Today at 5:00 PM, I will draw a name from a hat for a winner from all the comments given on Tuesday’s post – my own Ode to Trader Joe’s –  and that winner will be announced on tomorrow’s post. I’m using up the last of those Trader Joe ingredients, left from the sandwich, for this pasta. I spent $20.58 last Sunday (weekend shopping – yuck!) and made 3 full meals for a total of 14 servings. Even if you add in the few things I already had on hand; couple tablespoons olive oil, 1/2 cup white wine, parmesan, spaghetti…  that still comes to less than $2 per serving! Plus, all three dishes fit into the “Easy-Breezy” category – that cannot be beat!

Pasta in a Hurry

1/2 pound dried whole- wheat spaghetti
2 tablespoons olive oil
8 garlic cloves, peeled and thinly sliced
6 medium tomatoes, roughly chopped
1/2 cup dry white wine
4 ounces arugula leaves
1/2 pound cooked chicken, shredded or cubed
1/3 cup freshly grated or shredded parmesan cheese
1/2 cup cubed mozzarella-prosciutto cheese roll
Focaccia, if desired

Bring a large pot of water to a boil and cook the spaghetti until just al dente.

Meanwhile, heat a large skillet over high heat, add oil and then stir-fry the garlic until just golden, about 1 minute, be careful to not burn. Quickly add tomatoes and wine and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer for 2 minutes. Toss in arugula and stir for about 30 seconds, just to wilt. Stir in the chicken and heat through, about 1 more minute.

Drain the pasta an add it to the skillet with the sauce. Toss well, cook another minute, while stirring.  Add the parmesan cheese and mozzarella-prosciutto cheese roll cubes just before serving.

Serve with warmed focaccia, if desired.

Serves 4

My darling daughter, Marissa, requested I post some yummy and easy sides. How about an outline – sort of a guide on how to make quick improvisational sides anytime you want? I made this dish with what I had on hand in my produce drawers. You begin by gathering your hard vegetables together; such as onion, carrots, celery, bell peppers, fennel, parsnips, squash, etc. Clean and chop.

Next pull out your soft vegetables; things like spinach, mushrooms, tomatoes, leftover cooked potatoes, etc. and prep them. Sauté the hard vegetables together until soft, add in the soft veggies and season, that’s all there is to it! You can add in other items too, such as canned drained beans, chickpeas, frozen corn, chopped olives or artichoke hearts…getting the idea?

Once you have the vegetables cooked, use them in pastas, salads, quesadillas, wraps, or on their own as a nutritious, colorful side dish.  I like to keep a small bowl on hand to add into scrambled eggs for a quick, satisfying, and ”no-brainer” breakfast. (because who wants to think too hard in the morning?)

Here, I am adding them to some brown rice as a side. Instead of the rice, mix it up by serving on top of couscous or quinoa. Also pictured at the bottom, I’ve chilled the rice and veggie mixture, formed it into a patties (mix in a tablespoon or two of sour cream, mayonnaise, beaten egg, crème fraîche, or soft cream cheese to help bind the mixture, if needed). Bread the patty with a mixture of Parmesan cheese and panko, chill the breaded rice cakes for a couple hours, then cook in a little olive oil, to brown and crisp them, and serve on their own or with a little bit of hot marinara sauce. Versatile, right?

Versatile Sautéed Vegetables and Brown Rice

1/2 cup brown rice
1 1/4 cups water
2 tablespoons olive oil
1  cup  chopped onion
1  cup  diced red bell pepper
1/2  cup  diced celery
2 garlic cloves, peeled and minced
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 teaspoon Italian seasoning
1/8 teaspoon red pepper flakes
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
2 cup sliced spinach leaves
1 cup sliced basil leaves
3 Roma tomatoes, roughly chopped

To slice leafy greens and herbs such as the spinach and basil, stack the leaves and roll, then thinly slice... this is a chiffonade.

Place rice and water  in a rice cooker or in a saucepan with a tight fitting lid. Stir to combine, turn on rice cooker and let it do it’s magic. Or in a saucepan, bring to a boil, turn down to a low simmer, put on lid and allow to cook for about 20 minutes, or until rice in tender and liquid is absorbed.

In the meantime, heat a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add olive oil, then the hard vegetables; in this case – the onion, peppers, celery, and garlic; sauté 4 or 5 minutes, until tender. Season with salt and pepper, Italian seasoning, and red pepper flakes.

Next stir in the soft vegetables; the spinach, basil and tomatoes; sauté about 3 minutes or until spinach is wilted.

Serves 4

Veggie-Rice cakes with marinara sauce

quick and colorful breakfast

Say the word “casserole” and you will generally get one of two typical responses… a huge smile filled with excitment from the person who knows that something hearty, filling, and tasty is about to come their way… or a turned up nose and rolling eyes from the person who envisions a sticky, gooey, mess of food about to be forced upon them.

Because of that second reaction, I was tempted to call this dish a “Bake” instead of a “Casserole”.  I even searched through online thesauruses looking for an alternate name, but call it what you may, it’s a casserole.  And exactly what is that?  A casserole is an ovenproof dish sometimes with a tightly fitting lid, made from earthenware, glass or metal. The word ‘casserole’ also refers to the mixture of food itself which is prepared in the oven in this dish. The word is derived from the Old French word casse and the Latin word cattia meaning a “frying pan or saucepan.” As often happens, the name of the cooking utensil was used for the name of the dish.

So, if the word if derived from a French word, then how does it end up sounding so pedestrian? Maybe it is because, when some of us were growing up, the contents in the casserole dish were often called “surprise”, as in Turkey Surprise, or even worse, Spam Surprise; almost a guarantee that this would not be a happy or delicious “surprise” at all!

As with many casseroles, this one is made using leftover meat, pork from Christmas dinner, to be exact. Feel free to use another leftover meat, such as chicken or beef in place of the pork. Additional vegetables can be used as well; bell peppers, green beans, kidney beans, or whatever you have on hand or dream up. I used a mix of three different “green” salsas to get my 3 cups needed, do the same if you have a mix of jars in your refrigerator.  I hope the only surprise you receive upon making and tasting this casserole, is that it makes your taste-buds sing!

Tortilla, Tomatillo, and Pork Casserole

1 tablespoon olive oil
1 medium onion, peeled and diced
2 garlic cloves, peeled and minced
3 medium zucchini, ends trimmed off, cut in half lengthwise, then sliced into 1/4-inch pieces
3 medium yellow crookneck squash, ends trimmed, cut in half lengthwise, sliced into 1/4-inch pieces
1 cup frozen corn kernels, thawed
Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
3 to 4 cups leftover pork, beef, or poultry, cut into matchstick size pieces or shredded
12 corn tortillas
2 cups (8 ounces) shredded Monterrey Jack cheese
3 cups (24 ounces) tomatillo salsa
1 cup low-fat sour cream
Minced fresh cilantro, for garnish

from pork crown roast to a casserole

Preheat oven to 375 degrees and grease a 9 x 13-inch glass baking dish. In a large heavy skillet heat the oil over medium heat until hot.  Add the onion and sauté until translucent. Add the garlic and both kinds of squash and cook over medium heat about 5 minutes.

Add the corn and cook until just tender, about 2 to 3 minutes. Toss in the pork. Add salt and pepper, to taste.

Spread 1 cup of the tomatillo salsa in the bottom of the dish. Arrange 6 of the corn tortillas in the dish, overlapping the edges. Cover with half of the squash-pork mixture, 1 cup of the cheese, and 1 cup of the salsa. Repeat the layering process with the remaining 6 tortillas, the remaining squash-pork mixture, and cheese, and 1 cup of salsa. (May be made up to 1 day ahead, covered and refrigerated)

Cover with foil, and bake in preheated oven for about 50 minutes. Remove the foil and spread the 1 cup sour cream over the top of the hot casserole, return to oven, uncovered for 5 minutes.

Allow to sit for about 5 minutes before spooning onto dinner plates.  Garnish with fresh cilantro.

Serves 8

For Christmas I make one big dinner on Christmas Eve for my mother and our family and then another big dinner on Christmas day for my dad and our family – yes, my parents are divorced, so multiple big dinners are a must.  Like many of you, there are many different “family” dinners that take place over the season. Thankfully, (at least for this time of year) my in-laws don’t live in town (Illinois) so we don’t have to go from one house to another to another for all that family time! All those big dinners produce a lot of leftovers. One of those nights, I generally serve a crown pork roast, which leaves plenty of leftovers. But if you serve, turkey, or beef, or ham, whatever; use that cooked leftover meat for this dish! After all the traditional Christmas recipes, Asian stir-fry is a perfect change of pace for any palate!

Here it is December 15th and my garden is still producing herbs and cherry tomatoes. We’ve had a couple nights of freeze, but the garden is still holding on, gotta love Arizona!

I also love using broccoli in stir-fry, but not only the florets. The stems are wonderful too, don’t discard them! Cut off the florets, then peel the stems and cut into matchsticks. The stems are crispy and delicious!

When stir-frying, be sure to prep all the various components and set them right next to the stove. Stir-frying happens quickly and having everything ready and at hand is more than important, it is a necessity!

Leftover Pork Stir-Fry

Sauce
1/3 cup dry sherry
1/4 cup soy sauce
2 tablespoons Oriental sesame oil
1 heaping tablespoon hoisin sauce
1 tablespoon red wine vinegar
1 tablespoon Chinese chili sauce
1 teaspoon sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
3 tablespoons minced fresh basil
Grated zest of 1 lime

10 ounces cooked pork sliced into match-stick size pieces (about 2 1/2 cups)

Seasoning
1 heaping tablespoon peeled and minced fresh gingerroot
2 garlic cloves, peeled and minced
1 tablespoon finely minced jalapeno

Hard Vegetables
1 medium stem broccoli, florets and stalks cut into matchsticks
2 medium carrots, peeled and cut into coins
1 red bell pepper, cored, seeded and cut into matchsticks
8-ounce can sliced water chestnuts

Soft Vegetables
12 cherry tomatoes, halved
1/2 bunch green onions, sliced into 1/2 inch pieces on the diagonal

1 heaping tablespoon cornstarch mixed with 1 tablespoon water in a small bowl
Peanut or canola oil for stir-frying
1 cup peanuts
4 cups cooked Jasmine, brown, or Basmati rice

In a medium bowl, stir together the sauce ingredients. Add the pork to the bowl and immediately lift out the pork and place in a strainer, set strainer in bowl over sauce to drain. Set bowl next to the stove.

Place the Seasoning ingredients in a small bowl and set next to the stove.

Place all the hard vegetables on one plate or bowl and the soft vegetables on another plate or bowl and set next to the stove.

Set the bowl with the cornstarch/water mixture next to the stove.

Stir-Fry: Place a wok or a large sauté pan over the highest heat.  Once the wok is very hot, add 2 tablespoons of oil to the center and tilt the wok or pan to coat the bottom and sides with oil. When the oil just beings to smoke, add the Seasoning mix to the wok, sauté for only a couple seconds, then add the hard vegetables and stir-fry for about 2 minutes, stirring the vegetables around the wok to cook evenly.  Transfer mixture to the same plate or bowl which they came.

Return wok to heat add another tablespoon oil and add the pork and soft vegetables and stir-fry for about 2 minutes, return hard vegetables to wok and heat through for about 1 minute.

Make a well in the center of the wok and add the sauce; bring to a boil. Once boiling, stir the cornstarch mixture into center of wok, add the peanuts and stir for about 1 minute to thicken and heat through. Remove from heat and serve immediately with cooked rice.

Serves 4

At last the day has arrived – whatever leftovers haven’t been eaten, given away, or frozen; are going in the trash. Marissa and Connor head back to their respective universities this evening. Care packages are going with them and then I will have my refrigerator back!

This recipe is a perfect example of when to use light sour cream and cream cheese. There are so many other prominent flavors going on here, that you’ll never taste the difference.  When the sour cream or cream cheese is the main flavor, then I prefer to use the real thing, because you can truly taste the difference. As for the fat-free versions – not a good choice – they don’t bake up as well. When a recipe calls for canned green chilies, always go for the whole chilies and dice them yourself. They are better quality than the “already diced”, and it takes only seconds to cut them up.  ”Good-bye turkey, see you next November!”

Creamy Turkey Enchiladas

16-ounce container light sour cream, divided
7-ounce can whole green chilies, drained and diced
1 cup frozen corn kernels, thawed
1 cup canned black or pinto beans, rinsed and drained
6 green onions, chopped and divided
1/2 cup fresh cilantro, minced
1 jalapeno, seeded and minced
2 teaspoons toasted cumin seed, ground
2 cups diced cooked turkey
2 cups packed grated Queso Quesadilla or Monterey Jack cheese, divided
10 8-inch flour tortillas
8-ounce light cream cheese, cut lengthwise into 10 strips
3 cups salsa

2 avocado, peeled and diced
2 tomatoes, chopped
Cilantro sprigs

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray a 13 x 9 x 2-inch glass baking dish with Pam.  Mix 1 1/2 cups sour cream, chilies, corn, beans, half of the green onions, cilantro, jalapeno, and cumin in large bowl.  Mix in turkey and 1 cup of the cheese.  Season filling to taste with salt and pepper.

Divided the filling amongst the 10 tortillas, spreading down center of each.  Top filling with a cream cheese strip.  Roll up each tortilla.  Arrange (squish together) enchiladas seam side down in prepared dish.  (Can be made 1 day ahead. Cover and chill.)

Pour salsa over enchiladas.  Cover baking dish with foil and bake until sauce bubbles and enchiladas are heated through, about 45 minutes.  Uncover, sprinkle with remaining 1 cup cheese and remaining green onions and bake until cheese melts, about 5 minutes.

Garnish with avocado, tomatoes, cilantro, and remaining sour cream.

Makes 10

So here are my feelings about Thanksgiving leftovers – I love having mass amounts of white meat leftover for turkey sandwiches, and it wouldn’t feel like Thanksgiving without all the fabulous turkey stock I make from the carcasses, but the rest of it… not so much!  To that end, I always make two turkeys, one is roasted the traditional way, the second is always grilled or smoked. This year I wound up with 36 cups of stock, happy day!

To use up all that dark turkey meat, I just make our family favorites and add in the turkey.  Our all-time favorite salad is another of Barbara Pool Fenzl’s recipes.  It comes from her 1994 Southwest The Beautiful Cookbook. I’ve made very few changes to the recipe over the years… instead of whisking by hand, I use a food processor for the dressing.  Since the original recipe makes about 1 1/3 cups of dressing, I double all the other fixings so that all that amazing dressing can be utilized, it would be shameful to waste even one drop!  Also in the original, the tortilla strips are dusted with chili powder prior to frying. Instead I salt and dust them immediately after removing from the hot oil so the seasoning really sticks to the strips. And with all this turkey on hand, it quickly becomes a perfect main course salad for a busy weeknight family dinner.

Southwestern Caesar Salad

(adapted from Southwest The Beautiful Cookbook by Barbara Pool Fenzl)

Dressing
2 eggs
3 garlic cloves, peeled
1 shallot, peeled and coarsely chopped
1 chipotle chili in adobo sauce
1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
1 tablespoon fresh lime juice
2 teaspoons anchovy paste (or one whole anchovy)
1/4 teaspoon ground cumin
1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
2/3 cup olive oil
1/3 cup corn oil
Salt and freshly ground pepper to taste

Vegetable oil, for frying
8 corn tortillas, cut into thin strips
Salt
Chili powder

4 cups cooked and shredded turkey meat
2 avocado, peeled and diced
4 heads romaine lettuce, washed, spun dry, and torn into bite-size pieces
1 cup Parmesan cheese

Dressing: Place eggs in boiling water for 1 minute. Remove from water with slotted spoon. Crack open into a bowl, discard egg whites and place yolks in the bowl of a food processor or blender.  Add garlic, shallot, chipotle, mustard, vinegar, lime juice, anchovy paste, cumin, and cayenne to the yolks. Process for about 30 seconds.  With the machine running; add both oils through the feed tube and process just until dressing is emulsified.  Season with salt and pepper to taste.

Pour vegetable oil in a small skillet to a depth about 1/4-inch. Heat over medium-high heat.  Fry the tortilla strips in batches until they are crisp and lightly browned.  Remove with tongs to paper towels, immediately sprinkle with salt and chili powder.

Place shredded turkey and avocado in a medium bowl and toss with 1/3 cup dressing, to lightly coat.  In a large serving bowl, toss romaine with remaining dressing, toss in the turkey.  Gently mix in the cheese and tortilla strips.

Serves 16

Above is a picture of our Thanksgiving dessert table; the apple tart, pumpkin pie, plus pilgrim hat and turkey sugar cookies. Hope your Thanksgiving was a wonderful mix of family, friends, and good food!  Here is a recipe to use up some of your leftover turkey and mashed potatoes. It is equally good with leftover stuffing as the bottom layer or mashed sweet potatoes.

Mashed Potato-Turkey Casserole

1 1/2 cups mashed potatoes
1/3 cup sour cream
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
1 tablespoon unsalted butter
1 tablespoon olive oil
1/2 cup diced onion
1 cup diced yellow and/or red bell pepper
1 teaspoon ground sage
1 cup shredded cooked turkey meat
1 cup grated Monterey jack, cheddar, or a Mexican blend of cheeses
1 cup prepared French-fried onion rings
3 slices bacon, cooked crisp

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Butter an 8 x8-inch baking dish. Spread mashed potatoes evenly on bottom of baking dish. Spread sour cream evenly over top.  Sprinkle salt, pepper, and garlic powder over sour cream.

In a medium skillet, melt together butter and olive oil, add onion, bell pepper and sage and saute until vegetables are tender, stir in shredded turkey to combine; evenly layer over top of sour cream.

Top with cheese and French-fried onion rings.  Bake for 15 minutes. Remove from oven and crumble bacon over top, return to oven for 5 minutes.

Serve hot from the oven.

Serves 4

Piping on the mashed potato-squash topping.

Shepherd’s pie, also known as cottage pie, just screams “Autumn!”  This version with its sweet potatoes, butternut squash, and maple flavor puts it over the top.  The entire dish can be made a day ahead, just leave off the sprinkling of paprika until immediately before putting in oven, cover and refrigerate and add about 15 minutes to the baking time.

This recipe can easily be switched out to use leftover turkey after Thanksgiving.  Just omit the sweet Italian sausage. Then once the maple breakfast sausage is browned, stir in 1 pound shredded or chopped turkey meat and proceed with recipe. If you have leftover mashed potatoes, sweet potatoes, and/or squash – mash them altogether to make 3 to 4 cups and use that for the topping, in place of or in addition to, the roasted and mashed potatoes and squash in the recipe. And if you have leftover vegetables such as corn, green beans, cauliflower, etc. substitute for or add them to the corn, broccoli, and red peppers… you get the idea – be creative!

Autumn Shepherd’s Pie

1 1/2 pounds sweet potatoes, peeled, cut into 2-inch pieces
1 pound butternut squash, peeled, seeded, cut into 2-inch pieces
2 Yukon gold potatoes, peeled, cut into 2-inch pieces
2 tablespoons olive oil
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 tablespoon butter, melted
2 tablespoons cream cheese, at room temperature
1 1/2 tablespoons maple syrup

1 pound sweet Italian sausage, casings removed
8-ounces maple sausage breakfast links, cut into 1/2-inch slices
2 cups peeled and chopped onions
2 garlic cloves, peeled and minced
1 1/2 teaspoons crushed dried rosemary
2 cups broccoli florets
1 red bell pepper, cored, seeded and diced
1 cup frozen corn kernels
1/3 cup fat-free half and half
1 large egg, lightly beaten
1/4 cup minced fresh Italian parsley
5 dashes hot pepper sauce, such as Tabasco
1 teaspoon sweet paprika
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line a large baking sheet with foil and spray with Pam. Butter an 8 x 12 x 2-inch casserole or baking dish.

Place sweet potatoes, butternut squash, and gold potatoes on foil-lined baking sheet, toss with olive oil and season with salt and pepper. Roast in preheated oven until tender, about 45 minutes to an hour. Maintain oven temperature.

Place sweet and gold potatoes and squash in a large bowl and mash with a potato masher, or hand mixer, or process through a food mill. Add butter, cream cheese, and syrup and stir until well blended. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Set aside.

Cook both sausages in large skillet over medium-high heat until brown and cooked through, breaking up with a spatula, about 15 minutes. Using slotted spoon, transfer sausage to large bowl; reserve 2 tablespoons of drippings from skillet. Place 1 tablespoon of drippings back into skillet; add onions, garlic and rosemary and sauté over medium-high heat until onions are tender and golden, about 7 minutes. Add onion mixture to sausage.

Add remaining tablespoon drippings to same skillet add broccoli and bell peppers, sauté, stirring occasionally, until vegetables brown slightly, about 3 minutes. Add to bowl with sausage, season to taste with salt and pepper.  Allow to cool to room temperature. Then stir in corn, half and half, egg, parsley, and pepper sauce.

Transfer sausage mixture to buttered baking dish.  Place potato mixture in a pastry bag and pipe over sausage mixture. Alternately, potato mixture my be spooned over sausage; then smooth the top. Sprinkle with paprika. Bake in 350 degree oven until heated through and potatoes begin to lightly crisp and brown, about 40 to 45 minutes. Let rest 5 minutes before serving.

Serves 6

It’s been 2 weeks since Halloween and I still have candy around the house… this is not a good thing! Maybe your kids still have candy and you want to do away with it, or like me you have extra candy you didn’t give out and now you’re sneaking a piece everyday and just wish it would disappear and not to your hips. Why not put it to good use for your Christmas baking? These cookies freeze well and the recipe can be cut in half or even doubled depending on how much candy you need to get rid of. If you don’t have Nutella on hand, just use a full cup of peanut butter, although the Nutella adds a grown up edge to these big chewy cookies.

Halloween Candy Cookies

3 cups flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup sugar
1 cup packed brown sugar
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature
1/2 cup peanut butter
1/2 cup Nutella
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
2 eggs
20 REESE’S CUPS®, SNICKERS®, and/or MILKY WAY®s fun size bars, each cut in half
6 packages fun size M&M’S®

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.

In the bowl of a standing mixer combine sugars, butter, peanut butter, and Nutella, beat until well creamy.  Mix in vanilla and eggs until just combined.

Add flour mixture in two additions, mix well. Shape a scant 1/4 cup dough around each candy bar half, making sure candy is completely covered. Place 4 inches apart on cookies sheet lined with parchment paper or a Silpat mat. Flatten slightly and place    3 M&M’S® on top of each.

Bake for about 15 minutes. Cool 5 minutes on pan, then remove with a spatula to a rack to cool completely.

Makes 40 large cookies