Sausage, Beans, and Greens

Cook’s Notes: A wonderfully filling dinner that is quick to make and less than $10 for 4 servings. (Seriously, I got all the ingredients at Trader Joe’s for $9.95, including the diced onion.) Homemade baked beans combine with chicken sausage and sautéed spinach.

Heat some olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Sauté 1 cup of diced onion in the warm oil for a few minutes. Add 6 oz baby spinach; cook until the spinach wilts and the onions are tender. Cut 12 oz cooked chicken sausage (1 package) into “coin” slices on the diagonal. Add the sausage to the pan with the spinach and onions. Cook for a few more minutes. Add 1/2 cup water to the pan.

Make the sauce for the beans. Rinse and drain two 15-oz cans of beans (1 can each pinto and white kidney beans). Add the beans and sauce to the pan. Stir to mix ingredients well. Cook until heated through.

Vegetable Roasting Times

Asparagus: 12 minutes at 450F

Carrots: 15 to 20 minutes at 425F

Chickpeas: 30 minutes at 425F

Eggplant cubes: 20 minutes at 450F

Garlic: 30 minutes at 425F

Grape tomatoes: 15 to 20 minutes at 425F

Green beans: 12 minutes at 450F

Mushroom slices: 15 to 20 minutes at 425F

Potatoes: 40 minutes at 450F

Red bell pepper: 15 to 20 minutes at 425F

Squash slices: 15 to 20 minutes at 425F

Zucchini cubes: 15 to 20 minutes at 450F

PEEPS Treats

This recipe makes 2 pans of treats and uses all the marshmallow PEEPS® chicks and an entire box of crispy rice cereal with no leftovers. Because the PEEPS chicks are coated in sugar, these treats are a bit sweeter than the traditional kind. Makes 40 total bars.

Note: Making these treats has become an Easter tradition in our house. You could also call these “John the Baptist PEEPS,” because of the story of Salome (“Bring me the head of John the Baptist … on a marshmallow cereal square.”)

You will need:
Cooking spray
2 pans: 9- x 13-inches and 8- or 9- inch square
60 marshmallow PEEPS® chicks (6 packages of 10)
12-oz box crispy rice cereal (yields 10.5 cups)
7 Tablespoons butter (almost 1 stick)

Proportions: 10 oz marshmallows, 1/4 cup (1/2 stick) butter, and 6 cups rice cereal

Large pan (9×13-inch): 24 bars
36 marshmallow PEEPS® chicks, divided (24 and 12)
1/4 cup (1/2 stick) butter
6 cups crispy rice cereal

Coat the large pan with cooking spray. Using clean kitchen scissors, snip the heads off 24 of the PEEPS chicks. Set the heads aside. Place the remaining 24 PEEPS heads and 12 whole PEEPS chicks in a microwave-safe bowl with the butter.

Melt butter and PEEPS in the microwave: heat on High for 1 minutes. Stir, microwave for 30 seconds and stir again. Remove from heat and stir in cereal.

Press mixture into the pan. Press the 24 reserved PEEPS heads on top of the warm mixture. Cool and cut into 24 bars.

Small pan (8 or 9-inch square): 16 bars
24 whole marshmallow PEEPS® chicks
3 Tablespoons butter
4.5 cups crispy rice cereal

Coat the square pan with coking spray. Place the 24 whole PEEPS chicks in a microwave-safe bowl with the butter.

Melt butter and PEEPS in the microwave: heat on High for 1 minutes. Stir, microwave for 30 seconds and stir again. Remove from heat and stir in cereal.

Press mixture into the pan. Cut into 16 bars.

Left: Large tray (makes 24 bars). Right: Square tray (makes 16 bars).

Easy Potluck Dishes

A group I belong to recently had a potluck dinner. Several members asked for suggestions for dishes to bring that don’t require a lot of cooking or prep work. Say you do not like to cook, but you want to contribute something besides ice and bottled drinks to the party. Note that many of these ideas say “take out” or “from the deli.” Many perfectly delicious dishes are available directly from the grocery store, says an article on “No Cook Potluck Contributions.” A potluck is a fun time to share dishes and favorite foods, not to stress out about a particular dish. Food is the context for the friendships.

…Appetizers

• Cheese tray (2 to 3 kinds of cheese)
• Chex Mix (any kind)
• Chinese appetizers (take out): pot stickers, fried won tons, shu mai, or other
• Deviled eggs or hard-boiled eggs
• Dried fruits and nuts
• Hummus and pita bread
• Jarred marinated goodies: Artichoke hearts, olives, pickles, roasted red peppers, or mushrooms
• Garlic Feta appetizer: Unwrap and drain a brick of feta cheese. Place feta in a microwaveable bowl, cover it thickly with a layer of jarred minced garlic, and microwave for a couple of minutes so the cheese is just runny, nice, and soft.
• Mozzarella balls with fresh cherry tomatoes, basil, and olive oil/balsamic dressing
• No-fuss spreads: Hummus, spreadable cheese (such as Boursin), flavored cream cheese (buy at a bagel shop or mix your own), or goat cheese
• Smoked salmon with cream cheese, cucumber, and cocktail breads
• Spiced nuts and dried fruit
• Tortilla chips served with salsa rose: mix equal amounts of chunky salsa and sour cream
• Wrap breadsticks with smoked salmon, thin slices of cheese, or deli meat

…Main dish

• BBQ chicken (take out)
• Chicken wings (take out)
• Cold cooked meat (sliced): ham, prosciutto, salami, or sausage
• Pizza (take out) — a few people could chip in to buy some
• Pre-cooked turkey sausage (kielbasa) heated with barbecue sauce
• Prepared quiche
• Roasted chicken from the deli
• Shrimp cocktail ring
• Sushi platter (take out)
• Pasta with red sauce
• Pinwheels: Layer burrito-sized flour tortillas with your choice of deli meats, sliced cheese, veggies and spreads, then roll up and slice. Tasty pinwheel ideas:

•    Cream cheese, chopped scallions, dried cranberries, and smoked turkey
•    Cream cheese, sliced black olives, and canned green chiles
•    Prosciutto (thinly-sliced ham), goat cheese, sun-dried tomatoes, fresh basil leaves
•    Roasted bell peppers, sliced kalamata olives, tomatoes, lettuce, and hummus
•    Turkey, Swiss cheese, avocado, and carrots

…Side dishes

• Broccoli slaw
• Chickpea salad with feta cheese
• Good, bakery-fresh bread (baguette) and butter
• Green beans
• Green mixed salad (such as two bags of Trader Joe’s salad with cranberry/blue cheese) in a bowl
• Raw vegetables (washed and up to a uniform size (ready-to-eat baby carrots, radishes, cucumber, celery, red and yellow peppers) with a dip
• Rice salad
• Salads from the deli

…Dessert

• Apple pie (from the bakery)
• Bakery treats
• Cheesecake topped with pie filling
• Fresh fruit (seedless grapes, strawberries, blueberries, and raspberries, chunks of pineapple, or seedless tangerines)
• Yogurt dip: Stir together vanilla low-fat yogurt, a couple of tablespoons of honey, and a half-teaspoon of pure vanilla extract. Optional: add a few shakes of cinnamon powder. Refrigerate yogurt for at least an hour and serve with fruit.
• Ice cream: A couple of pints of Ben & Jerry’s and store-bought cookies
• Thick pretzel rods with vanilla frosting and a bowl of M&M’s (guests dip the pretzels in the frosting and the M&M’s)

Easy Fried Rice

The Kitchn recently posted this recipe “template”, noting that “It’s fast, it’s healthy, and it’s a great way to use bits and pieces of things from your pantry or freezer…The egg sort of pulls everything together and makes it a more filling, well-rounded dish. A super simple supper.” I found it’s also great for breakfast. You can add cooked chicken to the mixture as well.

2 cups cooked grains: rice, quinoa, brown rice, or mixed wild rice
14 oz bag frozen vegetable, such as a stir-fry blend (broccoli, sugar snap peas, green beans, carrots, celery, onion, mushrooms, and red pepper)
Optional: diced onion
1 tsp minced garlic
1/2 tsp powdered ginger
Low-sodium soy sauce
2 eggs, beaten

Cook grains according to package directions (or microwave a bag of pre-cooked rice from Trader Joe’s). Or take 2 cups of leftover grains and warm them in the microwave.

While the grains are cooking, quickly sauté your frozen vegetables in a bit of oil (4 minutes, according to the bag). Add the diced onion, garlic, ginger powder, and a generous splash of soy sauce.

When the grains are finished, drain them and throw them into the skillet with the vegetables.  Pour the beaten eggs over the mixture. Cook over medium-high heat, until the eggs are scrambled in. Top with another drizzle of soy sauce.

Source: Adapted from The Kitchn

Mushroom Rice Casserole

A winning recipe and excellent comfort food from 101cookbooks. There’s some chopping involved, but most of the cooking time is hands-off while the casserole bakes. It reminds me of some of my favorite Moosewood Cookbook recipes, but without a ton of dairy. The recipe author says, “Use any cooked grain you like. Feel free to use low-fat cottage cheese or sour cream if you prefer.” I like that is has the flavor of mushroom-grain burgers without the work of shaping and frying individual patties.

Menu suggestion: Serve this vegetarian entree with a green salad. You could also serve this as a side dish with cooked chicken and roasted vegetables.

Menu: Skillet Salmon and Tomatoes

• Skillet Salmon (20 minutes). Makes 4 servings. Heat 1 Tablespoon olive oil in large skillet on medium-high heat. Add 4 salmon fillets (1 lb). Cook 5 minutes on each side or until salmon flakes easily with fork. Remove from skillet; cover to keep warm.
• Roasted tomatoes: Coat a glass pie-pan with cooking spray. Toss together 2 pint boxes of grape tomatoes and 1 diced onion with 1 Tablespoon olive oil. Place vegetables in the pie pan. Cook at 400F for 35 minutes until tomatoes soften and begin to burst.
• Brown rice: from Trader Joe’s freezer section. Microwave one pouch on High for 3 minutes; makes about 2 cups rice.
• Green vegetable: Snow peas and red pepper strips with Roasted Garlic Ranch Dressing

Best Recipe: Roasted Garlic Ranch Dressing

An excellent salad dressing adapted from Recipezaar (recipe #117973). Use this on salad greens or as a dipping sauce (we had it with roasted cherry tomatoes and red pepper strips). The recipe calls for “1 head of garlic.” I used 2 oz of pre-peeled garlic (18 cloves, from Trader Joe’s). Also, we did not have 1/2 cup buttermilk on hand, so I used 1/4 cup milk and 1/4 cup plain yogurt. Easy and delicious!