Used to Mommy doing everything, eh? Oh, dear. It sounds like someone badly needs a copy of Where’s Mom Now That I Need Her?. It’s a compendium of things you need to know to live on your own, a combination cookbook, laundry guide, first aid manual, and car/bicycle maintainance manual. Dr.J has an old copy (no, really, judging by the author photo on the back, it’s from the early to mid-80’s) and it’s got some helpful stuff in there. Presumably it’s still in print, but if not you might be able to find a used copy on Amazon.
Most of the following recipes came from www.flylady.com and http://www.stiinc.net/recipes.htm , but the second sweet potato soup recipe is my own. My commentary on the others is between asterisks.
Thai Peanut Pasta
8 ozs. uncooked spaghetti or angel hair pasta
1/2 cup chunky peanut butter
1/4 cup soy sauce
1/4 to 1/2 tsp. red pepper flakes
2 green onions, thinly sliced
1 carrot shredded
Cook pasta according to package directions. While pasta is cooking, blend peanut butter, soy sauce and red pepper flakes in medium bowl until smooth. Drain pasta, reserving 5 Tablespoons water. Mix hot pasta water with peanut butter mixture until smooth; toss pasta with sauce. Stir in green onions and carrot. Serve warm or at room temperature. Makes 4 servings
This sauce is also good for stir-fry and for grilling. It also adds a lot to the dish to scramble an egg and put in and/or add a bit of leftover meat. If you want to go low-carb, this is also really great with spaghetti squash.
Caesar Chicken Sandwiches
These are incredibly good, and the other night I unloaded groceries, made these and the garlic fries, unloaded and reloaded the dishwasher, and wiped down the counters–with about 45 minutes from the time I hit the door till I parked myself at the table. They’re just that fast and easy, and the recipe cuts down really well, so you can make two or three instead of a whole batch.
Serves 6
4 1/2 tablespoons flour
3/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
6 boneless, skinless chicken breasts (if the breasts are too big, cut one in half)
cooking spray (I use my own pump filled with oil)
9 tablespoons lemon juice
6 cloves garlic – minced
6 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce
dash Tabasco sauce I skip this one, since I think Tobasco’s yucky
3 tablespoons walnuts – toasted and chopped (optional) I skip this too, since we never have walnuts around and I never think to get them
6 teaspoons grated Parmesan cheese
6 whole wheat sandwich rolls-- sliced
lengthwise (or your choice) 6 Romaine lettuce leaves
Combine flour and pepper. Coat chicken with flour mixture, shaking off excess.
Spray a 10-inch skillet with cooking spray for 2 seconds; over medium heat, lightly brown chicken on both sides. Combine lemon juice, garlic, Worcestershire and hot pepper sauce; pour over chicken. Cover; simmer for 15 minutes or until chicken is done. Sprinkle walnuts and cheese over chicken.
Arrange lettuce on Hearty Wheat Sandwich Rolls; top with chicken. Serve immediately.
Per Serving: 484 Calories; 10g Fat (18.4% calories from fat); 40g Protein; 62g Carbohydrate; 9g Dietary Fiber; 101mg Cholesterol; 648mg Sodium. Exchanges: 3 1/2 Grain(Starch); 4 Lean Meat; 0 Vegetable; 0 Fruit; 1 1/2 Fat; 1/2 Other Carbohydrates.
Baked Garlic-y Steak Fries
Serves 6
8 russet potatoes
1/4 cup olive oil
2 teaspoons garlic powder I think garlic salt works better, but that’s just me.
Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Scrub potatoes well, then cut into steak fry shapes. In a large bowl, toss raw steak fries with olive oil and garlic powder, tossing till well-coated. On a cookie sheet, lay flat steak fries (not overlapping) and bake for 15 minutes, turn fries, then finish baking another 15 or so minutes (depending on how thick you cut them).
Per serving: 162 Calories (kcal); 9g Total Fat; (49% calories from fat); 2g Protein; 19g Carbohydrate; 2g Dietary Fiber; 0mg Cholesterol; 6mg Sodium Food Exchanges: 1 Grain(Starch); 0 Lean Meat; 0 Vegetable; 0 Fruit; 2 Fat; 0 Other Carbohydrates
COOKING HINTS: Get your potatoes in the oven BEFORE you start on the sandwiches…they truly don’t take long.
SERVING HINTS: Serve a little salad if you like with this or do what we do: skip the salad and serve a bowl of baby carrots right in the middle of the table.
Spicy Sweet Potato and Smoked Sausage Soup
I haven’t made this one yet, but I’m going for it when Jonathan makes his next batch of chicken stock. (He won’t get around to it till cooler weather, I’m sure.) If you don’t have the patience or freezer space to make and store your own stock, you can buy it canned. You might even could use boullion cubes, I don’t know.
Serves 6
12 ounces smoked sausage – diced (optional if you want to go veggie)
3/4 cup onion – diced
3/4 cup celery
1 teaspoon cayenne (give or take, depending on how spicy you like it or omit)
4 1/2 cups sweet potatoes – peeled and large-diced
3 tablespoons flour
4 1/2 cups chicken stock
salt and pepper to taste
Saute sausage in a large sauce pan for 5 minutes over medium heat; add vegetables and continue to saute for an additional 5 minutes; add flour and cook for 2 more minutes; add stock, salt and pepper and stir until smooth. Simmer for 20 minutes until potatoes are soft. Give it a good stir and serve.
Per Serving: 336 Calories; 18g Fat (48.9% calories from fat); 11g Protein; 31g Carbohydrate; 4g Dietary Fiber; 40mg Cholesterol; 2439mg Sodium. Exchanges: 2 Grain(Starch); 1 Lean Meat; 1/2 Vegetable; 3 Fat
Tamara’s Sweet Potato and Sausage Soup
This is an eyeball recipe, and I tweak the ratios and seasonings as the mood strikes me, so just play around with it.
Peel 2 large sweet potatoes and pop in the microwave for about five minutes, then chop them up. Put them into a large pot of water with a pat of butter, minced garlic, salt, and pepper. Bring to a boil, then cover and reduce heat. Simmer till potatoes are tender. Sautee red onion (with or without smoked sausage), then add it to soup along with brown sugar, cinnamon, and nutmeg to taste. Simmer uncovered until soup is desired consistency. Can be served hot or cold.
You can also toss everything in a crockpot in the morning and then tweak the seasonings when you get home.
Garlic Lime Chicken
Serves 6
I’ve never made this one either, but it looks yummy and can apparently be veggied up, so I thought I’d toss it in.
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon pepper
1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1/4 teaspoon paprika
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1/2 teaspoon onion powder
1/2 teaspoon thyme
6 boneless skinless chicken breast halves
2 tablespoons butter
2 tablespoons olive oil
1/2 cup chicken broth
4 tablespoons lime juice
In a bowl, mix together first 7 ingredients. Sprinkle mixture on both sides of chicken breasts.
In a skillet heat butter and olive oil together over medium high heat. Saute chicken until golden brown, about 5 minutes on each side. Turn down the heat, remove the chicken (keeping warm) and add the lime juice and chicken broth to the pan, whisking up the browned bits off the bottom of the skillet. Keep cooking until sauce has reduced slightly. Add chicken back to the pan to thoroughly coat and serve.
Per Serving: 343 Calories; 11g Fat (31.1% calories from fat); 55g Protein; 2g Carbohydrate; trace Dietary Fiber; 147mg Cholesterol; 612mg Sodium. Exchanges: 0 Grain(Starch); 7 1/2 Lean Meat; 0 Fruit; 1 1/2 Fat.
SERVING SUGGESTIONS: Roasted asparagus (preheat oven to 400 degrees, lay your asparagus in a baking dish or pan, drizzle with olive oil, salt and pepper and a smidge of thyme, bake for 10 to 15 minutes, depending on thickness of asparagi), baked potatoes (try Yukon Gold potatoes?delicious!) and steamed baby carrots (add a little butter after steaming and sprinkle some nutmeg on top before serving).
VEGETARIANS: Skip the chicken and use Boca Chikin patties instead. Dip the chikin patty in the melted butter/olive oil mixture before adding seasoning though (so it will stick). Works great! Did it on TV myself!
