Prep + Cook = 20 minutes

4 servings (or 6?)

Who doesn’t love crispy tacos, even though they are practically designed to fall apart at first bite?  If the crumbling gets to you, make soft tacos or crumble up the shells or use tortilla chips and make taco salad instead.  In my version, I use lower fat (and less greasy) turkey instead of ground beef, and make my own seasoning blend to flavor the meat.  Serve it with a green salad with chopped tomatoes and cucumbers.

1 lb. ground turkey

1 Tbsp. chili powder

¼ tsp. salt, or more to taste

2 Tbsp. salsa, plus extra for serving

12 taco shells (or use whole wheat or white flour tortillas)

½ head iceberg lettuce, thinly shredded

1 ½ cups shredded Cheddar cheese

Preheat the oven to 425 degrees.  In a nonstick skillet, brown the turkey over medium heat, mixing in the chili powder, salt and salsa as the meat starts to cook, and breaking the turkey with a spatula into small pieces as it browns, 8 – 10 minutes.

Meanwhile, put the lettuce, cheese and extra salsa in serving bowls.  When the meat is nearly done, put the taco shells on a baking sheet, overlapping them a little bit, and heat them for about 2 minutes until they are warm (this makes them extra crispy).  Serve the tacos immediately, letting family members layer the fillings to their own tastes.  (We like to add the meat, then cheese, then lettuce, and finally drizzle salsa over everything.) 

“Hi, Honey.  In reading your column (which I love to do), I was reminded of the worry I had going to Honduras in 1987 that I might not find my coffee fix (little did I know how important coffee was to the people there!).  So I took along edible espresso beans–maybe chocolate covered, just to get the “fix” if needed–which it wasn’t.  A little stash of those in your home might allay the coffee anxiety.”
Much love, Mom

Orange-Glazed Chicken

Prep (10 min.) + Cook (20 min.) + optional marinate

4 servings

This is a light, healthy and delightfully fragrant smelling chicken that your kids will probably enjoy as much as you do.  Serve it with steamed brown or white rice, and Asian coleslaw. 

1.5 lb. boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut crosswise (the short way)

1 orange, use 1 tsp. orange zest and ¼ cup juice

½ lemon, juice only

1 Tbsp. honey

1 Tbsp. reduced-sodium soy sauce

1 Tbsp. Chinese or Dijon mustard

½ tsp. minced garlic (about 1 clove)

1 tsp. cornstarch

Put the chicken in a flat baking dish with sides just large enough to hold it.  Preheat the oven to 375 degrees if you don’t have time to marinate the chicken. 

In a small bowl or a large measuring cup, combine the remaining ingredients.  Stir them thoroughly and pour them over the chicken.  Marinate the chicken for at least 15 minutes and up to 24 hours, if time allows.

Bake the chicken in the marinade for 20 minutes, then put it under the broiler for 2 minutes to brown it in spots.  Serve the chicken immediately with the sauce spooned over it, or refrigerate it for up to 3 days. 

Side Dish Suggestion: To make the coleslaw, put 12 oz. (about 6 cups) broccoli slaw or coleslaw in a serving bowl.  In a measuring cup or small bowl, combine 2 Tbsp. reduced fat mayonnaise, 2 tsp. prepared hot Chinese mustard or Dijon mustard, 1 Tbsp. reduced-sodium soy sauce, 1 Tbsp. rice vinegar, 1 Tbsp. honey, and 1 Tbsp. toasted sesame seeds.  Pour the dressing over the slaw and toss it thoroughly.  You can prepare it and store it in the refrigerator up to 2 days in advance. 

Prep + Cook = 30 minutes

6 servings

These tacos are melt in your mouth delicious, although the can be a little messy to eat.  They can also be served over rice instead of inside tortillas, if you prefer a neater feast.  Serve them with a Caesar salad. 

1 Tbsp. olive oil

1 red bell pepper, cored and chopped

1 ½ lb. boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut in half crosswise (the short way)

12 oz. salsa or picante sauce

½ cup reduced-sodium chicken broth or water

½ tsp. cumin

½ tsp. cinnamon

1 Tbsp. honey

1 avocado, peeled and diced

12 corn tortillas

In a large heavy skillet, heat the oil over medium heat.  Add the chicken, and cook for about 2 minutes per side until the outsides start to brown.  Pour the salsa, broth or water, spices and honey over the chicken, stir to combine, and simmer it for 8 to 10 minutes, partially covered, flipping the chicken once or twice.  When the chicken is just cooked through, remove it from the sauce, and using two forks, pull it apart to shred it into bite size strips.  Return the chicken to the sauce to warm it. 

Heat the tortillas by wrapping them in a clean damp dishtowel and warming them in the microwave for about 1 minute until they are warm and soft.  Serve the chicken inside the tortillas, topped with the avocado, if desired. 

Tip:  when measuring honey, spray the spoon first with nonstick cooking spray so the honey doesn’t stick to the spoon. 

As I looked ahead to my chaotic day full of meetings and to-do lists, I realized the only thing that didn’t stress me out was dinner.  I knew what I was making—an Italian vegetable and white bean sauté with Parmesan cheese—and I knew that it would only take me about 20 minutes to have a gourmet and healthy meal on the table for my family, so I could finally sit down with them and relax a while. 

I’m telling you this story because a) you can probably relate to my morning, and b) if your dinnertime routine feels as chaotic as the rest of your day, and you wish you had the comfort of already knowing what you were making for dinner and that you had all the ingredients you needed without having to add a grocery store drive-by shopping to your day, then I hope you’ll consider the joy of weekly menu planning with The Six O’Clock Scramble, www.thescramble.com.  In fact, I’ll even plan your weekly meals and give you a grocery list to take with you to the store each week.  Then it will be on my to do list–not yours. 

8 medium russet potatoes
1 large yellow onion
6 scallions, finely chopped
4 eggs, lightly beaten
1 tsp. salt
¾ cup flour
approx. 1 cup canola oil for frying
applesauce and sour cream for serving

Grate the potatoes and yellow onion coarsely (I always use a hand grater and ask the kids to take a shift). Rinse the potatoes in a colander with cold water and drain them thoroughly to remove some of their starch. Press them down into the colander to squeeze out as much water as possible. In a large bowl, combine the potatoes, onions, scallions, eggs, salt and flour and mix thoroughly.  

Preheat the oven to 200 degrees to keep the cooked latkes warm, if you don’t plan on eating the latkes as they cook. In a large skillet (use an electric frying pan if you have one), heat the oil over medium high heat. To test if it’s hot enough, drop a little piece of the potato mixture in and see if it sizzles. If it sizzles immediately the oil is hot enough. 
Drop tablespoonfuls of the potato mixture into the pan, and flatten them to an even thickness. Leave about an inch between the latkes for even frying. Fry the latkes for a few minutes per side until they are golden brown. Remove the to a paper towel-lined baking sheet to drain. Transfer them to the oven to keep them warm, if necessary. If you need to add more oil to the pan, do so between batches so the oil can heat up fully before adding more latke batter. Serve them topped with applesauce and/or sour cream, if desired.

Prep (20 minutes) + Cook (20 minutes)

Makes 16 pancakes, or 4 servings

In my family, latkes are one of the best parts of celebrating Hanukkah. These modern potato pancakes have a terrific blend of flavors and a nice crunchy texture without all the oil.  If you make the batter ahead of time, refrigerate it until you are ready to cook them, and drain the excess liquid from the bowl before frying them.  Serve the pancakes with a green salad with dried cranberries and shredded or grated Parmesan cheese.  For a heartier meal, serve them with scrambled eggs. 

1 large sweet potato

1 large white potato

1 medium yellow onion

2 eggs, lightly beaten

1/2 cup flour

1 tsp. salt

1/4 tsp. cayenne pepper (optional)

6 Tbsp. vegetable oil, divided

1 cup nonfat or low fat sour cream (optional for serving)

1 cup naturally sweetened applesauce (optional for serving)

Using a hand grater, coarsely grate the potatoes and finely dice or grate the onion.  Drain the vegetables then wrap them in a clean dish towel for a minute or two to get the excess water out.  Transfer the grated vegetables to a large bowl.  Stir in the beaten eggs.  Thoroughly mix in the flour, salt and cayenne pepper (optional).  (Prepare the eggs and salad now, if you are serving them.  The eggs can cook while the potato pancakes cook.) 

Preheat the oven to 250 degrees and line a baking sheet with foil.  In a large nonstick skillet, heat 2 Tbsp. oil over medium to medium-high heat.  When the oil is hot, scoop in spoonfuls of the potato pancake mixture and flatten them with the spoon or a spatula.  Cook the pancakes for several minutes per side until they are browned.  After each batch, add 1 – 2 Tbsp. oil to the pan and let it heat for a minute or two, to keep the pancakes browning nicely.  If they start to get too browned on the outside before the middle is cooked, reduce the heat.  Transfer the cooked pancakes to the baking sheet and keep them warm in the oven while the rest cook.  Serve them topped with the sour cream and applesauce (or dipped in ketchup, as our kids like them!)

Side Dish suggestion:  For fluffy scrambled eggs, beat 6 eggs with 1 heaping Tbsp. plain yogurt or sour cream, and 1 heaping Tbsp. cottage cheese until thoroughly combined.  In a medium-sized nonstick skillet, melt 1 Tbsp. butter or margarine.  Add the eggs and cook them over medium-low heat, stirring occasionally, until they are just firm and still fluffy.  Season them with salt to taste and serve. 

Nutritional Information per serving (% based upon daily values):

Calories 300, Total Fat 16g, 26%, Saturated Fat 2g, 10%, Cholesterol 110mg, 36%, Sodium 620mg, 26%, Total

Carbohydrate 32g, 10%, Dietary Fiber 4g,12%, Protein 6g, Sugar 8g

Nutritional Information per serving (with applesauce, sour cream, and 1 1/2 cups salad, 1/4 of eggs):

Calories 475, Total Fat 28g, 45% Saturated Fat 5g, 26%, Cholesterol 431mg, 143%, Sodium 825mg, 35%, Total Carbohydrate 36g, 11%, Dietary Fiber 5g,  17%, Sugar 8g, Protein 19g

 Do you ever feel a tinge of guilt when, in the course of preparing a meal, you throw out food packaging? I really started to after reading about efforts to reduce a mass of plastic waste floating in the North Pacific Ocean. Dr. Marcus Eriksen of the Algalita Marine Research Foundation estimates it could be twice the size of the continental U.S.!

 Held in place by swirling undercurrents, the “soup” is made up of all kinds of plastic: shopping bags, bottles, food wrappers, even Legos. Storm drains carry much of this to bigger waterways; some of it blows directly out of landfills. Fragments have been found in the bellies of marine animals and birds. Many are choked or trapped by the waste. It goes without saying that we could eventually ingest this stuff via seafood.

 I had no idea this collection of waste, also called a “plastic continent,” existed until a few months ago. I read there is a smaller mass in the Atlantic Ocean as well. It is believed the waste in the Pacific has been growing exponentially each decade since the 1950s (shortly after plastic was invented).

So how do we avoid adding to the “Plastic Continent’s” population?  Recycling helps. Milk jugs, soda and water bottles are often made into useful items like carpet, jacket fill, even T-shirts. Some products, such as plastic lumber, enjoy a long life in their reincarnation.

However, plastic’s quality degrades each time it is reheated, and much of the time, plastic is reprocessed only once before it is sent to a landfill or incinerator.

While most plastic is recyclable, only a fraction gets recycled. People tossing bottles into garbage cans is one reason, but another is because the recycling business is neither simple nor lucrative where plastic is concerned.

According to Eureka Recycling, a non-profit organization in St. Paul, Minnesota: “The technology exists to recycle most kinds of plastic, but a lack of infrastructure prevents all but the most widespread kinds of plastic from being recycled … Communities must be able to cost-effectively collect and sort plastic, and businesses must be willing to accept the material for processing.”

What can you do? Try to avoid using plastic when possible. Get a stainless steel water bottle, cut down on take-out food, bring reusable bags to the grocery store. If you forget to bring your bags into the store, you can wash and use them to store food in the freezer (after wrapping food in wax or parchment paper), labeling the contents with masking tape. Use colorful plastic bags as wrapping paper. Wash and reuse zip-lock bags. More suggestions can be found at the web sites below.

Also, try to buy food and other products that do not require a lot of packaging. Shopping at farmers’ markets or around the perimeter of the grocery store will provide less packaged-and less processed-foods. Support recycling efforts in your community.

Reduce, reuse, recycle. Our health and the earth’s health depend on it.

 Additional Resources:

http://www.ehow.com/how_4820590_reduce-recycle-plastic-grocery-bags.html

http://kids.niehs.nih.gov/recycle.htm

www.plasticbagfacts.org

http://www.homemakers.com/Life&Times/balance/reduce-plastic-waste-n237027p1.html

Have a happy and healthy weekend.

Warmly, Aviva

Wild Rice and Turkey Salad

Prep (10 min.) + Cook (60 min.) + time to cool
6 servings

1 cup wild rice blend (such as Lundberg)
1 cup cooked turkey breast, chopped
1 cup sliced celery (about 2 stalks)
¼ cup - ½ cup thinly sliced scallions, to taste
½ cup dried cranberries (or use raisins or pomegranate seeds)
¼ cup light balsamic vinaigrette dressing (such as Newman’s Own)
½ cup pecans, lightly toasted and coarsely chopped
salt and black pepper to taste (optional)

Prepare the rice according to the package directions, using water or leftover chicken broth. 

In a medium serving bowl, combine the turkey, celery, scallions and cranberries.  When the rice is cooked, combine it with the ingredients in the bowl.  Stir in the vinaigrette dressing.  Refrigerate the salad for at least 15 minutes and up to 2 days.  Just before serving, stir in the pecans. 

Hi Aviva: I have to tell you a funny story - I printed out your “Snack Attack” list yesterday and gave it to my daughters, ages 6 and 4. My older daughter patiently read every option out loud, discussed it with her sister, and then wrote down yes, no, or maybe next to each one, depending on whether they thought they might like it or not. I couldn’t believe how seriously they took the task, how well they collaborated, and how easily they were entertained by it. Plus, I now have a fully anotated list on my fridge to refer to when we get the munchies. (And, of course, they’re particularly excited about the options that involve chocolate and such.)

Thank you for the list!”
Molly Thompson, Bozeman, MT