Friday Recipes

Here are six recipes to help you into your weekend. Enjoy!

ZUCCHINI-CORN SAUTE

This yummy recipe comes from FamilyTime, and begins, “This four-vegetable medley makes a colorful addition to just about any meal. It is especially enticing with grilled or broiled pork or lamb chops.” Serves: 4; Prep Time: 10 minutes; CookTime: 8 minutes

To view this online, go to http://www.familytime.com/Recipe/ShowRecipe.aspx?RecipeId=14454.

Ingredients

1 tablespoon olive oil

3 cups (about 3 medium) zucchini, sliced

1/2 cup red onion, chopped

1/8 teaspoon crushed red pepper (optional)

1 1/2 cups loose-pack frozen whole-kernel corn

1 cup (about 1 medium) tomato, chopped

1 teaspoon chopped fresh thyme, or 1/2 teaspoon dried thyme, crushed

salt and freshly ground pepper, to taste

Directions

Heat olive oil in large skillet over medium-high heat. Add zucchini, onion, and crushed red pepper; cook, stirring occasionally, for 4 to 5 minutes or until vegetables are tender. Stir in corn, tomato, and thyme; cook, stirring occasionally, for 2 to 3 minutes or until heated through. Season with salt and pepper.

ROASTED CAULIFLOWER SOUP

There are times when nothing quite hits the spot like homemade soup. This yummy recipe comes from Diana Rattray, About.com's Southern Food expert. She writes, “This curry-spiced roasted cauliflower soup is creamy and delicious. For a pleasant tang, add the lime juice and top with cilantro or green onion. It's a wonderful lunch soup with sandwiches, or serve as a soup course at a special dinner party.” Prep Time: 15 minutes; Cook Time: 35 minutes; Total Time: 50 minutes; Yield: 6 servings

To view this online, go to http://southernfood.about.com/od/cauliflower/r/Roasted-Cauliflower-Soup.htm.

Note: If you're a vegetarian, as I am, definitely go with the vegetable broth. You could also use a vegetarian version of the light cream.

Ingredients

1 medium head cauliflower, broken into florets

1 small onion, chopped

2 1/2 teaspoons curry powder

1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

1/4 teaspoon cumin

3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

3 cups vegetable broth or chicken broth, or a combination

1 1/2 cups light cream

2 teaspoons lime juice, optional

salt, to taste

chopped green onion, cilantro, or parsley, for garnish

Preparation

Line a large baking pan with foil; spray lightly with cooking spray. Heat oven to 425°.

Toss the cauliflower florets with the chopped onion, curry powder, pepper, and cumin. Drizzle with the olive oil and toss to coat lightly.

Spread out on the baking pan and cook for about 20 to 30 minutes, turning frequently, until tender.

Put in a large saucepan with the broth. Bring to a boil. Cover and simmer for 5 to 10 minutes, or until very tender.

Add the cream and continue cooking for 1 minute longer. Blend in batches. Add lime juice if desired, and season to taste with salt and pepper.

Ladle into bowls and garnish with parsley, chopped green onion, or cilantro.

Serves 5 to 6.

BANANA CHOCOLATE CUPCAKES WITH DULCE DE LECHE

This comes from Nichelle Stephens, About.com's Cupcakes expert. She writes, “Chunky Monkey is a popular ice cream flavor from Ben & Jerry's, but I wonder if monkeys know that they are synonymous with bananas. For every illustration or cartoon of a monkey, there's a banana in his or her hand. I personally don't think it's fair to monkeys or bananas, but for some reason the name chunky money connotes banana and chocolate. I love the combination of banana, nuts and chocolate. It's the reason a banana split sundae is delicious because those cherries and the sprinkles are mere decoration. The banana and chocolate cupcakes come with a little something extra, dulce de leche. Dulce de leche is a rich caramel dessert that is native to South American. Speaking of dulce de leche, that is one my favorite ice cream flavors. Therefore, these banana chocolate cupcakes with dulce de leche filling are great.” Prep Time: 20 minutes; Cook Time: 20 minutes; Total Time: 40 minutes; Yield: 18 cupcakes.

To view this online, click here.

Ingredients

3 overripe bananas plus 1 more for decoration

A splash of milk (optional)

2 sticks of butter

2 3/4 cups of all-purpose flour

1 1/2 tsp baking soda

1/4 tsp salt

1 tsp cinnamon

1/2 cup brown sugar

3 eggs, room temperature

1 tsp pure vanilla extract

1 14-oz can of sweetened condensed milk

Chocolate buttercream frosting:

1 stick of butter

1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa

1 tsp vanilla

2 1/2 cups powdered sugar

1/3 cup milk

Preparation

Preheat oven to 350F. Prepare muffin pans with cupcake liners and set aside.In a medium-sized bowl, whisk or sift flour, baking soda, salt and cinnamon together. In a mixer or large bowl, cream butter and sugars together until well mixed, and airy. Add eggs, one at a time, making sure each egg is fully incorporated before proceeding. Scrape the sides of the bowl. Stir in vanilla, followed by banana puree.

Line a cupcake tin with cupcake liners. Scoop an even amount of dough into each cup. I filled them to the top and had enough for 18-19 cupcakes.

The filling is just one 14-oz can of sweetened condensed milk. Fill the bottom of a double boiler (or pan if using bowl/pan method), halfway with water. Bring to boil and then reduce heat to medium. Pour milk into the top of the double boiler (or bowl if using/bowl/pan method). Heat until milk has thickened and has become a dark caramel color. This will take about 2 hours. Every 30 minutes give it a stir and replenish water on bottom if necessary. When finished, remove from heat and cool completely.

Using a hand mixer, cream butter in a mixing bowl. Mix in cocoa powder. Add in the vanilla extract. Mix in half of powdered sugar, followed by half of the milk. Mix in the rest of the powdered sugar. Blend well. Add the rest of the milk and mix completely. If your frosting is too thin, add more sugar (or cocoa depending on taste). If the frosting is too thick, add more milk.

HOMEMADE DULCE DE LECHE – RICH CARAMEL SAUCE

This recipe, which works well with the Banana Chocolate Cupcakes, is from Marian Blazes, About.com's South American Food expert. She writes, “Dulce de Leche is widely adored all over South America. It's in birthday cakes, ice cream, pastries, cookies and more. Recipes vary by region, but the basic procedure is to boil milk and sugar until the mixture is a thick, golden caramel sauce. It's a slow process that is worth every minute.

“It's easy to find commercially prepared dulce de leche, but homemade is much, much better. So get out a spoon, listen to the soccer match on the radio, and count how many times you hear 'Goal!' before your dulce de leche is ready.” Prep Time: 5 minutes; Cook Time: 45 minutes; Total Time: 50 minutes

To view this online, go to http://southamericanfood.about.com/od/desserts/r/DulcedeLeche.htm.

Ingredients

1 (14 ounce) can of condensed milk (about 1 1/2 cups)

1 (12 ounce) can of evaporated milk (about 1 2/3 cups)

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

Generous pinch of salt (optional)

Cinnamon sticks (optional)

1 tablespoon corn syrup

1 teaspoon vanilla

Preparation

Place the evaporated milk, the corn syrup, and the condensed milk in a heavy-bottomed pot. Add the cinnamon sticks, baking soda, and pinch of salt if desired. (Salt is not exactly traditional but helps intensify the flavor).

Cook and stir over medium low heat. The water will begin to evaporate as steam. Stir steadily so that the mixture does not stick to the bottom of the pan and burn. Adjust the temperature so that the mixture stays just barely at a simmer.

The mixture will slowly begin to thicken and darken slightly in color. Keep stirring - this takes patience!

Cook and stir until the mixture is making big slow bubbles and is very thick. Lift the spoon out of the pot and drizzle some of the caramel over the surface. If it forms a ribbon that does not disappear after 10 seconds or so, it is ready. Also check by dragging the spoon along the bottom of the pot. You should be able to see the bottom of the pot for a few seconds before the thickened mixture closes in on itself and covers the bottom. The mixture will have been simmering for 30-45 minutes.

Remove from heat and let cool for 5 minutes. Remove cinnamon sticks, and stir in the vanilla.

Let cool completely and serve.

Tip: If the mixture starts to stick to the bottom of the pan and burn, you can quickly change to a fresh pan. If there are burnt pieces already mixed in, strain the mixture through a fine mesh sieve into the clean pot, and continue cooking and stirring.

Makes 1 1/2 cups.

LAST-MINUTE BLACK BEAN SOUP

One of the cool thing about finding recipes for this blog is when I stumble across different websites or e-newsletters that offer yummy food or a new way to cook something that I might not have thought about. This recipe comes from one of those websites. Meal Makeover Moms is a wonderful site that offers “Mealtime Made Easy.” I originally found it through AccentHealth. Last-Minute Black Bean Soup was created by Liz Weiss, MS, RD for Meal Makeover Moms. Makes 4 Servings; Serving size about 1 cup

To view this recipe online, click here.

Ingredients

One 15-ounce can reduced-sodium black beans, undrained

1 1/2 cups frozen corn kernels

3/4 cup salsa

1/2 cup water

1/2 cup finely diced red bell pepper

2 tablespoons fresh lime juice (juice of 1 lime)

1 teaspoon chili powder

1 teaspoon ground cumin

1/4 cup shredded reduced-fat Cheddar cheese

1/4 cup reduced-fat sour cream, optional

Directions

In a medium saucepan, combine the beans, corn, salsa, water, bell pepper, lime juice, chili powder, and cumin. Cover and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat and simmer, uncovered, 10 minutes.

Serve in individual bowls and top with the cheese and sour cream as desired.

Nutrition: 180 calories, 1.5g fat (1g saturated), 380mg sodium, 33g carbohydrate, 7g fiber, 10g protein, 60% vitamin C, 15% calcium, 15% iron

CHICKEN POT PIE BUNDLES

This is another recipe from Meal Makeover Moms and makes 6 servings.

To view this online, click here.

Ingredients

1 1/2 tablespoons canola oil, divided

1 large carrot, peeled and cut into 1/4-inch dice (about 1 cup)

1/2 small onion, cut into 1/4-inch dice (about 1/2 cup)

2 cloves garlic, minced

1 pound boneless, skinless chicken breast halves, cut into 1/2-inch dice

2 teaspoons chopped fresh tarragon or 1/2 teaspoon dried tarragon

1/2 teaspoon kosher salt

Pinch of black pepper

1 cup all-natural chicken broth

4 teaspoons cornstarch

3/4 cup frozen petite peas, thawed

3/4 cup frozen corn kernels, thawed

2 tablespoons grated Parmesan cheese

12 egg roll wraps (NOT the smaller wonton wrappers)

Directions

Preheat the oven to 350°F. Heat 1 tablespoon of the oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add the carrot and onion and cook, stirring frequently, until softened, about 5 minutes. Add the garlic, and cook 1 minute more.

Stir in the chicken, tarragon, salt, and pepper. Cook until the chicken is no longer pink, about 5 minutes.

Place the broth and cornstarch in a bowl and whisk until well combined. Add to the skillet along with the peas and corn, and bring the liquid to a simmer, stirring constantly. Continue to simmer and stir gently until the sauce thickens, about 2 minutes.

To prepare the bundles, use a muffin pan with 12 medium-size cups (do not coat with nonstick cooking spray). Gently place 1 egg roll wrap into each cup, letting it extend over the sides.

Place a generous 1/4 cup of the chicken mixture into each wrap, and sprinkle the Parmesan cheese on top. Fold the corners up and over the top of the filling and press to seal the edges (it doesn’t have to be perfect!). Brush the remaining oil on top of each bundle.

Bake until golden and crisp, 12 to 15 minutes. Cool slightly before eating.

Nutrition Information per Serving (2 bundles): 360 calories, 7g fat (1g saturated, 0.4 omega-3), 680mg sodium, 48g carbohydrate, 3g fiber, 24g protein, 70% vitamin A, 15% iron