Wednesday Recipes

Half-way through the shortened work week. Here are today's recipes. Enjoy!

LEMON BLUEBERRY COOKIES

From a long-since-forgotten emailing list.

1/2 cup (1 stick) butter, softened

1/3 cup sugar

2 egg yolks, at room temperature

1 tsp. finely grated lemon peel

1-1/4 cups flour

1/4 cup cornstarch

1/4 tsp. baking powder

1/4 tsp. salt

1/3 cup dried blueberries or cranberries

Preheat oven to 375. Line cookies sheets with parchment paper.

Combine butter and sugar in a large bowl. Beat at medium speed with mixer until fluffy. Beat in egg yolks and lemon peel.

Combine flour, cornstarch, baking powder and salt in a medium bowl. Gradually add flour mixture to the butter mixture; beat at low speed just until crumbly. Stir in blueberries (or cranberries).

Place dough on a sheet of parchment paper on countertop. Divide dough in half. Knead each half until dough holds together. Divide each half into 16 pieces. Roll each piece into a ball.

Place cookie balls onto parchment paper lined cookie sheets. Flatten cookies to 1/4-inch thickness using the bottom of a glass dipped in sugar.

Bake for 12 to 14 minutes or until cookies are lightly browned around the edges.

Makes 32 cookies.

PASTA, PANCETTA AND PEAS

This comes from Sunny Anderson of The Food Network's Cooking For Real. Total Time: 23 minutes; Prep: 8 minutes; Cook: 15 minutes; Yield: 4 servings; Level: easy

Read more at: http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/sunny-anderson/pasta-pancetta-and-peas-recipe.print.html?oc=linkback

Ingredients

16 ounces fettuccine

8 ounces pancetta, diced

1/2 onion, chopped

1 (10-ounce) bag frozen peas

2 cloves garlic, minced

1/4 cup grated Parmesan

Salt and freshly ground black pepper

1/2 lemon, juiced

Directions

Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil over medium heat. Add pasta and cook until al dente. Drain pasta, reserving 1 cup of pasta water.

Meanwhile, saute pancetta in a large saucepan over medium-high heat until golden and crisp, about 6 minutes. Transfer to a paper towel-lined plate. In the same pan, saute onions until softened, about 5 minutes. Add peas and garlic and saute for 3 minutes. Stir in Parmesan, pasta and pancetta. Moisten pasta with some of the reserved pasta water. Toss to incorporate, season with salt and pepper, if necessary, and serve, sprinkled with lemon juice.

CROWD-PLEASING MEATBALL & SPAGHETTI BAKE

This comes from FamilyTime.com. It begins, “Tender spaghetti, precooked meatballs, and savory mushroom-tomato pasta sauce, are baked until hot and bubbling and garnished with cheese.” Serves: 12; Prep Time: 5 minutes; Cook Time: 2 hours

Ingredients

1 package (1 pound) spaghetti, cooked and drained (about 8 cups)

24 (1 ounce each) frozen fully-cooked meatballs

7 1/2 cups Prego® Fresh Mushroom Italian Sauce

1/2 teaspoon garlic powder

1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese

Directions

Stir the spaghetti, meatballs, sauce and garlic powder in a 13 1/2 x 9 1/2 3-inch disposable foil pan. Cover the pan. Bake at 375 degrees F for 1 hour 30 minutes or until the mixture is hot and bubbling. Serve with additional Parmesan cheese, if desired.

Serving Suggestion: Serve with toasted garlic bread. For dessert serve spumoni ice cream.

Tip: Prego® Traditional Italian Sauce will also work in the recipe.

CHICKEN AND BROCCOLI STIR-FRY

This comes from The Food Network, and starts off, “Game Plan: Marinate the chicken while you prepare the rest of the ingredients.” Total Time: 27 min; Prep: 5 min; Inactive: 15 min; Cook: 7 min; Yield: 4 servings; Level: Easy

Read more at: http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/food-network-kitchens/chicken-and-broccoli-stir-fry-recipe.print.html?oc=linkback

Ingredients

1 pound chicken breast (about 2 breasts), cubed

3 scallions, whites only, thinly sliced on an angle

2 cloves garlic, minced

1 -inch piece peeled fresh ginger, minced

1 tablespoon soy sauce

2 tablespoons sugar

1 tablespoon, plus 1 teaspoon cornstarch

1 1/4 teaspoons salt

1 tablespoon dry sherry

1 tablespoon dark sesame oil

About 1/3 cup water

3 tablespoons vegetable oil

5 to 6 cups broccoli, trimmed sliced stalks and medium florets (keep the 2 cuts separate)

3/4 to 1 teaspoon red chili flakes, optional

1 tablespoon hoisin sauce

Garnish: toasted sesame seeds, optional

Serving suggestion: Jasmine rice

Directions

In a medium bowl, toss the chicken with the scallion whites, about half the garlic and ginger, the soy sauce, sugar, 1 teaspoon of the cornstarch, 1 teaspoon of the salt, the sherry, and the sesame oil. Marinate at room temperature for 15 minutes. Mix the remaining cornstarch with 1/3 cup water.

Heat a large nonstick skillet over high heat. Add 1 tablespoon of the oil and heat. Add the broccoli stems, and stir-fry for 30 seconds. Add the florets and the remaining garlic, ginger, 2 tablespoons of water, and season with 1/4 teaspoon salt, and pepper. Stir-fry until the broccoli is bright green but still crisp, about 2 minutes. Transfer to a plate.

Get the skillet good and hot again, and then heat 2 more tablespoons oil. Add the chicken and chili flakes if using. Stir-fry until the chicken loses its raw color and gets a little brown, about 3 minutes. Add the hoisin sauce, return the broccoli to the pan and toss to heat through. Stir in the reserved cornstarch mixture and bring to a boil to thicken. Add more water if need to thin the sauce, if necessary. Taste and season with salt and pepper, if you like. Mound the stir-fry on a serving platter or divide among 4 plates and garnish with sesame seeds; serve with rice.

Notes: The garlic and ginger can be chopped together in a minichopper to save time.

Scallion greens can also be used to garnish, if you like that extra onion-y flavor and you want to use up the scallions.

The broccoli stems are used (love all that fiber) to add textural contrast and also to help bulk up the dish, and why waste them?

LOADED CAULIFLOWER UN-MAC & CHEESE

This comes from Peggy Trowbridge Filippone, About.com's Home Cooking expert. She writes, “Cauliflower takes the place of that carb-laden pasta in this faux version of macaroni and cheese. Cauliflower is a very bland vegetable, almost tasteless, and will take on the flavor of the rich, cheese-y sauce. Bacon and green onions give an extra punch of gusto to make you forget all about pasta. Even cauliflower-haters will enjoy this filling side dish. It''s great for those following a low-carb diet. Have all of your ingredients prepped, and this goes together fairly quickly. Be sure to check out my notes before you begin.”

Prep Time: 30 minutes; Cook Time: 75 minutes; Total Time: 105 minutes; Yield: 8 to 10 servings

To view this online, click here.

Ingredients

8 slices bacon, divided use

1 head cauliflower

1/2 cup sliced green onions (scallions), green tops included (about 4 green onions)

For the Sauce:

1/2 cup diced sweet onions

2 cloves garlic, pressed

1 Tablespoon butter

1 Tablespoon reserved bacon grease

3 Tablespoons all-purpose flour

1 cup full-flavored, strong chicken broth

1 cup heavy cream or whole milk

1/4 teaspoon onion powder

Dash of nutmeg

Kosher salt and freshly ground pepper to taste

2 cups fine-shredded Cheddar cheese, divided use

Sweet Hungarian paprika

Preparation

Fry the bacon strips until crispy. Reserve 1 tablespoon of the bacon grease. Crumble the bacon into pieces (not as small as bits). Remove 2 tablespoons of the bacon pieces and keep separate for the topping. Set aside.

Preheat oven to 375 F. Coat a 8- by 8- by 3-inch glass or ceramic casserole dish with vegetable spray.

Remove the core and stems from the cauliflower. Cut and separate the florets into pieces roughly the size of elbow macaroni. You should have about 4 cups.

Make the Sauce:

In a large saucepan, gently saute the diced sweet onions in the bacon grease and butter until the onions soften but do not brown. Add pressed garlic and saute, stirring constantly, for 1 minute. Stir in the flour and cook, continuing to stir, for 1 minute. Whisk in the chicken broth and stir until the sauce begins to thicken. Add heavy cream or milk, onion powder, and nutmeg. Continue to simmer while stirring until thickened. Remove from heat. Add 1 cup of the shredded Cheddar cheese to the sauce, stirring until melted. Add salt and pepper to taste, keeping in mind that the cauliflower will absorb some of the salt.

Add the cauliflower, green onions, and bacon to the cheese sauce. Gently stir to coat the cauliflower. Pour into the prepared casserole dish. Top with the remaining 1 cup of shredded Cheddar cheese and the reserved 2 tablespoons of bacon pieces. Sprinkle lightly with the sweet paprika.

Bake for 1 hour, or until cauliflower has softened but is not mushy. Let rest 10 minutes before serving.

Notes:

• Don't overcook this casserole. It is important that the cauliflower retain its texture in order to mock the missing pasta.

• You may substitute turkey bacon for pork bacon.

• Packaged bacon pieces may be used to save time, but be sure to get the pieces and not the bits. The pieces should be about 1/4 inch in size. I'm not crazy about imitation soy bacon bits, but if you like them, feel free to substitute.

• Fresh chives may be substituted for the green onions.

• Ham chunks may be added for extra protein.

• You can lighten this up by using low-fat milk or half-and-half, along with low-fat cheese. However, keep in mind that you will lose the richness and mouth-feel of traditional macaroni and cheese.

SWISS SWIRL ICE CREAM CAKE

From the infamous long-since-forgotten-emailing-list. However, the email gives credit for this from Taste of Home's Holiday & Celebrations Cookbook. It starts off, “With cake rolls, ice cream and hot fudge, this dessert suits anyone with a sweet tooth. Family and friends get a kick out of this treat's fun appearance.” Servings: 12 to 14; Prep: 30 min; Total: 30 min

Ingredients

10 to 12 Swiss cake rolls

2 pints vanilla ice cream, softened

3/4 cup hot fudge ice cream topping

2 pints chocolate ice cream, softened

Directions

Line a 2-qt. bowl with plastic wrap.

Cut each cake roll into eight slices; place in prepared bowl, completely covering the bottom and sides. Cover and freeze for at least 20 minutes or until cake is firm. Spread vanilla ice cream over cake. Cover and freeze for at least 1 hour. Spread with fudge topping. Freeze for at least 1 hour. Spread with chocolate ice cream. Cover and freeze (for up to 2 months). Just before serving, remove from the freezer and invert onto a serving plate. Remove bowl and plastic wrap. Cut into wedges.

Note: This recipe was tested with Little Debbie Swiss Cake Rolls.

Nutrition Facts One serving: (1 piece) Calories: 309 Fat: 14 g Saturated Fat: 6 g Cholesterol: 35 mg Sodium: 130 mg Carbohydrate: 43 g Fiber: 1 g Protein: 4 g