Raspberries for Breakfast or a Quick, Light, Supper

A favorite first board game for my kids over the years has been Hi Ho the Cherry-O, wherein little cherries are painstakingly put into holes in the cardboard game board and then a spinner gives each player the opportunity to “pick” one, two, or three cherries and put them in his or her basket. The first one to get all ten into the little bucket is the winner.

However...The spinner might come to rest at a bird or a dog, meaning that these animals have raided the bucket and some cherries will have to be put back on the tree. Worst of all are the spins when the bucket is upset, and everything already picked comes out of the little pail and goes back on the tree.

I don’t want to play that game with any of the grandchildren tonight.

I was almost halfway through the raspberry patch this afternoon, rejoicing in the larger berries that my—finally—long watering sessions had yielded when a branch snapped back against my berry bucket and over went the whole thing. At that point, all I could think of was that silly kids’ game. Grrrr.

The good thing was that most of the berries landed in a very soft patch of pine needles, so I was able to salvage perhaps half of what I had gathered to that point. Still, there was a lot of one by one checking of each berry when I came in the house later. (Washing doesn’t work to get these little pine needles off the berries—the water seems to just make them stick even tighter.) Even after the loss of so many berries, I still ended up with over two pounds of picture-perfect berries. Since one of the local food stores has raspberries featured this week, two dry half pint boxes for $5, that means I have around $15 worth of berries in that bag? Wow!

I understand that this bounty of berries is not available to everyone, but they are a frugal option if you do have a backyard patch, so I like to find ways to use them wherever possible. The following recipe is one that includes raspberries, but it could also be made with just apples or with strawberries or perhaps even peaches--whatever might be most reasonable in the market.

A friend of mine mentioned recently the difficulty of cooking for one person after a very long day at work. The following recipe took 8 minutes from start to finish when I made it recently, and while it was developed initially as a warming weekend breakfast, it might be just the thing for a chilly fall weekday evening when comfort food would be as welcome as a more elaborate meal.

And lest you worry about this being more like dessert than more "typical" one dish meals, consider that the amount of sugar is less than all too many breakfast cereals. This is a hefty single serving (if used as a dessert or side dish, it would serve at least two) so there are two fruit servings along with plenty of protein and fiber from the nuts and oatmeal. Serve it with a glass of milk (or, "Wisconsin style," with an ounce of reduced low fat cheese) and you'll be getting your dairy as well--a dollop of vanilla or plain yogurt is also good without adding a lot of empty calories.

Overall, not a bad dish to keep in mind, with less than 10 minutes prep time and a house that quickly fills with the aroma of "home cooking."

Breakfast/Supper Fruit Compote

3/4 c raspberries (optional)

1 apple, thinly sliced, NOT peeled (about 1 cup)

1 T sugar

1/2 t cinnamon

2 T coarsely chopped walnuts

1/2 c oatmeal--quick cooking but NOT instant

1 t canola oil or butter

Toss the fruit with the sugar and cinnamon and microwave, covered, for about 2 to 3 minutes, until the apple is starting to get tender. Meanwhile, toss the oatmeal and walnuts with the oil. Remove the apples from microwave, spread the oatmeal mixture over the top and return to the microwave. Don't cover this time. Continue cooking another 2 to 3 minutes, until the apples are fully cooked--test with a fork.

Grandma's Macaroni and Cheese

Long ago and far away, there lived a working mother who wanted to serve her children well-balanced meals, on a tight food budget and an even tighter schedule. Over the years, she developed a lot of ideas and techniques that helped her kids learn to really like vegetables, to come to expect more meatless days than not, and to understand why their Mom's shopping list never included soda. (That is not to say they didn't use some of their first paper route earnings to go out and splurge on a few Big Gulps!) Much of what I learned in those early years is what I hope is helping anyone reading this blog now and again.

Early on, I learned that the "best" nutrients in carrots were generally more available to the human body when the carrots were cooked. I didn't stop serving carrot sticks, but I did begin adding cooked carrots as a side dish to many meals. This, however, was not a very popular option. Plain old steamed carrots just weren't anybody's favorite vegetable. But then I served them one day with some creamy macaroni and cheese, and the kids ate them up, sloshed as they were with the cheesy sauce. To be sure that the ratio of carrots to cheese and macaroni was what I wanted it to be, the next time I served mac and cheese, I cooked the carrots and stirred them into the pasta dish before serving. A quizzical look here and there, but soon that became "the way" we had this dish.

Fast forward a few years. My oldest grandson was still in his toddler years when I visited their home in another state. Looking for a quick meal before going off to some fun family thing, I offered to make mac and cheese. There was elbow macaroni on the shelf and some Velveeta in the refrigerator (the very quickest way to make this dish, even if it is not the foody purist's preference), but not a carrot to be found. The good news was that a bag of frozen peas lurked in the back of the freezer, so we were set. I put water on to boil for the pasta, found some nonfat dry milk powder to up the calcium content a bit, and in a few minutes the main dish was done. A couple of tomatoes were sliced to add color and variation to each plate and a well-balanced meal was ready.

As basic as that "recipe" was, it soon became known as "Grandma's Macaroni and Cheese" and was an asked-for dish each time I visited. I still find it a great go-to meal if one or more of the kids happen to be here for a last-minute lunch. A "recipe" follows.

Grandma's Macaroni and Cheese

2 c elbow macaroni--or any other fun shape of similar sized pasta you might have around (colored rotini is a special favorite)
2 to 3 oz Velveeta, sliced or cut into cubes
1/4 c nonfat dried milk (optional)
12 ounces frozen peas (broccoli, cooked carrots, mixed vegetables, etc., may be substituted), unthawed
freshly ground pepper to taste

Cook the macaroni as directed on the package until just done. Drain, leaving a tablespoon or so of the water in the pan. Stir in the Velveeta and dried milk into the pasta in the pan, mixing until well-blended and smooth. Turn burner to low, add the frozen vegetables and continue cooking, stirring occasionally, just until the vegetables are fully heated.

Alternatively, the drained pasta, cheese, dried milk, and frozen vegetables can be turned into a microwave safe bowl and put in the microwave for 2 to 3 minutes until the vegetables are hot.

This also works for leftover vegetables of any kind. Just stir them in as with frozen vegetables, shortening the heating time accordingly.

(Pasta purists may want to stop reading now, but, if your family is like ours, you might want to serve this with ketchup and/or salsa.)

Another Microwave Meal

There was a time when I would often arrive home from the train well after 7:30, ready to eat without spending much time in the kitchen. Add in inviting friends over to share a late dinner, and I became adept at finding ways to make lots of foods in the microwave. The following recipe proved to be versatile enough that I called it my "starch sauce;" it could be relied on, with its various iterations, to work as well with baked potatoes as with pasta or even rice. The substantial sausage is a good flavor boost, though this could be made without any meat.


Note that many of the ingredients can be used starting in the frozen state--a great bonus if you are getting home late and don't have time for thawing anything! Even starting out frozen, the meal can come together in 20 to 25 minutes, just the right amount of time to cook some pasta or rice.

"Starch Sauce"

2 kielbasa--may be frozen (use the pre-cooked kind, not a sausage that would need to be cooked for an extended time)
2 medium or 1 large onion, finely chopped
2 to 3 cloves garlic, minced
1 large bell pepper, chopped (Trader Joe's has a nice assortment of frozen pepper strips that would work here--probably about a cup or so, cut into large chunks)
10 oz frozen chopped spinach
2 to 2 1/2 cups frozen mixed vegetables of choice AND/OR 1 15 oz can garbanzo or kidney beans, drained
2 to 3 cups prepared spaghetti sauce
Italian seasoning, cumin and freshly ground pepper to taste

1. Microwave the kielbasa for 1 to 2 minutes to thaw. Meanwhile peel, chop and mince the onions and garlic.

2. Cut the kielbasa in approximately 1 inch slices, add the onion and garlic, and microwave, covered, for 4 minutes. Meanwhile, cut the bell pepper.

3. Remove the kielbasa from the oven and thaw the spinach in the microwave for 1 to 1 1/2 minutes, until just melted through. If using frozen bell peppers or frozen mixed vegetables, thaw these with the spinach too.

4. Add the peppers and spinach to the kielbasa mixture. Stir in the beans if using, and microwave 2 to 3 minutes until the mixture is heated through and bubbly.

5. Stir in the spaghetti sauce and seasonings. Heat a few minutes more and taste for any additional seasoning.

Serve over pasta, rice, or baked potatoes. Sprinkle with Parmesan if desired.

Serves 4 to 6 people. This is easily reheated or frozen too, in case you are cooking for just one or two.

Dinner Almost as Fast as the Pasta Cooks

If you are in a hurry and looking for a vegetarian (actually, vegan) main dish, here is one that has been a family standby for years.

Garbanzos and Shells with Spinach

1 T olive or canola oil
1 medium onion, finely chopped
1 clove garlic, minced
red pepper flakes (optional)
2 to 3 t tomato paste
15 oz can garbanzo beans
10 to 16 oz frozen chopped spinach, thawed
liquid from beans plus water to make 1 cup
9 oz pasta shells, cooked and drained

1. Put water on to boil for the pasta. Cook as usual. Drain.
2. Meanwhile, saute the onion and garlic in oil until the onion is translucent.
3. Add all remaining ingredients except pasta and simmer together until just heated through.
4. Just before serving, fold in pasta shells and top with freshly ground pepper and, if desired, grated Parmesan cheese.

Serves 4 to 5.

This can also be made with fresh spinach; just chop and steam lightly in the microwave. If you use garbanzos you have cooked yourself, you may want to add a bit of salt.

Though it might add a few more minutes to the prep time, a cup of finely diced carrots sauteed with the onions adds some good color to the dish.

Keep canned garbanzos, pasta shells, and frozen spinach on hand for a last minute meal to serve to guests, as this has great taste and looks like a lot more work than it really is. Sliced tomatoes or baby carrots are simple side dishes that can also be prepared while the pasta is cooking.

Frugal, Fast, and Fun for Fourteen Friends

Take eight children, ages six and under, and add six adults. Stir in a schedule that keeps the hostess away from her home for about 6 hours the day of the meal, bringing her home only an hour before the first guests arrive. Blend well with a lot of fun and informality and you have the makings of an altogether wonderful evening.

Really.

Sure, we are by now comfortable with this informality because we eat together about every two weeks. Still, I do like to think that every meal should reflect warm hospitality, but an especially busy week made last Wednesday's dinner a little more challenging than usual.

The hardest part was deciding what to serve. I provide the main dish while others bring the rest of the meal. This week, that would include a special first birthday cake for the youngest in our group. So how could I balance such a special ending with something simple and yet not too unhealthy?

Looking in the freezer, I decided on hot dogs on buns with a crockpot of baked beans. Along with the birthday cake, there was also a wonderful spinach salad and lots of sliced oranges. While I often make my beans from scratch, the week was so hectic that I used canned beans as the base. The turkey hot dogs were put in a 7 X 11 cake pan in the oven at 350 degrees, long enough to "grill" them; I then turned the heat down to 200 to stay warm until ready to serve. There were buns, ketchup, three kinds of mustard, two kinds of relish, and chopped onions to include most favorite toppings. (I know, no sauerkraut; I always forget that since it something I really don't care about. Maybe next time I'll remember.)

The food seemed rather like a picnic, even if the weather outside is still way too cold to think in those terms, so I pulled out my bright and orange plastic plates and put them on my sand-colored tablecloth to help us think warmer thoughts. The beans and franks were served buffet-style from the counter, while the salad and oranges sat on the table along with a fat candle lit for the occasion.

The end result was a lot of satisfied eaters and conversation—with the kids playing peacefully at our feet—until almost 9 pm. Gratifying too was the fact that the kids had chosen large servings of the healthier parts of the meal and there didn't even have to be any "no dessert until you finish your food" comments. In fact, six-year-old Sam proudly stacked up twenty-seven pieces of orange rind to reflect how much he had eaten of his favorite part of the meal.

Frugal? I had purchased the hot dogs and beans on sale over time and tucked them away on the pantry shelf and in the freezer. The hot dogs were lower fat turkey dogs so not as inexpensive as some brands might have been, but the sale prices meant that the three packages cost well less than $4. The total cost of the beans—which served us all with almost a quart left over—was also under $4. I bought the whole wheat buns at the bread surplus store for a total of $3 and still have one package left. The beautiful cake was made from a mix also purchased on sale for less than $1, with a basic cream cheese and powdered sugar icing, so it may have cost less than $3. We ate a four-pound bag of oranges that were featured this week for $2.50, and the salad was probably around $3 to $4. Even at the higher cost for the salad, the total food for 14, with a few pieces of cake and a lot of beans and buns left over, came to well below $20.

Fast and Fun? Sara says the salad was "really easy" to put together, the oranges were sliced while we put the rest of the food out, and the beans and hot dogs couldn't have been easier. The cake was probably the most labor intensive, but Michelle used this as an opportunity to teach one of the middle-schoolers in our church about cake decorating, so it sounds like the time they put into it was a lot of fun.

Healthy? Whole wheat buns, pinto beans added to reduce some of the overly sweet sauce in the canned variety, reduced fat hot dogs, salad and oranges on the side to balance the not quite so healthy finale, and milk for all the kids. Maybe not your perfect nuts and granola meal but still a lot of good nutrition overall.

NOTE: Everyone was aware of the potential choking hazard of hot dogs for small children, but we were careful to cut up these for the youngest among us, and none of the children was allowed to walk around with their food. When serving this meal to those under four, you really do need to exercise extra caution and watchfulness.

Quick Beans in a Pot
Serves 12 to 16

2 28 to 30 oz baked beans, any style (NOT "pork and beans")
1 29 to 32 oz can pinto beans, drained
1 to 2 15 oz cans pork and beans, drained (optional)
1/2 medium onion, chopped—about 1 cup
1/2 finely diced green pepper (optional)
Barbecue sauce to taste (optional)
Yellow mustard to taste (optional)
Dash of balsamic or cider vinegar (optional)

Open beans and put in a slow cooker. Add onion and green pepper if used. Turn to high for 2 to 3 hours (or low for up to six hours). Taste after a few hours of cooking and add barbecue sauce, vinegar, and/or mustard if desired. It is likely the beans may have more sauce than home-baked beans, so serve with a slotted spoon.

I used two different kinds of the local store brand baked beans—maple bacon and vegetarian—and found the combination to be especially good. I would not include the pork and beans next time; I tossed them in only because I wanted to be sure I had enough for everyone, but I don't think they add much more than sweetness to the overall mix.

Orange Smiles

Okay, so this isn't so much a recipe as a method. The point is that, where children are concerned, presentation can often be everything.

Oranges, preferably navel or other seedless variety

1. Wash the oranges and dry. Using a sharp knife, cut each orange in half from the stem end to the navel.
2. Lay the half orange face down on a cutting board and slice into quite thin half circles.
3. Arrange the oranges on a plate or on the cutting board—this is a good "helper task" for beginning cooks, as the end result can look quite festive.

Be prepared to serve lots of these orange smiles, allowing at least half an orange per person unless you have other fruits alongside.

CAUTION: This is a casual meal food, as you should allow—and expect—everyone to eat the smiles with their fingers. At a more formal dinner, the peeling should be cut off with a knife and then the orange can be eaten with a fork, but these are a lot more fun the casual way!