Friday Recipes

It's finally Friday. Here are six yummy recipes to help you through the weekend, including Gingery Chicken Stew and Orange Beef. See you again on Monday. Enjoy!

BANANA MUFFINS WITH TART LEMON ICING

This came from a Weight Watchers email list maybe a decade or more ago. The points value is from then.

The recipe begins, “If the mouth-puckering lemon icing isn’t enough flavor for you, try adding 1/2 teaspoon each of cinnamon, nutmeg and ginger to the flour mixture.”

Servings: 18, 1 muffin per serving, Points: 3

Ingredients

1/2 cup sugar

6 Tbsp unsalted butter, softened, divided

1 large egg(s)

2 tsp vanilla extract, divided

2 cup all-purpose flour

2 tsp baking powder

1 tsp baking soda

1/4 cup fat-free skim milk

4 large banana(s), ripe, mashed

1 cup powdered sugar

1 Tbsp fresh lemon juice

1 tsp lemon zest, strips, or more to taste

Directions

Preheat oven to 350ºF. Line 18 muffin holes with paper liners.

Place sugar & 5 tablespoons of butter in a large bowl; cream with electric mixer until light and fluffy. Add egg and 1 teaspoon of vanilla; beat until thoroughly mixed.

In another large bowl, mix together flour, baking powder & baking soda. Add half of flour mixture to butter mixture; beat well with mixer. Add milk and remaining flour mixture; beat until batter is combined & then fold in mashed bananas.

Spoon batter into muffin liners about 3/4 full. Bake until muffins start to brown and tester inserted in center of a muffin comes out clean, about 25 to 30 minutes. Allow muffins to cool in pan about 2 minutes; remove to wire rack and cool completely before icing.

Meanwhile, to make icing, combine powdered sugar, remaining tablespoon butter, lemon juice, zest, and remaining teaspoon of vanilla in medium bowl; beat with electric mixer until creamy, about 1 to 2 minutes. Ice cooled muffins; cover and refrigerate any uneaten muffins.

FARMERS' MARKET OMELETS

This comes from the November 2014 issue of Heart Insight Magazine. It begins, “Brighten up your breakfast with these flavorful omelets, full of fresh vegetables, fragrant basil, and pungent feta cheese. Add some whole-grain toast and fresh fruit for a light, nutritious meal any time of day.” Serves 4; omelet per serving.

To view this online, go to http://heartinsight.heart.org/November-2014/Farmers-Market-Omelets/.

Ingredients

1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon canola or corn oil, divided use

1 cup grape tomatoes, halved

1 cup baby spinach

6 large egg whites

2 large eggs

1/4 cup fat-free milk

4 medium green onions, chopped

1/4 cup chopped fresh basil

2 ounces fat-free feta cheese, crumbled

Directions

In a medium nonstick skillet, heat 2 teaspoons oil over medium heat, swirling to coat the bottom. Cook the tomatoes and spinach for 2–3 minutes, or until the tomatoes are slightly softened, stirring constantly. Transfer the mixture to a plate. Cover to keep warm. Set aside. Wipe the skillet with paper towels.

In a small bowl, using a fork, lightly beat together the egg whites, eggs, and milk. Stir in the green onions.

In the same skillet, still over medium heat, heat 1 teaspoon oil, swirling to coat the bottom. Pour half the egg white mixture into the skillet, swirling to coat the bottom. Cook for 30 seconds, or until beginning to set. Using a spatula, carefully lift the cooked edge of the omelet and tilt the skillet so the uncooked portion flows under the edge. Cook until no runniness remains, repeating the lift-and-tilt procedure once or twice at other places along the edge if needed.

With the skillet still on the burner, spread half the tomato mixture over half the omelet. Sprinkle, in order, with half the basil and half the feta. Remove from the heat. Using a spatula, carefully fold the half with no filling over the other half. Cut the omelet in half crosswise. Gently slide onto plates. Cover to keep warm.

Using the remaining ingredients, including the final 1 teaspoon oil, make and fill a second omelet.

Cook’s Tip

Although these omelets are top-notch with basil, feel free to use a different fresh herb or combine several for even more subtle layers of fresh flavor.

ORANGE BEEF

This comes from Sam Sifton in The New York Times cooking e-newsletter, also featured in Asian Pantry Essentials. For this recipe, Sam wrote, “This recipe for takeout-style orange beef is a variation on one the Brooklyn chef Dale Talde included in his new cookbook, "Asian-American: Proudly Inauthentic Recipes From the Philippines to Brooklyn," with a slightly more intensely flavored orange-flavored sauce. Mr. Talde's key insight is protected, however: Use very good steak, and cook it fast, so that below the lovely crust of its egg-white-and-cornstarch batter, the meat remains rare and luscious. Serve with steamed broccoli and white rice. And make it a few times. What appears difficult the first time through — the coating of the beef, the making of the sauce, the stir-frying of the aromatics, the stir-frying of the beef — is in fact fast and easy work, and much, much better than takeout.” Yield: 4 servings; Time: 30 minutes.

To view this online, click here.

Ingredients

For the Sauce:

1 tablespoon neutral oil

1 to 1-1/2-inch piece fresh ginger, peeled and minced

1 jalapeño pepper, seeded and minced

2 tablespoons orange zest, plus the juice of one orange

3 garlic cloves, peeled and minced

1/4 cup light brown sugar

1/4 cup rice vinegar (do not use seasoned rice vinegar)

1/4 cup soy sauce

1 tablespoon fish sauce

For the Beef:

1 large egg white

1 tablespoon cornstarch

1 pinch kosher salt

1 boneless rib-eye steak, approximately 1 to 1 1/2 pounds, cut into 1-inch pieces

1/4 cup neutral oil

6 scallions, white and green parts cut into inchlong pieces and separated

2 to 4 dried red chiles, or to taste

Preparation

Make the sauce: Heat oil in a small sauce pan set over medium-high heat. When it begins to shimmer, add ginger, jalapeño and orange zest and stir to combine. Sauté mixture until ingredients soften, approximately 2 to 3 minutes, then add garlic and continue cooking until it softens, approximately 1 to 2 minutes longer.

Add orange juice, brown sugar, rice vinegar, soy sauce and fish sauce to pan and stir to combine. Allow mixture to come to a boil, then lower the heat and cook, stirring occasionally, until it thickens and reduces by half, approximately 10 to 15 minutes.

Meanwhile, prepare the meat: Combine egg white, cornstarch and salt in a bowl. Add steak, tossing to coat the meat with the batter.

In a large skillet or wok set over high heat, heat oil until it shimmers and is about to smoke. Add beef to the pan or wok in a single layer and cook without stirring until the bottoms of the pieces are crisp and golden, approximately 60 to 90 seconds. Add white pieces of scallion and chiles to the pan, then turn the beef pieces over and cook the other sides, stirring occasionally, about 3 minutes more for medium-rare. Transfer to a platter.

Pour orange sauce into the hot pan or wok, let it boil and stir it as it thickens. Add meat and white scallions and stir to coat with the sauce. Return meat and sauce to the platter and scatter green scallions over the top. Serve with steamed broccoli and white rice.

GINGERY CHICKEN STEW

This is from Mark Bittman in The New York Times cooking enewsletter. For this recipe, Mark wrote, "Just 1-1/2 pounds of chicken to serve four people? Yes, because the emphasis is on the winter squash and daikon radish in this stew; unexpected, but substantial. It may seem downright semivegetarian, but the variety of flavors more than makes up for it."

About 1 hour, largely unattended; Yield: 4 servings

To view this yumminess online, go to https://cooking.nytimes.com/recipes/1016045-gingery-chicken-stew. While you're at it, please sign up for The New York Times cooking enewsletter. Really great recipes, lots of guides...If you're like me, you won't regret it.

Ingredients

2 tablespoons olive oil

1-1/2 pounds (4 whole bone-in) chicken thighs

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper

1 large onion, chopped

2 cups chopped daikon radish

1/4 cup minced ginger

2 cups vegetable or chicken stock, or water, more as needed

1/4 cup soy sauce

2 tablespoons lime juice

3 pieces star anise

1-1/2 pounds any winter squash, cut into 1-inch chunks

Preparation

Put the oil in a large pot over medium-high heat. When it’s hot, add the chicken, sprinkle with the salt and pepper, and cook, turning the pieces as they release easily from the pan, until they’re well browned on both sides, 8 to 12 minutes. Remove the chicken from the pot.

Add the onion, daikon and ginger to the pot and cook until they begin to soften, 3 to 5 minutes. Add the stock, soy sauce, lime juice and star anise and bring to a boil, stirring to scrape up any brown bits from the bottom of the pot. Return the chicken and adjust the heat so the mixture bubbles gently but steadily.

Cook the chicken, covered, until very tender, about 30 minutes. Stir in the squash. Simmer, stirring occasionally and adding enough stock to keep it from sticking, until the squash is tender but not mushy, 10 to 15 minutes. If you like, remove the chicken thighs, cut the meat from the bones and return it to the pot. Fish out and discard the star anise. Adjust the seasonings to taste and serve.

PASTA WITH BROCCOLI, SUN-DRIED TOMATO, AND LIME

This was in an article titled "Vision Quest, Recipes for Eye Health" in the July 2020 issue of Taste for Life (page 14).

I had picked up a copy of Taste for Life at Rollin' Oats, a Florida health food store with two locations (Tampa and St. Petersburg). Since I live close to the St. Pete store, I try to go there as often as possible (though not often enough, as far as I'm concerned). If you're ever in the area, I highly suggest giving them a try.

Anywho, this recipe's prep time is 30 minutes, and serves 4.

Ingredients

3 cups bite-size pieces of broccoli florets

12 oz penne pasta

1/2 cup oil-packed sun-dried tomato slices

2 garlic cloves, minced

1/4 cup freshly squeezed lime juice (from 1 large lime)

Salt and freshly ground black pepper

Directions

Steam broccoli for 5 minutes until tender. Set aside.

Cook pasta according to package directions. Drain pasta, reserving 1/4 cup of the cooking water. Set aside.

Heat sun-dried tomatoes and their oil over medium heat in a large saucepan. Add garlic and saute for 2 minutes.

Add pasta, reserved cooking water, steamed broccoli, and lime juice to sun-dried tomato mixture. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Toss to combine.

OLD-FASHIONED SKILLET GOULASH

This is from Linda Larsen on The Spruce Eats. Linda wrote, "This simple and old-fashioned recipe for Old-Fashioned Skillet Goulash is delicious and quick to make. It uses the shortcut ingredients condensed tomato soup and diced tomatoes with garlic. If you can't find diced tomatoes with garlic, add 2 cloves of minced garlic to the recipe. Cook the garlic with the ground beef and onions.

"Skillet meals are good because there is little cleanup, and they can be made quickly. And this recipe contains pasta that is cooked right with the other ingredients, making it a one-dish meal. Since the pasta is cooked in the sauce, it has a better texture and absorbs more flavors than pasta cooked in a huge pot of boiling water.<​br />
"You can use other types of pasta if you'd like. Ziti or mostaccioli would be good in this dish. Those types of pasta will most likely take longer to cook than the rotini, so be sure to taste the pasta as it cooks. Always cook pasta to al dente, which means the pasta is tender, but still has some texture and a bit of resistance in the center. You can also sprinkle this recipe with some grated or shredded Parmesan or Romano cheese before serving, even though that ingredient is not traditional in goulash."

Prep Time: 15 minutes; Cook Time: 25 minutes; Total Time: 40 minutes; Makes 6 servings

To view this online, go to https://www.thespruceeats.com/old-fashioned-skillet-goulash-480733.

Ingredients

1 pound ground beef

2 onions (chopped)

1 red bell pepper (chopped)

1 (26 ounce) jar spaghetti sauce

2 (14-ounce) cans diced tomatoes with garlic (undrained)

2 teaspoons apple cider vinegar

2 teaspoons sugar

1 to 3 teaspoons paprika (to taste)

1 teaspoon dried marjoram leaves

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/8 teaspoon pepper

1 cup water

2 and 1/2 cups rotini or gemelli pasta

1/4 cup chopped flat-leaf parsley (if desired)

Directions

In a large skillet, cook the ground beef, onion, bell pepper, and garlic until the meat is browned and the vegetables are tender, stirring to break up the meat. Drain well.

Add the pasta sauce, diced tomatoes with their liquid, vinegar, sugar, paprika, marjoram, salt, pepper, and water to the skillet with the ground beef and onions and cook for 8 to 10 minutes or until the mixture starts to boil, stirring frequently.

Add the pasta to the skillet and bring the mixture back to a simmer. Simmer the food, uncovered, stirring frequently, until the pasta is tender, about 11 to 16 minutes. Sprinkle everything with fresh parsley, if using, and serve immediately.