FRIDAY'S FAMILY FAVORITES

The Fourth of July is fast approaching and families all around will be gathering to eat, play, and enjoy each others company. But you won't need to wait until the 4th to enjoy this BBQ! You can make it indoors and serve it on a "regular" day to make it seem like a holiday. Because it uses pork tenderloin instead of the traditional pork shoulder, the cooking time is greatly reduced.

INDOOR BARBECUED PORK TENDERLOIN

1 tsp. chili powder

1 tsp. paprika

1 tsp. garlic powder

salt and pepper

2 pork tenderloins (1 1/2-2 lbs total)

1 tbsp. vegetable oil

1/2 c. low-sodium chicken broth

1/2 c. barbecue sauce of your choice

3 tbsp. cider vinegar

1. Combine chili powder, paprika,garlic powder,1/4 tsp. salt,(I will omit) and 1/2 tsp. pepper in small bowl. Pat pork dry with paper towels and sprinkle all over with spice mixture.
2. Heat oil in large skillet over medium-high heat until just smoking. Add pork and cook until well browned, 4-5 minutes per side. Transfer pork to a large bowl, tent with foil, and let rest 5 minutes. Using 2 forks, shred meat into bite-size pieces.
3. Meanwhile, add broth, barbecue sauce, and vinegar to empty skillet, scraping up any browned bits. Simmer over medium-low heat until sauce has thickened, about 3 minutes. Stir in shredded pork and cook until heated through, about 2 minutes. Season with salt and pepper. Serve.

NOTE: To make shredding meat easier, trim the tenderloins well before cooking. Serve on hamburger buns with pickles. (Merita makes a really good low-cal, whole-wheat bun.)

THIRSTY THURSDAY

Summer just screams "cold drinks"! Today's recipe comes from a new publication that I'm getting acquainted with. It has great illustrations. The recipes have ingredients that are relatively easy to find. It gives a variety of dishes and organizes them well. One of the best features is that is already 3 hole punched so I plan to put all the issues in a notebook instead of tearing out the recipes and filing them. I think I'm going to enjoy this one! 

ORANGE-WHITE WINE SPRITZER

Make this spritzer ahead, but for maximum fizz, wait until just before serving to add club soda.

HEAT:

1/2 cup each sugar and water

minced zest of 1 orange

COMBINE:

2 cups each club soda and dry white wine

1/2 cup fresh orange juice strained

ice cubes

Heat sugar, water and zest in a saucepan over high until sugar dissolves for the simple syrup; strain, discard zest, and cool.

Combine club soda, wine, orange juice, and simple syrup in a pitcher. Divide spritzer among 4 glasses filled with ice.

CROCKPOT WEDNESDAY

I'm in hog heaven this week with the arrival of my newest cookbook THE CROCKIN' GIRLS SLOW COOKIN' COMPANION. It reminds me very much of the Pioneer Woman's cookbook; lots of great pictures of the food and family and very reader friendly. I've been reading it ever since it got here and I can hardly believe some of the dishes that can be done in the crockpot. I'll definitely be trying them and sharing them here on the blog. Today's recipe is a real family favorite.

ALL-DAY MAC AND CHEESE

8 ounces elbow macaroni

4 c. shredded sharp cheddar cheese, divided

1 (12 oz.) can evaporated milk

1 1/2 c. milk

2 eggs

1 1/2 tsp. salt

1/2 tsp. pepper

In a large pot, cook the macaroni in boiling water 10 minutes or until done; drain.

In a large bowl, mix the cooked macaroni, 3 c. cheddar cheese, evaporated milk, milk, eggs, and salt and pepper. Transfer to a slow-cooker coated with non-stick cooking spray. Sprinkle with the remaining 1 cup cheddar cheese. Cover and cook on LOW for 5-6 hours, or until the mixture is firm and golden around the edges. Do not remove the cover or stir the mixture until it is finished cooking.

TUESDAY'S TREAT

Summer is the perfect time for frozen treats. This make-ahead frozen cream pie has a sweet cream cheese and peanut butter filling that is spread over sliced banana and drizzled with chocolate syrup. It is from my COOKING LIGHT COOKBOOK.

FROZEN PEANUT BUTTER-BANANA CREAM PIE

Crust-Graham cracker-store bought or homemade

Filling:

3/4 c. packed brown sugar

1/2 c. (4 ounces) 1/3 less-fat cream cheese

1/2 c. reduced-fat peanut butter

1/2 tsp. vanilla extract

1 (8ounce) container frozen fat-free whipped topping, thawed

1 c. sliced banana (about 2 small bananas)

1/4 c. fat-free chocolate syrup

Prepare graham cracker crust:

40 graham crackers (10 full cracker sheets)

2 tbsp. sugar

2 tbsp. butter, melted

1 large egg white

Cooking spray

Preheat oven to 350.

Place crackers in a food processor; process until crumbly. Add sugar, butter, and egg white; pulse 6 times or just until moist. Press crumb mixture into a 9 inch pie plate coated with cooking spray. Bake at 350 for 8 minutes; cool on a wire rack 15 minutes.

To prepare filling, place 3/4 c. brown sugar, cream cheese, peanut butter, and vanilla in a bowl; beat with a mixer at medium speed until smooth. Fold in whipped topping. Arrange banana in bottom of prepared crust. Spread peanut butter mixture over banana; drizzle with syrup. Cover and freeze 8 hours; let stand at room temperature 15 minutes before serving.

MEATLESS MONDAY

Coleslaw is a great side. It is easy to prepare, has many variations, can be used on the side or piled on a sandwich. The coleslaw mix available in supermarkets is especially convenient. Recently I discovered prepackaged broccoli slaw. It makes a crunchy alternative to the traditional cabbage mix. Today's recipes are from COOKING WITH PAULA DEEN and FOOD NETWORK MAGAZINE.

MICHAEL SYMON'S BLUEBERRY COLESLAW

1 head Savoy cabbage

1/2 onion

1 carrot, julienned

1 pint blueberries (about 2 cups)

1 c. mayonnaise

2 tbsp. red wine vinegar

1 tbsp. honey

2 tbsp. chopped fresh cilantro

1 tbsp. cumin seeds, toasted

Shred the cabbage and thinly slice the onion, preferably using a mandoline on it's thinnest setting. Combine the cabbage, onion, carrots, and blueberries in a large bowl.

Add the mayonnaise, vinegar, honey, cilantro, cumin and 1 tbsp. salt and toss to combine.

Serve immediately or refrigerate up to 4 hours.

BROCCOLI SLAW

1/2 c. white vinegar

1/4 c. sugar

1 tsp. celery seeds

1 tsp. mustard seeds

1/4 tsp. salt

1/8 tsp. ground red pepper

1 (12 ounce) bag broccoli slaw mix

In  small saucepan, combine vinegar and sugar. Bring to a boil over medium heat, stirring until sugar dissolves. Remove from heat, and stir in celery seeds and next 3 ingredients. Cool for 30 minutes.

In a large bowl, combine broccoli slaw mix and vinegar mixture, stirring gently to coat. Cover and chill for at least 30 minutes or up to 2 days.

SUPER SALAD SATURDAY

This time of year I really like to have a number of light salad ideas for lunch or even dinner. The summer heat combined with days full of outside activity often makes for skipped meals and lighter appetites. Today's recipe comes from DIABETIC COOKING. I like the crunch from the water chestnuts and grapes and the use of canned chicken makes it easy and convenient.

HONEY-MUSTARD CHICKEN SALAD

4 oz. canned low-sodium white chicken, rinsed and drained

1/2 c. sliced seedless red grapes

1/4 c. chopped water chestnuts

2 tbsp. fat-free low-sodium honey-mustard salad dressing

1/4 tsp. grated lemon peel

1 tsp. pine nuts

1 c. fresh stemmed spinach

 1/8 tsp. black pepper

Toss chicken, grapes, water chestnuts, dressing and lemon peel in small bowl until well coated. Let stand 5 minutes for dressing to absorb.

Toast pine nuts in small non-stick skillet over medium heavy 2 minutes, shaking pan constantly.

Arrange spinach on plate; place chicken mixture on top of spinach. Sprinkle pine nuts on top; season with pepper.

Makes 1 serving

TUESDAY'S TREAT

Brownies are an all-time favorite. It's hard to beat good ole chocolate brownies, moist and delicious, right out of the oven. I do believe that today's version of the Brownie will run a close second. It comes from Ginny McCormack's book SUNDAY IN THE SOUTH; and is certainly worth a try.

BROWN SUGAR BROWNIES

NOTE FROM GINNY: Light or dark brown sugar may be used in these delectably, chewy, old fashioned brownies.

2 tbsp. butter

2 eggs

1 c. brown sugar, packed

5 tbsp. flour

1/4 tsp baking soda

1 c. pecans chopped

1 tsp. pure vanilla extract

Preheat oven to 350.

Melt butter in a 9 inch square baking pan by placing it in the oven or microwave. In a small bowl, beat the eggs and vanilla. In a separate bowl, combine the brown sugar, flour, baking soda and pecans. Add the egg mixture and stir well. Pour the batter on top of the butter in the baking pan. Do not stir. Bake for 20 minutes. Let cool for 10-15  minutes and then flip, upside down, onto a cooling rack. Dust with powdered sugar.

MEATLESS MONDAY

It's grilling season and soon squash will be fresh from the garden at the Farmer's market. You can use either yellow squash or zucchini for today's recipe but a combination of the two is prettier. It's another healthy recipe from THE COOKING LIGHT COOKBOOK.

GRILLED SUMMER SQUASH

1/4 c. fresh lemon juice

1/4 c. plain fat-free yogurt

1 tbsp. olive oil

2 tsp. chopped fresh rosemary

1/2 tsp. freshly ground black pepper

2 garlic cloves, minced

3/4 tsp. salt divided

3 small yellow squash, halved lengthwise (about 1 pound)

3 small zucchini, halved lengthwise (about 1 pound)

cooking spray

Prepare grill.

Combine 1st 6 ingredients in a 13x9 baking dish. Stir in 1/2 tsp. salt. Make 3 (1/4 inch deep) diagonal cuts across the side of each squash and zucchini half. Place them, cut sides down, in baking dish. Marinate at room temperature for 15 minutes.

Remove squash and zucchini from marinade and discard marinade. Place squash and zucchini on grill rack coated with cooking spray. (I love the disposable grill racks that Walmart carries. They keep your veggies from falling through the grill and they can be thrown away instead of scrubbed.) Grill 5 minutes on each side or until tender. Sprinkle evenly with 1/4 tsp. salt. ( I will omit)

SEAFOOD SUNDAY

Last night for dinner I grilled Mahi Mahi. It turned out to be really good even though the recipe is very simple. This recipe comes from GRILLIN' WITH GAS, a book I picked up right after we purchased our gas grill a couple of years ago. I do not claim to be an expert on the grill but I wanted to learn. This book has some excellent pointers on very basic things the "grillmaster" ought to know including suggested cooking times, recipes for rubs and marinades etc.

FOOLPROOF GRILLED FISH 

NOTE from the author: Grilling fish can intimidate otherwise confident cooks, and it shouldn't. Grilling fish starts with listening to your mother: "Cleanliness is next to Godliness." Your grill grate has to be as clean as you can get it. (I purchased some throw away grates for cooking veggies and fish which work well) Without a clean grill, you are doomed from the start because the proteins in the fish will stick to the proteins on the grate. Next, a fat has to be involved. Using mayonnaise as that fat keeps the fish lubricated on the gill and also imparts moisture, without adding a flavor. This really is a foolproof way to grill most any thick, lean, white fish.

1/2 tsp. ground cumin

1/2 tsp. ground coriander

1/2 tsp. kosher salt

1/8 tsp. freshly ground black pepper

Four 6 oz. halibut or sea bass fillets cut 1 inch thick (I used Mahi Mahi)

4 tbsp. mayonnaise (I used light)

Oil the grill racks. Preheat your grill using all burners set on high and with the lid closed for 10-12 minutes.

Mix the spices in a small bowl. Sprinkle evenly over each fillet. With the back of a spoon, spread 1 tbsp. mayonnaise over both sides of each fillet. It looks messy, but that's okay. Place the fish on the grill, close the lid, and cook for 6 minutes. Turn the fillets and cook 4-5 minutes longer until they are opaque in the center. Serve at once.