese. Bake at 400 degrees for 15 minutes or until lightly browned. Sprinkle with remaining green onions, serve with sour cream.

Sirloin Skewers with Grilled Vegetable Couscous and Fiery Red Pepper Sauce

Another great one courtesy of Cooking Light. Pat and I made this last Tuesday, and we both loved it (i.e., Pat loved the steak and I loved the couscous)!

Pepper Sauce:

4 red bell peppers

1/2 c. fresh cilantro leaves (I omitted this and it was still excellent)

1/4 c. olive oil

3 tbsp. fresh lemon juice

1 1/2 tsp. coriander

1 1/2 tsp. ground cumin

1/2 tsp. kosher salt

1/2 tsp. caraway seeds

1/2 tsp. crushed red pepper

Couscous:

1 c. water

1 c. chicken broth

2 c. uncooked couscous

8 oz. eggplant, cut lengthwise into 1/2 inch thick slices

8 oz. squash, cut lengthwise into 1/2 inch thick slices

8 oz. zucchini, cut lengthwise into 1/2 inch thick slices

4 green onions, trimmed

cooking spray

Skewers:

1 1/2 lb. top sirloin steak, cut into 1 inch cubes

3/4 tsp. ground black pepper

1/2 tsp. kosher salt

1. Preheat broiler.

2. To prepare the pepper sauce, cut the bell peppers in half lengthwise; discard seeds and membranes. Place bell pepper halves, skin sides up, on a foil-lined backing sheet; flatten with hand. Broil for 12 minutes or until blackened. Place in a paper bag, and fold to close tightly. Let stand for 20 minutes. Peel. Place pepper and the next 8 ingredients (through red pepper) in a blender, and process until smooth.

3. Preheat grill to medium-high heat.

4. To prepare couscous, combine 1 c. water, broth, and bay leaf in a medium saucepan; bring to a boil. Stir in couscous; cover. Remove from heat; let stand 10 minutes. Fluff with fork; discard bay leaf.

5. Arrange eggplant and next 3 ingredients (through green onions) on a grill rack coated with cooking spray; grill 3 minutes on each side or until vegetables are tender and well marked. Remove from heat; coarsely chop vegetables. Combine 1/2 c. pepper sauce, couscous, and chopped vegetables in a large bowl; toss gently. Keep warm.

6. To prepare skewers, thread beef onto 12 (7 inch) skewers. Lightly coat beef with cooking spray, and sprinkle with black pepper and 1/2 tsp. of salt. Place skewers on grill rack coated with cooking spray; grill 8 minutes or until desired degree of doneness, turning once. Serve with couscous mixture and remaining sauce.

Yield: 6 servings

Grilled Stuffed Jalapenos

Hands on time: 30 min. Total time: 30 min.

The rich creamy combination of bacon, cream cheese, and cheddar is a nice foil for the muted spice of grilled jalapeno peppers. This recipe is a healthy, fresh alternative to the popular breaded and fried version. If making these poppers for a party, you can stuff the peppers, cover, and chill. Then grill just before your guests arrive.

Ingredients:

• 2 slices center-cut bacon
• 1/2 cup (4 oz) fat-free cream cheese, softened
• 1/2 cup (4 oz) cream cheese, softened
• 1/4 cup (1 oz) shredded extra sharp cheddar cheese
• 1/4 cup minced green onions
• 1 tsp fresh lime juice
• 1/4 tsp kosher salt
• 1 small garlic clove, minced
• 14 jalapeno peppers, halved lengthwise and seeded
• Cooking spray
• 2 tbsp chopped fresh cilantro
• 2 tbsp chopped seeded tomato

Preparation:

1. Preheat grill to medium-high heat.
2. Cook the bacon in a skillet over medium heat until crisp. Remove bacon from pan, drain on paper towels. Crumble bacon. Combine crumbled bacon, cheese, and next ingredients (through garlic) in a bowl, stirring to combine. Divide cheese evenly and fill the pepper halves. Place peppers, cheese side up, on grill rack or grill grate coated with cooking spray. Cover and grill peppers 8 minutes or until bottoms of peppers are charred and cheese mixture is lightly browned. Place the peppers on a serving platter. Sprinkle with cilantro and tomato. Yield: 14 servings (serving size: 2 pepper halves).

Courtesy: Cooking Light, July 2011.

Egg pasta, used for ravioli

We used this for the zucchini raviolis, but could also be manipulated otherwise. 

Ingredients

3 eggs

10.5 ozs flour

Directions

Pour flour on working surface and make a fountain with a hole in the middle of the flour. Break the eggs into the middle of the fountain. Gently beat the eggs inside to absorb the flour. While beating the eggs, add a little flour at a time with the tip of the fork. When all the flour is mixed and you have a dough consistency, knead the dough by pressing and folding gently with your hands. Now, work the dough with palm of your hands – holding with the left hand and pressing with the right, then fold the dough over and turn. Repeat this process for 5 minutes. Let the ball of dough sit for 30 minutes in the fridge. Roll the dough out with a rolling pin into a long rectangular shape, careful not to roll to wide for the pasta machine. If you do not have a pasta machine, continue to roll with the rolling pin until you reach the desired thickness. Don’t rush the process in the pasta machine – start on the thicker pasta setting and put the dough through the machine numerous times (changing the setting each pass), patiently reaching the desired thickness. Each time you will need to sprinkle flour on the pasta to keep it from sticking to the machine. Cut the dough into long rectangular pieces. Fold the dough in half to find your starting point. Prepare the filling by mixing egg, cooked eggplant and parmesan. Place the filling in leaving one finger between each filling and one finger along the edges. Brush the pasta with egg white to hold the dough together. Fold the dough over to make edges meet. Begin on one end pressing firmly with fingers in the middle then work to the edges in order to assure there is no air left inside the pasta. Use a pasta cutter to cut the ravioli. Sprinkle some flour on the surface and remove the ravioli using a spatula so they don’t stick.

Fried Zucchini Flowers

Ingredients

5 zucchini flowers

flour as needed

1 c ice cold sparkling water

¼ c parmesan

1 pinch of salt

1/3 c olive oil

smoked mozzarella optional

Directions

Combine the salt, ice cold sparkling water and parmesan in a bowl and mix well. Add some flour and mix well, keep adding until you feel you’ve reached the right consistency for the batter mixture. Clean and slice the zucchini flowers.  Add a piece of smoked mozarella in the middle of the flour.  Dip each slice into the batter and place in a pan with a few table spoons of olive oil over medium heat and fry for a couple of minutes on each side until the batter turns a golden brown color. Remove from the heat and place on a plate lined with a paper towel to absorb the excess oil.