Easy Family Recipes
Biscuit Pizzas
Serves 5
- 1 tube biscuit dough
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 3/4 cup tomato paste
- 1 cup very finely chopped tomato
- 1 cup very finely chopped onion
- 3 cups frozen mixed vegetables
- 1 cup very finely chopped deli meat
- 2 tablespoons dried oregano
- 3 tablespoons grated parmesan cheese
- garlic powder
- Preheat oven to 400F and place oven rack in middle-high position
- Remove biscuit dough from tube and separate. On a lightly floured surface, roll out the biscuits into 4-inch circles and then place these evenly spaced on a lightly-sprayed baking sheet
- Brush the dough rounds lightly with oil and then spread about 1 tablespoon tomato paste over each one
- Mix vegetables and meat in a medium-sized bowl. Carefully pile equal portions onto the rounds. Sprinkle generously with oregano and garlic powder and then lightly with the cheese
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- Bake 10-12 minutes, until crust is brown and pizzas are hot
Brown Rice
6 servings
- 1 cup brown rice
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 2 green onions with tops, thinly sliced
- 1 tsp caraway seeds
- 1 cinnamon stick
- 1 cup chicken stock
- 1 & 1/2 cups water
- Wash the rice and drain. Set aside
- Heat the oil in a large saucepan. Saute onions, caraway seeds, and cinnamon until onions are soft. Stir in the rice and saute an extra minute. Then add the stock and water and bring to the boil. Cover, reduce heat and simmer 30-40 minutes until rice is cooked and liquid absorbed. Fluff with a fork, remove cinnamon and serve
Although this takes a while to cook, there is minimal actual time spent involved in preparing the food
Chicken Nuggets
Serves 4
- vegetable cooking spray
- 1 pound white chicken meat (breast or tenders) cut into 2 inch pieces
- 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
- 2 tablespoons cornstarch
- 2 large egg whites
- 3/4 cup cornflakes, crumbled - can substitute breadcrumbs, but not as tasty
- Preheat oven to 375 F
- Mix the flour and cornstarch together in a shallow bowl. In another bowl, lightly beat the egg whites. Spread the cornflakes out on a plate
- Dredge the chicken in the flour mixture (one piece at a time), then dip in the egg whites and roll in the cornflakes until fully coated
- Spray a baking sheet and place the chicken nuggets on the tray and bake for 10-15 minutes, until cooked
Fruit Mousse
Serves 3
- 3 ripe bananas
- 1/4 cup 2% milk
- pinch ground nutmeg
- Peel and chop bananas into bite sized chunks. Freeze about 6 hours
- Place frozen bananas and other ingredients in a food processor with a metal blade and process until smooth and creamy
- Serve immediately
Optional "Extras" - replace the banana with strawberries or a mixture of fruit (just use the equivalent of 3 bananas worth of fruit). Try adding a tablespoon of mint instead of nutmeg
Glazed Salmon with Spinach Rice
Feeds 2-3 adults (1 fillet each) and 2-3 children (1/2 fillet each)
- 1 tablespoon brown sugar
- 1 teapoon stone ground mustard or dijon (try and avoid the yellow gloop)
- 1 tablespoon soy sauce
- 1 clove garlic, minced
- 1 teaspoon cracked black pepper
- Juice of 1 lemon
- 4 skinless salmon fillets - 1/2 thick and palm-sized
- 2.2 lb spinach
- 1/2 cup washed rice
- 5 finely diced spring onions
- 1 bunch parsley, finely diced
- 3/4 cup olive oil
- Juice of 2 lemons
- Cracked black pepper and salt to taste
- Mix sugar, mustard, soy sauce, ginger, garlic, and pepper in a bowl. Make shallow slices across the top of the salmon and brush with the marinade. Mix remainder with the lemon juice and sit the salmon in it in the refrigerator for 1/2 hour
- Grill, saute, or barbeque the salmon, occasionally brushing the marinade across the fillets as they cook - maximum 5 minutes per side.
Alternately, wrap loosely in foil and cook in a moderate oven 20 minutes, or until the flesh flakes away
- Meanwhile, wash and blanch or steam the spinach until bright and wilted. Let cool then squeeze and reserve the water. Chop up the spinach
- Heat the oil and brown the onion. Add the spinach, a bit of the reserved water and salt and pepper. Before the spinach is fully cooked, add rice and parsley, and enough water (heated) to cover the rice by a finger joint. Bring to boil. Cover and simmer for 15-20 minutes until tender. As the water cooks out, add more if necessary to prevent it drying out. The end result should be cooked rice and no excess water
- Stir 1/3 of the lemon juice through the rice. Serve topped with salmon. Pour the remaining lemon juice into a bowl, add cracked pepper and diced raw garlic - serve with the salmon and rice
Optional "Extras" - throw roughly chopped vegetables onto the grill/barbeque, brush with the marinade, and serve up with the salmon for a healthy side dish
Optional "Make-It-Easier" - use precooked spinach
Orange Chicken and Rice
Feeds 2-3 adults and 2-3 children
- 2 cups rice (blend brown and white, or white and wild)
- 2/3 cup yellow lentils
- 2 cups fat-free, reduced sodium chicken broth
- 1 cup orange juice
- 1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
- 1 onion, diced
- 2 cloves garlic, diced
- 2 tablespoons soy sauce
- 2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts - diced
- 1 orange, peeled and diced OR 1 tin mandarin orange segments, drained
- 1/4 cup chopped almonds
- Combine rice, lentils, broth, juice, and nutmeg in a pot and bring to boil. Cover and let simmer 15 minutes
- Fry up onion and garlic, until soft. Add chicken and cook. Then mix through rice along with soy sauce, and cook 5 minutes until rice is tender
Optional "Make-It-Easier" - skip the cooking, and add the onions and garlic to the rice in step 1. Buy precooked chicken, or grill up a batch of breasts and freeze ahead of time
- Add fresh cracked pepper to taste. Stir in oranges/mandarins and serve topped with nuts
Optional "Increase-Recipe" - add extra rice by the half cup (for every 1 cup of rice, add 1 chicken breast and 1/3 cup of lentils). Add diced vegetables with the chicken
Optional "Extras" - throw roughly chopped vegetables into a bowl, add 1-2 cups of water, cover and microwave until just tender (2-3 minutes for broccoli, beans, peans, corn. 3-4 minutes for carrots. Season with grated parmesan or cracked pepper and lemon juice for a healthy side dish
Pot Pie
Makes 6 pot-pies
- 15 oz package chilled pie crust
- 1 cup sliced mushrooms
- 1 onion, cubed
- 3 cups diced vegetables
- 3 cloves garlic, diced
- Cracked pepper and salt to taste
- 2 boneless, skinless double chicken breasts - diced
- 20 oz fat-free, reduced sodium chicken broth
- 1 sprig rosemary, leaves pulled off
- 1 1/2 cups water
- Preheat oven to 425 degrees
- Unfold and roll out 1 pie crust to about 12 inches diameter. Upend a ramekin or individual pudding dish on the pastry and cut out around it - repeat to create 6 circles
- Spray a baking sheet and place pie circles on top. Spray tops with oil and bake 7-9 minutes until golden brown. Keep warm while finishing the soup
- Microwave or steam vegetables until brightly colored and tender
- Saute onions, garlic, mushrooms, and chicken until cooked. Add chicken broth, rosemary leaves, water, pepper, salt, and vegetables. Bring to simmer and cook for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally
Optional "Make-It-Easier" - skip the cooking and use precooked chicken and vegetables, or grill up a batch of breasts, microwave up a selection of vegetables and freeze in meal size servings ahead of time
- Ladle mixture into the ramekins, top with piecrusts, and serve
Optional "Extras" - Pick up some dinner rolls and corn cobs
Potato Cakes
Side Dish - makes 6 cakes
- 1/2 onion, finely diced
- 2 cups mashed potato
- 1 teaspoon salt
- Cracked black pepper
- 1/2 cup flour
- 2 tablespoons butter or butter substitute
- Mix the onion, potato, salt, and pepper together. Mould the mixture into 6 patties, dredge in the flour and set aside
- Heat butter in a large skillet. Cook the patties in the butter about 2 minutes per side - only flip once. When golden brown, serve
Optional "Extras" - add some garlic to the mixture to increase the flavour
Pumpkin Soup - Creamy, Non-Dairy
Serves 4
- 1 small onion, finely diced
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 teaspoon ground cumin
- 1 can (29 ounces) pumpkin puree
- 2 cups vegetable or chicken broth (fat -free, sodium-reduced)
- salt and pepper to taste
- 1 & 1/2 cups plain soy milk
- Heat the oil in a frypan and saute the onion until soft. Add the cumin and ginger and cook and additional minute, stirring. Add the pumpkin and broth and mix well
- Bring to the boil, cover, reduce heat, and simmer for about 7 minutes (stir a few times)
- Add salt, pepper, and soy milk and bring to a low simmer - do not allow soup to boil. Serve
Optional "Extras" - add a pinch of cayenne pepper
Vegetables
Serves 2 adults and 2 children
- 5 cups roughly chopped vegetables
- 1 cup of unsweetened apple juice
- 1 tablespoon chopped mint
- Place vegetables and apple juice in a microwave dish, cover and microwave on high for 5 minutes until tender yet still crisp (longer if you prefer the vegetables more cooked)
- Sprinkle mint over the vegetables, lightly toss, and serve
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