From the recipe box: main dishes for mid-winter

My recipe boxes… and files… and clippings… and notebooks are among my greatest treasures. For not only are the recipes therein tested and true favorites, they are also wonderful reminders of people who have been a part of my personal history.

Seldom do I encounter a recipe amongst the collection where there is not a memory attached to it. So while I prepare that recipe I linger amongst the loving thoughts of the persons and events that are linked to it.

There is, for example, the bean soup with kale that takes me back to a time when two family members were diagnosed with diabetes and heart diseases…both diseases that might be able to be managed with lifestyle changes. Both persons are alive and well today and still manage their lives with attention to what they eat and how they live. For me, the situation propelled me to seek my Master’s Degree in human nutrition, forever changing how I view cooking and food. Now I know we are what we eat, digest and absorb. Being mindful of this axiom, I eat what I preach: good food prepared first to nourish, then to satisfy.

Soups are an excellent medium for good nutrition. This one is inspired for my time teaching cooking with Dr. Dean Ornish’s program in La Jolla. Dr. Ornish has influenced thousands of people and now has national prominence with an ongoing message: heart disease can be prevented or reversed by a diet that is low in fat and includes LOTS of vegetables and complex carbohydrates. The bean and kale soup featured today draws its major inspiration from Dr. Ornish.

Delicious and nutritious… Italian white beans and kale team together in a hearty and healthy soup. Lemon juice and lemon rind add a special flavor note.

Cannellini and Kale Soup

4 cups vegetable broth

1 russet potato

1 red onion, chopped

2 tsp. minced garlic

2 bay leaves

2 cans (15 oz. each) cannellini beans

1 bunch kale

Salt and pepper

1 ½ tsp. fresh grated lemon rind

2 tbsp. lemon juice

For garnish

¼ cup chopped parsley

3 plum tomatoes, finely diced

Combine broth, potato, onion, garlic and bay leaves. Bring to a boil. Cover and reduce heat so that broth simmers. Cook until potato is tender, about 10 minutes. Add beans and their liquid. Cook, covered, until potatoes are soft and flavors blended, about 15 minutes.

Meantime, remove and discard tough kale ribs. Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Add kale and boil 2 minutes. Drain. Immediately plunge kale into very cold water. Drain well. Chop coarsely.

Add kale to soup stock. Remove bay leaves. Stir in grated lemon rind and lemon juice.

Combine parsley and tomato into a small bowl. Serve soup and garnish each serving with parsley-tomato combination.

Vegetable quiche doesn’t get any easier… especially when there is no crust to prepare! This main dish crustless quiche features broccoli, corn and peppers.

Crustless Vegetable Quiche

1 ½ cups cooked broccoli, drained

½ cup cooked corn

¼ cup chopped red pepper

¼ cup chopped onion

¼ tsp salt

½ tsp. dry oregano

2 eggs

¾ cup skim milk

1 lb. ricotta cheese

¼ cup grated Parmesan cheese

Beat eggs and milk. Add cheese and seasonings. Stir in broccoli, corn, red pepper and onion. Add salt and oregano. Pour into a 9-inch baking dish (nonstick preferred, but not essential). Bake in a 350-degree oven about 45 minutes or until done. Cut into wedges to serve. 4-6 servings.

Several years ago Jeanette Miller shared this recipe for chicken breast baked in a sour cream mixture. I’ve never forgotten Jeanette’s generosity… or the wonderful taste of this chicken casserole.

Jeanette Miller’s Dill-icious Lemon Chicken

1 cup dairy sour cream

1 tbsp. minced fresh dill (or l tsp. dill)

1 tsp. cornstarch

1 tsp. lemon pepper

1 tsp. freshly grated lemon rind

4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts

Dill, chives or parsley for garnish

Combine sour cream, dill, cornstarch, lemon pepper and lemon rind in a small bowl. Spray a medium casserole with nonstick cooking spray. Spread ¼ of the sour cream mixture over bottom of casserole. Arrange chicken breasts on top of the sauce in a single layer. Spread remaining sauce evenly over chicken.

Bake, uncovered, in a 425-degree oven for 30 to 35 minutes or until chicken is tender and done (no longer pink in the center). Garnish as desired and serve. 4 servings.

Here’s a main dish that’s healthy, economical and colorful! Brown rice is embellished with a quintet of vegetables and a deft combination of seasonings. Soy protein “crumbles” or cooked ground beef supply important nutrition.

Confetti Spanish Rice

2 cups brown rice, cooked

2 red onions, chopped

6 carrots, grated

2 tbsp. canola oil

1 tsp. chili powder

1 tsp. ground cumin

½ tsp. cinnamon

½ cup diced red pepper

½ cup diced green pepper

½ cup cooked corn

¼ cup minced parsley

1 pkg. soy protein crumbles (or l lb. ground beef, cooked)

Combine onion and carrot with canola oil in a nonstick fry pan or skillet. Sauté just until onion is beginning to brown. Add chili powder, cumin, cinnamon, diced peppers and corn. Cook, covered, just until peppers are beginning to wilt. Add soy protein crumbles (or cooked beef) and rice and cook just until heated through. Add parsley and serve.

Bake up a “Welcome” coffee cake for new neighbors or when you meet someone new to town at your church. It’s a delicious way to say, “We’re glad to meet you!”

Welcome Coffee Cake

2 ½ cups flour

2 tsp. baking powder

1 tsp. baking soda

½ tsp. salt

1 cup butter

1 cups sugar

3 eggs

1 tsp. vanilla

1 cup sour cream

2 tbsp. ground cinnamon

¾ cup brown sugar, firmly packed

½ cup chopped walnuts

Whisk flour with baking powder, baking soda and salt.

Cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add eggs to creamed mixture, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Add vanilla and blend. Add flour mixture alternately with sour cream, beating until smooth after each addition. Combine cinnamon, brown sugar and nuts.

Turn half the batter into a greased 9x13-inch pan or 10-inch tube pan. Sprinkle with half of the cinnamon-nut mixture. Top with remaining batter. Finish with nut mixture.

Bake in a 350-degree oven about 40 minutes for 9x13-inch pan or about 50-60 minutes for 10-inch tube pan. A cake tester or wooden pick inserted in the center will come out clean when cake is done.