Another Banner Day!

Wait no longer, here's your reason to celebrate the weekend -- it's National Chocolate Milk Day!  Remember chocolate milk?  Mmmmmmmm.  Way back there with the bologna sandwich on Wonder bread.  Those were the days. 

Fall In!

Fall is here, and while the desert autumn may not include brilliantly colored leaves and frost on the pumpkin, we do start to get a break from the heat, and naturally that makes us think of -- what else? -- apples and squash.  Maybe you're thinking of football games and Halloween and Oktoberfest, but I'm a foodie and I'm thinking about apples and squash.  So here are a couple of fall-inspired recipes:

MEZA LUNA LASAGNA 
(Serves 6-8)

1 large butternut squash, peeled, sliced lengthwise, and cleaned of seeds/string

Olive oil cooking spray

Salt and pepper

2 jars of Alfredo-style pasta sauce

1 package of frozen chopped spinach, thawed and thoroughly drained

15 ounces of ricotta cheese

1/4 tsp. of nutmeg

No-boil lasagna noodles

1 cup of shredded mozzarella cheese

1/2 cup of grated Parmesan cheese

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.  Slice the squash halves into half-moons about 1/2" thick.  Spray a baking sheet with cooking spray and then sprinkle with salt and pepper.  Arrange the squash slices on the sheet in a single layer, spray them with cooking spray and sprinkle with salt and pepper.  Bake until tender, about 35 minutes.  Remove from oven and allow to cool.  Reduce oven temperature to 350 degrees.

In a sauce pan, warm the Alfredo sauce over low heat.  In a bowl, combine ricotta cheese, spinach, nutmeg, and a pinch of salt. 

To assemble the lasagna, coat the bottom of a 9"x13" baking pan with a little Alfredo sauce.  Place lasagna noodles side by side and top them with more  sauce.  Add a single layer of squash slices.  Top squash with more sauce and another layer of noodles.  Spoon the ricotta cheese mixture onto the noodles and spread it out to cover.  Top with more noodles and sauce and then the remainder of the squash slices.  Finish with sauce and the mozzarella and Parmesan cheeses.  Cover with foil and bake for 40 minutes.  Check for the tenderness of the noodles and then bake uncovered for 10 more minutes, until cheese is golden and bubbling.  Allow to rest for 15 minutes before serving.  

SQUASH CARBONARA 
(Serves 4)

1/2 large spaghetti squash, cooked and shredded with fork

(If you need pointers on cooking spaghetti squash, check out my post from September 1, 2011, where I extol the virtues of this magnificent vegetable.)

3 slices of bacon, cut into bite-sized pieces

1 clove of minced garlic

1/2 cup of light cream cheese, cubed

3/4 cup of milk

3/4 cup of baby peas

1/3 cup of grated Parmesan cheese

While the squash is cooling, cook bacon in a skillet until crisp, then remove and drain.  Pour off the drippings and saute the garlic for about 1 minute.  Add cream cheese, milk, and peas and simmer over low heat until the cheese is melted.  Add squash and bacon and toss to coat with sauce.  Sprinkle with grated Parmesan cheese. 

THE GOLDEN SLAW
(Serves 6-8)

1 bag of shredded green cabbage (make it easy on yourself)

1 cup of shredded carrots

1 Fuji apple, peeled, cored, and julienned

1 cup of dried cranberries

4 tbsps. of your favorite BBQ sauce

2 tbsps. of mayonnaise or plain Greek yogurt

Salt and pepper to taste

To make the dressing, combine BBQ sauce and mayonnaise or yogurt, then season with salt and pepper.  Combine the remaining ingredients in a bowl and toss with the dressing.  Chill before serving.

So there you have it -- squash and apples and more squash.  Hello, Fall!

It's a WONDERful World

First Twinkies and now Wonder Bread?  Holy prune pits, how much excitement can we take?  It's true.  Flowers Foods, which bought Wonder Bread from the Hostess company years ago, is reportedly bringing it back to grocery store shelves as we speak.  I know, I know, it's nothing but over-processed white flour with precious little nutritional value and not a whole grain in sight, but think back for a minute.  Think back pretty far.  Do you remember the satisfaction of a bologna sandwich on Wonder Bread with lots of real mayonnaise?  Do you remember how the bread was so soft and fresh that it stuck to the roof of your mouth?  Those were the days, eh?  As I always say, we don't exercise every day so we can eat celery and carrots.  Let a little Wonder into your life (every now and then)!

DIY: Scottsdale

I should warn you that this post has absolutely nothing to do with new food groups, clever recipes, or superior sources of protein.  It has to do with food debris (an oxymoron if ever there was one).  I'm talking about the food debris that can build up in your kitchen sink and result in sloooooow draining -- not a clog, just sloooooow draining.  

When our sink started getting a little sluggish recently, we tried several commercial drain cleaners and put a couple of magic spells on it, but to no avail.  And running the garbage disposal just made the situation worse.  So we lived with it for a while (you know how you put off calling the plumber as long as possible with the hope that the problem will just magically fix itself?), but last week I decided enough was enough.  

I went online and searched "slow draining kitchen sink" and was treated to literally dozens of repair suggestions ranging from too simple to possibly do any good to replacing the entire sink.  I was hoping for something in between.   Then I pulled up a post from five years ago and found a suggestion from a retired licensed plumber who said, "Here's a little-known tip for clearing a slow-draining sink that most plumbers won't tell you."  I was all ears. 

Here's what he recommended:

Assuming you have a two-sided sink, plug the left (non garbage disposal) side.

Run water in the right side until the sink is almost full.

While the water is still running, turn on the garbage disposal.  

Stand back.

Well, let me first tell you just how loud a garbage disposal can get.  Yowza!  It started out kind of slowly, but then the draining water began picking up speed, and suddenly there was a distinct sucking sound and things started happening very quickly.  The rest of the water swirled out of the sink at a rapid pace and when it was all gone, I peeked down into the garbage disposal and there wasn't a drop of standing water remaining.  I turned on the water and the disposal again, and both ran with enthusiasm.  I put a piece of lettuce (harmless, right?) down the drain and ran the disposal again, and it ran with equal enthusiasm.  I resisted the strong urge to raise my arms in the air Rocky Balboa style and strut around the neighborhood -- it wasn't yet time for that kind of celebrating.  So I left the kitchen.

I went back half a dozen times in the next couple of hours and ran the same simple little tests, and the water continued to drain quickly and left nothing behind.  I was starting to feel a little cocky.  

It's now been five days, during which I have run the dishwasher twice (the kiss of death for a slow-draining sink because it leaves nasty food debris all over the sink), and I am declaring our kitchen sink REPAIRED.  By me.  Little old me.  Go figure.  Now my husband thinks I'm the most brilliant blond in the history of brilliant blonds, and I'm seriously thinking of getting myself a truck and a onesie coverall with my name embroidered over the left breast and going out into the community to do my good works.  It's remarkable how much a small victory in the kitchen can boost one's confidence.  

I wish I could send that retired plumber a "thank you" e-mail, but the posting is so old that I can't get through.  If you're out there anywhere, sir, my sink and I are smiling.

Next project:  Rebuilding the engine of my car.  I'm sure it can't be that difficult.

Cheap Nutrition

If you thought good nutrition was expensive, think again.  Here are ten of the most affordable foods on the market today:

1.)     Oats

2.)     Canned tuna fish

3.)     Fresh leafy greens

4.)     Dried beans and lentils

5.)     Pasta

6.)     Brown rice

7.)     Frozen vegetables

8.)     Yogurt

9.)     Eggs

10.)   Peanut butter and jelly

And I think we all recognize some of those same foods from lists we've seen of the best nutritional sources available.  We can eat right AND save money!

Good, Better, Best, Best Yet

You may recently have heard radio commercials describing a popular chicken recipe that's making the rounds.  It involves coating boneless, skinless chicken breasts with a mixture of (Best Foods) mayonnaise and Parmesan cheese, sprinkling them with bread crumbs, and then baking them.  Now, I am a mayonnaise girl, there's no doubt about it, and Best Foods (Hellman's on the east coast) is my mayo of choice, but consider replacing that mayonnaise with plain Greek yogurt for a tangy flavor punch and a huge protein boost.  You could still combine it with Parmesan cheese and your favorite dried herbs for a boatload of flavor without quite so much fat.  I'm just saying.

 

Free Rice

The next time you have a few free minutes at your computer (you know, like when you're waiting for my next blog post), check out freerice.com.  It's a simple multiple-choice word game that enables you to donate rice to feed the hungry through the World Food Programme.  Keep your mind sharp and others fed.  What could be better than that? 

It's Always Something

If you're sitting around twiddling your thumbs wondering what could possibly liven up another boring Monday, twiddle no more.  Help is on the way!  Today is NATIONAL CHEESEBURGER DAY, and if that's not enough to get you into a festive party hat and dancing on the nearest table, then I don't know what is.  Now, go forth and do with that information what you will.  (But be sure to let me know if you eat anything good!)

Just Nuke it

I love vegetables.  And I mean, I LOOOOOOVE vegetables, pretty much any one you can name.  The only catch is that I prefer mine cooked rather than raw, and my favorite way to cook them is in the microwave.  Zapping them for a few minutes makes them tender crisp, not water-logged or dried out.  I even microwave my salad greens for 45 seconds before dressing them.  If you've never tried it, you would be amazed at the distinctive flavor of Romaine or butter lettuce, something you just can't discern when the greens are ice cold.  And don't even get me started on mushrooms, carrots, celery, sweet and hot peppers, onions, leeks, squash, eeeeeeeeek!

I recently discovered the beauty of microwaving corn on the cob -- four ears, husked, in the microwave for 3 minutes.  Cooked to perfection!  Last night, I tried it with a whole artichoke, one of my favorite things in the world.  I've cooked them in a big pot of simmering water on the stove (30-40 minutes), but this time I just trimmed off the sharp pointy leaves, placed it in a glass bowl with a little water in the bottom, then covered it with a plate.  Twenty minutes later, I had a tender, tasty, perfectly cooked artichoke (and did I mention that bad boy was enormous?!).  After cooking, slide a sharp knife down into the center to be sure the heart is tender. 

Now you can eat your vegetables AND save time!

Easy Peasy, Spinach Squeezy

Got 2 minutes?  Need a quickie appetizer?  Check this out.  And it's HEALTHY.  Combine 1 cup of plain nonfat Greek yogurt, 1/2 cup of light mayonnaise, 1 package of frozen spinach (thawed and squeezed to remove water), and 1 package of dry vegetable soup mix.  That's it!  Refrigerate until needed and serve with fresh vegetables, crackers, or crostini.  Of course, you could eliminate the mayonnaise and use only Greek yogurt, but what the heck.  You could also add tuna, shrimp, or diced chicken to boost the protein content and make it more of a meal.  And instead of a dip, it would be good on a baked potato, over cooked pasta, or stirred into scrambled eggs.  Use your imagination (and those two minutes you didn't know what to do with).  Enjoy!