Friday Recipes

Finally, Friday! Here are six recipes to help you through the weekend. Enjoy!

IMPOSSIBLY EASY TOFFEE BAR CHEESECAKE

This comes from the now-infamous long-since-forgotten emailing list. The recipe begins, “Bits of crunchy chocolate-covered toffee are the tasty surprise in an easy, foolproof cheesecake. Caramel topping is the extra wow.”

Prep Time: 10 min

Start to Finish: 5 hr 45 min

Makes: 8 servings

Ingredients

1/4 cup milk

2 teaspoons vanilla

2 eggs

3/4 cup packed brown sugar

1/4 cup Original Bisquick mix

2 packages (8 oz each) cream cheese, cut into 16 pieces, softened

3 bars (1.4 oz each) chocolate-covered English toffee candy, coarsely chopped

1/2 cup caramel topping

Directions

Heat oven to 325 degrees F. Spray bottom only of 9-inch glass pie plate with cooking spray.

In blender, place milk, vanilla, eggs, brown sugar and Bisquick mix. Cover; blend on high speed 15 seconds. Add cream cheese. Cover; blend 2 minutes. Pour into pie plate. Sprinkle candy over top; swirl gently with table knife to evenly distribute candy. Bake 30 to 35 minutes or until about 2 inches of edge of pie is set and center is still soft and wiggles slightly. Cool completely, about 1 hour. Refrigerate at least 4 hours. Serve with caramel topping. Store in refrigerator.

Special Touch If you love nuts, sprinkle a few over the batter with the chopped candy. Or pass the nuts with a pitcher of caramel topping, and let guests top their own desserts.

CHICKPEA SALAD

Yield: 2 servings

Source: Diabetes Cookbook for Dummies

Online Recipe: http://diabeticgourmet.com/recipes/html/622.shtml

Ingredients

1-1/2 cups canned chickpeas, drained and rinsed

1/4 cup celery, chopped

1/4 cup red pepper, chopped

1/4 cup red onion, chopped

1/8 teaspoon salt

1/8 teaspoon white pepper

2 tablespoons lowfat mayonnaise

Pita bread or mixed greens

Directions

In a bowl, coarsely mash the chickpeas.

Add the celery, red pepper, onion, salt, pepper, and mayonnaise and toss well.

Serve over pita bread or mixed greens.

Nutritional Information Per Serving: Calories: 206; Protein: 10 g; Fat: 3 g; Sodium: 641 mg; Cholesterol: 0 mg; Carbohydrates: 35 g; Exchanges: 1-1/2 Starch, 1-1/2 Very Lean Meat, 1/2 Fat

BEEF CHILI WITH PINTO BEANS

This comes from Diana Rattray, About.com's Souther Food expert. Diana wrote, “This hearty chili gets extra heat and flavor from jalapeno peppers and garlic. Top this chili with a little shredded Cheddar cheese or sliced green onions and serve it along with your favorite cornbread.

“This chili can be cooked in the slow cooker or on the stovetop. The recipe is easily doubled for a crowd.” Prep Time: 20 minutes; Cook Time: 300 minutes (5 hours); Total Time: 320 minutes; Yield: Makes 6 to 8 servings

To view this online, click here.

Ingredients

2 pounds ground beef, 85% lean, or use part ground pork

1 cup chopped onion

3 cloves garlic, minced

1 can (4 ounces) chopped green chili peppers

3 tablespoons minced jalapeno peppers

1 large can (28 ounces) crushed tomatoes

1 can (14.5 ounces) diced tomatoes

3 tablespoons tomato paste, about half of a 6-ounce can

1 can (15 ounces) pinto beans, drained

3 tablespoons chili powder

1 teaspoon granulated sugar, optional

3/4 teaspoon ground cumin

dash cayenne pepper

1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

1 teaspoon salt, or to taste

Preparation

In a large skillet, brown the ground beef with the onion until no longer pink and the onion is tender. Add the bell pepper and garlic and continue cooking, stirring, for 2 minutes. Add the canned chili peppers and jalapeno peppers and cook for 1 minute more.

Transfer to the slow cooker* and add the crushed tomatoes, diced tomatoes, tomato paste, pinto beans, chili powder, sugar, cumin, cayenne and black pepper, and salt, to taste.

Cover and cook on LOW for 5 to 6 hours or on HIGH for 2 to 4 hours.

Serve with fresh baked buttermilk cornbread or Tex-Mex cornbread.

*This can also be cooked on the stovetop. Use a Dutch oven to brown the meat and vegetables as above. Add the remaining ingredients, cover, and simmer over low heat for about 1 1/2 hours.

EASY GOULASH (SKILLET BEEF & MACARONI)

This comes from Campbell's Kitchen. It begins, “This scrumptious one-skillet dish is easy to make, budget-friendly and kid-friendly. It's got lots of favorite ingredients like ground beef, corn, picante sauce, cheese and macaroni...it's a winner.” Prep Time: 20 min; Total Time: 35 min; Serves 4 (servings about 1 1/4 cups each)

To view this online, click here.

Ingredients

1 pound ground beef

2 stalks celery, diced (about 1 cup)

1/2 teaspoon dried oregano leaves, crushed

1 can (10 1/2 ounces) Campbell’s® Condensed Cream of Mushroom Soup or (10 1/2 ounces) Campbell’s® Condensed 98% Fat Free Cream of Mushroom Soup

1 cup Pace® Picante Sauce

1 can (about 8 ounces) whole kernel corn, drained

4 ounces (about 1 cup) elbow macaroni, cooked and drained

1/4 cup shredded Cheddar cheese

Directions

Cook the beef, celery and oregano in a 10-inch skillet over medium-high heat until the beef is well browned, stirring often to separate meat. Pour off any fat.


Stir the soup, picante sauce, corn and pasta in the skillet. Cook and stir until the mixture is hot and bubbling. Sprinkle with the cheese and cook until the cheese is melted.

SKINNY MEXICAN CHICKEN CASSEROLE

This comes from the Tablespoon emailing list. It begins, “An easy Mexican dinner for under 300 calories per serving. You can even assemble it ahead of time and bake before serving!” Prep Time: 25 min; Total Time: 60 min; Makes 5 servings

To view this online, click here.

Ingredients

1 bag (11 oz) Green Giant™ Steamers™ frozen corn & black beans with brown rice in a Southwestern style sauce

2 cups cubed cooked chicken breast

1 can (10 oz) Old El Paso™ enchilada sauce

1/4 cup chopped green onions (4 medium)

1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro

1 small red bell pepper, chopped

3/4 cup finely shredded 2% milk reduced-fat Mexican style cheese blend (3 oz)

1 cup shredded lettuce

1 tomato, chopped

Directions

Heat oven to 375°F. Spray 9-inch glass pie plate or shallow small casserole with cooking spray. Cook rice mixture as directed on bag for minimum time. In large bowl, mix chicken, rice mixture and enchilada sauce. Stir in 2 tablespoons of the green onions, the cilantro and bell pepper. Spoon into pie plate.

Bake uncovered 30 to 35 minutes or until bubbly and heated through. Sprinkle with cheese; bake 5 minutes longer or until cheese is melted. Top with shredded lettuce, tomato and remaining green onions.

BAKED MACARONI AND CHEESE

Kathy Kingsley, About.com's American Food blog's guide, writes, “A true American classic, this recipe for baked macaroni and cheese couldn't be easier or more comforting. It's also a a very versatile dish, lending itself to many variations. For example, no reason to stick to elbow macaroni for the recipe, try it with penne, rigatoni or rotini. And you can mix-up the cheese you use, too. How about a mixture of cheddar and Monterrey Jack, or Gruyere and fontina? The variations on the dish are only limited by your imagination.

Prep Time: 15 minutes; Cook Time: 30 minutes; Total Time: 45 minutes; Yield: Serves 8

Ingredients:

12 ounces elbow macaroni (3 cups)

1/2 stick (4 tablespoons) butter

1/2 cup finely minced onion

1/4 cup all-purpose flour

3 1/2 cups whole or 2-percent fat milk

1 teaspoon Dijon mustard

Pinch cayenne pepper

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper

8 ounces shredded Cheddar cheese (2 cups)

1 cup fresh bread crumbs, or 1/2 cup dried

Preparation:

Preheat the oven to 375°F.

Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil. Add the pasta and cook according to the package directions. Drain in a colander.

In a large saucepan, melt the butter over medium heat. Add the onion and cook, stirring often, for 5 minutes, or until softened. Stir in the flour and cook, stirring for 1 minute.

Slowly pour in the milk and whisk until mixture is smooth. Cook over medium heat, whisking often, until mixture thickens and bubbles, about 6 minutes. Stir in the mustard and cayenne pepper.

Stir in 1 1/2 cups of the shredded cheese until melted and smooth. Season with salt and pepper.

Add the pasta to the cheese sauce and toss to coat. Scrape the mixture into a 9 - by- 13-inch baking dish.

In a small bowl, combine the remaining 1/2 cup shredded cheese and breadcrumbs. Sprinkle the breadcrumb mixture over the top of the macaroni and cheese.

Bake the casserole until the top is golden brown, about 30 minutes. Serve hot.

Recipe Notes

You can mix-up the recipe some by adding 1 cup of chopped ham and/or 1/2 cup of thawed, frozen peas.

Another variation for this macaroni and cheese is to use Fontina cheese and add some sauteed, chopped mushrooms and spinach, or use some Monterrey Jack cheese and add some canned chopped green chilies and a little chili powder.

Make individual servings of mac and cheese: Spoon the macaroni and cheese into 1 to 2 cup-size ramekins, and bake for 15 to 20 minutes.

To ensure that the sauce is smooth, add the cheese in small batches, stirring until smooth before adding the next batch.