Cranberries brighten up carrot salad and circumvent "pickiness"

Where carrot salad is concerned, the case for "Do as I say, not as I do" never could have been more apt.

Our girl-child was (and still is) a picky eater. When I say picky, I mean the type of eater who practically sits at the table with tweezers and, morsel by morsel, plunges into every serving of food to separate out what she chooses to ingest and what she doesn't.

Repeated parental efforts to dissuade this habit didn't go very far. One day after a not-so-gentle reprimand she countered, "It's the same thing you do with carrot salad."

She had stopped me in my tracks. Horrified, I realized her words were true. Much as I loved to order carrot salad at any cafeteria (an earlier blog discussed how I grew up dining on carrot salad while eating at the old Wyatt's cafeteria in Dallas' Casa Linda shopping center), I steered clear of the raisins in the salad and always picked around them to eat only the shredded carrots and dressing.

I had modeled an annoying behavior that my child had picked up. Ooooh, how little eyes are always watching. Lesson learned.

That's partly why I was delighted when I stumbled on this recipe for Ginger-Carrot Salad with Cranberries. After I read it, I knew that no watching eyes surveying me as I dined on this dish could nail me for being picky, since this recipe subs dried cranberries for the less-than-desirable regular raisins. The contrast of the red cranberries to the orange of the carrots makes this a beautiful holiday offering. And of course you can't get any more healthy than with a mixture such as this one (sliced, cholesterol-lowering almonds represent a terrific addition.)

With Ginger-Carrot Salad with Cranberries I could practice what I preach and for sure eat every morsel on my plate--with no picking!

Ginger-Carrot Salad with Cranberries

1 tablespoon freshly squeezed lemon juice

1/2 tablespoon honey

1 teaspoon freshly grated or finely minced ginger

1/8 teaspoon cinnamon

pinch of salt

1/2 cup nonfat vanilla yogurt

2 cups grated carrots

1/4 cup dried cranberries

2 tablespoons sliced almonds

In medium bowl whisk together lemon juice, honey, ginger, cinnamon, salt, and yogurt. Toss with carrots and cranberries. Garnish with sliced almonds. Chill before you serve. Makes 4 servings.

Christmas-morning breakfast to get boost from these Chocolate-Chip Oatmeal Apple Muffins

We have some big kids who like to be little kids on Christmas morning.

Even though they now have a munchkin of their own, our grown daughter and her husband haven't outgrown the desire to see whether Santa has left something in their stockings as well.

So they're loading up Baby and baby equipment and traveling across town to spend Christmas Eve at our place on the slight chance that Baby isn't the only one Santa remembers on Christmas morning.

Now that special treat calls for a special breakfast, so I've been baking and freezing breakfast dishes to pop out and reheat so we can have some delectable Christmas-morning goodies.

One of those menu items is Chocolate-Chip Oatmeal Apple Muffins. With cholesterol-lowering oatmeal plus healthy apples plus chocolate chips, these muffins had nothing not to like about them. Although I used applesauce from a jar of the unsweetened variety, a cook could just as easily puree some fresh (peeled and cored) apples in a food processor and sub that in for the applesauce, which makes the mixture plenty moist.

Along with a hash-brown breakfast casserole, sausage balls, Cherry Cream-Cheese Almond Muffins, and some cut-up fresh fruit, I'm armed and ready for Christmas morning. Hopefully Santa will do his part as well, so our little family's cross-town trip to the parents' house reaps all kinds of benefits!

Oatmeal Chocolate-Chip Apple Muffins

1/2 cup butter, softened

3/4 cup brown sugar packed (if using brown-sugar substitute, use 3/8 cup)

1 egg (or 1/4 cup egg substitute)

1 cup flour

1 teaspoon baking powder

1/4 teaspoon baking soda

1/4 teaspoon salt (or salt substitute)

3/4 cup applesauce (or apples peeled, cored, and pureed in a food processor to make 3/4 cup)

1 cup oats

1 (6-ounce) package chocolate chips

Cream butter and brown sugar. Beat in egg. Combine dry ingredients; add alternately with applesauce to the creamed mixture. Stir in oats and chocolate chips. Fill prepared muffin cups 3/4 full. Bake at 350 degrees for 25 minutes. Makes 12 muffins.

Hug-in-a-bowl stew contains all the flavors of the holidays

Calling it a "hug in a bowl" is not far from wrong. We needed a big hug; this meal filled the bill.

Having emergency eye surgery definitely wasn't on our to-do list for the week before Christmas. But when a specialist told Hubby "do not pass go" until you get a retinal tear repaired pronto, those seemingly urgent to-do lists became nonessential very quickly. We rearranged our schedules, spent two straight days sitting in out-of-state doctors' office waiting rooms, and got it done.

Bottom line: Hubby emerged from some hellacious surgery pain-free, side-effects free, and with a potentially dangerous eye problem eradicated without a minute to spare. Thanks to the miracle of lasers which performed a retinal spot-weld, his vision should experience no further difficulties. Side bonus: all the waiting-room sitting on my part gave me plenty of time to finish stitching a Christmas stocking for a new grandboy. I certainly got the better end of that deal.

Once back home, we feasted on a soothing meal I earlier had ready to start in the slow-cooker: Turkey, Sweet Potato, and Cranberry Stew. The headline on this recipe from Prevention magazine tub-thumped this by saying, "Conjure up the holidays! Cranberries and ginger give this turkey stew a sweet-tour tang." We felt hugged as we dined on this absolutely marvelous concoction that was a Christmas dinner in miniature. And since Hubby loves nothing better than ANY recipe containing sweet potatoes, the trauma of the past few days was totally assuaged as this stew went down.

As we feasted on it, we counted our blessings for the priceless and oft-taken-for-granted gift of vision.

Turkey, Sweet Potato, and Cranberry Stew

3 pounds turkey drumsticks, skin removed

1 small onion, diced

1 tablespoon honey

1 tablespoon cider vinegar

1 1/2 teaspoons finely chopped fresh ginger

1 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon black pepper

1 cup chicken broth

1 pound sweet potatoes, peeled and cut into 1-inch chunks

1/2 cup dried cranberries

2 tablespoons flour

In large slow cooker combine turkey, onion, honey, vinegar, ginger, salt, pepper, and broth. Cover and cook on low for 5 hours. Add potatoes and cranberries. Cook until potatoes are tender, 45 minutes more. Remove turkey and pull meat from bones. Pour one-quarter of the liquid into small pot and whisk in flour until smooth. Slowly whisk in remaining liquid. Toss meat, potatoes, and cranberries with gravy and reheat if necessary.

Our own private "bring-a-dish" recipient of tasty Savory Corn and Broccoli Casserole

Nobody could blame her one bit. In fact, most of us were green with envy at her courage.

A family member whose memorable annual Christmas marathon feast had given new meaning to the adjective gargantuan was throwing in the towel this year. Instead of packing out every room in her house with tables and chairs and tossing a potluck meal for countless kin, she called to convene us at a restaurant near her home and said we'd gather there to fellowship this year.

Unbelievable! But how wise, especially for her sake. Few people knew the extent to which she went to pull off her holiday festivity every year. An ever-growing family, plus the fact that none of us is getting any younger, made us all salute her discretion in saying "no" to things that cause Christmas stress. Sure, we'll be there for the restaurant party, we RSVP’d.

Only problem was, I already had picked out the recipe for the dish I planned to bring to this annual potluck. Notes I'd left for myself all over my recipe album had reminded me to make Savory Corn and Broccoli Casserole for my contribution in 2010. Colorful, healthy, and easy, this selection would be great as an accompaniment to her buffet table.

Cotton-pickin! I'd simply make it for myself, I vowed. After all, it qualified as a veggie side, my ultimate quest to go along with my December meals that are waiting in the freezer (yes, on this 17th day of December, I still have a few left.)

Well, ultimately Hubby and I loved the casserole so much, we selfishly were a little glad we didn't have to share it at a bring-a-dish event. Savory Corn and Broccoli was so tasty and appealing, we knew we would have had little left to bring home. This way we could enjoy effortless (on everyone's part) fellowship with family at a restaurant and have this tasty dish all to ourselves.

Savory Corn and Broccoli Casserole

1 (14 3/4-ounce) can cream-style golden sweet corn, no salt added

2 tablespoons all-purpose flour

1 (11-ounce) can whole-kernel corn, no salt added, drained (can sub corn from one ear of fresh corn, steamed)

1 1/2 cups small broccoli florets

1/4 cup sliced green onion

1 egg beaten (or 1/4 cup egg substitute)

1/4 teaspoon pepper

1/4 cup (about 6 wafers) crushed low-salt shredded wheat wafers

In medium bowl stir together cream corn and flour until mixture is combined. Stir in whole-kernel (or fresh) corn, broccoli, onions, egg, and pepper. Spray 9-inch pie plate with cooking spray. Spoon mixture into pie plate. Sprinkle top with crushed wafers. Bake at 350 degrees for 30-35 minutes or until set. Makes 6-8 servings.

Who doesn't need a little comfort in December? This soup is a true December blessing

Who doesn’t need a little comfort this time of year? Without besmirching in any way the true meaning of the season, the honest truth is most adult women (a lot of men, as well) in America are bedraggled at about this point in Christmas Month. "Pulling off" Christmas is nothing if not taxing to the adults in the average American family. On this particular December day, with the finish line only 10 days away, the prospects of finishing well (or finishing at all) sometimes can seem dim.

This recipe for Spinach, Chicken, and Wild Rice Soup brings a little comfort to the forefront to the battle-weary. Toss all ingredients (and "all" includes lots of healthy items) into a slow cooker and be on about your to-do list. Seven to eight hours later, dinner is served. Your family is provided for. And you've done nothing except put yourself in a position to receive accolades.

Better Homes and Gardens website provided this gem of a recipe some years back. I've loved it ever since and prepared it when the need was the greatest. This time of year qualifies. With Spinach, Chicken, and Wild Rice Soup, hatching up something healthy for dinner doesn't have to add to my frustrations.

Spinach, Chicken, and Wild Rice Soup

3 cups water

1 (14-ounce) can reduced-sodium chicken broth

1 (10 3/4-ounce) can reduced-fat and reduced-sodium condensed cream of chicken soup

2/3 cup uncooked wild rice, rinsed and drained

1/2 teaspoon dried thyme, crushed

1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper

3 cups cooked and chopped chicken or turkey

2 cups shredded fresh spinach

In a slow cooker combine the water, broth, cream of chicken soup, uncooked wild rice, thyme, and pepper. Cover and cook on low-heat setting for 7 to 8 hours or on high-heat setting for 3 1/2 to 4 hours. To serve stir in chicken and spinach. Makes (6 1 1/2 cup) servings.

Invention truly was the mother of this fabulous winter-night veggie pasta dish

What a great idea for a winter night, I thought as I pulled together my ingredients for Vegetable and Cheese Pasta. I could just see it residing in my large pasta bowl of my blue spongeware dishes. I could imagine how beautiful it would look and how satisfying it would taste.

Ready to begin cooking, I surveyed the recipe, which I had in my files from a 2000 of Prevention magazine. No biggie, I thought to myself. I can whip this together in no time. I accomplished steps 1 and 2—boil pasta, drain, cook onion in oil.

Then I looked again. Where was the remainder of my recipe? I looked on the back of the magazine clipping. The back contained the directions for other recipes, but this one had managed to be continued on a page I didn't save. I dashed to the computer to Google it. Alas, Prevention didn't appear to keep recipes from a decade ago. I did an online search of veggie pasta recipes in general. Nothing seemed exactly what I had in mind. I would have to wing it.

Now, winging it is tough for those of my "J" personality type. As I've mentioned before, I have to have things outlined for me methodically, with no deviations allowed. Don't change directions on me, and for heaven's sakes, don't require me to improvise. But my ingredients already were assembled; I couldn't turn back. I simply would have to invent my own version of how this dish should be made.

Well, as you can see from the attached photo, bottom line was that things turned out just fine. To fill in the gaps I added the remaining steps that seemed to be provided. This dish was an easy thing, with no oven preparation required—mainly a heat-and-stir operation. So I "made do" by using my own ingenuity. And invention seemed to be part of this recipe anyway, since you could build your own dish by adding whatever veggies and whatever kind of cheese you desired or had on hand.

The result was a wonderful winter-evening meal—and to suit the constraints of No-Time December perfectly, it made enough for two or three meals for Hubby and me. That's at least one or maybe two more December nights I get a pass on cooking. Hooray for me! I overrode my "J-ness" and used my head to create a to-die-for entree that even could show up at a Christmas bring-a-dish with no shame whatsoever.

Vegetable and Cheese Pasta

12-ounces angel hair or linguine pasta

2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

1 medium onion, cut into small wedges

2-3 cloves garlic, minced

2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar

1/2 cup reduced-sodium vegetable broth

4 cups cooked vegetables (any combination, such as cauliflower, broccoli, zucchini, carrots, beets, cabbage, rutabagas, parsnips)

2 tablespoons chopped fresh oregano

3 tablespoons chopped parsley

1/4 teaspoon salt (or salt substitute)

1/4 teaspoon black pepper

4 ounces cheese (such as Cheddar, feta, or Monterey Jack), crumbled

1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons Parmesan cheese

Cook the pasta according to package directions. Drain; reserving some of the liquid. Set aside. Meanwhile heat the oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the onion and cook for 4 minutes or until the onion is almost soft. Add the garlic and cook one more minute. Into the same skillet stir in the balsamic vinegar, vegetable broth, cooked vegetables, fresh oregano, parsley, salt, and pepper. Stir and cook over medium heat for 5 minutes. Add pasta and stir, mixing thoroughly. If necessary for moisture add a few tablespoons of the reserved liquid from cooking the pasta. Add all the cheese, reserving the two tablespoons Parmesan for topping. Stir until cheese is melted. Pour mixture into large pasta bowl. Sprinkle remaining 2 tablespoons of Parmesan on top. Serves 8.

This Cinnamon Apple Bread Pudding--an excellent bribe, an excellent breakfast dish

OK, so I'll call it what it was: pure bribery. The day stretched out before me as so many pre-Christmas days do—IMPOSSIBLE. The time had arrived to address the cards plus wrap all the Christmas gifts that needed to go in the mail. Problem was, no one person could accomplish all that in a single day. Help was needed and needed quickly.

Unsuspecting Hubby just thought I was trying out a new breakfast recipe, as I often do on weekend mornings. True that, but I also had an ulterior motive. Feed him well; get Hubby in my owe pronto; then maybe he'd help me with one of the above mentioned tasks.

Cinnamon Apple Bread Pudding, borrowed from an old issue of Family Circle magazine and tucked away in my winter recipes file, made the best breakfast dish on the planet. Slices of plump, healthy Rome Beauty apples tucked in between slices of cinnamon raisin bread and baked with a caramel sauce poured over was a beauty—and a motivator.

Hubby fell for the ruse. After a breakfast dish of steaming Cinnamon Apple Bread Pudding just pulled from the oven, he probably would have jumped on the roof and danced while wearing a Santa hat if I'd asked him to do so. Filled to satisfaction from dining on the excellent dish (which also would make a perfect Christmas-morning breakfast dish or an item for Christmas company), he sat down at the dining table and cheerfully worked on the Christmas cards all day.

Because of his help, I may not be ahead of the game, but I'm currently not behind, which is more than I could have said of myself in previous Christmas months. Thanks, Cinnamon Apple Bread Pudding.

Cinnamon Apple Bread Pudding

3 Rome Beauty apples, peeled, cored, sliced thin

1 tablespoon flour

1 loaf (16 ounces) cinnamon-swirl bread

6 eggs (or 2 cups egg substitute)

1 3/4 cups milk (I use skim)

1/2 cup bottled sugar-free caramel sauce, plus more to drizzle

1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons sugar (or sugar substitute)

1/4 teaspoon salt (or salt substitute)

Coat a 2 1/2-quart shallow baking dish with nonstick cooking spray. In a small bowl toss apple slices with flour. Cut loaf of bread in half diagonally (to form triangle-shaped slices). Layer half the bread and half the apple slices, overlapping, in bottom of prepared dish. In a medium-sized bowl whisk together eggs, milk, 1/2 cup caramel sauce, 1/3 cup sugar, and salt. Pour half over bread and apples in dish. Repeat layering; use all remaining bread and apples. Pour second half of egg mixture over layers. Cover dish with plastic wrap; press lightly. Refrigerate to soak 30 minutes to 1 hour. Heat oven to 375 degrees. Unwrap dish; sprinkle with remaining 2 tablespoons sugar. Bake at 375 degrees for 30 minutes; cover with foil and bake 15 more minutes or until center measures 160 degrees on an instant-read thermometer. Drizzle top with additional caramel sauce; let cool on rack 15 minutes. Serve warm with cool whip (we use sugar free), if desired.