13/12/2016
Cooking White Rice
Ingredients
2 cups Water
1 cup Long- or short-grain white rice
Directions
Pour water into a saucepan that has a lid that fits. Bring the water to a boil over high heat.
Add the rice to the boiling water, stir and lower the heat to a low simmer.
Put the lid on the saucepan, and let it cook on low heat for 20 minutes. Do not lift the lid while cooking!
When the 20 minutes are up, lift the lid and look at the rice. There should be no water left in the pot, and the top of the rice should look as if there are holes in it. Do not stir the rice, but taste a grain of rice to see if it has cooked. If not, replace the lid, without stirring, and let it cook for another 5 minutes, then taste it again.
When it has cooked to your taste, remove the pan from the heat, and use a fork to fluff the rice in the saucepan. Serve with your favorite food.
Tips:
Long-grain white rice— all-purpose rice; cooks up fluffy and white.
Short - grain white rice—stickier than long grain; good with Asian foods.
Converted rice—long-grain rice that is steamed before milling, so it does not stick together when cooked (for example, Uncle Ben’s ).
Brown rice—has more vitamins, fiber, and flavor than white rice; goes well with beans.
Basmati rice—rice from India with a nutty flavor; more expensive than white rice.
Arborio rice—another expensive rice that is Italian; very good for making rice pudding.
Cooking Brown Rice
Ingredients
3 cups Water
1 cup Brown rice
Directions
Pour the water into a saucepan that has a lid that fits.
Bring the water to a boil over high heat.
Add the rice to the boiling water, stir, and lower the heat to a low simmer.
Put the lid on the saucepan, and let the rice cook for 30 to 45 minutes.
Check the rice after 30 minutes, but do not stir. Taste a grain of rice to see if it is cooked. If it has not cooked enough, replace the lid without stirring, and let it cook for another 5 minutes, then taste again.
When the rice has cooked to your taste, remove the pan from the heat. Use a fork to fluff the rice and serve.
Tip:
Store brown rice in the refrigerator or freezer, because it can spoil easily and quickly. When shopping, look for brown rice on the shelves with the white rice.
Meat Lasagna
Ingredients
1 lb. Lean ground beef or ground turkey
1 large Onion
2 15-oz cans Tomatoes (or 1 28-oz can)
1 6-oz can Tomato paste
1 tsp. Sugar
1 tsp. Oregano
1/4 tsp. Garlic powder
1/2 tsp. Pepper
8 whole Lasagna noodles, uncooked
3 cups Low-fat cottage cheese
8 oz. Low-fat mozzarella cheese, shredded
Directions
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Peel and chop the onion.
In a large skillet, brown the ground meat and onion together over medium heat. Use a cooking spoon to break the meat up into little bits.
Carefully pour the meat into a colander to drain the fat off, and then return the meat to the skillet.
Cut the canned tomatoes into small chunks. Add the tomatoes to the skillet with the meat and onion mixture.
Add the tomato paste, sugar, oregano, garlic powder, and pepper to the skillet. Stir everything together until well mixed.
Spoon about half of the sauce into a 9 by 13-inch baking dish and spread it around with the spoon, so the bottom of the dish is covered.
Put four of the uncooked noodles in a single layer on top of the sauce. Spread all of the cottage cheese over the noodles.
Put four of the uncooked noodles on top of the cottage cheese. Spread the rest of the sauce over the noodles.
Sprinkle the mozzarella cheese over the top of the sauce, and cover the pan tightly with foil.
Bake for 1 hour. At the end of 1 hour, very carefully remove the foil from the pan and cook for 15 minutes more.
Let the lasagna sit for another 15 minutes to cool, then cut into squares for serving.
One-Pot Spaghetti
Ingredients
1 lb. Lean ground beef or ground turkey
2 cups Mushrooms, sliced
1 cup Onion, chopped
1 cup Green pepper, chopped
1 28-oz can Tomatoes
1 cup Water
1 1/2 cups Broken spaghetti, dry uncooked
1 tsp. Oregano
1 tsp. Salt
Parmesan or Romano cheese, grated
Directions
In a large skillet, combine meat, mushrooms, onions, and green peppers.
Sauté over medium heat until the meat is browned and the vegetables are tender. Drain off any fat that might collect (into an empty can or bowl, not down the sink).
Dump the can of tomatoes (with all the juices) into the skillet and mash them with your cooking spoon.
Stir in the water, spaghetti, oregano, and salt. Bring all this to a boil, then reduce the heat, cover, and simmer for 15 to 20 minutes, until the spaghetti is cooked.
Remove from the heat.
Sprinkle with parmesan or Romano cheese.
Pasta Salad with Tuna
Ingredients
1 12.5 oz can Water packed tuna
3 cups Uncooked pasta (elbow macaroni, shell or corkscrew)
3 stalks Celery
1 small Red or white onion
2 cups Frozen peas, thawed
Directions
Fill a medium-size pot with water and bring it to a boil on high heat.
Add pasta and cook on medium-high heat for 10 minutes. Stir every 2 to 3 minutes to prevent the pasta from sticking.
Open the can of tuna, drain and place it in a large bowl.
Chop the onion and celery. Mix with the tuna.
Mix the dressing ingredients together in a small bowl. Add the dressing to tuna and mix well.
Drain the pasta. Add to the tuna mixture.
Rinse and drain the peas. Add to the tuna and pasta. Stir to mix all ingredients.
Chill before serving.
Dressing:
3/4 cup Light Miracle Whip (or light mayonnaise)
1/2 cup Plain yogurt
1 Tbsp. Vinegar (apple cider or plain)
Ground pepper to taste
Pasta with Broccoli
Ingredients
8 ounces Pasta (any shape you like)
5-8 cloves Garlic, pressed in a garlic press or finely chopped (the more the better—really!)
1 16-oz bag Frozen broccoli pieces
2 Tbsp. Olive oil
1/4 cup Parmesan or Romano cheese, grated or finely shredded
1/4 tsp. Dried basil and oregano
1/4 tsp. Black pepper
1/2-1 tsp. Salt
Directions
Follow the directions on the package and cook the pasta in a large pot.
About half way through pasta cooking time, add garlic and keep cooking.
With about 3 minutes left to pasta cooking time, add frozen broccoli, bring water back to a boil, and cook for 3 more minutes.
When the pasta is finished cooking, drain pasta and broccoli in a colander over the sink and then dump them both back in the pot.
Add the rest of the ingredients and toss together. Add seasonings to taste.
