Capellini pomodoro

Cheater's version, anyway:

1/2 head garlic
14.5oz can diced tomatoes
2 Tbsp fresh basil
olive oil
angel-hair pasta

(This recipe makes only 2 servings; you can double it easily but only
one canful of tomatoes will fit in my pan at once)

Peel the garlic and roast it in a tin-foil packet with olive oil, 40
min at 325.
Drain the tomatoes thoroughly.
Shred or chiffonade the basil.
Cook the pasta.
When garlic is ready, mash it with a fork.
Fry up the tomatoes a little bit. Add the garlic and basil; flip
around till aroma is pleasing. A little salt doesn't hurt.
Pour over pasta.

Individual Black-Eyed Pea Salad

This quarters the recipe (the original, posted below, makes 12-18 servings, so this should make 4 servings or so).

1/2 cup red onion or sweet onion, finely chopped

1/2 bell peppers, seeded and finely chopped

1/2 tsp minced garlic

1/4 fresh jalapeno, finely chopped

1/4 cup red wine vinegar or balsamic vinegar

1/8 cup sugar

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/8 teaspoon black pepper

1/2 dash Tabasco sauce

1/8 cup vegetable oil

Fresh basil to taste, sliced (optional)

1 large can black eyed peas, with snaps

Combine all ingredients and mix well. Refrigerate before serving, preferably overnight.

Here's the full recipe for the black eyed pea salad, which gets better the longer it marinates. It's good to make it at least a day in advance, and by day 3 it's usually heavenly. The recipe also makes enough marinade for up to 7 or 8 cans of peas, in case you're feeding an army.

Black Eyed Pea Salad

1-2 cups red onion or sweet onion, finely chopped

1 or 2 bell peppers, seeded and finely chopped (red bell, green bell or a combination)

1-2 teaspoons minced garlic

1 fresh jalapeno, finely chopped

1 cup red wine vinegar or balsamic vinegar

1/2 cup sugar

1 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon black pepper

2 dashes Tabasco sauce

1/2 cup vegetable oil

Fresh basil to taste, sliced (optional)

4-6 small cans black eyed peas, with snaps

Combine all ingredients and mix well. Refrigerate before serving, preferably overnight. Makes 2-3 servings for each can of peas.

Alton tips on CFS

He uses the tenderizer my mom does, but I also just tried perforating
it with a knife -- goes pretty quickly.

He salts and peppers the meat first, then flour/egg/flour, then lets
it set up on a cooling rack 10-15 minutes to get a good crust.

Finally, he doesn't use a whole lot of oil -- and he knows it's ready
to put the steak in when it starts to "shimmer."

Alton's Peach Cakes

Simplified from original, and made for 2. (Just double if you have 4 ramekins.)

Looks pretty quick and easy, and all you have to buy at the store is peaches (1 for 2 people, 2 to feed 4 people) and a cup of buttermilk. (Plus whipped cream or ice cream if you want it.)

1 Tbsp unsalted butter
1/8 cup brown sugar
1 peach, peeled and cut in slices or chunks
1/4 cup flour
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/16 tsp baking soda
1/16 salt
1/2 Tbsp melted butter
1/6 cup sugar
1/4 cup buttermilk*, room temperature
1/4 tsp vanilla extract

Preheat oven to 350. Place in each ramekin (recipe is for 2 ramekins): 1/2 Tbsp butter, half the brown sugar, half the peach pieces. Combine the dry goods in one bowl, the wetworks in another (this includes the sugar; start by melting butter in a little bowl), and then put them together but stir only enough to combine. Pour half into each ramekin over the peaches. Bake on middle rack 20-25 min.

Let cool 5 min, run a knife around the inside edge of the ramekin, cover with a plate and invert to release. Alton suggests whipped cream or ice cream!

*Emerils.com says: Buttermilk Substitute

If a recipe calls for buttermilk and all you have in your refrigerator is regular milk, you can make an acceptable substitute by adding 1 tablespoon of white vinegar to 1 cup of milk. Let this stand at room temperature for 10 to 15 minutes, or until you see the milk thicken to the consistency of buttermilk.

Crab Rangoons

My husband loves these little dudes, and I always have extra
potsticker wrappers left after potstickers. A speculative version,
based as always on someone else's real version (in this case the Cape
Cod Times):

4 oz. cream cheese
1lb can claw crab meat (pick out all the shell parts)
1 jalapeno, seeded and diced

Fill and fry as quickly as you can (canola oil in bottom of deep wok,
30 sec each side). Too many at once lowers the oil temp. Drain on
rack.

Carrots and Yogurt Cheese Dip

Snack pack of carrots
32 ounces low-fat or non-fat yogurt that says "contains" "live" or "active"
Packet of ranch mix

Line a large sieve with 4 layers of damp cheesecloth and place it over a large bowl. Spoon the yogurt into the sieve, cover, and chill for at least 3 and up to 12 hours.

Stir with the ranch mix... or garlic/herb mix... or spread it on crackers with smoked salmon and capers...

Simple Lasagna

Untested, but doesn't seem too bad.

At fancy grocery:
1 cup ricotta
1 Tbsp red pepper flakes
2 Tbsp basil
2 Tbsp Italian parsley
2 Tbsp thyme
2 Tbsp oregano

At regular grocery:
1/2 lb Italian sausage
3/4 cup shredded mozzarella
garlic (3 cloves, minced)
2 14oz cans diced stewed tomatoes
6 lasagna pasta noodles

Cook the pasta noodles al dente.

Crumble, saute and drain the sausage. When it's kind of cool, mix with the ricotta and 1/2 cup of the mozzarella.

Clean out the pan and saute the garlic, herbs and spices in a little olive oil. Add the tomatoes and bring to a simmer. Set aside.

Layer: Tomato mix; 2 noodles; Sausage mix; noodles; tomato mix; sausage mix; noodles; tomato mix; extra mozzarella.

Bake 25 minutes at 350.

Cheat: Italian breaded pork chops

Just so I don't forget this option. Super-easy and juicy if I don't overcook.

Buy pork chops.
Dredge in Italian bread crumbs.
Fry.

easy, no? Recommendations include frying a 1-inch chop only 2-3 min per side, then setting on a wire rack/cookie sheet in 325 over for 4-6 minutes to drain and finish cooking without getting tough.

Experiment: Chicken Four Ways

Get yourself four chicken breasts and a lot of tinfoil.  Preheat the oven to 400. 

Make four packets with one breast each, put them in a baking dish and let 'em go for 25 minutes. Open packets, check them and then bake another 5 min.

(In my limited experience it takes taters longer than this so might pull out the chicken and let the veggies keep going, if a packet has veggies in it.)

Grocery store: 8oz-can pineapple chunks, can diced tomatoes, red bell pepper, ginger, green onions, garlic, carrots

Ginger-scallion steamed chicken

(marinating overnight first is a possibility, but increases the raw-chicken yuk factor. Also, the secret here may be oyster sauce.)

1 1/2 Tbsp soy, 1 Tbsp rice wine, 1 tsp sesame oil

1 tsp sugar, 1 1/2 Tbsp cornstarch

1 Tbsp ginger

1 green onion, diced

Sweet teriyaki chicken

Layer: green onion, chicken, 8oz can drained pineapple, strips of red bell pepper; top with mix of teriyaki/ginger/brown sugar

Honey mustard chicken

Dijon mustard, honey, pepper, carrots

Italian chicken

Diced tomatoes, olive oil, garlic, Parmesan cheese to coat

Empanadas

It appears that Pepperidge Farm frozen puff pastry shells are an acceptable substitute for making your own empanada dough. I cheer this opinion. The basic idea appears to be:

Thaw the pastry
Cut in circles
Fill, fold and crimp, using egg mix as glue, and piercing the top with a fork
Brush with egg mix (1 egg beaten with 1 Tbsp water)
Refrigerate 30 min -- or freeze
Bake 25 min at 375 (or 30 min at 375 if frozen)

One idea for filling is a tomatillo salsa/garlic/queso fresco/shredded chicken combo. More abound.

Bacon, tomatoes and spinach

Alongside the chicken carbonara, one could and should (I feel) also use that tasty bacon for other purposes.

Warm Bacon Dressing
(adapted from Alton Brown)

Top a salad of spinach and thinly-sliced red onion with this dressing.

8 slices bacon
3 Tbsp red wine vinegar
1 tsp sugar
1/2 tsp Dijon mustard

Fry the bacon and crumble it, reserving 3 Tbsp of the fat. Whisk the vinegar, sugar and mustard into the fat over low heat. Season with salt and pepper; add bacon and pour over salad.

BLT in a Bowl
(Alton again; he gives it the proper name of panzanella, a Tuscan salad)

4 cups cubes of French bread, left out to dry overnight
6 slices bacon
2 cups halved grape tomatoes
2 cups rough-chopped heirloom tomatoes or halved pear tomatoes
2 cups chopped romaine (spinach?)
1/4 cup red wine vinegar
Salt and pepper
3 Tbsp olive oil
2 Tbsp basil and/or mint chiffonade (leaves rolled together, then cut into long thin strips)

Cook and chop the bacon; pour drippings over the bread and toss. Sear the grape tomatoes, cut side down, 5 min until caramelized.

In a bowl, combine the vinegar, salt and pepper; slowly whisk in olive oil in a thin stream until emulsified.

Combine everything -- bread, maters, , bacon, lettuce, basil/mint and vinaigrette -- toss and serve.

Rosemary-cheese chicken bake

From this interesting-looking site, where I went looking for information on how to start rosemary cuttings:

Chicken Van Dam

3 chicken breasts
15g (half ounce) butter
220g (8 oz) cream cheese
2 garlic cloves
1 tsp finely chopped rosemary.

Put the breasts in a baking dish.

Melt the butter and saute the garlic a bit; stir in cream cheese and rosemary.

Pour cheese mixture over the chicken and bake until chicken for 30-40 minutes or until chicken is cooked through.

To try: Chicken carbonara

As usual I'm going to take a recipe from a reputable source (Mario Batali) and hash it beyond recognition. For protein I plan to add a little chicken, and for repeatability's sake I'm going to cut this down to one serving (raw egg = no microwaving, or so I think).

(Thank you, Mario, for teaching me that carbonara means a coal miner's wife!)

1 helping pasta
2 oz pancetta or bacon, cut in 1/3" dice
1 egg, separated
1/4 cup grated Parmesan
black pepper
sliced cooked chicken

Render and brown the pancetta in a pan (leave in pan with the fat). Cook the pasta. Whisk the egg, Parmesan and pepper. Add the pasta and a tablespoon of pasta water to the pan and heat, shaking, 1 min. Add egg mixture and chicken and toss until fully incorporated. Plate and top with more Parmesan.

Sounds to me like about 15 minutes cooking time; I'm sure the idea of reheating is antithetical, but it's worth a try if this is tasty.

To try: Capellini pomodoro

Warning: You will get "Tu Vuo' Fa' L'Americano" stuck in your head.
At least I do.

Angel-hair pasta
Garlic
Can diced tomatoes
Fresh basil

Cook the pasta.
Chop the basil and drain the tomatoes.
Rough-chop the garlic and saute it in a little olive oil.
Add the tomatoes and basil to the pan and toss around long enough to
warm them up.

Serve over the pasta!

Emeril points out you can keep basil in a glass like flowers. Cut the
stems on a slant.

To try: Roasted garlic cream pasta

Had a marvelous version with rosemary at a good restaurant. Chicken
probably doesn't hurt.

Many similar recipes run thus:

Roast a LOT of garlic and squish it. Mix with a cup or two of heavy
cream, bring to boil. Simmer 5 min and add herbs and 1/2 cup grated
Parmesan.

Purchasing garlic already roasted at a fancy grocery = cheating, but
that's OK with me. In fact, the fancy grocery probably lets you
purchase penne and maybe even grated cheese in small amounts, too.

Cheat like you mean it

To pad out a week's menu with minimal effort and only one dirty saucepan, add:

Red beans and rice: Cook 1 box Zatarain's red beans and rice; add 1 package cooked chicken from cold cuts section of grocery store. 3-4 meals.

Doofer squares (my family's name for store-bought ravioli, because they're not Mom's ravioli but they'll do-fer now): Boil 1 package Buitoni or similar ravioli 10 min. Top with favorite pasta sauce. 3 meals.

Raspberry chipotle potstickers: Boil 1 box HEB pork potstickers (in the appetizers section of the frozen food aisle) 5-6 min. Drain and serve with Fischer & Wieser Raspberry Chipotle sauce as dipping sauce. 2 meals.

Cheat: Raspberry chipotle potstickers

Grocery store potstickers are a hit-and-miss affair, but when topped with Fischer & Wieser's Raspberry Chipotle Sauce it almost doesn't matter if they are bland. HEB's pork potsticker appetizers come about 10 to a box, cook up in 5 min, and when topped with sauce they are a reasonable substitute for the wild boar/berry sauce potstickers I miss from a local restaurant that closed a few years ago.

File this under "Cheat like you mean it": simple entrees that pad out a week's cooking with minimal effort.

1 box HEB pork potstickers
F&W Raspberry Chipotle sauce

Boil 2-3 cups water, add potstickers, cook on high 5-6 minutes, drain. Serve with sauce as a dipping complement. (Also a salad!)

3-2-1 margaritas

(Use the empty limeade can to measure the 2nd and 3rd ingredients)

Into the blender:

One 6oz can frozen limeade
2/3 can silver tequila
1/3 can orange liqueur
Fill blender with ice.

On the rocks:

3 oz limeade
2 oz silver tequila
1 oz orange liqueur
over ice.

I tend to like sweet margaritas, but not bad margaritas (though many people consider those two to be synonymous). This recipe, made with limeade instead of the usual frozen lime juice, came out yummy.

Definitely get the best tequila you can. Silver = tasty. We found Don Julio on sale. Patron is the Mercedes-Benz. An extremely noticeable difference from the cleaning-fluid-flavored stuff in plastic bottles.

Cream tacos, pecan chicken, rosemary chicken and potatoes

Yield: Good (12)
Labor: 3 hrs total -- not bad, but the raw chicken means you gotta
do it all in one night.
Flavor: High -- all these taste great.
Cost: Low (about $3.30 per)

Have on hand: Tinfoil, olive oil, large rosemary shrub growing outside

Store:
6-pack of chicken
red potatoes
garlic
lemon
salad greens
Can of chicken-and-mushroom soup
Can of diced green chilis
1 cup half-and-half
corn tortillas

Prep:
Crush pecans and stir with 1/2 cup breadcrumbs.
Salt and pepper some flour for dredging.
Set out two 12" squares tinfoil on a cookie sheet.
Get rosemary, clean and chop it.
Mince garlic.
Make salads.

Potatoes:
Preheat oven to 450. Put potatoes in oiled baking dish; sprinkle
with oil, and rosemary. Bake 25 min. Clean out the dish after.

Rosemary Chicken Packets:
Lower oven to 400.
Oil the foil. Put a chicken breast on each square; sprinkle garlic,
rosemary, zest and lemon juice. Seal packets and place on cookie sheet.
Bake 25 min (can do simultaneously with Pecan Chicken)

Pecan Chicken:
Trim up chicken. Coat thick parts in Caesar dressing, roll in pecan
mix and bake 25 min at 400.

Cream tacos:
Lower oven to 325.
Dredge thin chicken parts in flour and saute.
Mix soup, chilis, half-and-half. Tear tortillas into 4 or 5 pieces each.

Layer in pan: Soup mixture, tortillas, cheese, tortillas, soup,
chicken, gravy, cheese, tortillas, soup, cheese, tortillas, soup,
cheese.
Bake covered (tinfoil works in a pinch) at 325 for 1 hour. Uncover
and allow to brown on top.

Rosemary Chicken Packets

Need tinfoil and a baking dish, plus olive oil.

chicken breasts
red potatoes
garlic
rosemary
lemon

Chop the rosemary and garlic. Oil a 12" square of tinfoil; place a
chicken breast on it and sprinkle with some of the garlic, rosemary,
lemon zest, lemon juice. Repeat. Seal the packets (leaving air room
inside). Put the packets on a cookie sheet.

Chop the potatoes. Oil a baking dish. Toss in the taties and sprinkle
with garlic, rosemary and oil.

Bake the chicken and potatoes 25 min at 400. Potatoes might need
higher temp or more time to get brown and tender.