An Easy Week of Cooking for the Single Man

Not everyone can cook up a storm or even wants to - especially after a hard day at the office. But a home cooked meal will generally have less fat and lower sodium than that delivery meal. Here's some real easy ideas...

It's Sunday so you have a little more time to try something interesting that can actually enhance several meals. You're going to make a Pesto Sauce - don't freak out, it's easy and not that bad for you.

Wash and rinse fresh spinach - don't worry, I hate spinach too, it doesn't matter trust me. Cut up enough spinach to fill an 8 oz. cup with the spinach pushed down, fitting in as much as you can. Pour the spinach into a blender. Add about 1/4 cup of olive oil, then 1/4 cup of grated parmesan cheese, a pinch of salt, 2 small cloves of garlic (more or less depends on your taste), and 1/4 cup of pine nuts (available in the produce section of any supermarket). Blend all the items together and slowly add more olive oil until you can see the items mixing at the bottom of the blender. Stop the blender and use a spoon to push the ingredients further down into the blender so that they continue to blend together. Blend again and add olive oil as needed. Continue until the mixture is a bright green. Pour into a plastic bowl, cover, and refrigerate. It can also be frozen and defrosted as needed.

Next up - barbeque chicken. Take about 3 or 4 pounds of cut-up chicken - it can be breasts if you like white meat, it can be a combination of legs and thighs if you prefer dark - and fill a sturdy gallon size plastic bag. Add 3/4 cup of your favorite barbeque sauce and about 1/4 cup of light soy sauce. Season with a pinch of salt and pepper. Seal the bag and shake it up carefully. Place the bag in a bowl - in case the bag leaks - and let it marinate overnight in the refrigerator.

Now you're finished planning ahead. It's Sunday and what says Sunday family meal better than a turkey meatloaf? Mix 1 pound of ground turkey with 3/4 cup of seasoned bread crumbs (alternatively, you can substitute matzoh meal, salt, pepper, garlic salt, parsley, and oregano) plus 1 egg white. The key to getting an egg white without any of the much unhealthier yolk is to warm the egg in your hand before cracking it open, then use the side of a teaspoon to crack the egg in half. The entire egg contents will fit in one half an egg shell - just rock the contents from one shell to the other over the ground turkey and bread crumbs and the egg white will drop into the mixture leaving the intact egg yolk in the shell (waste not, want not: scramble up that egg yolk for your dog - it's good for his coat). Mix together all the ingredients, then add about an eighth of a cup of BBQ sauce and a pinch of soy sauce to give your turkey loaf some meaty flavor. Bake in a 350 degree oven for 45 minutes to an hour. Serve with a frozen vegetable of your choice and it's a deliciously simple meal. And you ought to have enough left over for at least one hearty meatloaf sandwich for lunch during the week.

Monday nights are the worst. You may still be hung over from the weekend or just hate your job that much. So you want something easy. Line a pan with heavy duty aluminum foil and spray with some Pam. Pour in the chicken that's been marinating overnight and stick into a 375 degree oven for about an hour. To make sure chicken is done, take the thickest piece and cut into it toward the bone and make sure there's no pink skin or blood.

While the chicken is cooking, take a large red-skinned potato and wash it in the sink. Boil some water and add the cut up potato. Red skinned potatoes are great to cook at home because you can eat the skin so you don't have to use a grater.
In about 10 or 15 minutes, you should be able to push a fork through a thick piece of potato. Strain out the water. Add to the potatoes, to taste, any combination of butter, salt, pepper, and cheese. Add about 1/4 cup of milk. Mash it all together and you have yummy mashed potatoes to eat with your chicken. Add a bagged salad and Monday's done.

Tuesday night is a great night for pesto. Boil up the pasta of your choice - surely even you know how to do that. Mix the pasta and the pesto - dinner's ready. Add some prepared chicken or use a beef or cheese tortellini to add some protein. Wow - before you even know it, you've cooked three very different meals three nights in a row.

So what do you do on Wednesday? Well it is hump day - camel? No but it is a good night for leftovers and you just happen to have about half your chicken left over from Monday. I like to serve it up cold with some potato salad and a bagged green salad.

It's Thursday night - if you are a single guy, then since your college days it's been the unofficial beginning of your weekend. Knowing a weekend of binge drinking, pizza, and other toxins is about to begin, you're most likely to go to the gym on Thursday so stop at the market on your way home and pick up a piece of fresh fish. That way, when it's midnight and you're scarfing down a pizza with your buddies, you can look back on having eaten healthy.

Friday night, Saturday night: these are your days off. I mean, who are you kidding? You're eating out - you may be out with friends or on a date. That's OK though. The upside of being hungover at home is you can start taking steps to prepare next week's meals simply by thinking about your menu, what you may need to defrost, what can be prepared ahead of time...

With a little ingenuity and planning, even the worst cooks can survive cooking for one.



By Barry Freiman

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End of Summer Recipes for a Couple More Cookouts

Back-to-school, soccer games, after-school meetings, homework time and - in all the chaos - there must be nutritious, fast meals for our families.

Sometimes this means food on the go! We have all read and heard about the health problems associated with fast food restaurants. Here are some healthy, fast and easy recipes to make meals that are wonderful shared at home or able to travel.

Kids Love Them - Burgers
Kitchen and Family tested by Dori Fritzinger

1 to 1 1/4 pounds ground beef

3 tablespoons steak sauce (such as A.1.)

1 tablespoon Dijon mustard

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon pepper

2 cloves garlic, minced

2 teaspoons minced fresh oregano or 3/4 teaspoon dried

1 to 2 tablespoons finely minced onion

1. Combine all of the ingredients in a large mixing bowl, mixing thoroughly with your hands or a wooden spoon. Shape into 4 patties by hand, making the center of each just a little thinner than the edges. Refrigerate until ready to grill.

2. Start your grill, and when it's good and hot, grill the burgers to the desired doneness, flipping once. They'll take about 4 minutes on each side, more or less, depending on how you like them cooked. To make cheeseburgers, top with slices of American cheese, sharp Cheddar cheese or crumbled Blue cheese after you flip them. Makes 4 burgers.

Chicken Fingers on a Stick
Kitchen and Family Tested by Dori Fritzinger

4 boneless, skinless chicken breast halves, pounded 1/2 to 3/4 inch thick

Salt and pepper

24 (10-inch) bamboo skewers, soaked in water for 30 minutes

3 tablespoons peanut or vegetable oil

2 tablespoons barbecue sauce

1 1/4 cups plain dried bread crumbs

1. Cut each chicken breast lengthwise into 1/2-inch-wide strips and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Fold the chicken strips slightly and weave them onto the skewers.

2. Prepare a charcoal fire or set a gas grill to medium-high, close the lid, and heat until hot -- about 10 to 15 minutes.

3. In a small bowl, stir together the oil and the barbecue sauce. Spread the bread crumbs on a sheet of waxed paper. Lightly brush the sauce mixture over the chicken strips and then roll them in the bread crumbs.

4. Grill the chicken fingers uncovered until they're no longer pink inside, about 2 to 4 minutes per side on a gas grill.

5. Serve with the dipping sauce of your choice. Serves 6 to 8.

Veggie Pockets with Yogurt Cucumber Sauce
Kitchen and Family tested by Dori Fritzinger

Your Families favorite vegetable can be substituted for those listed.

1 medium onion, chopped
2 medium carrots, julienne *
1 medium stalk celery, julienne *
1 large (or 2 small) zucchini, julienne *
1 large (or 2 small) yellow squash, seeded and julienne *
1-2 tablespoons cooking oil
2 tablespoons soy sauce

SAUCE:
small container plain yogurt
small cucumber, seeded, grated, and drained of any liquid (use a paper towel to blot liquid if necessary)
1 garlic clove, minced
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4-6 pita pockets - my family enjoys the whole wheat variety

* Use Prepared-Julienne Vegetables from your produce isle in the market. Or Wash and cut fresh vegetables as described in the ingredients list. (The julienne vegetables should all be the same size -- long, thin matchsticks.)

1. Yogurt sauce can be made ahead of time and stored in refrigerator until needed.

2. Heat oil in a wok or large pan over medium-high heat.

3. When oil is hot, add the onions and brown for a minute or two.

4. Add other vegetables and saute approximately 5 minutes.

5. Finish the veggies by adding the soy sauce and cooking for an additional minute.

6. Warm the pita pockets (grill, toaster, or microwave) and stuff with veggies. Serve.

Let everybody add their own sauce at the table -- there won't be any left!

Making fast and easy meals can be enjoyed all year round. As the seasons shift so must our creative menu planning. These recipes work for both small and large families.


By Dori Fritzinger

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Desserts Made Easy

What's on the menu for dessert tonight? Try one of the great tasting recipes and have your family falling in love with them. They require very few ingredients and are really simple to make.

Ice Cream Pudding Pie
1 cup cold milk
1 cup ice cream, softened (any flavor)
1 package of Instant pudding and pie filling (any flavor)
1 prepared graham cracker crumb crust

Mix the milk and ice cream in a large bowl. Add pudding mix. Beat with an electric mixer on the lowest speed for one minute. Pour immediately into the crust. Then, Refrigerate for two hours or until set.

Caramel-Pecan Pie
3 eggs
2/3 cup sugar
1 cup caramel topping (Smucker's is great)
1/4 cup butter, melted
1 1/2 cups pecan halves
1 unbaked pie shell (9-inch)

In a mixing bowl, beat the eggs slightly with a fork. Add sugar and stir until dissolved. Stir in the topping and butter, mix well. Stir in pecan halves. Pour the filling into the pie shell.

Bake at 350 degrees for forty-five minutes or until toothpick inserted near center comes out clean. Cook thoroughly on rack before serving. Cover, and store in the refrigerator.

Fluffy Cheesecake
1 package cream cheese, softened
1/3 cup sugar
1 tub whipped topping (8 ounces)
1 prepared graham cracker crumb crust

Beat cream cheese and sugar in a large bowl with a wire whisk or electric mixer on high speed until smooth. Gently stir in the whipped topping. Spoon into crust. Refrigerate for 3 hours or until set.

To make cherry cheesecake just prepare and refrigerate as directed above. Then, spoon 1 1/2 cups of cherry pie filling over the top of the pie.

Berry Cantaloupe and Honey Dressing
1 cup of plain yogurt
2 tablespoons of honey
2 teaspoons of grated orange peel
2 small cantaloupes
2 cups of raspberries
Combine the yogurt, honey, and orange peel. Cover them and refrigerate. Then, cut the cantaloupes in half, remove the seeds, cover, and refrigerate. When you are ready to serve, just place the cantaloupe halves in individual bowls. Fill the centers with raspberries and drizzle with dressing.

This is a quick and easy recipe to make and it turns out to be delicious!

Creamy Cheesecake Dip
1 package of cream cheese, softened
1 jar of marshmallow creme

Mix the cream cheese and marshmallow creme with an electric mixer on medium speed until it is well blended, then refrigerate. Serve this dip with assorted cut-up fresh fruits or pound cake cubes

So easy to make and guaranteed to be a big hit!

Enjoy your desserts and have fun making them!


By Bunky

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