The Garden Variety Cookbook More Than 500 Vegetables and Fruit Recipes for Nonvegetarians

The other day I discovered another thrift store in my area, of course I picked up a few books. One was The Garden Variety Cookbook More Than 500 Vegetables and Fruit Recipes for Nonvegetarians. As promised it has a lot of ideas I have not seen before. Here is a recipe for carrots that is like a hot carrot salad:

Carrots With Raisins

1 tablespoons mild, light-flavored olive oil
1-1/4 pounds carrots, sliced
1/2 tablespoon brown sugar
1/2 cup seedless raisins
1 tablespoon honey
1/2 tablespoon lemon juice
1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
1 teaspoon curry powder.
Steam the carrots until almost tender. Heat the oil in a skillet over medium heat. Saute the carrots for 2 minutes. Sprinkle Brown sugar over carrots and add raisins. Stir-fry for 2 minutes. Combine remaining ingredients. Stir into carrot mixture in skillet.

Here is their Fruit Tart recipe:

Fresh Fruit Tart

1 cup granola
1 cup graham cracker crumbs
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 cup sugar
1/2 cup regular stick margarine, containing less than 2 grams of saturated fat per tablespoon, melted
1/4 skim or low-fat milk
5 cups sliced fresh fruit ( see possibilities below)
1 cup nonfat or low-fat plain yogurt
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. Combine granola, crumbs, cinnamon, sugar, margarine, and milk and blend.
3. Press the mixture onto bottom and sides of a 9-inch pie pan and bake for 25 minutes.
4. Remove from oven and cool for 20 minutes. Fill shell with sliced fruit. Top with the yogurt around edge.
5. Chill for several hours before serving.
Fruit Possibilities
Blueberries and peaches
Strawberries
Apricots and blackberries
Nectarines and raspberries

Cooking The RealAge Way- Smoked Mozzarella and Veggie-Stuffed Pizza

Cooking the RealAge Way is another book I picked up the other day. I have participated in the RealAge program quizzes online but I didn't really pay that much attention to see if they were also promoting a book. Guess I didn't pay attention because the RealAge program questions really make your bad eating and exercising habits stand out and I have plenty of those.
Anyway I like this book because it is divided into seasonal sections and breakfast, lunch and dinner. The recipes also have a lot of variations and substitutions you can make. Here is a recipe for a healthful pizza.

Smoked Mozzarella and Veggie-Stuffed Pizza- "one huge slice has less than 300 calories but plenty of lycopene and potassium, making your RealAge younger by 10.0 days"

1 pound fresh, cut stir-fry vegetables (packaged or from the salad bar), such as broccoli, zucchini, mushrooms, red onion, bell peppers and julienned carrots
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
1/4 cup tomato paste
2 tablespoon olive relish, olive paste, tapenade or olivada
2 tablespoon sun-dried tomato bits
1 (12-inch or 10 oz.) prepared thin pizza crust, such as Boboli
1/4 cup chopped mixed green herbs such as chives, thyme, parsley and basil
1/2 cup (2 oz.) finely shredded smoked mozzarella cheese
Heat oven to 425 degrees. Heat a large nonstick skillet over medium-high he4at until hot. Coat with cooking oil spray; add vegetables. Stir-fry 3 to 4 minutes or until vegetables are crisp-tender. Salt and pepper to taste. Combine tomato paste, olive relish, and sun-dried tomato bits. Spread over pizza crust; top with cooked vegetables, herbs, and cheese, in that order. Bake the pizza directly on the oven rack for approximately 10 minutes, or until crust is golden brown and cheese melts.

Cooking With Three Ingredients- Chocolate Flan

My latest acquisition from Paperbackswap is Cooking With Three Ingredients by Andrew Schloss. Most of the recipes included some type of premade sauce as a way to get around having too many ingredients. But this recipe caught my eye as being different. This is what he says about it. "This is a miraculous recipe. As it bakes, the chocolate in the milk sinks to the bottom, which becomes the top once the flan is inverted for serving. The result is a shimmering milk chocolate discus, glazed in caramel and lacquered with dark chocolate."

Chocolate Flan

1 cup sugar
1 quart chocolate milk
4 eggs, lightly beaten
1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Heat the sugar in a heavy saucepan over medium-high heat. After 2 minutes, start stirring and continue stirring until the sugar melts into a pale golden caramel, about 2 minutes longer. Watch carefully to make sure it doesn't burn. Immediately pour the caramel into a 9-inch round baking dish. Carefully tilt the dish so that the caramel covers the bottom of the dish in a thin even sheet. Work quickly because the caramel will stop flowing if it cools. Set aside.
2. Add the chocolate milk to the sauce pan. Any caramel clinging to the pan will immediately solidify. Heat the milk to a simmer, stirring occasionally. Any solid caramel will melt into the milk. Stir the hot milk slowly into the eggs, mixing constantly. Pour the custard into the caramel-lined dish and set in a larger pan of water.
3. Bake for 1 hour, or until a knife inserted in the center comes out with just a speck of custard clinging to it. Cool on a cooling rack to room temperature and refrigerate for several hours until thoroughly chilled.
4. To serve, run a knife around the perimeter of the custard and cover with a large rimmed tray. Invert onto the tray. Shake lightly to release the custard. When the custard drops, lift off the dish, allowing the caramel sauce to run over the top of the flan and down onto the tray. Serve the flan in slices with a bit of sauce spooned on top. Serves 8.

Duncan Hines Deliciously Simple Desserts- Lemon Chiffon Cake

Not too long ago on another of my blogs I did a post about chiffon cakes. They seem like a lot of trouble to make. Today I came across a way to make an angel food cake mix into a lemon chiffon cake. It is from Duncan Hines Deliciously Simple Desserts, a Favorite Brand Name Recipe booklet.
Lemon Chiffon Cake
1 package Duncan Hines Angel Food Cake Mix
1 cup water
3 eggs
2/4 cup Crisco oil
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
1 tablespoons grated lemon peel
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
Frosting
1 container (16 oz.) Duncan Hines Vanilla Layer Cake Frosting
2 teaspoon butter, melted
1 teaspoon grated lemon peel
Lemon slices, for garnish
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. For cake, combine egg white mixture (blue "A" packet) from mix and water in large bowl. Beat at low speed with electric mixer for 1 minutes. Beat at high speed for 5 to 10 minutes or until stiff peaks form; set aside.
Combine cake flour mixture (red "B" packet) from mix, eggs, oil, flour, 1 tablespoon lemon peel and vanilla extract in large bowl. Beat at low speed until blended. Beat at medium speed for 3 minutes. Fold in reserved beaten egg white mixture. Pour into ungreased 10-inch tube pan. Run knife through batter to remove air bubbles. Bake at 350 degrees for 45 to 55 or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool following package direction.
For frosting, combine vanilla frosting, melted butter and 2 teaspoon lemon peel in medium bowl. Stir until thoroughly blended. Frost sides and top of cake. Garnish with lemon slices.

The Gourmet Gazelle- Herbed Chicken Legs

This is another recipe to promote my quest to bring back the use of other parts of the chicken besides breasts. . This one uses leg quarters which are very reasonably priced. The recipe is from The Gourmet Gazelle Cookbook by Ellen Brown, a healthy/light cookbook.. Here is the description: "While slightly higher in calories and fat, the dark meat of chicken is also more succulent and flavorful than the white meat. This easy dish keeps in all the moisture, and the juices released during baking form a light herbed sauce. May be prepared up to six hours ahead and refrigerated, if refrigerated add 5 minutes to cooking time."

Herbed Chicken Legs

6 chicken leg quarters (thigh and drumstick), skinned
1 tablespoon oil
1/2 cup chicken stock, preferably unsalted
3 garlic cloves, peeled and minced
2 shallots, peeled and minced
1/4 cup chopped fresh herbs (any combination of parsley, basil, oregano, rosemary, and marjoram)
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground white pepper
1/4 teaspoon salt, or 1/8 teaspoon if using slated canned stock
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Wash the chicken and pat it dry. Heat the oil in a large skillet or saute pan over high heat. Brown the chicken on both sides, then place each piece in a square of heavy-duty foil large enough to enclose it. Combine the remaining ingredients. Divide the mixture on top of each chicken leg quarter and seal the foil by crimping the edges tightly, starting at one corner and working clockwise.. Place the packages on a baking sheet and bake for 40 minutes in the center of the oven. Remove and cut a slit in the package to release the steam. Unwrap carefully and place each piece on a plate, using the juices as a sauce.

Favorite Brand Name Recipes, Great Vegetarian Meal Three-Cheese Vegetable Lasagna

I use to buy a frozen single serving white vegetable lasagna that was very good. They don't make it anymore and I have thought of making it myself. Lots of vegetable lasagnas still have a tomato sauce but this recipe seems like it would be like the frozen brand with one exception. I definitely would not use canned mixed vegetables, I seriously dislike them, I always use frozen mixed veggies. The recipe is from Great Vegetarian Meals, it is a Favorite Brand Name Recipes grocery store booklet.

Three-Cheese Vegetable Lasagna

9 lasagna noodles, cooked according to package directions, drained
1 can (16 oz.) VEG-ALL Mixed Vegetables, undrained
1/4 cup butter
1/4 cup chopped onion
1/4 cup flour
1 cup vegetable broth
2 eggs, divided
8 ounces ricotta cheese
1 3/4 cups grated Parmesan cheese, divided
1/8 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1 package (10 oz.) frozen chopped spinach, cooked
2 cups (8 oz.) shredded mozzarella cheese
Place cooked lasagna noodles in cold water until ready to use; set aside. Drain vegetables, reserving 1/2 cup liquid. Melt butter in saucepan; add onion and cook and stir until softened. Blend in flour. Gradually add reserved mix vegetable liquid and broth. Cook and stir until thickened; set sauce aside. Combine 1 egg, ricotta cheese, 1/4 cup Parmesan cheese, nutmeg and mixed vegetables in medium bowl; set aside. Combine 1/4 cup sauce, remaining 1 egg and spinach; set aside. Place a small amount of remaining sauce in bottom of lightly greased 13x9-inch baking dish cover with three noodles. Layer with spinach mixture, 1/2 cup sauce and 1/2 cup Parmesan cheese. Layer with three more noodles; spread with ricotta mixture and top with 1 cup mozzarella cheese and 1/2 cup Parmesan cheese. Cover with remaining 3 noodles; top with remaining sauce, remaining 1 cup mozzarella cheese and remaining 1/2 cup Parmesan cheese. Bake at 400 degrees for 30 minutes.

The Dinner Doctor- Ham and Cheddar Not-So-Impossible Pie

For the recipe today we have Ham and Cheddar Not-So-Impossible Pie. This is a variation of the Bisquick Impossible pie from The Dinner Doctor by Ann Byrn of Cake Doctor fame. Basically the only difference is she uses Cheddar instead of Swiss cheese. I am sure I am not the only one with leftover ham to use and a person can only eat so many ham sandwiches.

Ham and Cheddar Not-So-Impossible Pie

1 1/2 cups chopped ham
1 cup pre-shredded sharp Cheddar cheese
1/2 cup biscuit mix, such as Bisquick
1 cup milk
2 large eggs
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Mist a 9-inch glass pie pan with vegetable oil cooking spray. Sprinkle the ham, then the Cheddar cheese over the bottom of the pie pan. Whisk together the biscuit mix, milk, and eggs in a small bowl, then pour this evenly over the ham and cheese. Bake the pie until it is golden brown and firm to the touch, 20 to 25 minutes. Remove the pie from the oven and let it cool for 5 minutes, then cut it into wedges and serve. Serves 6
Tags: ham