This is a print preview of "Week 24, Vol I, December 18, 2009" recipe.

Week 24, Vol I, December 18, 2009 Recipe
by Cari Snell

Dinners of the Week:

Easy Paella

Vegetarian Quesadilla

Beef and Bell Pepper with Black Bean Sauce

Slow Cooker Turkey Chili

Penne with Roasted Zucchini, Italian Sausage and Feta

Dessert of the Week:

German Chocolate Pie

Snack of the Week:

Cranberry Orange Muffins

Dinner One: Easy Paella with Red Wine and Saffron

Recipe from Ken Kostick’s $10 Gourmet.

Prep Time: 15 min/Total Time: 45 min. Recipe adjusted to serve 4.

Can I Get the Recipe Tip: There are different versions of this incredible rice dish, which originated in Spain. This is one of Ken’s favourites. You can replace the chicken with cooked turkey or pork and use scallops instead of shrimp.

Ingredients:

Directions:

Heat the oil in a wok or large sauté pan. Sauté the celery, green bell pepper, and onion for 3 – 4 minutes. Place the saffron threads in ¼ cup of boiling water and let sit for 15 minutes.

Add the remaining ingredients except for the parsley. Bring to a boil; reduce heat.

Add the saffron water and simmer for 15 minutes, or until the rice has absorbed the stock. If the rice becomes too dry, add more stock before it is cooked through. Add the fresh parsley and serve.

Dinner Two: Vegetarian Quesadilla (with Spring Salad)

Recipe by Annie of Annie's Eats

Prep Time: 15 minutes/Total Time: 30 minutes. Recipe adjusted to serve 4.

Can I Get the Recipe Tip: This is a great dinner to use up any odds and ends of produce in your fridge since the recipe is easily adaptable to what you have on hand.

Ingredients:

2 tablespoon olive oil

1 medium yellow onion, chopped

1 bell pepper (any color), chopped

2 jalapeno peppers, seeded and diced (spicy – omit if desired)

1 small zucchini, chopped

8 ounces button mushrooms, coarsely chopped

1/3 cup fresh corn kernels

1/2 teaspoon cumin

1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper (spicy – omit if desired)

1/2 teaspoon fajita seasoning

1 small can (2/3 cup) black beans

1 medium tomato, seeded and chopped

6 (10-inch) flour tortillas

1/2 cup shredded Mexican cheese

1 small bag Spring Salad Mix

1 cucumber

1 pint cherry or grape tomatoes

salad dressing of your choice

Directions:

Heat olive oil in a skillet over medium-high heat. Add onion, bell pepper and jalapeno pepper to the pan and sauté until crisp-tender, about 3 minutes. Mix in the cumin, cayenne pepper, and fajita seasoning. Add the zucchini and mushrooms to the pan and sauté about 3 more minutes. Mix in the corn, black beans and tomatoes and cook 1 minute more. Remove from the heat.

Lay out tortillas on a work surface. Brush one side of each tortilla lightly with oil and flip over. Evenly distribute the vegetable filling between the tortillas, spreading it over one half of each and leaving a ½-inch border clear. Sprinkle shredded cheese to taste over the veggie filling. Fold the empty half of each tortillaover the filling into a semicircle.

Heat a lightly oiled skillet or grill pan over medium-high heat. Cook quesadillas, flipping halfway through, until both sides are well browned and cheese is melted.

Serve with spring salad.

Dinner Three: Beef and Bell Pepper with Black Bean Sauce with Noodles

Recipe from Andrea of Andrea's Recipes

Prep Time: 30 min/Total Time: 45 min. Serves 4.

Can I Get the Recipe Tip: Cutting the meat partially frozen is the easiest way to achieve the customary thin slices found in Chinese cooking. If you are using fresh meat, then pop it into the freezer for about 30 minutes before you start slicing and it should harden just enough to make slicing easier.

Ingredients:

12 ounces (340 grams) sirloin steak, thinly sliced across the grain, each piece about 2 inches long

2 medium bell peppers, green and red, sliced into thin strips, about 1/2-inch wide3 or 4 scallions, cut into 1-inch pieces

2 tablespoons Chinese black bean sauce or fermented black beans (more or less to taste)

2 cloves garlic, minced

2 large slices ginger, minced

4 tablespoons canola or peanut oil

1/2 cup chicken or strong vegetable stock

Marinade -

1/2 teaspoon granulated sugar

2 teaspoons low sodium soy sauce

2 teaspoons Chinese rice wine or dry sherry

1-1/2 teaspoons cornstarch

1 tablespoon canola oil

Plus 1 (8 ounce) package of rice noodles

Directions:

Put the sliced steak into the glass bowl and sprinkle the sugar on top. In the small bowl, stir together the soy sauce, sherry, cornstarch, and oil and then pour over the steak. Toss until the steak is coated, and set aside for about 30 minutes.

While the steak is marinating, prepare the remaining ingredients. Make sure everything is chopped, minced, and measured, because the process moves pretty quickly once you begin stir frying.

Heat the wok over high heat. If you have a gas range or cook top, use the highest output burner. Add 2 tablespoons of the oil to the wok, and it should move quickly around the wok if the temperature is correct. Add the meat, stir frying for about 3 minutes, until the meat is cooked about 75% through. Remove the meat to the other medium bowl (do not put back into the marinade bowl).

Add 2 more tablespoons oil to the hot wok and add the bell peppers, stirring for about 2 minutes. Add the scallions and the black bean sauce, stirring for about 2 minutes. Add the garlic and ginger, stirring for just a minute.

Return the meat and all its juices back to the wok, stirring for 1 minute until it’s heated through. Add the chicken/vegetable stock and cook until it starts to boil.

Remove wok from heat. Serve with cooked noodles.

Dinner Four: Slow Cooker Turkey Chili

Recipe from Erica of Healthy Tasty Cheap

Prep Time: 15 min/Total Time: 4 - 8 hours. Serves 4 with leftovers.

Can I Get the Recipe Tip: Plan to make this on a night where you need a packed lunch the next day. Alternatively, use any left over chili to make nachos the next day for a snack.

Ingredients:

1 pound (454 grams) ground turkey breast

1 medium green bell pepper, chopped

1 medium red onion, chopped

1 tablespoon canola oil

2 cans (7 ounces each) diced tomatoes

1 can (7 ounce) kidney beans, drained and rinsed

1 can (7 ounce) black beans, drained and rinsed

1 cup frozen corn kernels (optional)

2 tablespoon chili powder

1 tablespoon cumin powder

1 teaspoon smoked paprika

splash of Tobasco sauce (to taste)

salt and black pepper to taste

For Serving:

reduced-fat sour cream cheese

diced green onions

tobasco sauce

baked corn chips

Directions:

Put the tomatoes, kidney beans, black beans, frozen corn kernels, and spices into the slow cooker.

In a large nonstick skillet, sautee the peppers and onions in the canola oil on medium heat. When the onions are soft, add the ground turkey and continue to cook, breaking the turkey up into small chunks with a spatula or spoon. When the turkey is browned and cooked through, add the turkey, bell pepper, and onion mixture to the crock pot and stir to combine.

Cook the chili on high for 3-4 hours or on low for 8 hours. Season with salt, pepper, and Tobasco to your taste.

Serve the chili hot in bowls with cheese, sour cream, green onions, and corn chips.

Dinner Five: Penne with Roasted Zucchini, Italian Sausage and Feta

Recipe by Cari of Cari Cooks

Prep Time: 15 min/Total Time: 30 min. Serves 4.

Can I Get the Recipe Tip: Dry white cooking wine and dry vermouth are interchangeable in many recipes. If you prefer not to open a bottle of white wine every time you cook, purchase yourself some vermouth and reserve it for cooking as it stores for a very long time.

Ingredients:

1 pound (454 grams) penne

4 small zucchini, sliced into half rounds about 1/2 inch thick

1 tablespoon olive oil

sea salt

fresh ground pepper

1/2 tablespoon vegetable oil

3 large mild Italian sausages, casings removed

4 large garlic cloves, minced

1 teaspoon dried sage

1/2 cup dry white wine (optional) or 1/2 cup of reserved pasta water

1/2 cup feta cheese, crumbled

Directions:

Preheat oven to 425 degrees F.

Toss zucchini half rounds in the olive oil then season with a good pinch of sea salt and ground pepper. Spread out on a baking sheet and roast in the oven for 30 minutes, stirring every 8 - 10 minutes.

Cook pasta in a large pot with boiling, salted water until al dente. Reserve 1/2 cup of the pasta water if you are not using white wine. Drain and put back in the pot. Set aside.

In a large, heavy bottom skillet, heat vegetable oil over medium high heat. Cook Italian sausage and garlic.

Near end of cooking, add dried sage and stir. Add white wine (or starch water) and continue to cook, 2 -3 minutes, while scraping up any bits from the pan.

Pour sauce into big pot of pasta. Add roasted zucchini. Place pot on heat element, reduce heat to medium and stir till heated through, about 2 minutes.

Sprinkle then mix in feta cheese. Heat through 1 - 2 minutes then serve immediately.

Dessert of the Week: German Chocolate Pie

Recipe from Susan of She's Becoming DoughMessTic

Prep Time: 15 min/ Total Time: 65 min. Makes 1 pie.

Can I Get the Recipe Tip: This pie is delightfully simple to make and delicious. Our only tip: Put it on a pretty plate and don’t eat it all at once!

Ingredients:

1 1/2 cups coconut (reserve a bit for decoration)

1/2 cup pecans or mixed nuts

2 eggs

1/4 cup melted butter

1/2 cup cocoa powder

1 3/4 cups sugar

3 tablespoons cornstarch

2 teaspoons vanilla

pinch teaspoon salt

12 oz. evaporated milk

chocolate syrup for garnish

store bought pie shell, fully baked

Directions:

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.

Mix coconut and nuts & set aside.

Put remaining ingredients in food processor or blender and blend until smooth.

Pour into pie shell.

Sprinkle with coconut and nuts.

Bake for 45-50 minutes.

When cooled, top with reserved coconut (I used some large flakes) and chocolate syrup.

Snack of the Week: Cranberry Orange Muffins

Recipe from Kelly Rudnicki’s Food Allergy Mama's Baking Book

Prep Time: 20 min/Total Time: 40 min. Makes 12 muffins

Can I Get the Recipe Tip: You can substitute defrosted frozen cranberries if fresh aren’t available. Quickly defrost the cranberries by running them under hot water and drain well.

Ingredients:

½ cup vegetable oil

3/4 cup soy or rice milk

1 tablespoon water

1 ¾ cups unbleached all purpose flour

½ cup granulated sugar, divided

2 ½ teaspoons baking powder

¾ teaspoon salt

1 cup fresh cranberries, roughly chopped

2 teaspoons grated orange zest

Directions:

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F and generously spray a 12-cup muffin pan with dairy free baking spray.

In a large bowl, mix together the vegetable oil, soy milk, and water with a wire whisk. In a separate medium bowl, combine the flour, ¼ cup granulated sugar, baking powder, and salt with a wire whisk. Add the flour mixture to the vegetable oil mixture, and stir with a rubber spatula until just combined; do not over mix.

Set aside. In a small bowl, combine the cranberries, the remaining ¼ cup sugar, and the orange zest, and fold the mixture into the batter. Pour the batter into the prepared muffin cups, filling each cup 2/3 of the way full. Bake for 15 to 20 minutes, or until lightly browned and an inserted cake tester comes out clean.

Loved a recipe or can't wait to try one? Let us know and add your comments below!