Liz On Food

Unbaked Oatmeal Cookies

I looked at my online recipe index recently and realized I have a lot of dessert recipes compared to other categories. This from a dietitian. What I can say is I celebrate the role of enjoyment in sustaining healthful eating habits. And the sweetest things in life are worth sharing. So from my family recipe archives, here's another dulcet recipe coming at you.

Unbaked or uncooked oatmeal cookies have been a round for a while but the recipe bears mention during the sweltering summer, because it's quick, simple, scrumptious and doesn't require turning on the oven. I like to serve these cookies chilled, accompanied by a glass of ice-cold skim milk.

Yield: 48 cookies

Preparation Time: 30 minutes, plus about 1 hour refrigeration

1/2 c unsalted butter
1/2 c milk (I use whole)
1/2 c creamy or crunchy natural-style peanut butter
2 c sugar
1 T unsweetened cocoa powder
1/4 t salt
1/2 c chopped walnuts
1/2 c sweetened coconut flakes
3 c uncooked old-fashioned oatmeal

Place first six ingredients in a medium sauce pan. On medium heat, stir and let ingredients melt and dissolve.

Bring to a rolling boil, stirring constantly. Boil for one minute only.

Remove from heat. Add remaining three ingredients.

Mix thoroughly.

Let cool 5-10 minutes. Drop by teaspoon onto cookie sheets. Before serving, let cookies cool and set by refrigerating at least 1 hour. Store cookies in refrigerator.

Per-cookie Nutritional Profile:
    Calories, 100
    Fat, 5 g
        Saturated Fat, 2 g
    Cholesterol, 5 mg
    Carbs, 13 g
        Dietary Fiber, 1 g
    Protein, 2 g
    Sodium, 30  mg
    Vitamin A, 2% Daily Value
    Vitamin C, 0% Daily Value
    Calcium, 0% Daily Value
    Iron, 2% Daily Value

Confetti Salad with Shrimp and Bacon

Confetti Salad with Shrimp and Bacon is a nod to my Alabama FoodBuzz friend, Drick, whose recipe for Creamy Shrimp Salad was the source of inspiration. If you like Southern and Cajun cuisine, Drick's Rambling Café is a wonderful blog full of mouthwatering recipes.

This creation brings a lively twist to the many variations of confetti salad with the addition of bacon and cayenne pepper. I happen to like the kick of cayenne pepper, but if you have young, sensitive taste buds in the house, the salad will stand on its own without the hot stuff. I used red onion, celery, peas and corn in this recipe but black beans and chopped red bell pepper would be welcome additions.

A quick, light-yet-flavorful, one-dish summer meal, Confetti Salad with Shrimp and Bacon is a good source of fiber and vitamin C as well as an excellent source of vitamin A and iron (using FDA food labeling jargon). No added salt is needed for the recipe: The shrimp and bacon provide just enough.

Yield: 4 servings

Preparation Time: 45 minutes

1 lb raw wild-caught shrimp, 12-16 per pound
2 garlic cloves
2 T Worcestershire sauce
1/2 c red onion1/2 c celery
2 slices bacon
1 c frozen green peas
1 c frozen or canned yellow corn kernels
1 T fresh parsley, chopped
1/8 t cayenne pepper
1/4 c mayonnaise
4-6 romaine lettuce leaves

Place three quarts of water, garlic cloves and Worcestershire sauce in a large stock pot; bring to a boil. (Thanks to Drick for cuing me in to perking up the water with Worcestershire sauce.) Add shrimp, bring back to a boil and boil 3-4 minutes. Drain shrimp in a colander and run cool water over shrimp. Peel (and devein, if desired) shrimp; cut in thirds cross-wise. Refrigerate while preparing additional ingredients. Chop onion and celery. Cook bacon in nonstick frying pan; remove from pan and place on paper towels to drain fat and crisp bacon. When cool, crumble into small bits. Simmer frozen peas for five minutes in small sauce pan; drain and rinse with cool water. Place all ingredients, except Romaine leaves, in a mixing bowl and fold gently until well mixed. If you make ahead of time, wait to add bacon until just before serving, to preserve crispness. Plate individual servings by arranging lettuce and mounding salad on top.

Per-serving Nutritional Profile:
    Calories, 240
    Fat, 8 g
        Saturated Fat, 1.5 g
    Cholesterol, 175 mg
    Carbs, 19 g
        Dietary Fiber, 3 g
    Protein, 23 g
    Sodium, 550  mg
    Vitamin A, 25% Daily Value
    Vitamin C, 15% Daily Value
    Calcium, 6% Daily Value
    Iron, 20% Daily Value

Oatmeal Cookie Muffins

My 18-year-old son saunters into the kitchen at about 5:30 p.m. "Mom, what's for dinner?" he asks. I answer, "Salad and muffins."

"Salad and muffins?!" he responds in a somewhat whiny, exasperated tone, so perfected by teens. "Nothing more substantial?"

OK, I could have been a little more creative with my response to whet the active teenage boy's palate: "Salad greens with slivered Gruyere cheese and seasoned croutons smothered in Caesar dressing, accompanied by a tall glass of milk and a Mom original, hot Oatmeal Cookie Muffins, dripping with melted butter." But I was distracted with the task at hand.

When he appeared, I was in the middle of an experimental batch of muffins, fashioned after oatmeal cookies, to be foisted on my research subjects, otherwise known as family members. The undertaking, like many other kitchen ventures, started with a quick survey of what I had on hand. And on this occasion it was more like what I didn't have on hand, considering a trip to the grocery store was overdue. What resulted is a family-tested, family-approved recipe for muffins that doesn't require a special trip the the supermarket.

These muffins have an added nutritional bonus of 3 grams of fiber (12% of Daily Value) per muffin due whole wheat flour, oatmeal and raisins. (For those of you with finicky eaters, don't worry, the kids won't notice the whole wheat; it's masked by the texture of the oatmeal and raisins as well as the spice flavors.) Start these 45 minutes before supper time and you'll have piping hot muffins fresh from the oven.

As for my son and this dinner: His friend showed up shortly after our kitchen interaction; they decided my menu sounded a little sparse and subsequently ordered delivery pizza. But the two did enjoy muffins and salad for their first course! No room for doubt, the pizza was of substance. Among the toppings were tater tots (Yes, that's right!) and bacon. Having never tried tater tots on pizza, curiosity got the best of me and I sampled a slice. Better than I expected, but in my opinion, go for the muffins!

Yield: 12 muffins

Preparation Time: 45 minutes, including baking

12 muffin papers
1/2 c granulated white sugar
1/2 c brown sugar, firmly packed
1/3 c soft butter (reserve 1 T)
2 large eggs
1 t vanilla extract
1 c nonfat milk
1/2 t salt
1 c whole wheat flour
3/4 c all-purpose white flour
1 c old-fashioned or quick oats
1 1/2 t baking powder
1 t ground cinnamon
1/4 t ground cloves
1/4 t ground nutmeg
1/2 c raisins
1/2 c chopped walnuts or pecans (optional)
Cinnamon sugar

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F (425 degrees F if at 5,000 feet or higher in altitude). Place muffin papers in muffin tin. Set aside 1 T of butter. In large mixing bowl, beat sugar and remaining butter until light and fluffy. Mix in eggs and vanilla, then milk. Add dry ingredients all at once (no need to sift). Mix until just blended. Fold in raisins and nuts (if desired).

Spoon batter into muffin papers to two-thirds full. Place muffin tin in oven and bake 20-25 minutes. To test doneness, lightly depress a center muffin with your index finger. If done, it will spring back. Remove tin from oven and place on cake rack. Melt reserved T of butter in microwave. Using a pastry brush, brush tops of muffins with butter. Sprinkle lightly with cinnamon sugar.

Per-muffin Nutritional Profile:
    Calories, 240
    Fat, 7 g
        Saturated Fat, 3.5 g
    Cholesterol, 50 mg
    Carbs, 42 g
        Dietary Fiber, 3 g
    Protein, 2 g
    Sodium, 180  mg
    Vitamin A, 4% Daily Value
    Vitamin C, 0% Daily Value
    Calcium, 8% Daily Value
    Iron, 8% Daily Value

Chicken and Savory Dumpling Soup

Life gets in the way of blogging from time to time. On the other hand, life sometimes slows you down and that's an opportunity to delve into the alternate universe of blogging.

Late last week, my son's wisdom teeth were extracted; thus, we had a low-key weekend. He put in a request for chicken dumpling soup, and that was the perfect reason to get back to blogging after a month's hiatus.

This recipe starts with a straightforward chicken soup base, but I added rubbed sage and thyme to the dumpling dough, a savory addition which permeates deliciously, not only the dumplings but also the soup.

Yield: 10 servings

Preparation Time: 2 hours

Soup

1 yellow onion, chopped
6 celery stalks, chopped
2 quarts water
1 T chicken bouillon
2 T fresh (chopped) or dried parsley
1 t salt
1/2 t ground black pepper
1 lb boneless, skinless chicken breast, diced
5 medium carrots, chopped
1 c frozen peas

Savory Dumplings

4 T butter
1 1/2 c flour
1/2 T baking powder
1/2 t salt
1/4 t ground black pepper
1/2 t rubbed thyme
1/2 t rubbed sage
1/4 c cream
1/2 c milk

Add onions, celery, water and chicken bouillon to large stock pot. Bring to boil and let simmer until onions and celery are soft, about 45 minutes. Add parsley, salt and pepper. Cut chicken breast into 1/2" cubes; add to stock and simmer 10 minutes. Add carrots.

While chicken soup is simmering, prepare dumpling recipe. Cut cold butter into 1/2" cubes.

Place butter in mixer along with flour. Using pastry attachment, mix until consistency of coarse cornmeal.

Blend in salt, pepper, thyme and sage. Add cream and milk and mix until smooth; do not over-mix. The dough should be slightly sticky. 

Roll into one-inch balls - makes about 2 dozen.

Add peas to soup; bring to a boil and drop in dough balls. Simmer about 15 more minutes.

Enjoy! Chicken and Savory Dumpling Soup is hearty enough to make a one dish meal, especially when served with a glass of skim milk.

Per-serving Nutritional Profile:
    Calories, 210
    Fat, 8 g
        Saturated Fat, 5 g
    Cholesterol, 50 mg
    Carbs, 20 g
        Dietary Fiber, 2 g
    Protein, 13 g
    Sodium, 660  mg
    Vitamin A, 90% Daily Value
    Vitamin C, 10% Daily Value
    Calcium, 10% Daily Value
    Iron, 10% Daily Value

Beef Pad Thai

If you're considering ways to reduce meat consumption, either for health or environmental reasons, but still have an occasional hankering for beef, try this Thai stir fry dish. Using a food processor for vegetable shredding, this recipes creates a quick and tasty one-dish meal with ample but not excess protein. One key to successful stir fry is quick cooking in very hot oil, so you need to use an oil that has a high smoking point (just like it sounds, the temperature at which the oil starts to smoke). If you're interested, Cooking for Engineers blog provides a comprehensive chart listing the smoking points of various cooking oils and fats. In this dish, I used shredded broccoli stems instead of bean sprouts. You can save the florets for another use. Broccoli is a common ingredient and keeps well, so I don't have to worry about bean sprouts going bad before I use them.

Yield: 4 servings

Preparation Time: 25 minutes

4 carrots
Stems from 3-4 broccoli bunches
1 garlic clove, minced
1/2 small onion, diced
3/4 lb lean steak (your choice of cut)
2 T safflower oil or other cooking oil with high smoking point
1 t Thai chili paste
1 T fish sauce
1 T rice vinegar
1/2 t sesame oil
2 T low-sodium soy sauce
7-9 ounces Thai rice noodles, dry
2 quarts hot water

Shred carrots and broccoli stems in food processor.

Slice steak into 2"x 1/2" strips. Mix chili paste, fish sauce, vinegar, sesame oil and soy sauce in a small bowl. Place rice noodles and hot water in a large bowl or pan. Let noodles soak while stir frying other ingredients.

Heat oil in wok or saute pan, then add garlic; cook until golden. Add onion; cook about 2 minutes. Add beef; cook about 2 minutes, stirring frequently.

Push beef to sides of pan; add carrots and broccoli, cook about 2 minutes. Add noodles, then stir in sauce mixture. Let cook 2-3 more minutes. Serve immediately.

Per-serving Nutritional Profile:
    Calories, 400
    Fat, 11 g
        Saturated Fat, 2 g
    Cholesterol, 30 mg
    Carbs, 57 g
        Dietary Fiber, 2 g
    Protein, 19 g
    Sodium, 700  mg
    Vitamin A, 210% Daily Value
    Vitamin C, 10% Daily Value
    Calcium, 6% Daily Value
    Iron, 15% Daily Value

Lentil Barley Stew

Lentils cook more quickly than many other dry legumes. This delicious (and nutritious) lentil barley stew recipe can be started late afternoon and be ready in time for supper.

Yield: 12 servings

Preparation Time: 2 hours

1 lb dried lentils
2 c carrots, diced
1 c celery, diced
1 medium onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/4 c fresh parsley, chopped
1 c barley
1 medium tomato, blanched, peeled and diced OR 1/4 c canned crushed tomatoes
1 quart vegetable or chicken stock
2 cups water
1 t salt
1/2 t pepper
4 c fresh spinach leaves

In a six-quart stock pot, cover lentils with water. Bring to boil. Let sit one hour. Drain and rinse lentils. Cut vegetables while lentils are soaking.

Place lentils back in stock pot, add all ingredients, bring to boil then reduce heat.

Let simmer until lentils and barley are done, about 45 minutes. Add spinach, simmer five more minutes.

Serve with artisan Italian bread for a hearty yet healthy meal.

Per-serving Nutritional Profile:
    Calories, 190
    Fat, .5 g
        Saturated Fat, 0 g
    Cholesterol, 0 mg
    Carbs, 36 g
        Dietary Fiber, 11 g
    Protein, 11 g
    Sodium, 470  mg
    Vitamin A, 80% Daily Value
    Vitamin C, 15% Daily Value
    Calcium, 6% Daily Value
    Iron, 25% Daily Value