Issue #25 – April 2008
The Practical Pantry NewsletterIssue #25 – April 2008
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
Features in this issue:
-- Direct from the Pantry
-- Easy Entrees
-- Nibbles
-- Recent Columns
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
If you wondered whether or not you had been dropped from the newsletter mailing list for The Practical Pantry, the answer is no. There has not been a newsletter lately. If you are a new subscriber, welcome! Hopefully we are back on our monthly schedule for newsletters so you can get recipes and tips in your inbox.
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
-- Direct from the Pantry --
When time is short, combine a few canned goods from the pantry into an easy meal.
SAUSAGE BEAN STEW
1 pound fully cooked smoked sausage, halved and cut into 1/4-inch slices
2 10-ounce cans diced tomatoes and green chilies, undrained
1 15.5-ounce can great northern beans, rinsed and drained
1 15.25-ounce can whole kernel corn, drained
1 15-ounce can lima beans, drained
1 15-ounce can black beans, rinsed and drained
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon pepper
Hot cooked rice, optional
In a large saucepan, combine the first eight ingredients. Heat through. Serve in bowls over rice if desired. Makes 6 to 8 servings.
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
-- Easy Entrees --
Incorporating fish into your diet is easy with recipes that add a lot of flavor to an otherwise plain piece of fish.
MICROWAVE ITALIAN ORANGE ROUGHY
1 pound orange roughy fillets
1/2 cup tomato juice
2 tablespoons white vinegar
1 envelope Italian salad dressing mix
1/4 cup chopped green onions
1/4 cup chopped green pepper
Place fish fillets in a shallow 2-quart microwave-safe dish, positioning the thickest portion of fish toward the outside edges. Combine tomato juice, vinegar and salad dressing mix; pour over fish. Cover and refrigerate for 30 minutes.
Sprinkle with onions and green pepper. Cover and microwave on high for 2 minutes. Turn fillets over; cook until fish flakes easily with a fork, about 1 to 3 additional minutes. Let stand, covered, for 2 minutes. Makes 4 servings.
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
-- Nibbles --
Check this space monthly for news about products, contests, cookbooks, and other resources.
SLOW COOKER DOUBLES AS PERSONAL CHEF
(NAPSI)-A personal chef who prepares dinner while you’re out of the house? Who wouldn’t want one? But you may already have an electric version. It’s called a slow cooker, and, with very little planning and effort, you can open the front door and be greeted by the inviting smells of beef stew or homemade chicken soup.
This countertop appliance cooks foods slowly at a low temperature--generally between 170 and 280 degrees. The low heat helps less expensive, leaner cuts of meat become tender and shrink less.
According to the USDA Meat and Poultry Hotline, “Direct heat from the pot, lengthy cooking, and steam created within the tightly covered container combine to destroy bacteria and make slow cooking a safe process.”
To Be Food Safe, follow these helpful hints for safe cooking in a slow cooker.
* Select recipes with a high moisture content, such as chili, soup, stew or spaghetti sauce. Always thaw meat or poultry before putting it into a slow cooker.
* If using a commercially frozen slow cooker product, prepare it according to manufacturer’s instructions.
* A clean cooker, clean utensils and a clean work area are essential. Wash hands with warm water and soap and wash utensils with hot soapy water before and after preparing food.
* If you cut up ingredients in advance, it’s easy to place them in the slow cooker before leaving home. Keep perishable foods refrigerated until placing them in the cooker.
* Use the right amount of food. Fill the cooker between half and two-thirds full. If using vegetables, place them into the cooker first, add meat or poultry and cover the food with liquid.
* Make sure the slow cooker is turned ON. The Hotline receives calls from panicked cooks who forgot to turn the switch ON and arrive home to uncooked ingredients, which are not safe and must be discarded.
* If possible, turn the cooker on the highest setting for the first hour of cooking time and then to low. However, it’s safe to cook foods on low the entire time.
For more food safety information about meat, poultry or egg products, call the USDA Meat and Poultry Hotline at 1 (888) MPHotline or 1 (888) 674-6854, type a question into “Ask Karen” (http://www.AskKaren.gov), go to http://www.fsis.usda.gov or visit befoodsafe.gov.
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
-- Recent Columns –
Below is a list of recent columns and recipes posted at The Practical Pantry.
Make it a sandwich night: Slow Cooked BBQ Pork Sandwiches, Microwave Summer Sub Sandwich, and Pepper Steak Sandwiches
Bake your chicken breasts: Garlic Cheddar Chicken, Salsa Chicken, and Honey Mustard Grilled Chicken.
Think spring, think asparagus: Asparagus Tomato Salad, Saucy Baked Asparagus, and Pasta with Asparagus
Start with a cake mix: Chocolate Chocolate Chip Cake, Pineapple Cake, and Banana Cake.
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
The Practical Pantry, in print since 1998 and on the web since 2000, is a weekly column with recipes to turn pantry staples into easy and healthy dishes.
Copyright 2008, Tammy Perry Olson
Feel free to forward this newsletter to your friends who enjoy quick and easy recipes! If this newsletter was forwarded to you, please sign up for yourself at The Practical Pantry.
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
If you need a recipe for something that’s an old favorite or something you’ve never seen before, drop us a line at . We’ll do our best to find the kind of recipe you are looking for, and you never know—we might make your request the subject of an upcoming column.
As always, your input is important to us and will help us improve the newsletter. Email any comments or suggestions to .
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
Visit our website at www.practicalpantry.com every week for new columns, recipes, tips, and more!
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
The Practical Pantry will never share your personal information, including your email address, to any third parties under any circumstances without your prior consent.
Posted by on 04/15 at 12:00 AM
Next entry: Go Greek for dinner
Previous entry: Make it a sandwich night