FAST TIMES IN THE KITCHEN (AND ABSTINENCE DAYS)

Just when you thought you were going to get to read a really hot article, you find it is about fast and abstinence and food. Well, since you are already here, you might as well read this. You will find a wonderfully hearty hot soup for the dinner meal during days when meatless meals are part of the Lenten Season, or just because you like it.

We do not usually eat canned soups because the levels of fat and salt are too high for my family. We read the back panels for information before deciding to buy.

For instance, the soup that I do use, Progresso Traditional New England Clam Chowder, 18.5 oz. notes that a one cup serving is 190 calories, 10g fat, 2.5g saturated fat and 880mg sodium served as is out of the can. Fortunately, this soup works very well combined with other ingredients that reduce the fat and sodium per serving. The following recipe is a little expensive to make, but you are worth it. It is a hearty and very satisfying main dish.

This recipe will make 6 nice sized servings. Crusty French or Italian bread (wrap in foil and heat), a favorite salad and some canned fruit make easy accompaniments.

4 stalks celery – peeled, halved lengthwise and cut into 1/8 inch slices.
5 Medium Potatoes - Peel about 5 medium potatoes (about 4-1/2 inches long and 1-1/2 inches high) more if your potatoes are smaller or you want to make the soup very thick. Cut into quarters, then slice into approximately 3/8 inch slices.
3 cups water
1/4 teaspoon or so of fresh ground pepper
1/2 teaspoon of onion powder (no salt),
1 teaspoon of dried parsley
1 lb. shrimp – peeled, de-veined and rinsed. (Keep whole, 31-40 count per pound)
Optional additions: Cooked sliced carrots, sliced mushrooms, fresh onion, frozen corn
3/4 cup 2% milk
1 tablespoon sweet butter
One can Progresso Traditional New England Clam Chowder, 18.5 oz

Prepare celery first. Place sliced celery in 3 cups of gently boiling water. Keep the lid on the pot. Cook celery for 10 to 12 minutes until it starts to become tender. Add the onion powder, parsley and fresh ground pepper. Add potatoes. Cooking time will take about another 20 minutes. Test at this point.

Mash some of the potatoes into the liquid to thicken it. Keep entire mixture at a gentle boil. Add shrimp, stir into the potato/celery mixture to cook for about 5 minutes after mixture regains enough temperature to return to the gentle boil.

With the mixture still slightly bubbling, stir in the can of soup, sweet butter and 2% milk. Heat until mixture just begins to boil. Taste test to see if you need some additional onion powder and more pepper.

If this mixture is not thick enough, try mashing a little more of the potato and stir.
Soup has kept well refrigerated for two days after the day you make it, assuming it lasts that long. Do not let soup boil when reheating.

You Can Make Your Kids Eat Their Vegetables And Like It

This is a little extra work for mom, but worth the effort. As long as you are not planning meals for a child that is lactose intolerant or has other special needs, this might work a miracle for you. The kids will eat because the following dinner is just sooooo special. The adults will get a kick out of this one too.

Prehistoric dinner on a plate. Gather up the plastic dinosaur figures and use them to decorate a centerpiece on the table or if you have enough of them and your children are all old enough to play with them, have them facing each place setting.

You will need:

mashed potatoes made with milk and butter fresh from real potatos, use red potatoes, they taste better, this works best when still very warm

broccoli steamed just until tender and still very green , then carefully cut into individual little bite-size trees, keep these just warm enough not to turn color

your family's favorite yellow (orange) colored cheese, melted and kept hot for pouring, you might want to add a little milk to make it pour a little easier

meat cut up into small kid-size pieces and gravy, keep hot for serving

well cooked frozen leaf spinach (spinach often takes about
45 minutes or more to the melt in your mouth stage).
Drain the spinach well and butter it just a bit, keep it serving temperature

The smallest beets you can find (canned), gently heat these.

Three section picnic plates (the better ones that won't seep any liquid through the bottom)

Now here's where the fun comes in. You take appropriate portions of the mashed potatoes and shape them into volcanoes. Poke a hole down in the top so that the magma (i.e., the melted cheese) can sit in there. Place the volcanoes on a cookie sheet that has been lined with a non-stick foil. Melt enough butter to gently brush the sides of the volcanoes and place in a medium hot oven so that the outsides will crisp. 375 degrees works for me, check at 10 minutes to see if they are getting a little brown and crispy on the mountain sides of the volcano.

Once the potato volcanoes are done, you will need to assemble everyone's plate quickly. Insert the broccoli trees on a mountain side or two, and let some of the trees be fallen away from the "blast" so that a real serving of vegetable is there. In another segment of the plate, arrange the tarpit. Place the cut up meat and cover with gravy. Serve just a few of the small beets and explain that these are the dinosaur eggs.

The spinach can serve as the nest that the beets (dino eggs) are placed in.

Now pour or ladle the melted cheese over the volcano, filling the center and over the sides, get some of the cheese over the trees you poked into the mountain and the ones that were felled by the blast. Extend the cheese onto the nest (the spinach) but don't put it on the beets (dino eggs).

The kids can save the earth by eating all the volcano, the trees, the tarpits and the dino eggs and nest. Their favorite dessert awaits cleaned plates. Do watch over the kids as the potato volcanoes have come very hot from the oven so they don't burn their mouth on them.

Invite a friend or two of your children for this special dinner along with their mom and you just might find that the children are enjoying their vegetables.

Whining and Dining in the Kitchen at this Old House

You've burst through the front door, and you are tired and hungry after work. Your family wants to eat now, and you are not in any mood for another round of toast and a can of soup. Redundancies aren't your favorite speciality, but something quick and satisfying is most important. And the fewer ingredients the better.

For each Person (or for 2 little persons to share):
1 8-1/2 inch flour tortilla
2 beaten eggs (add a little milk when scrambling them)
1/2 cup cubed ham or thin slices of deli ham - or -
any other combination of meat you would like
1/3 cup shredded cheese (choose your favorite)
Freshly grated black pepper - optional

You can also add any combination of the following:
Fresh or canned sliced mushrooms
Thin slices of Green or Red Pepper
Thin slices of tomato
Or your favorite vegetables combinations. Your vegetables can be fresh or stir fried before use.

You will need a 7 inch skillet (non-stick works best) with a lid, which should be buttered on the bottom and up the sides and warmed. Place the tortilla into the warmed skillet. It should fit the entire bottom of the skillet and arrange it so that it reaches up the sides as equally as possible.

Gently turn up the heat, but keep it low. The bottom of the tortilla needs to brown slowly and become nice and crispy. Pour in the two scrambled eggs, grate in some black pepper to taste, and arrange the ham, vegetables and sprinkle the cheese on top. Put the lid on and check progress in about 5 minutes and 2 to 3 minutes at a time after that. You can check the side of the tortilla to make certain the heat is not too high. The eggs with meat and vegetable mixture are usually done in about 12 minutes. Your tortilla bottom should be crispy, not burned, it needs to be cooked on low.

When you are ready to serve, a large pancake flipper can be used to flip one side of the filled tortilla over top of its other half and slide it onto a plate. Canned Pineapple rings make a nice side to this.

I suggest that you use two skillets to make two at a time. This is an easy and filling, satisfying meal. Once you feel confident, you might even decide to use more than two skillets. Just watch your timing on each one so that the bottom tortilla crust doesn't burn.

For those of you who are watching your salt intake, read the information on the package before you buy the flour tortillas. I have found that the sodium content varies significantly by brand. Check your shredded cheeses also, or just use a little less cheese. You can also ask at your local deli for a ham that has reduced salt.

Let me know if you found this recipe to be enjoyable.