Recipes (P-W)

Meals in 30 Minutes or Less

A Guide so Easy a Complete Idiot Could Succeed!

by Joi

The Complete Idiot's Guide to Meals in 30 Minutes or Less

I have nothing but crazy wild love for the Complete Idiot books. I have so many of them that some of my bookcase shelves are entirely orange! I was recently sent a few of these consistently wonderful books to review on the food blog, causing me to do a happy dance across the kitchen floor. One of these books was the one you see pictured above, The Complete Idiot’s Guide to Meals in 30 Minutes or Less.

This priceless 450+ page  book contains more than just 500 recipes you’ll use again and again, it also has great tips and tricks of the trade dispersed throughout under the headings of…

  • Definition. Cooking terms you may not be familiar with are defined and explained.
  • Minute Morsel. Information that makes cooking even more fun.
  • On the Clock. Tips for making something simpler, quicker, faster, and easier.
  • Time Waster. Alerts for things to watch out for – mistakes, misunderstandings, and potential hazards.

One of the recipes I’m most anxious to try is the Fast Spinach and Artichoke Dip.  My own Spinach and Artichoke Dip recipe, which I make OFTEN (to the delight of all involved) takes about 1-1/2  hours to make – including baking time! I also notice that it would… cough, cough… appear to be a much healthier, calorie-friendly recipe than my own. So, I can’t wait to take this one for a test drive.

Fast Spinach and Artichoke Dip

2 cups fresh baby spinach leaves
1 (14 oz) can artichokes, drained
1 cup shredded Parmesan Cheese
1/2 cup light cream cheese, softened
1/2 cup low-fat mayonnaise
1/2 cup nonfat plain yogurt
1/4 cup shredded mozzarella cheese
1/2 tsp. chopped garlic
Dash hot pepper sauce
Tortilla chips or wheat crackers

  1. In a food processor fitted with a metal blade, process spinach, artichokes, Parmesan cheese, cream cheese, mayonnaise, yogurt, mozzarella cheese, garlic, and hot pepper sauce until thoroughly combined but still very chunky.
  2. Scrape mixture into a microwave-safe serving dish, and microwave on high for 2 minutes or until bubbling.
  3. Stir and serve with tortilla chips or wheat crackers.

Seriously??? You could practically do this on a commercial break!  Sounds delicious.

About the Author

Food and wine writer Tod Dimmick is the author of four cookbooks. His work has been mentioned in the New York Times and the Boston Globe, and can be found on bookstore shelves from Boston to Sydney. Since a book project in 2005 oriented around healthy eating, Tod has increasingly focused his food writing on topics related to a healthy diet, and the evolution of produce purchase decisions from those based on price to those based on quality and provenance. For 1000radishes, the Will Work For Food Project, and for the Powisset Farm CSA, he supplies recipes and suggestions for local, in-season produce. On the more indulgent side, he also creates recipes for the Phantom Gourmet television show. The Phantom crew films these recipes in Tod’s kitchen outside of Boston.In 1991, he founded Tasting Times, the food and wine publication for busy people on a budget. The Tasting Times Wine Hotlist and Wine Minute blog have an international following. In 2000, he agreed to design and write The Busy Person’s Guide to Gourmet Cooking on a Budget web page for WZ.com, the well-known online guide site. In less than a year, subscribership to his email newsletter of the same name grew from 0 to over 75,000.

Before you even get to all of the recipes, you have a couple of very informative (and creative) chapters:

  1. “Faster and Better” – You’re reminded of the importance of good meals and reassured that cooking meals quickly doesn’t compromise the taste or the quality.
  2. “Stocking Your Pantry” – Learn the essential ingredients you need to have in your pantry at all times. These “go to” ingredients are the ones no cook wants to be caught without. You’ll also learn more about herbs and seasonings, fun foods to have on hand, and a very convenient primer on substitutions.
  3. “Essential Equipment” – Pots, pans, tools, knives, technological marvels that’ll get you in and out of the kitchen in less time than I’m spending on this review!

Recipes Included in this Awesome Book:

  • Healthy Buttermilk Waffles
  • Quick and Healthy French Toast
  • Light French Toast with Fresh Strawberries
  • George Ames’s Blueberry Muffins
  • Raspberry Crunch Yogurt
  • Breakfast Yogurt
  • Frozen Berry Shake
  • Italian Herb Omelet
  • Baby Shrimp Omelet
  • Scrambled Eggs with Sun-Dried Tomato and Sweet Onion
  • Apple and Toasted Pecan Salad
  • Chickpea Salad
  • Three Bean Salad
  • Jean’s Oriental Cabbage Salad
  • Barry’s Taco Salad
  • Tuna-Cannellini Salad
  • Hearty Chili
  • Vegetarian Chili
  • Grilled Chicken and Sweet Onion Sandwiches
  • Tuna Salad Wraps
  • Vegetarian Wraps
  • Chicken, Mozzarella, and Roasted Pepper Bites
  • Corned Beef Cornucopias
  • Quick Crab Balls
  • Boiled Mushroom Caps with Fresh Mozzarella
  • Garden Salsa
  • Salsa Verde
  • Grilled Hummus Triangles
  • Crab Ricotta Dip with Roasted Red Peppers
  • Red Pepper-Parmesan Dip
  • Mozzarella, Almond, and Spinach Wraps
  • Sun Dried Tomato Spread
  • Tofu Salad Spread
  • Mexican Chili Dip
  • Baked Sole
  • Crisp Fried Haddock
  • Whisker-Licking Good Catfish
  • Grilled Shrimp Scampi
  • Lightning Seafood Stir-Fry
  • Quick Crab Cakes
  • Drumroll Chicken
  • Buffalo Wings
  • Quick Home-Style Barbecued Chicken
  • Orange Chicken
  • Aunt Jean’s Dijon Chicken
  • Chive Chicken
  • Mustard-Glazed Chicken Breasts
  • Chicken Paprika
  • Grilled Apple Chops
  • Steak and Onions
  • Beef and Broccoli Stir-Fry
  • Fast Stuffed Peppers
  • Ratatouille
  • South-of-the-Border Eggs
  • Stuffed Tomatoes
  • Sizzling Tofu and Asparagus Stir-Fry
  • Vegetable Stir-Fry
  • Portobello Pizza
  • Red Beans and Rice
  • White Bean Salad
  • White Beans with Olive Oil, Gorgonzola, and Sage
  • Italian Farmhouse Stew
  • 20-Minute Tomato Sauce
  • Fettuccini Alfredo
  • Linguini with Hot Pepper and Oil
  • Roasted Red Pepper and Artichoke Pizza
  • White Pizza with Olives and Fresh Mozzarella
  • Feta and Black Olive Pizza
  • Orange French Toast
  • Light and Fluffy Pancakes (calls for unsweetened applesauce!)
  • Secret Cheeseburgers
  • Meatballs
  • Quick Tacos
  • Chicken Quesadillas
  • Pepperoni Pizza Dip
  • Garlic Toast with Tomato Dipping Sauce
  • Onion Rings
  • White Beans and Dark Greens
  • Balsamic Green Beans
  • Baked Cauliflower
  • Broccoli with Cheese Sauce
  • Steamed Asparagus
  • Fried Tomatoes (green or red!)
  • Baked Acorn Squash
  • Skillet Parmesan Artichokes
  • Sauteed Spinach
  • Garlic Mashed Potatoes
  • Fast and Easy Scalloped Potatoes
  • Quick Chinese Cabbage Stir-Fry
  • Sauteed Cabbage with Bacon
  • Bacon, Eggs, and Rice
  • Spaghetti Carbonara
  • Penne Pasta Salad
  • Carol Ann’s Tortellini Salad
  • Garden Bruschetta
  • Skillet-Baked Cornbread
  • Buttermilk Biscuits
  • Scones
  • Peach Yogurt Parfait
  • Strawberry Cheesecake Cupcakes
  • Blueberries and Cream
  • Almond Piecrust
  • Mixed Fruit Betty
  • Dad’s Baked Fruit
  • Velvet Fudge
  • Mocha Mousse
  • Chocolate-Chip Cookies
  • Almond Chocolate Parfaits
  • Almond Oatmeal Cookies
  • Grandpa Phil’s Pudding
  • Lightning Strawberry Shortcake
  • Grammalane’s Lemon Pie

And those are just the ones I’ve marked to make this month!

I LOVE everything about The Complete Idiot’s Guide to Meals in 30 Minutes or Less, but I’m especially excited about the SCADS of breakfast recipes and tips. There’s a very small window of opportunity to put breakfast on the table (or in a hand as it rushes out the door). These recipes will come in… pardon the pun.. very handy.

Click through one of the links or the picture for more information. You’re going to love this one!

*** Footnote: I have absolutely NOTHING against microwaves – I love and use mine with pride – but I just had to add this: You’d be surprised how few of the recipes in this book use the microwave!

Bobby Flay’s Guacamole Recipe: Just the Right Amount of Heat

From the New Food Network Magazine

by Joi

Bobby Flay's Guacamole Recipe

The May 2012 issue of Food Network Magazine is one you’ll want to grab. You can’t miss it – there are three HEAVENLY looking tacos on the front cover that’ll catch your eye right away. Inside the magazine, in addition to gazillions of recipes, tips, and tools of the trade, there are 50 delicious and creative ways to make/serve a family favorite: Tacos!

The first recipe I tried from this issue was a Guacamole recipe from Bobby Flay. It was, as you’d expect, exceptional.  Normally, this avocado fanatic just likes her guacamole with avocado and a little lime or lemon – maybe a little salt.  Avocados are so amazing it’s really all I want to taste.

However… this recipe has won me over to adding different ingredients to compliment the avocado.  This particular guacamole recipes is one of the best I’ve ever tried. It’s outstanding.

Bobby Flay’s Guacamole

4 ripe Haas avocados, peeled, pitted and chopped
1/2 small red onion, finely diced
1 jalapeno pepper, finely diced
Juice of 2 limes (about 1/4 cup)
1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro
Kosher salt and freshly ground pepper

Combine the avocados, red onion, jalapeno, lime juice and cilantro in a bowl and gently mix to a chunky consistency. Season with salt and pepper.

Along with this guacamole recipe, there’s a recipe for Bobby Flay’s Cumin Dusted Tortilla Chips. Be sure to grab the magazine and check that out!

Guacamole Bowls:

Heart Healthy Recipe: Red Beans and Tuna Fish Salad

Trust Me, You'll Love Every Single Bite

by Joi

Red Beans and Tuna Fish Salad

A Heart-Healthy Recipe: Red Beans and Tuna Fish Salad

There’s really nothing quite like a beloved family member having to undergo open heart surgery to make you think (long and hard) about heart health, heart healthy foods and drinks, heart healthy activities, and heart healthy recipes.

I’ve been researching the most heart healthy foods lately.  I found a great list of the 25 Top Heart Healthy Foods on WebMd.  Some of the foods listed are:

  • Tuna
  • Brown Rice
  • Blueberries
  • Spinach
  • Salmon
  • Broccoli
  • Tomatoes
  • Cantaloupe
  • Dark Chocolate
  • Tea

I hope you’ll click the link above and see the rest. Even more importantly, I hope you’ll write the list down and add the recommended foods and drinks to your daily diet.  Even if you just add a few to your everyday routine, the benefits will improve your heart’s health.  Don’t wait until you’re sitting in front of a grim-faced doctor before you do something about your heart’s health!

I’m kicking off a new category here on the food blog dedicated entirely to heart health.  I’ll have heart-healthy recipes, foods, heart healthy food reviews, foods to buy and foods to never buy, etc. I’m kicking things off today with a recipe I whipped up for lunch.  I have my uncle (the beloved family member in need of open heart surgery) very much on my mind this week.  I’m also thinking about the rest of my beloved family members – and thinking of ways we can, hopefully, protect ourselves from heart disease.

Naturally, I’m beginning to experiment wildly with heart-healthy foods.  I want to add a lot of recipes to the food blog that are heart-healthy, simple, economical to make, fast and easy, and (as often as possible) made with ingredients you probably already have on hand.

The first recipe up is one I actually just made and enjoyed. Naturally, feel free to add more garlic, or less if you’re so inclined. In fact, add more or less of any of the ingredients – custom fit it to your own tastes. Made as I did, here, the tuna fish flavor is delightfully front and center. Just be sure to leave in the lime – it adds a beautiful little kick.

Red Beans and Tuna Fish Salad

15.5 oz can Red Beans
5 oz. can Chunk Light Tuna in water
1 tablespoon Olive Oil
1 chopped green onion (white and green parts)
A couple of cloves of garlic, minced OR 1/4 tsp Garlic Gold Sea Salt Nuggets
Juice from 1/2 a lime

Combine all of the ingredients and eat to your heart’s content. Literally. I used 1/4 tsp Garlic Gold Sea Salt Nuggets (review of Garlic Gold products and recipes coming tomorrow) in my recipe, but you could substitute minced garlic.

If you’d like a little crunch, add whole wheat croutons.

Hungry Girl’s Sweet and Spicy Tuna Tacos

All Recipes from the Hungry Girl are Winners

by Joi

Hungry Girl Recipe: Tuna Tacos

Hungry Girl Tuna Taco’s Recipe: Just in time for Cinco de Mayo!

One 4.5-oz. pouch StarKist Sweet & Spicy Tuna Creations®
1/4 cup salsa
4 corn taco shells (flat-bottomed shells, if available)
1 cup shredded lettuce
1/4 cup diced onion
1/4 cup diced tomato
2 tbsp. chopped cilantro

Directions:

In a medium bowl, mix Tuna Creations® and salsa.

Evenly fill shells with lettuce, Tuna Creations® mixture, onion, tomato, and cilantro. Yum!!

YIELD: Makes 2 Servings
PER SERVING (2 tacos): 224 calories, 6g fat, 577mg sodium, 28g carbs, 3g fiber, 6g sugars, 15g protein

The Hungry Girl Cookbooks:

If you’ve never watched Hungry Girl on television or tried her cookbooks and recipes, promise me you’ll do so. You’ll fall fast in love AND find yourself eating a lot healthier to boot? Win, Win.

Szechuan Veggie Tacos Recipe

Vegetarian Tacos That'll Satisfy Even Meat Lovers

by Joi

Szechuan Veggie Tacos

Vegetarians don’t have to miss out on the fun and flavor of tacos. Far from it! Recipes such as this healthy recipe from Canola Info.org’s Street Eats Collection prove that vegetarian tacos can be as flavorful as any meat-filled taco.  Click the link for tons of other equally delicious and healthy recipes.

Daikon Salad:

  • 2 cups shredded daikon
  • 1 cup shredded carrots
  • 1/2 tsp sugar, granulated
  • 2 Tbsp rice wine vinegar
  • 2 Tbsp chili garlic sauce

Szechuan Stuffing:

  • 1 Tbsp canola oil
  • 1 sweet onion, sliced
  • 1 red pepper, sliced
  • 1 purple eggplant, sliced in half moons
  • 1/2 package (14 oz) firm tofu, cubed
  • 2 Tbsp chili garlic sauce
  • 2 Tbsp black bean paste
  • 16 tortillas (6-inch/15 cm) flour or white corn
  • 1 cup chopped cilantro

Instructions:

  1. To make Daikon Salad: In medium bowl, combine all salad ingredients.
  2. To make Szechuan Stuffing: In wok, heat canola oil over high heat. Add onions and peppers and saute 2 minutes, then add eggplant and stir-fry 1 minute. Add tofu and saute 1 minute. Add chili garlic sauce and black bean paste; saute 1 minute. Remove from heat and prepare tortillas.
  3. Heat tortillas on both sides using griddle or frying pan. Remove and divide Szechuan Stuffing between each tortilla, then top with 2 tbsp Daikon Salad and cilantro. Serve.

Yield: 16 tortillas. Serving Size: 1 tortilla with 1/4 cup Szechuan Stuffing and 2 Tbsp Daikon Salad.

Easter Candy Cookies: Beautiful and Delicious

Who Could Ask for More from a Cookie?

by Joi

Easter Candy Cookies

Easter Cookies Recipe

3/4 cup butter, softened
1 egg
1 tbsp. vanilla
2/3 cup sugar
2/3 cup packed brown sugar
2 cups flour
1 tsp. baking soda
3/4 tsp. salt
2 cups small chocolate Easter candies or coarsely chopped candy bars (Editor’s note: We used Hershey’s Solid Milk Chocolate Eggs)
36 jelly beans, if desired

  1. Heat oven to 375⁰F.  Beat butter, egg and vanilla in large bowl until well mixed. Mix in both sugars.
  2. Stir in flour, baking soda and salt until smooth. Stir or knead in chocolate candies (Target Tip: To make it easy for kids to chop larger pieces of hard candy, place candy in sealed plastic bag and let kids pound with a rolling pin or large wooden spoon.)
  3. Drop mixture onto cookie sheets using a tablespoon.
  4. Bake 10 to 12 minutes until golden brown around edges. Press a jellybean into each cookie.  Let cool 1 minute; remove from cookie sheet.  Cool completely.

Yield: 3 Dozen Beautiful Cookies

Photo and Recipe Credit: A Bullseye view!

The Woman’s World April 9, 2012 Issue

PACKED with Recipes You'll Love

by Joi

Woman's World April 9 2012 IssueAs you may know, I’m something of a magazine fanatic. What’s more, I refuse to part with them.  My daughters and I pass them around, then one of us will lay claim to the booty and file it under “Mine, all Mine!” I collect most of my magazines like the treasures they are – especially the ones with great recipes.  A great day is when I return from the store with bags of wonderful groceries and an armful of new magazines. I can only imagine the expression on my face when I see that new magazines have been put on the store’s racks. I must look like a kid as he leaves school for summer break.

ECSTASY!!!

There are a couple of magazines that I simply put into the cart the minute I see a new issue. Others, I’ll thumb through – making sure it warrants a trip home. One of the magazines that automatically go into the cart is Woman’s World. For less than $2.00, Woman’s World is the greatest literary bargain you’ll ever find. Possibly the greatest bargain left in the world. Basically, this magazine is smiles from cover to cover. There are always countless adorable pictures and wonderful stories that warm your heart and comics that make you laugh out loud. You know, the kind you cut out and pin to your refrigerator.

Speaking of pictures, there’s a photo of a kitten smelling a poppy in the most recent issue that gets me every time I look at it. Someone needs to tell this kitten that she’s simply too cute. I’d looked through the magazine half a dozen times before I even realized that beneath the kitten’s picture were GORGEOUS pictures of poppies on tablecloths, plates, handbags, shoes, bracelets, and even a sundress. This crazy cat lady had never noticed them before.

In addition to the photographs, stories, and funnies, each issue has priceless beauty, fitness, money, and health advice. In this particular issue (April 9, 2012), for example, you can find the following:

  • Stay Stroke-Free For Life
  • 6 Easy Ways to Stop Thinning Hair
  • Dodge the Year-Round Flu
  • 9 BEAUTIFUL Spring handbags
  • How to Use Makeup to Make You Look Slimmer
  • How to Improve Your Mood Quickly (One suggestion is coffee – no wonder I’m seldom in a bad mood… I’m seldom without a cup of coffee nearby)
  • Treat Sensitive Teeth
  • End Joint Pain
  • Lose 9 Pounds in 2 Days
  • How Chocolate is Good for You (Man, I seriously love this magazine…)
  • Contests (win $1,000 in groceries!)
  • A Bunny Bonnet Cake Recipe and Instructions
  • 5 Gorgeous Breakfast Recipes
  • Turn a Can of Soup Into Dinner
  • Easter Favorites (Recipes which include a Flourless Orange-Chocolate Cake, Leg of Lamb, Cupcakes, and Matzo Ball Soup)
  • Spring Decorating Tips and Ideas
  • How to Make Designer Eggs
  • Crossword Puzzle (in every issue – love these)
  • How to Slim Down with Spices
  • What Your Food Cravings Reveal About You
  • Horoscope (again, in every issue)
  • Sudoku
  • A Couple of Brain Games
  • A few short stories
  • Chicken Soup for the Soul Story (these are always amazing)

All of that (and more!) for less than $2.00.  Freaking amazing.

The adorable Easter Cake in this issue:

Easter Cake in the Woman's World April 9, 2012 Issue

Below is one of the recipes in this issue. It’s a “Lighten Up” Recipe for Double Strawberry Bars and I can’t wait to try them.

Double-Strawberry Bars

2 cups all-purpose flour
1 tsp. ground cinnamon
1/4 tsp salt
1 pkg. (8 oz) 1/3 less fat cream cheese, at room temperature
4 Tbs. I Can’t Believe It’s Not Butter! cooking and baking 79 percent vegetable oil spread, at room temperature
1 cup granulated sugar
1-1/2 cups frozen sliced strawberries, thawed and patted dry with paper towels
3/4 cup low-sugar strawberry preserves
1/4 cup blanched sliced almonds
1 Tbs. coarse white decorating sugar

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line 13″x9″ baking pan with foil; coat with cooking spray.

Mix flour, cinnamon and salt; reserve.  On medium speed, beat cream cheese and butter spread until blended.  Beat in granulated sugar until combined. Beat in reserved flour mixture until combined.

Turn out onto unfloured surface; gather mixture into smooth dough. Reserve 1 cup dough.  Press remaining dough into bottom of pan.

In bowl, toss strawberries with preserves; spread over dough in pan.  Using fingertips, crumble reserved dough over strawberry filling.  Sprinkle with almonds. Bake 35 minutes or until golden. Cool.  Sprinkle with decorating sugar.  Using foil, lift from pan; remove foil. Cut into bars.

 

 

Glass Water Bottle from Starbucks

Toss out the Plastic and Metal Bottles!

by Joi

Glass Water Bottle

 

Sweet. I LOVE to keep my tea close but I’ve never been overly fond of plastic or metal reusable drink bottles. Somehow they just never seem quite “clean” enough.  I wind up washing them out so much it’s a wonder they don’t just evaporate.

The beautiful glass water bottle above is from Starbucks. I’m not sure if it’s available in their stores or not, but it’d be worth checking. If not, you can order it online. It’s available in other colors, too.

Product Description, from Starbucks:

Glass Water Bottle – Slate, 16 fl oz: A better way to quench your thirst, this reusable water bottle is a beautiful alternative to disposable plastic bottles. Free of plastic or metal taste, it’s great for enjoying iced coffee, iced tea or other cold beverages. It features a protective slate-blue silicon sleeve for a soft, comfortable grip and a leak-resistant, locking lid with convenient carrying handle. Both the 50% post-consumer glass bottle and its easily removable translucent sleeve are dishwasher safe. It holds up to 16 fl oz of cold beverages only. Do not microwave.

More Reusable Glass Water Bottles:

Sour Cream Sauce for Fruit Recipe

From Newman's Own Cookbook

by Joi

Newman's Own Cookbook

As you well know, I collect cookbooks with a crazy passion often reserved for chocolate cheesecake.   I take a great deal of pride in my hundreds of cookbooks.  While a lot of time and money has gone into collecting them, the main thing I love about them is the fact that so many are family heirlooms. Some are probably worth money right now (not that I’d ever part with a cookbook my grandmother wrote “yummy!” in) -  and others are simple little cookbooks that were used to raise money for churches or schools.  It would appear that my mom bought any and every cookbook anyone tried to sell her!

One of the cookbooks I use most often, actually, came from my mom’s collection. It’s the Newman’s Own Cookbook. It’s not as old as a lot of the cookbooks in my collection, obviously – so it’s not an oldie, but it is a goldie.

A favorite recipe from this cookbook is Fresh Fruits with Sour Cream Sauce. This Heavenly creamy sauce will have your family fighting over fruit instead of potato chips and chocolate chip cookies for a change. You’re going to love it.

Fresh Fruits with Sour Cream Sauce

3-1/2 cups sliced fresh fruit
1/1/2 cups sour cream
1/3 cup packed dark brown sugar
juice of 1 lemon
1 teaspoon finely chopped fresh mint plus mint sprigs for garnish (optional)

Keep the fruit chilled until ready to use.

In a bowl, combine the sour cream, brown sugar, lemon juice and mint, and stir together until the sugar is dissolved. Pour the sauce into a serving bowl, cover, and chill until serving time.

Serve the fruit garnished with the mint sprigs and pass the sour cream sauce as a topping. Serve with crisp cookies.

My preferences:
The book recommends banana, mango, papaya, kiwi. I prefer berries, melons, apples, and grapes, however, so I throw together varying combinations of apples, strawberries, blueberries, blackberries, raspberries, watermelon, cantaloupe, and grapes. Naturally, you can just use whatever fruit your family prefers.

I’ve never used mint in this recipe, even though we always have mint in our herb garden. Go figure. I’m sure it’d look gorgeous, though! My main thing with mint is that, typically, if it’s present, it’s often the only thing my taste buds concentrate on. I take one bite and my brain says, “Mint!” I love the flavor, almost as much as the smell, I just don’t want it to steal the show all the time.

This fruit salad is fantastic served with almonds crushed on top – or even with nuts served nearby. I’m nuts for nuts, though, so I serve them with as many things as possible. They’re SO healthy!

A few other recipes from Newman’s Own Cookbook:

  • Potato Salad with Two Mustards Dressing
  • Roasted Herbed New Potatoes with Spinach
  • Whoopi Goldberg’s Big Bad Ass Beef Ribs
  • Julia Robert’s Fresh Peach Crisp
  • Gene Shalit’s Spaghetti Carbonora
  • Incredible Cobb Salad
  • Herbed Samon Fillets in Foil
  • Mediterranean Fish Fillets
  • Joanne Woodward’s Cioppino
  • Blaze’s Shrimp and Sausage Creole
  • Twice-Baked Potato over Spinach, Broccoli, and Peppers
  • Tom Cruise’s Linguine with Zesty Red Clam Sauce

Throughout the book are quotes from Paul Newman and pictures from his personal life and career.  Great, great cookbook.

Roasted Peach and Nectarine Salad

Beautiful, Healthy, and Flavorful Summer Salad

by Joi

Roasted Peach and Nectarine Salad Recipe

I’m not sure there’s a bigger fan of fruit anywhere than me.  I simply can’t get enough of this particular food group. My family actually has to keep an eye on me, otherwise I’ll throw fruit into everything from oatmeal and cereal to salads and pasta.

When I saw this recipe for Roasted Peach and Nectarine Salad, my eyes nearly popped out of my head. Peaches are a personal favorite, so this recipe had me at “hello.”  In all seriousness, everyone should eat more fruit. Fruit is insanely healthy and, let’s face it, if we’re eating fruit, we aren’t eating fatty, fried, sugary alternatives.  Getting more fruit into your daily diet is a cinch. Simply have bowls of your favorite fruit handy for snacks. Grapes, cantaloupe, peaches, berries, apples, oranges – they all make delicious snacks.

Also, throw your favorite fruit into vanilla yogurt, smoothies, cereal, oatmeal, and even salads. Oranges, peaches, strawberries, and nectarines are excellent in tossed salads. Give the recipe below a try asap and you’ll see what I mean.

Roasted Peach and Nectarine Salad Recipe

Prep: 20 min. | Bake: 20 min. | Makes 6 servings

 

4 Tbsp. unsalted butter
2 Tbsp. fresh lemon juice (from 1 lemon)
2 Tbsp. honey
3 peaches, peeled, halved, pitted
3 nectarines, peeled, halved, pitted
1/2 (6-oz.) package fresh mozzarella,(cut into 1/2-inch cubes)
2 cups arugula
2 Tbsp. extra virgin olive oil
1/4 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. freshly ground pepper
6 prosciutto slices

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Combine butter, lemon juice, and honey in a small bowl. Microwave on HIGH 90 seconds or until butter is melted. Place peaches and nectarines in a baking dish; pour over butter mixture, tossing to coat. Arrange, cut sides down, in a single layer.

Bake at 400 degrees for 15minutes, brushing with juices after 10 minutes. (If the juices begin to burn, add a little water and cover the pan loosely with foil.) Remove from oven, and turn peaches cut sides up. Place a cube of mozzarella cheese in center of each peach and nectarine half. Return to oven, and bake 5 more minutes or until cheese begins to melt. Reserve juices.

Toss arugula with olive oil, salt, and pepper. Arrange arugula on a serving platter, and top with prosciutto; top with peaches and nectarines. Drizzle peaches and nectarines with 1 to 2 tablespoons reserved pan juices.

Nutrients per serving:

258 calories, 16 gms fat, 144 calories from fat, 7 gms saturated fat, 42 mg cholesterol, 572 mg sodium, 3 gms dietary fiber, 9 gms protein

Credit: Recipe and Photo Courtesy of the Chilean Fresh Fruit Association

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