All in the Family: Recipe Swap
I saw my cousin (Hi Lynn!) this past weekend in New York City and she had just seen Simply Savor for the first time! Of course we spent the night bonding over a glass of wine– talking about our favorite Cooking Light recipes (she’s an avid fan too!), Food Network stars, and cooking tips.
As an extremely busy news reporter with odd hours, Lynn still finds time to make healthy eating/cooking a priority which is something I really admire and think many of us can relate to. She had some great ideas and recipes, so I was very excited when she sent me along this email to share with all of you!
~~~
Hi!!!
LOVED getting a chance to chat on sat. xo
My all time favorite Sandra Lee tip (BTW I can’t stand her but this is a great idea). To steam veggies fast, wet a paper towel and ring out the water so it’s just damp. Then lay it over a bowl with the veggies. Microwave and the water from the paper towel creates steam and locks it in to perfectly steam veggies quick! With spinach I put a little sea salt and garlic powder, micro for 2mins and it’s perfectly steamed spinach, great, quick and easy side.
+ 
+
= 
Tyler Florence had an awesome tip for the perfect way to heat a tortilla, whenever I microwave them they get rubbery and when I bake them they get too hard so he says to lay them on the open flame of your gas stove for 15 seconds each side and it’s the perfect prep and gives it a little toast without becoming too hard.
+ 
= 
Here are a few recipes I like 
(This is a Paula Dean recipe that I adjusted to make health conscious)
Ingredients
1 1/2 pounds ground beef (I use Laura’s all natural 97% lean…you could also use 99% fat free ground turkey)
1 pound ground Italian Turkey sausage (I use Jenny-O Sweet Italian Turkey Sausage)
1 onion
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 teaspoons ground oregano
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper
1 (14.5-ounce) can diced tomatoes with basil, garlic, and oregano
2 (15-ounce) cans tomato sauce
1 (6-ounce) can tomato paste
1 1/2 cups part skim-ricotta cheese
1 (5-ounce) package grated Parmigianno-Reggiano *fresh basil
2 large eggs, lightly beaten
9 oven-ready lasagna noodles (you can use whole wheat lasagna noodles UNCOOKED if you’d like)
1 (8-ounce) shredded reduced fat mozzarella
fresh mozzarella sliced for top
Directions
-Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
-In a large saucepan, combine ground chuck, sausage onion and garlic.
-Cook over medium heat until meat is browned and crumbled; drain.
-In same pot sauté mushrooms in a little evoo and add red wine to deglaze the pan.
-Return meat to pan and add oregano, basil, salt and pepper. Add tomatoes, tomato sauce and paste. Bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer 30 to 45 minutes. Add in some fresh chopped basil at the end.
-In a small bowl, combine ricotta cheese, Parmesan, chopped basil, and eggs.
-Spoon 1/4 of sauce into bottom of a 13 by 9 by 2-inch baking pan.
-Place 3 uncooked lasagna noodles on top of sauce. Do not overlap noodles.
-Spread 1/3 of ricotta cheese mixture over noodles, top with 1/4 of sauce and 1/3 mozzarella cheese. Repeat layers, ending with sauce.
-Bake 45 minutes. Top with fresh mozz slices and bake 15 minutes or until hot and bubbly. Let rest 10 minutes before serving.
–
Low-Fat Banana Bread (Cooking Light) 
Ingredients Preparation Pork Marinade (A recipe from one of Kathryn’s (my other cousin’s) friends) Ingredients Beef and Butternut Squash Stew (Giada De Laurentis…all time best comfort food on a cold night) Prep Time: 15 min Directions -Add the butternut squash and sun-dried tomatoes and stir to combine. Add enough beef broth to just cover the beef and squash. -Sprinkle with the chopped parsley. Serve with crusty bread alongside.
3.4 ounces all-purpose flour (about 3/4 cup)
3.6 ounces whole-wheat flour (about 3/4 cup)
1/4 cup flaxseed meal
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 cup mashed ripe banana
1/2 cup chopped walnuts
3/4 cup sugar
1/2 cup plain low-fat yogurt
1/4 cup canola oil
Cooking spray
1. Preheat oven to 325°.
2. Weigh or lightly spoon flours into dry measuring cups; level with a knife. Combine flours and next 4 ingredients (through baking soda) in a large bowl, stirring with a whisk. Combine banana and next 4 ingredients (through oil) in a small bowl. Add banana mixture to flour mixture, stirring just until moist.
3. Spoon the batter into a 9 x 5-inch loaf pan coated with cooking spray. Bake at 325° for 1 hour and 15 minutes or until a wooden pick inserted into the center comes out clean. Cool for 10 minutes in pan on a wire rack, and remove from pan. Cool on wire rack.
____
1/4 cup olive oil
1/6 cup soy sauce
1/8 cup red wine vinegar
1.5 tbsp lemon juice
1 tbsp Worcestershire sauce
1 clove garlic, crushed
1/2 tbsp fresh parsley, chopped
1/2 tbsp dry mustard
3/4 tsp pepper
____
Cook Time:1 hr 30 min
Serves: 4 servings
Ingredients
3 tablespoon olive oil
1 onion, peeled and chopped
2 cloves garlic, chopped
1 tablespoon minced fresh rosemary
1 tablespoon chopped fresh thyme
2 pounds stew beef, cut into 2-inch cubes
1/2 teaspoon salt, plus more to taste
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper, plus more to taste
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1 cup Marsala wine
1 pound butternut squash, trimmed and cut into 2-inch cubes
1/4 cup chopped sun-dried tomatoes
3 to 4 cups beef broth
2 tablespoons fresh chopped flat-leaf parsley
Crusty bread, for serving
-In a large soup pot heat 3 tablespoons of olive oil over medium heat.
-Add the onions, garlic, rosemary, and thyme and saute until the onions are tender, about 2 minutes. Toss the beef cubes in salt and pepper and flour.
-Turn up the heat to med-high and add the beef to the pot. Cook until the beef is browned and golden around the edges, about 5 minutes. Add the Marsala wine. Using a wooden spoon, gently stir up all the brown bits off the bottom of the pan.
-Bring the stew to a boil over high heat, then reduce the heat to low and simmer, covered, for 1 hour. Season the stew with additional salt and pepper to taste.
~~~
Thanks so much Lynn! I am definitely going to try ALL of these recipes + tips soon In exchange I sent her some of my favorite recipes too!
I’m always looking for new recipes and/or cooking tips—have any to share?? I’ll compile a list of your responses in my next post!
Zesty Cook is a great cooking resource. I love the Zesty Tips he includes with all of his recipes—soo helpful!
I’m really liking the concept of exchanging recipes… do any of you do recipe exchanges with friends or family?
GREAT recipes! the bread looks amazing to me
nothing like home made bread!
i knowww banana bread is my weakness!
YUM!!! I love La Tortilla Factory tortillas – they are amazing!
Oh I love banana bread…looks yummy!
Oooh, Kristen, I LOVE that tip on steaming veggies! I’m definitely trying that tomorrow with some spinach. And I love exchanging recipes with my family – I’m always stealing my mom’s old recipe cards, and a friend of hers once gave me my very first pasta sauce recipe!
Oh, and I always try http://www.foodblogsearch.com first when I’m looking for a new recipe… it’s a search engine just for food blogs! That way, I can read a mini-review of that blogger’s thoughts on the recipe and see some great pictures, as well. Hope that helps!
mmmmm is all i can say. your food looks amazing. i’m definitely trying that lasagna!!
Love all of these tips and recipes!!
Hi everyone!
I have to say (and not just because Kristen is my cousin) but this is my FAVORITE website. It proves there ARE ways to make healthy food delicious. GO KRISTEN!!!
Great tip on steaming the veggies! My mom recently made that beef & butternut squash stew and loved it too!
I use the paper towel trick when I heating up food.. I need to give it a try with my spinach.. it is definatly much easier than using the steamer.
Yum, these recipes look great, Lynn! I love the idea of a recipe swap, especially as it helps me spice things up when I’m feeling lazy
My sisters and I send each other recipes all the time, but they tend to be desserts 
I like to bake breads and pizzas on an upside down clay pot dish (the ones that go under the actual pot to catch water) and spray the breads with water to give an EXTRA crispy crust
oooh, yum! I’d like to make all of those too! Great idea for a recipe swap. Just thought of this tip: when I buy tomato paste or canned chipotle chilis in adobo I never usually use the whole can, so I portion about 2 tbsp in little baggies and freeze
Ooh banana bread looks amazing!