HASTY TASTY MEALS BLOG

August 1, 2015 · 8:45 am

Your Garden-Variety Dinner

Some of my fondest memories of my father are of our runs together. One day, a couple of years before he died, we stopped near the end of our run at a neighborhood produce stand. Dad bought an assortment of fresh vegetables grown right there in the man’s backyard. I promised to cook whatever he bought. He spent about six bucks, total, and my family sat and ate as if it was Thanksgiving dinner.

We love vegetables, especially locally grown, fresh produce. Our favorite summer dinner is a fresh-from-the-garden vegetable plate. If you haven’t taken advantage of the produce grown in your area, now is the time to indulge.

Don’t restrict your menu. Plan your meals around what looks good and fresh, even if you have two or three green veggies. Corn on the cob, Squash, potatoes, beans, broccoli, tomatoes…it’s all better when fresh-picked. Steam, grill, roast, sauté, or all the above. It’s healthy, tasty, and good for the local economy.

Green beans, roasted potatoes, and vegetable medley, served with a whole wheat roll.

Green beans, roasted potatoes, and vegetable medley with a whole wheat roll.

KITCHEN TIP: Add a little bit of butter for flavor. A tiny amount goes a long way. I freeze butter and use a hand grater to add it to cooked vegetables. Isn’t that a grate idea? 😉

Grate cold butter for easier seasoning.

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Filed under cooking, corn on the cob, Green Beans, Healthful Eating, onions, Quesadillas, Roasted Vegetables, Salads, spinach, tomatoes, Vegetables

Tagged as gardens, vegetables

July 25, 2015 · 8:51 am

Hasty Tasty Spinach-Chicken Pasta

You’ve had a long day. All you want to do is collapse in a chair and be served dinner. But you’re on a budget and trying to eat healthy meals, so you prefer eating at home instead of a restaurant. What a dilemma.

Sound familiar? Been there, done that. So I keep a few speedy-to-the-table meals in my cooking arsenal, including Hasty Tasty Spinach-Chicken Pasta. This one uses leftover, cooked chicken (but you could substitute other cooked meats or chopped Portobello mushrooms) and a package of triple-washed spinach. I also use a jar of light Alfredo sauce from my pantry (I stock up when my local grocer has a BOGO–Buy-One-Get-One-free). My recipe serves two, but you could easily double it. It’s thirty minutes, max, until you’re sitting down to enjoy your meal.

Even with the prepared sauce, this meal is fairly light and packed with nutrition. Don’t feel guilty for using prepared sauce when you’re eating almost two servings of iron- and fiber-rich spinach. Busy schedules call for compromise.

Note: For this recipe I used my Fasta Pasta microwave oven cooker to prepare the farfalle while I made the dish using my 12″ Gourmet electric skillet (by Kitchencraft). Use whatever cookware works best for you.

RECIPE

HASTY TASTY SPINACH-CHICKEN PASTA

Serves 2

Ingredients:

2 ounces (1 serving) dried bowtie (Farfalle) or shell pasta

2 cups cooked chicken, cubed

1 package (3-4 servings) spinach salad mix, washed and ready to eat

Kosher salt

1 jar prepared Alfredo sauce, your choice.

1/2 tsp. freshly ground nutmeg

1 clove garlic, grated or pressed

2 Tbsp. Parmesan cheese

Directions:

Cook pasta in a separate pan or in a microwave oven pasta cooker until al dente. Salt generously.

In a large covered skillet or electric skillet, wilt fresh spinach over low heat (225°F)

Add the cooked chicken, cover, and simmer for 5 minutes.

Add the jar of Alfredo sauce, stir, and cover. Heat through 2-3 minutes.

Stir in cooked pasta, season with the grated garlic and nutmeg. Turn off heat.

Divide and serve, garnished with Parmesan cheese.Enjoy.

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Tip: Cooking for one? Leftovers taste great cold, too. Save half to take for lunch.

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Filed under chicken, pasta, spinach

Tagged as pasta dishes

July 18, 2015 · 6:48 am

Hasty Tasty Shrimp “Campy” ☺

Handheld vegetable spiral slicer by SpiraLife

I previously posted about my new spiral vegetable slicer, the SpiraLife. Today I challenged my husband to try my lightened, low-carbohydrate version of shrimp scampi. He had his doubts. He loves his pasta, and substituting spiral-cut squash didn’t appeal to him. But he’s a good sport.

I call this dish “campy” because it’s a fake-out, and I also thought the name “shrimp campy” cute. You may call it anything you wish, but please give it a try. It’s healthful, filling, and tasty.

RECIPE

Hasty Tasty Shrimp “Campy”

Serves 2

Ingredients:

2 medium zucchini, spiral-cut into noodles

3 cloves garlic, minced or grated

10 oz. frozen cooked salad shrimp (no need to thaw)

1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil

1/4 cup shredded Parmesan cheese

salt & pepper

Directions:

Rinse and drain the zucchini. The rinse water clinging to it should be sufficient to create the steam to cook the “pasta” without overcooking it.

Steam the zucchini in a covered, 2-quart saucepan over low heat for 10-12 minutes or until tender.

Meanwhile, heat the olive oil in a medium-size saute pan over low heat. Add the frozen salad shrimp, salt, pepper, and minced garlic.

Remove saute pan from heat as soon as the shrimp are warmed. Do not overcook.

Toss cooked zucchini “pasta” with the shrimp. Serve garnished with the Parmesan cheese.

The verdict? My husband admitted it tasted better than he expected. He even said I could make it again. So there you have it: Shrimp “Campy” without the high-carb pasta! And it sneaks an extra serving of vegetables into your daily diet.

NOT-SO-NAUGHTY DONUTS

We enjoy donuts (or doughnuts, if we’re being formal), but they aren’t on our healthy eating plan. All things in moderation, though, right? So occasionally I make us a batch of not-so-naughty donuts. They’re healthier than the donut shop’s because they are baked, not deep-fried. And yet they’re very tasty. Try them and see for yourself. (You may use a boxed cake mix if you want, but this recipe isn’t difficult.) Donuts freeze well. If you aren’t serving all twelve at once, cool extra donuts completely (don’t glaze). Seal in a plastic bag and freeze. Thaw and prepare glaze before serving.

RECIPE

Not-so-naughty Donuts
Yields 12
Tools: Mixing bowl and nonstick donut baking pans (I recommend American Pans brand, or Norpro).

Ingredients:

2 cups all-purpose flour

¾ cup granulated sugar

2 tsp. baking powder

1 tsp. Kosher salt

¾ cup milk

2 eggs, beaten

2 tsp. pure vanilla extract

1 Tbsp. coconut oil

1 cup cinnamon (or your choice) chips + ¼ cup milk for glaze

Directions:

Preheat oven to 325°F.

Lightly coat baking pan donut molds with nonstick cooking spray.

Mix together dry ingredients.

Stir in milk, eggs, vanilla, and oil. Beat until well blended.

Fill each donut mold ¾ full with the batter.

Bake in preheated oven approximately 10 minutes or until batter tests clean with an inserted toothpick.

While donuts bake, make glaze by combining chips and milk in a microwave-safe bowl. Microwave in 1-minute increments, stirring to form the glaze.*

Remove donuts from oven and allow to cool 5 minutes in pan.

Move donuts from the pans to a cooling rack.

Dip donuts in the glaze and serve.

*If glaze is too tight, add additional milk to thin.